Anna Blume

Since chilly weather is upon us, I've been taking advantage of the fact by making soups whose flavors do not depend on a lot of fat. While I'm not giving up on roasting vegetables with a little olive oil or even sautéing them first in a little butter, I like the idea of getting 200 calories from shredded smoked ham as opposed to a tablespoon of oil.

With that in mind, I made a huge pot of snert, a Dutch pea soup with hoards of vegetables. I just went minimalistic on the meat in preparing half of Klary's recipe with a single smoked ham hock and trimmings from some pork chops I used to make ragu over the weekend.

While that was simmering, I made a single portion of lemongrass chicken soup, improvising after reading a number of recipes online. I was going for something without coconut milk for obvious reasons.

I feel sheepish to admit that I have never cooked with lemongrass before, but the novelty of slicing into the root and being hit by all that fragrance was a delight. I found a nice, no-name fresh red chile at Whole Foods that also served me well.

Here are two recipes that guided me and might inspire you:

Asparagus added

otherwise, this is the more appealing, savvy recipe, minus the tomato.

That's a significant birthday to celebrate and celebrations are good for the soul. Look it's a truism rather than an insight, but it's worth becoming a mantra:

This is not about dieting.

This is about making significant changes in the way you live, getting more exercise and eating a more healthful diet.

There's a reason Europeans refer to the "energy" in foods vs. the "calories". If those pounds returned, consider them a gift of an increased energy level. Spend, or lower it.

Well, that's a bit more wordy than "Om mani padme hum", but...

Dinner will be the challenge, as Mr P will be cooking. He only cooks two things: spaghetti and carryout.

Gee, if only there were some ragu in the fridge....

* * *

As for the duck fat, it's monosaturated fat, like olive oil, accoridng to Lucy Vatel and her French diet-doctor. Not bad for you, just caloric. I wouldn't go making a huge cake of Pommes Anna with a cup of it, as good as that would be, but enjoy in modest amounts. Sauté some garlic or onions in it when making soup, for example.

Week 4

N January 21, 2007

• Half grapefruit. Coffee w whole milk

• Oatmeal w 6 dried sour cherries & milk

• Grilled cheese on oatmeal bread

• Half a red bell pepper

• Clementine

• 2nd coffee w whole milk

• 1 small square Aged gouda at WF

• 2/3 c black bean soup w dab light sour cream

• Tea w ½ t honey & milk though yearned for cocoa w marshmallow

• Carrot & celery heart

• ½ lb. Salmon, pan-roasted w ½ T EVOO, skinne, lime juice, ½ t soy sauce, ¼ t sesame oil on

• Braised chard, 2 garlic cloves, ½ onion, gingerroot, ½ T EVOO, ¼ t soy & sesame oil

• Small baked sweet potato w ½ t butter

• 2 Mugs herbal tea, straight

• Navel orange & 65-calorie square of bittersweet chocolate

N.B. Extra meal after 4 ½ mi. walk in snowy weather, half involved in lugging groceries.

M January 22, 2007

• 2 Clementines & coffee w whole milk

• Egg salad sandwich: 390 calories

• Carrot sticks (2 carrots)

• Anjou pear

• Turkey meat loaf w core of roasted red pepper & spinach; 1/6 (1.25 lbs. 7% fat; carrot, parsley, onion, garlic, celery, egg, buttermilk, baguette, grated Grana and Romano, too much sage, thyme, S & P; ketchup on top only)

• Steamed Brussels sprouts w lemon juice & 1 t butter

• Smashed Yukon Gold potatoes (6 ½ oz) w 1% buttermilk & 1 ½ t butter

• Apple

T January 23, 2007

• Clementine & coffee w milk

• 6 oz. plain yogurt, 1 ½ T cranberry sauce & 2 T granola

• Carrot-fennel soup w dill, bowl w new stock & dab of light sour cream added

• ½ sandwich: toasted slice oatmeal bread, sliver meat loaf, lettuce, t mayo & cornichons

• Green tea w ½ t honey & clementine

• Mushroom ragù on polenta ( ½ T butter, no cheese) w braised scallions (ckn stock)

• 3/8 orange & 6 raw almonds

W January 24, 2007

• 5/8 orange & coffee w milk: 70 calories

• Poached egg w green Tabasco, 1 slice buttered (3/4 t) oatmeal bread: 265 calories

• 8 Gnudi w tomato sauce & a little Grana: 350-400 calories

• 2 carrots

• Green tea & 7 raw almonds (66 calories)

• Turkey meat loaf, reheated (approx 200)

• Roasted sweet potato (200) & 1 t of butter (70 calories)

• Salad w red leaf lettuce, cucumber & roasted beets (60)

• Salad dressing made w light sour cream (40), lemon juice, garlic & Gorgonzola=100 calories. Fine, but skip the cheese—can't taste 5/8 oz., so not worth it.

• Quarter of an apple w herbal tea

Calories: about 1450 total. Too many at dinner: 630

R January 25, 2007

• Half grapefruit (70? 97 for cup) & coffee w milk (70+30=100)

• Oatmeal w tart sour cherries and skim milk (150+41+30=221) 331

• WW spaghettini w anchovy-tomato sauce & celery (3 oz; 3 salt-packed; 1 t EVOO & 2/3 c sauce 300+200?)

• Green tea & ¾ of an apple (45) 545 Leaving 475 for dinner

• Miso soup w soba, tofu, Shitake, gingerroot, scallions, asparagus & carrots Dashi, ½ c chicken stock, porcini soaking liquid, soy sauce & sesame oil

• Persimmon cake (3" x 1 ½ ") & homemade apple sauce. 6 oz. skim milk. Herbal tea.

F January 26, 2007

• Half grapefruit & coffee w milk 100

• Turkey meatloaf sandwich w 1/3 roasted red pepper, 2 cornichons, lettuce & ½ T mayo on oatmeal bread (200+45+240; can't find info on pepper-520?)

• 2 carrots at 68 grams (65) 585 Leaving 665 for snack & dinner

• Anjou pear

• Lots of tasting while making soup

• Ragout of mushrooms, onion & Brussels sprouts w small wedge cornbread

• Salad of cucumber, roasted beet & lettuce; dressing: 40 calories of light sour cream, lemon juice, minced garlic, green Tabasco sauce & cilantro (good)

• Decaf green tea & 2 small cubes crystallized ginger

S January 27, 2007

• Half grapefruit & coffee w whole milk

• Oatmeal w sour cherries 331

• Second cup of coffee 30

• Half a meatloaf sandwich w 2 thin slices, 1 t mayo, 2 cornichons (120+200+70)

• 1/3 of a cucumber & small carrot

• Apple

• Parsnip soup w leeks, cannellini & arugula; drizzle of EVOO. Wedge of cornbread

• Orange and 2 squares bittersweet chocolate (130)

WEIGHT: Lost 1 pound during week, 2 ½ total, a full 3 at the time of posting, so slowly but steadily dropping pounds during the second half of the month versus bobbing up and down during the first two weeks.

Ate nothing while shopping at Whole Foods this time. 3.58 hours of exercise, 3 days of dedicated walking w few minutes on a fourth day. So, even though exertion barely increased, progress. Goal next week: return to four days of brisk walking despite chilly weather. Making regular exercise routine is more important to me than the number of hours at the moment. Climb at least 8 flights of stairs on the other days.

Were I set on going to France and really interested in more than daily trips to the market on my own, I'd look into classes offered by Suzanne Loomis.

The problem with Italy is finding a place that isn't wall to city-wall packed with tourists. In Florence, I think i've been there every single month with the exception of February, and there is no longer any such thing as a lull. As someone who lives close to the National Zoo, I finally understand why so many Florentines are so surly.

If you're leaning towards central Italy, nonetheless, I'd look into Faith Willinger, Divina Cucina or Aroma Cucina in a tiny town in Umbria which is close to good places to spend parts of your days. Can't find them? Send a PM.

Me? I'd go to the following, perhaps in the following order, instead:

1) Love Sicily

2) Spain. Don't know possibilities, but oh, Spain! The market in Barcelona! Everyone knows from French food. Italian food's easy to make according to Waitman. But if you could find a nice place to learn regional, home cooking, you'd be doing something that may be trendy, but distinct.

3) Don't know if I'd put this last, really, since it looks so amazing, but go to eGullet.org. Visit the regional forum for Mexico and look for a long thread that docsconz put together, documenting a cooking vacation he and his wife took with Rick Bayless. It is an eye-opener. I would put this first in my list were it not for the other things I really want to visit in Sicily and Spain.

Gosh, I've been doing that all my life. The fragile/soft stuff, like eggs, bread, pears, mushrooms (especially the $30/lb kind) go at the end. The canned stuff, the dry pasta, the potatoes and onions go at the front.

Once again I am amazed to find, through donrockwell.com, that I'm not the only one out there. Great minds think alike. And so do ours.

Nice to know I am not alone

Am I alone in bagging my own purchases?

Can I express a little hatred for the stupid clamshell packaging that WF now uses for spices? It's not airtight, so everything has to be transferred into something else lest is get stale, but the quantity you get is too much for the average spice jar. And at least one is guaranteed to pop open in the cabinet, spilling chili powder or oregano all over the place.

I have been complaining to the store ever since they started doing this!!!! You just have to wonder about the culinary expertise of management who are making decisions like this.

The spices lose flavor quickly enough in clear containers; it's a lot worse in plastic vs. glass. That's one reason I stopped buying spices in bulk some time after I lost my identity as a food co-op member. The only worthwhile purchases are the peppercorns if they've been packaged recently or the bay leaves.

Second, the amounts packed into clam shells are arbitrary. Unless you're making gobs of chili or curry powder and serving chilies or curries once a week to a good-sized household, a clamshell full of cayenne pepper or cumin is simply not going to stay fresh before you use it up even if it might have been fresh when you bought it.

Does anyone in regional management at WF read this board?

Again, not a full menu, but a recipe or tip for salad eaters. I usually prefer eating green vegetables cooked at this time of year instead of making salads. However, a big plate full of lettuce compensates for smaller portions of a main dish and complements soup, so I've been trying to find alternatives to the 300 plus calories of vinaigrettes.

I opened an old copy of The Vegetarian Epicure, Book Two whose pages are falling out of its binding and noticed several recipes for sour cream dressing. So:

Daisy Light Sour Cream: 2 T have 40 calories

Lemon or lime juice

1 garlic clove, minced, then mashed with salt

From there, alternatives are endless and could include Tahini or a minimal amount of grated Parm or Romano if you're good about everything else you eat that day.

I added chopped cilantro and green Tabisco sauce.

This morning, the second digit in my weight dropped for the first time since I don't know when.

I was going to indulge in that one special breakfast per week, pulling two slices of bread from the freezer and searching the pantry for the new bottle of maple syrup, figuring if I ate it late enough, all I'd need is an apple and maybe some yogurt in the middle of the afternoon to tide me over until it's time for soup.

Then I added up the number of calories in French toast with a teensy bit of syrup and butter . It would have left me with about 445 calories for the rest of a day when I should be walking about 5 miles.

I ended up having oatmeal instead.

Treat? A second cup of coffee.

Ummmm, yes.

Actually, you're not one of a few and it's funny how something that I find disgusting at room temperature, I like frozen when masked by other flavors. There are certain Odwalla drinks I would not buy back when I didn't care about calories simply because they contained bananas and tasted of bananas.

They're on their way out, but I noticed a handful at WF last week--Georgetown or what others here call Glover Park.

I wish persimmons were still in season, but it looks as if their time is over. They're fantastic with pomegranates.

I use like a heaping teaspoon of white miso to flavor (along with other aromatics) about a quart of chicken, duck, or beef stock for a broth. Gives some depth and earthiness.

In one week (see original post), you've gone from an Innocent to a User?

Do tell! Any experiments? Did you buy other types of miso?

* * *

Thanks for the inspiration. I ended up making dashi and a traditional miso soup last night with soba noodles, tofu, shitake mushrooms, etc., adding a little soaking liquid from dried porcini just because there was some in the fridge. Since it was so cold ( finally!!!), it was perfect for the time of year as well as for The Summer Challenge.

P.S. I'm very happy with the tubs of organic Miso Master that are found in stores like Yes or WF, I think.

At least when red miso is concerned, 1 T per cup sounds like a bit much. 2 t to a T for a generous serving of 2-3 cups of broth is fine, especially if other flavors are added to the dashi such as light soy sauce, mirin, toasted sesame oil...

Wow.

Wow.

Yes, that does seem to explain, in part, why so many recipes written by medical and nutritional experts are less than appealing.

Nonetheless, I think it's great you're consulting a professional during this process and it seems as if you're getting encouragement as well as sound advice.

* * *

Not practical for carting or hurried mornings, but there's a way to make really good smoothies without any added sweetners.

I never use sugar, honey, etc., but rely on bananas. I buy a large bag of over-ripe ones when I can, slice them and divide them into portions before freezing.

Take what you need out of the freezer and blend with favorite plain yogurt, fresh or frozen fruit that you wish to provide the flavor, and fresh mint, lemon zest or gingerroot if complementary.

And walking briskly for at least three miles after it's all over.

You're still five pounds lighter than you were nearly a month ago. Were you to continue in this fashion, you'd be 60 pounds lighter in a year. That's pretty damn good!

My big achievement yesterday was not getting popcorn at the movie theater. I looked up the nutritional info for even a kids size serving - almost 400 calories and 40 grams of fat. Yikes.

I confess to sneaking in fresh fruit or other low-calorie snacks such as a very small number of raw almonds. Peel or slice the fruit before you go to avoid disturbing others. It's a good way to get in more fiber, Vitamin C or...

Not an entire meal, but a VERY enthusiastic endorsement:

The light yellow sweet potatoes at Whole Foods . They are absolutely delicious and after bite number three, there's a moment of satori when you finally understand why Japanese school children sell hot roasted sweet potatoes to passersby in the winter time as a way to raise money.

I usually buy Jewel or any of the darker varieties, especially when I'm in the mood for salmon and greens. Last night I baked the pale yellow type to go with leftovers and felt for the first time that I really didn't need the 1 t of butter I added, though I do find trans fat in moderation one of the best ways to get over the Angst of dieting.

Sizes range quite a bit, but a quick online search offers caloric value per gram along with approval of the starchy vegetable as a means to both losing (filling, lots of vitamins) and gaining weight (at 200 for mine, many more calories than grapefruit).

Thanks, Lydia. The information about protein is most useful to me.

I'm a bit skeptical about the straight, non-fizzy water business, and thought the basis for 8-glasses a day is that the water helps to diminish over-eating; it's said that sometimes we confuse hunger with thirst. Some now say any non- or low-caloric beverages serve the same purpose, such as green or herbal tea. At any rate, I'm assuming I do okay on that measure. I feel ridiculous enough as it is documenting all food intake.

I'd be surprised to learn there isn't a new OC category in that large diagnostic book used by mental health professionals, one for people who record every single thing they eat on a daily basis, week after week. A sub-category is for the exhibitionists who show what they do to others.

FWIW, I did drop down to my lowest weight this morning. Modest, but still. Fluke?

Help?

Every week thus far I've been taking baby-steps down the hill, losing and gaining the same few pounds. At the moment, I am only 1 pound below baseline and tomorrow, after exercise this evening, I probably will lose half a pound if I continue to repeat my experience of the past three weeks.

Yesterday I started what I told myself I wouldn't do since it's one of those things I hate about dieting: calculating calories to determine where I can eliminate the amount I need to let go in order to lose weight.

I looked at one web site only, but after plugging in my height (short), weight, age & current level of activity, I was told that I needed 1871 calories to maintain my current weight and 500 calories less--in addition to greater amounts of exercise--to lose weight.

The same site cautions against dipping lower than 1200 calories per day without consulting a doctor.

So, 1300-1350 calories a day? Does this seem right?

Anyone else limiting themselves to a fairly low number who has good recommendations?

(The other strategy is to gradually increase the hours of brisk walking I do. Please don't recommend a gym since I prefer physical exertion in day-to-day activities or the outdoors.)

I'm not related, honest.

Anyway, over in the Italian forum of eG, we were discussing polenta. I reported that despite the conventional wisdom among Italians that it takes about 45 minutes to prepare indoors, Hazan requires only 25 minutes for cooking it once the grains are slowly trickled into the simmering water---in the original editions of her books. I wonder if this is due to the one prevalent type of finer cornmeal available to home cooks in Manhattan ca. 1980 and if the revised edition adjusts that time period to recognize wider availability of coarse cornmeal nowadays.

* * *

Using a book by Anna Del Conte last night, I used one of those recipes that tell you what to do with half of one ingredient, then neglects the other half. I just think there are a lot of recipes out there that should have been edited more carefully.

Actually, Bill, your dilemma represents my motivation. The clothes I like that don't fit anymore are not packed away, they're in my regular bedroom closets.

I'm embarrassed by how girlie it sounds, but I actually bought a silk skirt reduced from $500 to $100, in a size I haven't worn for a decade. That was the only time I've ever done anything like that--two years ago. By the time this challenge ends, even if I'm successful, I won't be able to wear it. However, the zipper will go up another inch or two and I can proceed from there and trust that this town is so conservative, no one will notice it's not even retro.

The whole idea is to prove to myself that as I age, I don't have to become a round, little old lady with latent diabetes, the latter a disease my grandmother, a nurse, developed due to years of cooking excessively and well for her family. The "little" and "old" are beyond my powers of control, but I can do something to avoid getting any rounder before my health is affected aversely.

So, even 10 of my 18 pounds would be a good step, since I've already facing the probability that I won't make my quota of 4 pounds for the first month. I've managed to stay a good 3.5 pounds below my highest weight, but have seen myself go up and down for these past three weeks, losing only 1.5 pounds over and over again. More changes are obviously necessary, and each week I make them. Just need to pick up the pace.

Great idea, Jake. It's so wonderful to have a real need for soup at last.

And RK, cute write-up!

Once upon a time, the Dexter Heritage Inn (? not sure of the name), if ever so briefly, was extremely good and expensive...on a T.A.'s salary. That's where I had the wonderful miso, but non-Japanese, non-fusion soup I mentioned in another thread. There was another place on the main strip of that tiny town--not the main bar--with damn good hamburgers and blackberry pie in the summertime.

Hamtramick has the Eagle Tavern if I'm not mistaken. Glorious kielbasa.

Dearborn? BEST place to buy groceries, especially when FAGE wasn't even a twinkle in any American distributor's eye.

Windsor, just across the border, is for Chinese.

As for Ann Arbor itself, there is or was really good Korean. There are the deep-fried zucchini and burgers with mushrooms and blue cheese at Blimpy Burger. And if you're in a midwestern college town, you shouldn't whine about being stuck with Zingerman's. Not when you moved to a place like Washington, D.C. where you can't buy good bread or deli.

Otherwise, my dears, there is a reason why my friends back East told me it was known as the Potluck Capital of the United States. We always made better food than most of the restaurants did and we had a wonderful farmer's market before most other places did--long before you could get yellow bell peppers at supermarket chains. There were TWO real hardware stores with cast iron skillets and a genuine food co-op where you'd get a discount for working ten hours a month.

Besides, isn't everyone grateful that the city gave the nation the likes of Tom Moynahan and Domino's?

Does anyone else buy the family packs of chicken leg quarters?

They were on sale yesterday, so I picked up one in addition to wings to make chicken stock. Bell & Evans does the butchering, and I had forgotten that the word "quarters" means that they are not just the leg.

Each piece comes with backbone, tail and guts (mostly liver-bits) still attached. One leg had the entire backbone attached. I took out my scale to find that of the 4.5 pounds of chicken I purchased, only 2.57 pounds were the legs (including skin, bones, etc.). The rest was stuff B & E would have presumably discarded. This is not a bargain, especially for someone who is planning to cook the pieces some other way.

Okay, TH. I noticed how many of Hazan's recipes I still haven't made when looking through the volumes the other day.

By the way, are you talking about the original two volumes or the more recent one-volume edition in which, I understand, a number of the recipes have been revised? I thought the revisions accommodated the greater availability of Italian ingredients in the U.S. and lightened some of the fat content. I don't know if changes responded to problems in the original recipes or if any of the alterations were unwise.