Let's Get Physical

ADDENDA:
Slept horribly last night, couldn't get to bed till 3, think I overdosed on dairy. Woke up at 8 and dragged myself into the kitchen to eat something. Felt like going back to sleep, but also felt crappy. I knew if I did go back to sleep, I'd probably wake up better rested....but still crappy.

So I took off for a 10:30am yoga class, a beginner's back bending class, really enjoyed it. Swung by the farmers market for a few things, then met Betsy in Chinatown for a 45 minute back rub.

Feeling energized, I went home and had a quick plate of lasagna before gearing up head to toe in spandex and biked to Coney Island, stopping at the beach to scarf a sandwich I brought with me. First ride of the season proper. I wore my day-to-day glasses instead of my sun glasses because I just didn't want any barrier between my brain and the sun. Not clever, but it felt right.

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, small portion of good yogurt with honey and almond extract, .5 bowls, hunger 2/5

PM SNACK: 12:15pm, fuji apple, .5 bowls, hunger 4/5
After yoga, as I was in the farmer's market, started to feel a little bit nauseous from having a totally empty stomach and having just done some physical exertion. So I bought a sack o' apples and scarfed one right then and there. Oh my, the crisp sweetness, the juice filling my mouth and running down my throat to soothe my upset tummy, a very superior apple experience.

LUNCH: 1:45pm, lasagna, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4pm, superhippy peanutbutter sandwich, handful of almonds, 28 oz water, .5 bowl, hunger 3/5

DINNER: 6:30pm, large spinach salad, macaroni n' cheese, brownie with small cup of vanilla icecream, 2.5 bowls
Kind of surprised I didn't eat more.

Post-Dinnerfest Wrapup II

ADDENDA:
Despite the late indulgence, slept like a rock - having Betsy by my side was what I needed. Funny, I didn't really miss her THAT much until yesterday afternoon and I was finishing up my work and she was back in NYC uptown helping her mom. Then I was, like, enough already, I miss her!

Rereading yesterday's post, I didn't really do a Dinnerfest post-mortem. Some random observations.

1. Making a lasagna from scratch is an intense 5-hour affair.
2. Everyone loves homemade icecream, but if you over-aerate it, it's not nearly as intense.
3. When I cook something complex a 2nd or 3rd time, it's almost always better (specifically the risotto and the 2nd round of arancini.)
4. Diverging from a recipe is a good thing 2/3 of the time.
5. My friends are pretty awesome.
6. I really enjoy cooking, but I'm still fuzzy if I want to do this for a living. However, I more now than ever want to go to Culinary.
7. Pizza-fests are the easiest go-to fun meal for a crowd, but I need to find a good dough recipe.
8. I gotta cure my own bacon, too.
9. Dinnerfests generate a LOT of dishes, and a lot of Wholefoods bills (and a whole lotta leftovers - the mini freezer is stuffed with ice creams and brownies!)
10. A lot of people don't want to eat vegan. Even the HVS pulled a boner.
11. The only thing Rufus has with misery is a love of company.
12. Marinating pork for 3 days then browning it on high heat for 7 minutes on one side and 5 minutes on the other results in a restaurant-quality piece of meat. Up until Dinnerfest, I was a bit unsure of my skills handling real, un-grinded meat, but now I have the confidence for MORE PORK!
13. Both my brownies and lemon muffins were (I think) superior to mixes, and not much harder to make.
    
14. All my life when I made salad, it was a standard green salad with a very limited ingredient list. However, the baby spinach salad I made with the roasted nuts was so enjoyable, I think I'm going to start mixing it up. Salad season is upon us!!
    

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, good yogurt with honey and nuts and vanilla, .75 bowl, hunger 3/5
Ate 1/3 of a carton rather than 1/2, was still pretty satisfying.

LUNCH: 12:30pm, 2 slices streetza, green salad, water, 2 bowls, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 5pm, 1 arancini, .5 bowls, hunger 4/5
Man, these things are good. I should do the same for the mac n' cheese I'm making - ball up old leftovers, bread it and fry it!!

PM SNACK: 6:30pm, 2 spoonfuls of almond icecream, ramakin full of pistachios, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 8pm, small portion of mac n' cheese, a few strips of prosciutto, small piece of chocolate cake and cheese cake, 1 glass wine, 2 bowls, hunger 4/5
Potluck dinner for B's cousin. Surprised how few people (no one other than me, really) brought home-cooked food. I made a mac n' cheese, took about half an hour to prep and an hour to bake, and it was still hot when we got it there. Disappeared pretty quickly.

Post-Dinnerfest Wrapup

ADDENDA:
The plan was to go up town to meet a friend for lunch, then yoga, but I got wrapped up on a piece of freelance typesetting that's due tomorrow morning, and before I knew it it was 5pm.

Got a good amount of sleep, but feeling vaguely sick, headachy, groany. I'm ready for Betsy to be home.

BREAKFAST: 10am, organic chex with good milk, .75 bowl, hunger 2/5
Got 9 hours of sleep, still groggy and a little headachy.

AM SNACK: 11:30, 2 short bread cookies, .25 bowl, hunger 3/5
Need a nibble to keep focused on work.

LUNCH: 3pm, lasagne and 2 arancini, small cup almond ice cream & 3 pieces shortbread, water, 2.5 bowls hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7:30pm, large spinach salad, boca burger on sprouted wheat bread, water, 2 bowls, hunger 3/5
Not very hungry, but I'm afraid if I don't eat, I'll get hugnry at a late hour and eat regrettably.

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, small cup of almond icecream, 1 piece shortbread, hunger 4/5
I shouldn't of ate this, this purely serves to keep me fat. But I was in a celebratory mood, as my Betsy is back and I wanted her to have some. And once it was out....

Dinnerfest V: Lasagne Laboratory

ADDENDA:
Long day capped the final night of Dinnerfest 2008. Couldn't fall asleep last night till 3, woke up naturally at 7. Had a good interview uptown, then picked up stuff at Wholefoods. Ate, chilled, and before I knew it it was 2pm. Cooked straight till 8pm, finding making such a large quantity of fresh pasta in such a multi-layered dish. A few peeps cancelled at the last minute, but Karen & her Chandler came which made everything all right, if only a lot more stuff for the freezer than I expected.

It's now 10:15 and I'm completely burnt. Hopefully desert won't keep me up tonight...

BREAKFAST: 8am, organic cornflakes with good milk, .75 bowls, hunger 3/5

LUNCH: 1:30pm, pork medalions, brocoli, rice pilaf, brownie and almond icecream, 2.5 bowls, hunger 4/5
Pork was still moist and tasty after a night in the fridge...

PM SNACK: 4pm, 1 piece of whole wheat shortbread cookie, hunger 4/5
Just baked it, had to try it. Gooooood.

DINNER: 8pm, arancini with baby spinach salad dressed with oo&v and roasted cashews, meat & dairy lasagne from scratch (including the pasta), almond icecream with shortbread, 1 glass wine, seltzer, 2.5 bowls, hunger 4/5
The arancini this time were so much better, I breaded them with panko that just made the rice balls SCREAM, and I deep fried them longer for a thicker jacket o' crust, an excellent compliment to the salad. The lasagne was technically extremely difficult to get together, between all the differnet parts (a ricotta & spinach layer, a mozz-duo layer, a ragu layer(which was made last week), freshly made tomato sauce on the bottom and top, and all those sheets of fresh pasta that almost didn't come off because doubling the recipe doesn't quite work right, he he.

I think Rufus is tired of me cooking so much food every night, he had a bite of shortbread then curled up on my head for the night....

Dinnerfest IV: Powered By Pork

ADDENDA:
Saw the latest Anthony Bourdain show this evening, where he went back to the restaurant that made him famous and worked the line for a night. I'm sure they took some liberties with editing, but it looked like a huge pressure-cooker of a cluster-fuck for anyone not ready to submerge in a vat of no-think-just-do for 12 hours daily. Cooking for Dinnerfest is definitely a beast of a different nature than cooking professionally. I'm just playing the guitar for a few friends in the living room, they're out on tour with Michael Jackson.

BREAKFAST: 7:15am, 2 lemon muffins, coffeecup full of chocolate soy ice cream, water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

Before leaving the house at 8:30 to do family chores, baked brownies from scratch to accompany a new batch of ice cream tonight, whose mix I cooked up last night before going to sleep. The pork loins have been marinating for 2 days... tonight's meal definitely is taking the most pre-thought.

LUNCH: 1pm, 1 pint pork fried rice, shrimp toast, 1.5 bowls, hunger 4/5
I was far uptown and my bicycle was crippled by 1.5 foot deep pothole, so popped into a Chinese take-out for some oral entertainment on the subway ride home. For some reason, they did not give me any utensils or napkins....the shrimp toast was easy enough to pop in my mouth, the fried rice not so easy.

The train wasn't crowded, and once I got on I realized the appetizer made me hungrier, and some how the rice had to find a way to mah belly. I opened the container, firmly gripped within the paper and plastic bags, and using three fingers as a spoon, I lifted the rice close to my face and shoveled. As the train would come to halt at stations, I'd stop to grab the bike to make sure it didn't fall over. As I'm eating, I realized I probably look totally nuts - I'm the nut on the subway. No one was staring, and I WAS careful not to get rice anywhere other than my mouth. I know if Betsy was there, she'd be three shades of purple, but I probably would of not of busted out the rice till I got home.

PM SNACK: 3pm, 1 tiny square of brownie, hunger 3/5
Just wanted to see if it was the brownie of my dreams....no, but a lot closer to it...

DINNER: 8:30pm, 2 arancini (pictured below), pork loin with an onion sherry gravy, roasted brocolli, mushroom rice pilaf, almond icecream and a brownie, 2 glasses wine, 1 small cup Guiness, seltzer, 3 bowls, hunger 4/5
This meal was the best yet in Dinnerfest, if only because all the dishes that I made previously, this time they were markedly improved. The arancini (deep fried balls of yesterday's risotto with a speck of mozz in the middle and coated in egg and flour) was so much better because of the addition of a fry thermometer and much denser risotto - this time, surprisingly ungreasy. The brocolli was as good as usual....the pork, oh the pork, I cut the loin into small 1-serving hunks, just a palm size piece, and browned them on three sides before putting them aside to rest...moist, tender, just a tease of pink in the middle - not perfect, but 2x as good as the pork chop I made a week ago and 10x better than the dry husks I cooked up a month ago. The pilaf....eh, I used all the good ingredients and toasted the hell out of the rice before puttin g it in the cooker, but after 2 tries with hard grainy results, I added more liquid by a cup and it came out mushy. Peeps liked it, but it's not the risotto of my mind.

I served everything on the small 'salad plates', and the plate looked relatively full with a normal conservative portion. If I put them on our 'dinner plates', it would of taken up 1/3 of the real-estate, rediculous.

Dinnerfest III: All About Ilsa

ADDENDA:
Unfortunately, the Hungry Vegan Society pulled a boner and couldn't make it, so tonight's dinner was all about the singular guest of honor, my nutritionist, Ilsa. Funny, one sure way not to over eat is to become friends with the person helping you manage your eating, then invite them to a homemade rich meal.

I kinda wanted a second helping of risotto, as it took a good 45 minutes of elbow grease, but I'm glad I didn't - after a small single serving of soy icecream, I really was content.

Never worked with rice pizza dough. Early in the cooking process I made a little sample 'za (pictured - ain't it cute?) to see how it reacted to the heat and pizza stone - Ilsa said it was really good but the whole cracker-like non-chew of the crust bugged me out.

Earlier in the day, I got an interesting email from Ilsa. I asked for some specific kind of meal plan to focus on to get my weight reduced a bit. She wrote:

Hi Noah,

at our last session you asked me to give you an ideal meal plan.

First things first: no more snacking and no more late meals (no food after 8 pm) and no more boxes of cookies. You have enough awareness by now to know when to say when and you need to put that into practice.

I suggest the following and we'll tailor it to minimize suffering and maximize results.

1. start the day with breakfast. 3/4 of a bowl. I'd suggest you take a page out of the Isreali breakfast. You want to eat foods you enjoy, that will nourish you and jump start the metabolism.

2. make lunch the biggest meal of the day. I'd suggest you eat the pork medallions at lunchtime. 2.5 bowls

3. a small something, ONLY if you feel hungry around 3 pm.

4. dinner: this meal needs to become smaller and lighter. More vegetables. 1.5 bowls.

Last but not least no more take out chinese food. Seriously. You can have take out chinese once per month and that's it.

Keep track of when hunger (grumbling stomach) hits so we can adjust according to your real needs.

also: please be very smart about this weight loss. You're going to feel different. As you lose the weight toxins will be released into your blood stream this will affect your moods. I'd suggest you start to drink more water to help flush the system.

We've also got the cleanse coming up at the end of the month and the cleanse will involve drinking more water.

I have not mentioned specific foods b/c you are going to have to start listening to what your body wants. I can't tell you what's right. I've asked that you go to whole foods and contemplate the fruits, vegetables, and meats and I'm going to ask you to do this again. You have to begin to listen and hear which foods are resonating with you. Those are the foods you should eat.

Please add seeds, nuts, and olive oil and more fruits: apples, pears, bananas.

I hate to say it but I think your palate is a bit lazy and you're going to have to strengthen it by varying your diet.

Your weight loss plan is a work in progress but let's try what I've outlined here for a month and see where that gets you.

Talk to you soon.

Ilsa

Oh dip! I got served! Lazy palate 'n all. After reading this, I thought, "Hmmm, I haven't had Chinese in quite a while, should I go for a brick?" He he. Actually, the last brick made me feel so crap, I can't see that happening. But after cooking so much this week, I may kick back with a pint of pork fried rice...

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, 2 lemon muffins, water, .5 bowl, hunger 3/5
Funny, I forgot I made these and wasn't going to eat breakfast because I just didn't feel like eating anything. Looked in the fridge and 4 beautiful, fresh muffins in tupperwear stared back at me. I instantly became a little hungry.

LUNCH: 12:15am, fresh hummus with a handful of baby carrots and a hunk of superhippy bread,water, 2 bowls hunger 4/5
Not much to eat in the house other than ingredietns for dinner, so I whipped up a batch of hummus, whose ingredients happen to be lying around. And if I'm going to try a Euro-Israeli breakfast, it's a key staple...

PM SNACK: 4pm, 1 small cup of vanilla icecream, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7:45pm, rice crust olive oil & garlic pizza, mushroom & sherry risotto with roasted broccoli, small cup of chocolate soy icecream, 1 glass wine, seltzer, 2 bowls, hunger 4/5
The rice crust pizza was a bit skeevy by my pizza-standards, but I guess if you can't tolerate wheat, you could disguise it with good cheese, sauce and olive oil. This was the second time I've made risotto, and even though it was 2x better than the first time I made it, it sat for about 15 minutes before serving and became a little bit gluey - that there is some sensitive stuff. The roasted broc was good as usual. I played a little with the soy chocolate ice cream, using both melted baking chocolate and coco powder - it became intensely chocolaty, almost to the edge of bitter but not quite. A strong chocolate that pulls no punches.

Dinnerfest II: Brunch Edition

ADDENDA:
Woke up, felt good, yesterday's yoga didn't hurt me too much. Today's dinnerfest was a relaxed affair, four friends and a comfortable rolling afternoon.

Got the key ingredient to make magical brownies today, gonna bake it for my birthday.

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, good yogurt with honey, vanilla, nuts, 1 bowl, hunger 3/5
Time to peel the 'taters...

PM SNACK: 1pm, veggie booty, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

BRUNCH: 3pm, 3 small lemon muffins, 5 potato latkes with cream fraiche and apple compote, vanilla ice cream, 2.5 bowls, 2 mimosas, seltzer, hunger 4/5
Made bacon, but only enough for the other four guests. The lemon muffins were from scratch and quite good, used whole wheat pastry flour. The latkes were a challenge, the oil being either too hot or too cool. The apple compote came out surprisingly well, simply cubed apples slightly sauted in juice and lime juice with a little sugar and corn starch. The ice cream was again rather rocking.

DINNER: 8pm, 5 potato latkes with a little bit of cream and compote, water, 1/5 bowls, hunger 3/5
Was tempted to dig into ice cream but actually stopped myself because a) had no sugar craving, as the apple compote was sweet enough and b) thought it might interfere with my sleeping. It's bad enough not having Betsy here, for her to not be here AND have insomnia, that would be worse.