Monthly Archives: November 2012

Rain = soup

30 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in Food

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During my trip to Mexico, I read a great book called The Kitchen Counter Cooking School. The author (a food writer and graduate of the famous Le Cordon Bleu school in Paris) was inspired to teach people the basics of cooking to empower them to ditch boxed, processed foods in favor of fresh, healthier choices.

I am completely onboard with that program. I think that processed foods are the bane of modern health and I have been anxious to prepare more homemade meals for my kids, in fact, it was one of my NY resolutions (stand by for a future post on the progress made – or not – on those resolutions).

With all the cold rainy weather we’ve been experiencing lately, the first choice unequivocally was soup. I used the Creamed Tomato soup recipe from the outstanding How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. Here it is simmering before I pureed it and added half-and-half:

Tomato Soup

The little bits of sauteed carrots and onions added a nice flavor, along with some thyme and kosher salt.

But le pièce de résistance was a loaf of freshly-baked bread…that I BAKED MYSELF. Yes, you read that correctly. I used the No-knead Artisan Bread recipe from the Kitchen Counter book and cranked out this lovely loaf:

For realz...I baked this.

 

Today when I met a couple of gal pals for lunch, I was so enthusiastic about my cooking adventure that I forced them to look at photos of this loaf of bread on my iPhone. I was super proud when one of them said it looked like it could be from Mayfield Bakery (our local hi-end, artisan bakery). And even better, my kids *loved* the taste of it.

I was pleasantly surprised that cooking the soup and making the bread was not all that time-consuming… it just took a little planning to ensure I had enough time prior to baking for the dough to rise. The soup took less than 30 minutes! I am really excited about branching out more and trying some new recipes. Plus, I want to start comparing my grocery bills to see if cooking meals from scratch lowers my monthly expenditure. For example, I roasted some chicken thighs the other night, with goat cheese and prosciutto, and I calculated the total cost was about $9 and it provided me with 3 meals.

Cooking from scratch is also forcing me to buy less food but more often, so the ingredients are fresh. I hate thinking about how much food I’ve thrown out because it wasted away in my refrigerator. By planning only a day or two ahead, I hope I can maximize the usage of the food I buy.

 

 

 

A Day in the Life

26 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by in Inspiration, Mindfulness, Music

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I love music.

I listen to it throughout the day, sing it in the shower, dance to it while cooking in the kitchen. I love when a favorite song comes on the radio that I haven’t heard in a while and I get to relish whatever it is about that particular song that pleases me…the bass line, the rhythm, the harmonies, cowbell, etc.

Tonight, I arrived home after my Zumba class (dancing somehow doesn’t feel like a workout to me, but my drenched shirt tells otherwise) and just as I pulled into the driveway of my home, “A Day in the Life” by the Beatles began on the radio. I put the car in park, turned off the engine and sat in the dark, listening to it. It brings back memories of when I was in grade school, listening to the Beatles and the Moody Blues and the Rolling Stones because my mom liked those bands. I loved the album covers of the Beatles Red 1962-1966 and Blue 1967-1970 albums. It was so cool to me how they had changed in their photos in that short time span (probably why I am enamored with Dear Photograph and Shawn Clover’s 1906 Mashup Photos).

I put aside nostalgia and really listened to the music…the insistent piano, the mounting, chaotic strings, the simple lyrics that convey the violence and ordinariness of our daily lives, and of course, when John Lennon went into his dream, I sang along with him on the best part: ahhhhhhhh, ah, ah, ahhhhh… ahhh ah ahhhhh….ahhh ah ahhhhhhh….

Right before I had pulled into the driveway, I was thinking about what I’d make for dinner, and which bath bomb from Lush I was going to plop into my bath tonight, but when that song came on, I completely surrendered myself to that moment of singing in the car, in the dark, by myself… a lovely moment of serendipity.

I am a surfer

12 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by in Inspiration, Mindfulness, Travel

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As part of my sabbatical, I decided to learn how to surf. A practical person would have signed up for lessons in Santa Cruz (about an hour from where I live), donned a wetsuit and taken lessons over a weekend.

I don’t like cold water.

Instead, I signed up for a 6-day, all-women surf “safari” in Sayulita, Mexico (about 40 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta). I was delighted to leave 55 degree weather in San Francisco and step off the plane in Mexico into welcoming sunshine and highs in the upper 80s.

Here is the view from the awesome villa that I’m sharing with a long-time friend and two new friends:

So, today…we started with a nice relaxing yoga class for an hour…mostly stretching and loosening up. We enjoyed a yummy breakfast at our villa and then walked about 10 minutes to the surf safari’s casita in town, where we learned surfing safety and some basics. We lathered on water-resistant sunscreen, pulled on our rash guards, chose a surfboard and carried it out to the beach. I felt very cool carrying an 11′ board on my head, even though it was really the only way I could cart it out, as my arms aren’t long enough to carry it under an arm.

At the edge of the water, we attached our leashes to our rear ankles (I’m “goofy-footed,”so that means the leash went on my left ankle) and strode out to the waves, two at a time. From the shore, the waves looked big, but in the water, they looked HUGE, even though they apparently were only “waist-high.” I got pummeled by the incoming surf as I tried to paddle out to the “deep water,” beyond where the waves were breaking. It was almost like I was facing an initiation by the ocean … “How badly do you want to go surfing today?” Wave after wave knocked me over and I tumbled a lot. The slight cold I was battling was quickly remedied by the 1000psi neti pot that the waves were inflicting on my sinuses.

By the time I joined the others, my lat muscles and triceps were burning and I was breathing heavily. We practiced braking and the sit and spin. We did a lot more paddling, as the current was pulling us to the left. Finally, it was time to ride a wave in.

I was excited to ride my first wave, and managed to pop up to my feet but then I lost my balance and fell over to the right almost immediately. Hmmm…pretty cool, but that didn’t quite count! I rode another wave in through the whitewash on my knees. I was feeling tired but still enthusiastic as our instructors showed us how to surf only the white wash (go in with the tail of the surfboard first, so it’s easier to hop on and catch a wave). I finally caught my first wave and got my legs straightened past 90 degrees for a few seconds, reveling in the energy underneath me….and then I tried to exit successfully…into about 6 inches of water. More water up the nose.

I rode a few more waves and took a break for lunch. When I came back for “free surf time” the instructors were in the water, offering advice and encouragement. With a little rest under my belt, I was able to stand up several times and on one wave, I felt it drop out a little underneath me…omg, I was surfing! I let out a scream of delight and continued in the whitewash until the energy of the wave had bled off and I could step off onto the sand. I had a several really nice rides but after about an hour, my lower back started to bug me so I decided to call it a day.

Learnings from today:
1 – Embrace the wipeout. A wise surfer friend told me that one of the keys to learning how to surf is to not avoid wipeouts, but rather, to embrace them. Well, let me tell you, I made passionate love to the wipeout. It even sent me flowers.
2 – There’s always another wave, so don’t feel rushed. A few times, I saw a really nice wave forming, but I was too close to it and I would rush to align myself, and curl my toes onto the sweet spot, but I’d be rushing and not quite aligned and then the wave would rush up and catch me and most times, I’d get tumbled in the surf. I realized, I need to set myself up for success…those were my best waves.
3 – Rinse all the sand out of my bikini bottom before using the restroom…I’ll just leave it at that.