What is health?

I’ve been thinking a lot about health recently, especially now that I am expecting. I mean, of course it’s obvious I’m responsible for two, but I never really grasped what true health was. I think I’m starting to get it.
In the past, to me, health was maintaining a certain weight, having glow-in-the-dark white teeth, perfectly aligned, glowing tan skin, shiny hair, abs like a washboard, biceps with bulges and the ability to run six miles a day. All surface values, all perpetuated in glossy women’s magazines and TV shows.
I have slowly but steadily come to the realization that health has MANY more variables that are NOT so patent.
For instance, when I first went to Germany, I was floored by the amount of food (and the calories) it seemed “everyone” ate. I thought to myself, “no way could I eat like that and not get obese! Sausages, potato salad, beer, cake every day at 3 p.m.?” But because I was staying with my husband and in-laws, I couldn’t just say no (which is considered rude in any country, but even more so in Germany). To negate the calories I ingested, I’d get up at 6 a.m. and walk 1.5 hours through the hops and corn fields of Rohr, Bavaria, doing the New York City “power walk” with my arms pumping and my gait almost a jog. Almost every day, I’d start walking up a steep hill, the “killer” hill, towards the end of my walk. And almost every day, a woman who had to have been in her 70s would bike right on past me, with nary a breath to be heard. Jesus. How did she do that???? She wasn’t a reed-thin muscle machine, but rather of a medium build, with sturdy legs and the most perfect milk and rose complexion I’d ever seen. No wrinkles to be seen. That was the first time I consciously said to myself, “Now that is a healthy, vibrant woman!” And the first time I actually felt jealous and a longing to just be “free” from worrying about calories, fat grams or how many miles I logged. I went home after my walk, had a big breakfast with a roll, yogurt, fruit and butter (lots of butter), Kotbüllar for lunch, Plum Cake for Kaffee und Kuchen, and slices of ham, salami and Emmentaler cheese with savory rye bread for Brotzeit. Never looked back.
For years I subsisted on non-fat frozen yogurt, apples, Crystal Light, air popped popcorn and the Stairmaster. And you know what? I did get down to an “ideal” weight. And you know what? I wasn’t happy. And you know what else? When I began to eat, truly eat and enjoy my food and my company and relax a bit, I did NOT blow up like a balloon. I have eaten more in about 1 year than I did for practically 5 years previous, and I’ve maybe gained 5 pounds. Five desperately needed pounds.
Of course, now that I’m pregnant, I’ve gained 10 more on top of that, but I have more energy at 4 months of pregnancy than I did on my “best” days of 800 calories and hour long runs.
I hope my child/children will grow up without that media pressure, and just go by instinct and how he/she feels, without being told how to feel! I may have learned quite late, but I’m so glad I have finally let go of some very persistent demons!

Last night, Christian made some great wurst und sauerkraut, served along with some bakery rolls we got at Albertson’s. We’re all packed up for Cloudcroft and leave tonight after work. Apparently it’s been raining like mad up there, and the trails may be muddy and sloppy, but I secretly enjoy that I have some running shoes up at the cabin just for that. You know, shoes that used to be white but now look like tents in camouflage?
I am most looking forward to sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee and a great book, listening to the wind in the trees, and hopefully some wild raspberries have started to pop up. Thank god there are still some secret patches only I know about.

Just-right Friday Night

I remember when staying in on a Friday night was something to be ashamed of, or not to admit to. I think in college I missed maybe two nights of going out on a weekend, and those two nights were pretty valid reasons, lol.
Now there has to be a pretty valid reason for me to be called out of the comfort of home, where I’m finding myself starting the “nesting” phase of my pregnancy. I want everything to be clean and orderly, and I have just about as much fun cleaning the kitchen countertops as I used to in college getting past the bouncer into my favorite nightclub. I’m truly getting a kick out of exchanging pictures in picture frames, tending to my five-pot garden on my balcony, and of course, cooking.
Last night, Christian chose to cook dinner, since I was beat from a long day at work and wanted nothing more than to come home, change into my old jean shorts and a tank top, flip through US Weekly to read about Kendra’s sex tape nightmare and Madonna and Gwyneth’s feuding, and nap on the couch.
Christian woke me up an hour later to serve me some awesome bowtie pasta with a tomato sauce that just tasted like summer to me: large chunks of crushed tomato, lots of garlic, black olives, olive oil, basil, oregano and onions. Plus some toasted French bread and an amazing green salad that was so simple yet so amazingly refreshing. Only Christian can turn simple cabbage and lettuce, jalapenos and green onions into something I can eat at every meal. He says his secret is in the salt.
Before I met Christian, I avoided salt like the plague. I never, ever salted anything, and tended to shy away from inherently salty items. I never saw a need for it. But he’s made me appreciate how salt really does serve a very important purpose for seasoning, and I’m finding myself using it more and more (and my blood pressure is fine, even low, so I’m not OVERdoing it).
After dinner (I cleaned the dishes because I wanted to. How weird is that?), we sat on the balcony to watch the sun set, read a bit, blogged/surfed/emailed, and then made it a very early night in bed.
And you know what? I wouldn’t trade that Friday night for VIP admission to ANY night club!

A birthday for the belly

Yesterday we celebrated Christian’s birthday with a nice lunch with my parents at the El Paso Club and later he and I alone at Rudy’s BBQ. I managed to stuff myself silly at both establishments, whereas Christian remained vigilant about his ever-shrinking waistline. My waistline? What’s a waistline? I lost mine weeks ago, and even my “safe” shorts and pants are no longer. Christian’s boxer shorts are starting to be appealing to me to wear around the house.
Well, anyway, I managed to scarf down: two cheese enchiladas with pico de gallo, pasta salad, green salad with raspberry dressing, sauteed squash, pickled nopalitos, half a breast of chicken with mustard dressing, a slice of bread and a very good strawberry/almond cake slice. Christian’s plate looked like one of those portion-control plate samples the Diabetic Association shows on pamphlets in doctors’ offices, lol. He ate modestly while I just plain ATE. And just because it was there. Note to self: no more buffets until you learn that you don’t need to try a little of everything!
After work, we came home and I decided to take “a little nap” that lasted for almost two hours. Nothing worse than lying on a black sofa, right next to a window, on a hot summer’s day in El Paso. Woke up sweaty, groggy and disoriented…and still full from lunch. Quadruple whammy. But it was Christian’s birthday, and that meant one thing: Rudy’s BBQ.
I love Rudy’s but it didn’t love me back last night. I tried to be moderate–I had 1/2 a pound of turkey, a small cup of cole slaw, some pickled jalapenos and a diet coke. And then I had to have a slice of some of the most cloyingly sweet buttermilk pie I’ve ever had. Not that it stopped me from eating it all, but cloyingly sweet nonetheless. At least the turkey was lean.
So now I’m awake at 5 a.m., having walked 40 minutes by the irrigation ditches (try THAT when it’s pitch black outside), and I’m wondering how on earth I can eat breakfast. Oh god I miss being genuinely hungry! Lol. After breakfast (fruit for me, please) we’ll bike ride along the Rio Grande and hopefully I’ll build up an appetite for tonight’s soup made from leftover pfannkuchen and beef broth. That’s more like it.
BTW, got Christian a ceramic chef’s knife as well as a gift certificate from Germandeli.com, so he can order his favorite German food products just like home. I was tempted to “help” him pick out some items, but it was HIS gift At least I know seelachs, goulash, wurstsalat and leiberkäise are on the menu very soon!

Homesick

Yesterday my husband and I booked his ticket to go home to Germany for the holidays. That’s good. A good deal for less than $800 round-trip, and he gets to see his family again after a very long time. Also a bad thing. One ticket. I’m not going. I can’t go, because it will be too near our baby’s birthdate and we don’t want to take any chances.
Christian’s leaving Nov. 25 and returning Dec. 7. I’m due Jan. 10, but since it’s so near, we decided I should wait until the baby is 6 months old before I try to venture overseas again. (not that I can’t TRY to go in early autumn, but that would mean risking my job, lol).
It made me so happy that we could get a reasonable ticket for Christian, but just so sad that we can’t spend Christmas in Rohr, Bavaria, with his family. We’ve spent the last two Christmases together there, and they were everything that Christmas is all about. Family, warmth, food, memories, thankfulness and joy. At least Christian and I will still be together for Christmas, and we can Skype with his family, but I’ll miss the smells, sights and sounds of Christmas in Bavaria.
•••

Perhaps sensing my melancholy, Christian made for me last night some incredible Pfannkuchen, because he knows pancakes are my ultimate comfort food. He made lots, because we’ll make some Pancake soup (Flädlesuppe) on Saturday night with the leftovers. I personally had three of the massive crepe-like pancakes, filled with a fruit salad I made with bananas, pears and grapes drizzled with honey. I am SO grateful that Christian is such a great cook and comes from a family of great cooks, because I surely don’t! And I want so much for our “little Wally” to carry on that German tradition, as well as a plethora of others. It will be a challenge AND a blessing to raise the child biculturally.
•••
It’s 4:30 a.m., and I’ve already walked almost an hour near the river, come back and made some cinnamon-hazelnut coffee (decaf!) and now I’m waiting for Christian, my birthday boy, to wake up so I can give him his presents. I am definitely one of those people who’d rather watch OTHERS open their presents and see their joy and excitement than open presents myself. Not that I have ANYTHING against presents to me, lol, but I love to watch others get gifts. We’ll have lunch with my parents at the El Paso Club today (old-school luncheon club for businessmen members on the top floor of the Chase Bank Building downtown. Think buffet of 1960s dishes like steak diane, souffled potatoes, ambrosia salad, Parker House rolls and Angels on Horseback), and then tonight Christian has requested that we celebrate his birthday together at Rudy’s BBQ. I’m always game for Rudy’s 1/2 pound of smoked turkey, served with a side of cole slaw and some pickled jalapenos. But honestly? I’d be more than happy for just another stack of pfannkuchen and a night going through old photos and home videos of our times wandering the Bavarian countryside!
But he’s the birthday boy, and good ole Texas BBQ is calling…

Back to basics

After some weeks of highly unusual meals and food combinations, I’m finding that we’re slowly making our way back to some sense of normalcy in the meal department. For instance, yesterday I had Cheerios and mango for breakfast. Normally I’m not a Cheerios kind of gal, or a cold cereal one for that matter, but it sounded just sooooo good yesterday, and it was. I get the Cheerios through the WIC program, and probably wouldn’t have shopped for them otherwise, but I’m grateful I got the chance to taste them again, since I don’t know when. And Cheerios are heart-healthy, so I felt very righteous after eating them with skim milk
We got a rotisserie chicken from Albertson’s last night and had half each, along with the rest of the bread from Cloudcroft and Christian’s awesome cold slaw salad. Again, I could have devoured the slaw all by itself last night, so am I just totally deficient in Vitamin C or something? Cold, raw cabbage as a craving? What IS it that I’m needing so much that comes from cold, raw cabbage??? Well, the chicken was good too, but the cabbage, ohhhhh
I packed the rest of the cabbage for lunch today, supplemented with an apple, carrot sticks and a SoyJoy bar. I’ve been indulging just a bit too much and need to slow the pace, so I’m going to try to be a bit more moderate and aware.
I’m dying for my next prenatal exam, and it’s not until the 24th! On Monday, I celebrated 9 weeks of pregnancy, and it’s finally starting to show (well, underneath the little muffin top I’m growing due to overindulging, lol). On the day of my appointment, I’ll be 11 weeks, 4 days, so I’m hoping I’ll get another ultrasound then, to see my “Little Wally,” lol, short for “Waldmannstetter.”

Life’s little indulgences

Tomorrow is my first prenatal exam, and I’m already expecting to hear that I’m gaining too much weight for being so early on in my pregnancy. So today was my “last hurrah” day. Well, basically it started last night, with Christian’s cheddarwurst, sauerkraut and salad. I swear, I must have pickled my insides with all the sauerkraut I’ve been eating lately, AND Christian has suggested I keep the juice from the sauerkraut to drink when I have tummy problems (nice talk for being constipated). You can buy sauerkraut juice at the grocery store in Germany, by the way. Freaked me out when I first saw it, but it’s quite popular for regularity, like prune juice is here.
Well, Christian had to go to his job at the library today, his first week at that job, and I was solo all day. Not that I used it as an excuse to go out and shop or get an indulgent post-lunch soy cappucino and cranberry muffin. But that’s what I did. Oops! Well, I was lonely!!!
And tomorrow, it will be “Mrs. Waldmannstetter, I suggest you stick to fruit as a sweets substitute and you really don’t need to tack on that brownie right after lunch…”
In all seriousness, though, I think it’s all becoming so much more real to me, the baby growing inside of me, and I soooo want him or her to have the best nutrition possible. I’m getting the fact that by taking care of me, I’m taking care of another human being, as well. BIG wow moment!
Tonight it’s LIGHT. Tilapia cooked in foil with lime juice and chiles, served with grilled pineapple and grilled green onions. Sider of garlic foccaccia and a salad. I am getting mixed messages on Tilapia for pregnant women. Anyone with any thoughts on that? It seems to be lower in mercury, but maybe you know something I don’t?

I’m covered!

Got the great news that I will be covered by Medicaid and should be by WIC, which takes such a tremendous load off of us! I was so worried we’d not be able to have ALL the testing done that we need for a higher-risk pregnancy like mine. But now we can rest assured that we’ll get good treatment and thorough treatment.
Which leads me to a question.
What is it like for a pregnant woman in Germany? How often are prenatal visits, what tests are routine, and what is the hospital birth process like? I’d love to hear about that and compare it to my experience here in the United States…

Already I’m feeling like I’m way further along than I really am! I am done even pretending to try to suck in my tummy, and I’ve got a belly that would indicate that! Does this look like a 6-week-pregnant belly? Not! I guess I got a little too excited about feeding my baby very well and started eating for two … two grown adults! I don’t want to diet, of course, but I think I need to reconsider that extra energy bar or brownie from Starbucks, especially right before bed

My first prenatal exam on Thursday is really just lab work and paper work, but I’ll get the full deal next week, when I see Dr. Harlass, a specialist in high-risk pregancies. There I get to have the sonogram, PAP, full blood tests, etc. I’m really dying to see if my HCg levels have more than doubled since my first blood test last week, which had an HCg level of 4,338. If they’re over 8,000, I’ll breathe easy!
At my age, every day of pregnancy is important, so I’m on pins and needles! Did anyone else have those numbers around 6 weeks?

Still no symptoms to report, other than wanting to nap standing up (that’s me at the office, oblivious to my surroundings) and eating obscene amounts of food. One thing’s for sure — my baby will be sick of sauerkraut, sausages, peanut butter, SoyJoys, apples, yogurt and salads when it arrives into this world, because that is all I seem to be eating.

Yesterday, I had a moster lunch of leftover bean soup, a SoyJoy, and an apple. Tummy was distended beyond belief, and I would skip dinner if I could. But I can’t, so I made it salad and a baked potato filled with asadero cheese, cut up leftover bratwurst and pico de gallo. Not haute cuisine, but it was the ultimate comfort food! Tonight we’ll get to try Christian’s first batch of sourdough bread, and I am afraid. I’m afraid I’ll eat the entire loaf all by myself. But I’ll add some yogurt and fruit to balance it out.

Mammas out there… any nuggets of wisdom for a very clueless, scared, excited, petrified, exctatic and joyous mom to be???

The lovely bones

Last time we made ribs, I’d made the careless mistake of saving the bones and giving them to my dogs. I thought that beef ribs were safe for dogs, but when my father told me one of my dogs (they live with him since I’m in an apartment) had regurgitated a shard of bone, I realized no bone is safe.
However, being frugal is one thing I’m not careless about, and I didn’t want to see a big pile of meat, marrow and flavor go to waste, so I got out the ole Crock Pot after our rib dinner last night, and started some white bean stew with ribs bobbing up and down for flavor. I added to the Crock Pot:

1. 2 cups dried white beans
2. 4 cups water
3. Dried black Trumpet mushrooms from MarxFoods, about 1/2 cup
4. About 5 dried and crushed serrano peppers
5. 3 beef broth cubes
6. A few sprinkles of Mrs. Dash
7. 4 cloves (whole) of garlic

I set it on high for about 1 hour, then before bed (early last night, 9:15 p.m.) I put it on low. Now, with insomnia, I’m up at 4 and the beans are done. The entire apartment smells amazing, and the meat that was left on the ribs after Christian and I finished just has melted into the bean “soup” (more like a cassoulet than a soup). I look forward to serving this with toasted baguette and a simple salad tonight.
•••
In the meantime, back to the ribs. We have ribs about once a week, our little splurge which actually has turned out not to be so overindulgent (calorie-wise yes, pocketbook no). We buy a pack of ribs from Albertson’s, and we’ve found the cheapest ribs usually have more meat on them than the more expensive ones! Go figure. If it’s by weight, then I guess the bones weigh more than the meat. Anyway, we got a full rack for about $8, a container of orange juice, a bottle of Baby Ray Barbeque Sauce … and that’s it. The damage for our ingredients was about $13, which is what one serving would cost at a restaurant … for half a rack. And ours lasts for two meals. Although the ribs take 4 1/2 hours to cook, all you do is baste, and add it to the oven, and that’s it.
We served ours with baguette and salad, and tried very hard to be dignified, use our manners and eat slowly, but forget it. It’s ribs! We grunted, groaned, shoveled, picked, slurped and smacked. I can think of no other food where one can lose all inhibitions about decorum. Can you?

I waive the 5th

Yesterday, Christian and I went to the Federal Courthouse Bar and Grill downtown for lunch. Honestly, I probably never would have gone had it not been for the fact we won a $25 gift certificate in a local publication’s contest.
I normally shy away from any eatery with “Bar and Grill” attached to the end. Tends to attract a younger, rowdier crowd whose expectations and standards for food quality and variety aren’t as, say, well-traveled as mine.
But it was near the office and hey, it was a $25 certificate, which meant that surely since there was a “Bar and Grill” attached to the end of the name, we’d easily eat heartily and it would be free, right?
We were the only ones there early on in the lunch hour, which was a surprise, since yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, which basically entails large crowds of beer drinkers and revelers all day long in El Paso, even at lunch hour. But to be honest, I rather enjoyed the quiet before the storm and the uninterrupted attention.
We started off with the queso fundido, which is melted asadero cheese mixed with chorizo, a (typically) spicy pork sausage. It’s served with corn tortilla chips. Christian really enjoyed the queso, and had fun trying to figure out how to put the very, very stringy cheese and chorizo on a chip. He finally gave up and, as the cheese began to harden, simply used a knife and fork. So dignified! We also ordered tortilla soup. Now, I’ve had tortilla soup at many, many establishments not only in El Paso but in Mexico. This one was very good, but it was not tortilla soup as I have come to know it.
This soup, to be quite honest, looked like a bottle of Pace Picante Sauce had been heated up, placed in a bowl, and topped with cheese and tortilla chips. It was good, but it wasn’t the clear broth soup flecked with tomatoes, chicken, cilantro, avocado, lime, onions and heavy on the cheese and tortilla chips. It seemed more like a simple tomato soup with a few obligatory green chiles thrown in for good measure.
For our entrees, Christian ordered a bleu cheese burger with fries, and I ordered the house salad with shrimp (after the queso fundido, I had a guilt trip. AND I knew I wasn’t going to be able to pass up dessert). He enjoyed his burger, but had ordered it medium rare. He said it was past that stage, more on the medium size. But he did enjoy it, nevertheless. My salad was presented rather nicely, but why oh why can’t iceberg be condemned to just lettuce wraps? On its own, the dominant “green” in a salad, it’s just so tasteless, nutrition-less and ubiquitous! Granted, it has nice crunch… but I’ve been spoiled by the microgreens movement as well as the fresh, green and healthy varieties I tried in Germany (some I haven’t even seen here in the states yet).
The salad dressing was a “strawberry vinaigrette,” which sounded better than the ranch or other creamy varieties available. However, it was so SWEET! It had an eerily familiar taste that I wouldn’t be able to put my finger on until later on in the meal.
I had to add salt to the salad (I almost never do that) as well as fish the lemon wedge out of my Diet Coke to squeeze over the salad to add some tartness and kill the cloying sweetness. But, the salad was fresh and the shrimp was really delectable … smoky, plump and fresh.
Then came dessert. Strawberry cheesecake. I tasted the first bite and had my eureka moment. The sauce for the cheesecake was the same as for the salad! The “strawberry vinaigrette” may have had some olive oil and a touch of vinegar, but it really was the same. The cheesecake was good (I’ll eat almost any variety and flavor of cheesecake, anytime!), albeit not as dense as I prefer, and no crust, which I prefer.
We got carried away, and when the bill came, we realized we went over our gift certificate by $15. Only I could lose something when I win, lol. But it was a fairly good lunch, we left satisfied, and we almost had the restaurant to ourselves (a few trickled in as we were finishing up the meal).
So, in terms of gluttony at the Federal Courthouse Bar and Grill? Guilty. Way guilty. I wouldn’t consider the place to be a “destination restaurant,” but it is very conveniently located, the staff is nice and attentive, the food is fresh if not a bit uninspired or original, and there’s a full bar/TVs showing sports and videos and daily bar/food specials, if that’s what you’re into.
But today I’ll go back to having a yogurt and fruit for lunch. Not only for my health, but to replenish a few of the bucks I spent on my “free” $25 gift certificate!

•••

So, last night we made tortilla pizzas, custom-made to our own tastes. Christian had an asadero (In case he didn’t have quite enough in the queso fundido!)/chorizo/spring onion/serrano pizza. I had an asadero/chorizo/cilantro/serrano/black trumpet mushroom pizza. I simply put the toppings on the tortillas and put them in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes. The flour tortillas make a great, crunchy crust, and hold the toppings very well. Cheap but delicious flat-bread pizza. We had salad on the side, filled with bok choi, DARK green lettuce, spring onions, Daikon radish, tomato, serrano, carrot and cucumber.
It’s about time for lighter, “colder” meals. The temperatures are soaring here in El Paso, and my waistline’s expanding. I’m craving lots of vegetables, cold soups like vichyssoise or gazpacho, and even my Cafe Americano cravings are going away. Does anyone have a cold soup recipe that they turn to when they want to eat light and keep cool?
In the meantime, I’ll just finish up my raw oatmeal/pear/raisin/milk/honey breakfast bowl, yet another cup of steel-strong coffee, and suck in my stomach as I surf expedia.com for trips to Munich. I know I just got back from NYC last week. But man, I need a vacation!!!!!

Thinking inside the box

Last night, I must confess, I did what I thought I’d never do. I made a “helper” dish for dinner. Tuna helper, to be precise. I scoffed at those who made “helper” dishes. Visualized pink flamingos in the front yard, alongside the old Camaro on blocks, nothing in the fridge but Diet Rite soda, Budweiser and leftover Chuck E. Cheese pizza … and a bitter person past their prime, doling out whatever was on sale (on SALE) at the Dollar Store for dinner.
I know, it’s not a pretty picture. So why did I actually allow myself to be seen buying, preparing, serving, and actually POSTING that I made tuna helper? Morbid curiosity!!!
Well, I did not follow the directions on the back of the box to a T. Never do. And why would one need water, milk AND margarine? I left out the margarine, added a little bit of dried penne to the fettuccini alfredo box mix, added some canned mushrooms and crushed dried serranos, and a tiny bit of thyme. With that, I served a very nice vegetable salad of bok choi, carrots, spring onions, tomatoes, Daikon radishes and sliced raw serrano. Simple olive oil and vinegar.
My German husband is just barely understanding the term “White Trash.” Well, he got a sense of it by watching episodes of “My Name is Earl” while still living in Bavaria, but he’s not quite at the point where he’d understand that pink flamingos and non-running cars in one’s front yard, drinking Pabst or Bud all day long on the front porch, or serving “helper” or Spam for dinner are clues of White Trash-hood. So maybe I could get away with trying it out on him, making it appear that all the components were lovingly chosen individually to create a hearty, creamy masterpiece.
Well, we did enjoy it. Very much, actually. It was creamy and hearty, and the tuna worked well with the spice mixture. If you’re on a salt-restricted diet, this experiment is NOT for you. I could handle the salt, possibly due to the addition of the spicy serranos, but it made it a bit harder to button my pants this morning.
Verdict? Not bad for $1 (not counting the tuna), but it won’t become an everyday staple. I’m sure if I played around with more ingredients to add other than the chiles and mushrooms, I could really make it better. But then again, with all of the salt and additives, I might as well start from scratch with penne, tuna, minimal salt and less milk.
“White Trash” (some might prefer “Comfort Food”) is even making its way onto the menus of upper-scale restaurants. Often I run into mac and cheese, but instead of mac, they use penne and instead of Velveeta, they use Emmenthaler. With a panko bread crust. Also, grits become polenta, mustard greens become “sauteed kale and broccoli rabe with a lardon reduction,” and apple pie becomes tarte tatin.
We’re all eating White Trash food. We just don’t know it, or we pay heavily for it to be renamed.
•••
Yesterday for lunch, I also did something quite shameless. I had purchased a Nathan’s large pretzel at La Guardia Airport last week, and stuffed it in my backpack. Forgot about it until I was unpacking the next day, so I tossed it in the freezer.
Well, without inspiration or motivation to create something fresh and unique for lunch (which Christian and I enjoyed in the park by the public library downtown), I simply took the pretzel out of the freezer, packed some mustard and what was left of Christian’s amazing potato salad, and called that lunch.
It was great. If it had been from El Paso, I guess it wouldn’t have been great. At all. But since I knew it flew home with me from New York and survived the journey, it tasted that much better.
Spring has FINALLY come to stay here in El Paso. We walked the dogs in the arroyo after work, and it was hot, sunny and no wind. First “no wind” day in weeks, and now I have a beautiful farmer’s tan. Lunches al fresco now, and maybe we’ll invest in an outdoor grill to put on our miniscule apartment balcony so we can really be white trash.