Jan 12
Breakfast: the last tiny bit of eggplant and chickpea stew; two scrambled eggs.
Midmorning binge: lots and lots of tequila-lime corn chips, both with and without guacamole and pico de gallo. First came the snacking, then the napping, neither of which was conducive to my day going as planned.
Lunch: balsamic Bellavitano cheese; more tequila-lime corn chips, with guacamole, pico de gallo, and ricotta salata. I discovered that ricotta salata does not actually go well with these other ingredients. I expected it to be more interchangeable with queso fresco or cotija. Or maybe my cheese has gone off. Anyway, it tasted really weird.
Breakfast: the last tiny bit of eggplant and chickpea stew; two scrambled eggs.
Midmorning binge: lots and lots of tequila-lime corn chips, both with and without guacamole and pico de gallo. First came the snacking, then the napping, neither of which was conducive to my day going as planned.
Lunch: balsamic Bellavitano cheese; more tequila-lime corn chips, with guacamole, pico de gallo, and ricotta salata. I discovered that ricotta salata does not actually go well with these other ingredients. I expected it to be more interchangeable with queso fresco or cotija. Or maybe my cheese has gone off. Anyway, it tasted really weird.
Dinner: Deb Perelman's amazing Morning Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel. Thick-cut Irish bacon, scrambled eggs, fruit (dark seedy grapes, pineapple, mango). As it turned out, the bread pudding was so eggy that we didn't really also need scrambled eggs. But, my God, it was delicious, especially warm with a dollop of mascarpone cheese softening and warming on top. And very easy, actually, beyond the necessity of prepping the dish well ahead of time to let the bread soak. I even managed to make caramel without burning it. I had seconds. Make again.
Other snacks: 4 cups of coffee, 2 regular, 2 decaf, with half and half. Glass of red wine in the evening. Possibly more corn chips, but I can't quite remember.
Jan 13
Breakfast: leftover bread pudding (yum), grapes, pineapple, pistachios.
Lunch: 2 slices toasted challah with butter, one with apple butter and one with apricot jam; mango; half an avocado; 1 fried egg.
Shopping (Coop): GoodBelly Mango probiotic drink, Equal Exchange French Roast decaf beans, quart of Brown Cow nonfat vanilla yogurt, half & half, assorted Chobani Greek yogurts, dark chocolate-covered almonds, $38. Extra yogurt and probiotics all this week because my husband is on antibiotics for a sinus infection.
Dinner: This great, intense salad from Bon Appetit. Thin, bone-in pork chops with a glaze of soy sauce, garlic, mustard and honey. I couldn't find Garrotxa cheese for the salad recipe, so substituted manchego as suggested. The salad has a powerful flavor, what with the quantity of mustard and horseradish in the dressing, but the ascerbity of this flavor balances beautifully with the super-sweet quince paste (which, tasted alone, reminds one of Turkish Delight more than salad), nutty cheese, and bitter arugula; and the chewy bread cubes dilute all these intense flavors as well as making the salad more substantial and filling. The pork chops, on which I expended no effort whatsoever, were also surprisingly good.
Other snacks: 4 cups of coffee, 2 regular, 2 decaf, with half and half. Glass of red wine in the evening. Possibly more corn chips, but I can't quite remember.
Jan 13
Breakfast: leftover bread pudding (yum), grapes, pineapple, pistachios.
Lunch: 2 slices toasted challah with butter, one with apple butter and one with apricot jam; mango; half an avocado; 1 fried egg.
Shopping (Coop): GoodBelly Mango probiotic drink, Equal Exchange French Roast decaf beans, quart of Brown Cow nonfat vanilla yogurt, half & half, assorted Chobani Greek yogurts, dark chocolate-covered almonds, $38. Extra yogurt and probiotics all this week because my husband is on antibiotics for a sinus infection.
Dinner: This great, intense salad from Bon Appetit. Thin, bone-in pork chops with a glaze of soy sauce, garlic, mustard and honey. I couldn't find Garrotxa cheese for the salad recipe, so substituted manchego as suggested. The salad has a powerful flavor, what with the quantity of mustard and horseradish in the dressing, but the ascerbity of this flavor balances beautifully with the super-sweet quince paste (which, tasted alone, reminds one of Turkish Delight more than salad), nutty cheese, and bitter arugula; and the chewy bread cubes dilute all these intense flavors as well as making the salad more substantial and filling. The pork chops, on which I expended no effort whatsoever, were also surprisingly good.
Snacks: 4 cups of coffee, 2 regular, 2 decaf, with half and half. The first cup of decaf was purchased in the county courthouse cafeteria and consumed in the jury room while I waited to be assigned a trial for jury duty. An hour later, I was sent home. Another unremarkable "jury duty" experience, bringing my lifetime total to three. Small handful of dark chocolate-covered raisins. Glass of cheap sherry in the evening.