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Monday, September 16, 2019

Starting Over: Sugar Standoff

I made it to Day 14 driving off the Sugar Road and then turned back on that sticky highway on Friday night......Dan's bday apple cake, recipe, scroll below for Nan*, contained very little sugar but perhaps even that amount, combined with being tired and running around all day and living with crazy vibes from people under this roof, including my own.....well, I ate 1.5 chocolate chip cookies and one of Punchy's snacks from the freezer, post birthday candles.

Saturday, I went to my book group and enjoyed the sweet, fresh mango and pineapple in the fruit salad Julie brought and did not have a slice of Karen's dessert. Karen's desserts are well-known and delicious; in fact, she gives piano lessons at her home and the children look forward to her baked treats every week. This one was a white chocolate/mascarpone cheesecake with dark chocolate cookie crumb crust, and raspberries on top.

The craving didn't overwhelm me. The fruit and coffee met my after-lunch needs.

But then: Punchy's friend came over Saturday afternoon. Very nice girl, strong athlete, aspiring singer--and the two of them love to bake/create together in the kitchen. It was okay when they made pizza with a ball of dough from the store for dinner. I planned on not eating it, because I'm avoiding pizza and pasta, but I eventually did have some, because Dan went to get dinner ingredients and didn't return until nearly 8 p.m. I have to learn to count on myself. He is too late too often.

Next, the girls invented a Nutella cookie recipe. They winged it, using a lot of Nutella, white flour, a stick of melted butter, some whole milk, a teaspoon of baking powder, a couple eggs, white sugar....and chocolate chunks.

Again, I didn't plan on partaking. I packed up two tins, one for pal to take home and one for Punch--who wanted to save the remaining dough for the block party, so we froze that in small balls that are ready to bake.

But I was upset over conflicts between Dan and Punch, and again ate sugar. I had some of the cookies and a little leftover apple cake and a spoonful of Nutella to top it all off.

So yesterday I started again on DAY 1 off the road paved in sugar. Clean slate. I went to a women's group [my weekend was overly busy] and did not have cannoli cake, blueberry tart, cookies or a pretty layer cake with strawberries and piped swirls of thickly whipped cream.

I had a mug of hot coffee with milk. I must say it's hard not to indulge as a matter of shared enjoyment in a group of women friends.

Anyway, here goes. Have to catch up on my money for Saturday and Sunday. I'm assuming zero for today as of now. Will update if that changes.

TCOY
  1. Writing this post, looking sugar in the eye. Today is new Day 2.
  2. Overnight oats for breakfast with toasted unsweetened coconut and chopped pecans, yum.
  3. Red pepper, chicken sausage.
  4. PLANNING on 7 a.m. support group and early yoga class tomorrow.
$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET/Saturday, Sunday
  • Little Daisy Bake Shop, coffee for me and for Figgy, plus tip, about $6?
  • Parking meter, $1.
  • Whole Foods, 1 quart organic milk; 2 lbs. figs to make platter for women's group, $14.33.
  • Kings, two 4-oz. packs prosciutto; two 8-oz. fresh mozzarella balls, both for that same platter; large bottle Italian olive oil; and 2 Hu chocolate bars on sale, $57.69.
  • CVS, went for RXs, bought jar of melatonin gummies for Punch, half-gallon organic milk, small Dawn dish liquid, very large bottle Cool Mint Listerine, $29.54.
  • Liquor store, 3-pack cute bottles of Rose wine to bring to Saturday book group, about $14 with tax.
TOTAL WEEKEND + MONDAY SPEND: $122.56.
RUNNING TOTAL FOR MONTH AS OF SEPTEMBER 16: $1,252.06
AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $78.25.


Compare to last month:
TOTAL SPEND FOR MONTH OF AUGUST: $2,895.06. ⬆️
AUGUST AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $93.39.  ⬆️

Big-ticket 🎟🎟 September spends:
🎟 Citarella at Hudson Yards, NYC, dinner; plus fresh fruit, etc. to bring home, $35.
🎟 Whole Foods, groceries, including present for Fig and big yellow mum plant, $84.
🎟 Whole Foods, groceries, including salmon for dinner and an iced coffee from the barista, $63.
🎟 ShopRite, groceries, laundry detergent etc., $50.
🎟 Sky Zone [worth it, Punchy went with her nice friends], $25.
🎟 Joyist, $29.
🎟 Kings, groceries, $46.
🎟 Piazza della Sole, comfy, high-end shoes, half-price, $90.
🎟 Gasoline, twice, $52.
🎟 Chinese lunch with Sis, $33.
🎟 Grocery shopping in Connecticut w Sis, $48.
🎟 CPAP dr. co-pay, specialist, $50.
🎟 Whole Foods again, including 3-pack soy candles, pound smoked salmon and Hydro Flask for Punch, $166.
🎟  Jackie's Grillette, casual dinner and soft drinks for three, plus tip, about $45.
🎟 Salon 212 blowout plus tips for job hunting Friday, $45.
🎟 Kings, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella for women's group platter, $58.
🎟 CVS, melatonin gummies, milk, Listerine, $30.

*FRESH APPLE CAKE* 🍎

This is from a 1990 calendar. I reduced the amount of sugar in the original recipe [for instance, 1 tablespoon of sugar vs. 2 tablespoons].

Makes 9 smallish servings. I recommend doubling the ingredients and using a larger, rectangular pan. Baking time is about the same.

1/2 cup chopped walnuts [optional--and I like big, coarse pieces, not finely chopped]
2 large red apples, peeled or unpeeled, finely chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour [this year, I used Cup4Cup gluten-free flour and it worked fine]
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt [excellent with French sea salt flakes; break them up with your fingers]
1/4 cup vegetable oil [or walnut oil]
1 egg, lightly beaten [this year, I used The Neat Egg powdered substitute and vegan Figgy and the rest of us loved the cake]
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 by 8 inch pan with oil, butter or cooking spray.
  2. Toast walnuts in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir often, watch carefully. Remove from heat after a few minutes or when they start to smell toasty and fragrant and are lightly golden brown. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, with a spoon, mix chopped applies with 1 T. sugar and the cinnamon. Let stand.
  4. In a medium bowl, with a spoon, mix flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt; set aside.
  5. Stir oil, egg and vanilla into apple mixture. Add flour mixture and stir just until all ingredients are moistened. Stir in nuts if using (mixture will be stiff). 
  6. Spread mixture in prepared pan.
  7. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until medium brown and apples are tender when pierced with a wooden pick. Serve warm or cool.
The original recipe says to cut into squares and serve with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce, which sounds delicious and over the top, but we have the cake on its own. ❤️👨🏻‍🌾 

2 comments:

  1. Yes, sugar is wicked in its addictive qualities. Good for you facing it. And I know everything about sugar for stress relief. If I am tired and face hours more of work, getting candy is almost automatic. Glad P learning to cook.
    Liz

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    Replies
    1. Hi Liz. Yes, I hear you. When I worked late at an office, I would reach for a junk food boost to power on. Nuts with small portion very dark chocolate and some dried apricots--or a banana with PB--would have been more satisfying, I see now. But what you said: Sugar is wicked in its addictive qualities. Yes. I have a friend in town whose husband is a top researcher and he said that studies have shown that sugar definitely affected rats the same way that cocaine did. Yikes. But makes sense. Have a good day. Power on, friend.

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