An update on my thrilling life: identity theft issues were finally taken care of today. Leaves me shaken and nauseous but otherwise OK.
To drink: a Gibson or two or three. Bored with olives, I switched to the pickled onion. A nice change of pace.
To eat: pork tenderloin encrusted with garlic and breadcrumbs, skin-on mashed potatoes, and pepperoni stuffed mushrooms.
Sorry for your trauma - hopefully never to be relived. Dinner looks yum.
Your dinner ideas never amaze me . I have been cooking like eating off a wagon train. Though nourishing. Over and over again.
Wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. It took exactly one week, but felt like an eternity. I found my main email compromised to the point where I needed to call and have it deactivated. Thankfully I have a good support group. LOL
How awful. Ugh
Quick lasagna with no cook noodles, tomato sauce, herb ricotta, fresh mozzarella, and some zucchini slices. Caesar salad and garlic bread. Wine to drink (had two open Pinots that needed finished). Off to watch Dermot Bannon’s Incredible Homes on Prime.
Pork ribs from the pellet smoker. I like to leave the membrane on . My usual chuck wagon sides . Cheers.
We had some more fabulous takeout from Bistro D’Azur. We enjoyed grilled swordfish escabeche; Tuscan roasted NY Strip with chimichurri sauce and the best crispy Spanish chips that were perfectly seasoned; grilled vegetables; and lobster crepe. It all went great with an excellent red wine aged in bourbon barrels.
What a feast !
Beautiful as always. Are those pink peppercorns on the chimichurri?
The first time I ever had the Cooper and Thief was with you at Drew’s for the HO down. It has become one of our favorites. Thank you for the introduction.
This.
Avoid drastic changes. You can still eat most things you usually enjoy but in smaller portions, but you also need to do some moderate/regular exercise.
I gained 2 kilos (about 4.5 lbs) between March and May. The gym reopened in June. Can’t swim yet but I have since gone back to the gym and my weight has returned to normal.
When travelling in some countries I even lose weight! Japan and Korea for sure. Most of my meals look like this:
Nearly every meal contains fish, rice, tofu, seaweed, vegs and sahimi. Every day. (Okinawan archipelago, Japan)
Food in Korea has a lot of the same ingredients, just a lot spicier and are prepared differently.
Unfortunately, I was so sick from the intense pollution in Morocco where I lost 3 kilos in 10 days time. I was bed-bound sick and couldn’t really eat anything. 2 small tubs of yogurt and 2 mandarin every day. But I ate all my meals as normal in the first 10 days. The medieval old towns in Fez and Chefchaouen are free of traffic so I didn’t suffer the pollution.
Remember portion control. I would cut out half or much of the alcohol.
First of all, those photos are DELICIOUS. What a shame about getting sick in Morocco, though–that would be some of my favorite food!
And I’ll totally agree about watching alcohol intake; it’s been one of my saddest lessons in the last couple of years as I started working with a nutritionist. I’m down 65lbs and one of the biggest changes was to seriously curtail any drinking. It’s always only been a social thing for me, but when I drink, I can drink with the best of them, and I do enjoy it! When I was taught that alcohol actually pushes water out of your cells and it takes a day/two to replace that water, I started to understand why it’s not good for me from a nutrition standpoint, so I now go (sometimes, although summer is tougher) weeks without imbibing. And when I do drink, I try to keep it ‘clean’ (vodka/soda) when I can. But sometimes… there’s bourbon. Or shandys. 
Oh believe me, I know how to do this. I lost 10 lbs last year: portion control is always key. Started out doing IF, which kick-started the effort. But like I said, I’m not going to do anything about it right now while I’m stuck at home. Including curbing alcohol. ESPECIALLY curbing alcohol! 
(I lost the weight last year without changing that!) Just continued exercise and moderation re snacking.
And I almost always lose weight when traveling because of the hours of walking. I find I can eat and drink all I want on vacay and either not gain, gain a couple, or lose a couple. It’s the best!
Yes, those are pink peppercorns. They are so fragrant and herbal.
I’m so glad that you are enjoying the Cooper and Thief. It is one of our favorite wines.
@Barca I am enjoying living vicariously through your vacation and outstanding food adventures at such picturesque locations. Enjoy the rest of your vacation and summer, and stay safe!
Birthday lunch yesterday at sister’s was a seafood feast from a classic old favorite, Swann Oyster Depot. Oysters, cracked crab, smoked salmon on sourdough, and Sicilian “sashimi,” with a bone-dry Muscadet to drink. Excellent!
Our dinner was my first tomato pie. I used shallots instead of scallions, minced garlic and torn basil, a pizza blend of grated cheese as the first layer on the (store-bought) crust, grated parm regg/gruyere/mayo for the topping. I did salt/drain the tomatoes but it still turned out to be a very juicy pie. Delicious! I have another crust and more FM tomatoes so I’ll be making another this week with maybe some adjustments.
The first photo. All I need. I’m very partial to shellfish and mollusc whilst the partner is partial to fish.
Sorry, 2 more photos. 2 fish for the partner and 2 plates of clams for yours truly 
If you take my meaning! (This was in Morocco, btw.)
To my surprise, Sicilians eat raw prawns. It’s a normal item on the menu. They also eat sea urchin, however, unlike the Japanese, not as sashimi but with pasta.
Omg, that pie looks incredible @mariacarmen.
@CurlzNJ, @mariacarmen, and @Presunto - wanted to thank you all for your openness and strategies about avoiding weight gain while traveling, and in general.
I’ve only lost weight once on a vacation of sorts - 9 days in August on Oahu, getting DD1 set up and moved into the dorm at UH for her freshman year. High nineties everyday, with corresponding humidity, and the Trade Winds completely stop blowing that time of year. My appetite plummeted to nearly zero, even my thirst for anything much besides water!! Did walk all over, because parking is extremely scarce, and road construction made it impossible to drive anywhere quickly. So…, probably lost about 8-10 lbs, and didn’t spend much money either on shopping or food and drink. Simply amazing!
OTOH, when in Greece for 3 weeks in 1990, thought I was holding my own because of so much walking…but definitely gained.
Resto food and drink wasn’t that great 30 years ago, so I was drinking a bit more Amstel, than the usually fairly bad wine. Also ate a lot of French fries, made from never frozen potatoes, and spaghetti Bolognese, because I got pretty tired of the Greek food back then, although I do love and cook Greek food. Mostly everything I found to be too salty, as well. Oh, and then there was the full fat sheep’s milk yogurt I fell in love with - ate it every chance I got! So, up after that trip, probably about 8 lbs. yikes, and yikes.
Hmmm, now I’m thinking maybe I should vacation in Hawaii every year, late August…
Thank you very much.
Heading home Monday, tomorrow !
Have a wonderful August and all our best wishes.
