cooking projects this coming week

Lots of prep to do for when I can finally eat more normally after Thursday.

1. 2 liters keto ketchup

2. 1 liter keto BBQ sauce

3. 1 liter keto ranch dressing

4. 1 liter keto strawberry-balsamic dressing

5. 1 liter keto avocado-oil mayonnaise (immersion-blender method)

I had thought about celebrating the end of Newcastle by making myself a keto meat-lover's pizza, but since I'm doing real pizza on my cheat day with JW (who texted "yeah, you might as well die happy" when I showed him the photo from Randolph Beer), keto pizza can wait a week. Meantime, I need to hit Costco and buy a huge tub of Gorgonzola cheese plus some salmon, and maybe some chicken thighs, and maybe some varieties of beef while I'm at it so I can use my new grinder to make my own style of burger. Costco sells ground beef (you've got to get there early to get it; if you're there after 6 p.m., it's almost always gone), but I've noticed that the chuck they use for the ground beef is rather shitty and contains bits of gristle. I want more control over what goes into my ground beef, so I'll be looking for gristle-free, fatty cuts and solid meat. Solid meat like skirt steak, combined with brisket (if they have it), and well-marbled Hanu beef ought to make for a succulent burger. Later on, I'll think about making pork sausages, although I need to consider where I'll get my pork fat from.

We're partying at the office on Friday as well, and I plan to bring fried mandu (dumplings that've been sitting in my freezer since before the stroke) and a chocolate cake. For the components of the cake, I need to hit SSG Food Mart to get confectioner's sugar and more dark powdered chocolate, not to mention heavy cream and some other ingredients. (Come to think of it, I'm low on eggs. So—eggs, too.)

I at least have a salad calendar (with macros marked) ready to follow once I go keto, as well as a nutritional map for keto burgers. I have a thousand other dishes that need to be mapped out. I might get some Kirkland hot dogs, but I still don't have a recipe for decent keto hot-dog buns, although I've seen some videos with plausible recipes. I bought sugar-free dill pickles a while back through Coupang, so those will come in handy soon.

There's plenty to do. Luckily, tomorrow's a day off, so I might be able to get started on some of this stuff, assuming stores are open.