Outside the Comfort Zone

I have always had a brown thumb. My grand botanical achievement to date (aside from my B in Botany 101) is that I managed to keep a cactus alive for three whole years. Clearly I am a talented horticulturist.

So why I decided it would be a good idea to plant an herb garden is beyond me. I picked up two plantlings (basil and thyme) at the farmer's market a few weeks ago. When these plants continued to live and, indeed, thrive for 2 weeks in my kitchen, I decided it was time to put them in the ground. Armed with naught but trepidation and a shovel, yesterday I cleared out a weedy patch of soil that was growing next to my house. I dug deep holes, then gently buried my plants about a foot apart, with the crown slightly below the soil level, as per instructions. I watered them. Then I walked away.

Before

After

I went to check on them this morning and they looked droopy already (buy not yellow or brown! That's encouraging, right? Right?). The soil was dry so I watered them again. I really hope this takes...I don't know what I did wrong! The soil there is pretty shitty, but the weeds seem to like it ok. LB thought I didn't need to buy any of that there fancy soil. We'll see again tomorrow...we should be getting some rain then.

Fun Times with Wine

Last night, LB and I went to a wine pairing dinner at our local Alsatian restaurant. The meal was six courses, each paired with its own wine. Overall the evening was lovely. Near the beginning of the meal I listened intently to the sommelier, but near the end LB and I were drunkenly gabbing through her speeches. During most of our courses, the owner came over for a little chat and told us a bit about the food preparation. It was a lovely evening, and LB and I both loved our little date.

Appetizer
Duck Breast Saurbraten with Shiraz-Vionier, Terlato & Chapoutier, Australia
The duck was prepared as a saurbraten with a marmalade-blueberry sauce, served over a few fingerling potato coins. The sauce was absolutely delicious, but both LB and I felt that the duck could have been prepared differently or pork could have been used in a saurbraten. The meat was cooked down a bit more than duck should be, and the technique would have lent itself better to a less delicate meat. We were a bit dissappointed with this dish; it did not deliver on its promise. The Shiraz-Vionier was made as a 95% Shiraz/5% Vionier in the style of a Syrah, which made it robust but smooth. The wine was very good, although it was better with food than on its own, and we felt it was quite versitle. It could really have gone with nearly anything that a red wine would go with. Food: B-; Wine: A-; Pairing: B

Soup
Cream of Artichoke Heart Soup with Gruner Veltliner, Wolfgang Concerto, Austria
The soup was made with artichoke heart pureed and creamed not with cream, but instead with mascarpone and a wee bit of bleu cheese. It was served with a fresh artichoke leaf floating on top, and a crumble of bleu cheese riding in the leaf as if it were a wee boat. The soup was absolutely delicious. The fresh bleu cheese on top, when tipped into the soup, melted just enough so as to leave little melty surprises in each bite, which added a bit of saltiness to the freshness of the soup. The artichoke flavor was featured well and not at all overpowered by either cheese. The Veltliner was sweet, effervescent and light, without venturing into the territory of holy crap that's so sweet I can't stand it. If a champagne and a gwertsweimer had a baby together, this veltliner would be it. It was also very versitle, and I thought it might go wonderfully with a dessert of fresh berries in cream. Food: A; Wine: A-; Pairing: B+

Salad
Three Pea Salad with Albarino, Martin Codax, Spain
The third course was a salad of english peas, sugar snap pea pods, and snow pea pods over a small amount of micro greens, garnished with toasted, seasoned pecans and a light balsamic vinaigrette. This was the perfect refreshing spring salad. The salad was mostly peas, and just a little bit of greens, which was a good ratio (really, you don't win friends with lettuce). The pecans and dressing played off the peas well, which were perfectly fresh and crisp. The Albarino was a bit heavier than the Veltliner, but it was still sweet. On its own it was a bit plain, but it went very well with the salad. Food: A; Wine: B; Pairing: A-

First Course
Coquille St. Jaques with Chardonnay, La Crema, CA
The Coquille was made in the traditional style and served in scallop half-shells. They were served piping hot, and we had to let them cool a bit before eating them, but they were delicious. The scallops were done perfectly, just firm enough without getting tough. The cream sauce was light and just a little sweet, to complement the scallop meat. I appreciated that the scallops were cut before cooking them, so I did not have to fiddle with trying to cut them inside a scallop shell which, knowing my general level of dexterity, I would likely have shattered. The chardonnay was very good as well. It was aged in french oak barrels, which leech less of the oak flavor into the wine, letting the wine's own flavor shine more. This chardonnay was creamy and smooth, almost buttery. It was a little less dry than traditional chardonnays, but this lent itself well to the flavor of the scallops. The wine enhanced the flavor of the scallops, adding to the creaminess of the sauce without adding any heft. In turn, the scallops added depth to the flavor of the wine. Overall this was my favorite course, and LB was very impressed as well. Food: A+; Wine: A; Pairing: A+

Second Course
Lamb Shanks with Monticello Gran Reserva Rioja, Spain
Our second entree was a frenched lamb shank served over a bed of white beans and spinach, with a light sauce. To be quite honest, I don't remember this course very well because, well, if you're counting, we're on our 5th type of wine, and our table was the server's first stop for refills. The cut of lamb was excellent, and the flavors of the lamb, the sauce, and the white beans married well. I felt the lamb was overdone; I like my lamb to be medium or medium-rare and this was more medium-well. I would also have preferred a few more tablespoons of sauce. LB disagreed on both counts; he thought the lamb was cooked perfectly and that the amount of sauce was just right. The rioja was, as is appropriate with lamb, a heavier, dry red wine. It had a spiciness to it that went very well with the lamb; it added a juiciness to the lamb that was needed. In turn, the fat from the lamb added a bit of body to the rioja. The pairing was excellent. This was LB's favorite course. Food: A-; Wine: A; Pairing; A+

Dessert
Strawbery Sabayon tart with Muscat, Beaulieu Bineyard, CA
Fresh strawberries were sliced and served over sabayon cream in a pastry tart, topped with fresh whipped cream. The strawberries were perfectly fresh and delicious; LB and I were wondering how they got such fresh strawberries here in Minnesota in the early spring, since our local strawberries don't usually get good until late July. The cream and whipped cream complemented the strawberry flavor well, although with these berries I would have been happy with a fresh plate of them plain. The Muscat was very sweet; it tasted like liquid honey without the heaviness that honey can have. It was very tasty, although I felt it did not go well with the strawberry tart. This muscat was made to be a dessert in and of itself, without accompaniment. Food: A; Wine: A-; Pairing: C

Things I am Grateful For Today

1. Sunshine
2. Flowers
3. Fresh Spring Air
   
4. Allergy Medication
5. French Food
6. Wine
7. Short Summer Dresses
8. Rub-0n Tanner for showing off legs in said Short Summer Dresses
   
9. A dog that knows not to answer the neighbor dog when he barks
10. Advil
    
11. Soft Kitties
12. Snuggly Doggies
13. Alone Time
14. A healthy body
15. More Advil to assist healthy body a day after too much weightlifting

Fridays are busy!

ll this random crap just got dumped on my lap and I think I'll be busy until bedtime, so for now, here are some Freki pics that I just uploaded. Also if anyone can tell me how to get blogger to actually post a SMALL picture when you check the SMALL box, that would be fantastic. I just don't have the time to individually change the size of every picture, for every post. kthxbai.

Chillin on the stairs

Freki Enjoys a Bully Stick


I'm not sure what this was about; I found this picture on my phone after leaving it in LB's care.

For the Furbabies!

Stop the presses! Call the governor! We've got a Furry.2 on the Richter Scale!

When one lives, as I do, far away from fault lines, and one wakes up, as I did, at 5 AM during what surely must be an earthquake, it behooves one to check the bed for rambunctiously wrestling kitties before becoming alarmed.



A Terrible Joke

What do you call it when your 75-lb dog and your two 15-lb cats wedge themselves between you and your husband in your queen-sized bed (besides hot, smelly and cramped)? A Furrito.


The Babysitter

You may already well know about Max's love for escaping the house and feasting on grass. So the other day Max is whining and complaining to be let out. I'm ironing laundry, and have a pretty decent view of the yard, so I let him out and check up on him in 5 minute intervals (he usually doesn't go very far). As soon as I come back from letting Max out, Freki takes post on the porch and stares at Max through the windows. Every two minutes or so he looks at me reproachfully over his shoulder as if to say "What are you doing, you neglectful wench! The cat is out there all by himself! He could get hurt, or lost! Thank your lucky stars you have ME to watch him while you do whatever it is you're doing with your clothes and that scary board OF DOOM!" After a few more minutes of that he would come and nudge my hand then resume his post by the door periodically, until I got fed up with it and brought Max in. It turns out Freki thinks it is his solemn duty to babysit the cat when he is outside; as I was relating the above episode to LB, he had a story to tell me as well:

One day LB was out on the deck grilling dinner, and he had Max and Freki out with him, under his oblivious watchful eye. Max, as is usual during this situation, escaped over the fence into the vacant yard next door, to taste some foreign grass. Freki saw this, then ran up to the fence, and barked at Max until Max did something he has never shown himself capable of doing before: he jumped back over the fence and back onto our porch. Clearly Freki has decided his role in the family. I wonder how he is with small children?

So I am a little behind the times...so what?

So I was watching the Frontline special on the Madoff thing, because LB pph loves Frontline, and HO.LEE. CRAP! I didn't really understand what was going on other than some abstract concept of a Ponzi scheme and everyone hated him for stealing their retirement money. I had no idea that basically, the FCC let him get away with it after like 3 or 4 investigations in the last 15 years.

So LB and I were talking about it, and he says, "Now, if you had millions or billions of dollars, that you knew was gained illegally, wouldn't you get the hell out of there?" I definately would. I mean, only a cocky idiot asshole would stick around and keep growing an obviously illegal front business while being investigated repeatedly (although since the FCC let him completely off the hook so many times maybe he had no reason to believe the dipshits would come after him for realz). But where would I go? Well, if I hadn't pissed off the Swiss, Geneva would be my first stop. It's a lovely city and I know french, so I could get along fine. Or? The Caymans or some other tropical paradise/tax shelter. Where would you go to spend your ill-gotten gains?

The Body Issues Post

So I'm trying to lose weight. Again. I keep creeping up towards 150, then freaking out and dieting down to 140, so I can stay in the "normal" BMI range. I get successful at making the lifestyle changes; going to the gym, reducing portion sizes, then I get stressed out, then I stress eat (doritos and oreos are a staple!), stop going to the gym, and gain. It's hard though, because my body loves and loves to gain and hates and hates to lose. They say to lose 1 lb a week, you must have a difference between calorie output and calorie intake of about 500 calories a day. I have found that I maintain weight at that difference, and only start to lose weight at a difference of 700. Which is hard, let me tell you. So I reduce my intake by about 500 calories a day (which puts me just at the "minimum to not starve yourself" of 1200). Then I have to increase output (i.e. exercise) for the extra 200. That, at my weight, is about a half hour of running every day. Now I don't have time to go to the *#$@$&ing gym every day, there is just too much shit that needs to get done. So I try to walk to work (woohoo a measly 50), and when I do go to the gym I do an hour workout instead of just 30 minutes.

But that isn't what this post is about. You see, I can never seem to get a grip on how I feel about my body. I used to be one of those skinny-minny, can't gain weight if I try (seriously I even went to a doc about it) waif. I hated my body then. I got all sorts of sneers about how I must be anorexic or bulemic, envy for something I didn't want, and my body looked like, to me anyway, that of a prepubescent BOY. I felt unfeminine and hideous. Now, at the other end of the "normal BMI range," I still feel unfeminine. Sure I have boobs now, and hips (although that was more of a change in bone structure than weight alone), but I also have rolls and a beer gut. I also have...dun dun DUUUNNNNN!...thunder thighs. I am a "fat chick" in the eyes of many, much less ideal than my former underweight self. I hate myself in the mirror. I want to go back to that skinny 18 year old and tell her to learn to eat right, that even though she thought pounding down fries and pizza would help her gain weight and become acceptable, that really it was too much! That she was lucky she could find clothes that fit!

But then I think...so fucking what? So fucking what if I am 0.8 points "overweight"? My husband thinks I am sexy, I am pretty damn healthy if I do say so myself, and really, I do love my tits. I have nice tits and do not want to lose them! I love wine, I love dessert, and I can enjoy my food without having to constantly calculate how fat it is going to make me. There is so much shame thrown at a) fat people and b) fat women. And by fat I mean anything over a size fucking 6, because you and I and the world all know that it's the current fat threshold in pop culture, and even in medicine (thank the good lord I have a fat doctor; the one time I got a physical by someone skinny she told me "well being a little overweight is ok for now since you're in school and stressed, but you won't be able to get pregnant if you don't bring your BMI down to the normal range" orly, lady? I know pleeeeeeeenty of people over BMI over 24.9 who readily attained viable pregnancies).

So sure, weight is just a number, but no matter what the weight, if it isn't in a narrow definition of normalcy, there is all sorts of shame, faux concern and policing thrown at it. I see this and want to be comfortable in my body, and to love it like my husband loves it (well, hehe, not exactly like my husband loves it wink wink nudge nudge).

But I'm still trying to lose weight. And I suspect every time I creep up towards 150 I will. Sigh.