I'm Baaaack

OMG! It has been way too long, friends. So sorry about that!

Partially the blog hiatus has come about because I'm 30 weeks pregnant and well, there is just a lot on my plate at the moment. I haven't stopped cooking, of course, but blogging what I cook has taken a back seat. Okay, a trunk seat, really.

But I'm back! Because last night I made a new dinner so delicious that it would be just plain wrong to not share it with you all: Meatball Sandwiches with Kale Rabe on the side. I'm working on getting that post ready; should be up in the next week or so. (You guys, I have leftovers for lunch today and I cannot WAIT! Seriously. As soon as the recipe goes up, make these.)

So thanks for hanging in there with me and stay tuned!

Rocco!

No, not DiSpirito. No, not Ritchie.

Meet our Rocco! We brought him home from the shelter 20 days ago. He has been a total joy and a "rocc"star. No but really -- he's been a total champ and is a complete lovebug. We are so happy to have him in our family.

He's my new sous chef. (He likes to hang out in the kitchen with me while I cook. Can't imagine why.)

Food & Eating on Vacation

Hubby and I just got back from a fantastic vacation to visit the Hotel Queen Mary, Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park, and...The Happiest Place on Earth. (And the truth is, I am such a child of Disney that it really did make me The Happiest Girl on Earth to be there.) We had a great time, and are glad to be home. That's the goal of a good vacation, I think: to have a great time but still be so glad that your home is your home and your life is your life.

Anyway, this vacation was a little more...shall we say, interesting... in terms of food, in that I have, for various reasons too numerous and medical to go into here, cut out all sugar (except fruit), grains, and starches of any kind from my diet. What is there left to eat in life, you ask? I know, I had the same questions. A life without bread? Without rice? Without my favorite, potatoes? Would I survive?

But the truth is there is still good stuff to be had: fats -- of all kinds! Bring 'em on! And protein and fruit and vegetables and beans.

This diet doesn't pose so much of a problem for me when I'm home: I cook a lot, as you know, so I can tailor recipes to my specific needs. And Eugene is such a healthy foodie paradise (with a lot of vegans and gluten-free eaters, so folks are used to "strange" eating habits) that eating out is actually easier than you'd think. 

But eating like this on vacation? Yikes. It can get really difficult unless you're okay with eating salad for three meals a day, every day. However, I managed it really pretty well, by using a few strategies that proved invaluable:

(a) I had to briefly suspend my observance of eating only eco-kosher meat. In other words, I ate whatever meat I came across. There was simply no other way to get the kind of protein and calories I needed without doing so. It was actually mentally tough for me to do, but I made it, and now I am so happy to be back to eco-kosher-only!

(b) I stocked up on several bags of different kinds of mixed nuts at Trader Joe's before leaving, and would every day put a little mix of them into a ziploc bag to carry with me in my purse. At Disneyland waiting in line when hunger strikes? Eat some nuts! In a national park on a hike when your stomach starts to grumble? Reach for the nuts! A perfect tide-over.

(c) Wherever and whenever possible, I ate fruit. Most fruit needs to be kept refrigerated, but a lot of fruit will last for a while without it. Bananas, apples, oranges, pears were my salvation. Not only are they good tide-overs, they make a nice dessert and end to your meal.

(d) In addition, wherever and whenever possible, so as to keep from feeling like you live in a refrigerator and feed yourself some warm food, I ordered soup. Soup is often a great option that doesn't have sugar or grains/starches. I ordered French Onion soup without the croutons in Disneyland, in fact. 

And lastly, (e) In Palm Springs we had a kitchenette, which was really great: we were able to buy eggs and hard-boil them, as well as fruit and yogurt. Breakfast -- truly the most important meal of the day, especially if you're eating like I am -- was well taken care of.

So I survived. I even survived hiking in the desert and traipsing around the Magic Kingdom. The droolingly always-delicious In-n-Out was a life-saver, what with its protein-style (and animal-style, too, of course!) burgers and all.

The truth is, special diet or no, I was mostly appalled by Southern California's food and what passed as "good food." Doesn't hold a candle to the Bay Area, or even Eugene and Oregon for that matter. Not to offend anyone, but I am so glad I don't live there. It was a fantastic place to visit. But I gotta say, if only for the food alone, I am so happy to be home.

What about you? What are your eating-while-traveling coping strategies?



P.S. Check out my dear friend Winston's recent great blog post about the "CRAZY" celebrity diet description he recently read about in a magazine that got him -- and me -- in a bit of a tizzy. And there are some great recipes in there! I'm so making that Braised Lentils recipe. Minus the barley for me and substituting quinoa for hubby.

Menu Plan for the Week

As you've probably guessed from my last post, we're in mourning here at Casa Dena. I thought about not mentioning it here on this blog at all -- what does it have to do with food, after all -- but I realized while it may not be about food, it is about me.

We had to put our beloved dog, Sailor, to sleep last Tuesday, and we've been basically sitting shiva since then, even though there have been some very joyous and momentous occasions that have occurred as well. We're doing our best to hold the joy and the sorrow together, which is hard, but also really important. And it's also very important to eat well and maintain routine in times of grief, and it feels very important to me to cook right now -- to eat healthy, home-cooked meals.

So here's what we're eating around these parts this week:

• Sunday: Mushroom Pasta (though next time I think I might try this version)
• Monday: Ribollita and Crusty Garlic Bread
• Tuesday: Potsticker Stirfry with Broccoli (so easy to throw together: using a bag of frozen potstickers from Trader Joe's, as we're going to see Temple Grandin speak tonight!)
• Wednesday: Hubby's Favorite Dinner (serious comfort food)
• Thursday: Brussels Sprout Quinoa
• Friday: Cashew Chicken (this recipe is quick and easy and YUMMY)
• Saturday: Date Night

Letting Go

 "To live in this world you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your own life depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go."

~ Mary Oliver

Belated

Hellooooo out there!

My mini-blog-vacaciones is over. So I'm going to post a (belated) menu plan and a little news....

Menu Plan for This Week
(Yes, I realize it's Thursday....)

Monday: Hubby's Favorite Dinner
Tuesday: Roasted Chicken Breasts and Fingerling Potatoes, Sauteed Garlic Chard
Wednesday: Homemade Mac & Cheese with Broccoli, Salad (It was National Cheese Lover's Day, after all!)
Thursday: Cashew Chicken
Friday: Shabbat Dinner at our friend James & Eric's House

And the little piece of news that I have to share is that this Friday, I will be doing the first part of the ceremony necessary (beit din) to complete my conversion to Judaism. Woohoo! The second and final part (mikveh) will be completed on February 4th, the day before my birthday. It's been a long and wonderful road, and I am so happy to be taking this step.

So to celebrate, we'll be bringing a loaf of challah and lighting the candles and saying the blessings at our friends James & Eric's house this Friday.

L'chaim!

Quickie Pollan Post

We just moved into our amazing new house, and we are totally in love with it and our new neighborhood. And we're still kind of in shock that we get to live here, as homeowners.

So on that note -- picture me surrounded by boxes trying to figure out where the dutch oven is -- I am going to post another quickie post, and I can't wait to get back to regular blogging. For those of you still reading, thanks for sticking with me.

_____________________________

Two new items of Michael Pollan (or, as they like to call him on my favorite Jewish Ethical Eating website, Rebbe Pollan) interest this week!

The first is a little New York Times interactive article I came across on Facebook, which I adore:

Michael Pollan's Reader's Food Rules

My favorite? "If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you are not hungry." Genius. Some friends also commented that when apples are not in season, they substitute "lentils" or "a peach," and it still works like a charm.

The second is the recent publication of The Omnivore's Dilemma for kids! As Pollan himself put it, this edition is "aimed at middle and high schoolers. It's shorter and more streamlined, but also has some new material and a wealth of visuals -- photographs, charts, graphs, etc."

I am so ordering it from my library now. And this will definitely go on my list for good ideas for books for kids 13-18.

(Sidenote: if you decide to buy it, I hope you'll support your local bookstore or one of the big independent booksellers like Powell's.)

Top Chef Prediction

I'm going to go out on a limb and make my prediction for the winner of this season of Top Chef (which is pretty good this time around, I think). My pick is the same person I thought it would be from the very first episode, actually.

Jennifer Carroll.

That's right: I think she's going to be the second female Top Chef, ever.

I do think she's going to face some fierce competition from Kevin and both Voltaggio brothers (especially Bryan). In fact, I predict those 4 will be the Final Four if Michael Voltaggio doesn't get in his own way.

But I think she's going to win it all. Go Jennifer!

What about you? Any predictions?



P.S. We're in the midst of packing and getting ready to move into our new house THAT WE OWN in 2 weeks. (!!!) So thanks for your understanding regarding the light posting here both in the past and until we get settled.

Brief Hiatus for a Good Reason!

I'm sure you've noticed this blog has been a bit lacking lately.

First, I apologize.

And second, I am here to give a brief non-food-related update as to why: hubby and I are in the process of searching for and buying our first home!

Which is fantastic news. But it does mean that I have little to no steam left in me at the end of the day to think about anything non-house-related. Which means this blog gets neglected.

However, we're on a fast track and hopefully I'll be back to posting here very soon. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

For now, I leave you with this lovely illustration of the simple, clear, easy, and smooth nature of the first-time homebuying process. :-)