[Sca-cooks] a few questions/requests (long)

Saint Phlip phlip at 99main.com
Sat Oct 13 15:08:23 PDT 2007


On 10/13/07, terry l. ridder <terrylr at blauedonau.com> wrote:
> it is taking me 2 to 4 times as long to prepare a recipe; whether
> it is baking or cooking a meal. i become worn out just baking two
> loaves of banana-pumpkin bread or preparing two acorn squash as
> a side dish for supper. i am becoming frustrated with baking and
> cooking. it is no longer enjoyable as before the head on collision.

Best I could suggest is getting yourself set comfortably at a table
with all your ingredients to hand, and have at it. IIRC, Terry, you
have family living with you. Now might be a good time to teach them
some of what you've learned over the years abut cooking, and let them
do it.

> would members of the list have any tips, shortcuts, advice, etc
> for making cooking and baking enjoyable once again?

Make something you've never made before, but always wanted to try.

> how do members of the list prepare event meals and accommodate
> the needs of people taking medications? i realize this is a
> sensitive question because some people do not disclose that they
> are even taking any medications for privacy reasons.

Generally, we've made it a habit to simply list all the ingredients in
each dish, and leave it up to the diner to make their own choices.
Most cooks will put contact information in the event flyer, so people
can contact them with particular issues, and we all make an effort to
not use a particular ingredient in every dish, so that there's lots of
things for people to eat, even if they can't eat everything. We're
also very aware of avoiding cross contamination, so that a spoon used
in one dish isn't used in another. Some of us, with a bit of warning,
will make special dishes, omitting or substituting for an offensive
ingredient.

One difficulty to deal with is vegetarians, because  there are several
varieties, from folk who will not eat red meat, to vegans who won't
eat anything that might have had an interaction with an animal- honey,
for example. Many of us are aware of these issues, and simply make
sure that our vegetable dishes contain only vegetables, and not, for
example, chicken broth.

But, beyond that, we leave it up to people to deal with their own
allergies. After all, we're dealing with adults. If they're one of
those unfortunates who are allergic to everything, then they need to
make their own dinner arrangements.

-- 
Saint Phlip

Heat it up
Hit it hard
Repent as necessary.

Priorities:

It's the smith who makes the tools, not the tools which make the smith.

Denial of evidence is not refutation of evidence.

Blessed be the self-righteous, for they shall inherit themselves.



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