Sriracha-chachacha

This latest ulcer is brought to you by After Osha Thai Takeout. Providing me with endless opportunities to add Sriracha to all of my food things!

Dinner On A Dime

Well, really, dinner for two on about 20 bucks, plus a handful of leftover ingredients. Today, despite it being a Sunday evening we braved Trader Joe's. Double BF points for it being after a trip to Home Depot! But back to the good..

Tonight I made one of my go to Trader Joe's dinners. Elegant, and simple. The meal could be found in several great San Francisco neighborhood Italian favorites like sister restaurants Gialina and Ragazza and even Thomas McNaughton's Flour + Water.

Simple and full of flavor, and exclusively Trader Joe's ingredients. Caramelized red onion, prosciutto, grated quattro formaggio, fresh basil and arugula on a marinara topped whole wheat crust. Finished with sea salt, fresh ground peppercorns and grated Parmesan. One of my best finds of the night: TJ's now has a much more expansive Italian wine section. I brought home two new Nero d'Avola's to try. The price combined for the two was under $10. When doing a fun taste test I preferred the lesser priced of the two, either way, a win, win, win. Top that with a farm fresh sunny-side up egg and BAM!

Light some candles, throw on some Sinatra, pour your tasters of TJ's Italian red offerings, and dig in. The fresh ingredients, whole wheat crust, and dinero saved on DIY at home tonight just add to that lovin' feelin' that you've never lost.

Shhhhh It's a secret. .

Yesterday while at the office a patient of mine cheerfully asked me if I noticed anything different about her. I have made it a practice to not immediately comment on a persons weight loss, because working I the field that I do, the reason for the loss could have to do with an illness. In this case I could tell immediately that she had lost a considerable amount of weight and was looking and feeling great. So I asked her what had she changed in her lifestyle that made this transformation possible. In her case it was an ease into, small change making, baby steps of continuously making minor adjustments.

Her big secret: eating better and exercising. Shhhh! Top secret stuff here. But it was the ease of transition that was the remarkable part. She is an older woman, in her late 50's, early 60's, so she wasn't hitting the gym hard every day, she just added more walking. Simple. Easy. Right?

Not always easy. The walking part I can handle. In my patients experience she just started parking further away from where she needed to, and walked where she could, when she could, but is doing so everyday. I myself have been vacation eating since August *a whole other post* and now that I have finished my Master's degree I am no longer working 60+ hours a week, I am ready to implement some lifestyle changes. Walking seems simple. It's a very do-able activity, even for people who are experiencing other physical health issues, but it takes time.

So my patient became my voice of reason. You can make changes in your life, but it really has to be a choice. In my personal life I'm always running around, always running late, and that has to be my first change. Make the time, make the change! In the case of my patient she chose to address the exercising because she knew it would be easier than addressing her diet. Once she saw the results from the addition of walking 2+ miles a day it motivated her to slowly change her diet as well.

So, the moral of the story is if you are anything like me, you need to slow down and smell the roses. Literally. While on a 2+ mile a day walk. Make time for yourself, you're important!

Free Your Mind

As En Vogue so dutifully told us in September 1992, Free Your Mind, and the rest will follow. And they were spot on.

An exchange happened between myself and another at work today. Co-worker x was seeming to have a bad day. Or maybe it's a week. Or hell, maybe it's been a few years. But the starkness today, of how we each deal with issues differently, and really just life in general stuck out today.

A few years ago I was in that place that we all seem to find ourselves at one time or another; lonely, lost, uncomfortable, mad, ect., ect., blah., blah., blah... And one day it just changed. I suppose I was really lucky that way. One day my fog just lifted, and I felt reattached, engaged, full of color and spirit, and thankful. Maybe there really is more to it than that, maybe more than One Day My Heart Just Opened Up. But that definitely had a lot to do with it.

So, where am I now? One practice that I try to get in everyday is stretching and strengthening. This does not have to cost any money, it just has to feel good. Reach your arms up and out. Swoop up and down. Spin around. It feels good, it feels silly. It's good for you.

I listen to music that enhances my mood. Feeling good? Feel great! Feeling thoughtful? Get deep! Feeling depressed? Morrissey will cry it out with you! How soon is now, anyhow?

And just as importantly, just as I take care of my body with Pilates, and feed my spirit with music therapy, I feed my mind with guided meditation.

I get ready for bed, follow all of my rituals of taking makeup off, having a glass of wine, winding down with background noise or tv, and then when I'm ready, I'll sip on my soft sleep mask, and press play on an hour to 3 hour guided meditation. Usually I find these mp3s on Youtube for free. I plug them in and I tune out the world. I feel that having these positive vibrations of peace, understanding, meditation, gratitude and manifestation are so important to how I feel during the rest of the day. Whether through conscious listening, or passive listening, the words register, and come to light during the day.

So where does the belly fit in? For so many of us, for so many years, we may meet a need in our life with food. I am no different. I feel that most people, women in general have some sort of odd, mostly unhealthy relationship to meeting needs with food. Either we were deprived by others, deprived by ourselves, grew up in a working class environment that may have not had enough food, or worse. Either way, we can have grown an unhealthy relationship with eating and food.

However, you can still love, appreciate, and allow food to play a large part in your life, with out letting food take over your life.

Where listening to guided meditation meets my needs is in the spiritual and the physical. When I am happy, manifesting the life that I want to live, and showing gratitude for those who make my life what it is, I feel full. I feel so full sometimes I could just burst.

So, explore. Practice finding the positive, manifesting your desires, and showing an attitude of gratitude for all you have been giving today.

Your life, in all of it's facets will be magnified. It will taste better, it will sound better, you will be happier, you will be full of peace.

Namaste

California Wine Appellation Specialist® – 3 Day Credential Program

California Wine Appellation Specialist® – 3 Day Credential Program

Don't Settle

Good Mourning

Gathering around the kitchen of the table following the passing of a loved one is something that transcends religions and ethnicity. My family is no different. Coming from Irish, Ukrainian, and Polish Descent, which clearly has a lot to say on mourning in the Polish culture. There are many memories I have of pre and post service meals, filling loved one's ice boxes and cabinets with enough casseroles and dry goods to last the living for eternity. But why do we do it?

My grandmother was a feeder. As much as she was a looker, a lover of estate sale gems, and a devout CB radio enthusiast, she was a feeder. It was her way. Even if her way came with a chiding tsk tsk, "your pants *are* getting a little snug" she would be heaping the fried chicken, potato salad and green beans onto your plate. My grandfather too, was a feeder in his own sort. This may not have included anything that he himself prepared for you, but more along the lines of a second serving of desert, a handful of candy, or better yet a small, ornate, crystal vessel containing at the tender age of 5 or so my drug of choice: The Fuzzy Navel.

So, all history lessons aside, We laid my grandfather to rest this week and preceded to have a fun, silly, honorable, dinner filled with reminiscing about the ways of my grandmother and grandfather, and each retelling the various tales that had been passed onto each of us. Of course lining up the incongruities could sometimes be my favorite part. I would say that i would take most of what has been told to me with a grain of salt, and the other half is hogwash. For our chosen meal of hearty laughter and many a cocktail we hit up a local Asian-Fusion restaurant which was already loud and boisterous when we got there, so no sad faces, no I'm sorry's, we just added to the upbeat vibe of the room and enjoyed some delish dishes with a heaping side of tears rolling down the cheeks in laughter and love.

Foodspotting: Grecian Times

One of my first stops on a trip home is to The Manville Diner.

The Manville Diner is owned by a Greek family, in traditional NJ Diner style. They have an awesome Greek Gyro platter. This is the Small: A Gyro wrap small Greek side salad and small side of fries. Get the regular: a full sized Greek salad, and Gyro plate with fries. Home made ingredients, filling comfort food. Comfort me, Manville Diner, comfort me!

You say potato, I say potato

And just like that, the blog is off and running and then stopped at a standstill.

Earlier this weekend I left the sunny and tepid temperatures of San Francisco for the unusual mood swing of a winter wonderland that is the North East. My dearly beloved grandfather passed away this weekend at the great old age of 91. He was lovable, funny, handsome and had an amazing memory for sports statistics. We will forgive the fact that he was a Boston Red Sox fan (!)

While never receiving formal training in food preparation, the bellows of my grandfather on holidays still rings loud in my memory, "IIIIIIIIII've peeled hundreds of thousands of potatoes for thousands of men and I swear IIIIIIII'll never do it again!" Of course what would a meat and potatoes man be without the potatoes? His reference was in regards to his cooking duties during his years in the Army. He was a proud, proud man of his service to our country, but never did he peel another potato again. Potatoes, however did play many a role in the feeding of active duty, POW's, and supporters back home. The were *the* staple of WWII.

So on that note, this weeks blogspotting will be more along the lines of foodspotting around the Tri-State area. Some of the warmest moments of mourning with friends and family happen around the table deep with dinners and wines, and coffees and cakes. So raise your glass, and love the one you're with. Cheers!

The Chilaquile Effect

The Chilaquile Effect

Several weeks ago, some friends and I were sharing a last brunch together after a weekend nine of us spent at the fantastically kitschy, comfortable and fun Bear Necessities Cabin in Christmas Village, just south of South Lake Tahoe. The weather called for 3 - 6 inches. No problem we thought with our minimal survival bundles of wine, and pancake mix, but plenty of ipod tunes to keep us going forevs..

Major upside, we stumbled upon Liras Supermarket, providing hot coffee, reasonably priced cheese, wine, crackers, and all of the frozen pizzas we could possibly consume in 2 days.

The first night we found some cabbies crazy enough to bring us into South Lake and we totally hooked it up with the steak and lobster special at the Mont Bleu. The Mont Bleu in South Lake has an excellent Players Club card which awards you such wonderful thing as $1 tacos and margaritas, and the $13 Steak and Lobster extravaganza. Good times to share with good friends. On the second night were were introduced to the wacky, and amazing all you can eat sushi at Sushi Pier. Amazing, and fun, a true locals spot. You must visit 2 - 3 times to get your orders just right.

So Finally, 2 days and 23 inches of snow, here we are on the final morning of our fantastic Christmas Valley weekend and we find ourselves in a great cafe. Honestly everyone had great food, except for Susan and I. We ordered chiliquiles. They contained the usual peasant type ingredients, but they were just lacking something. So a few weeks later I decided my day after holiday mean was going to be some makeshift Chilaquiles. Hey the kitchen was already trashed, what else could go wrong.

I started by grabbing two big handfulls of tortilla chips that had been left out over night. I then took two teaspoons from the bacon rendering reserve from the Christmas of yore - yore being of course two days ago - the fat was heated, the chips were tossed until they were saturated with flavor, and crispy. I then whipped up a sauce using 1/2 jar of Tortillas medium salsa, 1/2 jar of Casa Sanchez med. salsa, and some cumin, chili seasoning, turmeric, chicken stock, and chili oil Korean BBQ seasonings sauce .

Once the chips were sauteed in the bacon fat, they were tossed with all of the other ingredients. I finished the dish with some left over cream cheese , which I softened into a lovely cream sauce for the chiliquiles. I poached some eggs and served them on top, just in case it wasn't indulgent enough.

Now. Go forth and make the world a better place through your experimenting and sharing!

Taste Teasers: Coming Soon:

* The Chiliquele Effect

* Wine Gadgets; a lesson in aeration and cellar temperatures

* Doin' it, and doin' it, and doin' it better: The Caprese Bite

Stay Tuned!

Explore With Brain to Belly..