Up to Our Elbows in Tomatoes

Posted on September 10, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….that motorized food mill looks better all the time

After spending 12 hours with daughter number one on Saturday, I felt I had to extend the same courtesy to my second daughter, G.

I called G, early Sunday morning to see if she would be interested in making tomato sauce and learning how to use the pressure canner that she helped pay for. It was a Father’s Day gift for my husband who is becoming more and more conscious of the food we eat.

It took a bit of coaxing but G’s husband was away and she needed to do laundry. Being able to use my washing machine and having her father pick her up clinched the deal. G lives about 35 minutes from us, when the traffic is good. Luckily it was.

After putting a load of laundry into the machine we started the process of making our own sauce about 12 noon. A bushel of tomatoes is a lot of tomatoes. Until you start cutting them up and putting them through the hand operated food mill you don’t realize how big a job it’s going to be.

While one person fed the tomatoes into the food mill, another one turned the handle to grind them and the third person scraped the sauce from the screening and the slide into a shallow bowl. The advantage of using a food mill is that the skins and seeds are separated and deposited from a separate orifice and you can eliminate the blanching and peeling and straining steps.

This is only the beginning. We had tomatoes next to the food mill and there are more tomatoes hidden behind this pot.

We started to fill the large pot that you see behind the smaller one in the picture. After preparing one bushel of tomatoes we ended up filling that pot about 3/4 full with sauce.

Our fancy new food mill.

Once we were ready to start cooking the sauce we realized that we didn’t have enough propane for the new burner outside. I volunteered to head out to Costco to purchase a new tank and have it filled. Nobody said that making your own sauce is economical.

My trip to Costco was a nightmare. You would have thought it was Christmas. I searched the entire parking lot before finally finding a spot to park and the line-ups to pay for your purchases literally snaked halfway through the store. I wish I had taken a picture of that. The girl at the checkout said that it was just as crazy the day before.

By the time I got home it was almost 5:00 and G and my husband got tired of waiting for the propane so they started cooking the sauce on top of the stove. Now you might wonder why we didn’t do that in the first place but I think when you see the next picture you’ll see why cooking inside isn’t the most ideal place.

K standing on the ladder so that he can stir the tomato sauce.

As you can see from the picture, K literally has tomato sauce up to his elbow. Another purchase that we need to invest in is a much larger wooden spoon.

After cutting, grinding and simmering tomatoes for 7 hours we were too tired to cook dinner so we ordered in. After regaining our stamina we started the canning process. Having never used the pressure canner before we did a lot of checking on the internet and watching youtube videos to make sure we didn’t end up with tomato sauce erupting over the entire kitchen.

The process was relatively simple but time consuming. We only managed to process 7 jars last night. By 10:30 G packed up her dog, Lucy, her laundry and 3 large jars of sauce and I drove her home. By the time I got back it was going on midnight and I had no energy left to write about our experience.

“The fruit of our labour”, 20 jars minus the 3 our daughter took.

Today K processed 7 more jars and hopefully he’ll finish the rest tonight or we’ll be eating a lot of sauce this week. Is canning your own sauce economical? We figured it will take us years before we recoup what we spent on equipment but the time spent with family is priceless.

Will we do it again? Absolutely!

Cheers

P.S. By the way for those of you who are following my fitness journey, I got out this morning and ran 2.4 k with the kids at school. Feels good!

A New Week, A New Start

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. I must confess that after my birthday I let things slide

I was so close. Probably only 1/2 pound off of my 30 pound goal. Now I’m 3 1/2 pounds away.

It’s amazing how quickly I put weight back on. A glass of wine here, a serving of pasta, a couple of slices of bread and a few pieces of dark chocolate and the spiral begins. This wasn’t all in one day but over the course of the week I wasn’t as diligent about what and how much I put into my body. I haven’t been getting as much exercise either.

All this changes now. Calorie wise my day wasn’t bad but some of my food choices involved foods that I have avoided for most of the summer. Food combinations is critical for me. Years ago I remember thinking that this theory was ridiculous until I tried it. It worked.

Tomorrow morning, cross country running starts at school. I’ve already made a commitment to run everyday with the kids. I’m actually looking forward to it.

Now that I’m back to work I need to plan out our meals for the week. Coming home tonight without a plan could have been disastrous but I pulled together a meal of oven baked salmon, braised onions, celery and portabello mushrooms with a small side of whole wheat pasta in a pesto sauce. I probably could have done without the pesto but I did limit myself to a small portion.

One of my ‘red light’ foods has always been pasta. I love it but I can never seem to get enough of it once I start. Tonight I packed the leftovers away immediately after finishing the food on my plate. It will be a long time before I allow myself pasta again. It is definitely one of those foods that I can only allow myself once in blue moon.

The last time I reached this weight I became complacent about continuing on my weight loss journey. I felt good, people complimented me on my appearance and my clothes fit well. I can’t let this happen again. I want to fit into smaller clothes, continue to feel well and stay as active as possible as I get older. This won’t happen if the weight goes back on.

The best part of being back at school today was interacting with all the kids. None of them said anything about how I looked but I could tell that they all noticed that something was different about about Mrs. C..

Until next time, cheers!

Three Days of Summer Left

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. and I’m already starting to feel the stress of returning to work

I’ve been at school for 4 out of 5 days this week, anywhere from a couple of hours to 6 hours, trying to remove or organize my belongings in one room and find a place for these belongings in my new room (the library office to be exact). Today I found out that the superintendent is coming to the school to observe our opening day. Even though the library won’t be used the first day I felt the pressure to tidy it up in case she decided to visit my space.

I haven’t been getting enough sleep this week. I’m slipping back into my old pattern of staying up late and getting up early. I know this plays havoc with my weight and with the added stress I’m looking at double jeopardy.

When K and I woke up this morning neither of us had the energy to drive to the cottage. We decided to leave tomorrow morning. I wish I was there now. I would already be in bed getting at least 8 to 10 hours of sleep.

The beach is calling me.

The heat was oppressive today. I put off my bike ride because it was just too hot. Our house is not air conditioned and sleeping in this weather is difficult. Thank goodness that I got out for one of our long walks this morning.

I feel like I’m coming off a ‘high’ after celebrating my birthday and visiting with old friends two days later. What a difference a couple of days can make. I seem to be in a daze and can’t make the simplest of decisions. This post makes me sound like I’m depressed. I probably am.

I started to write about other things that are weighing heavily on my mind right now but I’ve deleted most of it. It’s just too much of a downer. I know that all these feelings will pass in a day or so or after a good night’s sleep. No point in making my readers feel bad. I’m not looking for sympathy.

Things that were positive today:

I bought a brand new pair of sandals that were on sale and I had an additional $15.00 off coupon to use.

I bought 2 new flowering plants to brighten up my garden

I discovered that the cabbage that I thought had bolted is actually a brussels sprout plant and is still producing little brussels sprouts.

The main part of my library is tidy and ready for visitors.

I had a good food day today and am back on track with my eating.

I’m getting to bed before midnight so that I can enjoy my trip to the cottage tomorrow.

On that note I’m bidding you all a good night. Sleep well!

Surprises – Part 2

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. the best was yet to come

Walking into the restaurant amid cheers and clapping and flashing cameras.

As we were driving to the restaurant I knew that K had planned something; I just wasn’t sure of the size and magnitude of the event. I didn’t want to think about it for fear of being disappointed.

I wasn’t disappointed. As we approached the restaurant I could see some of my best friends sitting by the front window. When we walked in the welcome I received was heart warming and I had a hard time containing my emotions. Everyone asked me if I was surprised. I was on two counts.

First I was surprised that K and my girls had pulled it off and secondly I was surprised and delighted by the diversity of the people in attendance. My immediate family was there and my best friends, our oldest friends from Calgary, my sister from Chatham and her family, some of my colleagues/friends from work and some of my neighbours.

K socializing with the guests.

The chef, Amato and the owner, Tony came to greet us and dinner started. It was like an Italian wedding. The menu looked something like this:

Carol’s Special Birthday Dinner

Pizza

Salad

Pasta – Rigatoni with a red sauce

Tortelini with a white sauce

Calamari

Chicken with a Citrus glaze

Veal with Mushrooms

Rapini, Yellow Squash, Red Peppers

Oven Roasted Potatoes

Chef Amato welcoming me to my party.

As you can see from the menu, there was a lot of food. K asked them to cut back on the portion sizes but that fell on deaf ears. I had to leave food on my plate. It was delicious but too much.

Both K and I walked around in between courses to talk to all the guests. Everyone seemed to have a good time.

And just when you thought there couldn’t be any more food, they brought out the dessert. It was the biggest tiramisu I’ve ever seen and it was aglow with candles.

Thank goodness your 60th birthday happens only once in your lifetime. All the leftover food went straight to school the next day to be shared by the staff. I’m back on track with my eating and thank goodness I only put on 1 pound. I’ll be down again by the end of the weekend.

Cheers!

Getting a Workout at a Baseball Game

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. or how not to gain weight at a sedentary event

At the Rogers Centre in Toronto for the Blue Jays vs the Chicago White Sox game. Monday, August 13, 2012

Let’s face it, watching baseball is a very sedate activity. So how does one go about getting a workout at a game? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Park the car far enough away so that you have to walk at least 1.77 km to and from the stadium. You’ll also save money using street parking; $4.25 vs $10.00 in a lot.

2. Buy tickets for the upper deck so that you have to climb to the 5th level up the ramps and descend using the stairs. You’ll use 2 different sets of muscles and give your heart a good workout. Again you’ll save at least $30.00 per ticket by sitting in the “nose bleed” section.

3. Stand up and cheer every time the “Let’s make some noise!” sign appears on the jumbo screen. Just hang on to the rail so that you don’t fall over into the crowd below.

4. Eat a healthy dinner before you go so that you’re not tempted to buy the $8.00 hotdog and $10.00 beer. Again you’ll save yourself some money.

5. Throw caution to the wind and get up and dance when your team wins the game in overtime.

Did it help me with my weight loss journey?

Yup, I’m down another 1/2 pound for a total of 27 pounds.

Did I miss the beer, Cracker Jacks and hotdogs? Not one little bit.

My cousin P, his girlfriend M and me at the game. While we posed for this picture we missed a home run.

Feels Like a Cottage Morning

Posted on August 11, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…even though I’m still in the city

I woke up early this morning to the sound of rain hitting the pavement. After all the heat and drought we’ve experienced this summer the rain is welcome relief. It’s one of those mornings where you want to stay in bed, read and write and contemplate life.

But alas I have company here and I need to get up and start the coffee and make breakfast.

My cousin and his girlfriend arrived last night after being on a bus for over 50 hours. It was our first encounter. What a lovely couple! We enjoyed a simple supper together here at the house and to our surprise they stayed up till midnight and shared stories of their adventures here in Canada. They’ve been here since last October but mostly out West.

I was hoping to get out for a run today with Frances. Even though it’s still raining I might brave it anyway. K left for the cottage early this morning (5:30) so that he could build the staircase. He’s usually my motivation for getting out to run.

My weight loss journey has slowed down considerably but I am down another 11/2 pounds for a total of 26 1/2 pounds. I’m not discouraged but I do feel that I have to re-exam my food intake. I love cheese and I think that’s my biggest downfall. Even though it’s acceptable on a low GI diet I think adding the gluten free crackers slows my metabolism and interferes with how fast I lose weight.

Obviously I’m burning more calories than I’m eating and that’s the main thing. I keep moving forward in a positive direction and there’s no looking back.

As I lie here and ‘contemplate life’ I feel that this weight loss journey is different from any I’ve ever been on and I’ve been on many. The difference this time is that I’m not thinking about when this diet will be over. I’m developing habits that will last me a lifetime and I honestly don’t feel deprived. I’m not thinking about going back to my old ways and looking forward to my next piece of cake.

Unlike this little chipmunk from the cottage I’m not constantly thinking about my next meal and scavenging for food 24/7.

It Only Took Almost 60 Years

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Mama Cormier

….. to like running

Today K and I headed out for our daily walk with Frances, early in the morning. I didn’t have any high hopes or goals for the running portion of the trip, especially after partying the day before.

When we got to the rugby pitch I placed my water bottle on the line as a marker for the beginning and end of each lap. Of course K passed me right away and I could see that beautiful form he used to have was beginning to return.

The rugby pitch where we run.

I’ve been doing interval training where I run 1/2 a lap, walk for 1/4 and then run again for 1/2 a lap. I did this for 4 laps today and then I decided to go for a fifth lap. I started walking the first 1/4 and then to my surprise I ran the remaining 3/4 without stopping. It felt great. K did 7 laps today (3 1/2 km).

I thought we were going to walk home from the rugby pitch (cool down) but to my surprise K started running so I followed him. We ran for 2 blocks and then walked for 1 and continued to do this until we got home.

The rest of the day turned out to be a good food day with very little salt and lots of water. Hopefully I’ll see some better results on the scale in the next few days.

We talked about our running experience today at dinner and I told K how proud I was of him for starting to run again. He was also very pleased with himself and knocked on the wooden deck in hope that his old injury wouldn’t come back to haunt him and put a stop to his now daily routine.

As for me I had to laugh because it’s only taken me almost 60 years to actually run and more importantly like it.

Cheers!

Beetles, Tomato With a Nose and Too Much Salt

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. great party but up 2 1/2 pounds since yesterday

I know that the weight fluctuation has to be water but 2 1/2 pounds!!!!

My daughter, A and her partner, J hosted a family BBQ to celebrate J’s 30th birthday. I wasn’t too worried about my food choices but I didn’t count on the salt content of the foods that I chose to eat.

As you can see from the picture there were healthy choices but the BBQ’d meats were loaded with salt. No sense in dwelling on the past. I drank mostly water but did have 1/2 glass of cider and a sliver of birthday cake. Started the day with eggs and K made sure that there wasn’t any salt in them at all.

While sitting in the backyard, we enjoyed the garden and discussed successes and failures of our own gardens this summer. I learned some new tricks on trimming my tomato plants.

One of the things that I like about living in the city, where your neighbours live in such close proximity to each other, is the sharing that happens. During the party A’s neighbour leaned over the fence and handed her some of the vegetables he had harvested that day.

One of the tomatoes, literally had a cute little protrusion that looked like a nose.

On the fence, the other neighbour’s Rose of Sharon had some blooms spill over into A’s yard. Well into the party J became agitated by what she saw sitting in one of the flowers. Upon closer inspection I could see that a very large beetle was the cause of her anxiety. I quickly grabbed my camera and took a couple of pictures of this lovely beetle. Does anyone know what kind it is?

Took the Bike for a Spin Today

Posted on July 29, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. after our 5.2 km walk/run

My bike, ready for shopping.

What a great day for moving! Not the furniture, house moving kind but rather our muscles. My husband and I started our morning with a 5.2 km walk/run with the dog. When we got to the rugby pitch I started my run around the field (500 m). To my surprise my husband started to run as well. For those of you who know K, this is somewhat surprising and not because he’s just finished all his chemo rounds.

A little background on my husband: Shortly after we were married K decided to start running again. When in high school he was a very good cross country runner and in fact he was the team. He always had to go to meets on his own and place himself amongst runners from another school.

He quickly found his stride again and decided to join a running club. To make a long story short K literally became a world class runner and was ranked 8th in Canada in the marathon. After a number of years of packing up the kids to go to races and running 110 miles a week in training K decided to make his family and job his priority and he stopped racing.

He continued to run a little bit but he obtained a knee injury and the running stopped. Periodically he would go out and give it another try but the pain always returned.

Over the years as happens with so many of us K put on weight and lost touch with the running community.

At the moment K is on a fitness kick and works out every other day with weights and walks everyday with the dog. Until yesterday I didn’t know that he was slowly starting to run again. Of course he couldn’t stay with me, he had to run ahead of me (I don’t blame him, I’m so slow).

I decided to make a game of it and was determined that in my 4 laps I wasn’t going to let him lap me. When I started my 4th lap K was well into his 5th lap but he hadn’t passed me. I could feel him gaining ground on me near the end of my 4th lap and I don’t know where I found the energy but I put on a mini burst and finished before he could pass me.

When we got home we decided to get out the bikes, rather than get in the car and run a few errands in the neighbourhood. I loved it. We cycled several blocks to a house where the owner was selling fruit from his driveway and we bought so much we had to cycle home to drop it off. Then we cycled up to the main drag and did more shopping and browsing and before we headed home (we took the long way) we stopped and had a coffee at the local Portuguese bakery. From the picture you can see that K enjoyed a sweet with his coffee and I shared a slice of vegetarian pizza with him.

Upon returning home I went to the computer to track how far we had walked and ridden our bikes. Much to K’s surprise we covered 5.5 km with the bikes. Not bad for the first time on the bike this summer.

Later in the day I drove downtown and picked up my girlfriend, D, and we went to our friend, M’s birthday party. We decide to eat before the party and stopped at a cute little Vietnamese restaurant where we shared 2 dishes and 2 fresh rolls. We drank clear tea and didn’t have dessert. I knew that the scale might show an increase because I tend to retain water after eating Asian food. Sure enough I was up 1/2 pound this morning but I was down 1 yesterday so I’m still going down.

At the party I literally had 1 shrimp, 2 pieces of cheese and drank water. I even passed on birthday cake. Feeling good about my food decisions. I have another party this afternoon at my daughter’s house but I’m confident that the food won’t be an issue.

Have to get ready to go. I’m literally sitting here in a towel as I write this. TMI??

Holding Steady at 25

Posted on July 28, 2012 by Mama Cormier

…. still down 25 pounds but experimenting with new foods is stalling my weight loss

I feel great, my clothes are looser and my size 16 pants are baggy around my waist but I’m learning that certain foods, even in moderation, stop or slow down my weight loss. Those foods that I need to avoid or limit even more are sweet potatoes, potatoes, nuts and dried fruit and pork products.

I have started running again and went out 2 days in a row while up at the cottage. I was all set to run again this morning but I took too long getting ready and as I was leaving the house, K returned with the dog from their walk and we had to get ready to go to the hospital for K’s follow-up check-up. On that front I’m happy to report that he’s doing well and the doctor’s only concern was his need for some vitamin supplements.

Later in the day it got too warm to run and frankly I was exhausted and fell asleep in the middle of the afternoon. I have to admit that I was disappointed that I didn’t lose more weight over the last 5 days, especially after all the exercise I did but I wasn’t completely surprised either. I do get very involved with my summer reading and even though I walk, run, swim and rake the grounds, I also am very stationary for hours at a time while I get lost in my books.

The last book that I finished was recommended by my good friend, B. I had a hard time getting into it but I couldn’t put it down either. Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman is set in modern day London, England and is written in the voice of a 12 year old boy from Ghana who witnesses the murder on a young boy in his neighbourhood. Together with his friends he tries to gather evidence for the police while at the same time avoiding the bullies and the pressure to join a gang. The language is colourful and at times difficult to understand. The book is often compared to Room in it’s writing style. The author combines humour with the harsh realities of living in a new country in a state of poverty. At times the story is endearing but disturbing and funny but sad. I would rate this book 3 out of 5.