Thursday, March 30, 2006

South Beach Diet - Day 11 & Pesto Veal Chops

Well it's the morning of South Beach Diet- Day 12. I promise that I won't be so focused on the minutia come next Monday, but I think, for others wanting to go the South Beach route, it's good to see that there is some struggling along the way during the strict Phase One. At least, that's what I'm telling myself.

Nor will I bore everyone with the breakfast, snacks and even lunches. I'm getting tired of salads, craving a wrap (Let's be honest, I'm craving a REAL sandwich) and not really feeling very excited about making lunch when it's just for me. It's amazing how I can come up with delicious variety when I also have to feed my honey, yet am not really inspired for myself - at least not at lunch.

Dinner, on the other hand, is my favorite meal of the day. So even when I am alone, I can cook up something delicious. Before I share last night's dinner, I guess I should mention our dinner out for my birthday - and thanks to all of you who wished me Happy Birthday. That was so sweet. Back to food...Actually, the food we ate was less than memorable. Good think I like the company! I wanted steak, remembering how delicious my Honey's steak was at Lola's last Friday. So we went to a steak house downtown (no names because, as I've said before - when I have nothing nice to say....you know the rest). There are many really good ones I could have chosen, but to be honest, I didn't want to go too upscale and be tempted by interesting appetizers and awesome desserts. So I chose a mid-range one with a solid reputation for good meat and I ordered sirloin strip with peppercorn sauce served over portobello mushrooms and he ordered the plain strip loin - just in case mine was too peppery for me, so we would trade - my Hero! We figured we'd share the mushrooms. First came a salad - iceberg lettuce with grated carrots and choices of dressing... ranch, thousand islands, blue cheese, honey mustard... I asked for olive oil and vinegar which they brought to the table for us to drizzle. So salad was boring and very 1950's. It reminded me of my mother's kitchen way back when I was little. I love nostalgia, but not for THIS salad. Then came the main course - my steak was tender but flavorless and swimming in a brown gravy with a few peppercorns. I needn't have worried about the spiciness. The vegetables looked pretty - a mix of steamed baby corncobs, red peppers, water chestnuts, a couple of asparagus tips - but no flavor. The best part was the mushroom! Home for SB dessert. What can I say - we should have gone back to Lola's - maybe next weekend.

Honestly, and not to brag, but I should have done my own cooking! Last night's supper was simple but delicious. Mashed turnips which I boiled in chicken broth rather than water for flavor. The youngest skinniest asparagus I've ever seen, steamed and drizzled with just a touch of balsamic vinegar and a juicy veal chop coated with Pesto and grilled on the BBQ. The whole thing took less than 30 minutes - like Rachel Ray (she even has a low carb episode on today!)

Truth be told, though - this diet thing is getting a little tiresome...and I've been looking at Phase Two menus in the South Beach Diet book just to keep me going. I swear I'm only READING! Apricots coated in chocolate, chocolate bark, and I noticed some gorgeous looking meringues at Kalyn's Kitchen. Yummm.

Recipes

1 comment:

Erin Eats said...

You know, I'm the exact opposite. I like so many things that my husband won't try, so I really enjoy cooking for myself, it's the time I'm most creative and unafraid of trying new things.

5 more sleeps is adorable :)