So here's some more pics of the process.

Sweat the onions

Add the meat mix

Some bomb ass tomato paste. Had this in Italy, originally and brought it back. They sell it at the grocery store now.

Get that paste in there and cook out the bitterness.

Cook down the mushrooms. This is the stage where I cook out all the extra liquid. Takes about 45 minutes, but way longer if you try to do it after adding the tomato sauce.

Heat way down to not burn the sauce.

Add some Balsamic vinegar.

Fromage cottage and spinach

Pasta

And the final assembly process:

Don't forget to label and date any food you put in the freezer!

That all sounds great but... but coffee, the coffee...

Wonder if you're noticing a decreased stress as soon as you're off it though? Is it the one factor, or other elements you're a voiding; clearly notice a difference with/without? Just healthier ingredients overall = less stress?

This looks hella good too!

What kind of plants are those in the background there?

We use Mutti tomato paste too, common brand over here! Cool to hear it's that special.

And lmao @ that cat food. XD Clever.

Fun to follow the whole process.

And all looks delicious.

@OlTrout

Your lasagne looks delicious AF.

Looking at this again is making me crave Lina's spaghetti and meatballs something fierce.

Lots of evidence to suggest that a diet called "modified Mediterranean" can reduce stress, anxiety, depression. I guess a lot of these foods are high in precursors to neurotransmitters, like phenylalanine and tyrosine. I've noticed a massive improvement after a few days off the coffee, though I still have a cup of tea in the morning because being totally caffeine free seems impossible. I was getting a flare up on my skin from the increased stress and it basically went away over a couple days.

Tomatoes, two varieties but I can't remember what they are or which is which.

Yeah we've had some Mutti products for a while but I've only started seeing the tubes of paste recently.

:)

Intriguing. I'm definitely addicted to the daily dose of hard bean caffeine at the moment, but if stress levels ever get intolerable I know what to try then...

No skin flare ups yet though. Maybe shan't have to resort to as drastic countermeasures.

Ooh that's a lot! To be put in a greenhouse later on? Or maybe you can have them just about anywhere over there?

Might make some paste that rivals the italian brands with the above hmm. :)

I read somewhere a while back how Italy tends to get higher grade fruits and vegetable imports than we do simply because they're more demanding than we are regarding their quality, so I am a bit surprised to know this is really the top tier stuff as far as canned tomatoes and paste goes. Figured it was standard.

Do you ever use canned cherry tomatoes? Common ingredient?

I use whole San Marzano tomatoes in the can when I'm feeling fancy, but generally I stick to crushed tomatoes when I'm cooking with canned. One restaurant I worked in made tomato sauce with just San Marzano tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and salt. It was one of my favourite sauces. I could never find the same brand of tomatoes though, and so I had a tough time trying to replicate the sauce at home. The sauce was simple because it was used in a few different dishes with different flavour profiles.

Ah I don't think we have those over here. Just Mutti when it comes to cherry tomatoes specifically. :)

Sounds like a sauce that really relies on quality ingredients to taste good, nice, I can imagine the flavor...

Also usually go with just crushed tomatoes, or passata, but cherry tastes so much more. Imagine it'd be perfect for some especially savorable blends.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CdyTl1outpK/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

thought this was pretty cool. To celebrate ring pop (the candies) 🍭 birthday they’re having a cake off on social media. Some of the submissions are pretty cool!

That's awesome.

Any cake-related contribution of yours in the mix?

I thought it might be fun to make one but there’s a lot of professionals entering. It’s becoming more popular. I also haven’t had any good concepts come to me. I did pick up some stuff to do some baking here soon though!

Tried entering some photo contests in the past but ditto, competition's usually just on a whole other level. You never know though, maybe they're looking specifically for that new; fresh; creatively amateur and all-inclusive approach...

Would be fun to see anyhow!

Some chocolate covered pretzels 🥨 I made this morning ☺️

Damn those look tasty. Chocolate pretzels are one of the few sweet/savoury combinations that I actually enjoy.

So I bought a square Le Creuset skillet a year or so ago, and never actually had a real use for it other than being a beautiful piece of cookware, until I bought one of those cast iron burger patty presses this past week.

Made a grilled cheese panini and it was delicious.

do tell me the panini toppings 😍

Some homemade sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles 🧁

I was desperately hungry, so it was smoked chedder, aged gouda, and tomato.

Looking at recipes, a caprese panini would be right up my alley. Definitely going to be experimenting more now that I have the means to do so.

My god it was delicious.

Yesterday I did a pot-roast. Started it seasoning it in the fridge for 24 hours with Montreal steak spice and smoked paprika, the seared on all sides on BBQ, then put it in the oven at 220*F for 8ish hours. Got invited for supper last minute, so I just turned off the oven, then when I got back I wrapped it in tin foil and threw it in the fridge. Today for lunch I cut a slab off and chopped it up.

Panini #2

Re-fried pot roast

Smoked Gouda

Tomatoes

That looks so damn good...

Every time I buy smoked Gouda, it just tastes like hot dogs 🌭

I lied, smoked chedder. I have had smoked Gouda before, must have been super mild because I couldn't tell it apart from smoked chedder.

I don't even know what's going on right now. Tuna was on sale but I didn't buy anything normal to pair with it. Ahi tuna melt it is...

Mixed some evoo and vinegar with the mayonnaise to make it extra-punchy.

Edit: it was fucking delicious. I haven't eaten fish in ages.

Looks delish

Dindin

Nails to match the pretzels too. ;) Nice photos.

And them sugar cookies.

Wouldn't have known what that was if you didn't write it, but looks delicious.

This too.

Here is a grilled chicken salad with croutons and strawberries and garden cherry tomatoes and bell peppers

Due to a combination of being busy and forgetful, I haven't been recording my meals. Hope to change that soon.