Miller's Cafe, Cream Coffee

Until I moved to Tennessee, the only thing I knew about fried green tomatoes was that they made for a darn good movie...

and an even better book. Then I went to this place...

Miller's Grocery in Christiana, Tennessee. And I had these...

actual fried green tomatoes. Eating one is, to use a Southern colloquialism, a religious experience. They are crispy outside, soft inside, salty, sour, and piping hot. They are everything that is best about Southern fried food - they are unique and comforting at the same time. They are only available when green tomatoes are in season. Like today, for instance, when I met some friends for lunch at Miller's.

Everyone was excited to eat at Miller's because they all love it - and they know I love it. They were surprised when I - who have lost so much weight and try to eat so healthy - ordered the fried green tomato appetizer. You should have seen them when I ordered the Country Fried Steak with sawmill gravy, mashed potatoes, and fried okra. I told them I will bike the whole Greenway to work that off and it will be worth it. I wish so much that I had the presence of mind and self control to take a picture when my entree came out. Unfortunately, I was deeply involved in a conversation about Michael Cunningham and began inhaling my okra before I remembered to reach for my camera. I guess that means I have to go back for more pictures. Darn.

I did get a picture of my dessert. That is a mud bar. It is amazing. Brownie on the bottom topped with nut and marshmallow filled fudge frosting. Every year Miller's is voted best place to get dessert by the readers of Tennessee magazine. Can you see why?

After my amazing lunch, I came home to do a little cooking...

(two pans of bread and one pan of green beans not pictured) for the homeless shelter. My Sunday school class was providing Friday night dinner, and I offered to do the cooking while they helped with the funds. After all of that heavy food, I needed something light and creamy. So I used drinksmixer.com, and found this.

Cream Coffee from drinksmixer.com
Equal parts
coffee brandy
rum
milk
strong coffee


A good day over all. To end it...

"Goodbye" by Hootie and the Blowfish- the Friday song randomly chosen for you by my Zen DJ.

I hope you have a lovely Saturday. If you happen to be at the Murfreesboro Farmer's Market on the Square or the U2 concert and Vandy - we just may run into each other.

A Date Day in Smyrna/Murfreesboro and 4 Point Scallops

Stone had the day off today, so we took a "date day". True, there was some errand running. But, we greatly enjoyed being together. We started out in Smyrna at the best donut shop in Tennessee. M and E's Donut Palace has a fantastic, small-town feel - low prices - excellent products - and the owners are the nicest people you could ever hope to meet. I wish they had a website I could link to, because you are going to want to visit after you see these pictures. 

Eclair and Chocolate frosted with nuts

Chocolate frosted and maple glazed with  nuts

Then we ran a couple of errands...pharmacy...Dollar General...blah, blah, blah...before going to our favorite coffee shop, JoZoara,  to pick up some frappes - coconut for me, java chip for him. Both unbelievably good, but I am partial to mine. It tastes like an actual coconut. You just can't beat that. Of course, I have never had anything at JoZoara that I didn't love.

From there to Old Fort Park for a Deep and Meaningful Discussion (we want this marriage to last, so we schedule these at least every two weeks). From there to the movie theater, which was not showing movies at the times listed on the website. So, to the bike shop instead to pick up new helmets...blah, blah, blah. Then, lunch at Ahart's! Yes! I will reiterate that Ahart's is the best pizza shop in the world. The. Best. Ever.

BOT (Basil, bacon, onion, tomato)

Genova (Fresh basil, eggplant, mushrooms, tomato, and goat cheese) - apologies for the lack of focus

Chocolate on chocolate cheese cake (okay, this is actually from another visit but I didn't get a chance to post it and it must be seen)

Key lime cheesecake (again, from before, but still....)

What, you want more? How about the plate they bring out to show you your options?

Ahhh...I am happy just remembering. From there, to a long doctor's appointment. Not so bad since the doctor's office has really good coffee.

Finally, a walk at around the Gateway Trail-head. There were lots of protective mama ducks today, but they were so fun to watch.

Date over, time to come home for dinner. I am calling these "Kroger Scallops" because I got the recipe off the back of a bag of Kroger brand scallops. It is super good. You never know where you are going to find a great new idea for a dish. 



Kroger Scallops
12 oz scallops
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp white wine
1 tomato, chopped
salt, pepper and parsley to taste
spray butter

1. In a medium bowl, combine scallops, lemon juice, wine, and tomato. Stir gently to combine. Place in the fridge to marinate for 2-4 hours.
2. Line an oven safe skillet with aluminum foil. Place scallop mixture on foil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parsley to taste. Spray with 10 sprays of butter.
3. Bake at 350F for apx 9 minutes, until cooked through.
4. Yields 2, 4 point servings

 

What a nice day it was. Since this post is all about my husband, it seems appropriate to end it with a song that brings him to mind. I hope your day was lovely and that your tomorrow is full of good food and love. 

Central Dairy, Jefferson City Missouri

You may have been wondering if I was ever going to write about food again. Well, of course! In fact, I am going to write about some mind-blowing, world class food.

Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri. It is a lovely town of just fewer than 50,000 people. The capital building itself is impressive and it is fascinating to see where Lewis and Clark passed through on their famous exploration. Full as it is of history and entertainment, the very best thing about Jefferson City is Central Dairy.

Central Diary is the place my dad would get ice-cream as a kid. His whole life - no matter where we traveled- he always talked about Central Diary having the best ice-cream. And, honestly, he is right. You cannot get better quality for a better price than Central Diary. Even though it is now owned by Prairie Farms dairy instead of the family who established it many moons ago, the quality of the product has not suffered.

Okay, are you ready to see what I ordered? Well....here are the flavors from which I had to choose.

I chose to have a hot fudge Sunday with tiger tracks ice cream: golden ice cream loaded with chocolate coated cookies, decedent chocolate truffles, and stripes of fudge. The ice cream was every bit as delicious as it sounds. The hot fudge was thick, sweet, and perfectly heated. The nuts sprinkled on top were roasted pecans. It was heavenly. For $2.50. And, yes, that is a pint of ice cream.

My husband chose two scoops (aka a pint) of extreme moose tracks ice cream: dark chocolate ice-cream loaded with moose track fudge sprinkled with moose tracks fudge filled cups. It was out of this world good. You would think it might be a challenge to eat a pint of ice-cream in one sitting, but with a flavor that good - Stone had cleaned out his cup in under 10 minutes.

My only regret is that we were only stopping by Jefferson City and not staying for a longer visit. I could have done with a few more pints!

Resolution Round-up April

It has been 4 months since I hopped back on the healthy wagon after my holiday hiatus. So, it is time for my Resolution Round Up. 

1. Get down to goal weight of 127 pounds. Starting weight: 149.5, so -22.5 pounds. About ½ pound per week.
My weight on Friday was 139. That is down 3 pounds since last month and more than 10 pounds since the beginning of the year. I am almost halfway to my goal – which is good, since it is almost ½ way through the year. My Hashimoto’s disease seems to be under control again – meaning that I am not constantly hungry and have more energy to be active. Blood tests next week will show where my levels are.

I want to kick up the weight loss a notch because I need a little ego boost. So, I am going back to something I used to do; I am planning out my points for the day first thing in the morning. That way, I know exactly what I can have and am less tempted to use extra points. I will share some of my 29 point menus with you, since I seem to get a lot of hits from people looking for guidelines to a 29 point day.

PS - Yes, that is a concert t-shirt from the U2 360 tour. It was awesome in Atlanta! I am going to see them again on July 2!

2.      Log 130 workout hours (the equivalent of 30 minutes, 5 times per week). I chose total hours instead of times per week because I will inevitably be sick for at least a week and then feel like a failure for not exercising.

This month I logged just ten hours, which gives me a total of 59.2 hours for the year. A bad thing happened when I hurt my back and couldn’t exercise for two weeks; I remembered how much happier I am when I am not working out. I realize that is the exact opposite of what I am supposed to say, but I am not going to lie to you. Exercise bores me; it takes up precious time that could be spent reading, cooking, playing cards with my husband, cleaning the house, or catching up with friends.  It was so nice to have that time back while my back was recovering! Once my back was better, I had no desire to return to exercise.

I do realize that working out is good for me, so am trying to find ways to fit it back into my life that don’t suck the joy out of me. Lucky for me, it is spring! That means, gardening. 

And, trust me, gardening is great exercise - especially if you happen to live in a house that experienced the flood last year.

After a flood, you will fight weeds like you never have before. Yesterday I spent over an hour pulling up wild strawberries. It is not just weeds, either. Tree seeds love saturated ground. I have excavated 20 baby oak trees out of the ground so far. 

I promise, I am back on the wagon. I will have better numbers for you next month.

PS I was chuffed to find baby birds in my honeysuckle and a baby rabbit hiding beneath the hydrangea.

3. Make plans to do something special with my best friend once a month. We talked about it; I will plan one month, he will plan the next.

This month was a bit different. We had a packed schedule – full of grad school assignments, work events, family visits, and church -  and were despairing about our date. When could we get out? We couldn’t. But, I still managed to plan a date.

We had Simon with us for dinner, but as soon as my sister picked him up we got started on our night in. Stone got the wine; I got the dessert. The wine was a delicious orange wine from Stonehaus winery. The dessert was, of course, from Julia’s.

After enjoying our decadent treats, we played a couple of games of cribbage. We had great fun laughing, talking, and egging each other on. 

Finally, we settled down to watch an episode of House on hulu (thank goodness for hulu or I would never, ever see TV).

Overall, a very good date. 

PS That ridiculously good looking confection from Julia's Bakery is called an apple blossom.

4.      Take my nephew out to do something special at least once per month.

Simon and I had a great date, and we even dragged Stone along. First, we attended a fish fry to raise money for a local cemetery. Then, it was on to the playground for lots of swinging and sliding. Finally, we took him to the library to play with puzzles, gaze at fish, put on a puppet show, and – of course – read. It was an excellent day.

5. Go on two vacations. (I really want three, but two seems more achievable).

Check one for Helen, GA. I will be in the Ozarks in just over a month, enjoying vacation number 2.

  
6.Update blogs for a total of 5 updates per week.

Since I took one of my blogs down, I am not counting this one this time. I am thinking about doing another blog on a more food/travel theme. It is still just an idea.


7. Finish editing the book of short stories I wrote last year. Contact at least one agent.

Not done. Will work on it this summer. Really, I will. 

I had dinner last week with a friend who wanted to know how the book is going. I managed to distract her with a chicken wing. 

8.      Pay off the remaining loan on my car.2,792.61 which I owe to a relative who does not ask me to make regular payments.

Okay, this one took me forever to figure out because I had accidentally left off info from a February bonus.  The total to be paid off is now $1494.57.

9. Participate in a 5K.

I am checking to see about participating in a  1 1/2 mile walk in July, just for fun. I am trying to find a good 5K for the fall.

10. Make time to do things that make me happy.

This was a very happy month. On the top of my list is the Lenten season. I had a great time coloring eggs, just like I did as a child. 

 

11. Make an effort to be a better person.

I decided last month that this one had to go. It is too abstract. I have decided to replace it with: Cross one thing per week off my giant to-do list! In order to facilitate this, I am in the process of creating giant lists of things I want to do, need to do, and probably will never be able to do but dream about. When the list is done, I will make a note with some of the highlights. I will probably not post the whole thing as it is several hundred items long already. 

Thank you so much for sticking with me through this long entry and for being part of this wonderful blogging community. I continue to feel welcomed in the blogosphere and am always in awe of your outstanding creativity, honesty, and humor. 

Fat Mo's, The Perfect Burger

Hello, again, blogging world! I have been taking a bit of a break because I had family staying with me from out of town. We enjoyed a lovely visit (even despite the tornadoes that ripped through town on Wednesday), much laughter, some good card games, and some excellent food. 

I don't have a recipe for you tonight: I have a restaurant recommendation and some pictures for you to drool over.

I love hamburgers. A lot of people do, I know, but my love for hamburgers is on a deeper, more meaningful level than most. I crave, desire, and esteem a good hamburger the way some people think of prime rib or an expensive wine. I am a hamburger connoisseur.

Here is what I need in a hamburger. Size matters. It needs to be big. If I can comfortably hold it in one hand, it is too small. It also needs to drip. A good drip is everything. It means that the juice from the thick tomato slices, the perfectly round pickles, the creamy mayo, the spicy mustard, and the juicy meat are too much for one burger to contain. When I pick up my burger and take that first bite, the juice must drip down over my fingers and onto my plate.

See this burger...it is perfect.

That is a Fat Mo's burger. In my opinion, Fat Mo's is the home of the best hamburger in the United States. It meets my burger loving expectations every time. (If you are - for some strange reason- not in the mood for a burger, their chicken is just ridiculously good.)

Fat Mo's is a franchise in Middle Tennessee, and lucky for me there is one not far from my home in Murfreesboro. Mo and his wife actually run one of the Smyrna locations, and they are super nice to talk with. They are very proud to provide quality food and want every customer to be 100% satisfied.

In addition to the perfect burger, Fat Mo's offers my favorite fried side - the fried mushroom. If the burger is all about the drip, the fried mushroom is all about the pop. The beauty of the fried mushroom is all of the moisture held inside the subtly spiced, crunchy coating. When you break through the golden brown breading on the mushroom, all of that moisture should burst out and feel like a pop in your mouth. A pop full of the earthy taste of mushroom, the spice of the breading, and the satisfying crunch that says "deep fried" .

I know that the mushroom on the side of this plate appears diminutive. It is a very large mushroom. It just happens to be sitting next to a Fat Mo's Super Deluxe burger - a monster burger which has 27oz of beef on it.

Now, before you chastise me for posting a burger ode on a website that provides you with Weight Watchers points for my recipes, let me give you my three points on the wisdom of this post.

1. Food is always there. Burgers are not going to go away just because you are on a diet. Accept that the world is full of temptation and that you have to learn how to deal with it in a way that keeps you healthy.

2. It  is okay to be indulgent every once in awhile. Fat Mo's every day is bad for me. Fat Mo's never, ever is like punishing myself. I don't want to live telling myself I can't ever, ever have what I want because it isn't "on my diet".

3. Make your calories worth it. A stale donut from the teachers lounge is not a temptation to me anymore because those calories just aren't worth it. If I start to eat something and I don't like it; I don't make myself finish. It isn't worth it. I know which indulgent foods I truly love and those are the every-once-in-awhile splurges that are worth it.

Resolution Round Up

It has been 3 months since I hopped back on the healthy wagon after my holiday hiatus. So, it is time for my Resolution Round Up. This is late (it was due on March 26), so my apologies for my tardiness.

1. Get down to goal weight of 127 pounds. Starting weight: 149.5, so -22.5 pounds. About ½ pound per week.
My weight on Friday yesterday was 142. If you look back at my last resolution round up, you will see that this means I have gained two pounds. Not exactly what I am going for here. You may think that this is a result of going on vacation and eating things like this from Betty's Country Store... (those are on a dinner plate, btw)

Or drinking things like this hot chocolate (from a bakery I will not name, since their amazing food was offset by poor service).

But, alas, the truth is that I had gained three pounds before even going on vacation. I have Hashimoto's disease, and it was not under control. At the end of last month I began having increased symptoms - two of which are constant, ravenous hunger and weight gain without another cause. Blood tests and a trip to the doctor confirmed that I needed a higher med dose. I am starting to improve and have lost one of the pounds I gained. I should lose the rest of it as my metabolism restabilizes. Alas, I am still sad to report a gain.

2.      Log 130 workout hours (the equivalent of 30 minutes, 5 times per week). I chose total hours instead of times per week because I will inevitably be sick for at least a week and then feel like a failure for not exercising.

This month I logged 19 hours before injuring my back, which gives me a total of 49.2 hours for the year – still ahead of my goal. After gaining an inch of muscle on each thigh last month, I tried to balance my cardio with plenty of yoga and pilates to lengthen those muscles out. It was a bit of a relief, to be honest, because I absolutely love yoga and have missed it while concentrating so heavily on burning fat.

I also got some creative exercise on vacation, hiking through the Blue Ridge Mountains with my nephew on my back.

We found some great views, like Ana Ruby Falls.

I haven't done anything other than gentle walking since throwing my back out Monday, but I am looking forward to being more active when I am fully recovered.


3. Make plans to do something special with my best friend once a month. We talked about it; I will plan one month, he will plan the next.

Stone and I did run out on the family to enjoy a night in Helen. We had so much fun at our favorite Helen eatery, the Hofbrauhaus. I am super picky about schnitzel, and theirs was the best in Helen (this is half of the order- wow!).

We enjoyed a walk around the town and bought some sweets for the family from Hansel and Gretel's Candy Kitchen.

 Chocolate covered graham cracker for Simon

Chocolate dipped caramel apple for us.

Taffy for the other grown ups.

4.      Take my nephew out to do something special at least once per month.

We had a lot of fun this month. We went on our date to the Thai Bangkok. We also had a great deal of fun together on the family vacation.

Here we are shopping at Jolly's Toys, where - of course - I bought him a new car.

 And here is a picture of a family outing to Charlemagne's Kingdom, where we all enjoyed the model train version of Germany.

5. Go on two vacations. (I really want three, but two seems more achievable).

We had a very lovely time in Helen, Georgia - so, check off one vacation. We now have two more trips lined up. One is a visit with my parents in the Ozarks of Missouri toward the beginning of the summer. The other is a trip to visit one of my oldest friends and his family in south Indiana. We are looking forward to both. Just because I am having such fun showing you vacation pics, here was a sign we couldn't resist snapping.

6.Update blogs for a total of 5 updates per week.

I have fallen behind since the crashing of the desktop computer. It is being worked on and will hopefully be working again by the end of next week. I am having some definite blog withdrawal.

7. Finish editing the book of short stories I wrote last year. Contact at least one agent.

I am almost finished editing and giving thought to whether I want to do another major overhaul of the whole thing before moving on.

I enjoyed reading the writing of others this month.

8.      Pay off the remaining loan on my car.2,792.61 which I owe to a relative who does not ask me to make regular payments.

This month, that just didn't happen. With vacation and a root canal, we actually went over our budget this month. We did make some changes that we hope will improve our finances. Although we miss her, our dog went back to her original owner this month. We were caring for her while her owner was getting back on her feet after a job loss two years ago. She was a rather expensive dog, as vet bills go. Also, we replaced Stone's giant, gas guzzling truck with a fuel efficient car. We had to trade the truck in, use our tax return, and still take out a small loan. However, we are hoping that the difference between 16 miles to the gallon and 32 miles to the gallon will pay off in the long run (for the earth as well as our pocket books).
9. Say no more often.

I am replacing this one because I have decided that it is to abstract. Therefore, number 10 is now Participate in a 5K. Fab friend Lisa says she will participate with me.
10. Make time to do things that make me happy.

This one always requires effort on my part. I continue to feel selfish taking time for myself, but I also see the rewards of being fulfilled. One thing that made me happy this month was trying something new - I had prime rib for the first time and loved it.

11. Make an effort to be a better person.

This one also is too abstract. I have not yet decided what will replace it.

I had a lovely list of shout outs for the month, but of course it was lost with the crashing of the computer. I remember some, but I am afraid that I might leave someone out and hurt his/her feelings. Therefore, I am going to forgo that section for this month and hope to have no more technical difficulties in April.