Food

Food, Health

WELL. Here we are at DAY THIRTY. The end of my vegan thing, and another 2 wks to go on the sugar program. I almost updated on Day 20, but honestly it was so boring. Here’s what I had:

Day 20: No Brunch to Be Had

30 Day Vegan: Eating at home has been totally fine as I’ve gotten my ass into the kitchen and have made a few staples to get me through the week. I’ve been living on the following: portobello mushroom fajitas, oatmeal, salads, falafels and lentils. I know, it’s not very exciting, but not having to think too much has been a nice change of pace. The only real disappointment is the fact that  finding vegan brunch in San Francisco is a pain. Even at classy joints like NOPA, there was nothing to be  had which would pass for vegan. So I cobbled together a few side dishes and called it a day.

I Quit Sugar: Getting there. Taking my coffee black. Eating a whole lot of avocado to keep the cravings at bay. Had a blueberry the other day and it tasted like a lightning bolt in my mouth. Whoa!

Side effects: Skin’s still looking pretty clear. Still dreaming about food. Not missing meat at all, just cheese.

Day 30: Last Vegan Day. My Tastebuds are Changing

30 Day Vegan: Well, that was a fun experiment. Is it disappointing to say that going vegan was not that interesting? I got into a rhythm and then there wasn’t much to it besides cruising through it on autopilot with my favorite veggie dishes. Restaurants were the only real temptation. Tomorrow I’m celebrating the end with a real brunch (EGGS) and maybe a nice meal.

I Quit Sugar: Still trying on this one, and doing just ok. It is really really hard avoiding fruit. I have about two more weeks on the IQS plan.

Side effects: Hormonal acne is back.>:l Even vegetables taste sweet to me. Lost a few pounds from going vegan, but nothing all that startling.

Final Thoughts on the Vegan Thing

The experiment was another reminder that you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. Vegan cheese in all of its forms (cashew cheese, Daiya) were crap (even after I ordered San Francisco’s “best” vegan pizza from Patxi’s), and tofu isn’t much of a replacement for eggs. I missed those terribly. Everything else I didn’t think about much. I made it through fine without dreaming of fried chicken, for example. Based on my cravings, I think that I can cut back generally on my overall meat consumption. It’s good to know that you can do without.

Food, Health

30 Day Vegan/ I Quit Sugar Update: Day 11. Cravings.

Well, it’s day 11 already! Time to do an update on this whole “I’m gonna go vegan and cut back on my sugar” resolution. Here we go:

Vegan update:

I’ve been staying on track at home and out at restaurants for the most part. I keep slipping up with condiments (aioli you fiend!). Missing bacon and eggs terribly.Starting to lean a little too heavily on the fake meats.

Sugar update:

I got it wrong in my last update- apparently Week #2 of the I Quit Sugar diet is continuing to cut back on Fructose + adding in more fats. So I don’t have to go cold turkey until Week #3. Cutting back on sugar has been going okay since I have been eating blandly at home, but going out is becoming really hard.

Morale update:

Hungry

Couldn’t track down where the original of this came from…

Oh friends, I am in a bad way.

My roommates are  currently minimally employed, and we’ve created a loving household routine as far as the workdays go. It’s not lonely around the house. Everyone’ s applying to jobs, or working on their website, or pursuing a personal passion. It’s exciting. And everyone is cooking everyday. This is a struggle.

I wake up and shuffle off to the kitchen to make myself a pot of coffee and grab some vegan yogurt, and it smells wondrous- bacon, eggs and homemade bread and butter. Oy. Killing me. Then throughout the day, they just keep cooking. One roommate roasts a whole chicken. Another does steak and a sweet potato mash. So all I can do is look and salivate. I’ve gotta say, I haven’t felt this kind of pit of my stomach hunger and mouthwatering aching for food in ages.

I’ve been busy with work stuff, so I’m not cooking as much as I’d like to. Since I’m feeling these crazy cravings I think that I’m going to try to  focus on all the good stuff that I CAN eat by pulling together some new hearty recipes. Here are a few recipes that look promising:

Red Lentil Soup with Curry and Coconut Milk

Chickpea Tagine with Cinnamon, Cumin and Carrots

Lemon asparagus risotto

Other thoughts

On the plus side, my skin is looking pretty awesome. There are less blemishes overall and the tone is evening. I can’t tell the difference in my energy levels, but I will say- my alcohol tolerance is shot! It makes sense, I just didn’t anticipate it.

PS- I tried making this Vegan Red Lentil + Butternut Squash Soup without the fenugreek. It was out of control delicious. Recommended!

photo (32)

 

 

 

Food, Travel

My LA Thanksgiving in Food

I used to have a food blog. It was solely dedicated to me eating out and making the occasional ugly but delicious meal. Even though I shut it down about a year and a half ago (I had taken too many embarrassing photos with food. It had to be stopped), sometimes people still search for “Tracy Eats SF.” This post is for you, loyal reader, since I don’t post about food much anymore.

Breakfast in my grandma’s house in LA usually means one thing: Bun Xiao AKA her special beer batter crepes with bean sprouts, veggies, pork and shrimp. Even though I am usually stressed out every time I go see my family, which is rarely, my grandma’s crepes make it worth it.

I was totally stuffed with one crepe, but my grandma decided to make me another. When I wouldn’t eat it, she rolled up the innards into a spring roll. Maybe she thought she could trick me?

It worked. I was curious, and ate a bit more. Grandmas are sneaky like that.

In the afternoon my aunt took me to her friend’s house for a Thanksgiving lunch. Everything was delicious and TOO DAMN PERFECT. It took until about the third course that all shame fell out the window and I started taking covert photos of my food. My aunt’s friend had just gotten back from Argentina, so the theme of the meal was Argentinian. I can get behind that! Here is an empanada that I dirtied with chimichurri. Apparently you’re not supposed to use it as a dip. I doubt anybody actually follows that rule.

Hello Argentinian ribs! Hello Argentinian sausage!

Eaten with mango salsa and lotsa Malbec. Bliss.

And afterwards, an invigorating walk in the hills, followed by cappuccino, limoncello and pie. Some kinda heaven.

About an hour later I made it back to grandma’s house in time for our usual 30+ Thanksgiving dinner, complete with ham, turkey, prime rib, seafood, and all manner of Chinese food. I don’t know how, but I didn’t overdo it this year.

 

Art, Food

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

After a few weeks of seeing teasers for this documentary all over the internet, I finally caved and caught a showing. Surprisingly, it was only playing at one theater! Kind of weird for San Francisco, a food-obsessed town.

If you watch the trailer above, you get the idea. The movie is only 80+ minutes long, but drags a little, and is a bit heavy on the slow motion shots and the Philip Glass. Throughout the movie, I was like “Here we go again, I’m gonna see another fish set to classical music.” I love fish, documentaries and Philip Glass very much, so that’s saying a lot.

Still, I was fascinated. The title character is considered by many to be the best sushi chef in the world and runs a tiny and unassuming restaurant located in a subway station. He’s been making sushi for 75+ years. <—SAY WHAT NOW??? Yes, 75 years! Add on top of that, he’s a workaholic and a perfectionist. Any hint at a personal life is minimal, although he has groomed his two sons to take over his legacy, and there are mentions of a vey painful childhood.

I found many similarities between my own family and the family portrayed in the movie. Most notably, my own father was also forced into the restaurant business from a young age due to troubles with an unreliable and alcoholic father. Jiro was told that he could never come back home at the age of 9, which is when he started in sushi. My dad quit school when he was 8 or 9 to start working.

Another thing that I could relate to was the workaholic spirit created by the struggle to survive. Never taking vacations, never not thinking about the restaurant, not having a personal life, living the same day over and over for decades, only closing the restaurant for funerals- Mom, I’m looking at you! I’ve always felt kind of sad about that part of my parents’ life, but this movie presented Jiro’s dedication and single-mindedness as something of a virtue, which is another way to look at it. I suppose if it is all tied to a passion, I can get behind that. I console myself by reminding myself that my mother loves working, and has chosen this path. It’s just her being… her.

Beyond the food bits, I enjoyed the movie as a meditation on work, passion and perfectionism. You’ve gotta admire an 85 (86?) year old at the top of his game, who is still curious and taking risks.

Basically Jiro’s philosophy is whatever your job is, don’t complain. Do your best. Do it over and over and over again.  Do your best everyday. Always look forward to the next thing, dream big and push yourself. There’s always room for improvement, even if you’re the best sushi chef in the world. I left the movie feeling inspired, yet it’s still unlikely that I will one day find one magic path that will keep me captivated for seventy-five years.