SobaAddict70

A community is only as good as its members. Communities change over time. This has been true since the Internet was invented. I don't see eG (to pick a forum out of a hat) dying anytime soon. Ditto for blogging. Rumors of impending demise are grossly exaggerated.

Fairly boring dinner (but it tasted great, just the same): Broiled steak (medium-rare) with fried onions, rice pilaf, steamed spinach

Anyway, the last time I did PSMF, I didn't do very much cooking. I'll be watching this thread with great interest because I'm determined that THIS time, I won't despair from boring my taste buds to death.

I was wondering this as well. Because having a waist size of 36" is seriously depressing. But that's to be expected, because you can't realistically gain 30+ lbs. without putting on some fat as well. If only we could gain only muscle when bulking; however, science does not work like that. On the other hand, having more lean muscle is good, especially for someone with my condition. See my 3rd eG Foodblog for details. PSMF and UD2 are ways to accomplish fat loss quickly without having to diet endlessly while attempting to preserve as much muscle as possible. I hate dieting ... would rather eat and be happy. I could cut now if I wanted to but there's nothing to show. I'm betting that I'll be in a better place to make that assessment once I hit the low 200s.

Not alien to all. So true. I like IFing. It works well for me. Great program. Have you done UD2? I've been thinking about it but I'm still not looking forward to it, mostly because I've never met a carb I didn't like.

I should mention that I've been through this diet before. Last time was in 2005. I went from 187 to 171, dropping 16 lbs. in six weeks. It wasn't pretty (Oh, ok, I'll be brutally honest ... I hated every. single. minute. of it (because I love to cook and eat)), but the results were well worth it in the end. Wish me luck, cuz I'll need it this second time around.

I'm going to post something that's probably alien to a lot of you ... but it's never stopped me. So here goes. In September 2010, I weighed 152. As of this morning, I was 179.5 at approx. 20% bodyfat. That's almost 4 lbs. a month, give or take a few. Probably around this time next year, I should be somewhere in the low 200s, if all goes well, after which time I may go on a brief cutting diet ... from 205 or thereabouts at 20% BF to say, 185 @ 16% BF. This is just me thinking out loud. If you're in a caloric deficit by 300 less calories than you normally consume on any given day, that's the same thing as burning 300 calories via cardio, weight training or the exercise of your choice. Now some people choose the former over the latter and that's perfectly fine (in other words, they'd rather eat less as opposed to eating normally and lifting/working out more frequently) ... there's no single right answer to melt those pounds. But the key is your caloric intake and expenditure. There's also no one correct answer to cooking for weight loss. Personally, I wouldn't recommend the way I'm going to cut to anyone who posts on eGullet, mostly because you probably wouldn't like it. The diet is called PSMF, short for Protein-Sparing Modified Fast. You can find more information here. Fats will be from fish-oil capsules; carbs from vegetables; protein from mostly animal sources (egg whites, tunafish, lean chicken and fish). There will be fats from my protein sources as well but that's about it. I'll also be working out twice a week, down from my normal 3x a week. Poundages will be lighter and there may be some cardio involved. It's definitely going to be a far cry from Weight Watchers, I'll say that.

A couple of recent dinners ... 14 May 2011 Red leaf lettuce and heirloom bean salad Stir-fried pea shoots and bean curd, over ramen noodles with sambal oelek, mushroom soy and sesame oil It's VERY rare that I'll cook anything Asian OR use bean curd. I managed to get some wonderful pea shoots at the Greenmarket this weekend so I guess this was inevitable. 16 May 2011 Linguine with spinach and ricotta cheese, adapted from this Mark Bittman article on pasta primavera.

Has Kansas City suddenly experienced accelerated climate change? Or are those limes and lemons coming from, you know, elsewhere? They were.

I would have thought Passover candy would be nominated.

Red leaf lettuce and heirloom bean salad

Spent a little under $35 today at USGM. Spinach: a giant bag for $3 (Miglorelli had a special of two for $5). And when I say "giant", I mean it looked like this: That bag is bigger than it looks, because it's lying on its side. My local Associated had spinach for $1.99 per bunch. Garlic chives: $2 per bunch Wild arugula: $2 a bunch Dried cannellini beans from Cayuga Organics: $6 Shiitake and crimini mushrooms: $5 for 1 lb. Free-range chicken eggs from Quattro: $1.75 for half a dozen Mixed asparagus from Lani: $4 for a hefty bunch, like so: Easily enough for 2-3 meals. Pea shoots: $4 for a lb. Organic cheese biscuits: two for $5 Loose onions (yellow/red): @ $1 a lb., 6 for $2 I think I came out ahead, as opposed to if I were shopping at a supermarket.

For me, it would have to be cooking and breaking down a lobster or crab. It was always the thing you'd read about in cookbooks but seemed daunting in reality.

Fresh strawberries, macerated in orange juice with a little sugar.

Definitely. Veritas has, imho, always been one of the most underrated high-end places in NYC. And if you love wine as I suspect you do, you're in for a treat. I'm not disagreeing based on my personal opinion, as I haven't been to Veritas in a few years, but thought I should ask if you've been there in the last 6 months to a year. As mentioned, I haven't, but have heard mixed things of late. So I'll provide the devil's advocate information just for completeness. As stated, this isn't necessarily my personal leaning, just the flip side of the information coin. While Veritas is definitely a more elegant, dressy/occasion kind of place, there are those who say it's no longer near the top of its game (and maybe hasn't been since the departure of long time Exec Chef Scott Bryan). There has been a lot of turnover in the kitchen there since then (3 different exec chefs since 2008), and the current head toque is Sam Hazen, who is by most accounts talented, but whose experience is mostly in big box middle-brow restaurants (TAO, Todd English Enterprises, Tavern on the Green). So there's the chance that you may have an elegant but undistinguished meal. Aldea, meanwhile, is decidedly less formal, although at a similar price point. But George Mendes's cuisine is definitely more modern and unique than what you'll find at Veritas. So it's really a matter priorities. If you want a quiet, elegant meal with slightly more familiar flavors in a more traditional atmosphere, then Veritas is definitely more bang for the buck. And as SobaAddict stated, the wine program is very impressive (and much more ambitious than that at Aldea). However, if you're more lured by brightness of flavor, inventiveness and a more casual vibe, then Aldea is certainly much more "of the moment" and I think a bit more distinctive. It really seems to come down to what you want from the meal. N.B. On a more objective note, Zagat has them at a very similar rating (one at 25, the other at 26), though I think most on the boards wouldn't put much weight in Zagat ratings. I was there at the end of April, actually.

first breakfast was a protein shake with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. second breakfast (which I'm eating now as I type this) is a fried egg sandwich with American cheese and sausage on a kaiser roll, with a dash of Tabasco; orange juice; and a banana.

Then I guess I'm screwed, because I've eaten fresh, uncooked morels. Although probably not in the same quantity that would knock me dead as say, an amanita.

Definitely. Veritas has, imho, always been one of the most underrated high-end places in NYC. And if you love wine as I suspect you do, you're in for a treat.

Pretty much. You have to watch it carefully so that it doesn't burn. Otherwise it's quite straightforward. Consider leaving the sage whole or thinly sliced. A dash of lemon juice added toward the end helps cut the richness and halt the cooking. That's about it.

Broiled salmon. Probably the only thing that went right tonight. Was supposed to have been salmon with creamed leeks and ramps. The leeks got burned because I left the stove unattended while talking to someone at the door. And the cream was a week past its due date. Back to the cooking drawing board.

I'll try to remember to keep track of pricing when I go do my weekly run on Saturday. It'll be difficult for me to do a price comparison because I don't buy very many things at the corner store, and then only things like milk and non-edibles (e.g., soap). If anything, I'll say that I learned something today that I didn't know ... that food stamps are now accepted at most NYC Greenmarkets via the EBT program set up by GrowNYC in 2010 (and not just at certain locations as I think someone mentioned upthread). That means that somewhere in NYC, on four days out of the week, some family is doing shopping at a farmer's market with food stamps ... and conceivably spending less than at a supermarket. Possibly.

Please cite sources. Your words, as I don't think I said that. I understand your point but I would be very careful about making sweeping generalizations. I shop almost exclusively at farmers' markets in New York City. I've been doing so for a couple of years now. I am neither a curiosity-seeker nor a hipster, and I very much resent someone implying that this passion of mine is "a fad". And I'm quite certain that people like me who regularly shop at our farmers' markets, and who are active in the food community here in the City would be surprised at being labelled as such. *gets off soapbox*

I don't doubt that, but to say that farmers' markets in a place like the NYC metropolitan area (for example) are a fad is quite a stretch. http://www.grownyc.org/greenmarket for reference. Hardly a "novelty". So what percentage of food consumed in NYC runs through the farmer's markets... I would be surprised if it surpasses 1%. Until the Farmer's Markets (and also Central Markets with stalls who distribute straight from Farms as oppossed to the Supermarket warehousing system)... are a tangible % of food consumed... they aren't much more than curiosities & hipster scenes. Now don't get me wrong... I am not saying Farmer's Markets aren't worthwhile.. complete opposite... we have to love them & cherish them, urge others to shop them because you have to start with something... the age of the Supermarket is numbered... they are unsustainable, a waste of resources, and their goods are usually gastronomically inferior... what I am pointing it out is that in cultures & societies where the Farmer's Market is an actually part of the social fabric their prices are inherently cheaper than Supermarkets (of course the other side of the coin is that we have to stop subsidizing tasteless, unhealthy, environmentally damaging food as well) And yet here you sit, making sweeping generalizations. I'm sure the people who shop at our Greenmarkets would be surprised at being labelled "hipsters" and "curiosity-seekers". Please cite sources. Here's GrowNYC's annual report for 2010, in case you're inclined to read it: http://www.grownyc.org/files/GrowNYC.Annual.2010.web.pdf Once again, this isn't a passing fad. Or if it is, it's a 35+ year fad in the making that shows no sign of withering away.

I don't doubt that, but to say that farmers' markets in a place like the NYC metropolitan area (for example) are a fad is quite a stretch. http://www.grownyc.org/greenmarket for reference. Hardly a "novelty".

There are quite a few recipes on the net, but if there's one thing I've learned, it's that not all recipes are created equal. I'm reluctant to do the usual method -- which is to finish the vegetables off in the oven, with buttered breadcrumbs. I'm trying to lighten things by not turning it into a gratin. The dish will be rich enough with the addition of the salmon, which will be cooked separately. Thoughts?