02.22 - Health Kick Fail

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been on a bit of a health kick recently. Actually, "I" and I decided that our eating habits were pretty awful last year, so we decided to up our fruit and veggie intake this year. We've been eating like health nuts for the last couple of weeks, and we're definitely seeing and feeling progress. We also watched this movie "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" which inspired us to actually start using our dusty juicer at least four or five times a week. This is what our fridge looked like last week, and all that was gone within five days.

It's actually been a lot of fun eating so many different kinds of fresh produce, and it's scary to say that I'm really starting to enjoy vegetable-dominated meals. Ha. Anyway, for lunch today, I prepared the both of us some lemon rosemary roasted chicken breast and parboiled broccoli. I was actually excited right before lunch, thinking about the delicious and healthy meal that awaited me. Fast forward to ten minutes later, and there is a trail of fart smell (pardon my language) coming from the kitchen microwave all the way to my cubicle. *sigh* We're talking about 40 feet of fart smell here. As if that wasn't bad enough, imagine my mortification when a few of my giggly coworkers came over and asked me if everything was okay. *heavier sigh* Apparently, broccoli gives off a sulfurous odor when overcooked. This explains why it smelled wonderful last night and very not wonderful this afternoon. Please keep in mind that I've never been a big broccoli fan and all of this is news to me.

In my sad attempt to remedy the situation, I asked my sympathetic coworker for her air freshener. (She keeps air freshener at her desk for the days she brings in fish for lunch . . . which is often.) So I stealthily began spraying a misty trail of lavender and lilac from my desk to the kitchen. Unfortunately, I ran into two very important people along the way. I'm sure you can imagine the look on my face as I awkwardly stopped spraying and tried to hide the air freshener behind my back. Fail and fail again. Needless to say, cooked broccoli will not be coming to work with me ever again.

02.20 - Wholly Moley

I haven't posted in quite awhile-- not because I haven't been eating or because I love food any less, but I guess I've just been preoccupied. Anyway, I was out with my two fattie friends N and Q (along with mini adorable monster godson friend K) tonight, and we indulged in some delicious Mexican food. N is also the reason I'm posting today because she reminded me that I have been boring and lazy. Ha.

But back to the food, I was especially pleased because this restaurant redeemed two dishes that have generally disappointed me at other places: fish tacos and fried ice cream. First off, each fish taco came with a whole fillet of nicely seasoned, pan fried tilapia. Mmm. Secondly, the fried ice cream wasn't just a ball of vanilla ice cream rolled around in crumbs. The coating was a complete shell of some kind of warm, wonderful, lighty sweetened coconut pastry which blended so well with the cool ice cream inside. Sooo good. I totally went against my healthy eating habits from the past two weeks (I'll go more into this later), but it was so worth it.

Note to self: Don't even think about using the elevator at work today. Stairs, woman. Stairs!

Eatery Info: Wholly Frijoles, 3908 W. Touhy Ave, Lincolnwood, IL 60712

12.07 - Triple Threat

I haven't written in awhile and not much has changed really . . . except for the fact that I've gained nearly 10 lbs. in the last five months. I know I've been indulgent and I know I need to eat better and start working out and all that-- but every time I think about it, I get depressed and turn to bad, bad food. Darn my emotional eating.

This morning was a low point. I went to the doctor for a regular check-up, and I was horrified to find out how much I weighed. I tried to attribute it to the sweater I'm wearing, but it's actually fairly light. *sigh* So to make myself "feel better," I bought this:

Please take a moment to truly appreciate the three degrees of fatness.

07.15 - Friday Obsession

Every Friday for the past seven Fridays-- without fail-- temptation on wheels has arrived at my door. Well, not exactly my door, but more like my office building's door. And not quite in front of it, but about twenty or so feet away. Anyway, that's besides the point. The point is that it comes every Friday. And every Friday, I give in . . .

to this:

Ah, the beloved mac and cheese truck has finally descended upon Chicago. And it just so happens to know where I work. It is physically and emotionally impossible for me to ignore its presence, so I have very gladly welcomed it with open arms (a.k.a. bought container upon container . . . upon container).

This-- the chorizo, pepper jack, and cojita mac and cheese-- is just one of the many varieties that has won me over:

Other varieties include an original cheddar; cheddar with hot dogs; Italian sausage, mozzarella, and giardiniera; blue cheese, bacon, and mushroom; truffle with one-year aged cheddar; and sun-dried tomato with smoked gouda. I love this truck because, while plain ol' mac and cheese will probably never get old for me, they are always coming up with these deliciously surprising combinations. I'm really looking forward to the day they roll up and offer me an amazing lobster mac and cheese concoction. That'll be the best Friday in the history of all Fridays for sure. I can't wait.

Eatery Info: The Southern Mac & Cheese Truck, locations vary, Chicago, IL

07.13 - Lovin' Me Some Ballpark Eats

Our building likes to throw these big, elaborate tenant-appreciation lunches in the summer. Last summer, we had a luau. This summer (today, to be exact), we had a ballpark-themed party.

There was so much good food, I made myself sick by indulging in all of it. Italian sausage, hot dogs, stuffed pizza, popcorn, cracker jacks, freshly-squeezed lemonade, peanuts, chips, ice cream. And it wasn't all served buffet-style either. They actually had hot dog carts and popcorn carts and even those guys that walk around with boxes strapped around their necks, shouting, "Peanuts! Cracker Jacks!"

Quite an enjoyable lunch, I'd have to say. And I even managed to smuggle two pieces of stuffed pizza back to my desk for lunch tomorrow. Score.

06.09 - Wiri Wiri Wir(d) Tomato

My coworker was kind enough to offer me her tupperware of food for lunch yesterday because she had a craving for some greasy American food and wanted to go out and buy something instead. She had cooked fettuccine and chicken together in some Guyanese spices, and on the side was a single cherry tomato. She and I generally have the same taste, so I knew I would enjoy this.

I ate the pasta and chicken quickly-- and when I was almost near the end, I happily popped the cherry tomato in my mouth. As I bit down, I was horrified to discover that this tomato was unlike any other tomato I've ever tried. It filled my mouth with FIRE.

I spit it out immediately and quickly made eye contact with my generous coworker. "What is this?" I yelled out weakly. She looked at me with horror and realized what was going on. "I forgot!" she said, "I forgot to tell you that I put a pepper in there!" By this time, my eyes were watering like crazy and I felt like I couldn't breathe (partly from panic, partly from the heat). I knew I shouldn't drink water and I had hardly any food left in sight, so I didn't know what to do. She said, "Suck on some sugar! It will cut the heat!" I immediately found a few packets of raw sugar in my drawer and started pouring those crystals into my mouth as fast as I possibly could. Between the packets of sugar, I drank ice water which was a wonderful albeit temporary solution-- but finally, after a little while, the pain slowly began to subside.

I later learned that the cherry tomato in the tupperware was actually a wiri wiri pepper, a pepper widely used in Guyanese cooking that is also called a cherry pepper. That harmless looking little pepper is deceptively hot and actually has about 150,000 Scoville heat units (SHU). SHU indicates the amount of capsaicin (heat) in peppers. I read all about the SHU in different peppers yesterday, and found that the wiri wiri is up there with the best of them. Never again will I assume . . .

06.02 - Magic Vending Machine?

I had a mid-afternoon craving for Cheetos, so I decided to go down to the breakroom and get a bag from the vending machine. I brought a dollar with me and was delighted to find that it would cost only 80 cents.

I put the dollar in and typed in the corresponding numbers for that beloved orange bag. I watched the spiral move the bag to the front and . . . nothing. The top of the bag was stuck. I shoved the vending machine in slight frustration and, suddenly, the spirals moved a second bag to the front . . . but only to get the top of that one stuck on the top of the first bag. Once again, I shoved the machine in greater frustration. And, surprisingly again, the spiral moved a third bag to the front . . . only to get this one stuck with the other two. I shoved the machine again, but this time nothing happened, and the machine beeped to remind me that I still had a dollar in the machine.

I typed in the corresponding numbers yet again only to get this message: MAKE ANOTHER SELECTION. I was indignant. No way was I going to make another selection! I wanted my Cheetos! I tried again. Same message. And again. Same message. Finally I decided to just eject my money-- only to have the machine give me four quarters and an extra 20 cents. I figured that was a nice way to make up for my difficulty and decided to try one last time. I put the coins in, typed in the numbers, and unfortunately got the same message. Fed up, I ejected my money, looked one last time at the tempting row of Cheetos, gave the machine one last shove . . . and out came all three bags.

I'm not quite sure what to make of all that . . . but I'm about to finish the second bag now.