Thanksgiving

This post is exciting for a few reasons:
1. I've been checking out other blogs, and most of them show relatively traditional Thanksgiving food. Of course, I did kind of miss the turkey, stuffing, and apple pie, but I also love how we mixed it up and created a menu that still had a lot of Thanksgiving-ish ingredients, and yet was definitely modernized.
2. Last night was also my first official time as "head chef." I mean, my dad made the chicken and string beans, but I made everything else by myself. I feel now that I've "entertained" once, I can do it lots more in the future! It was really fun!
So yesterday I started cooking first thing in the morning. First, I had a very good breakfast: Thanksgiving oatmeal!
It had 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup soy milk, some leftover pumpkin, 1/2 a banana, maple syrup, pecans, cranberry sauce, and a dollop of yogurt.
Then I started cooking. All the dishes were spread out over the course of the day, so I didn't feel pressured. I popped the Autumn Millet Bake back in the oven because it hadn't finished cooking, while I worked on the other baked dishes, that I figured I might as well do now if the oven was on. I made 101 Cookbook's Firecracker Cornbread and a recipe I got on Epicurious for Apple Quince Crisp with Rum Raisins. I modified that one a bit-- we didn't have rum, so the raisins became bourbon raisins. I also changed the topping and used Deborah Madison's, since I prefer my crisp topping to have oats in it. I also included walnuts and used half butter and half walnut oil in the topping. Flambee-ing the raisins was awesome, although it doesn't really show in the picture.
My dad couldn't resist taking some really unflattering pictures of me.
For lunch I wasn't that hungry, so I definitely ate more than I should have. I made a big salad with a bunch of random things-- spinach, some leftover cauliflower croquettes from the night before, some rice and beans, and hummus. I also had a piece of bread with cucumber and laughing cow, and then, just because I wanted something sweet, I had a zensoy pudding with half a banana and a drizzle of peanut butter. My eyes are always bigger than my stomach, and for some reason I always finish what's on my plate. I'll get to that in a minute, but this is definitely a bad thing.
I also had an apple.
I only went out of the house once-- how sad is that?? I really really really hate being cooped up in the apartment, which is why today I'm just going to get out for the sake of getting out. Anyways, at around 3 I went running with my friends-- the friends I went with yesterday are super fast, with 5 minute miles or something. I was really afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up with them, and there were stretches when I couldn't, but I basically stayed with them the whole time and felt like I pushed myself without hurting anything. Also, we didn't go that far-- I met them at the Point, and then we ran to just over the hill (before the playground) and then ran back not quite to the Point and did a bunch of striders, which we used to do when I was a sprinter, but they were obviously longer (for distance). Then I ran back to my house. I was thinking about having a snack but realized I had to get cooking and forgot all about it, which was VERY good, considering the amount of food we had later.
We actually changed the main course, because I realized that if we were going to have the autumn millet bake, our original stuffed pumpkins would be too similar. My dad took care of the Cornish hens, basting them with some kind of marmalade marinate, while I still tried out a Flexitarian Table recipe for Lemon Thyme tofu. I was a little worried about this, since I've never had "Western-style tofu" before. I also ended up using two kinds of tofu: both extra firm, but one was silken, and it kept falling apart :(
I also realized when the guests showed up that I was the only American-born person there! I guess Thanksgiving wasn't a tradition to any of these people: most of them were either Chinese or Korean, and one was Belgian.
Inspired by Kath, I made menus: check out that sparkly paper!
My dad also made his traditional turkey centerpiece:
First course (too lazy to write it out-- just check the menu).

For some reason I perfected the dressing this time by using balsamic instead of lemon juice. The combination of salty, sour and sweet were perfected. This was really good, if I do say so myself.



Meanwhile, my dad stir-fried the string beans and served up the chickens. It was too hard to get everything out at once, so we ate everything gradually. For some reason, I got full much more quickly than usual! I can normally eat HUGE amounts of food, but yesterday I couldn't. My downfall was either a) being the cook-- real chefs hardly ever eat because they're around food all day. Not saying I'm a real chef, but you know what I mean. b) the HUGE AMOUNT OF STRING BEANS MY DAD GAVE ME in order to compensate for lack of chicken. I really shouldn't have eaten all these, esp. since they're not a "special occasion" food, but they're so good... and they are vegetables.
I had a tiny sliver of cornbread, two helpings of cranberry sauce, and a small piece of the millet bake. Everything was really good- the cornbread especially, since I rarely cook with butter. The butter was infused with cayenne and made the cornbread spicy and moist. It was also good that I used millet because they use it a lot in China and Korea, and I think it was interesting for the students to see it in a Western way instead of just labeling is some kind of hippie dish, since most of us think of millet as bird food.
As for the tofu... It was a little strong for me. It absorbed the flavors so thoroughly that I think it would be better on a sandwich or in a salad. Still, it was definitely interesting, and eating it in bigger chunks made it feel more substantial. I had one half triangle and I didn't end up eating all of it.
One student made some kind of Chinese buns with gluey rice flour on the inside. I had a bite, but honestly I've never really liked Chinese baked goods.

I don't know why I was so full at this point! But I knew it was Thanksgiving and I was really looking forward to dessert.
In addition to my crisp, people brought a blueberry cheesecake and some ice cream. The only thing I really felt was worth splurging on was the crisp, and I really wish my mom had been there to try it. YOU WOULD HAVE LOVED THIS, MOM.

I was afraid it would be too boozy, but the bourbon just added another dimension to the filling. The contrast between the apples and quinces was subtle but definitely there-- the quinces were chewier and more tart. I had the crisp with some full-fat Greek yogurt and it was great. I went back for seconds. I thought it was justified.
By the end of the night I was full but not actually stuffed-- I think the problem was the massive amount of fibrous green beans sitting in my stomach.
Afterwards, we all signed the menus-- not sure why, but I think my dad is going to save it-- he joked about framing it as a way to document my first real dinner party. Actually, it wasn't really, since I've cooked for friends before, but I've definitely never made so many dishes at once.

However, this is the unfun part to say. I'm realizing that I have gained weight. I don't regret not being stringent and borderline Orthorexic (do people actually use this term? I've only recently heard about this), but I do regret not treating my body well and listening to myself when I'm not hungry anymore. It's not just that my jeans are tight, but also that I don't feel good when I keep eating when I'm full. My goal is to not stop myself from eating one thing, but to start with smaller portions and get more if I'm hungry, rather than setting out a huge food spread for myself and devouring it all, because I'm just not the kind of person who can leave food on my plate-- maybe it's an Asian thing. Either way, this isn't going to be an "I'm going to lose X pounds" type of thing, although I would guess it's probably around 5 pounds. If I were really going to go back to how I was at my thinnest, it would be around 10, but I was too thin then, I wasn't healthy and had to go to the doctor, and I also didn't have as much muscle mass... also, I was an inch or two shorter. Anyways, you see my point.
I just want to eat more slowly and really savor everything.
What advice do you have?

Thanksgiving Eve

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and it will be strange! For the first time, I'm basically cooking an entire dinner myself :) so I'll have to get cracking early. I'm planning on getting up and enjoying a leisurely breakfast, getting started on prep work, and writing my paper, then meeting up with some people for a run, having lunch, and I guess cooking for the rest of the day. Finally, an excuse to cook for enough people to make something special!
By the way, it turned out that the Autumn Millet bake needed way more cooking time than the recipe said, so I'm going to serve that tomorrow night as well, although it does seem a little redundant.
Anyways, Breakfast:
Not to be boring, but we really did have to get rid of that banana bread, and with my dad's help, it is ALL GONE! I had two pieces with peanut butter and grapes, but no hot chocolate.
I did work and stuff in the morning, and really regretted not having done any exercise... I really didn't feel like running because I had that long run with friends the day before, so I did the unthinkable... I went swimming.
It felt so strange to be in the water again, and yet not strange at all! In fact, it was comforting to me, like the rhythm of the turns and arm motions brought back tons of my memories (both good and bad). The problem is that the pool downstairs is tiny and almost too shallow in the shallow end for flip turns, but it feels amazing to have the ENTIRE pool to yourself! I had so much room that I really felt myself moving forward in my fly!
I swam for about 45 minutes-- enough for a good workout, but not enough that I was no longer having fun (yes, this workout was really FUN). This wasn't even half a swim practice...
Warmup-- 10 laps (once again, no idea how long this pool was, but I was betting that the 10 laps were maybe 300-400 yds? not even, maybe)
Then I did the normal warmup we do for meets:
Fly-- kick down, swim back, drill down, swim back
Same thing for Back
Same thing for Breast
Same thing for Free
Only I did this cycle 4 times, with 10 seconds of rest between each lap, so it wasn't terrible.
This was actually pretty time consuming, considering each "cycle" is 8 laps.
After that, I decided to do a fast IM, going at a fast pace: a lap each of fly, back, breast, and then free.
Then I did another 10 laps cool down, and my dad came down to tell me he was going to a meeting. I got all excited about swimming and did a fast lap of fly for him. That's the thing-- sometimes I get in the water and I can't move and other times it's just so fun.
Lunch-- for some reason I've gotten addicted to wraps! Also, they're too messy to take to school, so I might as well enjoy them while I can.
This wrap was stuffed to the brim and really strange... basically, I'm just trying to clear out the fridge:
Pumpkin (already mixed with some cinnamon and maple syrup)
Red pepper hummus
Portobella mushroom
Leftover Chinese grilled green peppers (with a lot of vinegar)
Black beans
Baby spinach
Weird, huh? The pumpkin got a little weird at the end... it was definitely the odd one out, but it also worked.
I also had a carrot with some more hummus and a bowl of yogurt, cottage cheese, berries and some cereal. Of course, this bowl soon became bottomless. I refilled it, then refilled it again with milk, then promptly threw it away because the milk was so sour it was disgusting. Ugh. But I still wanted more so I got a new bowl and had some cereal with soymilk. THIS IS THE PROBLEM OF CEREAL. IT NEVER ENDS. That's why it seems like having two big pieces of banana bread is fattening, but really it isn't because you know exactly how much you're eating. Maybe I should make Thanksgiving resolutions instead of New Years ones... If so, mine would be COOL IT ON THE CEREAL/yogurt/cottage cheese.
After lunch, I met up with my friend Gauri for a heart-to-heart by school. I was originally going to see Twilight AGAIN, but plans didn't work out. After I left Gauri, I went to the bookstore and sat there for a while, browsing (mostly cookbooks...).
My dad picked me up and we went grocery shopping at Treasure Island. I HATE THIS PLACE. It's so badly organized, and everybody seemed to be moving so SLOWLY... you could hardly move without crashing into somebody. This is why we do most of our shopping downtown. Also, I needed buttermilk for the cornbread, and the only kind I could find was this really suspicious-looking stuff that had a long-ish ingredients list.
When I got home, I was kind of hungry, but didn't want to eat too much in anticipation of dinner... I also didn't want to overdo it on the hot chocolate, so I made carob instead-- skim milk with a spoonful of carob, brown sugar, cinnamon, and 2 mini marshmallows. If it weren't for the marshmallows I probably would have thought it was gross.
As for dinner, we got there an hour later but we were still among the earliest. The food spread wasn't that great or vegetarian-friendly, but I managed, and it was mainly the atmosphere that I liked. I love the grad students. One guy is awesome and was playing the banjo and harmonica at the same time... he also said that I should write a book on the history of Russian-French cuisine, since the Russian aristocracy all spoke French. A bunch of people also think that if I start eating meat, I should do a section on my blog that talks about the changes that I feel physically and mentally when I start again. He said, "I bet you'll be more aggressive."
The food:
-Turkey from Whole Foods (apparently this was really good)
-Our AMAZING cranberry sauce. This was probably the only thing I ate tonight that was really worth eating, and I ate more of it than I should, since it's not too good for the stomach. Basically, it has orange zest, walnuts, and blueberries in it. Truely gourmet.
-Stuffing that came with the turkey was vegetarian and had mushrooms and a lot of rosemary in it
-homemade stuffing with sausage, wild rice, and vegetables (I would really have liked to try this....)
-Stuffed tofu skins with sesame seeds, which I LOVE
-One of our foodie friends who is awesome and has a black belt in martial arts and is from Malaysia made brandade, which she said actually took 3 days! She got the salt cod at a little Italian place by Randolph.
-Brussel sprouts
-American-style greenbeans (I think came with the turkey)-- very bland
-Some generic Asian stir-fried vegetables. I thought they were homemade, given all the Asians, and took a lot, but they were actually gloopy and probably from Noodles.
-Mashed potatoes, which I took but didn't eat because I don't really like them.
-Shepherd's pie
-Duck from Chinatown
And then our Italian foodie friend Paola showed up with cauliflower croquettes and a loaf of homemade sourdough hot from the oven!!! Unfortunately I was full by this point, but we took the croquettes and the entire loaf home! Paola has also invited me to come make pizza with her Saturday, so I'm pretty excited.
I had seconds on stuffing and cranberry sauce.

Dessert: I actually passed on dessert. I just didn't feel like I needed it. I did have bites and sips of various things.

Green tea/lemon sorbet-- this was really more like granita, and just like eating ice with a drizzle of green tea. It was palate-cleansing and made my stomach feel better.
There were also 2 sweet Korean drinks-- one was the cinnamon I like so much and one was with brown rice. I had a sip of each and decided they were way too sweet.
Other desserts: only 2 were homemade-- orange cake and pumpkin cheesecake. It doesn't like like it has pumpkin b/c it's yellow, but this student is SERIOUSLY talented. Last party she made tiramisu and it tasted just like it was from a bakery. She also manages to produce these bakery boxes and gilded stands for the cake, and decorates it perfectly. Koreans are known for being good bakers, but she hasn't even had any training... what??
I didn't have the cake, but I did have a bite of my dad's... it was amazing. It's hard to make cheesecake really delicious and not too heavy, but this was perfect. It had an oreo crust and was perfectly light and creamy.
All in all, I didn't eat that much, although most of what I ate I didn't have to. I think I am under a misapprehension that I don't get enough vegetables, so whenever I see them at a party I take way more than I should and I get full really fast. And next time pass on the cornstarch baby corn dishes... please.