veggie connection

On a veggie bender for the past few weeks and it's all good.

We eat with our eyes, or so they say, and I do find myself gravitating toward a colourful mix of produce like red, orange and yellow peppers, zucchini, eggplant and tomatoes.

Who doesn't love a rainbow in their kitchen?

the good fight

I keep talking about eating properly and having some discipline when it comes to food but I think I may be... a fraud.

Went to an outdoor art exhibit last weekend and wouldn't shut up about stuffing myself with street meat. It was hot out and I had a craving for carbs -- specifically, a giant helping of hand-cut french fries -- and maybe a spicy sausage from one of the trucks parked on the street.

Only one choice: the Original Bavarian Bratwurst Wagon. Oh. So. Good.

But rather than ordering the sausage I'd been craving, I caved to the idea that it might be too messy to eat then have to walk among the art with wurst-and-condiment-stained clothing, so I opted for a burger instead.

It was all good. All of it. The fries were still steaming for a good 10 minutes after she forked them over and they didn't leave a giant pool of grease collecting in the bottom of the container. Always a good sign. Talking about it now makes me want more. And maybe a sausage next time, too.

[sigh] Me likes me carbs. Why do I even fight it?

calamari says what?

Mr. Man is enjoying cervezas while rooting for the Dutch. He says it makes him extra continental.

It's mid-afternoon and, really, there are only a few things one can be expected to reasonably prepare and consume on a hot summer's day -- especially when there's a World Cup match on.

Will it be cervezas y paella o tapas? Or maybe kaas en toast of frikenadel en frieten?

With a score of 0-0 and only minutes to go, we could be looking at sudden death OT. I know there are enough cervezas in the house (there always are) but we can only consume so many chips, dip and veggies. We may have to move on to something more substantial if somebody doesn't score soon.

Do we wait for a final World Cup decision or do we initiate a Spanish or Dutch food fest and see if these gastro vibes reach all the way to South Africa? If calamari can predict the outcome, who's to say my cooking can't alter the futbol universe?

upset stomach

My stomach is acting up again. Not the way it was last week. This is different.

For hours now, we've been watching coverage of the riots surrounding the G20. What started as peaceful protest has turned into violence and chaos. Bricks are being thrown through windows, cars are being set on fire and, for the first time in our city, police are using tear gas.

Watching what's happening angers and upsets me, and I'm looking forward to it ending soon. I don't have an appetite for destruction.

rumblings

Today we had a baby shower for a colleague and filled ourselves with two kinds of lasagna (meat and veg), coleslaw, macaroni salad, garlic bread, strawberries, melon, cantaloupe and pineapple. We were stuffed.

And I don't know where the expectant mother would have put all her food as the present occupant takes up the majority of her belly.

Well, it wasn't long after our little party that we all experienced some major rumbling. At first, I thought someone was moving large furniture around. Then the floor began moving and my chair started to bounce, my desk was shaking and my computer screen was vibrating.

Any more movement and I would have to get myself a thesaurus.

With these prolonged rumblings, I finally just yelled out to my colleagues and asked if anyone else was shaking. Yes! was the cry from the chorus. It wasn't, as someone joked to mama-to-be, premature labour or indigestion.

What's worse, though? Thinking your building is about to collapse or the idea of recalling the lunch you just ate and competing for a stall in the bathroom?

reservations

Yesterday evening was an exercise in reserve.

Mr. Man and I attended a party for a friend who had just completed his PhD. It was at a couple's pied-a-terre... in a luxury neighbourhood... where people have their own financial advisors... and architects...

My stomach had been acting up all day and it's difficult to play the game of interest and amusement when your body won't cooperate. What a beautiful home you have [sigh], is that an Eileen Gray [wince], champagne would be lovely [gag].

There were some interesting people, the guest of honour was funny and articulate, and the drinks and conversation ever flowing. Discussion ranged from business (I'm working on my second career and want to start my own interior design company) to travel (the wife and I wanted to go somewhere different but aren't sure now, what with that whole flotilla incident), to G20 environmentalism (they uprooted saplings because they might be used as weapons, can you imagine) and FIFA World Cup football (I see a Germany-Brazil final, it would be spectacular, a phenomenal acrobatic ballet).

The food was delicious. Hors d'oeuvres of smoked salmon and cream cheese crostini and a roasted red pepper, cream cheese and tapenade on baguette; arugula salad with strawberries and candied walnuts; halibut with lemon caper sauce, green beans, grape tomatoes and new potatoes; and a scrumptious strawberry short cake. And, of course, lots and lots of wine.

It was a lovely evening, actually. Although, a little like waking up in the middle of a Woody Allen film.

There are worse things. But, at least, nothing that can't be cured with Prozac and a mallet.

goodbye laziness

Maybe it was the salt and vinegar potato chips we snacked on. Or maybe it was the chilli we decided to have for dinner. Whatever it was, I feel... blah

Ours was a lazy choice and one made after a long day. A decision borne of the convenience of buying tortilla chips at the corner store where the lottery ticket that would take us to eternal bliss was waiting. We are paying for our lazy decision today. And the dream of eternal monetary bliss is no more -- not that it was a realistic or necessary one. Boo

How is it that we've gone from fresh, healthy foods to ones packed with artificial everythings, prolonged shelf life preservatives and polysaccharide-jammed dishes that we know are going to offend our stomachs? Oh right. Laziness.

Time to get back to making an effort.

So this morning, we began with a bowl of yogurt topped with fresh blueberries, strawberries and kiwi.

Onward we go.

triple the fun

How could I forget?

On one of our last nights in Athens, we patronized the grocery store across from where we were staying and off-loaded some coin. We were looking for munchies and bought champagne croissants, which were sooo good, and a small box of cookies.

But these weren't just any cookies. They were Soft Kings triple chocolate cookies with dark chocolate, white chocolate and milk chocolate chunks. drool

I actually wasn't even interested in the cookies as much as I was in the packaging. It was the first thing that caught my eye while scanning the shelves.

Soft Kings -- Cookies were not what immediately jumped to mind when I read that. And the choice of graphics was also questionable. Don't they remind you of, well, a little sumthin' sumthin' else? But who am I to judge? I did buy them, after all, so clearly someone knows what they're doing.

XXX chocolate? Mmmmm... yes!

ah, yum

Okay, so it's been a long time away.

The trip to Greece was quite the whirlwind and with so much to see, do and eat, I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise that it kept me away for so long... even though I've travelled elsewhere since returning home.

Calamari, small fry, chips, bread and zucchini. Yum!

Where to begin? The food in Greece was fabulous. Probably the best seafood I've had to date, eating by the waterfront in very good company, stuffing myself with soft crabs, small fry, shrimp, squid, clams and fresh veggies and, of course, lots and lots of wine.

Mussels, crabs, small fry, greens, mixed salad, feta and so much more...

It was the best holiday I've ever had and would go back in a heartbeat. I get it, the romance of Greece, but it seems to far away now. sigh

yes. no?

Everything is backwards here. Oh, and here would be Greece...

Yes sounds like no. No sounds like yes. A green light doesn't mean it's safe to cross the street, you have to wave down trolleys and cabs only stop if you look like you don't need one.

And I was under the impression that I'd be pretty plump by now but the opposite has happened. Really.

For dinner yesterday we had a tableful of lamb pork chops, fries, beets, fava beans, Greek salad, saganaki, spanakopita, spinach, fried zucchini and dessert. And wine. Lots and lots of wine.

And tonight we had half a loaf of bread, fried zucchini, saganaki, some wine and Greek salad followed by lamb with potatoes.




The waiter kept stopping by to chat and, I'm sure, pontificate with his colleagues about where we were putting all the food. Witnessing two petite ladies ordering and eating a family's worth of food must be quite the curiosity to these men.

There was even a stray cat who sat by our table the entire evening waiting like an obedient dog for some scraps to be thrown its way. Even the animal world can't believe we'd have such bottomless pits.

So there you have it.

We eat. We drink. We are merry. And all the while, the pants aren't getting any tighter.

Life is awful, isn't it...