Gnocchi & Really Big Babka

A good day of shopping in the morning, cooking with my friend DJ from Cali in the afternoon, a walk to the swings with Edie after, then more friends over in the evening for a nice mid-week dinner.

Tomorrow, the family & I leave for Portland, Maine, to attend the wedding of the friend who actually introduced us. I guess this time is as good as any to pause and relax. To all 2 of my faithful readers, I'll resume writing on Monday, and weigh-in then, too.


TODAY'S COOKING
Gnocchi: Made gnocchi in c-school, but these were better. The thing is being strict about very little moisture in the dough -- baking the potatoes instead of boiling them, and peeling them and chopping them up when they come out of the oven to let out a lot of steam.  From there, some flour, a little egg, minimal mixing then off to rolling tubes, chopping, indenting & rolling with a fork, boiled for less than 2 minutes. Light, fluffy. I had some problems with my home's plumbing which caused the gas to be shut off for a few hours, and the result was the potatoes were a little underbaked, so there was slight lumpy/grittiness to the gnocchi, but not enough to make it bad -- I'd be disappointed in a restaurant, but a good first try for home cooking.

Babka: Have done this recipe many times now, this time we just did two really big babkas, lowered the temp to 325 from the go, and let them bake for about 90 minutes. Came out pretty good.

BREAKFAST: 9am, watermelon, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


AM SNACK: 11am, brown rice California roll, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


AM SNACK: 11:30am, ritz crackers with freshly ground peanut butter, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 3:30pm, kraft dinner with sauteed veg, water, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6:30pm, moz & heirloom tomatoes with olive oil and balsamic, gnocchi with tomato sauce, sauteed spinach, babka & orange sorbet, 2 glasses of wine, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, small bowl of potato chips, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5