Back to basics

By now, most of you reading this blog (Hi Mom!) know our weight loss story, but for those that don't, here is the semi-quick version.  When "C" was born in 2009, "A" and I decided it was time to take off the baby weight. I was pushing 225 lbs, eating badly, not exercising and quickly becoming the person I never wanted to be. Basically, we were motivated to make a drastic change.  Not a diet, but a lifestyle change.

I read books and websites about every diet out there....everything from Atkins and South Beach to the Cabbage Soup and Grapefruit diets.  They all had components I liked, but nothing seemed sustainable. Eventually, I concocted a plan based primarily around the glycemic index (more on that later) and went from there.  We both lost weight quickly, especially "A", at the beginning, but soon hit a plateau that we couldn't get past.

That was when we started running.  Oh my goodness.  Those beginning days seem so long ago, but I remember vividly how badly I felt and how hard it was to "run" for 10 minutes without stopping.  Oh, and how unbelievably sore we were!  It took days to recover before I could go out and try to "run" another 10 minutes.

But, I'm getting side tracked.  The running helped to get us through that plateau and eventually help us meet our goals.  18 months and a combined 100 lbs later, we had met our weight loss goal AND ran our first half marathon.  That was January 2011.

"What's the reason for this story?", you might ask.  Well, "A" and I are in a rut.  Mostly feeling like we're not making the best decisions when it comes to our intake and need to get back to basics.  So, as of now, it is back to June 2009....when it all started.  Nothing drastic, just an opportunity to retrain ourselves and be reminded about what got us here in the first place.

So tonight's dinner is:  Steelhead trout with braised bok choy

Recipe:

For Bok choy:

·   4 medium or 6 small bok choy

·   4 tablespoons vegetable oil

·   2 teaspoons grated ginger

·   2 medium garlic cloves, grated

·   1/2 cup water

·   1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

·   1/4 cup dark soy sauce

·   1/4 cup loosely packed brown sugar

Soak bok choy in a large bowl of cold water.. Drain, cut in half lengthwise, and dry with paper towels. Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over high heat until shimmering. Add halved bok choy, cut side down, working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding pan, and sear until deeply browned, about 6 minutes. Remove to a large plate or sheet pan.

Lower heat to medium and add ginger and garlic, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add water and vinegar and bring to a simmer, stirring and scraping bottom of pan with a wooden spatula or spoon to loosen any browned bits. After 1 minute, add soy sauce and brown sugar. Add bok choy back to pan and cook, uncovered, until bok choy leaves are wilted and stems are crisp-tender, 6-8 minutes. Remove bok choy to serving platter.

Continue to cook liquid in pan over medium heat until it reduces to a glaze of desired consistency, 6 to 8 minutes. Spoon glaze over bok choy

For trout:

1lb trout or salmon

Set oven to a low broil and place top rack at highest level.  Broil for 6-8 minutes, depending on thickness.

Thankful for a good fish monger

I am blessed to have an abundance of fish mongers in my area and one of my favorites is Harbor Fish Market in Portland.  The best part is watching "C" wander around checking out all of the whole fish and having the same old guy come out to show him a lobster.  Never gets old.  Today, our mission was to pick up some calamari and some Bang Island mussels.  The BI mussels are an amazing blue mussel (see previous post), hand raised in Casco Bay.  They are big, plump and the mussel of choice for some of the best restaurants in town.  However, they played second fiddle to tonight's main:  Squid Salad with Lime, Cilantro and Arugula.

Recipe, adapted from recipe by Nigella Lawson

For the dressing:

1 bunch fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic, peeled
2 tbls fish sauce
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
2 tbls sambal olek
1 lime, peeled and seeded
3 tbls vegetable oil

For salad

7 oz baby arugula
1 very small red onion, sliced thin
16 oz calamari, hoods and tentacles, rinsed and sliced
3 tbls vegetable oil
salt

Tear the cilantro off of the stem and put into blender or food processor along with garlic, sugar and sambal.  Pulse to combine, then add peeled lime and oil, then blend to emulsify.   Set aside.

Arrange arugula on plate and add the peeled and slice onion.  You will not use all of the onion.

Slice the squid, leaving the tentacles whole, and add to a hot pan with a little oil.  You'll need to do this in batches, as the squid will give off a shocking amount of water.  Remove the cooked squid to a bowl, sprinkle with salt, then add dressing once all of the squid is cooked.  Arrange on plate with greens and onion.

Enjoy!!

Something blue

As a kid living in the Ohio, I had little knowledge of what was on the coasts of America, outside of what I saw on television.  I knew that we didn't have things like topography or a really cool gang sign (Midwest-syyde!!) and we certainly did not have much for seafood.  The fish dishes in our family mostly came frozen or canned and I'm pretty sure I loved each and every one of them.   Thankfully, when I turned 14, my mom took me to visit friends in Seattle.  I had quite the revelation.  Mostly it went like this: "HOLY CRAP!!"   

Later in life,  I meet and fell in love with a girl from Maine and had my first taste of Maine's blue mussel. Amazing.  Firm, briny and you can prepare them a multitude of ways.  It certainly helped that we could collect these delicious bivalves just steps from the cherished family vacation home where they would then be lovingly prepared by Amy's grandfather.  Almost 20 years later, I'm thrilled to be able to share them with my kids.   It is still one of my most beloved foods.  

Tonight's dinner:  Moules frites with bistro salad