running with tweezers

the foodie and the fast

I've been gone way too long, I know. Between working way too hard and playing a little hard, this blog had fallen as an afterthought. I've also been struggling with extremely low energy and some health problems, which have most likely been diagnosed as anemia. This is something that's been ongoing for years but no doctor has really taken the time to find out for sure.

As part of the solution, I'm cleansing. We'll say I'm calling a health do-over. I'd be hearing about the Arden's Garden Detox juice cleansing. Two gallons of their special mix of juice in two days. All the water you can drink. That's it. Telling a foodie that they can't eat is like telling Star Jones and Rosie O'Donnell to sit next to each other on a sofa - you just don't do it. I'm taking one for the team here...and kick starting my more thoughtful way of eating.

For your reading pleasure, I've kept a running post going about my starvation hell weekend cleansing weekend:

Day 1 - Saturday

8:31am - So it begins. I'm actually *excited* about this. Pour a little glass and sit down to check emails.

8:32am - Hacking and choking and gagging commence. This is the epitome of no sugar added. Two gallons, eh? Bottoms up!

12:30pm - Take a bottle of water and a bottle of juice to the salon while getting my hair done. It must have been the fact that it's lunch time...because I started getting giggly and hysterical. Between that and the constant pee breaks, I had to tip my hairdresser extra.

3:00pm - Meet Tony Clark and head to the Inman Park Festival. I don't know what I was thinking going to a crowded festival, dodging drunks and strollers, without a gyro and a frosty beverage in my hands. I get surly quickly. As I said to Tony, "I am quickly losing my sense of humor". A beeline is made to the car.

6:56pm - Finally make it home to discover that I still have HALF A GALLON of juice to drink. !$%#?!?

7:23pm - I'm taking my jugs (the water and the juice, people...sheesh!) and climbing on the couch. I'm popping in my new El Bulli DVD narrated by Tony Bourdain. He always make me feel all tingly, which should distract from the pain in my stomach, right?

7:31pm - I wonder what Tony Bourdain's arm would taste like with some fava beans and a nice Chianti?

8:24pm - I have five new pimples - four on my collarbone and one on my forehead. Faaaantastic. For all that, I could be rubbing raw bacon into my skin. Mmmm...bacon.

9:11pm - 9 1 1. How appropriate. How in God's name do I still have 1/3 of a gallon of this stuff to drink? *burp*

10:05pm - Still not done with the gallon of juice. The Baby Geezus hates me.

12:18am- I fold. I'm going to bed with about half of a sport bottle full of juice. My eyeballs are floating. I'm off to count sheep...and if I catch one of those bitches, I'm eating it with some balsamic glaze and spring pea mash.

Sunday - Day 2

9:35am - A text message on my cellphone wakes me up from the deepest sleep I've had in weeks. 8 straight hours. My back hurts I've slept so hard. Either my body is trying to fall into a coma to avoid another day of this...or there's something to this juice thing.

11:49am - The juice is going down like water. So is the water. I'm a champion. *insert Rocky theme here*

1:31pm - As I was peeing for the 18362752th time today, I actually thought to myself, "I wish I could just drink juice again tomorrow". I am officially delirious. Send help.

3:08pm - So....cold. I'm in Juicy sweatpants, a sweater, and my Fuggs. I am so not about having to turn on the heat on April 30th...but it might be coming to that.

6:22pm - This is also Day 3 with no caffeine. I really hate myself don't I? *sob*

7:14pm - The last of the gallon has been poured into the sport bottle. I'm pretty sure I don't have any enamel on my teeth or skin left on the top of my mouth from all of the acid in the juice mixture.

8:39pm - I have officially hit the wall. My head is throbbing, I'm shivering from the cold, and I'm alternating between wanting to cry and laugh. In all honesty, I don't know if this last part is from the juice cleanse or my lack of human contact during the day.

9:54pm - So...tie....tie...can...barely...keep...my...eyes....open...

...couldn't...eat...even...if...i...wanted...to...

11:33pm - As I climb (weakly) into bed, my friend Michael calls. As we start to talk, it's apparent that I'm punch-drunk and nuttier than Chinese chicken. A random question sends me into a total gigglesnort fit to which Michael says, "Well that answers my question about how you're feeling!" I promptly go to bed thinking about sleep...and NOT food.

Monday - The Morning After

8:32am - Another killer night of sleep. Total rest and no interruptions. I'm not sure if its the lack of caffeine or the juice or what...but I'm onto something here. When I wake up, the first thing I do is drink more water - NOT run for the fridge.

I think the desired effect of this juice cleanse has been realized - and then some. I certainly feel better, more rested, able to stay away from the caffeine and some of the icky stuff that I've been consuming with abandon lately. The power of good sleep is greatly underrated...and its something that I need to be getting more - a surprise benefit of this weekend.

Hopefully, you'll see a change in the sort of things I'm posting on this blog. In the past two days, I've been more excited about what I could cook at home than what I could go out and eat. You'll be seeing less baked and pastry type things, more protein and veggie based dishes, and plenty of seasonal ingredients. Enjoy!

Weekend Cookbook Challege #4 is brought to you...

...the letter B!

This month's Weekend Cookbook Challenge, as always hosted by the marvelous Ali from Something So Clever, was to make an Easter breakfast or brunch recipe. When I get motivated to make a real (read: not microwave bacon) breakfast, I love to use blueberries in everything. For the recipe for this WCC, I immediately turned to Very Blueberry, a cookbook gifted to me by the fabulous Bollo (happy birthday, B!). The recipe? Blueberry Banana Bread. Next stop - Alliteration Station!

As an aside, an entire bag of Haribo Gummy Letters were harmed in the making of this post.

This recipe was super easy. The original recipe calls to make one large loaf. I divided the batter into mini loaves that I could give to other people but it would also make great muffins. The outside gets crunchy and the body of the bread is so fluffy and light. It's not overly sweet and the blueberries are a great accent.

Blueberry Banana Bread - makes 1 loaf

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

- Preheat oven to 350. Coat a 3 by 8 inch metal loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. (Note: Ovenproof glass conducts heat more than metal does, so if you're using a glass loaf pan, decrease the oven temperature by 25 degrees)

- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, vanilla, butter, and bananas and mix well. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Add all liquid ingredients all at once. Stir only enough to moisten. Add the blueberries and gently fold in and turn into the prepared pan.

- Place in oven and bake for 1 hour 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. Bread is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #20 is Anything but...

Not only did I not manage to get Wine Blogging Wednesday posted on Wednesday, I didn't manage to get it posted on Thursday, either! Frankly, I've been too busy making cocktails, taking their photos, and then consuming them to sit in front of the computer and get a real (read: coherent) post done.

The theme of Wine Blogging Wednesday #20, graciously hosted over at Wine For Newbies, is to broaden your white wine horizons and try something beyond Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc or Riesling. I have to say that, as a red wine drinker just now getting into white wines, I am a devout Sauvignon Blanc drinker - particularly the citrusy and acidic versions from New Zealand. I rarely stray for fear of drinking something sticky sweet and overpowering.

I have been to several wine tastings hosted by the Yalumba vineyard. At the time, I paid more attention to the reds they were discussing. When the white taste came around, it was consumed...I'm sure I said "Eh"...and moved on. For WBW, I went back to revisit their Viognier. The first thing I noticed was the high alcohol content - 14.5% I believe. Sheesh! *hiccup* The color - a sunny golden color - would have made me think I was in for an overly sweet wine experience. Not so! It was drier than it let on and incredibly drinkable with layers of honey, peachy, and faint floral tastes. This is a wine I could drink on its own or with Asian or bold flavored seafood dishes.

For tons and tons of great Viognier information, you can also visit Enjoying Viognier.

The photo for this post was styled by Tami Hardeman and photographed by Tony Clark.

depeche porc

I really wish I could take credit for this post...I really do. When my fantastically witty and smart friend Michael heard that I was marinating a pork tenderloin to make for dinner, he started spouting this impromptu song. I insisted that he email it to me so I could share his brilliance with the masses.

Without further ado, an homage to everyone's favorite white meat...sung to the tune of Depeche Mode's Personal Jesus...and my favorite pork marinade recipe just so this is a food-related post.

Your own

Personal

Pork loin

Something to marinate

It will taste great...

Your own

Personal

Pork loin

Something to marinate

It will taste great...

What do you cook

When you're all alone?

A piece of pork

But without the bone

Put it on the skillet

But make sure not to kill it...

Saute in the pan

Till the loin is seared

Your dinner's near

When the juice is clear

Wear a kitchen glove when

You put it in the oven....

REACH OUT AND TASTE PIG...

REACH OUT AND TASTE PIG...

Your own

Personal

Pork loin....

Pork Marinade - originally found here on Cooks.com

1 cup soy sauce

6 tbsp. sugar

4 tbsp minced onion

4 tsp. minced garlic

2 tsp. ginger

4 tbsp. oil

Marinate for 6 hours in a Ziploc bag or constantly rotate pork so that all sides are evenly covered, OK?

leek-a-roni

I have been wanting to make macaroni and cheese for a few weeks now. My schedule hasn't really allowed for cooking anything that takes beyond...oh...15 minutes. On my pseudo-vacation this week, I had the luxury of eating something that required real cooking.

The basic recipe I use is one that was printed in the New York Times earlier this year for "crusty macaroni and cheese". It's a great base for tweaking the recipe to add all sorts of ingredients. For this version, I buttered the dish with a Parmesan butter that I now keep in stock from Savor. I substituted Dreamfield's elbow pasta for regular pasta - fewer carbs and you cannot tell the difference in the texture. I changed up the cheeses used to be more white cheese based. I used the hunk of Raschera cheese that was on hand. Delicious! I also had a few stray leeks in the fridge, so they got thinly sliced and thrown in the cheese mixture before I added the pasta. The top is dotted with more of the Parmesan butter to get that golden brown color.

Tamified Crusty Macaroni and Cheese - makes 8 to 12 servings

3 tablespoons butter or Parmesan butter if available

12 ounces six cheese Italian blend cheese, pre grated

12 ounces Raschera cheese, coarsely grated

1 pound elbow pasta, boiled in salted water until just tender, drained, and rinsed under cold water

2 leeks, thoroughly rinsed and thinly sliced - the white and light green parts only

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

2/3 cup whole milk

- Heat oven to 375. Use 1 tablespoon of the butter to thickly grease a 9x13 baking dish. Combine grated cheeses and set aside two heaping cups to sprinkle on the top

- In a large bowl, toss together the pasta, cheeses, leeks, cayenne, and salt & pepper to taste. Place in prepared pan and evenly pour the milk on top. Sprinkle reserved cheese evenly across the top and dot with remaining butter. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Raise heat to 400 and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes until crusty on top and bottom.

savor

As some of you have noticed, I rarely talk about stores and restaurants that are specifically "Atlantan". Don't get me wrong, I go out to eat all the time...and when I'm not eating, I'm shopping or talking about eating. I don't give many shout-outs on this blog because I think that me talking about it is sort of redundant. There are lots of great sources about Atlanta information - AtlantaCuisine is a great site with all sorts of info. There's also The Blissful Glutton, who does a bang up job of covering the dining scene here.

I am making an exception to tell the world about my favorite food store - Savor. It's located in a charming little space in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. Opened two years ago by January and Ren Hodgson, its become the go-to source for every local foodie I know. It's almost a sure thing for me to run into someone I know every time I go there. The store is a great mix of home goods, tablewares, serving pieces and gourmet goodies. It's so well thought out and well merchandised, which comes from January's background in specialty food retail.

What drew me to Savor initially was the cheese selection. At any given time, there are between 75 and 100 cheeses in the case in-store. January is so knowledgeable and just a joy to talk with. You can trust that if its in the store, she's tasted it and its great. If she says I need to try something, I do. Exploring the store some more, I've added so many of their products to my regular cooking routine. The olive oil from Greece featured in the photo above is something that I first tried at an olive oil tasting held at Savor - I've been using it at home ever since. Ditto the balsamic vinegar with figs, the charcoal crackers...the list goes on and on.

This post is mainly about Savor...but I'm also writing about this because I feel very strongly in supporting independent retailers and suppliers of products, particularly when they're this knowledgeable, like-able, and concerned with the quality of the products they're selling. I'm a big fan of supporting "the little guy" in a time where markets like Whole Paycheck seems to be muscling a lot of people out of the way. If I can put my money into the pocket of someone who is doing it their way - like the folks at Savor - it's worth the extra effort.

Savor is located at 3187 Roswell Road Atlanta Georgia 30305. You can contact them at 404.869.0700 or through their website at www.savorgourmet.com