This ain't a burger, Selma!!

On Sunday evening, B and I ordered in Ethiopian food. We got an odd call from the restaurant asking if we got our food (we hadn't.) It seems the delivery person was intercepted by someone in the building who thought the food was theirs and paid for in by credit card. If they were expecting burgers and fries, boy, are they in for a surprise....

B and I were given gift certificates to a high-end Thai massage place. The dude greased me up and twisted me around a bit into yoga-lite shapes. I guess if I was filthy rich and ridiculously lazy, this would be my new yoga regimen.

SATURDAY
AFTERNOON SNACK: 1pm, a handful of chocolates, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

BREAKFAST: 2:30pm, good yogurt with honey, vanilla, raw nuts, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

AFTERNOON SNACK: 3pm, the rest of the box of chocolates, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
I decided the temptation was too much - I was going to take a little nibble of each remaining chocolate, eat only 1 or 2 that was really good, and throw the rest out. However, they were all really good!! Damn me and my expanded palate!

DINNER: 8pm, 2 slices of restaurant pizza, momma style salad, grape soda, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

SUNDAY
AM SNACK: 8:30am, swig of apple cider

AM BREAKFAST: 9:30am, 4 mini muffins, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 12:45pm, spinach dumpling, mixed gluten, mini lotus wrapped steamed rice, deep fried dough wrapped in rice paper, mashed taro treasure box, a couple of mouthfuls of ice cream, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Vegetarian dim sum after ridiculous massage. B was hungry as all-git-out, so we got her some ice cream from the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, I didn't get any but had a bite or two of hers.

PM SNACK: 3:45pm, swig of apple cider

DINNER: 7:15pm, small amount of momma style salad, Ethiopian combo platter, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
The beef and lamb were both kinda nasty, will stick to the vegetarian combo next time. Beef was a tough cheap cut, lamb was braised but still stringy and fibrous.

If Zambonis were food, they would be lucsious chocolate.

Went ice skating at Bryant Park this evening with a friend, which sharpened my appetite for a meal in Koreatown one neighborhood south after -- it's been a while since I did a real bike ride due to the season. Before that, yoga. Hunger really is the best seasoning, after salt! Ever since I was a kid, I've always found the circles the Zamboni makes on the ice hypnotizing and calming, just like watching a freight train in motion. What's that about?

Tried to eat healthier today, but got run off the rails by a gift of a box of chocolates and feeling not too well late into the evening. I think part of it is that tomorrow (the 10th) is the 3rd anniversary of my mother's passing.

I had an odd dream last night. I was walking on a sidewalk somewhere in the neighborhood late at night with a very pregnant B, the sidewalks are bit icy. B pauses and says, "Oh, I forgot to show you our new book!" and takes out a large food-related soft cover book. The authors are her (under her maiden name) and my name, co-authors.

There are a couple of blurbs on the cover about her, saying how great she is, and 1 blurb by my name, that said my writing is blank, dull and needlessly ornate. I asked B why they would put such a negative comment on the cover, she said that was the only person who read your work. I open it up and it's just the first iteration of this blog, laid out in order with out any editing. It's horrible! I asked B if I gave permission for this stuff to be reprinted, she reminded me of a brief conversation we had in passing a year ago. I said, "Oh." All my 'would of' and 'could ofs' are all there, my belly-button ruminations, etc.

BREAKFAST: 9am, momma style salad with a little homemade hummus, .75 bowl, hunger 3/5
Felt good to eat something different and healthy and momma-honoring for breakfast.

LUNCH: 11:45am, homemade rice & beans with a spoonful of salsa, grape soda, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Wow, this stuff really keeps well! I have a lot in the freezer, but this container was in the fridge, and still tasted really good.

PM SNACK: 2pm, handful of chocolate, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Got another holiday gift in the mail today, a box of Sees chocolates. Uh oh!

DINNER: 7pm, bibimbop, scallion pancake, beef broth, kimchi, assorted little Korean plates, a spoonful of red bean ice cream. 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: midnight-3am, a few chocolates, tortilla chips and salsa, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Couldn't fall asleep.

Momma in my salad

Didn't get enough sleep again last night. Put myself to bed around 10, but got restless and went to watch TV till 12:30. Felt crappy and sluggish when I woke up, unsurprisingly, with pictures of burgers and Chinese food working through my system. The little Ilsa in my ear started shouting, "Keep it simple! Veg! Fruit! Don't overcomplicate it!"

I had pre-opera dinner planned already tonight, so an apple spoke up when I wandered into the kitchen. It was that or a really ripe banana, but Ilsa said an apple a day keeps the nutritionist at bay, so down it went. Unfortunately, it was a bit mushy, and getting half of it down was a challenge.

Of course, at break time during class, I was hungry. Funny how speaking of food related matters for 2 hours will stimulate the appetite. There is my old class room on the same floor, but by 10am they're cooking, not eating. In front of the building is a coffee cart, so I got a piece of cake. I must think of a plan. Maybe bake stuff to bring in for the other students?

On the way home, thought that I ought to eat salad for lunch. But the idea of green lettuces and dressing really didn't appeal to me -- that stuff works for me when it's warm out, but just not interested right now. Maybe a big ramen soup? That's really just a big bowl of pasta.

So, thinking about salad, I soon recalled the two kinds of salads from my youth. There was the Dad Salad and the Momma Salad. My dad's salad: Iceberg lettuce, shredded red cabbage, cubed carrot, cuce, green pepper, scallion, celery, radishes, and red onion. All vegetables were was finely chopped and/or diced. My mom's, however, was not; she thought that effort was ridiculous and fussy, and that the flavors got too mixed up. She would take cuce, carrot, green pepper, and maybe onion if she was feeling crazy and chop it all into large mouth-sized chunks. A sprinkling of salt was all the dressing it needed. Maybe a side of hummus to dip in.

So I made Momma Salad for lunch, pleasingly simple to make. I kicked it up a notch by squirting a half a lemon on top in addition to the salt, which was still in the spirit of keeping it simple. I baked up a slice of pizza from the resto, but it was more salad than pizza, kind of like a side dish.

BREAKFAST: 6:45am, half an apple, .25 bowl, hunger 2/5
A little bit mealy, unappealing.

AM SNACK: 10am, big slice of poundcake, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 2pm, momma-style salad, 1 slice of restaurant pizza

PM SNACK: 4:15pm, 4 chocolate truffles, .33 bowl, hunger 4/5
Christmas gift food lying around, evil.

DINNER: 6:30pm, raw fish crudo, fresh taglitelle in meat ragu, tiny chocolate mouse cake, 1 beer, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Pre-theater dinner at a midtown Italian joint, pretty good. Italian-style sushi is always good, wonder why someone doesn't try to do a whole restaurant on this theme.

Tired, New Begining

After working at the restaurant last night and not getting to bed till 2, getting up to be in class at 8am was a stretch. After popping into a crappy faux-50's comfort-food diner-type place with B for lunch, I went home to nap, go over school stuff and get my head in order.

I don't often eat burgers, I find greasy chop meat disagrees with my digestion. But this place's central theme was 'comfort food', and I just sat through a morning of being told how central concept is to the core of a restaurant. And to me, the most central item that lives at the heart of all-American comfort food is a hamburger. So it's gotta be good, right?

Nah, strictly mediocre. I'm glad I skipped the fries, B got a dish of sub-par chili-mac laced with tortilla chips she didn't want. I'm just glad I asked for it medium-well instead of my usual medium-rare, as I wouldn't trust that place with my health.

For a detailed rundown of culinary management school, hop on over to Culinary School Confidential. I'm bringing this blog back from the dead to ruminate on what I'm doing in school, while I continue to log everything I cook, eat, and feed my friends & loved ones (and customers) in this space.

BREAKFAST: 7am, toasted bagel with butter, swig of apple cider, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 12:15pm, hamburger, a few tortilla chips, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7pm, peppersteak with fried rice, egg roll, wonton soup, ramekin of caramel ice cream, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Not the healthiest, but what I was in the mood for. Must be the lack of sleep. If I'm going to see Ilsa next week without feeling like a total gooneybird, I gotta come correct.

Bad Fish & Poop

I swung by the market to pick up ingredients for lunch. I got a little broccoli, thought maybe rice with steamed broc. I saw some very large jumbo tiger shrimp in the fish section, I couldn't resist.. I was thinking how crappy store-bought stock was, then it occurred to me I could make a quick stock from the shrimp shells, so I got an onion and a couple of carrots, too.

At home, I deshelled the shrimp and noticed....a slight off odor. I get moving, and made the stock. Set up the rice cooker with a little crumbled dried mushrooms, salt, brown rice. After 20 minutes, the off-odor of the shrimp blossomed by boiling their shells....a cross between bad fish and poop. Fail! So I through it all out. After a handful of mini muffins, I found I wasn't very hungry anyway.

Spent the afternoon and evening at the restaurant, covering for the fellow who never showed up for his shift and never called again. Once again, this was my last day until someone else mucks it up. If the next person mucks it up, I have an agreement from Chef R to try me out -- she was very nice about it, wanting someone with years experience, not months like me. Good vibe, helping out at the last minute has cemented a bridge that I may need to trod over again sooner or later.

Well, tomorrow I start the culinary management program. Experience is lying out in front of me. I brought home about 25 slices and a bag of focaccia for French toast to get me through until they call again!

AM SNACK: 9am, swig of apple cider

PM SNACK: 12:30pm, a handful of apple mini muffins, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 4pm, pizza slice, chocolate cake, root beer, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACKING 6-10pm, a couple of small wedges of margarita pie, cheese cake, ginger ale, bits from the topping station, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING WATERING: 11:45pm, quart of water

Overcooked, Tough Monday

Spent the day cooking and doing errands. Was back at c-school taking care of some paperwork, ran into Late Kid -- he was late every day and eventually got expelled. He had to re-enroll and do a bunch of classes over, hence him having a whole month to go. Also ran into my friend/advisor A, had a nice chat about things. Looking forward to being back in school the day after tomorrow.

BREAKFAST: 10:45am, good yogurt with vanilla, honey and cashews, .5 bowl, hunger 3/5
When I was at the market today, was disturbed by the high price of vanilla extract. So when I got home and was preparing french toast for dinner, I took the two spent vanilla beans I used and placed them in a mason jar full of cheap vodka. I'm going to keep on adding spent beans and in a month or so when the liquid is near black, I'll strain it and -voila- a pint of vanilla extract for cost of a tumbler of assed-out vodka.

LUNCH: 2pm, sauteed pork chop in pan sauce, 1.5 baked potatoes, ramekin of caramel ice cream, quart of water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Cooked up the chop as I learned in c-school, came out medium, despite me aiming for rare. I think the pan was not quite hot enough. The other thing was the store-bought stock, I reduced it before adding it to the sauce but it still tasted...watery and salty. Stock should never be pre-salted for just that reason, but tell that to the boneheads who package the stuff. I gotta make my own stock.

PM SNACK: 3:30pm, handful of apple cinnamon mini muffins, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Made a new batch of these muffins, substituted whole wheat pastry flour for AP. Maybe overcooked them a bit, they're denser and bit tougher and overcooked than the previous batch.

DINNER: 6:45pm, french toast, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
It only soaked in the batter for 3 or 4 hours, and the pan and oven were both running too hot, it came out a little bitter and a little tough. Seems to be the theme of the day!

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, salsa fresca with flax corn chips, a few mini muffins, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Made this salsa today, with left over ingredients from the Israeli salad, though I swapped out parsley for cilantro and forgot the garlic. Too much lemon, not enough salt, not much flavor. I really blew it cooking-wise today.

Pizza Luv

On Saturday, B, her friend B2 and I took the morning train from Grand Central to New Haven to dine at Pepe's, an old-school Connecticut pizzeria that B's father remembers fondly from his college days. (This is also the same place B and I hit up on the way to our honeymoon in Cape Cod, and also on the way back. And 5 or 6 times since) They are known for what is my favorite pizza on the East Coast, the white clam pie:

I paid particular attention to it this time, as this was the first time eating it since working in a pizzeria for several months. The first thing that stands out is the coal-tinged crisp crust -- you really taste the oven, the one thing that is the most difficult to replicate in a location. The second thing is the generous portion of fresh clams, something the very definition of the local. Third is the balance -- garlic, parm, olive oil, perhaps a dash of cooked-off wine, salt. Generous, but not enough to overwhelm the crust. Weird to enjoy something so pizza-like that has no moz or tomato.

The three of us stuffed our selves silly, then wandered giddily around a local park and downtown before making our way back to the train station for a very contented and sleepy ride home. Sure it was 4 hours and $28 per person on a train, but the ride was relaxing and had beautiful views of the sound, the food was cheap, the environs far from home and the mood just happy to be together and alive. Too bad more of our friends weren't able to hop out of the groove for a day.

As we were heading back to the train, I got a call from Chef R, asking if I could come in ASAP -- it seems someone didn't show up. I said I couldn't, but could come in tomorrow. So I spent Sunday at the restaurant. It seems the new Chef they hired was scheduled to work all weekend, and just didn't show up, and didn't call. Opportunity? It was nice coming in, seeing my friends who work there, topping more pies on the main station than usual and just getting into the groove. Near the end of the night, I was asked to cover hours on Tuesday.

SATURDAY
BREAKFAST: 8:30am, bagel with smoked salmon and butter, .75 bowl, hunger 3/5

LUNCH: 12:30pm, one medium white clam pizza, 2 bowl, water, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 6:30pm, Israeli salad with flax tortilla chips, caramel ice cream, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: midnight, 4 mini muffins, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

SUNDAY
BREAKFAST: 11am, organic cornflakes with good milk, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 2pm, 1 slice of pizza, cheesecake, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4-7pm, 2 sodas, 2 tiny random pieces of pizza pie, water, bits from the toppings station, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 9:45pm, rigatoni with mushrooms, chocolate cake, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING WATERING: 11:45pm, quart of water