Forcing Myself to do More

   I’m going to cook a sirloin tip roast today, all by myself! That’s right, you heard me, by myself. I edged the sidewalks yesterday, almost killed me, but I did it. The boy did the hard pard, he got the edger, the blower, and the extension cord. Ok, that’s not by myself, but I did the edging. The roast is going to be all me. Going to force myself to do some things, if not I’m going to lose the battle. The hope is the more I do, the more I will be able to do. The eyes are a little fuzzy today, combination of the heat and the exertion. Hopefully the roast will look something like this?

Hot And Humid, What Do You Eat To Be Healthy

it's going to be a scorcher again today, almost 95° and it's not even 11 AM.  Friend of ours picked today to have her air conditioning go up, poor planning, if you ask me.  Don't know what I would do if I didn't have air conditioning, though I was 13 before I ever lived in a house that had it, but the stakes are different now.  The in- law's are in their 80s and never turn the A/C on!  Maybe that's why they are in their 80s, they are just tougher than me?  all I know is I have the air-conditioning blasting, a fan right on me, and my eyes are still flickering in and out.  Oh well, I guess I'm not 13 anymore?

okay, so I am really, truly, honestly interested in eating better, either the swank diet, or the Paleolithic diet.  Here's my problem, what do you eat?  Mornings  are easy, a mitochondria drink made with kale, grapes, apple, banana, a little water, and some ice, all thrown into a blender.  What do you eat for lunch?  A plateful of greens, sulfur vegetables, what in the hell are sulfur vegetables?  It would be so much easier if it was like when I was a kid and my mother would just give me a plateful of food, sulfur vegetables, indeed!

Local Bowling Tournament, Top Chef I Am, and Dead Feeling In Hand Getting Worse

Got a text message from the boy, he's a plus 131 after 3. I thought that was a little arbitrary, then the wife remembered he is in a local tournament, and we forgot about it, we are the basement level of parents, didn't even go to our little babies event. He said no sweat, his grandparents were there. How the hell did they know? Aren't these the 2 that are worried they are forgetting things? I'll ask one of the old men up the bowling alley how he did, they will know it before me. He is in first place right now, hope he hangs on, this one is a mix of juniors and adults.

I made an incredible recipe for dinner tonight, used up the rest of the squash, onions, and tomatoes. I went out on limb, nobody here likes squash, but this looked so good, I couldn't resist. It was a success, even the girl ate it. The wife said it was the best side dish she had ever had, but she lies, tells me everything I do is perfect! The boy hasn't been home to eat since he was 7, and he wouldn't have tried it anyway, even at 17. I loved it, but I love everything.

1 medium bell pepper, cut in 1/2 in cubes
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium zucchini or 4 small yellow squash
1 2 or 3 tomatoes
4 slices bread, toasted and cut in small cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Parmesan cheese

1. Saute onions&bell pepper in margarine for 5 minutes,add squash that has been sliced and cubed.
2. Saute 5 min more,add tomatoes, (break up whole tomatoes) cook 5 more minutes.
3. Add bread cubes and seasonings.
4. Put in 2 quart casserole,sprinkle top with parmesan cheese.
5. Bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes.

Cooking is an area I am really seeing a difference in. Cutting things up has become increasingly harder, I need to do a little research on different ways to accomplish this task. I'm not recovering from these things as fast as I used to, if at all. The right hand is declining quicker then anything else to date. Writing is all but gone, anything that needs any dexterity has flown. I still have my left hand, so no panic, yet, but I am having some of the original twinges I had in my right now in my left. Not cool, I specifically remember asking to have only one side affected, where is Mr Demille?

Liner Time For Pool, Yard Work With the Wife, and Strawberry Radish Pickles

The girl got in the pool the other day, with heavy duty shears, and a razor knife. It was great fun watching her, the smell was pretty bad from a relatively small amount decomposing leaves. She gagged a couple of times, especially when the water would splash up on her. She did a great job, her and the boy through it away in a neighbors construction dumpster, done is done! Now we are figuring if the wife will be able to take of the pool on a regular basis, before we pay the money to have it fixed. I know she CAN do it, I just want to make sure she time to do it, she already does so much.

We are going out into the yard today, me and the wife, going to mulch more of the corner behind the pool. Both kids are working, so it's just us for a while, not the wife's favorite activity, being outside! I told her we should wait until the boy comes home, let him do the majority of the grunt work, but she wants to do it. It's too bad it still needs to be done, 8 years after the pool was put in, but sometimes that's just the way it goes. Starting today I don't depend on anyone, if I can pay someone to do it, that's what I'll do.

We got our hands on some strawberry radishes from the CSA the other day. I am going to slice them up, julienne style, with some onion, and refrigerator pickle them. I think refrigerator pickles mean you don't process them, I think? The wife's in the kitchen cooking the spinach we got now, and crisping up some spring onions for sausages tonight! I'm still working on her so I can get a couple of chickens for the backyard, having a slow go with that one!

Baltimore Food, Where To Go For Good Eats

Where is the best place to eat in Baltimore? Some would say it would be places like Ruth Chris, or Flemming's, or even McCormick and Schmick's. I wouldn't know, I've never been, the wife has, but she didn't let me go. They're probably good, but it's not real food. Real food is a Captain Harvey's cheese steak, a Coffman's hot dog with everything, or a Casa Mia's crab cake. G &A's in Highlandtown is still going strong, So are the places on corned beef row, as was pointed out in my Aunt's comment.

I wonder about some of the places that I used to love, but haven't been to in a long time. I remember going to Uncle Eddie's in Essex with my father, one of his favorites. My mother tells the story of her father going up with a pot and having the people at Ho Joy's fill it with shrimp egg foo young for the whole family, and him calling it Tojo's. Does anyone remember when Stewart's was still a drill in? They still have the best root beer and something called a steam burger. Perring Place over on Cleanleigh Dr. is one of those place's that people are regulars. They don't have to order, it's Thursday so the waitress knows what they want.

We went a while back to our favorite "local" Italian restaurant, Roma's. Imagine our surprise to find it is a vacant lot now? I don't know if it still is, but it was when we went, and we had coupon! My Uncle's and grandfather still think I used to stop and eat shrimp off of their sandwiches from Zannino's East Point. Perkin's is gone, a great place to go for pancakes. For a long time it was the only restaurant in Perry Hall besides Gino's! Who doesn't love a Pizza John's ground beef pizza? You aint lived until you have the grease from one of those dripping off your elbows!

Like people who know me always say, I'm simple! I don't think they mean it same way I do, but them's be the breaks. I'd rather have a big daddy pub burger from Charle's Village Pub in Towson than I would an expensive meal from someplace that made me wear pants. I also like $1 crabs from Bill's seafood more then $80 a dozen ones from Phillip's. Is Whitey and Dot's still down off Wilson Point on the water? I remember you would go in and pick your steak out of display case. Good Eats! I love food, yeah, it's a surprise, but I do. I'm getting ready to start a cooking club, could be fun, don't ya think? I'm sure I missed a bunch of great neighborhood eats, tell me about them, maybe I'll go give them a try!

Swank Day 5, Multiple Sclerosis, And Aches & Pains

I ate too much yesterday, but I ate too much of good for me food, so I only lost 2 #'s down to 290. I need to do a better job pushing away from the table, or taking less food and putting the rest away. Losing 2 is better than gaining 2, but I want to do better. The girl came home from school last night, so we stayed up late, and that made me sleep late, so breakfast was a banana and a plum. Lunch was a tomato sammich, yellow tomatoes, a cup of raisins and prunes, and an apple. I had steamed shrimp last night in a hot pot with onions and bok choy and a bowl of rice. Tonight I'm thinking corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes, and a piece of chicken I think.

Like I said, anytime I quit anything, I feel it in my legs, this time is no exception. I also have problems with my back, they tell me it's a bulging disk. I had one doc tell me the disk was a result of the gallons of steroids I took over the years. Back when I was diagnosed in '87, if you had a problem you took Prednisone. I think it may have been the only choice at the time, I can't remember. When my back acts up, I take Skelaxin and it usally does the trick in a couple of days. The problem is it also goes to work on the spasticity in my legs. I think the spasticity is the only thing that keeps my legs working!

I can remember thinking I would never get used to the numbness, it was horrible. I wished it would just go away. I didn't appreciate at the time that even with the numbness, I still had function. Some of the numbness has gone away, but it's been replaced with pain and disfunction. I don't write much, too hard to control the pen. Small things like washing your hair is hard, that's a long time to have your arms over your head. The worse part is the shower isn't the only tough thing you do in the bathroom. That's why I don't appreciate it when potentially helpful things are delayed because politicians don't feel morally good about them, or doctors don't see the benefit of other therapies. I wish I had the luxury of both!

Multiple Sclerosis, Swank Day 3, And The Water Cure

Turns out the scale wasn't broken after all, I really was over 300 #'s. I think I would have rather bought a new scale! I was down to 297 this morning, I feel like I'm fading away. I want to get a vegan t-shirt and wear it down the mall, or to one of all those all you can eat places and just pig out on meat and watch everyone trying to figure it out, but that's just me. Had fried polenta, scrambled egg and 2 whites, and an English muffin this morning. Just had a tomato sammich, getting them while I can, the idiot garden is fading fast, a banana and a plum for lunch. Looks like chicken, cabbage and black beans and rice for dinner.

Had a new visitor today. Bridget is a fellow blogger who is in the middle of helping her husband both with the LDN therapy, and something called the water cure. I have read about it in the past, but have to admit I'd forgotten I had. Again, pretty strait forward. It works off of the premise that we are all severely dehydrated, and in some of us it manifests itself in decease. A very condensed version, and I mean very, is that you take your weight, divide by 2 and that's how many ounces of water you need to drink. So I need to drink 150 ounces, divided by 5 for the amount of times I drink, and there it is. 1 half hour before my 3 meals and 2 snacks I need to drink 32 ounces of water. Maybe I should leave the turbo toilet in the living room?

I talked to someone today, and my mother yesterday, and they both said go to the doctor and tell them you're a heroin addict! I know people do that, get the script, and then have it formulated with no fillers. They then dissolve the contents of the 50mg capsule in 50oz water. Each night you take a 3oz slug of the solution. I'm hoping it doesn't come to that, but life always finds a way. I'm looking for good low fat recipes, send em if you got em! I'm off to a badminton match, go Perry Hall!

The Start Of My Modified Swank Diet, Or The Dawning Of Common Sense.

So here we are, no direction, no goal, simply no flow. I've been one shot or another for about 11 years, hated every day of it. Liking something isn't always a prerequisite for needing to do it. I stopped the Rebif a few months back for a few months, just to answer that nagging question of if the shots were doing anything. They were, I ended up like a big quivering bowl of Jello! Not a pretty image, but unfortunately an accurate one. I've been whining about getting a script for LDN, or more accurately not getting one. I decided last night it was time to do for myself, and if I don't, then know what to whine about!

Today starts my Swank diet, or my version of it. I quit smoking and drinking with a total immersion into abstinence, I'm going to wade into changing my eating habits. Worse case scenario is I loss some extra tonnage in the process. This isn't rocket science, eat good things, good things happen. My modified approach is one that can be, well modified. If things go well and I see a benefit, I will follow the diet more to the letter of the law.

First thing first, what am I going to eat? I need to plan out a strategy. Let's hope I'm right about this being common sense, and that I have a bit of it! Increase fruit and vegetables, decrease fats from animal carcasses and parts. Less cakes and pies, more rice and beans. I also have to attack portion size. Eating too much food that is good for you is bad too. I'm starting out at 300 lbs, or so I think? My scale only goes up to 300 and stops. I'm not sure, but I think I noticed the needle bend when it hit 300! I went and got my hair cut in hopes that helps with tomorrow's weigh in.

Breakfast was skipped today because I had a great nights sleep and didn't get up until lunch time. I must have been content with my decision to take control, or maybe it was the drugs that helped, who knows. Lunch was a whopping tomato sammich, courtesy of my idiot proof garden. Very filling, plus a big bunch of grapes and a soda. I'm going to cut the soda way down to meals, back to drinking gallons of water to flush out the old pipes. Dinner is going to be a Cantonese hot pot, basically chicken broth you cook veggies and meat in. I'm having tofu tonight, I love the stuff, along with cabbage, mushrooms, green onions and rice. Let me know what you think, and feel free to give me any menu suggestions.

Washer Toss Championship

I guess it may have to do with the Olympics, but I'm pretty sure I could qualify for the U.S. washer toss team. I played it today for the first time and I was awesome! I played against people that I'm pretty sure have played professionally, or at least have hustled for money? It was a cut throat match lineup, but my partner and I destroyed all comers. My partner was an anchor around my neck, but like I said, I was awesome!

We beat all the teams at the Westminster washer toss complex on a gorgeous day. I was able to perfect my left hand saucer toss. Most people have to throw an end over end washer, it's not too pretty, but it's adequate. I used to throw right handed, but that hand, along with my right leg, aren't worth a whole lot anymore. Luckily I'm amphibious, you know, I can use either hand, so I made the adjustment like a pro! It was scads of fun, at least for us winners, and an important historical event for everyone, even the losers!

Michael Phelps called me to say congratulations on my toss efforts, we are both Baltimore boys. I told Michael he had a good day too, beating the loud mouth frogs who only came to the games to beat the Americans. How's that plan working for you now Frenchies? Did the French see how high the gold medal signs were? Well our boys sure did! Way to go fellas, USA, USA, USA!

The WATG competition BBQ team faired pretty good. They scored a 5th place for pork, 15th ribs, and 19th brisket. They had a tough time with the chicken placing 40th out of I think 50 teams. I think there was a bone to pick with WATG from the judges, The food looked great, smelled great, was presented great. It was just great! Better luck next time guys, if you need any tips, feel free to ask me, my butt rub is known around venues nation wide as making a difference on butts, thighs, or even breasts. Just let me know, If I picked up the washer toss that fast, chicken thighs should only take me a few minutes! Viva Americanos!

The Maryland BBQ Bash

We got a personal invitation to go to the Maryland BBQ Bash from the Who Are Those Guys member "The BBQ nazi." Yeah, that's just how we roll. The invite got us access to the cooking area, under the tents if you will. Anyone could walk "through" the area where the competition teams were set up, but we were in the fold, in the know, we could smell the smoke! I didn't ask if there was dignitary parking permits, but it was all good.

OK, we did get the invite, but so did 1000 other friends of the BBQ squad. I'm glad the others did too, because it was good to see a lot of the other people. The WATG threw down quite a spread! They had pulled pork, baked beans, cole slaw, these stuffed jalepeno thingies that were out of this world! They had deviled eggs, and a killer sweets table, beer, water, and I'm sure things I didn't get to! All of this was done just for giggles for the guests of WATG, their real work would come later.

There was a midway with food vendors who were selling their food to bash goers who weren't "connected!" The lines for food were unreal. There were booths of people hawking everything from tea cozies to triple clad replacement windows. Me and my baby ended up cruising the midway with another couple, one of those friends that stops when stepping off the curb just in case I need a shoulder to steady myself without ever asking or making me ask, and then all 4 us went to a local eatery to catch up.

Meanwhile the WATG team was getting ready for a long night of cooking. I think they were entered in the pulled pork, beef brisket, ribs, and chicken competitions? We left at about 10 pm last night and they were just throwing smoke at their meat. Turn in times are this morning, and we are going to head back up to see how they made out, if my legs let me. If the food they made for us last night is any indication, WATG should be the kings of Bel Air, and take the 1st place trophy in all categories, including the overall numero uno trophy. Thanks for a nice evening guys!

Dreams Crushed By Cooking Contest

Now I know how the pilots not selected for the space program must feel. My dreams of winning the Damon's recipe contest have been thwarted by barley soup and chicken salad! My years of preparation and testing have all been for naught. I could go back to the drawing board and prepare for next year? I could also sell my kitchen appliances accept that some things are not meant to be!

I went into this culinary competition with a plan, a strategy, a secret weapon if you will. The best recipe wasn't going to be the one that won, and obviously it didn't. The winner of this gastronomic battle would be the one that could be reproduced cheaply. Oh yeah, they weren't going to go for a Maryland crab dish, or shrimp kabobs. Chicken salad! How mundane! I can make chicken salad out of anything! Cheap was king. Since they were going to serve the winning recipes for free to the patrons of the Perry Hall festival, cheap and easy was the winning strategy. Barley soup!

I had a chicken dish too, but no, they didn't want flavorful. My pounded chicken is world renowned! All right, my kids love it, but kids have to eat too. It's so juicy you could give it away and sell napkins. Now that's juicy! I didn't see zucchini fritters on the list of winning celebrity chef offerings. I can get my kids to eat zucchini for Lord's sake! Does Damon's know what they missed? Do they care that I sit and ponder what may have been? They don't care! They're a heartless corporation, not in the business of dream realization!

Do you think the battle could have been lost before it began? I'm not saying I wasn't prepared, I'm saying I was robbed! I bet the winners were employees of Rachel Ray! I'm glad I didn't win! If they had picked me I would have declined the nomination! Yeah, I would have said no, find someone else to heap the adulation and trimmings of victory upon! Yeah, you can take that to the bank and smoke it! All in all I have nothing to be ashamed of. I gave it my best shot and was royally screwed out of the victory! If they think I'm doing it again next year, they are dead on right. I shall be avenged and my triumph will be told for centuries to recipe contest hopefuls with a dream.

p.s. Send me what you think would be a winning recipe. Maybe I'll steal it for next year?

Recipe Contest

That's right, I'm entering a recipe contest! Come on, take your best shot! It's my chance and fame and fortune, well not fortune, I don't think you win anything but an attaboy, but there is tons of fame involved! I can see it now, a string of restaurants with my face on the billboard. OK, maybe we will use someone else's face since people will be eating. I'm going to go for it, and I think my chances are pretty good.

The contest works like this. You write out your fav recipe, main dish, side dish, just not a satellite dish, and you send it to Damon's to be judged by their executive chefs. They aren't just using any old chefs, they're going whole hog and using the execs, oh yeah baby! So the execs will judge which of the entries are the best, actually the 3 best, and announce the winners, with samples for the crowd, at the Perry Hall Festival! I hope there is a crown involved!

I have always liked to cook, even when I was a kid. I can remember asking my Grandmother how she knew how much of everything to put in, she never measured anything? She told me the obvious answer and I felt like a real rube for not knowing it. She told me you put stuff in until it was right! DUH! I was able to learn anyway, mostly by just watching. My favorite thing was sticking my finger in the bowl. You ever been smacked with a razor sharp carving knife? Yikes! She would say, as she lashed out with her blade, "I can't keep the smell out of your nose, but I can keep the taste out of your mouth"! My Mom would always let me do things in the kitchen, and she didn't beat me with cutlery. I still enjoy cooking and spending time with my Mom and I miss cooking pig's feet and stewed tomatoes with Grandma.

Now I'm all growed up and can cook anything I want to, so there! But what to make? It can't be complicated, but it can't be simple either. I'm sure a contest like this will bring out the top gourmands from across the state. I'm hoping that nerves don't play a role in this, I'd hate to freeze up at the wrong time. I've taken a cooking class with a competitive cooking champion, so that's in my favor. It's just I need the perfect dish.

Simple is best. Yeah if it's too complicated the executive chef's may not be able to follow. Yep, nice and simple, but with a delicious taste. When I open my hot dog shop that's going to be my credo, nice and simple. You want to know what is the best part of the whole deal? I'm 46 years old, this is a free community fair that means absolutely nothing, and I'm excited about it. The older I get the more I realize how important the little dumb things are, and how much fun they can be. Here's to hoping that in 10 years dumb stuff still makes me smile, and you too!