An Idea for a new recipe 'challenge' or just another way of discussing recipe changes?

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Something that came up elsewhere on the forum made me think about a new 'recipe challenge' we could have going.

My thoughts are this. Someone posts a recipe up, as a new thread, in the "how would you modify this recipe" forum. Then underneath, as a response we can all post up what we would do with the recipe, how we would adapt it to our tastes and our needs.

It would have its own forum, but would probably be better off if we post the recipe changes at the bottom of the initial 'original' recipe as a reply, rather than make a new thread entirely, but there is no reason as to why you could not post your changes up in the relevant area of the forum as well.

In this way, anyone who has various dietary needs, dietary restrictions or simply doesn't eat the primary ingredient for example could participate. So a "Chicken Curry" recipe could actually suit everyone. I would omit any dairy that could be added, change butter to oil, chicken to tofu/tempeh/chickpeas etc and someone else may want to change chicken to an egg for example.

Anyone any thoughts. It would have multiple threads for different recipes going at once, no closing dates, no judges, just ideas on how you would modify a recipe for your family. A way of sharing recipe modification or could this just be done with the existing recipes and just getting on with it as a community?

 

[Cinisajoy]

I like your idea, but I am curious as to if a dedicated forum would be feasible. My thinking is there would be so many different foods.
Another idea might be a dedicated sub-forum. Like one in the various food forums.
I don't know if making sub-forums is possible here.
I have seen them other places.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

OK - so if I was to post a recipe in say Meat and Poultry, how would you know that it was there for this adaptation challenge?

I don't think a sub forum of each and every forum under "Food, Cooking and Recipes" is practical tbh. What I was think was under "General Cooking Forums" or even under "Cooking Community" there would be another forum called say Recipe for Discussion or even Competitions and Challenges where the current thread for the ingredient recipe challenge and then any recipe thread people wanted to post up for adaptation would be posted. Answers and discussions would be below the recipe as a reply to the recipe. Your adapted version of the recipe could be posted in the correct forum and linked back to your reply - there's no issue with that etc... still trying to working it out in my head.

It was just an idea to generate discussion and new recipes for people.

If we were to take the mythical chicken curry which I would never eat, (I'm vegan plus eggs and anaphylactic shock allergic to dairy, rather than intolerant to lactose), where would I put that recipe for people to look at and make suggested changes to? It does not have to be a change I would make, simply something they would make for themselves as an idea to others on how to modify the curry recipe. The original recipe would naturally fall under Meat and Poultry, but my changes to it could put it under Vegetables, Salads and Mushrooms or by the time I have finished with it, it could go under the sub-forum Vegetarian and Vegan.

I'm just thinking out loud here, I'm not critising or anything else, just trying to work things out and see if the idea is even practical. It would just be nice to encourage people to say how they adapt or modify recipes for themselves as a means of learning from others.

 

[Cinisajoy]

I was just thinking out loud too.
I didn't realize there was a general cooking forum.
Yes, a forum titled Adapt this recipe could work.
I was thinking that once the forum grew, it might be hard to find recipes.
But then again, I have read 8 pages of threads in two days.

 

[Cinisajoy]

I love your idea. Just thinking of the best place to put it.

I have seen too many people that think they can't change a recipe, a pattern, or a color on a craft project.

 

[Morning Glory]

I really like the idea of a competitions and challenges forum. I think it would attract visitors. At the moment the Recipe Challenge is hidden in the Cafe - which seems wrong to me. An 'Adapt a Recipe' challenge might be interesting but I don't know how many people would participate (we can but see). It requires a lot of thought to post an adaptation. I mean it isn't something where people can just dash off a quick post. I would no doubt participate though.

As an aside - I keep mentioning this, but competitions are a big hook to getting people to join forums and participate. It does require some pay-off though. A prize (however modest) will attract people. I'm not suggesting a prize for the best adaptation though! I don't think that would work.

As I said, I'm mad enough to put up some modest prizes at my own expense as in the What would you get rid of? A prize for the best answer!

 

[The Velvet Curtain]

Another idea for a different challenge. Recipes with 5 ingredients or less, I was thinking of starting the thread, but was not sure where to stick it. Perhaps a "Challenges and Chains" catagory may work.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

OK, in the absence of prizes (other than @morning glory 's own) what is there to attract members to the competitions/challenges? You can only have 1 ribbon to the best of my knowledge (@Shaun ) but I think it is possible to have trophies under your avatar. Would that be enough by itself? Or simply that the winning recipe is featured (which is what I have started for the current ingredient challenge and that your recipe joins the list on tagged recipes in the winners tag). Does the last winner automatically become the next judge of each of these challenges? I was thinking of the one I was talking about as more of an ongoing/on running one where it was more a series of original recipes for people to add adaptations to 'on the fly'. Each OR would have its own thread and it be more a discussion that a competition with a closing date (hence why new versions of that recipe would get posted in the normal areas and just a link or a paragraph of why and what changes had been made as a reply to the OR.

(I'm only on my 2nd coffee so please excuse me if this makes no sense. It's now 7am (ish) here and I've been up for an hour or so. Oh and its 3C outside and only 8C inside at the moment, so my hands are starting to have typing issues!)

@The Velvet Curtain I am more than happy for you to start something like that, but we need to be clear about T&C's such as no packeted ingredients (like a cupcake mix) counting as 1 ingredient. But I don't know where that leaves herb and spice mixes. Garam Masala for instance can have 8 or more ingredients... does that count as 1? would it even be permitted? Set something going under the café for now, then use the report button to let me know and I'll feature it and make it a sticky so it stays at the top of the list and i'll chat with @Shaun about the best way to proceed. Maybe a sub-forum of the café for now. I would rather keep the list of forums low. It seems to work better and after the recent culls I know both @Shaun and I are reluctant to go around creating too many more. And may I suggest 8 or 10, or 'single figures only' rather than 5. By the time you have counted oil for frying, salt and pepper for seasoning, I'm left only with besan and water for making La Socca. And even then I would have liked to have added ground cumin but can't because that makes 6 ingredients in my book!

 

[Morning Glory]

Another idea for a different challenge. Recipes with 5 ingredients or less, I was thinking of starting the thread, but was not sure where to stick it. Perhaps a "Challenges and Chains" catagory may work.

Like that.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Could we add a thread per country with link to competitions that major companies/restaurants/food manufacturers (not other cooking forums obviously) are running as another idea? Just thinking how this forum would get populated. You know the things like Pizza Express doing a new pizza competition? We would need to remember to cover all countries we have active members in, so it would be down to the members of those countries to post them, but one thread per country where people post a link to one they have found...

Would anyone be interested in that? Obviously I am thinking of only food related ones here.

 

[The Velvet Curtain]

OK, in the absence of prizes (other than @morning glory 's own) what is there to attract members to the competitions/challenges? You can only have 1 ribbon to the best of my knowledge (@Shaun ) but I think it is possible to have trophies under your avatar. Would that be enough by itself? Or simply that the winning recipe is featured (which is what I have started for the current ingredient challenge and that your recipe joins the list on tagged recipes in the winners tag). Does the last winner automatically become the next judge of each of these challenges? I was thinking of the one I was talking about as more of an ongoing/on running one where it was more a series of original recipes for people to add adaptations to 'on the fly'. Each OR would have its own thread and it be more a discussion that a competition with a closing date (hence why new versions of that recipe would get posted in the normal areas and just a link or a paragraph of why and what changes had been made as a reply to the OR.

(I'm only on my 2nd coffee so please excuse me if this makes no sense. It's now 7am (ish) here and I've been up for an hour or so. Oh and its 3C outside and only 8C inside at the moment, so my hands are starting to have typing issues!)

@The Velvet Curtain I am more than happy for you to start something like that, but we need to be clear about T&C's such as no packeted ingredients (like a cupcake mix) counting as 1 ingredient. But I don't know where that leaves herb and spice mixes. Garam Masala for instance can have 8 or more ingredients... does that count as 1? would it even be permitted? Set something going under the café for now, then use the report button to let me know and I'll feature it and make it a sticky so it stays at the top of the list and i'll chat with @Shaun about the best way to proceed. Maybe a sub-forum of the café for now. I would rather keep the list of forums low. It seems to work better and after the recent culls I know both @Shaun and I are reluctant to go around creating too many more. And may I suggest 8 or 10, or 'single figures only' rather than 5. By the time you have counted oil for frying, salt and pepper for seasoning, I'm left only with besan and water for making La Socca. And even then I would have liked to have added ground cumin but can't because that makes 6 ingredients in my book!

OK I will start it tomorrow when I have more time, I will start with my leek and cheese soup recipe. I would intend that water, salt and pepper and any frying oils would not be counted in the 5, also, five spice powder or garam masala etc would be a single ingredient as it comes out of a single jar.

 

[Cinisajoy]

Could we add a thread per country with link to competitions that major companies/restaurants/food manufacturers (not other cooking forums obviously) are running as another idea? Just thinking how this forum would get populated. You know the things like Pizza Express doing a new pizza competition? We would need to remember to cover all countries we have active members in, so it would be down to the members of those countries to post them, but one thread per country where people post a link to one they have found...

Would anyone be interested in that? Obviously I am thinking of only food related ones here.

Do you mean like Lay's come up with a new food flavor? Or like Olive Garden's North vs South just to get people in the restaurant?

I agree with you on limiting the number of forums.

 

[Shaun]

@SatNavSaysStraightOn you can have multiple ribbons.

 

[classic33]

Could we add a thread per country with link to competitions that major companies/restaurants/food manufacturers (not other cooking forums obviously) are running as another idea? Just thinking how this forum would get populated. You know the things like Pizza Express doing a new pizza competition? We would need to remember to cover all countries we have active members in, so it would be down to the members of those countries to post them, but one thread per country where people post a link to one they have found...

Would anyone be interested in that? Obviously I am thinking of only food related ones here.

Guinness count?

 

[classic33]

OK, in the absence of prizes (other than @morning glory 's own) what is there to attract members to the competitions/challenges? You can only have 1 ribbon to the best of my knowledge (@Shaun ) but I think it is possible to have trophies under your avatar. Would that be enough by itself? Or simply that the winning recipe is featured (which is what I have started for the current ingredient challenge and that your recipe joins the list on tagged recipes in the winners tag). Does the last winner automatically become the next judge of each of these challenges? I was thinking of the one I was talking about as more of an ongoing/on running one where it was more a series of original recipes for people to add adaptations to 'on the fly'. Each OR would have its own thread and it be more a discussion that a competition with a closing date (hence why new versions of that recipe would get posted in the normal areas and just a link or a paragraph of why and what changes had been made as a reply to the OR.

(I'm only on my 2nd coffee so please excuse me if this makes no sense. It's now 7am (ish) here and I've been up for an hour or so. Oh and its 3C outside and only 8C inside at the moment, so my hands are starting to have typing issues!)

@The Velvet Curtain I am more than happy for you to start something like that, but we need to be clear about T&C's such as no packeted ingredients (like a cupcake mix) counting as 1 ingredient. But I don't know where that leaves herb and spice mixes. Garam Masala for instance can have 8 or more ingredients... does that count as 1? would it even be permitted? Set something going under the café for now, then use the report button to let me know and I'll feature it and make it a sticky so it stays at the top of the list and i'll chat with @Shaun about the best way to proceed. Maybe a sub-forum of the café for now. I would rather keep the list of forums low. It seems to work better and after the recent culls I know both @Shaun and I are reluctant to go around creating too many more. And may I suggest 8 or 10, or 'single figures only' rather than 5. By the time you have counted oil for frying, salt and pepper for seasoning, I'm left only with besan and water for making La Socca. And even then I would have liked to have added ground cumin but can't because that makes 6 ingredients in my book!

The alternate to that would be to start at an easy figure, and then work down.

Common amongst youth cooking competitions, where every ingredient has to be listed.