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Thirty-one days of talking about fitness and eating better are all well and good, but we must not neglect life’s simple pleasures. I have a busy day scheduled—a meeting with my business partner, two meetings with clients, and a big project that’s ready for finishing touches before it goes to the printer. But in the interest of setting a joyful tone for the day, I reserved half an hour this morning to get a batch of scones into the oven.
With the encouragement of my friend and coach Gika Rector, I’ve been giving some thought lately to cooking as an art form. I’m overdue for grocery-shopping, so today’s performance started from the concept “What’s hiding in the pantry?†A can of yams and the last bit of a bag of crystallized ginger became my inspiration. (I also found some vacuum-packed salmon, but my artistic vision wasn’t bold enough for fish scones—yet.)
(Start with the basic scone recipe and instructions.) …[MORE]
The July Project: Day 27
We’re down to the last five days of the month. I woke up this morning thinking how easy it is to run out of steam right at the end of a project like this, and wondering what extra effort I might need to put forth to get the rest of the way to the goal, which was to give time and attention to this blog every day in July.
I was also thinking about how I’ve struggled for the last couple of months to get rid of the weight I gained …[MORE]
The July Project: Day 17
There’s a flaw in the communication between the stomach and the brain—the gap between full and not hungry. We eat until we’re full, but we still feel the desire to eat. We eat some more, and later, we feel stuffed, overfed. We gain weight.
Maybe it’s not a flaw, so much as a legacy of our evolution. Before proto-humans developed the cognitive ability to plan and predict their next meal, when the food supply was uncertain and had to be chased down with spears and rocks, stockpiling calories was probably a good survival mechanism. Then some of them figured out agriculture, then permanent settlements, then cities, and the next thing you know …[MORE]
The July Project: Day 7
Nearly a week, and all I’ve managed to talk about so far is exercise. Diet is a more difficult subject to approach. Food means a lot more than sustenance, more than just the source of energy to keep the body running. Food is laden with emotional context.
We’ll come back to that context another day. Today, I’ll ease into the topic with one of the simplest weight-loss tips I can offer.
Do you eat in restaurants? I love to dine out, but restaurant portions are out of control. Restaurants seem to be engaged in a competition to see who can pile the most food on a plate. I’ve never worked in restaurant management, but I can only suppose that an economy of scale is at work here …[MORE]
I came up with this recipe and made it for the first time this morning. I’ve only eaten one of them, but I’m ready to call this an “instant classic,†a candidate for my scone hall of fame.
(Start with the basic scone recipe and instructions.) …[MORE]
Here’s another scone variation that’s been very well received by my tasters. They’re made with apples, so they must be good for you, right?
(Start with the basic scone recipe and instructions.) …[MORE]
 This is one of my most popular scone recipe variations. Dipping the scones into a powdered-sugar/juice glaze while they’re still warm gives them a crunchy, sweet-tart crust. (Start with the basic scone recipe and instructions.) …[MORE]
 The scone recipe on which I’ve based my variations comes from the Alice Bay Cookbook by Julie Wilkinson Rousseau, care of my dear friend and sous-chef, Julie Brown. It contains recipes from the Alice Bay Bed and Breakfast. I don’t want to violate the copyright by reprinting the instructions, but here’s my slightly modified version of the ingredient list for that recipe, which you’ll need if you’re going to attempt …[MORE]
This beverage doesn’t fool me into thinking I’m drinking a milk shake. But I still enjoy it a lot. …[MORE]
 I made polenta for the first time at Christmas, but I found the stovetop method tedious and time-consuming. Then I had the idea to try making it in a rice steamer. I couldn’t find a recipe online that I liked, so I made up my own. I was very happy with the results, so here it is. …[MORE]
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