Culinary Escapades

After much pondering of and debate on the details, I've finally come up with a temporary (or maybe permanent) solution to adding a new section to my blog! It's no surprise I love dabbling in the kitchen, so why not throw in some posts of my favorite recipes or experiments? In honor of this new idea, I've rearranged my blog elements and changed my background picture.... not much of a change, but this certainly seemed to be a better solution than creating an entirely new blog just for my culinary side! Its hard enough getting people to follow one blog, let alone two!! Although I do truly appreciate anyone who keeps up with me :)

Please keep on checking back for recipes, nutrition information, and all else culinary!!

Saritha Tirunagaru Nord, Esq.

Things are looking up!  Happy Friday the 13th to you too.

Celebration of Life

"Whatever became of the moment when one first knew about death? There must have been one, a moment, in childhood when it first occurred to you that you don't go on forever. It must have been shattering - stamped into one's memory. And yet I can't remember it. It never occurred to me at all. What does one make of that? We must be born with an intuition of mortality. Before we know the words for it, before we know that there are words, out we come, bloodied and squalling with the knowledge that for all compasses in the world, there's only one direction and time is its only measure."
             - Rosencrantz and Gildenstern Are Dead, by Tom Stoppard

The circle of life has been an ever-present theme these last couple of months. Last weekend John and I attended a memorial service for the mother of our dear friend Nick Celeste. His mother, Ann, passed after suffering from terminal brain cancer for the past two or so years. The service was beautiful. It was filled with sunflowers, tears and memories - fit for the life of a strong, caring person. I am sad to report, however, this is not the only news of this ilk that has come to my attention. I do not take so kindly to report that over the past two or three months I've heard from friends of 6 deaths in various families - parents, uncles, grandparents - many significant people are slipping into an after-life, reincarnation, dust... whatever you believe in. 

Evidence of mortality is never easy to swallow. And to hear of so many passings in such a short period is a pill even more jagged. I suppose its time to face the fact this sort of news is going to become more common - we're getting older. Period. But instead of dwelling on the loss, we should celebrate life. At funerals in India they wear white, for they are not in mourning: rather, they are there to commemorate beautiful memories of a beautiful life of a beautiful person. Its a custom I really wish would be implemented here.

Considering all this, I think it prudent to take this opportunity to celebrate life as a whole - to implement a living memory: to live as we would like to be remembered... and to make those nagging changes we've been wanting to make. There can be an inspiring spark in even the bleakest of moments. And, really, our dearly departed wouldn't have it any other way, wouldn't you say? I mean, it's certainly not easy... figuring out who you are and how you want to live... striking balance among all aspects. I've been trying to do this.... trying to make some sort of mark or etch and create memories worth remembering. It's a life-long process, obviously, and I don't know if it's working (and who knows if I ever will), but I hope I'm making my loved ones proud. Because you all certainly make me proud.

On the Horizon

Welcome back, me. It's been a while. I've missed the clickity-clack of typing while the wheels are a-whirring in my head. Not much inspiration as of late, so I thought a simple update will do for now. I hope you feel the same.

First off, in my effort to do bigger and better things I've joined the team 60 Miles for Bust, captained by the darling Ivie. Her, I and three friends will join thousands of other women and men and we will all walk 60 miles over 3 days (Nov 18 - 20). Each footstep is aimed toward funding various breast cancer research and programs with a view toward putting a stop to breast cancer forever. Each of us has committed to raising a minimum of $2300 for the Susan G. Komen foundation. I've never raised so much nor have I ever walked so far, but I know the challenge will be well worth it. Here's hoping we will soon be in a world that's not only breast cancer free, but cancer free. It has to be possible. It WILL be possible.

In this regard I'm certainly increasing my footsteps, but I'm also trying to decrease my footprint. My environmental footprint that is. I'm doing my best to take reusable bags while shopping, take my reusable cup to starbucks, and recycle as much as I can. I've even taken to composting. We don't have a garden that we can use it for, but my roommate and I collect our compostable scraps in a tupperware we keep in the fridge, and once its filled up we walk behind the dumpsters in our parking lot and chuck the contents into the trees/dirt abutting the San Diego river. Although, I can only hope its actually being used to fertilize nature and that the raccoons and rats aren't eating the scraps instead. Well, I guess either way its being reused, right? On that note, Happy Earth Day!

My last update is more of a personal triumph. Last Sunday marked the completion of my second half-marathon, the La Jolla Half!  I started the race at the Del Mar fairgrounds like a clydesdale, climbed Torrey Pines hill like I was being threatened with a gun to my back, and crossed the finish line at a sprint encumbered by the greatest determination I've ever felt in my entire life. This course was ridiculousy hilly. I'd swear on my wedding video the course elevation map was inaccurate. I felt like I was running uphill for the first 10 miles! Well, I'm being dramatic, there were level portions of course, interspersed with hills. Whatever. Further, the elevation map represented the really big hill as only lasting about 1 mile, but I seriously think it lasted 3 (again, with some parts leveling out). At the end I decided that as I crossed the finish line I was going to raise up my arms and throw up both my middle fingers - straight and rigid - with a stern, fixed glare set toward the cameraman. I. Was. Livid. But instead I settled for angry sprinting, because, really, I never flip the bird, and that would just be awkward. Despite all that, I still beat my last half-marathon time by 4 minutes!!! I was hoping to surpass it by at least 5-6, but with all the hills and some walking, I'll take it! Next race to come is the AFC Half on Aug 21, upon the completion of which I'll be the proud honoree of the Triple Crown Medal. You're in my sights medal!!

That's it for the moment. Stay tuned friends. As always, thank you thank you thank you for indulging me by reading. And for now, I leave you with a totally unrelated, but nevertheless awesome, quote:

"I understand that Scissors can beat Paper, and I get how Rock can beat Scissors, but there's no freaking way Paper can beat Rock. Paper is supposed to magically wrap around Rock leaving it immobile? Why the heck can't paper do this to scissors? Forget Scissors, why can't Paper do this to people? Why aren't sheets of college-ruled notebook paper constantly suffocating students as they attempt to take notes in class? I'll tell you why, because Paper can't beat anybody. A rock would tear that shit up in 2 seconds. When I play Rock/Paper/Scissors, I always choose Rock. Then when somebody claims to have beaten me with their Paper I can punch them in the face with my already clenched fist and say, 'oh damn, I'm sorry, I thought paper would protect you, asshole.'"

         - Unknown

Back to business

The cleanse and stupid test are finally DONE, FINITO, TERMINADO. I suppose "finally" is not the most appropriate word, as they both approached ridiculously fast and finished before I could even wrap my head around their existence. Now its time to get back to a routine and tackle all the tasks and projects that have been waiting patiently in my head since last September. This probably goes without repeating, but as you all know the last six or so months have been..... well, I hope to never repeat them: being in limbo over the bar exam the first time around fostered a pretty deep lack of motivation, then not passing fueled a confidence-shattering, cynical, depression-like shadow that enveloped me and was extremely difficult to shake. Further, the test itself made me want to huddle in a corner, collapse into the fetal position and cry myself into oblivion. Now its back to being in limbo. In contrast with last go around, I will do my best to not let the billowing thought of whether I passed harass and suffocate me. I'm ready to be productive. I will find some job, any job, and make myself a useful societal cog. In the meantime, I have quite a few projects to undertake, and hopefully, busyness begets busyness. 

Its interesting, though: the cleanse and exam consumed every morsel of my time/energy/thoughts/being that I literally have to relearn my old habits/routine... or create new ones. But the experimentation should be fun - almost like reinventing myself.... setting myself up for a better lifestyle. I welcome you with open arms, Year of the Rabbit!

Cleansed

My 21-day endeavor has come to a close, and it has been quite an experience. In the last post, I gave the impression that things were going pretty smoothly. I must admit I spoke too soon. Immediately after things took a bit of a turn. I took on this challenge while studying for the exam, which did have many advantages, but certainly some disadvantages as well. Unfortunately I am a stress-eater. When stressed/over-loaded I like to eat and eat and eat! As a result, my cravings for foods I shouldn't eat (cookies, french fries, etc) which should have left me after the first week of the cleanse constantly pestered me through Day 19 out of 21, making me rather cranky. It was only the last two days where I felt content, sustained - that I could do this indefinitely. But I'm proud to say I didn't cave. Despite the craving-nuisance, the cleanse was successful overall. A majority of my bloating abated, my itching stopped, a couple of rashes that have plagued me for the last year and a half nearly disappeared. 

Post-cleanse I didn't quite follow the proper protocol for reintroducing foods back into my diet, resulting in some of my itchiness and rashes returning - at least I know what I'm dealing with.

One huge benefit of all this has been making new juices and meals I never made before. I bought a juicer with which I've been making my morning green juices. One serving of juice can contain, for example, some carrots, 1/2 a cucumber, 1/2 an apple, a cup of spinach, a cup of kale, 1/4 head of romaine, 1/4 bulb of fennel, some celery, and a piece of ginger. Thats a lot of vegetables packed into some green goodness!

I've also found new favorite snacks/meals in quinoa hand rolls, lentil chili, falafels, apples w/ almond butter, homemade hummus, guacamole with jicama, brown rice crackers, lentil-based chips, sprouted almonds, brown rice pasta, and herbal teas. These gluten and dairy alternatives, frankly, are delicious, and I don't miss the things I used to eat all that much... actually, its hard to remember how I ate before all this. One thing I will forever be unable to ignore, though, is my well-known, timeless soft-spot for french fries that I will just have to indulge every now and again.

I plan to stick with the cleanse diet as closely as possible, giving myself a cheat day to enjoy small amounts of the things I love but shouldn't eat. I really hope the benefits are showing through and my body continues to improve. My biggest fear is everything reverting back to how it was. The thought makes me paranoid to the point that on a daily basis I complain to John how I've failed in my diet. But hopefully, for my sake and John's, I'll find some balance/acceptance soon.

Week 1 - Done!

Sitting here from my Day 8 vantage point, I can finally reconcile my thoughts from the last 7 days of totally uprooting my dietary pattern and taking on this mission, that I've come to realize isn't simply a cleanse, but a new lifestyle.

Only one week in and I'm feeling pretty good... a lot better than I have in a long time. My bloating is decreasing, I have sufficient energy for exercising, and my allergies seem to be disappearing, or at least abating. I won't deny I've had small bouts of crankiness and fatigue, and my kidneys are in discomfort from being overloaded by the detoxing. Worst of all, have been the craving battles I've had with myself. Over the last week I have fended off temptation in a number of forms. For example, I've deliberately had to ignore and distract myself from a box of fried chicken (on day 2 no less! Thanks, Kieran), cheezits, bacon, a bean and cheese burrito, french fries, cocktails, gooey caramel brownies, and all the enticingly yummy superbowl snacks, including barbecue meatballs and que bueno nachos. Despite these encounters I've been able to stick to my diet so far without falling off in the slightest. It sort of makes me feel stronger... being confronted by these seemingly tortuous temptations and resisting them successfully.  

Certainly it has not been easy. The smell of delicious food ignites a bit of a mood, and the thought of drinking my dinner rather than chewing on amazingly flavorful food is not desirable in the slightest, but I'm getting through it ok. I am, however, thoroughly enjoying lunch, the one cooked meal I'm allowed. My favorite recipe so far has been quinoa salad hand rolls (note: can replace quinoa w/ brown rice) - the seaweed gives me the sodium fix I used to crave from things like salami, and the quinoa mixed w/ chopped up veggies and herbs tossed in organic olive oil and fresh lemon juice with a pinch of sea salt, makes an exquisite filling. I highly recommend it!

While 14 more days seems a long ways away, with a lot of work ahead, I'm hoping to come out of this with an internal system that works more fluidly and efficiently... stream-like, if you will. At the very least, I look forward to trying out new recipes, like lentil chili, and apple-fennel juice. The challenge of it all is what keeps me going. And these days, I'm all about taking on new challenges and knocking them down! I think my delicate ego could certainly benefit from it... and perhaps it's starting to.