The Long Weekend is Here (or: Food is All Sorts of Love)

ADDENDA:
At 11am, B is bringing me to Union Square for a 4-hour surprise involving pizza. I'm going to assume it's a pizza-making class or a pizza tour. Tonight, a multi-course dinner party at a friends house. I suspect today, like the last few days, will be an eating disaster. But underlining it is the association: food is love. Or perhaps the conduit of socializing on all sorts of levels.

Thinking about the last few days, I don't think I'm purposefully trying to fatten myself up, it's the holiday season. (Well, except for that Chinese brick incident, grumble grumble...) I would of thought my eating doesn't change much during this time of year, but I've never kept an obsessive blog about what I eat....

ADDENDA II:
A few months ago after reading about this particular pizza tour, I suggested off-handedly that it would be cool and weirdly romantic if we were to do an intense foodie-pizza journey together. So for Hanukkah, Betsy surprised me with this pizza tour today. Basically, if these two tours were ice cream, today's tour would of been a Carvel Fudgey the Whale, and the tour I wanted a fine selection of artisinal gelatos over a freshly baked puff pastry. We were on a tour-bus with a bunch of families from Florida, and the tour guide spent most of the time talking about movie locations and standard factoids about the city, interrupted by a total of two (2) pizzerias, one of which (Grimaldis) is good but kinda over rated. So once we figured out we weren't really the target audience, we decided to ditch at the first stop - which happened to be at Brooklyn Bridge Park right in front of Bubby's, where we got married!

The tour guide dude, Tony, was actually nice, and offered to arrange for someone else to use our tickets in the future. He then said, heeey, I know you.....you're Adam from Sliceny.com! (See picture to the right, huh, he actually DOES look a bit like me!)

So if you (or a couple of friends from out of town) would like free tickets for the Slice of Brooklyn Pizza tour (which is really a tour of Brooklyn with a couple of stops at pizzerias thrown in), give a hollah!

BREAKFAST: 8am, 3 spoonfuls of mint chocolate chip ice cream, hunger 3/5
Small but satisfying.

AM SNACK: 11:45am, 12 oz wicked hot chocolate from Jaques Torres in DUMBO, hunger 3/5
After ditching the pizza tour, we stopped by and bought a YOOOOJ box of chocolates for Jewish Xmas gathering at B's cousin's. We also got their famous hot chocolate, which I never had before. Basically it's melted chocolate in whole milk and cream, with a dash of spicy spices...yummy....but after only having a few spoonfuls of ice cream in the morning, found myself with not quite an upset stomach as much as a total lack of desire to eat anything....til...

LUNCH: 3:30pm, 2 sweet sopresseta sandwiches on sprouted whole wheat bread with grated parm, local mustard and a big side of leftover vegetables from Monday's party, hunger 4/5
Left overs made a good lunch. Sopresseta is kinda gross on it's own, but in the context of a thin layer on a sandwich with complimentary tastes, was quite good. Was good on that pizza, too. Funny how something by itself is nasty, but compliments foods so well.

PM SNACK: 4pm, small handful of tortilla chips, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 6pm, 3 slices mozzarella with balsamic vinegar, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 8:30pm, 2 bacon-wrapped dates, 3 vegan stuffed mushrooms (much superior to mine), 1 piece of bruscetta, a handful of mini-blinis with smears of really good caviar, small amount of mashed potatoes, 1 small slice of foul-tasting sausage, small amount of pigeon-peas n' rice, 2 beers, 1 glass champagne, hunger 3/5
Pleasant dinner party in Brooklyn at Erikka and Martha's. One guest had a boss who received a gift of a $1500 tiny tin of caviar at the office, but was already gone for the holidays so he gave it to her. The only caviar I regularly come in contact with is the roe in sushi, which I absolutely despise. This black stuff was a different food altogether - I never tasted anything quite like it. It basically tastes like a good fresh mild smoked salmon minus the smokey part, salty in a neutral way, but somehow the consistency was both mushy and firm at the same time. And when you pressed it in your mouth with you tongue, the flavor intensified like if you were turning up the volume of a piece of music that you particularly like at just that moment. It was yummy, but not worth the $200-odd amount of it I scarfed.

Feelin' like a lazy fat cat

ADDENDA:
Not to sound too much like a chick, but I do feel fat. The pants around my belly are tight, my back has been aching a little the past few days and I can't help but think it's because of the weight I'm dragging around. Not been riding my bike at all, no time for getting into the beginning phases of a yoga habit, haven't been to the farmers market in too long. Look forward to getting back in a rhythm.

BREAKFAST: 6am, good yogurt with raw nuts, honey, vanilla, hunger 4/5
House guests arrived in the wee hours, couldn't get back to sleep so I ate and watched the tube. Funny how interrupted sleep can rev the appetite.

AM SNACK: 8am, banana, hunger 4/5

AM WATERING: 10am, 24 oz still

BP: 10:15am, 129/97

LUNCH: 1:30pm, bread with three olive oils, asparagus over mushroom, pancetta and puffy dough, pumpkin & funky cheese raviolis, 1 glass white wine, chocolate soufle with vanilla icecream, 3 small pieces of chocolate, hunger 4/5
Nice holiday lunch at Fig & Olive on 13th street. The HVS forced those three chocolates on me, she almost got violent.

DINNER: 6:30pm, small green salad, assortment of pieces of homemade pizzas, chocolate and mint ice cream, 1 glass presecco, water, hunger 4/5
Cooked up a storm for some house guests, relatives staying with me from Israel. Pizzas came out pretty good this time. Used fresh sweet sopressetta as the featured meat - on the pizza, came out like the perfect alternative to pepperoni - thin so it got crispy on the edges, pleasingly fatty but did not leave pools of grease on the 'za.

In Praise of Dirt Pills

ADDENDA:
Though I don't really mention it, I've been taking 1 multivitamin a day since I dedicated myself to improving my well-being through diet. Yesterday, I ran out of a 90 tablet bottle, marking about 4 straight months of consuming these religiously. I was a bit suspicious when Ilsa recommended them - shouldn't I be getting all the nutrition I need from the food I eat? But if it wasn't going to do harm, I'd try it.

Unfortunately, I implemented a number of changes at the same time I started taking these tablets, so I can't say with certainty what they've done for me, but they certainly have not harmed me. The combination of cutting back the sweets, cooking more, thinking more about what food does to me, being married n' stuff.

BREAKFAST: 8am, organic wholegrain crispex with whole homogenized organic milk, banana, hunger 3/5

AM WATERING: 9:45am, 24 oz still

BP: 10:15am, 133/90

LUNCH: 12:15pm, curry ramen soup, 3 pork gyoza, 1 large chocolate chip cookie ice cream sammich, hunger 4/5
Didn't get the pork, as I porked out last night. The ramen soup was curry-ful, but unsatisfying, not tasty enough and not enough food! So I got this dessert from the commissary in the building, very industrial tasting....but satisfying. Still, something is lacking in it. Like McDonalds, it's over-processed and full of shitty ingredients, so it gives the impression of the food it's supposed to be, but doesn't quite deliver.

PM SNACK: 3pm, handful of m&ms, hunger 3/5
Snarfed these in the common area, immediately regretted it. I blame the holidays.

DINNER: 6pm, sampling of hummus, baba, redbean stew, zuchini pancake with yogurt, bread, entree of grilled lamb and veg with rice and potatoes, 1 glass wine, small sampling of sweets including almond pudding, halava, weird moist grainy cake, baklava, water
Dinner at Turkish Kitchen with B, Corinna and Tom, a proper holiday-time couply get together over food. Ate a bit too much.

More Mood, Less Food

ADDENDA:
Had an interesting meeting with Ilsa last night. I'm feeling a lot of anger and ill will towards my work in general since the since-backed off corporate directives a few weeks ago, despite never feeling more happy with the people I actually work with day to day. That brick o' Chinese I scarfed the other day was probably a result of that pressure. I shouldn't let it get to me that way.

I had a friend who when she got upset at herself, would literally smack herself on the head till she bled. Is scarfing a block of sodium-infused lard with some noodles in it so different, especially when I'm not even that hungry? Ilsa is afraid pressures will cause me to backslide, when I should be simply maintaining my healthier habits through these cold winter months. I got to get a handle on this.

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, good yogurt with raw nuts, honey, vanilla, hunger 3/5

AM WATERING: 9:45am, 24 oz still

BP: 9:50am, 137/91
Despite being tired, did not sleep well last night, kept on #2ing for a few hours, then watched bad TV for an hour. Determined to eat better today, aim to go home tonight and aim for some quality ZZZs.

LUNCH: 12:45pm, superhippy peanutbutter sandwich, hummus with carrots, cuce, red pepper, celery, a few bites of cod, hunger 4/5
Cod tasted fresh, but underdressed. Next time, I'll get you, Cod!!

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, organic Fuji apple, raw milk appeller funky cheese, hunger 4/5
Chocolate being spread around the office, I heroically resisted.

DINNER: 7:45pm, 4 fresh spring rolls with shrimp, sauteed pork medallions in a mushroom wine sauce over brown jasmine rice, liter of seltzer, hunger 4/5
Oh my, this was an interest mealing meal. Click on the pic for an upclose look! Too bad these computers don't do smellovision - while the final result proved this to still be in the experimental stage, the smell in the kitchen was overwhelmingly intensely delicious.

When Ilsa was scolding me about how she doesn't care if I eat good pork every day, as long as I stay away from the bricks o' Chinese food. So I picked up a thick pork medallion and mushrooms on the way home. Rather than simply grill it and throw it over rice, I went on line and got an interesting recipe. However, I kinda winged it and added white wine, subtracted whatever 'savory' is, crushed dried rosemary in a pestle, replaced chicken stock with a container of veal stock I had in the freezer (picked up on a random shopping trip ages ago) and let rip.

Two things surprised me. One is the veal stock. I bought it originally because I read somewhere that veal stock is the 'secret weapon' of many chefs - it has the magical ability to make anything tastier. And my god, it does! I've eaten veal stock many times before but didn't know it - it's that indescribable delicious mouth feel that is like eating velvet. Damn, it's good.

Second is even though I tried to undercook the meat (browned 1 minute on each side instead of 2, let simmer in the sauce for 10 minutes instead of 15), it was STILL a little pale, dry and overcooked. Next time I do this recipe I'm going to brown it at higher heat for less time, simmer it in the sauce for less time, and get a fattier cut of meat that is still on the bone.

The Morning Afer

ADDENDA:
I brought some green M&Ms to work this morning, thinking I didn't want to eat them but peeps will. However, I had an unopened 2 liter bottle of Coca Cola I didn't think twice about pouring down the drain. Over lunch I just read the final parts of the third of the Ominvore's Dilemma about corn, and of all foods that are derived from corn, soda is 100% from that plant. I poured corn down the drain, which was grown with fertilizer that was refined from the same barrels of petroleum that gasoline is refined from. Pouring oil down the drain. Such a tremendous waste, no wonder countries with food shortages hate us.

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, organic cheerios with organic homogenized milk, hunger 3/5
I could taste the difference in the homogenization, just tasted....less milky, more watery, despite being full-fat.

AM WATERING: 9:45am, 24 oz still
On the ride to work in the cold, I was actually looking forward to drinking water. The good thing about riding a desk for a living (and keeping this blog) is I'm starting to appreciate how this little things make a bigger difference than I thought. Maybe I should start watching my water intake closer on the weekends.

BP: 10:15am, 126/90

LUNCH: 1pm, setain sesame medallions over broccoli with brown rice, 2 spring rolls, large scallion pancake, 2 glasses water, hunger 4/5
Nice sit down lunch at Zen Palate.

PM WATERING: 3pm, 24 oz still
I guess I was a little dehydrated.

PM SNACK: 4pm, 1 small chocolate-coated ice cream nugget, hunger 3/5
Giving buckets of this stuff away at the general staff meeting. I'd rather have sick days paid. Is there any food stuff that can't be processed into nugget form?

DINNER: 9pm, baked cod with butter and garlic, 2 baked potatoes, large piece of mud pie, pint of seltzer, hunger 4/5
Never cooked cod before, did it very conservatively, came out eh. Realized afterward I cooked it EXACTLY like my mom would cook it. Grease pan, place pieces of hard butter over the top, through on a little crushed garlic in lumps, into the oven. Next time I will melt the butter in a pan, infuse it with sliced garlic, reduce some white wine into it, then kind of bathe/poach the fish. Maybe a little bit of sea salt, a few mushrooms or maybe stringbeans in the pan to enjoy the bath. Now THAT could be good.

Got the mud pie on purpose, just one large serving so as to not to let it roll over a few days that would otherwise be potentially sweet-free. In the past, I've gotten this cake to go along with store-bought gelato. Without it, it was just not that remarkable. Didn't enjoy it as much as I did, and the fact that it wasn't extinguishing some sort of sugar lust didn't help.

Party at my house!

ADDENDA:
Good day. Was given the day off and a budget. Spent the morning chopping veg, then went out in the cold to hit up Little Italy, China Town, the Pickle Guys, Pathmark and a couple of cupcake bakeries. Spent the afternoon winging it on vegan stuffed mushrooms (surprisingly un-gross, HVS approved), 2 huge trays of mac & cheese and prepping the house.

Learned from my mistakes of the mac & cheese the day before, adjusted a few things and it came out pretty good, not to toot my own horn - if I was served it in a restaurant, I would of been satisfied - now if it was more bubbly/crispy on top and maybe had a Parmesan crispiness layer, now THAT would of been kick ass!

After 5 years of briefly attending depressing law firm holiday parties (and a year of no biz parties to go to), this was a welcome change in my life. A lot of cool people, cohosted by my partner in life, people who I see everyday but actually enjoyed having in my house and getting drunk with Rufus!

LUNCH: 12:30pm, 2 local slices, bottle of water, hunger 3/5
Forgot to eat breakfast. Too distracted to be hungry

PM SNACK: 2-4pm, 32 oz bottle of seltzer, hunger --/--
Cooking.

PRE-PARTY FOOD: 6pm, baby carrots with homemade hummus, 1 cupcake, hunger 3/5

PARTY FOOD: 7-11pm, small plate of homemade mac & cheese, a few handfuls of green M&Ms, 3-4 homemade vegan stuffed mushrooms, 4-5 drinks of wine & beer (I didn't keep track), 2 cupcakes, 1 shot of Jack Daniels, hunger 4/5

All Day Breakfast

ADDENDA:
Woke after 10 hours of weird dreams and felt terrible. Spent a few hours in the bath with the Sunday paper and realized I was in no shape to go to yoga at noon. Cooked pancakes and couldn't move far from the couch. After pistachios, fell asleep on the couch and missed a Grand Street News event at 4pm, which B woke me up for...at 3:55.

Why did I eat that brick o' Chinese last night, when I wasn't even that hungry? Partially because I felt like I needed a proper third meal but my kitchen is too jammed up with supplies for tomorrow night's office-cum-house party to cook anything healthy. Partially because it's a personal ultimate comfort food. Partially after a crazed weekend in Las Vegas and an upsetting week at work, just needed that calming familiarity.

BRUNCH: 12:30pm, pancakes and bacon, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 2:30pm. handful of unsalted shelled pistachios, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, toasted onion bagel with good butter, hunger 4/5

DINNER-LIKE SNACK: 6:30pm, a few meatballs on toothpicks, 1/2 a cosmo, 2 cups of seltzer, small portion of homemade mac n' cheese, two squares of weirdly greasy cheese n' onions on white bread toast, 2 fistfuls of crappy Hershey's kisses, hunger 3/5
Holiday party at a friend of B's, known for it's drinks-over-food policy, so this year I brought a tray of mac n' cheese. Tasted a bit bland to me, but will pump it up next time I make it....which will be tomorrow. This is the third time I've been to this party, definitely enjoyed it the most - this particular clutch of B's femmy friends are actually pretty cool.