False start to ride season

Another good day. Baked in the morning, had B's cousin and few folk over, and in the afternoon road out to Brooklyn to test a bike with a friend. After two moderate loops around Prospect Park, my appetite got unexpectedly large -- I think in the end I rode about 20 miles, pretty much the most since the riding season ended in October.

TODAY'S COOKING:
Banana Walnut Muffins: I've made these quite successfully twice, but I miffed it this time -- distracted, I failed to cream the butter and sugar, and instead just through it in with the bananas, eggs and vanilla and just mixed away before adding the dry. Man, it made a difference -- these muffins are dense and kinda greasy.

AM SNACK: 8:15am, iced green tea

AM SNACK: 10:15am, banana walnut muffin

LUNCH: noon, 2 fish sticks and health salad, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5 

PM SNACK: 3:30pm, 2 cups of hot tea, unsweetened

PM SNACK: 4pm, 1 slice of streetza, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 5:15pm, mixed vegetarian pierogies in butter, piece of dark chocolate, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACKS: 11-midnight, small amount of onion rings, gold fish, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Good Friday

Good Friday, got a lot done. Laundry, brought in the commuter bike for tuning up, a nice walk about with Edie, a play date with another dad in the afternoon, cooked a few things.

TODAY'S COOKING
Mock Superhippy Bread: Got to the next step! Got the water ratio right with the added grain cereal. But this loaf is more tender than the strong, chewy superhippy bread. Next loaf will eliminate the milk powder, making it more hippish and vegan, and hopefully chewier. If that doesn't work, I may have to experiment with a mix of flours.


Cheese Cakes: Made some straight up NY-style cheesecakes, one for a baby shower B is attending on Sunday, one to bring to a friend tomorrow who is letting me try out a bike that B might buy me for my birthday. Which means I may not get to try this cheesecake, though the one lick of batter was pretty amazing. Used this recipe, but added a few extra egg yolks, scrapings of 5 vanilla beans, a half teaspoon of salt (NO cake EVER should not have salt), and a teaspoon of lemon extract just for a acidy zing.

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea

LUNCH: 12:30pm, sardine & avocado on mock superhippy bread, health salad, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Mashed the sardine with the avocado, quite good. Health salad a little less snappy then last time, not sure why. Might just be a moister cabbage, could be a reaction to lessening  the sugar by a third.

PM SNACK: 5pm, a few fancy chocolates
B was getting cranky for chocolate, so I pulled out the box of Jaques Torres I was going to give her for Valentines.


PM SNACK: 6:30pm, pistachios


DINNER: 7:30pm, lomein, shrimp toast, wonton soup, water, dark chocolate, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
B out at book club, the baby asleep, I reverted to my singlehood and snarfed Chinese while watching TV. I guess better that than shooting gank and picking up randoms...

Canadian No

A good busy day. Did grocery shopping in the morning, went out to Red Hook for some successful recruiting for the cooking class which starts in March, then met up with Y for lunch at Mile End. Caught a movie right after, then home to my ever lovin' family.

TODAY'S COOKING
Health Salad: B didn't finish the green salad and it went to waste, so trying something different this week. Really enjoyed this last week, perhaps it can be a go-to vegetable this week. Mainly raw shredded cabbage, dressed in 3 parts white vinegar, 2 parts sugar, salt, white pepper and a little olive oil.

AM SNACK: 8:45am, iced green tea
I cut the sugar by 1/3, and I could really taste the difference. Barely sweet, but sweet enough to tamp down bitter notes. Hmmm. Not sure if I like it more or less yet.

BREAKFAST: 10:30am, sable with cream cheese on pumpernickel bagel, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Ate this right after I got home from purchasing it, bagel fresh and not toasted. Wow, damn good.

PM SNACK: 12noon, a few squares of homemade brownie

LUNCH: 2:15pm, smoked meat on rye, fries, matzoh ball soup, pickles, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Went to Mile End in Brooklyn with a friend for lunch, it's been getting a lot of hype as a Canadian-styled deli right here in NYC. Very unimpressed. I guess it's "authentic", but in the end the 2nd Ave Deli is what I grew up on and love.

DINNER: 9pm, shrimp parm hero, green salad, chocolate chips and cashews, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Noahzona Ice Tea

Another slow day at work. Bleah.

TODAY'S COOKING:
Iced Green Tea: I now have a gallon pitcher to measure water. So it's: 1 gallon water and now 1/2 cup white sugar (down from 3/4) brought to a boil, 10 jasmine green and 5 Himalayan green tea bags set in the water, heat turned off, covered, for 10 minutes. Take bags out, let cool, then refrigerate.

Now my 1 pint (16 oz serving) has 3 teaspoons of sugar in it -- according to the interweb tubes, a 16 oz can of Arizona Iced Tea has.... 15 teaspoons of sugar (corn syrup). Hmmm. So I now have 1/5 the sugar in Noahzona Iced Tea than our leading competitor...


BREAKFAST: 9am, iced green tea, wholegrain organic cheerios with organic dead milk, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: noon, half a calzone, 8oz sprite, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Brought in the extra pierogie cheese filling and used it in a calzone, along with spinach and other vegetables. Farmer's cheese is amazingly good, why is it so much tastier than ricotta?

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


PM SNACK: 8:30pm, 3 slices superthin pizza, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, sack o' cookies, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
No comment.

Work work

Work is so slooooow...

AM SNACK: 9am, iced green tea
 
AM SNACK: 10:45am, a few spoonfuls of oatmeal

I tried to have this for breakfast at work, but it tasted a little sour so I threw it out. Wah!

LUNCH: noon, 4 slices superthin pizza, 8oz Sprite, 1 bowl,hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 5:15pm, green salad, water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6:45pm, Sicilian pizza, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10pm, shrimp fried rice, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Dinner in Red & Green

Good Monday. Playgroup in the morning, then nap and lunch. Playdate with C and her baby in Brooklyn in the afternoon. Dinner with my wifey in the eve!

TODAY'S COOKING:
Smoothie: banana, blueberries, grapes, cherries, mango, milk, good yogurt, ground flax, salt, vanilla extract. Went a bit heavy on the blueberries by accident and came out really sweet, very drinkable though. Vanilla and banana are such complimentary flavors.


Pasta with spinach: Hmmmm. Pasta is a "once a week" red-zone food, but by throwing some chopped spinach in it (from freezer to micro to pot with hot pasta) it actually tasted really good and nudged it into the green zone a little. Maybe whole wheat pasta heavier on the spinach next time. Added a little bit of homemade tomato sauce, a shot of good olive oil and a handful of grated parm really zinged up these wagon wheels.

BREAKFAST: 9am, smoothie, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 12:30pm, breaded fish fillets, large green salad, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, green chai tea, graham crackers, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Technically, "graham" flour is whole wheat flour, but these industrial cookies mix it with more than 50% refined flour than sweeten it up with corn syrup, so no way they can get a green rating. Tempting to make my own with 100% whole grain and lightly sweetened with real sugar.

DINNER: 6:15pm, pasta with spinach, cashews & chocolate chips, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 1am, pistachios, 2 buttermilk pancakes, 4 little bags of chocolate geltAnd it was such a good eating day until this point! If I was just asleep, this wouldn't of happened, but restlessness combined with hunger combined with stress, well, fneh.

Stuporbowl

If I had known they were playing, I would have made a black-eyed pea dish just to make people groan. For the first time in a long time, I was pretty happy with how everything I made came out. The pierogies boiled up from frozen perfectly, and tossed them with melted butter and chopped caramelized onion. The health salad was a nice counterpoint to the heavy meats served, and I got a few compliments of the ice cream.

Woke up with a stiff stomach. I wonder if it has something to do with my weight regime. I've been focusing on core strength for the bike, and though I enjoy waking up sore, maybe it's interfering with appetite? That can't be a bad thing...

TODAY'S COOKING:
Onion rings & battered cheese curds: I cooked at T's house when I got there, the stuff I brought was labor & time intensive stuff that would have taken all day, and longer because I was in a strange kitchen. Deep frying has to be done a-la-minute. Deep frying, as they taught in c-school, can be done by a bunch of trained monkeys and still be delicious, hence the preponderance of deep fried foods in fast food establishments. We made a simple beer batter fluffed up by egg whites, and fried in half peanut oil and half lard. Pretty damn good.

Mac n' Cheese: I've made this so many times, I don't even use a recipe anymore. Just grab and go, and it comes out good.

AM SNACK: 10am, iced green tea

Stuporbowl eats: 2-8pm, tortilla chips & queso, pierogies, beer boiled bratwurt, pulled pork, a bite of mac n' cheese, a bit of health salad, a homemade soft pretzel, 1 beer, 2 cups diet coke, 2 cups seltzer, 1 slice chocolate cake, one scoop ice cream, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Perogathon!

Puzzle me this, Batman: If you eat diet cheese and drink diet milk, but go bat shit crazy when confronted with ice cream and snarf as much of it as possible as quickly as possible, wouldn't it make sense to perhaps try moderating small amounts of full-fat dairy in your diet (like, say, a bit of cream in Butternut Squash soup) on a regular basis instead of binging on it whenever confronted with a sweet snack? Well? Hmmm?


TODAY'S COOKING
Butternut Squash Soup: While waiting for the first batch of perogie dough to set in the fridge, knocked this out for B and her mom and bro, who were coming over for lunch. Sauteed an onion, garlic, sauteed an apple with it, added the cubed peeled squash and covered with vegetable broth. Simmered to soft, blended, seasoned with salt, cinnamon and cayenne. Put it back on the simmer to thicken up. The three of them snarfed the whole thing before I got to have any! I guess it was good.


Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream: Wowzers, this came out kinda perfect. Smooth and silky, mildly chocolaty so the hazelnut really works a nice bass tone of savory nuttiness.

Spinach/Kraut/Kasha/Potato/Cheese Perogies: I've been eating perogies my entire life, but never actually made them. I got a recipe for the dough and cheese filling from my friend K, who grew up in a Polish household (the other 4 fillings I just winged, based on my schooling.)

Spinach was sauteed with olive oil, garlic, caramelized onion and a dash of cayenne. Kraut was store-bought, then fried in a dry pan with a bit of the oily caramelized onions until it turned color and got really dry - tasted surprisingly mild. Kasha was cooked with chicken stock, salted to taste. Potato was simple red potatoes skinned and boiled, passed through a ricer, seasoned with shredded Gouda, salt and pepper. The cheese filling was something to behold, so delicious. Farmer's cheese, eggs, raw grated onion, sour cream, salt, pepper, so incredibly punchy and grabbing, the best of the bunch.

The dough was very rich, no water, just egg, sour cream and butter for liquids. It was a very stiff dough, and even though I made a double batch, I quickly realized I needed much more dough to cut out enough 2" rounds. Ended up making another triple batch, about 150 two-bite dumplings. About half are coming with me to the stupidbowl party, the other half will be for giveaway and eating on for the next few weeks. Pretty much spent the whole day rolling, filling, pinching with fork tines, boiling, shocking, drying, freezing.


AM SNACK: 10:15am, iced green tea


AM SNACK: 11:30am, a spoonful of chocolate hazelnut ice cream


PM SNACKING: 12noon-6pm, various failed perogies, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Whenever they'd open up, I'd open up and gobble them down. A bit watery, but quite good.


DINNER: 8pm, hot dog with fried kraut and whole wheat potatonik, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Just too tired of cooking all day to make anything more involved.

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, cashews and chocolate chips, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Breakfast forlorn

Forgot to eat anything for breakfast, just felt tight in the stomach and busy working on the ice cream, the potatoes, looking after Edles, etc.

TODAY'S COOKING
Chocolate Hazelnut icecream custard: Looking for a flavor to compliment a a friend's chocolate cake. Very mildly chocolatey, very hazelnutty, lik Nutella gone ice cream....
Potato filling: For tomorrow's perogiathon. Riced potatoes, a bit of gouda, salt, black pepper, that's it.

PM SNACK: 12:30pm, 2 small burgers from freezer, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 2pm, bowl of health salad, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 5pm, pistachios, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6:30pm, vegetarian Ethiopian food, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 9pm, peanut butter & chocolate chips

It had to go down

Went to supermarket in the morning, cooked in the afternoon. Took Edie to the doc for a booster shot, and B took her home. I planned to go to yoga, had my yoga bag and everything, but after an hour of burning up time at a Barnes & Noble, I realized my muscles were achy from lifting weights in the morning, I was hungry despite the late lunch, and I felt a bit woozy from a lack of sleep. I was in bed and asleep by 9:30, fneh.

TODAY'S COOKING
Green Salad: Reload for the week.
Health Salad: For Sooperbowl Sunday, though I made a double batch because it's so damn healthy. From the 2nd Ave Deli cookbook, it's the slaw they put out for every table, raw cabbage and a few bits of veg marinated in vinegar, sugar and a little salt and pepper, super simple and super delicious.
Four perogie fillings (cheese, spinach, kasha, kraut): The first step in making a relatively involved dish for sooperbowl.


AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 10:15am, brown rice California roll, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 3pm, green salad, hot dog with mustard, kraut and caramelized onions, homemade wholewheat potatonik, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5 
Wasn't quite planning on a hot dog, but I was caramelizing onions for the perogies, and had kraut on hand, so it was an opportunity to have a properly dressed hot dog. And I had the homemade potatonik on hand, which is my go-to side for a hotdog, so it had to go down!!



DINNER: 7pm, curry ramen, pork dumplings, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, dark chocolate

Thinking of cooking

NYC was covered in a sheen of ice while it rained down frozen bits of hell. The restaurant was pretty empty most of the day.  Spent some time dreaming of what I'm cooking for a friend's Sooperbowl party on Sunday. Four kinds of vegetarian perogies, 2nd Ave Deli health salad, two things good to have around the house. And the almighty MAP will be baking a chocolate cake, trying to figure out an ice cream that will be a nice counterpoint.

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea
Only half a glass because it tasted a bit like dish washing liquid.

BREAKFAST: 10:45am, the good oatmeal, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 2pm, 4 slices superthin pizza, 8oz sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 5pm, green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 7:15pm, experimental chocolate stromboli, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Second crack. A little bit better, but too thick, raw dough in the middle. Gotta figure out a way to do it with the sizes of dough we are already making.




EVENING SNACK: 11pm, burgers, onions rings, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
No comment.

Weighty thoughts

232 ---> 231.8

So my weight has been static this month, but I do feel better for sure. Though I haven't been really writing about it here for fear of hexing it, I've been weight-training three times a week, with a new set of weights that are much more effective, as it's very easy to change the amount of weight from rep to rep.

My old set was purchased for me by my dad when I was in high school. My dad and I went to the Staten Island Mall for it, and I remember distinctly carrying the box of weights from the store to the car with great effort. I set up an ad-hoc weight bench in my room in Staten Island with a board with a towel stapled to it, resting on two plastic buckets -- it's amazing I didn't do serious harm to myself. I wonder what my dad was thinking when he purchased that set for his son.

Anyway, this weight set has been following me around for over 20 years, and the chrome finish has been chipping off recently -- since I use them in Edie's room with her watching, I didn't like this suspicious material flaking off into her environment.

Now every time I lift, I feel sore in a few different muscle groups, and have one or two days to recover. I've gone from struggling with 4 push ups at the beginning of January to struggling with 8, and hope to struggle with 12 before this month is done.

I guess the plan for the next two months of winter is to keep eating more in the green zone, keep lifting three times a week, and expect more serious weight loss come April when work goes to 3 days a week and distance bike riding can resume.

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea
BREAKFAST: 10:15am, small amount of the good oatmeal, toasted pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese and sable, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Finally with new doohickies in the cannon, packed a more aggressive breakfast to work. Only had a little bit of the old batch of oatmeal, so made the bagel -- unfortunately, toasted bagel becomes chewy and tough when left in a container for 30 minutes. Gotta rethink this for transport.

LUNCH: 1:15pm, 4 slices superthin pizza with mushrooms and peppers, 8oz Sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 3:45pm, green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6pm, 4 small slices of Sicilian, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10pm, cashews & chocolate chips, 3 small buttermilk pancakes, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

A la Noah

Woke up, got Edie to the playgroup where she danced and clapped a little to the leader's song-time a little, a first.  While Edie napped, got some cooking done, lifted weights, etc. A good busy productive day.

TODAY'S COOKING
Iced Tea & Pinhead Oats: Just making more to get through another week, keep me in the green zone.

Buttermilk Pancakes: Holy crap! The NY Times made a big deal of real buttermilk a few weeks ago, so last week I used the usual mass-produced industrial stuff, and this week I got some of this fabled farmer-market buttermilk and had a go with the pancakes. My god, damn, it really makes a huge difference. The previous batch kinda had a sour-creamy tang with a slight undertone of metal, while this batch was neither -- it's flavor was uniquely buttermilky, tangy in a mildly pleasant way. Both batches were ridiculously tender and moist without being even slightly fatty or greasy. Never again, farmer's market butter milk is the only way to go.

Pasta a la Noah: Wagon wheel pasta out of the box. Large saute pan, olive oil and butter, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, a dash of salt, 2 cloves of garlic crushed into right before pasta tossed in. Covered with a generous handful of freshly grated parm. Simple, good.


AM SNACK: 9am, iced green tea


LUNCH: 12:45pm, large green salad, pasta with butter and oil, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4pm, 5 small buttermilk pancakes, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5 

DINNER: 7pm, half a pizza, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Ordered in with the fam.

Spectacular Edie

Not a great eating day, but a spectacular Edie day. The two of us went around the corner to the greasy spoon I used to go to a lot with my parents, and Edie feasted on bits of bacon and experimented with using a straw with an adult cup of water, rather than the built in straw of her water bottle. B went out to brunch with friends then go to work, so Edie & I ventured by foot and carriage to the ferry to Ikea, had lunch in the very baby-friendly caf there, then made our way back home in time for a baby's b-day at a playroom in the hood. Edie loved the goldfish, though I wonder if they were too salty. Next time at the supermarket, will give a closer look at 'em.


AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 9:15am, BLT on rye with mustard, homefries, half a can of diet coke, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 12 noon, Swedish meatballs in gravy, mashed potatoes, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 3:30pm, Greek honey-phillo dough things, goldfish, half a beer, a few slices of spinach-stuffed bread, a small fneh brownie, a small cup of diet pepsi, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 9pm, large green salad, frozen fish stick thingies, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10pm, dark chocolate chips and cashews, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Friends

D and his gal C came over, as well as Dielle and her family. As by chance, our high school friend M happened to be in town from Pittsburg, so it was quite a warm afternoon of old friends and family. I baked the muffins that I did last week, and again they went down a storm. After a comfy afternoon nosh, me and D&M&C went out for vegetarian dim sum, and while the food was all right, the company and the conversation made for a top-notch evening.

TODAY'S COOKING
Banana Walnut Muffins: Again, adjusted the recipe and again, came out pretty good.

Smoothie: Good. Banana, grapes, cherries, mango, blueberries, flax, milk, the good yogurt, vanilla extract. Sometimes it just comes out right, like this one


AM SNACK: 8am, pint of green iced tea, small handful of chocolate covered coffee beans


BRUNCH: 11:30am, smoothie, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 12:30pm, banana walnut muffin, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 2-4pm, cheese, potatonik, pickles, apple cider, a little beer, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6pm, vegetarian dim sum, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 8:30pm, apple cider, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Parental looming large

Edie had a large morning snack, grapes and cheerios and teething biscuits and water and all dat, yo. So when I sat down to eat my lunch, she pretty much begged for some, so I tore off pieces and fed her some. I first gave her a bit of fish, which she kept in her mouth for a few seconds, then screwed up her face and let it fall to her chair.

I found myself in a weird position, trying to convince Edie that something is actually really good, despite her clearly not liking it. -sigh-. I'm a parent, just like my mom trying to convince me that fruit is actually good. Hrumph.

Oooh, and for the first time in quite a while, almost had a fully "green" day!

TODAY'S COOKING
Mock Superhippy Bread: Soaked a cup of the 7 grain cracked cereal in a cup of water, and and added 1/2 cup of water to the recipe over all. Bread came out nice and puffy, not a tiny dense lead brick like before. Unfortunately, the high moisture lead to weak gluten, where the protein chains were pulled too thin, resulting in a bread that crumbled and fell apart when trying to cut. Tasty, looked good, next time will eliminate the 1/2 cup of water, maybe add a tablespoon or two of vital gluten.

Potatonick: Got a cool book recently, the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, the first thing I looked up was Potatonik. My dad turned me on to it, picking it up regularly from Moishe's, a local kosher bakery. It's basically a yeasted potato bread, like a mash-up between a latke and loaf of peasant bread. My version, compared to Moishe's, used 100% whole wheat flour and peanut oil, as opposed to white and cheap vegetable oil. And I grated the potatoes unpeeled, as my mom always believed the nutrition was in the peel! It came out less greasy and a bit fluffier than store bought, but very potato-nikky. Next time I make it, gonna use the traditional fat for this dish -- shmaltz.

AM SNACK: 9:30am, iced green tea

LUNCH: 11:30am, pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese and smoked sable, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4:15pm, large green salad, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 5:30pm, sprats and avocado on mock superhippy bread, small square of potatonik, pickle, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 6:30, small piece of shortbread, chocolate chops and cashews, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Snow All Up In Here

Crazy snow day, B stayed home so I went out on foot for groceries, stopping by a fave dumpling place when the hunger hit. Went out in the evening to Jackson Heights for Indian with friends. Not a great eating day, but a fun day.

TODAY'S COOKING
Green Salad: Just keepin' it real for the week, yo.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 8:45am, organic wholegrain cheerios with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: noon, pork and chive steamed dumplings, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 3pm, spoonful of ice cream, chocolate cake, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6:30pm, wide variety of Indian food, 2 beers, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Winter, why can't I quit you?

Work was quiet, but I kept myself distracted with tasks, and being the only person working (along with a singular kitchen guy), even the minimal business kept me a little busy. Played with dough.


It was a bit rough on the ride in the morning, but plowing through a very strong, very wet snow storm was crazy fun. Still managed to ride over the bridge, do food shopping at Pathmark, and pick up some sinful eats before coming home.

AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea
BREAKFAST: 10am, the good oatmeal, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: noon, 5 slices super thin pizza, 8 oz sprite, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 4:15pm, green salad, cranberry lime soda, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 6:15pm, 1 slice of clam pizza, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
I don't like a dense layer of chopped clams out of a can. Reminds me of scrambled eggs. Bleah.

PM SNACK: 7:30pm, experimental Nutella roll, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Pizza dough stretched thin, smeared with nutella, rolled up tight, baked, finished with olive oil and powdered sugar. Needs refining, but potentially a killer dessert for the resto. Kinda a mash-up of babka and pizza.


EVENING SNACK: 10:30pm, burgers, fries, donuts, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
No comment.

My kingdom for some good doohickies

The container store was woefully understocked and overpriced in the area of kitchen dohickies, so more advanced breakfasts at work will have to wait a bit longer. Snow, snow snow, this is turning into one brutal winter.

Very slow in the morning at the resto, but shovelling snow felt good. I remember how much I disliked having to shovel snow as a kid in Staten Island, but because dad asked, I wanted to do it well to make him say how good a job I did. Funny, if my mom asked, it would of felt a bit like punishment and I would have cut corners. What does that mean?

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 10:15am, the good oatmeal, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 12:15pm, 4 slices of super thin pizza, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4pm, green salad, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 5:30pm, 3 Sicilian slices with red peppers, onions, mushroom, 8oz sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 10pm, shrimp fried rice, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Should I let myself have indulgent PM snacks twice a week after work, or should I rethink? A lack of indulgence will make permanent change a lot harder.

Wish for March

Felt a bit grim in the morning, but getting out and taking Edie to the morning playgroup helped. Some grocery shopping then banging around the kitchen until B got home made for a good day. So cold, I think most people in the North East are with me in starting to wish for late March sooner than later.

TODAY'S COOKING:
Buttermilk Pancakes: Made plain buttermilk pancakes with just real vanilla as a flavoring, to let the tang of the cultured dairy come through. I used the same-old store-bought stuff, but next time I'm going to use some fancy farmer's market buttermilk to see if it makes any difference.

Mock Superhippy Bread: In the breadmachine again, the 100% whole wheat I've made before with a cup of 9 cracked grain cereal from the bulk section of the supermarket thrown in. Total fail, it didn't really rise or come together as a loaf. I did eat some of it, reminded me of super-dense Scandinavian bread. I think the cereal absorbed a lot of water, preventing proper gluten development. Next time, I'm going to presoak the cereal.


AM SNACK: 8:30am, small handful of chocolate covered coffee beans

LUNCH: 1:15pm, 7 small buttermilk pancakes, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 6:15pm, sardines on failed superhippy bread, large green salad, dulce de leche ice cream, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Surprisingly, the homemade ice cream is still good, and relatively soft. Most homemade ice cream in the freezer goes a bit funky after a week or two, crystallizing and taking off flavors. I think the cooked condensed milk I added for flavor is acting as a stabilizer, like the crappy guar gums and stuff you get in cheap ice cream.


EVENING SNACK: 8pm, cashews and chocolate chips

EVENING SNACK: 10pm, left over pasta, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5