Sarcomical

The Love Affair with Bourdain Continues...

As I get ready to post this clip of the No Reservations preview for the Venice episode that will air tonight, I'm actually watching my DVR'd Mexico episode and find myself wrestling an overwhelming craving for hand-patted blue corn tortillas, slow-simmered beans, and anything with cilantro or freshly chopped salsa on it. RAWWWR.

Also, I want Tony's cowboy boots.

But I will skip the grilled brain meat taco. Thank you.

Tony. Bad Boy Tony. Travel Channel. 10pm.

Cooking Downstairs this Very Moment...

The Husband & I are having our post-holiday, post-stress, post-Christmas-shopping, "Thanksgiving" dinner alone at home tonight. The aroma is creating a spiraling vortex in my upper intestine which threatens to suck in every mobile object on our block. I can only imagine what torture this is for the dogs, whose widdle (yes, widdle) noses are at least a hundred times more sensitive than the one on my face. Said nose has, by the way, stretched as I sit here, snaking its way behind me, out the room, down the stairs, and now rests sadly on top of the counter, staring with its eye-less face, which isn't a face but skin and nostrils, which is a kind of an off-putting mental picture,at the good old Ronco Rotisserie spinning and squeaking its gears and dripping succulent juices.

Damn, I'm HUNGRAAAY.

technorati tags: NaBloPoMo

Adventures from the International Aisle

Do you ever get the urge to try some of the oddly-packaged items in the international aisle at the store? I'm one of those people who sometimes can't contain my curiosity, and this means I often find myself the guinea pig of my own impulse purchases.

Meet, for example, Hero Pommes Fines Herbs. Herbed potatoes in a box. But apparently, Switzerland's best herbed potatoes in a box. Swiss potatoes in a box from Meijer.

These potatoes in a box insinuate an ease of preparation...just heat in a pan! I especially found the idea that there was "no need to add oil, butter or cooking fat". Yum. That's right, folks, cooking fat already included! (Actually, it wasn't all that bad - .3g saturated fat, less than I was afraid would be there.)

Oh. This is...slightly unappealing.

DANGER! DANGER! SLIMY! DANGER!

Hmmm...break this slimy brick of starch apart with a spatula, eh? They actually had a pretty strong herbal aroma. Turns out the key seasonings are parsley, sage and rosemary.

Okay, this was finally becoming more recognizable. I mean, how much can you really mess up potatoes, right? Fried potatoes are usually Good Friends of mine. I did salt these a bit while I was cooking them, though. I couldn't help myself.

Accompanying some Morningstar "sausage" links on a little plate, this actually tasted pretty good, if somewhat oddly- or over- seasoned for my typical tastes. Overall? A non-traumatic experience from the International Aisle accomplished.

technorati tags: NaBloPoMo

Ergh.

I admit, I'm REALLY tired tonight and SO READY TO EAT SOMETHING, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. It's time for the update, so here you go.

The Master Cleanse, OMG It's Day 8:

• My mental strength is very much under fire right now. I just want to be DONE, I've been fantasizing all day about the things I want to eat when I can. Literally, if I don't have something else on my mind, even for ONE MILLISECOND, then that damned millisecond is all about the fries from here, the Seared Ahi Tuna here, the Avocado Egg Roll from here and so many more things. I'm even super excited about the idea of having a pear, or some grilled portobello mushrooms, or some Annie Chun's Korean Kimchi Soup, or salmon! or salsa! or sushi! or goat cheese with a demi-baguette! CAN YOU TELL WHAT'S GOING ON IN MY MIND TODAY?
  
• Other than this huge challenge, physically I feel okay except for when I've gone too long between having the Lemon Drink, so I'm trying to watch that carefully. That's when I can get tired. The detoxing hasn't been too bad these past two days and mostly I'm still just having a little congestion move around.
  
• I am telling myself that I will feel stronger if I can make it through the entire 10 days than if I do what I really WANT to do right now and run down to the kitchen for some soup. If I can do this, how can I tell myself that I CAN'T do anything I really want, like I have a huge tendency to do? I hope I can draw from this experience that I can be stronger than I think at any given moment and can make it through something that seems daunting instead of quitting when the horizon looks difficult.

Now I'm off to bed. Tomorrow I can say "Only ONE more day!". That will be wonderful but also torturous at the same time. Wish me luck!

Short and Sweet

I'm going to make this update speedy, since The Husband got back from a week in CA tonight and I really just want to sit with him on the couch and not be anywhere near the computer. Gotta get all the smooooshiness in before he leaves again Tuesday!

The Master Cleanse, Day 7:

• Pretty good day, though I didn't feel quite as fabulous as yesterday. I can tell I'm still having some fluid moving in my lungs because I woke up with a different kind of congested feeling in my chest that went away mostly once I started moving around.
  
• I made turkey chili for The Husband tonight at MY request. (It's Rachael Ray's Indian Summer Turkey Chili, YOU HAVE TO TRY IT!!! even if you are afraid to try ground turkey this is amazing. I wanted to post the link here but the recipe online with the Food Network is quite different than the one in her book, so if you want to check it out sometime it's in here - maybe I'll post it sometime, too.) I couldn't wait to just get my hands on some food and make something! Being alone all week helped me in one way (quiet times to be thoughtful about this process), but I missed being able to stir something on the stove and chop up stuff, which I can't exactly do for myself right now.
  
• My will to continue is still strong but wavered a little tonight simply from being very, very tired of only having the Lemon Drink. I'm SO anxious to taste other things. Hunger-wise and energy-wise I feel nothing negative, except if I skip drinking THAT COLD, KILL-ME-WITH-THE-MONOTONY NOW drink too long. The anticipation to break this is becoming the real mental challenge now. Three more days feels like forever!
  
• For now, tomorrow is still a go with continuing. At this point, if I don't feel bad I just don't see a reason not to after having come this far. I still get tired earlier at night, but that's not a bad thing. You just don't want to do anything too strenuous on this if you don't have to.
  
• And with that, I'm off to relax and catch up on the DVR'd stuff we've missed! First up: 30 Rock. Tina Fey, man...that is one rockin' lady.

Half-Week Haiku 33: Comfort Food

Married 7 years, and I have finally gotten a damned crockpot. I guess now I am fully domesticated.

You have to understand that I have had longing, lustful thoughts about my ideal comfort food for the past 7 years: roast with potatoes and carrots. Something about it just makes me giddy and warm inside. I am such a LARGE TREMENDOUS DORK that I had to call. my. mother. to let her know "Guess what I'm eating right now?!? Guess what I made?!?" When I think about my childhood and which meal I got excited about having during the cold weather, THAT was it. How sophisticated is THIS HERE palate, eh?

So, what is YOUR idea of comfort food? Haiku me, baby.
I'll go first:
mushy veg'tables
smell wafts through the house all day
warm roasted comfort