Yet again, I got too busy to post yesterday. I did have a brief moment or two to jot a quick note, but not enough time to write a solid post.
Last time I told you I'd report in on my Asian meal. The Family Food Critic (aka my husband) was off preparing for deer season and being chased by two coyotes (!) in the woods, so I was in charge of the kitchen. My daughter was getting hungrier by the minute, so I decided to go ahead and feed her and sample my recipes.
Amazingly, Mabel LOVED the Vietnamese porkchops I whipped up. Normally I have to cajole her to eat her meat, but she scarfed it all down and said my "chicken" was better than any Chinese restaurant could make. It was the first time in ages she cleaned her plate, and I felt pretty confident that if my picky 8 year-old enjoyed it, surely my husband could choke it down.
Well, you won't believe what happened. Hubby walked in, telling me about his coyote adventure, then stopped cold in the middle of the kitchen. In case you didn't read the previous post, I cooked the porkchops with the standard condiment/seasoning of Vietnam, nuoc mam or fish sauce. Hank turned to me with a look somewhere between amusement and horror and told me in very course terms that it smelled like an unclean woman's private area, if you know what I mean. I was horrified!
Despite this initial crushing blow, hubby proceeded to eat all the porkchops left in the baking dish and said they tasted great, although it was hard to get the image of the sweaty you-know-what out of his mind. Once again, he'd managed to find a way to compliment and criticize my cooking at the same time, although this time he'd hit a whole new level.
You would think after this semi-disaster that I'd never cook again. Ha! Yesterday Hank pulled out a pack of salmon from the freezer and we quickly realized it was more than the three of us could eat. So I called my sister-in-law and invited her, hubby's brother and their son to dinner. Hank had to stay after work, and dinner was scheduled for 5:30, so I figured I'd better work on some side dishes because I knew they'd take more time than the fish.
So I once again hit the internet, looking for a wild rice and brown rice pilaf. I found a great-looking one, altered it slightly to make it a little less fatty and calorie-rich, and by the time hubby came home it was already in the oven and nearing completion.
Well, the family came, we sat down to eat, and I thought everything was pretty tasty. Brother and sister-in-law were very complimentary about everything, including my rice, noting they were impressed that I had made it very low-fat.
Then, towards the end of the meal, I looked over at my husband's plate. Two-thirds of it was empty, except for a big pile of rice.
"So, you didn't like my rice, huh?" I asked.
He made one of those faces -- contrite, I believe it is. "It was kind of bitter."
Aargh! I looked over at my sister-in-law and exclaimed, "I just can't win!"
Thank goodness we had guests that night who not only liked the rice, but even asked to take leftovers of it home. Otherwise I think I would really just throw in the towel -- or spatula -- and never cook again. But I know I have to realize I have a husband who's even pickier than my 8 year-old daughter, and I need to learn to take his criticisms with a grain of salt -- or a dash of fish sauce!
Anyway, back to the weight loss. I think I'm going to change my official weigh-in day from Friday to Saturday. The previous two weeks I reported my weight on Friday, then checked the scale Saturday and it was a pound or two less both times. It sounds silly, I know, but I want to give myself every advantage I can, and if I can feel better by just changing a day, why not? There's no rule saying I can't.
This is all about motivation and attitude, and I need every trick I can muster to keep this train a rollin'. Because it's so darn difficult to get that engine rolling; believe me, I've tried and tried, and had false start after false start. It's a real magic act to get that momentum going and keep it going for more than a few weeks. Because if you want some real weight loss, you've got to get a solid two, three months or more to really knock it off. And I'm determined to propel myself out of the 200s. So tomorrow I'll hop on that scale, and let's hope I'm closer to that goal.
As for cooking dinner tonight? Yeah, right. I'm not that much of a glutton for punishment.
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1 comment:
My soon to ex never really complimented me; he's say "Andy Griffith always says, 'eating is the best compliment' or something like that."
That said, he would never say anything like "Hank" would say. Boo!
But look at it this way, your daughter liked how you fixed the porkchops and Hank ate it up. Maybe he thought he was being funny; I mean, he was out in the woods all day. I'm sure he didn't smell so hot either.
You know you're a good cook. You can just fix some noodles with butter and put it on the side for him.
I have a new rule about men. I never ask a question unless I want to hear the answer absolutely. (This cuts down on a lot of conversations too!) So if he hasn't eaten any of it, don't ask him if he likes it or not. You already know the answer and there's no point in giving him the opportunity to say it.
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