My Kitchen - Oral Fixations

April 8, 2014April 10, 2014

Eating Green

I gave up red meat and chicken for Lent. My meals revolved around vegetables, tofu and seafood.

The Bay Area makes it easy. I thought it was exciting to explore vegetarian and vegan menus in San Francisco and beyond.

At the new Devil’s Slide Trail, we enjoyed a lovely walk and picnic with portobello mushroom sandwiches from Dinosaurs in Pacifica. I adore the vegan mayo on that crusty bread.

I also found plenty of vegetarian recipes to test in our kitchen.

Vegetable Quiche (Inspired by the South Beach Diet recipe. However, I wanted to use leftover eggs in the fridge)
Vegetarian Chili (Hubby loved it when I added seitan)
Leftover Thai Asparagus Soup with hard-boiled egg (Leftover Marnee Thai food and having fun with egg molds from Suzanne’s Vietnam/Japan adventure!)
Seitan Salpicao (I modified Bianca’s beef recipe and added seitan. It worked, but I missed the smoky tones from caramelized beef)
Brown Rice with Tofu, Dried Mushrooms and Spinach (Thanks Martha Stewart!)
Zesty Avocado Dressing Over Green Salad (reminded me of that creamy Ranch dressing texture!)

April 1, 2014July 3, 2020

Eat Drink 2013

Sheesh.
I normally do this “look back” post in January. It’s been a little nutty in the newsroom.
I’m sorry.

2013: The year of meat. That’s what it feels like since I gave up red meat, chicken and alcohol for Lent this year.

Last year, I had one of the most decadent meals of my life at Restaurant au Pied de Cochon in Montreal.

My entrÃ©e: stuffed au pied de cochon with foie gras. It felt like the fatty duck meat left my heart racing.

In wine country, we got messy with a lobster boil at St. Supery.

In Pacifica, I went crabbing for the first time. We got lucky. I named our crabby friend “Lunch.”

In Daly City, we hosted our first Thanksgiving Dinner.

In Calistoga, we celebrated the New Year with newlyweds, Nancy and Justin, and plenty of hearty pork dishes.

I posted more food and drink photos on Flickr.

September 25, 2013

Sweaty Mess, Eating Lean

T-Minus 2 hours before my next bootcamp workout.

This is the second week of my 6-week fat loss and fitness program with O2 BodyFit. It kicks my butt with high-intensity cardio & strength routines. The trainers push us without breaking us down.

I’m sweaty mess at the end. My muscles and limbs scream from exhaustion.

So far, I love it!

I’m also on a new meal plan: more lean meats and more (much more) vegetables.

Here’s what I made for the first week (I tweaked the recipes to cut down on oils and eliminate dairy items):

Broiled salmon with a peppercorn-Lime Rub and an Asian slaw with a ginger peanut dressing (no honey)
Pan-seared tilapia (no butter) with broccoli slaw and spinach salad
Lemon-Thyme chicken with sauteed vegetables (no cheese)
Chicken omelette, with kale and cherry tomatoes
Ground turkey with Rogan Josh sauce (Saffron Road simmer sauce) over cauliflower rice and spinach salad.

I had plenty of leftovers.