Do you plan your meals for the week? I sort of do - all things in moderation, you know, including being organized - but am always quite glad when I consistently pull it off. I have a couple of basic, pre-typed grocery lists on Word, organized by food category and store lay-out (I shop primarily at two different stores depending on what I need). They make getting organized much faster, definitely. I just highlight the items I need, scribble in the extras, and go. I'm definitely more purposeful in the fall and winter - no CSA veggie share to innovate around, for one. And less go-with-the-flow time as well - the busier and more scheduled things get, the more organized one needs to be, we all know that. And if you want to eat relatively quick, tasty meals...

...and healthy meals as well, then planning ahead is the way to go. Let's face it, we've all bought random fruits and vegetables only to have them shrivel and weep (literally!) from neglect. I eat my daily 5-9 (servings of fruits and veggies) most consistently when I plan to eat them. Sure I keep lettuce and spinach on hand for quick salads. Always have onions, carrots, and potatoes in the pantry. But perishables like broccoli, pea pods, mushrooms, artichokes et al come with a plan, man, so they get eaten by me (and not the bacteria in the trash).

I love the concept of cooking on Sunday to carry me through part of the week, although I don't really pull it off - do you? While I obviously love to dig in and do some serious cooking, most days our meals are pretty simple, kid-friendly fare - lean protein, fruit/vegetables, grain (preferably whole grain; I love whole grain anything - the rest of the fam, not so much). Shrimp sauteed with garlic and broccoli, rice. Grilled steak, egg noodles, pea pods. Grilled chicken, peppers, onions, tortillas. Even last night, when it was just John and me, it was just sauteed vegetables, simmered with some clam juice and wine, with a piece of fish thrown on top to steam, over whole-wheat couscous (which takes 5 minutes - literally 5 minutes - to prepare). Thirty minutes in all from chopping block to stomach, done. Make some extra, eat the leftovers for lunch the next day, and there, you ate your veggies.

Good job!

Moderate it: I don't know about you, but I eat better - in every way - when I plan meals and shop ahead. We eat out less, I eat more fresh foods, I cook healthier fare, I even eat healthier snacks when I know what I'm doing ahead of time. Basically, no down-side, because even while it takes a bit of effort up front to figure out what to make and put a list together, you save lots of time and energy come meal-time, totally worth it.

Bonus! Not only is new potato-green bean salad tasty when you first serve it (which I just did for the 4th), but it makes a killer salad Nicoise the next day - toss fresh greens with a bit of vinaigrette, top with potatoes and green beans, add hard-cooked egg, olive-oil packed canned tuna, black olives (like Nicoise!), et voila. Good stuff.

And oh, speaking of delicious leftovers, I treated myself to chilaquiles for breakfast yesterday morning, made from the chips and creamy-spicy salsa Stace brought from Taco Morelos. I dipped about five chips in salsa so they were completely coated, laid them side-by-side to cover a small plate, then microwaved them until they were warmed through and softened. Topped with an over-easy egg to finish - oh Lord, deadly good stuff. (I get on these Mexican food kicks and have to wean myself, otherwise all I want to eat is guacamole and chilaquiles - this latest craving started with dinner at La Cucaracha with Chris Follett this past Thursday night...; pic is from Too Many Chefs.)

Today, the goal is moderating back to moderation. Yeah. Good thing my fridge is bustin' with tasty LaFinca veggies to make the transition pretty sweet - salad greens, bok choy, icicle radishes, scallions. With herbs from my pots outside, I'd say a big salad is in order for lunch. (Although I admit, I'm still thinking about those damn chilaquiles...)

Moderate it: hey, the party's over, but that's OK. Keep the good stuff (like new potato-green bean salad), toss the less good stuff (those tortilla chips are now GONE), and make something healthy AND delicious to get back on track.

And now it's Monday. The parties are over, Mother's Day has come and gone, and it's high time to depuff. Bites of pastry, pizza, and lemon tart are lovely, all things in moderation after all... But fresh fruit and vegetables are lovely too, and given the havoc that too many refined carbs, drinks, meat, and dairy wreak on my face and waistline since achieving 40-something, I get downright excited to get back to "normal". Green tea and grapefruit? Woo hoo! The fact is, I have become supremely sensitive to over-indulging (I blow up like a balloon, to put it mildly - see Cancun '08) which is either a sad reminder that I'm aging (I get it already!), or a lucky reminder to, you know, embrace moderation. I'll consider it the latter (snarl).

I actually enjoyed a lovely transition meal last night, at lovely Lucia's, with my lovely mom and sister. I know I say this over and over (and over), but Lucia's does amazing vegetables. I had a cup of pureed tomato soup - no cream, but creamy; perfectly seasoned to taste like soup, not spaghetti sauce (always a risk with tomato soup). All three of us ordered the roasted French-cut chicken breast (boneless, with skin, and the first joint of the wing attached; do any of you ever request this cut from your butcher? I haven't, but I'm going to soon, I'll let you know if they oblige) served alongside a small dollop of mashed potatoes, a tangle of al dente green beans (seasoned with what I'm guessing was butter with a bit of horseradish whisked in - delicious), and wilted greens topped with crunchy walnuts and kalamata olives. Too comforting to be light, but not ridiculously heavy either. Pretty damn perfect.

Tonight? Well, we are not going out for dinner! I'm thinking miso soup and a simple saute of whatever veggies I can scare up from the cooler. More tea, grapes, and a few almonds to finish. Simple and light and clean tasting. My palate (grocery bill, butt, John, dishwasher, eye bags) will thank me.

Moderate it: back-on-track, depuff favorites are green tea, grapefruit, raw almonds, fish, arugula, and kale.

A better name for Wild Wednesdays is actually Make-Your-Own Wednesdays. I've pretty much mastered the art of deconstructing dishes to accommodate everyone's individual preferences. (Don't ask how I got to the place of being this, um, accommodating, 'cuz believe me, it reflects neither my nature nor my values - I'm more of an old-school "if I did the work to make it, you pay me the courtesy of eating it" sort of grrrl. Except for Cooper - he can eat anything he wants, awww.) Anyhow, last night's version was make-your-own pasta: a pan of spicy tomato sauce (tomato sauce simmered with lots of garlic, olive oil, and red pepper flakes), a pulled-apart rotisserie chicken, a pan of sauteed vegetables (this time cauliflower, onions, red bell pepper, more red pepper flakes, and currants), freshly grated Parm, and a big ol' pot of pasta. Build away! Good stuff.

Oh man, I'm feeling SO much better now that I'm back to my usual routine. Funny, it took blowing up like a water balloon on vacation to slap me out of my winter rut - I've definitely re-upped my fresh vegetable and fruit intake (roasted, sauteed, grilled, salads, smoothies - any way I can think to include them), and reduced my refined carbohydrate consumption, and voila (shocker), I look less puffy and feel more energetic for it. I'm not where I want to be, but at least I feel "on track" and healthier, you know?

Of course more daylight truly deserves the credit for my new-found motivation - the sun packs some punch these days, bam-bam, yes! It's so damn irritating that my body longs for stillness and comforty, carby foods (preferably accompanied by Hope Creamery butter and a nice Pinot Noir, sigh) in the depths of deep, dark winter. It's so...cliche. It's so...beyond my discipline. Disappointing. Anyhow, I'm glad to be past the worst of it and moving on into spring. Welcome sunlight! (Bouncing off April snow? We'll take it!) Welcome vegetables! Let the depuffing continue!

I'm steering myself toward spring-y, lighter fare these days. The two trips in a row - despite lots of walking and beautifully fresh fruits and veggies - definitely have me feeling weighed down. Blech. My butt declares it's high time to cash in on the mood boost of these longer days of sunlight (cuz I'm sure not relying on balmy temps) and ease up on the output of my kitchen. The nesting has been great fun (wine in front of the fireplace? Popovers with Hope Creamery butter? Wine and popovers with Hope Creamery butter in front of the fireplace?) but it feels great to be getting outdoors more, too.

In that vein, salads are tasting particularly good to me. Yeah, we eat them all winter of course, but my latest love is lighter on the green, heavier on the other colors. A chopped salad of sorts, although a shaved salad is probably a better description. Paper thin slices of a variety of veggies allows a burst of flavor in each bite - more exposed surface area, seriously - and a nice texture, crisp but not outright crunchy. With a generous squeeze of fresh lemon, a drizzle of best olive oil, coarse salt, and lots of freshly ground pepper, it just tastes like spring. Spring! And it's a great way to rummage through the crisper and make something pretty and tasty with what's on hand - tonight's version included equal amounts of shaved mushrooms, radishes, scallions, celery, carrots, romaine hearts, and red pepper. If the slices are thin enough (use a sharp chef's knife or mandoline), you can use any raw vegetable - broccoli stalks, asparagus spears, kohlrabi. Light & lovely, your butt and taste buds will thank you.

Beauty is in the contrast, as we all well know. But sometimes, we need a little reminder, especially at this rather dullest time of year. Sensory under-load is the name of the game in February-March in Minnesota. How to add a little zip? Beef up the contrast, baby! Steal some time to work out hard, outside, and make yourself good and tired and cold. Then come inside, take a warm, fragrant shower, bundle up in soft clothes and settle down to read a book (to yourself or to your kids) in front of the fireplace while sipping a glass of red wine or cup of hot tea. Ahhh...

I trick myself like that all the time. It's one thing to sneak in an unexpectedly lovely Saturday lunch (perhaps an over-easy egg alongside arugula salad?). But it's even better after cleaning up the kitchen, or a good (cold) workout, or running your kids all over town, or paying bills, or catching up on work, or some other productive-sacrifice that earns an appetite. Hey, if hunger is the best sauce (Miguel de Cervantes), winter is the best spice (the moderate epicurean)?

Heck, it's worth a try!

Alrighty then. (Deep sigh.) Another night for soup, my friends, it's that special-kind-of-hell cold again. I'm doing my best to plumb the depths of warm, cozy, rib-stickin' recipes, what with the recent heat of chicken gumbo and shrimp curry (both quick, weeknight, healthy dishes), and the long-baked (kitchen warming!) Gallic drama of cheese souffle and pissaladiere (savory French tart) to lift my spirits.

But tonight, I'm going back to the basics, my friends, plain ol' (steaming hot!) soup. Simple, comforting avgolemono (Greek egg-lemon soup), in fact, on the table in thirty and just so unbelievably yummy. Warming and filling, yet light. Delicious with grilled pita, perhaps a Greek salad. Basically, that perfect winter food that takes your mind away to a warmer spot while warming one's oh-so-stuck-here body. I don't know about you, but that's exactly what I need. Practical Fantasizing. Soooo Minnesotan, yah. And, as such, rather moderate to boot! You betcha, baby!

(And before you leave, pause to bask in the sunshine Maud drew in Facebook and kindly shone around a few days ago - thanks Maud! It's so cheerful it almost makes me forgive her for kicking my butt up, down, and all around in Facebook Scrabulous!)

Savor. I forget to savor. How ridiculous, I know, given my obsession with all things sensual, but it's a discipline, to savor, and I've far from mastered it. In fact, I've concluded that forgetting to savor is my biggest obstacle to achieving seamless moderation. I get so, so excited about something I'm cooking, or eating at someone else's home, or in a serious restaurant, that I just blindly dive in. Hot, crispy frites? Silky, truffly risotto? Woo friggin' hooooo!

Hey, I'm all for enthusiasm (hell yeah!), but sometimes... Perhaps often... I'm rather, um, inelegant about it all. I eat way too fast. I talk way too much. So. My latest takeaway from French Women Don't Get Fat is to Slow. Down. Stephanie. Chew, seriously chew, my food. Sip, slowly sip, my wine. Think about it, taste it, savor it. When I do, my enjoyment explodes. In fact, as far as disciplines go, this one's a pretty big duh - no downsides, only positives. So that's my New Year's resolution (I hadn't made one yet) - To Savor.

(And to walk more, spend less time on the computer, write more thank you notes, drink more water, keep my desk clean. Volunteer more. Be a nicer person. And figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Amen.)

If you're looking to brush up on your moderation skills for the New Year (Lord knows I am, ha), I highly recommend a read (or re-read!) of French Women Don't Get Fat, The Secret of Eating for Pleasure by Mireille Guiliano. A fast, blast of a read, packed with a ridiculous amount of common sense, you'll put the book down with a smile on your lips and a sensible (and thankfully un-American, in this case) perspective on the delights of preparing and savoring simple, real food and treating your body with respect. The Moderation Bible, as it were. C'est bon.

In that vein, I offer a couple of fish recipes, from the gorgeous Balthazar Cookbook. On the days I most fully embrace moderation, I turn to fish. I've said this before, I know, but it's quick to cook, and delicious to eat, and afterward I feel satisfied and nourished and not at all weighed down. The first recipe is for Cod Mitonee, a crisp-sauteed cod filet served over a thin slice of toasted, crusty bread, floating in a simple, aromatic broth (the lovely pic is from the book). I'm quite sure the recipe would work well for any of your favorite firm, white fish.

The second recipe is also gorgeous-yet-nourishing, Warm Salad of Grilled Trout. Wilted greens under grilled fish, studded with crunchy walnuts and drizzled with tangy balsamic vinegar. Lordy.

Enjoy, ye Masters of Moderation! (Recipes posted in comments, below.)

Okay. It's over. Not just 2007, but the parties, cocktails, appetizers, rich meals, excess good cheer - over! Enter ye moderation (in fact, a little deprivation wouldn't hurt at this point) and reside in thee for a spell. Please? At least until my birthday this weekend...

Hey, there's nothing wrong with risotto, cream puffs, chocolate mousse, prime rib, mashed potatoes, lobster, champagne, or caviar - a sip and a taste of something lovely can always fit into a healthy diet - it's just the all-in-the-same-week aspect that is a bit, uh, immoderate. Heck, often all in the same day! Egads but it's been a very Merry Christmas. Whew.

And so. It's a New Year and time for a slice of...cold, hard reality. Or at least a plate of pretty salad greens alongside a nice piece of fish. Or a bowl of brothy soup. A mug of hot tea. A lovely ripe pear. A handful of raw almonds. My go-to restorative, depuffing foods. In fact, several such meals in a row, followed by several long, brisk walks, and I'll be feeling like myself again in no time.

Right?

Man, I had The Best, most kicked-back, lazy-ass, do-nothing day yesterday, and it was awesome. A no-guilt, slug-city existence, I read a whole book (The Virgin of Small Plains, marginal but entertaining), watched two movies (Higher Learning and the hilarious There's Something About Mary), wore my jammies all day, drank a huge pot of coffee, cooked nothing yet ate like a king (leftovers, baby!)... I basically checked out for an entire day. That does not get to happen very often, if ever, so I really relished it - I oohed, ahhed, giggled, talked to myself, swore, sang, danced, licked my plate, giggled some more. Thanksgiving indeed, oh yeah. Lovely!

But today, I'm over it, itching to get things done. A long, brisk walk, laundry, I already gave the kitchen a good scrub down. I'm also back on for healthier eating, I basically look and feel like a puffy puff puffball - bye bye grains and gravy, hello fruits, veggies, and filtered water. Perhaps I'll simmer up a cozy, healthy soup for dinner tonight, that sure sounds nice. (Not turkey soup, however, I actually quite dislike turkey soup.)

Welcome back, Moderation, I missed ye...

So, to pick up on a couple of riffs from yesterday (and no, don't worry, I am NOT drinking beer today, ha)... First, dinner at Fogo de Chao was fantastic! What a blast! What a scene! That place is hoppin', people, and while many of the customers were Badger fans (how do I know? Because Badger fans wear their red Bucky clothes all the time, including out for dinner at Fogo de Chao...), I have a feeling that the place does just fine on other nights too. It's HUGE! And festive, with adorable Brazilian gaucho chefs wandering around with skewers of succulent fire-roasted meats - lamb and chicken and tri-tip beef, oh my! The entire staff is Brazilian, as far as I can tell, so Mary (my college Portuguese professor) chatted up a storm (in Portuguese, natch) while I offered the occasional "obrigada" (thank you) and then asked Mary, "Um, how do I say, 'My name is Stephanie?' in Portuguese?" Yeah, great memory. I can remember outfits I wore to class... I can remember which football players were in my class (as my stepmom Susanna recently reminded me, I did have quite a soft spot for the football players in my Portuguese class, rarrr)... I can remember all sorts of (high school) French... But actual Portuguese, I got nothin'. Obrigada, brain, obrigada.

Anyhow, my camera battery was dying (thus the horribly grainy pic), but I just had to try to capture this unlikely scene: my tiny, pretty mother, she who birthed two un-tiny daughters (me-5'11" and Stace-5'10"), with her tiny appetite, staring wide-eyed at these big ol' skewers of roasted meats, totally being a good sport while the gauchos offered slice after slice after slice... I have to admit, I couldn't eat much either, I was too full from all that damn Badger Blast beer. And the several bites of the Be-Wiched roast beef sandwich John brought home for me (be sure to check out Be-Wiched, it rawks). But it was great to see Mary Schil, and her friends Ron & Linda and their daughter Brooke. Especially when I offered them a ride back to their hotel, thankfully only a few blocks from Fogo de Chao - seeing a man as big as Ron (he's the one next to my mom, above), riding on all fours in the trunk of my not-large wagon (the only way he could fit)... I haven't laughed that hard in a very, very long time. Thank goodness he laughed right along with us. Damn, I'm wiping my eyes all over again. Ron = Good Sport, fo sho.

So, oh! The second riff is that I'm definitely going for the roasted Chicko chicken tonight... I'll post later on the specifics, but for now my plan is to keep the first attempt simple. Nothin' but salt and butter, baby. And did I mention that Nathan and John are, as I write, making a run to Maverick's for their killer roast beef and brisket sandwiches (John's clearly got a sandwich thing goin' this weekend)? Uuuurrrrgh... Moderation, Moderation, wherefore art thou, Moderation? Stay tuned...

Alright, I'm back with my roast chicken update! The Chicko is brilliant, absolutely brilliant. After a bit of a beginner's hiccup (I initially had the bird legs-down, kinda like a headless Buddha, then quickly realized it was going to cook more evenly legs up - I also realized that breast-down means more succulent white meat, always a good thing), I was good to go. No turning required (I did baste with melted butter a few times), just a beautifully crispy, juicy, browned chicken. So it's official - I'm a certified Chicko-phile! A Chicko-Chick! Leggo my Cheeky Chicko! Well, when I actually get one... Which will be soon, I just ordered one; with as many times as I roast chicken for dinner, I figure I might as well make it as good as possible, as soon as possible, non? Thanks to Kevin and Kristi for discovering and proselytizing this little beauty, and to their disciple Lindsay for loaning me her Chicko in the (successful!) effort to convert me. Amen.

All hail kale! OMG I hated the stuff when I was kid - or at least I thought that I did, I never actually tried it. My Grandma Meyer cooked it, long and slow, with some form of pork (I think), which sounds absolutely delicious to me now but egads it stunk up her house. I don't know when I turned the kale corner - probably about the time I turned the cheese-steak-salad-egg-nuts-tuna corner, around age 14 or so. And thank goodness! Kale is wonderfully nutritious, easy to cook, and when braised and then drizzled with best-quality (syrupy, rich) balsamic vinegar... The. Kill.

Check out this Star Tribune review of Gary Taubes' new book, Good Calories, Bad Calories. Taubes stirred the pot - BIG time - with his 2002 New York Times Magazine article, What If It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?, when he poked a big fat hole in dietary recommendations to avoid fats and eat grains. I'm no low-carb fanatic (moderation, natch), but I do steer away from most processed foods, refined grains, and sugar and try to fill my plate with veggies, add some protein, add a small amount of whole grains, and include some fat (olive oil, butter, avocado, and/or nuts). I get off track sometimes, of course, especially after trips or parties (woo hoo!). And then I feel like crap, retain water, and put on weight (not woo hoo!). Moderation, baby! Real food, prepared simply, in moderation. (Like kale!) Yeah.

Aannnd, speaking of food (awkward transition alert, sorry), Happy Birthday to my King Foodie father-in-law John!

Hey, me again, back to report that I roasted yet another buttery, crispy chicken, and oh my. So good. Here's the way to eat it - preferably alone, standing up, directly from the cutting board, dipping pieces right into the bowl of pan juices. Yeah, oh yeah. Now I'm properly fortified for our neighborhood women's association meeting - wine and chat, here I come!

It's been a Cooper-ish couple of days, or is about to be, lucky for me! Nothing like a dose of Cooper Cuteness to brighten one's day. He's really into cheesy, buttery quesadillas right now, it's great fun to make one for him and hear his "mmm" when he takes a bite, ha. His reactions are so pure - if he hates it, he spits it out. If he likes it, you get the "mmm." You always know where you stand with a one-year old, I love it.

Hanging with Cooper has been the extent of my socializing these last few days and that's just fine with me. Whew. I am officially partied out. What a ride it's been! Veeeery fun, yet very not moderate, and even I - hard to believe, I know - reach my limit with fine food and good cheer. All I want now is time for long walks, simple food, lots of tea and water, and plenty of good, solid sleep. Nice.

In that vein...soup? Soup's always appealing at this time of year, especially when I'm wanting to hole up at home a bit. Fish? Fish is my go-to restorative, it makes me feel healthy and back-on-track. Perhaps Manhattan Clam Chowder would fit the bill - satisfying but not too heavy, great with nothing more than crusty bread. Hmmm...stay tuned...

Ah, Sunday, a day of moderation. I was due, I'm sure you'll agree, after a week that included dinner at Debbie & Stu's, dinner with Zim & Rishia, brunch at Lucia's, and roasted chicken not once, but twice. Uh, ack! So today - a gorgeous, cool, sunny day, just like I'd been wishing for - I took a long, lovely walk, and ate lots of veggies (cooked and raw) and dreamy Colorado peaches (perfect right now) and drank lots of water and just got myself back on track again. Felt good.

I also took in a heck of a long baseball game - yes, Nathan is at it again, "fall ball" this go-round, which is nicely low-key and chill (thank goodness). Stacey and Cooper stopped by for awhile, but there's no way Coop could hack an almost-three hour game. Nor could his mommy, not with him wanting nothing more than to splash in dirty water, pick up random pieces of trash, climb on the bleachers, and run into the middle of a pretty rowdy group of kids playing catch. Heart attack a minute, busy one-year olds! Luckily they're so irresistibly cute!

And so, off to bed. It's not truly a day of moderation without a good night's sleep. Clean jammies, clean sheets, ahhhhh... 'Night!

After Saturday's Date Day and Monday's Date Night, we've had a couple of days of very simple, low-key eating (and tough, tough walks and bike rides in this heat, makes me feel like I've hit a brick wall, ugh). Moderation, you know, ha - woo hoo! Mostly salads, although tonight I made a simple, garlicky, brothy shrimp sauce to toss with pasta. I sauteed spinach and ripe tomato as an optional add-in (we had both kids tonight, neither of whom would be thrilled to find wilted spinach in their pasta, ha) for John, Stacey, and me. Turned out light and so pretty, with pink shrimps, dark green spinach and fresh parsley, and red tomato, yum.

Tomorrow night, we're back on for a bit of part-ay-ing. John's partners Stu The Wine Genius, Bill, and Joe, with their wives Debbie, Karla, and Genie (respectively), are coming for a casual dinner. Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Tomatoes and Onion will be the main course, alongside creamy polenta and a medley of grilled vegetables. A nice tart for dessert, I think (can't get enough of summer fruit desserts, rarrr...) Looking forward to it!

Hello? Moderation? Anywhere? Anywhere?

After a lovely date-night feast (such as at Mission on Tuesday night), I would normally shoot for a much lighter day the next day(s). With lots of exercise. You know, to balance it all out. Moderate a bit? Ha. So I took off yesterday morning for a brisk (and insanely, miserably hot) walk/run. Off to a good start, even though I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. For lunch, one of my beloved black bean burgers, in one of my beloved French Meadow sprouted grain tortillas, with peppers, avocado, arugula, and salsa. Sublime. Healthy. All good.

And then...a very snacky afternoon (which happens once in awhile and I usually just go with it; I figure if I'm really listening, and eating from true hunger, my body knows better than I do when it needs some extra fuel). Followed by a thunderstorm and power outage, which fizzled our healthy dinner plans and sent us scurrying out the door for lights-out treats at Bacio. Despite all their lovely salad options (that place knows how to make a salad), I was truly starving for major, beefy protein, so I had...a brrrgrrr. Not just any burger, but the (whisper) Bacio Burger (I didn't read the menu carefully and thought I was getting a plain burger with the usual sides - lettuce, tomato, raw onion, pickles, etc...uh, nooo). Topped with some amazing creamy sauce, and cheese, and sauteed onions, and tomato, on a toasted bun no less - could you find more ways to add fat to a burger? - it was one of the most decadent, delicious burgers I've ever had. Dang, it was that good. Naughty, killer good. Ouch! The whole experience totally wiped me out and I was asleep by 9:30 last night, sensory overload, bam.

So today, let's start again. A day full of lovely vegetables and fruits is in order, with a long bike ride, and lots of water. Basically an Un-Bacio-Burger Day. Enjoy yours!

Not moderate, Stephanie, not moderate at all! Oy. Just back from an amazing - indulgent! - trip to the sunny desert beauty of Palm Springs, all expenses paid, as my Badger girlfriend Michelle's guest. Thank you, Mich! (Yes, she is taller than me; sorry for the bad pic, it's the only one we bothered to take - too busy!) I've been on some pretty amazing trips with her over the years - award trips, thanks to all the hard work she does for her company. Puerto Rico, Puerto Vallarta, Arizona, and now Palm Springs, ahhhhh, it's more than NICE.

We both arrived at La Quinta Resort and Spa in Palm Springs by mid-afternoon this past Sunday. Immediately helped ourselves to turkey sandwiches smeared with freshly-made guacamole and washed down with icy cold Coronas. Welcome to California, yeah baby! After a quick unpack, we were by the pool, one of 42 (!) on the La Quinta property. What a place - it's a small city, truly. Several restaurants, all those pools, golf, shopping, fitness, hiking - you name it, they've got it. The landscaping is breath-taking - a riot of flowers in the desert. After spiffing up a bit we joined the group for cocktails and dinner on the lawn. Oooh, particularly yummy cocktails in fact, their signature drink called an Orange Blossom - gin, freshly squeezed OJ, splash of 7-Up. Heavenly.

Monday morning we were up and at 'em. Well, not exactly. I woke up relatively early because of the time change, had a lovely patio breakfast on my own, explored the enormous grounds and got in a nice walk, then hooked up with Michelle for...more pool. Yeah, pretty rough. Then, we busted our butts...shopping. Also rough. Back to the hacienda for more spiffing (I love these trips, I get to really put my wardrobe through its paces), then off for more cocktails and a lovely dinner, this time in Palm Desert at LG's Prime Steakhouse. After one of the more decadent steaks I've ever had - a sizzling, buttery Porterhouse - plus all the naughty fixin's, we rolled back to the resort and slept like stuffed little piggies in blankets.

Tuesday morning, where did the sun go? Yes, we experienced rain - sort of - in the desert. And wind, holy hell, the wind gusted up to 50-60 mph. Did we hunker down indoors for the day, head to the spa, or watch a movie? Oh no, we went horseback riding. Michelle's idea! Good one, Mich, I'll never let you forget it! I've done many, many, many trail rides in my day, in all sorts of weather, and this was hands down one of the most miserable experiences I have ever had. The dirt, it was beyond dirt. It blew at us constantly, and was sort of super-cemented to our beings by a combination of driving sleet and rain. I rode a jerk of a horse named Freeman, who bucked and kicked at the horse behind me for the entire ride. The wranglers helpfully pointed out that Freeman is "an asshole," and I could feel free to "ride his ass." (I am so over horses and all their interpersonal problems, I have zero patience for them.) Well, after two fun-filled hours of kicking horse butt, I was completely exhausted, cold, hungry, filthy, pissed off, and did I say filthy? As in, my mouth felt kinda gritty so I checked my teeth in the rear-view window of the bus that had brought us out to the Hell-Hole Corral and discovered dirt in between my teeth. Michelle and I eventually - very eventually - started to laugh. You know, that freakish, almost-hysterical kind of laugh that often pops out after a major adrenaline rush? Damn if we didn't each look 80 years old, with suddenly-gray, very matted hair, and every crevice (not wrinkle, not us!) in our faces highlighted with desert dust. NOT my kind of exfoliation. We stumbled off the bus, into one of the resort's lovely restaurants, and immediately ordered bowls of steaming hot bean soup (ahhh) and more ice-cold Coronas (double-ahhh).

Somewhat restored, we showered (long, long showers!), dozed, rallied for another spiff up, made our way to a quiet dinner at Azur restaurant on the resort, and had ourselves a heck of a fabulous meal. I had one of the more amazing salads I have ever had - it was serious. Arugula, perfectly ripe tomato, crispy lardons, and two tiny grilled goat cheese sandwiches, served gorgeously deconstructed but happily reassembled in my mouth, mmm. For a main course, I splurged on the seared foie gras appetizer, topped with a sweet and crispy fresh corn relish. And for dessert, we split one of the BEST chocolate souffles I've ever had - the real deal, not a chocolate-butter gut-bomb, but a light, lovely, eggy souffle, into which they ladled a bit of creme Anglaise. Lordy. Again, a stuffed good night's sleep...

...And a thankfully lovely day Wednesday, as in no more wind, a return of the blessed sun, and spaaaaaa, baby. An 80-minute (!) massage followed by a 60-minute facial. Little relaxing and the requisite cucumber-water sipping in the sunny garden, then off to a serious Mexican feast at Adobe Grill for lunch. More of that killer guacamole (I could kill myself eating guacamole, I'm serious), little crispy chicken taquitos, fish tacos, and more Coronas. After more pool action, and spiffing up for the last time, we were off to the Monroe Mansion for dinner. Yes, Monroe as in Marilyn (that's her lifting weights, how cool is that?), the home was hers and Joe Dimaggio's for three years, and it's a lovely place. A family owns and lives in it now - and has decorated it beautifully - yet luckily rents it out for events. We dined on the lawn, had cocktails by the pool, were serenaded by truly talented Rat Pack impersonators, and basically had a blast. Yeah, life was very, very good on Wednesday, especially in comparison to Tuesday. The beauty is in the contrast, yes indeed. Boop, boop-ee doop!

And now, home to rainy, cold, dreary Minnesota. To homework projects and not a speck of food in the house and lots of demands. Sigh. But also Friday Morning Coffee with Suz! That helps, fo sho! I AM glad to be home, as always. My goal is to cook up something fun over the weekend - fun and HEALTHY that is, after my NOT moderate vaca. I do fine at home, but I get some little party bug up my ass on vaca and it's all over. Damn me. So, yes, it is really good to be home, just ask my ass.

G'night!