<p>Snowflake, I gave it to H for Christmas. It was really fun. If you have a Sur La Table near you, google it and it might have the classes there. I am in the Boston area and there are several Sur La Tables but only two have the classes. One in Boston and one in Natick. We went to Natick. They have lots of different menus to choose from and even do private parties where you bring a group. If you do that, you can bring wine and beer. </p>
<p>One of the moms @ Ds elementary school owned Sur La Table at the market, I didnt realize that it was on the east coast, she & her H must have sold it. ( I see that it was a big chain even before they sold it - to a Bahrain investment firm)
I need to look for some classes for H & I to take.
He told me about a friend at work who was taking classes with his wife every month. Thats Hs way of saying he wants to do it too. But he wants me to do the footwork…</p>
<p>Am at a friends lake house for the weekend. Not helping the diet :(</p>
<p>I’m peeking into this thread to keep me motivated to make better food choices
this weekend. 
</p>
<p>Grilled monkfish with a red pepper basil sauce for dinner - yummy. And lunch was jerk pork and collard greens from the farmers market. Exercise was two wheelbarrows worth of compost dug out and moved to a bed in the front yard.</p>
<p>So I might be joining this thread, just came back from a vacation and needless to say I gained a few points. On top of that I’ve been having sleep issues that caused me to gain a few pounds before the vacation. Back to eating healthy and doing more exercise. Interestingly enough, I had not one whiff of arthritis pain when I was on travelling, the physical activities must have helped.
@mathmom, I also empty my worm compost bin and replanted 2 fruit trees. However, my lilacs are not doing so well, it must be feet wet. I have to move them.</p>
<p>I am doing an organic farm share this summer, so last night H and I tried Swiss chard (sautéed lightly with red pepper flakes and garlic) and tonight we are having beets. Hopefully by the end of summer I will have eaten and prepared 10 new veggies that I don’t normally eat. </p>
<p>The Swiss chard was okay … Am guessing it would have been better if I cooked it the night I picked it up.</p>
<p>My lilac is in the shade of a Norway maple. Sigh. Unfortunately the tree belongs to a neighbor. </p>
<p>Exercise-wise, today was a gym day and I’ll probably do a bit more gardening in preparation for our back yard being ripped up for an addition.</p>
<p>Swiss chard is not my favorite vegetable either, it’s so bland, but I do use it as a wrapping of something before I cook, fish, chicken, et…
According to my fitness pal app, I must have burned a lot of calories wrestled with 2 chickens that I bought on sale(.88cents/pound) from Albertsons. I can see why people in the old days didn’t gain weight easily. They have to put a lot of energy and effort to get food. Not a lot of ready made food.</p>
<p>My exercise today was hiking around two of the Boston Harbor Islands. It was fun but hot! We packed a picnic lunch and ate it on George’s Island. Said no to ice cream… Yeah, me!!!</p>
<p>Wow, EPTR - kudos for saying no to ice cream! :)</p>
<p>Don’t be too impressed BunsenBurner! I’m on my way out to dinner! Lol.</p>
<p>Lol! Let’s be good tonigh and skip dessert. I will be eating out with Mr, too, and will have my own battle to fight - he is a big sucker for calamari. That thing is a calorie bomb!! So if I win (we eat salads), my mission will be accomplished. </p>
<p>If you can do it I can do it!</p>
<p>H made beets with goat cheese and sunflower seeds; he even used the leafy greens … I am not sure if I like beets or if goat cheese makes everything taste good, but I really liked it. That is the 2nd strange new veggie for us from the organic farm. Tomorrow is a new pickup so am looking forward to what we’ll get this time.</p>
<p>Beets are really great with goat cheese and seeds/nuts! I also like beet slaw: thingly shredded boiled beets, raw apples, crushed walnuts with a tiny bit of Daisy sour cream. Salt to taste. ;)</p>
<p>How do you cook beets? The only time I’ve had them, outside of a restaurant, was in the 1960s when my mom would open a can of them!</p>
<p>I love roast beets and they are very simple to prepare - preheat your oven to 375. Scrub the beets well, cut off the leafy tops, place on a sheet of foil, drizzle with olive oil, seal them in the foil packet and pop them in the oven. You’ll have to test for tenderness depending on the size of the beet - probably about one hour for larger ones. Let them cool - the peel will slip right off. Delicious with flavored vinegars, goat cheese, chopped walnuts. You can also cheat and look in your produce section for “Love Beets” - all the work is done for you. I make a salad of leafy greens, goat cheese, toasted walnuts, roast asparagus and roast beets similar to one the Cheesecake Factory has on the menu. </p>
<p>I don’t love beets. But in Jordan they served them sliced thin (probably boiled) with an arugala salad with a olive oil/lemon vinaigrette. I thought the combination of the peppery arugla and earthy beets really complimented each other. </p>
<p>The only way I truly love beets is in borscht. But it’s a lot more trouble.</p>
<p>Yes, what Sabaray said about beets. I had them reheated tonight and it was still delicious. We didn’t have walnuts so we used sunflower seeds, but it is good. I was surprised that I ate the greens. </p>
<p>Apparently you can so something similar with radish greens, which I will try when H doesn’t realize it is radish greens. </p>
<p>I am seeing over time that I am getting more and more excited about whole foods because I understand more what processed foods do in terms of hormone disruption and weight gain. When I eat better it also motivates me to exercise regularly and to keep eating healthy. </p>