Failure + Acceptance + Moving Forward

I weighed in this morning after my shower and lo and behold I'm not one ounce smaller than I was a month ago. So, this leads to the issue of failure and acceptance. As I have noted before I hate to lose, but I have to accept what is. That's a big part of life, because we all lose.

Next week is my 60th birthday and my goal was to lose 56 pounds before Sept. 8th. I have lost
all but ten pounds of that goal, and I have kept it off. I feel better than I have in a long long time. Many of the aches and pains I had are gone and I associate that with the weight loss. I can climb mountains now without too much strain.

Geri thinks the reason I haven't lost more weight is that I now have more muscle. If you look at my legs that is certainly the case. My stomach on the other hand is still flabby. I still see a fat man when I look at my silhouette.

Without going into great detail of analysis the bottom line is I still have  four months to lose 30 pounds in my  goal to attain an optimum weight of 180 pounds, which would make a total weight loss of 76 pounds in one year, more or less, or around 25% of my body mass. I was obese, and now I'm just overweight.

210 is my hump, the one I've got to get over. How I do that remains to be seen. The suspense continues.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; 4 strips of bacon, fried potatoes (not much)

Lunch; cliff bar, hamburger w/lettuce, tomato & onion, fruit drink
'
Dinner; Cuban food with our dear friends Brendan and Mabel (my Super Bowl pay back bet) Pinon'
which is a plantain lasagna with masa and ground beef. Brendan's peach upside down cake.....the whole meal was rocking.

Exercise; 3 hours of cycling, 2 miles walking the dogs

Fasting + War + Chewing + Ashamed + Hilary Clinton

Another fast day came and went. They all go by fast these days. I love slow. Slow food, slow going, low and slow, slow gin fizz, and the ever popular, take it slow.

My fast went great today. After Alice showed up any hunger pangs I had went away. Good ol' Alice. I usually take the day off when she shows up. I cleaned the stove today too, so something productive got accomplished.

I'm catering my own birthday party along with my old friend Erwin, who was one of my instructors in culinary school. Same birthday, 10 years apart. I'm glad he's 70 and I'm only 60, and I can't believe I'm saying only 60. I ordered 10 chicken, 12 pounds of andouille sausage, and 10 additional pounds of grilling sausage. My friend Erwin and I are making gumbo as the main course. More on this down the line.

I got some good exercise in today. It's hot in the hills and I worked up a good sweat with the dogs and my buddy Daren. We worked up a a nice lather about Obama's new war in Syria. I'd love to stay the fuck away from politics, but VI Lenin said we're all political creatures and he was right. Obama's starting to make old W look like a third grader.

Wouldn't it be nice if democracy actually worked, and we could put something like bombing another country up for the popular vote. We have the technology to do it right now. Instead of American Idol we can call it American War or American Bombing. A military strike on the Assad regime yes, no. One vote per citizen over the legal age to go into military service. If you're old enough to go to war you should be old enough to vote about it. If it's 16, so be it.

For Christ's sake they don't even have conclusive evidence that Assad regime actually did it, or did we pay someone to do it. Some sources are saying it was the rebel forces, so who the fuck did it?  Doesn't it remind you of the time, a whole 13 years ago, when we went to Iraq because of WMD's that never did exist. That's a Dick Cheney tactic. The UN can't agree on who killed these poor innocent people. No evidence of guilt in a court of law is grounds for acquittal. Or how about how we armed the mujaheddin in Afghanistan to beat the Russians way back in the 80's. Tom Hanks did a great movie, "Charlie Wilson's War" about that. That kinda backfired on us. We got short memories here in America. Dirty little secrets, dirty little lies, dirty little fingers in every body's pie. Bringing it back to the food.

Another war for what. Some our closest friends growing up in Connecticut were Syrian. Wonderful people. All the killing for oil. Control the energy, and you control the world.

Mother Russia can't loose on this one. All she's gotta do is sit back and do nothing, and then just wag her Miss Manner's finger at the US and say, " imperialists", and who can disagree with her? I got news for the world, Russia is still a superpower with a robust economy and thousands of nuclear warheads armed and pointed directly at western Europe.

On top of that our staunchest ally, Great Britain, tells us to go piss up a tree. You know these cock-suckers, the US and GB, are in bed together blowing each other. This could be Barack's Bay of Pigs/ Cuban missile crisis, but since he has the support of John McCain we should all feel better that's he's finally reaching over to the other side of the aisle. How lovely, a bipartisan bombing.

Obama's biting off more than he can chew if you ask me. See how I brought the whole story back to eating again? Crafty ha?

I'll bet our boy's smoking a pack a day now, and man, he sure is getting white on top. White on rice, brown rice.

I wish someone would tell me what we can do to stop this sick cycle. I hate to be a downer, but more bombing, eyes for eyes, teeth for teeth. I'm ashamed to be an American today. The door to Iran goes through Syria.

In the words of the great American songwriter Country Joe McDonald; "And it's 1, 2, 3 what are we fighting for, don't ask me I don't give a damn, next stop is Iran. And it's 5, 6, 7, open up the pearly gates, well, ain't no time to wonder why, whoopee we're all gonna die."

Daren and I made a bold prediction that Hilary Clinton, if she lives, will be the next president in 2016, and that Bill will die of a massive heart attack in her 3rd year as president, which will give her enough of the pity vote for a second term as Ms. President. No one would ask why he had a heart attack since he has a well documented heart condition. That's what he gets for all his philandering. Hell hath no furry like a woman's scorn.

Democrats/Republicans, can anyone tell the difference?

That's a lot to digest. Brought it back to gastronomy again. Clever eh?

That's it for sure.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; 1 cup coffee, cream/one sugar

No Lunch

Snack; Cliff bar

Dinner; I'm taking Geri out tonight, Italian.

Exercise; 6 miles hiking, 1/2 hr. cycling

  

Thursday 8-29-13

Just the fact today. I have too much to do. More exciting nonsensical garbage to come in the future.
School today. Fast day tomorrow.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; hard boiled egg, peanut butter sandwich, peach

Lunch/Dinner; left over teriyaki chicken, green beans, quinoa,

Exercise; 3 miles walking, 1/2 hour cycling

Wednesday 8-28-13

A hot day in Oakland.  This is the last day to drive over the of the eastern span of the Bay Bridge, which my wife did this morning.

It only took 24 years to build it. It cost 4 times what it was projected to cost originally, total 6.5 billion dollars, and it's still not built well. It looks great, but will it hold up in the Big One? Only time will tell. I hope I'm not on it when the Big One hits.

This is Caltrans at it's finest. If you want to fuck something up let the government do it. There will be thousands of on line postings about, much more impressive than this dumb ass blog, so I'll just leave it right here.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; granola w/almond milk, on hard boiled egg

Lunch; Peace, small piece of chocolate

Dinner; Teriyaki chicken, quinoa, green beans w/garlic and fresh lemon

Dessert; water melon, biscotti from Geri's visits to North Beach today

Exercise; 6 miles walking, 1/2 hr. cycling

Tuesday 3-27-13

I did nothing yesterday, literally. I laid around and watched TV, contemplating composition, and slept on and off all day. I didn't sleep for three nights in a row. The dogs got one walk in the AM and that was it. Frida can be a real bitch when she doesn't get her exercise. So can I for that fact.

Today was much better. I made it through 3 hours of class lecture today at Berkeley Community College, and got a good 6 miles of walking in before the day was over.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; black coffee one sugar

Lunch: small salami sandwich w/mozzarella cheese on sourdough baguette, 2 handfuls nuts,
            chocolate bar

Dinner;  1 piece of lasagna, 3 baby back ribs

Exercise; 6.5 miles walking

No Blog Weekend + G's Birthday

I never got it together to blog this weekend, not even stats. We also never made it over the GG Bridge to Sausalito to have breakfast at Fred's on Sunday. I haven't been sleeping well. I have a sleeping disorder called sleep apnea, and sometimes I just don't get enough sleep, and therefore my energy level is very low. I haven't slept much in the last three days.

Today is Geraldine's birthday and we had a few friends over for pizza last evening. I ate so much pizza I was uncomfortable. You know that feeling?

I always want to do all these special things for Geri's birthday, but she's not into it and I completely understand. So, the request is for a big salad tonight and that's what's on the menu.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food, Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; 2 oatmeal chocolate chip cookies,

Lunch; 2 pieces of leftover pizza

Dinner; big salad, 2 cup cakes (German chocolate)

Exercise; 3 miles walking

Mac D's + Cycling

After class last night I was ravenous. I stopped at McDonald's. This was my bi-yearly visit to mass fast food. It tasted great of course, because that's what they do. They know how to put the combinations of fat and more fat together. I felt like shit for eating there, but hey. I vowed I would be completely honest during this whole process. The occasional fuck-up is part of the process, ces't la vie.

Next week I'll pack a sandwich and some fruit.

I think I'm going to change my fasting day from Thursday to Friday. Class is 4 hours. One and a half hours lecture and 2.5 hours lab. I need to power up before I go there. It's a long day.

I'm biking again today. A short ride to a client's home to walk the dogs. I'll see how the calves feel. I'm ready to hit the road. I feel bloated. The battle continues.

That's it today.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; black tea

Lunch; 1 scrambled egg/chicken sausage potato combo w/one piece of brown toast and raspberry jam

Dinner;

Exercise; 7 miles hiking, 1 hr. cycling

School Days Again

It's back to school week. I started one class in Bizerkeley this Tue. and another one today at Laney College in Oakland. The vibe in Berkeley is bizarre as usual. These kids all look alike to me. The same uniform with the head phones, the ipod, and the latest Samsung/Apple cell phones. Hooked up to the FEED. There doesn't appear to be much individuality.

This one class I'm taking is a writing class. There's no lap top computers. The teacher is cool with handwritten homework, including mid terms and finals. I think the students are a little dumfounded because of the lack of technology in this class besides the power point presentations she gives.  

One of the things I've always liked about community college is you get the same level of eduction as you would if you went to a state school or a private school for that matter. The teachers are highly qualified and often teach the same identical classes at "better" schools.

On top of all that it cost a fraction of the price. The same level of education for less. Hard to go wrong with that formula.

I remember when I was in 3rd semester at culinary school and I was working at Oakville Grocery there was this hot shot who had just graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and he kept saying crap like at the CIA we did this and that, bla, bla, bla. One day I just got tired of his bullshit and said "Isn't it interesting how you and your 30 K education and me with my $800.00 education ($13.00 a unit) are working at the same place." He never mouthed off about the CIA again.

Laney College has an excellent culinary program also. They have trade course, welding, carpentry, electrician. They have a rocking arts department, physical education, you name it, they got it. Why waste money at a state school when you can get you AA or AS for less and then get you BA or BS somewhere else. If I had a child that would be the route they'd be going for sure.

I haven't done two classes a semester and worked full-time in almost twenty years, so this should be interesting.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; black tea, fresh lemon

Lunch; turkey sandwich w/mayo & mustard, tomato, lettuce, 3 handfuls nuts

Dinner; TBA

Exercise; 5 miles power walking

Wed. 8-21-13

Here we are again.  My calves are getting better and Geri and I are planning a big ride to Jack London Square and then grab a Ferry to the City, then ride over the GG bridge to Fred's and have breakfast and take the Ferry back to Oakland, then ride home.

Geri has never been to Fred's and it's one of her birthday presents from me to her.

I noticed that after that death march up Mt. Tam that my stride has quickened. I'm walking faster and  my body seems to be craving it. It was a manifestation of the Hegelian principle of quantitative change creating quantitative change. Maybe this is my new baseline and if so I'm good with it. I think I need to diversify my exercise regime even more.

On the food trail I made some green string beans that were out of sight for dinner.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/ Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; 2 fried egg sandwich on wheat bread & sauteed red onions, black tea w/lemon

Lunch; 1 1/2 peanut butter sandwiches

Dinner; roasted chicken, small Yukon potatoes boiled halved and pan fried w/olive oil, little butter, Parmesan cheese, the string beans boiled al dente, pan seared w/peanut oil, salt, pepper, fresh garlic, herbs of Provence, salad w/olive oil, fresh lemon, and a bunch of other stuff

Exercise; 4.5 miles walking  

Pro Ops Cycle Trainer

Our roommate and I bought a Pro Ops Cycle Trainer. For me it works good if the weather sucks, and for Michael because his feet are bad and walking on the street for him is a painful challenge.

Here's my review of the Pro Ops Cycle Trainer. It comes with a video about how to prep yourself for racing. I never watched the video and probably won't.The only race I'm running is against myself. The cost is around $260.00, unassembled.

This trainer is sturdy, fairly easy to to put together, but I had a lot of help from our mechanically inclined friend Mr. Guy Harrelson. Thanks Guy! The written instructions are easy to understand with every ethnic group represented in their own language. All you need is an adjustable wrench and a 1/2" driver.

It has a tension adjustment shifter with a cable that runs to the trainer i.e., the rear wheel. It also has a box in front for the front wheel to sit in, leveling the front of the bike with the back. Many of these trainers have only two settings. I put the bike in high gear, and the tension shifter setting in high gear, and I rode off for one half hour down my imaginary highway. I prefer the steady, monotonous, almost meditative aerobic high myself. When I was done I was sweating, and my legs were rubbery.This was a good work out for me.

This trainer is loud. Put on you're ipod or go au natural. The drone of the wheel can have it's own meditative quality I mentioned above. There were times it sounded like a fiddle or a cello, and you can adjust the tone, the pitch, the cadence, and the volume all with your legs. I wasn't thinking about myself or the rest of the world when I was riding. I was simply in the zone. The drone zone. The have to make peace with the noise from this trainer. It's like the wind. Once you start peddling it's going to blow, so embrace it. It's a challenge to keep a consistent pitch going for any length of time.

Without getting paid to go on that about this machine that about covers it for the Pro Ops Cycle Trainer. I'm glad I have this option of exercise when I can't ride on the street or a bike trail. More options can be a good thing. Choices.

My muscles are still aching from the Mt. Tam climb.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; black tea w/lemon, banana, grape nuts, 2% milk, 10 ounces of mango juice

Lunch, salad, black olives, shredded carrot, 1 oz. cheddar cheese, olive oil, fresh lemon, s & p

Dinner; 2 Italian chicken sausage and leftover wild rice

Exercise; 8 miles walking

Muscles + Stuck at 210 + Fasting

My leg muscles are sore as hell. The pain in my knee on the other hand seems to have gotten better overnight. Between resting, icing it, Aleve, and this topical anti-inflammatory product I use called Derma Tran it feels much better today.

I can't get my weight below 210 no matter what combination of things I try. I had this problem when I hit 220, and now I'm  having it again at 210. 180 pound looks like a long way away. I saw people yesterday at least 10 years older than myself running up and down Mt. Tam, running. If I check the scale and it reads 206, and then check a week later it's back up to 210.

To be perfectly honest there has been the sporadic visits to the ice cream parlor, the occasional pizza binge, the 6 pack of IPA's, but I've upped the exercise program considerably, and still I haven't shed an ounce. Someone tell me what the fuck else can I do? I knew this would be hard, but for fuck sake give me a break.  I'm not looking for praise, pity, a pat on the back, no two thumbs up, just some more pounds off my fat ass.

This is why people fail at weight loss. The body and the brain will fight you all the way. The body reacts as if you are trying to kill it instead of repair it. Before I lost the 46 pounds I've shed I had aches and pains in my joints all the time. Now they're gone. I know it can only get better with more weight off.

I won't give up. I haven't come this far to lose. The only thing I can think is I'm not working hard enough. The old Protestant work ethic once again. Eat less, work more, no pain, no gain, that's life old man.

Today is a fast day again.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; black tea and lemon

Lunch; Nothing

Dinner; 3 turkey tacos, fresh salsa, wild rice

Exercise; 1/2 hr. on the exercise bike, 3 miles hiking w/dogs

The Dipsea

Punishing, brutal, unforgiving and I'm glad it's over. I can cross this off the list of things to do in 2013.

Going up was unforgiving, but coming down was punishing. I iced my right knee for about an hour when we got home. The bus shuttle doesn't take you all the way back to the parking area in Muir Woods. There's still about another mile to go before you get back, and it's all downhill. It took forever because I had to do most of it sideways because it hurt too much to take the stairs head-on. I left my walking stick in the car, like and idiot, and it would have helped considerably.

Frida was with me the whole time, my constant companion, with her service vest on. Geri, and our friends Suzanne and Alex came along also. I can't imagine doing that hike with 45 extra pounds of body weight.

I got a hamburger, fries and ice tea, no sugar, after the hike. I worked off those beers from last night and at least another 6 pack.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; 2 pastries, coffee, milk, sugar

Lunch; Hamburger, lettuce, tomato, fries, ice tea

Dinner; small turkey sandwich on 1 piece of bread, mustard, cheddar cheese, water melon

Planning, Golden Gate Park, Rice, Beer

Geri and I and the bicycles went over the iron curtain this morning to our friend Erwin's, and the three of us planned out a rough sketch of a party we are having for ourselves, Erwin and myself that is.

Erwin was one of my instructors in culinary school, and when I graduated we kept in touch. After graduating I went back into the trades and Erwin asked me to paint his house. I did it as a side job and we both worked on it together.  One weekend painting at his house I said something about me being a Virgo and Erwin asked what day. I told him September 8th and he said, "I don't believe you, show me." I went into my pick-up truck, got my wallet, showed him my California driver license, and he he looked at me and said to me in his Santa Claus Austrian accent, "We have the same birthday Marcel." For some reason I was not surprised. Another Christmas/New Year's baby, rebirth.

Erwin is a real character to say the least. We finished painting the house, and we have been friends ever since. I have many stories about our time in school together where we first became friends with one another. I guess I hate to admit it, but Erwin is culinary role model to me for sure.

Erwin is 10 years older than me, to the day. We decided to have a "joint" 60/70 party at his place in Bodega Bay. He is a master chef for sure, and sometimes I think he thinks I'm just a rookie, and in some ways he's right. I mean, I can always learn something right? When Erwin cooks I listen and I learn. We have a healthy little competitive cooking edge with each other. We're fucking humans.

We were hanging out, talking about what we needed for the party, making notes, me at the counter, Geri (the silent Virgo) on the couch, Erwin commanding stage. Our main course for the party is going to be file' gumbo. The subject of rice came up of course. I wanted to make dirty rice & red beans. "Let's make it brown rice." I said.  Erwin countered, "The problem I have with red beans is they are red, and brown rice is not white rice."

I have a hard time standing my ground with Erwin sometimes, unless it's life threatening. We've had a couple of those, but hey, this is just a fucking party. Erwin is a perfectionist and that is a Virgo trait after all. Besides that I love the sous chef position. I takes a lot of the pressure off of me. I have no idea why people think second is such a bad place to land?

I have never thrown myself a birthday party, but  60 is kind of a big deal to me for some stupid reason. I mean, it's all stupid, so why not at least celebrate the stupidity of both of us, me and Erwin. So we're talking bout this and that, chicken, sausage selection, hors d'oeuvre, salads dessert, etc. and he says, "I cook rice like pasta, at the very last minutes, lots of water, drain it and serve it, keep it covered to keep it warm." I said, "You gotta be kidding me?." Erwin challenged with, "I'll show you Marcel."

He got the water salted and boiling, and he couldn't find any rice in the house. "Let's go do some shopping Marcel." Erwin was determined to show me his rice cooking method. I know he's right. I mean, how many way are there to skin a dog? I said, "I take your word for it Erwin." But no.

Erwin lives 1.5 blocks from Haight Street, my old stomping grounds. The place looks nothing like 1971, except for the freaks, and that might be a good thing after all. Haight street in 71' was depressed to use a kind word. That's other stories for another day. I got  a lot of Haight Street stories.

We shopped, Erwin cooked lunch, incredible, of course. He cooked the rice, 15 minutes, boiling hot water, like pasta, salt, strain, rinse, plate. Cooked to perfection, fluffy like you ain't never seen. Fucking Erwin schools my ass again, but what did expect. I felt like a 7th grader again. I will make him feel like he's student again. I've done it before.  It's only a matter of time.

I had 4 beers today and man does it feel good to fall off the wagon. Know what I miss most about being 17 in the summertime in Connecticut, drinking, and driving, that's what.

We rode through Golden Gate Park to the ocean, the Coast of the West. Ocean beach, the same place my sister Roxanne and my brother-in-law Mickey took me my first day in San Francisco and Mickey said to me, "There it is Marcel, the Pacific ocean." I was in awe then.

On the way back from our trek to the sea we stopped to drink some water. We both looked out at the ocean at the same time and we're just amazed at how beautiful it all is. Geri looked at me and said, "I don't care what anyone says, this is one of the  most beautiful places in the world and we live here." I would have added fucking after beautiful but, you can't really argue with that logic. I was in awe, again. I was at the time, on a natural high.

A pretty good day.

Mount Tam here I come.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; grape nuts, 2 % milk, 1 banana, black tea

Lunch; potato dumplings, with carmelized  prunes, coffee 1 sugar/milk

Dinner: turkey sandwich w/mustard avocado, mustard, tomato, olive bread

Exercise; 2 miles walking dogs, 1 hour cycling down to the Pacific Ocean

beers, Alice, popcorn




    

Weekend, Eggplant Again

The weekend is here again. I've got my backpack ready for the hike up and down Mt. Tamalpais and over to Stinson Beach for lunch.

There was more eggplant consumed today and I'm planning on going to Fenton's after our walk tonight for more of that Dutch Chocolate I had two weeks ago. I'm a weak man today.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; 2 potato pancakes, 1 poached egg

Lunch; eggplant and water melon

Dinner: eggplant again (told you it was addictive)

dessert; small dutch waffle Dutch chocolate ice cream

Exercise today; 5 miles walking 

Eggplant Parmesano

I don't know if I've ever posted an eggplant Parmesan recipe, and for what it's worth it is one of my signature dished. I don't claim to have thousands of signature dishes, or to be the best chef in the fucking world, but twice cooked eggplant is one dish I'll throw down on anytime, meatless, of course.

This dish is so rich, and I have to eat at least two entree' size portions, and have been known to eat a he-man section of a 2 X 9 X 13" hotel pan. The next day I pay for it, in spades, but it's all worth it. This dish goes in the mouth and effortlessly down the throat. It's highly addictive. This vegetable is what us poor Guineas used as veal. Highly prized in my family.

My neighbor Deborah Roberto loves my eggplant. I know if sounds sexual, but it's  gastronomically platonic.  Deborah is Sicilian, which I don't hold against her, but she begs for eggplant Parmesan as a birthday present every other year, and of course I can't refuse.

The other day another neighbor who hates eggplant gave me one and I knew right away it was time to do my thing. I make this dish maybe twice a year, and it's been quite a long time since I've written a recipe. I just don't have a lot of time and my meals of late as so passe. Alas. This is a good one.

Today was a fast day. Without further ado.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/ Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; black tea one sugar

Lunch; nuts, apple

Dinner; 2 pieces eggplant Parmesan, big salad w/red bell pepper, radish, iceberg lettuce, s & p, lemon, olive oil

Eggplant Parmesan;

Ingredients;
2 large eggplants
2 eggs
1 lb. fine Italian bread crumbs
3 cups whole milk
dried oregano
olive oil
1 bunch fresh basil
6 oz. Dutch Fontina grated
6 oz. Asiago grated
4 oz. Parmesan
S & P
32 oz. marinara sauce

Instructions
1) Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
2) Clean and cut the eggplant 1/2 inch thick lengthwise.
3) In one large mixing bowl at the milk an d whisk in the two eggs, add salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. In the second bowl put the bread crumbs.
4) Dip each piece of eggplant in the milk/egg solution, then coat in the bread crumbs and shake off the excess.
5) place all the  pieces on  large sheet pans and cook on the middle rack at 350 degrees for 12 minutes, and flip and cook on the opposite side for another 10 to 12 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.
6) coat a 2X9X13" baking dish or pan with a little olive oil, and cover the bottom of the pan with the baked eggplant. Add marinara on top of that, shredded basil leaves on top of that, a layer  of Fontina cheese on top of the, Asiago, then the Parmesan and dried oregano.
7) Repeat this process till you have three layers and coat the top with marinara, and the 3 cheeses.
8) Bake for 35 minutes covered with tin foil. Uncover and bake for another 15 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown on top.
9) Let sit 15 minutes and serve .

Wednesday 8-14-13... Doing the Dipsea

This Sunday I'm doing the Dipsea, starting from Muir Woods, and bypassing Mill Valley all together. I'm sure purists will say this is not doing the whole Dipsea course and they're right, but even this "watered down" version of the Dipsea is not for the faint of heart.

There are places along this route that are called Insult Hill, Dynamite, Cardia and Steep Ravine.
This course will eventually take us to Stinson Beach and to lunch.

I'm taking my dog Frida who will be outfitted with her service dog vest. Of course Geri is coming.
We will have food stuffs to snack on and plenty of water.

I have a small hydrator backpack that will give me enough water to make it, and it's equipped with plastic, flash light, rope,  etc., just in case I get stuck somewhere, twist an ankle or something, I might survive.

You never know.


Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; cereal w/raw milk, strawberries, peach

Lunch; 2 piece of pizza

DInner; big salad, leftover chicken

Exercise; 2 miles walking, 1 hour biking

Tuesday...August 13th

I had a theme picked out for today, but I forgot what the hell it was. Oh yeah, exhaustion. My muscles need to rest today, no cycling. I was worn out yesterday from riding the Iron Horse Trail in San Ramon Sunday. Tomorrow I'll be at it again with a ride to Berkeley and back. Today it's hiking in the hills with the dogs.

I bought a cycle trainer that you mount your bike on, and it has different resistant setting for when the weather turns bad, and I don't want to get wet, or I don't want to get hit by a car. I hate getting wet.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; 2 poached eggs, black tea w/lemon, 1 piece of brown bread, 1 potato pancake

Snack, 2 handfuls of salted roasted almonds, peach

Dinner; dirty brown w/onion and carrot, sauteed cannellini beans with red onion, s & p, cilantro, olive oil, chicken apple sausage, salad w/cucumber, red bell peppers, s & p, olive oil, fresh lemon

Exercise; 4 miles walking

Monday 8-12-13...Summer's Almost Gone

Summer is almost gone. It just zipped right by in the blink of an eye. It's back to school with fall classes beginning next week.

I did some cycling today and I must say I'm physically exhausted from Sat. and Sunday's riding.

Today is Monday and if you read this stupid blog regularly you will know that it is a fasting day.

I'm tired. That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; black tea w/lemon

Lunch; orange juice

Dinner; turkey burger, salad and a piece of chocolate

Exercise; 2 miles hiking, 1 hr. cycling

Sunday Stats...8-11-13

Peace,

Make Food?Not War

Breakfast; black coffee, 1 sugar, milk

Lunch: power bar, banana

Dinner; out to dinner, Indian food w/friends

Exercise; 1.5 miles hiking, 25 miles cycling...the dogs got robbed today

Weekend Stats...Saturday 8-10-13

What a beautiful day it was in Oakland today. Geraldine and I hit the streets and biked down to Jack London Square and then over to Alameda to get an ice cream at Tuckers Ice Cream Shop on Park Blvd. It was excellent, but I still think Fenton's or Lord's is better. The butter fat content is higher at Fenton's and Lords. I do love this place though. Their waffle cones are made in house and they rock, plus they have a room upstairs for private parties.

I wanted to order a hot fudge Sunday w/2 cherries on top, but I can't justify it. You can't always get what you want, but I got what I needed. When I reach that 170 pound mark that's going to be my treat. What an incentive.

That's it.

Breakfast; black tea, 1 sugar, small bowl of cereal, raw milk, bluberries

Lunch; Chocolate chip ice cream, 2 handfuls of toasted/salted almonds

Dinner; Big salad w/olives, feta cheese, cherry tomatoes,, s & p, olive oil and fresh lemon, turkey burger w/cheese

Dessert; water melon

Exercise; 1.5 miles walking, 2.5 hours cycling

Friday August 9th...Sneak Peak At The Scale

Not much of anything to report in the blog world. It's more of the same old thing.

I did venture a sneak peak at the scale today and I'm quite close to 200 pounds, so I'm excited about those results.  Looks like it's going to be a photo finish. Gotta keep my eyes on the prize.

I'll just be doing journal stats over the weekend.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; apricot Greek yogurt, small bowl of grape nuts, peach and low fat milk

Lunch; glass of juice

Dinner; medium bowl of leftover pasta, salad

Exercise; 5 miles walking

Fasting, Overcast, Woody Allen, Farm City, The Garden

Today is a fasting day. It's chilly and overcast in Oakland. The sun has been peaking out for a couple of hours every day and the air is heavy with moisture from the ocean. It feels humid like the East coast.

The new Woody Allen movie is great. Kate Blanchett is, in a word, simply incredible. This is a must see for any Woody Allen fan. It was filmed in San Francisco. It's nice to see some familiar sights like The Ramp down on Mariposa. Woody's dark side of life comes across in this film, interspersed with some hilarious scenes. It's great.

I've been reading this book titled Farm City by Novella Carpenter, Penguin Publishing. It was a national bestseller, and if you're thinking of becoming a serious urban farmer this book is a guide to what you can expect.  She can also be found at www.novellacarpenter.com. There's nothing I can say that will usurp the praise she received from the NY Times book review. Even if you don't want to be an urban farmer read it. It's very entertaining, and have lived in the urban jungle for so long I can relate to her street stories all to well.

Speaking of urban farming on a very tiny level, I made a tomato sauce for dinner from the fruit (brown berry cherry tomatoes) we harvested in our back yard. Geri says they're the best tomatoes she's ever had, and I'll admit they are very sweet and full of flavor. I got those starters from my friends Rick and Pilar at Sunnyside Seedlings in Richmond. I added 3 tablespoons of olive oil, fresh basil from the herb garden, 5 cloves of crushed garlic, 1/4 yellow onion sauteed, 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper, tablespoon dried herbs of Provence, a little red wine, and water. I filled a two quart sauce pot 3/4 of the way with the tomatoes, added water to the top of the tomatoes, and reduced it till I had a little more than a quart, about 3 hours. This and some salad, will be our dinner tonight, no meat today.

I'm getting ready to plant fall and winter veggies. I started by working on one of the large 30 gallon galvanized troughs where the mint was dead as a door nail. I amended the soil with some chicken shit fertilizer and soaked it.  I'll add some more cow shit and a little more fresh topsoil to all the beds and rotate some plants that won't rob the soil of all it's nutrients.

I bought some shirts today, size large. I haven't been anything smaller than double XL for 15 years.

This is my stupid world today.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; black tea, juice

Lunch; nothing

Dinner; Pasta and salad

Exercise; 3 miles walking

Wed. August 7th, 4 hot dogs...Working It Off

All I can do today is work off my food binge from yesterday. Yesterday was National Night Out in Oaktown,  and after I got home from taking care of a cat I stopped in down the street with my neighbors and had 4, that's 4 hot dogs with mustard.

Jesus H. Christ they tasted so good I couldn't help myself. Story of my life. Between the lunch and the NNO that's my big food splurge for the week.

All I'm doing with the exercise I did today is working off what I ate yesterday, and that's not going to cut it, guilt, sadness. Do I ever learn?

Fasting tomorrow.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; black tea, 1 piece of toast w/butter and apricot jam, 1 pear

Lunch; 1 piece of seeded toast w/peanut butter, cappuccino

Dinner; Quinoa veggie salad w/chicken apple sausage, popcorn & a movie

Exercise; 4 miles walking, 3 hrs cycling

Big Lunch, Goals, Victoria's BD

I had a big lunch today and short cycle ride. I feel like the size of a freight car. I just can't do these big lunches. It wipes me out, zaps all my energy, and then I'm lethargic for the rest of the day. The only benefit is I don't need to eat dinner.

When we were in Italy we ate a huge lunch each day and then a big dinner. I don't know how they can eat like that and stay so thin. I gained quite a bit of weight in Italy. I have photos from our last trip there and the cheeks of my face are bright red from drinking so much vino rosso. It's pasta for lunch, and pasta for dinner,  and I can't do it.

I got 4 weeks to get those 9 or 10 pounds off my fat ass. I'm down to the wire, and I don't plan on failing. In case I do fail I'll just pick myself up and begin again, but it would be nice to be 200 pounds again, and of course, to reach my goal.

Happy birthday to my sister-in-law Victoria. I love you terrible.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; cereal w/blueberries raw whole milk

Lunch; pork egg roll, shrimp fried brown rice, green tea, calamari salad, grilled chicken (Cambodian food)

Dinner: nothing

1/2 chocolate bar....today was my big food day for the week.

Exercise; 1/2 cycling, 5 miles walking

Monday 8-5-13

Our friends have left for the East coast. I spent a lot of time with my dear friend Britney, her wonderful husband Paul and their 5 month old perfect little bundle of joy, Ella Vaughn.
Everyone is worn out.

I finished my fast day by heading over to Fenton's Creamery and getting a Dutch chocolate chip ice cream. It's late, I'm tired and Tuesdays are always long work days, not to mention tomorrow night is National Night Out in Oakland, neighborhoods getting together.  Till then.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

Food consumption;

Breakfast; black tea w/lemon

Lunch; vanilla yogurt

Dinner; chocolate ice cream single scoop waffle cone, chicken apple sausage sandwich, small     leftover salad from last evening water melon

Exercise; 3.5 miles hiking, 1 hr. cycling

Sunday Stats

I was wiped out from that ride I took Saturday, wiped out, no energy.

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; grape nuts cereal, raw milk, blue berries, 1 banana, black tea w/lemon

Lunch; some cheese, peach

Dinner; Frisee salad w/tomatoes, cucumber, s & p, olive oil and fresh lemon, 1 corn on the cob w/olive oil, s & p, 1/2 pound burger w/bun, sauteed onions, lettuce, A1 steak sauce, NY sharp cheddar cheese.

Exercise; 1 mile walking

Saturday Stats

We ate at Boca Nova last night. Geraldine woke up ill today, flu, food poisoning? No one else got sick and the food/service was rocking.

Food Consumption;

Breakfast; fangipane,  raspberry/walnut scone, black tea 1 sugar

Lunch; chicken sandwich on brown bread, mayo, black pepper, leftover mashed potatoes

Dinner; water melon

Exercise; biking 3.5 hours, at least 25 miles, hiking w/dogs 2.5

Breakfast + BART Strike + Weekend

The reason I eat eggs in the morning is they give me a lot of stamina. On top of that I don't get hungry till at least 2 or 3 PM in the afternoon. Between the eggs for protein and the potato pancakes for carbs I'm ready to peddle, walk or hike dogs in the Oakland hills, whatever.

This morning something didn't quite work with that breakfast scheme and I had the trots. I think it's time to change up my diet. I know we should all eat a wide variety of foods and I get into these ruts. More probiotics, fruit, maybe some grains. I love cereal but no more estrogen soy milk. I need testosterone milk.  So, starting tomorrow I'm going to do just that, switch it up. I've also been hitting the caffeine pretty hard, and it reeks havoc on my stomach. No mass. Here we go on my tangent for the week.

BART, Bay Area Rapid Transit is poised to strike again this coming Monday if the Union and BART management cannot come to an agreement by the end of today. The Union has been vilified in the press, but in reality BART has not been bargaining in good faith.

BART hired a man named Thomas Hock, who is a union buster or would very much like to be, to negotiate their contract with the leadership of the rank and file. Hock has been cited by the NLRB numerous times over the years for unfair labor practices. Hock's number one tactic for dealing with the union is to not be available during the negotiations. This time he took his "vacation" when he was supposed to be hammering out a deal with the union leadership. Other tactics Hock uses include; showing up three hours late for scheduled meetings, not returning phone calls, and letters, just to name a few. He's a real tactical genius this guy. He's a negotiator who's paid no to negotiate. It's a fucking tongue twister.

These tactic give the union no other choice than to strike, which creates anti-union sentiments among the public who rely on the transit system to shuffle them back and forth to work and play. It also creates massive traffic delays on the roadways, people get to work late, and the bosses hates it when the drone bees are late. Don't want to make the boss. Think you're indispensable? The public then blames the Union and the workers for their frustrations with inconvenience, when in reality it's all staged by Mr. Hock to make the Union look bad. Worker v.s. workers, perfection.

On top of that Hock has people like Willie Brown, a great friend of the working class, saying that the Union needs help with it's public relations. Here's a tip for you WIllie, "Go soak your fucking head."

I might add that only in Oakland, another place that could use a good PR campaign, held a  rally at Frank Ogawa Plaza in support of the Union, go Oakland. Gotta give my second rate city props.

Could you tell my my sympathies lie with the union? Am I being too one sided?  The union keeps us strong. It's not the working people that have gotten this country into the mess it's in. It's the banks, the corporations with their globalization, and politicians that do their bidding. Show me how someone who can live on $8.25 an hour, $66.00 a day, before taxes. What's keep half the world's population in poverty? If it wasn't for the unions we'd all be making shit wages working 14 hour a day, minimum 6 days a week, no medical care, no schools, and working for Big Daddy Warbucks. It wasn't that long ago that fourteen hours was a normal day for millions of people in the USA. Can't ever happen again?

Enough....find a way to get to your boring yuppie/hipster jobs, and support the people who are struggling to make a good living wage with good benefits. I don't want to hear any sniveling mother fuckers crying about how the Union is keeping them from their oh so most important careers. If you want to have a better life in America you gotta fight for it. Ain't nobody give us working folks nothing.

To this end.

I'm planning on doing a bunch of cycling this weekend, and just journal my usual bullshit. How come there's no cycling lanes on the Bay Bridge?

Remember, this is a food blog.I think this was record for using the word fuck, oh fuck.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

What I ate today;

Breakfast; 2 poached eggs, 2 potato pancakes w/chives, feta cheese, s & p, olive oil, 1 piece brown toast, 2 cups black coffee w/sugar,

Lunch; salad w/ tomatoes, cucumber, spinach, olive oil, lemon, s & p, large handful of cashews, juice

Dinner;  out with company, Boca Nova

Exercise Today;  1.5 miles walking, 1 hour cycling

Weigh Day

You can't argue with the scale. Well, you can, but it won't do a bit of good. The numbers don't lie, and looking at the numbers I've lost about 4 pounds in the last two weeks, according to the scale. That's 2 pounds per week. I can't lie, I was hoping it would be more.

I feel like it took a lot of work to accomplish that small goal. The original goal back in Nov. 2012 was to lose 1.25 pounds per week. Then I lost 40 pounds in 7 months, and in June stalled for two months, and  didn't lose a damn pound.

I don't know if not drinking had any effect on my weight loss these last two weeks or not, but it feels good to be sober. I've gone years without alcohol and it's no big deal, but for me I believe the benefits of wine and beer especially outweigh the negative aspects of alcohol consumption, not to mention it just tastes great. We all need to get high or low.

If I'm going to reach my goal of 200 pounds by my birthday on September 8th I'm going to have to be especially careful of calorie intake and continue to ramp up the exercise.  So, no alcohol. I need to lose 2 pounds a week for five weeks. Eight pounds in a one month is a lot of weight to take off.  I have my doubts about my ability to shed it. Then there will be the push to get the additional 20 pounds off by the New Year.

Since today is a fast day, I can start right away, because today is the first day or the rest of my life.
That might be the corniest fucking line I've ever written.

I can't express in words just how difficult this is. It's my own fucking fault. I let myself get this way, obese. I let food control me, or I didn't care that it was controlling me. I was a compulsive eater. It won't happen again.

Speaking of addictions, check out the drama series Orange Is The New Black on netflix.com.

That's it.

Peace,

Make Food/Not War

What I ate today;

Breakfast; Black coffee one sugar

Lunch: two handfuls of nuts around 2:00 pm

Dinner; baked chicken w/mashed potatoes, big salad for seasonal veggies, olive oil, lemon, feta cheese

Exercise; 3.5 miles walking, hiking