Tumbling through Saturday

Got to bed at 8:30, woke at 5, so it won't be so hard to wake at 3:30 tomorrow to go do the Montauk Century. Not feeling 100%, but better than before. Got laundry and ice cream churning done, before me and the fam took off for the Hester Street Fair and a playground.

In the afternoon, retrieved my bike from the shop uptown, then took Edie post-nap to a BBQ of a friend in DUMBO. Straight from that, we met B at a friend's house in the 'hood for a nice homemade dinner, to which I contributed the ice cream.

Got to bed at about 9:30, unsure if I would be riding the next day, due to weather and still not totally well....

BREAKFAST: 5:30am, iced green tea, 2 cupcakes, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

AM SNACK: 8am, a few spoonfuls of cake batter ice cream
I added the cake batter to the hot creme Anglais, and the final product was....very cake battery. B loved it, tasted a bit fake to me, but I guess when your going for a child-like flavor like that, the fakeness is what your going for. One recipe suggested adding dry mix as the cold custard churned, which strikes me as a horrible idea which would end up being gritty. Glad I followed my gut.



BREAKFAST 2: 10:15am, brisket taco, a few tiny apple muffins, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
At the Hester Street Fair. Brisket was stringy, no likey.



LUNCH: 12:30pm, a burrito, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Made 'em yesterday. Again, the rice is hard. Should cook the rice next time extra mushy.



PM SNACK: 2:30pm, a freshly baked brownie


PM SNACK: 3:30pm, chicken bratwurst, a little ceveche, cesar salad, freshly made babaganoush, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 5:45pm, telapia, spinach soufle, rice and lentils, half glass of wine, water, cake batter ice cream, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 8pm, cheesy poofs, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Sick (Cookin' anyway)

Can't remember the last time I was full-on sick that wasn't related to my digestive tract. Woke up at 7 with the noises of the ladies, went back to bed and woke at 9 when B had to leave. Stuffy head, groggy, stomach tight, felt warm.

Fortunately, Edie was in a happy and easy going mood, and she hung out in the kitchen watching me and playing with books while I toiled in the kitchen and went down a list of chores B left for me. I took E out for an hour to run around in a playground, and definitely felt the weight of my lack of energy.

Vitamin C pills and a tylenol joined dinner. Even though I spent a good part of the day making burritos, I just felt the need to coddle myself with ordering in. In bed by 8, asleep by 8:30. Pretty much did everything I planned to do today, except go to snickleyoga. Wah!

TODAY'S COOKING
Cake batter ice cream: This will be a component in Edie's birthday sweet, never made it before. I read several contradictory recipes on how to make this, so I went with my gut. I got the cheapest, fakest yellow cake mix possible, and made it to the instructions on the box. I took 2 cups of the batter and through it into hot pre-sieved creme anglais, and hoped for the best. Will review the results tomorrow, when I churn it.

Burritos: Black beans cooked on the stove top all day with some store-bought sofrito, shredded onion, salt and a dash of Tabasco. Guacamole made with avocados, lime juice, cilantro, minced onion, a dash of salt and a dash of olive oil. Brown rice cooked up in canned vegetable stock. Block of mild cheddar shredded. All plopped into whole-wheat tortillas. Wrapped 'em up and froze half.

Salad: Haven't made a proper green salad at home in quite a while.


BREAKFAST: 9am, ice cream sandwich

AM SNACK: 11am, 2 cupcakes 
With the left over batter from the ice cream, cooked off half a dozen cupcakes. Very fakey tasting, but extremely tender despite mixing the hell out of it in the kitchen aid. They must use some extra-milled super-low gluten pastry flour in that shiz.



LUNCH: 2pm, hot dog, kraut and cheese perogies, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4:45pm, half an ice cream sandwich


DINNER: 7pm, shrimp in garlic sauce with black beans and yellow rice, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Fading

Long day. Woke up feeling drained, sore throat, not enough sleep. Went to pre-pre-school with Edie, snuck in a 30 minute nap before heading off to teach. Made it through class pretty well, the kids were really focused and tackled the complicated Asian recipes well. Nibbled through then rode over to midtown to have dinner at a steakhouse with E, who I haven't seen in a while. Got home close to 11, totally beat. Asleep by midnight.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 8:45am, toasted garlic bagel with cream cheese, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: noon, fishball and rice noodle, lotus leaf wraps, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


SCHOOL EATS: 3-6pm, small bites of chicken & broc, white rice, pad thai, scallion pancake, pork dumplings, cheese cake, brownie, flan, blueberry tart, sweet potato pie, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 9pm, 8oz filet minon, brussel sprouts, 1 beer, half a piece of chocolate cake, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Wobbly

Woke myself up at 7 to lift weights. I did do it, but a sore throat has me worried. Must get some good sleep soon. Got an 8:30 call from a key employee calling in sick, throwing the whole day for a wobbly, but through a bit of luck and a bit of fortitude, the day went pretty good. The only downside was I wasn't able to eat too much during the day, but I sure made up for it when I got home!


Sunday is the first century of the season, a ride to Montauk, but it's supposed to rain. On the fence about it, will make a decision closer to.


AM SNACK: 7:15am, iced green tea.

LUNCH: 1:30pm, 2 slices pizza, 8oz sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 4:30pm, 1 small slice pizza


EVENING SNORT: 10pm, half a beer


DINNER: 11:15pm, cheese steak sandwich, 2 tamales, chocolate cake, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Tuesday Doledrums

Another quiet day with good weather at the restaurant. Went grocery shopping after. Missed Edie & B.

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 9am, brown rice crispies with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 1:45pm, 3 slices Sicilian, 8oz sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5 

PM SNACK: 6pm, 1 slice salad pizza

PM SNACK: 9pm, 1 slice pizza


DINNER: 11pm, burgers & fries, 2 ice cream sandwiches, water1 bowl, hunger 4/5
No comment.

Great vibes

Woke up tired, but it's been too long since I lifted, so I dragged myself out, tried to switch on with tea, and lifted. I last did on Thursday, then the Friday bike ride kinda knocked me out for the weekend.

Restaurant was quiet despite the beautiful weather, I imagine people were burnt from going out to restaurants for mom's day. Three parents from the hood and their Edie-like babies came by to say hi and eat. And my friend Ta, who worked for a year or so at the resto, is back for a month and we did the evening together, great vibe, very nice to spend some quality time with someone who has been on the same professional road with me for a while.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 9:15am, good granola with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 1:15pm, 2 slices pizza, 8oz sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 3pm, 1 small slice white pizza

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


PM SNACK: 8:15pm, 1 slice Sicilian, 8oz sprite, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 10:45pm, beef lomein, small wedge of cheesecake, 1 bowl, hunger 45

Mutha

My cooking was only a new hobby in the last few years of my mom's life, but I do remember one evening she came over with her sister, and I made them dinner. I don't remember exactly what I served, I think it may have been one of the first times I made pasta from scratch. I remember the food I made as being distinctly 'meh', but mom and aunt saying they were very impressed, and none-too-subtly hinting that boy, wouldn't you make a catch for the right woman! He he.

My mom was a horrible cook. My grandmother was a great cook, but she passed way before I had any interest in cooking. My mom rejected her cooking skills as something that somehow denigrated her own professional life, or something. I hope Edie will have it all when she's ready -- be a professional, be a mom AND be a good home cook!!

TODAY'S COOKING
Cured Salmon: Took out the fish today and sliced it, after turning it onto it's flesh side yesterday morning. Looked really good, packaged most of it for the mom's day celebration in Brooklyn, but got hungry and busted out a bagel. Fish was pretty tasty, the creme de cassis giving it a slightly fruit-punchy smell (in a good way.)

AM SNACK: 8:45am, iced green tea
Huh. No sugar at all. First thing I noticed was how flat and cardboardy it tasted, but after 3 or 4 more sips, liked it a lot more. Sencha is a very juicy, thick mouthfeel for tea, and with out the sugar, the bitter elements of the toasty part of the taste really comes out unmuted, which is actually quite nice. Next time I make a gallon of Sencha, I'm gonna go 1/8 cup of sugar instead of 1/2 cup, see if I can get a rounder flavor without squashing the toasted note.

BREAKFAST: 10am, toasted pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese and homemade lox, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Holy crap, the pumpernickel from Kossars is garbage compared to the big, loud pumpernickel loaf I made a few weeks ago. I guess I might have to make a my own pumpernickel bagels from now on. Hmmmm.

LUNCH: 12:45pm, a few cups of rosemary lemonade, a few pieces of bread with hummus, a scone, a biscuit, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 2:15pm, a couple of madelines


PM SNACK: 5:15pm, a few squares of good chocolate, with good peanut butter, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
While eating this, Edie ran up and demanded some, so I fed her bits of peanut butter off my finger, she ate it like a doggie or cat, it was SO CUTE, and she demanded more about 5 or 6 times. It's now a few hours later, and there has been zero reaction, so I guess Edie doesn't have crazy allergies.

DINNER: 9:30pm, shrimp saag with rice, naan, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 11pm, cheesecake, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Residual Appetite

Not the greatest eating day, but definitely felt a huge residual appetite from yesterday's ride. Felt sore in all the right places.

TODAY'S COOKING
Chocolate Chip Ice Cream: Didn't actually have any. Made for a child's birthday party this afternoon, I fell asleep and B&E left without me! I hear it was very popular.

French Toast: Betsy requested it. Used my c-school recipe, very straight forward. 1 loaf challah, cut into 1" thick slices. 8 eggs, 1 quart whole milk, 2oz sugar (I used vanilla sugar), pinch of salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. All blended (other than bread) into a homogeneous batter. Clarified two sticks of butter to fry in. Dipped bread in quickly before hitting the hot pan. Served with real syrup. Pretty good, though definitely not diet food.

Iced Tea: As I dropped in the tea ball to the water, I realized I forgot to add my 1/2 cup of sugar to gallon of water. As an experiment, I skipped the sugar all together in this lightly brewed Sencha tea. Results tomorrow.

AM SNACK: 8:45am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 9:45am, donuts, beef empanada, pretzel, lobster roll, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
First day of the Hester St fair. We met a friend the donut shop then wandered over to sample the goods before it got too crowded.

LUNCH: 3:30pm, 1 french bread pizza, cheesy poofs, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6:30, french toast with maple syrup, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

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

Spritely

Woke up at 5, got on the bike at 6 and road up to Bear Mountain and Garrison. B went to work, had the nanny come and cover the Edie -- no time to ride this weekend, and I seriously needed to shake it out a bit. It was a good, slow ride, eating out of convenience stores and bagel ships through the heart of Rockland County.

Picked up a loaf of challah to make french toast at Grand Central, but B was too tired for dinner, and I wasn't feeling too spritely, either.

BREAKFAST: 5:30am, iced green tea, smoothie, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE SNACK: 8:30am, toasted buttered bagel with lettuce & tomato, Gatorade, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE SNACK: 11am, corn chips, Gatorade, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE SNACK: 1pm, cornchips, Gatorade, twix bar, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE SNACK: 2pm, bag of chocolate chip cookies, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 4:45pm, singapore mei fun, green salad, dumplings, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER pt 2: 8pm, more singapore mei fun, 2 ice cream sandwiches, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Gettin' it dun

Busy day. Woke up early, got weight lifting in but didn't have time for the smoothie I wanted to make. Took Edie to pre-pre-school, picked up pickles and bagels on the way. Picked up cart food on the way home, quickly made custard and set up fish for curing, before having to leave for school.

Did a hectic lesson where we made: cheesecake, sweet potato pie, blueberry tart, chocolate chip cookies, brownies, cinnamon donuts and glazed donuts. It was bumpy but the students were good, so it came out pretty good. Though on the way home felt a sugar crash, he he.

TODAY'S COOKING:
Cured Salmon: Set up a side of salmon, skin side down on a bed of salt, brown sugar, dill and creme de casis, with the same on tip, wrapped in plastic and a pan with weights on top. On Saturday morning, will flip it, Sunday morn will brush it off and thin-slice for the Mother's Day get together.
Vanilla custard: Ice cream base, will churn tomorrow with chocolate chips, for a party we're going to Saturday afternoon.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, green iced tea


LUNCH: 12pm, rice noodles with fishballs, lotus leaf wraps, water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


SCHOOL EATS: 5-6pm, brownie, fried donuts, chocolate chip cookies, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 9:15pm, kraut perogies with butter, cheesy poofs, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PAPA!!!

Got to bed around 1 and set the alarm for 7 so I could do weights, but slept through until 8:30 when a certain almost-2 year old shouted "PAPA!!" with her arms raised over her head and bum-rushed the bed, crawling up and giving me and Rufuscat the most wonderful hug/bodyslam. Can't beat myself up too hard about skipping weights this morning, my body demanded sleep, and I listened.

Slow rainy day. Shopped Wholefoods after work, got almost $50 worth of fancy Japanese tea to experiment with, plus supplies to cook ice cream for a baby party on Saturday and cured fish for a Mother's Day get together on Sunday....


BREAKFAST: 8:30am, toasted homemade pumpernickel with cream cheese and sable, pint of iced green tea, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Made sure not to screw up breakfast again this morning. Out of bagels, but my pumpernickel kinda is dense like a bagel, but a much bigger pumpernickel flavor. I can really taste the combination of rye flour, molasses and cocoa, strong and balanced, full of wholegraininess.

LUNCH: 12:30pm, 3 slices pizza, 8oz sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


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

PM SNACK: 5:30pm, 1/4 of a cheeseburger, a small bunch of fries, 2 small slices of pizza, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5 


PM SNACK: 6:45pm, chocolate chip cookie, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 11pm, brown rice California roll, slice of cake, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Bleah

Not enough sleep, skipped breakfast by mistake, made for a bad eating day in a slow restaurant. Wah!

AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea


LUNCH: 1pm, a few wedges of sausage & pepper sandwich, 8oz sprite, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 3pm, roasted potatoes, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 5pm, 3 slices Sicilian, pomegranate soda, apple juice, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 6:30pm, handful of shrimp scampi, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 11pm, hotdog, ice cream sandwich, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
No comment.

Back where we started

228--->230.2

My wife has been saying I "look thinner" in pictures and wot-not, but the scale says gravity has the same effect on me. In the past month I have been consistent with my weight-regimen and have upped my cycling (though not as much as I'd like to), and my body DOES feel different, a bit more toned here, a muscle a little larger there, so maybe the ratio of fat to muscle is shifting. Nothing big, but perhaps a trend that'll pay off in months (years?) ahead.

Read an article this past week about liposuction -- wherever the fat is surgically removed, it comes back in other parts of the body because the body defends it's fat -- it is programmed to keep a steady number of fat cells, and removing is temporary. Starving the fat cells, however....

I saw a guy during Passover, a regular guest, who in all past years was quite rotund, but this year was very trim, practically half the guy he used to be. I overheard a conversation, where he was showing a scar by his bellybutton -- probably a lapband procedure. Realistically, if I'm going to ever drop the 60 lbs to be defined as in a "normal" range by the Health Department's standards, it's going to take something more radical than a healthy diet and some weights and bikes. Which makes me ask: how happy am I? I think....I'm pretty happy. But my dad started having strokes in his early 50s, which in reality I'm not that far from. I think my fitness regime is more involved than his at this age, and my diet is superior to his at this age, too. How much is environmental, how much is inherited? Guess I'm gonna find out.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 9am, brown rice crispies with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 12:45pm, 3 slices pizza, 8oz sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5 


PM SNACK: 5pm, green salad, 1 square of Sicilian, small glass of mandorla, 2 pieces of garlic bread, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 11pm, singapore mei fun, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Five boroughs

My old high school buddy M was in town, we road the 5 Boro Bike Ride together. I also captained a team for a charitable organization, which mostly consisted of gathering 8 others near the start, chatting, taking a few pictures and making sure they got started without hassle. M is a much more accomplished cyclist than I, and I was riding my rather large cargo bike, but it was still a good day, we caught up properly.

Nap in the afternoon, freezer-fishing for dinner. A little insomnia (nap-caused?) lead to late-night snacking. And I forgot to weigh in, that bodes poorly for tomorrow!


BREAKFAST: 6:45am, toasted bagel with cream cheese and sable, iced green tea, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE SNACK: 10am, 2 banana, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE SNACK: 12:30pm, cheesy crackers, coconut water, water, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 1:15pm, felafel sandwich, 1 beer, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 2pm, small bowl of fruit cake ice cream, shortbread, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6pm, 2 fish sticks, tater tots, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, small piece of chocolate

EVENING SNACK: 12:30pm, 1 Stouffer's French Bread pizza, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

An Amazing Sandwich

Oh my, the sardine sandwich I had was the best yet. I freezer-fished some of the pumpernickel I made a few weeks ago, toasted it, and mashed the fish with avocado and a drop of vinegar. It just WORKED, the rich booming flavor of the bread just complimented the fishiness and savoriness of the filling.

Spent the afternoon with Edie, road bike to Brooklyn Botanical Gardens for the cherry blossom festival, was pretty tired when I got home, got to bed by 9, as tomorrow is the 5 Boro Bike Ride.

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 10:45am, homemade granola with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 1:30pm, sardine sandwich with avocado on pumpernickel bread, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 5:30pm, health salad & potato chips, water, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 7:30pm, beef & rice, shrimp dumplings, green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

Good Food, Bad TV

Spent a lot of the day cooking and looking after the Edles, part of the afternoon on the bike with Edie and in the park, and the evening serving food to some good friends, watching really bad TV.


TODAY'S COOKING
Fruitcake Ice Cream & Fruit Cake short bread, Cookies & Creme Ice Cream: Fruitcake is gross, but one of the cakes of the Royal Wedding, so I deconstructed it. I made a batch of Cream Anglais, then when it hit the ice bath, I made two ice baths. One I hit with a little vanilla extract (it already had a lot of real vanilla, but the alcohol of the extract acts like anti-freeze, cutting down on crystallization and preventing it from getting ROCK hard) to be joined with ground up Newman-Os when churned, but the other half met some brandy for the alcohol, as well as a 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of freshly ground clove, a teaspoon of freshly ground allspice, a teaspoon of freshly ground nutmeg, the grated zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange. I let all that sit in the hot (but rapidly cooling) custard, then strained it through a chinois -- I didn't want gritty bits in my ice cream, and the large surface area of the zest gave up it's flavor pretty readily. For the shortbread, I used my recipe from Cook's Illustrated, adding a half cup of ground pistachios to the dry ingredients. As the buttery dough was coming together in the mixer, I added some ground brandy-soaked cherries -- if they went in dry, they'd get hard and yucky in the baking, and if I added them to early to the dough, the evaporating alcohol would interfere with the coming-together. I dipped the shortbread in chocolate, because, uh, I like chocolate.

 

Beef & Stilton Pasties, Cheese & Onion Pasties: I used this and this recipe,the crust from the beef one. It came out VERY flaky, I should of added more ice water to create more gluten, oh well. I made 7oz balls, but it seemed too much, so I cut them in half and rolled that out, came out with 14 medium sized pockets. I started by caramelizing 2 big pans of onions for about 4 hours, with vegetable lard. One pan, I cleared out, fried cubed potatoes, then tossed together with cheddar, parsley and egg. The other pan I deglazed with white wine and through in a lot of fresh chopped thyme. When actually putting together the pasties, the cheese & onion just got a lump of filling, while the beef got a layer of onion, a few snips of raw flank steak, and a sprinkle of crumbled stinky Stilton. Other than the crumbly nature of the crust (but flaky and savory in the right way), they tasted good. I did too much potato and not enough cheddar in the cheese & onion, and I was very sparing with the meat in the beef & Stilton, I could of tripled the beef in those. Live and learn. Oh, and I reversed the rations of the flours in the crust, 2 part whole wheat to 1 part white, just gave it a nice  grainy flavor.


Iced Tea: Made a gallon with Sencha green tea -- came out a beautiful pale light green color, the previous tea was closer to the usual muddy brown color. Tastes weird....in a good way, both mild and strong, if that makes sense.


BREAKFAST: 8am, iced green tea, a few pistachios, a handful of Newman-Os


LUNCH: 12:30pm, kraut perogies, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 4pm, a few spoonfuls of cookies & cream ice cream


DINNER: 6:45pm, 3 pasties, fruitcake ice cream & shortbread, 2 glasses beer, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Royal Ice Cream

Woke up without enough sleep, took Edie to class 10-11:30. On the way home got lunch from my favorite Chinese cart (the kind where there is no English and the vendor doesn't speak English except to shout, "FEESHBAHL!" at you) and home. When Edie napped, I ate and got ready for class. I seriously considered calling in and saying I couldn't come, but a) in two years I haven't missed a class yet and b) despite my lack of energy, this has been such a good group, they'll probably motivate me.

And I was right, it was a kick-ass class with a group of 7, running through all the recipes we did last time, PLUS everyone making pasta from scratch. Other than a kid jamming a bench scraper into the roller while on and busting it, it was a pretty good class.

Got home in a haze, good thing I finished the grocery shopping yesterday. Some cooking, some TV, then sleep

TODAY'S COOKING
Two kinds of ice cream custard: Having dinner for a few friends over tomorrow, basically a TV watching party of the Royal Wedding. Couldn't care less, but it's a good excuse. British themed food. I split a batch of my vanilla custard, one half to be B's favorite, cookies n' cream, the other half hit with cinnamon, allspice, clove, nutmeg, orange zest and lemon zest. Also started a soak of cherries in brandy overnight, which along with nuts will go into some shortbread to compliment the ice cream, as I hate tough and crunchy nuggets in smooth ice cream, Ben & Jerries be damned!

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, brown rice crispies with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 12:30pm, rice noodle fish ball, 2 lotus leaf wrap, Newman-Os, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


SCHOOL DINNER: 7:15pm, meatballs, fresh pasta with fresh sauce, baked ziti, broccoli steamed in wine, sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10pm, 2 ice cream sandwiches, Newman-Os, cheesy poofs, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
I go on crap binges when I'm over-tired, I find.

Power Breakfast

Did food shopping last night, got home late, got to bed around 1:30, up with Edie around 7. Got the weight lifting in, with the help of a powerfully caffeinated breakfast. Need it to man up to the prospect of another hot 13 hour shift in a bustling room centered around a 550 degree oven with no air conditioning.

However, due to Passover being over and kids back in school, the day was light and relaxed, and passed sleepily.

AM SNACK: 7:15am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 8:30am, smoothie, handful of chocolate covered espresso bean, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 1pm, beef tamale, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 3pm, 1 square Sicilian, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 5pm, 2 hot dogs, 1 small ice cream cone, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, 1 slice white pizza, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 11pm, chocolate truffles, water, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Tuesday Haze

Long but fun day in a busy restaurant. I'm blown.

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, iced green tea, brown rice crispies with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


RESTAURANT HAZE: 11am - 10:30pm, a few cookies, a porgie with millet and carrot, a few sodas, a beer, many cups of water, a slice of pizza, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 11:45pm, hotdog, cheesedoodles, ice cream sandwich, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Monday Haze

A long, but good, day at work. Weather was questionable, but turned around, and I was able to place phone calls early enough that by the time everything was in high gear and the room was full, the staff I needed to stay relatively comfortable appeared. And a visit from the Snicklesnack Bridgade didn't hurt, either!

AM SNACK: 7:45am, iced green tea
BREAKFAST: 8:45am, toasted bagel with cream cheese, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
RESTAURANT HAZE: 12:30-8, 2 slices sicilian, 8oz sprite, pomegranate soda, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10:15pm, a little Chinese with coworkers, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 11pm, a couple frozen burgers, a little potato chips, 2 ice cream sandwiches, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5