Friday & Saturday Spend

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET, two days

• Duane Reade, small Vaseline and one 3 oz. dark chocolate bar, $10.
• Cafeteria lunch, $7.50.
• Berries from street fruit man, 3 half-pints raspberries, 1 half-pint blackberries, $8. Much less than ordinary price I pay at supermarket, and still in good fresh shape.
• One pint heavy cream from NYC corner deli, much more than ordinary price I pay, $5. I was just glad they had it so I could get everything on the way to work and put it in the fridge. I got off bus in rainstorm in the dark and whipped up berries and cream for Friday-night Christmas party.
• Refill subway MetroCard, $6.
• Bus ticket, about $7.85.
• Joyist, back to my Joyist, fresh hummus; tall cup strawberries w vegan chocolate sauce to bring Fig; one Hu dark chocolate mint bar, which I got for free, thanks to rewards card, $13.
• One slice pizza and one Diet Snapple, plus tip, $7.
• Little Daisy Bake Shop, five large, rich  brownies, each cut into 4 squares, to bring to CCD class tomorrow for holiday party, plus $1 tip, about $19.70.
• CVS, lavender epsom salts and toothpaste, $9.75.
• 212 Salon, Christina's best blowout, $35, and Kim's perfect pedicure, $35, this time with silver glitter over red, plus tips for Christina and Kim and Ani, shampoo person, $90.
• Money to put toward coat, PJs, sweater, scarf set for our adopted families, $75.

TOTAL SPEND OUT OF POCKET FOR 2 DAYS: $258.80.

ONGOING SPEND AS OF DECEMBER 14: $2,140.93.

AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $152.92.

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. ❤️👨🏻‍🌾 

Birthday Apple Cake on Friday the 13th

I've been making the same apple cake for Dan since 1990--not every year, but often. Back then, he was 33 and I was 29. The tradition has been interrupted with a very deflated lemon meringue pie and small French apple tarts with homemade butter dough. 

The cake contains toasted walnuts, chopped apples, oil, flour, pure vanilla extract, ground cinnamon, some other basic ingredients--and very little sugar. I doubled the recipe this time and used Cup4Cup gluten-free flour [our friend Anne is GF] and The Neat Egg powdered egg substitute [for vegan Figgy]. It turned out delicious. We all liked it except Punch, who focused on the mango sorbet. I think the key to success is that the crisp fall apples and earthy walnuts still ride front and center, pure, unadulterated and packed with flavor. I will post the recipe soon. Too tired and busy tonight.

TCOY, Day 14 off Sugar Road. Made planned exception for this very low-sugar bday cake.

1. Met my friend Rach for healthy lunch from Marcel--hadn't seen her in a while. We walked to Anderson Park and ate outside. I had the roasted veg special over hummus....so yummy. Rich, with that hummus bed--couldn't finish it all.
2. Salmon and baked potato.
3. Half banana.
4. Grape-Nuts.
5. Hair blowout by Christina!
6. Applied makeup.
7. Job hunted.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET

• Salon 212, blowout, $35 plus tip for stylist and shampoo person, $45.
• Sandwich Theory, iced coffee plus 50 cents tip, $2.75.
• Sun Graphics, color copies of two recent magazine articles and 2 copies of resume, about $5.
• Marcel Bakery & Kitchen, lunch with Rach and later, 2 mini cheese pastries so I could sit and work on laptop. With tip, $15 + $3.20, $18.20.

TOTAL DAILY SPEND: $70.95.

RUNNING TOTAL FOR MONTH AS OF SEPTEMBER 13: $1,129.50.

AVERAGE DAILY SPEND: $86.88.

Big-ticket 🎟🎟 September spends:

🎟 Citarella at Hudson Yards, 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.

Reminder to Self: What I Wrote August 30

And I add white breads to this list--Italian, French, Wonder [yes, Dan sometimes buys that soft, airy junk for Punch], etc.

I’ve been on shaky ground w carb consumption this week. Being on a low budget doesn’t help. I cooked pasta for Punch and two friends at lunch today. Nice and cheap, $1.49 per pound.
I’d like to sketch out a plan of triggers to avoid:

1. Bagels. Too big.
2. Donuts, cakes, cookies.
3. Fried foods, including potato chips.
4. Ice cream. I had my ultimate chocolate-dipped vanilla custard cone of the summer on the Cape earlier this month.
5. Sweetened cereals.
6. Candy and chocolate.
7. Pizza. If possible. Sometimes it’s whats for dinner.
8. Sweetened coffee drinks.
9. Pasta. Also a tough one.
10. Crackers, pretzels.

And ADD more salads, brown rice, Ezekiel bread, steamed vegs, fresh fruit, unsweetened cereal, turkey on good rye bread.

Day 3 No Sugar Shield

It's not easy to face life without a white sugar shield for protection--not when you've counted on it for such a long time.

Anyway, I took bus and train back to Connecticut to be here for Sis, who is going through another medical procedure. I will be returning home by Wednesday eve.

I'm tired. Going to sleep. Good night to you.

TCOY

1. I made overnight oats following the recipe on the can of old-fashioned Irish Flahavan's. I used half whole milk and half water. Oh, it was so good. Dan and Punch loved it, too. I had mine with mango, fresh fig, toasted unsweetened coconut, chopped pecans and half and half.
2. Walked across town from Port to Grand Central.
3. Walked Buttercup with Sis by marina. Pretty.
4. Ate broccoli at both lunch and dinner here.
5. Important reading and reaching out/receiving support.
6. Also read some of great Women in Science book Fig lent me for the ride. I gave it to her as a gift a few years ago. Highly recommend.

$ MONEY SPENT OUT OF POCKET

• Bus fare to NYC, $7.65.
• Round-trip, off-peak train fare, NYC to Stamford, $23.

TOTAL DAILY SPEND: $30.65.

Ongoing spend for month of September: $107.90.

Average daily spend: $53.95.

Big-ticket 🎟🎟 September spends:

🎟 Citarella at Hudson Yards, dinner plus fresh fruit, etc. to bring home, $35.

The Producers

Today was productive. My friend Rachael and I both got blowouts [at separate Montclair salons], did our makeup and met at her house with Mark Wyville, a gifted photographer who lives right down the block from me.

Rach, a health coach, mother of three [including Figgy's dear friend] and chef with amazing recipes up her hot pink cashmere sleeve, will be launching her website soon. Mark was taking photos for it, and I'm in some shots, cooking with Rach. [I'm one of her clients, too.] Process shots included squeezing a fragrant navel orange for the dressing on a farro dish; holding a bowl of turkey Bolognese served over spaghetti squash; scattering chopped parsley over a lovely big salad; clinking wineglasses.

It was fun, but also work, and the shoot was from about 1 to 3. After that, we dug into the Bolognese [yum], plus roasted cauliflower and Brussels sprouts--and, for dessert, plain Icelandic yogurt with a dollop of lemon curd and fresh raspberries on top.

I made that last treat for my family tonite, fixing Fig a separate parfait with almond-milk "yogurt" and just berries. I filled my mother's shallow crystal bowl [a wedding gift, I think] with yogurt, some lemon curd and ruby-red berries for me, Dan and Punch. But she promptly ate all the berries--like a hungry bear cub in the mountains--and the lemon, leaving most of the plain yogurt behind for us. Do you have any more curd? she asked after.

Book group with my boot camp friends tonite [they call it Book Camp]. We read Becoming by Michelle Obama. We all liked it. Since MB grew up in Chicago, Becky served Windy City-themed foods--tapered triangles of deep-dish Chicago style pizza and rich, chocolate-lover’s squares made from the first brownie recipe--invented in the 1890s for the Chicago World's Fair. Those friends are something special.

Good night.

$ MONEY OUT OF POCKET

• Business expense: Blowout, $35 + tips, $45.
• Business expense: Barbara Eclectic, reading glasses with tortoise-style frames by Peepers [great brand, new to me] with tax, $25.59.
• Beyond the Bagel, turkey and Swiss on everything w lettuce, tomato and a little mayo, $7.94.
• Pink Bungalow, beautiful pink and gold Lilly Pulitzer luggage tag for future getaways, with tax, $12.80.
• Starbucks, energy bar, grande decaf latte, really cute picture frame and four 2-packs of dark chocolate graham crackers because I thought I'd bring them to book group but then Becky said she had it all covered, $23.72.

DAILY DOLLAR TOTAL: $115.05.

A First Time for Everything

My marshmallow-making debut today.

The formatting is off a bit whenever I start a blog post on my iPhone and then finish it here on my Rose Gold MacBook. So please forgive all the extra spaces between paragraphs! A while back, I read that beauty visionary Estée Lauder loved chocolate-covered marshmallows. I think it was in something written by her granddaughter, Aerin Lauder, who is also a beauty visionary--and author, style maven, socialite, trendsetter. Williams Sonoma approached her to sell a line of AERIN tableware. She has a jewel-box shop in Southampton [I visit it on my summer day trips] and is opening a second Hamptons location.

In fact, the legendary whipper upper of beauty creams loved candy, period. When I went to a panel discussion last Saturday at the Architectural Digest Spring Design Show in NYC, Aerin said:

Estée had a little refrigerator full of candy in the family room, with boxes of candy. She would say, 'Take one, take two, take whatever you want.' She was fun.

Now that would be my kind of grandmother. Yet somehow, Aerin and her sister, Jane, are slim and beautiful, not carrying around any candy pounds.

I find it fascinating that on esteelauder.com, you can find A RECIPE! from a popular Soho chef--even a marshmallow video, which was very helpful, as the sticky confection is made, in this case, from powdered gelatin, water, light corn syrup, sugar, salt and vanilla bean seeds scraped from the pod.

You must boil the sugar syrup in a covered pan for 10 minutes, until it reaches 240 degrees F. on a candy thermometer. I do not own a candy thermometer now, so I just stuck with the 10-minute guideline. 

But the syrup was so hot and you beat it into the gelatin for so long [15 minutes] that the whisk extension on my red handheld KitchenAid mixer [the only mixer I have right now, and I've had it for years] got red hot hot hot and actually broke off at the stem. Yikes. I hope to mail the whole shebang back to KitchenAid and get a replacement, but I don't know...and plus, the postage would be a lot.

I'm proud of my kitchen crafting today. The marshmallows seem a little plain-Jane at first but then when you dip them in the dark chocolate and let it harden, they turn into glamour girls. I did eat about four of these light ladies, but packed the rest up in cellophane bags with pretty Easter stickers--to give to others. I gave a bag of six to the mom of Punchy's playmate today.

I left a baggie with three marshmallows on the kitchen table for Dan and Punch. [Darn, they almost passed vegan Figgy's test--no egg whites!--but that powdered gelatin contains collagen from animals. So, no.]

What happened to the all the rest of the marshmallows? Dan asked when he came in.

He was impressed with these. I also have to thank him for running to Kings yesterday when I said Please get me good dark chocolate, not a bag of Tollhouse chips. He came back with two nice big Scharffen Berger 70% Bittersweet Dark Chocolate Baking Bars that were on sale; but I only needed one. [I saved six naked marshmallows for the future.]

So maybe I can make them for special occasions, like Easter and Christmas. For me, it's not just about eating the sweets--it's the crafting of them. The candy-kitchen crafting. The chopping and tempering the fine rich chocolate. The dipping [I like Chef Camille Becerra's technique of using two forks.] It's a true passion for me. But as I said under my Instagram post, #backtofruitnow.

Happy Easter to you and yours. Happy Passover, too. Are these kosher? The Lauder family is Jewish. 

TCOY

1. Nice hot bath with the rest of my DollyMoo salts [made in Montclair].
2. Got to my support group, even though Dan took the car to drive Punch to her soccer game and Figgy took the bike to get to work. I walked 15 minutes to get there. Then I walked another 15 minutes in town and 25 minutes back home.
3. Had Asian salad.
4. Think I will sauté a pear now. Sis sent us fresh pears for Easter from Harry & David.

Day 1, Healthy Food Plan: Some Observations

1. I don't think I have ever eaten so many fruits and vegs in one day. I mean: half a big orange as part of breakfast, cooked veg and salad at lunch, cooked veg and salad at dinner and will have fruit with yogurt for snack. I had a hard time finishing the portions of fruit and veg at breakfast and dinner. My friends used to laugh at me because I said eating an apple was too much work. It kind of is. 
2. No flour and no sugar. Measured [tiny] amounts of cereal. A cup of skim milk. Yikes. Bit of a shock to the system. BUT ONE DAY AT A TIME.
3. I do feel pretty good so far.
4. Right away, I had to explain myself, because my nice friend and another friend were having white wine on the deck and I had to say no, I'm doing a new plan that requires no alcohol. ONE DAY AT A TIME.
5. About to take a bath.
6. So far, so good without my friends: butter, chocolate, iced coffee with half and half, bread, ham and Swiss croissants, pretzels, donuts, bagels, crackers, cookies, English muffins.
7. I am a mom, though. Dan and I take turns cooking dinner for the family. That is tricky. Punch loved the lean, seasoned steak I had tonight. I made her a sweet potato and really wanted some, but can only have once or twice a week, so I held off. Likewise, she loves corn on the cob but corn is not on my list. Winter squash is, and I plan to roast some butternut chunks tomorrow. 
8. Recommended to only weigh yourself once a month. So I recorded my starting weight.
9. Writing and taking a look inside yourself is also a part of this. I am doing it.

Good night to you.

Blueberry Jam & Sweet Peace

Low on cash but rich in produce: Tomatoes, basil and even some blueberries H. bought before he left.

Grabbed one of my favorite old cookbooks, Sweets for Saints & Sinners, by Janice Feuer, charming illustrations by Veronica di Rosa. I acquired it as a young editorial assistant at Woman's Day Magazine; it's falling apart, but I taped the spine. As a newlywed, I often made the Dutch Apple Pie; I didn't know how to do my own pie dough yet, and I could use a frozen bottom crust and make the delicious streusel topping with grated zest of 1 orange, toasted walnuts, etc.

Here is Ms. Feuer's quick jam recipe, slightly adapted in my kitchen:

BLUEBERRY JAM

Fresh blueberries
Granulated white sugar
1 lemon

Wash and stem the berries. Place in a sturdy 1-quart pot. Finely grate peel from about 1/4 lemon and add to pot. Cook over low heat, stirring, until berries begin to give forth their juice. Add 1/2 cup sugar for each cup of fruit.* Bring to a boil and cook over high heat until cooked down and thickened, about 30 minutes. Spoon into clean jar and seal.

*I didn't want to use that much sugar. I used 4 T sugar [1/4 cup] for 1.25 dry pints of blueberries. It didn't make a huge amount of jam, just so you know. Maybe 1 cup? The recipe calls for a jelly thermometer but I don't have one, and Ms. Feuer says of the processs, "This should take about 30 minutes," so I followed that, stirring occasionally.

It was delicious atop a warm slice of buttered wheat toast. I plan to make for my family.

I also found Ms. Feuer's website and wrote her a note. I aim to order some of her other old books on Amazon, when I have the dough.

Good night.

TCOY

1. Rested.
2. Walked to Kings supermarket and back with Sug, about 20 min each way.

The Peach "Doughnuts" Apology

I made this recipe tonight. I always wondered what to do with the doughnut peaches that pop up at Kings every summer. Now I know, thanks to The New York Times. It took a lot of pots and bowls--and some time--to make the raspberry sauce, blanch and peel the peaches and sear the "doughnuts." But it was worth it. A very memorable and sweet dessert. And it's peaches, for goodness sake! Virtuous.

My tips:

• I made Figgy's vegan by searing hers separately in a skillet with hazelnut oil and serving with vegan vanilla bean ice cream. I wasn't very nice to her earlier today, so this, I guess, was a bit of an apology. She loved them.
• I used frozen raspberries [on sale, they were much cheaper than fresh], subbed a capful of orange extract for cassis, didn't have lime so skipped it, and didn't strain the sauce. It was still every drop delicious.

I hope you try it, too.

I have read about blanching fruit for years--pop peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds, transfer to bowl of ice water, drain, slice, pit and peel--and now I've done it, with nice results.

See, this is me without Punchy around. I have time for new recipes! H. loved the peaches, too, and I hope to make one day for Punch.

Good night.

TCOY

1. Boot camp in the park.
2. Walked Sug around block.
3. Support group--takes bravery to share there.
4. Nap.
5. Took Sug for long walk at night.

Vegan Heaven in Verona

Figgy's vegan friend Boaty [we like nicknames around here] raved about a restaurant she had been to with her mom, Rachael. Fig was home a couple of days with her summer class schedule, so we checked it out for lunch.

Name: Positivitea.

GPS: Bloomfield Avenue in Verona.

Plate: Bean Jr. Burger with side of kale slaw, excellent, nice big roll, great sauce, $9.50. For Fig, a very spicy and good wrap called The Burning Man, $11.

Cup: I Am Balanced juice blend [apple, carrot, celery], $5.99. Fig had Cookies 'N Cream Nice Kream Milkshake and loved it, $6.99.

Return? Yes. Whole lot of waffles, organic teas and organic coffees we haven't tried yet. Pricey, with tax and a couple bucks for tip jar--about $36. But delicious and healthy.

TCOY

1. Boot camp in park. So hot that my hair felt like a fur hat, but glad to be among friends.

2. That vegan lunch.

3. Plenty of ice water.

Farmer Brown Comes to Town

There's something new at Nishuane School, where Punchy is in first grade. It's Farmigo--local farm food that parents can order online and pick up at school. Thanks to a generous $30 introductory coupon, we drove home with a large order on this icy winter day:

• Red apples
• Deep purple kale
• Small creamy cheese round
• Golden beets
• Sweet potatoes
• Baby spinach
• Organic milk, cream and half and half
• Gingersnap-flavored granola
• Challah
• Carrots 
• Smoked turkey
• Bread Alone cranberry pull-apart rolls
• Eggs from farm 
• Maple yogurt

I'm happy to report that Punch loved the roasted sweet potato, ate half a carrot and a big sliced apple. She also tasted a roasted golden beet; I ate the rest, along with baby spinach salad.

This was arranged through the PTA: Farmigo will also give back 10% of the total sales to fund initiatives for the school and our children for every week that we have $500 or more in sales.

That's smart thinking. 

Good night.

TCOY

Please see above!

Sleuthing in the Supermarket

Patsy, Diana and me in the West Orange Whole Foods Monday.

You already know boot camp leader and friend Patsy is my hero, but check out Diana! A mother of two, she has made major dietary changes [including going gluten-free], lost 75 pounds over the last couple years and intends to keep trimming down.

She's one of the hardest working members of boot camp, scaling those steps with steely determination.  And now she just put up her shingle as a Holistic Health Coach & Consultant. As part of the services she offers, she guided Pats and me on a 1.5 hour tour of Whole Foods, showing us how to choose the healthiest, least processed foods, from seafood to tangerines [some are coated with not just wax, but also weird chemicals]. We took a close look at granola, snack bars, tortilla chips, kale, chicken fingers, frozen pizza, carrot juice and lots of other items.....

If you need inspiration, Diana offers a variety of programs. Patsy and I paid to do the tour and it was great. Diana's website is: www.DianaSabloff.com.

Good night.

TCOY

1. Walked Sug for 30 minutes, to Hobbit houses. Today, I walked over 14,000 steps. 
2. Met my friend Celia in NYC for Thai and tea.
3. Booked pedicure, a must for Florida.
4. Reining in my impluses.

Yay, I Just Ate Strawberries

You know how I prefer most things [chocolate, caramel, crackers] over fruit. But Figgy signed on to bring fruit and Nutella into school for breakfast with the yearbook staff, and since the strawberries were only $1.99 a pound at ShopRite [where we went due to budget-watching/penny-pinching], I got a pack for us. Grown in Florida, they were red--not white and woody-looking--and fragrant.

Just now, I stirred a little light brown sugar and a capful of Nielsen-Massey top-drawer vanilla into a little sour cream and dunked my berries in the bowl....tasted good.

A step in the right direction. And... the strawberry is a fashionable fruit.....such a pretty color....and a jaunty green, lacy hat.....and a shapely body.....

And then I logged in at myfitnesspal.com and couldn't believe that 6 plump berries is 49 or fewer calories total?

Enjoy your day.

Fruit Stand

I bought three small fresh apricots today. Only three, b/c they were $6.99 per pound. Part of my ongoing effort to eat more fruit. Also bought a pint of blackberries and some lox, for breakfast.

I need to take better care of myself, that's clear. So much room for improvement.

TCOY

1. Short walk with Sug.
2. Private Benjamin, tough stuff.

I'm a Little Colander

This brightens my life.

.

I admit it: It was silver-spoon priced. But it will perk up many, many gray days and countless otherwise ordinary meals. It's a tiny enamel colander, white with flowers. I already drained wild blueberries in it tonight for the Big Blues rising in the oven. [Recipe from Glamour, July 1993 issue.] 
And I figure it will inspire me to eat/display other miracle berries and also veggies, in my effort to eat more healthful produce. Picture glistening, jewel-tone raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, even fresh garden peas [not that we've ever grown those]. I plan to get my money's worth, b/c I'm going to leave it out, front and center, every day, for a happy decoration.

Good night to you.

TCOY

1. Zero exercise, zip, zilch. Was awake from about 1 to 4 A.M., so couldn't rouse myself for boot camp. Then, it was pouring all day.
2. Beauty salon, long overdue--blowout and pedicure. 
3. Worked contentedly, honing essay.
4. Did manage to eat more healthfully today--homemade shrimp and corn chowder with fresh snipped chives; veggie-topped, thin-crust pizza. Tomorrow, must continue on healthy road--and must walk even if it's raining.

Hey, BabyCakes

Here is the adorable cookbook. I must make pilgrimage to bakery in NYC!

Pruned the rosebushes, deadheaded the dahlias, fed the nasturtium. And: Went to Whole Foods baking aisle and stocked up on all the things I needed to try a couple of recipes in cozy BabyCakes cookbook by Erin McKenna [garbanzo-fava bean flour; potato starch; arrowroot; agave nectar; unsweetened applesauce; deep, dark Valrhona cocoa; and more]. My friend and next-door neighbor Julie gave me a load of sweet peaches from Pennsylvania, and I made the Blackberry, Peach and Oat Cobbler from the book. Tomorrow, I plan to make the brownies [in muffin tins, as author suggests] and freeze in batches.

Please understand, this is quite a departure from the fabulous brownies I've long mastered, and even the fruit crumbles and crisps, which involve copious amounts of butter and sugar. But I love experimenting, can't resist a good cookbook, and feel like I want to eat more healthfully, not so much refined white flour and sugar, etc. Buying these ingredients, especially the xanthum gum, was an investment. But now I have my arsenal.

I have to say that the cobbler was pretty good. Fruit so juicy! The three men at the table especially seemed to like it. I assembled it all and popped it in the oven at Anne and Michael's house, where we went for dinner. [I had to bake longer than time in book.]

Also: Figgy called us on Sis's iPhone from the cruise ship in Greece. Today they went to the island of Mykonos and she said it was beautiful. She sounded really happy. :)

Good night.

P.S. Check out pretty Erin McKenna, who is one of 12! children, baking with Martha Stewart on TV: 

TCOY

1. Boot camp in the park, fueled with PB on whole-wheat toast. Boot camp so hard today, in broiling heat, running up and down stadium steps, etc. Proud I did it.
2. Whole Foods! Easy to overspend, so can't go often. Got fresh peppers; roasted red pepper dip; jalapeno hummus; good olives from olive bar; etc. etc.
3. Walked Sug around block twice.
4. Biked over to friends' house.
5. Nurturing to see friends for dinner, share laughter, discuss prep for impending Hurricane Irene.
6. Did delicate wash, hung on rack to dry, so have something nice to wear tomorrow.
7. Relaxing shampoo and shower.
8. Good tooth care.

Country Kitchen Lemon Cake

I proudly own all but the most recent edition in Ina's cookbook line.

I have Ina Garten's Lemon Yogurt Cake cooling, and a tray of sliced strawberries and Jersey blueberries in the freezer. The cake is from the master's Barefoot Contessa at Home. I love the book. So awesome.

Fig's slightly older teen cousin and friend are visiting from Florida. So Fig flipped through this book today and planned a menu to make: salmon, French bread, and Ina's Tomato Feta Salad and Frozen Berries with Hot White Chocolate. I noticed the yellow flag on a page that Figgy and her friend Emmy marked when I first got the book--the Lemon Yogurt Cake. They made a whole meal from the book that day, including the simple and exceptionally moist glazed citrus loaf, and it was all delicious.

The loaf recipe is kind of cool--no butter, but a cup of plain whole-milk Dannon yogurt and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil. And lots of grated lemon zest. Its perfume perked me up tonight as I grated two fresh yellow globes.

Good night, sweet dreams.

TCOY

1. Boot camp in the park! I missed my friends and my workout for a whole week.
2. Walked Sug around block once.
3. Tall iced mocha, no whip.
4. Nap.
5. Bought lots of fresh groceries at ShopRite tonight--grape tomatoes, feta, basil, blueberries, strawberries, yogurt, crunchy French bread, salmon--felt good. So did making the Lemon Yogurt Cake and having a bowl of yogurt with Jersey blueberries--and staring down the barbecue potato chips, with the very alluring close-up photo on the big bag. It does seem true what my niece Leah and neighbor/nutritionist Caryn say: You can crowd out unhealthy foods when you focus on more wholesome ones.

Riding into a Sherbet Sunset

My ride to carefree fitness and happiness, from Schwinn, via Target.

Another trying day, but I strapped on my bike helmet and rode my pretty pink bike a little at about 6 P.M. I felt so free. Like I could imagine I was biking up on the Cape.

And the sunset looked so dramatic and glamorous, all swirly orange, purple and pink on the way out of the ShopRite parking lot and on Allwood Road, driving west after getting Figgy and pal at Clifton Commons. Grocery shopping can be so ordinary, but when you see masterful work like that, you have to step back and remember that the world we live in is anything but plain.

I am so grateful for that painting in the sky. Dad, did you have a part in it?

And speaking of sherbet sunsets, I have some fresh mangos I'm going to whir in my blender with a little bit of Ciao Bella Tahitian Vanilla Gelato [maybe two tablespoons] and some ice cubes later. Yum.

The Pot of Kindness

A friend gave me a simple gift.

You are so grateful for it. It really helps on a rocky path. It's as if someone is crouching down in front of you, or next to you, to dig out, roll away or at least wear down the sharp edges of the stones tripping you up. You are not walking alone.

Yes, kindness. In your sister's phone call, your cousin's email. A friend's text. Your husband's words, a doctor's words, the counselor's words. An afternoon walk with H., in his leather jacket, and Sug, in her plaid fleece coat. A planned lunch date with a very nice editor.

The phone rings. Your mother-in-law, with caring words, or your pal, just checking in. A part of you wants to say, Don't try to make me feel better. It won't work! I'd rather wallow in my pain. How can you understand, anyway? Your life is going well. What do you know about fear and uncertainty like this? I'm terrified and alone. I don't know how this story will end. But even as you type this, you feel like a brat saying it. You, so lucky to know people who care. But that's truly how you feel.

Spoiled as you are, you're fortunate; the kindness keeps coming. Supportive readers post comments on your blog. Your brother-in-law, an artist, sends a handmade card. A casserole is delivered to your front door; so is a beautiful fresh fruit arrangement. A pear is pressed into your hand by your sister, an orange by your friend. A little girl makes you smile. Another calls twice to say she wants to come see you. A teen sends you a beautiful thank you note [for something you did] on hot pink paper. You get other flowers, notes, letters. Thoughts. Good words. Even a few friendly ones from the man collecting your dollar on the Garden State Parkway. Someone takes a moment on her way to pick up her daughter at crew practice to say Hello, Alice, I want to talk to you, but I'm really late getting to the river. We'll talk later. 

Peeling Back the Years
Now you're off to enjoy the Minneola* orange Patsy gave you tonight when you stopped over to return a glass [in which she had poured you a delicious PB shake last week, made with a lite vanilla protein shake mix packet, skim milk, six ice cubes and two tablespoons Skippy].

Yum. That orange truly is delicious. Who is this person? You? Loving fruit? You got sick of oranges when you used to have one in your lunch bag every day at St. Mary's. The citrus somehow did not sit well with that little red and white carton of milk.

So, you think, maybe change really is possible.  Maybe an old life really can be transformed into a fresh, juicy, healthy one.

Good night.


*Per Wikipeida: The Minneola tangelo (sometimes misspelled "Mineola") is a cross between a Duncan grapefruit and a Dancy tangerine, and was released in 1931 by the USDA Horticultural Research Station in Orlando. It is named after Minneola, Florida. Most Minneola tangelos are characterized by a stem-end neck which tends to make the fruit appear bell-shaped. Because of this, it is called the Honeybell in the gift fruit trade, where it is one of the most popular varieties, but the proper name is Minneola.