The Zombieslayer

Yes, even yours truly gets sick sometimes.  I think right now everyone and their Grandma’s catching the same cold.

So, what does The Zombieslayer do? Make soup, of course.

You remember how I was mentioning I go to the Farmer’s Market religiously now? Here’s the soup.  I use the veggies that are left, throw them all in to some Organic chicken broth, add garlic, freshly ground black pepper, Vietnamese hot garlic sauce, leftover pasta, and stew it all together.

Hopefully it will turn out good.  I’ll cook it another ten minutes then grab a bowl.

Years ago, I used to do Blue Collar work.  I used to eat 2500 to 3000 calories a day because I had to.  We laughed at White Collar breakfasts, and knew that if we ate a breakfast like that, we’d collapse on the job.

Well, ironically, I became a White Collar worker and now have no reason to eat that much food.  No, I wasn’t overweight, but I had no reason to have that extra twenty pounds.  So this year, I decided to lose it.

It was easy.  I already exercise.  I walk everywhere when it’s not raining.  I have a pretty good foundation of healthy habits.  I really think that’s the secret to weighing what you want - having a foundation of healthy habits.

That doesn’t mean you have to be a Health Nazi.  I prefer real butter to margarine and I’ll eat real sugar cane sugar instead of that test tube crap sweetener.  That stuff causes cancer.  Unless you’re diabetic or never brush your teeth, you’re probably better off eating real sugar.

Losing the weight

Losing the weight was easy.  I simply dropped from 2500 calories a day to 1800-1900.  That’s it.  I still love a 16-ounce medium rare steak as much as the next guy, but I just don’t do that any more.  Instead, I’ll have four ounces of it and save the rest for other meals.

Meat is no longer what the meal revolves around.  Now, it’s a flavoring.  I eat a lot more veggies here, and found that this diet is not only healthier but it’s very cheap.  I just got back from the Farmer’s Market, something I go to religiously on Sunday now, and bought these fruits and veggies, and all of them are Certified Organic or at least pesticide free.

All this for under $20.  I’ll combine them with rice or pasta, olive oil, red sauce or curry, and a smaller serving of meat and not eat much more.  My breakfasts now consist of just cereal, coffee, and milk, because I no longer need those extra calories.  Lunch is my biggest meal of the day.  I still eat a huge lunch.  Then for dinner, it’s pretty small.  I’ll snack on an apple or carrots if I’m hungry during the day, and maybe even a candy bar, but that’s it.

Benefits to losing weight

There are more benefits than just looking better.  I have more energy now.  It’s cheaper too.  I can still do my twenty chin ups, so I didn’t lose any strength.  You don’t have to be skinny, but besides being good for your health, weighing less is really cheaper.  We used to spend $800 a month on food and now it’s probably $400 just because we eat less.  Well, Junior still eats a ton but he’s a growing boy (14 years old and already 6′ tall).  I still encourage him to eat as much as he wants until he stops growing.

The blanket was made by Tweety, by the way.  If you want some quality hand made blankets or throws, contact her.  Her stuff is excellent.

First off, hope all you Americans, Filipinos, and Canadians had a good Independence Day/Canada Day.

I drink milk.  Always have.  Always will.  Milk over here in PC-ville gets a bad rap.  I’ve heard numerous people falsely believe milk is bad for you.  That’s bogus.  I’ve been hit by three cars while in a car and one more car on foot, played football, done Muay Thai, and NHB wrestling and have only broken one bone, which occurred while recklessly putting away free weights.  I dropped a 25-pound dumbbell on my finger, and only got a hairline fracture.

Milk is an excellent protein and it’s still relatively cheap.  Yes, bovine growth hormone is bad for you, but you can easily find milk that doesn’t have it.  Over where I live, Safeway, Whole Foods, Longs Drugs, Trader Joe’s, and Target all have at least one brand of milk that does not have bovine growth hormone.

The other thing the anti-milk people say is that we’re the only animals that drink milk in adulthood.  Oh yeah? Leave out some milk outside.  Watch every cat, dog, raccoon, skunk, or whatever come and want a drink of it.  They all know it’s good for them, and tastes good.

I guarantee you that if the anti-milk people did the reckless stuff I’ve done in life, they’d have a lot more than a hairline fracture in their finger.  Milk also has calcium and now they fortify milk with Vitamin D to help  you absorb the calcium better.

–

I watched three Summer flicks.  I liked The Hulk, thought Iron Man was better than The Hulk, but liked Hancock even better than Iron Man.  I’ll hopefully get at least one of those reviews done this weekend.

–

This is from the Tilden Park Botanical Gardens in Berkeley, California.  Great place to chill.

As you all know, I love cooking.  I never use a recipe.  All my years of cooking, I’ve always just winged it.

This is a Thai dish I made.  I simply fried up some onions and garlic, then chicken, then put those aside.

Next, I cut up some potatoes and cooked them in coconut milk and Thai Green Curry, then threw in the other stuff.

After that, I added mushrooms and finally, sliced up some pineapples and threw in fresh spinach.

Served over rice, it was awesome.  Unfortunately, didn’t have any Singha beer to go with it.  Well, Guinness always works.

Have a good weekend everyone! I’ll be out and about and hopefully hit everyone’s blogs Sunday night.

Tweety’s latest blanket

If you like handmade blankets, check out Tweety’s latest creation. It’s a nice shade of blue with a darker blue ripple and it’s 45×57 inches. Tweety’s made two of our blankets and her quality is superb.

Chocolate Rum Balls

Lime and I are going to trade personal recipes. Hers, she’s doing later this week but I’ll just do mine now, since I’m not in a mood to write something serious.

Every Christmas, I made chocolate rum candies. They’re yummy. You’ll need a double boiler to make these and three days time.

Ingredients

1 stick of butter

1 pound of powdered sugar

half-pound of walnuts

Rum or your favorite liquor

8 to 12 ounces of baking chocolate

1 stick of edible wax (paraffin wax, make sure it’s up to standards for cooking with)

Day one - break up the nuts, whip out a tupperware, and soak the nuts in rum overnight

Day two - melt the butter and combine butter with powdered sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the nut/liquor mix. Mix well. Put it in the fridge for an hour to cool it, but not too long or else it will be too cold to work with. Take it out and on a cookie sheet, roll the mixture into balls. When all the mixture are balls, put the cooking sheet into the fridge and leave it there overnight

Day Three - Take one stick of paraffin wax and melt it in a double boiler. I’m impatient so I cut the stick up or else it will take forever to melt. Add the chocolate. Stir it until it becomes a pretty, shiny chocolate mixture and it’s completely melted. They need to be blended together, no wax chunks.

When the chocolate is ready, dip the balls in the chocolate. When they’re all done, dip them for a second layer. Do at least two layers. I do three, because wasting fine chocolate is a sin against all that is good in the world.

When they cool off, they’re ready to eat.

Happy President’s Day

I’m not going to do anything today. I exercised yesterday, but today, I’m going to practice guitar all day long and I might take Mrs. Z out to a movie, or maybe just rent one.

Have a wonderful President’s Day! If you’re in another country and working today, well, don’t feel bad. Of the industrialized nations, us Americans barely get shit for holidays so we have to enjoy each one.