An arthritic cooking marathon.

Boomer13

Well, I'm proud of this, even though it's left me stiff and more painful. At least I earned it.

Last week I made a lasagna. Took me two days. Then, I made a fruit flan, even the pastry. I was reminded why I stopped making pastry. It requires a particular action that really aggravates my wrist. The lasagna was deluxe and tasted terrific (there is another in the freezer). The fruit flan took three days and I barely finished it but it was good. I even picked the last of our blackberries here so the fruit was fresh. The custard could have been firmer but was ok. We had a terrific meal on Saturday. Sunday I rested and Mr. cooked. Never mind I'm still recovering, it was good!

I'm only posting today because we had our internet service changed over to a different one, so have been offline.

Celebrating all our accomplishments, big and small. xx

dreamdaisy

Oh my word, Anna, what a marathon and well done to you for executing it in such a well-paced way. I confess that I have never made pastry (and never will - if the professionals reckon that ready-made will suffice then that's OK by me!) but I admire your efforts and, maybe, one day I will emulate them.

I am not a fan of cooking: Mr DD enjoys it because he finds it relaxing because, as he points out, he covers the high days and holidays (and the week-ends) whereas my first waking thought is 'What shall I do for dinner tonight?' (Shortly followed by a yawn.) I know, however, that I have to improve our diet because we're both getting older and our bodies' needs are changing. I am exploring juicing as an option after a very thought-provoking article in the Sunday press over here, I know I won't be helped that much but some things may improve whereas for him many things could be better, and as I love him that sounds like a plan! DD

stickywicket

Oh Anna, well done you What an achievement! Well, two, actually. And what a celebratory meal

I actually enjoy preparing meals like lasagne precisely because they can be spread out in stages / days. As for pastry – no, not for years. I know what you mean about the wrist action. Mr SW does our Christmas mince pies and, at other times, it's ready made frozen sheets for me.

Boomer13

Yes, I thought of naming the post: the marathon of pacing myself. I didn't include that I still have dish washing to do from the effort :roll:

I love cooking, well, alchemy of it at least. I just can't do the periods of standing and all manual things, HOWEVER, I just bought a food processor so suddenly, I don't have to chop or mix! I am shaking my head and asking why it took eight years to finally acquiesce and buy one. Best thing ever (after my electric toothbrush). I was raised to do things by hand, so it's been an adjustment but I've finally adjusted my thinking

I was nudged into doing this by the elbow of Mr. B who proudly says I used to make the best pastry he'd ever tasted. I wanted to see if I could still do it. My wrist may never forgive me...

Boomer13

I think it's frozen pastry for me too, Sticky. Lasagna is good for staged cooking, I agree.

I find it interesting that doing this has given me such an accomplishment "high"

dreamdaisy

I resurrected our new food processor a couple of months ago - resurrected in the sense it sat on a worktop rather than being stored in a cupboard. Neither of us have used it :oops: so I guess that old habits die hard. I use my multi-purpose stick blender / chopper but maybe not as much as I could. Old habits etc. etc. etc.

Here's a thought: buy some ready-made pastry and present 'im 'indoors with his favourite pastry dish (be it sweet or savoury). My money is on him not noticing the difference: sorry. :oops:

As for the standing whilst working, well, a few moons ago I used a stool which folded when not in use: this meant I could sit and work (albeit somewhat awkwardly) and store it out of the way when not being used. Could this be an answer? DD

theresak

Is that what they call a " Perching stool " DD? The Occ Therapist suggested one to me many moons ago.

I buy ready-made puff pastry, but make shortcrust in my food processor, once my daughter-in-law explained how to go about it.It works too. It's great for chopping & slicing, and it's currently my very good friend.

I prepared the tin today for my Christmas cake, then weighed the fruit, which is currently soaking in brandy. I - like others - have to do things in stages.

stickywicket

Boomer13 wrote:

I find it interesting that doing this has given me such an accomplishment "high"

And so it should. We have to measure effort rather than achievement. You've managed to combine the two

theresak wrote:

I prepared the tin today for my Christmas cake, then weighed the fruit, which is currently soaking in brandy. I - like others - have to do things in stages.

That's the only way to do Christmas cake, Theresa. The longer you soak the fruit the more alcohol it can absorb

Boomer13

Next project: soak that fruit!!!

I use a stool for breaks but I can't sit and twist my back so I'm facing the counter. My back really objects to twisting :roll: Now if someone invents a sling so I can hang and pull with hands free above the counter, I'll buy it!

DD, Mr. B would eat it but he'd notice the difference. You can't put anything on his plate and think he won't notice, I've tried!. He a good cook (Yay!) just doesn't have the time. The big problem is that the kitchen looks like a hurricane has been through when he's finished I'm not complaining, though.

Slosh

What a marathon but with such enjoyable results, even though your wrist doesn't agree. If I'm cooking pastry these days I go for the ready rolled type though as I find it very difficult/painful to put things in/take them out of my oven it's a rare occasion these days. I have a mixer/food processor but no room for it to stay out in my very small kitchen so if I use it I have to carry every thing in and out of another room. My current cooking theme is home-made soups which I cook in bulk at weekends and then freeze in individual portions. I find them easy to eat when my throat is suffering after a day at work and as well as being much cheaper than bought soups I know what's in them. Wa**rose do a bag of finely chopped onion, carrot and celery which is a great base and saves lots of time and effort.

dreamdaisy

Ah, I know that sight very well: Mr DD regards it as a personal challenge to use every teaspoon (for some reason we have a dozen) when cheffing, even when just brewing up more than twice he can get through six. I use a teaspoon to stir tea or coffee then rinse it under the cold tap. Job done.

My stool was one designed to sit in a shower so it has lovely rubbery, grippy feet. It was also high, which made a difference. I would stand to do something, then sit to rest, and I found by opening cupboard doors I could sit facing the surface that I needed with my slightly bent knees poking into the opening. Food prep was often done in the dining room so I could sit in comfort at the table. DD