Brussels Sprouts: Experimenting

I can't officially say that I like Brussels sprouts just yet. I've tried cooking them two nights in a row now, and they're just kinda... meh.

I've tried two preparations, both pretty similar.

Last night I cooked up some bacon in a skillet, then cooked the sprouts cut side down in the bacon grease. Bought some balsamic vinegar for dipping - should've been a home run, right?? But not quite. Still tasted ... meh.

Tonight I just halved them, tossed them in some olive oil and minced garlic, and let them cook for about 5 minutes. Then at the very end I sprinkled some parmesan mixed with oregano and thyme and tossed them around a bit more. Again, another combo that - for me - is almost guaranteed to be enjoyed, but I still didn't like the sprouts. Too... cabbage-y? They just didn't seem to have any specific flavor other than "blech." Not offensive enough for me to swear off of them forever. I'll still try some recipes. Especially because I still have, like, a pound of them left in the bag I bought from Costco.

So, veggie connoisseurs - what step am I missing? What makes that flavor fade into the delicious that most people seem to think surrounds a Brussels sprout?

On death and such

I've realized for most of my adult life how rare it is for someone my age to still have all four grandparents. And I've done my darndest to appreciate that, and experienced the stereotypical guilt that comes from realizing I haven't seen them in several weeks or months. I know that in this aspect of my life I am extremely fortunate.

However, because I am 26 and I haven't experienced any of this before, I feel really lost about it all. My grandpa ... well, when I visit him now I can see that he's the same Grandpa Pat, that he's there on the inside still but he can't always form the right words and he can't walk and it's all happening so fast.

And his heart is breaking.
And my heart is breaking.

And it can't be stopped. Dementia, old age, it's all a slow descent into ... ?

Two months ago he could scuffle around from his chair to the bathroom, he was having an entire conversation with me about where he grew up and the trouble he'd get in with his friends. He was eating Chinese food I had bought for him without much issue other than the occasional dropped cashew, and cashews are impossible to eat with a fork anyway, so who can really blame him for that? Nobody, that's who. Sure he was declining, but he was fine. He was just. fine.

But he wasn't. And he's not. And somewhere I know that that's true. But maybe if I just keep going back to visit, and make a point to let him get his words out, and tell him to try to skootch up in his wheelchair and to be nice to the nurses and to let him feed himself even if it's downright frustrating to let those apples fall off one more time, and figure out when he's doing physical therapy, surely there will be enough love and determination to fix it. To make him better so that we don't have to go through this anymore.

But even if it worked and there was enough love to pull him back and to fix him and to un-break his heart... that's not going to stop Death.

How does one keep living when there's no future to look forward to? What kind of mental shift does one have to go through to somehow be happy or at peace knowing that life from now on is this nursing home bed, and this flickering tv? That it's ending. And how does a loved one watch and participate?

Vegetable Conquest Follow-Through

It has dawned on me that I haven't been the best about continuing my conquest of the veggies.

Yes, I learned how to cook nearly 10 things but I haven't really integrated them into daily diets. That's like saying you're going to learn Italian and then only use it to say "we eat pizza!" (Wait, that was me, too...)

Anyway, a combination of things is motivating me into thinking a little healthier.

The first thing is that I am working out regularly which makes me feel good. I go to a CrossFit gym, usually 4 times each week. Those workouts have consistently worn me out and made me hurt, but I can feel the energy I have at 3pm when I would normally crash and consider coffee. I can feel the awesome muscle I have in my biceps! And abs! And other small changes have surprised me in the mirror - like, my underwear fits better. I realize how random and mildly inappropriate that might be to share, but tough tamales, it's the truth!

The second thing is the mildly cult-ish dietary encouragement that comes with CrossFit: The Paleo Diet. When I first heard about it I wrote it off as a little ridiculous. Atkins and South Beach and all the other super-fad diets had me skeptical. The gist of Paleo is to eat what would've been accessible during Paleolithic times - think caveman - so basically nothing that needs to be processed before you eat it. Lots of meat and veggies but no grains, sugar, or treated animal products like dairy.

But I love cheeeeese!

I was content with ignoring that part of CrossFit until my friend Amanda accepted a 45-day challenge to eat Paleo with a group from her gym. Seeing someone close to me attempt and be successful got me thinking a little more critically. I would like to lose a few extra inches, and she says she feels great on top of that, too.

The final thing is that Britton and I both lament about losing inches, or in his case slimming down the beer belly that is threatening to become a permanent fixture around his mid-section. I have pretty great self-esteem, so this isn't a "I really wanna lose three pounds!" situation. It's a realization that I look fine, but still have room to be thinner and healthier.

Here's the kicker though (and the thing that will probably always be the kicker to any diet I try): I'm not ambitious enough to go get the right ingredients and learn to cook in a brand new way. I just want meals made of things that are easy to access and prepare.

So. What to do then?

First step, starting ASAP: Substitute veggies whenever possible. Instead of spaghetti, spaghetti squash; instead of mashed potatoes, mashed cauliflower. When at a restaurant, opt for the veggie side instead of fries or chips. Once I started analyzing what I was eating, I realized it's not very balanced. Pasta is our go-to dish and rice is a close second, neither of which is "allowed" in Paleo since they're processed before you eat them. And carbalicious. But yeah, empty calories for the most part.

Second step, starting soonish: Add veggies to a meal and eat them first. AKA, reduce calorie intake from less healthy foods and up the good calories, etc., from fruits & veggies. If I would normally eat 7 ravioli pieces without anything else, I should add a veggie (like asparagus - super simple!) and only cook 4 or 5 pieces.

Oh, and stop eating when I'm full. That's a tough one for me. Food just tastes so good!

Possible future steps: 

• Learn the basic substitutions for eating Paleo fo' realz
• Buy pre-made Paleo meals from a local company so that I know I have healthy options to grab & go in the house
• Cook meals (paleo or not) at home for the week so I don't get stuck ordering lunch from somewhere unhealthy.
• Convince husband to support a Paleo diet
• Figure out what I want to eat at restaurants before we get there so I'm not tempted to order my usual go-tos, such as biscuits & gravy or mac n cheese.

Ultimate goal is to look good in a swimsuit this summer. And by good I mean better than last year.

Help keep me honest! If you're eating food with me, ask me about what I'm eating or how things are progressing. I won't mind (but I might admit to veering away from these guidelines)!

-e

Sorry, we just bought a car.

Have you ever watched the BBC show "Top Gear?" It's hosted by three (British) funny-guys and they talk about cars, car parts, and how to drive cars. Somehow despite the incessant insistence on that topic, they are really entertaining! B loves it.

He also loves just about every car in it - Aston Martins, Ferraris, Nissans. It's been our little joke that he'll look over and say "WANT" while he reaches at the screen like a four-year-old to an ice cream cone. I usually then ask the price and he stops insisting quite so much. So, if you're ever in need of something to buy him...

Anyway, I'm rambling about this because I have a new come-back line to replace the question of price. Now I can simply ask him, "would you like to drive MY new car?" The reaction is about the same... because by "new" I really mean "old." We have officially bought my little Civic off of my parents.

So... that checkbox hit me right in the face! I'd forgotten that buying a car was on my list, probably because when I put it there I meant it in a much more buy-a-BRAND-NEW-car way. But seeing as Hondas tend to last forever and I only have 3.5 years left til 30 (gulp! - how did THAT happen?!) this is pretty much it! Another step towards competent adulthood. Give-or-take the fact that I filed my title papers on the last. possible. day. And that my car sat with the old plates for another 10 days after that (no, I didn't drive it). And that the "Maint. Req'd" light has been flashing when I turn the car on for the last month or so.

So, er, happy "new" car to me! Hopefully it lasts!

Soups! (Veggies #6.8)

I like soups so much that they get their own veggie sub-point and a blog entry all to themselves. Because they are just. That. Delicious.

I've attempted a couple of new soups recently since I have lots of fun new kitchen tools and vessels from the wedding registry.

What? Oh yeah - that wedding thing happened back in Nov.! Aaaaand it was basically perfect. Surrounded by friends, family, dancing the night away and waking up with that same guy that I still like after all this time! There isn't an emoticon big enough to really capture the happy that I have from the whole thing, so here's a photo instead.

I kinda like this guy :)

So. Soups. Yes. Counting this one as a veggie is kind of premature since I haven't quite made a soup explicitly with a veggie I wouldn't have otherwise tried. I made a super rich, cream-based mushroom soup back when it first got cold. This is where I discovered my love of cream-based anything. Ok, not really discovered, just solidified the knowledge of. If it's bad for me I probably love it.

Creamy, delicious
mushroom soup

The next recipe wasn't anything momentous either, other than the fact that it was almost entirely blended vegetables and I still wanted to eat it! It was a tomato soup in the crockpot: put a couple cans of tomatoes, some chopped carrots, celery, and onion and some broth in the crockpot and let those cook all day, then come home and blend it all together and add some cream and maybe some cheese, too? It was quite yummy (see statement in previous paragraph about cream-based anything!).

So, this most recent soup is actually a little farther out of the box. It was - gasp! - VEGAN. [duh duh DUHHHHHNNN] That's right - zero animal product, no cheese, no milk, no nothin' other than veggie-based food. AND IT'S DELICIOUS. [Erk, I just realized that we *did* add some feta when we ate it. It didn't add much though. Now if we had goat cheese, that'd be different!]

The recipe was pinned by Michelle Obama and is from the Oprah website, so it's not like it was going to be bad anyway. But other than being somewhat time consuming, it was really simple and tastes sweet but still hearty. The sweet potatoes really come through, helped by a few apricots I think. I've eaten it at least once for the last couple days and I'm not tired of it yet! (I'm also not finished yet, which gives you a hint as to how much it made!) The first night we ate it with some SUPER yummy burgers that B made with HIS new cast iron skillet. (That's right - not only did HE register for that bad boy, but he has now also USED it! I'm living this up!)

Here's the recipe. My little notes are in [brackets] this time.

Enjoy!
-e

Husband made some yummy burgers to go with.

Sweet Potato & Red Lentil Soup
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
½ cup dried apricots, quartered
¼ cup chopped onion or shallots
¼ to ½ tsp. Thai red chili paste [I left this out - Thai red chili paste was $5 for a teeny-tiny jar. If you can convince me it's worth it, I'll get it for next time, but it had better knock my heels off.]
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
¾ cup light coconut milk [that's only about 1/3 of a can. As I kept the soup warm on the stove I just added the rest in to keep it from getting too thick.]
½ tsp. salt, plus more to taste
½ tsp. ground black pepper
Chopped cilantro (optional) [didn't use it]
4 Tbsp. pomegranate juice or seeds (optional) [didn't use it, but would be interested to try it! I think the tart crunch of the seeds would be a good contrast to the sweet soup.] Edit: tried it. Liked it! Discovered Costco occasionally sells pomegranate seeds separately. Win.

Place sweet potatoes, lentils, apricots, onion, chili paste, and broth in a large pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to low heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are falling apart, about 25 [20 for me] minutes. Let soup sit, uncovered, 10 minutes.

Add coconut milk. Using a blender, puree soup until smooth, in batches if necessary. Stir in salt and pepper, and add more if desired. [I barely needed the blender, everything was so tender after 30ish mins of simmering I could've mashed it with my spatula. But an immersion blender is waaaay more fun!]

To serve: Divide pureed soup among bowls, and top each with cilantro and pomegranate juice or seeds (if using). [If you're cool like me, you have a sweet soup-and-sandwich bowl/plate setup from your Gramma Barb!]

Source: http://www.oprah.com/food/Sweet-Potato-and-Red-Lentil-Bisque-Recipe#ixzz2HLNPYOpY