Category Archives: Blog

Fond Food Memories

Have you ever had a dish that surprisingly brought you back to a memory of your youth? I was once in Frankfurt Germany on business in the 1990’s. We arrived late at night and I hadn’t had dinner. I ordered a potato soup in my room and was amazed that it tasted just like the “Hot Dog Soup” that my next-door neighbor Eva Walters used to make in the 1960’s.

As kids we all loved the hot dogs, but what gave it the flavor and more importantly the fantastic texture were the potatoes. This soup reminded me of my youth and the fact that it was the potato that made the soup surprised me. This soup is also very easy to make and works great as a first course for a supper club dinner party. (See the recipe)

Our neighbors, the Walters, were German. Mr. Walter had been a U-Boat captain during the war. His submarine had got stranded on a sand bar and he spent most the war in a British prisoner of war camp. I will never forget spending a Christmas Eve with the Walters where when there was conversation about European travel and Mr. Walter went on at length about how we had to go to Norway because the people are so friendly there. That night walking home my dad said to me: “Of course he thinks that Norwegians are friendly, the last time he was there he had a sub machine gun around his neck”. Mr. Walter had been part of the German occupation stationed in Norway during the early part of the war.

Note: Pinterest pin From Fran Rita

As it turns out, my father who was Irish loved things German. Of course he loved my mother who was German, but he also loved German food, music and the language. His older brother was a Catholic priest and when my dad was young “Father Pat” was in a monastery in pre-war Germany. Dad learned German so he could converse with his brother. When I was a kid, my parents travelled to Germany and I heard constantly about how wonderful Germany was.

Fast-forward to the 1990’s and I spent a lot of time in Germany on business with Kraft Foods. I once called home to my mom complaining about the Germans. Contrary to what my father had said, the Germans were no fun. In business, it was their way or the highway. It was almost as if they had lost the war, but they were going to make Americans pay for their loss. My mom, ever the cool head, let me vent and then asked: “Where in Germany are you?” I told her Bremen and Hamburg. “Ahah” she said: “That explains it, you are in the north, our family is from the south. People are a lot friendlier in the south”. It is funny, but my friends in Memphis, love this story.

As we head into the colder months of the year, soup is a wonderful first course for your supper club dinner party. Try out this recipe for  Potato, Leek and Broccoli Soup with Hot Dogs. Your guests will love it, even without any sub-machine guns.

Photo Credit: Rose & Ivy

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.

4 Ways To Lose Weight And Get In Shape (That Aren’t Exercise)

The following is a guest article by Cheryl Conklin. I am a foodie and after 35 years in the food industry, a food expert. But, I struggle with the management of my own weight. What Cheryl writes is spot on with what I have learned and believe. Enjoy the article

 

We’ll get this out of the way right now: exercise is extremely important. Regular exercise is one of the most reliable ways to improve your health, and this should not be minimized. However, its impact on weight loss is generally overestimated. Most of weight loss comes down to diet, which means that strenuous workouts, while useful for cardiovascular health, should not be your key focus. Here are a few ways to lose weight and get in shape that aren’t focused on fitness.

Think Long Term 

The prevalence of “quick fix” diets in our culture has led to a skewed perspective on how changing your food habits work. Fad diets tend to prioritize rapid weight loss above all else, and many of them do achieve this in the short term. But, when you look at the long-term results, they simply don’t work.

This is because drastic, impractical, and restrictive changes to your diet are not sustainable. A diet only works while you are doing it, and be honest: do you really think you’re going to live off a handful of foods for the rest of your life? This goes for any evidence-backed dramatic diet, such as Keto and Paleo Diets – while it is possible to lose and keep off weight through them, they are a big commitment. Unless you really think you can stick to them, you are better off learning to incorporate healthy eating into your lifestyle.

Get Informed On Gut Health

Your gut is filled with a vast variety of good bacteria, which help keep your digestive system running smoothly. They are also believed to have a big impact on various other areas of your health, including weight loss.

While a lot of it comes down to your natural gut flora, you can actually influence what goes on in there through diet and supplements. For instance, a prebiotic fiber called XOS– commonly found in foods like milk and rice bran – can boost your gut microbiome and help you digest your food better.

 Adjust Your Vocabulary

 This is a simple thing, but it can have a huge impact on the way you approach food. The way you talk about your diet habits invariably influences how you feel about them, and the vocabulary we have created around certain foods can be extremely toxic. This listby Medium outlines the words and phrases you should be letting go of, including “guilty” and “calorie limit.”

Learn To Eat Mindfully

You’ve probably heard of mindfulness within the context of meditation, but it can actually be applied to various areas of your life. This includes the way you eat. At its core, mindful eatingis about taking a thoughtful and considered approach to your diet habits. This means learning to pick up hunger cues so you don’t over- or undereat, thinking about nutritional value, taking the time to savor your food, and creating regular habits around your meals.

According to the Guardian, the weight loss effects of mindful eating have been provenby a recent study. You probably don’t realize how much food you consume mindlessly, so this can be an extremely useful exercise in figuring out where you are going wrong in your eating habits. It’s also extremely positive, as it helps you eat better and eat less by focusing on enjoying food more, rather than less.

What all of these tips have in common is that they are about adjusting your perspective on diet. The conversation and culture around weight loss has been unproductive – and sometimes, even dangerous – for many years, and it is important that people understand that. Weight loss is a great way to get healthier and to feel better about yourself, but it needs to be done in a responsible way. By combining this attitude with regular exercise, you can achieve your long-term goals in a way that enriches your life rather than making it harder.

If you enjoyed this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons follow me on Facebook and Twitter and subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and check out my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Published by Morgan James Publishing and available through most channels where books are sold.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

 

Ironman 140.6 Flexibility

Make sure to read the last paragraph

Sometimes the key to great meals is improvisation. In preparing for a pre-race meal for an Ironman 140.6 Miles, the goal was to get the guys fueled with carbs/protein and minimize the risk of stomach issues. My son Brian and his buddy Eric Brown had run a half Ironman in Boulder Colorado in August (See Boulder Blog) and their pre-race meal worked well then so we tried to mirror it. Unfortunately, some shortfalls at the rental property called for several improvisations:

  • No grill forced a switch from grill chicken to Chicken Milanese
  • No meat pounder called for the use of a wine bottle and small pot bottom to pound meat
  • Shallots were replaced with finely minced red onion and garlic
  • Butter was replaced with olive oil in the garlic bread
  • Tomato salsa was replaced with an avocado based salsa
  • No matches or lighter forced the use of a price of paper in the toaster to get a flame
  • Bagel based French toast

Menu

  • Gougeres
  • Chicken Milanese
    • Tomato Salsa
    • Avocado Salsa
    • Mama Agata Sauce
  • Baked Penne With Mozzarella
  • Garlic Bread
  • Spring Greens With Mom Mom’s Vinaigrette
  • Birthday Cake

The rental property in Boulder had spoiled us. It came with a kitchen that was probably equipped by a professional chef. It had all the equipment and utensils that any chef could ask for. The property in Florida was the complete opposite. First there was no grill. It had a grill grate brush, but no grill. The pantry in Boulder was stocked with a full array of basic ingredients. The Florida property didn’t even have salt and pepper.

A few changes to the menu, a quick second trip to the supermarket and some improvisation were called for. Your guest would never notice most of the changes, for example:

  • Pounding out your chicken breast with a wine bottle and the bottom a small pan because you had no meat pounder
  • The replacement of shallot with a little onion and garlic in the gougeres
  • The garlic bread with an olive oil versus a butter based spread
  • The addition of a avocado based salsa because 4 of my guests don’t eat tomato (What is it with millenials and tomatoes?)

Just about everyone had to notice me lighting the birthday cake by getting a flame off the toaster with a piece of paper. The smoke and the unusual smell were a bit of giveaway, but it worked!

The meal was a success but the highlight of trip was the Ironman. Brian and Eric have been best friends since they were three years old. Now in their 30’s they are still best friends and training for the Ironman has kept them close. The fact that Brian lives in Memphis and Eric lives in Boulder Colorado is a detail. The work and dedication that goes into the training is amazing. A 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride, followed by a full 26.2 mile marathon run in under 15 hours is more than amazing.

Note: Biran and Eric at 3 (Bri-guy loved his cowboy boots..)

Brian and Eric after their 2 mile swim

Speeding their way through the 112 mile bike ride

In the transition between the bike and the run

Flying through the 26.2 mile run (Brian wearing his Westhampton hat so the the force of mom mom would be with him)

Celebrating at the finish

The line of the week goes to my daughter in law Lauren who is pregnant with their second child due in a few weeks. Leave it to Lauren to say the most important things in a few words.

At the breakfast table in the morning the day after the Ironman, Brian states: in the last 24 hours I have swam 2.3 miles, biked 112 miles, ran 26.3 miles, got up this morning and updated my weekly work numbers, got on the phone with Autozone IT to straighten them out and set direction for my  team at work…what have you done?:

Lauren’s soft response…”NOT HAD A BABY”