Author: boomingbanter

After last nights feast and some good wine I slept like a baby.

Just as well because I had an early start. To get back to Central Ohio for a meeting at 9:00am I said Zaijian to Tjin at 4:45 am!

All went well on route. It was me the country station and a convoy of semi trucks till I hit the Ohio border. I felt really like An American Girl

By this time it was close to 7:00 and some weekend commuters had, like the sun, begun to rise.

All continued to plan and I was on interstate 75 with sign posts telling me it was 670 miles to Atlanta and 1100 to Tampa! This never fails to excite me when I think that if I just stayed on one road for long enough I’d be in the tropics. The thought is particularly appealing when it’s freezing cold outside.

So perhaps distracted by day dreams or maybe because of road work I missed my exit and ended up having to take a country road instead.

I was livid because I wanted to make the meeting on time. Now it seemed I was going to arrive half and hour late.

The road was so very different from the highway. Cute towns and villages and many Amish buggies out and about early. One had three men up front which is a tight squeeze in a buggy and all had long ginger beards. Thought for a minute I was back in leprechaun land.

They brought me luck though and I made it to my meeting with two minutes to spare and lots of thoughts of Amish pastries and where I could go to find them sometime soon fresh baked from the farm. With all the stress of the day I must have burned off at least half a cinnamon roll!

My appetite was soon satisfied by a home made apple cake my friend Jo had baked for our meeting. Another day down weight I fear not!

Blessing # 510 – Kings of Different Roads

My friend Tjin and I have spent a lot of time in the past two days talking about food. This is something of a hobby for those of us who work in the industry.

We got to reminiscing about our favorite culinary experiences during our time in China and talked so much about Schezwan dishes that we decided we had to have some. Our absolute favorite is pock marked mother’s tofu (Mapotofu). Not the most appealing name but the most delicious of all dishes and a dieters disaster!

So tonight we’re going to light up our taste buds with plenty of pepper of the chili and the Schezwan  variety. Might induce a little thermogenesis!

If you’ve never experience this type of pepper you’ve got to try it. Do so in very small quantities though at least to start with. It’s got this flora citrus like note and is wickedly spicy and it also has some magical component that numbs your mouth and makes you droll all at the same time!

Tjin and I have a particular fondness for it because we spent years working with it. We even put it into a beverage code names Cosmopolitan at one time way back in 2003!

Tjin knows all the Chinese hot spots in Kalamazoo so we’re ordering from the best. It a Hunan rather than Schezwan so might be even hotter! To balance out the all that spice were also dumping the diet for dumplings and a little greenery in the form of fried pea shoots.

If you cave in best to go the whole hog so we might just get a little crispy fried pork too!

Blessing # 509 – Take Away from Far Away

Today I drove to Michigan to spend some time with my dear friend Tjin. We met when we worked together in China. Some years later we reunited to work together once more this time in France.

Tjin returned to China and then moved back to Europe before coming to the USA last year. Now we are just five hours apart.

The drive started out with fog and threatening snow but that was not as stressful as the rattle from yesterday that continued. After driving for about forty minutes I stopped and courageously poked around the AC vents. Nothing emerged and the rattle continued. Then it hit me like a mallet on the head! The passenger window! All it took was the tiniest push and the rattle snake noise was no more!

The day continued to improve and as I crossed the Michigan border as if by magic the sun came out and lovely snow flurries started.

Tjin lives in a suburb of Kalamazoo a place I’d  heard of but never visited. It’s a beautiful area and with a name like that you gotta think it’s a place of character.

Close by where she works is Battle Creek the home of Kelloggs. There’s Kelloggs colleges, Kellogg Airport and of course Kellogg Parks and Highways.

The whole business was built around DIETS! Thank you Kelloggs for helping me out today.

The two Kellogg brothers were great advocates for healthy eating. They were way ahead of their time. More than one hundred years ago they were advocating vegetarian diets for all sorts of conditions.

The famous flake was developed as something of an accident but went on in years to come to be a staple in the homes of millions.

Can’t imagine the world without them. Just imagine Aaron might have to eat porridge if those good old grains of corn hadn’t been squished and toasted to give « The Original & The Best »

Blessing # 508 – Amazing Maize

Today I had to take a lot of boxes of supplies back to the storage unit we have for our Kairos things. As I was approaching the town where the unit is located I started to hear a rattle. It scared me as I immediately thought of that snake skin I’d found in the Halloween decorations.

When I got to the unit my friend who was there help me empty the car and we could see nothing. In one of the boxes were some utensils that very well could have caused a rattling noise! Whew!

Supplies offload off I went to load up again this time at our company store which is in the same town. Killing two birds with one stone as you do I got a trunk load of things including dog food for fluff ball.

During his entire life the dearly departed furball Dibley ate only one thing Beneful Puppy Food. When the fluffball came we still had a few bags of this and thought it would be ideal for him. The kennel had told us to feed him a grain free diet but of course we didn’t listen. We gave him the puppy food and he ate it with gusto the first night home but the next day had tummy problem.

This most likely had absolutely nothing to do with the food itself and was more likely due to stress and a sudden switch in diet. Still we put him on rice and chicken for a few days and then got a Beneful grain free diet for him.

As you know he’s been doing great on this and gaining weight well so we’ve stuck with it. Lucky boy also got two big bags of raw hide.

Now we’re not usually the sort of people to go in for « free » types of diet as we know how well all food ingredients are screened and approved but given that Wheaten Terriers are know to have some issues with protein digestion this grain free (gluten free) may be a sound strategy for the lad.

What’s amusing though is the match of the dog on the pack with the dog and his diet. Seems like one was a perfect match for the furball and the other for fluffy.

Just as I was approaching home guess what happened? The rattle returned. I searched the car all over and even asked my neighbor Mike to help me look too. Nothing to be found! The only hide to be seen in that car was raw but if it rattles one more time I just might need to look for snake food too!

Blessing # 507 – Bites and Bitefree

This morning after Zumba I went quickly to our Tuesday Morning Group before heading to the dentist for the biannual cleaning.

Having brushed the choppers more thoroughly than usual as you do when you’re going to the dentist I vowed not to eat any treats at TMG. These are always abundant and tempting but today the boat had been pushed far out as birthdays were celebrated.

The offering that proved irresistible was a huge pumpkin pie. They are not high on my list of favorite things but this one looked really appealing. It was delicious. Seems it was a Costco special and  millions are sold by the wholesaler this time of year. Seriously you couldn’t baked one as good!

I confessed to the hygienist that I’d had a piece of pie on route to see her. She asked why I didn’t bring her a piece too. Sweetheart I love her. What a job she has and does!

So for lunch I redeemed myself with a bowl of spinach and cottage cheese only to be tempted again by Krishna baking buckets of brownies for a BBQ he and Aaron are going to tomorrow!

Scooby and I then took a little siesta and had a read at People only to hit yet more pie promotion. This one being from Philadelphia. It is, at least they claim, the original 1621 cheesecake recipe.

It looks so simple that I might have a go this Thanksgiving myself.

Cheesecake always makes me think of my friend Lorraine as it was at her home I first tasted one. It was the mid seventies and cheesecakes were all the rage. Very different from the Victoria sponge or chocolate cake your mom made and in my young mind the height of sophistication.

Lorraine is a great baker pity her talents never rubbed off on me. I’ve been known to make some horrendous things.  The one Aaron reminds me off regularly is a steamed pudding using a WWII recipe. It was truly like a piece of putty but has left a long lasting impression on my son! I’m sharing the recipe only so you know never to try it!

Should you, like me, be in need of something idiot proof either get yourself to Costco or try this Pavlova. It works every time provided you don’t get any egg yolk in your egg whites for the meringue. Even the tiniest bit spells disaster so start again.

Finally if you are at a loss to know what to do with the egg yolks try this crème brûlée.

Its not too hard at all. It delivers about your entire calorie requirement in one serving though so better not have it till you’re diets done!

Blessing # 506 – Sweet dreams

We knew for sure we were doomed to fail when we hit the weigh in this morning. It’s like Monopoly. We have gone back to GO! Fortunately not to jail!

The Sunday evening buffet at Saffron Grill made no profits. We ate all of them.

Anything you can possibly imagine when it comes to Indian food is available a go go. This includes a Chaat bar where my dear husband could eat his favorites masala dosa, samosas and bhelpuri.

For the meat eating China man there was lots of tandoori not to mention lamb and goat and fish too. We all tasted everything, ate plenty of veggies, good fresh made naans and sweets too and we all enjoyed. That’s the main thing!

One person who did have great success with his weight goals was the fluff ball. He is the only one targeting upward movement and gained 2.5 lbs. No doubt due in part to tucking into trouble.

He has discovered the deer cross our back yard at dawn and dusk and now has a place where he can watch them. Wonder what he’s thinking? Play pal or dinner dish!

Blessing # 505 – Poised and Progressing

As we’re going out tonight to Krishna’s favorite Indian restaurant Aaron and I decided we’d give Dad his birthday cake last night.

He is particularly partial to a little chocolate number from Aldi making life easy for us all. So we stuck three candles on it, put it on a nice glass plate and hid it on the second shelf from the bottom in the pantry ready to light when it got dark.

Being Saturday evening I was engrossed as always in the Great British Bake-off while the men of the house were silenced and doing their own things out of earshot.

When the sun set and dinner was over Aaron and I went about turning off the lights and lighting the candles only to discover that Scooby has been busy with baked goods himself.

He had managed who knows how to get into the pantry and eat a good third of the cake! There was not a single crumb on the floor! He hadn’t pulled the plate down either. The only trace he left was a chewed up candle on the floor!

Panic then set in rather than celebration. The cake was dark chocolate. It had chocolate frosting and chocolate chips in it too. Chocolate kills dogs! Had he eaten enough to do himself harm? Aaron and I both started googling and Aaron found an app that concluded we should get him straight to the vet.

Krishna meanwhile got out GBBOs Mary Berry’s Baking Bible and calculates the typical dry matter of chocolate cake, the usual cocoa content and the theobromine content.

He concluded that given Scooby’s weight of 30lb and the fact he ate about 7 oz of a cake with cocoa as the fourth ingredient we should monitor him for signs and symptoms.

He wasn’t sick or shaky before bedtime but he did do a pee inside which he hadn’t done since we first got him! Could be the diuretic effect of the cocoa powder.

During the night he did seem to be panting a bit or was that just my imagination? Anyway it kept me awake for sometime worrying until he was calm and sound asleep. Fortunately today was the day when the clocks fall back so we got an extra snooze to recover.

Today he is fine. No tummy troubles at all just a little more energetic than usual. Yet another lesson learned; nothing unwrapped within reachable height of  this boy even if you think it’s behind closed doors!

Helped with the diet though!

Blessing # 504 – Feeling Frisky

My Dad ate an apple every day at lunchtime. He was particularly partial to a Golden Delicious. They are my least favorite variety. Maybe because that’s what we always had and it got boring.

My Mum would often buy sour cooking apples called Bramblys and stew them with a mountain of sugar or bake them in pies. They were so good and sort of dissolved when cooked. We don’t have them here and other apples don’t stew nearly as well so I miss them.

When I was dieting as a youngster I would substitute a meal with three Bramblys. I’d be fit to burst with all the pectin and the sourness. It would cut any appetite for a few hours and almost stopped the skin of the roof of the mouth!

Apart from the Bramblys the local apples of Ireland are Coxes Orange Pippins. Don’t you just love that name! They are the best with a little rough skin, a sweet and sour taste and a great bite. Never mealy always yummy.

Recently a new variety from Australia has hit the market here. It’s called a Pink Lady which is also a great name. There much more attractive than the Pippin shiny not rough. They really pack that same great flavor and texture punch. Got a big bag of them today to keep me virtuous on the old diet at least till evening comes. Just could wait to have one as soon as I got home didn’t even take time to get the coat off!

Do you have a favorite apple? Wonder what variety Eve ate, or William Tell shot with the arrow or that evil queen used when she tried to kill poor Snow White. Anyone care to speculate?

Blessing #503 – Crisp and Clean and Crunchy

Friday’s pizza day for us. We get ours fresh in Aldi it takes up the full rack of the oven and it’s meant to serve eight!

Not exactly the best diet dinner especially when Krishna has doctored the already lavish topping with more mozzarella and pepperoni as well as his blend of herbs and spices!

I always wash mine down with a little fizz and light a few candles to get the weekend off to a sparkling start. Did you know you can make it extra specially fizzy by adding ice cubes?

Its the one day in the week when I watch TV while eating while Krishna still sits at the table with his book. Aaron fluctuates or has flown out with his girlie if she’s not working.

Today we have something to celebrate. Being Krishna’s birthday weekend he gets to do his favorite things. Today he wanted to explore the thrift stores . He didn’t find a single book but I found a treasure. Well maybe!

Who knows this mark? Is it KPM? If so we struck gold.

If not the plate is still lovely and ideal for a few naughty nibbles!

Blessing # 502 – Finger Food

We have had the most beautiful fall ever with great colors and warm weather. Until today that is! The weather has definitely taken a turn for the worse for Halloween.

First it poured and Scooby and I got soaked to the skin. Now a gale has come in so by tomorrow there will be no leaves left on the trees. The forecast says frost maybe even snow tonight. Result the bucket loads of candy that we have purchased for trick or treaters are likely to be left here to tempt me!

In Ireland our Halloween parties involved a lot of apples. We dunked for them, we made them into candy apples and we baked them in potato bread in a heavenly combination that kept you warm even on the wettest windiest weather.

We made our Jack-O-Lanterns from turnips not pumpkins and trust me it was a LOT easier! Here what the Irish call turnips are known as Rutabaga and what we called white turnips are turnips. Regardless of name I absolutely love them and Krishna hates them.

My Mom made turnip every week when they were in season. Sounds healthy right and good for the diet. Well they might be with just a little salt and pepper but that’s not the way to turn them into food for the Gods. You must drown them in butter or fry them till they are sticking to the pan with a load of good crispy bacon. So yummy!

Since I thought of them all day and didn’t have any and since I had no desire to get soaked again I did the next best thing and made a good drop of lentil soup.

It will stick to the Irish Superman’s bones as he heads out with Wonder Woman to trick or treat while any sane person might sit at home and help his Mom eat all that candy!

Blessing # 501 – Timeless Tradition