bleudauvergne

Hmmm. Is this particular to rabbits that live in vinyards, or all rabbits, including forest rabbits? Carolyn, I just want to add that this is the most wonderful thread. I love reading through the seasons with you. Great job.

You are ever so welcome to join the fun GG! I have been to visit your bio and you take some pretty cool pics yourself. Just for your peace of mind... I hope so, we'll see this weekend.

NulloMondo, I think you're right, I have to say that I have a healthy appetite, under no circumstances would I say that I'm going hungry, I am eating more than I usually do (i.e. fruits during the day, large breakfast). I think I eat enough carbs to keep me from going into a state of ketosis, mainly because I have been eating a rather hefty dose of bread in the morning, have vegtables with lunch and dinner and fruit at two other times of the day. Add the strawberry compote, and you're well over the 40-50 grams. Dr. Montignac does mention that just by eating right and getting the pancreas healthy again, the body will get down to it's ideal weight by force of nature, although it is a gradual process and not speeded up in any way. I guess I should read the principles more closely, I wish I could be more articulate about it. The book's much more articulate than I could be, I think.

About Ketosis: I really have no idea about that! Is that what diabetics try to avoid? Please explain. I do know that I certainly feel less tired, if that's what you mean. About hunger: 1) I was not much of a big breakfast eater before this (except weekends), what I'd do would be to get to work and have a few cups of coffee, and only sometimes a venoisserie, like a croissant or a pain au chocolate at the cafe here. So it's been a nice welcome change to start the day with fruit first and then a nice hearty good tasting breakfast. I arrive to work and do not even have the impulse for these kinds of sweets (this morning a platter of them were passed around a meeting and I didn't even want one). 2) I used to not get hungry at all, and then around 2pm I'd feel weak and have to eat. Now I feel a healthy growl in the stomach around lunch time. 3) I have found around 4PM I get the hankering for something, and have a piece of fruit. Otherise it would be something sweet for me. 4) Before starting the plan, I usually would come home pretty tired and hungry. I sometimes would eat a quick snack of something bad for me like cold fatty leftovers, cheese and bread, or something sweet. I also did not put any check on sampling while cooking. Now that I've started with Montignac, I am not starving when I get home, nor am I feeling the fatigue. So in short, about hunger, although I am possibly actually eating more food (and definitely more fruit) than I was before, I don't feel urgent hunger nor do I feel like I am being deprived. As soon as I feel it come on in the afternoon, I am certainly allowed to go ahead and have a piece of fruit. About carrots: Montignac allows raw carrots in stage I.

Great Blog, Nessa! Thank you for sharing. I have always appreciated space. And at this time, we are living in a city where it's scarce. Big open space is one thing I miss about home.

Thank you so much for the encouragement, guys. My question to you, Nullomondo, is how are you feeling, physically, after a year on Atkins? Do you find yourself full of energy and continuing to eat healthy? What has your adjustment been coming off? Have you found yourself gaining back the weight you lost? Are you making better food choices these days, or do you find yourself fixating on all those things you weren’t allowed to have while on the Atkins plan (bread, pasta, polenta, tamales, risotto, etc.)? Your thoughts on coming off would be interesting to hear, even though I’ve just started Stage I of Montignac and have a at least a few weeks before I reach Stage II and can make sure I get off on the right track with that. (Montingac has 2 Stages, The first stage concentrates on loss, and Stage II concentrates on establishing good habits for maintenance.) Thank you Sashimi for your kind words of support. I am really just getting started with this, it is my 6th day. And I would like to say that I feel pretty good. I was on the bus last night, reading. And I suddenly realized that under normal circumstances, I’m usually really tired at the end of a work day. But yesterday I was full of energy and rearing to go. So losing the weight is going to be a good thing, but I think breaking the bad habits I was getting into that really were leaving me winded at the end of the day is going to be even better. I am also more able to concentrate on my work this week. I’m not sure why. It could be many factors. But it could also be my body saying – thanks. On the way home on the bus last night I became slightly concerned about the tete de veau. What am I going to do with the leftovers? I was reading a novel, and came across a passage when a man was described by the woman who loves him as first being struck with his “having in him the penultimate possibilities either for good or for evil, and ready, it seemed, to swing either way” – and it struck a chord and my thoughts went to the tete de veau. I know, I’m always thinking about food. I can’t help it. I think my initial reaction to the dish was that it was infused with wonderful flavor, and it’s fresh and clean like veal, and the texture is interesting and pleasant, and it feels like it must be good for you going down, not to mention the sauce being just amazing. However, it is the first time I’ve prepared and eaten this dish. Considering that this is not a personally nostalgic dish for me, I wonder how many times in a row I can serve it before at least one of us tires of it, it has a lot of personality. I was worried about this coming home from work last night, and I was thinking about how I could possibly use the dish or it’s broth within another dish, and in light of other discussions on eGullet, I got to thinking about terrines, and how these are basically the same thing, in solid form, and we eat it and liven up the flavors and textures with pickles and other morsels of antipasto type things on the plate. So when I arrived home, and checked the fridge and saw that it had gelified, I was very happy. I decided to make use of my new freezer to oven silicone moulds, and do small individual galatines. So I pulsed the dish in the moulinex to get the pieces rather small but still irregular, and then heated it up very briefly to get it rather liquidy, and poured it into my moulds. I think this can easily be frozen and now I have 6 individual servings that will make a nice presentation, and taste good. I added a little bit of salt to the dish because I personally find that cold food tastes better a bit more salty. Now I regret not having done something more decorative than place a single herb leaf in the end. But if this comes out nicely I can try other things and other leaves, layers of vegetables and the likes. It’s going to be fun.

They didn't have anything not breaded or fried for lunch at the cafeteria today. So I helped myself to a salad and ordered a steak (about 300 grams). At 4PM I had a peach. I drank about 5 glasses of water throughout the afternoon. Tonight we had stuffed veggies, mushrooms and the rest of that winter melon. Hollow out the mushrooms with a melon baller. Chop the stems in the moulinex with whatever you've got - I threw in the last of the steamed veggies and peas from the other day. I then incorporated the minced chicken breast, the last of the Charolais from the cheese plate, some fresh herbs (chevril and parsley) and two eggs. Both the winter melon and the mushrooms were cradled in foil to keep them from losing all their fluid and drying out on the outside while they cooked. Once stuffed, they went in the oven at 160c/300f for 1/2 an hour. Dinner: Stuffed mushrooms and melon Tomato juice.

Thank you for all your wishes for good luck and encouragement!

Red - think of it like daylight savings time. Once a year we begin to wake up an hour earlier than usual, yes? It happens over a weekend. So imagine just adjusting your body clock to one hour earlier - try it next weekend! When I was a child I had a morning paper route. Although it was a bummer sometimes, I also really enjoyed my walk through the neighborhood most of the time. I think about that. Last night my husband began to ask me why we had to do this, etc. And I stuck to my guns. Then he said - "do we have to do the stairs?" "YES" I retorted. Then I remembered that even though it was raining yesterday, he was trying to get me to do the stairs, and I wouldn't do it. My hubby is always very gung ho about climbing anything, including steep mountain trails, which is sometimes problematic for me. At that moment I realised that he had used reverse psychology to get me to be the one saying we HAD to do it. I got a chuckle out of that. Anyway it was easier today and the stairs were easier.

3 JUN 2004 Starting BMI: 29.1 Today's BMI: 28.4 Goal BMI: 22.5 Pounds lost so far: 4.5 Giving up coffee has actually not been that difficult after the first few days. I think I was going through physical withdrawal symptoms. But it’s fine now. And I can have the smell and taste with decaf. This weekend I plan to blow some cash on interesting infusions. The day began with an apple, which had been in the fridge overnight. It was wonderful. This morning’s walk was a particularly pretty one, mainly because of the angle of the sun, which I rarely see like I did this morning. The city is different in the morning. It’s quiet. The only thing we heard was the sound of our footsteps. The stairs, which took 15 minutes to get to the top of the last time, took 12 minutes this morning. I think it was because I pretended I was on the Stairmaster, so I had a better rhythm this morning. When we got to the top a refreshing cool wind was blowing as we looked out over the city. We saw two other people on our walk – the man who had the keys to the public garden, which he was opening when we arrived to the top, and another man with an absolutely magnificent Boston terrier on his way up the hill when we were going down. The dog got one look at us and high tailed it in the other direction – it was cute! Apparently he must have thought that the garden belonged to him, and we were a big surprise! When we went by the boulangerie, the bread wasn’t ready yet, but he said he'd put one aside for us to pick up later. Protiedo-lipid breakfast. 2 eggs, cooked with a little bit of goose fat and salt ½ a large tomato, upon which I melted St. Marcellin cheese and added a generous grind of black pepper. Pepper and St. Marcellin go really well together.

Dinner was an apple once home from work, and then tete de veau, which I prepared tonight. There are more details about this dish here (click). Followed by a glass of tomato juice and some leftover peas.

John, thanks for this! It's next on my list. I'll most likely get a copy this We and read it next week.

I read it and got this incredible sense of deja vu. It is nice to see the story of how Madame Hesser has developed a relationship with the proprietor and his wife and her descriptions of them coming through. It seems she is a regular there. I got to wondering how many times a week she has a meal in their restaurant. The talk of stars at the end got me a little bit confused, though. Has this restaurant been awarded a rating based on this review?

Today we were up and out at the crack of dawn, and I started my day with a bowl of strawberries in bed. It was raining and I had my camera, so we didn't venture too far from home, and enjoyed a brisk circuit across the bridge, up the river, and back across the foot bridge that ends up at my boulanger. Breakfast: 2 large slabs of warm moist crusty pain integrale BIO 1 yougurt 0% 2 generous T. of strawberry compote Morning at the office: 1 cup decaf 2 cups of water Lunch, cafeteria: Large salad with oil & vinegar / sliced brie. 1 boiled egg 1/2 a tomato a yougurt (I actually intended to have fish for lunch but it turned out to be covered in a goopy slime which could not have been anything but flour based so I passed it up. I also realized that the accompanying vegetables had mashed potatoes mixed into it so I was completely out of luck. ) I think I'll have fruit this afternoon, and I've just got a bottle of water. I know I'm being bad about photos. Promise to post photos of what I cook tonight.

I'm really loving this.

Because you are originally from the South or because of your new diet?? (makes the possibly erroneous assumption that biscuits are now verboten on this diet) Actually the biscuits of my grandmother's kitchen came to mind, Artichoke's description was so vivid and delicious. No biscuits for me right now, that's right, but I like to think about them - it desensitizes me and prepares me for anything else verboten I may be exposed to.

These are all fabulous ideas. The artichoke hearts and shrimp are on the list. Robert: Can you give me some insight on what the spices would be in the creole mustard? edit to say I've searched and found one recipe for this incorporating a dry white wine based infusion of garlic, celery seeds, allspice, cloves, & nutmeg into a tarragon mustard. Is this the creole mustard you are referring to, or is yours more heat oriented? Peychaud bitters are also on my shopping list. Thanks.

Delicious essay, Andrea.

Lunch Day 3 was cafeteria food, about what I normally eat, really. about 125 grams of lamb on a shish kebab 200 grams spinach a salad plate with green beans and tomatoes a plain yogurt water ------------------------------------------------------ Spicy Coconut Fish Soup 800 ml chicken stock 2 red hot peppers (very small, very hot, purchased at the chinese grocery, don't know what kind they are!) 1T. ginger root ½ smallish celery root 1 can of coconut milk 300g. fish (I used a fish called lingue, white colored fillets, but any fish will do!) ½ t. salt white pepper parsley Bring soup stock to a simmer. Slice up the hot pepper and ginger, and put into bouquet ball, and add ball to soup. Peel & cube the celery root into ¾” cubes. Place in glass bowl and cover with water. Microwave at 900W for 5 minutes. Transfer to blender and puree. Add to stock. Let simmer 5 minutes more. Add coconut milk, salt, and white pepper to soup, bring to a boil and lower heat again. Add the fish cubes and bring heat back to simmer. Simmer three minutes and serve. -------------------------------------------------- I snacked on cherries before dinner.

I guess it's time to talk about weight, because what's the point of logging in the regime unless I am logging in my progress as well. Everyone carries weight differently, and some people feel and look better carrying a few pounds. For about 13 years, I had a Body Mass Index of around 21 - 23. It has only been the last 5 years that I have slowly put on more and more weight, gaining my last whopping 8 lbs. since February Here's a link to a BMI calculator. BMI day 1 : 29.1 (very scary to find that out.) BMI day 4 : 28.5 Goal BMI: 22.5 Pounds lost so far: 4 Yes, I have lost 4 lbs. in 3 days. I don't expect to keep up that rate of loss, but Montignac says that those people with weight to lose will drop it off faster in the beginning. The fatigue from the second day is gone, although I have to admit I am still trying to get used to starting the day without coffee. Next post: Recipe for the fish coconut soup I've had for dinner and a record of yesterdays' lunch.

Tighe, you're welcome to join me. Giving up coffee during stage I serves two purposes - since coffee has been shown to cause a false spike in insulin thus possibly affecting the way my body is interpreting incoming nutrients. 1) to get used to the body finding it's own energy instead of relying on coffee and sweets to keep it going 2) to stay on an even keel in order to avoid crashes and sugar cravings. In any case, I accidentally ordered a coffee yesterday after lunch totally forgot about it and had one with my colleagues - I realized once I started getting the shakes that I remembered! Imagine getting the shakes after one cup of coffee! I normally have coffee all day and only stop around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. I thought my head was going to explode when I stopped three days ago but I can feel the difference already. I won't be having any more coffee until stage I is over.

Spicy Coconut Fish Soup Serves 4 as Soup. This soup brings hot chili, coconut milk, and fish flavors all to the table in one satsifying bowl. 800 ml chicken stock 2 small hot peppers 1 T diced fresh ginger root 1/2 small celery root 1 can coconut milk 300 g boneless fish fillet 1/2 tsp salt white pepper parsley for garnish Bring soup stock to a simmer. Slice up the hot pepper and ginger, and put into bouquet ball (or a sack made for a bouquet garni), and add ball to soup. Peel & cube the celery root into ¾” cubes. Place in glass bowl and cover with water. Microwave at 900W for 5 minutes. Transfer to blender and puree. Add to stock. Let simmer 5 minutes more. Add coconut milk, salt, and white pepper to soup, bring to a boil and lower heat again. Cut the fish into small cubes and bring heat back to simmer. Add the fish cubes and simmer three minutes. Serve immediately. Keywords: Soup, Fish, Easy, Blender ( RG1056 )

Spicy Coconut Fish Soup Serves 4 as Soup. This soup brings hot chili, coconut milk, and fish flavors all to the table in one satsifying bowl. 800 ml chicken stock 2 small hot peppers 1 T diced fresh ginger root 1/2 small celery root 1 can coconut milk 300 g boneless fish fillet 1/2 tsp salt white pepper parsley for garnish Bring soup stock to a simmer. Slice up the hot pepper and ginger, and put into bouquet ball (or a sack made for a bouquet garni), and add ball to soup. Peel & cube the celery root into ¾” cubes. Place in glass bowl and cover with water. Microwave at 900W for 5 minutes. Transfer to blender and puree. Add to stock. Let simmer 5 minutes more. Add coconut milk, salt, and white pepper to soup, bring to a boil and lower heat again. Cut the fish into small cubes and bring heat back to simmer. Add the fish cubes and simmer three minutes. Serve immediately. Keywords: Soup, Fish, Easy, Blender ( RG1056 )

That's great, Shelley! You get to choose when you go? I'd say go now. Now's the best time. Here's a link to Margaret's favorite ice cream place to give you a start. I wish I knew a lot of great places in Paris, let me ask around and see if anyone has any suggestions.

I don't think it's off topic at all, Bux. It's interesting to note. I had no idea that they are similar in chemistry, and I had heard that olive oil's not the best for cooking at high temperatures... I know of Mme McCullough's work as the editor of my favorite contemporary compilation of recipes. And I've seen that she has written a few books on low carb cooking. I haven't had a chance to pick them up, though.