The Clean Plate Club

Okay - anyone who has ever been on a diet knows what the "Clean Plate Club" is along with the ostensibly over-simplified mantra "Eat when you're hungry. Stop when you're full." Yeah, Captain Obvious - ya think?

The other night we had tomato-tortellini soup. I noticed that Ron had left one tortellini in his bowl. This, to me, seemed so odd. Unusual. And in a small way - amazing. So I asked him why he left the tortellini behind.

He said "I was full". It was that simple.

I am here to tell you that in no way - in no universe - could I ever leave one tiny tortellini behind on a plate. It just could never happen. Which is the perfect illustration of how that little mechanism that makes someone know when they are full and fell content enough to just.stop.eating has either gone missing, never existed or is completely broken for me.

What about you - are you like Ron and can leave one little tortellini behind if you are full or are you like me and would feel compelled to finish. Are you a member of the Clean Plate Club?

Just one question.

Can anyone explain to me why granola is so darn expensive? Is there a magic ingredient in there that makes somebody think it is okay to charge like $7 for a small bag of this stuff?? Anyone know?

You are What you Eat...

Our prompt from Weekend Wordsmith this week was "What's on the Menu?". It made me think about the cultural differences in the way we as Americans feel about food and mealtime and the way - say - the French do...

Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote, in Physiologie du Gout, ou Meditations de Gastronomie Transcendante, 1826:

"Dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai ce que tu es." [Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are].

What if you told him you ate pork rinds and cheese fries with bacon and gravy? Who would he tell you you are?

I think as Americans this notion escapes us. We eat a LOT of food. Copious amounts of food... in doing so we often lose the notion of quality over quantity. The whole idea of supersizing a meal, making it bigger, providing more more more. If much is good, more is better... But - we give precious little thought to the quality of food we are eating, the preservatives... We eat in a BIG hurry. In our cars, in front of TV, giving little thought to the flavors and textures that we put in out mouths...

I think we are missing the boat. We need to slow down, enjoy what we are eating. Turn off the TV - feel the food in our mouths, the texture, the blend of flavors... Wolfing down an over-cooked leathery burger in our car is a very different experience than sitting down with family or friends and enjoying wine and delicious fresh food. If we actually allowed ourselves to feel nourished emotionally and physically at mealtimes, how much different might we feel about food? If we slow down, appreciate what we are eating, we need significantly less to feel satisfied.

I wonder why we feel we have to rush all the time? My grandmother always used to say that we always have time to do the things we really want to do. Why don't we want to make mealtime more of a quality social activity? Why can't we just slow down??

I Love BJ's!

Not THAT kind of BJ you pervs. The store... And I finally figured out why. It is the feeling of abundance you have when you come home. You are the Queen (or King) of the universe... You look over the counter and say "I have more raisins than any person will ever need!" and "What's that? You need a tissue? I have 18 boxes! Help yourself!" It is a wonderful feeling.



I went this past weekend to buy ingredients to make a sweet snack mix... you can read more about that folly here (click)...

Snow Day Cake

Go to ImageShack® to Create your own Slideshow

William and I decided to make a snow day cake yesterday, instead of cookies. Turned out reasonably well - too bad I don't have a cake saver. The leftover cake resides in the microwave. (William, who is a huge fan of the Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" said to me the other day "Hey, Mike Rowe... wave! - Get it mom??? Mike Rowe... wave???" Where DOES he get this stuff?? LOL...

In need of some assistance -

Being culinarily challenged - I have to ask for some help with some rather uncooperative potato pancakes... Please visit Our Kitchen Klatch if you are willing to give it a go...

Never say never...

I always used to say - I will never make mashed potatoes from scratch - what a colossal waste of time!

WRONG - the last time I bought refrigerated mashed potatoes, the were not edible - they were icky and grainy and gross. I decided right then and there that I would make my own. Aside from the fact that I need a new peeler (I am thinking Pampered Chef, of course) it was not bad - even Ron liked them (he is the pickiest eater on EARTH). They were fluffy and yummy and CHEAP!! Hello!!!! SO very cheap - and made so many - we will have potato pancakes with supper tonight we had that many left!

My aunt used to tell me all the time I was crazy to buy mashed potatoes already made. I used to think the was crazy to bother to make them. I was wrong. She was right. If you love mashed potatoes like I do - it is definitely worth the effort!

Recipe Blog...

Wanna help??

I thought I would start a blog in order to share recipes with friends... If anyone wants in, let me know - I will make you a co-author.

For now, I have entered my first recipe: Baked Grapefruit (click)

Crash and Burn

Okay - here is the thing. I am NOT a night person. When something in my schedule makes a demand of me in the evening/night hours I have to do something to help myself along. Usually that is a SMALL SF RedBull.

Last night was Bunco Night. There were no SF RedBulls at the mini mart where I ordered supper (Old Nelson's for anyone local to me - WONDERFUL sandwiches etc! I hightly recommend it!) so I grabbed a diet Rockstar. Woah. BIG mistake.

I drank it fast, first of all and immediately felt almost buzzed. That did wear off pretty quickly, but then my heart raced and felt all fluttery. This uncomfortable sensation lasted pretty much all night.

I got home late - about 11:15 (my bed time is 11:00, although I am usually asleep on the couch by 9:30 or so). We went straight to bed. And in spite of feeling absolutely whipped, I could not fall asleep. I tried breathing, I tried lying perfectly still, I repositioned, I put in earplugs. Everything I could think off. It took a very VERY long time but I did eventually fall asleep only to have the weirdest damn dreams.

I think that I have had my last energy drink. I don't know why it affected me so strongly, but I don't like how I felt. I have even less appreciation for how I am feeling today. I am just exhausted and uber-crabby.

RedBull. RockStar. Just say no.

A Cabinet Full...

Of Girl Scout Cookies.

Why? Why oh WHY must these cookies haunt me? It is the weirdest thing - I really don't have that big of a sweet tooth - my biggest temptation is any kind of potato: French Fries ad Mashed Potatoes right at the top of that list. But there is something about a box of Caramel Delights that just calls my name... like a beautiful Siren, I can hear them from all the way in the basement. How rude of them to disturb me while I practice Tai Chi!

Ron knows - only buy me one box. I must make them last. They have been here two weeks now and I still have one row left - then no more until next year. This is the deal I cut with myself. So I savor them. I eat only one at a time - one maybe every other day - but sometimes I just open the box for a sniff.

Does this make me crazy?