Simplest Dessert

I have a sweet tooth. I frequently read dessert recipe ingredient lists for the perfect dessert...something with a few vitamins and minerals, that's low fat, with good carbohydrates and a little fiber. The ingredient list for this dessert is short, and frankly, it blows me away.

When I was in Boulder a couple of months ago, I had lunch at a funky little restaurant attached to a food coop. I got the best felafel sandwich...actually, it was a "to die for" felafel sandwich. When I ordered I got to choose something to go with it. I picked an apple. I felt proud, virtuous ....."yeah, I'm eating healthy today."

Eating the sandwich, I had to stop myself from moaning out loud . Felafel sandwiches, especially perfect ones, are rare treats for me. Then I started in on the apple. I don't remember what kind of apple it was, but it was cored and the skin was still on and it was cut into razor thin slices. It was wet, crisp, sweet and... simply apple: it was extraordinary.

After lunch, I went to the coop and bought a Fuji apple and an Asian pear and took them home "to fix" with the dinner I had planned. I cored and sliced them thin, peeled and sliced kiwi fruit and made a pretty arrangement on a plate. I scattered pomegranate seeds across the top. My dinner companions loved dessert.

Now, I eat most apples that way. All it takes is a good piece of fruit, an extra sharp knife, a pretty plate and a little time and energy. Sometimes I add chopped peanuts or minced toasted almonds, sometimes I add a dusting of cinnamon. It's the perfect dessert, so simple, and so good because it tastes extraordinary.

Monday Virtual Dinner Partner

It was left over day. I searched through the refrigerator and cupboards to put together my meals. I always end up eating less veggies on days like this. I don't know if it is lack of inspiration or actual lack of groceries. Probably it's a little of both. I am sure I could have found some green beans in the freezer and a cucumber to increase my veggie count but I am not strongly motivated by numbers. I need to prepare something I really want to eat. Maybe that was part of the problem today...lack of good fresh food lead to lack of inspiration which lead to lack of desire. Most days I need to be excited by what I am eating or I don't eat as well.

Sleep: about 7 hours
Vitamins

8:30
oatmeal 2/3c before cooked and 1 tbsp peanut butter
2 cups black tea
11:30
chocolate heaven
tangelo
1:00
white bean and escarole soup
2 slices deli turkey
apple
cereal and milk
4:30
edamame in the shell
5:30
whole wheat pita and hummus
grapefruit

Totals: 3 fruits and 2 veggies

Movement and Meditation: 45 minute walk in the woods.

Technique is what you fall back on when you run out of inspiration.
~Rudolf Nureyev

Saturday Virtual Dinner Partner

Today was an easy Saturday. It was fun and social: I went to a bookstore and to the movies. I cooked a nice dinner and played table games afterward. Every once in a while I need to just have fun.

Sleep: about 8 hours
Vitamins

9:00
orange, 1/2c nf cottage cheese, 2 tbsp walnuts
oatmeal 1/3c before cooked
2 cups black tea
12:00
hummus and whole wheat pita
2 slices deli turkey
apple
6:30
turbot fillet sauteed with onions
butternut squash with New Balance
roasted Brussels sprouts
grapes

Rest day

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.
~George Bernard Shaw

Friday Virtual Dinner Partner

I feel my legs today. Wow, I am sore! I realized my home based leg resistance training workouts are not as demanding as using machines at the gym. I used about half the weight I was accustomed to using on machines last fall and still today I am feeling the shift in the workout. The other change was I biked for an hour in spin class yesterday. I haven't been on my bike for 6 months.

I returned to the gym today for a lighter workout. The novelty is still a good factor, also the cold weather and my soreness drove the decision to walk indoors. I feel good about getting some movement today, but I don't feel the openness I feel after walking in the woods. I have a touch of cabin fever. Even big enclosed spaces don't take care of that. I need fresh air, sunshine and dirt under my feet.

Sleep about 7 hours
Vitamins

9:00
oatmeal 2/3c before cooked and 1/4c crushed peanuts
11:00
edamame in the shell
chocolate heaven
12:30
grilled cheese with whole grain bread, 1 slice 50% cheese and New Balance
butternut squash
half a grapefruit
6:00
large salad with 6 g fat canola based salad dressing
1 egg and egg beater omlette with spinach, onion, and sweet pepper
apple

Totals: 2 fruits and 8 veggies

Movement: walked 1 mile on indoor track and rode stationary bike for 20 minutes in "hill climb" workout program.


Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.
~John Ruskin

Thursday Virtual Dinner Partner

I am "between gyms" and found a month long complementary membership at a local gym while I shop around for a new one. The novelty of a new place made working out a lot more fun than it tends to be for me.

I am not a track walker but I welcomed the opportunity today because the weather was so cold. I haven't ridden my bike since August, so I took a spin class which was a fun diversion. Gyms aren't nature for me but they open possibilities for exploring nature down the road. I feel like I need to approach fitness as a mission so I can climb some real mountains this summer. That's the vision that kept me engaged today.

Sleep: about 6 hours woke up several times last night
Vitamins

9:00
oatmeal (2/3 c before cooked) and 2 tbsp peanut butter
2 c black tea
12:00
spinach and onion omelet (1 egg and eggbeaters) with Romano cheese
butternut squash with New Balance
chocolate heaven
4:30
edamame in the shell
orange
6:00
deli turkey, field greens, and honey mustard in a whole grain wrap

Totals:1 fruit and 4 veggies

Movement: at gym today walked a mile on indoor track, took hour long spin class, and did leg resistance training on machines, at home did arm resistance training with free weights.


I didn't have anybody, really, no foundation in life, so I had to make my own way. Always, from the start. I had to go out in the world and become strong, to discover my mission in life.
~Tina Turner

Wednesday Virtual Dinner Partner

I haven't gotten out for a couple of days because the wind was high and the weather really cold. Cabin fever was a problem so today I put on all my cold weather technical wear, my new hiking boots, my ancient huge puffy down parka and I set out. It was rough going but really quite wonderful to be outside again.

Other brave folks were out before me, I saw cross country ski tracks, horse shoe imprints, bike tracks, dog paw prints and a wide range of shoe prints. I saw only one other person walking today but the snow told a different story. Cold weather doesn't keep everyone inside. I need to remember that.

Sleep: about 7 hours
Vitamins

9:00
oatmeal (2/3c before cooked) with 1 tbsp peanut butter
12:00
whole grain wrap with deli turkey, field greens, and honey mustard
chocolate heaven
6:00
chicken veggie soup
butternut squash with New Balance and 2 tsp maple syrup
grapefruit

Totals: 5 veggies and 1 fruit

Movement and Meditation: 1 hour walk in the woods. I did the same route but it was an entirely different journey. It was very windy and cold and the footing was much more demanding. Snow and ice were prevalent.

I didn't eat much today. The last few weeks have been really rough for carbohydrate cravings. Today, I didn't have a problem. I never know what drives these cycles. Certainly the cold weather and the shorter winter days contribute. I started with a high carbohydrate very filling breakfast today. Maybe that helped.

He that dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose.
~Anne Bronte

When we tire of well-worn ways, we seek for new. This restless craving in the souls of men spurs them to climb, and to seek the mountain view.
~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Do you hate Brussels sprouts?

According to Wikipedia, Brussels sprouts won the distinction of being the "most hated vegetable" in a 2002 survey in Britain. Surprised? But they are so good for you!

These dainty cabbages are loaded with vitamin A, vitamin C, folic acid, fiber, and lip smacking phytochemicals. They are cruciferous vegetables, the vegetables nutritionists are always recommending.

I like broccoli, cauliflower, even cabbage... other cruciferous vegetables, but Brussels sprouts? Yikes. They taste bitter, downright caustic when I steam or boil them. I want to like them but I can't get them down. It's something about the sulfur that gets released when they are cooked.

Someone I love cooked them for me a while back. "For me" is the operative phrase here. She found the recipe in a magazine and decided to try it. She knew I was a cruciferous zealot (she is not). The smell of Brussels sprouts wafted through the house....that unmistakable smell...oh joy. Then there was the unveiling. I was surprised when she opened the oven door. They were deep walnut brown. Oh great, I thought, not only are they Brussels sprouts, they are burned!

I tried one. The outside leaves were crisp and the inside was smooth, chewy, almost nutty in flavor....no bitterness! I couldn't believe it...they were delicious! She thought so too. We finished the whole serving in one sitting. I couldn't believe I was loving Brussels sprouts.

A few weeks later I asked for the recipe. She admitted she lost it. She wasn't sure what she added to the Brussels sprouts.."you know, the normal things." I didn't know. Brussels sprouts were never normal for me.

So I set out to replicate the memory of that treat. Here are the results of my research. Key to the good taste is to incinerate the little darlings. Something magic happens in that extra hot oven.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Wash a pound of fresh Brussels sprouts in a colander and trim the stem end with a sharp knife. Peel any dried or unclean leaves from the outside.

Cut them in half if they are small or quarters if they are large.

Transfer cut Brussels sprouts to a plastic bag and add a tablespoon of good olive oil and up to a half teaspoon of fresh ground black pepper (less if you like light pepper). Close the bag and shake the contents until the oil and pepper are well dispersed through the vegetables.

Pour onto lipped cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Stir the vegetables and return to the oven for another 15 minutes until Brussels sprouts are dark walnut brown (really, incinerate them). Salt to taste and serve immediately.

Saturday Virtual Dinner Partner

It was an unusual day for me. I didn't get out except to walk to my neighbors. It was icy for that short journey so it put a damper on my desire to go outside. I stayed home and did things around my house. In the end, I regretted not going out.

I discovered a new veggie today. I made a chicken soup tonight with parsnips along with a number of other vegetables. I don't know how I got through my whole life without eating parsnips. They add a delicious sweet nutty quality to soup. They are not fancy vegetables just good. Parsnips, just another simple way to step out and experience life. I am so glad I tried them!

Sleep: about 7 hours
Vitamins

8:30
oatmeal (2/3c before cooked) with 2 tbsp peanut butter
3 cups of black tea
12:00
roasted Brussels sprouts
chocolate heaven
1:30
turkey veggie soup
Dr Kracker's flatbread
apple
7:00
chicken veggie soup
Dr. Kracker's flatbread

Totals: 8 veggies and 1 fruit

Original Experience has not been interpreted for you, and so you’ve got to work out life for yourself. Either you can take it or you can’t. You don’t have to go far off the interpreted path to find yourself in very difficult situations. The courage to face the trials and to bring a whole new body of possibilities into the field of interpreted experience for other people to experience – that is the hero’s deed.
~Joseph Campbell

Happy Groundhog's Day

Today is Groundhog's Day. It is also St Brigid's Day, Imbolc or Candlemas. These are local or religious celebrations for a celestial event for earth dwellers, the cross quarter day or the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. Thank heavens we are starting the second half of winter. Something seems to turn for me after this halfway point. I can feel the days getting longer and my energy returns.

I am definitely in winter mode.

Last night I watched three hours of television. I felt like the epitome of sloth by the end of the evening. Granted three of my four favorite shows were on (all with new episodes).

These episodes called too...."Ugly Betty" was unveiling a mysterious new character, "Grey's Anatomy" had two outstanding marriage proposals, and "ER," a hostage situation. I am so caught up in this fake reality that I couldn't miss a single show. Granted I folded laundry and knitted, so the night wasn't a total loss, but there is something about being lost for three hours in these manufactured worlds.

My world, my reality lost precedence last night. I felt sluggish and unsatisfied when I went to bed. In the summer, when the daylight extends beyond 8 pm, I don't have a favorite show. Television is a way I pass the long winter nights.

I go through periods when I put myself on a TV diet but it doesn't seem to last when I am in winter mode.

My friends and I talked last month about "screen time." We pledged to limit ourselves to two hours a day. Two hours feels like an outer limit, it's really a lot of TV watching. However, when I consider computer time, the two hours adds up quickly. I definitely spend more than two hours screen time a day. My computer time also drops considerably in the summer. It's about diversion, getting through, surviving winter.

Some years are better than others. This year the weather is mild with little snow so I have been hiking a lot more. Last winter I was snowshoeing. Maybe my memory is playing tricks, but last winter seemed better. I miss snowshoeing. I miss the breathing heavily and challenge of walking through snow. I miss the beauty of the frozen landscape, the clean snow, the cold wet air after fresh snow.

I don't remember watching TV last winter. But that is the curse of being caught up in fake reality, I experience a state of amnesia during the hours I am watching. Life is suspended and even though I am folding laundry or knitting, "Ugly Betty" is what's happening. And even though "Ugly Betty" has a redeeming story line (what a plucky young woman!), it isn't my story.

So here it is half past winter. It's time to take stock and get serious about screen time. I need to let my reality take precedence. My first few weeks of cutting back on screen time will be challenging, but things will shift and I won't think about it any more. And before I know it spring will be here.

By the way, Punxsutawney Phil (the "official" groundhog) did not see his shadow this morning. The weather prognosticators are saying we will not get six more weeks of winter. Big surprise. Phil must know about global warming.

Anyway, it's time to wake up and get moving. It's time to step back into life.

Happy Groundhog's Day.

Thursday Virtual Dinner Partner

Today I had my first walk in the woods with my new boots for mountain hiking. I finally bought them a couple of days ago after lots of conversation and research. I am happy with what I got. So today felt like the first step toward a big journey. My feet were well supported and warm and the boots fit comfortably. I am excited I am one step closer to this dream of stepping out on a big mountain. It feels like stepping into a new life.

Sleep: about 7 hours
Vitamins

8:00
oatmeal (2/3c before cooked) with 1 tbsp peanut butter
9:30
1/2c nf cottage cheese with 1/2c orange juice mixed in
11:30
1c carrot juice
12:30
edamame in the shell
2:30
turkey veggie soup with 50% cheese
Dr Kracker flatbread
apple
6:30
white bean and chicory endive soup
acorn squash
grapes
8:00
candied ginger

Totals: 3 fruits and 5 veggies
Movement and Meditation: one hour walk in the woods.

Nature is forever giving us chance after chance at what we call rebirth and death, and we, in our folly, in our fear of death, fail to understand that which represents a new journey, a new page on which to write, and thus to believe in a new beginning for ourselves.
~Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari