You Are What You Eat: January 2 through January 13
With my decision to end the last weekend series, I need something to replace it. As it happens, I have ideas.
Despite my repeated focus on getting smaller and and staying smaller, I've never actually done a food diary, choosing other methods of mindfulness instead. The closest I've come is back in 2015 I tracked every time I ate out in a restaurant, a series which ran all the way into 2017 as I tried and often failed to keep up. I didn't always talk about what I had eaten, but sometimes I touched on that and as well as the social aspects.
I also used to post a lot more about what I had cooked, something I commented on back in early 2017 but never picked up again.
As such, this year my intent is to post all the things I have cooked on a weekly basis, as well as places eaten. I won't bother with tracking my usual breakfasts (nearly always cottage cheese and a piece of fruit) or work lunches (leftovers, salad and fruit). I'll start with January 2, as I was on vacation on January 1; I'll retain the option to skip food lists for travel.
So without further ado, here we go:
Wednesday, January 2 - Spaghetti Squash with Ginger-Miso Dressing - New Recipe - M loves spaghetti squash so I am always looking for recipes. I had saved this particular recipe from the January/February 2016 issue of Eating Well and made it for the first time. As a meal it wasn't quite enough, but as a side it was tasty.
Thursday, January 3 - Roasted Cauliflower with Mojo Sauce - New Recipe. This was almost the last recipe from the November/December 2018 Eating Well that I wanted to try. The recipe calls for 1/2 a cup of garlic cloves, which simmered in oil and butter. Add in some chipotle with adobo to coat the roasted cauliflower and you have a delicious flavor. M and I both enjoyed it greatly.
Friday, January 4 - M and I met Kris and Sarah for dinner at Forage. I had a pasta dish with a pleasant sauce. It was much better than the meal I had on my first trip to Forage back in 2015, and the price point was lower. Afterwords we had a cocktail at Sauced, which filled the space vacated by the Detroiter.
Saturday, January 5 - Brazilian Black Bean Soup - I've made this several times since it first appeared in the January/February 2017 Eating Well. It takes a bit of time, but taste good, makes enough for multiple sets of leftovers, and is healthy to boot.
Sunday, January 6 - Fritada de Espinaca - New recipe. My favorite cookbook is the Moosewood Restaurant Favorites book M got me for a birthday present some years ago. I've made roughly 75% of the recipes in it, but had somehow missed this one until Sunday. I didn't beat the eggs enough so it was a little flat, but otherwise tasted good. We had leftovers.
Monday, January 7 - Spaghetti Squash with Pistachios & Sage - New recipe. This was in fact the last recipe I wanted to try from the November/December 2018 Eating Well. Unfortunately, I burned the pistachio topping under the broiler even though I only went for half the listed time. Next time I'll broil it in the toaster for greater control. The squash itself was fine but the topping was ruined. It's a shame, because the topping was delicious before I broiled it, and even worse I spent 20 minutes shelling pistachios on Sunday night, so that time was wasted.
Monday, January 7 #2 - Coconut Fish Curry - To aggravate matters, even though I had made this recipe from the cookbook that came with my Instant Pot many times before, for some reason this iteration didn't work. We had to throw it away. Fortunately, there was leftover Fritada de Espinaca.
Tuesday, January 8 - Red Beans and Rice - I found this recipe on the internet some years ago, and when the market was out of the chicken variant I swapped in some very garlicly sausage instead. I had done most of the crock pot prep the night on Monday night and finished it off before I went to work. I also prepared a green salad to go along with it.
Wednesday, January 9 - I roasted some asparagus to go along with more leftover Brazilian Black Bean Soup. As I said, it makes a whole bunch, and in the manner of bean soups gets better over time.
Wednesday, January 9 #2 - Circassian Chicken - The September/October 2018 Eating Well had a number of interesting Middle Eastern recipes, including this Turkish inspired chicken. The recipe involves simmering some chicken in broth and then letting it rest overnight in a walnut and garlic sauce, so I didn't actually eat this on Wednesday night.
Thursday, January 10 - Sweet Potato Toasts - These came from the January/February 2018 Eating Well and came with several topping variants. I instead came up with my own variant that used my Aunt Joanne's raspberry jam plus some goat cheese. Delicious.
Also, the Circassian Chicken came out great!
Friday, January 11 - I was prepared to cook after we went to the opening at the Cleveland Print Room, but M inveigled me to return to Sauced so we could try their food. I had a salad, which was good except the honey-mustard dressing had too much mustard and not enough honey. Worse, I somehow that the salad had bacon on it; that's my mulligan on the 'no red meat' resolution. I also had a chicken empanada that was quite good but a bit steep at $4. We may return on a Wednesday for $2 empanada night. Overall, the menu was promising enough that I think this restaurant (the fourth in the last 12 years) may stick.
Saturday, January 12 -
In the afternoon I attended the annual member's bowling party hosted by my CrossFit gym. There was a potluck buffet and I had a couple beers.
In the evening, M and I and gieves and darlox met several other radio people at Noble Beast Brewing for drinks and dinner. I had a sweet potato saison, which I liked enough to have another one. I also had my first Impossible Burger, which is a plant-based attempt to make a really good burger. My verdict was that if I had been handed the burger, I would have assumed it was an above average beef burger. That's a good start. We were joined by Smuggler, Jeff, Lazybones, Christine, Heather, undertheivy99, Brandt & Candy, and the general feeling was very positively favorable to Noble Beast.
Sunday, January 13 - Breakfast - Potato Frittata with Feta and Scallions - New recipe. This came straight from the first Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. M and I had a rare Sunday morning together at home, so I made this for brunch. It was solid but not spectacular, even without the bacon it calls for.
Sunday, January 13 - Dinner - Pea Soup - I made my mother's pea soup recipe for dinner. Pea soup also makes excellent leftovers.
Days Covered: 12
Meals / Dishes Cooked: 10 / 12
New Recipes: 5
Eating Out Meals: 3
Eating Out Drinks/Dessert Only: 1
Parties / Friends Cooked: 1
Despite my repeated focus on getting smaller and and staying smaller, I've never actually done a food diary, choosing other methods of mindfulness instead. The closest I've come is back in 2015 I tracked every time I ate out in a restaurant, a series which ran all the way into 2017 as I tried and often failed to keep up. I didn't always talk about what I had eaten, but sometimes I touched on that and as well as the social aspects.
I also used to post a lot more about what I had cooked, something I commented on back in early 2017 but never picked up again.
As such, this year my intent is to post all the things I have cooked on a weekly basis, as well as places eaten. I won't bother with tracking my usual breakfasts (nearly always cottage cheese and a piece of fruit) or work lunches (leftovers, salad and fruit). I'll start with January 2, as I was on vacation on January 1; I'll retain the option to skip food lists for travel.
So without further ado, here we go:
Wednesday, January 2 - Spaghetti Squash with Ginger-Miso Dressing - New Recipe - M loves spaghetti squash so I am always looking for recipes. I had saved this particular recipe from the January/February 2016 issue of Eating Well and made it for the first time. As a meal it wasn't quite enough, but as a side it was tasty.
Thursday, January 3 - Roasted Cauliflower with Mojo Sauce - New Recipe. This was almost the last recipe from the November/December 2018 Eating Well that I wanted to try. The recipe calls for 1/2 a cup of garlic cloves, which simmered in oil and butter. Add in some chipotle with adobo to coat the roasted cauliflower and you have a delicious flavor. M and I both enjoyed it greatly.
Friday, January 4 - M and I met Kris and Sarah for dinner at Forage. I had a pasta dish with a pleasant sauce. It was much better than the meal I had on my first trip to Forage back in 2015, and the price point was lower. Afterwords we had a cocktail at Sauced, which filled the space vacated by the Detroiter.
Saturday, January 5 - Brazilian Black Bean Soup - I've made this several times since it first appeared in the January/February 2017 Eating Well. It takes a bit of time, but taste good, makes enough for multiple sets of leftovers, and is healthy to boot.
Sunday, January 6 - Fritada de Espinaca - New recipe. My favorite cookbook is the Moosewood Restaurant Favorites book M got me for a birthday present some years ago. I've made roughly 75% of the recipes in it, but had somehow missed this one until Sunday. I didn't beat the eggs enough so it was a little flat, but otherwise tasted good. We had leftovers.
Monday, January 7 - Spaghetti Squash with Pistachios & Sage - New recipe. This was in fact the last recipe I wanted to try from the November/December 2018 Eating Well. Unfortunately, I burned the pistachio topping under the broiler even though I only went for half the listed time. Next time I'll broil it in the toaster for greater control. The squash itself was fine but the topping was ruined. It's a shame, because the topping was delicious before I broiled it, and even worse I spent 20 minutes shelling pistachios on Sunday night, so that time was wasted.
Monday, January 7 #2 - Coconut Fish Curry - To aggravate matters, even though I had made this recipe from the cookbook that came with my Instant Pot many times before, for some reason this iteration didn't work. We had to throw it away. Fortunately, there was leftover Fritada de Espinaca.
Tuesday, January 8 - Red Beans and Rice - I found this recipe on the internet some years ago, and when the market was out of the chicken variant I swapped in some very garlicly sausage instead. I had done most of the crock pot prep the night on Monday night and finished it off before I went to work. I also prepared a green salad to go along with it.
Wednesday, January 9 - I roasted some asparagus to go along with more leftover Brazilian Black Bean Soup. As I said, it makes a whole bunch, and in the manner of bean soups gets better over time.
Wednesday, January 9 #2 - Circassian Chicken - The September/October 2018 Eating Well had a number of interesting Middle Eastern recipes, including this Turkish inspired chicken. The recipe involves simmering some chicken in broth and then letting it rest overnight in a walnut and garlic sauce, so I didn't actually eat this on Wednesday night.
Thursday, January 10 - Sweet Potato Toasts - These came from the January/February 2018 Eating Well and came with several topping variants. I instead came up with my own variant that used my Aunt Joanne's raspberry jam plus some goat cheese. Delicious.
Also, the Circassian Chicken came out great!
Friday, January 11 - I was prepared to cook after we went to the opening at the Cleveland Print Room, but M inveigled me to return to Sauced so we could try their food. I had a salad, which was good except the honey-mustard dressing had too much mustard and not enough honey. Worse, I somehow that the salad had bacon on it; that's my mulligan on the 'no red meat' resolution. I also had a chicken empanada that was quite good but a bit steep at $4. We may return on a Wednesday for $2 empanada night. Overall, the menu was promising enough that I think this restaurant (the fourth in the last 12 years) may stick.
Saturday, January 12 -
In the afternoon I attended the annual member's bowling party hosted by my CrossFit gym. There was a potluck buffet and I had a couple beers.
In the evening, M and I and gieves and darlox met several other radio people at Noble Beast Brewing for drinks and dinner. I had a sweet potato saison, which I liked enough to have another one. I also had my first Impossible Burger, which is a plant-based attempt to make a really good burger. My verdict was that if I had been handed the burger, I would have assumed it was an above average beef burger. That's a good start. We were joined by Smuggler, Jeff, Lazybones, Christine, Heather, undertheivy99, Brandt & Candy, and the general feeling was very positively favorable to Noble Beast.
Sunday, January 13 - Breakfast - Potato Frittata with Feta and Scallions - New recipe. This came straight from the first Smitten Kitchen Cookbook. M and I had a rare Sunday morning together at home, so I made this for brunch. It was solid but not spectacular, even without the bacon it calls for.
Sunday, January 13 - Dinner - Pea Soup - I made my mother's pea soup recipe for dinner. Pea soup also makes excellent leftovers.
Days Covered: 12
Meals / Dishes Cooked: 10 / 12
New Recipes: 5
Eating Out Meals: 3
Eating Out Drinks/Dessert Only: 1
Parties / Friends Cooked: 1