Lazy Weight Loss = Body + Mind + Spirit

Put on running shorts that previously used to always hike up on me and be annoying.  Why?  Because they were actually too small.  I was in denial.  Oy denial and the body, an endless story!

But now they fit, because my legs are slimmer AND my stomach is flatter.  And, I just realized it's really because of this full court press I'm doing -- unintentionally it all just fell into place that I am dealing with the body, mind and spirit of my weight loss.

Was it UNintentional though?  Not really.  I went to a Debbie Ford/James Van Praagh workshop on December 4th, came home and printed up two beautifully laid out, colorful affirmations up:  "Abundance flows into my life in surprising and miraculous ways every day" (Thank you Debbie Ford for giving us those exact amazing words!) and "I love loving my body" to which my boyfriend handwrote "Me too! Me too!" in pen.  My ex ALWAYS told me how much he loved my body -- no matter what it looked like!  How lucky was I?  

I digress.  I put up the affirmations and then three things came into my life:  1) Two friends reinspired me to join Weight Watchers which had worked marvelously for me in the past, 2) I came upon Marianne Williamson's book "Course in Weight Loss" with the supporitng book on CD and meditation tapes...I actually didn't crack the book, I just have been listening to it in the car (I'm on my second round), and 3) My accupuncturist mentioned for the second time her research on High Intensity Interval Training (aka "HIIT").   It is no mistake that these things came into my life, but I just got today that they are dealing with every level of weight loss I need.

I'm super impressed with all of them but today I'm geting an extra kick out of HIIT because I really see that my legs and stomach are visibly slimming -- faster than with normal Weight Watchers weight loss.

Intentions are very powerful and VERY LAZY!  Use them, abuse them.  Debbie Ford suggests you put the ones you need most across from the toilet -- that's where my body love one is.  So you see it repeatedly.  My other one is in the window across from my bed so I see it every time I look up.  I made it very pretty too so it would pleasing to look at. 

Lazily yours, a little less of me...

Lazy Lovin' on Valentine's Day

One of the most valuable things I got out of doing the Landmark Forum many years ago (thanks to Beanie!) was the idea of creating possibilities.  I do it now on a daily basis, and actually have a call each weekday morning with a few other people where we create possibilities for our day and set up a few intentions.

Today, I created the possibility of being LOVE because today was the day we delivered scarves to the City of Hope.  I started The Love Scarf Project (see lovescarf.blogspot.com) several years ago and today was Love Scarf Project 2011 Valentine's Day delivery to patients of all ages, shapes, sizes, backgrounds, religions.  We hand out handmade scarves, hats (and a few booties too!) to the patients so that they can  be reminded that they are very loved even when they are alone.

Everyone's hearts were so full of love.  My pilates teacher, Melanie came to help deliver -- and later her daughter, Riley, came too.  The second woman above is Carrie, who is responsible for 100's of scarves being knitted over the years, for a project starting in Salt Lake City and Chicago, and for helping the NY Love Scarf Project.  And the couple on the right are Perry and Nancy.  Nancy knitted FORTY FOUR -- yes that is forty plus four -- scarves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We were escorted around by the two head nurses of the floors we visited and a with a wonderful Recreation Director, Edwin, who just made the adventure even more love-filled.

The patients -- even the most exhausted and weary -- were so grateful it was breathtaking.   We just wanted to shower THEM with love and yet so much love came back to us -- even as, in some cases, they struggled to just keep their energy up enough to receive us.

It really puts everything in perspective.  It's just all about love isn't it.  What else matters?  Nada.  Zip.

It's always a great reminder - if you aren't getting what you need, give it -- whatever it is that you are complaining about not having or not getting enough of....take a moment, and give it out and you will see it come right back to you.  It's the laziest way of all to get exactly what you want..and need.

Happy Lazy Valentine's Day to all.

Celebrating Weight Loss = Spa Day for the Lazy Woman!!!!!!!!!

Most important thing for me: celebrating the losses.  I'm about halfway to my goal of 17 pounds, and it's Valentine's Day time and I wanted to give myself some extra love too.

My favorite regular LA Spa, i.e., it doesn't break the bank every time you go is Olympic Spa: http://www.olympicspala.com/.

For just literally $15 you can soak in the tubs, steam, sauna to your heart's content -- literally for hours upon hours!

I get the $70 combo of scrub + massage.  You get scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed so all the dead skin layers are gone, gone, gone, and then they massage you with oil, honey and milk (yes real honest to god honey and they finish the treatment with warm milk all over your body).  They also put grated fresh cucumber all over your face while they massage your scalp, shampoo and condition your hair.  It is as luxurious as it sounds.

If you want a little added luxury and about 20 minutes more treatment with Bumble & Bumble products you can go up to $100 or $120.  I do those every once in a while too, but honestly for $70 you get a lot of luxury.  The treatment is an hour long and very nurturing and refreshing.

And, before the treatment I soaked in the hot Mugworts Tea Bath, in the icy cold tub, sat in the Oxygen Stone + Jade Walled Steamroom, and the Himalayan Salt Sauna...and then I took a luxurious nap for about 45 minutes on the warm jade floor -- yes, very warm jade floor.  They give you pillows and blankets.  There is nothing like napping on a very warm floor.

Everyone is naked at the spa.  You actually aren't allowed to enter any of the baths with a bathing suit. So you get to celebrate ALL the different shapes and sizes, and take a moment to just love your own body, love your body moving in and out of the water, steaming it, taking care of it, nurturing all of you, inside and out. 

I thanked my body for working so hard, asked for forgiveness for overeating in the past, and for all my negative thoughts -- like it was a bad friend.  In fact, my body has been my loyal friend, giving me very little grief. It wasn't doing anything to me.  I was doing something to it.

If you are losing weight, definitely check out Marianne WIlliamson's "A Course in Weight Loss."  I am really getting a whole new relationship with my body and food out of this course.  Thank you Genius Marianne!

Loving you, loving my body, loving losing, and loving CELEBRATING the loss!

It Takes a Village to Lose A Pound

Ten days after break up it's clear that the ex is doing some serious soul searching and is on the brink of some possible huge transformation.  Don't know how this will all pan out, only know that we started talking about potentially seeing each other.  Within a couple hours of this talk I decided I needed popcorn.  My favorite these days has been Orville Redenbacher's Salt + Pepper.  It is divine and couples nicely with light beer. But, this mini-"meal" = 8 points. 

So, I thought I'd do air-popped popcorn with a couple teaspoons of melted butter and salt.  Yummy. 

But I haven't used my air popper in a while so I ended up with a huuuuuuge bowl of popcorn.  I didn't go so far as to it eat it all, but I will say I ate more than I normally would and I saw it was definitely unequivocally emotional eating.   I watched myself doing it, was conscious of what was really going on, and took myself to the bathroom where I made myself take a hot bath instead.  I still ate more than I should have, but at least I got it together, and identified the real issue.

Next time, I am committed to cutting off the emotional eating faster.   And, the time after that even faster.  Pretty amazing that this was the first time in 5 weeks that I've had an emotional eating outburst.

I think this is in large part due to Marianne WIlliamson's book on tape that I've been listening to....and the meditation keeping me centered.  It takes a village.  It takes a full court press -- spirit, mind and body -- to lose weight.

Thank you Marianne Williamson for being part of my village. 

Lazy Woman Loses Weight But Remains Foodie

I've lost 8.4 pounds in 5 weeks.  That's a good, healthy pace.  But, the most important thing to me is I have not forfeited one iota of my foodie-ness. 

The amazing thing about Weight Watchers is that you can literally fit any craving into your plan.  My favorite sandwich on the planet right now is LA restaurant, Mendocino Farms' Veggie BLT Melt.  It has veggie bacon, jalapeno cheese, crunchy organic arugula, tomatoes..all on crunchy toasty chewy yummy sourdough bread.  What does it cost me in Weight Watchers points?  15 points out of the 29 I'm allotted each day.  Everyone also gets 49 extra weekly points to use over the course of a week.  But, the bottom line is that I can work my way around the plan to fit every single thing that I want to eat into my plan and still lose weight.  I've been to two of my favorite restaurants a few times over the weeks and I still lost weight.  It can all be fit in.

So, for those of you who are NOT trying to lose weight, you can still find yummy food ideas here.  Also, even though I mention Trader Joe's a lot, I promise there is an equivalent in everyone's grocery store or health food store, so if something strike's your fancy, you can google it, i.e., Trader Joe's Creamy Goat Cheese and see the nutritional counts, etc.   Everything you can find at TJ's is somewhere on the net.

This morning I was craving something cheesy and fruity and crunchy, so I toasted up a Josef's Sprouted Wheat Bagel and slathered the TJ's Creamy Goat Cheese on it and then added the Organic Superfruit Spread (preserves). 

Those Superfruit preserves are incredible.  It has Morello Cherry, Red Grape, Blueberry and Pomegranate. I really don't like sweet jams so this is the perfect balance of sweet and tart for me, and you get nice bites of whole or nearly whole berries too.  Combined with that goat cheese...Oh My God!

How many points for this #WWgasm (foodie orgasm for she who is on Weight Watchers) = 11.  But, for me it is absolutely totally worth the 11 points AND it will keep me filled up for a good long while today. 

Buon WWappetito!

Lazy Transformation Amidst Emotional Chaos

If you didn't read "The Celestine Prophesy" in the early 90's when it came out, you probably heard about it.  It was on th NY Times Bestseller list for quite a long time, and it was transforming lives left and right.  It changed my own.  I was reading it while on vacation in Venezuela.  It was going to be my last vacation in a long time as I was about to start -- from the ground up -- the first drive though cappuccino place in Los Angeles.  Starbucks, I learned from an insider, had it in their 5 Year Plan so they weren't even on my heals, and I had raised the $400,000 it would take to get it going.  It was an exciting time.

We arrived home from vacation around 1 a.m.   Four hours later the Northridge earthquake hit and the two houses across the street from us went down the hill, so the neighborhood gathered together to save, support and comfort.  It was a life-altering event and, in fact, it became crystal clear to me that I didn't want to be working with hot coffee, food service employees, etc.  I think reading the book combined with such a dramatic thing as being situated at the end of a fault line (confirmed by geological maps a few weeks after the earthquake) made me wake up and truly pay attention to the synchronicities in my life.  And, the magic ensued!

I'm pleased to say I pay attention to synchronicities to this day but it is second nature now.  Every once in a while though you have a series of dramatic synchronicities that are beyond your imagination.  One was that I met James and Salle Redfield -- for a second time -- at an event I produced in 2006 and we realized we had something in common -- they had a Coton de Tulear dog who they wanted to possibly mate and I had a Coton de Tulear girl dog who I was dying to mate so I could have another girl puppy.  Our "families" have been intertwined since.

And, I've been reading his books ever since -- including his latest "The Twelfth Insight" which I read over the evenings of last Thursday, Friday and Saturday -- during the culmination of the Egyptian conflict.  Outrageously, the book also culminates in the midst of a strife in Egypt.  And, equally stunning, the book mentions the exact strife that occurred in our country after the Giffords shooting.  Talk about synchronicity!

But, on a personal level, I gained many things from this book.  First, I take a couple minutes each day to simply send love to Egypt.  They need so much, but I think we can all agree that sending love their way cannot hurt.  "The Twelfth Insight" shows how love, that purest, highest, ego-less love, that comes from us here on this planet, as well as from the "other side" is healing beyond our wildest dreams, has power beyond our knowledge, and that we are vastly under-using our love everywhere in our lives.

The book also had me become clear upon reading one pivotal page that it was as if my dad (who died 10/10/09) were sitting next to me saying "Put down the book and talk to me!"  There is wonderful guidance in the book about listening to the wisdom of our friends and family who have passed before us.  I did put the book down and did listen to him, and I found that it created an opening for action with my break-up.  That opening has lead to a ray of hope, a light that my ex has stepped into with great courage, embarking on a brave, brave journey that may lead to our getting back together.  I have no idea how things will end up, but the opening I found would not have been possible had I not read this book.

Not every book is for every person, but I am profoundly grateful to have read this one.

It also, synchronistically, lead me to read about this blog: samonearth.blogspot.com which I highly recommend for real time, real life account from the ground in Egypt from an American living there currently. 

In the midst of chaos finding whatever peace you can find is good, but tapping into love in all its many manifestations is supremely healing.

Grateful am I.

With love....


samonearth.blogspot.com

Lazy Healthy Eating Amidst Lazy Grief



Really what I want to do is escape from the world right now.  I just broke up with my great love, and it is a sad, sad, sad time.  So, I took mostly to my bed for a few days, but realized it's time to start stepping outside. 

You can tell I'm depressed when you see I'm not eating.  I always eat. I love food, as you know.   So, for me not to eat, you know I am hurting.  Today I knew I had to eat something with protein and goodness. 

The deliciousness above is fit for a good WWgasm -- only 7 Weight Watchers points for a lot of flavor and bang for the point buck.

Two slices of Sprouted RYE Bread -- toasted

Creamy Goat Cheese -- about an ounce -- This one is from Trader Joe's, of course

Sliced Olives -- the equivalent of about 5 olives

Baby Heirloom Tomatoes -- several sliced

A sprinkling of Pink Himalayan Salt...but any salt and/or pepper will do.

I made myself take it out to the sun to eat and photograph.  We may be the only sliver of the country that isn't dealing with ice, snow, or rain.  I acknowledge everyone dealing with the inclement weather.  I wish you warmth in your cozy homes.

With love in my heart,

lazily yours,

bridget

Trader Joe's Tuesday -- Instant Hot out of the Oven Chocolate Brownies!

Please forgive me for not taking pictures of the pre-baking and post-baking!  But, the item you are looking for at Trader Joe's is the Gluten Free Brownie Mix.  It comes in a brown bag with orange writing on it.  You only have to add an oil, water and an egg or two. 

I had left my 8" square pans at my boyfriends so I baked them in muffin tins and they were so cute!

The key is taking them out soon enough.  They still look pretty "wet" when they are done, so pay attention to the timer. 

They are so fudgey and so good for you.  And if you are on Weight Watchers they are only TWO -- yes TWO -- points.  It's a lot of yummy -- HEALTHY -- goodness with very little effort!

Buon Choco-appetito!

Lazy Cold Cure

I think everyone on the planet knows someone who has had this nasty cold/flu that is going around -- the one that threatens to -- or indeed does --- worm its way from head to chest, and makes people miserable for weeks on end.

Well, I am surrounded by people who have been sick over the last three months. It's been hopping around from body to body, friend to friend, and I've almost caught it twice.  Yes two times I have narrowly escaped its clutches.  Each time at the onset of symptoms I have started taking this herb that my accupuncturist gave me a few months ago -- Astra Isatis:  http://www.holisticchineseherbs.com/healthconcerns/astraisatis.html.  I take a few tablets every few hours and within 24 hours each time I am symptom free.  This time I was out of town so I didn't start taking the remedy until I was about 24 hours in but it worked again!  I am almost symptom free about 30 hours after starting it.

Not every remedy works for every body, but whenever I find something like this I like to share it because most of us can't afford to get sick -- there's too much life, too much fun to miss if we get sick, right?!!! 

On the other hand, one very Lazy thing I do to stay well and avoid flu seaso is I give myself old movie days in bed.  When I know that I am going to get sick just to get some alone bed time, I circumvent the process and give myself the bedtime.  These days are priceless because they allow me to hop back into action after the soul and body nurturing is done.  

It's important to know what you need to give yourself to avoid having to stop your life by getting sick.  A lot of times, we get sick to just stop life.  So, what do YOU need to GIVE to yourself, to nurture you, so that you don't have to make your body suffer?  It's very Lazy to get a handle on this stuff.  But, if you don't catch it in time -- try Asta Isatis!

Happy Healing Lazy Days!

Trader Joe's Tuesdays -- More WWgasms (Weight Watchers Foodie Bliss)

One of the most delicious, divine, wonderful, amazing things about Weight Watchers is that you can have as much (probably within reason of course! LOL!) fruit as you want! 

When I was in my 20's I read a lot about food combining, and was a huge fan of Harvey and Marilyn Diamon'd book "Fit for Life" because it really made me feel so good.  I was full of vibrant energy and thin when I followed their plan.  One of the habits I cultivated after reading the book was starting my day with fresh fruit.  The book talks about breakfast being literally what it says a breaking of the fast that occurs while you sleep.  It says that your body needs things that are easily digestible, like fruits which don't need much help to move their way through your digestive system.

Weight Watchers really doesn't demand me changing much about my eating except remaining accountable for the amounts that I eat when I sit down to eat!  Having the fruit being zero points, i.e., FREE!!!!, is just fabulous.

And, having Trader Joe's makes it so easy.  My favorite combo for the morning is watermelon, pineapple and blueberries.  Generally all three of these items are in TJ's too.  But, Trader Joe's has a plethora of fruits to choose from -- mango, several kinds of apples, at least a couple melon choices, oranges, at least a few berries, etc.  

So, do yourself a favor -- even if you are the most perfect weight -- give your body the gift of fruit in the morning, break your fast gently, take in the many vitamins and nutrients...and have a delicious meal!  If you need protein in the morning, add yogurt and/or nuts!

And, while you are stocking up, grab a bunch of bananas, peel them, break them in half and throw them in a big baggie, for a sweet frozen treat any time of day or night!

Buon Fresh Appetito!

Laziest Workout in the World! (No Joke, No Hype)

I have to tell you, my brilliant amazing genius Accupuncturist, Marsha Connor (she cured me of a year long battle with plantar fasciitis in one session!) literally has never let me down with her advice.  The last couple of sessions I've had with her she has mentioned INTERVAL TRAINING as an effective, quick weight loss solution.

I heard her but I didn't really listen because:

1.  I'm scared of running because I seem to always get injured.
2.  I feel like I work out as hard as I can/want/etc. already. 
3.  I have never "felt" like a sprinter -- like only athletes to that kind of stuff!
4.  I thought -- it's not the workout I need to change, it's the food going in!

Well, last week I was on a website that had a link to an interval training sample workout.  I clicked on the link and found a super cool 42 minute workout that started at 3.5 speed and went as high up as 7.0.  I thought I'd give it a shot, but didn't know if I would succeed.  It was incredibly fun!

I've done the workout every day since because it makes me feel so good.  Today, though, my calves were so sore -- the soreness didn't start until yesterday, oddly -- that I didn't push myself as hard, and I only had time to do 30 minutes.

But, I'm actually going to be working toward just doing 20 minutes of interval training a day.  If you google interval training you'll see that lots of workouts are just for 10 or 20 minutes.  Twenty seems to be the average.  And this is precisely why my accupuncturist suggested it -- it's a quick way to get powerful results.

I will tell you at 48 years old I have literally never in my life had more dramatic results in a one week span of time.   Interval training is touted as a belly fat buster and I can literally see the belly fat melting away -- in a very different way than I have seen in the past.  Yes, I'm on Weight Watchers, but healthy weight loss (up to 2 pounds a week) doesn't usually cause dramatic body changes in two weeks.  This training HAS.

Listen, you don't have to be super fit to do interval training.  I have pretty much always worked out 7 days a week (except when injured or ill) so I am pretty fit.  You can start at whatever level you are comfortable.  You can start slow and increase gradually as you see where your limits are.  The bottom line is you have short periods of working at your maximum capacity (push yourself very hard) and then rest, push-rest, push-rest.  It's the least boring workout I've ever had, and I always feel so proud of myself at the end of the workout.

If you want fast results, a fulfilling workout, in a minimal amount of time -- give interval training a shot.

Lazy Weight Loss

Weight Watchers works!  I've lost 4.2 pounds in two weeks and have had many, many WWgasms, i.e., foodie-gasms while on Weight Watchers.  I even ate at two of my very favorite restaurants -- Indian and Italian (cornmeal crust pizza oh my god) -- and simply didn't over-eat which is what I tend to do when sitting in front of a lot of amazing food.  And, I literally NEVER felt deprived in these two weeks.  If I had a craving for something I got it -- either in a less-egregious form or in smaller quantities or just as it always was. 

I only just now -- minutes before writing this -- had the first thing I've eaten in these two weeks that didn't truly please my palate.  The Weight Watchers Chocolate Caramels -- only two points -- and I bought them because they come in individual cute little packets and are far fewer points than their mainstream candy equivalent, and I thought they might be a good thing to put in my bag or car if I had a burning sweet tooth.  But, they have an undercurrent of protein bar flavor.  I can't bear that flavor.  So, that's a no starter.

But, this is a great reminder of the wonder and magic of Weight Watchers - that I don't have to compromise my foodie palate.  I can have a piece of fine dark chocolate or even a tablespoon of yummy chocolate chips.  (I love gourmet chocolate chips!)  In other words, I'd rather have a small portion of the real thing -- or even a big portion and use my extra Weekly Points -- than not have my foodie WWgasm.

I can be a FOODIE and lose weight on WEIGHT WATCHERS.  And, I definitely don't need to give up literally any food on the planet.  I just fit it in and make it work.

I hadn't had Spicy Tuna Rolls in a while.  I was trying to stay away from tuna for several reasons.  And, I only need to eat fish about once a week.  But, this morning I knew I had to have TWO spicy tuna rolls for lunch.  That's 13 points which is nearly half of my daily points but I can absolutely -- with great ease and LAZINESS -- accomodate that in my day's eating.

For me -- Spicy Tuna Rolls -- give me a major WWgasm with their spiciness, texture, a bit of crunch from cucumber (at the sushi place I go to), creaminess, chewy seaweed and perfectly cooked rice. 

I couldn't even finish two rolls even though I wad been ravenously hungry. I took 4 of the 12 pieces home and had them as my afternoon snack. 

I don't have a good track record of leaving food on my plate.  I rarely leave a morsel on my plate.  And, I wasn't even told by my mom as a kid that I needed to clean my plate in honor of the children starving worldwide!  I simply have an aversion to wasting yummy food -- as if the trespass of overeating and hurting my body is better for me and the world than throwing away some delicious food. 

I am really getting how being overly-full -- being anything other than satiated -- hurts me and my body.  Somehow I have equated overly-full with comfort, but it is anything but comfort-able!

People who overeat don't love food more than people who eat to satiation.  People who overeat -- WE -- ME included -- love food more than we love our bodies and the pain, dis-comfort, dis-ease, dis-tension, dis-orientation that overeating-food-coma-bloating-craziness causes.

Lazily losing weight is more than adjusting the intake (food) and the outtake (exercise).  Lazily losing weight is working through the inner and outer layers of fat-producing thoughts and behaviors.

Putting boundaries on my eating with Weight Watchers is opening up lots of layers.  Also, Marianne Williamson's CD "Meditations for Weight Loss" is spectacularly loving and supportive and eye-layer-opening.

Lazily lovingly losing weight...

Bridget

Lazy Baked Treat -- WWgasm #342

I loooooooooooove to bake, and because I've been baking since I was a little kid none of it seems daunting to me.  Some recipes are more complicated than others, of course, but even the most complex baking tasks are fun to me.

I've actually always pooh-pooh'd baking mixes.  Never understood why another five minutes wasn't worth it and/or had a major judgment that it would never be as good as the real thing in terms of flavor.  But, recently when BBIW (Best Boyfriend in the World) and I were going to Los Olivos to stay in a guest house for the New Year's Weekend, I thought it might be fun to have something hot and freshly baked one cold morning.  When I was doing the final Trader Joe's shopping I happened to pass by the mixes and one caught my eye: Triple Berry Bran Muffin Mix.  I looked at the ingredients which looked great and then the instructions.  I just needed two eggs and one cup of water.  I thought "That's worth trying!"

Well, I ended up making a different egg, potato, toast extravaganza on New Year's morning and the mix sat in the cupboard until I thought "Let me check how many POINTS that is on Weight Watchers."  Lo and behold it is only THREE -- yes 3 -- that would be one, two, THREE points.  So, I made them last night and they are DEEEEEEESCRUMPTIOUS!

They really taste pretty darned homemadey, have a great texture.  I had fresh blueberries to throw in but decided to make the first round without to test the mix, but next time I will do blueberries and maybe banana too.   But, they are truly fabulous just in their purest form.

BBIW who is definitely NOT on Weight Watchers and usually is not a bran muffin kind o' guy really loved them too!  So, it's a win-win-win-low-points-treat!

Buon Bran Appetito!

WWgasm #234 = Rockin' Quesadilla

I know I've talked about both quesadillas and Mr. George Forman but oh my god I just have to mention them both again.

First, the George Forman Grill is the best LAZY tool for your kitchen for the following reasons:

1.  It is FAST -- it heats up fast and works fast -- without overcooking.
2.  It takes NO FAT -- you literally put no fat on it!
3.  It gives you TEXTURE -- for instance if I want a crunchy quesadilla I leave it on longer ...if I want a warm, soft, gooey one, I take it off sooner.
4.  It's SUPER EASY to clean -- super easy to take the grills off, super easy to clean.
5.  It's CHEAP -- look around for best deal but it is never going to be an expensive proposition.
6.  They come in all SIZES -- Teeny tiny to family size.  Name your size, he done got it!!!

LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZY!  Super LAZY.

Now, I'm on Weight Watchers, as we all know now and the best thing about WW is it's not a diet.  You get to eat anything you want -- WITHIN BOUNDARIES.  I need boundaries.  If I don't have them I run wild.

The new WW Points Plus System is slightly irritating to me because it's clearly a low carb plan.  As a vegetarian, I tend to do a lot of carbs.  I'd rather count calories, which always works for me.  But, the calories boundary has its own pitfalls -- eating stupid food being the biggest! LOL!

I had a craving for a quesadilla last night, went to Trader Joe's and started calculating the points for my favorite quesadilla ingredients -- Yogurt Jalapeno Cheese, Ezekiel Tortillas and/or Corn Tortillas.  The total with one slice of cheese and two corn tortillas was going to be 6 points.  So, I started looking around and found a LITE cheese and a LOW CARB tortilla.  I brought them home, made a quesadilla and while it was totally fine to eat.  It wasn't DELICIOSA which is important.  I refuse to eat sub-par food to lose weight.  I have to be having WWgasms at every meal.

So, tonight I made the real deal and made my new favorite salad:

A few cups of Lettuce
Pearl Tomatoes (the big deep red ones)
2 tablespoons of Bob's Big Boy Lite Blue Cheese Dressing
4 tablespoons of Salsa (my new favorite is Trader Joe's Serrano Fresh Salsa)

It has the perfect mexican-y salad to go with a quesadilla!

This is one fulfilling WWgasm meal -- at only SEVEN (7) POINTS!

Yeeeehaaaaaw!

Trader Joe's Tuesday Spills Lazily into Wednesday -- WWgasm Hit & Miss!

I went to Trader Joe's after the gym tonight...I have Pilates at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays so I end up eating dinner late on Wednesdays since doing pilates on a full or even slightly full stomach really doesn't work.

During Pilates I realized I had a huge craving -- and plenty of points left today on my Weight Watchers plan -- for a quesadilla.  Well, the shelves were 1/2 empty and my favorite little corn tortillas weren't there.   So, I thought I'd try the Low Carb Sonora Tortillas.  They looked sooooooooooooo delicious! 

I then checked the points on my favorite Jalapeno Yogurt Cheese and compared it to the Lite Cheddar and thought "Heck, let's try that too!"

And, then I found the find of finds:  Serrano Fresca Salsa.  I love it when TJs comes out with a new salsa, and I'm really loving -- across the board in cuisine -- roasted peppers.  The salsa looks and tastes nice and roasty-toasty.  Layered flavors, good bite.

So, the WWgasm (Weight Watchers "Taste" "gasm") of the night was the salad I made to go with the quesadilla.  Best kick:  a couple tablespoons of Bob's Big Boy LITE Blue CHeese Dressing and a few tablespoons of the Serrano Fresca Salsa.  Deliciosa!

The quesadilla -- well I'm going to go for the higher points next time because I think it's simply not forfeiting tastebud delight to lose weight.  I'd rather "spend" a few more points and have a normal corn tortilla or Ezekiel tortilla and my favorite jalapeno yogurt cheese. 

I don't regret it.  I think it's worth trying everything and knowing if there is an alternative out there that can thrill the tummy and tastebuds.

I think I can declare myself my own Quesadilla Master. I know all the options and will continue to play. For now, Lite and Low Carb don't belong in the Land o' Quesadillas!

WWgasm # 532 = Lazy Ass Dessert Treat

I am in heaven.  I'm not kidding.  And, it's so easy.

Frozen Banana. 

Zero Points.

I go to Trader Joe's and get a big bunch of bananas, wait for them to be just ripe enough -- which for me is still with a wee bit o' green -- then peel, break into two or three pieces into a big baggie.  Put in the freezer.

When you need a sweet, grab a piece o' banana.

My favorite treat at Disneyland has always been the chocolate covered banana.  I have to say that what I've discovered is that even though I am a chocoholic I really find this treat so incredibly delicious and satisfying.

Someone tweeted an amazing recipe for banana ice cream.  Put frozen bananas in a Cuisinart, add a little almond milk and voila banana ice cream.  I can't wait to try it but I'm so digging the texture and taste of just eating frozen bananas that it's on temporary hold.

Banana Heaven at Zero Points = WWgasm!

Lazily Lovin' Weight Watchers -- WWgasms Galore

This was a big WWgasm night.  I love The Hamburger Hamlet and Best Boyfriend in the World loves it now too...we go to the one in Pasadena where you can sit in big leather armchairs by the fire.  It's fabulous.  I had a fabulous Mediterranean Salad and Baked Potato...salad and a baked potato has always been one of my favorite meals.  And, there's somethin' about having it next to a fire that takes this comfort food to a new level. 

We at really early though and I'm on prednisone for my nasty case of poison oak.  Prednisone always makes me super hungry.  I recently heard from my nurse neighbor that they give it to people to increase their appetites.  Well, it works for me.  Not so great when you are trying to lose weight.

I also wanted something sweet a little while ago.  When I logged in to the WW site to clock my points it kept kicking me off and every time I got back in I would see the recipe for 1 Point Chocolate Chip Cookies.  So, I made them.  Very satisfying and took only a few minutes to make and FOUR MINUTES to bake! 

But, after eating them I was really hungry!  I'm at the Best Boyfriend in the World's House.  He has Ezekiel bread and peanut butter but no bananas.  But, he has a tangerine tree!!! And boy are they delicious tangerines.  Well toasted Ezekiel with 1 T peanut butter with slices of tangerine on top is a glorious mixture of textures and flavors and very satisfying.

A triple 'gasm night! 

Yet another WWgasm!

I think I just figured out why I love Weight Watchers.  Because my attitude around food is very child-like and this child needs BOUNDARIES!  Weight Watchers gives good healthy boundaries.  You literally eat whatever the heck you CHOOSE.  So, if I "wanna" spend 4 of my 49 daily points on an ice cream candy bar, I get to. 

So, WWgasm #1 was the Weight Watchers Ice Cream Candy Bar which tastes nothing like a diet anything -- it even has full crunchy salty peanuts in it!  It's to die for.

WWgasm #2 was last night when I went to one of our favorite pizza places on the planet.  They make CORNMEAL CRUST pizza!  Oh my god.  But, I had 1/2 piece of pizza.  It's so rich and so good that it was really satisfying.  I also had about a cup of Pasta Puttanesca AND my favorite beet/gorgonzola/toasted nut salad.  I left not feeling disgusting like I usually do.  I left feeling light, happy, satiated and like that little girl had a bunch of really amazing treats -- three things I absolutely adore.  

I used some of my extra 49 points I'm allowed for the week -- and highly encouraged to take -- and I absolutely know yesterday was a loss day. 

Little girl taken care of - CHECK!
Boundaries still in place to ensure she remains taken care of -- CHECK!
Foodie desires still met -- CHECK!

Takin' care o' weight loss business The Lazy Way!

Lazy Woman Loses Weight with Multiple "WWgasms"

I coined a new term:  WWgasm.  That's when a food item that happens to be low points on Weight Watchers is so extraordinarily delicious that it gives you a "WWgasm."

Last night: reheated Garden Vegetable Soup with 1/4 cup mixed Italian cheeses = 2 points = WWgasm.

End of story.  No more needs to be said. 

Lazy Woman Loses Weight the Lazy Way!!!!

This Lazy Woman has gained 10 pounds since meeting BBITW (Best Boyfriend In The World, Aaron) so it's time to get it off plus some.  I'm muy excited about the new Weight Watchers program...as I should be since I just got back from a meeting!

I went straight to the store and piled up on fruits, which used to be my go to sweet things until I fell down the deep well of a-little-sugar-a-day-keeps-the-waistline-away. You can eat as much fruit as you want!  Well, within reason, but still!  It's all zero points. 

And, Weight Watchers has always had their 0 point soups. The recipe for the GARDEN VEGETABLE SOUP -- the first recipe listed in the Getting Started book is super simple. I added a big can of crushed tomatoes, garlic salt, and chili flakes, which made it pop and gave it a little more robust feel.  I'm telling you it's delicious and filling! 

What do you think?  Maybe I've lost two pounds already -- since I made the soup and all?  LOL!

I love cooking anything and the healthier and lighter it's going to make me feel the better!  I'm going to make the second recipe in the Getting Started book later -- Creamy Tomato Sauce.  I haven't even cracked the WW Cookbook yet... 

Wooohoooooooooooo!

Lazy New Year's Eve Dinner -- Blessing the New TAGINE!!!

We were staying at a guest house on the Demetria Vineyard that has a mostly furnished kitchen, but definitely doesn't have all the tools we are used to having so we always have to go with the flow and have an adventure when we cook there.  We sipped their lovely wine as we cooked and just enjoyed the New Year's Eve ride with our new friend:

The new member of our cooking family: Tommy Tagine!  We got him at Sur La Table.  He was the last one on the shelf, perhaps the runt of the litter but we loved him immediately and had to take him home. 

So, we started with this recipe from the book TAGINE SPICY STEWS FROM MOROCCO by Ghillie Basan which we also got at Sur La Table.  I found tons of amazing recipes online for future Tagine Tommy meals but Aaron really wanted to make this recipe, so I let him have at it.

I was his sous chef and I cooked up the supporting cast -- Smashed Cumin Potatoes and Salad with Cumin Roasted Garbanzos.   I made these last two things up but they came out really delicious, if I do say so myself.

Cumin Smashed Potatoes = New Potatoes smashed with olive oil and butter (not a ton of either), chopped Italian parsley, a couple tablespoons of Preserved Lemon, probably a couple teaspoons -- maybe a tablespoon of Cumin, salt, pepper....DELICIOSA!

Cumin Garbanzo Salad = Mixed fresh lettuces, lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper and Roasted Garbanzos (drain and rinse can of garbanzos, let them dry, then toss with cumin, salt, pepper and olive oil in 350 to 400 degree oven -- watch them to not overcook)

Dessert was VERY LAZY because any time we are in Los Olivos the ONLY DESSERT to eat is wine-infused cupcakes from ENJOY CUPCAKES.  Oh my god if you are ever in the vicinity or can afford to have them ship you a batch, I highly recommend that you do so without a second's hesitation.  Unbelievable light rich moist cakes with not-too-sweet rich lovely filling and again not-too-sweet flavorful divine frostings.  And, they are gorgeous!

It was a magical way to bring in the New Year! 

We are looking very forward to a lovely year with Tommy Tagine.  You guys, the unbelievable news is that you use barely any fat in cooking these tagine recipes....and they are so incredibly flavorful and nurturing.  But, more than that -- they LOOK GREAT -- colorful, colorful, colorful!

Buon Moroccan Appetito!

Lazy Relaxing New Year's in Los Olivos

Our waiter "Fad" (short for Fadrique) serving Aaron his lucky Sambuca on the rocks (Aaron was told to drink it this way when he lived in Greece)-- with three lucky coffee beans!  

I can't believe I forgot to photograph my salad...please forgive.  We were at PETROS which is our favorite restaurant -- which, by the way has the BEST -- absolutely best -- service of all the restaurants in Los Olivos.    I had my favorite Greek Salad decomposed -- honestly best Greek Salad as far as I'm concerned.  This is the description from the menu on their website:

Petros Horiatiki Salad = Vine-ripe tomatoes, cucumber, Epirus feta- the mother of all feta, Volos olives, avocado, onions, capers, EVO* and oregano*The great news is there is a PETROS in Manhattan Beach too if that's more convenient.   The service and quality at both restaurants is impeccable.   Last night was the first time we weren't unbelievably happy with a dish -- Aaron's chicken and potatoes were overly oily.  But, they quickly comped the dish and offered to make it again.  We literally were never -- up to that point -- even slightly less than exquisitely happy with our meals.  Very elegant that they comped us at the first sign of displeasure.  Class act all around.

Aaron had his usual:

Roast Chicken = Half chicken stuffed with Epirus feta and mixed herbs. Served with fingerling potatoes, Romano beans, sprinkled with fresh lemon juice and oregano*
We have also ordered lots of hors d'oeuvres over the years, sharing bunches of flavors and savoring them all.  The owner/patriarch of Dimitria Vineyards told us to order the Shrimp Saganaki, and he was right.  It's a must-have -- rich, but you don't need a lot to be profoundly satisfied.


 
The bars in both places are great as well.  That's what first hooked us when we first went.  We were staying at the Fess Parker Inn where Petros is nestled, stopped for a drink before dinner and ended up cancelling our reservations.  We ate three meals in a row there!  And, have been back several times since.  It's Greek cooking at its most inspired, fresh, nurturing, nourishing and light. 
 
And, with the impeccable service from lovely servers like Fad, the experience on every level proves fresh, light, and relaxing.
 
Enjoy!

Lazy New Year's Eve

Happy Almost New Year!

We made reservations months ago for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.  We're renting a little house in the middle of a vineyard in Los Olivos (inland from Santa Barbara in the Santa Ynez Valley).  It has a fully equipped kitchen so we are going to stay in and cook up a storm with our new tagine on New Year's Eve and then we're goin to dine at Petros, the most amazing restaurant in Los Olivos with Greek-fusion food.  We once stayed at Fess Parker Inn.  Petros is their restaurant and we cancelled our previously made reservations at another restaurant because we stopped to have a glass of wine and some hors d'oeuvres and were blown away.  Breakfast was outrageously amazing too.  We ended up eating all but one meal there over a couple of days because it was so deliciosa!

As excited as I am about Petros, I'm pretty excited to get the tagine goin'!  I've been to Morocco a couple times in the last couple years and was blown away by all the tagine dishes.   As a pescatarian, there are so many amazing recipes out there, including these two: 

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/moroccan-fish-tagine-with-tomatoes-olives-and-preserved-lemons

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Root-Vegetable-Tagine-with-Sweet-Potatoes-Carrots-Turnips-and-Spice-Roasted-Chickpeas-361252

In preparing for these two recipes I found out how easy it is to make your own preserved lemons!  I looooooooooooooooooooooooooooove preserved lemons -- thanks to my Morocco trips.  I can't wait to start jarring these up.  What a great lazy gift too!

Will post pics of the dinner when we get back!

Happy New Year to all!

Lazy Blogger Tweets

Oh Lordy!  I owe so many apologies so I'm just doing a blanket I'M SORRY post...I just accidentally found a page where all the comments people have left are listed!  So many wonderful comments from all over the world. 

New Year's resolution:  learn more about how this blogging stuff works. 

Love and apologies to all the wonderous people who have left comments over the last couple of years.

Now you can complain immediately if you want to on Twitter.  Look for me @LazyWoman!

Lazy Tweet Tweet to You!

Literally The LAZIEST Dinner Party EVER!

I'm not kidding. This is it. Most LAZY and most DELICIOUS dinner party ever!

You know how I love all things Italian. Well, the Italian tradition is seafood for Christmas fare. So, Cioppino is a very popular Christmas dish.

Well, Best Boyfriend in the Whole Wide World, Aaron, found the ultimate most amazing Cioppino recipe by none other than the Genius Giada. She's the best -- simple, easy, fresh, textural. And in this one, FENNEL and RED PEPPER FLAKES are the two ingredients that kick it up several delicioso notches. Unbelievable.

And, this is how this works into a dinner party. If you are a couple this works incredibly well because you can literally start the entire dinner party about an hour and a half before people come and still have time to shower, change and relax with a glass of wine before your guests arrive.

How we worked it -- he cooked the Cioppino -- which is unbelievably easy -- while I set the table, made the salad, and prepped the bread. I made the Tiramisu ahead of time only because it's better when it soaks in but if you start two hours ahead you can even make Tiramisu too because it literally takes about 20 minutes to put a Tiramisu together.

I have to admit we have done this same menu twice in the last week. Last night we made it for a friend who is recovering from the flu (he's not really sick, just still congested) and this soup just has a way of feeling soothing and nurturing, let alone scrumptious for the soul!

Menu: Salad (I used butter lettuce, arugula, chopped mushrooms, thinly sliced cucumber, toasted parmesan almonds, shaved parmesan, lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper), Big warm crusty bread (that I sliced in big hunks, put butter in between slices, rubbed olive oil on the outside, and baked for about 10 minutes to melt all the buttery oil juiciness in) and Cioppino. Nice red wine, ice water with lemon...and I put a big hunk of lemon on the plate under the bowl so people could squeeze their own lemon on top of the soup.

This is not only an elegant meal -- for eating soup after all -- but all the various seafood textures and tastes make it so rich and nearly decadent. It is a celebration unto itself.

Perfect holiday fare ...but also perfect for any winter celebration -- even for two!

Buon Appetito!!!

Lazy Last Minute Baking?

I knew I wanted to deliver a little baked treat to my neighbors, so I found a bunch of great cookie recipes. But, then I was in a store and I found a 4 mini loaf pan, which I thought was so darned cute it had to be bought and used. So, I went a-searchin' for new recipes and found a most scrumptious looking Lemon Cranberry Mini Loaf recipe.

Now, of course I had to make my little addition...chocolate chips, of course, to kick it up another notch. I doubled the recipe to make 8 and the only time-consuming thing was prepping the lemons, but really hardly time-consuming at all. They are so darned cute!

So, if you need a quick homemade gift I highly recommend this recipe. Then just wrap in foil and stick a bow on each end. I added a little sticker, but ribbon is just enough color to make it festive and fun. The Christmas yum factor is already handled!

Lazy Rainy Day Soup

We did a Moroccan-themed dinner party last night which was quite delicious. I'm enclosing links to the highlights of the meal -- the Chickpea Soup, Moroccan Spicy Carrots, and a Tangerine Olive Oil Cake. The cake isn't necessarily Moroccan but tangerines always remind me of Morocco because they have the most scrumptious tangerines there...oh my god they are divine. And, Aaron loves olive oil cake so I thought it would be the perfect dessert. I added a bag of bittersweet chocolate chips to the cake recipe and oh lordy was that amazing. It's my new obsession -- chocolate and orange. I can't get enough of it right now.

But, the soup. First, let me tell you it is so unbelievably easy to whip up. It literally takes about 10 minutes total and then you let it simmer and the aroma of Moroccan spices waft through the house. Our guests walked in the house and said "It smells amaaaazing!" and the soup was definitely the reason.

The only addition I made to the soup is I served the bowl on a plate and on the plate I put a big juicy slice of fresh lime and insisted that everyone squeeze it over their soup at the last minute. The lime against the backdrop of the cinnamon and other spices was the absolute piece de resistance that popped all the flavors out to front and center.

It is raining really hard today so I am very excited to have the leftovers.

P.S. JUST ate the leftovers....it's just as delicious as last night. I'll definitely be making this soup again soon.

Lazy + New Christmas Traditions

I used to have a pretty strong judgment about flocked trees. It seemed absurd growing up in Los Angeles to see fake snow that didn't melt, like fake breasts that don't move when you do downward facing dog! But a few weeks ago when the Christmas tree lot popped up nearby, I drove by and a lone tree in the distance caught my eye: a little flocked baby tree.

I had to go back and visit it. Aaron who very much misses his hometown of Rochester during the fall and winter months lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw it. He really misses his snow this time of year so even though I still had my old judgments floating around in my brain, I had to let them go and delight in a brand new Christmas element.

Last year, our first Christmas together, we were in Paris with his daughter and her best friend so it was a very different Christmas. There was nothing traditional about it -- it was all new, and it was unique to that one year. So, now it's time to create new traditions as he does his best to please everyone in his life.

I have two friends who are freshly divorced this year, another still adjusting to last year's divorce so everyone is in the conversation of creating new traditions. It can look so many different ways --- Christmas Eve, Christmas Morning, Christmas Lunch, Christmas Dinner, even Boxing Day can all be opportunities for different pockets of people to join together and have special time together. They are opportunities to give and receive love.

It really worked for me over Thanksgiving to let go off all the usual pictures of what Thanksgiving "should" look like, and it literally ended up being one of the best Thanksgivings ever! It sparkled in every way -- laughter, music, great conversations, amazing food and drink. I expect Christmas will be much the same because I'm letting go of all the pictures and letting it be all new -- a fresh snow of sparkle landing on the season.

Lazy Christmas Party Menu

OK guys...the Christmas Party was a huuuuuuuge success! Did I take pictures? Not really. The dessert table pre-humans was gorgeous...here it is mid-party above. Thank God Aaron's friend Steven took a photo of the desserts when he did!

I'm still in my cooking/baking phase so I cooked up a storm. I had so much fun and everything turned out sooooo delicious!

Now, let us review how this is LAZY: because it fills my soul to create beautiful parties, and right now it really fills my soul to cook and bake. So, I took off Thursday and Friday. On Thursday I decorated the house and shopped and prepped two cookies. On Friday I cooked and baked. On Saturday, I worked out, had a relaxing morning AND a relaxing couple of hours in the afternoon too... because I made all make-ahead recipes with only a couple of exceptions. I also chose really easy recipes.

Here is the straight menu....scroll down below to see links to recipes (most from epicurious.com or Ina Garten) and my notes on how I changed the recipes (if I did).

Christmas Party Menu
Mulled Wine
Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail
Red & White ItalianWines
~·~
Mortadella, Salami, & Other Italian Meatly Delights
Italian Cheeses & Olives
Olive Oil Bread
~·~
Shrimp Scampi
Scalloped Tomatoes
Turkey Bolognese Lasagna
Trumpet Pasta with Green Pea & Asparagus Pesto
Lemon Spaghetti
Arugula, Gorgonzola & Cranberry Salad
~·~
Warm Gingerbread & Cream
Apricot Cheesecake
Chocolate Orange Cake
Peanut Butter & Jelly Jewels
Chocolate Kahlua Balls
Pistachio Orange Cookies

Notes and Recipes for all Menu Items:

1. Mulled Wine -- See last blog post!
2. Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail - http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/pomegranate-champagne-punch. I sliced up a pomegranate and put a couple pinches of pomegranate seeds at the bottom of glasses. I put out a bowl of pomegranate seeds next to the punch pitcher.
3. Red & White ItalianWines -- Bought at Roma Market, Italian store here in Pasadena
4. Mortadella, Salami, & Other Italian Meatly Delights - Bought at Roma Market, Italian store here in Pasadena
5. Italian Cheeses & Olives -- Bought at Roma Market, Italian store here in Pasadena
6. Olive Oil Bread -- Bought at Roma Market, Italian store here in Pasadena
7. Shrimp Scampi -- http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/baked-shrimp-scampi-recipe/index.html. I actually took tails off. Not as gorgeous but when people are possibly standing with food you have to make it easy for them.
8. Scalloped Tomatoes -- http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/scalloped-tomatoes-recipe/index.html. I used Sourdough and oh my god it was yummy!
9. Turkey Bolognese Lasagna --- Aaron bought this at Porto Via in Pasadena
10. Trumpet Pasta with Green Pea & Asparagus Pesto -- Trumpet pasta bought at Roma Market. Recipe: http://www.finecooking.com/item/16312/pasta-in-creamy-asparagus-green-pea-pesto. I decided to not add cream. Now this was my only "mistake" on the menu. I made it the day before and forgot to heat it up before adding to the pasta and also forgot to reserve pasta water. So, it was a little dry. Totally my fault. If I had heated it up and added some reserved water it would have been fine. I don't believe it needs the cream at all. People still liked it though!
11. Lemon Spaghetti --http://www.food.com/recipe/lemon-spaghetti-125120. I tripled this recipe, so that would mean 1.5 cups of lemon juice...well I put in 2 cups and it was spectacular. Also, I chose to do Italian Parsley instead of basil because I wanted a fresher feel to go with the heavily garlicked-up scampi next to it.
12. Arugula, Gorgonzola, Toasted Pecan & Dried Cranberry Salad --- Dressing was Trader Joe's Orange Champagne Vinegar, Dijon, Olive Oil and Lemon Juice
13. Warm Gingerbread -- served with whipped cream. I have been making the Silver Palate recipe for years. It's spectacular and has a great twist -- lemon glaze. Unbelievable. Here's a link to someone who has typed it up. She doesn't use lemon glaze but I love it:http://www.breadnroses.ca/frontpage/bnr-cookbook/silver-palate-gingerbread-skdadl/
14. Apricot Cheesecake -- Aaron found this one. I made it with dried apricots I had been soaking for weeks in brandy. The crust is unbelievably delicious. This woman is a GENIUS -- check out her blog: http://vanillakitchen.blogspot.com/2010/06/apricot-cheesecake-w-salty-vanilla_15.html. I also took a jar of cherry jam and boiled it down with about 1/2 cup of brandy and put that on top of the apricot top...made it glistening red and more Christmas-y. Also I finely chopped up about a cup apricots and mixed into the cheesecake.
15. Chocolate Orange Cake -- I looked at a lot of recipes before I found this one....it's supremely good. http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,196,156179-248201,00.html. I had leftover butter-sugar-orange sauce and poured it liberally over the top of the cake too (after it had cooled). Then after it had set, Aaron dusted it with a light dusting of powdered sugar. I got the orange flavored chocolate at Trader Joe's that looks like orange slices and put that around the base of the cake with slices of tangerine. I cut an orange in half and put it in the middle of the ring and made a mini-bouquet of flowers. I think it was the most beautiful cake I've ever made. Peanut Butter & Jelly Jewels -- http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,196,156179-248201,00.html. I think the recipe suggests doing the jelly OR the chocolate. I did the jelly and then swizzled chocolate on top of that.
16. Chocolate Kahlua Balls -- http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,196,156179-248201,00.html. These you can do waaaaaay ahead!
17. Pistachio Orange Cookies -- Take the "two inches apart" direction seriously please...they bleed and create thin, lacy cookies. -- http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,196,156179-248201,00.html

Lazy Christmas Party Fare

We're having a small Christmas Party this weekend and people will be coming and going all night so I wanted to maximize my use of the chafing dishes, i.e., make ahead and stay out of the kitchen. While Aaron had me flirting with a New Orleans Christmas, I don't want to be serving all things that I have very little or no experience cooking because that's just simply not lazy for me. I'd be too concerned about how things would be turning out. And, since I don't eat meat, I wouldn't even taste a bunch of stuff.

So, I went to my comfort zone: Italian. But, I found some new recipes that I'm going to try that I absolutely trust because of their source. For instance a couple are coming from the Barefoot Genius Contessa. Actually it was this first recipe I found of hers -- for Baked Shrimp Scampi -- that made me decide to go Italian.

You make this ahead and just pop it in the oven for 10 minutes before people arrive. Give me a break! How incredibly easy is that? And, check out the attached recipe -- all yumalicious ingredients.

And, there's a cool video you can watch too. I love watching Ina because of her deep blue water calm. It's a Zen experience watching her cook. I feel like I'm watching dolphins swim in the ocean. They leap when she starts something sizzling or takes a taste of her creation and says "Aren't these just the most delicious things?"

I'm actually going to put this recipe together tonight or tomorrow morning because deveining 4 pounds of shrimp will take some concentration and I don't want to be doing my normal multi-tasking in the kitchen because invariably I would get a shrimp shell in my gingerbread.

So I'm taking this do-ahead recipe quite seriously!

Buon Appetito a Tutti!

Lazy Instant Christmas Cheer

If you are having people over at all this season, there is one unbelievably Lazy thing you can do to create instant Christmas Cheer by 1) making your house smell divinely Christmas-y and 2) making a heart-warming drink that requires just about no work at all!

And, you can get as creative as you wish with this: bottom line is the base is cranberry juice cocktail and red wine. You throw these two ingredients in a pot with a couple spices and some fruit. Start on a low simmer about an hour before people come and the house will be imbued with divine Santa Memory Making scents! Speaking of which, leave a cup for Santa with the cookies and milk and he'll probably leave extra goodies for all!

Mulled Wine

• Cranberry Juice Cocktail -- 1 quart
• Burgandy Wine (or really any inexpensive fairly robust red wine -- you do NOT need to spend a lot of time or effort finding the wine component) -- 1 gallon
• Spices: 3 sticks of cinnamon, 6 whole cloves (optional whole allspice)
• Fruit: Sliced apple, orange, a handful of cranberries for beauty factor maybe
• Sugar: Optional -- add to taste...this will depend on the brand of cranberry juice cocktail and the wine....you won't need any more than a cup, but definitely manage the sugar need after simmering for about 10 minutes

If you've made Sangria in hotter weather, you're probably starting to catch the similarities. This is the wintry version and it's very much like Sangria in that you have three components: wine + fruit + sweetening factor = divine drink!

And, just like Sangria you can get creative with your Mulled Wine. Bottom line is that when your guests walk in the door they will say "What is that wonderful aroma?" and better yet, they will love sipping this heart and chest warming elixir.

Happy Holiday Entertaining!

Lazy Asian Cooking

I did it! I made the crab rolls. And, I got some shrimp at Trader Joe's while I was getting crab and made a shrimp/avocado/cucumber roll too. Were they a success? I would concur with Aaron: "A for effort!" The biggest problem was the one and only issue I have with Trader Joe's -- literally my only issue -- is that they don't have good fresh seafood. So, the flavor of the crab was really not good at all -- very fishy. The shrimp was pretty tasteless. Had I gotten better fish it would have actually been a success.

Working with rice paper is a wee bit of a challenge -- fun, but a challenge nonetheless. Too much filling, too little, accidental tearing, etc. But, I finally got it worked out. And, I look forward to working with it again -- only because it's a little like origami -- takes some patience and finesse that I do not have naturally nestled in my DNA. It's good for me to do tasks like this in the kitchen rather than the usual throwing things here and there, splishing and splashing around.

But, the best result of the dinner was the salad I made today with the leftovers. I took arugula, shrimp, rice noodles, avocado, cucumber, toasted almonds, toasted sesame seeds, Sweet Chili Sauce...and added a couple dashes of red wine vinegar and olive oil. I wasn't in the mood for soy sauce becuase I wanted to highlight the Sweet Chili Sauce flavoring but that would have been great too. I would have added Rice Vinegar but I couldn't get the top off! LOL! But even with Red Wine Vinegar as the only vinegar it was quite yummy. The best thing was all the wonderful textures.

And, no wheat or cheese of any kind -- which always make me feel a little groggy after I eat. Yummalicious!

Arigato Trader Joe's.

Are you kidding me Trader Joe's?

I was at the gym on the stairmaster today and the morning show had a local food expert making Crab Spring Rolls. I decided I had to make them for dinner tonight and stopped at Trader Joe's to get whatever ingredients I could.

[NOTE: Whole Foods has rice paper...the UNlazy part of my day was schlepping from store to store only to find out the ONLY Asian food they didn't carry was rice paper. My Whole Foods was out but the one near Aaron had it -- Thank God! -- But be lazy with this -- call ahead!]

The link to the recipe is above. I am about to make them but had to also mention the thing I happened upon at Trader Joe's. Chocolate and Toffee Covered Popcorn! Are you kidding me?

I didn't even get to the check out counter. I have no business munching on such delights but oh my god was it DELICIOSA! Lots of companies make it. It's probably super easy to make from scratch (will look into that!). But now I'm going to have to avoid that aisle at Trader Joe's. If you want a treat for yourself or guests, definitely indulge.

Can't wait to make the sushi. Will report back.

Lazily Chocolatey-Toffeely Yours,
Bridget