Tues, May 6, 2008

5.19am - raw fruit&nut bar, on the way to the 5.30am bootcamp (normally we go to the 6am), with Ritesh7.30am - fruit salad and Argentinian Mate, at home

7.57am - a fried egg on toasted sourdough bread, w/ lots of chili and pepper, at home

10.23am - an Emmi yogurt (!) w/real pink grapefruit, at work. Oh, the pangs of conscience I had after I purchased this, what with the carbon footprint of all the European imports that I splurge on to soothe that homesickness. Thankfully, though, it turns out Emmi now manufactures in the US, so at least this guy didn't travel halfway around the world to be consumed at my desk.

12.44pm - a cuppa chai at Tara Himalayan Restaurant, with Nadya

12.53pm - the Tibetan lunch special: a plate of chicken-filled momos. They describe them as dumplings on the menu, but they're really more like potstickers. Now we know where the Chinese got that idea...

12.53pm - the Nepali lunch Thali, w/ daal, chicken curry, bean curry, salad, rice and raita. Nadya and I shared both the momos and this one.

1.25pm - tasted some of that pretty, pink Himalayan salt. Tasted like salt.

1.45pm - Nadya brought us more oranges from her garden! A whole bag full! What a treat - thanks, Nads!

3.36pm - an apple, almonds and dried cranberries, at work

8.38pm - my ginger-turmeric soup w/ shitake mushrooms, spinach, butternut squash and some miso (there's also the juice of one of your lemons in here, Nads!), fresh mango, at home, with Ritesh

Mon, May 5, 2008 - Back at bootcamp!

5.49am - raw fruit-nut omega-3 protein bar, on the way to bootcamp, with Ritesh. Yes, back at bootcamp, back with the protein bars before sunrise...7.21am - fried rice w/ veggie chicken and the last of that leftover Persian cherry rice. Trying not to waste food, but by golly, that Persian cherry rice was just a side at the restaurant at the time, and it ended up making 4 or 5 meals. Oh, and there's some of that fresh soy milk from Simpang Asia. At home, after bootcamp, with Ritesh.

12.59pm - chicken tortilla soup (it being Cinco de Mayo and all) and extra tortilla chips, at work. This is the chicken tortilla soup from fresh&easy, which as it turns out has 1300mg of sodium. That's an awful lot of salt, and no matter how natural the rest of the ingredients, it was basically too salty to eat. I gave up after about half.

3.46pm - raw (unsalted, thank God) almonds, dried cranberries, at work

7.33pm - ruby red grapefruit, at home

7.52pm - leftover green-garlic and spinach soup w/ creme fraiche, a steamed Chinese veggie bun and two fried quail eggs, at home, with Ritesh.

7.52pm - spinach salad w/ Thai mango & sweet chili dressing, at home, with Ritesh.

Sun, May 4, 2008

10.04am - leftover Persian cherry rice, fresh soy milk from the Indonesian store, Argentinian Mate, at home12.02pm - bhajyas (Indian garbanzo bean fritters) w/ spicy ketchup, at Ritesh's parents' house (these go into the main dish, but we snacked on some as appetizers)

12.59 - bhajyas with onion and rice added before frying, w/ chutney, at Ritesh's parents' house

12.59pm - green bean shaak, bhaghat muthia (the dumpling/fritter dish), kachumbar (tomato-onion-cilantro-lime mix), toasted bread, at Ritesh's parents' house with the in-laws, Prashant and Suzanne

2.29pm - Prashant's tasty chai, leftover birthday cake

2.47pm - vardyaari (Indian fennel seed mix), a digestive

4.31pm - Mexican junk food (watermelon flavored gummy spaghetti w/ spicy tamarind sauce) from Target, outside Ritesh's parents' house

9.04pm - my green garlic and spinach soup w/ crème fraîche and toasted bread, at home, with Ritesh

Sat, May 3, 2008

9.36am - blueberry-flaxseed smoothie, at home10.38am - my crustless veggie quiche w/ soy chicken, gruyere cheese and fresh rosemary from Greg's parents' garden (and no, I did not eat the whole thing all at once...)

11.18am - quiche w/ salad, toasted bread and coffee soy milk, at home, with Ritesh

3.12pm - a Gala apple, at home, in front of our incredibly fragrant jasmine bush

3.50pm - an extra slice of quiche, at home

4.09pm - absinthe chocolate from Italy, at home. Tastes like cough syrup.

4.34pm - to make up for that absinthe chocolate, a little sandwich w/ German truffle chocolate (organic, fair trade), at home

9.01pm - Ritesh wanted to go to Simpang Asia after seeing the pictures I've been taking there. Here's what he picked: chicken w/ spicy eggplant sauce, tamarind soup...

9.03pm - ...Indonesian chicken soup w/ extra lime, hot sauce and shrimp crackers...

9.06pm - and a whole, fried and almost caramelized tilapia, very sweet tasting and delicious (came recommended by the waitress)

9.10pm - and of course the famous avocado-chocolate smoothie, my favorite

9.49pm - Simpang Asia is really an Indonesian grocery store with a tacked on cafe, and they happened to sell these German coconut treats: Raffaello, on the drive home, with Ritesh

Fri, May 2, 2008

8.35pm - the last oranges from Nadya's garden, at home9.50am - turmeric-hazelnut bread and veggie juice, at work

2.04pm - salad from Mrs. Winston's, outside work

2.21pm - potato chips, outside work

6.48pm - buckwheat bread w/ tarama, at home, with Ritesh

6.50 - leftover Persian food: cherry rice and pomegranate-walnut chicken, at home, with Ritesh

Thurs, May 1, 2008

7.58am - oranges from Nadya's garden, at home, with Ritesh

10.46am - omelette jambon fromage with French baguette and fried potatoes from Breadbar, outside work. Just for the record, this is one disappointing ham and cheese omelette. For one, it is so overpriced that I imagined it must be truly special and authentically French, and had stayed away from it for months, saving it for that special day when I really needed a French fix. So today was that day. And just for the record, this is NOTHING like the flavorful, delicate, soft concoction you get at any random Bistro in Paris (and for less money, even in Euros). This is a bland, oversized glob of egg that is the wrong color and the wrong texture and certainly the wrong flavor. And they have the cheek to call that abominable American-style ham that they have "Jambon de Paris". And whoever heard of serving fried potatoes with a French ham and cheese omelette? Maybe Breadbar should just drop their French pretensions. I mean, come on, they didn't even give butter with the baguette, or salt for the omelette, so had to go back for both. Sorry for the rant, but what a rip off! 4.03pm - turmeric-hazelnut bread from Breadbar, at work. THIS is what Breadbar does best.

7.03pm - Persian appetizers at Shamshiri, with Ritesh

7.10pm - Persian flatbread with butter, radish, onion, mint and sumac (Persian red spice made from berries), at Shamshiri, with Ritesh

7.28 - Persian doogh (yogurt drink w/ mint), at Shamshiri, with Ritesh

7.38 - Salmon kebab w/ grilled veggies and albalou polo (rice with cherries), covered w/ saffron rice, at Shamshiri, with Ritesh (note the size of the plate compared to the glass in the top right corner!)

7.38pm - fesenjoon (pomegranate-walnut stew w/ chicken), rice, at Shamshiri, with Ritesh