The Write Bite

The Write Bite is dedicated to my on going quest to find and write about the my journey through the culinary world. I fearlessly challenge myself to have a new culinary experience and write about. This will be an interesting little experiment. Recently, I have been experimenting with new fruits and veggies. Here are a few of my recent stories.

I have thus far tried cardoons. It ended up being a 3 week long love affair. I broke it off due to wanted to try new veggies. Cardoons will always hold a spot in my heart for their yucky celery but taste like a glorious artichoke but easier to eat and slightly easier to prepare. With some research they seem to be high in potassium and calcium and low in calories. I have them roasted with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Then, I tried them parmesan style with sauce and cheese. After, that I had one more experiment. I did the traditional au gratin with whole wheat bread crumbs and asiago cheese. That was by far the stinkiest. I'm pretty sure my curtains still smell like asiago. My favorite was the parmesan.

Last week was mustard greens. Well, they were very sandy and I was very sleepy while cooking them which resulted in very gritty chickpeas. I decided on a balsamic glazed-chickpeas and-mustard greens recipe from fatfreevegan.com. It was definitely delicious, minus the sand, but I'm not sure mustard greens agree with me. The were a bit spicy, well just like the actual yellow stuff but could have possibly had adverse affect. I have decided I will try them again because they are jam packed with all sorts of vitamin and super good for you. I think I might add them to a lasagna or something like that where I would use spinach but something that would balance the sharpness of them. Any suggestions?
This week is kohlrabi AND dandelion greens.... the looked lovely at the farmers market. I have no clue what to do with them. I tasted the dandelion greens when I got home they are very mild with a little bit of a bitter after taste. Salad lightly dressed with some lemon and olive oil might do them justice. As for the kohlrobi.... you will have to wait and see!

What are your favorite fruits and veggies?.. What should I try next?
Stay tuned, I'm also working on a low fat chocolate Almond cheesecake recipe.

Lesson of the Day

I've realized this, well a while ago, that cheating on my diet really isn't cheating anyone or on anything. There really is no point. Cheating is supposed to be bad and fun. Eating twice as much as I should is neither bad nor fun. Well, maybe a little fun but it really depends on the binge. Cato Corner Farm cheese... definitely worth the binge. Pasta and cake, not so much.

I wanted two whole wheat banana flax seed muffins this morning. (Mind you they denser than a hockey puck, have too much stevia in them and are just in general not a culinary masterpiece.) I put one back. I just didn't need two. I have pinpointed my issues being portion control and eating too fast. You can never have too much of a good thing, right? Well, it's generally not going anywhere and if it does you can always get more.

Frankie and I binged on whole grain saltines and smart balance the other night. Who does that, and why do I have to drag an innocent dog into my masochistic binging? Am I a terrible person? Ok, I don't really think I'm a terrible person, I'm just being a little dramatic.

Lesson of the day – Cheating on your diet is generally a stupid waste of time.

The 4 day diet

48 days and 30lbs later here are a few things that I have gained.

1. The 5 P's – Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance – getting there with life... it's much harder at work when there are other people involve. Eventually I will be able to hang that on the wall at work with out it being a joke.

2. I have a short torso.

3. Losing weight is 50% hard work and 110% mental. You will never lose weight unless you want to. You can not do it for someone else.

4. I have become slightly OCD about it. I think I have control issues. Reverting to one, I realized that I can control myself but not other people. I can not change anyone I can only do whats best for me and remove myself from the situation.

5. My knee, hip and back issues are slowly being corrected. Back no so much but I have been stretching which has helped and the weather still plays a big part in the aches and pains.

6. The good sneaker speech is not just for athletes.

7. I will never be a healthy size 2. I think I'm ok with that but I am secretly scared that the OCD will at some point kick in and make it not ok and I think 30 is way too old to be developing an eating disorder.

8. I absolutely LOVE roasted veggies. Particularly, broccoli with whole garlic, salt, pepper and chili flakes.

9. I do not get belts as a utility. I understand them as a fashion accessory but I think people need to buy pants that fit. I am currently having this issue and have just decided that I just can not wear the pants that will fall off if I walk.

10. I have always felt bad for the really tall people that are awkwardly proportioned. It always made me wonder... Like their head is clearly too small for their body so what happened that made them so tall or why didn't their head grow? Well, I have realized that no matter how much weight I lose my head is just not going to get any smaller. I will soon look like a bobble head and please do not flick me. I will not bobble, I will punch you.

I'm sure there are many more things I have learned, loved and hated through out this process but for now you get a list of ten and the assurance that I'm not done. This is just the beginning. xoxo ~ H

Beef Tenderloin

Yes, it is giant picture of raw meat! I'm proud of my giant piece of meat. hehe I bought it the other day and thought gee I hope it's going to be enough... well I pulled it out of its packaging today and realized that well, It was huge! I stared at my beautiful eight pound hunk of meat for a good 10 minutes thinking, ok, the silver skin needs to come off, but how and why is it in between two of the muscles. Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into. At least it was on sale for $6/pound. If I screw it up It will only be 40 dollar unlike the retail price of probably $15-20/pound... right?! The dog got wind of the beefy flavor and was going crazy so I decided I better get started before he gnaws my leg off. I am no butcher but I worked at it carefully trying not to tear too much of the tender meat... 20 min later... voila! Not bad for the 1st attempt. Four fillets, a few scraps for the ravenous pup and a beautiful roast for dinner tonight. One battle has been won. Now, I just have to cook it correctly!

Sunday Breakfast

I admit, I used frozen kale but never-the-less it was still a tasty, quick, nutrition packed breakfast. I started out with a slice of whole grain fiber toast, then I sauteed some kale with garlic salt and pepper, I think almost any green would work here like spinach, mustard or beet greens. Then I mixed the sauteed greens with some skim ricotta that I had left over from making ravioli yesterday. In the same pan I sauteed the greens in I added about a teaspoon of olive oil and dropped an egg in. I cooked the egg over easy so that the yoke was nice and runny. A poached egg would also be perfect on this lovely dish but I'm too scared to make them.

Lent vs. J. Crew Catalog

Winner: Jesus!
If I haven't just been blogging about dieting non-stop well now I'm bringing Jesus into it. I have decided to give up cloth shopping for lent, not including the hosiery desperately needed the other morning. I decided it will be a super positive in that I will have hopefully lost a bunch of weight, will need new clothes, save a little money and last but not least giving props to Jesus. To curb my anxiety as I thumbed through the March 2010 J. Crew catalog I have decided to review it! Here goes nothing.
Over all a pretty good one. Brightly muted sherbet colors, metal studding, deconstructed, raw edges, with the classic J style, updated of course, to make a sophisticated, fun and flirty combination that is sure to be a hit. I'm conflicted by the photography. Love that J is using really people but think that the studio time is not doing any justice to the sherbet color pallet. Not overly impressed with the day-to-day wears I did find some jewels.
Loving the Reese Gladiators with studs of course. Chocolate with studs... trendy yet done in a minimalist, timeless style. Super intrigued by the back zipper rather than traditional buckle. Will it rub or possibly break after ummm daily use? I'm seeing weekend survival shoe that can be dressed up or down while maintaining a comfortable, polished look.

The Fireball Cluster Necklace would be perfect combine with a crisp white deep v tee, vintage distressed denim, a favorite pair of peep toe pumps, and brunch with good friends. Samantha Brown once said that traveling essentials include a pair of good classic heels because they can dress up any outfit. I have since revised that to a good pair of wedges! Have you ever tried walking in stilettos on cobbles while drunk? Not easy or fun.

I'm an accessory whore with the belief that a good quality foundation wardrobe can be accessorized to be modern and trendy with out spending a fortune. I don't mind spending money on a classic cardigan, a pair of great fitting dark wash jeans or a classic epi leather purse. I digress, moving on while still whoring myself out. There is a great belt montage on page 16. Perfect accessory for a subtle pop of color and bling for everyday use. I recently, before lent, bought a hot pink and gold skinny belt. Super easy to wear with your favorite jeans, dress pant and dresses. Also, season-less for transitioning from winter to spring. Also, loving the Panama Hat and Crystal Corona Necklace combo on page 46.
Moving on from drooling at over priced accessories I found something worth the buck. Featherweight Cashmere Cardigans in 14 different colors... goody goody gum drops!!! I want one of each particularly the bright plum, heather dusk and deep chartreuse. Season-less, cheerful and great to grab "just in case" for the chilly spring nights.

I love J's swim suits. They have a great variety for every different shape. They are fully lined usually with a cute contrasting color and reasonably priced for the timeless look. They have some great retro ruched swim suits on page 71, but I prefer the ability to mix and match on pages 80-81. One of my favs is the Solid rosette halter but I would probably pair with a solid bottom maybe in deep peacock.
I will not go into mens, they must form their own opinions. That said, I'm excited to see what other fun patterns, I'm predicting more and more gold with more soft florals. I'm loving the sherbet color pallet and mixed with the rock, grunge edge.

Did you know that if you buy a pair of full price pants from J they will them for free. Happy shopping!

Pet Lover's Photo Contest!

These are the two photos I've entered in the Coffee Bean Direct Pet lover's Photo Contest. Wish me luck!