The Party's Over

After weeks of wedding-related feasting & merriment, I find myself craving a routine, ready to return to normal. We still have one more celebration later this month but I'm not waiting a moment's longer, I need to get my eating under control. There's no reason I can't enjoy that occasion without overindulging. This has been my problem for some time now; I delay going back On Program until after the party..after the vacation..after one Big Event or another. You know what? There is always going to be another party, another excuse to eat and drink with reckless abandon. That's just the nature of my life, and I wouldn't change that for anything. But I do need to practice moderation and not sabotage my healthy lifestyle for the sake of a good time. I know how to do this, I've just gotten lazy.

Today we put an end to that crazy cycle, starting with a nice pre-dawn doggy walk. Loki was more excited about it than I was, especially when it started to rain and we had to cut the walk short. We are both too "hairy" to be outside in a downpour, and I daresay his tresses are more high maintenance than mine!

I'm not sure if I mentioned this already, but as of March 1st I've gone back to my mostly-vegetarian way of eating, and have even decided to play with some vegan recipes. My daughter Lily is living in a hipster college town where vegetarianism is super-easy so she's decided to take it to the next level and go 100% Vegan. I'm hoping we can share recipes across cyber-space, inspiring and encouraging each other. Lily is a tiny waif of a girl, though, so she wont' be worrying about calories as much as her curvy mama. Anyway, after some googling I came across the fabulous Isa Chandra Moskowitz and her Post Punk Kitchen, immediately placed an order for her highly-acclaimed cookbook Appetite for Reduction. While I'm waiting for the book to arrive, I'm going to try one of the recipes she so generously shared on her site, Chickpea Picatta. I'll be serving it over brown rice for myself since I have an abundance of it and am trying to use up pantry items.

You all know that I stink at taking food photos, so please just head over to Ms. Moskowitz' site to see what this dish is supposed to look like, ok?

Chickpea Picatta 
1 teaspoon olive oil 
1 scant cup thinly sliced shallots 
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs 
2 cups vegetable broth 
1/3 cup dry white wine 
A few dashes fresh black pepper 
Generous pinch of dried thyme 
1 16 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed 
1/4 cup capers with a little brine 
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 
4 cups arugula 
Cooking spray 

Preheat a large heavy bottomed pan over medium. Saute the shallots and garlic for about 5 minutes, until golden. Add the breadcrumbs and toast them by stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. They should turn a few shades darker. Add the vegetable broth and wine, salt, black pepper and thyme. 
Turn up heat and bring to a rolling boil and let the sauce reduce by 1/2, it should take about 7 minutes. Add the chickpeas and capers to heat through, about 3 minutes. Add the lemon and turn off the heat. 

 If serving with mashed potatoes, place the arugula in a wide bowl. Place mashed potatoes on top, and ladle picatta over the potatoes. The arugula will wilt and it will be lovely. If you are serving solo, just pour right over the arugula. 

Servings per recipe-4 Calories-190 Cal from fat-30 Total fat-3.5g Saturated fat-0g Trans fat-0g Fiber-5g Protein-9g Cholesterol- 0mg Niacin-730mg Vitamin A-20% Vitamin C-25% Calcium-10% 7 Weight Watchers Points Plus (calculated using WW's Recipe Builder)

Have a Beauty-Full Day,