Jack Handy Quote of the week

"To me, it's always a good idea to always carry two sacks of something when you walk around. That way, if anybody says, 'Hey, can you give me a hand?,' you can say, 'Sorry, got these sacks.'"

-Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy

My Name is>>

Hi, My name is Stephanie and I have a problem. I like donuts. And anything else made out of butter, sugar, shortening, etc. In fact I like anything, sweet, fried, or unhealthy.

Today was (going to be) the first day back on the wagon. Yet one of my fabulous fellow co-workers had to bring in items to tempt me. The lack of my food willpower is astonishing. I can say no donuts and/or anything else sweet and two seconds later my fingers are covered in sticky sweet glaze.

I was just reading on CNN about a new drug that is an anti-addiction pill and works well for drug and alcohol addicts. When are the drug companies going to come out with an anti food addiction pill???? Is it because they get make millions on all the fat people in this world? Or are they in cahoots with cable television who wants to keep as many people as fat as possible so they wont get their lazy asses off the couch. What ever it is the outcome is not good for me.

I seem to have no will power on stopping the cycle of unhealthy food intake. Everyday I say I am going to stop and every day I shove another donut, or brownie, or ice cream sandwich in my mouth and then hate myself after. I work so hard at working out to lose weight but can't seem to stop eating shit for food in order to actually lose the weight.

Its funny, I tell people I am the only one in the world to train for a half marathon and gain weight and they say in a sweet voice "it's probably muscle". Hate to tell ya people, but running doesn't create that much muscle only strength training does. They then say in that same sweet voice.. "oh your making that up, you look really skinny". It sounds bad but I really wish people wouldn't say shit like this. I appreciate that they want to make me feel better but as a society we need to be honest. I do think that there are a lot of women out there who say " I'm fat" in a whiny voice for attention, but I am not one.. Or perhaps I am. What I want people to say is "yes, you are getting kind of fat" or " I have noticed you gaining some weight too" or "quit eating like shit and maybe your clothes will fit better". I want people to be honest. I want to hear the ugly truth. Maybe it will make me think twice when going for that donut or that brownie or those fries.

I am not that overweight right now and I know this but my goal is to be 150 lbs. I don't feel that I am striving for some unbelievably unhealthy ( in a scrawny way) number. I feel that 150 is a great weight for a person who is 5'8". Perhaps it is still a bit bigger and yeah, I would love to weigh 135, but that is never going to happen and I know that. I know my body type and my body type is not meant to be 135, unless of course I decided to starve myself and even then I probably wouldn't approach that number.

Well anyways I am Stephanie and I have a problem, but I am bound and determined to solve and destroy my problem. If you see me out please don't joke or be all sweet and kind, be honest. I want to know. You would want to know if you had a huge green leafy thing sticking in between your 2 front teeth right. Well I want to know how I appear to others without manners in the mix:)

Wild Mushroom Risotto Recipe!!!

I love rice with everything. Because I am a chicketarian I am fairly sick of regular chicken, but adding white rice to the chicken with a bit o' butter, now you're talking. But there are better rice options out there than white. One of the better rice options is cooking with arborio rice which essentially makes any delicious risotto dish you want to create. This risotto recipe can be changed to match what you want. If your prefer asparagus to mushrooms than use asparagus. You can also add chicken, seafood, other vegetables, etc. Make it as fancy as you like. This particular recipe is a healthy version- straight out of my weight watchers cookbook. People are generally surprised at this because risotto is not known as a healthy food. Most recipes call for oodles and gobs of butter and cheese, where as this one only calls for a eency weency bit, though I never measure cheese items so I could be totally fattening my version up. This recipe also contains ultra delicious wild mushrooms. My friend M. hates 'shrooms so I told her to sub it out for something else. I hope she makes it, shes gonnna love it. Anyways, you can generally find a wild mushroom mix at the grocery store. Most mixes tend to have shitakes, oysters, and baby portabellos. Also good would be morels, chanterelles, etc. Button mushrooms don't work so well because they won't provide mush taste. You need the earthier wild mushrooms in order to really taste them against the creaminess of the rice and parmegiano-reggiano. Also please use reduced sodium broth. The cheese and the rice add enough saltiness; if you use regular canned broth the dish will be way to salty. Good eats!!

Wild Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients:

6-7 cups fat free, reduced-sodium broth

1 tbsp Olive oil

1 shallot, chopped (or use an onion finely chopped or nothing)

2 garlic cloves, chopped (can use more if you are a garlic fiend like me)

2 1/2 cups sliced wild mushrooms (you pick, just use wild and not button mushrooms)

1/4 tsp dried thyme (can omit if you don't have)

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1/2 cup dry sherry (can also use white wine or even red if that's all you have)

1/2 cup grated parmegiano-reggiano ( by real cheese and grate, not Kraft's Parmesan crap)

1/4 tsp of ground black pepper

-Bring the broth to a boil in a large pot or saucepan. Reduce the heat so the broth stays at a simmer.

-Heat the oil in a large NONSTICK skillet over medium-high heat.

-Add the shallot and garlic and cook for one minute ( do not let it burn)

-Add the mushrooms and thyme and cook until mushrooms soften. Should take about 4 minutes

-Add the rice and cook for 30 secs to 1 minute. Stir a couple of times.

-Add sherry/wine and cook until almost absorbed while stirring constantly. 1 minute or so

-Add the broth 1 cup or 2 ladlefuls at a time, while stirring. Don't add more broth until the first amount is almost fully absorbed.

-Continue adding broth stirring and adding more broth until rice is just tender-Taste to tell. You want the rice to be sort of soft.

-Stir in the cheese and pepper

*You might not need to use all the broth.

*Risotto is not hard to make but requires lots of time stirring. Do not stop stirring until the rice is cooked.

Lawrenceville

I never know what to tell people when they ask where I am from. I live in near downtown Atlanta now, Virginia Highlands to be correct, but was born at Northside, spent the better part of my youth in Stone Mountain right off Memorial Drive and then moved out to Lawrenceville for high school. The issue is that bioth Stone Mountain and Lawrenceville are not quite "atlanta" as some view it but so close that they merge. Being from the metro-Atlanta area, which by the way is made up of 10 local counties Gwinnett and DeKalb being 2 of the 10, how can I not say I am from Atlanta. Technically I am, especially with the suburban sprawl. I got in a fight with some asshole over whether or not I was actually from Atlanta. I concede that I am but I want to know if anyone disagrees with my choice. I would also like to mention that I was a geography major (as well as a Biolgy major) so I will be glad to argue the facts with you. I recently drove through Lawrencevilleand stopped to take pictures of the scenic courthouse. The Lawrenceville courthouses main claim to fame would be that this is where Larry Flynt was shot. You know the publisher for Hustler magazine. Anyways, in the years since I left for college, graduated, and came back to Atlanta downtown L'ville has changed for the better. It use dto be just a small dead downtown until they shot down the anti-liquor by the drink law which brought in bars/restaurants, which in turn brought in people, which in turn has and is bringing in new businesses. They have concerts on the square now and its turning into a small local hotspot. Enjoy the pics my friends. Sorry about the picture of my nephew but I love the sheer concentration on his face while playing with his train.

Haha: Are you paying attention... because I'm not

I just realized the blog I wrote yesterday I titled Tuesday, Tuesday. UM, no, yesterday was Wednesday. Doesn't this just totally prove my theory about being ultra-air headed. I think I have been walking in a haze of matzoh meal this week because I have been absurdly out of focus. Last night was a Passover Seder at the homestead. When in the past it has been the direct fam, plus the Zell clan.. this year it consisted of my parents, 2 yo nephew, and I. Let's just say the Seder was blessedly short. You can't do an hour long Seder when the 2 year old standing next to you keeps yelling and running around the table. The Seder food was decent. Matzoh Ball soup is one of my favorite comfort foods, perhaps because I can't get it when I want it. Normally my mom's matzoh ball soup is great but this years those little balls were rock solid and no one likes rock hard balls. This is what happens when you go from schmaltzed-up balls to weak unschmaltzed ones. Also she changed up her Apple Kugel recipe to meet my dads new semi-diabetic dietary standards and that wasn't as good as usual either. I was speaking with my Auntie D and she brought up a good point- why would you change your recipe the day of the event, why wouldn't you test it out beforehand? At least my mom has a year to reconfigure her new recipes.

Tonight is another day and another Seder. I'm heading over to Tracey and Matt's for some good eats and I am hoping that with their south Florida Jewish heritage they will be able to pull out some good Jew food. We shall see. I want to leave you with a couple of pictures. I happen to love them, even if the animals in the photos are everywhere. Happy Passover peeps.

Tuesday, Tuesday

lah dah, lah dah dah!

I have 2 things to share. Number one: Bella when I first got her.

I was terrified that her saggy teats would not dry up. Lucky for her they shrunk, otherwise I would have taken her for a teat lift.

Number 2: I love Chicken Marsala and since the recipes I have made don't ever come close to thick enough sauce, I have found a fabulous replacement made by Williams and Sonoma; all you have to do is follow the directions on the bottle and add mushrooms. I have a new recipe that I am going to attempt and hope that it is better than the previous tries. I was planning on making the recipe this past weekend but after I had all the items out, and had just come back from the grocery store, I realized instead of purchasing the marsala wine that I meant to buy, I had really bought white wine. This wouldn't be so laughable, had I not been about to make wild mushroom risotto as well and realized that I didn't have chicken broth. Ran to the store, ran back, started making it and realized I didn't have fresh Parmesan. Found some kind of crappy pre-shredded stuff in the back of my fridge but then as I went to make the chicken marsala, alas no marsala wine. Luckily I had the W&S marsala sauce in the fridge. Foiled again.

Thing is, the whole forgetting of ingredients is typical for me. I cannot count the number of times I plan to make a dish, buy the requisite ingredients, start to make the dish, only to realize that I either bought the wrong thing or forgot to buy something. A lot of times, I just wind up subbing it out. Other times I have to haul ass to the crackhead Kroger to get the needed item. Sometimes I feel as though I am a blond trapped in a brunettes body.

FOLOTD

I made it to the Fan of List of the Day. Yay!!! Actually List of the Day is one of my favorite blog sites. I can count on Cary to always make me chuckle with his posts. Before my blog, I would mail out links to his funniest stuff, now I can just post them here for friends to check out. My goal is to one day be as funny as him and his everyday quoter's. Man, that is some funny shit. OH well go check him out, you will not be disappointed. Speaking of disappointment, I was very disappointed that it was nasty outside Sunday and I couldn't go hiking. Really it would have been semi-hiking, okay lets just call it walking in the woods because in all fairness I was going to walk around a fairly flat wooded area known as Sweetwater Park and trekking on flat ground couldn't remotely be known as hiking, though indoorsy types love to classify their treks as so. I think the blog stuff white people like needs to list "hiking" if it hasn't already as a favorite of caucasians.

Sorry for all the run-ons, I get a little over exuberant sometimes.

Back to my story, I couldn't go "hiking" because of the impending rain. That's not really the truth. The truth is that some friends of mine were supposed to go "hiking" with me and all backed out because of the impending rain. Since I did not want to go through a Meredith Emerson-like encounter, though I have hiked alone plenty before, I decided to stay in a familiar and more populated area and shoot some urban landscape pictures. So for my friends, new and old, I am now going to share with you some delightful shots taken this weekend in Edgewood and Cabbagetown. I don't have all my photos post-processed so I will be sure to post more tomorrow.

*If you ignore the vampire teeth then doesn't this guy look vaguely like Obama; I think it's the ears.

*This sign was outside this derelict little yellow house in Edgewood. I think the church status is used to hide the burgeoning crack business taking place inside.

* Cabbagetown street art

Grilled Green Bean Salad

Hola my compadres! Happy Monday! or shall I say boo Monday 'cuz that's what I am feeling like. The weekend was too short and the work week is always too long. I am aiming for a 4 day work week but some how feel that it will never happen. Ah, a girl can dream can't she? I wanted to offer up a healthy recipe for you. Actually it seems to me that the majority of the recipes I have posted are healthy but that is only because I am a fat ass and need to eat well when I eat at home. When I eat out all bets are off, like the mixed shrimp and oyster po' boy I got from Parish yesterday. OH and did I mention that I also polished off an almond croissant- surely the almonds make that pastry healthy right? Wait, what am I talking about; anything referred to as a pastry is bound to be fattening as hell. Oh well at least I stayed semi-healthy by eating a Trader Joes Pudge Fudge brownie last night. Well it would have been semi-healthy had I not eaten the other crap that I previously mentioned too. Jeez and I wonder why despite working out 3 to 4 times a week I can't lose weight. MMMHh I wonder?

This grilled green bean salad recipe is delicious and super easy. You will love it, I promise. That is of course, if you like green beans. Feel free to omit the bell peppers, but I promise even if you aren't a fan ( I am typically not) you will still like them in this dish. Add other veggies if you feel daring. Asparagus would be great in this dish. Also I used fresh bell peppers in the salad. I think using roasted red peppers (AKA: roasted red bell peppers) would also be the bee's knees. I love that expression. Good eats!!!

Grilled Green Bean Salad

-1 to 2 lbs of green beans, ( this is a rough estimate since I just bought a large bag), cut or break the ends off.

-1 sweet onion ( I prefer Vidalia), cut into 1 or 2 inch strips

-1 bell pepper ( go with your fave color), cut into 1 to 2 inch strips

-2 gloves of garlic, chopped ( you can omit this, I am just a garlic fiend)

-2 tbsp olive oil

-1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

-kosher salt and pepper to taste ( I always go kosher or sea salt, not a big fan of table salt unless it is to salt pasta water or I run out, which is very likely)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl then throw on either a grill pan on a grill ( you can make a "grill pan" by taking a sheet of aluminum foil and folding up the sides) with an open flame or on a tabletop grill/George Foreman type grill (apartment living leads me to the 2nd choice). Wait at least 4 to 5 minutes before flipping so that you can get some beautiful grill marks. I am an impatient one and always flip too early. Don't be like me! Cook the green bean salad for at least 10 minutes. You don't want the green beans getting soggy, you want them to have a bite to them and be crisp while still being warm and heated through. Cooking times may vary so please keep an eye out the first time you make this salad so that you won't overcook the beans.

Jack Handy Quote of the Week

"One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my little nephew to DisneyLand, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. "Oh, no," I said, "DisneyLand burned down." He cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real DisneyLand, but it was getting pretty late. "
-Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy

Flowers, Sunsets, and Sweat

Good day my pretties! I wanted to give you some shots of what I have been looking at lately. I also want to brag upon Elizabeth and my running skillz. First, these pictures are from the gorgeous Atlanta sunset last night. I am looking forward to all the pretty sunsets soon to come due to the clouds from April showers. You know April showers bring May flowers. The sunsets this summer should be good considering the smog always adds a lovely cast to the sky. Ah, I love Atlanta in the summer. Funny enough, the two great things about Atlanta in the summer is that there is far less traffic on the drive home due to the kiddies being out of school and there are lots of great festivals and outdoor events going on. One of my favs, Screen on the Green in Piedmont Park is canceled for the 2nd year in a row. Instead it is at Centennial Park which is haul for me...not really but I tell myself that so I don't feel guilty for not attending.

These next pictures are from a little guy hanging on for dear life. Can you guess what he/she/it is hanging on to? Come on, I know you can do it. This flower was gripping and the reason I took some pictures is that it gripped for 2 days straight before it lost its hold. Such strength, such determination, only to ultimately fail. Wow, sounds like me. No, I don't fail, I meet my goals head on. Like the ING half marathon E and I ran. Our longest training run was 11 miles and every run I would stop and take a short couple of walking breaks, but my goal was to run the whole 13.1 miles and I did it. I think I walked while drinking water at the water stops but other than that I ran the whole damn thing which is especially impressive because I was in pain from some random leg injury for the vast majority of it. Our time wasn't the greatest and I thank Elizabeth for staying with me because I was running super slow and I know she wanted to run faster. The only depressing thing about the run is that at mile 12 we got lapped by the front runners of the full marathon. How sad that they can run 26.2 miles faster than I can run 13.1. Oh well next year I will be smoking those full marathoners.

I want to leave y'all with one last thing: “I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people.” (Jack Handy)