Cauliflower simulated mashed potatoes

We are on day 9 of Phase I of our South Beach Diet. It has been mostly horrible. That is because everything I love to eat is apparently bad and everything I detest is apparently good.

If I understand our diet correctly, we are not supposed to eat carbohydrates. We eat proteins instead. The problem is, proteins only taste good with carbohydrates. Meat without potatoes is just plain gross.

Last week we ate a lot of eggs, nuts, edamame (or soybeans), peas, beans, fish, steak, and various other meats. I have a really difficult time eating eggs without hashbrowns, so I have been hardboiling two eggs for breakfast each morning.

These meals are getting old quick. There are plenty of interesting ideas online for healthy substitutes, but we generally just don’t have enough time or interest to research these things. I was told at work however, about a substitute to mashed potatoes by using cauliflower. As such, that’s what we made to go with our kielabasa at lunch today.

I have mixed feelings about cauliflower substituting as potatoes. I was told I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. Well, that certainly isn’t true. I boiled a head of broccoli, then mixed it in a bowl while adding butter and cheese (also which have no carbohydrates). I mixed for about 10 minutes and found the stuff still too lumpy. So I put in the blender, added some milk, and blended away. That did the trick, but now it was far too creamy. I think if I had not added the milk, it would have been fluffier.

I am willing to try this again at another date out of sheer desperation. The goal is to last at least two weeks in phase 1, but if I am able, I’d like to go longer in hopes to burn off some of this fat.

Below are the pictures of my attempts:

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Saturday night at the park

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We are at the park right now playing with Scout and Tila.

The temperature has dropped greatly and it’s very nice out.

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Northside Wine, Ithaca, NY

Yunuen and I went out to dinner Thursday night last week for her dad’s birthday. We went to Casa de Vicente, a place we’ve been to a few times and like quite a lot. I’ve had the prawns, rabbit, and halibut – all have been excellent. On our first visit years ago, I was recommended a glass of wine by my server. It was a Tempranillo (red) from Spain called Finca La Estracada, which has turned into my all-time favorite wine.

Unfortunately, Vicente’s only sells it by the bottle now (and its not listed on their wine list). We ordered a bottle Thursday and I paid $45. Since this not a wine we can buy locally, I had no idea if this is a reasonable price or not (and given how much I like it, I really didn’t care). However, while enjoying my halibut, I found a wine store in New York that sells the Finca and at a much reduced price (even less when I signed up to be one of their ‘members’).

I was not previously aware that one could buy alcohol over the internet. Other than checking the box to indicate I am over 21 years old, that was all there was to it. I ordered three bottles and found that, outside the shipping, three bottles purchased over the internet was less than one bottle here in town. What a deal!

Here’s the website: Northside Wine

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San Carlos 2010 – September

Yunuen and I drove down to Guaymas last night for the holiday weekend. We woke relatively early this morning to play with the dogs on the beach.  Scout never can seem to get enough. The water is so warm and the temperature outside is blazing hot.

Later, after an hour or so of Mario Cart on the Wii, we headed downtown as Abe needed to stop in at the pharmacy. Yun and I toured around town and ended up eating some really yummy tacos. I optimistically ordered four, but could only eat two. So good.

We drove to San Carlos today for some snorkeling. Abe took us to a new place which was absolutely beautiful and totally isolated (though a bit of a hike through the desert). The water was so clear and we saw a lot colorful fish and things.

After snorkeling, we went to an awesome restaurant called Bonifacio’s Cotton Club. The restaurant was on the beach. The food was incredible. I had a shrimp, beef, and bacon skewer. Yun had a shrimp salad and Abe had a pork filet with a mango sauce. I expect to go back frequently.

Yun’s meal:

Abe’s meal:

My meal:

Yunuen and I drove down to Guaymas last night for the holiday weekend. We woke relatively early this morning to play with the dogs on the beach. Scout never can seem to get enough. The water is so warm and the temperature outside is blazing hot.

Later, after an hour or so of Mario Cart on the Wii, we headed downtown as Abe needed to stop in at the pharmacy. Yun and I toured around town and ended up eating some really yummy tacos. I optimistically ordered four, but could only eat two. So good.

We drove to San Carlos today for some snorkeling. Abe took us to a new place which was absolutely beautiful and totally isolated (though a bit of a hike through the desert). The water was so clear and we saw a lot colorful fish and things.

After snorkeling, we went to an awesome restaurant called Bonifacio’s Cotton Club. The restaurant was on the beach. The food was incredible. I had a shrimp, beef, and bacon skewer. Yun had a shrimp salad and Abe had a pork filet with a mango sauce. I expect to go back frequently.

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Sailing 2010

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On Aug. 6th, Yunuen and I flew up to Seattle on our way to spend a week sailing with my uncle in British Columbia. My sister picked us up from the airport when we arrived and we were able to spend the night at her place in Woodinville before heading north. We had purchased train tickets to get to BC; but unfortunately the train was delayed Saturday morning so we decided to hop on a bus.

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We arrived in Vancouver Saturday afternoon and took a cab to our hotel on Burrard Street downtown. We immediately went out in search for sustenance as we hadn’t eaten all day. We found a nice little sushi place and were surprised to find how much cheaper it was than in Tucson. Understandably the sea food is more readily available, but [1] it is Vancouver, and [2] a full meal was under $10.
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We spent most of the day shopping on Robson. It was fun to see stores that I frequented in younger years. As has been customary on trips to certain cities, we stopped at Zara and I bought some shirts. Yun and I both love Zara.
We ended the night having dinner at a really nice Thai restaurant on Burrard called Sala Thai. It was by far the best Thai food we’ve ever had (at least, outside of Thailand).
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We slept in on Sunday and then my uncle picked us up at our hotel around noon and we made our way back to his boat. He lives on his sailboat docked in False Creek, near Granville Market and in the heart of the city. After our tour of the marina, we began making preparations for our trip, which included a walk to the market to shop for some fresh food.
We departed False Creek on Monday and made our way to Georgia Strait where we would cross on our way to the Gulf Islands. It was neat cruising through the city by boat with some incredible views.

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Traveling by sailboat is pretty slow, fortunately, neither one of us got sick. We had wrist bands and plenty of drugs just in case. It took us over five hours just to cross the strait. We then made our way through some islands and found a serene little cove to anchor for the night. It was nearly sunset when we arrived. We made steaks for dinner and had plenty of wine!

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Sleeping on the boat is a different experience. And by different, I mean mostly uncomfortable. After time we did get used to it. In the morning we headed to Mayne Island where I spent many a summer at my grandparents home. We anchored in Cambell Bay for the evening, had a nice dinner, and then Yun and I went kayaking for a few hours.

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We set out a crab trap upon our arrival and were mostly optimistic that we would have crab for dinner. That unfortunately didn’t happen. Instead,  we had turkey and vegetables on the grill. After dinner, Yun and I were relaxing at the back of the boat. It was completely dark when I spotted some lights off the bow under the water. The light was moving, which seemed odd. Dennis got out his spot light which was enough to light up the entire bay. This caused the light under water to go out. Shortly after the light was directly under the boat. It was quite bright and if it weren’t for Dennis’ explanation, Yun and I would have thought there was a mother ship somewhere overhead.

Apparently the light was caused by bioluminescent plankton that was being stirred up by schools of salmon. This is why the light appeared to be moving under water. It was an incredible experience and something we will likely never see again.

We came back to Vancouver on Thursday evening. Friday was spent touring more of Vancouver and I was able to show Yun some places from my youth – such as the drill hall on Beatty Street where I went every week as a cadet.

We returned to Seattle early Saturday morning by bus. Kim picked us up at the station and we spent the day with her and my nephews. My last remaining grandmother was there too and so we were able to spend time with her. We spent a good portion of the day touring local wineries and tasting various Columbia Valley wines.

Yun and I enjoyed this trip a great deal. It’s too bad we don’t get up to the NW as frequently as we would like to, but perhaps that will change in the years to come.

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San Carlos July 2010: Por Tercero Vez este Año

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Yun and I spent last weekend on the beach at her brother’s house in Guaymas. We drove the Passat down on Friday night after work. Not stopping to get permits is a welcomed change as we can actually make it to Abe’s house in 5 hours total travel time. Had we taken the Maxima during daylight, it would have taken 4 hours.

We went to bed far too late on Friday night, but slept in a little on Saturday. It’s never easy to sleep in with Scout’s incessant pacing and less-than-subtle hints that it’s time to get up. Nothing seems to burn off his energy, but we try.

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Saturday was Yun’s mom’s 50th b-day. We had a small gathering of friends and family with some good food and plenty of beer. We spent most of our time on the back porch and struggled with the thick humidity.

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Abe and Gabriel brought home Taka Taka, a ‘band’ they found at a little bar. They brought their instruments and amps and played on the porch for an hour. It was an interesting experience.

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I have some mixed feelings of doing this long journey on a regular weekend. It ‘s hard to return to the regular schedule. At least I get a lot of reading done on the drive.

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Sachiko

Sachiko is a sushi bar near our home. We have eaten here for years and we enjoy it quite a bit. It’s not the most reasonably priced meal, but it is so good.

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Bad Day at Eagle Rock

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I found a youtube video of a 21 Jump Street episode (season 5, episode 20) where I played an extra in the late 80s. I am legendary.

check out 00:07:53     21 Jump Street

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San Carlos July 2010: Por Segunda Vez este Año

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Yunuen, Ashley, Jeff, Beth, and I departed Tucson on July 2nd at 2pm for another trip South to the beaches of Sonora. Sadly, we didn’t arrive until 10.30pm. We had a number of unexpected delays, mostly attributable to the “new” boat we towed down with us.

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It started with the 30 minute stop at the gas station in Nogales where we had to fill up, exchange money, and figure out how to mix the gas for the boat, fill up air in the tires, et cetra. The next delay was at customs in Mexico where we had to get visitor permits and a permit for the boat. The permit for the boat turned into an hour and a half nightmare. To compound our delay, the truck doesn’t exactly travel fast when hauling a boat and gear.

Even so, we eventually made it and not without stopping for some sweet tacos in Hermosillo. The remainder of the night was spent relaxing on the beach where time slipped by fast. Before we knew it, the clock read 5am. Needless to say, we didn’t exactly wake early on Saturday morning.

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On Saturday we spent a good portion of the day on the beach. It was very relaxing and there were some clouds which gave a nice break from the sun. The water was really warm. Later we took a drive through Guaymas to find lunch, buy some groceries, and to find a mechanic for the boat. We found a mechanic through a marine supply shop. We did our shopping at Ley.

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When we returned home we spent a few more hours on the beach and in the water. I hadn’t slept much in weeks, so I was quite pleased to get in an extremely long nap. I woke around 8pm. We then went out to dinner at a nice place in Guaymas. From there we went to a bar at the marina that had a live band. And then later we drove to San Carlos to a club called Voga, which was PACKED. We had a good time dancing until 3am when we returned to Abe’s place. I went to bed immediately, but everyone else headed off to the beach!

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The plan was to depart early Monday morning, but we could not get a hold of the mechanic that had taken our boat. After an entire day spent trying to find the guy, a lengthy visit to the police department, and a return trip to the boat shop that recommended the guy, we FINALLY got the boat back. By that time, it was too late to return, so we call called our bosses and stayed another night.

This is a fun trip and we love doing it. Yunuen and I are heading back next weekend with her family for the weekend as it is her mother’s 50th birthday. I am not thrilled with the drive, but I do love that beach. We will not be taking the boat.

Here’s a little video below I put together – also, check out Jeff’s blog for more photos.

Posted in friends, holidays, Mexico, travels, weekend getaways | 1 Comment

coupons

We’ve spent a lot of money at Lowes, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, and a number of other places for the house over the last 7 months. Last year, when we purchased a new washer and dryer from Lowes, I followed Ben’s advice and bought a 10% coupon off of Ebay. That saved us nearly $200 in that purchase alone.

As such, it finally dawned on me today that I should be doing the same for these smaller purchases. So I just bought a stack of twenty 10% off coupons on Ebay for a little over $20. Having spent over $200 in supplies this weekend alone, I would have saved the price of the coupons already!

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