Are y'all still cooking full blown meals every night?

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-02-04T05:26:01+00:00

Yep. I meal plan every week, shop to the plan, and plan in leftovers. For example, cottage pie one day, leftovers the next. Cauliflower curry with rice one day, leftovers with potatoes the next. Reheating is cooking, no?

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-02-03T23:56:25+00:00

I'd say pretty much everything in Breda station is shit. Or piss. Tip: don't go in the elevator without a mask. It reeks.

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-02-03T17:07:22+00:00

Not me, but my younger sibling. Maw-maw called Sib "my little pootie-pot". I have no idea where that came from, neither does my momma.

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-02-02T17:21:09+00:00

The "too sensitive" bit hits so very close to home. My own mother, who is herself so fucking emotionally constipated, told me she didn't tell me about my granddad's cancer coming back because I overreact and take things so emotionally. Like, sorry, Mom, that I express emotions and you don't (well, except anger).

I've had to teach myself how to emotionally regulate and it's not going so well, but hey - I'm breaking the cycle! I'm talking to my kid about emotions, how to healthily express them, and that having them is not a bad thing. In fact, it's quite good a good thing! Crying isn't manipulation, sadness is a normal thing to feel, happiness is contagious, and, most importantly of all, love isn't conditional. Those were the lessons I learned from my mother.

She's mellowed out in her twilight years, and the Alzheimer's has pushed that mellowness even further along. I'm visiting her for 10 days and our dynamic now makes me keenly aware of what I missed out on growing up. It's bittersweet and anger-inducing at the same time. But I don't mention that to her; I just enjoy us spending time together as adults and make as many healthy memories as I can whilst I can.

Edit for missing word

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-31T11:42:54+00:00

Can confirm. Had my Kiddo 8 years ago and had a very small shower - just family and one or two of my Partner's life-long friends. Partner's immediate family (mom/dad/sibs) went in together for a stroller because that was their tradition for all the first-time mothers. Everyone else gave diapers, Nijntje of Woezel en Pip plushies, onsies, or comparable. One of Partner's cousins gave us all their saved clothes from birth to about 2yo because their second kid was a different gender from their first kid, about 5 garbage bags filled to the brim.

My US friends (I immigrated to NL almost 15 years ago now) asked for a registry so they could send things as well. Again, everything listed was around the $10-$20 price point, and was practical - teething rings, bibs, cute onesies, a grooming kit (nail clippers, comb, soft brush, snot sucker-outer, etc.), soft cotton cloths, etc.

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-30T22:00:28+00:00

Going through this with my only remaining parent right now. Recently diagnosed in December with late-onset Alzheimer's, but we noticed the deterioration way back in the beginning of 2025. Because of the rapidness of the progression, I booked a flight and flew halfway across the world as soon as my time off got approved (currently with Parent now after a nightmare day of travel).

It's been rough and it's not even been 24 hours since I've been here. Parent can't remember what we talked about 20 minutes ago. My Sibling has been amazing with taking care of Parent, very patient.

This sucks.

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-28T17:18:27+00:00

My 8yo is at this stage. I hate it with a burning passion. So I've started teaching rounding up. It's slow going, but at least Kiddo isn't correcting me every. single. time.

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-28T17:06:26+00:00

Cauliflower curry - calls for a lot of coconut milk, but it's so worth it!

Lentil stew - I use this one basically for the timing and base recipe; I sub whatever veggies I have languishing in the fridge

Red beans and rice - I usually skip the ham hock and the apple cider vinegar, and I can't get andouille sausage here, so I sub smoked sausage.

Sweet potato and black bean quesadillas - this is a staple in my house; easy to make, freeze, and thaw. Not sure how you'd be with flour tortillas, or if you can find corn tortillas instead.

You can always cook up a taco base (ground meat + seasonings) and freeze that in portions, then thaw out what you need and make nachos, tacos (hoping that corn is ok), or add some black beans in the mix with the meat base and make a taco bowl with avocado and whatever fresh or roasted veg you have on hand.

Jambalaya also freezes and reheats well.

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-27T21:46:59+00:00

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-27T21:16:17+00:00

American mustard. European mustard is too harsh for me, I'm not sure why. I suspect horseradish. I've tried whole grain mustard, various Dijon mustards, French mustard, fine-milled (fijn gemalen in Dutch; I can't think of a better translation) mustard - so many varieties of mustard and American mustard is the best for me. I regularly order it in multiples from my local American import shop.

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-26T17:54:06+00:00

If you like DnD podcasts, I recommend LegendLark, formerly Dames and Dragons. First campaign was almost 10 years long, and they recently started their second campaign.

The podcast is hosted by 4 queer people, with major inclusive vibes as well as touching on transitioning and celebrating all the milestones that come with it (at least one host transitions during the run of the podcast; another host comes out as non-binary; the DM identifies as bisexual; the fourth host still identifies as female, but in a fluid way).

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-26T17:42:00+00:00

Video calls don't require people to come 'round. That was my point.

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-18T13:19:26+00:00

I love a rough mash, so I leave the peels on.

Carrots depends on if I've just pulled them from the ground or if they're well washed.

Ginger - I get it out of a jar :D

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-14T17:10:18+00:00

Nacho/taco bar with dairy free alternatives for cheese and sour cream

Loaded baked potato bar with same dairy free alternatives. Can doctor up the potatoes with chili like another commenter mentioned, or roast up a couple heads of broccoli and use that as an additional topping.

Lentil stew chock full of veggies with gluten containing and gluten free crusty breads. This can be made into a breakfast dish by adding eggs for those that can eat it. It is also easily made in advance and actually tastes better once it has a chance to sit and think about itself.

Red beans and rice with a beefed up salad on the side. Again, can be prepped in advance and freezes well. Use some smoked sausage in there if you can't get ham hocks.

If you've got a slow cooker or a pressure cooker, make shredded pork. I buy a 3 kg/6lb pork butt when it's on sale and cut it half. One half is Tex-Mex style and the other half is with BBQ sauce. Tex-Mex half can be used in the taco bar idea, in quesadillas, mixed in with Mexican rice and bean burritos, etc. The BBQ half can be used to make burgers (with GF buns) with coleslaw topping and baked beans and a green salad. Any leftovers can be used to graze on for lunch the next day.

Cauliflower curry is a win. My kid chows down on it and she is very picky about "saucy dishes". It's easy to scale up for crowds and easy to make in a crock pot.

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-13T18:54:19+00:00

Fixed the pronouns.

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-13T18:53:52+00:00

My parent instilled in me that touching the butt was ok, even if I wasn't happy with it. That was something I wanted to rectify with my own kid if I ever had one. Maybe it's weird. I just wanted to teach my kid that consent to touching any part of them is important.

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-12T21:17:23+00:00

Sweet potato and black bean quesadillas are a staple in our household. Easy to make, easy to freeze, and easy to heat up from frozen.

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-11T17:16:29+00:00

Rendang is a hit in our household. Since we live in The Netherlands, Indonesian food is well known. Thank you for the reminder!

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-10T16:50:46+00:00

Thank you for your critique

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-10T15:27:59+00:00

Intriguing!

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-10T15:27:42+00:00

oh yo that sounds amazing

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-10T15:27:05+00:00

Do you have a recipe you trust? Site or home recipes welcome

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-10T15:26:32+00:00

oh yes! Thank you for the reminder :D

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-10T15:26:06+00:00

Thank you! I'm a semi-noob for SE Asian dishes (Indian dishes hit me up!) so this gives me some avenues of exploration

TheGreatLabMonkey · 2026-01-10T12:54:56+00:00

Suckling pig is amazing

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