Holiday fun

Now that finals are out of the way, I'm thoroughly enjoying being home with my family and getting ready for the holidays. I've been eating out a lot with friends and family: my first night home, I went out to my favorite sushi restaurant with my girlfriends, and last night, I had dinner at a small Italian restaurant that has been a meeting place with my extended family for as long as I can remember. I haven't been doing as much cooking as I'd like, but I'm going grocery shopping today so hopefully that will change.

I've also been enjoying holiday favorites, and really appreciating the culture and tradition associated with the holiday season (with the exception of meat). My dad had a holiday office party at his house with tons of holiday food, like a huge ham (which I didn't take part in) and that jello-pretzel dessert (I can't think of what it's actually called!). At the Householder's, where I consider myself a part of the family, Laurie has been preparing all of her usual holiday favorites like pecan tassies and thumbprints, and we're going to have a pie-baking day later this week.

I'm still waiting to get my laptop fixed, which will make posting much easier, and I will be able to continue by daily log. Things are just too busy and hectic around the holidays!

Food Logs

Recently I've had some delicious meals, both out at restaurants and at home. Unfortunately, the state of my laptop has prevented by daily blog entries, and I'm at the mercy of borrowing my friends' computers at their convenience. Nevertheless, I can recall some great meals over the last few days.

This weekend, I enjoyed a lot of the Meadville cuisine that I had missed for the last few months. I went on some fabulous dates with Nick - we spent several hours at the Artist Cup, sipping coffee and eating soup and sandwiches, and we also went out to Julian's with some of our friends. We went to the Steelers game on Sunday and shared some french fries, and tonight we finally went to Aoyama in Erie for sushi that we had been ultimately craving for ages. I've been having a blast sharing meals with my friends, and I've been careful to avoid any meats that are not free-range and organic (basically, I haven't been eating meat unless I prepare it myself).

I've also been preparing lots of local and organic meals. I've been loving my plain, local, organic yogurt with my frozen berries and organic granola. It makes a perfect breakfast or snack. I've also been enjoying my flatbread with my pb&j, or pb&honey, they are both sooo delicious, and both of these meals are quick and easy to make. Finally, nothing is more cozy or delicious than my fairtrade organic hot cocoa made with my raw milk - it's been the perfect drink for these terribly cold winter days.

Last night, I made chicken soup for Nick and me. I stewed 2 organic free-range chicken legs from a local farm, and added potatoes, onion, carrots, celery, spelt, and corn. It came out thick and delicious, and my only non-local non-organic ingredients were the carrots and celery (and some sea salt). I also bought sourdough bread from the store (which was not organic or local) and baked it with organic butter until it was crispy and delicious. For dessert, I made a blueberry-blackberry pie with flatbread crust and drizzled it with local honey. We drank grape juice in fancy glasses to substitute for alcohol. Our dinner was fun to prepare and just as delicious as any meal at a restaurant. More importantly, however, it was made from primarily local and organic ingredients, and we have enough leftovers to last us until we go home to Pittsburgh for Christmas break!

Internet troubles and busy finals

Since my laptop is no longer able to connect to the internet, it's been difficult to keep up with my blog entries - especially during busy finals. I can't remember everything I ate for the last 3 days, but I've had some wonderful meals with my friends. Wednesday night I had eggplant parmesan at Stacini's - it was so delicious and I can't wait to go back there. This dinner was a celebration of the semester's successes at the Fresh from the Vines Bakery. Thursday night, my housemates cooked dinner together in honor of Amelia's birthday. These are the evenings and meals I missed most during my project, and it was so much fun to celebrate together. We had delicious garlic bread with herb dipping oil, and penne pasta with garlic, veggies, and cheese.

Yesterday, Nick and I went to the artist cup for lunch, where I got swiss tomato mushroom soup and roasted pepper grilled cheese with olive tapenade, and a cinnamon latte. It's so nice to go out on dates again! We also went to dinner at Julian's with some of our friends.

It's very convenient to be able to eat out again since I've been spending so much time the last few days studying and writing papers. It's also nice to share meals with people I care about. I plan on doing lots of cooking when things slow down though, and I'm hoping to make a trip to the co-op today or tomorrow to get some more supplies. I'm especially excited to make some local and organic holiday meals.

More discoveries

I've continued to discover new things as I've introduced more "conventional" foods into my diet. First, I realized when working out that my sweat is incredibly salty - like it absolutely blows my mind how salty it is. I'm thinking that I must have been very sodium depleted to the point where my sweat was virtually just water, and now it is getting back to normal. I've also felt a little "bloated" - not necessarily in my stomach, just kind of all over. I feel this also has to do with sodium. Sodium is important to holding water in the body. I think that especially toward the end of November, water was going straight through me, and I had to drink loads of water to stay hydrated. I think that it's now starting to be held in my body again (as it should), but it feels noticeably different to me.

It's been so interesting to discover these things as my body continues to adapt to a broader diet. Though I'm still committed to local and organic foods, I can see now that I would not have been able to continue my project for much longer without including sodium into my criteria.

Food Log 12/8/10

Breakfast: coffee with raw milk, Asiago bagel with eggs from a nearby Amish farm and local/organic pepperjack cheese, salt and pepper.

Dinner: Stacini's celebration with the Fresh from the Vines bakery crew -

Food Log 12/7/10

Lunch: chili with melted cheese, cornbread with honey, hot cocoa
Dinner: Applebee's date - chips and salsa, oriental shrimp wrap, french fries
Snacks: crackers, veggies

My laptop hasn't been working lately - it won't connect to wireless internet, and even connecting to the internet with cable has been difficult. It's made posting a hassel but I'm hoping to get it fixed over break!

Food Log 12/6/10

Breakfast: cornbread with honey, tea
Lunch and Dinner: chili with canned tomatoes, ground beef from Ripley, NY, garlic, habanero pepper, beans, green pepper, and melted montery jack cheese from Wholly Cow pastures; cornbread with honey

I'm pleased because this meal was entirely local and organic - with the exception of salt in the cheese - and it was incredibly delicious!

Snacks: fairtrade organic hot cocoa with raw milk, Fresh from the Vines bakery tidbits (its fun to munch while I work now that I can try things!), chocolate

Food Log 12/5/10

Breakfast: cornbread (still using my local and organic cornmeal from Frankferd Farms, and raw milk as the only ingredients), blueberry rhubarb jam from Fresh from the Vines, and honey; fairtrade organic hot cocoa made with raw milk

Lunch: Nick's housemate Chris works at Cracker Barrel, and we finally went so he could be our server. I had cinnamon french toast and bisquits with apple butter!
Dinner: Domino's veggie pizza

I'm also making chili tonight that I can have for lunch and dinner tomorrow with my leftover cornbread. I'm using my canned tomatoes, frozen peppers and beans, habanero pepper, garlic, and local/free range ground beef. I'm planning on melting some of my pepperjack cheese from Wholly Cow pastures when I eat it tomorrow! I'm happy that this meal will be entirely local and organic, with the exception of salt that I may sprinkle on top (only if it needs it of course).

Food Log 12/4/10

Breakfast: coffee with cream, 2 poached eggs on flatbread with melted pepperjack cheese from Wholly Cow pastures, topped with sea salt, cracked pepper, and drizzled with hot sauce

Snacks: yogurt-berry-granola parfait, a piece of chocolate
Dinner: SAE formal - bread, butter, spaghetti, cheese, twice baked potato, assortment of holiday cookies, and white wine

Interesting Experiences

Since I've broadened my diet in the last few days, I've had some remarkable experiences as I "re-taste" things again. I've found that my taste buds are in some ways much more sensitive, allowing me to experience eating differently than I did before my project began.

When Nick and I went to eat at Valenza's, he encouraged me to eat the slice of lemon in my water glass. I've never liked lemons and didn't want to eat it, but it had been so long since I've had citrus I decided to try it. I took a little lick and loved it, and ended up sucking all the juice I could from the lemon peel, and then took his and ate it too! I think it's crazy I enjoyed it so much, and it made me think that my "sour" taste buds had been lying dormant for a long time, and it was amazing to wake them up so vigorously.

My dinner with Nick was also the first time I tried butter other than my own. Valenzas makes delicious bread and provides small butter packets in the bread basket. On my first slice, I couldn't believe the way the butter tasted (not to mention the bread, it wasn't flat and it wasn't cornbread...I was thrilled!). The salt added such a different flavor. On my next piece, I grabbed a new butter packet from the basket without really looking at it. After taking a bite, it tasted really noticeably different than the last slice, and I knew it wasn't real butter. After examining the package, I learned it was mostly vegetable oil with some other artificial ingredients. It tasted so "wrong" to me I wouldn't eat it. I think this is interesting because prior to my project, I didn't notice differences in flavors of butter, and now I am much more sensitive to tastes.

I've also really enjoyed the textures of different foods, especially bread and pasta. I've also been conscious of how different foods feel in my stomach, and the kind of energy they provide. I've realized that my project has made me hyper-aware of the entire experience of food and eating - from obtaining ingredients, to cooking and preparation, to tasting and eating, and its consequent result on our bodies. My relationship to food has changed dramatically, and although I don't think I'll always have this heightened sensitivity with respect to taste, I've become so interested and passionate about all the elements of food that I only want to continue pursuing these experiences in further depth.

Food Log 12/3/10

Brunch: coffee with raw cream; local organic plain yogurt mixed with my frozen blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries, topped with Yogi mountain blueberry flax granola crisps - a delicious parfait!

Dinner: went to the restaurant Toast in Pittsburgh with my mom and Stan. had white wine, bread with butter, an appetizer of shrimp and grits, an entree of butternut squash ravioli, and an ice cream concoction for dessert. I love this restaurant because they include organic ingredients in many of their dishes and produce seasonal menus with products from local farmers. It was fantastic and I can't wait to go back!

Fun and Freedom

The last 2 days have had important implications for my project. On the one hand, I am passionate about maintaining the lifestyle I've developed over the last few months; and on the other hand, it's  been so much fun to enjoy new freedom.

I haven't kept a food log for the last 2 days, because it would be crazy and chaotic - I've tried so many different things! My first bite of non-local food was an asiago cheese bagel with egg and cheese from Pittsburgh Bagel, and a cup of coffee with cream on the side. Throughout the last two days, I snacked on Laurie's pie from Thanksgiving, salt and vinegar chips from housemate, cheese and crackers...the list goes on. I've enjoyed going out to eat and sharing meals with friends. For dinner, Nick took me to Valenzas for some delicious pasta.

I've decided that I needed some time to get the irresistability of "freedom" out of my system in order to maintain my commitment to local and organic foods. I did a little grocery shopping at the Market House, and got some things I'd been eyeing up all semester- local organic cheese (the salt in it kept me from eating it during my project), local organic plain yogurt, blueberry rhubarb jam from the Vines, all natural nothing but peanuts peanut butter, and fair trade organic coffee and hot cocoa. I've been enjoying these products more than anything. For a delicious lunch, I made pb&j on leftover bread from Valenzas, and for an incredible dinner I made pizza with my flatbread, canned tomatoes, garlic, herbs, new cheese, AND salt and pepper! It was literally to die for.

So as much as I've enjoyed trying bites of everything in sight, I intend to resume my food log today. I'm going out for dinner with my Mom tonight to a restaurant called Toast in Pittsburgh that provides local foods and seasonal menus, so I'm hoping to have an interesting post as a result. Now that I've let myself go a little crazy, I'm ready to get back on track, just not as strictly as before.