Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.
–Voltaire
Hungry? I am, so let me tell you about the dinner I had last night.
Category: recipes
Ask Fatty Felicity
Welcome to Ask Fatty Felicity, the write-in column where you get to ask all your burning questions about Fat, Diet, and the Meaning of Life! Let’s get right to today’s burning questions, shall we?
Fatty Felicity, what a lovely name. Is it in reference to your personal tonnage statistics?
–Jenny
Thank you, Jenny. In fact, I’ve taken this name in reference to my favorite food group, fat. Contrary to popular expectation, increasing my daily fat intake from around 30 grams a day to 200 and switching from “heart-healthy” oils to saturated fats like coconut oil and butter has been very good for me. It has helped me lose 145 pounds, put on muscle, and improve all my markers for good health–from cholesterol levels to blood pressure.
Fatty Felicity, I’m in a quandry. I’ve been invited to a friend’s party and I think the only things to eat will be nachos and pizza. Should I take up a life of monasticism?
–Artimus
Artimus, Artimus. Let’s leave the extremes for the vegans, shall we? There’s no reason to avoid people or parties. Here’s some handy tips for you, though:
Eggstraordinary
An egg today is better than a hen tomorrow.
–Benjamin Franklin
When you saw the title you probably thought I was going to talk about the amazing goodness of eggs. I could, but I’m not. If you want to know more, read here.
No, what I’m going to talk about is how I managed to eat eggs, being allergic, and one recipe for a fun way to eat them.
Who’s Hungry?
The belly is an ungrateful wretch. It never remembers past favors; it always wants more tomorrow.
–Alexander Solzhenitsyn
It’s time to think about some more recipes! There are, by the way, some great sites out there to search for Primal or Paleo style recipes. If you haven’t already found some you like, I’ll provide some links. Some of them will or will not use dairy–if you use dairy, you might have more luck googling “low carb” and “primal” than “paleo.” Some of them fully embrace the whole carbs-that-aren’t-carbs idea, which I’m not a huge fan of. But there’s some great recipes, as well as ideas to get you using your own imagination. It’s not all just bacon and eggs people!
It’s mostly bacon and eggs, but not all.
Continue reading Who’s Hungry?
Ours Is Not To Reason Why…
In the information society, nobody thinks. We expected to banish paper, but we actually banished thought.
― Michael Crichton
The Peanut Butter Conundrum
I was at a friend’s house earlier in the week, and she being a lovely person had thoughtfully made a dessert that didn’t include any wheat. Chocolate on the outside, peanut butter and butter on the inside, she said. I had several. I had several because I really appreciated her going out of her way to make something without wheat in it, we were having an engaging conversation at the time she brought them out, I was a guest in this woman’s home. I know her to be a person who thrives on knowing that what she’s made in the kitchen is enjoyed by those who eat it.
But after eating two, I found myself having a sudden urge to eat the entire tray.
Continue reading Ours Is Not To Reason Why…
Holiday Decisions
Wait for that wisest of all counselors, Time.
― Pericles
Here’s hoping that none of you cared that I haven’t written another post till now, because you were so busy enjoying friends and family that you didn’t even notice!
Let’s talk about sugar and holiday gorging eating. I had some people over for Christmas and all around Christmas. It’s an important time of year for the line of work I’m in. And let’s face it: at Christmas people expect dessert. You simply cannot invite them over for a meal of just meat, maybe a vegetable or two ,and candy dishes full of cheese and pepperoni cubes instead of…you know…candy.
Of course on the day The Roommate and I actually celebrated Christmas–primarily by not eating sugar, resting quietly, and not having anyone over–we actually did have cheese and pepperoni slices in the fancy Christmas candy dishes. And almonds. The spicy ones. And we ate ham. Pounds and pounds of ham. I had a jar of pickled peppers in my stocking. The roommate had a can of roasted pecans under the tree.
Anyway, if one is going to swear off all sugar forever and ever, fine. But if one is going to ever allow it all, Christmas is the time.
It’s the Holidays! Don’t Be a…YouKnowWhat
Just as a puppy can be more of a challenge than a gift, so too can the holidays.
–John Clayton
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…
As Thanksgiving approaches and Christmas is not far behind, I have been noticing the articles online: including a very grudgingly-written one bout how good manners dictates we provide food at our holiday for the vegetarian, for the people allergic to dairy, for the recovering alcoholic, for the people with nut allergies, for weird Aunt Sophie–and now, to top it all off, we have to accommodate those gluten-free nutjobs.
Yet More Recipes
I have a few veggie recipes for you today, and some meat as well. Some may find this shocking. Over the summer I several times overheard someone confidently explaining to someone else: “She doesn’t like vegetables.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. I love them; some of them, anyway. But this should give you an idea of the question I face when choosing vegetables: for the five weeks she was in the United States this summer, The Roommate ate vegetables nearly daily. She did not choose any organic, farm-fresh, pesticide-free, farmer’s market vegetables, either. She ate (or was served) whatever was the most readily available and reasonably priced at the local supermarket.
She had no issues of any type. No rashes, no congestion, no bloating, no dizziness.
Recipes the Third
As human beings, we are the only organisms that create for the sheer stupid pleasure of doing so. Whether it’s laying out a garden, composing a new tune on the piano, writing a bit of poetry, manipulating a digital photo, redecorating a room, or inventing a new chili recipe – we are happiest when we are creating.
–Gary Hamel
I just got back from picking up a rug we had dry cleaned, so I’m a little pooped this afternoon. When I say “pick up a rug” what I mean is that I strapped on a Respro air mask because our pollution levels are over 350 today, walked for 20 minutes down to the dry cleaning place, picked up my rug (literally, with my arms) and carried it back home another 20 minutes. This is why running for the dry cleaning can be a little exhausting, especially when there’s no actual air around to breathe. The air quality monitors didn’t use to go up past 300, as it was believed that getting past 300 was pretty much impossible–and at any rate would be so rare that it wouldn’t be necessary. They re-calibrated the monitors just for us!
Recipes the Second
This recipe is certainly silly. It says to separate the eggs, but it doesn’t say how far to separate them.
–Gracie Allen
It’s about time we started cooking again, don’t you think? Let’s start with dessert because we’re all adults and we can.
I had leftover ground almonds. I sensed The Roommate was getting bored, so I went to make something different for a snack. Something filling, but not sweet (other than a little natural sweetness in the almonds and coconut). So I made:
Almond Butter Coconut Things
Grind some raw almonds in a coffee grinder or something similar
Mix in butter. How much butter? However much you like
Form into patties, roll in egg white and shredded coconut
Fry in coconut oil
I had a little leftover peanut butter cream cheese stuff, so a dollop of that went onto these. Our favorite thing all week.
Ask Me How It Happened 