Hoo Hah! and other such exclamations of glee!

February 24th, 2007

I believe that I mentioned here a while back that my diet pill was causing complete disinterest in food.  I was no longer obsessively surfing food blogs and watching food network to find new recipes.  I’ve spent most of the last 2 months just eating whatever was easiest and fit within my calorie range.

I’ve been feeling rather like I was stuck on a plateau.  I’m keeping a spreadsheet of daily calorie intake and weight.  Up a pound, down a pound, up, down, up, up, down, down, down.  I wasn’t gaining back the 15 pounds I’d lost the first month, but also didn’t seem to be going anywhere.

Mum and I went to lunch this week and I realized that the salad I had that day was the first one I’d had in a week or more.  I thought a bit more about it and realized that I was basically going through my days cramming 1600 calories worth of junk food down my gullet.  Not complete junk, but a high carb, low protein, low veggie, low fiber diet.  Starting about thursday, I started making a conscientious effort to add more vegetation to my diet.

Also in the last week, I’ve found myself becoming interested in cooking again.  I blame/credit Ree for this.  Just before valentine’s day, she posted her cooking lessons on lasagna and chocolate cake.  I found myself thinking more and more about these recipes until I knew that I would have to make them this weekend.  I invited the boyfriend over to share in this gluttony.

My mom used to make lasagna when I was a kid.  When she and dad split up, the relatives expected me to start providing them with this dish.  I refused, probably one of the first times I ever stood up for myself with the relatives, but definitely not the last.  I’d make manicotti (which is fairly close, but different enough to make me happy) and eventually I started experimenting with lasagnas that were vastly different than mom’s.  Ree’s lasagna is almost identical to my mom’s.  I hadn’t realized how much I missed that flavor until it hit my tongue tonight.  I also sauted/broiled some zucchini and garlic in just a bit of olive oil (must have a veggie!), warmed up a loaf of whole clove garlic bread, and whipped up a quick ranch dressing for a bagged salad.  I told pop not to completely hog out, as I’d be making cake in a bit, but it just couldn’t be stopped.  I think he’d missed that flavor too.

After letting dinner settle a bit, I headed back to the kitchen to get started on the chocolate cake.  Pop hollered at me that it seemed like an awful lot of work for cake, you can fling together a boxed mix in 10 minutes.  After I let him taste the batter, he shut right up about any old box mix.  While the cake was baking, I made the frosting.  I think I might have done something wrong, as my frosting was very very runny, but it tasted damned good, so I didn’t care.  Plus, with it being so thin, when I poured it over the warm cake it ran off the edges of the pan.  I just scooped a bit of it off and put it into a bowl, it’ll make damned good ice cream topping.

If this cake were human, I’d marry it.  Super moist and the most delicious cake I’ve ever had.  Caused a foodgasm, it was so tasty.  Altogether, an amazing dinner, start to finish.  Everyone go visit Ree and try these for yourself, then go back and tell her that she’s a goddess.

Ahhhh

February 3rd, 2007

It’s been almost a year, but I’ve finally figured out where I went wrong with last year’s Cinco De Mayo spread.

I set up my fondue pot and put cheese in it to become all melty for the tacos and nachos.  I used Queso Fresco, which has a lovely lovely taste.  But it didn’t melt for doodly, just glomped and burned.

Last night, Alton’s show was about more uses for tortillas.  In this show he mentions that queso fresco is great because it doesn’t melt and run everywhere.

OOOOOOOOhhhhhhhh!  Oops, I learn something new every day.

Craft catch-up (image heavy)

January 28th, 2007

It’s time to finally let you see some of the projects that I’ve been working on lately. Read the rest of this entry »

Peanut butter and jelly diet

January 27th, 2007

I’m still dealing with the lack of interest in food. I don’t watch food network as much as before, nor do I surf the food blogs as much. If something strikes my fancy in the little perusing I actually do, I’ll throw myself into it with zeal. However, nothing has really struck my fancy for a couple of weeks now. Most evenings I eat a quick sandwich or a microwaved convenience meal of some sort.

However, this week was my mum’s birthday. Normally, I plan for this for weeks and weeks. Actually, last march, when I first had shrimp and grits, I thought that’d be a lovely birthday meal for mum. Then I used that recipe for christmas, when I went over and cooked them dinner. She loved it and wouldn’t have complained about the repeat, but it takes a bit too much effort for a tuesday night after working all day. Especially with the sort of days that I’ve been having.

I solicited my livejournal pals for advice, but then the wonderful boyfriend called me up with the idea that sparked a darn good dinner – why not grill some shrimp or chicken? Mum loves the shrimp, but only if it’s deep fried, so I tossed that out and went with the chicken.

Last week was pop’s birthday, and we’d gone out for his dinner – to Outback Steakhouse. The first thing that jumped out at me from their menu was the “grillers”, beef and veggie kabob served with rice and grilled pineapple. The grilled pineapple was wonderful. I loved it so and was dying to use some myself. So, I tossed that into the menu for mum’s dinner.

We wound up marinating boneless chicken breasts in pineapple juice all day, then placing them and pieces of fresh pineapple on the barbecue grill. While that started cooking, I threw together a simple salad with bagged greens, diced mango, and toasted almonds. Then I whipped up a fruity vinagrette with mango pulp, lime juice, pineapple juice, chardonnay, white wine vinegar, mustard, olive oil, salt and pepper.

I went out to check on the chicken and they were cold! Oh no! Out of gas! We swapped out the tank for a fresh one and were back in business. But we weren’t really. Something was wrong with the burner and the flame kept going out. So, I moved the chicken breasts (which did have a little color and grill markage on them) and pineapple to a pan and put them in the oven. 20 minutes later, the chicken still seemed incredibly underdone and the pineapple were juicing all over them. I extracted the pineapple and moved the chicken to the stovetop. In the time that it took for the pineapple juice to be absorbed/evaporated, the chicken finished cooking and actually carmelized slightly in the juice (only about 5 more minutes). I then sliced the chicken into small bits and put it atop the salad, with the pineapple on the side.

It turned out to be a lovely, healthy meal. Not at all the sort of fare that I usually make for mum (heavy and cheese filled), but we all enjoyed it greatly. I was thankful for my flexible nature, I’ve known folks who would’ve thrown the whole thing out when the grill died.

Next, we moved into dessert. My version of bananas foster. I had a recipe once, but over the years that I’ve made this, I’ve made it my own. As you may know, I rarely measure anything, a trait that I find endearing in myself and infuriating in others. I melted maybe half a stick of margarine in a pan (mum never has actual butter) and added what looked like way too much brown sugar (but really wasn’t). When it came to a simmer, I added banana slices and stirred it around gently until the bananas started breaking up, telling me that they were done. At that point I added a small splash of vanilla extract and a goodly splash of dark rum (myers). Let the alcohol cook off and spooned it over vanilla ice cream.

In good keeping with my diet, I only ate a very small amount. My stepdad, who really isn’t that much of a sweet eater, paid me the greatest compliment by having to have two large servings! I also found out that night that bananas foster is one of mum’s favorite desserts. Perhaps sad that I didn’t know that, but it has just become so in the last 5 years, in which time I haven’t lived with her.

One very nice thing about the lack of interest in food is all of the free time that I find myself with in the evenings. No longer do I come home from work, cook something, clean up, and fall in a heap on the couch. Instead, I’ve been crafting like a mad woman. This week, I finished the organizational drawers that I’ve been painting, knitted a scarf, and knitted a sock. I will follow up later with pictures of some of my finished projects.

Lack of interest

January 21st, 2007

I’ve not had near the interest in food that I previously did.  I do still occasionally get excited enough to cook, maybe once a week.  Early this week I tried out a recipe from Paula Dean for an italianish chicken cordon bleu.  It was ok, but caused the reflux to kick up and has thus been banned.

I’m more about the crafts lately.  Last weekend, Mimi and I had “sock sunday”, where she came over for the day and taught me to knit a sock.  I finished the first one that day and started the second.  I didn’t finish the second one until friday, but it was a busy week.

I’ve also been painting up these cutesy crates with drawers that I found at Michaels.  I’m trying to get my craft supplies organized, and this is helping greatly.  Probably with two more crates I’ll have enough drawers for all of the interests.

I found a new project which interests me greatly, but the more I think about it, the more I think it’ll take quite a bit of time to make.  I’d like to make it very special.

My abstinence from the gawd nectar (pepsi) is not going quite as well.  I haven’t had one in 19 days now, but I WANT ONE!  Probably a hormonal craving.  I’ve done so well though that I hate to give in now.  I’m just trying to hold out a bit longer.  I never said I’d give them up for life, but not drinking them is surely helping with the weight loss.

Change of plans

January 6th, 2007

I had planned to spend weekends in January learning to bake bread from scratch and to do it well.  I’ve done it a few times and it turns out ok, but nothing to praise.  But, like most plans, it had to change.

Sometime just after christmas, I developed a pain in my back.  As the days went on it got worse and began to extend all the way down my right leg, making every step painful.  I finally went to the doctor on tuesday of this week, mainly just to get a referral to my chiropractor (so that the blasted insurance would pay for my chiropractic visit).  The doctor declared that it was most likely sciatica and started talking about surgery for my back and weight loss surgery.  I let him know that I was nowhere near ready to consider gastric bypass.  I like sugar, thanks, and don’t want to be poisoned by it everytime I slip up and eat a little.

So, he loaded me up with drugs (including an appetite suppressant), a diet plan (1600 calories a day), and sent me off for x-rays and chiropractor visit.  The chiropractor says that my hip was just out of joint, but even after he put it back the pain has stuck around.  It does seem to be getting a bit better though.  Follow up to that, my xrays looked fine, but I still need to lose some weight.  That was sort of a duh anyway.

The point to all that rambling is that experimentation with bread has been thrown right out.  Instead, I’m searching for healthier meals.  I just read Japanese Women Don’t Get Old or Fat and it has me all fired up to look toward an asian inspired diet plan.  So, tonight, I whipped up an asian feast, then only ate a small amount of it.

It was absolutely lovely, but my camera batteries are dead, so I can not share it with you.  Teeny homemade spring rolls, about as big as a finger; a beefy broth with bean threads; garlic stir fried green beans; brown rice; and a chicken and veggie stir fry that was mostly veggie.

I’m looking forward to more fun with asian cuisine.  I’m hoping to overcome my fear of bonito flakes.  Actually, it’s not fear so much as disgust, but maybe I can beat that too.

An empty place inside

December 16th, 2006

Now that my gall bladder and I have parted ways, I find myself in an odd situation.  I am beginning to feel enough better to feel like cooking, yet still can not seem to eat anything.  Peanut butter sandwiches or cereal or cheese seem to be the only foods that don’t cause intestinal distress.  Truthfully, those just cause the LEAST amount of distress.

But it’s only been 5 days.  I should be able to start eating normally after about 10 days.  That’ll put me just in time to kill myself on christmas.  I’ve promised to make dinner for the mum on the solstice and dinner for pop and his family on giftmas itself.  I’m finding it hard to plan these meals when I may not be able to eat them.

My uncle will be bringing the roast beast and I am to make the side dishes.  Actually, he’s bringing a smoked beef tenderloin.  I haven’t got the foggiest notion what to make to go with that.  Hopefully, I’ll be struck with inspiration soon.

treat day

December 4th, 2006

In an unending quest to make everyone on the floor weigh 954 pounds, the ladies up front declared that each day from today until our Christmas break someone would bring treats for the floor.  I signed up for today, I figured that if I went first, I wouldn’t be compared to anyone else’s cooking abilities.  Which is rather dumb because I’m one of the better cooks in the department.

So, yesterday I whipped up a quick beefy cheese spread and a batch of my cinnamon chip cookies.  Those are some of the best cookies to take places because they’re so simple it’s silly.  The recipe is a standard chocolate chip cookie recipe that came on the back of a package of “everything chips” that I got from the amish market, using only cinnamon chips.  The only real bite to these cookies is that cinnamon chips can be tough to find unless I make the 45 minute drive to the amish market, which I don’t do often.

I also brought some of the infamous cream candy.  Pop and I made a few batches on saturday night to send out as gifts, but one batch stuck together and became all ugly.  It still tastes darn good though.  I’ll probably try to bust out another batch or two tonight.

If you deep fry it, they will come

November 26th, 2006

I went to Gran’s for turkey day, that means that my own turkey had to wait. We cooked it today, just a turkey breast.

Pop rigged us up a safe turkey frying contraption rather like Alton’s. And of course, we did that thing that all people do when they deep fry a turkey – we started insanely searching for other things to deep fry. No, we didn’t fry any dish towels or anything. We dropped little lumps of dressing into the oil, making the best hush puppies of all time. And then we made fries.

Aw yeah! Although I must say that this is the first time that I can ever recall having ketchup on the plate with my turkey.

We brined the turkey last night and it was wonderfully moist and tender.

Slackersoup

November 20th, 2006

Yeah, I’ve been slacking on the blog lately.  I haven’t been cooking all that much lately due to some problems I’ve been having with my stomach.  Seems that my gall bladder has to come out, I’ve been passing stones as of late and I’m not enjoying it one little bit.  Food has been pretty minimalistic and functional.

Saturday, while spending the day shopping, we cruised into TGI Fridays for dinner.  It didn’t even register until the food arrived at the table, but I ordered Betty’s recipe from Top Chef.  I’m not the biggest fan of top chef, but there’s not much that I like on tv on wednesdays and I’ve been working on a knitting project.  Knitting equals sitting in front of the tv for a couple of hours each night, so Top Chef was the thing I watched this past wednesday.

I liked the roasted red pepper and tomato soup so much that I have to find the recipe and make a big pot of it myself.  Luckily, the good folks at Bravo and putting the recipes online.  Tuscan Portobello Melt is what they are calling the combo.  The sandwich is good, but the soup is wonderful.  I toasted a couple of quick open faced cheese sandwiches and they were just fine with the soup.  Pop even liked it, didn’t play it down as “so-so” like he usually does.

My bff Alton Brown almost scared me off of frying a turkey after I watched his “Fry Turkey Fry” episode.  But, I’m all paid up on my insurance, so I think I’ll give it a shot anyway.