Coming together

I am back on track with the whole weight loss thing. This past week I have been eating primarily seafood, fruits and veggies. So I was really excited when flipping through the weekly ads to see that mahi mahi was on special.

So of course mahi mahi must be accompanied by a salsa made of avocado, supremed tangelos, red onion and jalapeno. I had all this in mind when I checked in to see what was going on in Cookiecrumb's kitchen. Yep, more supremed citrus.

The salad thing got me thinking. Usually when I make this, I put the salsa on top of the fish. But I always make too much of the salsa and end up tossing the rest with lettuce for a salad. Salads are a daily part of my diet these days. (I realized that I needed to increase the amount of fiber in my diet and salads are an easy way. I now average about 20 grams a day but would love to get it up to 30 grams.) Thing is that I've been in a salad rut. Romaine with the occasional spring mix. Next thing you know, I was remembering Zoomie's mention of butter lettuce. (It was not the main topic of the particular post but that one little mention has stuck with me.) Butter lettuce would make the perfect bed for the salsa.

This was the perfect lunch for a Saturday in which I spent a great deal of time procrastinating about things that really needed to be done -- like mopping and vacuuming. If only I could train the cats to take care of these things for me.

Southern comfort

Yes, I am still here. No, I have not finished my craft projects. Soon though.

This past weekend was time for a celebration of sorts for me -- my mother has left the country once more. Also I was feeling a tad hormonal. And it's winter. Add all this up and there were lots of cravings for comfort food. I settled on Paula Deen's recipe for smothered pork chops. They were tasty beyond belief. And yes, I am still doing the weight loss thing. That's why I paired the chop with loads of steamed broccoli.

Shaken not stirred

So originally I was going to let Boris select the winner. The idea was that I was going to put each person's name on a piece of paper, ball it up and throw all the wads on the floor. Whichever one Boris went for first would be the winner. But I didn't get up early enough this morning and so instead headed over to RANDOM.ORG to make the selection.

The winner is David. So I guess what that really means is that Maddie is soon to be the recipient of a new shaker.

I have spent most of these week planning out trips for later this year. Y'all know what that means. Yep. There will be more giveaways in the future.

Taking one for the team *

If you have been reading my stuff over the last couple of months, then you know that I have had a cacophony of thoughts colliding in my head -- because yes, my thoughts are quite loud. At least to me.

I awoke this morning and read the lovely item that Zoomie shared. And this collided with a something I heard during the "House" marathon yesterday. Thirteen was giving a patient a hard time. The woman responded with something along the line of, "We can aspire to many things but that doesn't mean that we get them." And for me that went hand-in-hand with the article that Zoomie shared. Sometimes we delay things because it's just not perfect yet.

Often I mention to friends things that I would like to do. But it doesn't fit into their schedule right at that moment. Next thing you know years have gone by because you're waiting for the planets to align for someone else. No more of that.

That's how I found myself heading over to Alameda today. I have sampled the fine goods from Hangar One in local bars but had somehow never made it to the distillery -- which is something like a 15 to 20 minute drive from home for me. Unforgivable.



The distillery sits on the old Alameda naval base and these are the views from the parking lot.


I timed my visit so that not only could I do the tasting but I could also go on the distillery tour as well. The tour was entertaining and informative -- and free. I went for their premium tasting -- 14 alcohols including absinthe. I now have several favorites including their Buddha's Hand vodka as well as their Kaffir Lime vodka. Both need no mixer whatsoever. But yeah, 14 alcohols and no food? Kind of rough.


But don't think that I forgot y'all. That's right. Another giveaway. Leave a comment here with your email address -- if I don't already have it -- and you are entered to win this lovely shaker set I picked up. The drawing will close at midnight on Friday. If you're a night owl like myself that means in the middle of what most folks would consider Thursday night. Or I'll just keep it for myself.

As for me? I'm going to see about putting some food in my stomach. And figuring out when I will be returning.

When I set out earlier today, I had titled this post something entirely different. Then after tasting the brandies, vodkas, liqueurs and absinthe, I knew that title was entirely wrong.

Let's try this again

A year ago I hoped that 2009 would be better than 2008. And it was in many ways. Thing is that when I said that, I meant no more relatives dying. Lesson learned? The universe needs clear, concise directions. So let me be clear this time. No more death. I'd like to continue climbing out of this hole that I have been in over the last couple of years and move on with living.


I am the child of superstitious Southerners. Some of those superstitions I hold close to my heart. They are a part of my core of being. One of these states that whatever you are doing on New Year's Day will set the tone for the rest of your year. Over the last few years I have chosen to interpret this as that I should be doing things that I enjoy -- reading, cooking, relaxing. Therefore, I go through great pains in the week leading up to New Year's to ensure that my home is clean so that I will not feel obligated to do anything other than the dishes. And nothing says relaxation like a nice bubble bath.

The final tradition has to do with food. I am a Southerner at heart and so must have pork, black eyed peas and some sort of greens to start off my New Year. (This past week I came across this article on various lucky foods around the world.)

My parents are truly traditionalists. Pork means pig's feet, ears, tails, chitterlings and/or neckbones. (The only one those that I will consume is neckbones.) And my mother feels that black eyed peas must be accompanied by rice. Thing is I don't really like rice. Never have. Although I do like brown rice.


So each year I make sure that I have those three foods. And each year I move a bit further away from the traditional preparation of them. This year I had thought of making the stuffed pork chops once more but then I came across this pork loin roast and bells went off. For many years I have done pork loin roast with a stuffing of sauteed onions, bread crumbs and fresh herbs. Why couldn't I just butterfly the roast and instead stuff it with a mixture of blue cheese and pecans? And the drippings could make the base of a lovely sauce. But then I realized that it really needed something sweet to counter the bite of the blue cheese. Answer? A pear apple chutney. Finishing off the plate is a mixture of black eyed peas with mustard greens and chard. That's right. I combined them. Because this dish alone makes a lovely vegetarian entree. It may not be pretty but it was damn tasty. And I also know that I have done everything in my power to make sure this year will be OK.

But I still worry. Now that I've done it all right, will universe understand me this year?

Finally coming to an end

I have had lots of time to contemplate things over the last couple of weeks and to make list upon list. Not one of those lists is a list of resolutions though. Because I don't believe in making them. I figure that if you are going to make changes in your life, why wait for January 1 to roll around? That's part of the reason why I embarked upon the weight loss path back in November -- because by doing so then meant to me that I really wanted to make those changes. One of my coworkers had started off on the endeavor with me but said right before Thanksgiving that she would wait until January because it's just too hard during the holiday season. Me? I like a challenge. What's a couple of obstacles like holiday meals? I figure if you can get through something when it's the absolutely hardest to do, then you're ready for anything that life hands you.Other thoughts were around traditions. December has been a bit of a challenge over the last couple of years but I'll get it all figured out. And as the new year approached, I suddenly realized that I have longstanding traditions for the start of the year.

I stopped going out on New Year's Eve long ago. Hey. I'm a professional partier and don't like to mix with the rank amateurs like that. So I prepare a tray of food and hunker in for the evening with a selection of books and DVDs.


This years tray features salad, seafood and cheeses -- some of my usuals. The bacon wrapped scallops came from Trader Joe's but the ramekin contains Baked Oysters with Bacon and Leeks -- something I whipped up once I got home from work. Oh, and the bottle is from Domaine Carneros -- a lovely blanc de noir. And let me perfectly honest. I have survived today on green tea and water just so that I could make this calorie splurge. I haven't really lost any weight since around Thanksgiving, but I have also managed to get through this season without gaining back any of the weight I have loss to date. I call that a win.

Here's to hoping that 2010 is a much better year. For now I must return to my tray and try to decide which movie first, and if it's time to throw another log on the fire. And I hope that wherever you are tonight, you are happy and safe.

We all suck

I spent a great portion of last Friday reading this book -- a birthday gift from my friend, Emerald. She knows how much I love all things Denis Leary. Just a warning though -- he is not for the feint of heart. His warning in the prologue boils down to that there is at least one thing in the book guaranteed to piss just about everyone off.

Now a great deal of the book discusses children and our treatment of them in the United States. There is a whole chapter in fact on children and self-esteem. And how parents today seem bent on protecting their child from damage to his/her self-esteem. I don't know if this is everywhere but it certainly seems to occur quite a bit in Berkeley. I give you this passage from the book, describing his experiences at Emerson.

"But instead of cursing the darkness we lit it up -- using the advice of one Dr. James Randall we formed The Emerson Comedy Workshop. Dr. Randall forced the Student Government Association to recognize The Workshop as a legitimate theater group and fund it, thereby allowing us to write all of our own one-act plays, variety shows, mini-musical parodies -- whatever came to mind. We even ended up getting credit for all the creative work as well as the set design, lighting design, tech work et al. We did three to four shows a year. We were almost always last on the list for available theater space, but we would take whatever we were given -- lecture halls, raw square spaces, even -- in my favorite turn of events -- a former church -- and have to outfit it with a stage, lights, backstage area and seating. Our limitations always became a plus. [My emphasis.] Our shows were funny, exciting and always on the cutting edge and what began as what some people thought of as an impossibility became the hardest ticket in town -- we sold out every single production for every show three theater seasons a year for three seasons running. The Workshop still exists a full thirty-two years later. I'm not telling you this a form of braggadocio -- I'm informing you how our generation of kids refused to accept the status quo. We rebelled and it paid off -- big-time.

That's an example of the power of not taking no for an answer. As a matter of fact -- taking no and turning it into a giant gleaming Yes."

This is what is possible when a child is taught that sometimes we all fail. See? That's how I grew up. Well sort of. Because I had one parent who was like this at least. One who let me believe that anything was possible -- within realistic boundaries. (To show how much this parent believes, when I used to do a great deal of handmade crafts, I was asked how much start-up I would need to make this my full-time occupation.) And yes, this parent usually wanted to try to pick up the pieces and make everything better for me. But also respected me enough that when I said, "You know it's OK to say no sometimes. How else will I learn to pick myself up?" Hmmm. Or maybe that was just me parenting myself. Because it seems like I did a lot of that back then.

So in my opinion, in this way he's right. I think that to never teach a child that while sometimes things don't work out the way we plan, we can persevere -- and maybe even achieve -- is to do the child a great disservice. Because isn't the idea to prepare them to one day enter the world and to be equipped to take care of themselves? Yeah, that's right. I, the non-parent, has the audacity to talk about parenting. Because I spent five years dealing with your children in the classroom. And I see them when I go shopping. But more importantly, I know that I am the person I am today because other people -- some who never had children of their own -- helped my parents to parent me.

And speaking of parenting, there's a great chapter in the book on Hollywood kids. Or actually that's the lack of parenting in that case.

Bottom line is that if you like satire and don't mind poking fun at yourself every now and then, you'll probably enjoy this book. Me? I personally plan to buy several more copies to hand out as gifts in the future.