Category: Uncategorised

Pasta con Aglio e Olio:

• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 500g spaghetti
• <->
• Saute the garlic in the olive oil until lightly browned
• Boil spaghetti until al dente
• Drain pasta and toss with oil and garlic mix.
• Add salt, pepper and paprika to taste.

Eggs with tomate:

• 50ml olive oil
• 1 medium/large onion, thinly sliced
• 200g whole plum tomates can
• 4 large eggs
• <->
• Warm the oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
• Add onions, cook until soft.
• Add tomatoes, crush them with the spoon. Cook for 20 minutes aprox.
• Break the eggs into the pan and cover it. Decrease heat at medium-low.
• Cook until the whites are opaque and the yolks are firm. 5 minutes aprox.
• Add salt/peper.

Book: Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well by Pellegrino Artusi

Spaghetti with lentils

• 1/2 carrot finely chopped
• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 1/2 stalk of celery chopped
• 1/2 garlic clove sliced
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 165g dried brown lentils, rinsed
• 250g spaghetti
• 350g marinara sauce
• <–>
• In a large saucepan, saute’ the carrots, onion, celery and garlic in the olive oil over medium-low heat until soft.
• In another medium saucepan, fill it with the lentils, add water until cover them over 1 finger. Simmer and cook until tender. 20 mintes aprox. Remove from heat and set aside
• Break the spaghetti into pieces using a dish towel. Then cook the spaghetti in salted water until al dente.
• Drain the lentils and add them to the vegetables.
• Add the marinata sauce. Bring to simmer, cover and cook until the lentils have blended with the sauce. 10 min aprox.
• Add drained pasta with 1/2 cup of pasta water.
• Season with salt/pepper
• Simmer all for 3-5 minutes to combine flavours.

Frittata

• 5-6 large eggs
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• pinch chopped parsley
• pinch grated parmigiano-reggiano
• salt/pepper
• <–>
• Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them with a fork.
• In a frying pan, heat the olive oil up.
• Season the eggs and add parsly
• Once hot, add the eggs to the pan.
• Scramble the eggs with a spatula, tipping and moving the pan continuously to make sure the eggs dont stick.
• Add cheese and flip the frittata. Cook for 1 minute until golden.

Carbonara

• Guanciale: cured pork cheek
• eggs
• pecorino cheese
• dried pasta
• <–>
• Saute fatty, peppery strips of guanciale in a deep saucepan
• Cook pasta al dente.
• Add pasta to the guanciale.
• Turn off heat, add mixed eggs. Toss
• Add cheese and some pasta water.
• Toss all together.

Pizzoccheri a la Valtellina

• 1 medium Savoy cabbage
• 2 handfuls of grated Parmigiano
• 1 Big slab of valtellina cheese or fontina
• 3 large yellow potatoes
• 200g butter (1 block)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 500g pizzoccheri pasta
• Olive oil + Salt
• <–>
• Remove tough outer layers from the cabbage. Chop in long pieces
• Slice the fontina cheese. And grate another 200g
• Preheat oven at 160C
• Peel and dice the potatoes. Boil until cooked but still firm – 15m aprox
• Half way of boiling the potatoes, add the cabbage.
• Once potatoes and cabbage are cooked. Drain and set aside.
• In a deep frying pan, at low heat, melt the butter and add the crushed garlic. Cook until the garlic is soft.
• Boil the pasta until al dente. Reserve two cups of the water after cooking the pasta.
• Use a bit of the garlic butter to grease a baking dish.
• Layering: first pasta, then cabbage, then potatoes, then both cheeses, drizzle a bit of the garlic butter after each layer. Add a bit of the pasta water too (you dont have to use the two cups…). Top the final layer with a drizzle of olive oil and more grated cheese.
• Cover with foil and bake for 15m aprox. Remove foil and return to oven until the top is crisp.

Ragout alla Bolognese

• 1 tbs chopped onions
• 1 tbs chopped carrots
• 1 tbs chopped celery
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 25g mixed fresh herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme, etc) chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 50g dried porcini mushrooms
• 225g ground beef
• 25g tomate paste
• 3 tbs white wine
• 3 tbs fresh orange juice
• 1 tbs salt
• pinch of pepper
• 700ml chicken stock
• 550ml beef stock
• 300g fettuccine pasta
• 25g butter
• 25g 36% fat whipping cream (optional)
• 35g Grana Padano grated
• <–>
• In a large saucepan over medium heat, sweat the vegetables in olive oil with herbs and porcini.
• Add the meat and cook until brown.
• Add tomate paste, wine and orange juice. Let them evaporate
• Add salt, pepper and stocks. Let simmer for 90m or so.
• Boil the pasta until al dente.
• Add butter and cream to the ragout.
• Add the pasta to the ragout and sprinkle the grated cheese.

Martini

• Ice
• Dry vermouth
• Gin or Vodka
• Olives or a lemon twist for garnish
• <–>
• Fill the glass beaker with ice
• Pour in half shot of vermouth
• Stir for 15 sec
• Let it sit for 30 sec
• Stir it again.
• Strain out the vermouth.
• Pour in 3 or 4 shots of vodka or gin.
• Stir for 30 sec
• Let it sit for 30 sec
• Stir for 30 sec
• Let it sit for 30 sec
• Stir it quickly
• Strain it into a chilled glass
• Garnish with 1 or 3 olives, or lemon twist.
• Drink it

Chimichurri

• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 jalapeno: deseed and diced
• 10 springs oregano
• 10 springs parsley
• 2 tbs red wine vinegar
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 tsp pepper
• <–>
• In chopping board, chop oregano, parsley, cloves and jalapeno together.
• Put all in a bowl and mix.
• Then you can rub the chimichurri in any meat.

Spaghetti with Zucchine

• Sunflower oil for deep frying
• 8 or 10 small zucchine (courgettes)
• 75g chopped fresh basil
• Sea salt
• Olive oil
• 500g spaguetti
• 200g grated Parmigiano
• <–>
• Deep fry the courgettes until golden brown
• Set aside and dry with kitchen paper
• Sprinkle basil and salt on top of them
• Then transfer to a bowl and drizzle with olive oil.
• Boil pasta until al dente.
• Drain and reserve one cup of pasta water for later
• Put the pasta in large pan at low heat and add the courgettes.
• Combine gently and a bit of pasta water to create a creamy texture.
• Add grated cheese. Stirring and toasing.
• Once the mix has creamy texture, it is ready.

Pasta a la Norna

• 2 large garlic cloves
• Olive oil
• 2 large aubergines, diced
• Sea salt
• 1 litre marinara sauce
• 500g pasta
• 1 handful of basil, chopped
• 1 handful of grated ricotta or pecorino
• <->
• In a frying pan, fry the garlic with the olive at low heat.
• Add aubergines, at medium heat, and cook for 15m or sligthly golden.
• Add marinara sauce and cook for 5 minutes
• Cook the pasta and drain. Reserve one cup of pasta water
• Add the water to the marinara. Add the basil. Stir.
• Take 3/4 of the sauce and pour it in a serving bowl
• Add the pasta to the rest of the sauce. Stir and add the grated cheese.
• Ready to serve with the sauce aside.

Pasta Fagioli

• Olive oil
• 1 medium onion sliced
• 2 garlic cloves halved
• 1/2 bunch cavolo nero roughly chopped
• 3x400g cans of cannellini beans
• 750ml chichen stock
• 500g marinada sauce
• 500g small pasta
• Salt, Pepper
• Parmigiano grated
• <–>
• In a frying pan at medium low heat, saute the onion and garlic.
• Boil the cavolo nero in salted water
• Add beans, stock and marinada to the pan with onion and garlic
• Cook at low heat
• Once cavolo is ready, strain, and add it to the bean mix.
• Cook at low simmer with lid for 15m.
• Cook the pasta in salted water. Then drain and save one cup of pasta water.
• Add the cup of water to the bean mix.
• Add two cups of the bean mix to the pasta and a bit of olive oil.
• Serve the pasta with beans and add fresh pepper and cheese.

A friend of mine showed me this cards game and really liked it! Although they way we played, the player who “canta” can give the points to any other player, so it is even more fun!

I broke a piece of plastic from a key. I tried to fix it using a match so I could melt the plastic but it didnt work very well. Then I searched how to fix something similar and I found this video. I was amazed what you can do with glue and baking soda! I gave it a go to my problem, although the finish wasnt great, it looks the fix is solid. Will see how long it lasts.

Based on this blog.

link1: lion’s mane mushroom improved brain cell growth and memory in pre-clinical trials.

link2: I didnt know Killifish can regenerate part of their brain. As they age this ability is lost because (like other animals) we tend to accumulate dysfunctional cells with age, called senescent. By using senolytics in old killifish, they were able to restore some of the amazing regenerative abilities.

This week I tried to apply new silicone to the flooring of my bathroom. Initially I watched a video and gave it a go. It was a disaster, I was lucky that I didnt do the whole thing, just one part that is not in direct view, so I managed to clean-up. Using a finger to level the silicone doesnt work for me…..

I kept checking videos and this one was a breakthrough!

In summary, cut your nozzle at the level of your “fungi” so the stream of silicone covers properly. Obviously buy a “fungi” or similar tool for levelling the silicone, dont use the finger, clean properly the old silicone (have white spirit around) and use good silicone.

In my case, I had to cut the nozzle twice as the gaps I needed to cover werent equal all round the floor. So I cut the nozzle for the small gap first, use the chosen fungi length, then cut again the nozzle for the “big” gap, and use again the chosen fungi

Just a reminder

“Every single pursuit – no matter how wonderful and exciting and glamorous it may initially seem – comes with its own brand of shit sandwich, its own lousy side effects. Everything sucks some of the time. You just have to decide what sort of suckage you’re willing to deal with.
​
So the question is not so much ‘What are you passionate about?’
​
The question is ‘What are you passionate enough about that you can endure the most disagreeable aspects of the work?’
​
Because if you love something and want something enough – whatever it is – then you don’t really mind eating the shit sandwich that comes with it.”
​
- Mark Manson

In a world of comfort one question the most important question to ask yourself is what are you willing to struggle for? You can have the pain of being lazy or the pain of putting an effort into your health and body? Which one will it be?

I received this blog entry and I decided to try Ecosia. A friend commented about it some time a go but never decided to make a move. Sometimes thought to use DuckDuckGo, but let’s see how this goes.

I can agree that 2020 hasnt been the best year ever with all the issues happening: racial violence, USA political turmoil, coronavirus, etc. But I need to look at the bright side:

• Got a job offer in Jan 2020 that opened doors to very interesting changes in my life.
• Got a visa for a new country
• Leave my old job
• Stay out of work for two months, learning a lot “working” from home.
• Start this blog
• Reading more books than other years
• Visit Sofia (Bulgaria), Porto, Nazaret and Batalla (Portugal)
• Remind my Karate
• Fitter than ever (no injuries, more days training)
• Passed Kubernetes CKA
• Cold showers + breathing routines
• More scheduling than to-do list
• Cooking many new things.
• Saving a lot
• Helping family
• Friends are doing well.
• Focus in my mental well-being
• Start a new job

Very interesting link shared by a good friend. I wasn’t aware there was a bit of openness about the vaccine, taking into account that at the end, this is business….

I like the similarities between computing and DNA/RNA and the hacks introduced to make it work (plenty of Ψ, production enhancements, spikes, AAAs end) I think this should be interested to show in schools to get more students in science.

I didnt know the founder of PowerDNS was so keen of biology.

In one of the summaries I receive, I checked this article. I had read before about vertical farming and I thought it was a really interesting idea, mainly for the saving in water and soil. But I never thought that they were actually quite expensive to run because the electricity and tech needed (and real state). I am pretty sure that at some point not very far in the future they will be cost effective. Although it doesn’t feel natural.