Kellogs Pastry Crisp

view full image

"Delicious and delicate breakfast."

Optifast tasting #1

I tasted the optifast chocolate peanut butter bar today. It was actually very tasty! No funky aftertaste. Nice texture and satisfying crunch. I could definitely detect the salt and that gave it a salty sweet vibe which I like. Most surprising is that even though it was only 1.59 ounces, I feel full. Not going to drink for a half hour and see how long it keeps the hunger I was just feeling at bay. I think that this is a really good start!

One down, two bars and two soups to go! I wont be trying the shakes at this point... Just can't stand them.  I reserve the right to change my mind though if the rest of the tastings go well!

All in all, if this bar is the first indication, I am very excited to use Optifast for two weeks to kick start my lap band weight loss again.  We will see how the rest of the stuff tastes and more importantly - get my headaches squared away with the new neurologist next week.

Wish me luck!

Char

Breakfast of Champions

Well I dunno about champions, but it really works for me.

I love me some bananas and peanut butter.  So I cut up a banana, and put a dollop of crunchy peanut butter on top.  Consume with fork.  (Pinky out optional).

Crunchy Peter Pan with a perfectly ripe banana!

C

Malaysian Black Pepper Shrimp

Completed Dish

This is the recipe, I switched shrimp for the clams (John rightly decided to do the Shrimp shell off, and that was brilliant. We get the ones from publix that are ez peel and peel them off easy). It is absolutely freaking awesome and REALLY easy!

I added extra pepper, a little red pepper flake, a little extra water and extra butter when I made it this time so I got more sauce.

Char

*******

Malaysian black pepper clams or shrimp

With this endlessly variable formula and technique, you can be a shellfish genius in minutes
Francis Lam

Clams are the strong, silent type of shellfish. They're not sexy like oysters and they're not dying to be everybody's friend like scallops. (And, believe me, when seared scallops are your pride and joy, it's hard to feel cheaper than the moment you realize that a one-armed monkey can make them as delicious as you can.) But what clams lack in scallops' melodic sweetness and oysters' ringing finesse, they make up for in rich, earthy minerality and bass-drum brininess. They're versatile, great on their own and pairing beautifully with both subtle and blockbusting flavors.

And as a bonus, they're about the easiest things on the planet to cook: They take just minutes, they tell you when they're done, they make their own broth, and you can dress them up or down. And if you just remember a basic framework, you can make them in any number of variations.

Below is a phenomenal recipe, clams hot and fragrant with more black pepper than you ever thought possible, rounded out with a touch of sugar and Chinese oyster sauce. It's a presentation inspired by a traditional Malaysian way to serve crab, a dish I learned from Susan Feniger and Kajsa Alger, the chefs of Los Angeles' wonderful, globally inspired restaurant Street.

But the lesson of this recipe is in its basic elements: fat, aromatics, liquid, acid and fresh herbs, each of which does its own trick with the saline, earthy flavor of clams. The fat rounds the edges of the saltiness, the aromatics give fragrance and context, the liquid creates steam to cook the clams and dilutes their salty brine, the acid cuts through the heavy earthiness, and the herbs give the dish freshness, a brightness that lifts the flavor. In this case, we're using oil and butter for fat, garlic and black pepper for aromatics, water for steam, lime juice for acid, and cilantro for the herbal note.

But you can sub in whatever ingredients you want. A classic Italian way to steam clams, for instance, is to go with olive oil (fat), garlic (aromatic), white wine (liquid and acid), parsley (freshness), and sometimes a touch of hot chilies for more of the fresh, elevating effect. The dishes taste continents apart, but both follow the same basic principles. Once you read through (and, I hope, make!) the recipe below, you can pretty much make amazing steamed clams however you want, using this framework.
One last note about flavor: Like any bivalve, clams will taste different depending on where they're from, how much rain there's been, how they've been purged of sand after harvest, etc. One batch might be very mild and another very salty. So, while I usually believe in adding a little salt all through the cooking process, with clams I try to keep as much salt out of the dish until after they've given up their liquid and I know how salty it's going to be. If "Cuisine or Death" is the chef's motto, "taste and fix" is the cook's.

Mise en Place

Chopped Cilantro

Shrimpys

Malaysian black pepper clams or shrimp

Serves 2 as a main course with steamed rice or noodles


1 - 1 1/2 lbs peeled, deveined shrimp or 2-2¼ pounds small clams, like little necks (If you're using little necks, that's about 2 dozen)

4 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tablespoons)

2 teaspoons black pepper, freshly and finely ground. Measure after grinding. Yes, it's a workout

½ cup water

1 tablespoon sugar (palm sugar is great, if you have it)

2 teaspoons oyster sauce (usually available wherever you get soy sauce)

1 lime, halved

1 tablespoon butter, cold, cut into 2 pieces

4 sprigs cilantro, roughly chopped

1½ tablespoons vegetable oil

 

Sauteed Zucchini

Shrimp, garlic and ginger (an embellishment) sauteeing, next time I'll pull the Zuch before this step and add it later.

Saucing it up and finishing it off with the cilantro

1. First, clean the clams: OK, so after I did my best on selling you on clams, I have to tell you that I live in constant fear of biting into one and finding sand. It's harrowing. Luckily, most commercially harvested clams these days are already purged of grit, so you can forget all those bits of advice like soaking them with cornmeal. But there will likely still be grit on the shells; soak the clams in cold fresh water for a few minutes, scrub or rub them with your fingers to get them clean, and pour off the water. Rinse a few times, and drain.  If you're using shrimp, add about 3T salt and 3T sugar to a bowl of cold water and add the shrimp and let them sit while you get everything else ready to go.  Drain before adding to the pan.

2. Choose a heavy pan with a snug-fitting lid, wide enough to fit most of the clams in one layer. In it, heat the oil over the highest heat until it's shimmery and nearly smoking-hot. Add the garlic and stir or toss. As soon as it gets golden, which will happen in a few seconds, add the pepper, stir to release its flavor to the oil, and right away add the clams or shrimp. The water clinging to the shells may sputter for a moment, but be brave and toss the clams until they are all coated and glistening with oil.

3. Add the water; it should sizzle and come to a boil very quickly. Add the sugar and the oyster sauce. Cover with the lid and shake the pan. Give the clams about two minutes in their sauna, uncover and remove any wide-opened clams to a separate bowl; they're cooked, and letting them steam further would turn them rubbery. (If they are just barely open, give them a little more time until they really pop.) Cover the pan and give it a shake, which helps the shells open wide. Uncover again after 30 seconds and repeat until all the clams are opened. If there are any really stubborn ones, like, the rest are done and these are just straight loungin' in the steam for minutes, throw them out; they probably died before you started cooking, and aren't safe to eat.

4. Turn off the heat, squeeze half a lime into the sauce, and stir in the butter, giving the sauce a nice sheen. Give it a taste. How is it? Delicious? A bit heavy? Squeeze in more lime. Too salty? Try a little more butter or dilute it with a little water, or add a touch more sugar. You want a sauce that tastes balanced, where no one flavor dominates the others, with a seawater note and a lingering, warming burn of pepper. When it's ready, add the clams back in and stir to sauce them up. Finish with the cilantro and serve with plenty of steamed rice or noodles.

Char
------------
1-11-11

I tried Sauteing Zucchini in the oil before the shrimp. It was good but next time after the Zuch gets tender I’ll pull them out and then add them back in at the end with the cilantro, otherwise they get too well done and fall apart.

My Cheat Sheet:

Food inconsistency when dining out, which turned into a lap band thing...

While reading through GreenYogurt's archives about her experiences trying new foods and some of her commenters talking about inconsistent foods when dining out, it inspired this rant.  Yay!

I hate incorrectly prepared food. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves. Of course it doesn’t help that both my husband and I like to cook (he’s a professional for heavens sake) so nine times out of ten when we go out to eat we are like “Damn we could have made this better ourselves and saved the money.” He and I both agree that the most important thing for a restaurant or any food service establishment to have is *consistency*.


I probably shouldn’t admit this in public, but I’ve sent food back because it wasn’t prepared the same way I had it “last” time I was here.  At TooJay's I love to order their brisket dinner plate.  The first time I went there and ordered it, it was thinly sliced and heavenly.  As it was for the next few times we went. Around the third or fourth time, it came out and it was very thickly sliced, and in my world (Lap Band World) it was indigestible.  So I called the waiter over and asked him if they changed it, he said no, I said well it seems very different, they usually slice it thinner and while I hate to say this, I have to send it back.  I did, and the manager came over later and asked what was wrong.  I told him.  He went back to the kitchen and realized that the first few times, I was getting the brisket sliced "sandwich style" which was thinner, and this chef in the back was now slicing it regular and that was the problem, so he told me from now on when I come in to order it, to just order it sliced "sandwich style".  Glad that worked out, because their brisket rocks!

Also, I like my eggs over medium. There’s a reason for that; A) I like my yolk runny. B) I am completely GROSSED OUT if the white is runny at all and C) If it comes out over cooked, or it is over cooked because they left it under the heat lamp too long, I’ll send it back. See (A).  D) I can only eat the yolk of an egg most of the time, so it's that much more important to me that it's cooked correctly.  I explain that more down yonder.




Image of Perfect looking over medium fried eggs borrowed from allfavoriterecipe.com


Due to my lap band, I have a lot of issues with texture and consistency of food.  For example, I usually can't eat the whites of the eggs even if they are cooked perfectly, they get stuck. If it’s something like that, it's my problem and it happens that I can’t consume a certain meal because of my body, but it is good and prepared properly, I’ll have the meal packed up and I’ll take it home where I will try to eat it again, or I’ll just throw it away. Sometimes I can hardly even touch a meal, and inevitably I’ll have to excuse myself, and go “PB”* so I am not in pain. I’ll return to the table and the wait staff will come over and ask if everything is ok with the food. I’ll say yes and just have them box it up.

You would think after having this band for so long, I’d have I figured out by now. But that is NOT the case. Well not really. It seems I’ve outsmarted the band. You see, I’ve gained a significant amount of weight back. I’ve got to figure out how to reverse this y’all. I’m working on it.


Char


**Productive Burping – It’s kind of like throwing up, in that food is coming up like when you throw up, but it feels differently. I don’t really know how to explain it. You can probably google for an explanation far better than mine.  I did that and this girl seems to explain it better than I can.  Basically something gets stuck and it has to come up.

Lap Band Update

Someone asked me today some things about my lap band and how it is going.  She's thinking about getting one herself.  I haven't posted an update here in a while, so I thought this would be a good topic and I'm sure some people are interested but for whatever reason, don't really want to ask me.  So here is some info, and if anyone has other questions, please let me know.  It has been a great experience for me, and I am happy to answer any questions.

A curious friend wrote:



How much weight did you lose and how long to lose it?

I have lost up to 90 pounds, I've kept about 75 of it off. I've had the band since May 2007. I need to go and get another adjustment, I've just been putting it off.

 Why no liquids with meals?

Liquids with meals allow more food to go through and you don't feel as full. This has been the most difficult thing for me, and part of the reason I haven't lost more weight.


Did you PB ( vomit) often?

I still do PB. Nearly every day. It is my own fault though. If I eat something too fast, or if it isn't moist enough, it gets stuck and comes back up. It isn't the same as vomiting like you know it now though. It's very different.

Any foods you can't eat?

I used to have a lot of trouble with bread and rice. I can eat them both now, as long as the bread is well buttered or mayo'd, and the rice has some kind of sauce or gravy on it. Dry meat is out... boneless skinless chicken breasts are difficult, unless eaten with a sauce. I also find that It is VERY difficult for me to eat first thing in the morning if I don't have a warm drink first. Texture is very important. Like with bread, the crunchy veggies are almost always needed to get the bread down too.

Do you drink wine or alcohol?

I definitely drink my share of wine and alcohol with no problem! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you think of anything else, ask away.  I'm an open book!

You might also want to check out my blog.  There aren't a ton of posts about the lap band, but you can find some.  www.lifedramatic.blogspot.com.

I'm very excited for you.  Even with the little bits of trouble I have, I would definitely do it all over again!  It is totally worth it!

Char

It's been a while - from my spaces.live blog

It's been a while


Sunday, October 12, 2008, 8:11:03 AM

Can you take this without deleting any questions?

sure, why not


What's going on between you and the last person you kissed?

we’re engaged


What was your worst mistake in your life?

I haven’t made mistakes, I’ve had “learning experiences”



Would you get back with your last ex if they asked you?

no way.


Name 3 thoughts you have at this exact moment?

I’m hungry, I hate needles, I look forward to John getting home.


You're walking down the street with your love, where are you goin?


To a restaurant.



What's something you really want right now, be honest?

To not be in pain.


Three feelings at the moment?

Stressed, cranky and tired.


Last time you had butterflies in your stomach?

I get them a lot.


Does anything hurt on your body?

My needle pokey area.


Who was the last person to disappoint you?

She who must not be named.


Do you still talk to that person?

Yes.


Who was the last person you had a deep conversation with?

John.


What are you listening to right now?

Law and Order on TV


Have you ever punched a hole in the wall?

Hmmm… no but I broke a bed once.



Do you know someone in jail?


Not currently.


What about in DH?

wth is that?


Where were you at 2:00 this morning?

sleeping


Who did you copy this from?

Samantha


When was the last time you saw them?

It’s been too long!


How well do you know them?

I used to change her diapers !


Wheres the weirdest place you've changed clothes?

In a moving car


Do you wear glasses?

Yes and contacts.


Who do you love?

Family and Friends


What's the cd in your player?

Fergie


Anything annoying you right now?

Just the pain.


Anybody you're looking forward to seeing soon?

All the family and friends coming to our wedding.


Is there a friend particularly that you miss?

yes


What will you be doing in a half hour?

eating


What is your underwear color?

Green


Anywhere you'd rather be right now?

I wouldn’t mind being in the spa.


Do you have plans today?

No, not really. It’s raining cats and dogs.


Are you waiting for anyone to call right now?

No.


Will you call them if they don't call?

N/A


Last kiss mean anything?

Oh yes.


What's a fact about the last person who had their arms around you?

He is a good man.


Where did you get the shirt you are wearing?

I’m actually wearing the “universal” – I don’t remember where I got it, but it isn’t going to be around much longer. There are several “hits” on it.


When was the last time you were told you were amazing?

Last night or the night before.


Could you go a day without eating?

Yes, I’ve gone several weeks just on liquid alone. It’s not fun, but it is what it is.


What was the reason you got grounded for last?


I can’t remember that was over 20 years ago :P


Do you wish you never dated someone you dated?


No.


Do you still talk to the person you last dated?

Dated – no.


Have you ever kissed anyone whose name started with a C?

Hm… Probably. Can’t think of the name at the moment though.


Do your parents force you to go to church or let you make the decision?

no they never did


Do you smoke weed regularly?

hell no


When it comes to the opposite sex, what's your "type"?

I don’t have a type per se – but I have found the man of my dreams.


Where is the furthest place you've traveled?

North – Canada

South – Jamaica

East – Bahamas

West - Utah


How long does it take you to shower?

depends on if I have to shave or not


Can you do splits?

If I stretched a bit I could probably get most of the way down.


Is the last person you kissed older than you?

yep


What was the last thing you drank?

waterrrrrr


If you could have one thing right now what would it be?

A good bit of money would make me pretty happy.


What was for dinner tonight?

I think John is making beef tenderloin stroganoff.


Does your ex miss you?

No.


Does anyone love you?

Yes!


How has the week been?

Hellacious – and the week before was worse, and the week before that was even worse.


Does the last person you shared a bed with mean anything to you?

Yes.


Do you curse in front of your parents?

I try not to, but it just comes out sometimes.


Are you slowly drifting away from someone?

I dunno.


What girl/boy can you tell everything to?

John.


Have you ever kissed anyone who's name started with an A?

Probably.


Did anyone see you kiss the last person you kissed?

I don’t think so.


When a friend walks out of your life, do you go after them or let them go?

I refuse to answer on grounds it may incriminate me. I eventually get the hint and give up.


Have you ever fallen asleep in someones arms?

*love* it


Do you still talk to the person you last kissed?

yep


Does anyone hate you?

Probably.


Do you believe everyone deserves a second chance?

hmmm depends on the person,



Have you chewed gum after someone else already has?

probably


Have you ever seen your bestfriend cry?

yeah


Do you dance in the car?

sometimes

Do you walk around naked?

love being naked



Char

Comments (0)

How to annoy me - from my spaces.live blog

How to annoy me


Wednesday, October 08, 2008, 5:24:43 PM

Getting stuck with multiple needles several times a month for the last few months with nary a thing to show for it.



Char

Comments (0)

Thinking out loud - from my spaces.live blog

Thinking out loud


Tuesday, October 07, 2008, 6:00:12 AM

How much do McDonalds Chicken Nuggets weigh? Do I have to count the sauce.



Char

Comments (0)