A dent in my motivation

Motivation can be a slippery thing to hold onto. It keeps shifting and altering its nature. Sure, the foundations of it stay the same; health, vitality, energy level, and the granddaddy of them all, if we're to be honest with ourselves, vanity.

All right, I know that word holds some negative connotations for most people. I once even got into a flame war on an online fitness board because I dared to say that “We don't work out to impress other people in the gym; we work out to impress people outside the gym.” Some people took a great deal of offense to me suggesting that most of us are in the gym because we want to look good. Personally, I don't see anything wrong with a touch of vanity, at least not in this context.

Hey, if you don't want to admit it publicly, that's fine, but if admiring your progress in the mirror, sucking in your gut to see what you'll look like a few pounds lighter, or God forbid, flexing a little bit in the privacy of your own home, helps you keep going back to the gym and making better dining choices, then I say embrace the phrase that as helped me keep moving when all I wanted to do was sit down & crack open a beer: Vanity is my Sanity.

On top of the foundation motivations, there is usually other factors that help keep a sense of urgency to our goals. It can be seasonal things like swimsuit weather and party season, or can be more event-based, like weddings, reunions, or vacations.
Just about every year, I attend a festival back east with a whole lot of my old friends. In June I step out of the still cool Seattle weather, and enter the usually summary temperatures of rural Maryland in the company of several hundred people, including dozens of friends whom I generally see only once a year. So that means from late winter through spring I have the knowledge that I'm going to be suddenly plunged into a week of swimming and being scantily clad around people who haven't had the benefit (let's call it benefit for the sake of my “vanity”) of seeing any shifts in my physique happening gradually. That means just a few pounds, one way or the other, are very noticeable to all of them. At least that's the way my self-conscious self sees it. That's a big hearty slice of motivation that fills up a full quarter of my year.

This year however, I'm not going to the festival. I have an opportunity take my vacation in Japan, and I couldn't pass that up. So there's been no concern about my friends seeing my belly a little softer, or my arms to little thinner this season.
What do you do when a huge motivating factor is suddenly removed? How do you keep the KFC & video games at bay then?
I suppose I should have some answer for you right here. It would be nice if I can lay out some sage advice, but all I've been able to do is dig deep, and push myself forward on determination alone. It hasn't been easy, and I haven't been perfect, but I keep pushing. It's the best thing come up with right now.

Gone Fishin'

Once again, I've been away for a while. I'm just going to have to accept that I'm not one of those weekly blogger types. Aside from my general lack of discipline, part of the problem is that I have too many damned interests that occupy my time.

One that has kept busy lately is fishing. May is the all too brief hailbut fishing season here in Washington state and I've been getting out on the boat whenever I can arrange it, trying to catch one of these elusive beasts.
Last Saturday, I finally succeeded and caught my first hailibut: a 35 pounder.



Anyone who knows me on social media has already seen this photo, because I've been plastering it up everywhere and even now have it as my userpic on both twitter & facebook. Hey, bragging about the fish you caught is one of those things that make life worth living, is it not? ;)
Well, bragging about it, and then eating it. Speaking of which...


Halibut is my absolute favorite fish and the last thing I want to do is cover-up its delicate flavor. But, I still wanted to have some fun and add a little complexity to the dish.

Nice clean citrus flavors really complement halibut without overpowering it. I got my hands on some really beautiful blood oranges and couldn't resist making a salsa out of them.
However I also wanted to add a little decadent richness, so I layered in a charred onion butter sauce.
The result was a fun mixture of flavors & textures that still allowed the halibut to be the star of the show.


Pan Seared Halibut with Charred Onion Buerre Blanc & Blood Orange Salsa




Salsa
3 medium blood oranges, cut into clean segments,
½ of one mango, peeled and diced
¼ red onion, sliced thinly
2 tbs chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded & finely chopped
pinch of salt
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Combine all the ingredients for the salsa in a small mixing bowl. You should also squeeze in any excess juice from the oranges membrane. Allow this to rest for at least 20 minutes.
The mango is optional but it adds a degree of hardiness to the salsa that I really like.

Charred Onion Buerre Blanc
1 cup dry white wine
juice & zest of 1 lemon
2 tbs heavy cream
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cubed
½ medium onion, charred over flame or grill, diced
Salt and pepper to taste


Combine the white wine and lemon juice in a non-reactive saucepan over high heat and reduce to 2 tablespoons.
Add the cream to the reduction. Reduce it by half then turn the heat to very low. Add the butter, one cube at a time, shaking the pan, adding more butter as the previous one melts. Continue adding butter into the reduction until the mixture is fully emulsified and has reached a rich sauce consistency. Mix in the diced onion and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat but keep warm until ready to serve.

The Fish & the Finish

4 portions of cut halibut filet
2 tbs canola or light olive oil
pinch of salt & pepper

Dab any excess moisture off the outside of the halibut fillets with a paper towel and season them with the salt and pepper.
Heat a heavy bottomed pan, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat. Add in the oil and allow it to heat up, but do not let it get so hot it starts to smoke.
Cook the halibut in the pan so that it's nicely seared on the outside and cooked to your preference within.

Serve the halibut topped with a couple spoonfuls of butter sauce and a liberal portion of the salsa.
As you can see from the picture, I had mine with a little basmati rice pilaf; steam basmati rice with sauteed bell peppers and shiitake mushrooms.
If it looks like there are peppers both on top as well as in the rice, that's because the mango got colored red by the blood orange juice.

Start with yourself

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
~Aristotle



Know thyself: it's a core tenet of many spiritual philosophies, self-improvement disciplines and business plans.

It's really a pretty basic concept, if you want to go anywhere you first have to know where you're coming from. Simple right?
When it comes to building a healthier lifestyle, this means knowing just what you need to, and are willing to change. Yeah, yeah, eat better and exercise more; that's probably a given. You're going to want to get a little more specific though.

Take a look at your diet first. You already have some idea of a few of the things that you probably shouldn't be eating, at least in the quantities you may be right now. Plus, you also want to take note of the things you do eat that are good for you. Knowing yourself is about assessing your strengths as well as your weaknesses.
Now you can do this in your head and just sort of make mental notes about what you want to change and improve, but if you want a really clear picture of how you are eating, the best way is to log what you eat and drink and see exactly where all your calories are coming from.
As I said in one of the opening posts of this blog, I am not a fan of calorie counting. That is to say, I'm not one of those people that has the discipline to log everything I they eat on an ongoing basis. If you happen to be one of those people that can do that, well awesome! And more power to you.
For the rest of us, doing it for is short period of time, let's say, one week, is a really good idea to give you an idea of how many calories you are really eating.
Shooting from the hip and trying to guesstimate is usually a pretty bad idea, most people greatly underestimate their caloric intake.
So yeah, I know, it's a pain in the ass, writing down how many ounces of meat on each sandwich, every slice of tomato and everything you have to drink for a week, but look at it this way, at least for that week you don't have to worry about cutting anything out of your diet. In fact, it's important that while you are logging what you eat, you don't try to eat better. You want this week to be an accurate picture of what your average calorie intake has been over recent months.
As far as calculating how many calories are in what you eat, there are plenty of online sources that will do that for you; fitday.com and nutritiondata.com are two I can think of right off the top of my head and a Google search will provide many more. You just have to go through the process of entering everything, and I mean everything you consume for that week into the website you choose. This will give you how many calories you consume in an average day and from what sources. Once you know that, you have a good place to start from.

Whether you count your calories or just take the “horse sense” approach, you then want to start thinking about what changes you are prepared to make. I've known a number of people who have lost a great deal of weight simply by cutting sodas and/or sugary beverages out of their diet. Of course if you do that make sure you replace him with water as opposed to juices, sports drinks, or even diet sodas.

Also, think in terms of what you can add into your diet as well as what you can take away. A great step that a friend of mine made once, was to simply add in a half a cup of brown rice and a cup of vegetables to her dinner plate every night, no matter what she was eating. She didn't really lighten up her main entree, she just ate a little but less of it and added in the healthy side dishes so she still felt satisfied, got more nutrition and ate fewer calories overall: win-win-win.

And maybe, most importantly, think about where you are getting your food. Does your breakfast usually come from Starbucks? Do you often get lunch with your coworkers at what ever chain restaurant the group decides? How often do you prepare your own meals or snacks? Perhaps there is room for improvement in there somewhere?

While working out your plan, think in terms of small changes, baby steps, then you can make one by one. If you are not sure where to start, you can do some of the changes I suggested here, like getting rid of sodas, no more eating in any place that has a drive-through window, or no food that comes purchased in a plastic wrapper. Also be sure to make some changes additive as well as subtractive; like increasing the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables you eat, making yourself a pot of healty, homemade soup every Sunday and having that as a meal a few days during the week, or having fresh fish for dinner at least once a week.
You don't have to make these changes too fast either, say, one change her week? Or do what I often advise, make a diet change one week, and then an exercise change the next, and just keep alternating back and forth. This way you're only making adjustments to your diet into your exercise habits once every other week. The benefit of this is that you not only avoid the shock and awe approach to either your diet or your activity level that can burn some people out, but your body has just about enough time to begin to compensate for the changes you've made when you hand it a new surprise.

I'll have to talk about exercise changes later. For now, what kind of tweaks to you think you might want to make to your diet or lifestyle?

Cold (weather) Comfort

“As you grow older, you'll find the only things you regret are the things you didn't do.”
~~ Zachary Scott

I have a relatively short list of regrets in life. I probably should regret more of the things I've done but ... meh, why dwell on the past?

However, one regret I do hold on to is that my interest in cooking didn't develop until after my grandmother had passed away. I missed an opportunity to learn some amazing, old-school Southern cooking techniques from her.

Mama, as she was known in my family, was pretty much a stereotypical Southern grandmother who, along with my grandfather and their big brood of kids, moved from the hills of western North Carolina to Delaware back when my mother was still a young girl.
My grandfather and she grew all their own produce. Not only did they have huge garden tracts that grew an amazing array of vegetables but also an apple orchard, pear trees, peach trees, grape arbors, strawberry patches, three colors of raspberries, blueberries, a chestnut tree, two kinds of cherry trees.... I could keep going.
Much of childhood was spent at my grandparent's home. My many cousins and I were granted plenty of play time and going there was always a treat, but we were still expected to do our share of chores and those gardens provided plenty of that. There was hoeing, weeding, picking and hauling. Planting was mostly grown-up or “older kid” work; it was too important to get right to allow younger children to do.

Then there was the time spent “under the trees”. This referred to a cluster of shade maples in their yard that was the official gathering space for socializing, outdoor dining, or just enjoying the breeze with a glass of iced tea in your hand. Of course, this was also the space for the seated chores. During the “picking time”, that glass of iced tea and socializing came with bushel baskets full of produce to work on. There were green beans to snap, limas to hull, corn to shuck, cherries to pit, apples to peel & slice and so on.
Much of that produce was canned. They had a fire pit out behind the “freezer house” that held a large metal wash tub that Papa would pack full over and over again with produce-laden mason jars, boiling away before they were taken to fill the shelves of their cellar. Not only did they store enough vegetables and fruits to feed themselves through the winter, but they had plenty to give away to our considerably large extended family.
Of course, going to Mama & Papa's meant you got to, nay, had to, let her feed you. When I think back, it seems like my grandmother's wood-fired stove/oven was constantly going, turning out amazing food. Pies made from fruits that were picked that morning, biscuits and cornbread (and no Jenifer, there was no sugar in that cornbread). There were roasts and casseroles, fried chicken, fresh veggies with butter, and she made sure that the pot of water was boiling before she sent us kids to go pick the corn for fresh corn on the cob.
If you can think of a classic Southern dish, it was undoubtedly in Mama's repertoire. And never once do I recall seeing a recipe book. She cooked from memory and good old-fashioned know how.

I can still faintly remember some of the smells that came from her kitchen, and to this day, it sets my mouth to watering. I know I was just a kid, but I could kick myself for not taking the time to learn some of what she had to teach.

There a a bunch of different dishes of hers that I dearly loved, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be her chicken & dumplings. It was rich and silky with big chunks of pulled chicken and pillowy yet hearty drop style dumplings. Talk about a happy childhood memory...

Even though I never learned Mama's recipe, chicken & dumplings is still one of my favorite comfort foods. It's one of those foods that sends the winter chill running scared from your body.
The cool thing is that for the most part, chicken & dumplings is a relatively healthy dish. It's basically a light chicken stew. The biggest problem is the dumplings. They are essentially little lumps of white flour, delicious lumps of white flour but still not the best form of carbohydrates to eat in quantity. The tweak here is simple, up the complex carbs, back off on, if not eliminate the white flour and keep the deliciousness. Can do.

First of all, we want to go heavy on the vegetables. That's a good way to lighten up and “healthify” ( I just coined that word. If you use it, you have to send me a check.) many dishes. In fact, it's a very, VERY good idea to increase the amount of vegetables in your life.

Next up are those pesky (if delicious ) dumplings. Clearly we need to replace most, if not all, of that white flour with a more complex carbohydrate. Using a healthier flour like whole wheat, oat, garbanzo or brown rice flour is one option, but you are going to sacrifice some flavor and texture and only gain a small margin of health benefit.
The better option would be to base the dumplings on something other than flour. I chose one of my favorite sources of healthy, complex carbs, sweet potatoes.
Yes, this does create a rather dramatic shift in the flavor profile of the dish, but it's a shift in a very tasty direction.




Chicken & Sweet Potato Dumplings

1 large roasting chicken
6 cups good quality chicken stock or broth
2 bay leaves
1 jumbo yam
3 large carrots peeled & diced
1 medium onion peeled & diced
4 ribs celery diced
2 parsnips peeled & diced
1 cup chopped mushrooms, I used porcini
1 Tbs canola oil
1 cup peas
1 Tbs chopped fresh thyme
2 tsp chopped fresh marjoram
1 egg
4 Tbs whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste

After thoroughly rinsing the chicken with cold water, place it in a sauce pot with the stock & bay leaves. Bring it to a simmer & cook until the chicken is done, approximately 15 minutes.

Remove the pot & place in a colander that is set inside a mixing bowl so the chicken can drain but you catch all that delicious liquid. Skim the fat off the top of the broth.

Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, pick off the meat in large chunks. Save the meat, but discard the skin & bones.

Cook the sweet potato. You can peel it and boil it but, I advise against it; you lose flavor & vitamins and add excess moisture to the dumplings, which will require adding more flour. I recommend baking it or doing what I do, put it on a plate, wrap tightly with plastic wrap and microwave it for 8-10 minutes.
Scoop the flesh of the sweet potato into a mixing bowl and smash it up with a fork.

Place a large pot over medium heat, add in the canola oil (you can also use 1 Tbs of the chicken fat you skimmed from the top of the broth) and the chopped vegetables. Don't add the peas yet.
Season with a pinch of salt & pepper and saute, stirring frequently until the veggies begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the herbs and 1 Tbs of wheat flour and continue to stir & cook for another 90 seconds.

Add in the stock a bit at a time, stirring well to make sure no lumps of flour form. Bring the mixture to a low simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. Check seasoning and adjust if needed.

Add the egg to the sweet potato & mix well. Add in the spices, a small pinch of salt & pepper, then the baking soda. Stir in the remaining flour, but be careful. All yams aren't created equal you have to judge how much flour to use. You want the dumpling mixture to be a thick but workable paste, slightly sticky to the touch.

With the liquid still simmering, drop the dumpling mix in round spoonfuls into the stew. Keep adding until all the dumpling mix is used. Stir the pot very gently from time to time, separating the dumplings but not breaking them up.

Once all the dumplings are added & floating, carefully add in the pulled chicken and the peas. Cook for another two minutes.

The January Bump & the Resolution Shuffle

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
~~ Thomas Edison


I just got home from the gym and it's in full swing: the January gym bump. The annual influx of New Year's resolutioners who this year really are going to lose those extra pounds and get in shape.

I don't mean to sound cynical. I actually like seeing so many new people making the effort to get healthy. It is just sad knowing that by mid-February, most of those new faces will be gone from the gym, their resolutions left in the junk drawer along with their membership cards.

That's the way of it though, isn't it? Everyone breaks their New Year's resolutions, don't they?
It's become so common that it seems like there is practically no stigma attached to abandoning your resolution. In fact, it's pretty much expected.
I just read a friend's blog post today about how they are making changes to the way they eat in accordance with their resolution. Then, in the very next sentence, they say that odds are they will revert back to old habits by mid-February. I'm no psychologist, but I have to think that entering into your resolution with a defeatist attitude like that is a recipe for failure.
Can you say self-fulfilling prophesy?

It's easy to see why we fall into this pattern though. The holidays have just ended, and many of us have spent the last several weeks celebrating and consuming more than usual. Plus, all the partying and general hectic bustle of the holidays have left us no time to exercise.
Now it's January, the holiday treats are gone, the social events are done and I'm so over partying and just want to calm down and get back to normal.
Suddenly, we've got all that time we were spending shopping and socializing to devote getting rid of those extra pounds. We've got the resolve, we have the opportunity, and we're going to seize it!

The problem is that the January slow down only lasts so long. Sooner or later, life starts getting interesting again; social events and other activities start popping up and the next thing you know, the lighter diet and exercise program get left on the side of the road as we drive off towards Spring.

As a Chef, I have seen this pattern reflected in the restaurant and catering business my whole career. The holiday season is crazy time, often the busiest time of the year. Then right after New Year's, the rooms full of customers eating & drinking abruptly vanish and in one day, you've gone from the busiest time of the year to the slowest. Things stay slow through January, and as we head into February, the customers and catering events start to return. By the time Spring is in bloom, the business has often returned to normal levels.

Since I have been serving healthy food for those looking to lose weight and get in shape, I have a reversed business pattern. During the holiday season, my business declines as many of my clients choose to give in to the lure of the festive season and let their diets run wild. In January I get a sharp increase in business, not only from returning clients but new ones looking to make good on those resolutions. I do fairly well keeping clients on track but still, by late winter a percentage of them have gone off our program.

So what's the solution to the resolution/de-resolution dilemma? How do you keep from de-rezzing?
Yep, I just made a Tron reference. :)

If you are really looking to make meaningful changes to your body, maybe what you need is a plan. A plan instead of a resolution is a good idea. A plan to help you achieve your resolution is an even better idea. However, I think the best approach is having a resolution that is a step to help you carry out your plan.

What's the distinction I'm drawing between a resolution and a plan? A resolution is a singular adjustment, one change to how you do things. However, to live a healthier lifestyle, just about all of us will need to make a number of changes to how we eat (most of the time) and stay active. If you can make small changes, little course corrections to your life, you may be surprised how quickly good habits get made and the results begin to add up. That's where the plan comes in.
This post is already getting rather wordy, so we'll talk plan in later entries.

If you are still working out your resolution, there are a few guidelines that might help you keep it.

First off, make it specific. Vague resolutions like “losing weight” or “eating better” are more likely to be broken. A better option would be to swear off eating from any place that has a drive-thru or eat nothing that comes in a plastic wrapper. It's far too easy to abandon a resolution if there is nothing concrete to continue.

At the same time, be careful to not set overly lofty goals for yourself. In fact, it's best not to make a goal your resolution. Better to make your resolution a part of the process.
How about dusting off that bathroom scale & resolving to weigh yourself every morning? That can be a great way to keep yourself on track.
Or if you take frequent, short elevator trips, you can adopt the 2 up/3 down rule. You'll take the stairs if you are going up two floors or fewer, down three floors or fewer: even if the elevator door is open and waiting when you walk by.
That would literally be a little course correction, eh?

Sometimes is helps to tell someone, tell many someones, about your resolution. It might give you a bit more motivation to stick with it if you garnish the resolution with a little social pressure.

There are a number of little tricks to help you keep your resolution. Just remember to start with something you can keep going and transform into a long term habit. Of course to know what works for you, you first have to know yourself, and knowing yourself is the first step in making your plan.
But that's a topic for another blog entry.

Flavor trapped in amber

One of the common questions that gets posed to foodies across the social media-verse from time to time is, What are your staple food items? What do you always keep on hand in your kitchen?

The answers include a lot of the familiar items like olive oil, balsamic vinegar, various spices, stocks, produce, etc.
Of course we wouldn't be foodies if many of us didn't try distinguish ourselves with less typical responses. Cubes of frozen demi-glaze, jars of duck fat, truffle salt, preserved lemons, chow chow are a few that come to mind.
In my case, I keep two squeeze bottles in easy reach of my stove. One of them contains olive oil (probably the number one answer) and the other contains apple cider reduction.



Mmmm, I love this stuff. Just a little bit adds sweetness and a nice pop of flavor to vegetables, meats, desserts ... so many things.
Try finishing a quick saute of zucchini & onions with a tablespoon of cider reduction or drizzle a little over a piece of pan seared salmon. It makes a great finishing glaze for pork or poultry. Use it to sweeten your breakfast oatmeal. I even like to put a touch into Earl Grey tea.

All of these require just a small amount of the reduction; that's why I keep it in a squeeze bottle. As the sugars and the flavor in the apple cider are concentrated, you want to be able to carefully portion it out in small amounts. A little goes a long way with this stuff.

The recipe is simple:
1 gallon of fresh apple cider
Use only the real, pressed apple cider. If it is kept on an unrefrigerated store shelf, don't use it.
If the ingredient list contains anything other than apples (or pears if you choose to make a pear cider reduction), don't use it.

Measure 2 ¼ cups of cider and place it in a 5 or 6 quart sauce pot. This is so you can see how much liquid should be left in the pot when it is done.
Pour the rest of the gallon of cider in the pot and place it over medium heat. Bring it to low boil & continue to cook until it reduces to 2 ¼ cups.
This is going to take a while, probably a couple hours and you'll need to keep an eye on it, especially as it gets closer to finishing. Don't try to rush it by turning the heat higher.
As the cider begins to get close to desired level of reduction, the bubbles will get smaller & the boil will look somewhat “foamy”. You'll need to reduce the heat slightly at this point so that it doesn't boil up or scorch.
Be careful, hot syrup is dangerous.

Once it is done, allow to cool to room temperature before putting it in a storage container. Ideally it should be the consistency of honey. If it is too runny, it can be reduced more. If it is too thick, it can be gently rewarmed and thinned down with a little more cider.

Like honey, cider reduction is shelf stable, although feel free to keep it in the fridge if you like.
I make a couple batches during the fall when fresh, local cider is available and even with as much as I use it, that's usually enough to last me most of the year.

I used it just recently when I made a pumpkin pasilla bisque topped with caramelized pears & cider reduction.


2 pasilla peppers, sliced (leave in seed & sponge to your taste, that's where most of the heat of the peppers lives)
½ small onion, sliced
2 tablespoons of butter
1 sugar pie pumpkin, peeled, seeded & diced
1 quart good quality chicken stock or broth
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons crushed schezuan peppercorns (or ground black pepper )
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon cider reduction
½ cup heavy cream

Saute the peppers and onions in the butter until soft. Add the remaining ingredients except for the cream and simmer until pumpkin is soft. Remove from heat.
Add in heavy cream & puree in blender. Be careful pureeing hot liquid; do it in small batches and then strain.

Topping:
1 ripe pear, peeled and diced small
cider reduction, to taste

Quickly saute the pear in a very hot pan until it begins to darken in color.

Top the soup with a spoonful of pears and drizzle lightly with cider reduction.

Note: If you are feeling ambitious, a bit of shredded duck confit makes an excellent addition to toppings for this soup.

Gluten Free Holiday Treat

Shauna, the Gluten Free Girl herself, set up her own holiday gluten free challenge in an attempt to help those with gluten intolerance find options for their holiday meals.
Even though my contribution here is outside my normal vein, not exactly gentle in the calorie department, it's almost Thanksgiving and I can't resist tossing a decadent treat in the mix.

When it comes to feeding my clients who need to keep a gluten free diet, I more often than not go with items that are naturally gluten-less rather than go down the substitute ingredient road.

One of my favorite flour free pastries is a dacquoise: layers of almond or hazelnut meringue usually layered with ganache & chocolate buttercream.
For the holiday I chose to make a pumpkin version with candied cranberries on top to add a tart, acidic counter point to the pumpkin's rich creaminess.

Dacquoise aren't really hard to make but there are a lot of steps involved. Also, they don't have the shelf life of a regular cake. You want to eat them relatively quickly, within a day or two.
That's why I don't make them all too often. For a holiday however, when you are feeding a crew of family & friends, they are a nice, decadent treat.


Pumpkin Dacquoise with Candied Cranberries



Meringue
almond meal (or ground almonds) 1 cup
granulated sugar ½ cup
egg whites 10 (about 1 ½ cups)
cream of tartar 1 tsp
superfine sugar 2 cup
vanilla extract 2 tsp

Toast almond meal in 350 degree oven until golden brown. Remove from oven & allow to cool slightly, 3 – 4 minutes.
Stir nuts & ½ cup granulated sugar together & set aside.
Reduce oven temperature to 225 degrees.
Whip egg whites & cream of tartar in mixer on med-high speed until soft peaks begin to form. Gradually add in superfine sugar and vanilla and continue to whip to stiff, glossy peaks.
Gently fold nut mixture into meringue.
Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Using the bottom of a 10 inch spring form or cake pan as a guide, draw 4 circles in the paper. Using a piping bag with a wide, plain tip pipe out discs of meringue in a spiral fashion filling in the circles.
Bake meringue in oven at 225 degrees for 1 ½ hours, turn the oven off and continue to dry for another 1 ½ hours. Check to make sure they are completely dry.



Pumpkin Ganache
pumpkin puree 1 cup
heavy cream ½ cup
white chocolate 12 oz chopped
ground cinnamon ½ tsp
ground cloves ¼ tsp
ground ginger ¼ tsp
unsalted butter ¼ cup (½ stick) cut into small pieces

Heat pumpkin puree and cream over med-low heat in a heavy bottomed sauce pan until close to but not quite boiling. Be sure to keep stirring to make sure it doesn't scorch.
Remove from heat and stir in white chocolate until it is melted and blended in. Add in spices then stir in butter one piece at a time until smooth. Cover & refrigerate.


Pumpkin Butter Cream
unsalted butter 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) room temperature
pumpkin puree 1 cup
ground cinnamon 1 tsp
ground allspice ½ tsp
ground ginger ½ tsp
vanilla extract 1 ½ tsp
confectioners sugar 3 cups

Cream together butter, pumpkin and spices in mixer. Add in sugar one cup at a time and beat until smooth.

Candied Cranberries
fresh cranberries 4 oz
sugar 3/4 cup plus more for coating
water 3/4 cup
Bring water and sugar to a boil until sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat & pour syrup over cranberries. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Drain cranberries and toss with sugar to coat. Lay berries out on a baking tray to dry for one hour.


Assembly
Lay on meringue round on a flat plate or cake circle. Using a bag with a star tip pipe a ring of buttercream around the outer edge of the meringue. Then pipe a small rosette in the center of the circle the same height as the ring.
Note: I actually forgot that last little part when I made mine. That's why the tip of the the slice of cake sunk down a little when it was cut. The buttercream adds stability as well as richness.
Now spread a layer of ganache inside the buttercream ring.
Place the next meringue circle on top of the first layer and gently press down with light, even pressure being careful not to crack it. Although it's not the end of the world if you do.
Continue the same filling procedure for the next two layers.
Top the final meringue circle and garnish with candied cranberries & toasted sliced almonds.


I used almonds for this recipe but because, I had them on hand. Given my preference and a little less laziness, I'd go with hazelnuts. They have a touch more "woody" nature to their nutty flavor that I bet would lend itself well to this dish.

What do the healthy folks do...

Some time ago I posted a quote on my livejournal blog from Jeff Ainslie, "If you want to be a thin, healthy person then live lifestyle of a thin, healthy person; your body will follow suit".
I got a little heat for posting that quote because to some people, the phrase "lifestyle of a thin, healthy person" meant being able to eat anything you want and get away without exercising.
I have to say I never saw that reaction coming, probably because it didn't occur to me to think of a fit, healthy person's lifestyle as a life of french fries & leisure. And from being somewhat familiar with Mr. Ainslie's work I can assure you that he didn't mean the quote that way either.

Sure we all of know one or two of those people, the ones that seem to be able to live on cheeseburgers & sundaes, never hit the gym and still keep that waif-y figure. I don't have to tell you that that particular branch of the X-men is the exception not the rule. No one should follow their lifestyle, not even them.
Remember, thin does not necessarily equal fit or healthy. Can you say heroin chic?

So what is the lifestyle of a fit, healthy person? The basic answer of eating right & exercising we all know. However some more specific tips are always helpful.
Well our good friend Jeff Ainslie in his podcast he does with Russ Turley pointed out an article on Diet Channel.com about those who have lost weight and managed to keep the weight off and why they were successful.

The article lays out a few practices and characteristics that can contribute to a healthy lifestyle. They are worth checking out.


* They include regular physical activity for at least 30 minutes, four to five days a week.
* They stay focused on improving health
and energy, with weight loss being a nice accompaniment. Focusing on weight loss as the primary outcome, especially rapid weight loss, usually results in a decreased chance of long-term success.
* Their desire to lose weight and improve health is for themselves and not someone else.
* They replace fatty and sugary foods with more healthy substitutions like fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, and other high-fiber foods.
* They frequently monitor portion sizes and hunger -- this is important in today's world of "super-size" restaurant portions.
* They find ways to make fitness fun. For example, they join a hiking group, a soccer league, or take dance classes. They don't fear trying new activities.
* They eat at least three meals a day and even a few snacks in between and do not skip meals.
* They use problem solving strategies when old behaviors return to haunt them. They succeed at creating and re-assessing goals.
* They recognize that it is a continuous, life-long journey to pursue better health, not a temporary diet.
* They never give up on themselves and don't allow occasional slip-ups to end their progress.
* They accept that no "miracle" weight loss diet or pill exists, and that the time-tested principles of weight loss, while not always exciting, are the only ones that work permanently.
* They separate their body size from their self-worth. They recognize that their value is about a lot more than what they weigh. When their attitude shifts to self-acceptance at any size, weight loss and maintaining it becomes more natural, and much easier.
* They have developed passions, interests, and hobbies to help them focus on things other than food.
* They have found and developed creative ways to manage stress effectively.
* They have banned the words "never" and "always" from their health vocabulary. That is, everything in moderation. It's not realistic to say you'll never eat ice cream again or that you will always exercise every day. In short, they gave up perfection, but they remain focused without it.

How can you resist a deli classic?

“Once your taste buds get set to reuben, it's not easy to switch them off.”
~ Adam Carolla

Oh brother, truer words were never spoken.
Maybe it comes from my east coast upbringing but just the thought of a good reuben sandwich stirs something primal in the part of me from which my hunger arises.
Some consider it the perfect sandwich and I would have trouble arguing that. A fine corned beef or pastrami, sauerkraut, 1000 island & swiss cheese grilled & melted together on rye bread....
I do declare, is it getting warm in here?

I swear I could have a reuben for lunch 4 days a week and not even begin to tire of them. The problem with that of course is that the traditional reuben isn't exactly shy in the calorie department. This is one of those meals you need to keep as an occasional treat, especially if you are trying to trim away a few extra pounds, like I am now.

So I had a bit of a conundrum before me when one of my sales reps gifted me a beautiful chunk of navel pastrami the other day. As soon as I saw it my mind when back to the days when I lived an easy walk from Katz's Deli in New York City and my tastes buds were instantly set to reuben.
The problem was that this was the middle of the week and my plan now is to eat light on week nights and save the splurging for nights out.

I could have done an open face sandwich, that would have eliminated one slice of bread, tried to find low calorie dressing & fat free cheese …. None of that sounded fun to me though.
So I decided to try to come up with something that hit the same flavor notes as my beloved reuben but was more in keeping with the way I choose to eat most of the time.

Here is what I came up with.



Reuben Style Cabbage Rolls

I wasn't weighing & measuring when I made these, so I'm giving you a procedure rather than an exact recipe.


The meat: as I said, I had pastrami to use but I've always preferred corned beef on my reubens. If I was buying meat for this & trying to keep it light I'd go with corned beef and a round cut rather than brisket. It's simply leaner. As it was, I trimmed off some of the larger sections of external fat.
I can hear my foodie friends groaning about that. Sorry guys but I have a purpose here and it wasn't like there wasn't plenty of fat on there to spare.
I sliced it up nice and thin, across the grain of course and them rough chopped it a little.

The veg: sauerkraut needs to happen, use your favorite kind, just make sure it is well drained. I picked up a head of napa cabbage & broke off several fat outer leaves and set them aside.

The sauce: I needed to avoid 1000 island of course, that's just a mayonnaise based source of fatty calories. The pickle component was easy to replace, I just picked up some nice kosher dills. I split them in half lengthwise and then sliced them thin at an angle.
As far as the tomato/acidic part of it I chose to use a sundried tomato pesto. I made a simple one with sundried tomatoes, garlic, basil, lemon juice, black pepper & a little olive oil pureed together.

The cheese: I considered forgoing the cheese altogether but realized that a little would add a nice pop of flavor without sending the calories through the roof. I choose some Jarlsberg instead of domestic swiss and cut sticks slightly less thick than a pencil out of it.


The procedure: I heated a large saute pan up and seared the meat. The pastrami was fatty enough that I didn't need any added oil in the pan. I kept it moving and cooked it until a good amount of fat had cooked out and some of the pieces had gotten crispy. Then I removed it to a plate covered with paper towels and drained the excess fat out of the pan. (Yeah I know, “groan, groan”)

Next I tossed the sliced pickles into the hot pan that was still coated with the residual pastrami fat and cooked them until they started to brown and then added the sauerkraut and a little crushed caraway seed. Once the kraut had gotten some color I stirred in about a tablespoon of the sundried pesto.

I scooped the sauerkraut mixture into a bowl and then put the cabbage leaves in the pan along with ½ cup of water and covered it with a lid to let the cabbage steam. That only took a couple more minutes.
Then I had my components all cooked and I only dirtied up one pan. Now I just had to roll them.


Assembly: I laid out two cabbage leaves overlapping, side by side for each roll. I smeared them with a little more of the sundried pesto. Then I spread some kraut mixture over the them, them some of the meat and finally one stick of cheese. I rolled them up and set them on a baking sheet.

I popped them into a 350 degree oven. Everything was still a little warm so they only took about 10 minutes to get piping hot inside. I served them over quinoa.

I won't claim that these were as sinfully exquisite as a deli style reuben sandwich (heck, what is?) but it was a delicious dinner that satisfied my very specific craving without sending my calorie average out of whack.

Back from hiatus in time for a snack

“Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them – every day begin the task anew.”
- St. Francis de Sales


It's been a while since I posted here; just over five months in fact. I could go into a number of reasons that I've been so negligent: computer troubles, work issues, as much of my summer free time spent on the water as I could manage, etc. They are all just excuses though and those only get in the way.

I like to think that my time away from the blog wasn't totally wasted though. I did have time during the many hours I spent trying, and more often than not failing to catch salmon, to think about what I want to accomplish here and how I want to go about it. Hopefully that will show with future entries.

Right now, I figure my best approach is to handle this the same way I do if I fall off the exercise or proper eating wagon. I don't beat myself up too much, I simply get back on track & move forward.
So without further ado, let's talk about snacking.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is phenomenon in catering I call “the crudite effect”. Simply stated it means that although many people don't usually crave raw vegetables, when they are presented in front of them those raw veggies become surprisingly popular. Of course caterers love the crudite effect because having the guests fill up on partially vegetables and not just the more costly hors d'oeuvres, is good business.

However the crudite effect can not only be used to help the bottom line, it can also be used to effect your bottom, and in a good way.
Snacking is a big issue some people struggle with when trying to cut those excess calories from their diets. A helpful solution is to keep some raw vegetables on hand. It can be whatever you like; carrot & celery sticks, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, radishes, whatever.
Sure, when those snack cravings hit it's probably for something else, usually something sweet or salty. However if you can get ahead of those strong cravings & have those veggies already in front of you, you can curb those urges before you reach for a Snickers bar or bag of Doritos.

If you think about it, I bet you know when you tend to get those cravings for a snack. Perhaps during work around 2 or 3 in the afternoon or in the evening while watching Law & Order? Try setting out a small dish of vegetables for yourself before you get the urge to eat something else. When it's in arms reach you're going to find yourself crunching on a radish before the need for sweet overtakes you.
Trust me, it works. :)

Of course the best option would be to buy some nice, organic vegetables preferably at your local farmer's market and cut them up for yourself but if you need something more convenient, there are plenty of pre-cut veggies available at just about every supermarket. Those are fine options.

However, as good as raw vegetables are for you, the is a caloric dark spectre hanging over the crudite effect, the dip issue.
Some people just refuse to snack on raw vegetables unless they have something to dunk them into and one of those fatty, mayonnaise-y, high caloric condiments can quickly turn your healthy vegetable snack into something every bit as fattening a serving of chocolate pudding.

It's OK, if you need some dip to go with your raw veggies then all you need to do is choose which dip carefully and of course, don't over portion.
There are plenty of fine options for healthy dips, here is one that has been a favorite of mine recently.


Roasted Carrot & Harissa Dip



2 lbs carrots, peeled & cut into chunks *
1 tbs light olive or canola oil
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
3 tsp harissa**
4 tbs extra virgin olive oil***
2 tsp sherry vinegar
3 – 4 garlic cloves
salt & pepper – to taste
1 – 2 tbs chopped cilantro : optional

~Toss carrots in light oil & pepper and roast until tender. I did mine in a 325 degree oven for 30 minutes. That left them with a nice touch of color and perfectly soft.
~Allow carrots to cool to room temperature & puree in food processor or blender along with harissa, olive oil, vinegar & garlic. Note: you may need to add a little water to get the mixture to puree smoothly.
~Adjust seasoning with salt & pepper and stir in cilantro if desired.

Certainly this recipe is great with crackers and flat breads but I encourage you to enjoy it with vegetables. Some of my personal favorites to have with this dip are cucumbers slices, sticks of jicama and split cherry tomatoes. It's even really good with apple slices.



* Use organic or “fresh from the farm” if possible. Carrots are near the top of my list of vegetables that have a huge flavor difference between organic & the typical supermarket variety.

**I pride myself on not being an extra virgin olive oil snob but this is one of those recipes that really benefits from using a high quality EVOO.

***I used Mustapha's Moroccan Harissa for this recipe. I bought it from The Spanish Table but it can also be ordered from Amazon.com

Finally, keep in mind that this is a dip not an entree. There is a good amount of olive oil in this which is good for you in moderation but you don't want to eat a soup cup full of this in one sitting. Remember to keep the raw vegetables as the bulk of the snack and limit the dip to a condiment portion size.

Red Velvet Pancakes

I first heard of these from The Kitchy Kitchen Blog. What a great and simple idea, buttermilk pancakes with a light cocoa flavor and that flashy crimson eye appeal.

I could have just tried the recipe off her blog or grabbed one from elsewhere and tried that. However I opted to do that thing I do, take the idea and make my own version of the dish. After trying the food and considering what it may need, how it could be improved and generally tweaking the formula, I'll then look at other recipes and see how they differ.
Sometimes I like my own recipe better, sometimes I like the other. I usually end up with some sort of hybrid.

Of course I'm often looking for ways to make the dish more lighter and more healthy. Odd as it may sound, this luscious disks of flour & sugar are prime candidates for just such a skinny make-over.
First things first though, I had to make an initial test batch or, as called it this morning, breakfast.



I'll put this initial test batch in the category pretty good. Nice flavor & balance of sweetness but they could stand to be a touch lighter. I believe I went too easy on the baking soda and perhaps a teaspoon too light on cocoa powder as well. I included a touch of lemon zest was a nice touch although next time I may try orange just too see what that is like.
Something about the color of wasn't sitting well with me; a little too pink so I'll have to address that next time.
Oh and that chicken basil sausage I had as a side, delicious.



I just want to repeat, this was my breakfast not just a photo shoot prop. I took time out of enjoying it to take pictures.
I may not have mastery of the craft but at least I have some small level of dedication to it. Smiles

Doing it by the book

My newest mini resolution is to cook one recipe from a cook book each week.

I usually cook from the hip, as it were; putting together what sounds good to me from what I have available at the time.
Oh I love cookbooks, I enjoy reading through them but I tend to take ideas for dishes from them but prepare them in my own way.

For these I want to follow the recipe as written: well, mostly anyway. I can't help but tweak a little.

Last week I made Momofuku pork buns. They were fun to make and came out delicious.
I was having so much fun in fact that I never bothered to pull out my camera.

Tonight I made Molly Stevens Soy Braised Chicken Thighs.



I stayed pretty close to the book on this one although I did add carrots to the braise & served them with a cous cous.

Sweet Respite

Those who know me are aware that the past few months have been ungodly hectic for me. I don't care to get into details here. Suffice to say that being a small business owner can be demanding.

One of the things I've been missing is cooking at home, cooking for pleasure. The hours I've been keeping have left me far too few opportunities to play in my home kitchen, so when I did get some "me" time I wanted to indulge.

Some weeks back I had a few hours free one evening and I decided I was in the mood for something sweet.

In keeping with the theme of the blog, I should mention my policy on desserts.
You should make your desserts at home when possible and try to never eat store bought sweets from a cellophane wrapper. Also, desserts are a treat they should be enjoyed as such, don't make a daily habit of them.

So, it was treat time for me and I decided to try something from what is quickly becoming one of my favorite recipe sources, Lorna Yee's Cookbook Chronicles blog.
I'm a sucker for a good coconut dessert so I had to try her Triple Layer Coconut Custard Cake.



This is definitely a keeper recipe. It had a rich coconut flavor and a nice, light balance of sweetness. This cake didn't even hint at needing ice cream to prop it up.

One of the things that's nice about this recipe is that it gives you plenty of custard filling and frosting. Too many recipes seem to give you just barely enough frosting and/or filling to assemble the cake. As you can see, this give you plenty of custard to fill between the layers and enough frosting to give the cake a "healthy" coating.

The only change I'll make next time is raising the bake temperature.
A 325 degree bake on my home oven wasn't quite hot enough, next time I'll try 350 on convection setting.
I'm also considering cutting back a little on the cornstarch in the custard and adding a couple egg yolks.
It's not that I think it needs it, I'm just curious how that will effect the product. I enjoying playing with my food and I can't help tweaking recipes sometimes, even when they work.

Not your grandmother's porridge

Just about everyone knows that a big part of eating properly is to start your day with a healthy breakfast. None the less it's still the meal that people seem to struggle with more than any other.

Hey, we're all busy.
For me mornings are usually about hitting the snooze button one or two too many times, rushing to get ready for work while answering phone calls & questions from my opening crew, purveyors & clients. Taking time out, even if it's only five minutes, to prepare breakfast just doesn't fit in to my typical morning "schedule".
Of course as I'm out buying food & supplies on my way into the kitchen I find myself wanting something to eat.

I'm one of those people for whom the mornings are when I crave something sweet the most. In the days when I used to work in hotels, the aroma wafting off the racks of fresh baked breakfast pastries coming up from the bakeshop would call to me like a siren's song. These days the temptations usually take the form of grab & go coffee shop pastries.

They are quick, convenient and seem to fill the void. However after a night's sleep and usually too much of a delay before eating at all, a bunch of empty calories, sugar & simple carbs is exactly what you do not want to eat.

What you need is solid food with a good, complex fibrous carbohydrate like ... OATMEAL!

Yeah I know, "Oatmeal? Yuck."
To be fair though, have you seen the way most people cook oatmeal? Boiling it in just water or milk and maybe topping it with a little sugar: bor-ing.
How many other grains do you tend to eat that plainly? How often do you sit down to a meal of just plain boiled white rice?

Oatmeal is so good for you though and gives you good, long burning source of energy to get your day going. Can't get yourself started with out that triple grande latte? Try switching to oatmeal for a week. Find yourself running out of gas by late afternoon? Fill your tank with some oatmeal in the morning and see what kind of mileage you get out of your body.

There are a lot of different ways I like to prepare my oatmeal to make a breakfast I really enjoy. A simple tricks is cooking it in apple juice instead of water with a touch of cinnamon and some fruit like diced apple & dried cranberries. Just be sure you use an good, natural, unsweetened apple juice rather than some sugary crap.
Of course I highly recommend adding a source of lean protein into your breakfast as well. Hard boiled eggs are a favorite accompaniment of mine.

As tasty as the apple juice trick is, I often like to jazz up my oatmeal a bit more. Let me show you one of my favorites. It's tasty, healthy, satisfies my need for sweet in morning and made ahead of time it's convenient enough to fit into my hectic mornings.

Chocolate Cherry Banana Oatmeal

Makes 3 to 5 servings

1 1/2 cups Regular Rolled Oats Don't use quick oats.
3 cups water
2 ripe bananas, sliced
1/3 cup dried tart cherries I like the Dried Monterey Cherries they sell at Trader Joes
6 scoops Chocolate whey protein powder This is where it gets a little tricky. All protein powders are not created equal, in fact they are all very different in flavor as well as quality. For this recipe I used 6 scoops (1 1/4 cups) EAS brand. It's sold commonly in a lot of stores from Walgreens to Costco. GNC's "100% Whey" brand is also a good choice.

Combine the oats, water, bananas & cherries in a medium sauce pot.
Put it over medium heat and bring to simmer stirring occasionally.
I like to mash some of the bananas while I'm stirring.
Continue to simmer for 4 to 5 minutes until thick & creamy.
Many recipes tell you to add the oats to boiling liquid but starting it cold & bringing it to a gentle simmer produces a smoother, creamier result.
Remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Stir in protein powder.

I like to do all this in the evening or on the weekend when I have time and then immediately divide into microwaveable containers that can be quickly zapped for a fast breakfast.



It's pretty rich and dividing this recipe into five gives you one cup portions that make a decent breakfast: 250 calories, 20 grams of protein, 40 grams of healthy carbs.

If you are particularly active & need a bigger boast in the morning if can be divided into 4 or even three portions.
At three portions it breaks down to 413 calories, 34 grams of protein & 69 grams of carbs. If you are working out regularly, that's a good choice for your morning meal.

I'm never going to claim that chocolate protein powder is as delicious as actual chocolate but with the added richness and sweetness of the fruit, this makes a very enjoyable morning meal.

Ten minutes of cooking yesterday and I have breakfast all set for the next few days and I'm ready to face the week.

New Digs

I'm about to move my business to a new kitchen facility. Like any move I'm excited about the change but dreading the process. The next two weeks should be rather interesting for me.

I've been in my current kitchen since I started my business, 4 1/2 years ago. I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for that space but it has become increasing troublesome in recent months. It's time to move on.

The new place lacks some of the equipment the other kitchen has but it offers plenty of perks that more than make up for it. It has more space, a better layout and an office. Hallelujah!
My days of doing paperwork at my personal version of the Thanksgiving kids table are nearly over.

Here are a couple quick shots of what it looks like at the moment.





As you can see, I've hardly moved anything in yet and that coffee service stuff off to one side is something the former tenant's that they have yet to take out.

Can I get my company moved and settled in two weeks? We'll find out.

Taste of the Irish

How does an Irish American Chef cook his corned beef for St. Patrick's day?

Sure boiling it, as most people do, is fine but I like to put a little more pop into my corned beef.
My preference is to sear it and braise it with beer.

I cooked off 80 lbs for the holiday. This is one of the three big roasting pans that I used for them. I used my iPhone to take these pictures so apologies if the photo quality is not very good.



As you can see they have a good sear on them and a liberal sprinkling of pickling spice. What you can't see is that they are sitting on a bed of chopped onions and whole peeled garlic cloves.
Into that pot I poured two bottles of Red Hook Copper Ale and about a quart of tomato rich demi-glace. Then I covered it with foil and cooked in a low oven for six hours.

The result was fall apart tender corned beef that not only had the usual perfume-y saltiness but also had a rich, roasted caramel quality that was too delicious to hide with mustard.

Here is a where I cut of a few tasting slices just after it came out of the oven.



If I was doing it at home I would have added cabbage, carrots & potatoes to the pot for the last hour of the braise to allow all the flavors to blend. Working in professional quantities like I did, that wasn't practical.

The saddest part is that I didn't have leftovers as I was hoping to take home and enjoy. Those pesky customers ate it all up on me.
Oh well, I may have to make this again sometime soon just for my own pleasure.

Off I go

After a bit more delay than I had intended I've started the P90X program.

Right now I'm two days in and frankly, I'm sore.
This morning I did the Plyometrics workout, which is a jumping style of cardio. I hope my downstairs neighbors aren't too mad at me for that.
My legs are really feeling the effects this evening from the morning's workout. I wonder how stiff I'm going to be when I wake up tomorrow.
The first day's workout, chest & back, hasn't left me as sore. That's probably because this is closer to a style of exercise that my body is used to.

One of my first impressions is that, had I only been watching these exercise routines rather than actually doing them I'd think they were far easier than they actually are.
Push ups and pull ups seem so much easier than lifting heavy weights to the observer and jumping up & down in various ways in 30 second spurts doesn't look like lung heaving cardio but this system has me feeling worn out in the first ten minutes of the hour long sessions.

Sticking to the schedule is going to be tricky for me. I've lost my two lead cooks at work & I'm still working or hiring and training their replacements. While that is happening I'm about to move my business from the kitchen I've had since since I started, to a new facility.
In addition I have some non-work thing to take care of as well. All work and no play is not my idea of a healthy lifestyle.
I have a few interesting weeks ahead of me. However I'm going to make my best effort to stick to the P90X program in the midst of everything else.
If I'm really good I may even find time to do some cooking at home and hopefully work on my photography.

Let's see how I do with all this.

Speaking of food & photography, prevailing wisdom in the blogging world is that photos make your posts more interesting.
So turning away from the exercise topic, last weekend was Mobile Chowdown 3 here in Seattle. Below are a few pictures showing a couple of the dishes from the Marination Mobile folks: their wonderful tacos, spam sliders and the delightfully pleasant smile with which your food is served.
If you haven't tried their fare you are missing out.

Worth much more than 1000 Words

I've been reading the literature for the P90X workout program and learning what they want you to do before you begin working with the DVDs.
There's a basic fitness level test that they want you to take and pass before you start the program. It's nothing outlandish, 3 pull-ups for men, 1 for women, 15 push-ups for men, 3 regular or 15 from the knees for women, etc. There are other tests for strength, flexibility and the like.
It also gives you a place to write down your results so you can chart your progress from before you start the workout routines and then again after 90 days is over.

They also want you to take a photographs of yourself once before you start, again at 30 days, 60 days and finally after 90 days when you've completed the program. You're supposed to take a front view, shirt off picture (or with a sports bra on if you're a woman) with your hands on your hips, another with your arms raised to the side and curled in bicep flexes, two back shots just like the front views and one picture with a side view.
Don't worry I'll spare you posting them here, at least for now.

That got me thinking about how hard that can be, taking body shots of yourself especially when you feel like you're out of shape. I consider myself to be in decent shape and the idea still makes me a little uncomfortable.
That may sound odd to friends of mine who have known me to be, well, not exactly body shy but there's just something especially nerve wracking about having photos taken specifically for evaluation purposes.
However, I've come to realize taking those dreaded "before" photos is a damned good idea and I won't make the mistake again of skipping this step.

I believe I've mentioned on here before that although for much of my life I was the tall lean type, there was a period of time in my mid/late 30s that I started getting heavy and I really put on quite a few pounds. While I never got to the point that one might think of me as a fat guy, I did get quite a gut, pronounced love handles and soft, flabby arms .

Back then I was relatively new to Seattle. I was living with my girlfriend of the time, I had a few work friends but aside from that I didn't have a very large social circle. Even the couple local folks I knew from before I moved to Seattle I had very limited contact with for a couple years. I didn't even travel back home to visit old friends and family for the first couple years I was in Seattle.
Time went by and I managed to shed those excess pounds. My old girlfriend and I have long since parted, I left that job ages ago and have lost contact with just about everyone I knew from there.
It wasn't until after I started getting myself in shape that I started going out more, being more social and I began to meet the people that have become the wonderful circle of friends I now have. I've also since began traveling back east at least once a year to visit old friends.

The point of this long-winded piece of personal history is that when I tell friends I have now that I used to be heavy or at the very least, heavier, I sometimes get remarks to the effect of that's hard for me to picture, if not outright smirks of disbelief.
Last summer a couple of old friends came through Seattle to visit and the two of them went out to dinner with my girlfriend and me. Unprompted by me one of them pointed out to my girlfriend “you wouldn't know this to look at him now but Patrick got got fat there for a while”. The look on my girl's face, I could swear, was a look of Really? I always thought you were full of shit about that.
Of course I would never have to worry about any of these looks of disbelief if I only had some photographs of myself from back then.

There are a few different things that finally woke me up and got me motivated to change my diet and live a more active lifestyle. One that stands out very clearly in my mind is a snapshot my old girlfriend took of me back then. I was sitting on the couch watching TV and believe and I wasn't aware she was taking the picture at the time.
I remember when I first saw that photo, it was almost like I couldn't believe that was me; my stomach was hanging well over where my belt would've been, my arms looked bigger than they ever had before but not in a good way and my face looked puffy. However the thing that really struck me most about that photograph was that I just looked unhealthy.
Seeing myself look like that was startling and depressing.

It was quite a few years later when I went to go searching for photographic evidence of how heavy I had gotten, that I realized that I had no photographs of me from then. Even the photo I just described above I seem to have misplaced somewhere along the line. I swear I did not consciously get rid of that picture but some part of me obviously didn't want it around.

While I didn't have the interest in photography back then than I do now, I've always enjoyed taking pictures and I have photographs from just about every era of my life. During the time that I put on that extra weight though I apparently also put my camera in a drawer and forgot about it for while because I was taking no pictures back then. Again, I never consciously thought to myself that I wanted to avoid having my picture taken because I was out of shape. I think it must have just been some sort of an internal vanity self-preservation instinct that kept me from breaking out my camera.

Whatever it was, it's clear to me now that during that time I didn't want to be social, I dressed to hide my form and I clearly did not want to have my picture taken. I didn't even take pictures when I was joined a gym to mark my starting point. That was probably because I didn't have faith in myself that I stick to my plan and get myself in shape.

It's a shame because now I would really like to have photos of myself from back then. Certainly it might be a good thing to show on this blog. An image of how I looked at 35 compared to how I look at 45 might add a little bit of credibility to what I have to say.
For myself I wish I had pre-fitness pictures just to remind myself where I've been and what I can accomplish when I make the right choices.

So yes, before I start this P90X thing I'm going to take those photos. Even if I don't show them to anyone else, I'll have them for myself as either mementos of what I accomplished or reminders that I need to try harder next time.
None of us like the idea of being the “Before” picture but that is after all part of the process of becoming the “After”.

I'm really proud of Jamie Oliver

I'm sure most of you are familiar with Jamie from his Naked Chef books & TV show. Let's face it, the guy is simply very marketable as a celebrity chef. He's young, good looking and personable and his approach to cooking has kept with a consistent and accessible theme; keep it simple, fun & delicious.

What you may not know, is that he has also made healthy eating as a pet cause and has been active and effective in promoting it, especially in regards to children.
If you haven't watched his Eat to Save Your Life videos on You Tube I highly recommend taking 45 minutes out of your day to see it.

In 2005 he began a campaign to improve the meals in the British school system and now he has turned his attention to American school meals.

Of course, how do you bring an issue to the attention of the American people? You do it on TV. Take a look.



It premieres Friday March 26th on ABC and you can read more about it on his website.