Hold on to what is good even if it is a handful of earth.
Hold on to what you believe even if it is a tree which stands by itself.
Hold on to what you must do even if it is a long way from here.
Hold on to life even when it is easier letting go.
Hold on to my hand even when I have gone away from you.
- Pueblo Blessing
Sunday, Nov. 14, 2004 - 7:48 p.m.
WARNING!!!! if you know me personally, you may read my diary, but if you do, you take the chance of hearing things you don't want to know, misunderstanding what I've written and being hurt by it. If you are unsure if it is ok to read, save yourself and me the grief and heartache, and ask first!!! Please note that this is a DIARY, ie my subjective feelings, hearsay, suppositions, and outpourings of ranting of the moment. It does not represent objective news, the whole of what I think of a topic or someone, or even a thought-out representation of any of the above. Keep that in mind. Thanks. * Here is a Diary Etiquette Read Me.
French Women Stay Slim
 Halloween Wench, copyright 2004 wench77 | Brrr! Well, I put a tuque on my head, and one of my old amsterdam scarves around my neck and I'm still chilly so I finally broke down and turned the heat on in my studio. I have had it on for several days in the central hallway and in the main kitchen area, but I guess that won't do it anymore now that we're mid-November. Well, I am taking a little break before I color in the background of the doggang book cover. I have all the dogs painted in. I just fucked up one character's eyes, but that will be reparable. Thank god I can put white in the eye! It's about the only place I could use white to fix something, so it was a fortuitous mistake. Always wait til one color is dry to put another beside it! I will have something to eat and then do the background... shades of green and blue I think, since all the dogs are well, dog colors. I don't know if you have ever noticed, but besides black and white, there really aren't that many dog colors. There is beige, reddish brown and a chocolate brown. |
Afterwards I will go to get one more page of comics done in the cafe (I have to get there by 9pm, in an hour, so I still have an hour at the cafe before closing time). And THEN, after walking doggies, fortunately I will be able to work a bit on Leo's Dog book sketches. Since it is not a tight deadline it always is the one that takes last priority.
Oh, speaking of priorities... the green tomato ketchup (sort of a relish or chutney) turned out GREAT! At first i thought it was way too salty and vinegary. And also way watery. So I simmered it down to about halfsize over two or three hours (I think the term is "reduced it"...hey Dangerspouse?) Now it is nummy. I just gave a jar (it made 5 pints) to the nextdoor neighbor for thanks for watching my cats and the house while I am away teaching.
| Sooo... I just read this totally funkola cool article about why de French ladeeees are not pudgola like them British ones (it is a Guardian article) and the rotund American ones... and voila voila! I have become frenchified here in Montreal! Who knew!! It totally is MY theory on food... after diets in university, binge eating, depression eating of volume comfort food etc. The better the food it is, the longer it takes to prepare, and the longer you can take to eat and enjoy it (remember the horrid artichoke incident with the Dad? ... I was like well, it is pleasant to nibble on with garlic butter for a long time with almost ZERO calories!).... the less you will eat. And the less fat you will get. It makes total sense. It takes your body 20 minutes to kick in the "i'm full and satiated" physiological |  Wenchie and Perfume girl, copyright 2004 wench77 |
Some of my favorite quotes from that article:
"Brie-eaters stay fuller longer."
"French women don't diet, the best way to lose weight is to have love problems! "
"The French woman sees herself as a beautiful woman despite her physical flaws. She is worth the effort of eating well, taking care of herself. She deserves to be slim and healthy.' And she deserves that a whole lot more than she deserves a portion of pie."
"Here (in England) there is no discipline: no one listens when their body says 'stop'."
Hehe. Yes I eat brie now. Yes love problems certainly do help me lose weight anyways. Yes I feel I deserve to be slim and healthy more than I deserve a portion of pie. And I try to listen to my body now when it says stop. hehe.
When I came to Montreal, I discovered farmer's markets. I discovered cheese shops and bakeries... not the kind that sell donuts but the kind that make nosugar, nofat baguettes daily, and organic stoneground multigrain bread by hand. Yes, by hand. And they make croissants with real butter. You can peel away the layers and let them melt in your mouth with a long espresso.
I hung out with a french guy who made soup from scratch EVERY DAY with fresh vegetables and fish and meat. And who had four or five course meals at home, and he was a 24 yr old student and his boyfriend was a student too. Soup, main course, salad, then nuts and cheese and dried fruits (raisins, figs, dates etc) at the end. Sometimes we had a little cake. A fancy little cake. That you'd savour. Not have seconds.
It was a revelation in good food. Fine food. And it isnt more expensive to buy than processed frozen foods. It is just everyone thinks in terms of "oh, this TINY piece is so expensive, I can get FIVE BAGS of this CHEAP brand for that price". Uhuh. And then you have to buy bigger clothes, get a second seat on the airplane so you can fit, jog and other hateful things, diet, etc. Better to have one tiny piece and stay the same weight for years. Growing is good for those under the age of adulthood.
So that is the funky thing. I eat lots of dairy. I eat lots of fat... butter galore. Brie cheese, camembert mmm. I eat tons of carbohydrates... whole wheat bread, kamut bread, oatmeal for breakfast, pasta. mmmm. pasta. Very few potatoes. Very little red meat.
It is true I could stand to eat more vegetables. I could stand to stop eating in front of the computer or a newspaper. I could take more time to eat. But at least I cook alot, and then when I do the instant frozen thing, it is my own homecooked food taken out of the freezer. mmm.
Well, anyhews. This was an interesting article. And for once they don't tout something like red wine curing all your woes. Or virgin olive oil. No. It is haha, vanity, and good food. And for a few of them, cigarettes. I bet the french also spend less time in their cars. But that is just a guess. But it is amusing to me to see that moving here from the West of Canada has made me "French". GRIN!
My spaghetti (to use up the rest of the tomato sauce I made for the cabbage rolls) is done and ready to eat... I thawed some of the swiss chard from my front yard to stir into it. With cheese on top. mmmmm.
And those photos are me and l'Ecrivaine in her snazzy Lancome perfume salesgirl outfit at Halloween. And you cannot see my head cuz it has a green and black stripey toque on it... same as I am wearing now. How wenchy of me!
Cheers!
I'm off to eat! ciao!
wenchola
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previous meanderings - future past
Goodbye Michael. May your next life be kinder to you. - Thursday, Jun. 25, 2009
Taking Care of Your Cows - Thursday, Jun. 25, 2009
Saint Joseph robs the cradle and eats spaghetti - Sunday, Jun. 14, 2009
sticky notes and broken irises - Friday, Jun. 12, 2009
The FOODCOMMANDER - Monday, Jun. 08, 2009
