Sarcomical

new dependency, but oh so sweet...

This has become my daily multi-daily necessity:

I am completely and hopelessly addicted to the MatéVana loose-leaf tea from Teavana. It has helped to reduce my coffee intake a bit (yay?) but this obsession has perhaps grown to almost as large a monster as I was trying to (sort of) free myself from. Honestly, it's a beautiful monster. It's a comforting, snuggly, warm, pep-talking monster.

This stuff is so sweetly aromatic and full-flavored and makes me feel awake & alert but not shaky no matter how much of it I drink...also it is supposedly NOT technically "addictive", and maybe it's not...yet here I am freaking out (FAH-REAKING) because my next shipment hasn't arrived yet and I don't  have enough for tomorrow! I am trying to will it here with my mind, but if it didn't work when I was five trying to make my stuffed animals fling across the room, I'm pretty sure the telekinesis thing isn't going to just suddenly start working for me now.

You can also get multiple infusions with each serving, so while it's more expensive than some teas, I feel like it's completely worth how happy it makes me two to three times every day. Plus, it's a bit of a calming ritual in itself to watch the scrumptious bits float slowly toward the bottom of my cup. Oh tea, I swoon over you so...

TRY THIS: (low-calorie, low-carb and soooo good!) Southern "Fried" Chicken Fingers with Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I tried this recipe out a little while ago as another experiment in the search for good and balanced food that works for my needs as someone who is trying to eat more organic & vegetable-oriented, and for Mr. S.'s needs as someone who is working hard to negate diabetes and maintain optimal health. This ended up mostly a success, since we both LOVED the chicken fingers (they really were fantastic), though Mr. S. politely smiled through the sweet potatoes (to be fair, he isn't a huge fan of them in general). I liked them better reheated the second day with more salt & pepper and thought they were pretty good. We are DEFINITELY going to do chicken that way again.

Here, if you're interested, is the recipe for you to try and some of my prep photos:

•   1 1/2 lb sweet potatoes, peeled, cute into 1/2" chunks
• 3 large cloves garlic
• 5 Tbsp ground flaxseed (I used Hodgson Mills whole ground golden flaxseed meal, which I'm thinking may have been a tad too fine, though it tasted amazing)
• 1 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg white (I used Better 'n Eggs)
• 1 Tbsp water
• 3/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken tenders (I used Just Bare chicken, a cage-free, vegetarian-fed, hormone-free brand at Target)
• 1 Tbsp white whole wheat flour (I substituted some regular whole wheat flour I already had)
• 1 Tbsp nonfat dry milk
• 1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp hot-pepper sauce
• 2 scallions, sliced (I did not use these, as Mr. S. would have run away if I had) 

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line baking sheet with foil. Coat with cooking spray. Place sweet potatoes and garlic in 8" round or square microwaveable baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap, leaving small vent. Microwave on high (not my favorite way of cooking vegetables but hey), tossing mixture occasionally without removing plastic, 10 minutes or until very soft. (Continue below while they cook.) Remove and set aside, covered.

2. Combine flaxseed, poultry seasoning, and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt on large sheet of waxed paper. Mix with fingers. (Yes, this really is the best way!) Beat egg white and water with fork in shallow bowl.

  3. Lay tenders in single layer on flat surface. Place flour in small, fine sieve and sprinkle evenly and lightly on both sides of tenders. Dip each tender into egg white mixture, shaking off excess. Dip into flaxseed mixture to coat evenly. Place on prepared baking sheet. Press any remaining flaxseed mixture evenly on top of chicken. (I didn't have any extra.) Drizzle evenly with oil. Bake 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear. (I had to add more time to this, because we wanted them somewhat crispy like the photo in the cook book, but they didn't even brown that much. I also broiled them for a few minutes at the end to get them to the desired crunch level.)

 

  

4. Remove plastic from potatoes. Add dry milk, nutmeg, hot-pepper sauce, and remaining salt. Smash potatoes with potato masher to reach desired smoothness. For softer mash, mix in 1 to 2 tablespoons hot water. (I wish I had done that!) Sprinkle chicken and potatoes with scallions.

     
Servings: 4 / Per Serving: 319 cal, 26 g protein, 37 g carb, 8 g fiber, 8 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 50 mg cholesterol, 452 mg sodium

I do not think any cupcake requires this much icing. I do not.

We passed this cupcake place last week I had never seen before, and I had to at least peek inside to gaze on the case. I was surprised to see how much icing was on each of them, but I thought hey maybe it wouldn't be too bad. There weren't many tiny towers left, but I chose two with buttercream icing because I thought "ew, cream cheese frosting sounds so RICH". ha. ha. I knew. Deep down, I knew this would still be too much for me. While the cake was delicious, the icing beyond the bottom swirls went buh-bye. Fun to look at, scary to eat. Pretty Poison, baby.

what we eat: p.s., i went wheat-free for three months

One of the things I never really wrote about was that I went almost 100% wheat-free for 3 months, from this past June through August. It wasn't because I thought I had a gluten allergy, but because I had researched that it may be possible for wheat to exacerbate the inflammation of endometriosis. As you may know, I underwent the laparoscopy to take care of that at the end of August, but I decided that I wanted to try an experiment for a few months prior to that to see if I noticed an alleviation of symptoms. But what everyone ELSE wanted to know when they found out I was doing this was either a) was I feeling more energetic? or b) was I losing a lot of weight?

The answer, after months of self-control in the face of desperate longing for a bite of a crusty baguette, ended up being: NEITHER.

It's not a very satisfying answer - and I wish I could tell you why - but my venture into the world of essentially gluten-free living resulted in not much at all in the way of tangible benefits, EXCEPT fortunately for the reduced pain I felt each month, which may have been worth it. I don't keep a scale, so I'm not sure if I lost any weight at all, but if I did it certainly wasn't dramatic enough for me to notice. I didn't feel lighter, more energetic or otherwise buoyed, but maybe those differences are something you'd only feel if you were affected by a gluten allergy. I generally eat quite healthy, so perhaps the fact that much of what I had available to me to eat was vegetables & fruit wasn't much of a change for my body. I don't know. I'd love to say I lost 15 pounds and felt amazing...but, meh.

It was incredibly hard, though, and all I kept thinking - what kept me going - was the fact that I WAS DOING THIS BY CHOICE. No doctor had told me to do this, no one was keeping me accountable for this, I was choosing each day to test my own willpower, and it was difficult...there were times I accidentally ate something that broke my plan (if you are looking, it is UNBELIEVABLE how much of our food contains wheat/gluten). But I can't imagine how much of a life adjustment it would be if I needed to do this in order to feel normal and healthy every single day, like it is for many people. Bravo to you, ladies and fellows, because those three months were an incredible challenge. Whole Foods was a lifesaver during that time, with the easy-to-spot labels for every single gluten-free item in the store. Very helpful.

Now I'm toying with incorporating more vegan meals into my diet for other reasons (health, ethics) and am hoping to get to a point where I am eating about 30% vegan, 60% vegetarian, 10% fish and organic local (when possible) lean meat. It certainly looks healthy, doesn't it? But I have to get more active about experimenting with greens and legumes, and I am definitely planning to dive into my very underused resource:

...Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone is one GIANT (752 pages!) book full of simple and unexpected ways to cook just about any vegetable you can think of. I plan to use it a lot in these next months, because I think it can help me take a little more ownership of the way food works for us in the SarcomHaus. Excited!

my new favorite breakfast...(omg u can haz yum)

It's true what some say: uncomplicated food with minimal components can often be the most satisfying. It may not look like much, but these four simple ingredients stacked on top of each other are crazy, CRAZY good. So good that if I were a lesser woman the sheer act of the flavors co-mingling on my tongue may drive me to shed a single, blissful tear. Perhaps I exaggerate. ...No, I don't think so. For whatever reason, I get very excited by this:

1. whole grain English Muffins
2. crumbled feta cheese
3. poached eggs
4. Tabasco sauce
5. a fork with which to crack open the yolky magnificence onto the entire thing

Ohhhhh.....

Let me know if you try it.

Cake to the rescue...

About two weeks ago, I happened to whimper & whine have a weak moment and lamented the lack of cake in the SarcomiHaus on Twitter. Impeccably true to form, The Internet heard my pleas and responded in an unexpectedly glorious way. ENTER:  Deb Lumos of the Cake Pop Company. As a Twitter follower, Deb saw my desperation for even a crumb of sweet, air-pocketed decadence and asked if she could send me some of her genius little treats. I was unabashedly squealy when I opened up the box and saw the pretty little pops beckoning me to take a bite out of them, yet skeptical that they'd be satisfying in such small doses. OH YOU STUPID, STUPID GIRL. Basically, here's my verdict:

• Candy Shell: Delicious, perfect amount, surprisingly intact upon delivery! (more icing-like than candy-like, and also didn't fall apart as I feared they might when bitten into)
• Cake: Lovely texture, not at all dry, even stayed delicious a few days later when I forwarded a few in the mail to my mom! (in the original box)
• Flavors: OH MY GOD OH MY GOD. (carrot cake, chocolate, red velvet, white, strawberry, butter pecan - mix & matched with different shells)
• Portion: Just enough (truly) to make you feel like you've had a proper indulgence.

In a word...YES. Don't believe me? Look at the evidence.
(p.s. you can follow Cake Pop Company here on Twitter - THANKS, DEB!)

Sushi Night Fevahhh

Aww, that's right, I've got a fevahhh...and the only cure for it is more cowbell sushi. ENTER: girls' sushi night at the brother- and sister-in-law's home, where said brother-in-law enjoys honing his rolling skills for an audience. The result? An everything-access pass to all-you-can-eat fabulousness until it hurts. And maybe even past hurt into sweet agony. Sweet, sweet agony...

Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?

The discriminating crowd demands nothing less than perfection. And sake.

Polina turned the camera on me & Amber, as we put on brave faces through the pain.

Tempura makes girls happy. So very, very happy.

On an unrelated note, Amber takes a turn about the room with a cane she found very funny at the time. She & I may or may not have practiced waltzing a few seconds later. I'm not sure. You'll have to wonder.

Words. Words escape me.

Ben finally takes a moment to make a plate for himself, after we all wept Uncle.

Here, Ben tells Polina that our next culinary gathering will be...

(wait for it)

...

(wait for it)

...

CURRY NIGHT!

Oh. my dear. sweet. Lord.

Fancypants Teatime

Sis-in-law Polina & I had "high tea" today at local eatery Serendipity. (We were [SO VERY this close] to donning our fake British accents.) They served us three different teas, the hands-down favorite being the dessert tea...a mind-numbing chocolate flavor. The adventure began with a cranberry spritzer "to cleanse your palates", touted our hostess, and included an evil Tower of Treats atop a tray of wee sandwiches. I can now  say I have fully lived, having tasted the stacked concoction comprised of blueberry toast and cheese. WHAT? Yes.

If you liked it then you shoulda put a wing on it...er...whatever...YOU HAVE TO TRY THESE.

Last week we had a craving for wings, but didn't just want to have some greasy pile of them delivered. We wanted to make them ourselves (MYSELF, who are we kidding) and also wanted to find something not slathered in sauce so that it would be a guiltless treat for Mr. Sarcomical. Well, guiltless is relative, but anyway, at the very least I wanted something diabetic-friendly. I found the magic formula for these CRAZY DELICIOUS nosh-worthy wings on Recipezaar, and baby, I'm never going back. I'm serious. I didn't even really want to use the Frank's because they were so crispilicious. It is so easy it's scandalous. Very shake & bake-like. Now, just in time for the holidays, I want to pass the magic on to you. Enjoy!

Oven-Crisp Wings

• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• (I also added some chili powder for a little subtle kick)
• 3 tablespoons butter (I used a little less than this, and melted it on the pan in the preheating oven just before starting to add the wings. Make sure there's just enough to coat the cookie sheet.)
• 3 lbs chicken wings, tips removed (I only had about 1.5-2 lbs of chicken, and had *just* enough mixture in the bag, so if you do 3 lbs, consider doubling the above ingredients)

1. Cut wings at joints.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
3. Combine flour, paprika, garlic salt and pepper in a shallow dish.(Put them in a gallon-sized ziploc bag! So much easier.)
   
4. Coat shake each wing in seasoned flour.
5. Line a large baking sheet with foil and melt the butter in it. Makes for easy clean up. (If you're doing more than 1.5 lbs of wings, prepare 2 cookie sheets, or you will run out of room.)
   
6. Add wings to pan and turn to coat.
7. Bake for 45 minutes, turning once during cooking time. (Because I love mine EXTRA crispy, I turned on the broiler for a few minutes after this.)

technorati tags: recipe, chicken, wings, food, holiday, delicious

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