Big Lunch for Connor

Once I started cooking, I couldn't stop

I can feel Fall in the air today and it made me want to cook.  Actually I felt Fall in the air a couple of days ago.  And it didn't make me want to cook then.  So maybe it wasn't Fall in the air that made me want to cook today.

It's probably that near death experience I had with a spider in my shower yesterday.  After that I'm feeling the need to do something life affirming.  Grilling up some dead pig flesh, sautéing the last bit of life out of a few squash, snapping some defenseless corn on the cob in two and baking all recognition out of some plums seemed to fit the bill.

Life affirming for me.  Not the pork chops or vegetables. Besides, I didn't kill the spider.  And after what I went through someone had to die.

I had another reason to cook so much.  My son went to Tae Kwon Do training for about 4 hours this morning and I was certain he'd be starving when he got home.  So I cooked everything I knew he'd like so he could just dive in when he got home.  He'll be so hungry, I told myself, that he'll really appreciate this and it will make him happy.  Which makes me happy.  I even made plum turnovers with fresh Summer plums.

Then I get the text.  Going to lunch with the guys.  Be home soon.  Great.  Enough food for an army, or one growing teenage boy, and no one but me to eat it.  I'm not that big.  I can't eat all of this.  Guess what's for dinner tomorrow night.  Go ahead, just toss one out there.  Take a chance.

So there really isn't much in way of a recipe for what I made.  The plum turnovers are really simple.  The recipe for the crust is here, and the filling is just fresh plums (sliced up) some lemon juice - maybe a tsp - a little cornstarch and a spoonful of lingonberry jam.  But any kind of jam works.  You know.  Within reason.  Don't go crazy.  Or do.  I don't care.  I won't be eating them.

The corn on the cob was just steamed in water until it was cooked and the squash was sauteed in some fresh garlic, salt and pepper.  With a little bit of olive oil.  Super simple.  Unless you want to make it complicated.  You could.  I won't stop you.  I'm not your mom.

The pork chops were marinated in some teriyaki sauce before I grilled them.  That's why they have those super black lines.  I forgot the teriyaki sauce would burn as soon as I put it on the grill.  Don't complain.  You didn't have to eat them.

So that leaves that little bowl of mashed potatoes.  Actually it's a bowl of mashed potato.  I had a total of one potato in my fridge.  But my son loves mashed potatoes so I made it just for him.  Did I mention he went to Subway for lunch?

So here's the recipe for super simple mashed potatoes....which was requested by someone, by the way.  I won't name any names.

Mashed Potatoes for Shana

Cut up potatoes
Some butter
Some milk
Some cheese
Salt
Pepper

Cut up and boil however many potatoes you think you want to eat.  Once they're cooked (you can test by sticking a fork in a piece of potato, if it's crunchy keep boiling) drain the water and put the potatoes which are no longer crunchy, in the bowl.  The not being crunchy part is important. Trust me.  Add some butter.  There's really no right or wrong here.  Ok, maybe a whole stick of butter for two potatoes might be a little wrong.  But maybe you're having a bad day, in which case you can't have too much butter.  Or ice cream.  But don't put the ice cream on the potatoes.  Eat it on it's own later.  Ok, so where was I?

Right...add a little milk, like a tablespoon or so.  The milk is just to make the potatoes easier to mash up so they aren't so dry.  Add a little more if it needs it.  Add in some grated cheese if you like.  Any kind of cheese is good.  Potatoes and cheese are best friends.  And they play really well with butter so however much you add of these is up to you.  Toss in a little salt and pepper and start mashing the potatoes up.  You can taste it along the way and make adjustments, too.

When I mash potatoes I usually use one of the beaters from my hand mixer.  Unless I'm making a lot.  Then I use both beaters from my hand mixer.  And I attach them to the hand mixer and turn it on.  However you decide to mash the potatoes keep in mind that if you mash them too long they start to get gluey and they aren't so good.  So just mash them until you have the consistency you like.  I like mine lumpy.  You might like yours smooth.  It doesn't matter to me.  But real potatoes don't get smooth like the kind you make from the box.  You can get close if you add more milk but then you run the risk of it getting gluey.  Just keep it lumpy.  It's mashed potatoes.  Don't get fancy.

Chili Dog

I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking, hey that looks like a chili dog!  But you're wrong.  It's not.  What you're looking at is what happens when the shrimp that you know with absolute certainty is in the freezer turns out not to be in the freezer.  Or anywhere else near your kitchen, for that matter.

What you're looking at is what happens when you have vegetables and quinoa ready to cook but no shrimp.  Or chicken.  This is what happens when you are completely delusional about what is actually present in your kitchen.  It is also what happens when the quinoa is already cooked and you've realized everything else has just fallen apart.  What you are actually looking at is...defeat.

I have been so busy that apparently I can't remember what I've cooked or when I've cooked it.  I remember buying the shrimp.  I remember cooking some sort of shrimpy type dish in the past.  I do not, however remember exactly when said shrimpy dish was prepared.   Leaving me to believe with the same absolute faith a dog has that humans exist only to throw things for them that my shrimp was in the freezer.  Imagine my disappointment.  Especially since the quinoa had cooked while I searched.  Perfectly cooked quinoa and nothing to put over it.  So I gave up.

I found a turkey hot dog, grabbed half a hotdog bun - it's a lot of carbs!  I was disappointed, not crazy - some canned, low fat chili - Ok, I may have to re-think the crazy statement - and some low fat cheese.  Yes, low fat cheese.  I was making some effort to be somewhat healthy.  Not much, but still.

Not one of my better meals.  I don't encourage anyone to try this.  Unless you like not so great food.  Then knock yourself out.  I think the chili may have been Hormel?  I don't remember.  I'm trying not to think about it.  I probably should go grocery shopping.  I haven't been there in a while, could someone give me directions?

Dessert for Tomorrow

Mmmm Dessert

After an exhausting Saturday I decided to spend the day today relaxing.  For me that means baking. I know it's 800 degrees outside.  That's what air conditioning is for.

I got some yellow plums in my organic box that I wasn't eating fast enough so I figured I'd bake them up in a tart.  And I made some Heath Bar chocolate chip cookies for good measure.  You know, just in case.  You never know when you're going to need a good cookie.  Or a beer, but that's another post.

So today you get a recipe.  Whether you want it or not.  My tart recipe is pretty good so I want to get it down somewhere and this is as good a place as any.  Lucky you.  Seriously.  This is a fantastic tart.  You don't even have to use plums.  I usually use apples.  Or pears.  But I didn't have apples today.  Or pears.  I had plums.  I said this earlier.  You should pay attention.

Ok, for the recipe:

Plum or Apple or Peach or Berry or Pear Tart

Filling:
About 1 1/2lb of whatever fruit you want.  Or happen to have on hand that's not so far gone you can't cut the bad parts off and still have enough to use.
2 Tbsp of flour if you're using apples or pears
OR 2 Tbsp of corn starch if you're using plums, peaches or berries
A little bit of sugar, like a tablespoon or so.  Not much though otherwise it covers the natural flavors of the fruit.  I usually use dried honey instead.  It's better than the sugar but I've only seen it at the Korean market.  A health food store might have it.  I don't know how much trouble you want to go to.  It's just a tart.
Juice from 1 lemon
Grated peel from the same lemon.  Or use a second one.  Maybe you have a tree and can waste lemons.  I don't pretend to know what you do.
For Apple or Pear:
2 large spoonfuls of orange marmalade.  Or gooseberry jam.  The one from Ikea is really good.  Yes, I said Ikea.  Ok, you could probably use this for the plum or peach or whatever.  Try it.  Be creative.  Let me know how it works out.  Really.  I want to know.  It's the least you could do.

Crust:  On a side note, this crust is good for savory fillings, too.  If you're into that sort of thing.
1/2 Stick of cold butter.  Seriously.  There's no negotiation on this.  If your butter is room temp it won't work.
1/2 Package of cold light cream cheese, about 4oz.  The little box of foil wrapped cream cheese.  You know the one I mean, don't pretend you don't.  Or play dumb.  Whatever.  It's your crust.
2C of flour
1/2tsp Salt
Ice Water

Directions:
For the crust...after putting the flour and salt in a bowl cut the butter up into cubes and add to the flour/salt mixture.  Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry cutter or a fork.  The pastry cutter is a really good investment if you like to make anything that requires cutting butter into flour.  It looks like this:

You can find these at Target

The butter has been incorporated into the flour when the flour looks like coarse meal, with small lumps rather than fine and powdery.  Next do the same thing with the cream cheese.  Once it's all incorporated add 2 tablespoons of the ice water and stir it in with a big spoon.  I use a big bamboo spoon.  Keep adding the ice water a little at a time until you form a dough.  It shouldn't be sticky.  If it is, you added too much water.   If it's not too sticky you'll probably be ok.  Once you've got a ball of dough form it into a thick disc on some wax paper.  Or foil.  Or plastic wrap.  Something it won't stick to, you get the idea.  Wrap it up and stick it in the freezer.   It's not going to freeze.  You'll be getting it out in a minute.  Don't argue.  Keep reading.

For the filling....cut the fruit up, skins and all.   Cut it up so it looks nice.  No one wants to eat butchered plums.  Add the bit of sugar, the flour or corn starch (remember, either/or NOT both).  Toss in the grated lemon peel and squeeze in the lemon juice.  If you're using apples or pears, take the orange/gooseberry marmalade and put it in a measuring cup.  Add a little bit of water, like a spoonful.  Warm it in the microwave for about 20sec.  Stir it up and pour into the filling.  Gently mix the filling by folding the fruit over getting it evenly coated in the other ingredients.

Put it all together...Now go get the dough out of the freezer.  It shouldn't be frozen.  If it is you either have a super high power freezer, live in the Antarctic or were incredibly slow preparing the filling.  Like hours slow.  If that's the case, go get your mom to help you finish the rest.  You're not going to make it.

Roll the dough out on a flour covered board to about 1/2 inch thick.  Maybe a little less but a 1/4 inch is too thin.  Transfer the dough onto a foil covered cookie sheet.  Trust me on the foil.  Sometimes the filling juices will run out and burn onto the pan.  It's way easier to clean up by just pulling off the foil.  Unless you like scrubbing burnt sugar off pans.  I don't.  Pour the filling out into the middle of the dough arranging the fruit so it's pretty even around the middle but spreading out toward the edges.  Just not too far because you're going to fold the edges over the fruit.  Not all the way to the middle.  You want to leave an opening.  Look back at the picture.  You can see the plums inside.  That's because it's open.  Not closed.  If this is confusing, go get your mom.  Seriously.  This will only end badly without her.

Bake it at 350F for about an hour.  Maybe a little more if your oven runs cool, a little less if it runs hot.  Mine runs pretty true.  I can't say for yours so you'll have to figure it out.  On your own.  Just check it after 45 minutes.  It's done when the crust is lightly brown and the filling is bubbling.  The edges of the fruit that's poking out might look a bit singed but it's ok.  Don't point it out and no one will notice.  And don't mention your mom had to help you.

I'm not doing the recipe for the cookies.  Look on the back of the chocolate chip bag.  It's close enough.  Not as good as mine but it'll do.  For now.  Until I bake cookies again.  Then I'll share.  Maybe.  If I feel like it.

Crab and Tomato Salad

You're probably thinking this looks familiar.  Yes, I've made this before.  I can't be creative every night. I'm too busy.  There's work all day, then work all evening to build my business, and squeezing in a workout at the Tae Kwon Do studio.  And a blog to write.  Just for you.  Because I want you to be happy.

Ok, it's really for my own amusement.  I still want you to be happy.  There are enough unhappy people in the world.  I just don't particularly care if my little blog is what makes you happy.  I do it to make me happy.  You're on your own.

So tonight I had to make something quick and healthy.  And light.  Try a Tae Kwon Do class after eating a less than light and healthy meal.  You'll do it once.  Just once.

This is one of my favorite meals.  And it only takes about 10 minutes to make.  It's just mixed greens, a tomato and some imitation crab tossed with my lemon and olive oil dressing.

I'm not putting the recipe for the dressing in here again.  I've done it once.  You can go back and look for it.  I won't enable your laziness.

So yes, I do tend to repeat certain dishes.  And it may seem a bit boring.  But it's healthy, it's nutritious and it's homemade.  Hey, at least it wasn't tacos.

Random Food Night Spaghetti and Meatballs

I'm going to share a little secret with you.  Lean in a bit closer, it's a big one.  I don't always share my dinners with you in sequential order.  There.  It's out.  I feel better.  So much more honest.  It's been weighing on me.

Ok, it hasn't been weighing on me.  I came clean because I was being questioned about where my post for the most recent Random Food Night was.  Random Food Night was this past Saturday night.  On Sunday I posted about my little dinner celebration with sushi and cupcakes.  Not Random Food Night.  I got caught up in launching my new business Career Dragon and forgot all about it.  And the sushi distracted me.

So here it is.  Random Food Night with spaghetti and meatballs.  And more people.  We're developing a following.  That's right.  We're just that cool.

It's probably more that it's just really entertaining to watch the three of us cook while we empty one wine bottle after another.

I really don't have a recipe for this today.  I made the sauce and the salad dressing, Ken made the meatballs and Grace made the salad.  It was a group effort and all I can say about the ingredients with any certainty is that it was all fueled with good wine.

And there were tomatoes in the sauce and a lot (A LOT!) of garlic in the meatballs.  I know about the garlic because I peeled all the cloves for Ken.  He wouldn't do it himself.  He was whining about having raw meat on his hands.  Whatever.  Diva.

But the meatballs were really good.  Seriously.  They made the whole dish.  The man has a way with balls.

Wait.  I'll be nice and tell you one recipe.   The dressing was the lemon and olive oil concoction I've given directions for in a past post.  So there you go.  You get one recipe, the dressing.  But you have to look it up.  I'm not going to do it for you.  Be happy I did it once and quit complaining.

A Little Celebration

 So tonight I wanted to celebrate a little.  See, a while back about a year ago I decided I wanted to have my own business.  The idea of creating something from nothing that could help other people by creating jobs was really appealing.  It still is.  So I've been working at a full time job then coming home to work for myself in getting everything set up.  

And today was the day.  I launched my business, Career Dragon.  The doors are open.  You can take a look at it here:
Career Dragon 

It's not quite as exciting opening virtual doors as opposed to actual ones but I'm still pretty happy.
I'm also exhausted.  And a little cranky.  And I'm excited, obsessed, hopeful and scared to death.  So I had sushi for dinner.  And a cupcake for dessert.  Nothing calms the nerves like albacore sushi.  And chocolate.  But not together.  That's just gross.

I made the cupcakes myself but I'm not quite confident (arrogant?) enough to try sushi.  Besides, I've been working all weekend.  It was time for someone else to cook tonight and since the dog refuses every time I ask I had to order out.  She's lazy, the dog.  I ask her to help out around here and she mumbles something about not having thumbs and wanders off to nap on my bed.

There really isn't a recipe for the cupcakes.  It's just Devil's Food cake mix and pre-made frosting.  The only thing I did differently was added butter to the mix rather than the oil the directions call for.  It gives the cake a finer crumb and dryer texture.  I don't like super moist, oily chocolate cake so I usually won't eat it.

But it sounded good tonight.  I wanted to celebrate my little accomplishment.  It had to be chocolate.  You don't celebrate with vanilla.  Everyone knows that.

Riot of Color

Today while looking at my dinner I understood the meaning of the phrase "riot of color".  Ok.  Maybe I already had a pretty good hold on the phrase before dinner but I was really hungry and a bit faint so it felt more dramatic when I saw it done.

All day I was craving fresh vegetables and shrimp.  It's one of my favorite things to make when I get the organic box delivered on Monday.  This week one of the items was Chinese broccoli.  That's the beautiful green in the dish.  There were red bell peppers and yellow and green summer squash.

I only had a small handful of shrimp so I added some imitation crab.  The kind I get at the Korean market is especially good.  I had to add more protein because I knew once my son saw this he'd want some.  It was really that pretty.  Not too pretty to eat, though.  I was starving.  Seriously.

I haven't posted a recipe in a while.  You probably haven't noticed.  I thought I'd be nice and post this one.  Really more to amuse myself but if you want to cook this, knock yourself out.  Don't really knock yourself out.  It would hurt.  And I don't want the responsibility for that.

Recipe:
Minced garlic cloves - how many depends on you.  You may have a lot of vampire friends, I don't know.  If that's the case you might want to skip this part.

Grated Ginger - however much you like or whatever you find in the bottom of the vegetable drawer that isn't moldy yet.

Mix of vegetables - I used red bell pepper, yellow and green summer squash, and Chinese broccoli.  You might like something different.  Whatever.  Go crazy.  This is also a great opportunity to clean out that vegetable drawer.

Shrimp and/or Imitation Crab - How much you use depends on how many teenage boys will be dining with you.

Thai Fish Sauce, Thai Sweet Chili Sauce and a Lime.  Just a regular little, green lime.  The amount you use of these three depends on you.  I know how much I use because I know what I like it to taste like.  I don't know what you want it to taste like so I can't tell you how much to use.  You'll have to figure it out yourself.  I'm sorry.  I know it makes you have to think.  I'm not sorry, really.  It's good for you.  Builds character.

Stir the garlic and ginger briefly in the hot wok and then stir in the squash before the garlic and ginger burn. Squash takes the longest to cook. Next add the bell pepper.  Once that's a bit cooked add the Chinese broccoli.  Or whatever vegetables you chose.  Just add the longer cooking ones first with the fastest cooking one added last.

Then add the  shrimp/imitation crab.  Only cook it long enough for the shrimp to turn pink and the crab to heat up.  Add the different sauces.  Add a little of each and taste it.  You'll be able to tell which ones to add more of.  The fish sauce is salty, the chili sauce is sweet and the lime is tangy.  Go easy on the fish sauce at first.  It's pretty fishy.  Seriously.  I'm not kidding, go easy.

So enjoy it if you make it.  If you don't you're missing out.  But you won't know.  So don't worry about it.

A Busy Week

Bob's Big Boy Burgers

 So I've actually had a couple of people ask where my little blog has been.  I was so surprised.  Really.  I didn't figure anyone would notice I played hooky for a few days.

So to answer a couple of questions...No, I haven't developed an eating disorder.  Yes, I'm still eating dinner.  I just haven't been sharing it with you.

It's been a busy week.  By the time I eat dinner I'm so hungry and rushed that I keep forgetting to take pictures.  Then I remembered to take pictures but forgot to write my post.

That happens when you're building a brand new business on your own.  I only stop working at night when my eyes just refuse to focus anymore.  They revolt and force me to go to bed.  Traitors.  Imagine how much more I could get done if I didn't have to sleep.  Dare to dream...Or don't.  Because then I'd have to sleep and I'm right back where I started.

Thai Takeout

So tonight is just a re-cap of the last few nights.  On Monday night my son and I went to Ikea to pick up a desk for me to work on.  Bob's Big Boy happens to be near there.

Shockingly, my son had never been there.  Maybe you wouldn't be shocked.  I was shocked.  Ok, maybe not shocked.  Mildly surprised, maybe.  A Bob's Big Boy burger with a shake is an essential part of childhood that I seem to have shorted my son on.  I had to make good.  I remembered to take the picture after we were done eating.  Clearly.  They don't serve it to you like that.

Last night was Thai takeout.  I don't remember what was Tuesday.  Cereal maybe.  My eyes wouldn't focus.  I don't know.  It's a blur.

Tonight was...wait for it...Tacos! Surprise!  I know.  It's my go to easy dinner.  I eat tacos entirely too often.  Without Mexican cuisine I'd probably eat a lot more cereal.  But at least I ate.  And I took a picture.  And I remembered to share it with you.  So don't complain.  Embrace the tacos.

Turkey Sandwich

All day today I've been wanting a sandwich.  I don't think I can ever remember craving a sandwich.  Ever.  But today it just sounded so good.  A sandwich on Bavarian Rye bread with a cold glass of milk.

Since I don't have to cook for my son again tonight, that's exactly what I had.  I'm also headed to Tae Kwon Do class for sparring later.  You definitely want to eat lighter on those days.  Or maybe you don't.  Maybe you like getting sick during your workout.  Maybe it's how you measure how hard you're working.  I don't know.  I don't work out with you.

Unless you're one of the people in sparring class tonight.  In which case, please eat light before class!  Seriously.

So the recipe here is simple, it's just a sandwich.  Pretty basic.  If you can't work out a sandwich on your own call for a pizza.  Although, if you can't make a sandwich you're likely to have issues with the phone use.  Maybe just stand on your front porch and yell real loud until someone comes to feed you.  It's probably your best bet.

Arugula Caprese Salad

I'll admit I got lazy tonight.  My son is with his dad at Disneyland, I had to get groceries after work and I didn't sleep well last night.  Stupid heat.  The air conditioner is too cold, too.  I sound like a little old man.  Later I'm going to find some kids to yell at to stay off my lawn.

On my way home from work I stopped by Trader Joe's to stock up on some essentials.  Like milk.  I have a child who apparently believes he's a baby cow.  I know this because he drinks as much milk as one.

Since I figured I was doing my second good deed of the day I shouldn't have to cook, too.  The first good deed being that I went work.  This provides money to buy the food.  Buying the food  qualifies as my second good deed.

I was so tempted to swing by McDonald's and get a Big Mac.  I was tired.  And hungry.  Really hungry.  I think being tired amplifies the hungry feeling.  I'm just guessing.  I don't really know.  Either way, that's what I'm going to blame it on.

I picked up a pre-made Arugula Caprese Salad.  I do love me some arugula and the little tomatoes looked so good.  I was really hungry, remember?  Then I wandered around working very hard to not make poor food choices.  Why does Trader Joe's have to have hand made whoopie pies?  I don't think I've ever had one but good gods those things look amazing!  When you're starving.  And tired.  And in the poor choice mindset.  The whoopie pies did not come home with me.  But a French style flatbread with caramelized onions, did.

I get this flatbread for my son for a quick lunch, as a treat.  As a result, I never get more than to smell it on the air when I get home from work after he's made one.  Once I got home and got my salad ready I realized, hey!  Yes I say hey to myself, it's the only way to get my attention.  Hey! I said...the boy's not home.  You could totally get some of that flatbread to go with your salad.  So I did.  And it was as good as it smells.  And I don't even feel bad for not sharing with him.  You know, mostly.  Fine.  I'll buy him another one.

Although I couldn't eat the whole thing.  I don't know where he puts it.  But I do know he washes it down with milk.  A lot of milk.

Veggies and Crab

Mmmm Veggies!

Today I planned to make a chicken and vegetable stir fry for dinner.  I forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer.  So I text my son.  The newly minted 16 year old.
Me: Good Morning! Could you take some chicken out to defrost.  I forgot and I want to cook it for dinner.
Him: k
Me: Thanks!
Him: .

So I went about my day figuring on chicken to cook for dinner.  I get home, get all the vegetables out.  Found some fresh ginger I forgot I had.  Discovered I still had garlic cloves.  And they were still edible!  Cut it all up and felt very organized and accomplished.  Then I looked around for the star ingredient.  There was not a defrosted piece of chicken to be found in my kitchen.  And no, it wasn't hiding.  I looked.

Text my son again:
Me: Did you put the chicken somewhere?
Him: chicken?
Me: Never mind.

But, as luck and my compulsive planning would have it, I found imitation crab in the freezer.  I bought it at the Korean market last time I was there.  Just in case I needed a quick dinner.  Always prepared, that's me.


Ok, not always.  But mostly.  And I'm good at surrounding myself with people who are better prepared than I am.  Don't tell them.  They'll just get cocky.

So the recipe....pretty easy and fast.
Ingredients:
Imitation Crab (or chicken if your kid listens well enough to have defrosted it for you)
Broccoli
Summer Squash
Bok Choy/Napa Cabbage
Fresh Ginger
Fresh Garlic
Ponzu Sauce - a citrusy soy sauce
Sweet Chili Sauce - Thai chili sauce, it's thick and sweet and reddish

Grate the ginger and mince the garlic.  Use however much you like.  I use 2 garlic cloves and about a tablespoon of grated ginger.  But that's to my taste.  I don't know how that works for you.  As my grandmother always told me when I asked for advice "You have to know".  Meaning, figure it out.

Chop up the veggies and imitation crab into bite size pieces.  Heat oil in your wok or frying pan.  Again, how much you want to use is up to you.  Maybe you want to use a spray oil.  Give it a whirl.  Go nuts.

Once the oil is heated add the ginger and garlic.  Stir until fragrant or the cooking ginger makes you cough.  Add in the veggies.  Once they get heated up a bit add in some Ponzu sauce.  Once the veggies are about cooked add the imitation crab.  Cook the crab until heated, about a minute or so.  Add in some sweet chili sauce and a little more Ponzu.  Stir it up and taste it.  If it tastes good to you, congratulations!  You're done.  If not, add more of one of the sauces.  Or both.  Whatever.

This should only take about 20min from start to eating.  If it takes much longer than that you may want to review your time management skills.

Now I have to text my son again.  I'm going to tell him I'm raising his allowance.  I'm not really.  But I bet he remembers that when he gets home.

Just Not Hungry

This is my dinner tonight.  A small cup of soup.  It comes in its own little plastic cuppy bowl thing and needs more seasoning to make it taste ok.  Not good. Just ok.  It's also low in fat, sodium, sugar and anything else that might be bad for me.  The only redeeming quality is that it was quick and took away the little bit of appetite I had.

It looks kind of sad and pathetic.  Lame little cup of soup.  You might be wondering why I would eat something like this for dinner.  It's because I just wasn't that hungry today.  And I'm really tired but mostly because I just wasn't hungry.

See, yesterday was my son's birthday.  And not just any birthday.  He turned sixteen.  So it had to be special.  I really felt it was necessary to acknowledge my accomplishment of keeping another human being alive for sixteen years.  I didn't even lose or misplace him once!

And so in celebration of his miraculous survival we went to Little Tokyo in downtown LA for Korean BBQ.  That's why I'm not hungry today.  Because this is what I ate yesterday.  Korean BBQ that tastes like you're in Korea.  Yes, I do know what food tastes like in Korea.  You think I didn't eat the whole time I was there?  I did.  A lot.  But I walked a lot, too so it was ok.

So Happy Birthday to my fantastic son, thank you  for choosing this for your birthday dinner and you're welcome for keeping you alive.  So far.  Two years to go.

Connor Gets Creative

4th of July Cocktails

Connor's Creation

Happy late 4th of July!  I spent the holiday at my sister's house.  She really got into it.  She even made themed cocktails.  Which is also the reason I didn't post yesterday.  Stupid cocktails. But they're pretty.

Today I texted my son while I was at work.  He's hanging around the house on summer vacation.  I figured he'd appreciate something to do.  So I asked him to make dinner.  Be creative, I said.  Go nuts.

Given that I just gave him full latitude in the kitchen I was curious to see what he'd come up with.  And a little scared.

But when I got home I found the smoke alarm silent and the whole place smelling great.  In order to be healthy he cooked ground turkey and put it on a bed of quinoa.  Which he proudly pronounced as "that stuff you like".  He sliced up tomatoes and placed a fried egg on top ready to spill out the yolky goodness over everything.

So I guess that was the recipe just then.  It was good, too.  The kid's got some skill.  He didn't even burn the house down.

Crab Salad

So last night I went out for Mexican food at Yolanda's in Simi Valley.  I have a cousin visiting from Germany and in all the excitement I ate without taking a picture.  My chicken enchilada with green sauce was very tasty.  I know there's no picture.  You just have to trust me.

Because last night's dinner was not the paragon of health food I could have hoped for I decided to go healthy tonight.  Mexican food last night = Salad tonight.

Actually this salad is one of my favorite quick meals. I use a bag of organic mixed greens, some imitation crab and my own lemon and olive oil dressing.  And a tomato.  A small one.  You could use a bigger one. You know better than I do how much you want to eat.

The recipe today is just for the dressing.  The rest is pretty self explanatory.  If you can't manage the salad on your own go ask your 10 year old big sister to make it for you.  And don't worry about it.  You're too short to be in the kitchen, anyway.  Go back to the cartoons.

Recipe:
One lemon
Extra Virgin Olive oil - good quality olive oil really makes a difference.
Salt
Pepper

Squeeze the lemon out into a bowl.  Or you could use a tupperware type of bowl with a lid, then you could just shake all the ingredients together.  Genius!  Add some salt and pepper and mix it around.  The salt will dissolve in the lemon juice but not the oil so make sure the salt is dissolved before you add the oil.  The pepper isn't going to dissolve.  It really isn't.  I'm a chemist.  I know these things.

Add some oil.  The amount you add depends on how much juice you got out of your lemon.  Lemons all have different amounts of juice.  The skill of the lemon juicer will come into play here, too.  So look at how much lemon juice you have and add about half that amount of oil.  Use a whisk (or put the lid on that tupperware and shake it) to mix it well.  Taste it and add more salt, pepper or oil.  It depends on what you like.  I know what I like and how much to add for me.  But not for you.  You have to figure it out on your own.  Give it a shot.  Be brave.

Random Food Night

Random Food Night is a creation of my friends Grace and Ken.  Pictured here with Grace's daughter who only authorized use of the photo if I promised to mention that she is making a duck face ironically. Ok, Cat?  Happy?

So Random Food Night has rules.  And lots of wine.  Or beer.  Once it was Saki.  Anyway, you go into Grace's kitchen, dig around in the fridge and pantry and make a dinner with whatever you find.  Given that Ken is a great cook this has resulted in some pretty unusual but really tasty meals.  He's a big fan of bacon.  Seriously, big fan.  He once made egg rolls with bacon.  They may have been good.  I wouldn't know.  I wasn't invited that night.  Or maybe I just couldn't make it.  I don't remember.

It's evolved now to include a quick trip to the grocery store and figure out the menu based on what looks good there.  Since Grace already had giant chicken breasts ready at home it was decided to make stuffed chicken breasts.  Then came the debate on what to stuff them with.  Sun dried tomatoes and cranberries were mentioned in the same sentence.  Thankfully the cranberries didn't make the cut.  They did find their way into the salad, though.

The final decision was a stuffing of spinach, sun dried tomatoes, feta cheese, and garlic.  I might be leaving something out.  I'd had a glass of wine already at this point.  Each breast was dipped in egg and milk and rolled in crushed cornflakes.  Wrapping them in bacon and then re-rolling them in more cornflakes was discussed.  Briefly.  We were getting hungry and wanted to get things moving.  

Each breast was cooked quickly in a frying pan with a bit of oil, sprinkled with a bit of mozarella and then put in the oven.  They baked for the amount of time it took for me to drink a beer out of a Buddha shaped bottle.  Ken poked the stuffed breasts with a thermometer to make sure they were done.  He didn't want to.  Grace made him.

We also had a fantastic dish of sauteed squash with mushrooms (courtesy of another dinner guest), a salad so Ken could have dried cranberries and some quinoa just to round it out.  

There is no recipe today because I don't reliably remember everything that went into it.  I reliably remember the beer was good.  So was the wine.  And of course, the food.

Egg,Quinoa and Spinach

Give it a name!

This was my sister's big idea.  She made this for me last weekend.  I don't know what to call it.  Maybe you can come up with a name.

It's really good.  Although I love anything that has a fried egg on top that oozes down the yellowy goodness of the yoke on everything.  I'm probably biased.

The recipe is something my sister came up with after reading an article.  It's quinoa, spinach and a fried egg.  Pretty simple.  That's how she made it, anyway.  I added a little of the smoked seasoning from Trader Joe's that I like.  But don't tell her.  I don't want to hurt her feelings.

So here's the recipe...you can have this done in about 5 minutes if you already have the quinoa cooked.  If not, it only takes 10-15 minutes to cook it then you can start.  So maybe 20 minutes total?  More if you're slow.  I don't know if you are or not.  But you could be.

Ok, here we go...
1 cup of quinoa, cooked
1 cup spinach, uncooked
1 egg
some salt maybe or whatever kind of spices you like
a little olive oil

Spray a pan with a bit of oil or use some olive oil for sauteing and add the quinoa.  Stir it around a bit to break up any clumps.  Add the spinach and cook until the spinach wilts.  Don't overcook the spinach.  It's gross.  It should be green and still look like spinach.  Add some salt or seasonings if you want.  Take all of it and put it on your plate.  Clean out the pan.  Yes, I know.  It breaks your cooking rhythm to wipe out the pan with a paper towel.  Use a second pan.  I don't care.  I don't have to do your dishes.

Add some olive oil, heat up the pan and add the egg.  If you don't know how to fry an egg with a soft yolk, here's your chance to learn!  By trial and error.  I'm not going to teach you here. Although I will suggest using a bit of seasoning.

Once the egg is cooked to your liking tip it onto the top of the quinoa/spinach mound.  When you break open the egg the yolk will spill out onto everything else.  That's my favorite part.

And it's not even remotely taco related.

Bulgogi Tacos

Tacos...again.

I realized today that I'm seeing a trend in my dinner cooking habits.  When I was a kid my mom used leftovers to make a casserole.  It didn't matter what the leftovers were.  She put it all in a dish, added a can of peas (no, I still don't know why) popped it in the oven for a bit and voila!  Dinner.  Or some approximation, thereof.  This was not my favorite night of the week.

Now that I'm the mom and working with leftovers I realized I have my own version of my mom's casserole routine.  When I have leftovers I make tacos.  It doesn't matter what the leftovers are.  I shove them in some corn tortillas with a bit of cheese, tomatoes and greens and voila!  Dinner.

This time it was the leftover bulgogi from last night.  I chopped it up small and cooked it in a skillet with some cumin, coriander and chili powder.  Just a little because I didn't want to ruin the great bulgogi taste.  I toasted the tortillas over an open burner.  The charred flavor on the tortillas was really good with the bulgogi and tomatoes are always great with beef.

So maybe my leftover ideas haven't been overly exciting lately but it does taste good.  And there's not a canned pea in sight.

Bulgogi Salad

Yeah, you read that right.  I'm exploring some fusion cuisine.  Korean and....salad.  Where does salad come from, anyway?  California?  Probably.  We seem to be the salad capital.  And now we even have Korean salad.  At my house, anyway.

A couple of weeks ago I made a trip to the Korean market, the Galleria on Reseda.  I picked up some of their pre-made bulgogi beef and marinated pork.  I like to buy extra and keep it in the freezer for a day I want something quick but really good.  Korean food is amazing.  Seriously.  If you haven't, you should go try it.

Since my trip was a couple of weeks ago I didn't have any of the marinated veggie side dishes that go with this and I didn't want to just eat a bunch of rice and meat.  Although that's exactly what my son ate.  And then he ate some more.  Apparently he's working on getting taller.

So I decided to grill up the meat and put mine on some mixed greens and fresh tomatoes from my organic box.  I added some quinoa.  My sister has been experimenting with it lately so I thought I'd give it a shot.  It was good.

So that's really the recipe today, quick, simple and healthy.  Did you know quinoa isn't pronounced "Quinn - Noah"?  I did not.  The guy I asked at Trader Joe's thought I was looking for some guy named Quinn.  Or Noah.  It was a weird conversation.

Buffalo Burger

Buffalo Burger

Ok so technically it's a Bison Burger but Buffalo Burger sounds better.

 I was all set to make myself a tasty little meal of quinoa, spinach and an egg.  My sister's recipe.  My son was on his way home from the lake with my parent's and I didn't figure he'd be home for dinner so I wasn't worried about making something he'd eat.

Then he called me.  And told me they were stopping at Charlie Brown Farms in Littlerock.  Maybe it's Pearblossom.  I'm not sure.  It's on the 138 in So California.  Look it up.  It's worth a stop if you're there.  Seriously.  They have dinosaurs.

Anyway, he offered to pick up a buffalo burger for me.  I love buffalo burgers.  Especially from there.  Or anywhere I can find them.  So the healthy dinner went out the window and I had a burger and fries.  But at least it was bison.  That's healthier than beef.  Right?

Who am I kidding?  I need to go for a run.

Simple Sandwich

Super Fancy Sandwich

I know when I started this I said I'd post every day what I had for dinner.  That was before I realized I had a weekend away planned that did not include online access.  No wifi, no cable.  Not even dial up.  It was like being in a sensory deprivation tank. Except that it was really hot, really bright and windy.  I was in the desert.  Not my first choice but it was my sister's birthday and it was what she wanted.  I don't know why.  I don't understand people who like the desert.

I'm back today because I had to work.  My son is still there, living the glamorous life on a desert lake with my parents.  Since he's not home I'm having a simple dinner.  Just a sandwich.

This is a very complicated recipe so pay attention.  It's turkey on shepherd's bread from the grocery store.  They bake it there so it's pretty good.  Instead of mayo I use a wedge of Laughing Cow low fat cheese.  It tastes better and it's only 35 calories.  I used a slice of Havarti cheese and a tomato and greens from my organic box.  They're left over from last week.  I forgot to order a box for this week.  The desert heat makes me forget things.

The boy will be home tomorrow so I'll have to make more of an effort and actually cook something.  Probably.

Leftovers

Chicken Tacos Part II

No it's not deja vu.  You've seen this picture before.  I had chicken tacos again tonight.  I still had chicken left over and all the taco fixings soooo....

When I got home tonight I was worn out from work.  It's been a long week and I'm exhausted.  I started thinking about dinner and that I don't want to cook tonight.  And I have to straighten up the house before the cleaning lady comes tomorrow.  And the fact that I made a commitment to sharing my dinner ideas every night and I wanted them to be good.  Really regretted that tonight.

But then I thought about it.  The point of this was to share what a normal working mom does for dinner every night.  Fast food and all.  Not to impress anyone with my cooking skills.  I think it's important with all of the less than realistic expectations put on all of us to see how an average person does it.  To see what an average person actually does without worrying about what anyone else will think.

So tonight, an average, exhausted mom made the same thing for the second night this week.  I'm so sick of that stupid chicken.  I'm thinking it might actually be a small turkey.  Screw freezing the rest of it.  I don't even want to look at it anymore.

Two Guys From Italy

Jägerschnitzel mit späetzel

When I got home tonight I was all prepared to make chicken and dumplings.  From scratch.  Mostly, anyway.  I was going to use the rest of the left over chicken.  Seriously, that thing was huge!

But when I got home my son said he felt like having schnitzel and besides we hadn't had time to celebrate our latest Tae Kwon Do testing and mom you look really tired, don't cook and wouldn't it be more fun to go out?

So he twisted my arm.  Not that much, though.  I really was tired.  So we went to a place called Two Guys from Italy.  Which is owned by German lady.  There are no Italians of any gender at the restaurant.  And half the menu is German.  But the German food is so good!  The Italian isn't too bad, either.

My son had the Jägerschnitzel with Spätzel.  No I'm not pronouncing it for you.  I can, I'm just not going to.  It's a pork cutlet smothered in an amazing tangy mushroom sauce.  With spaetzel.  It's the noodle looking side dish.

Chicken Ravioli

I decided to try a pasta dish this time instead of always ordering from the German menu.  I was feeling adventurous.  I ordered chicken ravioli in an arrabiatta sauce.  That may be spelled wrong.  I tried an Italian spell checker but the results were inconclusive.  It told me I could spell it three different ways.  Now I'm just confused.  And annoyed.  Like I was with the sauce.  There was just way too much.  It was good but too much.


In the future I'll stick with the German menu.  And no, I don't have the recipes.

Taco Tuesday

Since tonight is Tae Kwon Do class I didn't really have time to cook.  That means no recipe.  Don't complain.  It also means less reading.

I went super easy.  I used the chicken from last night and made tacos.  No they're not authentic.  I'm German and in a hurry.  You don't get authentic.

After pulling the meat off the bone I chopped it up and heated it in an oiled skillet.  The spray oil.  Not half a cup of butter.  I added some salt, chili powder, a little ground cumin and coriander and about 1/4 cup of water once the pan was hot.  The amount of water and spices depends on how much chicken you use.  I used about two handfuls.  My hands.  Not yours.  Your hands are probably a different size than mine.

I heated corn tortillas over an open burner on the stove, grated some low fat cheddar from Trader Joe's, threw on some tomatoes and mixed greens and it was done.  Except for the hot sauce.  You gotta have hot sauce.  Or maybe you don't.  I gotta have hot sauce.  Maybe you have fragile taste buds that can't handle hot sauce.  I don't know.  I used Frank's Red Hot.  I could drink that stuff.  I don't.  But I'm tempted.

So that's it.  Super easy and healthy.  And fast.  Seriously.  It took about 10 minutes to put it together.  Then I ran off for the evening to learn martial arts.  If I have time for a healthy dinner, so do you.  But I really wanted a Big Mac.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

Tonight's spectacular offering is a whole roasted chicken, honey glazed carrots and a green salad with lemon and olive oil dressing.

Ok, it's just a baked chicken which is pretty good but the best part is the left over meat to use for dinner another night.  Like tomorrow night when my son and I both go to Tae Kwon Do class which doesn't really leave much time to cook.  Or eat.

First off I've gotta say, this chicken was big!  I'm pretty sure Costco raises it's chickens near a nuclear reactor.  Or atomic bomb factory.  And it took forever to cook!  I figured an hour at 350F but it was closer to two hours.  My son got tired of waiting and left for my sister's to go eat.  She promised toasted marshmallows.

On to the recipes.  For the chicken and carrots.  Not the marshmallows.  You have see my sister for that.

The chicken:

1 atomic chicken
Salt, chili powder, cumin, coriander any other spices or dried herbs you happen like.

The carrots:

Some peeled carrots.  I don't know how many, that depends on how hungry you are.
A little bit of butter.  Seriously, a little bit of butter.  Don't go crazy.  It's butter.
Salt
Honey.  Just enough to make it a bit sweet, carrots are sweet on their own and we're making a side dish, not a dessert.

So the chicken....mix all the spices, salt and dried herbs together.  How much of each depends on you.  I know how much I used but it I tasted as I mixed it.  You're going to have to do the same.  Sorry.  First get salt and rub it around the cavity of the chicken.  Then take the spice mix and rub it under the skin covering the breast.  Put the chicken in a roasting dish, breast side down and rub the rest of the spice mix over the skin on the back and legs.  Putting the chicken in breast side down  gives a juicier breast and keeps it from drying out.  Bake it at 350F for at least an hour.  It's done when the legs are loose and pull out easily.  I'm not sure how long that will take.  It depends on your oven.  And the atomic level of your chicken.

The carrots:

Peeled and chop the carrots.  Put the little bit of butter in the pan along with the carrots.  Sprinkle in some salt and add a little honey.  Mix it all around and let the butter melt.  Let it cook and stir every once in a while.  When the melted butter and everything thickens up a bit and glazes the carrots it's done.  And really good.  Really.

Oh, and the dressing in case you want to make that, too.  It's just lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper.  Super easy.  And good.  To me anyway.  Maybe you don't like lemons.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day everyone!  

Today I didn't make an actual dinner.  I made a peanut butter cake and arranged some very good cheese on a plate.  I added some fig preserves, freshly baked bread and crackers in a bowl.                                                                                         

No I didn't eat cake and cheese for dinner.  I'm not saying I've never had cake and cheese for dinner, I just didn't today.

I went to my sister's to celebrate Father's day with my family.  She and my brother in law made dinner.  And it was so good!  They made grilled steaks, marinated pork kebabs and her famous mac and cheese but the only recipe I have for today is for the peanut butter cake.  If you want the recipes for the other parts of the dinner you have to ask my sister.

So this peanut butter cake is my own recipe.  I've made it for years and it comes out different every time.  That's the risk you take when you don't write this stuff down.  Just because I'm writing it down now doesn't mean next time I'll make it the same way.  I probably won't.  I like to live dangerously.      

Ingredients:

Cake

1 stick of butter at room temperature    

1/2 to 3/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter (you can use the processed kind like Jiffy but it doesn't work as well)

1/2 tsp salt

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups of sugar

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tablespoon of baking powder     

tsp vanilla

1 1/4 cup of milk 

Frosting      

This part I didn't measure out, really.  Ok, not at all so I'm giving estimates on amounts.  When I make frosting I just keep adding whatever it needs depending on taste and consistency.  Living dangerously.

Half a stick of butter at room temperature

3-4 big tablespoons of smooth peanut butter (the natural kind again, it really tastes better and gives a better texture)

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups of powdered sugar

2 tablespoons of milk

To make the cake:  It will make enough batter to make 2 9" cakes or a 9 x 13 cake or cupcakes until you're sick of filling the little papers and wish there was an end to the batter.

Cream the butter and peanut butter with a mixer.  Or by hand if you're feeling adventurous.  Don't really do it by hand.

Add in the sugar and mix until creamy.  Add the eggs one at a time mixing after each addition.  Mix the baking powder and flour together and add to the creamed mixture one cup at a time adding some of the milk between cups of flour.  Make the last addition be the milk and mix until batter is fluffy.  Spray some oil in the cake pan and dust it with flour. Pour the batter into the cake pans or cupcake paper lined muffin tin.   Bake the cakes for about 25 minutes at 350F.  Check on them after 25 minutes and decide how much longer they need.  I can't tell you for sure because I don't know your oven.  I know my oven and mine took about 35 minutes for a 9" cake.

To make the frosting:

Cream the butter and peanut butter with the salt.  Again, the mixer works well here unless you want to do it by hand.  Go for it, it would be a good arm workout.   Add the sugar with the milk and mix until smooth.  At this point I taste the frosting and check the consistency.  It may need a bit more salt but that's up to you.  If it's too soft, add more powdered sugar and if it's too thick or dry and crumbly add more milk.  If it doesn't seem to have enough body to stay on the sides of the cake add a bit more butter.  You just have to keep adjusting as you go.  It's not as scary as it sounds, be adventurous.  Or not.  Stay in your comfort zone and never taste the mind blowing deliciousness that is peanut butter frosting.

I'm not giving directions on how to frost a cake.  You can figure it out on your own.  I'm sure of it.  Because you're smart.  I know that because you keep coming back.

                                            

The First One

Chicken Chili

I know everyone has been waiting all day to see what I come up with for dinner tonight so here it is....Chicken Chili!

Sort of.
It's my version of chicken chili, anyway.  And it came out good so don't complain that there's no actual chili in it.  And it's healthy, so there.

Here's what I did:

I started with some cooked chicken I had in the freezer from a whole chicken I roasted last week.  I dug around in the fridge and came up with an onion and a green bell pepper.  I found I still had a tomato left over from last week's organic box and some fresh garlic loitering on the counter with nothing better to do.  I had two cans of pinto beans in the pantry and it really just sort of made itself after that.

Ingredients:

An Onion
A Green Bell Pepper
A Tomato
2 Cloves of Garlic
2 Cans of Pinto Beans
Some leftover roasted chicken from the freezer
Ground Cumin
Ground Coriander
Salt
Trader Joe's South African Smoke Seasoning Blend (I don't get paid to promote this but I wish I did)
Low Fat Cheddar Cheese (also from Trader Joe's), shredded

First I sprayed a medium pot with a little Canola oil, just to keep the onions and garlic from sticking and burning.  After chopping them up, I sauteed them for a couple of minutes before adding the chopped up bell pepper.  While that cooked I chopped up the tomato and added it to the pot once the bell pepper looked a bit cooked. While the tomato was getting to know everyone else in the pot I chopped up the roasted chicken meat.  Once the tomato looked like it was cooking and releasing some juice I added the chicken.  At this point I added some salt, cumin and coriander and mixed it all in. How much you want to use is up to you, I used about 1/2 teaspoonish or so of each.  Once mixed I added in some of the smoke seasoning blend.  It contains dried red pepper so it's a bit spicy, go easy at first.  You can always add more later.

Next came the hard part.  The beans.  Opening a can is not as easy as it sounds.  Thankfully it went smoothly and there were no injuries.  The two cans were added to the pot along with some water to give everything something to simmer in.  It was about a half cup but its up to you.  Add more if you like it soupier add less if you like it thick.  I don't know how you like your chili.

I put a lid on it and let everything simmer for about 20 minutes at which point I shut off the heat, stirred it all up and tasted it.  And realized I needed to add more salt.  And more smoke seasoning stuff.  And tasted again.  And added a little more, again.

Spooned into a bowl and topped with some low fat cheddar and it tastes great!  To me anyway.  That was the whole point, remember?  To entertain me.  And keep me eating healthy.  And if I entertain or help anyone else along the way it's purely coincidental.
But if you do try it, leave a comment and let me know how you liked it.  Or not.  Up to you.

My Bright Idea

Connor with a bread bowl full of clam chowder....mmmmm

So not long ago I decided it would be fun to start a blog.  Not that I had anything overly important to communicate to the world but because I thought it might be entertaining.

For me.
I wasn't really thinking about entertaining you.
Until I looked at what I find interesting, anyway.

I started thinking about all the things I find entertaining that I could write about...chemistry, video games, dream interpretation, robots, Star Trek vs Star Wars (why choose when you can have them both!), tae kwon do, scifi books & movies, anime...

Take a look over that list.  Yeah, you're probably thinking the same thing I was.  Um, Jen...that list is only going to appeal to small group of nerdy teenage boys.  Is that really your target audience?  No.  No it is not.

So I took a while to think about what topic  would be something we can all agree is interesting.  Food!  The only thing we like more than eating is seeing what other people are eating.  So I thought I'd share what goes on in my kitchen and dining room on a nightly basis.  My goal (keeping in mind its a goal and I'm human) is to show what I'm cooking or eating for dinner every night for a year.  If I'm cooking I'll provide my recipe and directions and if I'm eating out I'll provide the name of where and what I'm eating.

Maybe I'll still be the only one entertained but maybe it'll encourage me to keep eating healthy so I don't have to publicly shame myself with a picture of a Big Mac and fries...although I don't promise that won't show up.  Like I said before...I'm human!