Culinary resolutions for 2019

[taxlady]

I'm right there with both of you Taxi and GG. My stamina both in and out of the kitchen is really diminished. Standing for more than a few minutes just isn't in the cards anymore. I have an office chair in the kitchen that helps and scoots across the floor easily. I can sit to watch a pot on the stove and only need to stand when needed.
Thankfully, the SC does a lot of the prep work and seems to enjoy doing it.

Like Bea..."I'm over the hill and picking up speed" so my goal for the year is just being able to maintain what I already do.

I love the idea of using an office chair with wheels. I have one that I almost never use since I retired. I'm going to move it up from the basement office to the kitchen and see how that goes.


I have a bar stool. I keep forgetting to use it in the kitchen. Both of these ideas should help.

 

[Rocklobster]

They make these cool stools that have a slanted seat at 45 degree angle so you’re not actually sitting , just
Leaning back and taking weight off of your feet/legs. I’ll try and find an example for you. I think one model is called a leaning seat. I’ve thought about getting one because I’m on my feet 10 hours a day.

 

[jennyema]

Do more baking

 

[Janet H]

I am determined to rid my kitchen of any item not used in the past year. regardless of:

• How much I love it
• How useful it might be in the future
• My belief that it's too nice or expensive to part with
• I have one but two (or three) is better just in case I ever need it

 

[CraigC]

Do more baking

Have you tried baking in the Egg? I want to use it for bread baking.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...The first is to cook the things in our freezers and pantry that I had great plans for instead of buying more...

My thought exactly! Or almost exactly. lol

I got this idea when I had to clean out an area in my freezer just to put those logs of Christmas cookie dough into - there was very little room in there...

I'd like for us to do a better job about using up things in the freezer...

...I especially need to use the vegetables from the garden that I froze whole last summer before I get this year's garden going...

...I also need to attack the freezer contents more aggressively and not be so eager to refill it when I see an empty space.

It looks like I am in good company! I'm not only going to start making holes in my freezer, I plan on filling those holes up with empty juice bottles that have been (almost) filled with water. That way the freezer will still be "full". I also have to resist the temptation to buy something that is on sale at a real steal of a price and have it replace one of the juice bottle taking up the space! Also need to empty my personal grocery store in the basement. I hoard shelf-staple food like we're expecting a disaster. The only disaster would be tossing that food whenif we finally get ready to move.

 

[caseydog]

The second resolution sort of works with the first. I hope to spend/waste less time online, especially in cooking and social media websites and use that time to both get things done in the real world, and get more rest to be healthier.

So if you don't see me around much, hopefully I'm doing something useful like cooking.

Aww, you would miss us too much. Besides what are you going to do at work?

I did give up Facebook a few years ago, for lots of reasons, but still do DC Forum and my MINI forum.

Trim the fat, but don't cut into the meat.

CD

 

[caseydog]

No culinary resolutions here. I'm not big into new years resolutions in general, and I'm pretty happy with my cooking endeavors. I like to cook, and like to eat good food. That's working just fine for me for right now. Besides, cooking is my "escape." I don't want to mess that up with goals and resolutions.

CD

 

[jennyema]

Have you tried baking in the Egg? I want to use it for bread baking.

No. I'm not a big fan of smoky tasting baked goods. I might try no-knead bread in it though, if I can acquire a cheap covered lodge DO.

I did bake some pretty nice biscuits this weekend. My first real attempt at homemade biscuits.

 

[CraigC]

No. I'm not a big fan of smoky tasting baked goods. I might try no-knead bread in it though, if I can acquire a cheap covered lodge DO.

I did bake some pretty nice biscuits this weekend. My first real attempt at homemade biscuits.

I was going to use charcoal briquettes. I'm sure the village ovens back in the day used wood for fuel.

 

[pepperhead212]

I've baked bread in my gas grill many times, but there's usually not much residual smoke flavor in the grill, and there is no smokiness in the bread. But that is gas. I can light the two burners on one side, and adjust them to get to 350°, and bake two loaves on the other side. I've used it for other baked goods in the summer, as I hate to turn on ovens in the summer.

 

[jennyema]

The BGE pages/forums I look at tout the smoky taste of baked goods on the Egg and that doesn't appeal to me that much.

Some of those Eggheads use theirs for almost everything they cook, which I find beyond weird … Like the Instant Pot people that remove their stoves from the kitchen and only pressure cook food.

That said, it could be interesting ….

 

[cookieee]

Our Culinary Resolution for 2019 is to try to stick to "Wed. is clean out the frig. day". It is getting very sad how much food goes to waste. We try to use up food during the week, but Wed. is suppose to be the day when everything comes out of the frig. Also, we are "suppose" to put a label on the containers with date and content. Too many have been slipping by without a label.

Also we need to do better about keeping track of the freezer. On a clip board we have a form that I made where we can write down what goes in the freezer and what comes out. About every three months we have to start over.

Boy do I sound anal.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

No, cookieee, you sound organized! Welcome to DC, too.

I've gotten into the habit of saving leftovers to have on hand when I do my weekly grocery shopping. I know I won't have to cook after shopping, and I can put the fresh food in the place the leftovers were in. My plan fails only if I by a lot more fresh food than the space that the leftovers filled. [emoji38]

 

[cookieee]

No, cookieee, you sound organized! Welcome to DC, too.

I've gotten into the habit of saving leftovers to have on hand when I do my weekly grocery shopping. I know I won't have to cook after shopping, and I can put the fresh food in the place the leftovers were in. My plan fails only if I by a lot more fresh food than the space that the leftovers filled. [emoji38]

Hi, thank you (for both) I like to think that I am organized, but it takes 2 and you know who isn't. Did I say that?

 

[Vinylhanger]

Do more baking

This mine as well. I did a few things last year and really enjoyed it.

 

[Vinylhanger]

I am determined to rid my kitchen of any item not used in the past year. regardless of:

• How much I love it
• How useful it might be in the future
• My belief that it's too nice or expensive to part with
• I have one but two (or three) is better just in case I ever need it

This also is a need in our kitchen. The top of the fridge is where small appliances go to die.

We have a smallish passthrough kitchen and there isn't a lot of counter space. I love kitchen gadgets and small appliances.

So you can see the problem.

 

[cookieee]

Our Culinary Resolution for 2019 is to try to stick to "Wed. is clean out the frig. day". It is getting very sad how much food goes to waste. We try to use up food during the week, but Wed. is suppose to be the day when everything comes out of the frig. Also, we are "suppose" to put a label on the containers with date and content. Too many have been slipping by without a label.

Also we need to do better about keeping track of the freezer. On a clip board we have a form that I made where we can write down what goes in the freezer and what comes out. About every three months we have to start over.

Boy do I sound anal.

Well, not much longer till the end of 2019 and boy did we mess up our resolutions. So many Wed. have gone by and the frig. did not get cleaned out, and food went bad. Still a lot of unlabeled containers, no idea what the heck is in them or how long they have been there.

As far as the problem of keeping track of what is in the freezer? Forget it. A couple of months ago I stopped using the form. Just a waste of time.

So, how did everyone else do with your resolutions?

 

[Andy M.]

In the coming year I hope to become more knowledgeable about sous vide cooking so I can learn to use my new tool to my advantage.

I also need to attack the freezer contents more aggressively and not be so eager to refill it when I see an empty space.

So, I did accomplish the first.

Attacking freezer contents was erratic. I did it in bursts. Right now I'm having clean out the freezer binge and have been having success.

 

[larry_stewart]

I want to start canning. I've always wanted to do it, but always have been afraid im going to wipe out a whole years crop of tomatoes that I grow in the garden. Im not sure why Im so afraid. There are so many things I do at work and at home that are much more complicated.

I also have a vacuum sealing bad system thingy that I got as a gift years ago, and just found it buried in my basement ( I never used it). I think that would also help when garden harvest time comes around again.

Finally, as always, I want to make sure this years garden is better than ever, and hopefully do a better job growing root crops ( carrots, beets) and cabbage related crops ( cabbage, broccoli, Brussel sprouts ..).

- I did can Tomatoes and Pickles ( Successfully ) , so that Resolution was met.

- Just came across the Vacuum Sealing Bags just the other day, so obviously I forgot about them ( again). Guess that will have to wait til 2020.

- Carrots and beets better ( not good, but better) than last year.

- Didn't even bother planting broccoli or brussel sprouts . Actually thats not true. I bought what I thought were brussel sprouts which turned out to be cabbage, which did well in size, but are buggy as usual. By the time I picked off all the insect damaged leaves, it was basically the size of a brussel sprout