Wednesday, March 7, 2012 I'm Back and There's Less of Me \m/

At my last weigh in I was down 10 pounds since starting my diet. That was about a week ago. Since getting this adorable puppy 2 1/2 weeks ago I haven't had much "me time." Yes, even weighing myself in the morning can prove to be an issue. So can showering, going to the bathroom by myself and (of course) cooking.

I've made a few batches of my Kitchen Sink Cookies. They're a great way to sneak a little more fiber (and some chocolate) into my diet. Yesterday's batch had Pretzel M&M's! Nummy.

But, to continue on my high fiber diet that has me shedding the pounds with little effort, I'm eating Smart Taste pasta, whole grain toast with peanut butter, Kashi cereal, yogurt and one meal a day. That one meal always has veggies, sometimes brown rice or barley. Sometimes it's vegetarian and sometimes there's chicken, pork, beef or fish. Sometimes I'll eat cheese, but that's a real treat. My diet has drastically changed from 6 months ago. Three years ago I ate like this all the time. And when I'm ready I'll be getting those clothes out of storage and wearing them. 15 more pounds to reach my old "I'm an actress" weight of 105.

Wish me luck.

I have managed to treat myself a few times. The first week Apollo was here my neighbor puppy sat so we could get some time to ourselves. Off we went to Zaza Gastrobar in downtown Stamford which OmNomCT had raved about. Reading their review I just had to have that lobster polenta, and the rest of the menu looked equally good. I wish I could say I took pictures, but I had relaxation on the mind that night. The restaurant is just beautiful - my color scheme with black and red. The chandeliers alone are worth the trip. The place is pretty hip, something I try to stay away from usually. I can't stand when people go somewhere to be seen. And it's not just restaurants, it's outdoor Shakespeare, too. But that's just me and I'm strange. The music at Zaza was horrendous and too loud, another sign of the tragically hip, but no one is perfect and I expected the food would be the music for my ears. It was.

We started off with the smoked mozzerela plate - served with olives, roasted peppers, grilled eggplant and prochuitto it was the perfect way to start the meal. They have a nice selection of fresh mozz as well, I'll have to try another one one my next visit. The lobster polenta was more amazing than I expected. It's what the lobster mac-n-cheese at Gray Goose in Southport wants to be. (Talk about people wanting to be seen. I actually saw a guy in kakis and a blue blazer with the gold buttons. The atmosphere was annoying and the food was nothing to write about. So I'll stop,) Zaza actually delivers on taste. My other dish, roasted beets with fennel, was simple stupendous. I expected the lobster polenta to rock, but this dish with it's perfectly roasted beets smothered in gorgonzola, walnuts and balsamic was - To. Die. For. I can see myself stopping by on a hot summer day after walking downtown to get a plate of beets to cool my soul. Two Tits Up for Zaza Gastobar.

Speaking of hot summer days Station Eats has opened up their Stamford location. Along with the usual DDelicious Station Eats fare they have ALCOHOLIC MILKSHAKES! Somehow they knew that the only way I can drink alcohol is when it's mixed with ice cream. I'll be stopping in for a shake and stumbling back to the Cove on numerous occasions this summer. If you happen to be driving by please don't run me over.

And last but not least, last night I went to Rico's. Ahhh AHHH! Rico's is located in a section of Stamford that most people don't go to. I'll leave out any mention of bad neighborhoods (or will I?) and focus on the food. (Since they're opening a new restaurant in Newfield Green you won't have to worry about your safety.) The Selleck Street location was empty - but the numerous delivery vehicles in the parking lot told the story. These guys have made a killing doing what Colony doesn't do. Ha! Gotta love the American entrepreneurial spirit - especially when it comes with fan-fucking-tastic pizza. Service was horrendously slow - considering we were the only people in the place. The waiter was a nice young man who was extremely polite, a rarity in Stamford, but it took at least 45 minutes for our pizzas to come out. Worth the wait? Absolutely. These guys execute the trademark pie a thousand times better than the original. Thin crispy crust, the right amount of crisped up cheese on the rim, the sauce is seasoned perfectly. I'm eating a cold slice right now for breakfast and I couldn't be happier. Two Tits Up for Rico's.

And now, to wrap up this lengthy post, a video of my boy :)



-HH

Sunday, July 31, 2011 Oops!

I'll admit it. I have totally neglected my blog over the past week or so. Sorry :(

I've had a big week! Big week for Vanessa David the playwright. We performed my new play Connect Couples (dot) Com at the Piedmont Club in Darien and at the Mystic Performance workshop in Mystic. If you're not familiar with the state take a look at a map - I-95 runs along the shoreline, Darien is exit 10 and Mystic is exit 89. Quite a trip.

Dinner parties were forced into the back seat during the month of July, partly because of the show and partly because of the HEAT! It gets hot in my place as it is - add in the heatwave and a dozen guests and you can see why this wasn't a doable option.

I did have a great time cooking up my blueberries! Two pies, blueberry BBQ sauce, pasta salad...I feel like I'm forgetting something. I did take video while picking at Jones Family Farms - if I can manage to focus my brain I might make something out of it. Right now my mind is trying to work on rewrites of my play so I can send it off and start collecting my royalties! The play has commercial potential - isn't offensive, no swears (besides pussy and asshole) and it can be easily produced. But I always have trouble parting with any of my words... So the rewrites are slow going.

We've had a little pizza drama here in Stamford. Colony pizza is an institution down here. Thin crust bar pizza that locals will swear by, complete with terrible service and old school ambiance. For YEARS Colony didn't even have menus. They had their toppings, you knew them, and some old guy would write your order down on a paper plate and, if you were lucky, he'd eventually bring it to you.

Fast forward to now and there's a new place opened up across town that has the same thin crust pizza, but better. Plus you can get crazy things like salad. AND they deliver. Word travels fast and before you know it Colony is suing them. It's all in the paper.

My opinion?

WAH!

Shut the fuck up, Colony! It's called the free-market douchebags! How's about bringing back the quality of your pizza (which stinks these days) and try giving good service, or at least passable service, and give your customers what they want! Because now we have somewhere else to go.

We actually tried. We called Rico's (the new guy) and were put on hold...so we gave up. I'll give them one more chance before I just resign myself to making my own damn pizza - which IS the best in town :)

Tonight I'm planning on making a breakfast pizza - bacon, eggs, maybe some deep fried mashed potato tots :) I've discovered another way to proof my dough. I put it in one of those clear domed cake stands on the porch and let the sun and the heat do its thing. Worked last time :)

So, again, I apologize for my lack of focus. I'll be getting back on track, yet I'm committed to my inner playwright getting her due. So this should be interesting. Vanessa David - Playwriting, Performing, Culinary Artist :) Oh, yeah. And my certificate came in the mail! Boo yeah!

-HH