I use psql and/or interact somehow with a postgres database about once every six months, so because of how my brain (fails to) store information it's a brand new and exciting experience every time. This time also involved a docker-compose network, for added spice.
Another week of cooking and baking delicious things.
Bean chilli with roasted chard;
Oat and flax cookies;
Vegetable lasagne (with mushrooms, chard, tomatoes, aubergine and carrot);
Classic comfort food, tinned tomatoes on toast;
Cornish pasties... shortcrust pastry is an ordeal, ain't it?
Purple (beet) risotto;
Coffee and hazelnut cake.. WIRED
Curried cabbage and dahl, Malaysian street food style;
Sprouts! Flaxseeds and chickpeas making progress.
Week in review: 30 March - 5 April
Albanian government introduced a system of asking for a permit by SMS 24 hours in advance of going outside, only for important reasons. Curfew still 5am to 1pm. I didn't leave the flat at all.
Worked on memorious crawlers for UK politician declarations of interest.
There's a distinct lack of any vegan specialty stuff in Sarande, including just plain tofu. I can get sugar free soy milk though, if I trek across town to the big supermarket, which I did. Then it's a case of curdling it with lemon, and pressing it with a cheesecloth (or... a pillowcase). It was very soft and a bit crumbly. I might think of it as cream cheese rather than tofu next time, and be happier. I immediately mushed it up with turmeric and spices to make scramble.
Well it's not been a very productive day so far, so I'm taking a break to make bananabread. If all else fails, at least there's cake.
I tried to make a facebook account so I could join an expats group to ask for information about visa extensions and stuff. I was blocked for ages on not having a phone number, and finally caved and put my new Albanian number in. Then it wanted a photo of me to verify I'm me (compared against what??). And now the account opening is 'under review' and I can't use it yet. At the same time I found an email address for some Albanian authorities and long story short it's literally taken less time to get an Albanian visa extension approved than it has to just open a facebook acount smh
I found this recipe for 'bacon' made from banana peel and just had to know. I made marinade from soy sauce, red pepper paste and paprika. The first time - alongside tofu scramble and mushrooms - was a hit, although a bit on the salty side. I reused the marinade, diluting it a bit with water and orange juice, and adding paprika. It went great in BLTs, and on top of tomato rice too. Since I get through plenty of bananas, and it's no trouble to make, this is going to become a staple! It works best when the banana peel is pretty brown, and the oil is already hot so it fries fast and bubbles a bit. It spits a lot when first dropped in the pan though.
It's funny how Morrissey died a few years ago but still seems to be putting out music. I suppose I should listen to it at some point, but there's no point in giving a dead person any more money for it.
This week's food adventures; I found myself with an abundance of spinach, most of which got eaten with pasta and was not interesting enough to photograph.
Spur of the moment microwave chocolate pudding and chocolate custard, just like Mum used to make.
Banana peanutbutter cake with caramel and coconut.
Pizza (with spinach).
Saag aloo (and dahl).
Amazing lemon pie with a shortbread crust. The filling was just lemon zest, soy milk and cornflour (turmeric for colour).
Cauliflower 'wings'. Maybe not as crispy as they should have been, but still tasted good. With cabbage salad and quinoa.
Bean burgers, not as good as last time. I used courgette instead of carrot and they were too wet so I had to add lots of flour.
Banana pancakes with leftover homemade caramel. Light and fluffy.
Witnessed much drama from the balcony around someone locking the gate that joins my building's carpark with the building next door. It's a useful shortcut, I am annoyed along with the rest of the neighbourhood. I call it gategate.
Got SSL working on my digital ocean droplet with the nginx reverse proxy docker setup. After putting it off for literally 3 years!
TFW you want to check the docs to make sure you understand something properly but the reason you need to understand it is because you are writing the docs and there are no other docs.
Open Data Services Co-op usually get together in person quarterly. We weren't able to this month, for obvious reasons. But we replicated our usual style of gathering online this afternoon, and it was positive and productive and I ended the day crylaughing with my colleagues. Even though we spend tons of our times in video calls on a normal day, somehow the video call replacement of our in person gathering still stood on its own as a special event. I'm super appreciative of my colleagues who sorted the agenda and planned and facilitated sessions, and just in general of all of them <3