To Thine Own Self, Be Food

For the record, this is not turning into an addiction blog.  Having said that, I will say that I've been without alcohol for over a week now.  It hasn't been terrible.  Sure, I have thought about it every day, but I don't think I'm craving it, or suffering from withdrawals. I do miss a good craft beer, though. I've made a goal to get my weight down under 130 lbs.  Then, I will indulge.  Not crazily, not recklessly, friends. Here's the thing.  I'm getting older.  Metabolism is slowing down.  I'm probably going to put on weight as I age.  Errr...not probably, definitely .  But, I'm too much of a fan of food and drink, and not enough of a fan of spending hours in the gym. It's an impasse, for sure - one we all face, undoubtedly. For example... This is a crappy piece of cherry pie. I teach at a college in the Culinary Arts department, so I have access to good food.  *Sigh*  Why, then, did I reach for this Sysco-knockoff premade pie?

So.  Every now and then, I feel compelled to talk about something else besides food here at TTOSBF. Today, the topic is alcohol. I enjoy it.  Probably more than I really should, if I may lay the truth out there at my dear readers' feet. Sometimes it's a clever craft beer or a comforting gin and tonic.  I've realized lately that I often reach for the bottles in the liquor cabinet when I'm a.) bored b.) stressed c.) in a boozy social situation or d.) feel like I need a little reward for surviving (thus far) this Trump presidency. Huh.  As it turns out, most of my life these days moves within the realm of one or more of these four conditions. So, I was drinking often.  Every day. And here was the big epiphany: once I started drinking, my productivity went in the toilet.  Don't jump to conclusions, I hardly ever drank myself into a stupor...but I'd get the strong buzz going for sure.  Then, I was near useless.  I wanted to eat everything in my kitchen cu

Remember when, oh, a little over a week ago, I did a batch of preserved lemons?  Well, a couple of days after that, I did another batch...a quick-preserved lemon recipe I'd found in Paula Wolfert's book Couscous and Other Good Food From Morocco .  And then, the holiday break was done, and I went back to work and forgot I'd done a cool thing like cure freaking lemons.   However, today was a slow day...not to mention a snow day.  My two still-at-home children did a great job of cleaning the house while I was at work, and when I arrived home, I decided to tackle the Purging of the Fridge. Which is when I found both batches of lemons. My heart skipped a beat, my breath was lost in my throat.  Tonight could be the night!  I'd find out what preserved lemons actually taste like! But first, tacos. Yes, you so read that right.  Tacos for dinner at Chez Nelson.  The sautéing of onions, the browning of ground beef, the chopping of various garnishes.  Yes, yes, yes.  Al

Excuse my attempt at tying today's blog entry with an iconic Thomas Dolby song.  What a terrible pun-ishment. Har har har. So, we're on the backside of Winter Vacation/Christmas Break/Holiday Hiatus here.  The kids return to school tomorrow, the freshman and I start back to our respective colleges next Monday. The clock is ticking and suddenly, I am whipped into frenzy to Get Work Done.  I suspect this phenomenon happens to many, many educators who try to avoid that panic-stricken night before they go back to work. And believe me when I say, I had the deepest, most earnest of intentions to write lesson plans, write quizzes, and generally prepare for the restart of my classes next week.  Like, really. And then...I was distracted by...citrus.  This happened. Okay, so....the lemons on the far right are no big deal.  They're available year-round.  But Meyer lemons...MEYER...I only find around here in the winter.  I first read about them in Alice Waters' cookboo