I broke my foot in June and quickly gained 14 pounds — faster, you might say, than a heifer on a feed lot. That was five months ago. Since September I’ve carved off nine of those pounds — as slowly as sculpting marble with a butter knife. Aaargh, that’s all I can say. (Of course,… Continue reading Emo eating, addiction and wellness
Watsontown, PA
“How’d you find Watsontown?” asked one of my 111 high school classmates after Stoic and I ended up there as we drove home from Niagara Falls last month. She, incidentally, is among the handful of us who didn’t stay there after graduation. Well, as a vaudeville comic might say, with great difficulty. I think because… Continue reading Watsontown, PA
Best summer soup ever!
“If I got this in an expensive restaurant, I’d be really happy with it,” said Stoic the Vast on first tasting this elegant and easy zucchini soup, adapted from a skinnytaste.com recipe. That’s our highest praise. If we’d paid real money for it (instead of “just” raising or buying the groceries), we’d still like it… Continue reading Best summer soup ever!
Gregory Pardlo’s Air Traffic and zucchini tots (no, really, both of these things)
Honestly, I was going to opine about zucchini and how thanks to Maggie M. at my YMCA, I’ve learned about zucchini tots which are just like tater tots, except, you know. Then this morning I finished Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gregory Pardlo’s “Air Traffic: A Memoir of Ambition and Manhood in America” (Borzoi, 2018). A frequent… Continue reading Gregory Pardlo’s Air Traffic and zucchini tots (no, really, both of these things)
Depression — that big black bear — and obesity
For a cogent discussion of the relationship between the two, see — surprise! — an interview with the glamorous Charlize Theron in the May issue of Elle magazine. She gained 35 pounds to play an exhausted new mother in “Tully,” and says “I had depression for the first time in my life shooting this film.” Isn’t… Continue reading Depression — that big black bear — and obesity
And now, Father’s Day. Also, best fruit salad ever. With no added sugar!
OK, the good thing is: We get Mother’s and Father’s Day over within a few weeks of each other. Then I can revert to standard grump mode, as opposed to raging about the nonexistent parenting in my long-ago past. Even I realize this last hurts me as opposed to anyone else, especially those no longer… Continue reading And now, Father’s Day. Also, best fruit salad ever. With no added sugar!
Mother’s Day — it’s complicated
The cliché is that psychiatrists’ patients talk about how much they hate their mothers. In fact, my shrink met my mother once and never stopped talking about how much he disliked her! I’ve always given her points for being brave enough to go with me to one of my sessions, but, in truth, felt validated… Continue reading Mother’s Day — it’s complicated
Finally happened and sweet cherry-goat cheese-basil crostini
Well, at last. After six months or so of exercising 5 to 6 times a week, I went to the Y in a mood a few days ago. I was conscious of wanting an aerobic workout. Wanting as opposed to dreading or grudgingly slogging. And when I finished my 30 minutes on the open-stride elliptical,… Continue reading Finally happened and sweet cherry-goat cheese-basil crostini
Trying something new — yes, at your age — and venison Stroganoff
After I committed to spending five-six days a week at the Y at the end of last summer, people want to know if I feel just fabulous. No, but I don’t feel as bad, and at 72-1/2, that’s probably the same thing. My knees no longer hurt 24/7. I can hike briskly across a big… Continue reading Trying something new — yes, at your age — and venison Stroganoff
Stopping by the kitchen on a snowy evening: Honey-garlic sprouts and figgy pork tenderloin
Lucky for us, the new issue of Taste of Home magazine with its centerpiece on sheet pan suppers arrived before the snow (none of this carry on through rain, snow, sleet foolishness for our carriers). The frozen stuff started before daylight and continued all day, but we had a tiny pork tenderloin in the freezer… Continue reading Stopping by the kitchen on a snowy evening: Honey-garlic sprouts and figgy pork tenderloin
