Thursday, December 30, 2004

Shrimp are grosser than I remember.

Maybe it was just these shrimp, or maybe it was the recipe. In any case, they did not sit well with me. And they were not all that tasty. Too much orange juice, or maybe the wrong kind of orange juice. Not enough salt? I don't know. There was not enough flavor (except for shrimpiness, which is actually kind of gross on its own; maybe it was thes shrimp; they taste 'off', in any case). I'm not buying a whole 1 1/2 pound ever again, and certainly not from Wild Oats. It's too expensive.

Plus they did not agree with me. I have felt somewhat nauseated ever since last night, and could only stand to eat half a grapefruit this morning. So maybe my tastes have changed and I don't care for shrimp. Or if I have them, they have to taste like something!

Thankfully, the Greek salad (arugula, sliced radishes, feta, and great olives from W.O. olive bar) was quite good. I still can't believe there was ever a time that I didn't like olives. I guess I never had any good ones. I still don't particularly care for those green briny Spanish salad olives, although they are o.k. in other dishes - those were the only ones Mom and Dad ever had around the house. Plain black ones are just 'blah' although again, they are good in things, on pizza, etc.

But man! Quality mixed Greek olives in oregano and good oil and such...geez! I could eat them all day, though I probably shouldn't.

Nausea is receeding somewhat - I drank a good half-quart of water. I wish I had some ginger tea, though, it is MAD effective at removing that slight nausea I so often get. Maybe dehydration was my main problem. I got a book out of the library the other day that claims that a great deal of chronic ailments (esp. digestive ones) are caused by dehydration. It's called "Your Body's Many Cries for Water" and is written by some guy with an insanely hard to spell Hindi last name. It's not Aryurvedic, a bit more scientific than that, but I bet there are parts of it that are bogus. Still, it's not like Western medicine is particularly successful in treating chronic ailments, so it's worth a shot. And anyway, who am I to criticize Aryurvedic medicine? I don't know very much about it. Plus it make sense that adequate water is important; something like 75% of adult humans are made of water.

In other news: I got new toothpaste yesterday. Colgate Total, because I've been taken in by the commercials. Plus some Citrus Listerine, also because ads are insidiously effective. Thankfully, both products also seem effective. Guess what? The citrus flavor IS actually less intense, which makes me more likely that I'll use it twice a day. Bitchin'! I actually woke up without an odd fuzz on my teeth, and my teeth even feel cleaner after eating without having brushed. Maybe it's my imagination. I would like to get my mouth in decent shape, because I need to schedule a dental appointment. I'm pretty sure I have a cavity that is giving me a toothache; it's getting a bit tough to ignore.

I feel really crappy about all of this navel-gazing, considering that thousands of people are dead in Asia right now. I should really donate some money, but there will be need for it for a long time as they rebuild and such, so maybe I'll wait.

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

First Post from Work.

Tonight is my last night of freedom alone (Laura's not back until Friday, but I have band practice tomorrow). I'm going to make shrimp (which she dislikes) with rosemary and orange, and a Greek salad. High quality non-King Soopers shrimp, hopefully. Both are Bittman recipes from "HTCE". Probably have a St. Pauli Girl with dinner; bought this to go with last night's so-so Kung Po Chicken (courtesy of Hot Wok; the potstickers were great, tho!). Before I do that, I have to go to Wild Oats and King Soopers at the height of grocery-shopping time. I don't relish that, but then again, grocery shopping is one of my favorite things. Maybe not the actual shopping, but putting the bounty away in the fridge and cupboards - yeah, I like that.

Planned some advance meals as well. Puttanesca w/ Tuna tomorrow, and leftover salad. Coincidentally, I started reading the first Lemony Snicket book today...not quite Harry Potter, but entertaining. Puttanesca sauce (and a recipe for same) figures heavily in an early chapter. Leftovers and scraps on Friday (J.P.'s throwing a party, and there might be food, so I don't want to plan anything major). Then I'll make a real good luck New Year's Day feast on Saturday: hoppin' john, kale w/ double garlic, and cornbread. MMMMMMMMMMMMmmm.

Thinking about resolutions, but I think completely quitting cigs and cutting way back on everything else (including alcohol and butter - so sad) is good enough and I've already started that. Maybe actually using the gym membership...

I keep thinking about veganism someday, but I think I like fish and dairy products (and chicken skin! and spaghetti carbonara!) way too much for that. Plus I honestly don't feel the karmic effects of meat eating.