My Current Events - an update

So many things are happening that I thought it would be a good time for a general update. I also made my first pot roast and was so proud that I really wanted to share it. You may be thinking, "Pot roast? So what?" Well, pot roast is really out of my element and I found the braising sauce fun and involved. After the roast was finished cooking I thickened the sauce and used my immersion blender to incorporate all the elements and was very proud of the result. Accompaniments were mashed skin-on potatoes, roasted asparagus and pickled red cabbage. The plate was so beautiful that I regret not having taken a photo. But I will leave that up to my favorite cooking blog authors.

I have really gotten into cooking again since the new year. I enjoy cooking immensely but found myself not doing it as often towards the end of 2009. It was a hectic time and I took shortcuts and ate out a lot and gained more weight than I care to confess. With the arrival of 2010 came a whole new approach to cooking. I wanted to try new things and eat more healthily. I am satiated by strong flavor, not quantity, so I continue to seek out new and flavorful ideas. Eating has become more sacred. When I am proud of what I've prepared, I have a tendency to eat more slowly and as a result, much less quantity. I've also found a new tool to assist me in my weight loss which has already shown results. This tool is working parallel with my desire to become a more advanced and experimental home cook. Great food and weight loss: a marriage made in heaven.

I am thrilled to report that wedding plans are on schedule. I know I could not plan this wedding unless I was fond of organization and to-do lists. Meticulous organization is mandatory, I think. Wedding planning is also running parallel with weight loss. There are so many "deadlines" that it is easy to identify mini weight loss goals along the time line. I am trying on a sample dress March 20, taking engagement photos April 25, etc. This is an interesting time in my life. Some times I am able to pause and enjoy the moment but other times I just feel like every single thing I do is simply leading up to one day: the wedding. I don't like that. I don't want to lose nearly all of 2010 to planning. I try to enjoy each day and not look at the big picture, but the small one instead. I want to enjoy this year. Luckily, Mike and I have the most amazing friends and so far wedding planning has been fun and also a breeze (knock on wood) largely in part to our friends.

So back to cooking! (This post is being written over several days hence the jumping.) Tonight on the menu we have a roasted red pepper sauce over pasta and scallops. Today is Wednesday now and I am fine with knowing I will go to the gym, shower, cook something new and different, eat with Mike, then prepare for tomorrow and watch the Olympics. I don't hold myself to very high expectations during the week. (I have since gone to the gym only to realize I had forgotten my gym bag at home, cooked, and eaten. The roasted red pepper pesto was very strong in flavor and delicious. The scallops were cooked nicely, not too long. Dinner was good. Pasta just gets so cold so fast. It is a common complaint of mine.)

So lastly in my little update, I have decided to join a few of my co-workers in this year's Broad Street Run. They asked me, I considered it, and decided, "why not?". Amy, my colleague, has never raced either and we agree there is nothing wrong with starting big. (The Broad Street Run is a 10 mile race with 30,000 participants). I'll have friends with me and this is just another added incentive to help me meet my weight loss goals. The event is 10 weeks out so now is the time to start training. Gulp. My goal is to jog the entire 10 miles. That's it. It will be my biggest accomplishment in my entire life (so far). Success will most likely bring me to tears. It just seems like the right time. Maybe 2010 won't just be the year I got married after all.

Ohhhh Yeah!!!!

A new season of Top Chef starts tomorrow (Wednesday) at 10:00 pm EST. Boo-yah!!

I love Top Chef - it's the only show Mike and I have ever intentionally watched. Together. For an entire season. It's my fave!

So I thought I'd throw together a quick update since I'm in such a good mood. I'm hanging out on the couch, listening to my headphones, writing my cookbook (more in a sec.), buying music on itunes, while Mike is rocking out on the guitar playing Rock Band 2. The game keeps reminding me of what songs I like so I keep buying them.

I was off today for Veteran's Day and I had such a productive day. I unfortunately had to do some work this morning but that beat going in to an empty office to do it. I finally crossed some more items off my to do list, and I got in a really nice hour long workout. I also enjoyed the occasional game of Uno on xbox live. I have to say the xbox really grew on me. It helps that now I know how to use it (at least enough to get to Uno and turn it off when I'm done) and it sure beats tv! It beats tv because I can't eat and play xbox.

So the cookbook has been an ongoing project. I get a recipe, try it, and if we like it a lot, I retype it with who it's courtesy of, how I may have modified it, and a little tid bit about when we had it or for what occassion or who was here when I made it. It's more or less a memorabilia cookbook and since we tend to eat the same recipes it's nice to have them all in one place rewritten in my words. Eventually I'll add some photos. For example, my children may look through it one day and see what dessert I've made Mike every Valentine's Day since we've been together and a photo of Mike and I with the mocha sweethearts. This really all stemmed from my hating to shuffle papers to find a recipe I know is somewhere in the seven inch pile on top of the microwave.

I've been in a good mood since Saturday in fact! I amaze even myself! I honestly think xbox may have added to the quality of mine and Mike's relationship (at least for now - that's a bold statement). At least he's not running me out the room with shows like Cops and Jail and anyone who knows me knows that commercials make me twitch so maybe it's the lack of tv that is making me happy. Either way Mike and I are having fun with it and I don't mind hanging out and working on something while he plays.

I have a feeling these may be my famous last words.....

I'm so bad at naming posts - It's just an update

I've been going through one of those random extremely busy periods. Work has been so insane that I have no idea what's going on in the world because I haven't checked the news in weeks. All I know is what I hear on tv every morning in the four minutes it takes me to eat my cereal. After work I just don't know where the time goes anymore.

I thought I'd get down a quick update since exhaustion is finally setting in and I just can't work on my special project one more second today. Yes, I have a "special project" and it ain't that special. It's also going to be my special project for the remainder of my time at this organization which can be a long time. My job position keeps growing horizontally.

Since my last update my brother Doug visited from Washington state and Mike and I went to Cape May for a few days and had a really wonderful, relaxing time. It really was just a fantastic trip. I have a really great tan and have been getting more compliments since I got back than I've ever gotten. Had I known what a difference a tan could make I'd have made suntanning a priority all these past few years. I refuse to pay for it so I'll just have to maintain it as best I can and try not to get skin cancer.

Doug's visit was a blast. We were able to spend time together in a way that we haven't since......well, a long time. A brown car comes to mind and a Blues Traveler single cassette. We bashed around Philly for an afternoon and then surprised the hell out of mom who was waiting for me at my house for a nice weekend visit. A great dinner followed and some wine and a game of Scattergories.

The next day we took mom to see Cirque Du Soleil which was really extraordinary. I was very sad when Doug left with mom later that night but he was in a rush (his friends were waiting in N. Jersey) so it was probably best because it was a quick hug and he was on his way. We all know a good time was had by all so there was no need to be sad but it was a special visit and I didn't want it to end so fast.

I want to post pictures but who knows when I'll get around to it.

Oh, I made California roll and it was a heartbreaking waste of money. I bought everything from the rolling mat to the pickled ginger and it just came out pretty bad. For the effort, you're so much better off just paying $3.95 for a roll. I tried to eat what I made on two separate occasions in the same day and both times I just couldn't get more than one piece down. Four rolls went right into the garbage. I'm not quite sure what I did wrong, but I won't be trying again any time soon. Maybe I'll make like Samantha and Smith in Sex and the City and take a class. (I saw that movie and I LOVED IT. I said it! I LOVED IT! Thanks, Kel, for inviting me even though I never saw the show)

Do my eyes deceive me.....

.......or did someone request a follow-up post? Woo-hoo! Thanks, Jackie!

Mike and I did go to Wegman's last Friday and picked out some new vegetables. We got an eggplant, beets, and radishes but later we actually got three more things which I'll get to in a moment.

Sunday I roasted the beets. I was a little nervous but really excited when I saw how easy it was to peel the skin off the soft deep purple inside. It was like a very fun experiment that turned out a success. I added chopped pears and julienned fennel (new vegetable picked up Sunday for this recipe). I reduced three cups of orange juice to 1/2 cup and added some fresh lemon juice and let it cool. I then added extra virgin olive oil to that to make a dressing. Voila.

I admit I didn't like the beets very much. I ended up picking the pears out of the salad and did like the purpley beet juice that coated the pears but the beet themselves, not so much. I brought some in to my colleague who loves beets and she loved the salad so I gave the rest to her and some to another colleague who said he'd like to try it. He liked it too.

I put the radishes sliced thinly into salads throughout the week. I liked those - they didn't taste like much of anything. I was waiting for this "bite" or peppery kick everyone told me radishes have but it never came.

The eggplant unfortunately had to be thrown away. We didn't get around to it and I didn't feel like eating anything pan fried (we were going to make eggplant parm) and it went bad.

But Wednesday I went to Whole Foods and got broccoli, white fingerling potatoes, zucchini (Ive had it before but never bought it), and brussel sprouts (never bought, never tried). I roasted all the vegetables starting with the potatoes and brussel sprouts in extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Twenty minutes later I added the zucchini and broccoli and roasted for ten more minutes. This mixture of roasted vegetables was fantastic! I loved it. I served teh veggies with grilled chicken with some melted Havarti with dill cheese and some sweated leeks over top.

The dinner was so good, in fact, that I will be serving it again tonight since mom is sleeping over. She loves fresh vegetables.

Sunday: Deep fried turkey!

Happy New Year!

2008 is off to a great start. I think I may actually succeed in quitting smoking this time too. It's looking pretty damn good.

Christmas was nice. New Years was pleasant. I've been working out and eating right and overall, feel much calmer. Mike went to San Francisco for a few days with his three best friends leaving me a few days to really focus on enjoying a smoke-free environment and exercise. I had a blast. Every night I drank tea in bed and wrote in a journal which I hadn't done in many years. It is so much better than this!

Sorry, blogger, you're great too. I meant no offense.

Probably the biggest highlight was Saturday afternoon. I jogged three miles and then went home and did some pilates and yoga. I was so relaxed I was almost falling asleep on my mat. So I finished up and changed out of my wet clothes. I was still very cold so I got under the covers and just laid there breathing. I never fell asleep. I remained conscience in my consistent ignoring of the silly little chores calling me out of bed. I just laid there, warm and in a little comfort cocoon of body and mind. When I finally decided it was ok to get up, it was an hour and half later. I was shocked, but not upset. It was an amazing experience. I finally was able to turn my mind off.

I love yoga. I love breathing.

Mike started working in his new place today. He said it took him 18 minutes to get to work and there's a chance he'll now be home before me. I think exercise is contagious because he asked if he could use the exercise bike after I'm done today. I think the commute really was just slowly killing him and now he realizes he can actually do things after work like normal people.

School starts next week. I am not excited about that and have enjoyed having the past month off. It's only 15 weeks then school's out for summer. I can do anything for 15 weeks. And I actually am a little excited. Just not a lot.

Here's an excellent winter recipe for some fantastic no guilt potato leek soup that I actually can remember:

1 lb leeks, tough greens removed, thoroughly cleaned and diced (4-5 leeks)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt
1 qt. organic low sodium vegetable broth
14 oz yukon gold potatoes, peeled, diced small

Melt butter in a soup pot or whatever you want to use to make soup in, add leeks and a generous sprinkling of kosher salt, cook on medium/high heat for 4 -5 minutes.

Turn heat to medium/low and sweat leeks for about 15 minutes. They'll be super soft.

Add broth and potatoes. Bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, until potatoes are very tender.

Take soup off the heat and blend with an immersion blender. Enjoy.

*This recipe originally called for buttermilk and heavy cream to be added at the end. I found that after I blended the soup, the potatoes made the soup plenty creamy so why add the fat.

I could go on about how positive the new year seems but I don't want to bore you. Just trust me.

These foods don't taste very good

Veggie burgers are not good. No, definitely not. However, I bet they are fantastic in say, the Middle East, or in any other countries where lentils are typically used as a substitute for meat.

I have no doubt that I didn't make them properly and I have no doubt that they wouldn't taste great to someone else with that palette. I was very proud of them. I boiled my lentils and barley (a first for me) and I sprinkled my cooked onions with curry powder (another first) and was amazed by how my kitchen smelled. I made the patties and other than the green complexion, scent of curry powder, and strangeness of seeing little round pebbles (lentils), they really looked like hamburgers. They were a lot of work and I was thrilled.

So dinner time came. I felt Mike staring me down as i took my first bite so I struggled to keep a poker face, swallow, and say, "not bad." He wasn't convinced. "No, really, " I continued. "I'm not crazy about the texture and the curry is a little strong but I bet they kick ass to people who eat this stuff."

Mike took his first bite and was not amused. He chewed for about an hour with this look of disgust on his face then swallowed.

He pushed his plate away. "I'm not eating this shit." I peeled my nice soft roll away from my patty and ate the roll. We gave the other four to some guy Mike works with who eats foods like this a lot.

I threw away the rest of the lentils. I don't like beans and I don't like peas. Lentils tasted to me like a pea bean. I think it's safe now for me to conclude that I will not like any lentil recipe.

I'll stick with my brown basmati rice.

Anyone have any suggestions for something else I should try?

Exploring vegetarianism - NO PREACHING I SWEAR

Two weeks ago I went out with my girlfriend Kelly to lunch and shopping. She wanted to pick up a book called Skinny Bitch and she said it took sort of a drill sergeant approach to helping the reader lose some weight. For example, the first line in the book says something like, "Hey fat ass, keep eating shit and you're gonna look and feel like shit." I thought it was pretty cool so I picked it up. Well, I guess you truly cannot judge a book by its cover because what started out kinda cool became a long diatribe on going vegan. According to these skinny bitches, the only way is to go vegan.

Well I say fuck that.

However, the book made some valid points especially against artificial sweeteners and what dairy really does to our systems and just how awful the average meat is (and what slaughterhouses are really like).

So I immediately got off the sweet n low, have drank a total of three glasses of diet soda in the past two weeks and stopped buying any juices with artificial sweeteners. I now only use raw sugar in my coffee and iced tea. A very positive change I think. If you ever want an interesting read, look up why Nutrasweet failed approval eight times in front of the FDA and how it finally got to be approved. Someone yell shenanigans!

Dairy is a funny thing. The book pointed out to me that we are the only species that continues to consume dairy after we get off our mother's breasts. My brother Joey always said milk made him feel sick. I don't drink milk - not even when I was a kid. My mom didn't force that on us. Well, It's bad for us and it produces mucus in our systems. I had some nice Thai iced tea last Friday made with about 8 ounces of low fat milk and I tried to see about this mucus thing. Lo and behold I felt nauseous afterwards and felt clogging in my upper chest. I never usually consume that much milk at one time.

MEAT! What an icky word. If you want to go on happily consuming meat a word of caution. DO NOT READ ABOUT SLAUGHTERHOUSES. You won't be able to put meat in your mouth even if you close your eyes. Not only that, these poor animals are fed food covered in pesticides, they are constantly injected with hormones and antibiotics and they stand around in their own shit all day. I'm all about animal rights, but my number one reason for exploring vegetarianism is that I don't want mutant children and I don't want to be very sick one day.

This all got me thinking about the youth of today. Girls becoming women at age nine, obesity, OCD, hyperactivity disorder, youth diabetes. Their moms eat all this shit and then the kids eat all this shit and everything is getting so far away from what nature intended that it's going to be difficult to get back to normal.

I want to have a healthy child. That's the bottom line. And I want me and my family (Mike) to be healthy. Eat fruits and vegetables and grains and keep away from overly processed foods and chemicals. Voila. You're healthy.

So back to the whole vegetarianism thing. (P.S. I just bought the most beautiful half of a cooked rotisserie style chicken. I haven't had that in years!) I went to the store and bought some soy hot dogs (good with lots of ketchup), I researched vegetarian recipes and made delicious steamed dumplings, I talked to some people about different rices, and then I went to my new most favorite place. WHOLE FOODS.

I always thought Whole Foods (organic supermarket) was super expensive and for like indie rocker vegan type kids. I was wrong. A woman I work with recommended I try brown rice (I never had it) and basmati rice. I gazed upon the bulk rice and grain bins looking for my first experiment in rice. Brown Basmati Rice. I could try two kinds at once! I bought a cup to make in my brand new rice cooker/steamer and was on my way.

Brown basmati rice is friggin delicious. I hesitantly raised my chopsticks to my mouth and had a taste and was pleasantly surprised. Mike really liked it too and said we don't have to ever eat white rice again. I was thrilled at this new discovery!

While i was at Whole Foods I also checked out the meat counter. Can raw meat be beautiful? At Whole Foods it can! I looked at it and read the information on where it come from and what diets the animals are on and how they live and realized that was meat I could eat and not feel sick. It won't be often but I was very pleased. Afterall, I cannot expect Mike to stop eating meat because I don't want to. He's been great trying new things (tofu) and hasn't complained once about the lack of meat being served in our home.

Hence the chicken. It's been two weeks now and I only had meat twice. Mike had it a lot more than me but not too much at home. I am making veggie burgers tomorrow out of mainly lentils and pearled barley so I thought I'd offer up a compromise. Tonight I'll serve that nice all natural rotisserie chicken with a nice broccoli Asian slaw I also picked up at the prepared foods section and some nice ciabatta rolls.

Tomorrow, Mike eats his first veggie burger.

Simple flavors

Last weekend I did my grocery shopping and planned out a menu for the whole week so that I could get back in the groove of making dinner and I must say, it was a blast and I loved cooking every night and finally trying some new things again. I think I kind of slacked off there for a while because I was so sick of the same old dinners.

Now this week I'm back to cooking Mike one thing and myself another because I really need to lose some of this weight that doesn't want to go away! Yesterday afternoon I tried to focus on what I wanted. I wanted wonton soup but without the wontons. So just a few clicks later I had a recipe for wonton soup and after crossing out everything I didn't need, I was left with four ingredients. I was skeptical.

However, I picked up some ginger root after work and some fat free low sodium chicken broth and some scallions. I had garlic of course. I cooked about a tablespoon each of minced garlic and ginger in Enova oil for a minute, added a handful of chopped scallions and poured in 4 cups of the broth. I brought it to a boil and let it simmer for twenty minutes and I was amazed by the smell. I couldn't believe what some ginger and garlic produced when married and I had used these flavors before of course in stir fry.

I was so pleased the soup tasted as good as it smelled. Mike had made himself a tuna melt but near the end he said, "that really does smell good. Can I try some?" He didn't leave a drop.

The best thing is that I've found a new favorite quick and easy soup recipe that has virtually zero calories minus the tablespoon of oil to cook the garlic and ginger in. This recipe is also really just a base and you could do anything your heart desires with it. I think next time I'll add some broccoli and egg noodles.

TV night ends with breakfast

Yesterday was a rough day. I got home and the tension in my neck and shoulders was making me whiny and child-like and I had no idea when Mike was coming home and I was HUNGRY. I had just placed my “bag of death” on the living room floor when I heard Mike pull up the drive. Oh sweet heaven, he’s home early. I ran out the back door like a little girl excited to see her pa.

Dinner was fast and easy and we headed out to the monthly Thursday night Collingswood Cruise Night Classic Car Show to stop at the Treehouse for a coffee and hot cocoa, check out the strip of cars, try a different gummie at the Sweet Tooth and eat a pretzel. A new tradition that ended too soon. Next month is the official last Cruise Night till next year but little does Mike know, we’ve got tickets to see Social Distortion in Philly.

We made it home in time to break out some pillows and the new fall throw and settle in for Everybody Loves Earl. I stayed for The Office but Mike took his cue to shower and do the dishes while I watched.

Next was Iron Chef. Mike and I like to watch this show together and it’s one of my faves. Last night’s secret ingredient: Chicken egg. Bobby Flay and some other dude.

Everything looked awesome and the judging had me salivating.

Jess “I could eat all that up.”
Mike “It looks good.”
Jess “I’m salivating.”
Mike “Do we have any eggs?”
Jess “Yes”
Mike “You should try to make that toad in the hole thing.”
Jess “Now? You think I can?”
Mike “Sure, just cut a hole in some bread and fuck around with it. You said you wanted to ween yourself off using recipes all the time”
Jess “Well, it’s 10:00 and I’m not hungry but ok.”

So I broke out the last two pieces of bread, some cheese, chives, two slices of taylor ham and some eggs.

I cut out a circle, messed around, did some guesswork and had a little fun.

Overall, it was good but tasted the same as anything we’ve ever had with the same ingredients. It just was put together in a fun new way and I realized right away how I could have/should have done things differently. But I played make pretend and had fun trying out my “fancy” breakfast and we got a nice snack and I proved my point again that breakfast is not supposed to consist of three eggs, a giant roll, three slices of pork roll and potatoes but a small meal that’s full of flavor and put together well.
So I’ll be buying a two-blade circular cookie cutter that leaves an inch of bread in a circle and I’ll reference some recipes and I’ll be making toad in the hole again very soon. Toad in the hole shall be my signature brunch item. Oh yes. It will.

In the Kitchen with Jessica

It's no secret that my number one dream is to author a memoir and make a living off it. I can't really talk about it though because I'm not even working on it and I really hate when people say they want to do things and don't even try.

But the other dream that really wanders in pretty often is my dream to make an income, even small, off of baked goods. I believe in signs. The last time this dream really itched and I actually started planning and researching, I made excuses. Of course. They were so dumb though. For example, I didn't know where to get boxes to ship the stuff in. Not just shipping boxes but all those weird sized boxes of baked goods. That very same day, a shipping catalog happen to fall on my desk from my inbox and I opened it to the page for small and customizable boxes. There it was. A fudge box.

I'll be doing lots of baking for the Holiday season. I bought these amazing cookie cutters and started researching sugar cookie recipes and techniques and icing making. Why won't I make sugar cookies this year? Because I don't have a very large marble board or very large cutting board to flower or roll out the dough on. My kitchen sceeves me out at times and I wouldn't dream of using the countertop. So I looked into silpat non stick liners and I won't be able to afford one by baking season. But I'll be an expert by next year when I have my very own kitchen my very own way.

Last Friday I made my first ever homemade brownies. They had a caramel cashew topping and were divine. I made them as a house warming gift. I've decided that I will make more and fill the beautiful tins I've bought as gifts with them instead. A little pretty ribbon and a silver fake holley leaf and ta daa, a beautiful gift for bosses.

So I get to my point. I've decided that for that extra little special gift I will make decorated chocolate dipped pretzel rods. Fun, easy, inexpensive, and everyone likes them. They also keep for up to three weeks so they are perfect for shipping. At first I thought they weren't exactly something people would buy. But then I remembered I spent $22 on miscellaneously decorated chocolate dipped pretzels from Scoop de Ville for my boss this year. People like them and people do spend $20 on them instead of just making them themselves. Use good chocalate and a good brand pretzel and you're golden. (No, you just don't melt chocolate.)

So that wandered into other chocolate dipped items and I thought those little holiday cellophane bags would do the trick. Then the Uline catalog came in the mail today and I opened it up to see what it was before I tossed it and what did I find? Various sized clear polypropylene bags and a nifty crimping hand sealer. How cool is that. Maybe soon.

Little by little I think. I'll keep baking what I can in my not so great kitchen and enjoying what I love to do which is cooking and baking. By next year, I'll hopefully have purchased my dream Kitchenaid mixer. (Yes, I do stop at Williams Sonoma from time to time to admire their beauty and yes their website is on my favorites list. So what.) I have big plans for my new kitchen.

By the way, Williams Sonoma and I have a love/hate relationship. I pop in. I sample something. I wander. I dream. I wish I could afford something. I spend about $5.00 which is not easy. I get the latest catalog. I go home and go through it cover to cover.

If you haven't browsed, I highly recommend it.

To add to the absurdity fo it all, I can't wait to have ribbon made that says something along the lines of Baked by Jessica.