Food Adventures: H&M Journey Onwards!

Hoorah! H. and I made it to Day 3 of our little eating experiment. We both had headaches over the weekend, which might be from sugar withdrawals or plain ol' allergies. However, yesterday I tried a new recipe for Chili-Citrus Chicken with Olives that cleared our sinuses, pronto. I'm sorry H. Three tablespoons of chili powder was more than our systems could handle. So much milk. I salvaged the meal by washing everything off and then mashing the potatoes with (more) milk. It worked, and we still have food for the rest of this week. I also cooked a pot of brown rice and lentils. It was a delicious accompaniment for the (washed off) chicken and olives with some feta cheese sprinkled on top.

Breakfast is my favourite meal these days. Eating sans ketchup is easier than I thought. Rather than mindlessly squeezing goopy red sauce onto my eggs, I try to consider what tastes I'm craving. Salt? Vinegar-y Tang? Sweetness? These flavours can be found non-ketchup foods, such as pan seared tomatoes with sea salt and Herbes de Provence. (My favourite!) Or even salsa works, too.

And eating French Toast without sugar or syrup gives me the chance to enjoy the texture and flavour of comforting eggy-bread. Not that toast ought to be bland, though. Cinnamon and nutmeg add flavour while applesauce, golden raisins, and Greek yogurt provide sweetness and creaminess. Maybe even some nuts for added crunch?

Of course, I won't kiss syrupy French Toast good bye. However, I am noticing that a decrease in processed sugars seems to (at least psychologically?) make my tummy feel better. And maybe, just maybe, those Ladies Magazines speak truth when they say cutting sugar might decrease cyclical discomfort (erm, PAIN. Really, really, really bad pain). It seems to be working for me, so I won't complain.

So here's to more (or hopefully no more) adventures with spices/chili powder, whole grains, new vegetables, and lots of apple sauce and frozen strawberries.

Cheers!

House-y Things and a Ramble

Virginia welcomed the First of December with sunshine and a rain storm. Funny how the two go together in this state. Sadly, the weather forecast canceled the "Snow Alert" for next Wednesday. I guess I still have time for a few more walks before my boots need their rub-down for snow.

My Use-Up-Fridge/Pantry-Items week continues. Our meals have been quite substantial considering I, erm, slightly over-purchased groceries the previous week. Here's what we've cooked so far:

Sunday: Curried Red Lentil, Quinoa, and Chickpea Stew. Recipe courtesy of Eat This. Homey, healthy and delicious. My first time cooking quinoa, too! The quinoa cooked for a while and looked like tiny little floating nose rings. I'm sorry, but that's the best way I can describe them. Maybe itsy bitsy smiles without the eyes?  I made a full recipe, so it will probably last us a while. (I might freeze whatever we don't eat.)

Monday: Whole Wheat Penne Pasta with Marinara, Spicy Chicken Sausage, and Olives. We had an unopened package of sausages in the fridge for a while now, so H. and I decided to cook two and freeze two. I love listening to the sausage skin "snap" while it cooks. Olives and penne pasta were in the pantry.  Um. I also attempted to make "S'mores Brownies" listed on the Food Network website. Lesson learned: don't attempt brownies unless you have all of the right ingredients. Suffice it to say, H. and I did not ask for s'more.

Tuesday/Wednesday: Left over stew and pasta. Bacon and Cheesy Eggs with Toast and Baby Spinach Salad + Chocolate Pudding.
H. and I finally finished the package of bacon we froze a while ago. Eggs are a House-y Staple. So is baby spinach. We eat it like chips around here. Everything came from either the fridge, freezer, or pantry. 

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In the spirit of culinary creativity, or plain ol' "Grocery Budgeting", H. and I decided to try a No Sugar, No Flour experiment until S. arrives on the 19th. My goal is not to worry about weight loss or maintenance. And I'll try very hard not to make eating a means of justifying myself and feeling better that I'm consuming "more natural ingredients" than those who eat processed foods. (But honestly, don't we all feel that way sometimes?) 

The older I get, the less I enjoy heavily processed foods without feeling "gross". But can part of the "gross" feeling be influenced by my personal beliefs about processed foods? Once I ate half a biscuit and found the other half covered with what seemed to be mold. I felt sick for the rest of the day. Then my sister came home and told me that the powdery white stuff was just flour. Whoops! Ok, so I'm a hypochondriac.I'm not advocating that we all start eating moldy food and believing that it's not moldy. Or anything like that. (What a relief to discover that the powdery white was only flour!) I just wonder how the condition of the soul and body influence food choices and feelings/reactions to food. Does that make any sense? I'll keep working on a better form of that question.


Sometimes I eat apples just because I'm ashamed. And sometimes I feel guilty when I eat nachos from Target. But I don't really know why I feel guilt or shame. (Ahhhh, Roy, this is making me think of Brothers K. Cuban Cigars, anyone?) Some of the best eating moments happen when I munch on an apple just because I love the taste of apple. And really, I never want nacho cheese for more than one or two days. Oh but sometimes it's so tasty. Why why why?

Oh well. Too many unfinished thoughts and half-formed questions. I should go read some Betsy-Tacy. Thought Project, I'll be back. (With more rambles. And more unfinished thoughts. And maybe some Target Nachos.)


No sugar or white flour for a few weeks can't hurt me. I'm hoping to see if it will help with the general achies and lethargy I've felt for the past few months.

And above all else, I want to have fun and be creative in trying new recipes and ingredients. So many vegetables and grains I've never tried! Bulgar? Nope! Celeriac or beets? Nope Nope! Eggs without gobs of ketchup? Nope. ...I'll have trouble with that one. 


How exciting! The day E. finally learns to eat an egg without loads of ketchup to mask the eggy taste. 

It can be done.

Well, it has to be done. At least for the next two weeks. I still have half a week to finish off some of our sugar/flour ingredients. Hoot!


Here's to a month of good eats and joyous meal making!

H&M Visit NYC(!!): Part II

Here's my confession to preface this post: I like cupcakes. A lot. But when the cupcake craze first swept through California, I refused to succumb to "the trend" and visit any popular shops. This was a silly vow, and it only lasted a few months. When the Perfect Circle Cupcakery opened a few miles away from my house, I give in to curiosity. Can you blame me? They advertised chocolate and buttercream! What more could I ask for? Well, I guess I could be more specific and ask for a deliciously moist chocolate cupcake topped with homemade buttercream. And this is what The Perfect Circle gave to me on that chilly October afternoon. It tasted homemade, and I was satisfied.

Okay, you're probably thinking: "WAIT WAIT WAIT. It tasted homemade?? Why would you buy a cupcake that you could make yourself at home?!?! You could have a dozen little cakes for half the price!"

(Well, that's what I said to myself at first.)

And this is how I responded to myself:

1) I don't want a dozen little cakes. There aren't always enough hungry cupcake-lovin' people in my house to eat the other eleven, and I really ought not eat all twelve. So in a way, I'm wasting less food by purchasing one cupcake for myself than by baking twelve and only eating one.

2) Sure, I'm paying for labor, service, supplies, ambiance, and the cuteness factor of the-little-white-box-and-brand name. But sometimes I'm willing to pay the price when I don't have time to bake and I want to eat a cupcake.

3) I would rather my cupcake taste homemade if homemade means delicious. (I'm sure you could debate over the definition of delicious and proper taste and what not, but perhaps you should do so over some coffee and cupcakes.) I've always preferred the taste of a cupcake made from scratch over a cake mix cupcake. Not as springy, but with a tender crumb and melt in your mouth moist. ...Ahhhh. 

4) Context? I don't eat cupcakes every day. Rather, they're saved for celebratory occasions like birthdays or surviving finals, etc.

Of course, not every cupcake shop experience has been wonderful. There are dry crumb days, and overly sweet frosting days, and even service-is-really-horrid-I-wonder-if-those-girls-eat-lemons-for-breakfast-days. But I think I'd rather try a bakery first before I deny the possibility of good cupcake shop experiences.  

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That being said, you can guess what H. and I did in New York.

 I was very, very happy to have a Partner in Dessert (A PID?).

And although I'm still a bit sheepish to admit it, I was wildly excited that we bought cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery.

Banana Cake with Caramel Buttercream, Devil's Food with Mocha Buttercream,

and Chocolate with Traditional Buttercream.

(We could only finish the Banana and Devil's Food that evening. 

Chocolate was saved for breakfast the next morning.)

H. and I also stopped by Sweet Revenge, where we enjoyed their Pure Vanilla cupcake with a glass of milk. (I'm still not telling how much I paid for that glass of milk. But it was worth it.) We didn't bother to photograph anything since the room was very dark and the shop was closing.

Many thanks to H. for joining me with much enthusiasm on my cupcake search!

We win!

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H. and I also enjoyed non-cupcake delectables during our trip:

Gelato on a stick from PopBar?

H. chose Almond dipped in Dark Chocolate. 

(There's your Asian tourist picture for the day.)

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H. very graciously allowed me to drag her to one of my very favourite places: Le Pain Quotidien.

This restaurant will always remind me of my Dad, since he was the one who first took me here. It also reminds me of Sam, since we often stop in the bakery to pick up a muffin or cookie. And now the café will remind me of New York, too. 

(Please pardon the terrible image quality!) 

H. tried the Tuna Tartine and I tried the Quiche Lorraine.

We also shared a bowl of Fresh Tomato Soup,

And we had a very fine supper!

(I suppose it makes up for all of the cupcakes. Or maybe not.)

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Next: Part III--Parks, Parties, and a Tour of the Hostel