Thought for Food

Tracy’s Performance Cleanse Baby Food Diet, day one (which will look an awful lot like days two, three, four, and five).

I don’t want to speak too soon but — this is not bad! Not bad at all. I haven’t had caffeine withdrawal symptoms or hunger pangs (what I felt yesterday at 1:30 pm was how I always feel at 1:30 pm, and was quickly satisfied with 8 carefully measured ounces of edamame, carrot, and cayenne puree). I love snacking on green juice so much that I drank my morning one before I could photograph it (the other I enjoyed in the evening on our terrace — which is suddenly looking like a jungle, yes? Exciting!).

The purees are pretty filling — especially the vegetable ones — though, let’s face it, they could use salt. A lot of salt. No complaints though: I had chocolate-coconut pudding for dessert! I mean, it was vegan and whatnot but c’mon — chocolate-coconut pudding. I shared some with Andrea and she agreed: delicious! (I include that tidbit because I know you wouldn’t believe it coming from me. Puree has probably gone to my head.) I even got to chew something yesterday, you guys — the chicken and vegetables in my “protein (read: fat-free) soup.” 

Nope, not bad at all.

Now can someone please tell my boyfriend to stop bringing home doggie bags from steakhouses?

Al Green, “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” (first posted on Valentine’s Day 2009)

This morning I give you a marvelous song sung by a marvelous man with the wish that it helps make today marvelous for you.

Why? Because many, including the Tumblr dashboard, are wearing my favorite color (which Julia wrote about quite thoughtfully) and I know, because of the work of my cousin and thousands more, it is only a matter of time until gays and lesbians will not only be able to hold hands everywhere they please but to take their love’s hand in marriage;

last night for the first time in about a week I danced to Tracy (and again this morning) and it’s got me feelin’ GOOD;

I’m seeing Dad, Shelley, Gena AND Liz and Bill in just two days (and I finally get to show my homegirl my hometown!);

I watched the first half of the Glee “Grilled Cheesus” episode and Kurt’s rendition of this song was very sweet (PLEASE tell me he doesn’t find God at the end of the episode! It’s rare enough us atheists are acknowledged in pop culture; that would ruin the whole dang thing);

and finally … something has changed between M. and I. We have peace. I haven’t spoken about our troubles here for obvious reasons but let me tell you: we’ve had them. I met him at a vulnerable time in his life and a time of searching in mine (the phase we shall call “always”) and what could have drawn us together often set us reeling apart. We’ve dragged each other through MUD. We’ve treated each other terribly.

But in May we began seeing a therapist and that process has done exactly what we wanted it to do. It has given us opportunity to see and treat each other with compassion. Even in the hardest times when it seemed we couldn’t go 3 days without a screaming fight we knew that we wanted to stay together; now we have the tools and patience to do so. We could have taken a trip to Paris with what we’ve spent on therapy but what good would that be if we were at each others’ throats the whole time? There will always be Paris, as they say, and now there will always be an us to enjoy it.

(I’m telling you this because I want you to know that life is not what it may appear on my blog or anyone’s blog, and if you’re in a committed relationship and having problems, even if you’re not married  — especially if you’re not married! I’d argue that’s the best time — take the step, get help.)

And with that — get back to your marvelous day!

Hey Glee. You know what’s awesome about Britney Spears? Britney Spears. Covering her videos without an original move of your own is boring as hell. And Lea Michele has the sexuality, charisma, and (it’s gotta be said) body of a child. It was almost sad watching her try to fill that schoolgirl skirt. Next.

As Bite of Pythias quipped:

ok. glee is totally just music videos and guest stars now.

#sophomore slump

PS: I will continue to watch you while doing Tracy. Obviously. But that means you’re on par with Bachelor Pad. So.

After five days of fever that I just couldn’t shake, I woke up Saturday feeling healthy and happy to be alive. So I celebrated with scrambled egg whites with Oyster Pond cherry tomatoes, feta, and rosemary and thyme straight from the terrace.

(Ok, so celebrated = breakfasted. But believe me, it felt pretty fabulous. First time I had energy in days. And all of you who have ever suffered through Tracy are going to kill me for saying this, but 5 minutes into Dance II and I was grinning ear-to-ear. With nearly a week off, I had forgotten how JOYFUL that workout makes me. Yahooooo!)

A cooking note: I like to add a dash of milk to egg whites. They cook quickly so have all the add-ins ready in advance (seen here). The cherry tomatoes were so sweet and delicate I cooked them just enough to warm them, about the time it took to melt the feta. And the fresh herbs make a very simple meal feel fancy. I absolutely love this combination!

07.10.2010, 12 pm. East Village.

Ding ding dinner! Paisley Farm zucchini and summer squash with a heirloom tomato, oregano and rosemary from our garden, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Roasted at 350F for about an hour. (Bonus: while they roasted, I turned off the AC and made the apartment into a sweatbox while I did Tracy. Sweat = burn.)

06.30.2010, 8 pm. East Village.

101 Fast Recipes for Grilling. Mark Bittman’s past 101 recipe roundups are here.

I saw him at má pêche on Friday. Homeboy’s looking skinny. He created and is definitely following the “Vegan Before 6” diet which is not only effective but gentle on the earth and just plain sensible. If I didn’t have such a hankering for cheese in salads I would be following it, too. But that’s what Tracy is for. (Not sure about Bittman, but my weekends? Anything goes.)

veronicalovesarchie:

i love the wardrobe confession videos that bluefly are doing.

remember the nicky hilton one?

here’s a peek into kelly cutrone’s wardrobe.

I love her, and I love that she has a “skinny closet.” So many women have alternate wardrobes for the “better” version of themselves (like super-heroes!). It makes me smile.

I’m the opposite. For years I hauled around my fat clothes (ok, not fat, but big). My thinking went like this: What if I gain weight again someday? Or maybe this will come in handy when I’m pregnant? Just a couple weeks ago I finally threw it all in two humongous trash bags bound for the Salvation Army. (Most of it was woefully out of date, very Bush-era bling.)

So I guess what I’m saying is: Tracy, it’s just you and me. There are no fall-back jeans. Don’t fail me now!

After the Illegal Wedding Fair we were famished, having subsisted only on teeny cupcakes and cocktail-in-a-keg all day. We tried to hit this up, but they were fresh out of crawfish and I was like, whatever, we’ll have ‘em next year in NOLA for Katie’s wedding and then it hit me that there probably won’t be any Gulf crawfish next year and that could have been my last-ever chance to eat it and so I drowned my fuckBP in a Gibson. It helped.

M. suggested we go eat at the bar at Minetta Tavern and he had that look in his eye — that let’s do/eat something kahraaaazy look (seen most notably here but also here and here and lots more besides) — so I said yes! and we hightailed it over and proceeded to go effing nuts on that menu:

Tartare “Goûtez” (three count ‘em three: lamb, beef, and precious little veal which tastes all the better ‘cause it never had a chance to live)

The grilled anchovies special (no red meat! a problem)

And the mother-lovin pièce de résistance: Dry Aged Côte de Boeuf for two, with roasted marrow bones and sucrine lettuce salad, seen above as it was presented, before they took it back to slice it.

(The proportions of meat vs. salad were hilarious, and perfect.)

Plus crispy Pommes Anna that smelled gloriously of duck fat, an amazing Burgundy (don’t know which, that’s his department), several digestifs, and an exquisite Chocolate Dacquoise for deeeesert.

The meal in a word: oh!

In two: oh my!

In three: oh my yes!

And in four: oh my fuck yes!

06.06.2010, 7 pm. MacDougal Street, the Village.

PS: (Feel I need to say this, lest you think I’m an utter glutton.) I do Tracy six days a week. Burn it to earn it. (Oy. What an embarassing phrase. Let’s never mention again that I used it.)

You know that “V” that men have, where the abs give way to the groin? Hot, right? Manly.

So why does Tracy want me to have one? (She calls it “that V shape you’ve always wanted.”)

In my (super-official, one-man) survey I learned that 100% of men do not want an abdominal “V” on their special lady friend.

I’m curious — what do you think?

Eat your greens!

Yesterday evening, I had Andrea over for dinner & a workout (the very-January answer to December’s cocktails & more cocktails). We did Tracy’s ass-kicking treadmill workout, followed by her abs & arms routines. And then we sat down to a meal befitting our healthy intentions: Greens Pie (more on that in a moment), Satur Farms arugula (the very best in the NYC region) with Villa Manodori balsamic vinegar (amazing stuff), olive oil, and Bulgarian feta, and roasted beets. Oh, and a bottle of 2008 El Chaparral de Vega Sindoa Old Vines Garnacha Navarra from Tinto Fino, a charming Spanish wine store on 1st Avenue. (Even Tracy drinks wine. Or at least that’s what I tell myself.)

Greens Pie is a dish passed on to me from Audrey Arner, the proprietress of Moonstone Farm in Minnesota (read an article I — er, make that my former boss — wrote about her here). It’s a mess of hearty greens bound with just a touch egg and cheese and baked in a pie crust. I learned the “recipe” from my mom who was the lucky witness to Audrey as she made the pie last summer with greens straight from her kitchen garden. She fell in love with the results — and I’m willing to bet you will, too. Even my kid cousins loved it.

I say “recipe” because like many good, simple foods, there is none. That said, this is the basic how-to. Feel free to experiment at will.

Two Greens Pies

The way I figure is: if you’re going to make one, make two; they’re excellent as leftovers, and frozen pie shells come in packs of two.

• 2 frozen 9” pie shells, preferable whole wheat (I used Wholly Wholesome Organic Spelt shells — really wonderful, flaky and subtly nutty)
• 4 bunches of fresh greens (any type of kale, collards, chard, spinach, or the like), cleaned and chopped into 1” strips
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan or Romano (or another type of cheese entirely, perhaps crumbled feta or fresh chevre)
• 2-3 eggs (use less eggs and cheese — or none at all — if you’re feeling particularly holy)
• 1 small yellow or white onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt & pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bring a big pot of water, liberally salted, to boil. Add the greens, cover the pot, and cook for 5 minutes, then drain the water with a colander. Allow the greens to cool slightly before chopping very finely.
2. Heat the olive oil in a big saute pan over medium heat. Add the onions and a big pinch of salt, and saute until tender, about 7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the greens, two big pinches of salt, and saute for 15-20 minutes, until the liquid in the greens has cooked off.
3. Remove from heat and let cool a bit. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl. Add cheese and eggs to greens. Taste and add black pepper and salt as needed. (If you’re squeamish about tasting something that has raw eggs in it, taste before adding them, but after adding the cheese.)
4. Transfer the greens mixture to two frozen pie shells and smooth the tops. Bake for 45 minutes. I like to serve the pies just above room temperature but of course they are good hot — and cold, for that matter.