Shrinking Food

We all know all types of fresh produce and meat shrink when cooked but some shrink so much that, it is annoying.

In Turkey, we cook purslane just like we cook spinach,chard and leeks. We sautee onions and tomatoes and add the well washed and cut of purslane and cook it. Couple of days ago I bought three large bunches of purslane hoping that it would make 4 portions. It took at least a good half hour and a ton of water to wash it. It was so much that, for a while we thought, it would not fit in the pressure cooker, then it SHRUNK! We ended up with 3 portions of a veggie dish:( Spinach and chard are like that too.

I had also bought three large bell eggplants and they also shrunk to a 3 portion meal.

According to our meal plan we must have a veggie dish for one meal and a meat dish for another. The veggie dish portion is 8 tablespoons so, you can figure out how much the purslane shrunk.

Before I wrote this, I looked up purslane from the dictionary because I did not know the English word for it and found out that in the US, it is considered a weed and not eaten. That is an interesting fact. I like the salty and tangy taste of purslane. We not only cook it, we also chop it and mix it with garlic yogurt for a meze or a salad. Sometimes we also chop it in other salads as well.

It is annoying to spend a lot of time preparing and washing loads of vegetable only to end up with a few portions.

Happy Moments

I belong to a group of seven ex-co-workers. We have not been working together for the last seven years but we still keep in constant touch and meet every month. This group consists of 3 guys and 4 ladies. We always have a good time together.

One of the group members took up mosaic art as a hobby during the last few years and we were invited to an exhibition where some of her work was also on display. Her art was sold for charity purposes so, the rest of the group chipped in to buy a piece.

After that, we went to have a quick dinner before gathering at another group member's apartment. He lives in a beautiful apartment right by the Bosphorus and there was a full moon yesterday so, it was a beautiful night. We chatted, laughed, listened to music and had a real good time.

I was the designated driver so I dropped three of my friends at their homes and by the time I got home, it was past 2:30 a.m. 

I am not much of a drinker. I enjoy an occasional wine and a little raki from time time but, I like to keep things under control when we are out at night. Besides, now that I am on a diet, I should not be drinking at all.

These get togethers are something that we all look forward to and I think we should register as many happy moments as we can in our lifetimes.

My pants are falling...

I am losing weight and last year's work pants are no longer appropriate to wear. I look like a clown in them. Yet, I am soooooo happy for this:)

I probably have different sizes of clothing to last me at least two sizes. I am currently traveling for work but when I go home, I will try all my pants to label them as follows:

Red: Too big. Wear no more.
Blue: Wearable at this size.
Yellow: Smaller sizes.

Tops are less of a problem because unlike pants, you can wear them a little longer without looking like a clown. Besides I was wearing most of my shirts with a tank top not buttoning them up since they were very tight fitting. Now, I can button them up and most will be OK till I lose at least 7-10 Kgs.

I wear jeans every day when I do not work so, I am wearing them out nicely and when I truly need new pairs of jeans, I already have three pairs in two smaller sizes. So, shopping is not on the horizon yet. After I am down two sizes, I may need some new clothes but I will keep my shopping at a minimum.

This time, I am determined to stick to healthy eating. I do not know what has clicked in my mind but, I am very mindful of what I put in my mouth. I no longer drink soda pop, diet or not. I no longer eat fast food of any kind.

I sometimes crave chips especially when I am going to have my period but eating a small bag of chips once a month should not be such a big deal.

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

I try to treat my mom like every day is Mother's Day.

She is;

Witty,
Funny,
Cool,
Smart, (no actually very smart),
Authoritative,
Extraordinary in many ways,
Loving,
Huggable,
and
Very very lovable...

Whenever I feel blue, I still want to be hugged by her. If she is not closeby, I like to hear her voice to find comfort.

She is not gullible. She senses if something is wrong and if my sister and I are hiding something.

She is a neat freak. She is a hard-worker.

She is my mom and I love her to the moon and back!

I pray God she will be around as long as possible with good health.

Mom, Thank You for Being My Mom!

Lost!

Today I weighed-in. I wasn't expecting any loss but, the dietician's scale showed a loss of 1,9 kg., a little over 4 pounds! Wooooo hooooo! Big pat on the back for me:)

I have lost a total of 5,6 kg., a little over 12 pounds since February 20th. It may not be a lot for some, but it sure is a major accomplishment for me especially given that I am now 6 days late with my period. Onwards and downwards:)

Sunday night mumblings and thoughts about the future

Tomorrow I am going to weigh in but I know that my weight has not changed. My period is 5 days late and I am bloated. I think I am entering a pre-menopausal period. Genetically speaking women in my family get done with menopause by very early 50s. I will be turning 47 in June so, I guess it must be about time. Up until this year, it was like clockwork. I don't know how I should feel about this...

I will be on a business trip for three days this week. So, it will be a busy week but, I am OK with that. I hope my part-time work will stay this way for looong time. It is a nice chunk of money.

I intend to keep working at least until October 2018, which will mark the 30th year that I have joined the work force. I will then look at my finances and decide whether I would like to slow down a little bit or not. May be down to 4-5 days a month. I hope to stay active until at least 60 depending on my health and stamina for work.

I know that, I am lucky to be semi-retired at this age and I am grateful for this. It not only gives me a lot of time for myself but also many opportunities to spend time with mom who is going to be turning 71 this coming August. I am planning a 9-10 day trip with her to Munich, Milan, Venice, Salzburg, Munich by car. We will fly to Munich and rent a car there for this trip. I have started saving for this already. If we cannot do it latest by next spring, I am afraid mom will not want to travel such distances. She cannot walk very much and she thinks she is holding me back. I hope we can make it. Last August, we went to Spain together and she enjoyed it very much.

Feeling Lazy...

Today was a georgeous day; not too warm, not too chilly exactly the kind of weather us Turkish people refer to as "like lemonade". I don't know why we call this kind of weather lemonade. May be because it is refreshing and nice.

Mom is sauteeing eggplants for dinner and I will be making garlic yogurt sauce to top it. Yumm... Love eggplants.

Tomorrow we shall go to a Farmer's Market and will have tea by the Bosphorus. Next week I will be working in Izmir for three days. The weeks after that are going to be really busy until the week of 27th when mom and I will go to Bodrum.

I could nap all day outside today. It feels so nice and I feel sooooo very lazy...