Wine is a Fruit

I slept in this morning until 8:30. I spent the entire night awake, theorizing student-centered computer instruction and other various nerd things. The academic never rests, I guess. Anyway, I woke up, made coffee, and forced myself to eat. Sometimes I forget to eat breakfast during “exam week.” I ate Quacker Oatmeal Squares (Brown Sugar) and brutally attacked an orange.

Oranges are the most annoying fruit. How can you even tell if an orange is a good one? The one I had this morning had wedges that refused to separate. I ate half.

I was surprised to finish my paper in only a few hours this morning, but I did stay up all night thinking about it. Right? Yes. Everyone has their own writing process.

During the last two hours of writing I was starving, but I refused to eat until the paper was emailed to my teacher. This self-threat worked and I celebrated with the last bit of tortellini in my refrigerator. I tossed cook tortellini with salt, olive oil, shredded Parmesan cheese, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes. That was not enough carbs, so I had to two small slices of Great Harvest’s Virginia Savory bread (buttered with Great Harvest’s Garlic and Herb butter).

So much carbs, I know. I am prepared to defend myself.

1. I just finished my paper, so I can do what I want.

2. I am playing soccer tonight, so I have to be ready.

3. I drank wine with it, which is technically a fruit.

4. I’ll eat veggies later.

Lunch look only 10 minutes and it tasted good. Now, I’m drinking wine and catching up on blog reading. I apologize in advance for any drunk-comments.

Ginger Ale, please.

I was so, very sick last night. I was curled up in a ball with horrible abdominal/stomach cramps. It was a roller coaster of pain from 8:30 to 12:30 PM (although I felt slight pain the entire day). Luckily Lars is sweet and ran to the store  to get me medicine and diet ginger ale. I feel much better this morning. Much better.

But let’s start at the beginning. The day (up to the sickness) was a good one, for many reasons.

1. I made whole wheat snickerdoodle cookies.

I found this recipe on Whole Grain Gourmet and I am so glad I did. I thought about my snickerdoodle all day long, paired with a delicious scoop of ice cream for dessert. But, then I got sick. So, I’ll be thinking about this dessert until dessert time tonight.

This recipe made 32 cookies. I only baked 9, and froze the rest of the cinnamon-covered balls on a cookie sheet in the freezer. Once the cookie balls froze, I put them in a plastic bag. So when I want a warm snickerdoodle, I just open the freezer door.

2. I made an awesome soup.

My go-to cooking expert, Cooking Light, provided a delicious recipe for Tomato Soup with Chickpeas and Pesto. The soup was so hearty and filling. I can see myself eating a lot of this in the winter. Also, it is so easy.

Lars and I used our Multigrain loaves from Schwann's for dipping. Yum.

3. Lars got me flowers.

Lars was gone most of the day doing school work, but when he came back he had flowers.

Well, I am tempted to watch this History Channel special on the 7 Deadly Sins.

Snickerdoodle and ice cream…snickerdoodle and ice cream…

Wine that can make an emo smile…

What up party people? My day has been relatively exciting considering how emo and anti-social I’ve been this summer. I’m like the Daria of food blogging, which I don’t mind. Man, that show should still be on. And, Veronica Mars. And, Party Down. And, Dead Like Me. And, Freaks and Geeks. Focus, Ashley.

Okay, so my mother and I met my father at Patachou. This place is baller. Can a place have the best fruit cup in Indy? Because, they do. It always has more then one piece of pineapple. It was refreshing after my hot Tomato and Artichoke soup. This fruit cup almost replaced the Graveyard of Lost yet Good Television shows that currently takes up most of my mind.

My mother and I spent the afternoon “bonding,” which was demanded by my father (random, right?). My mother and I hit up Crate and Barrel and this wine shop in the mall. Look at my drinking finds!

First, I found this wine called Writer’s Block. I mean, come on! Isn’t this just perfect for a PhD student in English? I almost peed myself in the store. I mean look…writer’s block? That is hilarious. Just the sight of it melts my emo exterior. I may actually smile soon.

I also bought a mini wine glass. I don’t know why I need this, but I wanted it.

Afterwards, I headed to Starbucks with a cookie my mom bought me from the local bakery. It is a butter cream cookie, but I call it “I’m a mother f**king sweet cookie!” cookie. It sort of made my teeth hurt, “but that’s alright, because I like the way it hurts.”

Well, back to skyping with Lars about our new apartment.

“You are not drinking alone when you are talking to friends on the internet.”

Hey friends.

I made it to Ohio. The car ride wasn’t that bad. I spent the time catching up on podcasts: The Savage Lovecast and My Brother, My Brother, and Me. During the second podcast, they discussed if drinking alone necessarily meant alcoholism. Someone responded, “You are not drinking alone when you are talking to friends on the internet.” Well, I post after one glass of wine. Ha.

Dinner was brought to you by Trader Joe’s refrigerated whole wheat pizza crust, which only cost me 99 cents. Holler!

My pizza was topped with:

• Alfredo sauce
• fresh basil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 sliced tomato
• mozzarella cheese
• artichoke hearts

While I was typing this list I said aloud, “Ahh! I forgot the @#$&(* Trader Joe’s chicken sausage.” I guess another day for you, sausage. If I had a penny for every time I said that to a frat boy in college….

What? Oh, food blog…

With dinner I had my favorite wine: Mad Housewife. Confession: I pick out wine based on label appeal and the witty descriptions. This wine surely delivers.

The cork reads: “THE DISHES CAN WAIT. DINNER BE DAMNED!” Ha, ha.

I will spend my night drinking one more glass of wine, having a dessert of some sort, and watching television. I totally needed this.

P.S.

Good news: Free Wi-fi at Starbucks.

Bad news: Party Down may be getting cancelled. WHY?????

Birthday, Part 2: Let them eat ugly cake…

After I last blogged, I worked out on the treadmill. I ran non-stop for 1 mile. Yippee, right? Yes, it is awesome because I am a beginner runner and I didn’t die. Yippee, life.

Afterwards, my mother and I went to Crate and Barrel. I bought a new teacup/breakfast bowl and cookie cutters. We then met my father at Patachou (another Petit Chou, but different name). While waiting for my father I drank a coffee.

Then, I ordered the Tomato and Artichoke soup. It was so good that I started eating it before the picture. Do you ever do that? Well anyway, that is why the bowl is a mess (like my cake).

A Hot, Yummy Mess.

Then, my mother took me to H&M, and I got a new dress. Sorry, my hair is also a mess. I am a MESS TODAY.

Score. I like polka dots, and black and white a lot. I call my look: ladybug emo.

Speaking of emo and messes…my cake.

So I made this Double-Caramel Turtle Cake from Cooking Light. I renamed it the Caramel Turtle Cake (no double, at all).

Okay, so I made the cake part with no problems at all. I had to use 2 9-inch pans, instead of the required 2 8-inch. Yay for making a moist cake under these conditions!

Then, I made frosting. This tasted awesome. It tasted like brown sugar milk. It is good, trust me.

So far, so good. Then I went to move the cake onto the plate to frost. The cooling rack brutalized the bottom. Oh, well. I kept on keeping on. Then I was supposed to frost this first layer…did it…then add caramel. But, I forgot the caramel. Oh well, this will be a single-caramel cake. I did have a problem spreading the frosting the first time, and decided for the top layer that I would make the frosting  less thick. Well I made it a hot, watery mess. I tried to start over, ruined it, and then I gave up.

Then I became a hot, watery mess. I cried. I cried. I cried. I threw my fists up to the chefs of the past, and screamed “You left me without skills. I am a culinary failure. UGH.” Then I thought: What would Oprah do? Make the fucking cake so she can eat it! So, I topped it with a thin layer of caramel and then chopped pecans. It is not beautiful, but it was good. Go me. I made a good cake even if I messed up the recipe repeatedly. I ate a piece before dinner. It is my birthday, and I cried.

So, try this recipe. I recommend not royally messing up and crying on your apron.

It oozes, because that is how cakes cry.

I just wish I had this guy around whenever things weren’t going right. If you ever read Shakespeare’s Hamlet, you will love this.

The Rhetoric of Binge Eating

Rhetoric is the art of persuasion, and I am quite good at persuading myself to binge eat.

Yesterday I was so busy baking for Lars’s party that I missed lunch; at his party I grazed. Although I didn’t eat much, I felt that I had lost control over my eating choices. Later I let Lars choose a dinner place, which was not-so-healthy. I saw no harm in enjoying a cheeseburger and onion rings with my boyfriend on his birthday. Then I got home and went cookie crazy. The following is a list of thoughts that go through my head when binge eating, thoughts going through my head last night:

• I already started eating bad, so why stop?
• You ate poorly today, and you usually don’t, so continue with your freedom. Just consider it a bad day.
• You can start a diet tomorrow.
• I’m bored, so I eat.

While these thoughts are comforting and convincing, I often go to bed hopeless and wake up with a horrible stomach ache. The next day I am over-concerned and angry with every food choice I make, even if it is not a bad one. So, this is the real reason I was missing from the blogs this weekend: I was frustrated and embarrassed. The binging has happened less often since I have given up excessive calorie-counting, but it still sneaks up on me during times of stress or long periods of boredom. For the past week I have been sick and/or slightly down, so I can see where the binge eating originated.

How do you cope with a day full of bad eating choices? Or days? Is there a book or resource you have found especially helpful?

Today, I attempted to eat. In the past, binge eating has led to too-restricted eating habits in the days following the binge.

The Day After the Binge (Today)

Today has been a day of sandwiches and leftovers.

Breakfast: A slice of leftover breakfast pizza.

Morning Snack: One of those jam stuffed muffins.

Lunch: (pictured below) Lars and I had a Grown-Up Grilled Cheese Sandwich. This was loosely inspired by a recipe by Cooking Light. We essentially made a grilled cheese sandwich: garlic cheddar cheese, fresh spinach, tomatoes, pepperoni from the deli, and garlic. I also had it with a pickle.

Afternoon Snack: An iced coffee and 1 peanut butter cookie. I gave the other cookie to Lars.

Dinner: Broken Yolk BLT. We put bacon, tomato, spinach, and egg on wheat toast. I loved the oozing yolk when I bit in.

I feel better today and I think having a community to talk to about these issues is helpful. So thanks for listening.

Toasted

Sorry, I have been missing. Though, it is for your benefit. I have been a hot, moody mess. The three best words to describe my mood for the past few days is: indecisive, tired, and numb. I am constantly tired, which is not helping me concentrate. Coffee isn’t even working. I don’t know what my deal is, but I may soon go to the doctor to find out. I’m happy, though. I don’t now. I am talking about this because for me mood and food are so tightly intertwined. I have been impressed with my restraint, though. If this were last year I would be on the couch, watching Lifetime, eating a pie, and most likely crying and/or drinking. So, go me!

In other news, it is Lars’s birthday weekend. I’m trying to be extra happy and energetic for this event. I do have to admit I am slightly jealous. I was sick on my birthday, and he gets an entire weekend. Okay, complaining over.

Yesterday for lunch we had some of our leftover pork and a handful of almonds. I just know you want a picture, but I passed. Again, for your benefit. I am such a nice blogger. I also ate a Luna Protein Bar (Cookie Dough) on the ride from Indy-ish to Cincy.

We stopped at Starbucks for a latte. I accidentally forgot to add “iced” to my order. I didn’t finish this latte; too hot! Sorry for the pic; facing the sun!

We met Lars’s family for dinner at Gordo’s Pub and Grill. The decor was lame, but the food was fantastic. I had a hamburger with roasted veggies. I only asked for ketchup and mustard on my hamburger and I’m glad I did. The beef was mixed with an onion mix, bacon, and herbs. So, although my toppings were minimal, it allowed the juicy, flavorful taste of the hamburger to come through. I didn’t finish my veggies, but I ate two pickles!

After dinner, our waitress brought in the cake. It was made by Servatii Pastry shop, a German pastry shop in Cincy. It was yellow cake with a vanilla frosting. Lars loves the frosting because it is made with some special shortening, or something. What you do need to know is that it was awesome.

After dinner Lars and I watched Please Exit Through the Gift Shop, a very funny documentary about street art. It is in my top five documentaries now.

Lars and I had the best sleep of our lives when we got to Lars’s Mom’s house, and slept in until 9:30. It was freaking awesome. But then the morning took a dark turn. We went to this local coffee shop that Lars and his mother love, but I dislike because of a few bad experiences. Oh, sidebar: Lars always has the best meal of his life, and I always have a crappy experience. Lars got a yogurt parfait (a sad one in Yoplait cup) and I asked for PB&J on a wheat bagel. They were out of bagels. So, I asked for it on wheat bread. They were out of peanut butter. Thus, I ended up with a jelly, grilled (?) sandwich.

I ate barely half. Also, the jelly tasted like lumpy grape juice.

Worst Sandwich EVVVVER.

Oh, I also had tea to wash down this crap-wich.

We drove back home to Indiana, but stopped at Petit Chou in Broadripple (the hipster part of Indy) for some brunch/lunch. THIS PLACE ROCKS.

Lars had the Broken Yolk (I am warning you I sometimes spell this yoke for some reason) Sandwich with avocado and bacon. This is his favorite thing to order here. It is awesome.

Best Breakfast Sandwich in Indy.

I got the Tomato Artichoke Soup. The soup’s awesome taste made up for the fact that I was handed cinnamon-buttered toast instead of the dry toast I requested. Although, the cinnamon toast was the bomb (on broiche). I didn’t eat the bread that came on the soup.

Sorry, it looks messy. I basically put my face right in it. Yum!

My Favorite Mistake

For the rest of the evening I will be thesis writing/deleting/rewriting, while Lars goes to a local food festival. What the F!

I’m going to have one more slice of cake. Don’t judge, I’ll eat a light dinner. And just so you know, I almost ate a second piece of cake before bed yesterday. I said no. Score! I’m talking to my self now, right? Haha, nothing like a misdirected pep talk.

What do you do for a pick-me-up?