Hitting the wall, painting with light

I do believe I have hit the wall.  Hard.

I woke up this morning with a splitting headache and an upset stomach that didn’t go away.

Tomorrow, if I’m feeling better,I start Jazzercise.  I’ve also been trying to get to a series of Conscious Dance, but I’m afraid it will be over before I can get to it.

While I was Stumbling through the internet I ran across this series of photos of Pablo Picasso taken for Life magazine in 1949.  They are pictures of Picasso painting with light, which just goes to show that everything old gets new again. 

 

 

.4 pounds and Orange Currants

Well, crap and oops. A .4 gain last week. Not totally unexpected, but not happy happy joy joy anyway. So, it’s time to get back on track with journaling food and exercise.

Life has gotten on top of me, as it gets on top of all of us. I also need to make sure that I take time to help myself stay mood stable. I’ve been really bad about that since I’ve started working from home.

I have the added challenge of Mom’s diet being stripped of sodium now that she has been diagnosed with severe tricuspid regurgitation. I’ve been researching and finding very low sodium substitutes for things I cook with, and I gutted my kitchen and went to store and replaced a LOT of food.

Sometime on Monday I’m off to donate what I have had to discard.

Tonight’s dinner was pretty good, I have to say. We had Chicken with Orange Currant Sauce and couscous.

OK, I don’t do food photography, so we can now move on.

As usual, I made extra for leftovers for lunch, so cut this recipe in half if you aren’t feeding an army or don’t want more tomorrow.

Gently saute three pounds of skinless, boneless chicken breasts in 2T of olive oil until they are cooked through and carmelized. While the chicken is cooking, mix 1 cup of currants (you could certainly substitute raisins), 1 teaspoon orange peel, 6T orange marmalade, 2T honey, ½ cup pulp free orange juice, 2T soy sauce (or low sodium soy sauce substitute, which is what I used), 2 teaspoons curry powder, and 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (or to taste). Remove the chicken to a plate and keep warm (it won’t be there long so it shouldn’t get tough). Deglaze the pan with ¼ cup of water and add the sauce mixture. Simmer the sauce for about 5 minutes to thicken, then add ½ cup mandarin oranges.

I served it over couscous, but rice would be good as well, I suspect.

I’m also thinking that the sauce could be good over tofu.  This could happen later this week.

2 tablespoons of sauce is two points. With 3 oz of chicken, 1 cup of couscous and adding in 1 teaspoon of olive oil from the saute I came up with 7.5 points for the meal. Whole wheat couscous or brown rice would bring the points down.



BOO!

Happy Halloween!  The best day of the year – I even have costumes for a couple of the dogs. 

Rooted in Samhain and All Saint’s Day, Halloween is a time for challenging that which frightens us and honoring those who have gone before us.  How we do that by handing out candy to little goblins?  Well, trick or treating, or guising, may come from the medieval practice of souling, or going house to house to receive food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day.

Halloween has always had more than its share of bad press.  Where I live in the Southern United States, it is often considered a Satanic holiday and many churches hold “harvest” or “fall” festivals as alternative celebrations for children.  When I was a child we were always told not to try any candy before we got home and let our parents look at it because people were out there poisoning children and putting razor blades in candy bars.  Although there was never a widespread practice of poisoning children, one of the few actual cases was in Pasadena, TX, in 1974, which screwed up most of my childhood trick or treating.

This year I have the added complication of the World Series.  My husband will be parked in the house watching the Yankees and the Phillies and will not be helping me tend to the little monsters.

Here shortly I will go out and hang lights, put up decorations and get ready for the kids.  For me, Halloween is a bunch of fun and I intend to have some of it.

But not the candy.  Nope.  As of yesterday I’m down 33 pounds and I do not intend to go the other direction tonight. 

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Hello? You there? We need you…

Today was Meet and Greet Day!

Meet and Greet Day involves going to the local Petsmart and having a group of dedicated volunteers bring some of the cocker spaniels that are up for adoption to get them some “air time” and see if we can line up some adoption applications.

Today we had…

Eli

Wilson

Bingo

Dallas-Fort Worth Cocker Spaniel Rescue has many, many dogs that need forever homes.  There is also a huge need for foster homes so more of these wonderful dogs can be saved.  Please help if you can.

A long overdue post…

…about nothing more earth shattering than my dinner.

Well, it was good.

I had a ginger broth based soup with udom noodles the other day and I wanted to try to make it at home. So I went recipe hunting, which is my usual first stop. I found several recipes for ginger broth, but I was operating within the parameters of my mom on warfarin (so low vitamin K was necessary), my mom being told to cut the salt back (so no prepared broth like canned, etc…) and my own Weight Watching.

So I decided to take a page from the book of My Friend C and make it as vegetarian as possible.

My Friend C is currently laughing at that prospect, I’m sure.

Amazingly, it almost worked.

I found a recipe on the Green Gourmet Giraffe’s site that looked really good, so I jumped on that. I made it almost verbatim.

The Green Gourmet Giraffe’s Ginger Broth, doubled and slightly modified.
- 3 quarts water
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 4 celery sticks, chopped
- 2 carrot, chopped
- 8 garlic cloves
- 3 oz fresh ginger, sliced
- 2 bay leaf
- 2/3 cup low sodium soy sauce

Place all ingredients except soy sauce into a large stockpot. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add soy sauce and sit for another 20 minutes. Strain.

The dumplings in her recipe look really good too, but I wasn’t in the mood for dumplings. I may try them this week, though.

Anyway, back to my broth.

I sliced up a ton of mushrooms, leeks and grabbed some bean sprouts. I wanted to put some chinese cabbage in it but I thought twice, looked it up and discovered it’s loaded with vitamin K. The sprouts had a moderate level so I cut way back on them as well.

That’s when I caved. Shrimp it was. Lots of shrimp.

Terrible cell phone shot of the soup:

Everyone seemed to like it, which always makes my life easier. The shrimp was a decent source of iron, which Mom needs at the moment. I also made some whole wheat spaghetti to put in it, so it was very filling.

Leftovers for tomorrow to take to the Meet and Greet! Hooray!

Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.

Old Ovid there was a pretty smart dude. Since he was a poet who wrote about love and emotions he might have had the right idea even in his professional life.

Labor Day weekend is here in the grand old US of A and I have been contemplating ways to rest my weary bones and ignore the condition of the house, the laundry, the fact that all the dogs need baths and that my legs need to be shaved. I figure that if I can’t figure out a lazy way to handle something it ain’t getting handled.

There is one serious thing to accomplish this weekend, though. Give blood. Unfortunately, a lot of people think that parties, lakes, guns, cars and alcohol – or some combination thereof – are a good idea. They aren’t. Just don’t do it. Go and donate some blood today so if someone does do it there’s a way to save the victims.

The Spousal Unit leaves for another state on Saturday, and after I donate blood and he’s airborne I’m thinking I’m on strike.

Labor Day was established in 1894 as a federal holiday, although many states and labor organizations had established and held labor day celebrations for many years prior to that. The federal holiday was an attempt to reconcile things after the 1894 Pullman Strike, which cost the live of many labor protestors at the hand of US Marshals and the military. Although there is some debate as to whether Peter Maguire or Matthew Maguire first came up with the idea, the intent of the celebration was clear: to celebrate the social and economic achievements of American workers. President Cleveland signed the legislation just days after the end of the Pullman Strike.

Despite most school starting a week or two before Labor Day now this weekend is still considered the last hurrah of summer. I live in a part of the country where summer still has at least a month to go but I can go along with this, I suppose.

So while most people are eating and shopping I’m going to hang out with my nephew, take my husband to the airport and generally sit on my keister. Weather forecast for this weekend is warm and rainy – typical late summer in North Texas – so it should be a nice weekend.

Have fun and please don’t be the recipient of my blood, OK?

The best remedy for a short temper is a long walk.

This is very possibly true, but I think I have stumbled on one that while perhaps not as good a cardio workout, is infinitely hilarious.

I am Italian and bipolar. This means I have an anger problem. A substantial anger problem – one that levels houses and shakes the birds out of the trees from 10 miles away. All my life people have avoided making me angry for fear I would hurt someone, or even myself. Over the last several years I have come to the realization that one will get me arrested and the other will get me hospitalized, and that when you are the one paying for the dishes and glasses it is never quite the same when you smash them.

Eggs, on the other hand, I can deal with.

My Friend C were discussing the topic of releasing anger – I don’t remember why, but we were, and My Friend C and I came to the conclusion that eggs, when appropriately anointed with whatever is bothering you, make a satisfying smack when they are thrown.

So, of course, I had to test that theory. It was confirmed.

Equipment Required:
Raw eggs – as many as you think you will need to throw to feel better
Markers – I used rainbow colored permanent markers
A friend (optional – I used my sister)
A suitable target – one that won’t die if it gets egg-ookie (I used the opposite bank of a creek)

Process:
Call your friend (sister) and tell her you have an activity to share with her. Don’t give her any details. Make her think you have finally lost your last brain cell. Pull into her driveway and realize you beat her home.

Wait for your sister – she’s not home when you get there, so sit on her deck in the heat and wait because you told her you’d be there but she’s not home yet. Gather the stuff up (you will also have car keys, phone and Diet Coke to contend with, so make a pile and try not to drop the eggs). Lead your now totally curious sister around the back of her house, through the yard and down the hill to the creek – of course, it goes without saying that you should be wearing your work clothes with skimmers and your sister should be wearing flip flops. Try not to fall down the hill – that’s counter-productive.

Find a spot overlooking your target – in our case, a small cliff overlooking the creek and facing a large tree on the other bank.

Pull out the markers and the eggs. Take an egg, wipe the condensation off of it (if necessary – it is in Texas) and write something that is really pissing you off on the eggshell. Throw the egg as hard as you can, trying to hit the tree on the other bank (or whatever target you’re using). Rinse and repeat until you have used all your eggs. Decide this will be a once a month thing. Pack up your markers, throw your trash away (no littering!) and head home, stopping to explain to the neighbors why you were making weird contortions on the creek bank.

Our neighborhood coyotes are eating good tonight.

Chocolate. Yum.

I follow a blog written by the bakers at King Arthur Flour. They are some really creative people, and I enjoy the baking science they test every day.

Yes, I want to work there.

Today’s post was about grilled chocolate sandwiches. At first glance this is not a recipe for someone currently in the throes of Weight Watchers (like me), but I’m working on fitting it in to my points, preferably with the addition of homemade marshmallows smashed in the middle.

On the other hand, I’m not even sure the picture is workable for those on a diet, but for better or worse here’s the recipe, straight from the King Arthur Flour Baking Banter blog. The Cocker Lady is not responsible for any clothing that needs to be throw in the wood chipper following review of this recipe. She’s just sharing.

Grilled Chocolate

Cake:
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
Cake Topping:
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon water
Chocolate Filling
softened butter
3 7oz chocolate bars – your favorite type (it’s easier if they are the kind that break into small rectangles)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 5″ x 2 3/4″ loaf pan, or a 12″ x 4″ x 4″ tea loaf pan. To avoid overflow, be SURE to use the correct size pan!

In a medium-sized mixing bowl beat together the butter, cream cheese, salt, sugar, baking powder, vanilla extract, and almond extract until well combined.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; the mixture may look slightly curdled/grainy. After you’ve added the final egg, beat at high speed for 3 minutes. The batter will still look a little curdled, but will have gained a bit of volume.

Sprinkle in the flour gradually with the mixer going at low speed. Mix just until combined. The batter will be smooth and thick (not pourable). Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, vanilla, and water. Stir till the mixture is syrupy. At first it’ll seem very stiff, but will become “drizzlable” as you stir.

Drizzle the topping over the batter.

Set the cake on a baking sheet for easiest handling and as a precaution against potential overflow (which shouldn’t happen if you use the correct size pan). Bake it for 60 to 70 minutes (for either size pan) until the cake is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. The center should register at least 200°F on an instant-read thermometer. If you prefer a lighter crust, tent the cake with aluminum foil for the final 10 minutes or so of baking.

Remove the cake from the oven. After 15 minutes loosen the edges and turn it out of the pan to cool on a rack.

When you’re ready to make grilled chocolate sandwiches, slice the cake in long strips, about 3/8″ thick.

Butter one side of each strip.

Space three chocolate rectangles along the unbuttered side of half the strips. Top with the remaining cake strips, buttered-side up.

Cut each strip in thirds crosswise, cutting between the pieces of chocolate.

Cook the cake sandwiches on a griddle preheated to about 325°F to 350°F; or in a frying pan set over medium heat. Cook till the cake is golden and the chocolate melted, about 2 minutes per side. Hint: Cook one sandwich first, to test the temperature/timing.

Serve as is, or with a scoop of ice cream.

Yield: 4 dozen pieces, about 16 servings.

Image and recipe copyright King Arthur Flour.

On the salad prowl

There should be a law against eating in my house. I like it too much. WAY too much. Since I’m currently struggling my way through Weight Watchers, cooking shows are off my list of desirable TV.

Except for Emeril Green. That guy can come up with some really good stuff.

I am highly sick of classic lettuce salads. I am game for anything that does not include anything leafy and green. I’m going to turn leafy and green. I have threatened to dye my hair green.

So I take one of Emeril’s recipes for Black Bean and Corn Salad and I make it for dinner last night (with a few modifications, such as leaving out the lettuce that the original recipe called for). There’s some left over and I pack it up for lunch today. All morning I’m looking forward to my Black Bean and Corn Salad, figuring that the flavors will have melded, it will have soaked up the yummy lime and honey dressing – and it will still be like 4 points all told.

I forgot about the onions.

The onions also marinated. Lots of red onions and garlic in this salad. They weren’t so bad last night, but after 18 hours or so in the fridge they got pretty potent.

Now, I’m Italian. It takes more than a little onion and garlic to knock me back. This is not the case, however, for the other people in the building where I work. Under the baleful eyes of my co-workers I promptly scooted outside with my salad and ate it on the outdoor patio.

Now I know what the lady who heated fish up in the microwave felt like.

Black Bean and Corn Salad

From Emeril Green, with a few changes by yours truly

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 ears corn, grilled and kernels removed (confession time – I used a 12oz bag of frozen corn. Hey – I live in Texas.)
1 cup red and yellow cherry tomatoes, halved (or chopped tomatoes)
1 small red onion, sliced (small is the operative word here)
1 clove garlic, minced (I used two)
3 limes, juiced
1/2 – 3/4 cup honey (to taste)
Baked Tortilla strips, for garnish (recipe follows)

Method:
In a bowl, combine black beans, corn, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, red onions, and garlic Combine honey and lime juice; pour over salad. Toss to mix well.

To Serve:
Arrange lettuce on a serving platter (ok, you can if you want to). Top with black bean mixture. Garnish with Baked Tortilla strips.

For the Baked Tortilla Strips:
Ingredients:
4 tortillas, cut into strips (I used corn tortillas)
Vegetable spray

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lay tortilla strips on a baking sheet lined with foil. Spray strips with vegetable spray.

Bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until crisp and golden.

Burning down the Les Paul

I’m sitting here watching a show on the Science Channel called Catch It, Keep It. Three guys are trying to save a Gibson Les Paul – a $2000 guitar – from thermite.

From the no knowledge is ever wasted trashcan (otherwise known as Wikipedia):

Thermite is a pyrotechnic composition of a metal powder and a metal oxide, which produces an aluminothermic reaction known as a thermite reaction. It is not explosive, but can create short bursts of extremely high temperatures focused on a very small area for a short period of time.

Thermite burns at 4500 degrees Fahrenheit. So far on the show it has melted aluminum and steel but, paradoxically, wood is insulating enough to withstand the thermite for a short time.

If this guitar burns I’m going to have a breakdown.

One of these guys is a horse’s ass. On one hand I want him to fail just because he’s a jerk, but on the other hand I can’t stand the idea of the guitar burning.

One guy on the show staff is also working on a guitar removal machine to yank it out of the fire. This has got me completely amused.

They did a heat test with a guitar and demonstrated that the guitar smokes at 125 degrees Fahrenheit. Thermite – 4500 degrees. Ick.

Ignition! I can’t watch.

And it’s a win! The guitar is safe!

Mike’s solution was up next – the guitar evacuation. It so didn’t work. The guitar burned. Badly.

Well, the jerk was right. I guess that’s usually how the world works.