socially distanced – Cooking and Photography

Maria Bostenaru Dan, Romania – WG4

Do we have more time during home office? Not only for family, but also for hobbies (for me:photography and cooking) 

I read a lot about having now the time we don’t otherwise have, because we do not need to do the way to work everyday anymore in home office. However, I have been working home office also before, over the past 13 years. And now I actually have even less time. I am a researcher. Through the fact that now conferences take place digitally, and there is less time required for physical travel and less funding for this, I can participate in more. But because of the preparation for them (writing the contribution, attending discussions), there is less time. I am writing much more. Also, although I’ve heard in radio that some people are buying office noise (tipping on the computer etc.), I find that the noise of Zoom meetings is tiring, compared to physical meetings. Since I am also organising a conference online (EGU), much of what I’ve been doing on site, moved to the time before, the time of preparation. I will refer in the cooking to this conference, about which in 2006 I wrote an essay on “Seeing the world through science” for the journal Science.

But it is sure I have more time for some hobbies, such as photography and cooking. Nikon Romania (I have a Nikon camera) was writing we should do now indoor photography such as portraits. Well, I recall something else. 10 years ago, in 2010, I’ve tried after the example of a friend to submit photos to stock to photocase. On my birthday I wrote “today I am not submitting anything for review as I have birthday and I am staying home”. The reaction on the forum was that I could photograph the birthday cake and that yes, this can be a photo. So since I have now for the first time since 2005 again a lot of time for cooking, I am cooking almost every day, while if I would have had meetings maybe once a week. 2005 when I was waiting for the next fellowship to begin I was cooking even three courses, but now one. I am also on Facebook groups on cooking for Danube Swabians (this was where I spent my holidays as a child) who help me improve or ask for advice. And I try to also improve photography by looking for sunny days and the shadows in the kitchen.

I am sharing some descriptions to the cooking photos:

– Esterházy Rostbraten. Last year I wanted to eat it in Vienna, when I was there during the EGU conference, and the web told me to go to Rathauskeller. Last year I was twice in Vienna, and in February I was indeed to the dinner of the conference in Rathauskeller, but God did not want so in April, as the only day without conference and thus eating at the conference was the Sunday before the conference, when the Vienna marathon took place, which had the finish point at the Rathaus, and thus the restaurant was closed. On the last day in Vienna, a Saturday and thus without conference, I had to go at noon to the airport and it would not have been worth to eat in a hurry. So my mother thought she will do the steak. Well, in Rathauskeller it would have been with Esterházy wine, and I wanted to buy some this year, I was already happy about it, but the travel was postponed because of the pandemics. On the 29th of April my mother has birthday and we will cook it again. Last year I’ve bought Esterházy torte in Vienna and it was shortly before it, so, when people saw the photos, they thought that she has already birthday.

– as the online EGU conference is coming, which took place several times in Nice, and moved then to Vienna, here comes a memory: salade nicoise

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