Vera Stewart

Thank you everyone! I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed with the enthusiastic replies! I hope I'll be able to get back to you in the next couple of days, I need a minute to contemplate!

Note: Please move this post or delete it all together if it's in the wrong place or entirely inappropriate, there will be zero hard feelings on my side!)

It suddenly occurred to me while I was planting potatoes in the garden this afternoon that maybe someone on permies would be willing to assist me with a little problem.

I'm finally at the point with my cookbook (which is also a guidebook to an old radio show) where I'm getting feedback from readers on the intro and on the guidebook part, but I haven't yet found anyone who's willing to review the actual recipe parts.

I don't need the recipes to be tested, as I've already done that and feel okay that they should more or less work - unless I've accidentally got typos or missing ingredients in the ingredients list, or I've forgotten to write down a step in the methods section, or something of that nature, because I've stared at these recipes about ten million times at this point and am no longer capable of actually reading what is actually there.

So I need someone who has a working knowledge of cooking, who can look the recipes over, and say "yes, this seems to make sense" or "no, there is something clearly wrong with this one, maybe you forgot X"

Ideally within the next month or so.

Are you that someone who can help? I have about seventy recipes. I can barely pay anything in exchange, as this is an extremely niche-hobby project-book which will be lucky to sell ten copies, but I will certainly give you credit in the thank you section, and  I'd send you a free copy of it all once it's published. I might be able to make a (very small) token payment as well. If you're willing to help me out, please let me know!

Could you flip it over and paint on the back?

I often see paintings at the local flea market, some of them in frames, and always wonder about that. You might have to destroy the frame to do it though.

I headed towards my cookbook-guidebook-in-progress to see if I have anything to answer this question with. (I will be starting the third round of edits later this week, I hope)

First of all I want to say thank you for giving me some inspiration - I'm now considering indexing recipes by length of time required!

Secondly, I know meatloaf has already been mentioned in the thread, but it's the only recipe I've got that meets the question's specifications. (Thirdly, my cookbook/guidebook is built around an Alan Ladd-led radio drama, so that's why it's got adapted long dead celebrity recipes in it.) Fourthly: I'm planning to self-publish, so I'm not worried about people reading/seeing these recipes beforehand, actually, if anyone tries this, I'd love to get feedback!

No Longer William Bendix’s Meatloaf
Serves: 4 to 6
Cost: under $4 a serving
Time: an hour and a bit
Note: you need a loaf pan to bake this meatloaf

Another Note: this recipe that was attributed to actor William Bendix originally called for ground smoked ham mixed with ground pork, but that was not to my taste – I don’t really like smoked ham,  and don’t like using too much pork anyway… so I added beef.

This recipe is quite tasty!

Ingredients for loaf:

½ lb ground pork
1 pound ground beef
1/2 to 1 cup breadcrumbs
½ cup milk or dairy substitute
2 eggs (beaten)
1 brown onion chopped fine
Some salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for loaf sauce:

1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
¼ cup white vinegar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F

Mix all the loaf ingredients up in a big bowl, then place into a greased loaf pan

In a second bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients, then pour the sauce over top of the loaf. (It will look like a lot of sauce! Don’t worry about it.)

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour. This recipe really does need a longer cooking time, as pork is especially important to cook thoroughly and the loaf is quite dense. I recommend you start testing for doneness with a meat thermometer after 45 minutes at five minute intervals

I have served this meat loaf alongside mashed potato, and alongside rice, with mustard and pickles on the table.

I found this little book on the library's sales rack this morning (cost: 25 cents) and knew I had to share it with permies - not only does the man cook, sometimes while wearing his hat, he also discovers he can forage for food, and decides to start a garden, as well! Published in 1981.  

Hello there!

I did about seven months' worth of my poetry project, but I'm about a month behind now, and I'm not sure if I'll catch up or not. I reviewed my poems recently and I don't know that they're anything I'd want to release to the world as a collection (too depressing, and kind of repetitive - and those are the best of the poems!) so I'm not really very motivated on that project at the moment.

Instead, I've been making a lot of what feels like progress on my cookbook in the past two weeks or so, I've got well over half the recipes I want/need tested and typed up now, and have a solid idea of what the remaining recipes will be, although a few questions remain.
I'd really like to have the first draft of the book done by September. I wanted to have the whole thing published by this September at one point, but I don't think that's going to be possible, I still can't devote regular steady hours and hours to it, and that's what it would need. (As it is I'm behind on the garden because I've been testing recipes instead, oops.)

I've had a couple of short stories published or picked up to be published recently as well, which is always nice. Keep writing, writers!

Hi everyone.

This isn't meant to be a downer post - but I am stepping back from updating this thread in the new year. There's nothing wrong - actually, it's a case of the opposite, I have several neat opportunities coming up in my writing life over the next little while, and in my review of what I should and shouldn't be focusing my energy on, in order to get the most important things done, it's simply the case that I'll have to let this thread go for now.

I am still thinking about working on a project promoting healthier living for writers -  but I think what is more important at the moment is if I start trying to seriously implement some healthy changes rather than spend time writing about them ;)

I am still trying to work on a cookbook, and I will still be trying to limit the amount of food I waste.

I'm not stopping anything except updates to this thread! Thank you for your readership, comments, advise and support. I hope to still hover around these forums now and then, and best wishes to all of you in 2024!

It has been twenty-five days since I last threw out food.

I did some baking yesterday - including using some of the left-over tahini I had in a jar as a substitute in "peanut butter" cookies. I have not noticed any adverse reactions to the tahini in a cookie format, but I also have been careful to only eat a few so far, and they are small. This afternoon I need to do another post-grocery-shop sorting of the fresh ingredients, but I continue to think I'm super-ready for this coming week of festivities. It's raining right now, so we're going to have soup for lunch.
I hope it'll snow, I like snow for it's brightening effect at this time of year.

There are only a few remaining tasks for me this year - one of them is to sort out my cookbook information. I don't know if I'll get to that before xmas off-line time or if it'll have to wait for next week. (I'm disconnecting on the 24th for atleast three days and hopefully four.)

I'm really looking forward to a stay-cation of doing next to nothing! Happy first-longer-day to everyone else in the northern hemisphere!

It has been nineteen days since I last threw out food.
I have some remnant celery freezing at the moment and then I can cut up some cauliflower and the last squash from the garden (it looks like it'll keep on the shelf for ages yet but it keeps getting in the way there, so I'm going to stick in in the freezer where there's a bit more space a the moment)
I think I'm ready for Christmas, ingredients wise. I found some sugar in the city yesterday. This weekend I absolutely must focus on getting my holiday cards/letters out but after that I might do some baking.
Got some more walking in. I haven't lost any weight in the last week but I haven't gained anymore either.

Which leads me to questions about my diet (no, I don't think you're rude) I know that it's not great. There are a number of changes I'd like to make. However, I live in a situation where I have to share my kitchen and meal times, and I only have so much energy - I often can't find enough to create separate meals, and my attempts to alter the house's diet mostly fail. It's very discouraging. I have willpower at the shops and resist buying empty calories, only to have them arrive on the counter anyway, and once they're in the house, I have a much harder time saying no, I'll go for the healthier option.

When I was previously much lighter/healthier, I was walking for almost two hours a day - not to "get exercise" but to get from point a to point b. I also wasn't eating as many treats because there weren't as many around.

I'm hoping that if I can marry walks with voice-recording poetry or other fiction works and treat it as writing inspiration time and therefore have another "reason" to walk (because for me, "just" "getting exercise" is something I can't seem to get behind) maybe it will be easier to re-introduce walking into my routine. I do have a dog and sometimes walking her is my excuse to go outside, but unfortunately sometimes someone else takes her and then I don't have a "reason" for the day.
I meant to take my voice recorder with me the other day but forgot, I'll put it in my jacket pocket right now so I'll have it next time.

I am in desperate need to get my Christmas cards/letters out, that's what has to be my focus this weekend. However, I started this morning by writing a poem - haven't done that first off for a week to ten days and it felt good to be back at it. I'm still behind on poems for my project, but today I know I won't fall further behind now, even if I don't get any more poetry done.

Also, early this week, I did a "live" (although not in person) reading of a poem for the first time! It was extremely nervous, but I hope to do it again.