But back OP today. Geoblewis you reminded me of my travels in the Greek islands - dinners in the taverna were followed by a sharp knife...we were urged by the owner to simply cut off the clusters grapes that grew over our heads in abundance for our dessert. Heavenly!
Wow, I wanna go to the Greek Islands...so jealous! I can't imagine how great those grapes were!
Oh, and no worries bobblefrog, I actually had a hot fudge sundae a few minutes ago...it was my last day of school (FINALLY) so I'm off until next school year. Being a music teacher is fun but WOW was I ready for today to be over!! I'm going to do some extra time on my bike today and get back on track tomorrow. Have a good one all!
Hyacinth, you totally can come to my house and I will cook for you! I live in Central California, in the grape region, and my family has a vineyard too! In a former life, I was a custom clothier, so you bring all your clothes and I'll do all the alterations, but you have to clean up after me in the kitchen and the sewing room...and I like to use ALL the pots and pans when I cook.
I've actually only been to Greece once (imagine that!) and we walked for several hours from our holiday apartment up to the Acropolis and back down to the Plaka before we went into a taverna...where I found someone who knew my cousins who lived on a completely different island closer to Turkey! We ate far too much, but we definitely worked it off that day. Later in the week, we drove through Corinth and down into Peloponisos and stopped in the tangerine orchards along the way. Yum!
Today we picked the first tomato from my mother's garden. So tasty. My mom had harvested her oregano and had it out to dry in the backyard, so the whole place was heady with oregano. (I know - this is more like food porn...sorry!)
I don't talk food all the time! Only when I'm awake!
So, went "off plan" yesterday food-wise. My gf's father passed away 2 weeks ago and she got off early and wanted to "do lunch". We had some delish sushi and a bottle of wine. Later, hubbie made turkey tacos and I had 3.....so, coulda been better but still got my workout done so at almost a month of exercising every day. Go me!
THANKS! I figure I should give myself a half hour a day. I do a LOT of wii fit stepping but mix it up a lot too. I am actually really starting to love it again. I throw on the ipod and step like I am dancing to all my favorite fast songs.
I think I need a new ipod though. Mine is not holding a charge anymore...grrr!
THANKS! I figure I should give myself a half hour a day. I do a LOT of wii fit stepping but mix it up a lot too. I am actually really starting to love it again. I throw on the ipod and step like I am dancing to all my favorite fast songs.
I think I need a new ipod though. Mine is not holding a charge anymore...grrr!
How you doin', Tina?
Thanks for asking, laurie2275 Actually, the past two days have been sub par diet/exercise-wise, BUT today I got my butt out of bed, ate a healthy breakfast, and went to the gym. I got on the treadmill and RAN 2 miles!!!! I walked one lap at the start to warm up and told myself I'd just alternate laps, run one, walk one, etc. Well, when it came time to switch back to walking, I told myself I could probably run one more. Before i knew it I ran 6 of the 8 laps!! Walking the first and last...I felt great! Then it was elliptical time for about a half hour to finish my hour of cardio for the day.
After the gym I had some grilled steak and veggies....so good! Plus, I got done scrubbing my kitchen clean and got a load of dishes done. It's so nice being productive! It's great because since I'm a teacher my summer vacation started yesterday and I can actually get everything I need to get done finished.
I'm going to make a Greek Pizza recipe I found on this site a while back for dinner. If it turns out well I'll be sure to post the recipe I just hope my hubby likes it!
Hey all! Yes, loved my trip to the islands - I hope to go back one day. The people were lovely and the food was to die for. There were these deep fried...hmm..minnows? Sardines? With their heads on and done up whole (I know this sounds a little weird bu they were really good) that you dipped in this pink tahinni/hummus stuff...OMGosh they were good. I have only once find a Greek restaurant since then that I thought was authentic now that I know what that is! I also have a fondness for Retsina now, although that was definitely an acquired taste. We sailed during the days, staying in ports at night. We'd go up to town when we'd get in and buy food - often there wasn't a grocery store of any sort - women in babushkas (we didn't speak each other's languages - just managed with signing) would take us into their homes (oh you should see the flowers - all tropical colors spilling from beautiful white verandas) and we'd point to what we needed and pay them - eggs, fresh bread etc. They would pluck at my holes in the knees of my jeans and just laugh at me good naturedly. It was such a beautiful lovely place. Although I understand life is rough for them - most of the young people were going to the mainland as there was no work. Course this was back mid-80's. Wonder what is like there now?
Lately I have not felt like cooking - what does everyone do for this style eating when they don't have the energy or time to cook? I'd love some ideas...
Bobblefrog and Geo, your trips sound so wonderful! It has always been a dream of mine to go to Greece.
What I do when I don't like to cook: chopped fresh vegetables dipped in whatever sauce I have (hummus, a yogurt-based dish, or tapenade), meal salads (a big salad with meat, beans, nuts, etc added to it), or a good bread with turkey or jam and cheese and fruit/vegetable sides.
I got a late start to gardening this year, and just put some stuff in my yard yesterday. I planted cucumbers, beans, zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, hot peppers, tomatillos, parsley, flat-leaf parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, and chives. I also did a few flowers.
I have a rhubarb plant that has been going nuts lately, so I currently have about 13 cups of chopped rhubarb in my kitchen. I'm going to probably cook up a few recipes with it tonight and bring something tasty to work on Monday.
This week, my kitchen has: chicken sausage, yellow/red/orange bell peppers, onions, carrots, grapefruit, grapes, bananas. Not sure what I'll make yet, but I'm thinking pasta for dinner one night.
Laurie, can you replace the iPod battery, or do a restore?
Tina, I hear ya on the sub par on the whole diet. I am starting alli...not because of my fat grams per meal but as a deterrent for having the bad stuff that I want to give into,
Bobble and Geo, I agree with Hyacinth, your vacas sound amazing! I have been to Italy but never to Greece. My husband has to travel A LOT for his job and accumulates FF miles like crazy. We will probably do a trip in a few yrs. Right now, we are saving miles to hit Fiji. I would love to spend a week there and then to a cruise through the South Pacific. We are saving enough miles for us and another couple we know to come with. So excited!
Hyacinth, your garden sounds amazing. We planted mostly flowers this yr. but some tomatos, peppers, cucs and zucchini.
My hubs says changing an ipod battery is pretty involved. I have done a restore but nothing. I can get a half hour and then it shuts off. UGH! I will prolly pick up a nano tomorrow. I will be going to FL in July for a few weeks and would be using my audio books a LOT! Plus, I use it every day to workout. So, I NEED one!
Having a great day today. One hr of cardio. Ate great! Keeping it up! Yesterday......not so much. I got in my workout but we went to dinner and a bar to hear a band with friends. I had a grilled chix taco salad (ate some of the shell) some chips and salsa, 1 froz. raspberry margarita, 4 rum n diets. Not so good on the calorie front but I didnt gain! Woot!
Laurie, Fiji sounds like a wonderful trip. I'm very envious and I can't wait to hear all about it!
I've occasionally thought about taking the Alli, but want to be in a place in my life where I can stay at home, close to the "facilities", until I can get accustomed to managing the situation. I took it when it first came out as a prescription drug and found it to be a great deterrent to eating fats. Which is my one big weakness. I'm trying to keep my fat intake under 65 gm/day, but in all honesty, I'm eating 80-100 gm/day.
Bobble, those were smelt that you were eating in Greece. I grew up on that stuff! My mother used to butterfly them open and fry them up. We must have eaten them once a week when I was little. Later on, when she learned about the evils of frying, she switched to broiling them, and they were just as tasty. She'd make a sauce with grated red onion, finely chopped parsley, olive oil and lemon juice, and then we'd spread that over the smelts. OMG! So delicious.
Another way to have fish is to wrap it in grapevine leaves and grill or bake it. You can wrap whole fish, like trout, or fillets. The vine leaves will add a lovely tang to the fish. You can buy vine leaves in some supermarkets or specialty food stores. You could also go out and pick them from a grape vine, but you have to find the right varieties of grapes and pick them during the spring/early-summer months when the leaves are still tender.
Not Mediterranean, but still tasty, is to wrap fish in banana leaves and bake or stem them. You can find those in Asian markets, usually in the freezer section.
I started my day with a cup of coffee and some spanokopita...and later my sons and I will be cleaning up after our family gathering yesterday. I did really well with the eating yesterday, and also spent the day running around getting it all ready. Today will be just as busy with clean up, so I'll get back to formal exercise tomorrow.
SMELTS!! That's it - and they are just as good broiled? Here in Denver I have read recently about a new seafood market that flies in fresh from Seattle daily. Maybe I should see if they have a good substitute if not the real thing? Thank you for sharing your recipe geoblewis/Georgia! We are also planning a more exotic "food week" and will go to Pacific Mercantile (which is the pan-asian market downtown). I'll look to see about those leaves, too...
Hyacinth - you inspired me!!! BF agrees - this week we're going to get a lot of fresh veggies and different sauces like you suggest for lots of interest and olives and a little REALLY GOOD cheese (recently we picked up a little sample of Istara P'Tit Pyrenees and OMG it was so complex - you know how it starts at one flavor and as you chew it and it moves across your palette it becomes other flavors?) and do a sort of antipasto week. I also have a bunch of potatos I picked up from the $1 bin of our local grocery store that I need to make (German potato salad - yum). And rhubarb - YUM - I had a plot in a community garden last year and had my first rhubarb - can't wait to one day have a garden again and grow it.
laurie - Fiji and Italy - I'm salivating! I can't wait til the day I get to see both. I can't be poor forever, right?! LOL!
Did I mention on this thread that part of the inspiration that got me committed was my BF gets his yoga teaching certification next month. We discovered two companies that give yoga teachers working vactions. For the price of a plane ticket and about $300 a week BOTH of us get to enjoy fully inclusive accommodations, drinks, food and activities at all these tropical resorts (one is even in Curacao!) in exchange for him teaching a yoga class three times a day. For like 45 minutes at a time. Is that great or what? Well I decided when that day comes (at least a year for now), I have to be a "fit" companion for the "fitness" instructor!
I know German potato salad isn't mediterranean either BUT I figure it's an attitude, sometimes, right???? I guess I can't completely give up my German background. Love my beer and brats too much!
Just call it a Greek salad...and you won't be off by far...are you putting bacon in it? There's some really good uncured turkey bacon at Whole Foods. If you can make it through the store without buying anything else, that would be a feat and would show tremendous discipline!
I think of a Mediterranean diet as more than having just a Greek or Italian influence. I think any flavors or spices can be included, as long as you're keeping your meat content low, have a significant amount of fats come from plant products, and eat a lot of fruit and vegetables.
Geo, you sound like such an awesome person to know! Cooking AND tailoring? Super cool. I'll fix your computer if you'll tailor my clothes!
Speaking of rhubarb, I made four different rhubarb products today. I made a rhubarb syrup, balsamic rhubarb compote, spicy rhubarb sauce, and a rhubarb chutney. Two of the four had sugar substitutes in them, but two did not. It was really rewarding to make so many products out of something (rhubarb) that I did virtually nothing to get! (I have a plant that grows in my yard)
I had a pasta dish made out of chicken sausage, peppers, onions, mushrooms, hot peppers and leftover salsa for lunch. Was a spicy, nummy comfort food on a chilly and overcast day.
For exercise (if you can call it that), my friend and I walked up to the local park and went on the swings ... he likes to do that while he "vents" about his boyfriend. It's been a content day.
Geo - that looks like a great potato salad. I'll have to try it. And I love turkey bacon - I think we've had that very one you are talking about. Thank you for the reminder. Had I read this before, as....
We did go to Whole Foods today...came home with a baby loaf of bread (the .99 cents ones are such a deal), $5.00 worth of delicacies from the olive bar, a yummy smelly new cheese we haven't tried, a bottle of merlot and um, yes, a fancy decorated cupcake (to split). Should have gone for the splitting the pistachio cannolli...but I had a 5 year old moment! Also having some Pacific creamy tomato soup with a bit of parmesean.
And going to watch a documentary about an "American Prankster" named Alan Able. I love date night!
hyacinth - I know the very feeling you are talking about with the rhubarb - last year I loved how I stayed in basil, other herbs, marigolds, squashes and eggplants all summer long. Never got bored making new things with the same ingredients (and I'd have other little things come and go along the way. It felt so ABUNDANT. I so look forward to having a garden again. The community plot was nice because everything was paid for. I paid $25.00 for the year and the water, compost, dirt, tools and all was just there for the using. Pretty awesome. Only thing was I had to drive to it daily. This year we are going to be gone five weeks and I wouldn't have been able to get anyone to water for me. So, decided not to do it. Kind of missing it - well missing it A LOT!
I'm exploring beans for summertime fare. I like cold bean salads, tossing cannellini beans with fresh parsley, sliced red onions and garden tomatoes. If I want a little more protein, I'll add some tuna fillets and dress it all with olive oil and lemon.
One of my favorite snacks is Portuguese sardines packed in olive oil. They have them at Trader Joe's. So yummy on Wasa high fiber crackers with a squeeze of lemon juice. The sardines also taste good with cold lentil salad in lettuce cups.
Throughout the summer, I don't like to get the oven started at all, so I'll try to make salads out of most anything. A really diverse salad full of beans, greens, other veggies and maybe some fish, combined with some whole grain crackers, that's a dinner I'm happy to "cook" when it's hot outside.
One thing I've been having lately is chilled low-sodium chicken broth. I don't know why, but I like it, with a little lemon. I seem to like everything with lemon.
Georgia
PS) Hyacinth, thank you for the computer-fixing offer. What do you do with computers? Because I always seem to be attached to mine, and I'm constantly fussing with it. (If you read what I have under my name, that I'm a Renaissance woman, that means I have made multiple attempts to "find myself" and have learned all sorts of skills in the process. That qualifies me to be just one thing, a writer.)
Oh, I have a blog about my weight loss journey that I've been writing, sporadically, over the last year or so. You can find it at http://half-the-woman.blogspot.com/.
I can't imagine how great those grapes were!
Actually, the past two days have been sub par diet/exercise-wise, BUT today I got my butt out of bed, ate a healthy breakfast, and went to the gym. I got on the treadmill and RAN 2 miles!!!! I walked one lap at the start to warm up and told myself I'd just alternate laps, run one, walk one, etc. Well, when it came time to switch back to walking, I told myself I could probably run one more. Before i knew it I ran 6 of the 8 laps!! Walking the first and last...I felt great! Then it was elliptical time for about a half hour to finish my hour of cardio for the day. 
I just hope my hubby likes it!
I guess I can't completely give up my German background. Love my beer and brats too much!
