Sadness :(

Ok, I’m not really sad, or anything. However, my digital camera has ceased to function. One minute I’m taking a picture and turn it off. Later, I turn it back on to take another picture, and the automatic lens cover doesn’t open. Something inside of it must have broken.

So, without a camera, it’s hard to take pictures of the things I cook. Who wants to look at a recipe on a blog without a picture of the end result? I know I don’t.

Alas, the camera was a solid 5 years old. 7.1 megapixels, which was pretty darn good at the time that I bought it. Now phones have better cameras then that. Of course, I have the older iPhone, so it won’t take that great of photos either.

Well, since buying a new camera is definitely not a financial priority of mine right now, don’t be surprised at the decrease in posts on this here blog. In the meantime, I’ll try to find new avenues for decent and readable content, so nobody (including myself) gets too bored.

 

iPhone update: It’s gonna be a good night!

Laura and I went to Whole Foods, which is the only place on the island with a decent cheese selection. Here we have valdeon, a Spanish blue; guilloteau affinois, a French triple cream soft ripened smothered in fresh herbs; parmigiano reggiano; a French sheeps milk cheese, and a vintage grand ewe Gouda. It’s been a pretty good day off!

 

Avocado Chevre Torte

I’m continually on a quest for healthy lunch options, so I don’t have to eat so much canned tuna. I despise it. Canned chicken is a little better, but it still has that tin can flavor that I’m not so fond of.

Laura found a few pretty good looking recipes that I probably wouldn’t have tried without her encouragement. This particular one, called an Avocado Chevre Torte, is essentially a frittata with some pretty tasty ingredients in it. It was incredibly flavorful and easy enough to slice and store away as part of a packed lunch. This would also be a great brunch option, if you’re the kind of person that does brunch. Brunch is a great excuse to drink alcohol before noon.

 

Homemade Fruit and Nut Protein Bars

I’ve been doing a pretty good job of keeping on my diet. I usually try to consume between 1400 to 1600 calories a day, as this is the best way for me to maintain and lose weight. Any more than that, and I’ll gain weight if I’m not active enough. Kind of a shame, really, since I love eating.

The game plan, as of late, is to keep breakfast and lunch as low carb and low fat as possible. I tend to stick with anything that has natural sugars, such as fruit, and almost eliminate starches for this part of my day. Yogurt and fruit smoothies, canned tuna or chicken sans mayo, raw veggies, and small amounts of nuts as a snack tend to be the daily food items. If I’m really hungry, I’ll supplement with a protein shake.

Often times, when I forget to pack a lunch or I’m in a hurry, I’ll try to find a high protein bar, such as a Clif bar or Powerbar. The problem that I run into, however, is I feel that they don’t have enough protein, and they often have ridiculous amounts of sugar. Many of these bars range from 230 to 300 calories, versus a standard granola bar being no more than 160 calories. And, these high calorie bars are no more filling than the latter. The calories seem to mostly come from sugars, which would explain why they never keep you full.

 

Caprese Galette

It has been yet another busy week, and Laura has been doing most of the cooking. In fact, the only new item I have to share of my own doing is today’s recipe.

Fortunately, though, Laura has been putting together some pretty damn tasty meals and she’s been taking pictures as she goes, so I’ll still be able to share those in days to come!

A few weekends ago, we had some good friends over for dinner. I knew they were a little adventurous in their tastes and were open to me putting together any kind of menu, so I decided on an Italian-Hawaiian fusion three course dinner. However, the only course I ended up documenting was the appetizer, which was more Italian influenced than anything else.