Skill Building

Pen Drawing in German (Week 2) – Abstrakten Kunst

During this second week, I started using the different textures learned in the first seven days to create more detailed drawings. One of the highlights of the week was the last two days: abstract art. It looks random, chaotic, and disorganized. And maybe it is! As I read in the instructions, it required focus and concentration. But it was totally worth it. I have to say, I’m really glad about the results so far with all the drawings!

This week I completed the characters based on objects (Days 9 and 10). On Days 11, 12, and 12 I worked on flowers and ornaments. Creating symmetric figures is always a challenge, but these were fairly simple. I noticed what a great difference can make, the strength of the pen stroke. It looks totally different. A slightly stronger stroke creates a whole different outlook.

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Skill Building Project #3: Pen Drawing in German (Week 1)

By Walter Freiberg

For this third skill building project, I wanted to do something manual (not so intellectual). This time I chose a skill where I don’t have much previous experience. I took drawing and painting lessons as a kid, but just for a couple of years. After my teenage years, I didn’t pursue my interest beyond the beginner level. Only just three years ago, I tried my hand again at art, and it was for a month and a half.

One of my motivations to learn pen drawing in German is doing realistic portraits. Artists such as Oskar Ukonu are of great inspiration 😀. As this is just a 3-month-long project, I will be realistic… with my aspirations! Maybe it’s not possible to develop a lot of skill in such a short period of time, but I hope this experience will give me a taste of what is possible after investing time consistently in a manual skill such as this.

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Cooking in Italian (Week 12) Salame di Cioccolato

By Walter Freiberg

I have to admit that in the beginning, I thought this was a very strange recipe. A sweet salame? Made of chocolate? When I first learned about it (three months ago) it made no sense and sounded like a joke. But as I came back to it at the end of this project, after learning a bit more about the spirit of Italian cuisine, it makes more sense. Not only that: I loved it 😊.

I hadn’t pick this recipe at the start of the challenge, but just because it didn’t make it to the 12 final recipes. Instead of this one I had intended to prepared the vegan version of the zeppole. But that didn’t work out! 😅 I tried twice doing the zeppole, with two different recipes. The first try was aborted even before it got into the oven. The second didn’t turn out as I expected. It was that bad that I couldn’t even eat it. And now, back to the salami!

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Cooking in Italian (Week 11) Risotto allo Zafferano

By Walter Freiberg

In Argentine, we know this dish as “arroz con azafrán”. It’s not exactly the same, but I would say it’s pretty close. I’ve eaten it many times, with and without chicken (before becoming vegan). The vegan version of this risotto replaces the usual butter and parmesan cheese with olive oil and nutritional yeast flakes. Following Nico’s suggestion, I also added a bit of cornstarch to make it creamier, without adding extra oil, cheese, or vegan butter.

I wonder if using coconut oil instead of olive oil for the mantecado at the end of the preparation would make a significant difference. I am curious! I’d probably try that on my next try. I added a bonus recipe: risotto al salto. It’s pretty much a rice tortilla/omelette. I thought it could well with vegan cheese inside, so I added some 😊.

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Cooking in Italian (Week 10) Torta tenerina

By Walter Freiberg

To choose this recipe I didn’t have to look further into its ingredients. I didn’t even need to see a picture. It was love at first sight. When I first saw the name, I immediately liked it. With such a sweet name (torta tenerina ~ tender cake), it had to be good. And indeed it was! Among all the recipes, this was my favorite name 😊.

Before choosing a vegan version on YouTube I checked many recipes, including those which were not vegan. This looked like a super chocolaty cake. All the recipes asked for a lot of chocolate. Some had very little flour. The one I chose was made with rice flour (for extra tenderness!)

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Cooking in Italian (Week 9) Ragù di Soia

By Walter Freiberg

I got to know about ragù just last year, in 2020. One of my favorite sources to learn Italian, were the comedy videos I found on YouTube (for example, Casa Surace). And that’s exactly where I started hearing time and time again about this traditional Italian recipe. In the beginning, I thought it was something like the Argentinian estofado and that it always had to have some type of meat on it. Later on, I would learn that there were multiple types of ragù. Even vegetarian or vegan ones! 😊

When I picked this recipe I was aware that this is something you usually add to other dishes. So, in a sense, it’s not a dish in itself. But, as it looked like such an important part of the Italian culture, I wanted to have it on my list 😄. The one I prepared is based on soy. So far I tried it with pasta, as a sauce. It could also make a great lasagne filling. A good alternative to the lentil lasagna I did in Week 7!).

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