Ask HN: Hackers who cook • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#41

Post by ciroduran » Tue, Sep 23, 2014, 5:57 PM UTC

1. Equal parts save money / I love eating freshly cooked food (I cook lunch in the morning before going to work)

2. No, just buy enough food for week, and choose as the week progresses.

3. A combination of protein + carbohidrate + vegetables

4. I follow the guidelines of a nutrologist I regularly see. It's a combination of calories cutting and eating a variety of foods. The idea is to lose weight while still eating well.

5. Always clean your kitchen before going to sleep. Leave frozen meat/poultry thawing overnight. If you have a kettle, use it to boil water instead of heating it in your pan.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#42

Post by kasey_junk » Tue, Sep 23, 2014, 5:57 PM UTC

cantankerous wrote: post #37

munificent wrote: post #28

1. I've always like the idea of cooking, but rarely got around to it. Then I had kids. Now that I need to provide a good healthy meal every night and it's harder to eat out, I had enough incentive to get over the hump of novice cook. Once I got a bit more skill, it got easier and a lot more enjoyable. I find the physical, analog, informal nature of cooking helps balance my otherwise too-logical, too-digital life. I l…

Random question: Do you have any suggestions for learning better knifework/technique? I feel like I'm SO SLOW at chopping anything and there has to be a more efficient way for me to work.

If you can take a class. I've taken a few (amateur) cooking classes over the years with mixed results. The knife skills class though was invaluable.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#43

Post by coldcode » Tue, Sep 23, 2014, 5:58 PM UTC

Cooking is a stress reliever. I've cooked my whole life. Baking however is like a vi user forced to use emacs :-)

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#44

Post by CognitiveLens » Tue, Sep 23, 2014, 5:59 PM UTC

http://www.cookingforengineers.com/ is a decent, relevant site worth having a look at.

I remember reading http://www.cookingforengineers.com/article/129/Chefs-Knives-... a long time ago and I appreciated the analytical approach.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#45

Post by loumf » Tue, Sep 23, 2014, 6:00 PM UTC

Cherian wrote: post #29

Argorak wrote: post #26

1. Recreational. I enjoy cooking for others more then for myself. I also enjoy that cooking is a task that cannot run over: either the food is done or overcooked. You have to know what you do next. 2. No. Just run past the store on the way home. 3. Flavor of the week. My standard is Quiche Lorraine, but I obviously don't do that all the time. 4. No. 5. Get a cookbook that is very restrained when it comes to ingredien…

Do you have a suggestion on the cookbook?

"How to Cook Everything" -- there's also an app. It's just the basic recipe for everything. You can use it as a base to add on to later (or not)

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#46

Post by atirip » Tue, Sep 23, 2014, 6:01 PM UTC

1. Im pretty good at it. My friends think im restaurant level. At least i can cook better meal myself than any non gourmet restaurant. 2. Nope, i decide on that day. Go shopping right after. 3. I can cook whatever my friends like to eat. Usually i prefer stews, pastas, risottos. 4. Nope, i can eat anything without gaining weight. Im in my ideal weight right now. 5. I dont think about productivity at all. I just enjoy good food.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#47

Post by bequanna » Tue, Sep 23, 2014, 6:01 PM UTC

My wife and I cook ~95% of our meals. We eat out maybe once/twice per month.

Neither of us are too picky or on any specific diet, but generally we make meals that are high in protein (meat), some carbs, and a generous amount of vegetables.

Typically, we make rather large amounts so each of us has another meal for lunch the following day.

We try to avoid pre-packaged/prepared foods whenever possible. No pasta bag meals or pre-seasoned chicken, etc. Also, we stay away from anything that contains soybean oil, vegetable oil, or soy products. Organic meat, vegetables, and fruits, if possible.

We still eat some bread/gluten, but our overall carb consumption is down considerably. I experimented with cutting out carbs almost completely and substituting with more fat in my diet, but saw a decline in my energy level.

We drink alcohol ~2x per month, maybe splitting a bottle of wine each time.

We started more seriously focusing on our diet a few years ago and definitely noticed changes in our energy level, body appearance, skin, and overall health.

Don't kid yourself, what you put into your body matters.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#48

Post by macNchz » Tue, Sep 23, 2014, 6:02 PM UTC

I love to cook, I think because at my core I love to make things and my biggest motivation comes from creating and sharing, which is why I got into programming, and also why I'm drawn to DIY home improvement/car repair/etc. Cooking is an escape from the screen, a great way to get hands on and create something physical, and very rewarding, especially when shared with friends.

Over time I've found myself making more ambitious recipes, and these days I often don't follow recipes at all, I like knowing the ratios of ingredients and flavors and creating tasty things from scratch. I cook for myself most of the time, which makes this approach work...if I mess up on a new improvised recipe, I just have a less-than-perfect dinner. Then, when I'm cooking for friends, I'll whip out a home grown recipe that I've made enough times to trust.

I've found paper cookbooks preferable to apps, because I can spill stuff on them, burn them, use them with wet hands, set stuff down on them, and they don't turn off. I have a couple of cookbooks with simple, staple recipes that I use for reference, but I've also found The Flavor Bible(1) to be incredibly useful—it basically works as a big index of ingredient affinities, so you can look up flavors that go well together for a huge variety of ingredients.

I keep my kitchen stocked with a lot of basics, but I live right near a grocery store, so I'll drop by after work if I need anything special.

[1]http://www.amazon.com/The-Flavor-Bible-Creativity-Imaginativ...

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#49

Post by dirkc » Tue, Sep 23, 2014, 6:03 PM UTC

1. I get grumpy if I don't cook. Guess that makes it relaxation

2. I used to when I had a stable living arrangement. Planning helps a lot with keeping costs down and maintaining a balance.

3. I specialize in mince meat and pasta, I also like making pizza from scratch and stew always goes over well.

4. Yes, a South African diet with lots of meat.

5. Make something many times. I've made pizza a lot and I learn a lot every time by trying out different things. And don't fall for the 'everything needs to take long' mindset chefs have.

Re: Ask HN: Hackers who cook

#50

Post by carise » Tue, Sep 23, 2014, 6:04 PM UTC

1. I cook for many reasons -- to make balanced meals for my family, to save money, to get my mind completely off the daily grind. Also, eating out a lot throws my digestive system out of whack and I end up feeling unwell for days.

2. I've tried, but I'm terrible at planning. There are also days where I have ingredients for _____ (some dish) but I would rather eat _____ (something else) -- maybe because I went to my parents' or in-laws' for dinner and they served that same dish.

3. It's usually some medley of vegetables and meat. I love different kinds of food and usually cook Chinese, Taiwanese, Filipino, Indian, and Thai (just last night!) food. And occasionally some kind of casserole/pasta, if I haven't eaten too much wheat lately.

4. No particular diet, but I try to avoid flour/wheat and include more veggies (usually Asian).

5. I think everyone said the productivity hacks already, but basically for me -- you don't need the latest gadgets, but if you can afford it, get a high quality cookware that will last you a lifetime, and use fresh, high quality ingredients. And do all the dishes before you start... it makes a world of difference.