This is a log of stuff I did w/ one of my random pet projects, it’s not terribly interesting and is mostly just so I can get into the habit of writing more. You have been warned.
It’s been a very long time since I was able to post something else here. I started working on a new project, but fell into the ADD trap known as “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla”. Having finished Elden Ring and not finding it all that difficult (despite that being the majority of online conversation around it), I wanted to see how it would compare to another game on the highest difficulty. It was an interesting experience, but… I definitely did not want to waste all that time stuck in a gaming loop.
Anyway, one of the things that I wanted to work on now that I had the time (as in now that I’m no longer working 24/7
to afford FFS), was getting back to cooking as much as possible. That’s what mealplanner is for, and while it is nowhere
near complete, it’s usable enough that I can actually cook nutritious, tasty and (mostly) vegan meals almost every day.
The other thing I wanted to work on was getting back to my old routines. Working so much over the last year I basically stopped all of my self care habits and am in dire need of picking them back up. And with ADD, the only way I can consistently do the multitude of things required to take care of myself (ie, exercise regularly, cook more, clean regularly, etc.) is through externally managed routines. Without a tool it just takes too much effort to focus on a single task while simultaneously and temporarily ignore the numerous other tasks I know I need to do.
So enter my new app (also GPL licensed free software):
GetDisciplined
GetDisciplined is a (or will be a) routine management app that lets you define and “play” routines. Routines have a list of tasks, each with an optional duration.
When you play one, a timer is shown per task, so it kind of directs you through the routine, without you having to consciously make the decision to do each next task. Extremely helpful for someone like me.
This is something I’ve been trying to create and finish for oh, maybe 10 years now? I’ve gone through maybe half a dozen iterations and haven’t really succeeded beyond something partially working (mobile development sucks), but tauri is making things a lot easier.
Right now all I have is the routine management part working (as you can see above). You can add routines, add tasks to routines and set durations for tasks. The next two things I’ll be working on (soon so I can use this app), is “playing routines” and getting the app to work on mobile (specifically Android).
Vegan Experiments
I haven’t done any actual coding for mealplanner, GetDisciplined was and is my primary focus, but I have been using mealplanner quite a bit: cooking plated recipes and making them as vegan as I can. And I’ve learned a couple things.
For one, every recipe that includes a bunch of flavors that work well together tend to taste really good with a seitan substitution. Recipes like “honey balsamic chicken thighs with roasted potato salad” or “crunchy chicken milanese with honey mustard and arugula” fit that category. Recipes that don’t include a lot of flavors don’t do as well.
I’m not going to be working on mealplanner for a bit, but I do want to collect and test more workable vegan substitution recipes, particularly for dairy. There are some substitutions that can be bought in stores pretty easily, like for milk or yogurt, but substitutions for a lot of more interesting ingredients aren’t available (like say, goat cheese). Additionally, I’ve noticed that some substitutes you get in stores aren’t really that good (like some cheeses) and I wonder if homemade versions could work better.
Fortunately, the internet appears to have multiple vegan substitution recipes for just about everything. I just need to try them all :)
Once I have a set of vetted recipes that can be used I want to collect them in a new recipe database, which I’ll eventually use to build the “Veganize It” feature of mealplanner.