A bunch of friends, some with babies, rode bikes with me up the summerstreets event in the morning, and we picnicked in the playground near the 72nd St. entrance of Central Parks, as the heavy rains yesterday left the grass soaking. Edie babbled through her nap, but I fell fast asleep for a few hours after snarfing some nutella. Edie & I got on the bike again in the afternoon to Prospect Park to hang out with E&T, and a dog named Oreo. By the time we got home I was quite ravenous and made myself an over-sized bowl of pasta. Got to bed around 10. A good laid-back day on a bike with my daughter.
BREAKFAST: 7:15am, brown rice crispies with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
BRUNCH: 9:15am, a couple mini knishes, half a ham & cheese sandwich, a donut & a half, a breakfast sausage, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 2pm, whole grain pita chips with nutella, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 6:30pm, pasta with homemade sauce and freshly sauteed shrimp, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Saturday, August 20
Friday, August 19
Knish 3.0: Kasha, Broccoli Cheddar
B claims that our favorite brand of Greek yogurt's fat-free version is just as tasty, if not more so, than their full fat version.This flies in the face of human biology, as our bodies are programmed to seek out certain things, sugar, salt and above all fat. It's why these things make food taste good. Remove one, two or three of them, and things just don't taste right. I suspect B's sense of femininity and body image has something to do with fooling herself into this yogurt deception, but what do I know.
I bring this up because I noticed I used plain AP white flour in my knish dough today. Otherwise, I've been eating almost exclusively whole grain breads, whether made at home, at the falafel joint yesterday, the brown rice in my rice n' beans and rice n' lentils, the pita chips I buy for my family, the pretzels, and on and on. I think I became conscious of whole-grain products years ago as a health measure, but I do believe I like the taste of (most) whole grain products more than their refined grain counterparts (one glaring exception -- any grain product from the sweet side of life, from cookies to pancakes, are kinda ick. An exception to that exception - graham crackers) Am I Betsying myself into thinking this actually tastes better? I don't think so. Whole grain is WHOLE, it's not removing fat or sugar or salt, it simply is not removing the bran (fiber) of the bigger grain. This actually does bring some flavor, a certain nuttiness in some grains, a rich leafy undertone in others.
I gotta make another stab at graham crackers, replace the molasses with more brown sugar...
On a side note, not as sore as I hoped from yesterday's upper body weight lifting. Think next week to go from 3 to two times a week full body, with more reps across the board.
TODAY'S COOKING:
Knishes: As I went along, I kept thinking about how to do this x10. That's a lot of potatoes to peel and chop and boil, that's a lot of onions to cry over while dicing and slowly caramelizing. Made double batch of dough, used half of it, the other half for some sort of sweet knishes later in the week. Cranked the oven to 425 this time (recipe calls for 375) and checked occasionally -- 28 minutes gave some nice browning to the tops. I think I may even go hotter next time. Potato knishes came out good, I'm happy with the potato-onion balance, and dough has a nice thinness to it. Needed a little more salt and a healthy dose of freshly ground black pepper would help, too. The kasha was good, cooked with water, a little butter and salt, a little pepper, and sauteed fresh mushrooms with a little garlic. Needed a little more salt. After it cooked, I mixed in two eggs, which helped firm up the mix in the final knish -- it had a little bit of firmness when bitten, instead of just crumbling. I also made a handful of broc-cheddar knishes. A cup of broccoli quick-steamed, chopped, and mixed with equal amounts potato mixture and shredded mild cheddar (left over from burrito making.) They came out rather attractive, and the cheese gave a nice saltiness to it.
BREAKFAST: 8:45am, toasted pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese, onion and tomato, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 12:30pm, breaded tilapia, 2 bean burritos, pickle, large green salad, watermelon, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER 1: 5:30pm, broccoli cheddar knish, kasha knish, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Broc-ched knish better than expected. It is very American, and has a sheen of health to it, I think this could be popular.
DINNER 2: 7:15pm, hot dog, a little lime sorbet, peanuts & chocolate chips, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
EVENING SNACK: 9pm, watermelon, whole wheat pita chips, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
I bring this up because I noticed I used plain AP white flour in my knish dough today. Otherwise, I've been eating almost exclusively whole grain breads, whether made at home, at the falafel joint yesterday, the brown rice in my rice n' beans and rice n' lentils, the pita chips I buy for my family, the pretzels, and on and on. I think I became conscious of whole-grain products years ago as a health measure, but I do believe I like the taste of (most) whole grain products more than their refined grain counterparts (one glaring exception -- any grain product from the sweet side of life, from cookies to pancakes, are kinda ick. An exception to that exception - graham crackers) Am I Betsying myself into thinking this actually tastes better? I don't think so. Whole grain is WHOLE, it's not removing fat or sugar or salt, it simply is not removing the bran (fiber) of the bigger grain. This actually does bring some flavor, a certain nuttiness in some grains, a rich leafy undertone in others.
I gotta make another stab at graham crackers, replace the molasses with more brown sugar...
On a side note, not as sore as I hoped from yesterday's upper body weight lifting. Think next week to go from 3 to two times a week full body, with more reps across the board.
TODAY'S COOKING:
Knishes: As I went along, I kept thinking about how to do this x10. That's a lot of potatoes to peel and chop and boil, that's a lot of onions to cry over while dicing and slowly caramelizing. Made double batch of dough, used half of it, the other half for some sort of sweet knishes later in the week. Cranked the oven to 425 this time (recipe calls for 375) and checked occasionally -- 28 minutes gave some nice browning to the tops. I think I may even go hotter next time. Potato knishes came out good, I'm happy with the potato-onion balance, and dough has a nice thinness to it. Needed a little more salt and a healthy dose of freshly ground black pepper would help, too. The kasha was good, cooked with water, a little butter and salt, a little pepper, and sauteed fresh mushrooms with a little garlic. Needed a little more salt. After it cooked, I mixed in two eggs, which helped firm up the mix in the final knish -- it had a little bit of firmness when bitten, instead of just crumbling. I also made a handful of broc-cheddar knishes. A cup of broccoli quick-steamed, chopped, and mixed with equal amounts potato mixture and shredded mild cheddar (left over from burrito making.) They came out rather attractive, and the cheese gave a nice saltiness to it.
BREAKFAST: 8:45am, toasted pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese, onion and tomato, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 12:30pm, breaded tilapia, 2 bean burritos, pickle, large green salad, watermelon, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER 1: 5:30pm, broccoli cheddar knish, kasha knish, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Broc-ched knish better than expected. It is very American, and has a sheen of health to it, I think this could be popular.
DINNER 2: 7:15pm, hot dog, a little lime sorbet, peanuts & chocolate chips, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
EVENING SNACK: 9pm, watermelon, whole wheat pita chips, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Thursday, August 18
Testicles
Had dinner with friends at M. Wells this evening, a fine-dining diner in LIC that's been getting a lot of press, first for their menu, now because they lost their lease after 1 year and must close. The food was good, if a little precious (the duck testicles in the casoulet were barely distinguishable from the white beans) and I really did not enjoy the shabby railroad-style diner while paying fancy-pants prices. But it was nice to get out.
Lifted weights on the upper body today -- did 25 push-ups, a new personal lifetime record. However, I tried to double the reps and found because I wasn't pausing my normal half to full second between actions, 10 reps felt a lot harder, he he. Instead of increasing weight on on some of this weight-lifting, going to focus on uninterupted motion and increasing reps.
TODAY'S COOKING
Burritos: Had a big container of black beans and brown rice I cooked a while ago. Bought a 24 whole wheat tortillas, shredded 3/4 of a pound of mild cheddar, and made a simple guac in the food processor (2 onions to liquidy, then two heads of cilantro, juice of two limes, a little salt, a little olive oil and the flesh of 5 avocados, all pulsed until relatively smooth -- came out more like an avocado mousse than what I was hoping for, oh well). Upon eating them, I found the soft smoothness of the cheese and guac, agains the overly-soft beans and rice (I think I didn't cook it down far enough) made for a very soft burrito lacking texture. I suspect Edie & B will dig them, though.
BREAKFAST: 9:30am, good yogurt with honey, vanilla and peanuts, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 12:30pm, large green salad, 2 bean burritos, watermelon, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 4:45pm, falafel sandwich on whole wheat, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 8pm, duck-testicle casoulet, escargot & marrow, cesar salad, rib-eye steak, mackerel with spatzle and ratatouille, banana cream pie, angel food cake with whipped cream and blueberries, maple pie, ice cream, 1 beer, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Lifted weights on the upper body today -- did 25 push-ups, a new personal lifetime record. However, I tried to double the reps and found because I wasn't pausing my normal half to full second between actions, 10 reps felt a lot harder, he he. Instead of increasing weight on on some of this weight-lifting, going to focus on uninterupted motion and increasing reps.
TODAY'S COOKING
Burritos: Had a big container of black beans and brown rice I cooked a while ago. Bought a 24 whole wheat tortillas, shredded 3/4 of a pound of mild cheddar, and made a simple guac in the food processor (2 onions to liquidy, then two heads of cilantro, juice of two limes, a little salt, a little olive oil and the flesh of 5 avocados, all pulsed until relatively smooth -- came out more like an avocado mousse than what I was hoping for, oh well). Upon eating them, I found the soft smoothness of the cheese and guac, agains the overly-soft beans and rice (I think I didn't cook it down far enough) made for a very soft burrito lacking texture. I suspect Edie & B will dig them, though.
BREAKFAST: 9:30am, good yogurt with honey, vanilla and peanuts, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 12:30pm, large green salad, 2 bean burritos, watermelon, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 4:45pm, falafel sandwich on whole wheat, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 8pm, duck-testicle casoulet, escargot & marrow, cesar salad, rib-eye steak, mackerel with spatzle and ratatouille, banana cream pie, angel food cake with whipped cream and blueberries, maple pie, ice cream, 1 beer, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Wednesday, August 17
Staten Island Ur-Ride
Took a loop around Staten Island on the bike. Changed up the route a little, so the last leg was my "ur-ride" -- the first long ride I ever took. When I was 9 or 10, I got on my blue Ross no-speed and rode to the SI Mall for a McDonalds chocolate shake, then home -- as it turns out, that's 14 miles round trip for my little self!
Did a little food shop at Wholefoods after, picked up a Chinese brick in honor of my parents on the way home. Thought I was gonna do some cooking, but just conked out. Still pleasantly sore from Monday's workout, looking forward to pushing it on the upper parts tomorrow morning.
BREAKFAST: 8am, organic whole grain cheerios with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
BIKE SNACK: 11:30am, Gatorade, coffee cake, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
BIKE LUNCH: 2pm, 6" veggie burger sub, a few corn chips, cherry coke, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 6:30pm, curry chicken with pork fried rice, egg roll, slice of cheese cake, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, lime sorbet, .5 bowl hunger 4/5
Did a little food shop at Wholefoods after, picked up a Chinese brick in honor of my parents on the way home. Thought I was gonna do some cooking, but just conked out. Still pleasantly sore from Monday's workout, looking forward to pushing it on the upper parts tomorrow morning.
BREAKFAST: 8am, organic whole grain cheerios with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
BIKE SNACK: 11:30am, Gatorade, coffee cake, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
BIKE LUNCH: 2pm, 6" veggie burger sub, a few corn chips, cherry coke, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 6:30pm, curry chicken with pork fried rice, egg roll, slice of cheese cake, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, lime sorbet, .5 bowl hunger 4/5
Tuesday, August 16
Thinking of more sorbet
Chill Tuesday with the Ediegirl. Playground in the morning, a visit to Y at her new office in the afternoon followed by a nice playdate with a mom friend after. Picked up some nice CSA stuff on the way home, food shopping in the evening.
Pleasantly sore from the lower work out on Monday, nice to be sore again.
TODAY'S COOKING:
Lime Sorbet: Mixed the three components together in the work bowl of the kitchen aid (1.5 quarts of slightly gelatinized simple syrup, 4 oz of cooked stiff meringue, a pint of lime juice), strain out the remaining lumps of meringue and fed into the ice cream maker. Incredibly smooth and supple, very sweet. Basically the best lime Italian ice you'll ever have, gotta do this again with freshly squeeze orange juice and a jigger of vanilla!
AM SNACK: 9am, bite of banana
LUNCH: noon, sardine & avocado on homemade whole wheat bread, a few whole wheat pretzels, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 5:30pm, slice of streetza, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 8pm, mashed potatoes with sauteed chili vegetables, lime sorbet, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
EVENING SNACK: 10pm, nutella with whole grain pretzels, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Pleasantly sore from the lower work out on Monday, nice to be sore again.
TODAY'S COOKING:
Lime Sorbet: Mixed the three components together in the work bowl of the kitchen aid (1.5 quarts of slightly gelatinized simple syrup, 4 oz of cooked stiff meringue, a pint of lime juice), strain out the remaining lumps of meringue and fed into the ice cream maker. Incredibly smooth and supple, very sweet. Basically the best lime Italian ice you'll ever have, gotta do this again with freshly squeeze orange juice and a jigger of vanilla!
AM SNACK: 9am, bite of banana
LUNCH: noon, sardine & avocado on homemade whole wheat bread, a few whole wheat pretzels, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 5:30pm, slice of streetza, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 8pm, mashed potatoes with sauteed chili vegetables, lime sorbet, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
EVENING SNACK: 10pm, nutella with whole grain pretzels, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Monday, August 15
Easing into Monday
Spent part of the day in the movie theater, another part at home cooking up some random things. I think I need to cook some knishes and other savory things ASAP, the fridge is looking bare...
Changed up the weight regimen this morning, did only muscle groups below the chest, and doubled the reps -- the exercises I could complete the reps, I'm going to up the weight, the ones where I can't, the weight will remain for now. Thursday I will do the same for chest/arms/shoulders. Probably take a month to cycle through the whole routine, and will probably up my soreness, but the 1-time-a-week on each group instead of three should ease with recovery.
TODAY'S COOKING:
Lime Sorbet Components: Had all these extra limes that B picked up, so I busted out a c-school recipe. Three components: Pint of freshly squeeze lime juice, 2 ounces of cooked meringue (1 egg white, 2 oz sugar, whipped in a double boiler until very hot then finished in the kitchen aide until doubled in volume), and 5 cups of sorbet basic syrup (quart of water, pound and a half of sugar, 6 oz of corn syrup and 2 oz of gelatin brought to a rolling boil then refrigerated). Once chilled, the three components will be thoroughly mixed then sent through the ice cream maker.
Graham Crackers: Found graham flour in the supermarket randomly, so I indulged myself in the afternoon with this recipe. Came out very very molassesy, but I love the gritty texture-- usually grit is nasty, but something about graham grit that is actually quite nice. Might either adjust molasses down and increase brown sugar, or find a different recipe all together.
BREAKFAST: 8:15am, organic chex with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 12:30pm, good peanut butter on homemade whole wheat multigrain bread, potato chips, 2 pickles, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Probably the healthiest lunch in the entire theater, once again.
PM SNACK: 5:45pm, large green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 6:30pm, pasta with sauce, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
EVENING SNACK: 8pm, popcorn, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
EVENING SNACK: 10pm, waffle, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Changed up the weight regimen this morning, did only muscle groups below the chest, and doubled the reps -- the exercises I could complete the reps, I'm going to up the weight, the ones where I can't, the weight will remain for now. Thursday I will do the same for chest/arms/shoulders. Probably take a month to cycle through the whole routine, and will probably up my soreness, but the 1-time-a-week on each group instead of three should ease with recovery.
TODAY'S COOKING:
Lime Sorbet Components: Had all these extra limes that B picked up, so I busted out a c-school recipe. Three components: Pint of freshly squeeze lime juice, 2 ounces of cooked meringue (1 egg white, 2 oz sugar, whipped in a double boiler until very hot then finished in the kitchen aide until doubled in volume), and 5 cups of sorbet basic syrup (quart of water, pound and a half of sugar, 6 oz of corn syrup and 2 oz of gelatin brought to a rolling boil then refrigerated). Once chilled, the three components will be thoroughly mixed then sent through the ice cream maker.
Graham Crackers: Found graham flour in the supermarket randomly, so I indulged myself in the afternoon with this recipe. Came out very very molassesy, but I love the gritty texture-- usually grit is nasty, but something about graham grit that is actually quite nice. Might either adjust molasses down and increase brown sugar, or find a different recipe all together.
BREAKFAST: 8:15am, organic chex with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 12:30pm, good peanut butter on homemade whole wheat multigrain bread, potato chips, 2 pickles, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Probably the healthiest lunch in the entire theater, once again.
PM SNACK: 5:45pm, large green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 6:30pm, pasta with sauce, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
EVENING SNACK: 8pm, popcorn, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
EVENING SNACK: 10pm, waffle, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Sunday, August 14
Sunday Rain & Work
Rainy Sunday. B & E went uptown to visit grandma while I hunkered in and popped out a large but hearty presentation for a LS all about her knish life, for a lecture she's giving in a week. It was nice to do that kind of work again, it made 5 hours fly by like it was nothing.
Got out of the house in the late afternoon and picked up some Subway -- yes it's fast food, but at least I didn't have it delivered, he he.
BREAKFAST: 9:30am, organic wholegrain cheerios with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 1pm, mashed potato with chili veg, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 3pm, peanuts and chocolate chips, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 6:15pm, foot long veggie burger sub, potato chips, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Got out of the house in the late afternoon and picked up some Subway -- yes it's fast food, but at least I didn't have it delivered, he he.
BREAKFAST: 9:30am, organic wholegrain cheerios with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 1pm, mashed potato with chili veg, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 3pm, peanuts and chocolate chips, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 6:15pm, foot long veggie burger sub, potato chips, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
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