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The Sad Bastard Cookbook

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Re: The Sad Bastard Cookbook

#231
post #228

I used to cook with a trick invented by an italian woman, called "vasocottura" (then my microwave broke, possibly because of that). You basically put food in a sealed glass jar, and cook it in the microwave for 6 minutes. The air inside will slip out through the seals, resulting in a near vacuum effect. The food will keep cooking for circa 20 minutes while it cools down. Then you can either warm it up in the microwav…

Are there english recipes available? All I find is italian

Re: The Sad Bastard Cookbook

#232
The hardest part of cooking is often the mental load of "what am I going to eat?". Infinite choices. To pick one is to deny all the rest. What do I even have? What could I make that's worth eating?

At the start of the pandemic, my wife and I began solving this problem with meal planning.

Every Saturday morning, when we're at a pretty high energy level, we decide on lunch and dinner for the next seven days. Including when leftovers will be eaten. Then I go buy the groceries needed for those meals. We keep the schedule in a shared word doc. The system has evolved over time but the core idea of pre-planning the decisions has always been there.

Now there are no decisions to make. It's Thursday night and you're exhausted? You are having sausage pasta. That's the plan. Get cooking, it's easy and you have everything.

If you read the description of the linked book and feel you relate to it, I cannot recommend this strategy enough.

Re: The Sad Bastard Cookbook

#233
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Stew? Soup? Too hard, too much time. Wouldn’t make it. Which is exactly why this book exists.

>too hard roughly chopping random vegetables and throwing them in a pot is hard? >too much time using a pressure cooker for 45 minutes while you watch youtube videos is too much time?

Yes - far too hard, and far too much time.

I'd immediately buy pre-diced items and would have to find a recipe that could be made in less than 15 minutes, and even then that's pushing it.

My solution was soylent/equivalent. 8 years on I'm still drinking it.

Re: The Sad Bastard Cookbook

#234

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry, this book is clearly a joke. Do you not get the humour?

If you look at my history I've been recently told this a couple of times. Which is starting to concern me, because I may have lost the ability to recognize humor. When I posted it, the following post `Fantastic, I adore it! In a weird way, this also serves as a training manual for becoming a good cook. [...]` was at the top. Given your reply, now I don't understand if this post is also meant to be humor. But if it we…

> But if the intent of the book is meant to belittle people like me, because apparently it is a joke

I suggest getting some therapy or something, it's really not healthy to be personally offended this way by something so benign.

Re: The Sad Bastard Cookbook

#235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>too hard roughly chopping random vegetables and throwing them in a pot is hard? >too much time using a pressure cooker for 45 minutes while you watch youtube videos is too much time?

Yes to both points. You would know, if you had been there. Also, who is buying the veggies, who is cleaning up after your 5 minutes of eating?

Ding ding ding. Exactly!

Don't forget you also have to wash, peel, top and tail, clean, sharpen knives, etc..

A full dinner from when you get up to make it to when you sit down with everything washed/put away is more like 60 minutes in a best-case scenario. 7 hours a week. 364 hours a year. Feels like a crime to use so much time on basic survival needs that have been solved.

Re: The Sad Bastard Cookbook

#237
post #231
post #228

I used to cook with a trick invented by an italian woman, called "vasocottura" (then my microwave broke, possibly because of that). You basically put food in a sealed glass jar, and cook it in the microwave for 6 minutes. The air inside will slip out through the seals, resulting in a near vacuum effect. The food will keep cooking for circa 20 minutes while it cools down. Then you can either warm it up in the microwav…

Are there english recipes available? All I find is italian

I am looking right now and can't find anything. It is a recent method, so perhaps there isn't anything in English yet.

Re: The Sad Bastard Cookbook

#238

Here is a great ramen recipe from a classic reddit thread that my glance over the book failed to spot: >Creamy chicken flavored preferred but regular chicken will do. >With drained noodles and with the flavor packet add black pepper, garlic, Parmesan cheese, butter and just a bit of milk to make it creamy and sauce like. Since they didn't include measurements, this is what I ended up using: 1 pack creamy garlic seaso…

I bet it would taste great but that's definitely not healthy though.

Re: The Sad Bastard Cookbook

#239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t eat for sensation though. I don’t crave it or need it. I can happily eat the same thing every day and not care. For some people that’s insanity, and for others that’s normal. I just don’t care about food, I see it as a waste of time and effort. The less time spent preparing, eating and cleaning up the better. I understand that chewing is good for your health, which is why I eat solid food a fair bit, but othe…

Are you doing anything for bodily sensations then? I mean like swimming, jogging, massage, sex?

Oh, 100%. I'm happily married with the all usual things that comes with. I do mountain biking, go for walks daily, and remedial massages are 80% covered by my health fund so I go for those occasionally too. I also have two small kids ands do a lot of renovations on our house, so I'm physically active a lot.

No shortage of activity and stimulation!

Re: The Sad Bastard Cookbook

#240

When It's really bad I just buy multiple costco rotisserie chickens, some frozen veggies, put food on plate, microwave, cover in sauce, eat. Add in premier proteins, fit crunch, and clif builders and you can shop for like 2 weeks in a single run and not die. My "I cant be bothered" template is the following. is essentially pick one from each category * 1/2 LB (225g) veggies * 1/2 LB or 1 fruit * 1 protein * Caloric l…

some heroic sauces / spices

  - nam pla
  - bagoong
  - sawsawan
  - kecap manis
  - zaatar
  - sumac
  - pomegranate molasses
  - chipotles in adobo
  - tajin
  - sazon
  - slap ya mama
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