New Year

Some time ago, I read an opinion piece of how foolish it is to wait for New Year's Day to start a resolution. If a resolution is worth doing, it's probably worth doing NOW. Which makes a lot of sense, but of course having read that I developed a slight aversion to starting things on New Year's Day. But that makes just as little sense as only starting them on that day.

Anyway, I started keto today. My blood ketones were 0.2 this morning, but of course I didn't expect to be in ketosis that soon after a full day of essentially normal eating. I went on the last run of the week yesterday, finishing the year out with a cumulative full marathon in a week, but I got rather lost and stopped my run short of home instead of seriously exceeding 110% of the previous week's distance. I ate at a little local restaurant before coming home, and a fair amount if rice and arepas were still rolling around inside of me. I may well not even be well into ketosis tomorrow morning, despite having had zero carbs today. All in good time. Anyway, I started out the day at exactly 90kg; my goal is to stay on keto until I lose 10% of my body weight, then go in for a scan. I'm hoping to accomplish that goal within three months. I did find out that there are powdered versions of heavy cream and of butter available; coupled with powdered MCT oil, they could make a decent portable version of keto chow. Unfortunately, the powders are rather expensive, so it would have to be for occasional use only.

I found a great deal on craigslist for a small osprey running vest. On my way to go get it, I found myself walking by the local REI outlet. It sure is nice to be able to shop in physical reality; comparing the size of products, for example, is much easier in real life. I ended up getting a spare spigot for my water jugs and a replacement buckle for my larger osprey pack. The running vest ended up being suboptimal, but I expected that; for example, it has a flip-down case on the left strap for a smartphone or similar device, which ended up being too small for my phone (expected) but also ended up being removable (unexpected, and very nice). I may be able to make a better one.

Speaking of making gear, I think the best option for a fastpacking shelter setup is probably a poncho tarp and a good bivy sack. With a good quilt or sleeping bag, and all the necessary accessories (pegs, lines, groundsheet, etc), I should still be able to put together a decent setup for less than 2 kg. The poncho tarp has a lot of potential. I'm thinking about making a prototype out of tyvek, both to test the design and get some experience sewing. I want to give it a slight catenary curve, but still leave it able to use a normal straight-ridgeline pitch. I want to have the hood roll down and get fixed in place like the mouth of a drybag, to (hopefully) eliminate any dripping when used as a shelter. It would be great if one end, or even both, could have beaks when pitched, in order to allow for the use of a small stove. Of course, that brings up the issue of poles; should they be external, with the bivy hanging from the inside of the tarp? Or should the poles be under the tarp, reducing living space and restricting how low the tarp can be pitched? External seems the best, but the placement of internal tie points for the bivy sack will have to be done carefully to avoid chafing when the poncho is worn. Perhaps the same tie points can be used to keep the beak material inside while in "poncho mode".

When worn, I imagine the poncho first being placed on the head, and being draped over the pack. The flap out in front would be the wider of the sections, the "head" end of the shelter. It would ten be wrapped back around the body, and held in place possibly by a carabiner or other device connecting it at the back of the waist. Then, the flap hanging behind the user would be drawn forward, and held by a belt, another carabiner, etc. A few fasteners along the longer edges could allow the material to be fastened around the wrists for convenience; for example, a toggle on a short piece of elastic cord (to allow for size variations) could engage a tiedown loop. Anyway, there are a lot of options out there.

I also found some good resources for making sleeping bags and quilts. I wonder if I could wander around at goodwill and the like and get down-filled garments for a good enough price to warrant cutting them up for the down.

The New Year approaches

MIT gives its employees a lot of time off; basically from Christmas Eve day until January 2nd. My father visited for Christmas, and we did the usual sorts of things; visiting interesting shops and the like, and eating out a good deal. I went in for a body scan a few days before he arrived, and determined that I'm nearly 20 percent body fat. I had decided to go keto the day after he left, but the realities of Christmas food gifts and leftovers from the sorts of groceries one has when guests are around, combined with my desire to not waste food, have forced me to put it off a few days. I've received a new blood ketone meter, and I intend to start the New Year by going keto (and alcohol free) until I get my body fat percentage down to a more acceptable number.

Another thing the scan turned up is that I'm rather more dehydrated than I used to be. I've been intending to make some improvements to my life statistic tracking spreadsheet, and the last few days have seen a lot of progress along those lines. I'm going to include tracking water intake, disregarding the water in food and any beverages other than just water.

My running distances continue to improve. This week, I'll (cumulatively) exceed a marathon, for the first time in far too long. My interest in fastpacking continues to grow, but I fear the weather is turning too cold to overnight anywhere for a while. The array of ultralight gear out there is amazing, but the thrifty person within me seems to gravitate towards some of the more fringe options; soda can stoves, for example, and tyvek tents. In any event, I have ordered a few bits and bobs which, coupled with some things I already have, will allow me to put together a very lightweight survival kit, and a decent lightweight first aid kit. I've got a few ideas for some things I could sew, but perhaps the most interesting is a custom running backpack. I'm also interested in the possibility of integrating a sleeping pad, quilt, and shelter into a single piece in order to minimize weight; of course, that would be a very advanced bit of sewing, heat sealing, and design. Even without that, I think I can get a complete fastpacking setup assembled that weighs under 5 kg (not counting food and water).

I've thought a fair deal about the diet I would use. Keto or other fat-heavy options would obviously optimize my calories per weight carried. If I were to use something like keto chow (and possibly powdered MCT oil), it would also obviate any concern with cooking. But I do so love a nice hot cup of coffee in the morning, even instant. There's also the solo helix coffee filter holder; it's the exact sort of gadget that appeals to me. Simple, inexpensive, and clever.

Anyway, I'm sure I've forgotten something I wanted to include.

Vegan ramen

On Friday, I ran rather longer than planned to get to work; 13.23Km, with pack. I also managed 100 reps of each of my exercises, so it looks like the booster shot side effects are mostly worn off. I also found a 1-pound packaged of steamed bamboo shoots at H-mart; I got them, along with a package of king oyster mushrooms.

Today, I went on a nice trip to the Museum of Science. After coming home, I sliced up the king oysters into slices maybe 10mm thick. Most of them went into the dehydrator, and the rest went into a mix of equal parts double fermented soy sauce, mushroom flavored soy sauce, and sake. The ones in the dehydrator will be split into two groups; one to soak in the same liquid, and one to soak in something intended to increase their fat content. I'm thinking of possibly just letting them soak for a while in some sort of oil, probably corn or soybean oil, and then separately letting them soak in a flavoring liquid of soy sauce, sake, and/or mirin. All of these mushroom experiments are meant to produce some sort of reasonable vegan stand-in for chashu pork; perhaps I'll singe them with a blowtorch or sear them in a fry pan just before serving.

As for the bamboo shoots, they have the potential to become menma. I read a little about menma having been fermented, but can find nothing solid indicating that this was ever actually done. However, lacto-fermenting is an interesting possibility for them. The package turned out to be a fair bit over 454 grams. 1/3 of them went into a jar with enough water to cover, then 3% of the combined bamboo shoot/water weight was added in salt, and I'll leave the jar to ferment at room temperature. The remainder of the bamboo shoots were splits between two jars; one got full-strength chashu pork cooking liquid from last week to soak in, and the other got 20mL of toasted sesame oil and 50mL each of sake, "alcohol-free" mirin, mushroom flavored soy sauce, and double fermented soy sauce, along with 10 grams of kombu and 10 grams of dried shittake mushrooms. I also hard boiled 8 eggs, which are soaking in 40% chashu pork liquid and 60% water. I really need to get some noodles bought; I've got oil, tare, a huge amount of both vegan stock and turkey stock, menma, eggs, corn, scallions, nori, mushrooms...I need to find some people to make ramen for.

As regards noodles, I do want to try making them. More than that, I want to try making endless noodles; not a limitless quantity of noodles, but literally noodles that do not have an end. I want to make ramen noodles that are just one long, slender, connected loop. But it's hard to figure how best to do it; a pasta roller obviously has no provision to remove such a noodle. It would have to be done by hand or by a specially constructed roller. A continuous band of dough could be cut by hand or on a chitarra. Getting the band made is the tricky part, but just imagine; noodles that cannot slip off the chopsticks.

I've started to buy food that I intend to store. Nothing major; some pasta, a few jars of peanut butter, that sort of thing. What I really should do is sit down and figure out come recipes that satisfy some basic requirements:

Cooking via either boiling or streaming. This requires minimal equipment and is tolerant of less temperature control.

Require only versatile, long-term shelf-stable ingredients.

Are nutritionally complete.

Things like oatmeal, pasta, steamed rolls or buns, rice and beans, soups and stews, that sort of thing.

Aches and pains

Yesterday, I got my covid booster. Today, I woke up feeling like garbage. I slept poorly, woke up cold, and was running about 1.2C higher than normal when I took my temperature.After putting 40 grams of dried kombu into the chilled stock I made ysterday, I made it through my stretches, but I had to pause after 80 pushups (I did ultimately make it to 100 without a break), but worst of all I only made it to 86 situps. Even my breakfast was unpleasant. For unrelated reasons I ended up not going to work today, but I did run a bit over 11.6Km with a backpack to go in and submit a covid test. I wandered around a bit before getting on the T to come home, and ended up stopping over at haymarket for a bagel and a hot apple cider. After I got home, I poured the other case of milled tomatoes (that I ran through the food mill last night) into the dehydrator. Now that I've had a bit to settle down, I feel much better. My temperature is back down, my arm barely aches any more, and I'm thinking very seriously about taking a nap. I think maybe just a whole lot of sleep would do me good.

Vegan ramen

Today, I processed the other flat of tomatoes that I purchased on Saturday into tomato juice (for lack of a better term); over the next day or two, I should have all the tomato juice processed into powder or paste.

I also got a start on making a vegan ramen borth. I boiled 1 completed head of garlic (cut in half), 120g of sliced garlic (skin and all), 250g each of celery (stems and leaves) and carrots, 350g each of yellow onion and fuji apple, and 100g of dried shittake mushrooms in 4 liters of water for half an hour simmered them for another half an hour, then strained the whole deal and put the liquid in the fridge to chill. Tomorrow, I plan to add some kombu the soak its flavor into the liquid, and then maybe boil it to concentrate it before I freeze it. I may also cook some potatoes in it until they're totally broken down and then incoporate them for some added body and cloudiness.

I also found a place to store emergency supplies. I friend offered to let me store them in the basement of a rental home he owns. The place is ell above the surrounding ground level, there is access to the basement from outside, and it's free! Now the thing to do is to figure out a good system of food storage and rotation.

Ramen

Yesterday, I assembled the first bowl of real(ish) ramen I've ever made. Other than the nontraditional turkey stock I used, I used the tare and flavor oil I made about two weeks ago (30mL and 15mL, respectively), pork belly from a few days ago, nori, corn, green onions, and a ramen egg I made by marinating a 7-minute egg in a solution of 40 percent cooking liquid from the pork belly and 60 percent water (this was done after I left the cooking liquid chill overnight and removed the fat from the surface). I've also got a few eggs in a 20/80 solution from the same cooking liquid. Dried noodles rounded out the whole thing, and it turned out well.

Yesterday, I also processed one of the two flats of tomatoes I bought on Saturday. I ran them all through my food mill, and right now the resultant liquid is in my dehydrator, on its way to becoming tomato powder (or possibly paste).

Today, I ran 11.5km in the early afternoon. I had another bowl of ramen for lunch (with two eggs but no pork). Last week, I ran three times, 10.5km each time, and each time carrying a backpack. This week will be the third week in a row of increasing distance, so next week is a rest week.

Pork belly

Yesterday, I took two pieces of pork belly, each about 300 grams, rolled them with cotton twince, and boiled them for half an hour. I then put them in a silicon sack with 125 mL of mushroom flavored dark soy sauce, 125 mL of double fermented soy sauce, and 250 mL of sake. Today, after they had been marinating for about a day, I put them with all the remaining liquid and 500 mL of water to pressure cook in the instant pot max for 90 minutes at maximum pressure with no keeping warmed or venting.

I took both pieces out a few minutes ago and cut one up. I was delicious, but obviously far too soft. Most of the cut pieces and the intact section went into the fridge to chill. The liquid just about filled two pint canning jars; those also went into the fridge, hopefully for making ramen eggs.