Vicky Learns to Cook

 In case you are wondering where I've been lately, here is a picture of the last week of Artisan Breads class.  Across the top: Rustic Rye clockwise: Sourdough round, semolina batard, pretzel bread, Sourdough rye, New York Rye, Another sourdough round, multigrain. It's been great learning so much in such a short time. But it does cut into my blogging time. Think of it as me becoming more interesting while you wait.  If you are lucky enough to see me Saturdays, you get some free bread. Because this stuff lasts about a day.  It would go stale, not mold, because they are not enriched breads (little fat if any) Hope you are doing something fun, yourself.  Think of me as I approach my Practical and Written final exams A week from today.  --Vicky

 Before you freak out, hear me out.  I don't mind some things about Fall and Winter. Leaves changing color is a sight to behold. I love it, watching them sparkle from my window, seated in my warm home.  I love pies baking in the oven and plans to see family.  It's the personal assault to my body that has me dreading these two seasons.  Starting with Fall, the first indication is that my nose stuffs up. I 've deduced that I am probably allergic to mold of some kind. As soon as I start to reach for my coat,  I also fill the pockets with Kleenex. And put a small packet of them in my purse.  I have a skin allergy, too, that creates these little itchy spots. Caused by mold? No idea. I have stuff for that but its prescription and I'm allergic to cortisone - so no cheap easy OTC remedy for me.  Then the weather turns cold and the furnace kicks on. Dry skin. Also allergic to fragrance, here, so I have to start putting stock in Fragrance free lotion, which...

 For some reason it occurred to me to figure out the percentages. If this doesnt interest you, skip to the end where I give you my new and improved plan. :) I started with a goal weight and weighed myself this morning. The "loseit.com" site will tell you how many calories you can have per day to lose x amount per week to get to that goal.  The longer you do this, you can see your pattern. Yep that is generally going up slowly. Not the way I wanted it to go.  So then knowing the amount of calories I Need, what should I be eating? Like how much fruit? This will be up for debate depending on what diet plan you follow, but I got to the Choosemyplate.gov and generally followed those percentages.  What made sense to me comparing this to a higher protein content and lower fruit (in keeping with both the Less Carb idea and More Protein idea) I was able to come up with this: (See the percent of calories for each food group is multiplied by the number of calories allowed for t...

 I'm determined to do it this time. I'm going to shed the nearly 30 extra pounds on me.  What makes this time different? It has become more painful not to lose the weight. More painful to soothe with food than to just muscle through and not eat snacks / desserts until the weight is off.  Emotionally, I hate the way I look. I dont want hate any part of me anymore. Maybe it's turning 50.  The binge eating causes me to lie to myself about what I "can eat". I make excuses. This is not who I want to be.  Physically, I feel sick when I eat too much. Not just that day but for the whole next day. As time goes by,  it will be longer and longer. It's uncomfortable. I feel like a water balloon most of the time.  I have to learn how to live without the extras for the next six months or more. This may mean salad for Thanksgiving lunch. And only having one Christmas cookie each day.  But isn't that the way really, it should be? Living a life of excess has gotte...

 Broke out the birthday presents today.  While sitting at the office, mask on face, very distanced from everyone, I upgraded this beast of a 4 yr old PC to Windows 10. And she survived! To mark the occasion I named her Penelope.  Present #1 was the "My Life in France" book about Julia Child, written with her nephew, Alex. I read probably 1/3 of the book while waiting for Penelope the PC to finish her metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly.  Once her status was a most satisfying green screen, we did a checkup on her and dubbed her well. Off we went to go figure out what to make for dinners next week.  As part of that, I dug into the box and found a small recipe book in my new crockpot extraordinaire. After comparing recipes and what might fit in this week, we landed on French Onion Soup and added ingredients to the grocery list.  After reading so much French cuisine, of course I had to find a fish dish to make a la Julia. So I dug in and found a fish wi...