FL Heat
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Posts posted by FL Heat
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I lost 40 pounds on Weight Watchers, then plateaued for a year. I recently took a deep breath and have been giving losing weight a real go again, using the WW basics (but not paying for the meetings) and am down 12 more.
As for what we eat. . .well, gosh, everything. If I see a recipe I like, I'll cut down the amount of oil if need be, or substitute a lower-fat alternative (like low-fat sour cream). I use lots of the no-point foods to bulk up dishes, and make sure to eat plenty of whole grains and low-fat protein. My boyfriend is doing things the South Beach way, and the two work surprisingly well together.
I agree that the way some people eat on WW is. . icky. It seems as though some are simply trying to get as much food as possible into each day, health be damned.
Your food looked good in your blog! Yummy, actually, I like the stuffed squash. . .
(if you want any recipes, send me a private message and I'll be happy to forward some on to you that we've enjoyed)
Diana
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Heh. I want to see them enact that dress code and stay in business in Florida.
Unless it's someplace you need a reservation for, people wearing hats, tank tops, and other tourist-wear is the norm. Alienate the tourists and you won't last long.
Diana
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I hate raw apples. Like them baked, don't mind applesauce, but I *HATE* raw apples.
Diana
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I do nearly all of the cooking (and all of the laundry, and the house cleaning, and the dishwashing, but I don't have to fix my car when it's not working right or mow the lawn). Not only do I cook dinner, but after dinner dishes are done, I make his lunch to take to work the next day. I'm another who works from home, so it just makes sense.
The boyfriend is skilled on the grill, and from that interest, I got him to learn to make his own marinades, barbecue sauces, and rubs. He's also a better baker than I am, probably because he doesn't find following a recipe an excuse to rebel. He's very meticulous, very precise, and gets very grumpy when he sees me throw in a little of this, a pinch of that.
When I start cooking dinner, he'll always say, "Let me know if you need help," and heads into the living room. It's better that way.
He is a competent cook, but doesn't like washing dishes or cleaning up the new appliances we have, and seems a bit fearful at putting things away into the wrong cabinet. He will always help when I ask, though, which is all I need for happiness :)
My mom & dad have an agreement of sorts. . .mom cooked for the first 25 years they were married, and dad's been cooking ever since (the past 15 years). Mom is a by-the-recipe kind of cook, and had the task of cooking for me & my brother while we were growing up (and I feel bad now for being a picky eater), and is happy to let dad handle it now.
Diana
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Every time I've brought flowers to someone's house, I always put them in a simple vase beforehand so that the host/ess doesn't have to stop and take care of the flowers.
The teas are a great idea. Might have to use that next month :)
Something else I've seen get great reactions are gifts of food/wine/microbrew items from the state that the host is originally from. It might be a better gift here in Florida, where it seems like everyone is from somewhere else, but it's very neat. A friend once brought me a bottle of Texas wine, some salsa, and Shiner Bock beer. I don't drink beer, but the thought that went into the gift made me want to open one and toast her thoughtfulness :)
Diana
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Anna, that looks. . .delicious. And family style. Are there leftovers? Are you nearby?
Since everyone was so nice last night, here's tonight's dinner.
It's from this recipe for Poulet Au Vinegar off RecipeGullet. It was delicious. I modified it a bit. Pulled some garlic from the pan and sauteed some sugar snap peas with it, and served the chicken on top of some whole wheat pasta tossed with olive oil, rosemary, parmesan, and a little of the pasta water.
(Is it cheating if I read the "how to take better pictures of food" thread before I actually took pictures?
)Diana
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They had them in Dallas when I was in high school (which is probably as soon as mom was willing to fork over money for something more than McD's), and I really liked the chewy bread and the melted cheese and fresh onions you could get on their sandwiches.
Unfortunately, I remember it taking longer to get an order than it did at other "fast food" places, more expensive (though I was willing to pay it), and just not as well-located. When I worked in Minneapolis for a short while, one opened across the street from work, and despite the warm sandwiches and soup they offered on cold, miserable days, I'd say I was probably one of the only "regulars" they had. I think for the general population, they're too expensive for an everyday lunch or fast dinner, and for those who probably WOULD enjoy the food, a sit-down restaurant was a more frequent choice.
Too bad. . .I really do remember loving that chewy, chewy bread, dipping it in their vegetable soup. . .
Diana
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If they drink coffee, maybe a selection of some coffee beans from someplace that roasts them on-site, along with some other coffee accessories? That's usually our fall-back gift, when we're invited to to dinner by a new business associate of the boyfriend that we don't know much about yet.
People always seem to bring me hot sauce, peppers, salsas, and kitchsy Texas memorabilia.
Diana
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We just got a digital camera. . .and I'm not real good with it yet, and neither am I skilled with presentations, but I'm paying close attention to how others make things look nice. . .this weekend I hope to hit the outlet mall and pick up some odds & ends of plates & things. Might be fun to eat off things other than the same hand-me-down plates every night.
Now, to get the kitchen remodeling finished so we can have our table back :)
Tonight's dinner was fried (bread crumb & parmesan crust) pork chops (at the request of the boyfriend) and a white bean side dish with onions & red bell peppers.
Diana
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There's been some beef chuck in the freezer that I didn't really want to do anything with, so thank you thank you for the recipe!
Diana
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Me three!
Diana
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I won't shop at the stores in my area that use the cards. At the risk of sounding like a commercial for the store I DO shop at, their prices without cards are consistently similar or better than the card prices. I had my credit cards stolen (with "SEE ID" written on the back) in Las Vegas, and the theif used my card at a store with a membership card. . .and USED THE MEMBERSHIP card in his/her name.
I got a call from the store asking if I knew that I had used someone else's membership card.
I not-so-politely retorted that they were confused, their member had used my credit card.I looked for it, but couldn't find it; however, the news here did a story recently about how certain folks are beginning to get MORE discounts with the cards while the number of actual discounts are disappearing. In short, they're putting fewer deals on the shelves and giving more markdowns at the register, benefitting the people who spend more and hopefully "punishing" those who just buy a few things with the cards in order to get better deals.
So, if you have one, keep an eye out for that sort of thing. . .
Diana
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This article says Key Limes' (not Persian limes, the article talks about the difference) peak season is June through August.
Who knew? I'd have thought it was in the late fall/winter/early spring like all the other citrus fruit.
Diana
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Until my grocery store started carrying it, I was able to find it at an outlet mall's "gourmet" store in their baking section (White Lily, that is).
You can order directly from White Lily, though, if that helps any.
And buttermilk biscuits with scrambled eggs. . yum. Now I feel like I should make some. . .
Diana
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I don't know if it qualifies as a "funny" name, but I just loooove to say:
BEEEEEEEEEMSTER!
Unfortunately, it's been banned from the house, as that's how I say it every time I see it.
I open the fridge. . ."BEEEEEEMSTER!"
From the other side of the house. . ."SHUT UP ABOUT THE CHEESE ALREADY!!!!"
Diana
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First time trying this concoction. . .Tabasco shrimp in tortillas with mango salsa, sour cream, & queso blanco; and a mango/papaya/apricot/orange/mint salad.
Diana
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I just wanted to express appreciation. . .yours is a house I bet everyone feels comfortable in, your blog just oozes love for family :)
Heartwarming, really. Made me miss being little & cooking with mom & dad.
Diana
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A boyfriend who forgets his lunchbox at work for a week, then brings it home. . .without having washed any of the containers out, and after it had sat in his truck for the entire weekend in Florida.
I ended up just throwing the containers away. . .hard-boiled eggs had not been eaten. . .clumps of what used to be cucumbers in another. . .the yummy cheese & apricots that had met an untimely end. . . .and a plastic baggie with pepperoncinis. . . .
He wasn't quite sure what made me so mad, he just knew he did. I couldn't describe the gore to him without gagging.
Diana
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A couple of weeks ago I drove to the store, bought a package of Nestle chocolate chips, drove home, put them in the freezer, waited an hour, then pulled them out and ate half the bag
Then ate the other half the next day.
Diana
(who feels better after confessing)
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Cucumbers, feta, red onion, dill, bulgur wheat, chickpeas, olive oil, white wine vinegar.
Sliced tomatoes topped with cheese o' choice and set in the oven under the broiler just until the cheese melts.
BLT & Cheese sandwiches (bacon cooked in the microwave)
Roasted corn chowder from the freezer (we like it, so we make a bunch at a time and then just have to pull it out and re-heat in the microwave)
Smoothies (mine are frozen fruit, yogurt or ice cream, and milk)
A cheese & fruit tray is always nice when it's too hot out, but my appetite goes down quite a bit in the summer, too, so small nibbly stuff is enough for me.
Diana
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Ken's SteakHouse Blue Cheese. For when the wings place doesn't give us enough to go with our take-out hotwings :) And, um. . .oh, there's another bottle of Ken's Steak House Blue Cheese in the pantry. Must have been buy-one-get-one-free.
Otherwise, it's "Fun With Vinegars, Oils, and Herbs" for dressings.
Diana
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Orange blossom, generally. . .and once, while driving through Georgia, we picked up some peach blossom honey. On a biscuit, that stuff was heavenly. I love the orange blossom honey in a vinaigrette over any salad with fruit in it. I'm not quite up to pastry making or baking fancy things yet, though, so I don't use it in actual recipes much.
While on a business trip in Philadelphia several months ago I made a trip to the Reading Terminal Market and had to be dragged away from the stand with all the honeys & preserves. If only they weren't so heavy & my bag hadn't already been close to the airline's weight limit. . . .
Diana
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In Tennessee, it wasn't uncommon to have fried fish left over from the night before with breakfast the next morning. And by breakfast, I mean eggs, bacon, grits, tomatoes, the whole thing. Fried fish was put in the icebox (that's what they called it. . .), then heated up in the skillet in the morning. Was it delicious? Not particularly.
The same relatives made cake-type-things out of crappie, catfish, bass (basically, whatever was biting in the lake), plus egg, mustard, and bread crumbs (usually leftover cornbread). And salt & pepper. The lumps were thrown in the deep fryer and ended up as a sorta hush-puppy thing. The "necessity" clause was always invoked when I asked about these. . .apparently, for my Papaw's mom (that'd be my great-grandmother), it was a way to guarantee enough for dinner and stretch the fish further while using something they always had plenty of--corn meal.
Diana
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I had a lot of trouble with asthma & allergies as a kid, stuffy noses, coughing up icky stuff, etc.
My wonderful, sweet dad was able to stay home more often than mom, so he gave me what helped his stuffy noses best. . .hot salsa & chips.
And Pepsi. He made up some stuff about the "pepsin" in Pepsi helping to settle your stomach. And popsicles. And he let me lay on the couch in the living room and watch TV with him. It was always better when dad stayed home, because mom gave me Sprite, toast, and peanut butter crackers. And mom figured my dark, quiet bedroom was better for recuperation.Whenever I have a really stuffy nose or feel generally awful, I want really hot salsa & tortilla chips with Pepsi. And I call my parents.
(Dad's a native Texan, does that help explain things?)
Dad's family was. . .eccentric, to put it nicely. When he was young and babysat by his uncle, he was frequently given salsa, tortillas, baked beans, and (yes, really) beer. As long as I can remember, he's espoused that hot foods clear the sinuses. And I think they do.
When friends or family get sick, I tend to make soup that I know they'll like, but I always make it hotter than normal (that's only for colds).
Diana
Weight Watchers (Part 1)
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
Here's a sample of the boyfriend's lunch, it's pretty much like this but varies a little from day to day. It's not exciting or especially highbrow, but it takes a long time for him to get through it. He's lost about 25 pounds so far.
There's yogurt, then a cucumber/tomato/feta salad, then a green salad (always with some other vegetable & cheese on it), dressing (that day was a raspberry vinaigrette), he gets two whole wheat wraps. . .usually turkey, cheese, mustard, lettuce, a piece of fruit, and then a 2nd breakfast (he's eating 1st breakfast at 5:30 AM or so, then eats again at 8 or 9 AM). It's usually something with eggs or egg whites--that day was eggs with salsa & cheese, topped with canadian bacon. Sometimes I'll do salsa & eggs & cheese in a wrap or a pita. I try to make a few cold salads at the beginning of each week both to pack in his lunch and eat for mine (I work at home).
He's quick to admit that always having tasty stuff in his lunchbox has kept him away from the vending machine better than willpower did.
Diana