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June 29, 2008
My Pigeon Won't Recline
Today's winner of the "What body part is the most tense?" contest is the hips!
I took a power yoga basics class today, which I really like because the teacher is my favorite. I mean, it's hard to pick favorites, but I think I like this particular teacher best because he's a personal trainer and a Pilates teacher, and so his approach to teaching is a lot more like what I'm used to in traditional western classes. He gives a ton of personal attention, so I learn better form.
I did well throughout class, and felt fabulous, but wow, the hips are tight. My pigeon was having a difficult time reclining.
Ankles are sore too. Icing them. Yoga teacher fellow (whom I think I'll name Dan because that's not his name) gave me some exercises to try to make it feel better. I actually feel better already. The combination of a lot of walking hills (including on the treadmill), doing yoga, and wearing heels most days is getting to me. I'll be stretching this ankle a lot. And the other one too. I am extremely right sided, so my right side seems to feel everything first, even though it's strongest.
Meanwhile, I fear this may be turning into a yoga blog, but I don't care. It's always been my blog, the blog about what's interesting in my life, plus some recipes. Lo and behold, in a rare slow time at work, I learn that I have an interest in something other than organizing. It's fun. It's exciting. If you don't like it, I'm sorry, I'll post more recipes soon.
Like now!
Thanks to all for your suggestions! Wonderful to hear from you Chris! I'm going to combine them all, a bit, into a simple summer supper.
Vaguely Cerviche Margarita Shrimp With Vegetables (should serve two)
about a pound of shrimp
3 plum tomatoes
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
cilantro
a really small dash of sea salt
chili and garlic powder, for the water in which to cook the shrimp
Scant teaspoon of tequila
2 limes
2 teaspoons flax oil (I per person)
Peeled shrimp, while feeding Kieffer a few stragglers. Boiled the shrimp in the water with garlic and chili powder. Plunged them into ice water to cool while juicing the limes. Mixed the shrimp into the fresh lime juice. Allowed to marinate for half an hour. Diced tomatoes, peppers, add to the bowl with shrimp. Add a dash of tequila, really just a dash otherwise it will overwhelm, and grind just a dash of sea salt on top. Marinate for the afternoon in the fridge.
Shortly before serving, add about 30 g fresh cilantro, chopped. Add teaspoon of flax oil per person.
Summer Blueberry Mango Salad
Fresh blueberries
Frozen mangoes, thawed over the course of the day but not heated
Top with a dash of cinnamon
MoMR -- I am going to use a variation of your recipe for the July 4th barbecue that MR and I are going to next weekend, where I'm bringing the salads!
Thanks to all for your comments and thoughts!
Posted by april at 10:41 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 28, 2008
Cold Non-Creamy Shrimp Salad?
Okay, bloggie friends, figure this one out.
Tomorrow night I'm having a friend over for dinner. It's going to be very hot outside. He eats seafood. I am thinking I'd like to prepare a cold shrimp salad, but obviously not one of those goopy mayo-y salads. Vinegar, herbs, spices, shrimp, veggies.
Suggestions?
Posted by april at 11:14 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
Prayer Twist
No, it's not the Saturday night singles' dance at the local mega church, it's something we did in yoga class today. I definitely took the hardest class I've had so far. They say "All Levels" on the Vinyasas on the schedule, but they do suggest some strength and cardio endurance. I definitely have both, otherwise I'd just fall over, but this one was really hard. I was clearly the only beginner in the class, and the teacher gave me a lot of modifications so I could work within my level. I really enjoyed it, and I definitely got a workout.
It was funny... the teacher was giving modifications and kept suggesting changes to Abby. But looking at me. Eventually it dawned on me that she was talking to me. I could have corrected her, but it was late enough in the class that it felt weird to say something about it. Then I decided that I kinda like being called Abby. It's a cute name. I knew an Abby in high school. And guess what? She was Canadian! In contemplating whether or not Abby can be my yoga name, I am reminded of that piece on "This American Life" where the woman telling the story, upon learning that she was to choose a Goth name, named herself "Becky."
I feel like the various parts of my body are competing with each other for which can be the least flexible. First, it was the hips. Today, my shoulders were incredibly tense and kept wanting to climb up to my ears. The back of my calves are always tense, no doubt a result of years of wearing heels. I'm sure my nose will find a way to hold tension. The long term benefits of doing yoga and Pilates are so obvious that I'm surprised that there aren't more life-extensionists who are into it. Maintaining mobility is so important. I'm actually surprised it took me this long to figure it out!
This is probably pretty obvious, but I noticed today that in our various poses, we look a lot like the gods and goddesses and happy dancing people in Indian art, which I've always loved. "I get it! They're doing yoga!" Aha! I thought they just danced that way. Walk like a Hindu... if you can.
Posted by april at 9:42 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Yoga/Pilates Challenge -- July 2008
My Yoga/Pilates Challenge of July 2008 is as follows:
I challenge myself, and anyone who wants to join me, to take a yoga or Pilates class six days a week (can you tell I've been hanging out with the Ashtangis lately?) for the whole of July 2008. I am going to wring every bit of value out of my summer membership to my yoga studio.
A few caveats:
-- Knowing that there will be some days when work makes it impossible for me to get to class, I can substitute doing the whole of my Pilates video at home or on the road, or doing more than one class on one of the other days of the week, sorta banking classes the way Weight Watchers bank points.
-- At the end of the month, a short trip to NC for my grandmother's birthday party will probably make it impossible to practice. But I'll bring the video anyhow, and perhaps even convince my dad to let me teach him a Pilates class.
-- If I'm ill or feeling a bad kind of sore (vs the usual good kind of sore) I won't practice, but I'll make an effort to go to a gentle class if I feel like I can.
Oh, and I'm going to get my cardio back up to 4 days a week. Every other day, basically. Every day is too much, but this once a week stuff is too little.
I think that consistency in my exercise will help me deal with more consistent calorie levels. I've been eating 1400 all week, and that's a weight loss level for me, probably too quick a weight loss level with this much activity, so yesterday I did two classes and went up to 1650. I was feeling slightly ill on Wednesday and Thursday, and made both Edward and Susie feel my forehead to see if I had a fever, which sure enough, I did. (Conversation with Edward: "I'm addressing you in your capacity as a parent. Feel my head and see if I have a fever." Yes, I had a fever. I did not ask if I could stay home from school.) Canceled plans to go out on Thursday as just was not feeling well, and slept a whole bunch. Now I seem fine. There was a cold going around Toronto and I think I felt a touch of it but as is pretty normal for me in good CR state, fought it off. Now feeling extremely well.
Well enough, in fact, that I am planning to take an hour and a half long Vinyasa today. Yesterday's was only fifty minutes, which was great, but I definitely felt like I could keep going.
I am also cleaning the house, getting a pedicure, and then my mother and I are going to see Sex and the City! After that we're going to the little Italian BYO around the corner for dinner. We have such cute little restaurants in my town. This one has just one small dining room with seven or eight tables, and it's very inexpensive but has great, fresh food, and almost always has a tilapia special on the menu.
Off to pick up my Nancy's Organic Cottage Cheese before somebody else takes it!
Posted by april at 5:26 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 27, 2008
When You Want a South Beach Diet Wrap But...
A little higher on the processed foods than I'd like, but it hits the spot when I'm craving a South Beach Diet Wrap for breakfast...
Trader Joe's Low Carb Tortilla (2)
100 grams cooked eggwhites
Slice of nonfat cheddar cheese
Ounce of Fat Free Mozzarella
Cheap-o Louisiana hot sauce
Microwave till the cheese melts. Oh yum. Satisfies the craving. My Nancy's cottage cheese has miraculously re-appeared at the grocery store after a long hiatus, and I am excited, but I haven't been to get it yet, so I was having a bizarre South Beach Diet craving this am. Solved my problem, and then I went to Pilates. Shortly I'm off to a yoga Vinyasa class. I'm taking the day off.
A few random thoughts:
1) Uma Thurman is engaged. Congratulations! I've always liked her work a lot, and you'd have to admit that she's absolutely beautiful. It must be hard to be so tall though. As a short person, I tend to feel sorry for Tall People. Sure, they can use the high shelves in the kitchen cabinets. They can reach their own groceries off the high shelves at the store. They can play basketball, if for some reason they feel possessed to do so. But they look so miserable all squished into compact cars and airplane seats. They run the risk of hitting their heads on things much more often than we Short do. The women complain that they don't want to date men who are shorter than they are. The short men gravitate towards petite little critters such as myself. Sure, I ended up with a tall, willowy beastie, but I always thought that short men were hot. Especially short Jewish left-leaning men from the greater New York or LA areas.
2) My cat, in spite of MR's protestations to the contrary, is incredibly cute. He loves that I am home, and he is sitting next to me sleeping with his little polydactyl paw covering his eyes. I pet his tummy and he purrs. He is happier than he has ever been. Living in his own house, well-cared for by two humans, one of whom loves him, the other of whom he worships. He has company all day, every day, which is all I think he ever wanted. He has a very cat-friendly routine, with small meals served four times a day. Everything happens on time, because unlike the cat's mother, MR sticks to his routine no matter what. Cats love this.
3) Thanks to all for your comments on the last post. Your support means much to me. I'm actually feeling really good... losing weight, but not too fast, enjoying yoga and Pilates class, and enjoying a short spell of relative quiet at work. It won't last and I get bored quickly anyhow, but it's nice to have a little break.
4) Rubbing kitty tummies is one of the greatest joys I can imagine. If you are not a cat person, you don't get this.
5) Danny California rescued a tarantula from a pet store. It was dying of dehydration. Tarantulas need tons of humidity as well as a water dish. This spider had sat down with its legs curled under it, as they do when they're about to die. Her environment was bone dry; she had no water dish. He took her home, put her in a proper enclosure with good humidity and water, and she is doing great. She looks annoyed when he walks by. This is a good sign. He likes that sort of thing. She is going to be fine. His karma is skyrocketing.
6) I am not a crazy person, but I can become one under extreme chronic stress. Dealing with stress by doing a lot of yoga is a good thing.
7) I am going for sushi with my mother today. I am so excited. I need my sushi fix once a week, and the sushi calorie count is remarkable consistent from venue to venue, so I can approximate my calories with relative accuracy.
8) I will post more soon about my current calorie levels.
Posted by april at 8:54 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
June 24, 2008
You Don't Look Like You're On A Calorie-Restricted Diet
It was the moment we've all been waiting for. We knew it would come, eventually.
The moment when someone remarked that I don't look skinny enough to be on CR.
For the record, this used to happen even when I carefully measured all my calories and weighed 102 pounds. I just don't look anorexic, and that's what people expect of a CR girl.
The particular person quoted above actually meant that in the nicest of all possible ways. "You're not scrawny at all," she went on to say, "You look like you're in great shape and like you workout all the time." And she was quite sincere, I think. I do in fact look a lot more like a Pilates junkie than like a CR practitioner.
I made a brief explanation of how this last year I had really let my CR go (unfortunately) while under a lot of job stress and on the road constantly, and I had simultaneously picked up Pilates and yoga, which had built quite a bit of muscle. After a moment of Pilates evangelism, we all continued about our conferencing, which in this case involved drinking free Starbucks iced coffee while waiting for a rousing rendition of "Fanfare for the Common Man" to call us back into the auditorium. The irony of being called back to the auditorium by "Fanfare for the Common Man" at a conference so posh that it could have been called "Fanfare for the Wealthy Canadian" did not escape the lone union organizer in the crowd. But Marxism aside, I did have a wonderful time, and at no point do I advocate the overthrow of the Aveda corporation, which offered free massages and put Rosemary Mint hand soap and lotion in the bathrooms. Washrooms, I mean. Sorry, Canada.
I had long before accepted that, not being the Skinny Mini that people associate with CR, that I would get this sort of comment, and I've always been careful to point out that I am not nearly as hardcore as MR, and that these days I'm not nearly as hardcore as even I want to be. Though I have been getting better!!! But there's still something rather jarring about it.
Then that night I had a somewhat more confusing encounter. Another participant (note my care to leave their identities quite obscure) who had met MR was introduced to me by a mutual friend at the evening party. "You're supposed to be on a calorie-restricted diet," she said. "Put down that wine!"
Uh, no, thought I. I made a brief explanation of the epidemiological evidence in favor of the health benefits of red wine, and urged my co-partiers to drink up.
This person said something about how I didn't look like I was practicing Calorie Restriction. I made my standard explanation. I didn't start out skinny, I've been doing yoga and Pilates, I had a bad year, calorie-wise. I do take a moment to experience existential vertigo that at 112 pounds in the year 2008 I am publicly (look I spelled it right!) apologizing for my weight, but decide to deal with that at a later date, in a blog entry, rather than ruin a perfectly good cocktail party.
This particular participant went on to explain to me that MR had told her that exercise was bad (he hadn't) and that if she started to "go all funny about food" her husband wouldn't care for it.
"I have no interest in converting anyone to CR," I said, sensing the upperclass equivalent of a cat fight brewing. "I really don't care what other people eat, as long as they are relatively pleasant to me."
Hmmm.
"My husband and I have a rule that he must weigh 20 pounds more than I do," said she.
"I know what you mean... I didn't want to meet MR in person until I weighed less than he did," I said, trying to re-establish the conversation on common ground, and failing.
"You weigh less than he does?" she asked, looking me up and down rather carefully.
"Well, he weighs 115."
"He told me he weighed 118."
"Right, he's been around 118 lately."
"You weigh less than 118?" she asked, again taking stock. "How much do you weigh?"
Again, existential vertigo sets in, but I can't think of a good way out of this situation that doesn't involve pouring a drink on self or others.
"112 last I checked, the day we left for the conference."
I said something about how frustrating it has been to open national magazines and find that I'm being called anorexic when I'm obviously not, and she agrees, after another good look at me, "You certainly don't look anorexic," she said in a derisive tone that I really can't replicate in writing.
There, we've established common ground. I don't look anorexic.
She went to go greet someone important. I went to wander the party, and ran into a friend at the oyster bar.
"The problem with being the girlfriend of the world's pre-eminent CR practitioner is that people expect me to be Kate Moss skinny. You'd be amazed at how often I hear, "You're not as thin as we thought you'd be."
He took a step back, looked me up and down, and said, "You look fine."
A girl can always count on her married male friends. That's why I have so many of them. Married male friends can give one a little boost of self-confidence, then happily retire with their partner of record and get out of one's way. I have an astounding number of married male friends. I absolutely rely on them.
I had made it quite clear, going into this conference, that I was there as the girlfriend, on vacation, not representing CR, the USA, the USSR, or anything. Just being me, having a good time. But it's inevitable that people ask questions. And it's inevitable that people look from MR to me and wonder why he's so skinny and I'm not.
There are two reasons, and they are obvious:
a) he is naturally skinny, and looked like he did CR long before he did CR.
b) he keeps his calories proportionally lower than I do.
So
a) I will probably never look as skinny as he does, and he thinks this is a good thing
b) I certainly don't now, and didn't even when I was very underweight judging from the height/weight charts.
It's just really weird... I spend my entire adult life somewhere in the 120s and 130s, and nobody ever thought I was fat then. I lose down to 102 (and eventually 99) and nobody thinks I'm all that thin. Then I get involved with CR and do media (which I am not doing now, as all are aware) and find out that a) the national press thinks I have am anorexic b) most people think I'm not skinny enough.
As I said once long ago in a different context (apologies for the in-joke) "You can't have it both ways! You have to choose!"
Obviously I am not anorexic. I'm just a normal girl with a difficult, stressful job, trying to eat as well as I can and do the best I can to make it to anti-aging escape velocity without going nuts. I want to be healthy, I want to be happy, and I want to focus on what's important to me, not on living up to some external standard of what I Should Look Like or How I Should Be. Yoga is helping with that. You do enough balancing warrior and you feel ready to go to war. You do enough cobra and you feel like a snake. Or whatever. Anyhow, I don't really understand how it works but it's working. I feel more at home with myself these days. And my yoga studio is really cheap! I have unlimited classes for 3 months, and I am getting my money's worth. 7 classes in 8 days. No wonder I feel like a different person.
Anyhow, I apologize to all who are disappointed that I'm not the anorexic waif they were hoping for. I never will be, because CR doesn't make you look like a heroin addict, even at its hardest core. I doubt that I will ever acquire that sick bony look that the anorexics I've known have. Not with yoga and Pilates and excellent nutrition. I'm losing weight... ever so slowly... but I will never fit the stereotype that the naysayers want to pin on us.
Posted by april at 1:28 AM | Comments (13) | TrackBack
June 23, 2008
Yoga Chickie On Huffington Post!
Our very own YC now writes a column at the Huffington Post. Read this very controversial one here!
Posted by april at 10:24 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 20, 2008
Frequently Asked Questions Re: CR, April, and Is My Boyfriend Really Orange?
Here's a re-post of my FAQ, for anyone who is joining our regularly scheduled adventure already in progress:
What is Calorie Restriction with Optimal Nutrition? (CR Society website)
How can you eat so little and still not be hungry, get the nutrition you need, and feel fabulous?
So even if we just want to lose weight and feel better, not necessarily pursue serious CR for life-extension, we can learn stuff from this blog?
Yikes! That sounds really hard! Where can I order them online and have them shipped right to my door?
Are you trying to convince other people to practice CR? No.
CR sounds great, but what about biomedical interventions into the aging process? Wouldn't that be better?
Yeah, that would be a whole lot better! What can I do to make it happen?
Are you all just rich snotty holier than thou selfish people who want to make other people miserable by being thin and healthy and eating kale?
Yeah, but do you have any fun?
People often assume that thin people hate fat people. Before we are so shallow as to make that assumption about you, why don't you tell us what you think?
So what did you eat before you started CR?
That's about food policy. We're looking for books about CR.
Who called your boyfriend an oompa-loompa? Is he really that orange? No, but my kitchen is.
Will CR slow the biological aging process in humans, the way it does in every mammal in which it's been tested? We don't know. Will Aubrey de Grey and the forces of good find radical anti-aging biotech in time for me?
I don't know.
But a reliable source told me over the weekend that I look better now than I did in college. And that, my friends, is reason enough.
Posted by april at 1:15 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
Live From Idea City
Having a great vacation here in Toronto, haven't had a minute to write. The highlights, so far, have been:
a) a wonderful afternoon of CR-bonding, talking yoga, and touring the city with fellow CR practitioner Kai
b) meeting and sharing a cab with Christine Hefner, executive of the entire Playboy empire and outspoken advocate for sexual freedom for both men and women
c) fabulous news from Michael Rose, legendary researcher into the biology of icky stuff like aging, about technologies that may be available soon... can't write about it though yet because I'm not sure he's released it in public yet. [Note: clarified this point, it's still quiet... we'll all find out next year, unless they send out advance press releases, which really would be nice.]
CR has been both good and a challenge... I've been eating about 300 calories during the day to save room for the delicious treats at the awesome evening parties. These Canadians sure do know how to party!
More soon on this fantastic conference... I've got to get back in there before I miss something important!
Posted by april at 12:58 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 15, 2008
Vacation Is Wonderful!
Sunday: Power Yoga Basics
Monday: Pilates + TriYoga Basics
Tuesday: Treadmill cardio
Wednesday: Pilates
Thursday: Pilates
Friday: Vinyasa yoga
Saturday: Pilates
Sunday: Power yoga basics
Monday: PIlates a+ TriYoga Basics
I am getting my money's worth out of my Yoga & Pilates studio membership. I am learning that I don't breathe enough, my hips and ankles are very tight, but I have pretty good balance. I love love love taking yoga classes. I seem to walk out every day saying "That was a great class." I'm still taking Pilates at my regular gym, but the mixture of different Pilates and yoga classes seems to be really challenging me and helping me improve. It's so great. I'm so lucky to have a yoga studio two blocks from my house.
Meanwhile, we are getting ready for our trip to Toronto. It looks like I might get to meet two blog readers in person!
CR was a bit off last week because I went out with my friends quite a few times, but now back on track at the weekend, and it should be fairly easy to CR when I'm with MR all the time... he is a very, very good influence, as you might imagine. And so cute!
Posted by april at 9:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 14, 2008
Shellfish Pedicure?
On Thursday night Jim, Edward and I went out to Blackfish to celebrate our recent round of victories. I had the bouillabaisse, which was mostly shellfish in a saffron broth, but only ate about half of it and took the rest home to have for lunch on Friday. Yesterday I ate most of it, but reserved salmon for Philomena to eat today, and kept the shells and the broth in the container, just put it back in the fridge.
Sure enough, this morning as we were putting salad greens back in the fridge after breakfast, the container somehow fell and exploded, sending shellfish infused saffron broth all over the freshly cleaned kitchen floor, and all over my left foot in my new slides. I stood there taking a moment to absorb the situation, not wanting to track broth all over the place.
MR to the rescue... he grabbed the dish cloth and began to gently wipe off my shellfish soaked foot. "This is like a pedicure," I said. Then it occurred to me: they have margarita pedicures and citrus pedicures and herbal pedicures and sea salt pedicures, so why not a shellfish pedicure? I"m sure someone would pay a lot of money for it. Probably someone without a cat.
It's a good thing I was about to jump in the shower anyhow because I am not enjoying smelling like a scallop.
Unfortunately, shellfish is clearly not a good kitchen floor cleaner. Back to the mop... again.
Posted by april at 5:25 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 13, 2008
The Return of the Little Black Dress
Do you remember the scandal of four years ago when Debra Voigt was fired for not being able to fit into a little black dress? Well, she's back... this is a great video.
Posted by april at 3:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 12, 2008
Big Road Food for Very Skinny Boy
MR is at a conference all week, during the day, and coming home for a very brief spell each night to sleep. I, however, am on vacation. Yes, I am. Please do not fall over dead, after all the effort you've put into life-extending lifestyle practices. I am on vacation. Today, Friday, and all of next week. Wow. The longest period of time I've had off since 2005. Early 2005.
So I am packing up his dinners for him... he leaves to catch the train at 7:30 am and gets home after 8, so I am doing anything I can to help. Tomorrow's dinner is a coleslaw inspired cold dish to keep him cool in the summer heat... and in the arguments he is no doubt getting into with seemingly innocent scientists who don't know that the red-headed skinny boy loves to pick a fight.
450 g red and green cabbage, shredded
285 g yellow squash, sliced and diced
200 g Quorn tenders, thawed
eggwhites to bump up protein as desired
1 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp flax oil
red wine vinegar, basil, oregano, garlic, capers
Mix, jar up, send the boy off to fight the wars!
Meanwhile, I am really enjoying being at home, albeit in the middle of a heat wave with two very irate cats. Mostly they sleep, but when they're awake they express their displeasure at the temperature. Poor little Philo has been crashed out on the cold bathroom floor. Kieffer continues to insist that he has not been fed, approximately 12 minutes after he finishes eating his lunch. Situation normal here.
I've taken Pilates and/or yoga every day, done a ton of cleaning, organized some stuff in the house, cooked a lot, and in general enjoyed not being at work. Susie has everything under control and I can go away worry-free. Which is good because next week MR and I fly to Toronto to Idea City, where he is speaking about CR, and I am going as the "guest or companion of his choice." Hehehe! All expenses paid trip to Toronto, and all I have to do is be the girlfriend! How does one get these jobs?
Posted by april at 12:53 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 10, 2008
Another CR Person With a Yoga Addiction
Yes, Arturo. Yes, YC. Yes, all of you yoga junkies out there. It finally got me. It's a wonder it didn't happen sooner than it did.
There's a yoga studio less than two blocks away from my house. It's really, really nice. I took a Pilates there a few months ago on a Saturday and it was pleasant, more yoga-focused than my usual class.
Then I figured the other day I'd try a new Sunday morning Power Basics class. Very intro level. Nice time... 9:30 on Sunday morning. Good for me.
Loved it. Lisa, my teacher, took a lot of special time with me, as there were only two students. I felt like I really understood what was going on. When I walked in I said, "This is my first ever yoga class," and she said that was good, as it's an intro level class. "I've taken Pilates for a year and a half," I said. "Oh, you'll be fine."
The next night I took another class: Tri-Yoga Basics. Loved that too. Less athletic, less sweating, more meditative. I had taken Pilates that morning, so I had a two class day.
Today Susie, Edward and I went to the gym over lunch. I did treadmill at 4.1 mph and incline of 10 for 35 minutes. Tonight I'm going to another Power Basics class.
Life is good. I am now a yoga addict. I was never the kind of person who could try something once without getting hooked. I never tried drugs, not at all, because I knew I'd be the one stop shopper junkie. Better to be a yoga junkie. I bought a summer membership so I have three months of unlimited classes. I plan to bleed them dry.
It was bound to happen, eventually. As Edward's mother (may she rest in peace) would say, "At least it keeps you off the streets and out of the bars."
Posted by april at 1:45 PM | Comments (10) | TrackBack
Super Cool Smokey Chili Cheeslaw
Well, it's 99 degrees here and feels like 105. I usually don't mind heat at all, but this is a bit much. It seems like a crime to turn on the stove, so I'm cooking cold foods. Who wants to eat hot foods in the middle of a tropical heat wave?
This one, I think, is fun. I really enjoy playing coleslaw games.
Super Cool Smokey Chili Cheeslaw:
450 grams green and red cabbage, shredded
3 oz nonfat mozzarella, shredded
eggwhites if you wish to bump up the protein, cooked and cubed
Cider vingear, chili powder, cumin, cilantro (would be best with fresh but we were out so I used dried), garlic, Smokey Chipotle Tabasco, generic Louisiana Hot Sauce (Texas Pete would be great but we're out.)
Mix it all up, leave to marinate all day, stirring a few times to make sure the ingredients blend together. Serve chilled!
Stay cool everybody. It isn't as easy as it looks.
Posted by april at 6:12 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 8, 2008
Rhode Island Tilapia Gumbo Chowder
Or: what to do with 434 grams of leftover tilapia.
I have a bad sense of spatial relationships, which makes it all the more important that I weigh most of my food. I bought just under two pounds of tilapia, and had a lot left over after last night's tilapia dinner. So I decided to use it up quickly by making a big old soup that I can eat in the next few days. I just threw stuff together, but it is delicious! Is it a Rhode Island chowder? Is it a gumbo? It's really neither. It's just a yummy, protein packet, vegilicious soup! I strongly recommend you give it a try.
2 cups chicken broth
434 grams tilapia
1 small can no-salt added tomato sauce
300 grams fresh okra, chopped
1 can artichoke hearts
100 calories black olives
garlic powder (which I use cause it's just easier)
chili powder
fresh pepper
dried onion
Boil the tilapia in the broth till it's done, then add veggies, tomato sauce, and spices. You could certainly spice this up however you want, but it was really quite amazing. The gentle flavor of the tilapia blends in beautifully with the okra and the artichokes and olives. Seriously, go try it. If it's too hot where you live to try it (CR has made me nearly impervious to heat) then wait till it cools down a bit. But I think this is one of the best recipes I've made up in a long, long time. Top off with a teaspoon of olive oil upon serving.
Posted by april at 10:22 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Anarchist Pilates
"Christine Daae can sing it, sir."
Last Wednesday I walked into Pilates and there were a few of the usual students, but no teacher. I knew that our regular teacher, Bethanie, was on vacation, but there was supposed to be a sub. We waited and waited, but no sub appeared. Hmmm. What to do? We had all gone out of our way to show up for class. None of us wanted to waste our time or miss our workout.
"I think I know the routines well enough to teach," I said. My heart was pounding and I don't think I've been that nervous since, well maybe since the first time I met MR in person. But I figured, worst case, I do a terrible class and everyone hates me. Best case, we all get a workout and at least we don't waste our time.
"Now this will be anarchist Pilates," I said to the class as I moved my mat up to the front. If anybody wants to do an exercise, just call it out and we'll do it. And if you guys can demonstrate the moves better than I can, by all means, please do."
So we proceeded through our workout, and at the end of every set I'd ask if anyone wanted to call out the next exercise. We did all of our favorites, got a great workout, and had a lot of fun. I learned how hard it is to teach and count at the same time, and I worked out so hard (since I was trying to demonstrate perfect form) that I was sore for the first time in awhile. But it was awesome!
At the end of the class we saw one of the instructors who teaches the next class peeking confusedly through the class window. As she walked in, one of the other students said, "We don't need you anymore! We've figured it out ourselves and we're taking over!"
It was an empowering moment for all. :)
I immediately called MR, my two best friends, and my mother to report. Being a Pilates instructor is one of my long term goals, and it's such a different kind of thing than the work I normally do. A totally different sense of accomplishment. I was never a dancer, or an athlete, or particularly in shape except for a few years when I did a lot of weight lifting. I just love Pilates, and I'm so excited about learning more and perhaps eventually becoming a certified instructor.
Edward was impressed... he's taken Pilates before and says it's the hardest thing he's ever done. This coming from a guy who is in great shape and has been athletic all his life. I threatened to teach a class entitled Pilates for PARSNIP (that's the blog name for my union, not it's real name, as I hope is obvious.) He got a good laugh out of that. I am totally not kidding.
Today I'm off to take my first yoga class! There's an introduction to power yoga class at the yoga studio just a few blocks away from my house. It's amazing that I've never taken a yoga class, but I figure it's time to start. I'll report...
Posted by april at 6:00 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
June 7, 2008
CR Backyard Cookout!
Everybody knows that in summer I love to do CR-friendly renditions of American classics. Today was a holiday weekend-esque lunch, not because it is a holiday weekend, but because upon settling the CZ contract it feels like a holiday weekend to me. So I made:
Mini Mushroom "Cheeseburgers"
Special Sauce "Cheeseslaw"
Cauliflower "Potato Salad"
Danny California calls the above "scare quotes." Like the quotation marks, where they don't really belong, are supposed to scare you. Well, I hope they don't scare you because these recipes were quite good.
Mini Mushroom Cheeseburgers:
Large white button mushrooms, stems removed
Quorn grounds
Pickle relish
Walden Farms Thousand Island dressing (like McDonald's Special Sauce)
Fat free cheddar and Mozzarella Cheese
Avocado
Stuff the mushrooms with Quorn, special sauce, and relish. Top with cheese. Microwave 2 mins or until cheese melts. Top with avocado. These little bites taste like mini-cheeseburgers, but they have no saturated fat and they're chock full of calcium, B vitamins, protein, and other good stuff. Eat with a fork or pick up and shove.
Special Sauce Cheeseslaw
While I was searching Wikipedia for evidence that my definition of coleslaw was correct, I ran across a description of Cheeslaw, which is coleslaw made with shredded cheese. So I had to make some cheeslaw to go with today's backyard cookout theme.
Shredded cabbage
Fat free mozzarella
Walden Farms Thousand Island Dressing
1 tsp pickle relish
1 tsp olive oil
MR loved that one.
And for the final: Cauliflower Potato Salad
1 tbsp Walden Farms Mayo
300 g cauliflower, steamed for 1 minute in 1 tsp lemon juice
garlic powder
Boar's Head spicy mustard
white vinegar
top with 1 tsp olive oil
I think this would have tasted more like real potato salad had I used classic yellow mustard instead of Boar's Head (which is a fabulous brand) but MR still loved it, and said it definitely reminded him of potato salad.
I am really enjoying my weekend to cook, clean, read, chill out, and pet the kitties. Got my hair and nails done, scrubbed the bathroom, am attacking the vacuuming and kitchen cleaning next. Actually read a book! The Other Boleyn Girl, buy Phillipa Gregory. Great book, easy read, I recommend. Lesson learned: the queen is not valued for her beauty, or her fine gowns, or her ability to read French and Latin and discuss politics, or for the sonnets written to her or the music composed to her. She is valued for her ability to produce an heir. And to put that heir on the throne. Everything else is conversation.
I briefly wonder if I missed my calling, failing to be a 16th century queen of England. I would have been damned good at the job. But it would have limited my ability to cook. So I'll be content with my lot as a modern day director of organizing. Or as my Pilates teacher would say, warrior princess.
The world doesn't have enough warrior princesses. I've done my best to raise a few, and I hope for more as the years go on.
If that fails, I'll go into business making innovative coleslaws.
Posted by april at 11:46 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Tilapia Night With Tomato Basil Coleslaw
There seems to be a bit of debate in my household as to what is meant by the term "coleslaw."
Sure, there's the Southern drippy with may Fourth of July picnic coleslaw. Then there's the vinegary pinkish KFC coleslaw. For quite some time now, MR has frequently made CR-friendly coleslaw with shredded cabbage and Walden Farms Coleslaw dressing. Lately I've taken to making all sorts of weird variations on the coleslaw theme, leading to the discussion of "What is a coleslaw?" A coleslaw, to my mind, is a salad based on shredded cabbage. Wikipedia agrees with me.
MR, however, has a hard time wrapping his head around the concept that last night's "coleslaw" was really a coleslaw. He loved it, though, and it was a delightful accompaniment to our tilapia in white wine with garlic and lemon.
Tomato Basil Coleslaw
227 grams shredded cabbage
100 grams chopped tomato
30 grams black olives, chopped
1 teaspoon capers (could add more capers to taste)
Red wine vinegar... probably about 3 tablespoons, maybe less
garlic powder
Mix up, chill, allow to marinate. Finish off with a teaspoon of olive oil.
It made a fantastic side dish on a hot night. I also steamed okra and squash with a little garlic, lemon, and a drop of Worsctershire sauce as another side, and chopped up a chilled kiwi for dessert. I think it was one of the best meals I've made in awhile.
But today's lunch is going to be even more fun...
Sometimes I wonder at the fact that I found a man who delights in eating my cooking. I love to cook, he loves to eat. What a combo!
Posted by april at 9:08 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
June 5, 2008
Cherry Rhubarb Coleslaw!
This one could have gone weird, but it turned out really, really yummy, and vaguely reminiscent of KFC coleslaw.
1/4 cup Trader Joe's frozen cherries (any would do)
227 g cabbage, shredded
30 g rhubarb or thereabouts
tarragon vinegar
I thawed the cherries then diced the rhubarb and stirred it into the cherries, microwaving for another minute. Then I added about 1/4 cup tarragon vinegar and stirred, left to marinate, then stirred into the cabbage. It turned out really, really well. I love funky coleslaws... such an American picnic/potluck favorite, so easy to CR. I might devote this entire week to funky coleslaws.
Posted by april at 5:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Food Prices
I keep hearing all these stories on NPR about food prices. All these people who eat a lot of grains, meats, and processed foods are now sacrificing organic vegetables because their food bills are just too high.
I don't think our food bills have changed at all. MR keeps the receipts, we could check. The cost of my Neutrogena face wash and sunscreen moisturizer may have gone up, but we buy our organic veggies at the local Giant (that's a normal grocery store) and we don't buy processed foods or grains. Aside from the occasional Lean Cuisine for when one of us is on the road, we make our own food. One NPR interviewee said that her family used to buy 12 grain bread and now can only afford white. Hmmmm... we don't buy bread.
I really wonder how much money people are spending on processed foods, which cost a ton not just in ingredients but in all the cost of transporting those ingredients to process them all together. When I look at the chips and snacks aisle, or the cereal aisle, I am shocked at how much these products cost. If I felt like I had to fill my cart with baked goods, frozen dinners, chips, cookies, cereal, and all the things I see in my fellow shopppers' carts, I'd probably be feeling budget-crunched too. As it is, our food remains just about the same as a year ago. And we eat a lot of organic veggies, all organic dairy, and quite a bit of Quorn.
Now before you call me classist, please remember that I am a union organizer. I am not just aware of class politics, I am actually doing something about it. I know how it feels to work 12 or 16 or 18 hour days, to be on the road, to not make a lot of money. I spend every day talking with women who have to work several jobs, feed a family, and make do on a middle class income. My mother spent my childhood working three jobs at almost all times. I went to a good college on a shoestring of my father's hard-saved money, what my mom could scrape together, the federal student loan maximum, and an extremely generous scholarship. I'm not a pampered princess, nor a short order cook. But we make our own food and we don't spend a lot of time doing it. We use whole ingredients, some of them organic, and we actually put together our own dishes. MR batch cooks his legume based stews and freezes them in advance. He makes my lunch salads in the morning when he makes his breakfast salad, and I make our dinners. It takes me about 20 minutes to put together a dinner for him that is exactly 639 calories, 30% fat, 30% protein, and 40% carb, crunched on free nutritional software. If I can do that, and not see our food prices go up, why can't your average American figure out a way to eat healthy on a budget?
The reasons are to my mind pretty obvious: lack of information, and aggressive marketing. People aren't taught how to cook or anything about nutrition in school, and the food companies market so well, especially to kids, that people think that bread and chips and cereal and cookies are reasonable to be included in a daily diet.
Anyone who has been reading me for awhile knows that I am no "natural foods" zealot. It's all about calories and nutrition for me, and taste, of course. But I am realizing as food prices go up that the fact that we favor whole, real foods in their natural state is actually saving us money.
Now it's time to make dinner.
Posted by april at 4:28 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
The Shape of Our Future, The Shape of All Our History
We have a contract! At 3 am on Tuesday, Edward, Susie, Asparagus-phobe, and a great bargaining committee settled a contract that continues to set the standard for nurses in Pennsylvania... without a strike. It just goes to show how the threat of a strike can focus the mind of administration on what's really important. Our nurses were really, really happy... they ratified the contract 501 - 63. Lots of smiles, lots of hugs. It's funny to go from negotiations at our newest baby local in Scranton to our oldest and most established (and toughest) local at CZ.
The nurses were super sweet about my hugely swollen lip. One of them said I looked like Angelina Jolie. They all had helpful advice and didn't make fun of me at all. Asparagus-phobe, however, took the cake. He came in early on Saturday morning and decorated our office in signs that said:
"Cardboard kills!"
"This facility has had 12,364 (crossed out and replaced with 4) days without cardboard-related injury."
"Danger! Cardboard Zone! Safety is everyone's responsibility."
etc.
It was hysterically funny. He prefaced the entire episode by saying it was funny only because I always have my stuff together, not a hair out of place, and so it's just hysterical that a cardboard box was my undoing. I could have been annoyed, but I actually found the entire thing rather sweet. Mental note: if you're going to make fun of someone in a very elaborate fashion, be sure to preface with flattery.
So we've settled another great contract, another big win. I'm so proud of Susie, who took the lead on the internal organizing. The nurses were overflowing with compliments for how well informed they were. All those mornings of standing outside the hospital with flyers at 6 am paid off. Susie is really growing up as an organizer... I am freakishly proud of her accomplishments. She is extraordinary. I've never worked so well with anyone, and never seen an organizer learn so fast or develop so quickly.
We had a good weekend off, she and her husband went to the beach with Edward and Asparagus-Phoebe, Little Lisa went to visit friends in Iowa, and Danny C went to hear Leonard Cohen in Toronto. I just talked to Susie and we're excited about a summer to figure out what we did well, what we could do better, and get ready for the next big thing.
And inside every turning leaf
Is the pattern of an older tree
The shape of our future
The shape of all our history
And out of the confusion
Where the river meets the sea
Came things I'd never seen
Things I'd never seen
That's from Sting's "I Was Brought To My Senses." I'm listening to it as I make dinner.
I have been feeling old lately, but as I take yoga and pilates and eat right and feel the beginning of a new campaign growing inside me, the sad old feelings start to melt away. After all, I'm so proud of my little ones. And inside every turning leaf, is the pattern of an older tree... at 33, I am the older tree? Well, so be it. At least I'm still standing.
We have hard times ahead, no doubt, me and my friends at PARSNIP. This is a quick lull in the action, and things will get crazy again before we know it. I feel something new quickening in a way that I can only describe as biological.
And out of the confusion
Where the river meets the sea
Something new would arise
Something better would arise
Posted by april at 2:18 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack