Artiste

I was distracted by Edie's massive art installation this morning, a piece that covered the walls of her bedroom and hallway, as well as very pieces of random furniture, that I forgot to pack a healthy breakfast.

AM SNACK: 9am, iced green tea
LUNCH: 12:30pm, 4 slices superthin pizza with mushroom, & onion, 8oz sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4:45pm,green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 5:45pm, 2 small slices pizza, .5 bowl hunger 4/5

DINNER: 10:30pm, cheddar chive biscuit with sausage gravy, water, assorted sweets from Milk Bar, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

I feel Spring.

Woke up late, had to get out with Edie to playgroup and sort out her preschool arrangements for next Fall. Got home and lifted weights, then V came over and we cooked up lunch and a bunch of cookies. Edie & I enjoyed the park for an hour before B got home, it was so nice to feel Spring kinda peeking around the corner and knocking on the door. Left overs and TV took me into the night.

TODAY'S COOKING:
Cheddar Chive Biscuits with Sausage Gravy: I eliminated the bacon from this old standby, and they still came out pretty perfect -- didn't hurt that I used full-fat cream-based buttermilk from the farmer's market. I just winged the gravy, as it's one of those things you know what it is -- it's just beschamel with crumbled cooked sausage thrown in, and kicked up a notch with pepper and cayenne. Crumbled and browned a lb of breakfast sausage, then cooked the pork fat with flour to a dark blonde roux. Slowly added a few cups of hot milk until it was the right consistency, tossed the sausage back in, salted, peppered and cayenned to taste, and it was good, dammit!

Prune & Cheese hamantashen: A goof. It's Purim in a few weeks, so what the hey. Got the recipes from the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. Two fillings, prunes (soaked, ground with walnuts, honey, citrus zest) and cheese (blended farmer's cheese, cream cheese, egg yolks, sugar, vanilla bean, salt), and a simple creamed-style cookie dough set off with a bit of sour cream. Came out pretty good.


BREAKFAST: 9am, good yogurt with honey, peanuts and vanilla, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


AFTERNOON SNACK: 12:15pm, iced green tea

LUNCH: 2:30pm, cheddar chive biscuit with sausage gravy, a handful of prune & cheese hamantashen, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 7:30pm, health salad, mushroom risotto, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Mast Brothers is BS

Spent most of the day at a friend's new apartment, helping paint the ceilings. Dinner plans got cancelled, so did a food shop and hung out with my ladies.

TODAY'S COOKING:
Shrimp n' Spinach: Did a shop at WF this evening to prep for cooking with a friend tomorrow. Picked up some big whole shrimp and a bag of frozen chopped spinach, and made it quick n' dirty. While large pan was heating, cleaned, deveined and butterflied the shrimp, placed in olive oil with onion powder and salt. Olive oil in the hot pan, dumped the bag of spinach, stirred. Added freshly crushed garlic, a shake of smoked paprika, a shake of cayenne, salt, cooked until it stopped steaming. Hit it with a splash of rice wine to deglaze, put in a bowl, wacked the shrimp in the pan until done, ate it all up yum!

AM SNACK: 9am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 11am, 2 donuts, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 1pm, 3 tiny pizza slices, water, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 4:45pm, health salad, pistachios, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 7pm, sauteed shrimp with spinach, bad chocolate, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Indulged in a Mast Brothers bar, makes a big deal of being a local producer, but it was totally ass. Chalky, sour tasting, unbalanced, and generally shitty.

EVENING SNACK: 11pm, hotdog, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Mushroom Fiesta

Good day, with a nice visit from a friend I have not seen since my wedding. Nice evening in with a movie with the wifey. Edie was a bit warm and cried a bit in the late evening, which was stressful, but  a bit of baby tylenol seemed to do the trick.

TODAY'S COOKING
Mushroom Duxelle Risotto: With my c-school risotto recipe, I adapted it to make it super-mushroomy. A friend recently gifted me some dried wood-ears and hen-of the woods, which I combined with some dried porcinis and morrels. I reconstituted them in the vegetable stock that I was using in the dish, which retained all the mushroomy goodness. Then I added some fresh shitakes, portobellos and beautiful chanterelles, chopped fine in the processor, sauteed in a little olive oil and salt until no more steam came off of them, then deglazed with a hit of sherry. Made the risotto with the veg-mushroom stock, and mixed in the duxelle at the end along with the other finishing agents (cold butter, marscapone, parmegan, salt, chopped parsley.) Happy with how it came out, super 'shroomy and tasty. Gonna make riceballs with the left overs on Monday.


AM SNACK: 10am, iced green tea


LUNCH: 12:30pm, mushroom risotto with health salad, 1 glass prosecco, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 4:45pm, good yogurt with honey and almonds, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 7:30pm, multigrain corn chips with school-made salsa, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 8:30pm, singapore mei fun, shrimp dumplings, scallion pancake, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Ordered from a new place, a pan-Asian place on 1st and 13th that happens to deliver this far south. I ordered some of the usual stuff I get from my local take out places, and two things: it's easily 2x as expensive and, and it's about 2x better -- fresher, tastier, better ingredients and a lighter hand on the greasiness. I don't think I'll be ordering again locally soon, unless I'm hankering for food memories from back in the day.


EVENING SNACK: midnight, small piece of cinnamon babka

Sleepy yoga

Good day of chores all morning and afternoon, cooking, organizing the kitchen, getting little things done around the house while also lovin' on Edie. Went to yoga with the HVS for the first time in a long time, despite being over-tired. Still enjoyed it. Surprisingly, HVS was up for something not 100% healthy so we went to a ramen shop and I got to indulge in a little pork and shrimp! Conked out early, soon after my evening snack.

TODAY'S COOKING
Mock Super Hippy Bread: Made 100% whole wheat bread with the cracked 7 grain cereal mixed in, only this time I eliminated the dried milk powder, making the bread vegan and more in the spirit of a super-hippy. It's another step closer to the original, it's less supple, more rough, less luscious, more in your face, but it's still not there. I think there may be some sort of sour-dough starter in the original, and I suspect there may be whole grain flours other than white in the original, so next version I may have to take a more radical step.

Health Salad: One small cabbage still made a huge bowl of this simple slaw.

AM SNACK: 7am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 8:15am, 5 small buttermilk pancakes, water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 12:30pm, sardines and avocado on freshly baked super hippy bread, health salad, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, school made fresh salsa with multigrain corn chips, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

SNICKLEDINNER: 8:15pm, shio ramen, shrimp shumai, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, small ramekin of chocolate chips, peanuts and pretzels
We had a few little packets of peanuts and pretzels from the flight. Mixing them with the chips was surprisingly delicious, and baseline it cut down the caloric density if I just ate chips.

First day of class

Good busy day. Woke up late, finally normalizing after the LA trip and upset system. B went out to a playdate group with Edles while I lifted weights, then picked up a new bike from the shop, a wonderful early birthday present from B & her family.

Today was the first day of teaching this semester, 7 kids, a very quiet and focused group, very easily the best first class I've had. Feedback at the end was very positive, too, which hopefully means the pleasure was mutual. Swung by Wholefoods on the way home. Had a hard time falling asleep.

Tomorrow is home chores, followed by snickleyoga, hopefully that will get my sleep back on track once and for all!

AM SNACK: 9:30am, iced green tea


LUNCH: 1pm, frozen fish sticks, onion rings, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

SCHOOL SNACKIES: 6-7pm, cup of fruit smoothie, fresh salsa and corn chips, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 8:30pm, brown rice sushi & nori rolls, shrimp summer roll, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10pm, cashews & chocolate chips


EVENING SNACK: midnight, Jamaican beef pattie, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Bad eating day

Resto is tiny bit busier, but I now have a server and busser on the floor, so I now go back to my more sedentary look-and-comment role. Yeah, I'm still up and hustling a tiny bit, but that part of the job (looking-commenting-while-helping-and-assisting-everybody) wont kick in until it's much busier.

Sleep schedule is just returning, and the final dregs of my upset system is exiting, that and low & out of stock of the healthier things at work lead to a very bad eating day.

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, oatmeal, water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
AM SNACK: 11:15am, freshly baked bread, Manhattan Special, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Haven't had this espresso soda in a while, as it's too sweet, but between the remnants of jet lag and a lack of ready tea this morning, it hit the spot.

LUNCH: 2pm, 3 small slices salad pizza, 8 oz sprite, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 7pm, meatballs with bread and sauce, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, half a coffee cake, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
No comment.

Weighty thoughts

231.8--->226.0

I wouldn't give too much credit to this fluctuation. On one hand, yes, I've stepped up the weight lifting seriously this month and am starting to actually feel the difference in my tone and strength. On the other hand, I extremely foolishly ate a cheeseburger on Saturday that put my guts in a knot on Sunday and Monday, limiting my intake and overdriving my output.

I'm back to fine now, but it definitely suggests a false read on my current weight.

Los Angeles was nice. Came in on a rainy Friday night, Saturday my friend M spent the day taking me around in the morning, then me and Edie in the afternoon, while B stayed in and got over her travel shock. We hit up the Farmer's Market (not an actual farmer's market, but a lot of outdoor food stalls -- AMAZING beef taco), over to Fairfax to an incredibly lame "NY style" pizza slice, by U of C for an In & Out Cheeseburger -- surprisingly good, surprisingly little meat, really didn't think it would hurt me (boy was I wrong!)

My over all impression of what I saw was, coast is beautiful (the pier was nice), West Hollywood is full of douche bags with too much money and too little taste, there seems to be a movie theater for every 3 people, and the food culture has potential to rival NY (though I'd really need a week to really get a read on all the different levels.) Weather was fantastic, but felt a bit fakey, if weather can actually do that...


AM SNACK: 8:45am, iced green tea, handful of chocolate covered espresso beans
LUNCH: 12:45pm, 2 superthin slices, 8oz sprite
DINNER: 5:45pm, order of meatballs with bread and sauce, dry ginger ale, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 7pm, 8oz apple juice

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, house special lomein, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Off to LA

Woke up a bit blown-out from yesterday's unexpected harried day and my highly-caloric wind-down, but Edie was in a fantastic mood, running riot around the house and being generally a beautiful pain-in-da-butt.

Me & the fam are going to L.A. tomorrow and I'll be away until Monday eve, so this blog will go dark until Tuesday. My friend M will be showing me around a bit, full expect to eat some good Mexican cart food and eat out of restaurants who are shaped like the food they serve.

TODAY'S COOKING:
Tomato Sauce: Cooked it with extra onion, a bit of sherry, a few drops of balsamic, and simmered a Parmesan rind in it.

AM SNACK: 9am, iced green tea

LUNCH: 1:15pm, homemade angelhair pasta with sauce, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 8pm, shrimp saag with basmanti rice, garlic naan, samosa, water, chocolate chips and cashews, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Eurotrash SOBs

Things seem to be on the cusp of turning around at the restaurant, may have to actually have an additional staff member to do the floor in the next week or two so I can focus on more managerial stuff.






Got a good run-around today, felt good to just be moving without any big pauses. Wiped me out, though, makes me long for good 9 hour bike rides that will be part of my life soon!

AM SNACK: 9am, iced green tea
BREAKFAST:10am, the good oatmeal, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: noon, 4 slices Sicilian, 8 oz Sprite, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 4:30pm, vegetarian meatballs is sweet chili sauce over red wholegrain rice, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Tired of the resto food, cheap-ass Eurotrash customers who don't tip getting on my nerves, so treated myself to delivery from another resto in the hood.


EVENING SNACK: 11pm, Jamaican beef patties, onion rings, chocolate cake, water, 1.75 bowl, hunger 4/5
No comment.

Superthin appreciation

Set my alarm for 7 so I could get some work done and lift weights before taking off to work, as I would have lifted yesterday if not for the working holiday.

TODAY'S COOKING:
Oatmeal: Cooked up a batch of steelcut oats by soaking them overnight in a solution of salt, brown sugar and cinnamon, reheated to thick this morning. A little too much salt. I should of made measurements, so I can get it down to a science.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea, chocolate covered coffee beans
BREAKFAST: 10:15am, the good oatmeal, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 1pm, 5 superthin slices with onion, mushroom, garlic, 8oz sprite
PM SNACK: 5:45pm, green salad, water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 7pm, 2 slices pizza, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
The cook made a pizza, in the restaurant's style. Too thick, too heavily cheesed, too greasy, made me appreciate the healthy crispiness and balance of my superthin. 



EVENING SNACK: 10pm, hot dog, cashews & chocolate chip, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Nuts Get Me By

Restaurant open for President's Day, mildly busy. Forgot to make the oatmeal, ate through some nuts to get me by.

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea
BREAKFAST: 10:30am, pistachios, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 1:15am, 4 slices superthin pizza, small glass of apple juice, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 5:15pm, green salad, small amount of chocolate babka, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5



EVENING SNACK: 10pm, Singapore chow mai fun, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Pleasant NYC Sunday

Chill day. Spent the morning with Edie, and after she went down, spent the afternoon with my friend K, then road around for awhile then popped over to Brooklyn for dinner with the owner of the resto.

AM SNACK: 10:30am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 12:30pm, organic wholegrain cheerios with organic dead milk, a banana, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 3:15pm, a few snippets of homemade cinnamon babka


PM SNACK: 4pm, 1 slice Artichoke pizza, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Walking by under the high line, no line, so I tried a slice of Artichoke Basile's signature slice.  Basically, take a horrible "mac n' cheese" slice from a dirty kebab-and-pizza slice joint, take away the pasta, add a few leaves off a marinated artichoke bulb, and there you go. Basically a big wet pad of beschemel sauce on some generic crust, with not enough artichoke to give a particular flavor. Very heavy, very greasy, very filling, not very satisfying. The Emperor has no clothes.


DINNER: 6:15pm, matzoh ball soup, a pickle, half a smoked meat sandwich, half a portion of kasha varnishkes, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Went to Mile End with my boss, ate around the menu. Their kasha is interesting, with chicken gizzards and a little bit too much schmaltz. Still unimpressed with their meat.

Straight Ballin', Yo

Spent the day in, recovering from a cough and stuffy nose, went out just to give Edie a nice walk around the 'hood. Kept my self busy when my momma-in-law email-shouted that chicken soup should be served in a sick house. Too bad B was too stubborn to have any.

TODAY'S COOKING
Matzoball soup: It's nice when a well-stocked pantry lets you do what you want on the fly, without having to leave the house. Especially when everyone is sick! I'm getting over a head cold, B slept 15 hours, and Edie is finishing a course of antibiotics to knock out a small chest infection. Yomomma was shouting in email about Jewish penicillin, so I did a quick run down in my head of what I needed, and while I didn't have the ingredients for IDEAL matzo ball soup, I had everything I needed.

Half gallon of homemade chicken stock out of the freezer and onto the fire. 8 eggs, bar of melted butter, some homemade seltzer, salt and pepper, 2 cups of matzo meal combined and refrigerated for 30 minutes. Balled into 1" rounds, dropped in simmer stock around with 2 slivered carrots. Finished with pastina in the last few minutes, little tiny pasta stars. Seasoned with salt and pepper, BAM! Homemade chicken soup in about an hour.

Ideal: Shmaltz would of made the balls much tastier, and unlike butter, kosher. A chicken breast quickly sauteed then chopped up into the finished soup would of made a more complete thing. A mess of chopped parsley would of given a nice color and taste. Celery and onion to compliment the carrot would of made for a bigger heartier soup.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea
I steeped this batch for 8 minutes instead of 10, and it made a big difference. Despite only 1/2 cup of sugar into the whole gallon, noticeably less bitter.


BREAKFAST: 9:45am, toasted pumpernickel bagel with creamcheese, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 1:30pm, large green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 2pm, homemade matzoball soup, health salad, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 2:45pm, chocolate babka, seltzer, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 8:30pm, shrimp burrito, tortilla chips, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, small ramekin of dark chocolate chips

Babkatopia

Woke up to Edie hollerin' at 6am. Sore from a good lifting session yesterday, and stuffed up and sore throat from an annoying cold. Got a lot done today, meeting with tax attorney, laundry done, babkas cooked, a nice walk with Edie, thought I was feeling ok. When B got home, she was feeling rough so I decided to cancel my evening's plans and while she was playing with Edie, I laid down to close my eyes for a second and...all of a sudden it was 9pm! I guess my cold got the better of me.

TODAY'S COOKING:
Babka:Oy. I haven't made babka this season yet, and the warm weather reminded me that yes, this season will be over eventually (and at work, I go back to Mondays on a regular basis on March 21st.) So this weekend's project was babkas.

I looked at the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food's recipe and was unimpressed (not as rich, not as chocolaty, sweeter) so I stuck with the recipe I've been using, but for a change up I did two things: I did make a batch of cinnamon filling from the book (mostly brown sugar, spiked with cinnamon, butter and a few tablespoons of corn syrup to give  a good mouth feel) and made the strusel at the end of the recipe.

I made a double recipe of dough, and my 5 quart mixer could  barely contain it, what a mess. I should have done two batches. And I ran the chocolate through the food processor to chop it quick, but while incorporating the butter, sugar and spices, it started melting a little and seizing -- should have froze the chocolate first. And never having topped the babkas with strusel, I assumed it would spread and look a bit like icing (as it's confectioner's sugar, butter and flour), but did not spread and turned tan -- I should of piped it into a nice pattern, instead it looks like my babka have cancer.

But 9 medium loaves and 5 mini loaves were produced. I started the dough around 8:30am, and the actual babkas exited the oven a little before 5. One fell on the floor while being removed, so I ate a few slices of that one, and when B got home, she killed it with cream cheese (!). That's like slathering an eggy, sugary stick of butter riddled by dark chocolate with fatty dairy spread!

AM SNACK: 7:15am, half a glass of green iced tea

BREAKFAST: 7:45am, organic wholegrain chex with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Usually not that hungry this early, but it came on me.

AM SNACK: 11am, snippets of chocolate babka filling (dark chocolate ground with sugar and cinnamon)

LUNCH: 1pm, small green salad, 2 fish sticks, large amount of angel hair pasta with oil & garlic, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 5pm, 2 slices of babka, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, small amount of wholegrain gold fish


EVENING SNACK: 11pm, hotdog with extra kraut, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

Thank goodness the DMV doesn't serve food.

Productive day. Spent the morning with Edie and lifted weights more effectively, concentrating on going slow. A sitter took over, and I went out for errands, including a horrible 2.5 hours at the DMV to get my license renewed. People who work there just don't give a crap.

TODAY'S COOKING
Iced Tea: Another gallon for the week, picked up some ridiculously expensive tins of loose Japanese green tea while out today.
Green Salad: Mixing it up with the health salad!

BREAKFAST: 9am, iced green tea

LUNCH: noon, sardines and avocado on homemade wholewheat bread, health salad, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 4pm, brown rice sushi & brown rice nori rolls, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 6pm, bowl of mixed pierogies in butter, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Finished the batch I made for the stupidbowl. 13 pieces turned out to me not that much, because I made them so small.


EVENING SNACK: 8pm, popcorn, a little caramel ice cream, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, chocolate chips & cashews, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Don't Mess with MY oatmeal!

Third day at work, due to V-day. Next week I'm working 3 due to President's day. Looking forward to the busy season where I'll be in the resto Mon-Wed and in class on Thursdays. Makes Edie-Day on Friday all the more delicious!

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea
The cup of Japanese "blossom" green tea I had was so great this past week, later this week I plan to acquire a whole mess of it, along with some tea-brewing equipment, and totally upgrade my tea-game.

BREAKFAST: 10:15am, Irish Oatmeal, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Urg, need the good oatmeal back. Good thing Edie and Betsy like this oatmeal, will make the other half of the can for them so they don't mess with MY good oatmeal!!

LUNCH: 12:15pm, 4 slices superthin pizza with mushroom & onion, 8oz sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 8pm, green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Had to single-handedly work a group of 20 for 3 hours, buffet-style while working the rest of the resto and the phones, so while I didn't work THAT hard, I couldn't stop to eat either.



DINNER: 10:30pm, burgers, fries, 3/4 of an apple pie, 2 bowls, hunger 4/5
No comment.

Smooth Smoothie

Edie's coughing was on the uptick the last day and night, and it even kept ME up a bit. Woke up 6ish with Betsy and Edie, got some weight lifting in and chores around the house before they took off to the doctor. Turns out Edles has a sinus infection, is going on anti-biotics for the first time. :(. Well, it should be cleared up in a few days, so that's good. She's so CUTE when she coughs, her mouth is a tight little puckered O shape, wah!

TODAY'S COOKING:
Smoothie: banana, green grapes, frozen mango-cherries-blueberries, the good yogurt, organic dead milk, ground flax, vanilla extract, pinch o' salt. Pretty good, as usual. Pre-ground flax really takes an inconvenient step out, I suspect the cost in nutrition is negligible.

AM SNACK: 7am, iced green tea
BREAKFAST: 9am, smoothie, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 1:15pm, 4 slices superthin pizza, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 5:45pm, fried shrimp with green salad, 8oz sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, beef lomein, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 11:30pm, cashews and chocolate chips, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Valentine's Work

The resto was open for V-day, thought I'd wake up early to lift weights, but slept through. I've been lifting 3 days a week for a few weeks now, and am starting to feel a little bit different. Come late March, between weekly yoga and weekly bike rides, the lifting will be cut back, but for now it's a good source of physical exertion.

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea
BREAKFAST: 10am, oatmeal, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
What the? I bought a barrel of "Irish Oatmeal", assuming it was the same thing as my beloved "steel cut" "pinhead" oats. It LOOKED the same, but when I put them on to soak, they took all the water very quickly, in a few hours instead of overnight. Now that I'm eating it, the texture is very different -- the oat lumps a are smaller, less firm, and the starchy goo that develops between the oats is....less gooey. I suspect these oats were cut smaller and maybe even parcooked then dried for quicker cooking. Bleah. I have friends who swear by this stuff, but it's just a convenience compromise that delivers an inferior final product.

LUNCH: 1pm, 4 slices superthin pizza, water
PM SNACK: 4pm, green salad, 8oz sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 5pm, Jaques Torres chocolate chip cookie, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
A server did a chocolate run down the street, as it was slow and we were all jonesing for the main culinary ingredient of the day's holiday.

PM SNACK: 6pm, small slice salad pizza
DINNER: 7:45pm, meatballs, sauce, bread, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

I wish cheesecake was healthy in any way.

Betsy was away at a shower with my cheesecake most of the daytime, while me n' Edles got stuff done in the 'hood and around the house. Made a nice dinner for B, for after the Edles went to bed.

TODAY'S COOKING
Pasta with sauce: I'll be working v-day tomorrow, so made a batch of pasta dough, rolled and cut into very thin square spaghetti, so thin it came out more like angel hair. Took about 2 minutes to cook after an afternoon of drying. Cooked down the onions for an hour before quickly cooking the mushrooms with a little fresh garlic. Had the last of the  sauce in the freezer from November, should make a fresh batch soon.

AM SNACK: 9:30am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 11am, toasted pumpernickel bagel with butter and sable, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 3pm, hotdog with mustard & kraut, health salad, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 7pm, slice of cheesecake, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
B brought me home a wedge of the cake I made for her friend's baby shower. Surprisingly, I think by luck and by accident, I made a nearly perfect NY-style cheesecake. At the last minute, I through in extra egg yolks and a few drops of lemon essence, and baked at 200 from a cold oven for about 3.5 hours. Texture was perfectly smooth and creamy, but cheesecakey firm. The slight lemon tone perfectly complimented the vanilla. The only minus was the crust -- I used store-bought 100% wholewheat graham crackers that just didn't taste right. The next cheesecakes will involve graham crackers from scratch.

DINNER: 7:45pm, homemade angel hair pasta with homemade sauce, sauteed portobellos and caramelized onion, 1 glass prosecco, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, handful of whole wheat graham crackers