Sweetness

Lately, life abounds. Mentally, physically, and socially.

Several things have been going through my head.

Keep going. Balance, Rhythm, Music is life, Relying on yourself which includes help from others, returning the favor, having goals, but no expectations of the journey will be like, and so much more.

Over the past week, it's been "just keep going." My own mind is my strongest ally yet it can be the weakest link. Years of frustration, unintentional beating down, other people's views of myself. Building up the mind leads to fulfillment of the soul and impeccable physical condition! (somewhat on that last part, but hey, the mind can fool oneself!)

In continuation of building up the mind, the next thing is to develop a 5 minute morning affirmation routine in which I will sign and talk face to face in the mirror, affirming who I am, what I'm capable of and what the moment is related to the past and the future.

On the side as well, specific bad habits are being gotten rid of right now. Hulu-watching (television) is being cut WAY down, smoking weed is out the window, crap food are out the window as well and the what-ifs habit is going out the window.

YOLO.

so yesterday

I started working out.

wanted to start light, but at the same time, feel the pain afterwards. so did the following

Rowed for a 5min light warm up
pullups
squats
situps
then cooled down with a good 10 minute run

my back got a bit tweaked from the squats, so gotta take it easy for a bit there, but otherwise, it was hella fun.

Then also, cooked up a TON of veggies too with rosemary and thyme thrown in.

Carrots
potatoes
hungarian peppers
celery

sauteed with salt and pepper
Fresh grated parmesan cheese on top too

flavor was a bit off, didn't all completely meld in. So Josh actually added some other stuff here and there, which was Dill, garlic salt, and more pepper on top. that made it a lot better. Veggies are hard to season, so possible mistakes were too much seasoning or too little, plus the olive oil wasn't enough? And no meat was created for this either, so it was just stuffing and veggies for dinner.

Improvisation - Reduction

So last night after some weak crap, I needed to re-affirm myself with learning new things, which would be culinary.

Learning how to slice an onion along with experimentation of different knives led led to two things: discovery of the sharpest kitchen knife along with learning how to use these knives as well. Chopping an onion as taught by Gordon Ramsay actually led to me being able to get finely diced onions without shedding a tear (although a few did threaten to come out!)

So I basically threw together a delicious recipe while learning how to make a sauce.

halved Cherry tomatoes
Diced yellow onion
small salt potatoes diced
Farfalle pasta
Balsamic Vinegar
Parsley

sauteed cherry tomatoes/onions with salt potatoes added later, farfalle is cooked al dente, Balsamic vinegar was reduced while being whisked with a fork (an actual whisk is needed in this case) and parsley added on top of potatoes. mixture added to pasta then

next time, add a tablespoon of sugar to balsamic vinger to make it even more sweet. and Drizzle LIGHTLY, not so heavy since it's so flavorful.

cherry tomatoes.

they are delicious. Sauteed them in olive oil for a few minutes and let 'em cook down, before dousing it with tomato sauce and warmed it up. Boiled up 5 cheese tortellini (wheat pasta) from Wegmans, combined the two and a delicious, easy meal.

- Put more cherry tomatoes in next time, they're good!
-learn how to make tortellini
-Ravioli too

for the weekend

I want to improve my cooking skills and expand my mind as to what's possible out there for different types of dishes, desserts, appetizers,

Friday
http://www.goodlifeeats.com/2010/09/cumin-lime-pork-and-pineapple-quesasdillas.html

Saturday
http://www.goodlifeeats.com/2010/08/orecchiette-with-slow-roasted-tomatoes-basil-and-parmesan.html

Sunday
http://www.jewelryalchemy.com/soupapolooza/Blog/Entries/2010/8/18_cannellini_soup__the_frog,_radiatore_pasta_shaped_roads_and_the_rain.html


For now, I will start with these three recipes as given by other food bloggers. It is from their experience and creativity that I will draw upon inspiration. Thank you!

Lets get back into it

a random dish with trial and error

Fresh Dill leaves chopped
Hungarian peppers (not spicy at all)
Eggs
chopped ham
onions carmelized
chopped clove of garlic
Salt and pepper along with spicy volcano spice

Carmelize onions lightly, add garlic, cook a bit more, then Hungarian pepper with ham into the pan. cook down, then add egg mixture of salt/pepper/dill/volcano spice

cook til done, personal preference varies(runny to dry)

Things to change for next time:
something crunchy,
maybe not so many eggs,
take out dill, put in parsley
more black pepper
another hungarian pepper or two

An offshoot of Dad's Vegetable Explosion

So tonight, I needed to make dinner. like every night. But tonight was different. Tonight, I cooked a real meal from scratch. I cut, chopped, carmelized and cooked the following:

1/2 orange pepper
1/2 yellow zuchinni
1/2 green zuch
1 chicken breast
1/2 onion
Dash of Dill, Thyme, garlic pepper and Pepper
Half a bag of shredded Mozz Cheese

Cook Onions first til elastic in pan over low medium heat, add chicken and spices, cook til chicken's white, then add veggies, cover pan. 5-10 minutes on medium heat, then top with mozz cheese. Enjoy.

While a valiant attempt at trying to make something delicious out of a bunch of ingredients, i think i went too heavy on the veggies, and a mite bit much Dill, which is a strong spice and needs to be used in the right amount. Also, a bit more cheese on top to make it all come together would be recommended.

The veggies were all from the public market, chicken from wegman's, and spices from my roommates (dried. I want to start using fresh spices soon, again, from the public market.)

A proper piece of the plan

For this goal, I will be starting out with a plan that a friend, Matt, typed up for me awhile ago. What he came up with was an everyday plan that incorporated one thing that really helps me, and that's compound exercises (pushups, pullups, dips, bench press, squats, etc). The following is what I will be starting out with.

For weight sessions, you'll be doing 4 compound exercises and 2 isos. Compound exercises require a lot of different muscle groups, whereas isos are more focused, thus isolation = isos. And always end each workout session with a cool-down light jog and a long stretch session.

Monday

Jog a 1/2 mile, warm-up, stretch
Bench-press variation
Squat variation
Deadlift variation
Pull-up variation
Isos (arms = bicep/tricep, shoulders = deltoids/lats/traps, legs = ham/glute/quad)
Abs

Tuesday

Nice easy run, shoot for 3 miles or 30 minutes whichever comes first, or go swim for 30 minutes or bike for 30 minutes.

Wednesday

Jog a 1/2 mile, warm-up, stretch
100 burpees (kind of like a squat thrust with a push-up and jump)
100 jump ropes

Thursday

Repeat Tuesday

Friday

Repeat Monday

Saturday

Drink beer, play Halo

Sunday

Repeat Tuesday

Overall Goals

An actual blog dedicated towards my health, which consists of two chief areas for me: Food and Exercise.

I want to develop good cooking habits in which i'll be able to make healthy, yet delicious meals with fresh produce from the local farmer's market.

I want to develop a good exercise routine in which I do every day. Part of that goal is to gain some muscle mass to increase my weight from between 170-180 up to 200-210lbs.

These are the two broad goals i want to start working towards and incorporating into my life. Expansion, Short term goals and Long term goals are forthcoming.

My Health

To be written down are goals towards my health, my ideal body weight, how to get there, etc.

This is the start.