How time flies...

I am going to keep it short and sweet tonight. 

Tomorrow I enter the hospital for what could be one of the most life-changing events of my life.  I am not nervous or worried at all.  I am, however, excited and looking forward to getting this show on the road.

A friend who had gastric bypass surgery about 2 years ago gave me the best advice going in to this.  She advised me to take note of the "wow" moments as there will be quite a lot of them and each one is worth savoring and remembering. 

I couldn't think of better advice. 

Wow.

Sisters...

There is nothing really special about my immediate family. We are like any other family. We have our ups and downs. We bicker and fight. We love and support each other.

But guess what? They are mine and I wouldn't trade them for all the treasures of the world! So to me they are priceless pieces of my life.

My sister Linda is the earth mother of the family. Somewhat organic in nature, free-spirited, loving, caring. She is the queen of napping, reads voraciously, and she scares me when she drives because she never really seems totally focused on the task at hand - even though she may be.

And my sister Lisa. Gosh, where to start? I have been extra lucky with her, as we have been both friends and sisters. As a child, she was the one who I wanted to be just like when I grew up. She seemed so worldly, even though the farthest she had really gone at that time was Pittsburgh, PA. She still has that aura about her. She is also strong and steadfast. She is a petite woman with an appetite for sweets. She's more than a bit OCD, but she is proud of the things she owns and her care of them always shows.

When I shared the news that I had been approved for WLS both of my sisters were happy for me and promised to support me.

So right now, Linda is in her car heading up I-35 toward Dallas and we three sisters get to spend the weekend together with the rest of our chosen family.

All this because when I called to tell Linda about being approved for WLS I *jokingly* told her that I wanted her to come up the weekend before I had to start my pre-surgery diet just to make me my favorite meal of all time - Homemade Noodles. No one makes them better than she does.

Guess what? That is exactly why she is coming. I am going to enjoy a big bowl of homemade noodles with my sisters this weekend.

That is what family is about and that is why I love them so much.

Where to start??

There is so much going on in my life and I thought if I don't start writing it down, all of it will soon be a long forgotten memory. So here I am again. I never meant to disappear for months on end, and hopefully, with the changes going on in my life, I will be a bit more in attendance.

First up, the big news...I have been approved for weight loss surgery (WLS)! After years of getting my hopes up and then dashed by finicky insurance guidelines, the stars aligned and the mojo was working and I was blessed with an approval letter in the mail last week.

I am scheduled for Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) on...drum roll, please...Thursday, March 4, 2010.

The Gastric Sleeve procedure - or Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) - is an operation in which the left side of the stomach is surgically removed. This results in a new stomach which is roughly the size and shape of a banana. Since this operation does not involve any "rerouting" or reconnecting the intestines, it is a simpler operation than the gastric bypass or the duodenal switch. Unlike the Lap-Band procedure, the sleeve gastrectomy does not require the implantation of an artificial device inside the abdomen.

Advantages of Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy
- It does not require disconnecting or reconnecting the intestines
- It is a technically simpler operation than the gastric bypass or the duodenal switch
- There is no foreign body inside your body
- It does not need adjustments or fills
- It may be a safer operations for patients with a body mass index (BMI) more than 60.

I am not nervous or scared, at all, about the surgery or the post-surgery diet. I am, however, worried about the pre-op diet. For the two weeks prior to surgery I am to eat a no-fat/low-fat, MEATLESS diet. Coming into this with a lifetime of overindulgence, and being a meat and potatoes kind of girl, this is a daunting task. Two weeks can seem like such a long time. But I keep reminding myself that it really is only a moment in time when you look at the big picture.

Post-surgery, I will have a itty-bitty stomach pouch that will, round-the-clock, help remind me that I am not hungry. That is going to be the secret to my success. Well, that and meal planning. I know that once I get my hunger (real or imagined) under control, I will have a much easier go at controlling portion sizes, which has been my downfall my entire life.

I have fought my weight since childhood. I had a father with a giant appetite and a mother with a penchant for non-nutrative food (candy, popcorn, and tea/coffee were diet staples for her), I developed bad habits that have lasted a lifetime. It is now time to change that and start a new relationship with food.

WLS is not the answer...it is merely a tool to help as I begin to make healthier choices not only with food, but with exercise.

I am lucky to have the support of many wonderful people. These people are going to play a big role in my success, as well.

First, my husband. JJ and I have been together for 5 years now. I have gained quite a bit of weight during that time and he tells me each and every day how beautiful and sexy I am. How can you not love a guy that really sees you as that while the world around you thinks otherwise?? I am tearing up a bit just thinking of how much he loves me! He also has the knowledge and background of once being married to another woman who had WLS. So he knows what to expect in some ways. He is also terrified that what I end up on the other side of this journey will be a different person - exactly what happened with his first marriage. Heck, I am worried about it too! But we both love each other and have much in common, and we are both willing to work toward the same goals. We also understand that people do change and that we need to support that change and grow with it. I see great things in our future together!

My family has always been there for me, too. My sisters, Lisa and Linda, especially. I couldn't have gotten this far without them and I plan to go even farther with them by my side and hopefully show them the same support and love they have given me throughout my lifetime.

I also have great mentors.

Chef Sharon Van Meter, who has taught me through her own actions how strong and successful a woman can be.

My nutrition instructor, Jessie Yearwood, who doesn't really approve of weight loss through surgery, but who has promised me nutritional guidance and support as I do what I feel I need to do to be successful with weight loss.

Oh, and my friends! Those near and dear to me and those who merely pass through my life on an occasional basis - even those who I know only by words on a computer screen. These people each bring something so special into my life. Each one showing me something new and something to strive toward.

For each of these people, I am thankful and feel loved and cared by.

I am honored to have all of you on this journey with me. And what a journey it will be as I know it will have successes and failures. Stick with me through this and help celebrate the new me that is developing.

The Best Pumpkin Bread...ever!

It's been a while since I have been around. About 4 months actually. Things have changed a bit and my schedule is more friendly toward me, allowing me some time in the kitchen. Plus the weather has been so pleasant lately that it would be shameful not to put the oven to use. Summers in Texas make baking rather unpleasant. Who wants to heat up the kitchen when it's 100 degrees outside? Not me!

My schedule is easier because I have moved on from the position I took at the beginning of the summer. I left on good terms and still stay in touch with everyone there. When the Fall semester started, I cut my hours back to part-time. Well, it really is a job that needs someone devoting full-time hours to it. Luckily, I knew someone who was in need of employment and she was hired to take my spot.

I have since returned to my old job at The Dinner Station where I always enjoyed working and absolutely adore the girls I work with there. It is a physical job, but it is low stress.

Right now I am mulling over the idea of a work from home career that will give me some spending money as well as allowing me to work the hours I want to work. I am thinking about Homemade Gourmet or Dove Chocolate Discoveries...or perhaps both. I am not familiar with the Dove opportunity, but it seems like a fun product and it is somewhat unique. Homemade Gourmet I have used in the past and think it's a great product. I will be making a decision on this in the next week or so. I will let you know more when I decide.

I guess I have teased you enough after sharing a title like The Best Pumpkin Bread...ever! Let me go ahead and share with you this phenomenal little recipe I made today. It makes a big batch of batter, so this is a great recipe to make during the holiday and share as homemade gifts! Plus it really doesn't get any easier than a quick bread. Measure, mix, and bake!

Pumpkin Bread



Yield: 3 - 7" x 3" loaf pans

(Note: I made mine in a variety of shapes and sizes including mini loaves, muffins and mini muffins rather than in the loaf pans. I can't really give you times frames to tell you they are done. As my baking instructors drilled into me during all my baking classes, they are done when they are done. The best way to tell is the edges get a deep golden brown, the top is golden brown, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.)

15 ounces pumpkin puree
4 each large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 to 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (depends on freshness)
1 to 1 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (depends on freshness)
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon ground cloves (depends on freshness)
3/4 to 1 teaspoon ground ginger (depends on freshness)
2/3 cup golden raisins
2/3 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour pans (I just use regular pan spray).

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

*********************

In the photo is part of a tea set that was given to us by a good friend. She hand-painted, wrote the thoughtful verse, and glazed them herself. She treated us to a lovely tea party using these wares then gifted the set to us.

The verse is "Never shall I forget the days I spent with you. Continue to be my friend, as you will always find me yours." Ludwig van Beethoven

Enjoy, my friends!

Greetings from your long, lost friend and pal...

I have been terribly lax in my publication duties over the last...oh my goodness, has it really been that long??? Well, to make a long story short, I was offered a job too good to pass up. So here I am working full-time this summer instead of the planned 12 to 20 hour work week.

I am happily employed at the Milestone Culinary Arts Center. I am working as assistant to the Director of MCAC, Sharon Van Meter (here is a stub of an article about Sharon in today's Dallas Business Journal). I am managing some of the day to day business that runs across her desk as well as focusing a lot of attention on really getting the Texas Chefs Association-Dallas Chapter geared up as both Sharon and I step in together as Director (Sharon) and Junior/Student Director (lil ole' me) for the next however long it is.

Because of all these goings-on, I rarely have time to cook at home, much less bake anything, but I thought perhaps I could share some of the cool happenings in the world of food. Most of this information will be from the local Dallas scene, but who knows, I work with some pretty cool movers and shakers

First up on the news front is this Sunday's dual-action events happening right here at Milestone!

For the second month this summer we are hosting the Milestone Farmer's Market, which will be held indoors in our beautiful facilities at 4531 McKinney Avenue in Dallas just south of Knox. Held every third Sunday of the month from 11:00am to 3:00pm (or sell-out) through October. More information about the event including what the vendors will be offering can be found at EatGreenDFW.com. I will be there picking up some farm fresh eggs, produce, and fruit! In addition to the wonderful food products, MCAC will be hosting a "garage sale" selling off stuff that has seemed to pile up around this place over the last few years. Lots of neat stuff. Everything from oriental tea sets to plate chargers to pastry tip sets. Something for everyone, as they say!

Going on concurrently on Sunday at MCAC, Chef Andre Bedouret, W.M.C.S., will be teaching his third class in a series of Continuing Education classes sponsored by El Centro College. This weeks class is on Kitchen Desserts. From the website: "No Pastry Chef? No problem! Whether your budget or the size of your operation is holding you back, you still can produce terrific desserts in your kitchen. From chocolate mousse to souffles, French tarts and Genoise, to old time favorites you will be able to re-write your dessert menu after this course and boost your sales. The full list of classes can be found on El Centro College's website. I attended the Butchering Series - All About Meats class on June 7th and it was awesome! Hands on experience mixed with classroom based lectures. Classes are $275 each and are held every Sunday from 11am to 7pm throughout the summer. Also, participation in each class earns you 0.07 continuing education units through El Centro. These classes are geared toward professional and student chefs, but the home cook is welcome and would fit in well in the comfortable atmosphere that Chef Bedouret provides.

Well, that is the rundown for this weekend's events. Come out and visit us this Sunday and pick up some delicious kitchen staples for this week's meals and consider registering for a class or two.

Howdy from Austin, Texas!

Austin is such a unique and wonderful city. It is someplace I wouldn't mind living, and it's always a treat to visit. Filled with ladder-climbing yuppies, geeky IT types, long-haired hippies, forward-thinking musicians, extremely wealthy, homeless indigent, whites, blacks, hispanics, and every other color, plus lots of politicians (it is the capital city of Texas, after all), it is truly a melting pot of cultures.

I am spending the afternoon alone in Austin while JJ is going through the paces of a forever-long job interview. Keep your fingers crossed, it is an promotion within the company he works for and merits a healthy raise. He would still be located in Dallas, but the main core of his co-workers would be here in Austin. Sounds like a wonderful reason to plan a ROADTRIP on a regular basis!

Anyway, I am sitting in a Barnes and Noble, enjoying free wi-fi, in an upscale area of Austin. Quite a change from my lunchtime digs. Which is why I am writing this blog entry.

A few months ago, JJ and I watched a clip on the television show Texas Country Reporter about this woman, Lola Stephens, who has lived a hard scrabble life (please take a moment to read her incredible story here). However she got to where she is today, we have to be thankful. Filled with joy, determination, faith in her Lord, and a giving nature, this woman can also cook up one heckuva meal!

I was bound and determined to drive out to Taylor, Texas today and hit up our favorite BBQ pit stop, Louie Mueller's, but I remembered this morning that Nubian Queen Lola's was in Austin. And guess what? I had time to fill and a hearty appetite! So there was a change in plans.

I plugged the address into my iPhone and easily made my way there. It is in a lower income part of town, but I felt comfortable there. The tiny apartments were neatly kept, the roads were wide and well marked, I saw mother's pushing strollers, men waiting on buses, and there was a well used park just a block away. How can you not like a restaurant that is painted so colorfully as this?



Please excuse the quality of the photos, they were taken with my iPhone.

I walked in and was immediately greeted by someone back in the recesses of the kitchen yelling out that she would be up to help me in just a moment. There were two other customers there, both young men dressed in business casual. I also noticed a couple young men at the back door when I was walking up to the building. When I was seated and looking around, I realized that these men were probably homeless and she was providing them with food. She runs the restaurant by herself six days a week and closes on Sunday to the public in order to feed the homeless. Plus she doesn't turn them away during the week when they come to her for a meal. Lola is a wonderwoman!

Her menu is jam packed with soul food and Cajun delights. And according to the reviews, her hamburgers are pretty darn tasty too. She told me her special today was crawfish etoufee. How could I say no? I also opted for two truly southern, soul food sides - yams and collard greens. Oh my goodness! Was I in for a treat!



Served on a disposable plate with simply a fork and couple disposable napkins, the food was heavenly. The etoufee was creamy and spicy and filled with tasty, tender-chewy morsels of crawfish. The collard greens (which I have had a few times before and never liked) where tangy, a bit vinegar-y, and delicious! It's true that there is a secret to making those edible and she knows the secret! And the yams, oh-so-sweet and tender. It also came with a moist square of cornbread and I opted for the "Cajun" Iced tea which was a sugary-sweet beverage with what tasted to me like orange kool-aid mixed in. Surprisingly good and refreshing!

The surroundings are kitschy and certainly suit the proprietor. Filled with painted canvases of President Obama, some statuary, lots of bits and pieces or paper taped and tacked to the walls, even handwritten messages marked directly on the walls, with mardi gras beads hanging from the ceiling, it felt like you were looking through Lola's eyes at how colorful and bright the world really is.





And you certainly couldn't find a more welcoming and warm hostess. She gleefully posed for a picture and chatted with me while busily running back and forth filling a to-go order.



When I was leaving, I asked her what she needed most right now to help her serve the homeless and continue her calling. She said she couldn't say what the plan was, but she really needed a karaoke machine. Sadly, one had already been donated, but it was stolen. I am going to see if I can find a karaoke machine for her through the Freecycle lists I follow. If you happen to have one you don't need, please consider sending it to Lola so that she can follow her path and keep doing the great things she is doing.

I can't wait to go again. If you are ever in Austin, you should stop by and feel the love in the air and in the food.

Nubian Queen Lola's Cajun Soul Food Restaurant
1815 Rosewood Avenue
Austin, Texas 78702
512-474-5652

Menu Plan Monday - 5.25.09

Here is my better late than never version of Menu Plan Monday!

If you would like to find some delicious recipes and try your hand at menu planning, join in with the rest of us over at OrgJunkie.com.



Recipes and photos will be shared as I make the meals! So check back often!

Monday
Open-Faced Roast Beef Sandwiches
Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

Tuesday
We will be driving down to Austin (JJ has a job interview, so please keep your fingers crossed!) and hope to return with some brisket from Louie Mueller's BBQ! It's the best barbecue this side of heaven!

Wednesday
Cheeseburger Pasta
Steamed Broccoli

Thursday
Balsamic-Glazed New York Strip Steaks
Steak Fries
Asparagus

Friday
Skillet Macaroni and Cheese
Hot Dogs

Saturday
Crockpot Rotisserie-Style Chicken
Baked Potatoes
Corn on the Cob

Sunday
Brown Sugar Chicken
Rice
Sautéed Spinach