Travailing to a Dining Experience

Wine Club 2012 has officially kicked off. This year, we are once again dining at local restaurants in the hopes of great wines and exquisite foods. There's a little more order to the year, with it always being the third Saturday of the month. Which is nice from a scheduling standpoint.

So, we kicked it off at a little place called Travail Kitchen and Amusements. It's a quaint little restaurant that's been voted Best of and even written up in Bon Appetit magazine, I believe. So, we all had really high hopes for what the evening was going to bring. On the words of a good authority, I was told to get there early, especially if we dared to go on a weekend. I could never have guessed how much weight that warning really had.

The restaurant opens at 5 p.m., so I suggested we meet there at 5:30 - which is a bit early for us normally, but since we were anticipating a wait, figured it would balance out. When you get to the restaurant you need to go back to the bar and have your name put on a waiting list ... we were the 15th name on the waiting list. While you are waiting, you can order from the bar, and also order blue cheese tots, fries or a cheese plate. We drank water.  At around 7:40 - we heard our names called (and I will tell you the first names on the waiting list did not get called until around 7.)

So, after two hours of waiting, we were all quickly anticipating what we'd eat. One of my fellow clubbers and I decided to share the 10 course tasting menu for two (at only $80, it seemed a great deal). First, let me tell you, it's a lot more then 10 courses, because in between many of the courses, they bring you little amuse bouches. So, I don't even know how much food I ate, because even though they were tastings, it was a ton of food and completely worth the price!

Now, I probably won't do the meal justice, because I should have been taking notes - and there were hits and misses, but I'll try my best... To start us all of, we got a cranberry orange bombs. Our server told us it would explode in our mouths. He was right, it did explode. There was a weird gel left over in my mouth, which didn't make me thrilled, but it was a good indicator of the gastronomy tricks we'd see throughout the night. The first course was a beet salad. It had a plethora of beets on it and was good. I'm not a huge beet fan, but I am learning when prepared correctly, I can enjoy them. Our second course was an Octopus slider - surprisingly good, and I thought about not eating the bread, but I took the risk (I'm not feeling too bad today, so I suppose gluten in small doses I can maybe tolerate.) Our third course was a cold slice of beef brisket. I enjoyed this, it had some crazy horseradish foam that was really yummy. I think it was after this course, that we got our interactive amuse bouche ...

Yes, that is right, we ate off the back of our hands. They did a veggie option for the two pescatarians at the table and a duck pate version for the other two of us. (I was impressed that my husband had no problem identifying my hand (it's the one on the lower left.)

Now that we were done with our cold appetizers, it was time to move on to the warm appetizers ... we were brought a delightful mushroom soup, that was poured over chili popcorn, herb cheese and button mushrooms. It was phenomenal, perhaps one of my favorite courses. I have come to learn through my cleanse and eating out lately, that this girl is a huge fan of a good soup. Which is partly why I'm thrilled that we've declared Soup Sundays in our house (at least for the winter!) After the soup we were brought agnolotti - which was a cheesy, creamy pasta with a little Serrano on the side. It was like a warm hot ham and cheese sandwich, good, but the cheese definitely owned the dish. Next we had some scallops - which were great, but the winning piece of that dish was the blini with a salted caramel mousse (truly, truly amazing! could have asked for a whole plate of those ...) After the scallops, I think is when we got the sea bass. It had a black Bearnaise, which I admit was perhaps my list favorite taste experience of the night, and maybe my least favorite course.  (Okay, so if you're tacking that is seven courses so far - and I am sure I am forgetting an amuse ...) After the sea bass, we were brought out a sun dried tomato tortellini amuse ... nothing too special, but not bad either.

Next on the menu was the rabbit dish. It was rack of rabbit and rabbit pate. I enjoyed it, it tasted like smoked sausage. The tiny rack of rabbit was a little disturbing, but it didn't stop me from nibbling on the goodness. The ninth course was the steak course ... it was a sous vide hanger steak, with more of that good horseradish foam. This might have been my second favorite course at this point in the evening. It showed some great color and the flavors mixed well.

So, we knew our last course would be dessert, so the pescatarians ordered dessert and we sat in anticipation ... well, who knew ... they serve you a warm-up to dessert. Yes, a warm-up to dessert, which was three mini dessert bites (frankly, this could have been dessert!!) I think we were all awe-struck when he said that it was merely our warm-up. (And how brilliant is that idea anyway - perhaps more restaurants should take it on.) So, there we got a piece of dark chocolate with peanut butter powder, a cherry marshmallow with caramel powder ... and a heavenly vanilla maccaroon. (Oh, and I totally forgot after the rabbit course, we were given guava granita to cleanse our palettes!)

So, then dessert arrived, it was a chocolate paradise! There was a chocolate mousse with marshmallow cream that tasted like the best cup of hot cocoa in the world. And then there was a fudgy, decadent little brownie. There was also a dehydrated chocolate chip thingy, I wasn't fond of that, but the other elements totally made up for it.

(Oh, btw, with dinner I had a delightful albarino - I had thought to go red, but I can't pass up an albarino when I see one.)

So, was the two hour wait worth it ... yes, admittedly ... it was. Just to have that experience. I don't know if I've ever eaten that much food for such a great price and my company was great, so I can't complain. (D did text me at 10:30 though wondering where I was since it was so late and I'd left at 5!)

The one lessen we did learn was the meaning of travail (we looked it up while we were eating ... and found out it wasn't a positive meaning ... and very fitting of how we felt about waiting.) But lesson learned, I probably won't go on the weekend ... or if I do, we'll get there at 4:30 and wait outside ...or put our names on the list and know we can walk away for two hours.

Dammit - I hate it when trendy proves right.

One Week Left

I have successfully followed the Whole Living Cleanse for three weeks. I am feeling good - lost a few pounds - my skin is clearing up and I have added yoga to the routine. I've always enjoyed yoga, and have a few different programs ... but I picked up a new one the other week because it was on sale ($9). It's a daily program, with five different practices ... and it actually helps me find peace at the end of the day (and according to D, it's adding some shape to my rump.) So 2012 has started out fairly well on this health and wellness journey.

I have Wine Club tomorrow, so I will be breaking the cleanse with one small glass of wine ... and probably some dairy, but I'll see if I can do my best to stick off the gluten. When you're feeling good, you just gotta keep with it ... and so I am going to see how well the family sticks to it when we're on our own.

On another note, looks like work will take me back to Toronto for another short trip in March. It's one of those where I'll be traveling solo, but will know folks there. I like traveling solo (okay, I like traveling with my family more) but when I'm on a work trip, I don't mind being solo, unless I am traveling with a really good friend or someone who enjoys trying good food.

Well ... as the week comes to an end, I am going to cuddle up and catch up on my DVR before a whirlwind Saturday. I'll update you on the good food later!

Healthy Habit-Forming

So, I am more than half-way through my second week of the cleanse. This week I added Rodney Yee's progressive weekly yoga program. I'm feeling good (granted a little sore from the yoga) and think I'm losing a few inches around my waistline. Overall it's good (though, I am kind of craving a bloody mojo monkey donut right now ...)

But, the greatest part of my cleanse is not how good I'm feeling ... it's how it is affecting the way my entire family is eating. The dinner meals this week are substantial enough that we could have them as dinners. D was definitely skeptical for the week, but in his effort to be supportive told me he'd give it a good college try.

Well ... Monday night was roasted harvest vegetables with canellini beans ... and all I have to say is ... IT WAS A HIT. Both boys ate it up like it was candy. D even had to admit he loved it. Tonight at dinner, he admitted that he is learning that he actually likes vegetables that he may have dismissed unfairly. (Tonight our stew had turnips in them, and he said he was pleasantly surprised that he liked turnips.)

So, if nothing else comes out of this cleanse, the best thing that has happened is the turn it has created in my family dinners from a health factor - there is nothing more heartwarming then seeing your children gobble up vegetables and ... yes, believe it ... ask for seconds. Even little munchie O, ate up the lentil stew tonight and asked for more. So, gratifying for D that his meals are delicious and so good for me to feel like we are helping the boys go down the right path for good nutrition.

It's Been That Kind of Week

This week was nothing like I intended, or could have predicted. I made it past a pounding headache during the cleanse to enjoy lots of good food and learn that I am a grazing fool normally, and it's usually out of boredom, so at least I know I'll have that lesson learned. Hopefully over the next three weeks, I can break that habit and continue on this healthy eating streak.

But my week took a tailspin when D got a case of vertigo. Vertigo is bad for the person who has it, but I think it's worst for those around them. He takes some motion sickness pills when he gets this - he's had it twice before and got the script the first time - but he's pretty much incapable of doing anything when he has vertigo, which meant working from home and watching the kiddos. Needless to say, I probably didn't do the best at either, but I've made it work. Fortunately, it only lasted two days, and I have the weekend to finish up everything else I need to complete.

Now, it's the weekend, we start indoor soccer, and K has a birthday party, so I'll be cramming the work in between other gigs and prepping my food for week two of the cleanse. It's going good, I love the energy, I miss the bread and chocolate ... but here's to happy health.

Today, Let's Face It, It was a Groggy Kind of Day

Today was day 2 of the cleanse ... and return to work from the holidays. It was a lot to take in one day, I'll be honest. I woke up feeling great, energized, like I could take on the world ... but by mid-morning, the headache started, and the fog moved in. I could not get motivated. My smoothie experience was better this morning (it was still green, but I could drink it, not chew it!), I had the butternut squash soup for lunch, still great! and for dinner I had steamed broccoli on salad with a tahini dressing. Have to admit the dressing was really good.

I had to make tomorrow's lunch tonight, a kale, cabbage carrot slaw. I had a small bite, and it's promising. I am hoping I'll get off this headache by tomorrow, but based on others who are posting their cleansing journey on Facebook and the wholeliving.com site, tomorrow may be a rough day, but then I should be over the hump. For now, it's off to do my gentle detox stretches and then hit the sack!

A Cleansing Kind of Day

Today was day one of my Whole Living Action Plan cleanse ... and the timing was probably ideal considering the first thing D says to me in the morning is, "Honey, are you retaining water?" While I loved the honesty, I don't think I needed the public announcement. Yes, I could tell that for some reason my morning water retention was a little higher than normal.

So, because, the cleanse provides you a few meal options, you get to choose the days you enjoy the food. Originally, I wanted to start with a grapefruit ginger juice ... alas, the grapefruits were not good (confession, they were from two weeks ago, and we had used the peels for something else.) So, needless to say, my cleanse was not starting on the right foot when I had to toss the grapefruit out ... so I quickly switched to the green machine smoothie. When making a smoothie that's first two ingredients are lettuce and kale ... I'm not quite sure how long you have to puree it to get it truly smooth. Whatever the answer is ... I definitely did not puree it long enough ... it was clumpy and I had to chew my smoothie. I did re-puree it, but I still did not find my ultimate smoothness. The taste was what I expected ... but I knew I was definitely in a "cleanse territory."


Picture from the Whole Living website

I spent my morning (thankfully it was a holiday) preparing my snacks for the week. One was a fruit and nut bit (which I will confess, may have me no longer buying Larabars, because they tasted as good, but I can customize the flavors!) and a pistachio butter-filled date. Both super yummy, paleo-inspired snacks that made me think that perhaps this cleanse might not be so bad.

Lunch came around before I knew it since I had spent the morning pureeing and mixing my snacks. I was ready to conquer the butternut squash soup -- because, frankly, it is one of my favorite things. However, I have known good butternut squash soup and I have definitely endured bad versions. So, I wasn't sure what I was going to face when it came to this, since it was supposed to be all detoxing and cleanse-like. The soup was amazing!! It delivered on everything I love about butternut squash soup - I settled in for a delicious lunch and new promise came to light for this cleanse.

For dinner, I was originally going to do a steamed broccoli dish, but when I was looking at the menus, I saw how long the beet soup I was supposed to have later in the week took to make ... and while D has nicely offered to make my meals along with his and the boys meals, I couldn't ask him to labor over this soup. So, soup for dinner, it was. I am not a fan of beets, so the roasted garlic and beet soup was something I anticipated having to choke down similar to my morning smoothie. Roasting beets and garlic definitely made the kitchen full of aroma ... and roasting beets definitely ensures pink tinted fingers when you peel them afterwards. The soup was so much better than I could have imagined, the taste of beets was so subtle, and the garlic and splash of lemon really mellowed it out. 

So, after Day 1, I am feeling good, but of course, Day 1 was at home and I had the luxury of taking my sweet time and making my food. Tomorrow, Day 2, is at the office and that will present some new challenges. Lunch will be easy, because I am going to enjoy the butternut squash soup again ... but I have to make sure I make a smoothie I can muster down in the morning before I go off to work ... that will be the real challenge.

Now, it's off to relax, unwind and enjoy a hot cup of herbal tea and read a little George R. R. Martin before I make sure I fall asleep to make sure I get enough hours in.



Obligatory New Years Post

The blogosphere is bursting with New Year blessings, celebrations, reflections of the year past and resolutions for how 2012 will be the greatest ever. I like that at the beginning of each year, we start out on an optimistic note, looking at what we learned from the previous year and how we can apply it to improve our fortunes in the next year. It's always great to start out on a good note with strong aspirations. 2011 wasn't a horrible year,  it wasn't all it could be, but I can't complain. I wouldn't mind the economy recovering a little faster and I wouldn't mind finding my true calling sooner ... or finding that time to write my novel.

However, my goal for 2012 is really to make that final turn from a health perspective, to take control and be the healthiest wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend I can be. In 2011, I gave up soda (not that hard when you decide to do it) and I said goodbye bagels (at first, I will admit, that one was a little harder.) To get me off in the right foot, I am starting 2012 with a detox via the Whole Living Action Plan. It's a 28-day, mind and body challenge. Not only when it have me examine what I put in my body, but what I put in my mind and how I treat myself. D was going to tackle the detox with me, but after looking at it, he decided it would be easier for him to be my cheerleader and support coach and then seeing how I fare ... giving it a try later. (He was also afraid that the first week would drive him crazy because it's focused around only consuming fruits, vegetables and nuts -- fortunately, the next week you add back protein.) We'll see how it goes and if it lives up to its promise of feeling great, healthy and energetic.

I'm surprised I actually had one more blog post in 2011 then I did in 2010 ... because I know toward the end of the year, I was lacking my commitment to the blog ... life got in the way, and I was not allowing myself the time I deserved to decompress and muse with my writings. So, I will definitely try to give myself more writing time this year. So, here's to a great beginning to a great new year - I wish everyone the best on the endeavors you choose to tackle for yourself!