Sorry I’ve been MIA but Father of Carbzilla was in town, and I had to play travel guide and taxi driver.

I'm a good daughter because I didn't even go to this school.

My dad was up for his 50th Fraternity reunion and was very excited to participate in this ritual they do at the Homecoming game (I won’t bore you with the details). We had a very nice visit, and the only downer was that his Alma Mater got beat good by the school my brother went to so there was definite Carbzilla Family trash talking going down.

Carb father wearing his new jaunty cap - an early Xmas present from his devoted daughter.

Biggest problem is that Chris has the cold, Father of Carbzilla came off the plane with the cold and now the rest of us are sick too. I’m seriously loving the Tylenol Cold Daytime/Nightime stuff right now.

How did I survive food-wise for four days of houseguests? Well, for lunch the first day I had a spinach salad out. It had bacon which I never eat so it was definitely a treat (sorry Vegheads). I did not eat the cornbread and butter. Carb crisis averted. We had a SUPER fancy dinner that night at my dad’s favorite restaurant, and I had their famous salad (possibly more bacon, I can’t recall) and an appetizer serving of prawns (5) which was a perfect amount. We didn’t order dessert (well, we did but it was to go to bring to friends of mine who were doing us a favor), but we got a mini dollop of cheesecake on a triangle of cookie so it looked like a little ice cream cone. Very cute and the perfect amount (and frankly it was just ok – now the fresh-made mini donuts with chocolate sauce and peanut butter ice cream that we took to our friends? I bet THAT was spectacular!).

The next day we were having kinda a fancy lunch because Chris and I had a gift certificate. I ate this:

I'm easily impressed! What can I say?

I started with the Crab Bisque that had the initials of the restaurant spelled in it – how cool is that? Such a simple gesture, and I was tickled pink by it. Maybe I was starting to get delirious from my cold. Anyway, I followed this with another salad – frankly I can’t remember what was on it. It was never going to be able to beat the FAMOUS salad I had the night before so what does it matter?

That night I took my stepmom to Teatro Zinzanni which is dinner and a show for those who don’t know. This show was fabulous – I enjoyed it soooo much more than the last one but then I was super nervous at the last one because Chris was super ultra-nervous that he was gonna be pulled from the audience. I could be much more relaxed at this one. The menu was very similar to the last time I was there – appetizer (a little cheese, cracker, smoked fish plate), soup (butternut squash), salad, entree (vegetarian option) and dessert. The show is spread out over 3 hours so plenty of time between courses. I took two bites of dessert – ta da!

Chris picked up my dad from his fraternity hoopla and took him out to sushi – extra son-in-law points!

The next day was the football game, and I did eat a mini-pizza at the game but I was pretty proud of myself for skipping the pepperoni (I don’t expect a medal or anything, but at least I didn’t go crazy at the Alumni buffet complete with dessert bar).

We made dinner at our house and served two soups (clam chowder and Kabocha Squash), fried razor clams (ewww, but my dad was sooo excited about them), broiled salmon with rainbow chard, and a small dish of coconut ice cream (chocolate and cookie dough side by side). It was a perfect dinner and very unplanned, but we pulled it off. I was excited because neither one of them, in all their years, had ever eaten rainbow chard! I also introduced them to Oat Bran which will save my dad 30 minutes of cooking Steel Cut Oats before work in the morning!

We got them on a plane today, built a fire in the fireplace, did laundry and generally got caught up and prepared for the week (grocery shopping, etc.). Of course, now I’m still fighting off this cold, but I don’t expect it to stop me from trying Zumba this week. We shall see!

PS. After dinner at home, we put in a movie and the ‘rents started to fall asleep immediately. My dad had one waking moment when I offered him one of the Ginger Anzacs, and by the time I’d put the box away both of them were awake and asking for more cookies. We are a carb-loving, sweets-addicted family. No doubt!

So I’ll come clean and admit I had a small *episode* today with some cookies….in the car….two big no-no’s for me. Eating cookies in the car is not where I want to be right now. So, ya know what? We’re gonna turn lemons into lemonade and make it a review post! Genius!

TWO boxes of car cookies! The horror!

Many moons ago, both boxes would have been empty by the time I got home. I’m (sorta) proud to say that I ate fewer than ten cookies total.

That said, the Gluten Free Quinoa Macaroons (on the right) are 110 calories EACH, with 5 grams of fat and 1 gram of protein. They were good – less sweet than bakery macaroons since they are sweetened with fruit juice and brown rice syrup. They are soft and slightly chewy. Big ups to Mrs. Denson’s who family-owned company (according to the packaging) uses “trays, packages, and shipping cartons [that] are recyclable, the overwrap is nontoxic, and the printing inks are soy based.” Well, there’s something I can feel good about!

On the left are Ginger Anzacs by the ginger people®. Can I just tell you how much I love the ginger people®? I want to hug each little ginger person! We have their Peanut Sauce in the fridge right now! I love so many of their products, and I just flat out love ginger! These cookies were snappy, crisp and delicious. They made the macaroons seem a little bland, frankly, but it’s hard to compete with the zing of ginger. These cookies are 130 calories for three (they’re pretty small – like a 50 cent piece) with 6 grams of fat and 1 gram of protein.

I’m putting both packages back in the cupboard right now and saving them for Father of Carbzilla who’s coming to visit at the end of the week. He’ll probably think they’re the worst cookies he’s ever tasted and wonder why anyone would eat either of them at all.

So how was it that I found myself eating cookies in the car, an act that is not at all conducive to losing 20 lbs.? First of all, I’m under a lot of stress right now and had a terrible day at work. Secondly, I’m coming down with a cold, have a headache, and was feeling sorry for myself. Thirdly, I was in my favorite food co-op and tempted by the fabulous variety of options. Was I hungry? Not really. That’s what makes me so regretful.

But I’m owning it. I’m not perfect. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but it also did not serve me and my current intentions. So with that, I’m officially over it.

In case you’re wondering what an Anzac is…apparently it’s some sort of biscuit popular with Australian and New Zealand soldiers. Well that’s funny because guess what my (former) soldier had for dinner the other night?

I'll give you a hint - it's not the one on the right.

While I was having some broccoli with shitake mushrooms, Chris decided he was going to have an MRE for dinner. Okay, saves me the trouble of cooking, I guess. It was fairly new – compared to the Vietnam era rations he ate during the Gulf War when he was literally eating food that had been packaged before he was born. I think we purchased some at the Army/Navy store the last time my military-crazed nephew came to visit. Said nephew actually asked for MRE’s for Christmas this year! Fine by me and cheaper than what we probably would have bought him. Whatever floats your boat, little dude!

I’m putting us in quarantine for the next 24 hours so we can shut down this cold/cough thing, re-emerging only to see Ben Folds play with the Seattle Symphony. Over and out!

I can’t even describe how hard it’s raining in Seattle right now. Sheets and sheets of rain. I’ve been promising to post this recipe, and this is the perfect morning for it.

The ever-generous Becky Selengut has given me permission to post her Thai Pumpkin Soup with Chile and Lemongrass soup recipe. Any pumpkin will do but this is the recipe that first brought the Kabocha to our attention in 2007, and we’ve never looked back!

Stunt soup provided by http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuart_spivack/ Actual soup may vary.

Thai Pumpkin Soup with Chile and Lemongrass

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 T canola or coconut oil

1 onion – diced

1 tsp. salt

3 cloves garlic – minced

2″ piece ginger grated

5 cups pumpkin or kabocha or butternut squash – large diced

1/2 c. white wine or vermouth

3 stalks lemongrass – smashed

2 jalapenos – split

3 kaffir lime leaves

3 slices galangal smashed

2 cups chicken or vegetarian stock

2 cups water

1 lime

fish sauce – as needed

brown sugar – as needed

We went nuts with the Kabocha! This much would make several batches. Chris figured as long as he was chopping ...

Instructions

Heat a soup pot over medium high heat. Add oil. Sauté onion for 2 minutes. Add a teaspoon of salt. Add garlic, ginger and pumpkin and sauté a few more minutes. Deglaze with wine.

In a piece of cheesecloth (we use a huge gigantic teaball contraption – see photo), add lemongrass, jalapenos, lime leaves and galangal. Wrap cheesecloth and tie in a knot. Add to soup along with stock and water. Bring to a boil and simmer 30 minutes.

When pumpkin is soft, remove cheesecloth (or teaball) with aromatics. Puree the soup in batches in a blender and then return to the pot. Add the juice of one lime, several tablespoons of fish sauce and, if the soup needs more sweetness, add 1 T of brown sugar. Taste to see if salt level is sufficient. Garnish if you’re feeling all fancy.

This soup freezes beautifully and travels well hot. Perfect for rainy days! Play with the spices. You may like it with a little more kick!

Many thanks to Becky for this recipe that is definitely one of our all time favorites!

A couple of weeks ago, I was literally walking on sunshine and then the gloom came. The gloom came from the skies and slowly creeped through my body until I was aware that I had lost the pep in my step.

I just checked my calendar, and it looked like I planned to work out three times last week but I can’t tell you what actually transpired. It’s Friday, and I know I did the Precor for 20 mins one night and I might have done one Chalean workout this week, but, again, I can’t be sure.

I’m literally and figuratively in a fog.

I have fun things planned for this weekend – events with people I can’t wait to see – and I hearby recommit to my healthful plan to get through this seasonal transition. I didn’t want to say goodbye to summer and I REALLY don’t want to say hello to this funk!

I will honor the change in season and bring back the brightness inside of me!