Praise the lords of socially distanced takeout

"Textured Soy Protein" (texturedsoyprotein) 04/29/2020 at 12:41 • Filed to: None

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One of the things about being a herbivore in quarantine times is it’s very easy to last a long time between grocery trips, as long as I buy everything I need on the rare occasions I venture into a store. It’s been no problem going 3+ weeks between grocery trips. I’m a great cook and have the time, and combined with paranoia about interacting with other humans, It’s been 6 weeks since I’ve gotten any takeout.

B ut yesterday I finally gave in to my cravings for !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . I got veggie chow fun , spicy tasty fried tofu, szechuan string beans, leeks/ bamboo shoots/ bean sprouts , and a scallion pancake. HHHHHNNNNNNGGGGGGG.

Maryland has been good about providing guidance to businesses on how to operate, so this was a takeout free of face to face human interaction. I paid when I called in the order, and Joe’s had a little table set up in their vestibule where they leave the packed up orders with receipts on them to identify whose order it is . I still masked up and wore gloves, and we put all the takeout containers in the oven on 175 for a few minutes before we ate, juuuuuust in case.

I’m still planning on keeping my grocery shopping as infrequent as possible, but I may just have to do a little more takeout here and there. I love my cooking but after 6 weeks of feeding myself a nd my wife all on my own it was such a treat to stuff my face with some Joe’s goodness. We’ll see.

Future next gen S2000 owner > Textured Soy Protein 04/29/2020 at 12:49

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I’m struggling with veggies. It’s hard to keep them fresh and extend trips to the grocery store. I normally don’t eat enough and it’s probably only gotten worse.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > Textured Soy Protein 04/29/2020 at 12:56

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Sounds like a great setup and delicious food. Good on you for PPEing up and putting the food in the oven. We’ve mainly been having groceries (and take out the few times) delivered - making sure we tip well, and just have them leave the stuff outside so neither side is unnecessarily exposed to other humans.

Thus far the only food we’ve ordered is pizza- there is a great local shop that has an option to deliver par-baked. So we throw it in the oven when it arrives at 500 degrees (as instructed by pizza shop) and we have piping fresh pizza with zero chance of virus intake.

I really, really miss Mexican food though (I’m generally a hole in the wall kind of person, which unfortunately the wife isn’t really down for given current circumstances). That Chinese food looks so good, wish we had some decent options nearby - they are all greasy crap.

Textured Soy Protein > Future next gen S2000 owner 04/29/2020 at 13:03

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It’s totally doable. Allow me to enlighten.

I’ve been focusing on fresh stuff that lasts longer and can be spaced out cooking for a while, plus frozen and a little bit of canned. When I cook I make large batches so we can have leftovers.

I get fresh carrots, onions, celery for mirepoix for cooking stuff . I keep the onions in the fridge, and when the celery gets towards the end of its freshness window I freeze it, which kills the crunch when you defrost but it’s fine for using in mirepoix.

For cooked veg I buy fresh broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage & mushrooms for various cooking. These can hang in the fridge for a while before needing to be cooked so can space out dishes.

Butternut squash and potatoes last a while before needing cooking and don’t need refrigeration.

I buy frozen veg like green beans, okra & mixed veggies. These can be used in lots of ways.

I also have a healthy supply of dried beans, lentils & split peas which can hang on a shelf in the pantry and be combined with mirepoix etc.

Salad items don’t last forever but I buy pre-washed spinach because that lasts a good long while, and whole romaine hearts. I cut up and wash one heart at a time and the others can chill in the fridge for a while. Tomatoes I leave out to ripen and then put in a ziplock bag in the fridge. Cucumbers I cut a chunk off the whole cucumber to use and leave the rest intact with plastic wrap over the cut end.

BAM.

Textured Soy Protein > ZHP Sparky, the 5th 04/29/2020 at 13:06

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I live in Rockville, MD which is the unofficial Chinatown of the DC area.

ttyymmnn > Textured Soy Protein 04/29/2020 at 13:09

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We’ve been eating wayyyyy too much takeout. We justify it by saying we’re supporting local businesses. At least that’s how it started.

dogisbadob > Textured Soy Protein 04/29/2020 at 13:11

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looks good

gin-san - shitpost specialist > ttyymmnn 04/29/2020 at 13:18

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I’ve been eating a fair bit of takeout as well. To be honest, it’s money that I normally would’ve spent buying lunch at work so it’s not like I’m spending more.

Even working from home there are some days where I don't want to cook. 

SiennaMan > Textured Soy Protein 04/29/2020 at 13:36

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If my “work from home” life quiets down soon, I’m going to try some of these techniques, thank you.

A lot of us have unfairly poor opinions of veggies mostly because we've never had them prepared in such a way that they are truely delicious as opposed to served one at a time with no seasoning after being massively overcooked.   

Textured Soy Protein > SiennaMan 04/29/2020 at 13:53

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For an easy and good way to deal with broccoli & cauliflower you can cut them up, throw them on a cookie sheet, drizzle some olive oil over them, salt & pepper, mash them around with your hands to get them nice and covered, then roast at 425 for about 20-30 mins until they get nice and browned.

A plain old head of green cabbage, cut up into quarters then slice into big sorta/kinda shreds, that can be a basic sautee with olive oil S&P or you can add other flavors to it. For example...

This is cellophane noodles with cabbage, mushrooms, carrots, peas and my sticky glazed tofu. Each item uses the same sauce but is cooked on its own (noodles, veg, tofu).

For the veg it’s just cook the cabbage, carrots & mushrooms then when t hey’re mostly done add the frozen peas to defrost, then cover everything with the sauce and let that percolate for a while. 

avalonian > Textured Soy Protein 04/29/2020 at 17:40

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I plan on buying my own house soon and moving out. But I cannot cook for myself very well, it's one of the scariest parts of independence. Imma miss momma home cooking, I've thought about getting cook books and practicing and starting cooking classes. Hats off to you good sir!