So Easy a Caveman Can Do It - But I Can't

Over the last few months, I've realized that I've kind of plateaued in my attempt to get rid of some of that "stubborn belly fat" that all those commercials for wonder supplements and crazy workout DVDs love to talk about.  It's not stubborn.  It's an unwelcome guest, and I'm kind of tired of it having way overstayed its welcome.  

So I've been looking at how I can step it up.  Not just so I can more easily slip into a pair of pants, but also so that I know I'm healthier.

For a long while, I've really reduced my meat consumption.  I really really really don't care for chicken. When I was pregnant with HRH, it was a huge aversion to me, so much that when I tried to buy some of those pre-cooked strips for the Husband at the store one day, my knees buckled and I thought I was going to pass out.  Ever since, I can only handle it if it's REALLY well made, and I have to REALLY want it.  I also have tried to cut down on red meat, especially because of the many links between red meat consumption and a greater risk of colon cancer (among others).  

And I like most vegetarian protein sources.  I love beans.  I really like tofu.  Quinoa is great.  Tempeh - meh (see what I did there?); that's really the one thing that I've had that I didn't really care for.

But nothing seemed to be working.

I decided, then, to take a week and try a modified paleo plan.  I say modified because I did use a "paleo for runners" approved foods list, which includes more starchy veggies like sweet potatoes and squash.  Apparently a non-runners paleo diet doesn't allow for them.

Basically, the paleo diet is, from what I understand, supposed to mimic the ingredients that our very ancient, probably much hairier forefathers would have eaten.  Of course, this means no processed foods, but it also nixes all grains, dairy, and sugars (although some sites allowed maple syrup and honey because those were natural sugars, and I can totally imagine an early Homo sapiens risking life and limb for a handful of honey like he were some Ice Age Winnie the Pooh).  Probably the most restrictive aspect for me, though was that it didn't allow for legumes or beans.  Even though I love me some rice and white breads, rarely a week goes by that I don't have beans with at least two meals.  But I was determined to try this to rev up my body's vacationing fat burning abilities.

I created a meal plan for the week and headed to the grocery store.

First of all, holy sticker shock, Batman!  I haven't actually bought meat that wasn't turkey necks for Zooey or bacon in a really long time, apparently, because when I picked up a small package of ground beef, I thought I was going to have to take a second mortgage out on the house.  Yikes.

I admit that on top of my mandate that I would still be enjoying my morning coffee with half-and-half and cinnamon sugar, I did "cheat" during one meal.  One of my friends and I had lunch, and I had a beer.  Beer, as you know, is made from grains - gluten-y grains - so it's waaaaaaaay up on the Verboten Items List.  But I also don't want to be that person who puts the kibosh on every restaurant suggestion because it doesn't work for my super restrictive diet plan.  "Oh, no, that place doesn't work for me.  I can't eat anything that casts a shadow past 1:00 in the afternoon on Tuesdays."  

Interestingly enough, that evening, I felt TERRIBLE.  Like you might right before you get sick.  Achy, tired, tempting fate by trying to NOT get a headache.  Just...blah.  And then I got cranky because I didn't feel well, so it wasn't the most pleasant evening.

I can't say with absolute certainty that this was all caused by the grains.  But it was interesting nonetheless.  

At the end of the week, I knew that this plan isn't for me.  That isn't to say it's a terrible idea.  I really like certain aspects of it.  But I think that it's more of a diet than a lifestyle for me at this point in my life, and restrictive diets never work.

What I DO think I can take out of this experience is that I don't necessarily need to embrace the red meat again, but I can bid a fond farewell to grains more easily than I thought.  And that's where I think I can improve my eating habits.  While I'll be welcoming beans back to my diet very soon (hello, Cuban dinner plans), I'm not sure that I'll be so quick to nab a loaf of bread to go along with them.  I'd love to experiment with gluten-free grains and work to reduce the amount of corn-based products I consume.  While I didn't weigh myself at all this week, I do feel less full around the middle, even though I've felt like I've eaten a lot more than I usually did.

One big success is that I was able to stick to my meal plan.  I made it a lot more simple and relied a great deal more on leftovers for lunch and dinner repeats, and I think that's where I've gone off the rails before.  I'm hoping to be more consistent with that as well.

Where have you been successful in modifying your food lifestyle to make healthy changes?  What are you willing to "give up"?  What are non-negotiables for you?

Meatless Monday on Training Tuesday

First and foremost, I must say that I am thankful for the crazy monsoon weather that we've been having in Arizona this year.  While it makes for some seriously muggy, sweat-laden morning runs, the temperatures have been kept to within reasonable parameters.  By Arizona standards.
My morning runs with Zooey, which begin with a 4:30 AM alarm - followed immediately by a 4:30:30 coonhound alarm, just in case - have been hovering in the low 80s.  Not my most favorite temperature to run in, but it beats anything hotter.  So while the rains have drowned all by my mint (I think) and peppers (which are thriving), I'm more than happy for them to continue so that we can keep things tolerable.
Today marked my first Official training run to prepare me for my second half marathon, which will be in November.  I have, of course, been running and cross training throughout the summer, but it's been Unofficial, which means I haven't felt that bad about veering off of The Plan for various reasons.  Starting today, though, my heart rate monitor was strapped back on, and instead of just running a "basic" run, I set a time goal (in this case, a mere 30 minutes).
I love the time-based goals.  My training plan is pretty much the half marathon training plan set out in Marathoning for Mortals, by John Bingham and Jenny Hadfield, which I used to prepare for London's Run, and having the weekday runs be time-based is something that I came to almost rely on - it was the promise that I'd be done "soon."  Really, the only alteration I made was to add a few more weeks of training in and switch around the running and cross training weekdays.  Using time instead of distance really helps me focus on my heart rate, stride,and foot strike instead of "how much farther?"
Of course, this morning I had trouble remembering how to start my heart rate monitor, a delay that Zooey found unacceptable.
The Official training run didn't feel much different than Sunday's last Not Official training run (except we were faster this morning; I was tired Sunday), but it's nice to know that I'll be back on The Plan.  When on The Plan, I'm much stricter with myself and have the discipline not to skip/put off days, so I anticipate a solid performance for my second 13.1.

In Mrs. Obama Arms news, I'm still struggling with my Hundred Pushups Challenge.  After falling off the wagon for about a week and a half, I reset myself back to Week 3, Day 1, in which I did 48 pushups.  They were a little difficult, but that's to be expected.
My frustration lies in the fact that while Weeks 1, 2, and 3 felt like they were gradually moving me toward more and more pushups, Week 4 felt out of control.  I am not one to make excuses (most of the time), but I can't help but wonder if a woman's upper body strength limitations - I really don't like that word there, but I'm not sure what else to say - were taken into consideration with this program/app.  That's not to say as a woman I CAN'T do this, but I think some resetting and careful cross training will need to be taken into account; I might have to do Week 4 three times in a row before I think I'm ready for Week 5.
What I need to do is remind myself that this is OK.  I'm still working toward a great goal, and as of last night, I have completed 843 pushups since beginning the Challenge.  That probably brings my lifetime total to about 900, so I can't complain.
I mean, I CAN complain, but there's not really anything tangible for me to stand on there.
Besides, if it were easy, it wouldn't be called the Hundred Pushups Challenge.  It would be called the Hundred Pushups Easy Thing.

One more thing - I've started the Plank a Day Challenge as well.  This one is fairly simple to follow.  Each day, I do a plank for as long as I can.  That's it.  The goal, of course, is to be able to plank longer and longer, improving my core muscles.  I'm not gonna lie - I'm really tired of crunch/pushup workouts, so I'm game to try this.
My inaugural plank wasn't bad:

Now it's time to up the game and see where this can take me.  The good news is that, unlike my Hundred Pushups Challenge, I don't have a set time that I have to hit each day.  I just need to challenge myself at my level.  And, apparently, watch out for the Plank Police.

So how am I fueling myself?  Lots of plant-based proteins.  I'm not one to say "never" to anything, but I don't foresee myself our our family going 100% vegan, and I think that may not be the best route for me.  But I am doing my best to cut down on animal products when I can.
I've moved from half-and-half to coconut milk in my coffee.  While both have saturated fats in them (that's the " really bad juju" when it comes to reading the fats label), I've been reading up on the stuff, and studies are suggesting that the saturated fats in plants, such as coconuts, have less of a detriment on one's body than those found in animal products like butter or cream.  That being said, I am careful to have only 3 spoonsful in each cup, and I generally have two cups of coffee each day.  That's my "splurge" each morning.
And while I moved on to agave nectar for a while, I'm a little concerned about the process by which the "nectar" is made, so I'm trying out coconut sugar, which is gotten by a process similar to how maple syrup is obtained.  It's still got calories - my coffee is my morning splurge, remember? - but the coconut sugar is lower on the glycemic scale than white sugar, so there are no spikes in the blood sugar.

I still can't believe I've come this far, considering it wasn't long ago that I had to have a splash of coffee with my CoffeeMate.

I'm also having fun with vegetarian and vegan versions of my favorite dishes, like korma.
Last week, the okra in our CSA bag gave me a craving for Indian food that would have impressed even the most pregnant of women.  I thought about it morning, noon, and night, and I kept thinking about ordering take-out or suggesting that we go out.
The problem - HRH.  I'm perfectly happy to "force" her to eat certain foods, but I'm not going to take her to a restaurant that serves fare that far outside her comfort zone (we're still working on quesadillas, people).  I want to be allowed out in public with her again.
But if I were to make it at home, I could serve her similar ingredients like brown rice and carrots, and I could still get my korma fix.
Now, I love love love love (freaking) LOVE lamb korma; it's my go-to item when we go out to an Indian restaurant.  But unlike Aunt Voula, I understand that lamb doesn't fit into my plant-based focus, so I opted to make a vegetarian korma with tofu and fresh veggies, including that okra.  I just needed a recipe.

Thank you, Interwebz.

So, last Monday night (maybe Tuesday - I don't remember), I tried a recipe from Vegetarian Times.
It was good.
But it wasn't the korma I was thinking of - that creamy, spicy, sauce that you can literally sop up with a biscuit bit of naan.
So the craving?  Still there.
My poor husband - it was like I was pregnant all over again, but I didn't have a pregnant belly that he could rub like it was a freaking genie lamp.
So I searched and found one that would be better - perfect, even - one that used not only coconut milk and tomato but a cashew cream to give it a silky, creamy texture.  Thank YOU, Post Punk Kitchen, for delivering!
Of course, I didn't follow the recipe exactly (you know I have a hard time following directions) - I made my own garam masala earlier this year, since I am sensitive to ginger, anise, and turmeric.  So I played around with everything to get something that would still be savory, although I think I still needed to amp the spice and garlic when we have our next go round.
End result - this recipe was a lot of work (I'm sparing you pictures of the aftermath in the kitchen since this post is already so dang long), but it was totally worth it, especially when paired with some homemade naan that was already on the right track (it's hard to duplicate the flavor and texture when your kitchen is lacking a tandoori oven).

As far as naan goes, it was good, but The Husband and I discussed how we can improve it so we didn't use so much oil in the process.  We determined that some terra cotta planter bottoms (the flat parts that hold the water in) on the grill will probably be the closest we can get, so next time you see me at the hardware store, it's probably because I'm thinking about dinner.
I've gotten my korma fix, but we still have a jar full of the leftover korma sauce, so I'm thinking of making a korma pizza later this week.  I can toss some roasted veggies on top of it and call it a meal - the perfect training food.

Do you need to be on a training plan to be disciplined?
What is your favorite way to strengthen your core?
What food cravings have you had recently; did you indulge?

Finicky Fridays - Commencing Operation Eat it or Starve

I've mentioned that HRH is a picky eater before (here and here).  If she were in charge of MyPlate, there would likely be an abundance of ice cream, Goldfish crackers, and grapes, but probably not any zucchini or tomatoes.
It's a constant battle in the kitchen.  On the one hand, I want to make sure that my family eats a variety of healthy (and yet delicious) foods.  On the other hand, I don't want my child to sit there, eating nothing.  She's a little too young to understand how fortunate she is to go to bed hungry only by choice - or else I'd be laying on the guilt thicker than Tammy Faye's makeup.
A few weeks ago, my friend Megan posted this picture to my Facebook page:

Of course, it made me chuckle a bit laugh out loud for ten minutes, but at the same time, it made me cringe.  At myself.
Buddy Hackett said, many years ago, "My mother's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it."
I definitely haven't been in that category as a parent.  I have been so focused on making sure HRH doesn't "go hungry" that I've been compromising and letting her eat her small window of "HRH-approved" foods.  While many of those foods are fruits, it's really not acceptable to allow her to set limitations.

So, I have officially launched Operation Eat it or Starve.

That doesn't mean that I'm plunking down a plateful of mystery hash (or, as my mom called certain menu items, "Spinach Blob" and "Noodle Blob" - no lie) and expecting her to eat it.  I want eating new foods to be a comfortable experience, so we're looking for a balance here.
Intrigued by the studies that show children prefer 6 to 7 different colors and interesting patterns on their plates, I have been trying to be creative and artistic in my efforts to offer her both "safe" and familiar foods coupled with new foods.
I say trying because I am not the most artistic person ever.  Defense Exhibit A: my drawing of Princess Aurora (as requested by HRH).

Notice the rose red lips.

The good news is that cookie cutters are good for more that creating shapes out of cookie dough.  The even better news is that The Internet has great ideas that I can copy to my little heart's content.

In: creative, fun food platings at meals
Out: snacks - unless plates are (for the most part) cleaned

In: excitement about beets and squash
Out: badgering

Here are some snaps of what I've tried this week.  I can't take credit for any of the creativity, but I can take credit for the less than perfect adaptations of plating ideas that I found online.

Watermelon rain cloud, carrot lightning,
blueberry rain, apple umbrella (with cheese handle),
and brown rice path
(this looks way cooler with a red apple)

HRH ate the carrots, part of the apple, and the rice.  Maybe a few bites of the cheese, too.  She had been introduced to everything on this plate before, so everything should have been safe.

"Eating Nemo"
Brown rice sea floor, apple anemone, carrot seaweed,
watermelon mini-fish, peanut butter sandwich fish
with cheese stripes, and grape bubbles

The carrots and apples were all eaten, as were the cheese stripes and half the peanut butter fish.  The green grapes were getting a little soft and "yucky," so those were left after a close inspection.

Cheese sun over a rainbow of strawberries, raspberries,
carrots, mango, kiwi, blueberry, and blackberry,
nestled between banana clouds

I ended up eating most of this.  Except the cheese, which HRH consistently eats.  I even made a cocoa-peanut butter-agave spread that I thought she should use to dunk (or just eat with a spoon...), but I was, apparently, mistaken.  Good thing I like it.

Last night's dinner was our first big jump, as I began adding new/different/scary/unknown foods into the mix.

Squash and carrot sun overlooking a brown rice butterfly
(body - black beans, design - cheese and beets, antennae - carrots)
fluttering over a squash-grape-raspberry flower bed

Again, the cheese was eaten first, as were the carrots, raspberries, and red grapes (which seem to stay "crunchy" longer than the green ones).  Then this conversation happened:

HRH: I want milk, please.
Me: You can have some milk after you eat one piece of squash.
HRH: But I want it.
Me: You can have some milk.  But first I want you to eat one piece.
HRH: I don't like it.
Me: Remember Elmo teaches us to try foods two times before we decide if we like them or not.  Please try one piece.

At which juncture she selected the smallest piece of squash, inspected every centimeter for about five minutes, licked it, sniffed it, put it in her mouth, and gagged before spitting it out.
No milk was offered for that Oscar-worthy performance.

So far, my opponent has proved tenacious and stubborn.  Not that I expected a miracle (otherwise this post would be addressed to the Catholic Church about how I need to be sainted immediately), but I was hoping that the melodramatic gagging over the world's smallest piece of squash would be less... melodramatic.

Currently, I'm concocting a few ideas for the Ms. Food Face plate as well as how I can perhaps use chopsticks to trick convince HRH to even try some tofu.  But I'll also be happy if she eats the watermelon and Bing cherries that she requested last time we were at the grocery store.

Did your parents have creative or sneaky ways to get you to eat when you were little?
Or did they have any horrifying foodstuffs that served only to create food aversions?
What creative plating ideas have you seen or tried?

Monday Meal Planning - Being Flexible

The Husband told me yesterday that he'd be late most of this week, and the one evening that I know he WILL be early is so that I can leave to go to a meeting.  Thus, this week's theme is Flexibility.
Not the kind you get from yoga, although I'm trying to get more of that in, too.
Since who knows if we will get a family meal in before Friday (The Husband has Fridays off, and I am taking the day off this week), the Monday Meal Plan, which has been conspicuously absent these last few weeks, is more like a "wish list" than an actual plan.  I found some recipes that I'd like to try to make with the ingredients I have on hand and what came in our CSA share this week, but if I have to wait until this Friday to get in a few of them, I'm cool with a few more salads this week.

• Beet-chickpea hummus with pita, dolmas (because I'm obsessed lately), and spinach "patties" that I found on a Greek recipes website - I saw beet hummus on the menu at a local restaurant and juice bar, and it sounded divine, so when we got a handful of little beets this week, I knew It Was Time.
• Crudite plate with bagna cauda, crusty bread, and wine - this isn't really a meal as much as it is a snack, but I haven't had a good glass of wine in ages, so again, It's Time.
• Soft tacos with peanut-crusted tofu and purple cabbage - I've seen quite a few recipes with this combo, and I thought I might be able to add in some of the hemp seeds my mother-in-law snagged for us at a recent food thing (I'm not actually sure what the "thing" was, to be honest with you, but the seeds were nice and crunchy on salad last night, so using them in a crust might be fun).
• Grilled shrimp with something else tasty - I know - totally vague, right?  But The Husband is enjoying his new grill, and so I want to keep our options open here.

I'm not sure what I'll actually get to try, but I'm pretty sure that if the hummus doesn't get made tonight, it will be on the lunch menu tomorrow.

What sounds good to you this week?

When You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Eat Takeout

You'll notice that I have no menu plan this week again.  Part of the reason for that is because I forgot to renew our CSA membership, so we didn't have new veggies this week (we still have some from last week that we're going through).  Most of the reason is that I was just super lazy this weekend.  Coming off an amazing birthday dinner at The House at Secret Garden (hint - get the tender belly appetizer - you. will. die. totally 11/10), I basically just wanted to sit/lounge/lie on the couch all day Sunday, which is basically what I did.
So this week, we're flying by the seat of our pants.
That's not so bad.  Monday night I cooked up some penne and tossed it with the arugula pesto I had made earlier last week, and a bowl of pasta is always a good meal in my estimation.  It isn't gourmet by any means, but it filled me up, and I felt better about not having a vegetable on the side because of all the arugula it took to make the pesto.
Last night, however, well, I wasn't making anything.  I had thought, earlier in the day when I wasn't quite feeling the effects of a sleepless night (waking up multiple times and then being woken up by the princess another set of multiple times), that I might use the chard to make a quiche.
It's cute how I thought I'd have energy for anything.
So I texted The Husband: "Your choice. Quiche or pizza."
I'm not stupid, folks.
His choice: pizza.
My response: "Great. Can you stop at Papa Murphy's on your way home?"
GOTCHA!
And he did, and we had a late dinner that will also be my lunch and maybe part of my dinner, since The Husband has a late meeting that means I'll either have the leftover pizza and/or a Hugh Jass Salad, a'la Mama Pea.  I already have a fresh batch of her lime-tahini sauce in the fridge, waiting to be drizzled over some greenery.
As for the rest of the week.... meh.  Who knows.  I could still make that quiche, and I'm sure I can rustle up something, even if it's rice and lentils with an onion over it (actually one of our favorites, and while it takes a while to cook the lentils, it's all hands-off).
Actually, that sounds pretty tasty.
But so does Chinese takeout.

Weekend Update and Monday Meal Planning

When you are the parent of an extremely energetic and picky three-year-old, the words date night rarely cross your lips.  It's true that I love HRH with all my heart, but it's hard to want to go out for a family dinner knowing that our restaurant selection may have nothing on its menu that fits her discriminating palate AND that you might have to somehow MacGyver up a system by which to keep her chained to the table without having CPS being called by the other restaurant guests.
So this Saturday was almost magical, as my mother-in-law texted me earlier in the week asking if she could please have HRH overnight with her, since she hadn't been able to see her for the past few weeks.
Um, yes.  Yes you can.  We'll be right over.
Tuck and roll, kid.  Momma and Daddy have a date.
And then we realized that we didn't know where to go for dinner.  The free time afforded to us was so foreign that we had come into it completely ill-prepared.
Fortunately, the ladies at Phoenix Bites and Local Lily were quick to answer my Twitter plea to help these two wayward parents find something that's fun and inexpensive and delish.  After some brief discussions, we decided to try out Taryn's suggestion of bld here in Chandler.
It was The Right Decision.
Since it's been gorgeous out at night, we opted to sit on the patio, which was perfectly comfortable (I brought a sweater, as per my Pacific Northwest roots, but I never needed it) and cozy.  The beer and wine menu was full of several familiar names, but before I had my Kilt Lifter, I had to try the Mama's Lil Yella Pils from Oskar Blues in Colorado.  One, I love the homage to the Rolling Stones.  Second, and this might be obvious to you by now, it was the best beer pun I've ever seen.
And have I ever mentioned I love fried pickles?  Because I do.

The tempura was out of sight, as was the Sriracha aioli.
I do have to say, though, that while I love pickle spears for your workaday,
fried pickles should always be in chip form.

Dinner was also good, although I was more in love with the polenta and gnocchi than the pork chop that I got, and The Husband thought that his chicken and bacon-laced waffles was great but wished he had gotten something more "dinnery" (his words).
I then made it to exactly 10:17 before I headed upstairs to bed while The Husband watched some awful movie on OnDemand.  I let Ghost Adventures lull me to sleep.
I'm definitely down to put bld onto our rotation of Places to Eat.  And I'm not sure the dinner menu will work for her, but I know HRH will be more than happy to go there for breakfast someday.  Total winner, Taryn!
Oh, and yesterday?  We met my mother-in-law and HRH at Pei Wei, and while we had just eaten a late breakfast, my mother-in-law ordered the Kung Pao shrimp.  It looked pretty tasty.  And then HRH started eating the brown rice.
Like shoveling it into her mouth eating it.
So dinner, then, was Kung Pao Shrimp a'la Allison, thanks to this "copycat" recipe.  I'm not sure it's copying the Pei Wei version, but it was fun to bring down the wok for an evening.
What I really found interesting in this recipe - which was a little warm without the umame flavor that I was looking for, so I'll have to up the soy next time - was that the shrimp were tossed in corn starch and the egg white before hand - it made a kind of breading that the sauce stuck to quite nicely.
The best thing about the homemade version was not just that I knew everything that went into it (including the local green garlic, green onions, carrots, and sugar snap peas) but that those fresh veggies made the plate look soooooooo pretty:

I omitted the peppers (didn't have any) and added
tofu and used shrimp instead of chicken,
but otherwise followed the recipe pretty closely.

HRH got her own little plate with brown rice, two pieces of tofu, carrots, and one sugar snap pea.  She inhaled the rice (Zooey dutifully caught every grain that fell on the floor) and carrots but only took a small bite of the pea.  As for the tofu, "I'll eat the tofu later.  When I'm older."  Oh, well.  She got plenty of fiber and other good things from the rice and carrots.  And the handfuls of roasted unsalted peanuts that she ate while helping me make a few dressings and whatnot for the week.

The Great Brisket Freakout of 2012: Aftermath

In the wake of St. Patrick's Day, I realized that once again I never actually took any photos of dinner.  It was probably because I was crazily running around, trying to iron the tablecloths (plural, because we needed two tables and still didn't have enough seats) and napkins (yes, I iron napkins - it takes attention away from the walls that only have paint samples on them), make a double batch of brown soda bread, let HRH help me bake half-and-half brownies, and get some adult conversation in while we had friends over, all while Zooey, who was banished to the backyard for both allergy and food-stealing reasons, kept trying to implore me to let her in.  I also had a half-and-half (stout and ale) myself, so I was desperately trying to enjoy that, too.
My parents used to hold rather large dinner parties, and I recall me always being in the way when they were cleaning.  I hated it then, but I totally get it now.  There is always way too much to do and not enough time to do it, even though your real friends really don't care if you vacuumed under the couch or dusted the baseboards (for the record, we did vacuum under the couch, but the baseboards were left to fend for themselves).  Poor HRH was pretty pissed by the end of the evening, even though there were other kids over to play with her.  At one point I let her help me make brownies, as I could tell that all she wanted was to spend some time with her Momma, and she is truly a great kitchen assistant, especially where baked sweet treats are concerned.  Other than that, I used the time-honored parenting tradition of keeping her pumped full of sugar to keep her mood elevated until she just crashed out, with chocolate all over her face, in my bed, snuggled up next to me.  No regrets, people.
Despite the insanity of the day, it was a great time.  We had a house full of good friends to help us enjoy (and take home) a large portion of The World's Largest Brisket Purchase - the "goodie bags" of pastrami instead of dollar store junk went over EXTREMELY well, and I'm starting to worry that this will become The Husband's New Thing To Do At Events - "Here - take home a baggie of turkey giblets for the kids!"  The Husband ran to the store and got way too many things right before people came over, so he made bite-sized Reubens (sans Thousand Island dressing....ewwww) as an appetizer, while I whipped up a batch of green hummus (regular hummus with some kale in it) and put out some pita.  That was gone in about three minutes.
Our friends brought over cheesecake (curse you, friends, for leaving said cheesecake here for me to deal with, alone, during the week) and a loaf of soda bread from a different recipe than I used, and of course everyone brought beer, so we were well stocked for the evening.

Last year, when we had family friends over, I pulled out my china.  And then spent half of the next day washing it.  This year, The Husband suggested that we use the "fine Chinette."  So we did.  I have mixed feelings about creating all that trash, but I probably used more water last year than is appropriate to admit when you live in the desert and water is a touchy subject in the legislature.  So really the only cleanup was the washing of the various pots and pans that we used to make everything else.  So... everything in our kitchen EXCEPT flatware was washed.  But at least it didn't take half a day.

So... what did I make?

• 675,839,296,693,103,672 pounds (not really, but it sure felt like it) of corned beef and pastrami.  The Husband smoked the pastrami the day before, and the corned beef portion was slow cooked all day in a bath of Guinness, Smithwick's, and lamb stock.  I also smeared the top of the briskets with a mustard and brown sugar mixture that I had read made for a good flavor, but honestly, I don't think that it added much to it.  But the color was a little freaky when we first took it out of the roaster, so there is that.

I took this over The Husband's shoulder
as he sliced the pastrami.  I got a few
tastes after I promised to go away.

Brown bread in the back, corned beef (on the left),
pastrami (on the right), and Guinness mustard -
I apologize for having eaten all the cabbage and potatoes.

A close-up of the pastrami - see the pretty pepper rub?

• Brown soda bread - I forget how awesome this recipe is, and since it's a soda bread recipe (which means no yeast to fuss with), it's super easy to make.  I finally got my mitts on powdered buttermilk, so I can most certainly whip up a loaf when we run out (we're eating our way through the last loaf this week).  I used a Cooking Light recipe, and our friends brought over one that had used an Epicurious recipe, and they were both insanely good.  I may have filled up on bread.
• Guinness mustard - take any mustard recipe and use Guinness as a substitute for part (or most... or all) of the liquid.  Trust me.  It's worth it.  We're already almost done with the entire pint that I made.
• Cabbage - I followed Michael Ruhlman's advice and quartered the cabbages, browned them in butter, and then finished cooking them in the corned beef liquid.  It was totally worth dirtying those three extra pans (they were big cabbages) for the flavor.  I did keep one aside for our friend who has been vegetarian for a little over a year now, cooking it in a covered pan with water instead of in the lamb stock-beer liquid.
• Potatoes - taking another Ruhlman suggestion, I poached the potatoes before slicing them and tossing them with butter and parsley.  Yum.  I like to use the red potatoes for this - they are a much softer texture, and their small size makes them easy to slice.  I wish we hadn't run out of these, but everyone likes potatoes, so we did.  That's OK - radishes and turnips make for a good corned beef hash, too.
• For dessert we had the cheesecakes and the half-and-half brownies, which HRH helped me make.  The recipe, also from Cooking Light (the recipe calls them black and tan brownies, but I think we should move past that), calls for pecans in the bottom portion, but since I don't like nuts in pastries, I omitted them.  I just didn't tell The Husband, as he prefers baked goods that have so many nuts, fruits, and/or chocolate chips that the structural integrity is put into serious question.  

Mmmmm.... get in mah belly!
The Guinness flavor made the chocolate layer not too chocolatey...
Yeah, like there is such a thing as "too chocolatey."

And now that I've had 25 pounds of brisket to ruminate upon (which fortunately meant that while I didn't take pictures at dinner, I had plenty of leftovers to snap), I do think that I can say with certainty that I do prefer pastrami to corned beef.  The smokiness and the flavor of the black pepper rub added to the flavor of the brine makes for a great sandwich.  The Husband and his mom have repeatedly said that it was "really salty," but I love salty food (she wrote as she sucked down 16 ounces of water), so maybe that's why I loved it so much.
I think, however, after the drama that I created for myself over the excessive brisket purchase, next year I want to go down a different St. Patrick's Day path and go for a menu that is, you know, actually Irish.  Corned beef and cabbage is not actually Irish, and from what I have read, no one really knows how it became associated (in America, at least) with Ireland.  So while The Husband loves corned beef and cabbage, I am going to lobby for something more traditional and, you know, actually Irish.
But you can be assured that whatever we have, we'll have goodie bags.

Monday Meal Planning - Spring Has Sprung!

OK, so today's Tuesday.  I know that.  Let's just say yesterday was busy; it was the first day of a new term, and I had to finish a baby blanket so that it was ready for today.
Anyway, after the craze of the Weekend of Meat (post coming soon once I recover), this week is filled with meatless meals that will hopefully not take too long to make.

• Monday - grilled cheese and chickpea-wheat berry soup that I adapted from Herbivoracious.  While last week was in the 80s, Sunday and Monday were rainy and chilly.  It was warmer in Chicago than here in the Phoenix metro area, so a toasty grilled cheese with Guinness mustard, arugula, and tomato (The Husband's also had pastrami) with a nice warm soup was just the thing to make me feel a little cozier.
• Tuesday - hummus with quinoa tabbouleh and pita - not really exciting at all, but I'll be adding the mizuna we got in our CSA share this week to the hummus to add some more green goodness and filling fiber to the meal.  Plus, we could both eat hummus with a spoon, so I know we'll eat "well" this evening.
• Wednesday - radish and pea salad with pasta - I found a few recipes online, but I realized AFTER I went to the store that we don't have enough peas or any edamame, so I'll have to figure out what I want to do here.  We have plenty of lettuce, but I had something a little different in mind.  And as for pasta, I came across a Dr. Weil pasta puttanesca recipe that I am in love with, and it's easy to throw together - we usually have everything that we need for it.  Holden also likes the fact that he gets the leftover tuna.
• Thursday - Peas and Thank You Hugh Jass salad with sandwiches - we still have plenty of pastrami and corned beef as well as brown soda bread (although the potatoes and cabbage were devoured on Saturday), so we'll need to get through that somehow.  I think I can manage some by Thursday.  Oh, and by the way, I forgot how easy AND delicious brown soda bread is to make, so it may be making several appearances in the Philistine house.
• Friday - TBD - honestly, since it's the first week of that new term, I may just want popcorn for dinner.  Or a pastrami sandwich.

Anything exciting on your menu this week?  What's your favorite "cozy" food for when the weather turns chilly?

Monday Meal Planning (Week 8)

Since weeks 6 and 7 were a total bust, I wanted to hop back on the wagon this week while I'm on Spring Break.  In discussions with The Husband, we both agreed that not planning the entire week out was probably a good idea, especially since he has plans with some fraternity brothers on Thursday.  I'm assuming that the plans will involve something like this.
Anyway, all toga party and goat sacrifice jokes aside, I'm trying to achieve two goals with this week's menu:

1. Remember that keeping it simple is perfectly fine and delicious.
2. Remember that the plan is fluid and subject to change.

And speaking of change, I know that I'll already have to modify Tuesday night's plan, as we ate all the primavera-appropriate veggies yesterday in the stir fry I made, so... oops.  This does detail the whole week, but I'm pretty sure that this week I can swing a pasta dish even if The Husband gets called into a late running meeting.

• Monday - vegan Swiss chard and collard green pie- I've never used the stems before, so it will be an interesting addition, and I'm looking forward to that much less "waste" (compost).  My thought for having this Monday, too, was that in the case of leftovers, I have a few lunches or even an addition to a salad at dinner later this week.
• Tuesday - pasta primavera - like I said, I already have to modify this plan, so I'm thinking of taking the spinach that we got with our CSA and pureeing some it with the tomato sauce and then adding the rest in, wilted.  The puree might sneak in a few more veggies into HRH's belly, too, since she is suspicious of all things leafy but loves spaghetti with tomato sauce (I also got her whole wheat angel hair - just because I'm a sneaky bizzle).
• Wednesday - fish tacos - this plan is really for the night that The Husband works late without planning it, which I know will happen.  So I'll use up the leftover lettuce sauce (my new favorite condiment - I use tofu in place of the egg in the recipe) instead of a traditional white sauce, and I need to use up the rest of the head of cabbage that I've been working through this last week.
• Thursday - Peas and Thank You's Hugh Jass Salad - with of course her lime-tahini dressing, because I am nothing if not predictable.
• Friday - TBD - The Husband will be smoking the pastrami all day, so he may not really want to do anything.  Thankfully, there are plenty of pizza places nearby, just in case.
• Saturday - The Day of Reckoning - homemade corned beef and cabbage, homemade Guinness mustard, brown soda bread, black and tan brownies, and perhaps some ice cream.  Because we will need dessert.  Oh, and beer.  I'm a sucker for a black and tan.  Just ask Zooey.

Of course, the black and tan coonhound is a more
positive use of the term than the black and tans of Irish history.

What are you eating this week?  Any big plans for St. Patrick's Day?  I hope no one is going to be drinking green beer or - even worse - Protestant whiskey (that's a reference from The Wire).  Anyone doing a St. Patty's Day dash?

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Butcher Shop...

...actually, truth be told, it was on the way home from the butcher shop.

It's that time of year again that I start working on the St. Patrick's Day menu.  This year I'll take pictures.  Promise.
As the discussion of brisket started (I think The Husband was super excited that this meant I'd be eating meat, if only for an evening), it was suggested that I obtain two briskets instead of one.
"Get two.  I'll make a pastrami out of one, and we'll do corned beef with the other."
A chance for The Husband to use the smoker made way him more interested in the discussion than in past years, when it was basically, "OK, sure, whatever.  What time are we eating?"
So, the dutiful wife that I am, I called around to the local grocery stores and butcher shops (as much as there are) here in the East Valley.
Boy, was I in luck - Midwestern Meats, a local butcher shop up in Mesa, was offering untrimmed brisket for $3.99/pound - a total steal considering the next best price was $6.99/pound.
So, before picking HRH up from school the other day, I stopped working a touch early and drove to get myself a few briskets.
This was my first field trip to Midwestern Meats, and they were busy!  Wow!  I didn't expect the butcher shop portion (there is also a restaurant and bakery) to be that packed, so I was a little thrown.  Also distracting were the different freezer and refrigerator cases, where I nabbed a few beef bones and bag of frozen food for Zooey as the young man went to the back to get my order: two briskets (I told you I was a dutiful wife - I listened to The Husband and did just what he told me to do).
Since it had been a year since my last brisket purchase, I didn't really think too much of the size of the briskets that landed on the counter in front of me with the proverbial thud.  Further distracted by the sausage "arena," it was at this juncture that I accidentally paid with the credit card rather than the debit, but that very shortly became the least of my worries.
On the way home, it suddenly dawned on me that I had just spent $100 on two briskets, and last year I most certainly did NOT spend $50 on one.  So, taking my life in my hands, I dug out the receipt from my bag and managed to find and open the calculator app on my iPhone.  Hmm... $100... $3.99/pound... Oh. My. BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPING Word!  That's 25 pounds of meat that was sitting in the back of my car in the cooler I had rather intelligently brought!  OMGOMGOMG!!!

Even simple math is hard when you are driving 75 mph and trying not to freak out over meat, OK?  I could normally have calculated that in my head were I not panicking that I'd have to invite the entire Russian Army over in order to make a dent in my purchase of basically what - in my head - had just become an entire side of a cow.  But basically, I was panicking, getting a case of The Meat Sweats before I even had a chance to prepare - much less eat - same meat.

When HRH and I got home, the brisket had to hang out in the cooler before I was able to get the brine made.  For the past three years, I have used Alton Brown's corned beef brine recipe (it's awesome, as is everything AB does).  This year was no different.
Except that it was.
I had to quadruple the recipe in order to get all the brisket submerged.  Because nothing says "You just bought a s*** ton of meat" like quadrupling a brine recipe.
I had to make the brine in two batches because I didn't make enough the first time (I only tripled it).
By this point, I had only had the guts to text The Husband, who was in a late meeting that evening, with "I have never seen brisket this big."  I got nauseated thinking about how I was going to tell him how much meat "brisket this big" actually was.
Spoiler: I tried to let him figure it out himself, but today, 5 days in, he said, "There's just one brisket in there, right?"  To which I had to respond, "There are two in there."  To his credit, he didn't flinch.  But I'm pretty sure he is calculating how much meat we have now.  I'm expecting a discussion about that later.  At which time I shall direct him to this post.

Back to the brine.
Because the briskets are so large, we didn't have room in the fridge, and our second fridge is currently out of commission, a fuse having blown in the garage that has not been restored.  So I made sure the cooler was very clean and poured the cooled brine in before returning the briskets to their salty bath.  Then I piled ice on top of it.
The Husband is now freaking out (which doesn't help me in my whole "OMG I JUST GOT A TON OF MEAT" freakout that I've been in since Wednesday) that we are going to kill everyone because we can't as easily control the temperature of the cooler as we can in a refrigerator situation, so today we are discussing how to manipulate the contents of the refrigerator in order to squeeze them in there.  We'll have to cut them in half, but considering their Brobdingnagian stature, we'll need to cut them in half in order to manage them while serving, so that's not a huge deal - just a matter of when.
The top two ideas are to buy two disposable oven roasters and have the brisket swim in those on the bottom shelf OR empty the crisper and store the brisket, ensconced in zip-top bags, there.
So, basically, if you stop hearing from me after March 17, I have either exploded from eating too much meat, or I have, in fact, killed us all, in a glamorous, made for an after school special, Sister Julia (child of God) style.
But if that's the case, don't plan on pictures.

Update #1 - 2:40 PM - I elected to make a new brine and use zip top bags for the now 4 briskets to hang out in the veggie crispers.  Both of them.  Because each crisper only held two meat-and-brine-filled zip top bags.  There was no commentary from The Husband when I lifted each behemoth out of the cooler, but I think the shock of the amount of meat we currently own is starting to set in.

Monday Meal Planning on Sunday - Week 5

I realized last week that I was getting a bit too adventurous in my weekday meal planning.  When The Husband comes home late, the last thing I want to do is try out something that 1) is a new recipe and 2) has 15 different steps.  So this week, even though I am off Monday, I'm pulling back and looking for recipes that aren't that labor intensive.  Honestly, I need to get a few more slow cooker books in order to utilize Forrest (my Crock Pot) much more than I do right now.

• Monday - slow cooker red beans and rice with orange-glazed beets and a king cake to celebrate Mardi Gras a day early.  I wasn't able to find a king cake baby, but I'll put in a dried bean instead (probably safer all around, to be honest).
• Tuesday - seared cauliflower with quinoa cakes - a redo from last week because we didn't manage to get it in (but since we have a small head of cauliflower, I'll also be using a bit of cauliflower's green cousin broccoli).
• Wednesday - chickpea and fennel salad - another redo from last week
• Thursday - cabbage salad with sauteed tofu - I'm working on a healthier version of this favorite recipe (I'll be using the one my mother-in-law wrote up for me), usually made with ramen noodles.  The Universe must have known, as we got a nice big head of cabbage in our CSA share this week.
• Friday - TBD - I've found that planning all five days plus the weekend means that I don't have the flexibility that I need.  Considering we didn't manage two recipes from last week, I think it will be helpful for the inevitable "let's just have popcorn" night.

So... that's what's on the menu at Chez Philistines this week.  What are the specialties of your house?

Monday Meal Planning (Week 4) and a Plug for Cake Week

OK, let's just get one thing straight before I set forth my plans for our dinners this week: we shall NEVER speak of bok choy in coconut milk EVER again.  It has been a very long time since I could not bring myself to choke down food.  I'm sure there is someone who loves it.  That someone is just not me.  I'm seriously getting the dry heaves just thinking about it.
Additionally, since last week was rife with late meetings for The Husband and a Girls' Night In for me, we didn't have everything that I planned, but that's OK.  I'm making up for it this week.

• Monday - vegetarian slow cooker satay over brown rice - this way I have leftovers for lunch this week.  Please, dear gods of the slow cooker, make this turn out delicious and crave-worthy.
• Tuesday - vegetarian bibimbap - this is the recipe I had planned for last week, but it never came to fruition. I used some of the broccoli in a smoothie the other day, but I think this will a better use for it.  Yes, I know Tuesday is Valentine's Day, but I'm not really concerned about making something "special."  Besides, what better way to tell The Husband I love him than make something that uses fresh, healthy veggies and our favorite Asian seasonings?
• Wednesday - fennel and chickpea salad - I am thinking I might want something warm to go with this, too, but we'll see; the recipe sounds/looks pretty filling on its own.
• Thursday - Mark Bittman's seared cauliflower with lemon/olive quinoa cakes - I almost bought some quinoa cakes at Whole Foods on Saturday, but the salmon cake looked too tasty to pass up, so I'm glad to find this recipe at a site I love anyway.
• Friday - I have a long weekend this week, so I'm not planning anything for dinner should we be out and about.  If we are home, we'll have something simple that uses up any veggies we didn't use beforehand.  If not, well... c'est la vie.

My main hope for this week is that I don't end up throwing an entire dish out for it being unpalatable.  Seriously, I wouldn't even offer that stuff to Zooey, and she eats everything.

Oh - before I forget - it's CAKE WEEK!!!!  My girls and I are having another week of themed posts, but the most exciting part is the link party that Kirsten kicked off yesterday - you can participate in our fun by sharing with us!.  Just click here to add your favorite cake!  And make sure that you check out all the Cake Week posts from Kirsten, Jeanne, Kat, Mads, Megan, and me - I'm sure you'll be needing a slice before long.  Enjoy!

Monday Meal Planning (Week 3)

This week's meal plan is somewhat delayed.  I'm blaming our friends who are in town from DC and the Superbowl party at said friend's parents' house yesterday.  Because we were busily noshing, running after wee ones of various sizes, and watching the game with varying degrees of interest (I had to ask who won), I didn't get in my Sunday afternoon ritual of sitting in bed surrounded by cookbooks and the internet to scope out recipes that will make great use of our weekly allotment of delicious veggies.
So this week - I'll be honest with you - has been kind of thrown together with little consultation on The Husband's work week plans.  Bear with me - I found some fantastic sounding stuff, but I'm not sure it will all come to fruition the way I'm envisioning it.

• Monday - mac-and-cheese style cauliflower, courtesy Vegetarian Times magazine (it was this month's cover model) - since dinner is already over, I'll let you know that since our head of cauliflower was smaller than what the recipe likely called for, I also threw in a head of broccoli that we had leftover from last week (how I missed it, I have NO idea).  I loved the nutritional yeast in this recipe, and I think I might start adding that to my original recipe to make up for everything else that gets added.
• Tuesday - I'll be honest - The Husband has a late meeting, and I have an all-day meeting, so HRH and I might just have a Momma-Daughter dinner out.  By dinner I mean ice cream.  But whatever.  I'm not planning anything on this night, as we have plenty of items in the fridge that can be eaten instead (like the leftover mac-and-cheese style cauliflower; yeah, I planned that).
• Wednesday (or Thursday) - baby bok choy in coconut milk with slow cooker rice and lentils - doesn't that just sound GREAT??????  I love bok choy, but I've been getting a little tired of just finding stir fry recipes, so I'm anxious to see how these combos - marked with cumin, turmeric, and other Indian flavors - turns out.
• Thursday (or Wednesday) - baked tilapia with lettuce sauce and turnip greens - we have some red leaf lettuce that I'll use for the sauce, which will go over, I admit, pre-packaged, pre-breaded tilapia.  I know that if I look at the ingredient list again I might have a panic attack, but it needs to be eaten, and the addition of a fresh sauce and some nicely sauteed greens will definitely boost the nutritional value.
• Friday - vegetarian bibimbap with broccoli, turnips, and mushrooms - Autumn at Food Wise Nutrition  (she's in Seattle, my friends - look her up!) mentioned this via Instagram when both of us dined on Korean food in the same evening, and I happened to stumble across this recipe, for which we have nearly all the ingredients (or appropriate substitutes).  I've never had bibimbap (its literal translation is mixed meal), but it's certainly intriguing enough for me to want to try it!

Of course, with friends in town and possible "surprise" late meeting nights on the table, this is a "I have my fingers crossed that we can at least get three of these in" menu.

Now, the only issue with this menu is that it does not take into account the spinach, kale, carrots, or cilantro that we also received this week (OK, OK - I bought the kale extra, as I'm still loving the smoothies).  My thoughts on those are that the kale and spinach will be good additions to smoothies throughout this week, and HRH usually eats carrots (the one veggie she will allow to cross her lips), so I don't want to waste them on silly little things like a salad.  The cilantro, as many herbs will, poses the biggest problem.  Thankfully, Vlad, my dehydrator, is still sitting out on the counter, so Wednesday I'll set out to dehydrate both the dill and cilantro that are hiding in the crisper.
So... what's on your menu this week?

Meal Planning - Week 2

Last week's meal plan was a success!  I had to switch Monday and Tuesday's plan, but everything else fell into place almost perfectly - I say almost because I didn't really love the caldo verde that I made, but I'm willing to try another recipe for it sometime - and the result was a veggie drawer that only had a bit of kale and broccoli leftover.  Both of those have found their way into this week's plan, so there isn't worry there.
Thus, I am really going to push myself to keep this planning up; I want to make sure that we are eating those wonderful vegetables that come to us so, so fresh, and of course I want to waste less overall (veggies and other staples).  It really was kind of fun looking at my favorite blogs and websites and in my favorite cookbooks to find recipes that will help me use what I have in the crisper (and pantry).

A Man, A Plan, A Canal

Who has two thumbs, likes terrible puns, and has the love for history rhymes (and palindromes) only an English teacher could?
THIS GIRL!

The Man
Well, duh, it's The Husband.  Because he works four ten-hour days for his work week, there is always the possibility that ten-hour day will stretch into twelve or more, which generally means I use his absence as an excuse to not make anything for dinner except a stolen handful of HRH's Goldfish® crackers.  I justify it by telling myself I don't want to be in the kitchen and leave HRH to her own devices alone for that long.  Thus, I often go to bed less than thrilled with my mealtime decisions for the day.  Anyway, regardless of when The Husband comes home, I need to have something good in my belly, and he deserves the chance to be able to warm up something delicious and healthy.