Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Stress And Food...And Weight Obsession

Just a quick post today, soon we're going to work on an entry about nutrition and weight loss. We studied it for about a year and a half at University before we headed to culinary school (only part of that we've written about so far), and after we'd lost 100 pounds on a diet and one of us became very interested in food, nutrition and balanced diet.

We've written in the past 9 months about issues we have with food, we got really thin for awhile, and it was a problem...but now we're getting back to a healthy weight...and it's a problem again.

Part of the stress of last night; which Cassandra wrote about on Tumblr...but only a bit, and not about all the issues she was having, more about the ones we were having; is that we're struggling over food with each other again. It's been going on since James was here visiting (we put a few pound onto our 6' stature), and now a lot since we have a new job where we work around massive, massive, amounts of food.

"I just want to eat" she whimpered and cried to James last night, who usually spends all of our home time with us logged into Gmail Video Chat. "I want a pizza. They won't let me." She put her hands over our face, sobbing.

While Cass and Catherine we're prominent last night, and Catherine's favorite food is pizza, she's a finicky eater, preferring not to eat when she is stressed out, which is the opposite of Cassandra, who is a little cow when it comes to food when she is sad/depressed/stressed...and even when she's not those things, she loves to eat. Catherine wouldn't let her eat...Sam wouldn't let her eat. There were many at work last night, as Catherine wrote, we were switching too much and our head was in agony. James saw us to bed via video chat and read us a story till we fell asleep. He really is the most wonderful boyfriend, no matter how much Brooke protests and hates him.

It's always more difficult when there are too many of us around. Back in the day (only a couple of months ago) when we would go to the grocery store, in between Tweeting and dancing, you would have see a tall young woman (looking much younger than her actual age) walking down aisles, staring wishfully, wide-eyed, at all the food. Sometimes in the grocery line she would want a candy bar, and Others wouldn't let her have it, and she would struggle with keeping her tears in until we left the store, begging to us silently, and sometimes she didn't make it out of the store before tears would stream down our face; and that's another reasons we wear sunglasses as much as we can.

Sounds childish, but she's only 14...and an emotional and sad one at times...

So, we're having struggles...we don't know what to do.

If you think seeking professional help is the answer then we won't agree unless you can tell us exactly how they might help; we're not giving each other us, we just want to learn to work together better. Like we told The Father last weekend on Skype, we need more than a year, preferable a year uninterrupted by stupid sexual affairs, getting fired and scrambling to find a new job, problems with the property we own, and all the other stuff that has been going on this past year with people in our past life, from The Others Girls life. It's only been a year since we had to deal with an ex, Significant Other...who we are still in need of writing about...who harassed us when we ended the relationship with him last September.

How far we've come, is far...how far we have to go is further...and with all the new stress, maybe having to move, but then, maybe not (still waiting to know), meaning selling the house and moving back in with the mother...we're just looking down the road, to some time to relax and not be looking for a job for awhile, and spending time with the man who is much too kind for us...we need a vacation...from our life...we need to get to our adventure.

~Frank et al (almost all of the et al these days, again...it so much easier with only 3 of 9)

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Day Five - Mmmm Chicken!

6.2.11 : 153/365



Thursday, June 2nd, 2010 was a stat holiday in France meaning there wasn't much to do by way of relying on businesses in Martinique... no trouble at all, we are very versed in entertaining ourselves!

To start we went for a drive. We were told, the evening prior, that because it was a stat we would be able to find that marvelous road side chicken that I promised the mister I would find for him. Turns out, this is really just a weekend thing (I was starting to panic when I couldn't find it), but stats are like weekends, so this was our day. So yes, went for a drive and purchased a road side smoked chicken, six cod accras, and a pineapple, all just outside of a roundabout (I'll show you more pictures of this in the next installment).

After all of this though, we spent a fair bit of time at the beach. It was busier than most days because the locals were out in full force, spending time with friends and family on the beach, swimming and playing a little 'football' (read: soccer). After a relaxing morning, we decided to go for a drive to explore the south Caribbean portion of the island that we had yet to discover.

Here are some pictures of Le Diament in the distance (more to come);



After a long afternoon drive, we went back to the flat and settled in for dinner;



Fresh pineapple from the roadside stand...Delicious!-

A totally relaxing and awesome day!
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Saturday, June 18, 2011

Day One - Arriving in Martinique (Extremely picture heavy)

5.29.11 : 149/365

One of the first shots of our island home for the next 7 days.


It was fun that we got to fly right over where we were going to stay on our way in. See this tip, right in front, on the left? We were there... fantastic! It's called la Pointe du Bout, and it possesses a really nice beach along the Caribbean Sea, with the calmest, clearest water we'd ever seen; la Plage de l'Anse Mitan.

If you don't know anything about Martinique, let me fill you in. (I'll leave it to the experts, though)

Located in the heart of the Caribbean archipelago, Martinique is one of the Windward islands in the Lesser Antilles group. Its eastern coastline borders the Atlantic Ocean while its western coast is flanked by the Caribbean Sea. The island is 4 350 miles away from France, 1 950 miles from New York and 275 miles from the closest South American coastline. The closest neighboring islands are to the north: Dominica, 16 miles away, Guadeloupe, 75 miles away, and to the south: Saint Lucia, 23 miles away. Martinique is equidistant from the coasts of Venezuela and Haiti/Dominican Republic (497 miles). (via)

Martinique has a surface area of 425 square miles. At its greatest length and width it measures 50 miles and 24 miles, respectively. The rugged mountainous landscape to the north is geologically young. Mount PelĂ©e is the island’s highest peak, culminating at 4 500 feet. The north is characterized by dense forests, rivers and waterfalls. In the center, the Lamentin Plain transitions to the south’s gentler and geologically older landscape of rolling hills. The southern coast is dotted with many picturesque bays and coves. In the southernmost part of the island, a savanna of petrified trees is an unusual geological sight. (
via)
Martinique has a fairly mild climate and the heat is never excessive. Thanks to the average temperature of 79°, Martinique is the island of the “never-ending summer.” The trade winds from the east and northeast provide a steady breeze that constantly refreshes the air.

Due to the tropical climate conditions in Martinique, the island is lush with vegetation: lavish tropical forests, groves, savannas, countless species of trees, fruits, plants and flowers, not to mention the mangrove forests. All in all, the island is an extraordinary garden. The wildlife mainly consists of birds, fish and shellfish, as well as small lizards called “mabouyas” and “anolis”, iguanas and trigonocephalus snakes that are only found in Martinique. The “manicou”, a type of opossum, is one of the rare mammals to be found in the Antilles. The mongoose, however, was introduced by humans to control the snake population. (
via)

Martinique has a multiethnic population. This diversity stems from the cultural mixing of the island’s successive inhabitants: Amerindians, Europeans, Africans, Indians, Levantines and Asians. Approximately one quarter of the population resides in the administrative capital, Fort de France. Martinique is truly a land of tradition and culture, with a rich history of crafts and literature by renowned authors and famous poets, music and dance, lifestyle and gastronomy. Numerous religious denominations are present in Martinique. The official language is French, although everyone speaks Creole, a language that is a blend of Old French, English, and African languages, as well as surviving Amerindian terms (
via)
via

One thing that is not as widely known (as this is not a largely commercial island) is that Martinique is not a country, but rather a department of France


We stayed in a rental apartment just big enough for the two of us, and walking distance to the beach in Trois-Ilets. Actually we weren't in the town itself but Pointe du bout is sort of  an 'outskirt' of the town.

About Trois Ilets;
You can get here by car of course, but also on a ferry from Fort-de-France. The Pagerie Museum is in this town, set up on the spot where Empress Josephine was born. A number of musical and cultural events are organized in the Park of the Trois-Ilets close to the island's magnificent golf club. You must not miss the Market or the Sugar Cane Museum. The pottery center, where the objects are handmade by local craft artists, is also worth a visit. (via)

The first day we spent getting in tune with our surroundings (our 'village');

































Accras de Morue

Planteur Punch


So that pretty much gets you up to speed on the location and details our first day more or less. Hope you enjoy the week-long coverage!

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Warm asparagus salad with chive vinaigrette

5.27.11 : 147/365


Made this Warm asparagus salad with chive vinaigrette tonight... fresh and fantastic!

Warm asparagus salad with chive vinaigrette

Cooking time 3 minutes
Preparation time 8 minutes
Makes 4 servings


Ingredients
1 bunch fresh chives
3 tbsp (45 mL) apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 tbsp (15 mL) each Dijon mustard and liquid honey
1 tsp (5 mL) dried tarragon
1/2 tsp (2 mL) salt
1/2 cup (125 mL) vegetable oil
2 bunches asparagus  


Directions
1.Coarsely chop chives. Whirl with vinegar, Dijon, honey, tarragon and salt in a blender or food processor until evenly mixed. With motor running, gradually pour in oil. Pour into a measuring cup or small bowl. Use right away or cover and leave at room temperature up to 4 hours or refrigerate up to 3 days.


2.Partially fill a large, wide frying pan with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Snap tough ends from asparagus and discard. Add asparagus to boiling water. Cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until tender-crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Drain well. Arrange on plates. Stir dressing, then drizzle over asparagus. Delicious warm or at room temperature with garlic toasts.


Nutrients per serving
4.5 g protein
22.4 g fat
11 g carbohydrates
2.7 g fibre
1.4 mg iron
42 mg calcium

248 calories

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A birthday gift-to-be

5.24.11 : 144/365

Found this in the mail, it was a gift for a friend whose birthday was being celebrated later in the week. More pictures to come.


The mister is a huge fan of his growing Global knives collection, and Ash (friend in question) is starting to collect them too! She's a wiz in the kitchen and her gift that our group of friends got together to buy for her (it's a tradition that's worked really well between us) should help that right along! Stay tuned...
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