Our First Meal

When you stop a cleanse like this you really should ease into eating solid food again. Most people take two or three days of drinking juice before they jump into it. Not us, we wanted food and we wanted it now!  The first day after the cleanse, we have a feast! A fruity feast!

I went to Whole Foods and bought every kind of fruit they had - apples, mangos, grape, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, kiwi, melon and pineapple. the only thing I didn't buy was citrus. I think I have had enough citrus for awhile.

Our feast was amazing! I never knew fruit could taste so good! Afterwards, we felt just fine. I don't think we rushed into it too quickly. It was one of the best meals I have ever had.

39, 78, 13, 4, 7 - 17

No those aren't the winning lottery numbers. That's what what we each consumed during our cleanse.  39 lemons, 78 ounces of maple syrup, 13 teaspoons of cayenne pepper, 4 gallons of salt water and 7 pints of tea.  What's the last number? That's how much weight I lost - 17 pounds! That's a lot of everything all the way around.

So, was it worth it?  Yes, it sure was. I feel better than I have in years.  I have more energy, better concentration and I sleep like a baby. Losing the weight isn't so bad, either.  The best thing is, though, that this gave us a kickstart to a healthier lifestyle. I'm glad it's over, but don't be surprised is we do it again next year. You can count on it.

Master Cleanse Day 13 - Hallelujah!

The day has finally arrived. We have finished our Master Cleanse. I can't believe we actually made it for 13 days. To be honest I can't believe I made it through the last two days which had to have been the worst.

I have not been hungry once during this cleanse until today. It's like my body knows it's going to get to eat tomorrow and it's ready. We do have to ease into eating, or ease out of the cleanse - however you want to look at it. Tomorrow we will have fresh squeezed orange juice during the day and fresh fruit for dinner. Most sites and blogs I have been to recommend just having juice for a few days, but poop on that. We both want food. This is how we eased off last time and it was just fine.

I feel really good right now - about myself and physically. It really feels like an accomplishment to have completed this and I feel emotionally energized to do some great things this year. Honestly, I don't think I have felt this good in a long time.

While the juice part of the cleanse is over, the cleanse itself is not. It's going to stay with us as we ease back into eating and from now on as we focus on putting only healthy things into our bodies. I have our whole menu planned out for the next few weeks, which I will write about later. For now I think I am going to hit the hay and knowing that I really accomplished something and that tomorrow I will get to have something other than lemon juice, syrup and cayenne pepper.

Master Cleanse Day 12 - A Poopy Day

Up until today I have been doing fine on the Master Cleanse. After the first couple of days it didn't bother me at all. In fact, I said to Joey last night, "I could go another week on this." Not after today.

Today was above and beyond the worst day I have had on this cleanse. My body is releasing a ton of toxins and what's coming out of me is gross. I thought I would be past this by now, but apparently not.

This morning, after going to the bathroom about eight times, I figured it was safe to go downstairs to feed the birds. Right as I got down there I had to go. Our downstairs bathroom is being painted so the toilet is out. So, I had to run upstairs. Guess what? I didn't make it. That's about all I need to say about it.

All day today I have felt a bit out of it and I will say that I am ready for this cleanse to be over. Even though it probably would be good for me to go another week, I am just not into it. Not one little bit. My tastebuds are organized and they want fruit on Friday and their going to get it!

This has been good for me, but all good things must come to an end. One day left. Let's hope I don't go out with a bang.

Master Cleanse Day 11 - Nerves of Steel

Last night I came home and the house smelled like someone was baking cake. I thought it was just my food obsession taking over. As I walked up the stairs the smell got stronger. I thought Joey must be really eager to eat this weekend and started baking early. No, he can't be baking. We are on a cleanse.

I got to the kitchen and sure enough, there was Joey with a huge pumpkin right out of the oven. He was roasting pumpkin for puree. What a crazy thing to do when you are on a cleanse. We've had these pumpkins for months and they were still good. Joey hates to see things go to waste so he decided it was time to roast them. I think he just wanted to get out of painting the bathroom.

Since the pumpkins were there, I offered to puree them. I thought it would be hard to be around food, but you know what it wasn't. I was able to puree the entire pumpkin, four jars worth, and not even taste it. Now that's nerves of steel.

I was feeling pretty proud of myself until this morning when I went to the kitchen at work to put my delicious lemonade in the refrigerator. I had forgotten it was bagel day. Up until this point seeing food or smelling it didn't bother me. Today those bagels got me. BAM! I cannot tell you how much I wanted one. A delicious toasted bagel with salmon and cream cheese spread. Now I know how Superman feels when he is near kryptonite. My nerves of steel were gone. It was almost enough for me to finish the cleanse early. But, I didn't. I went right back to my desk and finished the day without incident.

Needless to say, I am ready for the cleanse to be over. Eleven days is a really long time and I want to eat food. I think part of the problem is that I know it's almost over and I am ready. My body isn't though. I am still releasing God knows what. I would really like everything to be gone by the time we are done, so three more days it is.

Yesterday I was telling Joey I could go another week. I take that back. I'm no Superman and I want a bagel.

Master Cleanse Day 10 - Dream a Little Dream of Me

I have dreaming about my current love…FOOD. I am obsessed with it. I dreamt my friend gave me a maple donut with bacon to save for later and the next thing I knew I had eaten half of it. Of course I felt badly, but it was sure good.

This obsession with food is getting out of control! I have now planned our meals for the next month. Now I am just looking for variations in case I missed something.  Things come and go off the list, but I pretty much know what February will look like food wise. Something could change, though. You never know what I might discover in the next three days.

After 10 days of the cleanse I am ready for it to be over. I am not hungry or anything, I just want to have real food. I want to cook something. I want to chew on something. I want to taste something different other than lemonade, syrup and Cayenne pepper.  We only have three days left, so I can bite the bullet and make it until Friday.

I am still feeling really good. My mood is up and I have lots of energy. I am not concentrating any better than before, but two out of three isn't bad. There is still stuff coming out of me and it still continues to shock me that there is anything left. Where was it hiding?  I don't want to know. All I know is that I want it all out before Friday, because no matter what come that day I am going to eat!

Master Cleanse Day 9 - Tea Time

As part of the cleanse, each night before we go to bed Joey and I have a hot cup of Smooth Move tea. Smooth Move is a senna tea which stimulates the intestines to help with the elimination process. The whole idea of this cleanse is to get all that stuff out of our bodies and Smooth Move sure help do that.  Not like a title wave, but in a very gentle way.

I actually like this part of the cleanse. After drinking the lemon concoction all day I am ready to taste something different. This does the trick. It's warm and it's something different. At this point of the cleanse that's a very welcome treat.

Both Joey and I are feeling great right now. We have tons of energy, are in good spirits, and are ready to face the last four days of this. After conquering the weekend the weekdays should be a breeze.  Let me tell you though, we can't wait to have fruit on Friday!

Master Cleanse Day 8 - A Real Lemon

We have just about finished up Day 8, but we have not finished trying to make this drink more interesting. Yesterday we tried limes, but could not taste any difference. Today we tried two versions of the drink. One with regular lemons and one with Meyer lemons. Was there a difference?  YES!  They drink with the Meyer lemon was much sweeter and smoother.  Well, if you could call this stuff smooth. So, there you go. Meyer lemons taste better.  But honestly, it doesn't matter - we are still on a cleanse and are still kind of sick of this stuff.


On a good note, we both feel great and have tons of energy. I worked in the garden all day and Joey prepped for painting downstairs. We both are fine. I think I actually feel better on the cleanse than before. Hopefully eating well will keep this energy up.

My body is still releasing a good amount every morning and that really surprises me. How much more could be in there? When will my insides be clean and pretty? If I remember correctly even on day ten last time I was still releasing toxins, so let's see what happens with the extra two days this time.

I have to say coming this far I see no reason that the rest of the cleanse will be all that hard. I am so happy I did this and am excited to see the results at the end.

Master Cleanse Day 7 - One Week Down

...and six days to go. Can we do it? You betcha! If we have come this far, we can certainly go for six more days. In my head I just break it up as two days on the weekend then only four days after that. Easy, right? Actually, it kind of is...now.

It seems that once you get to a certain point on the cleanse it isn't a chore anymore. It's just what you are doing. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to eat (I am obsessed with food right now), but not eating isn't hard. Joey and I even went to the movies tonight and with all honesty, the popcorn didn't bother me.

I am feeling really great. My movements are all in the morning, which is nice. However, there are many and I can't go far from the bathroom at all. I'm still flushing things out, which amazes me. How could there still be stuff in my body after seven days?!!!

My mood is very good, which is unusual. I got a little grouchy early in the day and then I realized I had forgotten to have any lemonade. Once I drank it, my mood was fine. I have a little anxiety, but that's not the cleanse that's me. However, I am able to handle it much better now.

I have tons of energy. We walked to the theater tonight, which is about 30 minutes, and I felt great. I do have a hard time falling to sleep at night, which is one of the few negatives I am experiencing on this cleanse.

So, what's the best thing? I have lost 11 pounds! If I could lose 11 more I'd be thrilled, but I won't be greedy - I'll settle for just 9.

Master Cleanse Day 6 - Where's Mrs. Butterworth?

We just finished six days of the cleanse and let me tell you, we are bored with lemon, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. If this is all we are going to have for another whole week, then we are going to change things up a bit and have some fun! Tonight we had a little taste test of three maple syrups:

• Trader Joe's 100% Pure Vermont Maple Syrup
• Trader Joe's 100% Pure Maple Syrup 
• Kirkland 100% Pure Organic

As you can tell this isn't a fancy taste test.  No expensive syrups for us. However, it's key that they are all 100% pure.  You see, the syrup provides a lot of vitamins and nutrients that allow you to go without food for the duration of the cleanse. If you didn't have this syrup you wouldn't be able to do it. We've already gone through over 2 quarts of syrup so why not see which we like the best?

Well, there isn't really a huge difference.  The Vermont is a little darker and richer. The other Trader Joe's syrup is sweeter. The Kirkland is the thickest, with a flavor in between.

Does it make a difference in the drink? Nope. It still tastes the same. Changing the syrup doesn't really do anything. So, get whatever you want, just make sure it's pure.

We both free great at today. I had tons of energy and I am finally sleeping well. My body pushed out the last of it's solids today and I feel lighter. So far I have lost 11 pounds on this cleanse. I am starting to see it's positive effect on me.

What's next for us? Well, another week of the cleanse. Tomorrow night we are going to try adding one or two limes to the mix. Now that should spice things up!

Master Cleanse Day 5 - Me want COOKIE!

...and pizza, mac & cheese, tomato soup, and pumpkin pie!  and....

I am obsessed with food right now. I am not hungry at all and my energy level is better than before the cleanse. I just am obsessed with food. First, it was crab legs. Next, Middle Eastern pasta with yogurt sauce, then butternut squash mac & cheese. After that saag paneer, and finally I ended today being obsessed with okonomiyaki.

I have planned all our meals for the entire two months after the cleanse. I have a list on my computer that I am keep track of things I want to make. Then, I search through recipes until I find just the right one. You can guess what we are having. That's right - crab legs, Middle Eastern pasta with yogurt sauce, butternut squash mac & cheese and saag paneer. I already know how to make okonomiyaki so I found a restaurant that serves it. No easy task outside of Japan.  Believe it or not I found one right here in Daly City.

Anyway, you can see where my head is. In some strange way, though, it's comforting to plan our meals and think about what we are going to eat and when. Not planning is kind of what got us into this cleanse in the first place. We both started eating whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted it. When you don't have to plan then you just do what you want. What we wanted was not healthy. That's why we are doing this cleanse. To clean all that crap out of our bodies (literally) and start fresh. If we plan our meals we have a much better chance of reaching our goals. We are also sure to eat more healthily. So, I guess my food obsession is kind of good in a way.  Now, where can I find a recipe for low-fat, vegan peanut butter cookies?

Master Cleanse Day 4 - The Work Day

Today was our first day back to work after starting the cleanse. I was a bit worried about how the day would go, but it was fine. Actually, it was easy. I think it was probably easier for me than Joey. While there is food at my office, I am far enough away from the kitchen that I could ignore it. Joey's company, however, provide a horn o' plenty of food, including daily lunch. That's tough.

In order to have enough lemonade for the day, we prepare it the night before and store it in water bottles for the next day. It really saves time and since Joey leaves for work at 4 am, it's necessary. I prefer making one big batch all at once than making one glass at a time. That is too fiddly for me.

My body wasn't as busy today as the past few days. This morning it was after the salt bath, but nothing really for the rest of the day. Of course now I worry, but the last time I wished for a magical movement I felt cursed. As they say on Once Upon a Time, "Magic always comes at a price."

Master Cleanse Day 3 - Be Careful What You Wish For

Yesterday I was waiting for that magic movement. I waited and waited and when it came I was delighted and so thankful I couldn't wait for more. Well, I got more. LOT'S more.

It started last night where I was up until about 3 am doing my business over and over and over again. The minute I would get comfortable my stomach would rumble and I knew better than to toot. Off to the restroom I would go. It wasn't magic anymore.

I am super tired today, but I am not sure if it's the cleanse or the fact that I was up so late (we go to sleep at 10 at the latest). It could also be the fact that I was in the garden most of the day and I was working pretty hard. My movements have stabilized and all is good in the world.

If I have the same experience tonight I am going to skip the tea for awhile. Hopefully, it was just a fluke or maybe the Universe just really wanted to make my wish come true.

Master Cleanse Day 2 - Felt Like Poop Til I Pooped

Today started off rough. I had crazy-weird dreams last night. I don't know if that's because of the cleanse or watching the season finale of Fringe followed by Downton Abbey.  Maybe a little bit of both.

Last night we had our Smooth Move tea. A huge part of the cleanse is to keep things moving and this seems to really help.  It didn't last night. I woke up feeling bloated which was the perfect feeling before I drank my quart of salt water. Mmm mmm good! The salt water is supposed to work it's magic in about an hour, so when no magic was a happenin' after an hour and a half I was very discouraged. Not to mentioned more bloated than before. I felt like I had an ocean inside of me and someone had secretly put a cork in me. That or the little Dutch boy had his....okay that just sounds dirty. You get the picture.

I was feeling pretty horrible, so I had some more tea.  At that point I didn't care. I wanted movement.  There was no use moping around the house so Joey and I went to have lunch with his mom. Let me tell you I almost nabbed that chicken right off her plate, but I didn't. I politely drank my Lemonade, Syrup, Cayenne Yum (LSCY) and tried to ignore the fact that I felt like a water balloon.

On our way home we stopped at the nursery and something magical happened. Yes, the little Dutch boy pulled out his finger and I wanted to sing and dance.  Well, not really dance, I was kind of busy.  I tell you, though, I did feel better. Much, much better.

By the time we got home I really felt great. I had more LSCY and went out and worked in the garden for the rest of the day. I didn't need to run upstairs once and honestly, I had and still have lots of energy.

I went back and read my blog from four years ago and pretty much the same thing happened. I felt bad in the morning and great by the end of the day. I wasn't quite as vivid when I wrote back then, so I am not sure of the exact events, but it was probably something similar.

So, lesson for Day 2 - You'll feel poopy til you poop!

Master Cleanse Day 1 - Life with Grouchina

Today Joey and I started our second go at the Master Cleanse.  Yes, this is the cleanse where all you have is fresh lemon juice, pure maple syrup and cayenne pepper.  This provides you with all the nutrients you need while flushing out those nasty toxins in your body. It's not intended for weight loss, but it does have that effect.  The last time we did it, I lost 20 pounds in ten days.  That was four years ago.  One of the hardest thing about doing this cleanse or any cleanse in timing.  You have to plan well.

Since we have a three-day weekend we figured this would be a great time to start. We have no social events coming up, no commitments, no visitors.  We have two completely free weeks to drink our way to health.

Everyone seems to have an instant opinion on this cleanse.  Most people that know absolutely nothing about it will tell you it's not good for you and dangerous.  Well, to them I suggest they read up on it. Back when we first didn't there weren't many blogs on it, but now there are tons. Since it was harder for me to get information back then I asked my doctor and she said it was fine for ten days to two weeks and if I felt even slightly bad to stop and go see her.  I didn't end up seeing her during my cleanse. It went just fine.

Each day of the cleanse starts off with a inner salt water bath. You mix two teaspoons of pure sea salt with a quart of warm water and drink it down. The first time I ever did it I thought I would gag.  I couldn't drink the whole thing.  Today it wasn't so bad. I guess I knew what to expect.

The lemonade mixture is not that bad. It kind of tastes good.  I also already knew what to expect here.  What did I not expect?  I am GROUCHY.  Honestly, it's a good thing I am doing this in the privacy of my own home because Grouchina has moved right in! I am also hungry. I really want to eat. I know both these things will go away in about three days. I do remember them happening, I just didn't expect them to happen again. I have to admit I am having a harder time starting this than I remember, but I am bound to stick with this.  All I have to remember is that this is only two weeks of my life and once I am done, I will feel wonderful!

So, one day down, 13 more to go!

It's Alive!

Autumn is by far my favorite season. No matter where I have lived it's always been so and that holds true for my new home in Daly City. It seems that fall is the clearest season for us and right now we are still enjoying a beautiful Indian Summer. When the weather cools down a bit it will be time for baking. I have absolutely no baking skills, that's Joey's department, but I do love making bread...in my bread machine.

Yes, I have a bread machine and I love it. One of my favorite recipes is an easy sour dough recipe. It produces a crispy crust and chewy inside. Just like it should be. You can find the recipe here. It's very easy, but there is one ingredient you need to plan ahead for - the sour dough starter. You can't wing it on this one. It's a must that you take your starter out at least 24 hours ahead of time and feed it. If not, then you aren't going to be making sour dough that day.

I bought my starter from King Arthur's Flour about two years ago. I tried to make my own, but that was a huge failure. It was much easier to get theirs and start feeding it. Having a starter is kind of like having a pet. You need to take care of it. You need to feed it. I was pretty good the first year about feeding my starter every one to two weeks then I moved here and the starter went to the back of the refrigerator not to be rediscovered until about a week ago. After a year on not feeding it, I was pretty sure that my started was dead. I hadn't touched it in over a year. It was this grayish mass. I was about to throw it out, but something told me to just try feeding it and see what happened. It couldn't hurt and all it would cost me is a cup of flour. I added my flour and warm water and let it sit on the stove.

The next day I looked at the starter and there were about three little bubbles in it. The bubbles indicate that it's alive. Three was not many, but it was encouraging. Maybe I could bring this back to life! I stirred in a little more flour and warm water and put it back on the stove.

I went back a day after that and there were still only a few little bubbles. Maybe it was wishful thinking that it was going to come back to life. Oh well, no worries. I will just throw this out and order some more. I put it back on the stove because starter and very sticky and messy and I wasn't in the mood to deal with it at that moment.

I was really procrastinating on throwing this away so I just left it on the stove for a couple more days. Finally, I decided it was time to say good-bye. When I opened the lid to scoop out the starter, to my surprise, it was bubbling! It's alive!!! I brought my little starter back to life.

So, I guess you can revive an old starter. I think the key is to feed it then just leave it be for a few days. That's what I did and guess what Joey and I are having this week?

Tomato Pie

One of my favorite websites is Kevin Lee Jacobs' A Garden for the House. I discovered this site only a few months ago when searching for gardening sites. It is indeed a great site for gardening tips, but so much more. It has amazing recipes! In the past couple of months, I have made three of Kevin's recipes with great success: Lettuce Soup, Blue Cheese Dressing and, most recently, Tomato Pie.

I had never heard of tomato pie before. I had heard of The Tomato Tart, but I just thought that was my friend Sabrina and her site. About a week ago a recipe for tomato pie appeared on Kevin's site and I just had to try it! All I could think of for a week was how much I wanted to try this tomato pie! Well, I did last Saturday and I wasn't disappointed. It was delicious! Not only that, it was beautiful. Look at that picture! It has to be one of the most beautiful things I have ever made.

I made a few modifications to my version of the recipe based on a few others I researched online, but this recipe is all Kevin. My changes are minimal. I used two cheeses, added a shallot and drained the tomatoes a bit. Most recipes call for a pie shell rather than biscuits, but I loved the biscuits. I think they make the dish. Try to get the freshest tomatoes you can find, but I will be honest and say I only had time to go to the supermarket and this pie still was delicious.

Ingredients

• 10 refrigerated biscuits from package (I used Pillsbury Grands Jr.) 
• 2 large tomatoes, thinly sliced 
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1/3 cup Fresh basil, sliced thinly (about 10 leaves) 
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 cup extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated 
• 1 cup gruyere cheese, grated 
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375. 
2. Slice the tomatoes into 1/4 inch thick slices and place in a colander. Sprinkle with salt and allow to drain for 10 minutes. 
3. Spray a 9-inch pie plate with non-stick spray. 
4. Press the biscuits against the sides and bottom of the plate and form a crust. 
5. Layer the tomato slices on the dough and give them a couple grinds of pepper. 
6. Sprinkle the shallot on top of the tomatoes evenly. 
7. Sprinkle on the basil. 
8. Combine the grated cheese and mayonnaise together. 
9. Spread the mixture on top of the tomatoes. 
10. Bake for 30 minutes until lightly browned. 
11. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 servings

Homemade Pasta

Last weekend I decided to make a special dinner - homemade pasta! I have made it a couple of times before and we always enjoy it. There is nothing quite like the texture and flavor of homemade pasta.

I always think it's going to be hard to make fresh pasta, but it's really not. It's just flour and eggs and a little water. You can do most of your kneading in a food processor or a stand up mixer. I make a basic pasta with the following ingredients.

• 4 large eggs 
• 1/2 cup water 
• 3 1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

All you do is place all the ingredients in the mixer bowl and mix at Speed 2 for 30 seconds using the flat beater.

Swap out the flat beater for the dough hook. Knead at Speed 2 for 2 minutes.

Remove dough from bowl and hand knead for 1 to 2 minutes, folding the past over each time.

Let dough rest for 20 minutes to 2 hours.

Divide dough into 6 pieces and processing using your pasta machine or attachment.

I personally have the KitchenAid KPRA Pasta Roller Attachment. It might be a bit pricey, but I love it. It comes with one pasta roller and two pasta cutters - one for angel hair pasta and one for fettuccine. It's a great addition to my appliances. But I do admit it's a pricey commitment. If that is too expensive for you all you need to do is go to Amazon and they have a large collection of hand crank pasta rollers starting from about $30 to about $70. I would go for the best one you can afford at the time. If you aren't quite sure you are going to make pasta often, you might go with a lower priced model and if you become a pasta wizard you can always upgrade. I will say that since I only make pasta two or three times a year, I would probably go with a mid-priced machine. I have used them in cooking class and they work wonderfully.

Once you have your machine you flatten dough and roll the pasta through the maching at the 1 setting, fold it then run it through again at the next setting. Starting at 1 you move up to the thickness you want. I was making fettuccine so I went to 6. You only fold it the first time. When you have reached the desired thickness hang your pasta on a pasta rack while you work on the next piece. You really do need one of these and they are not that expensive. Mine was $13.50.

Now it's time to cut the pasta. I used my fettuccine pasta attachment, but you can also use a pasta cutter, which costs about $20.00. Cut your pasta and you are ready to go!

The next thing you need to think about is sauce. This is always a hard part for me. I want something very simple, but tasty. I choose two sauces from my favorite pasta book, The Complete Book of Pasta and Noodles by Cooks Illustrated. This is an amazing book. I will write more about this next time.

I made a salmon cream sauce and a simple olive oil, fresh tomato and summer squash sauce. Delicious! I will say, though, that the olive oil sauce was my favorite since it let the pasta be the star in the dish.

So, that's my little pasta making adventure. All together it took me about an hour to make pasta, but it's really worth it. There is a huge difference between store bought and fresh so I really recommend it. It's a bit pricey to start out, but once you have the equipment, you will love making pasta.

Cookbook Success!

Last Friday I wrote about choosing the recipes for my entire meal from my cookbook library. Well, it was a huge success! My meal couldn't have been any better. It wasn't the fanciest looking meal, but it was tasty.

The burgers were really tender. I had never used my broiler before and they are not all created equal!  My new stoves broiler cooks much more evenly.  I didn't really follow the recipe very closely. I think you could take any burger recipe, mold them into 1-inch patties and you would be set. I broiled them for six minutes, turned them over and cooked them for six more. Then I topped them with a tomato slice and some mozzarella cheese and broiled them for two more minutes until brown and bubbly. They were delicious.

The ratatouille was delicious.  A simple recipe is the way to go, and the recipe from The Joy of Cooking was perfect. I have ignored that book for so long thinking it wasn't fancy enough, but it's just what I needed.

The star of the show had to be the Mac & Cheese from The Best Light Recipe by Cook's Illustrated. This is something I will make again and again. I can't recommend this book, or any Cook's Illustrated cookbook, enough. I love reading the explanations on how they came up with one technique or ingredient over the other. I was worried that this wouldn't taste like the full-fat version, but it did. I see no reason to make Mac & Cheese any other way.

With the success of dinner last weekend, I have decided to do the same thing for this weekend. Head to my cookbook library and pick out some winners. I'm thinking flank steak, but who knows what I will find!

What's For Dinner?

It's been a long time since I have cooked so I decided this weekend we would have a proper Sunday dinner. When deciding on what to make I did something I rarely do - I consulted my cookbooks.  I also did something I never do. I decided that ALL my recipes would come from my cookbooks, not the internet.

I have well over 100 cookbooks, all easily accessible, that I rarely use. It's so easy to go online and Google what you are looking for. However, it makes no sense to have a library of cookbooks and never use them.

I started off with a recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens New Dieter's Cook Book - Italian Style Burgers.  I got this cookbook at Ross probably 15 years ago and used it all the time way back when.  You can still get a copy of it on Amazon for a penny, plus shipping.  These are more like mini meatloaf patties with broiled tomato and mozzarella on top.  They are yummy. This is actually a really great cookbook with beautiful pictures and easy-to-make recipes. In fact, the picture of the burger inspired me to find my next recipe - Low Fat Mac and Cheese. For that I knew right where to go - The Best Light Recipe from Cook's Illustrated.  If there is only one low-fat cookbook you buy, this should be it.  I have made several and they have all been delicious.

Next, I wanted to take advantage of all the wonderful summer vegetables so I decided to make a simple ratatouille. I thought finding this would be simple, but it wasn't.  Every book had some fancy twist on this simple recipe and I really wanted simple. I was just about to give up and make green beans when I saw my Joy of Cooking. I had never even cracked this book open before. It was just something I felt I should have. Well, I found exactly what I was looking for - a simple ratatouille. No frills, no twists, no fancy ingredients.  Just a simple recipe.

Yay! I have my menu:

• Italian Style Burgers
• Mac and Cheese
• Ratatouille

I learned something from this exercise. I actually enjoy going through my cookbooks. It really didn't take any longer than looking things up online and it some ways it was probably faster. I didn't take any breaks to check Facebook or get distracted by some ad. Also, I saw a ton of other recipes that I otherwise wouldn't have thought of while I was looking that I just can't wait to try. It is possible to find what I need without the internet. Maybe I am on to something.