Dinner Success

My dinner was a success.  We dug potatoes from the garden.  Grilled asparagus.  And enjoyed our lamb/beef sliders.

Well, they were not quite sliders as the buns that I made from scratch ended up being regular size though I had followed the sizing.  Even though it was humid, the dough came together beautifully.  Who can resist homemade bread?  Thankfully, I had not made my burgers, so I was able to size to the bun. 

The burgers were wonderful.  1:2 beef:lamb ratio.  A safe ratio to introduce people to lamb.  I found the ground lamb at Kroger.  I also found some great wines and Belgian beers to accompany our meal. 

This was my first introduction to baharat spice blend.  Here is is from Food.com.

4 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground cloves
3 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons paprika

The blend that was instructed in the Bon Appetit was not as robust as the above.  I will try to blend above next time.
 
Even though it was a simple meal, there was plenty of work involved.  A labor of love--we had a wonderful time with our friends.  The great payoff is that because there is no driving involved, we we could liberally imbibe.  We always ensure that we know the designated driver of our guests and ensure appropriate number and spacing of drinks.  
 
Today will be a lazy day.  Well, I'll do CPE on sequel server!  Headphones and a laptop will give legs and back a rest from the constant motion yesterday.
 
 


Long Lost Cousins Reunited (version 3.0)

Growing up, my mother and my aunt were very close.  My mother had three kids (me in the middle) as did my aunt.  All of us were within a few months to a year of each other.  Two months difference between my oldest cousin and brother; six months difference between me and the middle cousin; and a year + 2 days between my younger sister and my youngest cousin.

My aunt died from complications from lupus at the young age of 42 (or so).  My oldest cousin was 12.  After my aunt died, our ties to our cousins were essentially cut.  So after almost 40 years, we are now back into each others' lives.  Their father died recently.  At the funeral home, I mentioned that my sister was coming into town in a couple of weeks, and to see if we could get together. We did and had a marvelous time.  But as adults we were essentially strangers to each other having gone about the business of growing up, raising children (two of us have children, two of us do not) without the benefit of a relationship.

When we got together, I could not help being left with the feeling that we had been robbed of a precious gift of being able to be there for the other. 

My oldest cousin had a birthday, and my sister was in town.  We went as did husbando.  My husbando had a grand time sharing similar interests with her husband. Oh...such a time that we had.  


I'm hosting a get together this Saturday. This dinner will be our 3rd visit.  No season or reason other than my sister is in town, and we want to continue our trajectory of solidifying our bonds.

Being with them fills a hole.  They are the last bond to my mother's side of the family--that diluted Armenian heritage as second generation from an Armenian mother and non-Armenian father. No others but ourselves to remember the 'tales from our grandmother'.

I did learn the other day that my grandmother was a Hudson, and supposedly a direct descendant of Henry Hudson.

I look forward to welcoming them to my home.  EPA cleanup efforts will soon begin.  I found a great recipe in Bon Appetit for spiced sliders with date ketchup.  How good does that sound?  I think that I'll make the slider rolls.   Our potatoes will be ready.  Nothing so good as freshly dug potatoes.  I'll serve them with butter, parsley and lemon zest. Roasted asparagus to round out the meal. And to finish the meal....fresh brownies.

I found the best brownie recipe at Leite's culinaria.   http://leitesculinaria.com/36645/recipes-brownies.html  It is advertised as the best brownie, but for it to be the best brownie it requires the addition of salt.   I've also made this brownies stirring the batter by hand as recommended.  Today, in the brownies that I made for my father, I used the mixer.  No difference in the results--huge difference in effort of method!  Do yourself a favor and try them.  I'll never make another brownie.  They really are that good.  (I use Valrhona chocolate).

My proposed dinner, then, is informal, but I think will be "different".  I have become lazy about entertaining--meaning that I always wanted to go all out which meant much effort and expense to create a memorable meal. However, with such a large hurdle, my entertaining fell off.  I still harbor the goal of serving something different and interesting, but delivered in a package that I feel that I can deliver more comfortably. 

This menu seems just right.  The lamb burgers might be too much for some tastes--but we are embracing our Middle Eastern heritage, and my cousins are open to an introduction to lamb.  It has ground beef in it 1:2 ratio.  I might bring the ratio down to 1:1 to soften the lamb taste.

I'm looking forward to an evening of food and family and trying out an new recipe!





Update

The bad news is that I did not meet my weight loss goal for the month.  The good news is that I'm quite happy with meeting 90% of my weight loss goal! My initial goal was a little aggressive, and frankly, I was not willing to be THAT deprived.   Rather, I will opt for taking a little longer to meet my overall goals.  That I had an ambitious goal helped me get off to a good start.  I've not re-embraced the exercise part...but it's coming. 

It is great to feel more comfortable in my clothes.

Until I was 45, I was the same size as I was when I was 25.  I never bought bigger clothes.  I just used my discomfort to trim back down.  What changed?  I'd like to blame it on age, but I have to place blame where blame is due....I discovered the joy of wine.  I went from drinking nothing, except an occasional beer to drinking a glass or two of wine a few times a week, to everyday.  Well, the math on that is pretty clear.  If a glass of wine has about 140 calories (depending on alcohol content, etc), then 2 glasses is 280 calories.  (And if you are pouring your wine to fill your glass, then double that!).

(280 x 7 x 52)/3500 = 29+ lbs per year.  Your mileage may vary.  These sort of incremental daily  increases (or decreases!) add up over a year (years).  One thing that I've given up over this month is switching to drinking black coffee v. coffee with 2 tsp of sugar and half and half.  Let's see how that adds up in a month. 
2 tsp of sugar = 30 calories.
1 tbls of half/half = 20 calories
Combination of the two = 50 calories per cup of coffee.  I have two cups a day, so that is 100 calories per day or ~10.5lbs per year (100 x 365)/3500

These amounts aren't incremental so long as one is using them to meet his/her daily basal caloric rate.  However, more often than not, these are add on calories. 

Conclusion?  I'm happy to give up the cream and the sugar, and enjoy my wine on a moderated basis to achieve stasis!

But the above is based on what we commonly believe.  Here's an interesting source on calories etc from Zoe Harcombe discussing low carb diets.  I used to say that a carbohydrate free diet is not worth living. However, I'm beginning to realize the role of carbs/sugar in fueling craving.  http://home.theharcombedietclub.com/2012/04/a-calorie-is-not-a-calorie-and-heres-the-reason-why/

My goal for this month is to lose 5lbs.  Ironically, it will be less easy to lose those lbs than it was for the first 10 lbs.  But I'm motivated by my results so far.  Adding more regular exercise will help.  I've been in geek-out! mode in learning Crystal Reports as part of my CPE. 

Settling In

Angel Marie continues to settle in to the household.  Her feet are doing much better.  If she were a horse, I would call her lame.  He feet were swollen and tender.  With the help of steroids and antibiotics coupled with foot soaks, she is doing much better.  Her personality is starting to shine through, which includes her trying to assert some dominance over her sissies.

She approaches strangers with friendliness....no guard dog here. At least she looks intimidating.  The Bulldogs have a face that only a mother could love.  Macy, a mix, had her mother's long snout.  Angel has the mush face and the under bite.  With her skin condition, every fold, even on her face is a place to grow a colony of something.

My Measured Life Progress: I am on track to meet my end of month goal for weight.  I have been mindful of my eating choices, and I continue to measure everything. I have rarely gone over my calories.  My body fat % is now 34%--still to high, but lower than it was.  I'm confident that I will dissipate with my weight loss.  Already, I can see a difference.

My daily activity is subpar, and I can feel that. The allergy season sucks the life out of me, and a few days the air was so thick with pollen I was choking.  This happens each year and lasts about a week.  It is about 1 month later than normal due to the odd winter/spring confusion we experiences.

My Blendtec blender came  on Tuesday.  I've been experimenting with it.  It makes remarkable smoothies.  I understand now with the green smoothie craze why there is so much greater availability of packaged kale and collard in addition to the typical spinach, mixed green offerings.

 Last evening I used it to make some breadcrumbs. Easier than the food processor, but this machine would NEVER replace my food processor.  This a.m. I put a grapefruit (peeled) in it to make some whole juice.  I'm waiting for my oatmeal to finish prior to drinking. It boosted my calories by 79 for a total of 379. (It was yummy.)  My combined foods gave me 20 grams of fiber with almost half coming from my whole juiced (unstrained) grapefruit made in the Blendtec.  Just peel the skin and pull off 1/4 sections and throw it in the blender.  You get the juice + all the good stuff (fiber). 

Did you know?  Grapefruit has many health benefits.  The World's Healthiest Foods counts grapefruit among its stable of healthiest foods.  According to WHF, grapefruit is a lycopene-rich food (as is green tea and tomatoes.)  Check out their link and see which of your favorite foods are on their list.


Angel Marie

Here is our new, big girl, Angel Marie.  She has some health issues, most notably tender feet from what appears to be some foot pad infection or allergic response.  She appears to have a yeast infection in her girlie-girl parts.  She goes to the vet today.

Like many of the dogs that I have transported over these 7 years of volunteer dog transport driving, she slept like a little baby.  I traveled to Windsor, VA, which is in a beautiful part of the state that is mostly known for peanut farms.  It was about a 1.75 hour trip.  I had originally planned to meet the volunteer halfway.  However, she had spent her Sunday afternoon at an adoption event.  Why make her drive more?  I arrived just after she was returning.

She had an adult female dog--looked to be a setter/hound mix-- and some cats.  Returning home after not findinga permanent home.  There's always the next week.  Nevertheless, this volunteer offers her home to these animals.  Hopefully we can get this girl's fee restored to good health.  They are a mess, and I'm sure it is painful.  But she is the most delightful girl.

Her night was restful.  She slept downstairs rather than in our bedroom.  My other two girls (formerly three) always slept upstairs, going up when I retired. They don't go downstairs until I do, even if they have to 'go' and even if Mark is already downstairs.  I guess I'm packmaster.

Angel Marie came upstairs this a.m. at rising time.  She is well-housebroken, and she did her business outside.  She sits in my office now as I write and work.  I marvel at how adaptable dogs are.  She is not showing any apprehension, taking everything in with quiet acceptance.  There's always something to be learned from another be it human or animal.

Back on measured living.  I'm counting on another good week of results.

Are you an animal lover?  Why not see what small thing that you can do to lighten the load among other volunteers?  Write a check for an amount that is comfortable for you.  Drop off some newspapers or bleach.  Karunda beds are great, and it is easy to donate them.  Karunda beds give shelters a durable, comfortable, clean bed to offer their guests.   


Making room in our home and hearts

We are opening up our home and hearts to this American Bulldog girl.  Her name is Angel Marie.  She has the same lovely brindling of our recently departed Macy. Angel was an owner surrender.  Divorced owners and upon moving, there was not a place that would accept dogs.  It is a commonplace problem.

I will get her this p.m.  She is sponsored by the Isle of Wight Humane Society -- like many rural areas, my own included-- a group of committed volunteers that offer their homes to foster these animals until a permanent situation is found.  She has some special needs for diet and allergies that we can accommodate.  She is 6 years old.  She is friendly to kittens, cats, children, babies and other dogs.  They said that she is one of the sweetest dogs that they have ever seen.  That says alot.  But there has not been much interest in her.  As she is a 'bully breed' there is often some reluctance  by those who are not familiar with the breed.  Plus, special needs provides another crimp in interest.

We will give her a nice home.  We are so used to the 3 dog dynamic, that even though I originally said, "No more dogs," my subconscious went ahead and did an American Bulldog search.  This girl popped up.  I saw her a couple of weeks ago.  This past weekend, my thoughts turned to her.  I hoped that she had been adopted.  I looked again.  She was still there.  Time to act.

She is spayed, heartworm negative. 


Weekly Wrap Up

I missed a couple of posts this week; however, it was a winner week. I was diligent each day:
  1. stayed within my calorie count
  2. achieved my exercise goals for the week
  3. lost some weight ===> 2.5lbs
Okay, I let Friday be a bust.  I met an old friend in Fredericksburg, and we had lunch at a Thai Restaurant.  It was only fitting to eat there as many, many years ago I had my first taste of Thai at That Thai Place in Bethesda Maryland.   I ordered red curry chicken, my favorite.  I ate it all, and I did not feel guilty in the least.  I was similarly indiscriminate for dinner.  I ate a chicken enchilada -- but my portion was small.

I just entered my calories, and surprisingly, I stayed under my calorie count.  There are so many different types of diets out there.  I surmise that most diets work (at least for a time) because no matter which diet it is, it is a nutritional departure from what the dieter was on before.

All I'm really doing is being conscious of calories and content.  I was at a client, and some nice vendor had brought in bagels, cream cheese and a coffee cake melange (a pinwheel of cheese, apple and other that had had already been consumed).  I had to walk by it too many times.  I resisted the first three times.  On the four walk by I sliced off a little sliver.  Ultimately I gave into two slivers -- and I'm not lying when I say slivers.  It was maybe a 10th of a serving.

Often we read that you must not deny your sweet tooth, that by doing so will only cause a sweet-binge later.  I do know this, my sweet tooth is a powerful addiction. It is never sated.  But I did not give into it fully.  And, I actually regretted that I even bothered with those two slivers, and I'm thankful that my regret was just over such a small amount.  I would have had the same level of regret had I had two entire pieces.

My reflections for the week:

=> Measuring appeals to my inner geek -- even if I think that I'm not going to like the results, knowing that I'm going to have to account for my ingestables ensures that I'm going to be mindful of what I consume.
=> Writing keeps me honest -- further, though I would prefer to NOT shine the light of slippages,  I will.
=>  Listening to my body is important:  If I'm waking up tired and draggy then I'm asking too much too soon.  I ratcheted my exercise back in intensity and frequency.  Already I had made my initial goal.  
=> Celebrating my meeting 17% of my goal to lose 15 lbs is one way to embrace the positivity of vanquishing my muffinicity!