well, trying again -harrisburg, PA

[Velkyn]

Here I am again after about 3 year hiatus.    This virus is definitely getting to me and I'm bored and frustrated.  i am lucky that my husband is a high-level IT guy so it's not funds that are a difficulty.  However, tedium surely is.  It doesn't help that cooking is one of my favorite hobbies (I just got Vincent Price's "Treasury of Great Recipies", yes *that* Vincent Price).  You can call me Vel,  my pronouns are she/her.  

I need some structure in my life so I thought I'd return to this.   I had a nice seasonal job that was very physical, moving plants around at a Lowe's, but that has ended ("plant merchandiser" is a very weird but nice job for the spring/summer/fall).   I'm hoping to get another job but with the virus and me being over 50, it's proving difficult.   

A little about me:  50+, female, brewer, cat lover, tabletop RPG player, cosplayer, cook, painter, atheist and pragmatic liberal.   

My one limitation with exercise is that my joints don't bend much at all e.g. my wrists bend to about a 45 degree angle at best.  Looking for ways around that.   

[Qeidren]

Welcome! Welcome back even! 

 

Cooking is one of those things that when you love it, the simplest of things can bring you joy, and also the most complicated, and the richest, most calorie-dense things are just the best. But I find that even when I'm working with cheese, flour, and/or cream, even the richest of dishes (at least as far as dinners are concerned, desserts are a whole other gastronomic grimoire) are almost always lower in calories than anything pre-made. But that is still no excuse for going overboard, even if seconds of lasagna is still better than McDonald's.

 

But no matter how your diet changes, your love of food still shines through, I know this for a fact. This summer, instead of using my little ice-cream machine for making ice cream, I'll be using it to make sorbet instead (as sugarless as practical obviously). But, I'm still going to find some ruby chocolate buttons and do another quad-choc rocky road sometime, just not every month

 

 

[Velkyn]

Hello Qeidren!

You are definitely correct.   One can control exactly what goes into even the most luxurious alfredo sauce     One thing I've got going for me is that I have more of a fat/salt tooth than a sweet tooth.   

So does the ruby chocolate have any different taste?  I've seen it around, and King Arthur Flour has a burgundy cocoa I've been coveting. 

I made one of the best hummus (hummusses?  hummusi?)  i've ever had yesterday.  https://www.cearaskitchen.com/fluffy-oil-free-hummus/  and one doesn't need a high speed blender, just some patience to get it completely creamy.   

[Qeidren]

Vel, Ruby chocolate is a unique flavour, somewhat reminiscent of raspberries, but more sour than tart. It is also somewhat flowery in addition to being fruity, and has a fat content slightly higher than milk chocolate and heading towards white chocolate. Because of this broad mixture of flavour profiles (creamy/fatty, sweet, sour, and fruity/flowery) it is actually super versatile, I have seen it used with citrus, turkish delight, caramel, and others, and it is my favourite chocolate type. It is also super hard to get ahold of, because the patent is held exclusively by Callebaut chocolate, and supplies of buttons appear and disappear almost instantly. When KitKat did a limited run of ruby chocolate kitkats back in 2018, I bought a whole box and allowed myself just one per week after work. Made them last for over two months.

 

I'm totally with you on the savoury. Too much sugar makes me nauseous very easily. I'd much rather play with herbs and spices, myself, that's where all the fun is. After all, without a good spice rack pretty much every recipe is just the same 8 ingredients done slightly different ways.