Heero heero heero!!

Woke up around 9, totally wiped out from the pleasantly-ending snickleemergency last night. Determined, got Edie & myself to pre-preschool on time and Edie had a great time. Didn't have time to nap while she napped because I got nothing done in the morning, and got to teaching on time.

Despite my lack of energy, teaching was great, students were focused and the food came out well. I did cancel a dinner with a work friend and her babydaddy, small price to pay for being a proper human being. Watched some horrible TV and got to bed early.

AM SNACK: 9:15am, iced green tea


LUNCH: 12:15pm, 2 lotus leaf wraps, lomein, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Ordered the "lo mein" from the cat I usually get the fishball and rice noodles. It was only $1.25 for a big container, and very different than what I'd get in an Americanized Chinese take out joint. The noodles themselves were the same, but they were dry, not greasy and wet, and they had a lot of flavor, like they were rehydrated in a soy concoction. There was no meat and no veg except soft shredded cabbage, probably steamed or boiled and tasting pleasantly mild. 


SCHOOL EATS: 6:15pm, gyro sandwich, sausage baked ziti, chocolate layer cake, ginger ale, 1.25 bowl,  hunger 4/5 
This was student's choice day, and I edited it down from 5 red meat dishes and 3 desserts and no vegetables to two non-beef red meat dishes and one dessert. The ziti was a repeat, but with the addition of Italian pork sausage that we made outselves, toasting and grinding fennel for it. The gyro was fun, something I never made, found the Alton's recipe here. It was surprisingly accurate in replicating diner gyro meat, but after slicing, I would have sauteed at high heat to give it a bit of color. The cake came out pretty great, we threw in espresso into both the cake and the frosting, which deepened an otherwise reedy chocolate flavor.


EVENING SNACK: 9pm, 2 ice cream sandwiches, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Slow

I attempted to make a fruit smoothie after lifting this morning, but that wife o' mine forgot to add papa yogurt to the list I shopped last night, stopping me in my tracks. Hrumph!

Rainy day at the resto, breaking in some new staff, chilling. Looking forward to tomorrow morning with Edie and tomorrow afternoon cooking with the students.

Got a call late that a friend was at an emergency room and went out to keep company. Everything turned out fine, but I didn't get to bed close to 4.

AM SNACK: 7:30am, iced green tea

LUNCH: 1pm, 3 slices superthin pizza, Manhattan Special, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


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

PM SNACK: 8pm, a couple of bites of cookie, a couple bites of pizza, a few tortilla chips, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 10pm, chicken empanadas, brown rice California roll, Mississippi mud cake, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 2:30am, hamburger, fries, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

I save it for my wife.

Got a decent night of sleep, ended with Edie doing a rather strong belly flop onto my unexpected belly, knocking the wind out of me and waking me up quite abruptly. If it weren't for her bright smile, partially naughty/partially joyous/partially purely innocent peels of giggles and shouts, I would might of been grumpy (I save that for my wife!)

Slow day in the resto. The delivery driver brought in mussels from Chinatown, we cooked them up with wine and a little tomato. I remember eating these properly for the first time in c-school, and was shocked how good they were.

AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea
This new batch of tea is pretty good, the kind is "Dragon Health" or something, it's not particularly remarkable, less woody than the straight sencha. But the 1/4 cup of sugar for the gallon really does well with knocking out a bitter tone without making it particularly sweet. That's a little less than a level teaspoon of sugar per pint.

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, waffle, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Reheats really nicely in the toaster, nice balance of tender to crip. Makes me think I need a 2nd caste iron waffle iron to make them in quantity.


LUNCH: 1pm, 3 slices pizza, 8oz Sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4pm, 1 slice of shrimp calzone, water, .5 bowl, hunger 3/5

PM SNACK: 5:45pm, handful of mussels

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

PM SNACK: 9pm, half a large chocolate chip cookie, .25 bowl, hunger 45


EVENING SNACK: 11pm, small amount of cheesy poofs, small bowl of organic cornflakes and organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Slightly stronger

Woke up at 7 so I could lift. Felt good, and soothed my guilt over not riding to Montauk in the rain yesterday. Feel 95% better today, should be back to normal in no time.

Read an interesting article that says that muscle burns many, many more calories than fat is a myth. Rather than 50x more, it's more like 2 to 3 times more, but you have to account for the calorie burning power of the fat your losing, so in reality if you lose 40 lbs of fat and gain 20 lbs of muscle, your metabolism only speeds up enough at a resting rate to eat, say, 1 singular Oreo a day.

Still, I'm happy with how my body is slowly and subtly changing. I doubt anyone can see a difference, but just walking and riding, I feel a slightly stronger stance, a slightly stronger core.

AM SNACK: 7:15am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 9:15am, brown rice crispies with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 12:30pm, 2 meatballs with sauce and bread, 8oz sprite, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 3:30pm, slice of meatball stromboli, half a pomegranate soda, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4pm, 3 small slices pizza, .75 bowl hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 7:15pm, green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 10:15pm, house special fried rice, 1 ice cream sandwich, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Momma Chicken

I briefly woke at 3:30, felt my sore throat, felt my sleep-unrelated wooziness, decided to skip riding out to Montauk in the rain, and went back to bed. Woke at 8, after 10.5 hours of sleep considerably refreshed, and the sound of heavy rain made me feel a bit better about my decision. No doubt if I had bit the bullet and woken up and ridden, I would probably be sick for the rest of the week. And I wouldn't have made this video of Edie dancing!

Spent the morning on spring cleaning chores, interrupted by a dual healthy/unhealthy lunch. Took time off from life by going to a horrible movie, then rushed back home to cook dinner for the fam & momma in law. An easy, lazy evening on the couch.

TODAY'S COOKING
Waffles: Used the c-school recipe for a double batch, heated the iron high and gave it one minute per side. Pretty good.
Spinach: Just took a bag of chopped frozen spinach and through it into a hot sauce pan with about a half cup of vegetable stock, through in some salt, some cayenne, some smoked paprika and a little dried minced onion. Came out OK, nothing special.

BREAKFAST: 8:45am, iced green tea, handful of chocolate covered coffee beans


LUNCH: 11am, large green salad, onion rings, 2 ice cream sandwiches, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 6:30pm, chicken & waffles, spinach, water, 1.5 bowls, hunger 4/5
On the way home picked up eggs to make the waffles. My first thought was "Chili & Waffles"! but I couldn't find any chili. My second thought was "Chicken & Waffles!" and picked up a rotisserie chicken. My mom would bring these home all the damn time, they were never anything special. Same with this one. One thing I did find was after taking a few hacks at it with a knife, I started just picking it apart with my fingers, which was EXACTLY what my mom would do. He. Sometimes momma overrules culinary training.

EVENING SNACK: 9pm, 2 ice cream sandwiches, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

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

Easter yo

Felt out of sorts early, went to the diner around the corner to chill. Took a few strangers out on a training ride for the 5 boro next week out to Coney Island in the morning, in the afternoon went to E's house for a proper Easter dinner, which was fun. People dug my cheesecake, I think.


TODAY'S COOKING:
Pirogies: Between riding and dinner, then in the eve when everyone was asleep, I assembled about 75 pirogies.

BREAKFAST: 8:15am, BLT on rye, homefries, diet coke, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE SNACK: 11:30am, gatorade


LUNCH: 1:30pm, cheese perogies, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6pm, 1 beer, ham, potato, green bean casserole, roll, chickpea salad, strawberry shortcake, chocolate egg thing, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Too Much Cheese Cake

Took Edie to the doc in the morning, has a bug but her fever broke. Spent the early afternoon wandering home in the rain, nap in the afternoon, ate a too-large piece of cheese cake, cooked a little in the eve.

TODAY'S COOKING
Pirogi dough  two fillings: Knocked out a quadruple batch of pirogi dough to chill overnight, and a batch of farmer-cheese filling and a batch of mushroom-kraut filling. I have a bunch of good dried mushrooms (thanks tay-tay!) and got some good fresh ones from the farmer's market, rehydrated the dry in kraut juice, then chopped up all the shrooms in a food processor. Sauteed in a little olive oil, added some grated onion, sauteed for 15 minutes until it stopped steaming, deglazed with a little sherry, then added the pressed kraut and sauteed until it was dry. Tasted very like what I was hoping!


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


LUNCH: noon, chicken burrito, chips, salsa, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 6pm, large piece of cheese cake, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 9:15pm, small green salad, scallion pancake, shrimp dumplings, cold sesame noodles, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Yogic Fail

Woke up feeling good but blown out. Spent the day with Edie, first a bike-run to Wholefoods and then in the kitchen. Edie wasn't feeling too great, so pretty much every moment was taken and because I was nibbling here and there to taste stuff as it went to cook, I never ate properly.

So when I showed up for the HVS's class at 6:45, I was running at 25% which would have been enough to muddle through a basics class, but this was a quick-paced open class, and soon found myself sweating, nose running, head cloudy coming to a grinding halt. So I removed myself and sat in the studio's cafe and had a salad, felt much better. Snickling continued after T got out and we saw a movie from THE best seats in the house, due to my good line & time management skills, thankyouverymuch.

TODAY'S COOKING
Peanutbutter Oatmeal Bars: I used this recipe, and stuck to it precisely, but when I tried to depan it when the glass pan was cool enough, it crumbled into an overly sweet, lumpy chocolatey granola-ish mess. Bleah. But B seems to still like it.

Cheesecakes: Going to an Easter thing at E's house, didn't know what to make. Goyim like cheesecake, right? Cheesecake and whiskey?


Granola: My go-to recipe. Just 'cause.

BRUNCH: noon, health salad, brown rice california roll, inari, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 5pm, 4 salted caramels,  a little loose oatmeal bar, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER PT 1: 7:30pm, vegan cesar salad, water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


SNICKLEDINNER: 8:45pm, samosa, chickpeas, lentils, rice, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 9:45pm, popcorn, diet coke, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Muskles, geh-geh-geh!

Woke up properly this morning, as Edie slept through the night. I decided to go a little harder on the weights -- my tone has definitely improved, when I push my blubber, the muscles underneath feel firmer, harder. But I don't feel like my strength has particularly increased (and certainly not my muscle-to-fat ratio), so I bumped up each exercise by 1 increment, between 5 and 10 lbs, and I increased the number of push ups and sit ups. I definitely felt the difference, and suspect I'll be a little sore tomorrow, just like I was when I started this new regimen a few months ago.

Restaurant went bezerk due to good weather and holidays, but no servers showed up so it was just me and a busser covering the floor for the first two hours, full house with a line for the 2nd hour. I enjoyed it, but if I had to perform at that level for 10 hours, phew.... I think I would snap after about 4 to 5 hours of that kind of intensity. Great fun, but definitely not my destiny.


BREAKFAST: 9am, the good yogurt with honey, vanilla & peanuts, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

RESTAURANT DAZE: 12am - 11pm, 2 slices of pizza, half a green salad, 8oz sprite, 1 beer, .5 bowl, hunger ?/5

EVENING SNACK: midnight, donuts, burgers, tatertots, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
No comment.

Hootin', Hollerin'

Edie was up in the middle of the night hootin' & hollerin', I laid with her for a bit but she only wanted momma. I had set my alarm for 7 to give me some time for weights, but when my alarm got off, the only weights I could lift were the feather-light ones in my dreams. I sure hope Edie is sleeping through the night again before we have another bebe.

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea

LUNCH: noon, 4 slices super thin pizza, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5 

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


PM SNACK: 5pm, 2 sicilian slices, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 10:30pm, lomein, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Swapping gasoline for calories.

A nice day. Off for the holiday, Edie had coverage so I took my new cargo bike and pedalled over to Ikea. Edles needs a new crib and kitchen chair, as the current ones are worn out from Edie-shaking and are starting to come apart. I usually hate going to Ikea, but going by myself on a rainy weekday made the store pretty empty, and no one dragging me to bits I had no interest in. B gave me a list, and I got everything on the list. Most fun of all, I managed to load all the pieces on to my bike, with the help of free twine in the loading area. The bike felt very strange, very light in the front. It took 45 minutes to ride there, and only an hour to get back.

In the afternoon, I went uptown to the UES to have a Seder with B & her family. It was very nice, warm, casual, familial. I contributed farfel and a flourless chocolate cake, and the majority of the food was ordered in from the Carnegie Deli. Brisket and turkey was ordered for 12 people, but that's assuming a Carnegie Deli-sized serving portion of about 2 lbs. I think I ate maybe two ounces of turkey and two ounces of brisket. Crazy.

Edie is definitely having early onset terrible-twos, she's starting to have tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants. I guess parenting has to get harder before it gets easier?

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, toasted garlic bagel with cream cheese, iced green tea, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 2:45pm, onion rings, mini hash browns, health salad, 2 pickles, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PASSOVER DINNER: 6:30pm, matzoh & haroset, gefilte fish, matzoh ball soup, turkey, brisket, matzoh farfel, gravy, 1 glass wine, 2 coconut macaroons, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

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

Passed over dinner

We rented a car and went deep into the dark heart of New Jersey. As is our tradition, we gave ourselves extra time in case of traffic, and got there 30 minutes early, so we went to the local suburban pizzeria and had a slice, then next door to the suburban dollar store.

Socializing, Edie running around, we didn't sit until close to 7, and we didn't actually get to the main course before Edie got too cranky and we had to split. This is fine, because at my cousin's Seder, there are so many required appetizing dishes that you're usually full by the time the main meal comes, he he. It sucks we had to leave early, but it's the best possible reason to leave early, y'know?

The ride back was silent, peaceful and fast. The ladies both fell asleep in the back seat. Memories of this trip with my parents and my dad, with me in the back seat, kept good company.




AM SNACK: 9am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 10:30am, organic chex with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 1pm, 2 fish sticks, health salad, 2 pickles, 2 mini ice cream cones, quart of water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, 1.5 slices streetza

PASSOVER DINNER: 7-8pm, matzoh, haroset, gefilte fish, matzoh ball soup, meatballs with matzoh muffin, potato kugel, salad, grape juice, 1 glass wine, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 11pm, cheese doodles, cashews & chocolate chips, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Just like my mom never made.

After waking up at 6 from an 11 hour snooze, got out on the bike and did 60 miles before technical difficulties derailed me in deep dark Staten Island. I lucked out, as it was only 20 minutes to walk to the rail road, and the train came the same minute I got on the platform. I hadn't been on that railroad since I was a child, and my mom was taking me and my brother to Tottenville for a day trip. It was like I remembered it -- NYC subway cars, but the seats are the wrong color, and all the many, many stops are above ground. And you only pay at the ferry, there are no turnstiles or staff at the different stations.

Got home mid afternoon, took Edie out and did chores, cooked up food in the eve, got to bed after some solid TV watching.

TODAY'S COOKING:
Pancakes: Betsy announced she wanted pancakes for dinner, so when I took Edie out, I swung by the market on Essex to pick up the slammin' buttermilk. Unfortunately, I left my kitchen scale at school so had to eye ball the dry ingredients, still came out ok.

Matzoh Farfel: For the two seders I'm attending tomorrow and Tuesday. Basically matzoh stuffing. Fried onion and celery in vegetable lard, made a wondeful mushroom duxelle with a variety of dried mushrooms friends have given me (reconstituted in chicken stock), added the duxelle and fried that too, then added the crumbled matzoh, mushroom-infused stock and a few beaten eggs, mixed it, salt & peppered it, baked it covered for 20 minutes, and viola! Just like my mom never made!

AM SNACK: 7am, iced green tea

BREAKFAST: 7:15am, smoothie, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE SNACK: 8am, toasted sesame donut, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE SNACK: 11am, 32 oz Gatorade


BIKE LUNCH: 12:30, veggie burger 6" sub, Cheetos, coke, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


LINNER: 3:30pm, sweet & sour shrimp with pork fried rice, egg roll, quart of water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACKING: 5-8pm, a pancake, a mini ice cream cone, a pint of iced tea, quart of water

Cookin' 2: Electric Boogaloo

After eating too much heavy pan-fried crab cakes, I conked out about 7pm due to the fact I was up at all hours calming a blazing Edie. The day was mostly spent in the kitchen and running about with Edles, not a bad way to wile away the hours.

TODAY'S COOKING:
Pumpernickel Bread: Cooked up this recipe in the bread machine. This is strong bread. Manly bread. Bread that says, "Shut up, sit down!" Pretty good. Big flavor. Makes me want to skip the machine and make the ultimate pumpernickel bagel.

Crab Cakes: No recipe, just winged it. 4 eggs beaten with 2 teaspoons of Old Bay seasoning, a container of lump crab meat, half a container of whole wheat panko, a few tablespoons of whole wheat flour, a teaspoon of brown sugar, mixed and left to sit in the fridge for a few hours. Pan fried in bacon fat brought home from the resto, in caste iron. Came out close to what I imagined, the salty celery garlicky aioli was a perfect counterpoint, joined nicely with the manly bread.

BREAKFAST: 10am, toasted bagel with cream cheese


LUNCH 1: 12:30pm, health salad, 2 pickles, potato chips, 2 tofutti cuties, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH 2: 4pm, crab cakes with aioli and pumpernickel, seltzer, flourless chocolate cake with vanilla whipped cream, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Chocolate cake was kinda ridiculously rich, as close to eating straight butter & chocolate as you can get.

Cookin'

Spent the day with Edie and getting stuff done in the kitchen. Took Edie to the doc via bike in the morning, everything is fine, just molar teething, then met up with a friend and his kid in Tompkins Square. Spent the afternoon getting through my list of cooking.

B was out partying all night so fed E and got her bathed and to sleep without any drama. Looking forward to more cooking tomorrow!

TODAY'S COOKING
Superhippy Bread: Came out surprisingly dense, maybe because this time I used a full cup of the 9 grain cereal, should have used half a cup.

Health Salad:Finally some raw veg back in my life! Ate it after only an hour, think it needed another few hours to get really flavorful.
Flourless Chocolate Cake: Made three small ones, one for tomorrow's book club, and two the the two passover Seders I'm attending. Technically not "kosher" as it has butter in it, but it's definitely "kosher style", he he.
Vanilla whipped cream:To go with the cake, simply heavy cream spiked with confectioner's sugar and vanilla bean scraping. Simple and good.
New England Aioli:To go with the crab cakes I'm making tomorrow: One egg and one egg yolk, whipped with 1.5 cups of peanut oil, with a teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning and a full head of mashed roasted garlic.


AM SNACK: 11:30pm, cheesy poofs


LUNCH: 12:15pm, sprats & avocado on superhippy bread, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

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


DINNER: 6:45pm, school-made buttermilk pancakes and home fries, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACKS: 8-10pm, tofutti cuties, potato chips, water, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Good day

Took Edie to school in the morning, picking up a bagel to munch on the way. Made breakfast with the students in the afternoon, went really well.

BREAKFAST: 10am, bagel, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 12pm, rice noodles with fishball, water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

SCHOOL EATS: 6pm, pancake, frenchtoast, hashbrowns, bacon, freshly made sausage, orange juice, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 9pm, chocolate cake, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Slip away

Another super slow quiet day at work. Tick tock tick tock.

AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea
BREAKFAST: 9am, brown rice crispies with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 12:30pm, 4 superthin slices with sausage, pomegranate soda, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 5pm, vegetarian meatballs with sticky rice, green salad, 1.25 bowl, 8oz sprite, hunger 4/5
EVENING SNACK: 11pm, burgers, onion rings, donuts, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
No comment.

"Ahshiz!"

Usually let B & Edles wake me up on a work day. but I set the alarm to give me some time for weights. Hopefully I'll be able to maintain lifitng three days a week through the busy season, let's see.

Work is very weather sensitive -- yesterday was as close to a rolling 12 hour party as it comes, today....a ghost town. Cut back the staff, huddled down with some mags and the 'puter, and made sure the kitchen prepped well for the weekend.

Missed Edie like crazy. She's getting to be very interactive, playing aggressive Ring-Around-the-Rosie (a.k.a. "Ashiz!") and becoming more like a tiny person every day. I closed the restaurant early, and it's a good thing, because when I got home Edie was not interested in sleep at all, though B was, so I was able to jump in and have some Edie-time with some book readin', some song-singin', and Edie-tuckin'.

AM SNACK: 7:45am, iced green tea
This new iced tea tastes very different -- I used an expensive loose tea in a metal reusable infuser. I just used half the container (about .75 ounce) for the gallon of water, with 1/3 of a cup of sugar, and steeped for about 4 minutes. Very nutty, very smooth, not sure if I like it more than the previous, though. Maybe too nutty?

BREAKFAST: 9am, brown rice crispies with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
GRAZING: 11am-1pm, 8oz sprite, handful of chocolate cookies, piece of fresh baked bread, handful of olives
LUNCH: 1:30pm, 2 slices Sicilian, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
DINNER: 6:45pm, meatball app, pomegranate soda, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10:15pm, cashews & chocolate chips, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Monday Work

Monday at work, finally. It was a really good day, between being busy and having all sorts of friends stop in on me, felt good, never boring. If only every work day could be like this one.

BREAKFAST: 11am, sausage, potatoes, bread, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 2pm, 3 slices Sicilian, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 7pm, large green salad, almond drink, 1 bowl hunger 4/5


DINNER: 10:30pm, pork fried rice, shrimp toast, cashews & chocolate chips, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

6,8,9,3,4,6 and soon 9 again

Tried to wake at 6, ended up rising at 8, got out of the house by 9, bike ride to Nyack, back home by 3, off to a baby party at 4, the HVS come over to chill with the family at 6, it's not yet 9 but will be asleep soon.


AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea


BIKE SNACK: 9am, chocolate donut, .5 bowl, hunger 3/5


BIKE SNACK: noon, pretzels, gatorade, peanut butter cups, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 3:15pm, spare ribs, egg roll, scallion pancake, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACKING: 4-5:30pm, 1 slice of pizza, small piece of cake, ginger drink, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNICKLESNACK: 8pm, pistachio donut, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Coming back together

Woke up after a good night's sleep, feeling more myself. Cleaning, organizing, running errands -- the kitchen isn't done, but it's reasonable and mostly functional. Probably another week until we dig out and fully organize. Spent the afternoon with a cranky (and then late napping) baby. Spent the evening with a chill baby who got to sleep perfectly fine, then a mostly relaxed wifey who came in just in time to enjoy the fruits of my labor, he he.

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea
Yay! Finally! Starting to resume my old kitchen habits. Made this batch last night. Used a nice toasted loose tea in my new tea ball, this is a very different tea. Gonna withhold commentary until I have it a few times...

BRUNCH: 11:45am, boiled mixed perogies, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Running errands, stopped in on Little Poland for some of the food I used to eat all the time in high school when the East Village had a Polish diner on every block...

PM SNACK: 4:45pm, momma style salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Ahhh, things you can do in a comfortable kitchen. Baby carrots, cucumber, red onion and green pepper, with a little ranch dressing. Starting to unwind a little.

PM SNACK: 5:45pm, chocolate chip cookies, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Out doing chores with Edles. Just got hungry.

DINNER: 8:30pm, breaded fish fillets, pasta with homemade sauce, loaf cake, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Stressy

Did not feel well today, not sick but not myself. No hunger until the evening. What is going on? Part of it is the stress of the kitchen -- men working all day to finish it up, and in the end after they're gone a lot of little details bothering me. Some of it can be fixed when they come back to do the final detail work for the final check, but some of it is poor craftsmanship which I suspect will be a fight with the contractor to get him to either do some stuff over or knock something off the bill. And, the thing that was the whole reason for the project, the dishwasher, is not powered. WTF? Urg.

Spent the day on two big walks with Edie, and spent a good part of the evening in the bike room tinkering with my cargo bike, definitely a stress reducer.

On the positive side, brewed up new tea for breakfast tomorrow!!


AM SNACK: 10am, handful of goldfish


PM SNACK: 2pm, slice of swiss cheese, a pickle


DINNER: 8pm, shrimp in black bean sauce with rice, dumplings, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Heebies & Jeebies

Took Edles to a new program, an Early Learning & Literacy class sponsored by the city. Gave me a certain level of heeby-jeebies: it's more structured, the class doing things as a group. Previously, all her "class time" has been unstructured free play punctuated by a group thing. I guess I felt heebied because it reminded me of when I was a little kid, and dealing with the structure of school, how new and fresh and a bit scary it was. Edie was a champ, tuned in for some, tuned out for other bits, but over all I think she will pick it up nicely.


Stomach wasn't sour, but felt off. Didn't eat much until the evening, until my bestie E took me out to a late b-day dinner. Some fine vittles!


BREAKFAST: 9:45am, 2 donuts, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

SCHOOL EATS: 6-7pm, various slices of student pizza, ginger ale, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 9:15pm, pasta in meat sauce, sauteed shrimp, bread, 1 glass wine, water, chocolate tart, vanilla gelato, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

In Search Of: a Usable Kitchen

Mildly busy at the resto, enough to keep me from genting antsy. While I was at work, work resumed in the home kitchen -- when I got home, it was like a tease: it looks together from a distance, but nothing is hooked up and everything needs a lot of details taken care of. Hopefully tomorrow we'll be closer to a usable kitchen.

BREAKFAST: 9am, brown rice crispies with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 12:30pm, 3 slices, diet coke, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 4:15pm, green salad, water. .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 6pm, pasta with shrimp in oil & garlic, bread, water


EVENING SNORT: 9:30pm, 1/2 beer


EVENING SNACK: 11pm, ice cream, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
No Comment.

Mellow

Weather was off and on rain, killing business at the resto. Mellow.

BREAKFAST: 8am, good yogurt with honey, vanilla and peanuts, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 12:45pm, 3 slices pizza, Manhattan Special, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 4:45pm, green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 6:30pm 1 1/2 slice pizza, pomegranate soda, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 10pm, Singapore Mei Fun, chocolate chips with peanuts & pretzels, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Enervated

It was supposed to rain and be warm today, so I got up in my rain suit and pushed my old commuter bike out to Coney Island, then met L in midtown for lunch, followed by a movie. Got home to a happy baby and a mostly-happy wife, and taking advantage of enervated relaxed feeling, did a round of weights.

Just heard the kitchen may be functional by Friday. Let's hope...


BREAKFAST: 9am, brown rice crispies with organic dead milk, cupcake, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 1:30pm, pork tonkatsu with curry rice, pork gyoza, edemame, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 8pm, sushi, tempura, salad, water, 1 cupcake, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Cake followed by cupcakes

Woke up after about 9 solid hours of sleep, body feels good but sore -- my inner thighs seems to have suffered from pretending to give birth to a large square block in yoga a few days ago, he he. Popped out in the morning to the local diner and to Whole Foods for Edie food, as there is no point in buying groceries for a kitchen I can not cook in.

I indulged in cake and TV while Edie napped, and after she rose and ate lunch, we rode over to the local park so she could run around a bit for an hour, then we pedalled up and down the East River Park. It was nice, with Edie waving at all passersby from the front of the bike.

BREAKFAST: 9:30am, BLT on a bagel, home fries, diet coke, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: noon, chocolate cake, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 5pm, 2 cupcakes, 3 pickles, Ritz crackers, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5 
Unfortunately, I got home with E really hungry and B confronted me with late birthday cupcakes. Without thinking, they went down. I followed cake by cupcakes. Oy.


DINNER: 9:15pm, shrimp parm with spaghetti, green salad, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Bike Sore

Woke up unusually sore -- I had a good weight-lift in the afternoon, and I pushed a little bit harder in yoga than usual yesterday. I woke around 7, and by the time I got out of the house on my bike, I was wondering if I'd make it. By the time I exited Manhattan, my body snapped to, but it was a push getting there.

Had a nice ride to City Island & Orchard Beach. When I hit home around 4, my body seemed to go back to being sore, like someone snapping a spring-loaded curtain. Took an hour bath that didn't do much good, and stayed home and chilled until I passed out around 11.

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


BIKE SNACK: 9am, 2 donuts, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE LUNCH: 12:30pm, 32 oz Gatorade, handful of pretzels, turkey & Swiss sandwich, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 3:45pm, large bowl of good yogurt with honey, vanilla & cashews, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 8pm, lo mein, dumplings, salad, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

2 pounds

231.8--->226.0--->228.0

Yes, I did gain 2 pounds in March officially. Being that the drop in February was 6 pounds, the fact that perhaps 4 of those pounds were something other than water or the contents of my expulsiary organs, well, that's pretty good. I'm pretty happy with how my body is starting to change -- starting to feel a bit toned from the regular weight lifting, and biking is on the verge of kicking in.

Lifted weights around noon, then yogacized with the HVS, ended up feeling pretty sore by the evening.

BREAKFAST: 10am, pancakes, potatoes, bacon, diet coke, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Ordered in from around the corner. It was rainy, the laundry was getting done, the kitchen is dissembled.


PM SNACK: 2pm, small amount of ice cream


PM SNACK: 5:15pm, slice of streetza, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


SNICKLEDINNER: 8pm, sweet potato noodles with veg and curry, dumpling soup, tofu pudding, pumpkin cake, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


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

Chocolate enlightenment.

Excellent day at school -- this semester's students are just really picking up on what I'm offering, and enjoying the fruits of their labor more than past groups. Class 5 and still have a full contingent of 10 students. One is coming in early next week because he wants to learn how to properly sharpen a knife with a wetstone. We made farro & sausage (because we were cooking different grains) and most actually liked it and took some home for their families. We did a chocolate tasting, 5 different samples between milk and 77% dark, and a handful actually liked the darker ones, and one actually said the milk tasted too little like actual chocolate -- I wanted to jump up and hug him.

Poor eating day. Looks like another weekend without a kitchen, wah.


BREAKFAST: 10am, 2 donuts, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 12:30pm, hotdog, 2 pickles, apple tart, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


SCHOOL EATS: 6pm, kasha varnishkes, farro & sausage, tastes of different rice pilafs, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 7:30pm, ice cream & potato chips, quart of water, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Tumbling

Tumbling through the week.

BREAKFAST: 10:15am, vegetarian sandwich, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Excellent sammich from the boulangerie down the street. Whole wheat peasant bread, chevre, marinated veg, of which I picked out the cauliflower.

LUNCH: 2pm, 3 slices Sicilian, pomegranate soda, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 5pm, small slice of pizza, cheesecake cup, water, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 8pm, green salad, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 11pm, burgers, fries, cake. 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
No comment.

Dissembled

Mildly busy in the 'rant, good to be working, get away from my dissembled kitchen. A major step was supposed to happen yesterday, and all of a sudden the contractor is not returning my calls. Typical in a project like this, hopefully things will resolve themselves soon.

BREAKFAST: 9am, organic wholegrain chex with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 12:30pm, 3 slices pizza, pomegranate soda, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 4:30pm. green salad, small cheesecake cup, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
A coworker brought in some cheesecake cups, with an oreo buried in the middle. Purdy good. Not very sophisticated, but to the point.

DINNER: 7:15pm, meatball appetizer, 8oz sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
EVENING SNACK: 9:30pm, glass of apple juice

EVENING SNACK: 11pm, chocolate chips & cashews

Too cold

Monday work has been delayed until the end of the month, but I've decided to stick with nanny coverage that has been planned months ago. I tried to do a day of bike riding, but the windchill made it intolerable, and ended up only riding for an hour before having to go home and stay under blankets until I felt normal again. Took myself out for lunch, wandered a bit then did little chores at home until everyone else came in.

BREAKFAST: 9am, organic whole grain chex with organic dead milk, banana, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: noon, vegetarian dim sum, tea, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
I ordered 5 dishes, but with the intention of eating reasonably and bringing left overs home.

PM SNACK: 4pm, left over Pepe's pizza, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 7:15pm, 2 beef tamales, ice cream, apple tart, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Eating prepared foods from Wholefoods. Oh, I need my kitchen back!

Love is a day trip to eat pizza.

The weather was a snap colder than ideal, but other than that, our day trip up to New Haven to visit Pepe's could not have been more perfect. We met up with two other couples with bebes on the train at Grand Central, and the 2 hour ride was easy and calm and friendly. We only waited about 10 minutes for a very child-friendly table all together, and a slow walk through some nice bits of the town got us on an early train home, in good seats without drama. A little cranky baby here and there, but over all the three babies slept well. We were all home by 5pm, glad to have such cool friends in our situation in the 'hood.

I ate a lot of clam pie, but between the lack of cheese, lack of acidy tomato, and the fact that I left "bones" behind (I skipped the crusts), my stomach felt just fine.

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


AM SNACK: 9:30am, large almond cookie, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 1pm, lots of white clam pizza, a couple glasses of cheap beer, water, 1.75 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 4pm, cannoli


DINNER: 8pm, left over shrimp saag & rice, a little leftover pizza, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


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

People really live like this by choice?

Ugg, do people really get by just on ordering in food? This is giving me a new appreciation of what cooking does for me. Hopefully the kitchen will be back in operation late in the week...

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


LUNCH 1: 12:45pm, pumpernickel bagel and cream cheese with 2 pickles, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH 2: 2:30pm, shrimp saag with rice and roti, water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 5pm, dark chocolate bar, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 7pm, eggplant hero, salad, onion rings, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

40

Happy birthday to me. Forty. The age John Lennon was assassinated. I guess my Beatles days are far behind me, he he. My Yoko sure can be uppity, though, he he.

Being that the kitchen is out of sorts, me n' Edie went to the diner on the block and had a greezy breakfast, reminiscent of my parents. Stayed indoors until workers came, took care of chores on the outside. After B got home, took off to yoga and had the most wonderful time with T -- unfortunately for her, no one else showed but fortunately for me, we had a 1-on-1 birthday yoga session!

Picked up ice cream from Lulu's on the way home and had a nice chill pizza & salad with B before bed. A low-key day.

AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 9:45am, blt on rye, french fries, diet coke, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 1:30pm, buttermilk waffle, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 4:30pm, half a pint of ice cream, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


SNICKLESNACK: 7:15pm, half a lame vegan cupcake thing


DINNER: 8:30pm, pizza, Cesar salad, vegan mint chip ice cream, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Takin' Care of Business

Lifted weights early, then took Edie to a playgroup -- on Mondays it's mellow with a few dads, but this was full bore Mommy & Nanny central, maybe 10 other kids. Edie was fine with it, very cool. Chores right after then Edie to nap around noon. Took care of business and went off to school in the early afternoon.

School was the sauce class, highlighted by the beschamel needed for mac n' cheese. This is the 4th time I'm teaching, and I gotta say, this group is definitely the best yet -- they're actually PAYING ATTENTION to my lecture portion, and seem to be investing themselves in the food we're cooking. It's surprisingly gratifying. It makes me wish my dad was around, who was a college professor most of his career, to bounce that off him.

AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea


LUNCH: 12pm, 6" veggie burger sub on wholewheat, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
Went for a Subway sub for lunch, as the kitchen is not operational. Could have done worse I suppose.

SCHOOL FOOD: 6pm, a couple small pieces of chimichuri flank steak, some mac n' cheese, a little spinach, a small cup of coca cola, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 8pm, brown rice California roll, seaweed salad, chocolate cake, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10pm, small ramekin of goldfish

Nutz

C, who looks after Edles on some days, brought me some roasted mixed nuts that impressed her -- buttered, fresh rosemary, spicy cayenne kick, nice selection of cashews, pecans, walnuts, almonds. Reminded me how good and how easy something like this is to make, as long as you start off with raw nuts -- double roasting a nut will make it chalky and bitter.

AM SNACK: 9am, iced green tea

AM SNACK: 11am roasted mixed nuts

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

DINNER: 6pm, shrimp with coconut curry, a little chicken with satay sauce, sticky rice, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Tired of the same pizza. Ordered in from Rice, food was pretty meh.

EVENING SNACK: 11pm, burgers, fries, donuts, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
No Comment.

Tuesday (Work)

Moderately busy day at work, glad to be out of a house under construction.

BREAKFAST: 9am, iced green tea, banana walnut muffin, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 12:15pm, 3 slices superthin pizza with onion and garlic, 8oz sprite, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


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


DINNER: 6pm, meatballs & bread, 1 slice salad pizza, cranberry lime soda, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 11pm, house special mei fun, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Munday

Monday work postponed due to poor weather. Being that Edie was covered but too miserable out to ride, I reverted back to college and planted myself in a theater for two movies, followed by a cheapo meal.


BREAKFAST: 8:45am, iced green tea, wholewheat banana walnut muffin, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

BRUNCH: 11:30am, 3 veg samosas with chickpeas and spinach, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


LINNER: 4:15pm,  hijiki soy patty, large spinach salad with carrot dressing, cold sesame noodles, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 4:45pm, 1 short bread cookie, 1 chocolate madeline

PM SNACK: 7pm, chocolate chips, sesame crackers & peanuts, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 9pm, hot dog, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Spring Sprung

Can't wait for the house to be put back together, better than before, but in reality that won't be for another two weeks or so. Took Edie out for a nice walk in the morning, and in the afternoon we hopped on bike and met up with some non-baby friends in Brooklyn for some hanging out. Partially reassembled the bedroom when I got home, already looks better than before despite the dust and clutter.

Today is the first day of Spring, and boy I can't wait to officially begin spring cleaning!

TODAY'S COOKING:
Banana Walnut Muffins: Double batch, as there will be no cooking for the next 5-10 days, depending on how the kitchen work goes. As before, adjusted this recipe with 100% whole wheat flour, an extra 2 eggs, creamed the butter and sugar, then added the bananas, eggs and real vanilla bean. Upped salt by 1/3, chopped walnut to large pebbles. Topped each with a crumble of brown sugar right before hitting the oven. Came out pretty good, will help me be a little healthy through the week, if they last that long!

BREAKFAST: 4:30am, a couple of freshly baked banana walnut muffins, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


AM SNACK: 9am, small piece of semi sweet chocolate


LUNCH: noon, pasta with sauce and parm, glass of grape juice, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
I don't keep grape juice in the house, but we got a bunch of Purim bags from the religious neighbors dropped on our door (Edie-fans), so there it was.


PM SNACK: 6pm, 2 banana walnut muffins, .5 bowl, hunger 4/ 5

DINNER: 7pm, eggplant hero, green salad, water, 1.25 bow, hunger 4/5

Better than drugs

Woke up naturally at 6:30, got on the bike at 7:15 and made my way out to Little Neck Bay and Whitestone via Flushing Meadow. A little cold, but wonderful to be out in the world. Had a fantastic afternoon out with the gals, culminating in buying new shoes for babies and eating some great food, followed by vegan cashew-based ice cream at Lula's on the way home.

My body was hungry and tired in a way that only a long bike ride can give, much better than any sleeping pill or drug.


BREAKFAST: 7am, iced green tea, brown rice crispies with organic dead milk, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


BIKE SNACK: 10:30am, 20oz Gatorade, small bag of corn chips, 3 small chocolate chip cookies, half a "beef stick", .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 12:30pm, 2 White castle burgers, 2 pickles, health salad, 2 cheese hamantashen, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH pt 2: 2:30pm, 2 homemade black bean burritos with a little fresh guacamole, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5 


DINNER: 5pm, bulgogi & rice, kimchi pancake, veg dumplings, water, vegan chocolate ice cream. 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Get 'er dun

A lot going on in the house with three men working, a dishwasher delivery, a bed delivery, a guy came to measure for stone, etc etc. But everything got done by the time Edles napped, and being that it was over 70 degrees out, we got the heck out of the house and I fed her lunch in a vest pocket park around the corner.

Once she got it in, we rolled over to our local play park and Edie ran around for an hour before we slowly made it back home. It was nice to hand off to B a bit, and I ordered in.

Next week, I may not be able to cook in my kitchen for a full 7-10 days, hmmmm.

AM SNACK: 8am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 9am, smoothie, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Banana, milk, yogurt, grapes, cherries, mango, blueberries, vanilla, ground flax, pinch of salt.

LUNCH: 12:30pm, 2 fish sticks, tatertots, pickles, healthsalad, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 5pm, piece of semisweet chocolate


DINNER: 8pm, pepper steak, salad, spring roll, wonton soup, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Mah fsss!

Good day. Went out to the park with Edles while men worked in my apartment. Over to school in the afternoon for a relatively successful teaching session (Cesar salad with grilled chicken and fresh croutons, a bound shrimp salad with fresh mayo, vegetable soup with stock made last week). Rode over to WF after for a few things, and picked up some premade stuff as I didn't want to cook anymore today, and the place is under construction on top of that.

Edie put together her first two words unprompted ("Hi Papa" doesn't count, as she was just mimicking what she heard.) She's been saying "more" a lot, and calls goldfish crackers "fssss". Over breakfast, she held out an empty container that had goldfish and instead of just saying more ("mah!"), she said "mah fsss!" Yeah, I'm proud.


AM SNACK: 8am, ice green tea


BREAKFAST: 9am, brown rice crispies with organic dead milk, half a waffle, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: noon, 4 white castle burgers, health salad, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


SCHOOL SNACK: 2:45pm, chocolate covered pretzels, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


SCHOOL TASTINGS: 3:15 - 7pm, bits of 10 cheeses, a few shrimp, many tastes of student mayonnaise, freshly baked croutons, vegetable soup, grilled chicken breast, .25 bowl, hunger ?/5


DINNER: 8:30pm, brown rice California roll, shrimp summer roll, chocolate cake, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Work Work

Had a hard time falling asleep, little niggly things about family, work and the renovation starting today just bouncing around my head. Woke up a bit early to run out to do some chores to help get ready for the men working in the house today.

Rainy on the way to work, the new bike controls like a charm. Between the Big Dummy's wide tires, long wheel base, non-locking disc brakes and nice heft (along with the front fender I just installed), it rode in the rain like it was made for it.

BREAKFAST: 8:15am, iced green tea, the good yogurt with honey, vanilla and cashews, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 12:15pm, 4 slices superthin pizza with mushroom and onion, 8 oz sprite, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 3pm, meatball
PM SNACK: 5pm, green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 6pm, large arancini, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 8pm, small glass of apple juice


DINNER: 10:30pm, tatertots, cheesefilled coffee cake, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
No comment.

Work Work

Busy in the resto, didn't eat too bad considering. The season has begun.

BREAKFAST: 9am, iced green tea, pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese and sable, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 12:45pm, 2 slices superthin pizza, 8oz sprite, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 5pm, Manhattan Special
Very busy in the shop, needed it once the lunch crowd ended.

PM SNACK: 6:30pm, green salad, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 7:30, 1 slice salad pizza, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 10pm, house special fried rice, 3 cheese hamantashen, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Monday Monday

My last Monday at home for a while, next week starts three days a week at the resto. Took Edie to the Dads-only play group, ran around and completed a few chores, then home for her nap. Edie was a bit cranky after lunch, so we hopped on the bike together for the first time this season and went down to the fancy playground by South Street Seaport. Only one other parent and kid there, but Edie had a fantastic time running around and going up and down a set of steps. When I got home, B was there to take over the E while I banged out a bunch of hamantashen. Went to bed early.

TODAY'S COOKING
Hamantashen:  Had left over prune and cheese fillings, had to use them or toss them. I forgot that the cheese filling loosened the cookies, and I went heavier to use it up, so they all came undone. Still delicious, but not transportable or servable -- I'll just have to eat them over the next few days. Considered making a yeast cookie instead of the creamed-butter version, but the directions called for a chill over-night, which would make it more delicious, but I just wanted to knock 'em out quick.

AM SNACK: 8:45am, iced green tea

LUNCH: 12:30pm, black beans & cheddar, health salad & 2 pickles, water, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5
Health salad and 3/4 sour pickles are a fantastic combo. The beans and cheese left over from my burrito session yesterday went in my mouf today -- I should of let the beans simmer without a cover for a bit to tighten them up, a little bit loose and watery, but good flavor regardless.

PM SNACK: 6:30pm, handful of cheese hamantashen


DINNER: 7:45pm, pad thai, mixed dumplings, tiny spring roll, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
Ordered from the new place uptown. The Pad Thai was HORRIBLE, underdressed, noodles too stiff, and about twice the quantity it should be. The Chinese stuff, though, was still a class above the local take out. They have Japanese stuff on their menu too, but I guess I'll just stick to the Chinese stuff.

Waffles & Burritos & Sauternes OH MY!

Went to Home Depot looking for various things needed for the upcoming fixes to the apartment, but everything was just straight-up wrong there. Found exactly the right stuff on Amazon, and paid a whole lot extra to have everything delivered early in the week. Worth it, if I'm going to be staring at this stuff for potentially many years to come.

Banged out some good cooking, took Edie for along walk and play in the park behind the building, and met up with a friend and old colleague from the resto to talk about the future. Over all a good but tiring day, and it doesn't help that we lost an hour!

TODAY'S COOKING
Buttermilk waffles: Had some left over buttermilk from the cheddar chive biscuits, so rather than do pancakes, broke out ye olde caste iron waffle iron and pumped out a double batch. Edie love 'em.


Burritos: Long cooked black beans yesterday with sofrito, onion, bell pepper and assorted seasonings and salt. And I banged out a big batch of guacamole (mushed together avocado, minced cilantro, raw grated onion, lemon juice, salt) Today, cooked a cup of long grain brown rice, gathered a bunch of whole wheat tortillas, and grated a block of mild cheddar and assembled away. One broke open and ended up in my mouth, pretty good, a definite improvement over the last batch.

AM SNACK: 9am, iced green tea

LUNCH: 2pm, 2 waffles, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 5pm, 1 small burrito, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER:7:30pm, chicken soup, pasta with pork ragu, broccolini, a little gnocchi, 1 glass wine, a little ice cream, a little carrot cake, half glass of sauternes, fizzy water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Bike Season has begun

First ride of the season yo!! Woke up early-ish, caffeinated then got the hell out, rode out to Coney Island on this windy, brisk day. Ran into a few parent friends on the way out, ran into a school friend in Bay Ridge, just a wonderful early start to Spring. Did chores via bike in the afternoon, then out to a nice Korean dinner and a movie with E, who I haven't had one-on-one "girl time" with in way too long. Good day.

BREAKFAST: 8:45am, iced green tea, handful of chocolate covered coffee beans


BIKE SNACK: 11am, bag of corn chips, water, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


LUNCH: 12:45am, health salad, pickles, water .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


PM SNACK: 3:15pm, pretzels, peanuts and chocolate chips, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 6:45pm, bulgogi, pa jeon, bibimbop, kimchi and various little starters, large bottle of beer, 1.75 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 8pm, sprite, chocolate thingies, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5

Runnin' About

Went out in the morning with the Edles to go food shopping, bought a dish washer while out, bleah. Baby sitter in the eve, me and B went out with another couple to dinner at a really annoying restaurant, then to a Robyn Hitchcock show. Despite the hickups, it was a brilliant evening.

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


AM SNACK: 11am, pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese and sabel, 1  bowl, hunger 4/5

DINNER: 6:30pm, couscous with assorted meats, a few bites of tomato salad, water, 2 glasses of wine, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

Not a good eating day

Busy day, school teaching, then a few meetings after. Did not eat well.

BRUNCH: 11am, cheddar chive biscuit with sausage gravy, water, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SCHOOL SNACK: 3pm, a few twix candy bars, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


SCHOOL MEAL: 6:30pm, chicken, mashed potato, chard, sprite, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 9pm, 1 small slice pizza, half a beer, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5


EVENING SNACK: 10pm, 2 small burgers, a small bowl of chocolate chips, peanuts and pretzels, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5

Unpowered

Slow day at the resto, felt weirdly lethargic. I wonder if it was causal or unrelated. Looking forward to Edie time tomorrow.

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, good oatmeal, .5 bowl, hunger 4/5
LUNCH: 12 noon, 4 slices superthin pizza with shrimp, 8 oz sprite, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5
PM SNACK: 1pm, Manhattan SpecialFeeling groggy and unenergetic. THis didn't help much.

PM SNACK: 5pm, green salad
DINNER: 7:45pm, vegetarian meatballs with thai black rice, 8oz sprite, 1.25 bowl, hunger 4/5


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

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