by Sam Tackeff | Oct 8, 2012 | Challenge
Happy Columbus Day everyone! It was very busy around here this weekend, and I just came back from racing in my very first 10k! I’ll be writing a race-recap tonight, but in the meantime, I thought I’d present my weekend in pictures.
Now that my Whole30 is complete, I’m still in the midst of the gym challenge, but a lot more relaxed about eating snacks, eating out, etc. On Saturday morning, I ate a quick breakfast before we headed out on errands: a Chocolate Coconut Chew LÄRABAR, and a banana.
Our first errand was a trip to the Apple Store to pick up my brand new iPhone 5!
I’ve made it over a decade with only three phones:
1. A very trendy Samsung A300 (flip phone! text messages! the front screen lit up green! composer ring tone!), several years later when my poor little Samsung became possessed (it would turn on and off, flashing I kid you not – 666), I moved on up.
2. The Motorola KRAZR. Now I could take pictures with a 2 megapixel camera! Record my own ringtones! The “Itchy and Scratchy” theme song was my wake-up alarm for almost 5 years. Now every time I hear it watching old episodes of the Simpsons, I flinch. I’m not sure what I was thinking. Life was good.
3. And then a few years ago, my (now 20) year old brother insisted that we become data subscribers. He was so insistent in fact, that he purchased me a phone. So for the past three years I’ve been happy with my HTC EVO4G. It’s been particularly good to me, with the exception of killing power charging cords – I’ve gone through half a dozen in the past year alone.
I was due for an upgrade. I got the black one. (Photo via Engadget)
Our second errand was to get the birthday boy his brand new Banjo! He ended up with this Fender Rustler. It’s pretty, and it sounds wonderful. (Photo via themusiczoo)
When we came home, I had breakfast round 2 – a few Romanian sausages from M.F. Dulock, and some eggs.
In the afternoon, I went on a slow run around the neighborhood with a podcast – 3.27 miles in 44 minutes. My last go before race day!
For dinner, we met up with Amanda,
And my mom,
To celebrate this one’s birthday at Sweet Basil!
Sweet Basil is one of my favorite restaurants – a gem of a place in Needham.
The table started by eating inordinate amounts of bright pesto and bread. I, alas, abstained. I did consume a huge amount of roasted beet and goat cheese salad with dried apricots. (Minus the goat cheese which my mom ate, and minus the parmigiano which you see here, which was put on by accident after requesting the dairy on the side. We actually got a new one.)
For our entree, we shared the lamb shank with roasted vegetables over polenta (which I gave to my mom, regretfully, as it’s the most heavenly polenta you’ll taste). When I got home I realized that the shank might have been dredged in flour, and there might have been butter to finish the sauce – even though I had asked about dairy, I clearly wasn’t specific enough. A huge part of this challenge has been becoming more aware of just how difficult it is for folks with allergies and health concerns to eat safely, even when they think they are being careful. And it makes me extra thankful for my health. On the plus side, this was outrageously delicious.
On Sunday morning, I sat down to brunch – an avocado, and two eggs, with some pumpkin spice coffee from Trader Joe’s and some reading – Anne Lamott’s bird by bird. I’ve been taking much too long to read it, but love picking it up in small doses to avoid finishing it.
In the afternoon, we headed for an IKEA date.
I picked up my free IKEA coffee with my IKEA family card. And then, in further proof that something may be terribly wrong with me, I purchased and consumed this entire bag of almonds and raisins. Raisins, for the record, have tasted awful to me for the past two decades. I don’t know. I don’t understand it at all.
It was in IKEA that I discovered the full excitement of the new panorama feature on my iPhone.
We ended up with a new bookshelf, dresser, and bedside table – all part of our efforts to make our house more into a home. When we got back, I went for a short walk.
Fall!
Stately houses!
And came back to put together some furniture. Don’t let them tell you that IKEA sucks. We’ve been really happy with the furniture we’ve purchased from there in the past five years. Especially my beloved Tylosand couch which I had to give away before moving across the country, and mourn daily.
For dinner, I “carbo-loaded” for the race. And by that I mean, spaghetti squash and meat sauce. Not quite the same, I know. But I love my squash, and it twirls on the fork just like real pasta.
Before bed we sat around watching Devon’s Lakers pre-season game, and then got to sleep so that I could get a full 8 hours before my 10k attempt. More on that tomorrow!
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 3, 2012 | Eggs, Pantry Staples, Quick and Easy, Soups
I woke up under the weather. It was grey and raining, and I had a headache and that thing where your body says “Hey there, you better rest and take care of yourself or I’m going to make you miserable. Oh yes, you think I’m teasing you, just you wait.” I’m really, really hoping that I can shrug this before it turns into something. I’ve been resting and taking hippy remedies (spoonful of cider vinegar here and there, and crossing my fingers). In lieu of a photo of myself unwell, here is my friend Oso. This is what the morning looked like.
Very little work, movement, or life happened in the morning.
In the afternoon, I went to my kitchen to fix myself lunch. But first I set about on a little project – Nom Nom Paleo’s Magic Mushroom Powder. It’s a wonderful salt mix with porcini mushrooms and special spices, that makes things taste… magical!
I ground up a bag of dried porcini mushrooms in my spice grinder (a.k.a. coffee grinder, I swear I wash it in between uses). Then I added the special spices, and salt.
Mixed it all up, and voila! This stuff is going right next to my salt collection, and I’ll be putting it on almost everything. Chicken, pork, fish, in stews – it’s the perfect spice mix to add that umami flavor to your dishes.
I won’t post the recipe because it’s not my own to post, but you can find it on her awesome iPad app! Highly recommend it.
For lunch, I made a bowl of pork, pumpkin, and greens soup. It seemed very Southern. You may have noticed that I like soups, and I try to make them as often as possible because soup is one of the best ways to get in your nutrients, and hydrate yourself. Rather than making a big pot of soup, I can put together quick soups nearly any day of the week at lunch using a basic method that usually works.
Super basic soup for 1 or 2:
1. Season 3-6 ounces of meat with salt and pepper. Cook in a little bit of fat on the stove, until the meat is cooked through. (Or heat up some leftover meat.) Chicken, pork, cubed meat or ground all work fine. (Today I used some fresh ham with marrow bone.)
2. Add 1-2 cups of vegetables of your choice. I’ll usually use some greens (even mixed frozen greens), leftover roasted vegetables, and whatever is seasonal. (Today was a combination of greens and cooked mashed pumpkin.)
3. Top with just enough liquid to cover. You can use chicken or beef stock, or even just water! (I used water.) Season with a pinch of salt and taste. I usually like it just slightly less salty than I’d like the finished soup to be. Bring to a boil, then down to a simmer for 20-40 minutes, until your vegetables are tender, and a little longer if the flavors need to meld more.
4. Take off the heat, and gild the lily. Swirl with a little olive oil, a squirt of lemon juice if it needs a little acid, a spoonful of pesto or a grating of cheese.
In the late afternoon, I had a snack: some cooked butternut squash topped with walnuts, cinnamon and coconut butter.
Before dinner, I decided to take a very short walk to air myself out. Just for half an hour, and it felt good being outside. By dinner time, I was exhausted, so I made my best last minute comfort food “Faux-Shakshuka”. Shakshuka is a wonderful Middle Eastern dish of eggs poached in tomato sauce, usually with peppers and onions. For this dinner I opened a can of Rao’s Marinara, dumped in three eggs, and that was it. No apologies, it’s pretty much the best quick meal on the planet.
After dinner I had about a cup of pineapple, and was asleep by 10pm. Because I’m an old lady. Crossing my fingers that this’ll go away soon!
by Sam Tackeff | Sep 29, 2012 | Local stores, Restaurants
I think it comes with the territory, living on either coast – you spent more time sending away friends than you care to. I certainly understand the wanderlust, but it’s always sad when you have that last coffee with a friend before they head off to new things. I find it regretful that illustrious written correspondences are a thing of the past, and now we seem to only have the internet. The internet doesn’t make up for the days when it’s raining and chilly, and you both exhale as you walk into the cafe together and share warm comfort and the details of your day.
I made the trip in the pouring rain to 3 Little Figs in Somerville to say a bittersweet goodbye to Emily yesterday. She’ll be making her way out to San Francisco next week, and I’ll miss her.
3 Little Figs is remarkably cute. It was the perfect escape from the rain and grey that has settled over the city. The cafe is filled with more smiling friends having conversations over coffee and treats than silent folks with computers (although there were still some of these, though they shut off their wi-fi on weekends).
After discussing our futures, good people from Tiburon, and the merits of media mail, I sent her off into the rain, and headed over to M.F. Dulock to console myself and pick up my weekly pastured meat fix. The case was brimming with good stuff this week. Every time I go I’ve purchased something new.
I left with pork stir fry, ground beef, boneless beef shanks, a fresh ham steak, and some homemade chorizo. Before heading back, I made stops at Formaggio (for fresh eggs and black olives), Trader Joe’s (Sardines, coconut milk, a coffee sample, and a few goodies for Devon), and Whole Foods (all the vegetables growing in fall). Yes, I could have shopped in one place, but food shopping is my favorite activity ever.
When I got home, I made myself breakfast, a few eggs simply cooked with nothing on them.
In the afternoon, lunch was sardines. Yes, sardines, again. Two days in a row if you are counting. This time I made a salad of sardines and black olives, over several fistfuls of baby greens, with a few good squeezes of lemon.
To warm myself up, I spent all afternoon roasting things as I worked. There were carrots and parsnips in coconut oil with rosemary, a sliced acorn squash with cumin, salt and chile, and cauliflower florets with a handful of garlic cloves.
For the second round of the oven, I roasted zucchini with garlic, and a whole butternut squash.
For dinner I fried up some chicken thighs with salt, pepper, and a little bit of garlic powder.
Devon got his with a Caesar salad and some acorn squash. I made mine into a big salad with a few of each of the vegetables I roasted today.
For dessert, I snacked on a banana bread LÄRABAR. After dinner, we sat around and watched Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves because we were both too lazy to turn the channel.
by Sam Tackeff | Sep 12, 2012 | Eggs, Turkish
Yesterday was a long day. I tried to avoid the television, but the tweets and messages and blogs of my friends remembering 11 years ago were sobering. I made the mistake of turning on NPR while in my car, and choking up while driving and listening to the short memorial stories.
And then I met my mom for a walk on the ocean. The air was the warm end of summer air, the sky was bright. The Atlantic was flat and deep blue, and seemingly endless. We talked about life, food, her first day of preschool. This walk – the same one we’ve gone on since I was a small child – always puts me in a better place.
Reluctantly, I came home again to an empty house, and although it’ll be the two of us again tonight, it was lonely. It was also late, and I was tired. My mom had given me several ripe tomatoes from her garden, and some fresh parsley, so I set to work putting together a riff on Turkish menemen – scrambled egg with peppers and tomato. Because I was pepper-less, I just added an extra tomato. I find that you can never eat too many tomatoes at the end of summer, because soon they’ll be gone, and you’ll regret your missed opportunities.
This is one of those dishes that I come back to again and again, the type of food that I eat alone. It’s dead simple, cooks up quickly, and works just as well for dinner as it would for breakfast. It also, for the record, tastes great when you come back at 2 am after a long night out.
Turkish Tomato Eggs
serves 1
1 tablespoon olive oil (or 2!)
2 or 3 ripe tomatoes, chopped or grated
salt
pinch of chile flakes (Such as Urfa Biber or Piment D’espelette)
pinch of thyme
3 large eggs, whisked
small handful of chopped parsley
In a non-stick skillet over medium heat, pour a generous amount of olive oil (a tablespoon or more if you can rationalize it). Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan, and season with a little bit of salt, a large pinch of chile flakes, and a small pinch of thyme. Stir, and let it bubble for three to five minutes.
In a bowl, whisk three eggs with a small pinch of salt. Pour the egg mixture over the tomatoes, and let it set for a bit, and then stir gently for a few minutes. This dish is fairly soupy, and not dry, but you are looking to cook the whites. When cooked, add a large handful of chopped parsley, and eat right away.
by Sam Tackeff | May 14, 2009 | Barefoot Blogging, Breakfast
This weeks Barefoot Blogging backtracks to a recipe that I wasn’t around for – Ina Garten’s Herb Baked Eggs. Barefoot blogging is a group effort of those of us who absolutely adore the Barefoot Contessa, and are cooking our way through her recipes. It’s great fun.
I thought these eggs would be a perfect way to inaugurate my new ceramic ramekins, and use the broiler that I couldn’t figure out how to use – it’s one of those pull out drawers under the stove that I always thought was just intelligent storage space for baking pans.
The recipe couldn’t be simpler, and makes a really great breakfast to serve for company or just yourself in a matter of minutes. And it looks so pretty! I ate mine with some really fantastic bread from Alvarado Street Bakery.
Ina Garten’s Herb Baked Eggs
serves 2
Ingredients
– a half clove of garlic, freshly minced
– 1/4 teaspoon of minced fresh thyme leaves
– 1/4 teaspoon of minced fresh rosemary leaves
– 1 tablespoon of minced fresh parsley
– 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese
– 6 extra large eggs
– 2 tablespoons heavy cream
– 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
– Salt and Pepper
Method
1. Preheat the broiler for 5 minutes and place the oven rack 6 inches below the heat.
2. Combine the garlic, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and Parmesan and set aside. Carefully crack 3 eggs into each of 2 small bowls or teacups (you won’t be baking them in these) without breaking the yolks. (It’s very important to have all the eggs ready to go before you start cooking.)
3. Place 2 individual gratin dishes on a baking sheet. Place 1 tablespoon of cream and 1/2 tablespoon of butter in each dish and place under the broiler for about 3 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Quickly, but carefully, pour 3 eggs into each gratin dish and sprinkle evenly with the herb mixture, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place back under the broiler for 5 to 6 minutes, until the whites of the eggs are almost cooked. (Rotate the baking sheet once if they aren’t cooking evenly.) The eggs will continue to cook after you take them out of the oven. Allow to set for 60 seconds and serve hot with toasted bread.
