scintilla: day 6

Today’s Scintilla prompt goes like this: Many of our fondest memories are associated with food. Describe a memorable experience that took place while preparing or eating food.

Today is the first day of spring. On this, the first day of spring, it is 34 degrees where I am right now. There is snow on the ground from yesterday’s storm. My back aches from slipping and falling on the ice last night. I am wearing a sweater dress and boots for the umpteenth time over the past five months, which have been long, arduous, and freezing fucking cold. You can see the desperation for a little warm weather on everyone’s faces. We all look a little grey, a little sad, and a little dead.

There is a place in Westbrook, CT called Bill’s Seafood. In the summer, when we’re at the boat or visiting my in-laws, we will often go there. When I think of Bill’s, which I was doing just this morning, these are the things that pop into my mind:

*hot summer sun
*lobster rolls dripping with butter, with a heaping side of fries
*Styrofoam containers filled with steamers
*loud live music
*a packed deck with people drinking and looking at the boats going by
*weekends
*my family
*shorts, sunburns, and laughter
*hitting the ice cream stand next door as we leave

I can’t think of a better recipe for happiness.

(Note: writing this post put a lump in my throat. That is how badly I need summer to get here.)

deliciousness.

I know you guys don't come here for food recs, and I don't even know if this counts as actual food, but my friend Todd gave me a jar of Trader Joe's Cookie Butter, and I swear to God I can't even describe its amazingness. This week has been  - chaotic - and I have visited that jar for a scoop of delicious happiness more than a few times. In conclusion, YOU MUST TRY THIS. For serious.

As you can see, I've fallen off the 17 Day Diet wagon a bit. Some things are just worth it.

august break: day 3

We just got home from dinner at our friends' house. My friend Jessica looooves to cook. This homemade tiramisu was the fifth course of the meal, and my stomach is about to explode. But in a good way.

I'm doing The August Break. It's easy and fun. Join me, won't you?

reverb10 day 26: soul food

Today's reverb10 prompt comes from author Elise Marie Collins:

What did you eat this year that you will never forget? What went into your mouth & touched your soul?

Here's the funny thing: I typically loooooove to talk and think about food. I have never really written about food much - but, Lord knows, I enjoy eating it enough. Also, I'm not much of a cook. So there's that. Anyway, after everything I've eaten lately - not only over the past few days, but, really, the whole MONTH, thinking about food at this point kind of grosses me out.

HOWEVER. I thought of one particular meal when this prompt came across my email. And, as usual, I'm not really directly answering the prompt, but going around it a little. Because for me, it wasn't as much about the meal itself, but rather the experience.

Like I've mentioned, Greg and I really don't do a whole lot of going out on our own (meaning, without child). One weekend this fall, our friends from New Jersey - Greg's old college roommate and his wife - came to stay with us for a couple of days, and so I got a babysitter and we went out to dinner at this place. (This was after we went to see The Social Network that afternoon, which turned out to be my favorite movie of the year.)

Now, I'm not much of a steak eater. But in the spirit of the restaurant, I ordered the petit filet. And the Fleming's potatoes. and a couple of pomegranate martinis.

And maybe it was a mix of the friends, the conversation, and the lack of crayons at the table, but it was a really memorable and spectacular meal. But I'm sure the food had just a litttle bit to do with that. Because it was completely amazing. I definitely converted to steak after that night.

Can you believe there are just five days of reverb10 after this?

I had cake for lunch today!

Lisa came by today to visit Miss Jane for the first time this afternoon, and she came bearing a delicious cake that she has been promising to make once I got rid of the ol' gestational diabetes. It was soooo freakin' delicious - it's basically like a giant Devil Dog, except lighter and even more tasty. She left a hefty chunk of it for me, and I hid it on top of the fridge from Greg, but he found it! Luckily there is still some left. She also made me one her very cute mini totes (she claims I was hinting for one - and I was, but I would have paid!!) and a sweet necklace with a pic of Jane on it. This girl is probably the most multi-talented chick I know, and she excels at everything! Check out her blog to see cute pics from today's visit, and to see what else she's been up to.

cake and punch....

....are two wonderfully delicious things I let myself have today. Today was my surprise baby shower at work. It ruled because I got nice gifts and I gave myself a free pass to have cake and punch. And it. was. awesome.

I heart sugar!

mmmm carbs and sugar

Tonight we went to dinner with two of Greg's friends who are up in CT for the weekend from Delaware. We went to dinner at Pepe's in New Haven, and it was the first time that I had ever been to the pizza joint. I know, I know, pizza isn't exactly a diabetic's friend, but I only had one slice and it was delicious. I think I could have had at least three. After that, we went over to Libby's, an Italian pastry shop, for dessert. I made Greg get lemon Italian ice, and I had a tiny bit, and it was heavenly. Greg's friend got some sort of chocolate mousse treat that looked so good I wanted to stuff my face in it. But I held back, which took a decent amount of restraint on my part. I'm definitely going back to those two places after this whole diet nonsense is over.

oh my God, could my blog get anymore boring

So, the gestational diabetes saga continued yesterday with my trip to see the nutritionist.

We went over my diet prior to diagnosis (carbs, carbs and more carbs) and I told her some of the changes that I've made since diagnosis last week. She put me on a meal plan, basically restricting me to a certain number of grams of carbs per meal. She also gave me a list of general food and how many carbs they include. So, for example -instead of a whopping bowl of Cap'n Crunch (mmm, tasty) I can have a proper portion of plain Cheerios (1 cup) with splash of milk, for a total of 30 carbs for breakfast. AND THAT'S IT. I am also supposed to eat three snacks a day consisting of 15 carbs each, and lunch and dinner should be 45 carbs each. When measuring out my carbs, I need to look at the nutrition labels and make sure I'm sticking to the proper serving, or I'll blow it. For example, 1/4 of a bagel is 15 grams of carbs, so if I ate one whole bagel from Dunkin Donuts it would be 60 carbs - twice as much as I'm supposed to have for breakfast! Also, I need to subtract any grams of dietary fiber out from the total number of grams of carbs.

And that's not all. The nutritionist suggested that, although my doctor told me I didn't have to, I should do blood testing one to two times a day. At first I was like, "hells, no" but she said the magic words - if I found that my glucose levels were on the lower side of the range, I could add in some more grams of carbs - and oh, how I will desperately want those five extra Cheerios in the morning!

So, to wrap it up - my diet now consists of blood tests and lots of math. But I need to have perspective, because in the long run, I'm sure it will be good for me to get on a better eating path as a lifestyle.

However.