Southern Winds & Warming Sun

The January thaw has arrived. Forty four degrees. I had to take off my hat, my scarf, my gloves and the short down underjacket on the walk today. And then I pulled out the lawn chair and took a short rest in the sunshine.

My photo today was taken many weeks ago and I still haven't cracked the thriller on the left open but I have read parts of this vegetable gardening book. I like it. I might want to own it. It would certainly come in handy if I return to work at the greenhouse (please let me return to work at the greenhouse). Since my wish hasn't been granted yet--I filed online for my next week's unemployment check. I file on Sunday and the check is here in my mailbox on Wednesday. Like magic. Who knew the government could be this efficient?

I have been reading VooDooCafe and really enjoy the way Rice writes. I need to link to this blog but do not have the url handy now that Paula has given me very good (most excellent in fact) instructions on how to "link". That little card was here yesterday...........

Today is Sunday so we are having SOUP. I used the last "broccoli crown" in the veg drawer. Thank heavens it was lurking in there because I didn't have much else to work with. I melted the last few tablespoons of butter and sauteed a diced onion and a big carrot, also diced and the aforementioned broccoli chopped up with the stems diced. I salted and peppered lightly. Added some dry basil and paprika. Then spooned 2 tablespoons of flour in the pot and mixed it in so as to make a roux (of sorts) while the water kettle heated up. I added 2 cups of water and 2 vegetable boullion cubes and let everything simmer till "not raw anymore" which I guess is 10 or 15 minutes on low. I also added one 15 ounce can of corn, drained and one can (same size) of diced tomatoes, drained. That's where we are right now. When it's time to eat, I'll heat the soup up and add 1 pint of light cream (I have some half and half and some milk in the fridge) and 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar. Once the milk and cheese goes in--no boiling or you get vegetables and curds soup. Not as popular around here.

The sausage, mushroom and onion pizza was VERY popular on Friday evening. I browned the sausage first till it was crispy. I don't like juicy meat. I like meat that is dark brown and crispy. I like it past done. G's best friend, Charlie, always asks in diners and restaurants, for "the roast chicken you have in the kitchen, the one that's overcooked and dry and you're planning to pitch". What they serve him is never dry enough. Charlie always starts my hotdogs early and doesn't call me to the grill to pick them up until they are blackened charcoal. Got to love a guy who makes that kind of effort.

My pizza had three slices of bacon, diced and very crispy, red onion and green peppers. Not very interesting (not enough bacon) so I added red pepper flakes after baking. And I tried something new and stretched the ball of pizza dough over my knuckles to make a perfect circular pizza. Chewy crust. I had been rolling it with a rolling pin and it was "breadlike". Stretched over the knuckles is the way to go.

I have surrendered to the knowledge that I have to return to the 1200 calories a day eating plan. I don't want to, but just "trying" to eat right is only resulting in a half pound of weight loss a week. At this rate, I will be doing this for years. I just want it over with. I want the twenty pounds gone by the time I stop wearing my winter clothes.

So I started counting, weighing, adding, multiplying and dividing everything I eat. My blueberry pancakes this morning were already 770 calories so I don't have much to work with for the remainder of today. I made the pancakes because I WANTED THEM and it's best to get those sorts of things out of the way. I also WANTED the nachos I had for lunch yesterday. You can see why I wasn't doing very well on the "honor system".

So all that is now in the past. Not that I eat that way, usually. I tend to eat moderately and am paying for excesses in eating that occurred in the fall and winter at work when I ate bagels and big lunches and bacon pizza and doughnuts and handfuls of fried peanuts. Yes, I did. So now I have to suffer because of all that eating at work. And when I return to work I have to be very careful not to do it again. Or I have to stay home, where I tend to be very good about what I eat. I could blame it all on Kenny. He's the one who kept buying all those pepperoni and bacon pizzas and sharing them with everyone in the lunchroom. I think I will eat in my truck in the parking lot when I return to work. And chew gum.