Firstly, a warm and hearty THANK YOU for all your support, both here and on Facebook. This is most assuredly not going to be easy, and I am a ready and willing recipient of any and all good vibes you can send our way.
Today, I stepped on the scale for the first time in a shamefully long time. Somewhere deep down I knew it was going to be bad, so I fixed my best-guessed number in my head and concentrated on that. The good news: there is definitely room for me to lose my share of this 100 lbs. The bad news: the scale read quite an unpleasant number. One, in all my years of diets and detours, I've never actually laid eyes on before. This is a new low (er, high?) for moi. I can't deny the part of me that wants to cry about it. Because no matter how often magazines and self-help folks try to tell us, it's very difficult not to ascribe meaning to the number that pops up on the scale. On the other hand, there is the part of me that responds with a resounding "aw, HEYL no." Get thee to a gymnasium.
Incidentally, one of the ladies at work was stuck in the elevator today for like, 40 minutes. I'm interpreting that as a sign and taking the stairs from now on.
So, with fear of the scale in mind and bolstered by the support and encouragement from you all, I headed to the (dun dun duuunn) GYM. Lemme tell you, it's been a while. Having been reminded of the benefits of cardio by my friend JChen, I decided on the dreaded treadmill and the smooth sounds of This American Life and Couch to 5K. As expected, my conditioning had slipped since the Operation Oliver 5K, during which I proudly finished a) not last, and b) not dead. Everything seemed be going fairly well until, for some unknown reason, the treadmill stopped and gave me my "workout summary" about halfway through said workout. In fact, I restarted it two other times with the same result; it just quit on me. So I have no idea how far I went or how many calories I burned. But it was a good chunk of time and, most importantly, I felt good afterward. Despite being red-faced, dripping with sweat and trying to smile-off the concerned looks of the surrounding undergrads ("No guys, I am not having a heart attack. I always look/sound this way when I work out. NBD.").
Inspired by my feat of exercise and the delectable crop of goodies I swiped from my dad's garden whilst home last weekend, tonight's dinner was pretty fabulous, if I do say so myself. Though I initially was tempted to succumb to over-instagraming food pictures, I thought I'd just share the recipe (or a rough estimation of one) instead.
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| This is my MIL, rooting around in my Dad's world-famous garden |
Latvian Salad Salmon
(so called because of my take on the cucumbers, tomatoes and sour cream mixture that my mother calls Latvian salad, though I'm pretty sure it's a staple of most cuisines in that part of the world).
for the fish:
one or two salmon filets, skin intact
1 (or so) teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
for the dressing/topping:
1/4 to 1/3 cup light sour cream
1 to 2 tablespoons capers, drained
one medium or large tomato, chopped
half a cucumber, washed, with skin, chopped
splash pickle juice (lemon juice would also work, but my mom swears by pickle juice because it adds a good flavor with the tang)
Preheat broiler. Make sure rack is about 5-6 inches from the flame. Put tin foil over your broiler pan so as to eliminate stuck fish and messy cleanup. Spray foil with Pam. Wash fish, pat dry, place skin-side down on foil. Pour a titch (this is another technical term from my mother meaning "just a little bit") of EVOO on each filet, rub with your fingers to distribute. Sprinkle with S&P. Broil for 10 or so minutes, depending on the thickness of your filet. Best to start at about 8 and check for doneness (when it flakes apart easily and is a uniform color, e.g., not more pinky in the middle).
While the fish cooks, chop your veggies and put in a mixing bowl. Add capers, sour cream, pickle juice and mix. Season with S&P to taste. I also added some Mrs. Dash at this point, and dill is usually a must (but alas, I had none). Mix in seasonings and let meld for a few minutes. Taste and see if you like it. If not, add more of what you do like. The mixture will be somewhat runny, but will firm up once you put in on the fish. Once the fish is out of the oven, put in on a plate and spoon the Latvian salad mixture generously over the filet. I mean, cover that thing, maybe add some to the side, cuz it's gonna be good, and you're gonna want more.
Happy gyming and eating everyone!
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