All grown up

Remember this kid?


He got married this Saturday, a rare sunny day in Halifax. His lovely bride is Erin, and we love her to pieces. Aren't they bee-yoooo-tiful??

And once again...

The husband has gotten sick of feeling like he is fat Fat FAT, so he has started a new diet. An extremely low-calorie, doctor-supervised diet, which is what he feels he needs to get really serious about losing weight. I have mixed feelings about all of this. As far as I am concerned, this kind of rapid weight loss diet is exactly the kind where you end up gaining it all back and more after you go off of it. But, it's his body and his self-image, and although I have discussed my concerns with him, ultimately it is his decision. He has asked a lot more questions since I brought up my fears, has decided to consult with our family doctor and is significantly more aware of what this diet entails. And we have a plan to make sure he doesn't gain it all back. Oh yes, we do have a plan.

As the Official Cooker of All Things Food TM, I am having to find a way to prepare meals that meet the strict criteria of this diet, still taste like something and not starve myself in the process. I have to weigh bloody EVERYTHING. But, although weighing EVERYTHING is a pain in the ass, I have realized that our meat portions were WAY out of whack. Do you know that those fresh chicken breasts at the store weigh around 10 ozs?? The recommended serving of protein is about 4. Now, instead of one breast per person, we make one breast into nearly 3 servings. Not only is it a better serving, but it will save us money down the line. And I have a much better sense of how much meat/protein to prepare. Veggies are easy--you can have loads of the green ones and the pepper family, you just have to watch the more sugary, starchy ones and only eat those occasionally. And hopefully, if we watch our portions carefully, there can be wine in our future.

Oh, please. Of course there will be wine in our future. Anything else is unthinkable.

Yummy

I made a lentil soup the other day that really rocked my taste buds, so I thought I would share my creation with you all. Enjoy!

Red Lentil Soup

2 cups dry red lentils
2 T butter/oil
2-3 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 T chopped fresh parsley
1 T curry powder
1 T cumin
1 bouillion cube (chicken or veggie)
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 lean kielbasa, cut into cubes(optional)

I pre-soaked the lentils by covering them with water, bringing to a boil and then shutting off the heat and soaking for a few hours, but I suspect you can just cook them along with the rest of the soup if you prefer. In a dutch kettle or soup pot, saute the onions, carrots and celery( I use a combination of butter and olive oil, it helps keep the butter from burning). Add the parsley and spices and allow the seasoning flavour to release. Add the lentils and just cover with water. Add the bouillion cube, bring to a boil and then cook for approximately one hour on low heat, stirring occasionally. Drain the tomatoes slightly, and add, along with the kielbasa. Cook for another 1/2 hour. Serve with corn bread. Be happy.

Gotcha!

The last few months, this wee gent has been visiting my bird feeder. I generally pride myself on my bird identification skills, usually I either know the bird right offhand (courtesy of a birding-type mother) or I figure it out by consulting the ever-handy Peterson Field Guide. But this guy had me stumped. After eliminating the most likely suspects, I went through the guide page by page. still no luck. When I was in Arizona, I queried Mom, and we consulted several different guides to no avail.

Finally, I caught him on film. Sorry for the poor quality: I suspect the combination of shooting through the window, late afternoon light on a snowy day*, and low batteries are to blame, but I think you can see the little birdie well enough. Anyway, I then searched out a birdwatching site here in the GTA, so I could post a message about my bird. Unfortunately, the registration process required me to wait for admin approval, so I was unable to post my photos. I scrolled through various other peoples' posts and found this link.

Hey! that looks like it might be my guy! I am not sure if he is slate-cloured or a white-winged (although I tend toward the latter), but I think he is most definitely a junco. This morning I saw him fly and noted the flash of white that is usually mentioned in the various guides. Sure enough, now that I look at the juncos in the Peterson, I wonder why I was so stumped. Still...gotcha!

*Please note that this snowy day was yesterday. April 7. Once again..WTF?

Spring

Yesterday, after spying the first crocus of the season, I happily dug my fingers into the warming earth, with strains of The Secret Garden humming in my mind. It was a lovely morning, sunny and bright. I cleared the leaves and dead wood and found the beginnings of tulips and daffodils pushing their way up. No jacket necessary, I basked in the warm sunlight.

Today, I scraped ice off my car. Twice.

What. The. Fuck.