by Sam Tackeff | Nov 12, 2013 | Coffee
I decided this morning that I’m going to try to go back to one cup of coffee a day.
At some point, my single cup of coffee in the morning turned into two, and then one mid-afternoon, and then all too often one at five – my crutch to get me through the terrible shock to my system that is daylight savings. This darkness before five is oppressive!
Now, the coffee itself, it’s not all that bad of a habit, and most of the coffee I drink is black, so there’s no impetus to cut back to avoid excess sugar. So why change? Here’s the problem: I love the taste of coffee, and the ritual, and sometimes this means that I drink more than I really need – and I don’t like it when caffeine becomes a craving rather than an “optional”.
So here’s my intention. One cup, in the morning. For the rest of the day, I’ll refill with hot water – my favorite form of hydration. If I feel so inclined to take a 5pm special treat once in a while, so be it, but it won’t be every day.
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It’s been quite some time since I’ve shared my daily gratitude exercise here, but I try to come up with a small list on a regular basis that captures the things I’m thankful for. Years in this still feels a little hippy dippy, but being able to acknowledge the good around me really helps me feel better about life.
The little things:
smart and thoughtful coworkers. people who make me happy to show up every day, who are positive, hardworking, and caring.
sandwich fixins’. minus the bread. arugula, mozzarella, prosciutto, basil. also, coworkers that don’t mock me for dumping the contents of several sandwiches into my plate, and leaving a sad heap of bread cast-offs.
new strings. some of the guitars in the house are getting some attention tonight – they aren’t my instruments, but seeing new strings put on, and necks lovingly polished, and then listening to the tuning – is delightful.
twinkle lights. we have our string of lights up all year long in the living room – it always feels magical.
the gently vibrating alarm on my Jawbone Up. way better than getting woken aggressively by a phone alarm, and even though I usually wake up a few minutes before it goes off, it’s still quite comforting.
IOU’s. the parking lot credit card machine was broken tonight, and the attendant waved me off, telling me to pay the next time I was in.
dear book club friends, on our non-book club night, at the bar. added bonus of nostalgia from my college days studying poetry with chili and a pint at the bar (Dunn-Gaherin’s)
by Sam Tackeff | Sep 15, 2013 | Blogging, Challenge, Coffee, Tea
Last year, around this time, I was immersing myself in a challenge at my gym: focusing on whole foods, cooking, improving my fitness, and increasing general happiness. During this challenge – and let’s face it, I love any sort of challenge – I re-dedicated myself to my writing practice. I made a commitment to journal, free write, blog, and to scrap the hundred of drafts, the worrying, the “is it good enough?” and just publish. I largely stuck with it, and enjoyed the process immensely. This year I’m not doing the gym challenge, but I have a nice race lineup scheduled, I’m working on some new fitness goals, and I have a superb positive attitude email chain with a group of women I’m friends with. It’s a sort of low stress, mini-challenge, and I’m looking so forward to it!
There’s excitement buzzing as we transition into fall, and I’m focusing on being present, making lots of things, and sharing them with the world. Last week Martha Stewart posted about organizing her Basket House (yes, that’s right, she has a house full of baskets), and although I don’t have a basket house, I do like organizing things. My first almost-fall project? Improve my morning ritual, by de-cluttering my mug situation.
The set-up: My first step was making a new shelf for my mugs, which you can see in that top picture there. Instead of stacking and stashing my mugs in a cupboard, I took the top of one of my metal kitchen shelves, lined it with cute cork placemats from IKEA, and laid out all my mugs in full view. And because the vessel is just as important as the drink, I also introduced three new mugs into the family, to accompany my favorite Japanese cups and my little Heath Ceramics mug. All three, above, are from Starbucks. Yep. Mass-market, on sale, non-handcrafted mugs. But look how shiny and pretty they are! No regrets!
My morning ritual: most mornings I get up and brew myself a cup of coffee. Either a single cup, with my drip filter, or my aeropress, or if I’m feeling like I need a large dose of caffeine, my French press, or if I’m feeling European, on the stovetop in my Bialetti espresso maker. I go through a variety of coffees: Blue Bottle beans when I have them, or a custom blend from Zabar’s, or something from a local roaster – lately, I’ve been digging Fazenda and George Howell. For espresso or Turkish coffee, I usually use Turkish Mehmet Efendi, or in a pinch my standby espresso powder from IKEA. To accompany my new mug shelf, I also organized all of my coffee tools in one place. Win!
Of course, lest you think I’m all coffee, all the time, I must protest. In the afternoons, I drink tea.
Do you have a favorite mug?
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 25, 2012 | Blogging
(Wellesley, 1931 via the Wellesley Archives.)
Hello! It’s been a long, fabulous, drawn out week, but I’m happy to be back. The bulk of my weekend was spent at Wellesley, participating in the Alumnae Leadership Council. I went to the beautiful campus to convene with hundreds of fellow graduates, all smart, sophisticated and accomplished women who have achieved so much good in the world. It was just what I needed. Wellesley is a very special place.
When I struggle or feel nervous about my future, I think of all the brilliant role models I have. Women with incredibly varied life experiences. Women who make a tangible difference. Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright, the late Nora Ephron are just a few of them. Women whose will and spirit I aspire to emulate. One of the highlights of this weekend was listening to a panel of current students discussing their experiences at the college. These were four incredibly eloquent and accomplished young women, who I couldn’t have been more impressed with. If these women represent our future, it will be a bright one.
The best part of the weekend was getting to spend time with Lizzy – one of my dearest friends, a Minnesotan, Data Scientist, Kiteboarder, Dog Lover (her family breeds and shows Bernese Mountain Dogs) and the super human being who accidentally introduced me to Devon more than half a decade ago.
Here’s a week-long catch-up:
Wednesday: Acquired Lizzy from the airport. Went for a long walk through the city, grabbed lunch at Felipe’s in Harvard Square. Visited the Honey Store. Walked through Kendall. Headed down to the water. Cooked up dinner – chicken thighs with brussels sprouts and bacon.
And… a Pinkberry run. Did you know you can just get fresh fruit and toppings? Well, you can!
Thursday: Headed to CrossFit to complete my challenge of the week – 100 overhead squats for time. 5 burpees everytime you drop the bar. There was a 20 minute cap, and I made it to 75 with a light 35# bar, having dropped the bar one too many times and dying on the burpees. (I was not pleased with my results.) Lunch was a hugely underwhelming bowl from Boloco. In the early evening, we met up with a friend at Barbara Lynch’s Drink, and I ate an entire bowl of delicious warm olives, and a single taste of each of the night’s cocktails: Old Fashioned, a Champs–Élysées, and a Ramos Gin Fizz. Next time I head over, I’ll be having a Ramos Gin Fizz of my own! I happily partook in the steak tartare, minus the toasts! For dinner we got Anna’s to compensate for our lackluster lunch experience. Burrito bowls have been my go-to when ordering out, and I never tire of them.
Here’s the inside of Drink:
Friday: We went for long walks and headed over to the North End. Lizzy got her cannolo at Modern, and I made do with an espresso, standing up at the bar at Caffe dello Sport. For lunch we picked up some food from Whole Foods – roasted brussels sprouts and beef stew. Dinner was spaghetti squash with Rao’s marinara and Trader Joe’s Italian sausage.
Isn’t this the most fabulous photo of Lizzy? Those cheekbones! That delightful ricotta filled snack! The powdered sugar explosion! I digress.
Saturday: Leadership council! We snuck onto campus early to have brunch at Tower Court. Eggs, bacon, a little bit of chicken, grapefruit, and pumpkin coffee. (Although I rarely ate in dining hall – despite being forced to stay on the meal plan – brunch was one of the best parts of my college experience.)
I smartly loaded up, fearing the worst with my dietary needs and the impending catered meals. While I would have just brought my own food or been flexible, I had decided to make advanced plans with all the caterers giving proper notice of my gluten and dairy free requirements. Multiple caterers were being uses, all in the running for reunion events, and as I’ve volunteered as dinner chair, I thought this could be a good test. Lunch was salad and a chicken breast, and I had to argue with a server who was going to take away my chocolate mousse because I had requested “no dairy” and they “needed it for someone else”. This, for the record, was ludicrous as they had plenty of extras (including one at an empty seat at our table). I was looking forward not to the mousse – which wasn’t challenge friendly- but the raspberries on top. After clarifying that I was not allergic to dairy, and getting snapped at, I had to scowl to keep my three beautiful raspberries. Dinner was not much better. Steak, two pieces of broccoli and purple potatoes. I had to clarify that dairy free meant I couldn’t have the mashed potatoes made with butter, which the server brought back a second time insisting it was rice. My final plate consisted of a 4 ounce piece of steak and about three spears of broccolini. The food, despite the mishaps was all actually quite good.
After a day of not eating nearly enough, I found myself starving, and regret to say that I cheated on my challenge. Considering the majority of folks have cheated since week one, I only felt a tiny bit bad. The worst part is that it wasn’t even food I’d crave normally: my downfall was roasted marshmallow on graham cracker at the Wellesley fire pit. C’est la vie.
Sunday: Leadership council day two! Yet another morning breaking into doing hall for brunch. This time I grabbed a few extra eggs and a banana to go as hunger insurance. For lunch, most people got butternut squash ravioli, but the gluten free meal was a portobello mozzarella stack with a tomato vegetable sauce. Which I had without cheese. Which means my entire meal was a mushroom. Sigh. After the conference, Lizzy, Devon and I headed to Basho for a meal, and by meal, I mean, for $70 we ended up with enough food to qualify as “appetizer”. Basho has a really nice atmosphere, but the food for the price just doesn’t cut it. I should note though that they were particularly accommodating for my needs. I ended up with three very small rice-less hand rolls, but they were kind and flexible. We were so hungry after dropping off Lizzy that we went to the store and picked up some food. I went with kielbasa and salad.
Monday: Back to reality. Met up with a friend for a long walk/run. 4.5 miles in the crisp early evening air. Food: I ate it. Mostly leftovers – cabbage and kielbasa, tomato braised cod with olives and artichokes. Dessert was a shake – blended a frozen banana with 2 Tbs. of cocoa and some light coconut milk. Highly recommended.
Tuesday: Crossfit! A fairly strenuous workout. The workout of the day was called “Ace + Gary”. There were two rounds: the first was 15 minutes long, alternating a 400 m. run with as many unbroken pull-ups as you could do. You scored based on total pull-ups, which for me was… 13. Then a 7 minute rest, and round two: alternating between a 500m row an as many handstand pushups as you can do before toppling over or tiring out. Over my four rounds, I made it to 30 – although scaled by getting into a headstand and pushing up. (My cartwheeling into the wall still needs practice, so this made it easier to actually get in pushups for the workout.) For dinner, I roasted a chicken, and served it with salad.
Wednesday: Rest day! Breakfast was a banana and egg “pancake”, with nut butter and a little maple syrup. For lunch I made do with Trader Joe’s Gazpacho, a handful of black olives, and some canned sardines with mustard. In the late afternoon I picked up some decaf coffee at Formaggio. (Note to self, just don’t do decaf. It’s never as good.) For dinner, a low point of the week, I crumbled up some ground beef with spices, and served it with roasted delicata squash, nothing else. Devon got his with mashed potatoes.
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Before I go, I want to give you a few shots of breakfast over the past week. There is nothing like waking up in the morning and walking into the kitchen when someone else has made coffee for you.
Banana and egg “pancake”.
The Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice Coffee we blew through… fantastic until we went back to TJ’s and were informed that they wouldn’t have any more due to a production snafu. Grumble.
Lizzy’s cocoa oats.
Apples and nut butter.
Back to the grind – and regularly scheduled postings. I’m looking forward to it.
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 17, 2012 | Meat
I’m going a little bit blind guys. Actually, I’ve been quite blind for most of my life, but pretty much every one of the hundreds of photos I took were blurry yesterday. Forgive me.
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The morning started like nearly every morning around here, with a nice dose of caffeine. This time I headed out for my daily treat, to get some George Howell from Formaggio, dark roast. Black, even though I’d much prefer it with cream. I also miss dipping those little turbinado sugar cubes in the warm coffee until they soak through, and pop them into my mouth. I’m probably better off having kicked that habit.
For lunch, I came home and decided to dose myself with greens. I sauteed large strips of kale until the stems were tender.
I then topped them with leftover chili, which, as promised had become even better after a night in the fridge.
After lunch, I treated myself to dessert – a cappuccino LÄRABAR. I can’t say that this was my favorite flavor, something about the whole coffee bean flecks seemed off and a little bitter.
Before dinner, I took a 45 minute walk around the neighborhood, and treated myself to some squash topped with sunshine sauce.
I then set to work on our dinner: Sous Vide Pork Chops. I seasoned the pork chops with salt, pepper, and mushroom powder.
And then vacuum sealed them with my Foodsaver. I just have a regular one, but if you were in the market for a hunting themed vacuum sealer, they make this horrific and amazing version called the GameSaver in “Mossy Oak“. (You should really click the link.)
While I certainly envy those with a Sous Vide Supreme, I’ve been making do with the next best thing – an Igloo Cooler filled with hot water. My cooler drops only 5-10 degrees over 2 hours, so it does the trick at keeping the meat at a fairly stable temperature.
I filled it with water around 140 degrees, and dunked the pork chops in the bath for two hours, making sure to check that the temperature was between 135 and 140.
After two hours the pork chops were perfectly cooked, but had a pallid unappealing color.
So I heated up some lard and seared off the pork chops for about a minute on each side as I finished up our side dish: red cabbage with prosciutto and cider vinegar.
Mmm…. beautiful!
I served my plate with the small chop, the bone off of Devon’s larger chop, and a side of guacamole.
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 13, 2012 | Seafood, Writing
For years I’ve wanted to make, and share, a daily practice of writing, but I was too anxious to start. The act of writing really wasn’t the problem; I was afraid of not being good enough, profound enough, or not being the best. So I just didn’t write. While I’m certainly not shy or quiet, there have been many occasions in life where I’ve missed out because of this fear.
A funny thing happens when you commit to something and stick with it. Your life starts changing, fast. Seemingly impossible things completely unrelated to your original goal start becoming possible. When I started writing here regularly again, I had to consciously put aside my anxiety about being the best, and remind myself why I was here: to cultivate a daily practice of writing and photography, to support myself during the challenge, and to be part of a community who shares my values and inspires me daily. I still have to remind myself, I think we all do sometimes – you are worth it, don’t let fear hold you back.
My day started out uncharacteristically. I was supposed to have a meeting mid-morning over coffee, but it was re-scheduled, so I worked most of the morning before I realized that I had neither eaten anything nor had my caffeine. Around noon, I grabbed this Spencer apple and headed out the door to pick up some George Howell coffee at Formaggio.
It was brisk, but sunny, so I took the opportunity to take a half hour walk around Cambridge before heading back home. I had planned on running in the evening, but was feeling a little bit under the weather, so the walk seemed like a good compromise.
In the late afternoon, I put together a salmon dish that I was working on for a secret project. Not being able to keep a secret, I went ahead and shared a photo of it on Instagram, so there’s no hiding it here. (I’ll post the recipe next week.)
Lately, I’ve been working on practicing better self-care. As a coach, I was trained on the value of self-care for optimal health and wellness, but practicing what I preach in this area has always been difficult. When I was living in San Francisco, practicing mindfulness/meditation based stress reduction, getting regular massages and chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture, and practicing regular yoga were all part of my routine and provided tangible benefits, but in the past year I’ve regressed.
So I took my own advice, and went for a manicure and shoulder/neck massage at MiniLuxe. The color is OPI, I think either Sweet Heart or Hopelessly in Love, but honestly I didn’t check. For hands that have suffered mercilessly in the kitchen and the gym, I thought they turned out remarkably nice.
For dinner, I cooked flounder filets in olive oil, seasoned with Turkish fish seasoning. For light flaky fish like flounder, I usually cook them on one side for a few minutes, and baste the top with hot olive oil, which cooks it through without needing to flip it.
I baked a sheet tray of parnsip fries with rosemary, and served myself up this not quite as indulgent version of fish and chips.
For dessert, I baked a few pumpkin walnut cakes from this recipe. They didn’t quite turn out as successfully as I’d like, but when I tweak the recipe to perfection, I’ll post it.
