My garbanzo salad

Ingredients:

• 1 regular size can garbanzos
• 2 large stalks of tender celery, with leaves if available
• 1 large carrrot
• Thyme, 1-2 tsp dried/crushed, or leaves from 4-5 sprigs fresh/whole.
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 a lemon
• 4tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
• *optional 1/2 small (or 1/4 large) red onion OR 1 clove minced garlic. NOT both.

Instructions:

1. Slice the carrot lengthwise, into 2-3mm thick slices. Chop each slice into 2-3" thick slivers. To make slivers of equal length: cut straight across in the broad part of the slice... as the slice narrows, cut diagonally, increasing the angle as you move towards the carrot tip.
2. Put the carrots in a covered microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high (750W) for 1min 30 seconds. Uncover, toss to distribute moisture, and allow to cool.
3. If using onion, cut into paper thin slices and set it in a bowl of cold water.*
4. Cut the celery stalks in half lengthwise, then slice paper-thin. Set aside.
5. Take a scrunched fistful of the celery leaves and line them all up on the cutting board, holding them squished together lengthwise, Cut into a fine chiffonade (1/2mm strips across, all the way). Make 3-4 crosscutts into it.
6. Combine beans, celery, carrrots, onion*, thyme, olive oil, salt to taste. Toss repeatedly to distribute ingredients.
7. Add the celery leaves and squeeze the lemon onto the salad. Toss again.
8. Chill for at least an hour before serving, longer is better.

In tonight's version, I had to omit the lemon and the onion. The lemon really gives it a nice tang, so I missed that. I used a tiny sprinkle of garlic powder -- less than clove's worth -- as a cheat.

* For a toned down onion, let it soak for an hour or more in salted water. Drain it and rinse copiously with fresh water before adding to the salad. I often prepare the onion separately and add it to the salad right before serving.

Bizi :D All that cleaning got me pretty tired, indeed! My muscles don't truly hurt yet... but they have that pre-hurt "jello" feeling like after an intensive gym session. Tomorrow and the next day... eeks.

The walls was not like from floor to ceiling. Just a few placces where I found spatters in the kitchen and water-dripped places in the bathroom... same on some cabinets. Not hard, but a bit of extra wax on/wax off type work wiping thosee bits down. I am feeling my triceps already! :D Need to do this more often! :D (I have to make another pass at some point, and get behind some of the furniture that I didn't move, sigh.) But I got the place a lot cleaner... I was happy with that. My mom was reaaaal happy.

My father -- the man who is always content, but never satisfied -- had nothing to say about the cleaning. He merely hinted at me that I'd said I'd go restock our beer today. I told him it was low priority becausee I had cleanin steam in me today, so had to take advantage! Ha! So then at dinner (which I had prepped, puff puff, in between the floors and my shower and their cups of tea, puff puff) he dings me again about, woulda been nice to have some beer with dinner. I said yeah, woulda been ... he says, you see??? Well, Ptthhh to him! Half the time he even turns it down, but I guess he went on this beer alarm, since last night I told him it was our last one. Shoulda kep my mouth shut about that.

waves

please be careful with all of this energy. I don't want you hurting yourself.
I bet your mum was happy!:)
bizi

Thanks Bizi. :) So far I think I'm channelling it pretty well, but yeah I know what you mean. :) I will be careful.

Waves. You have excellent communication skills,computer skills,cleaning skills,cooking,and other skills. You are a special person. BF:hug::hug::hug:

Aww, thank you, Steve!! :)

YOu are so sweet! :heartthrob: :)

waves

Hi, Waves,

Did you get two years worth of spring (sumer) cleaning done? :cool:

I would not have immediately thought about carrots and celery -- good idea. :)

Thank you for the onion hint. :D
I need to teach that to hubby.
He ruined what would have other wise been a perfect pot of black eyed peas by adding a plain raw cut up onion.

I told him I would eat something else.
His answer: OK. More for me. :eek:
M

That is kind of true -- when there is a hint of scarcity -- some people get anxious. :rolleyes: :confused: ;)

M

Beer run
 

I remember a song about a beer run song by Michelle Shocked: (sung with urgency and humor)

Making the Run to Gladewater


This song is so cool. It is not on youtube (I want it now!!).

M

Lol, Mari. :D I found a cover of this on youtube, by a street musician. Rhythm sounds off at times. Dunno if it's "meant" to? ... it doesn'tt sound like it's on purpose.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMQh_k80vt0

Anyway, I thought you might get a kick out of it. Or not.
It's a funny song, sure enough. :)

waves

Yeah, quite possibly. :D I still need to make a second pass at it but who knows when that will be. Not today, I am achey all over, as predicted. Dad showed more signs of being antsy this morning so I guess I better make that beer run. It's funny that our llanguage has an expression for that. Shows how deeply entrenched beer is in our culture.

I don't know what else they are having tonight but it will probably be meat which is more beer-compatible than last night's food. I really didn't see that the tuna and garbanzos last night particularly screamed for beer, quite honestly. I am making broccoli as vegs, and am still debating what else to have. I might make fish-cakes ... that largely depends how quickly I get off my butt.

I need to figure out the computers too... sigh. Need some time and space for that. Ugh, need to clear up the junk in my area too.

I'm getting wary of my coffee -- I really might need to try abstinence for a while. Sigh. :(

We run into that, where one wants no onion, another little onion, another a lot. We resolve this by serving the chopped onion as a separate do-it-yourself topping. We always do the soaking... usually for about an hour, to make it milder for the more delicate of mouth or gut. The less delicate folks can just eat more of it if they wish. ;)

waves

I did five mins on the stepper today.

I also made fish cakes for dinner... wore myself out cooking.

http://www.jeanchristophenovelli.com...fishcakes3.jpg

I loosely follow this recipe but make my 'cakes' a bit smaller and flatter (easier to handle, flip, etc) and tweak the ingredients for my availability. This time around, I also decided to do the prep-cooking in them microwave... worked out just as well.

waves

this looks delicious!
What kind of fish did you use?
bizi

Dear Waves,
 

Good job on the stepper.

Fish cakes = very nice. You have lots of gifts.

M

Oh, they are yummy... but exhausting.

I think this was pollock. I keep frozen whitefish filets -- finished what I had, didn't read. For this kind of thing, it makes no difference which you use.

One thing. I've always used celery rather than celeriac. I'm very curious to try with celeriac sometime, but it will be a while now... have to recover. I use dried tarragon too, rather than fresh thyme, but I really llike how that tastes.

(I have four patties left over... perhaps for dinner on Monday... yumm.)

waves

Thanks Mari. :)

Waves,
 

Tarragon is lovely on fish I am told. I have used it in other things I believe --- maybe it was in a salad.

M

So I had my sis listen to the song you found for us.
Without my prompting her at all her comment was that "it lacked urgency"-- a little weird that she and I felt that the song had to have that. Yes the rhythm feels odd --- still fun.

M

Interesting. Indeed, it doesn't sound urgent to me either. It sounds "rushed" to me, i.e. like she's trying to go faster and not quite cutting it, especially on guitar. So maybe this was her attempt at an urgent sound, which sounds important to the original. I liked her voice.

waves

I did seven minutes on the stepper today. Went a bit faster than yesterday too. 220 reps, 100 more than yesterday.

Started to get an inkling of the cardio benefit too.... noticed heart rate came up. Once I work up past 20 mins I guess I will be reaping that benefit too. I'm doing very little for now to avoid nasty surprises with the knee.

waves

Excellent
 

Waves,

You are doing great.:D :)

I am far from an expert on this, but I will offer a suggestion anyway. :cool:
At this stage, form is much more important than speed.
Also, it is o.k. to take care of one priority.
What is most important? The knees or cardio?
(I am pretty sure that you are doing very well --- I just wanted to throw out some words of caution.)

M

Thanks and no worries.

Cardio is not a consideration, per se. I just meant that it's nice that it will become a side effect.

For now I am still undershooting what the leg can handle.... on purpose. I like to gauge how it feels the next day.

The current priority, and only immediate goal, is to build a habit.

waves

Right.

This is a new piece of equipment and you are taking notice of what it can do for you and how you can best make use of it.

Building a habit: yes, once you get the habit, doing it becomes a part of your day. That is BIG.

M

you are being cautious this is good!
bizi

450 reps today. (15 mins)

I had to slow down about half way... not because of my leg, but because I was getting a stitch, LOL. I am so out of shape! :D:rolleyes:

waves

keep up the good work!
bizi

Thanks, Bizi. :)

I'm having a bit of a strange night. Had a snacky moment or three. The kind where I eat for taste and not for hunger. I probably ate 4x the calories I burned on the stepper --- not that I am doing it for weight loss, but still!

Started out with a little treat: shortbread fingers. No biggie. Except I had my usual 2, then went back and had another 2. Glub. So FOUR shortbread fingers. Ok. No biggie. All is not lost.

However, not content to savor the delectable, buttery taste left behind in my mouth, I then went for the peanuts, 3-4 handffuls, lol.

Not satisified with those, I proceeded to raid the fridge. Had a half a bowl of whole-grain rice, dressed with sesame oil and soy sauce.

At that point, I was too full even to finish my coffee (sweetened with honey, YUMM!) Now, an hour has passed and I am still stuffed, but still dreaming of shortbread. This does not bode well. :rolleyes::eek: Tomorrow I am going out for ice cream with a friend. I dare not think... He is a pleasure-food junkie, and his more sensible wife is not joining us this time.

Oink oink?

waves going back to my examination of recipes for crepes... :rolleyes::D

snacking is awfully good. I am resisting that and have remained AF for 21 days.
I had a big dinner tonight and hopefully did not eat too much so that It would prevent me from going to the gym.
congrats on your stepper!
bizi
I love short bread cookies!

Thanks, Bizi.

Shortbread... isn't it fantastic? Thiss winter (when I can use the oven again) I will probably try to make it. It's very easy... and very decadent (1/3 butter, 1/3 flour, and last but not least, 1/3 sugar, Dr. Fuhrman's nemesis).

I don't usually have shortbread around, but one of our regular stores ran a special "English week" a while back. They offered shortbread, cheddar, and Ribena! Yippee! :D

Congratulations on the 21 days alcohol free! Congratulations on the gym, too... YOu've been really good about that.

waves

thanks waves. Have a nice day/evening/night.
bizi

No stepping today, but I walked around a lot with my friend. And did a few regular stairs in the process. My knee area was twinging a bit today. Not really painful but twingy in the area that is perhaps a tendon that connects the quad to the bone. So I decided no stepping would be better for today. Do not want a strain as that would set me back, at best. It seems to have improved now... I'll see tomorrow. Next time I'll go down to maybe 350 and, assuming no twinging, I'll stay there for a week before re-attempting an increase.

This is the problem with atrophy. You can push the muscles but all the auxilliary parts are also out of shape, and must not be pushed. I hope that with the increased bloodflow everything will stronger also. Probably tendons take longer than muscle.

Yeah, not like I know what I'm talking about -- I'm just guessing. :(:o

Gosh I hope I can get my leg back. :o

Had a great time with my friend. He makes me laugh so much. Ice cream was good, too. Had more shortbread tonight. Oink. But there are only two left. Then I will watch myself a bit more stringently for a couple weeks, as I've gained a few pounds... 3 or 4 I think. It could be the gabapentin too, but I've been eating much more of these fattening foods than I usually do, which surely doesn't help.

waves

I am glad that you have a friend that makes you laugh.!
bizi
Is he of interest or just an old friend or new one?
bizi being nosey....:D

He is not a new friend, but I didn't see him for about 10 years after my breakdown or whatever. Met him at my last "permanent" job.

Waves,

I am hoping for you -- that you get your leg back.
You are doing sensible things and making progress.

At the moment I cannot think of what shortbread is.
Is it essentially sugar and butter and flour as here:

http://www.marthastewart.com/342402/basic-shortbread

http://southernfood.about.com/od/but...r/bl40318i.htm

'Happy to hear about your friend.

M

Thanks, Mari.

I'm reading about electrical stimulation. One doctor (a mean ahole but have to take anything valuable and throw away the rest) suggested it. I was hoping to avoid it. It looks expensive (hundreds of euro).

Yes, that is the shortbread, I was talking about. Different shapes are possible, depends on preference. I will probably go with fingers (shaped like the chocolate-dipped ones pictured in the Martha Stewart link, on the lowest level of the cookie tray). I found only slightly different proportions and temperatures in different recipes... will probably take an average of sorts.

And if I've gained weight I won't do it, because in order to get it right will have to do it more than once... and someone will have to eat all the results, good or bad that they may be. :eek:

Of course, they willl probably run another "English Week" at that store... and I won't be able to resist getting a pack if that's the case.

The last time, they didn't sell out so I ended up getting 3 packs... spread out over a couple months, granted. I am polishing off the last one as we speak, lol. :D In total, I've consumed about 7 oz of butter's worth minus the ones mom ate. Ahh, but so good.

waves

Fixing green beans and zucchini (separate). :)

That is a good dinner. :) :) :)

M

Waves,

I looked that up incase it is like the TENS units:
http://www.tensunitreviews.net/tens-vs-ems/
M

shortbread
 

On the subject of shortbread.

Yum.

I always make shortbread in December.
Not sure why I don't make it any other time because I love it.
Maybe it's because of all that butter and sugar. :)

I use some rice flour in my shortbread because I like a grainy texture.
e.g. http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/1872...tbread-recipes
e.g. http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/11609/shortbread

I used to buy sweet little plates on special and place the shortbread on them and wrap them up in red or green cellophane and tie pretty ribbons around it and give to people for presents at xmas time.

Lol Mari... they were not for dinner. I fixed the zucchini (slivered, nuked, and dressed with oil and parsley) for mom to use in a pasta and shrimp dish. The green beans might be had for lunch tomorrow or the day after. Mom and I eat those cold, as salad, so they had to be cooked/chilled ahead of time.

For dinner my dad made boiled (collard? not sure) greens. I had him save the cooking water, and cooked my green beans in it. Then, I cooked a potato in it (for dad's dinner). Finally, I drank the resultant broth! Wow it was very, very good! :D:D

For dinner, we had fish and the greens. Dad also had potato, while mom and I had whole grain rice, which I'm still experimenting with. :)

waves