by Sam Tackeff | Apr 6, 2013 | Lunch, Wellness
For most people, the weekend is a time for indulgence and excess, but for me, the weekend is about relaxation, rejuvenation, and making healthy choices. For the past few months, I’ve been settling into my work rhythm, trying to balance my new role and responsibilities with my passion for being active. I feel so lucky to be working for a fitness company that allows me to leave early once a week to head to the gym – as long as I’m getting my work done – but I do really miss my noon workouts from when I was working from home. So instead of sleeping in on weekends, I try to get in a double dose, heading in both Saturday and Sunday for what feels like adult recess.
This past five weeks, I’ve been competing in the CrossFit Open, pushing myself to the upper limit of my athletic ability. Week one we tackled dreaded burpees and snatches, week two had me pushing hard with the 75 pound shoulder to overheads, week three I got in more than a hundred wall balls at 20 pounds when I had previously been using an 8 pound ball in workouts. Week four was my absolute nemesis, fighting multiple days to get the *single* rep I needed to move on to round five. 95 pounds was 10 more than my PR for the clean and jerk, and my form (not the weight itself) was holding me back. It was a collective gym effort to get me to that rep – and after days of no success, Coach Steve helped me make magic happen and I got it done. This week was a deadly combo of thrusters and chest to bars. I’ve been able to muscle a handful of chest to bars this week, but couldn’t manage them after the first set of thrusters. But I’m getting there. And with each new PR, I feel stronger and more confident to keep pushing myself. Every single day I feel thankful for how far I’ve come, and for how it makes me feel as I set about conquering life.
Unlike my grandfather, who used to barter gym time for a donut and a cigarette – I like to reward myself for my workouts with a cup of black coffee, and a highly nutritious meal. (I do think that he’d have been amused and proud of my athletic achievements, given the turnaround from my sedentary teenage hood.)
I make sure I’m getting in lots of greenery – pounds of leafy greens, especially if I haven’t been the most attentive during the week. I’ll usually cook up a large bag of collards or what Trader Joe’s calls “power greens”, sometimes with a bit of bacon, or plain with a little bit of garlic, shallot, and cider vinegar, and use them as the base for the majority of my meals.
I’m particularly fond of making salmon salad (see above, with the heaping portion of broccoli raab and garlic), or opening up a tin of sardines, and making a dressing with the fish infused olive oil and some fresh lemon juice. The photo has them served over some steamed green cabbage, and sprinkled with some bourbon smoked paprika. I try to eat little fishes at least once a week, but sometimes I’m negligent. Really, you can’t go wrong with sardines.
On cloudy or cold days, I go with soup. This was a beef, tomato, and carrot soup I picked up from Formaggio Kitchen a few weeks ago, and savored it while simultaneously reading my Kindle, flicking through Twitter, and with my computer at arms reach. Some of my habits are less healthy than others.
And then, there’s my favorite lunch staple: the avocado. I went nearly three weeks without avocado last month, and it was a travesty. Here’s my new favorite – avocado halves with sherry vinegar, salt, and a sprinkle of black pepper. If you can find a nice ripe avocado, try eating it this way, you won’t be disappointed.
by Sam Tackeff | Dec 20, 2012 | Lunch
This weekend I started finally unpacking boxes, and putting cookbooks up on the shelves. At some point I’ll have to find a place for this bookshelf that isn’t hit by the sun, but fortunately, the winter light at this latitude doesn’t pose much of a bleaching risk. I still need to organize the books, but it’s a relief having them in plain sight. I’m debating arranging them by genre, color, size or by publisher. Ideas?
* * *
Last week was a very long week. It qualified as a ‘Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week’, culminating with the terrifying news of kids getting slaughtered. I’m angry, devastated, and there are no words appropriate in this situation. It took me a week to post this because there was so much to process and I was hoping to say something meaningful, but indeed the words still haven’t come, and I’m not sure they ever will. My own experiences this week seem trivial, but I wrote them out to let go of some of the stress, so here they are:
We officially announced that we are closing down Tasted Menu, the startup I’ve been working at since moving home to New England. It’s painful to let something go that you care deeply about, nurtured, and put so much of yourself into. I’ve been overwhelmed by the kindness of friends (and even strangers) expressing their sadness and support.
I’ve been interviewing, trying to find my next new project, the next thing that will have me thrilled to wake up each morning and go into work. It’s simultaneously exciting and draining. There are so many formidable people out there doing exciting things.
We are reaching the end of Startup School, and I had to pitch myself in front of a few hundred people. Admittedly I’m not afraid of getting up in front of a crowd, but after six weeks of massive daily input my nerves were fried. And pitching yourself is much more difficult than pitching a product, giving a talk, or making an announcement – but I think it went well.
Coupled with a few unrelated issues including my car’s starter being “finicky”, and some massively bad luck with several external hard drives, this was certainly a week that tested me – but the reality is, there is so much that I am grateful for, and I’m truly lucky for the life and opportunities I have.
* * *
When we first moved to San Francisco, Wednesday evenings were my dinners alone, the nights when I’d eat “girl food”, load up on leafy greens, and eat through the odds and ends in the kitchen. While I’m not particularly fussy about what goes into these meals, the goal is always to find some sort of balance, and get a nice mix of salty, bitter, sweet and savory. It’s my favorite way to nourish myself after a week of stress or poor food choices.
Yesterday I put together one of those meals for lunch. Into the frying pan went a huge handful of parsley that had been sitting in the back of the fridge neglected and semi-frozen, some leftover cooked red cabbage, and a scoop of Italian Salsa Verde, with capers, anchovies, and olive oil.
At the last minute, I heated up the last bit of roasted carrots, and added them to the bowl, and topped it all with a few eggs. Another one of those odd meals that I find comforting and satisfying.
Before I leave you, here’s some afternoon light coming in. For those of you prone to worry, I urge you to grab a camera and search for some light. Cheers me up every time.
by Sam Tackeff | Nov 7, 2012 | bento, Lunch
Since I’ve been working mostly from home over the past several months, I haven’t had any reason to pack a lunch, so I was thrilled to pack my very first bento today for Startup School. Although the offices downtown are conveniently located in proximity to lots of good food options, I’m going to still make it a point to bring lunch as often as possible.
On the left is sliced chicken thighs, and on the right, roasted delicata squash and parsnips. And an apple for snack. I suppose I’m missing something green, but this hit the spot.
by Sam Tackeff | Oct 10, 2012 | Baking, Breakfast, Lunch, Pantry Staples, Quick and Easy
The rains have come. This is, I assure you, better than the snow we could be having in October. But not by much. I took advantage of the day by staying cooped up, working from home, and getting many, many errands done.
My morning coffee was Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Spice again, in one of my new Miya boulder mugs. I picked these up at Abodeon in Cambridge last week. I love the matte earthy tones and cozy shape of each of these mugs – they make for new happier mornings! (Miya also makes them in jewel tones here.)
Mid-morning I made breakfast. Two eggs with the leftover vegetables from my slow cooker beef stew. I was busy playing with my phone, and thus didn’t notice the eggs overcooking on the stove. Shame on me!
In the afternoon, I took out my trusty stick blender to make some of Mel’s Sunshine Sauce from her cookbook Well Fed, which I love! Think of Sunshine Sauce as peanut sauce without the peanuts. The ingredients are lime juice, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, coconut aminos, powdered ginger, rice vinegar, sunflower seed butter, cayenne and coconut milk. You blend and then you are done.
For lunch, I cooked some ground turkey and spinach, served it over the leftover spaghetti squash, and poured on a good amount of sunshine sauce. Yes, it looks odd, but again, delicious! Actually, shockingly delicious.
In the evening, I listened to podcasts and set to work building our new IKEA Expedit bookshelf in birch. This was of our IKEA pieces I was most sad to give up when we moved from San Francisco (the other being our soft and comfy Tylosand couch), and my books have been sitting in boxes for way too long. It took me about an hour and a half of slow and steady work, and I practiced my Olympic lifts by getting it upright and in the next room by myself.
For dinner, I had to figure out what to do with the tiny lean eye of round I had purchased from M.F. Dulock. When I asked what he’d do with it, the butcher replied “probably sell it to someone else“. I probably should have listened.
I seasoned it with mushroom powder, and seared it off in a hot pan. My plan of attack to was to crank up the oven to 500, cook it for about 10 minutes, then turn the heat off and let it cook in the residual heat for about 2 hours. (This wasn’t quite as foolproof as I’d have liked. At the end, terrified that I had poisoned us by not cooking it enough, I seared it off again to make sure it was cooked through.)
While resting, I cooked some shredded brussels sprouts with some pancetta, salt, pepper, and a good swig of apple cider vinegar.
When I cut the meat, I have to say I was pretty surprised at how moist it was in the center, despite a slightly dry exterior. I’ll definitely choose a fattier cut of meat next time. Devon got his with a big scoop of mashed potatoes from Whole Foods, and I got mine with some of their zucchini and tomatoes. (I have no regrets spending $5 extra on sides at Whole Foods when I’ve made a mostly home cooked meal – especially when it means that we can each have a little extra of something we want without having to cook several extra dishes!)
After dinner, I had planned all day to try one of these single serve microwave cakes all the cool kids are eating. I found a simple recipe – almond meal, cocoa powder, an egg, honey, salt and cinnamon.
You mix it all together,
Then microwave for a minute and a half.
And then pour on a splash of coconut milk (or cream if you can eat it).
And devour.
It was almost perfect.
A little too sweet (I’ll put less honey next time). A little dry (I’ll add a bit of coconut oil and maybe some coconut milk to the batter, and microwave less.)
When I perfect it, I promise I’ll share.
But after a month of nearly no dessert, it certainly hit the spot.
by Sam Tackeff | Sep 22, 2012 | Breakfast, Lunch
When you are no longer of the age that a sleepover is a common occurrence, it becomes rare that you have breakfast guests on a weekday unless you have regular traveling visitors. Making breakfast for a friend is one of the great pleasures in life. (Brunch, even with the same foods, is a different beast entirely.) In our house, I regret, breakfast is usually a singular activity, so I was thrilled to get a visit from my friend Caroline. She got an egg, tea, and melon, and for me coffee, two eggs and a tomato, and a banana sliced with almond butter.
Today was the first day that I’ve been out of the house for lunch for weeks, and I was excited to play hooky and see the city with Caroline. We spent the afternoon wandering around the Boston Common and the Public Gardens, checking out the farmers market in Copley, strolling down Charles Street. This stately fur ball was seen in front of Savenor’s, dutifully waiting for his human friend. And maybe a marrow bone.
After discovering that Caroline’s desired chai hot chocolate was still not at being sold at the chocolate shop, despite the fact that fall is almost here, we headed off to Brookine to pick up her friend’s wedding dress, and forage for lunch. To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to eat. We debated Cutty’s (even though I’m not enamored with it), sushi, Anna’s (she’s from Texas, so that was out). I learned that Caroline had never been to Flour, so I decided that a trip to the South End was in order.
After finding a fortuitous two hour visitor parking spot in the South End (when does that ever happen?), we headed over to Flour. It is here I should note that this particular occasion at Flour made me really appreciate a) the fact that my current food restrictions are not life threatening illnesses that so many of my friends have to deal with, and b) the fact that there are some supremely lovely people in the world.
At 3 o’clock, there was no line, so I felt a little more comfortable attempting to order food that was restriction-friendly. I opted for the lamb salad (without the delicious tomato chutney or goat cheese, alas), and immediately the folks behind the counter were more than accommodating, and full of suggestions. Could I eat carrots? Avocado? Tomatoes? Suddenly what I assumed was going to be a slightly boring salad became exciting again. The oil was a blend that I was wary of, so they gave me a side of olive oil and vinegar, and I ordered an espresso and made sure to give a good tip.
After our lunch, we walked the South End, and headed over to Formaggio on Shawmut. Because I’m a regular at the Huron location, I felt that it was high time that I check out the other location in the city. The shop was full of all the same goodies on a smaller scale, and all around a good place to check out if you are in the area. I learned however that they didn’t have George Howell Coffee! Instead, I picked up some medjool dates, and we headed over to the South End Buttery for tea. (It’s been so long since I last visited!)
The iced tea here is delicious – I believe it’s iced earl grey.
After our lovely afternoon, Caroline dropped me off at home, and left to Providence.
I headed out to Trader Joe’s to pick up some fixin’s for dinner. Usually I make a meal for us to share, but I’ve been making sure not to impose too much lately with my food choices. We each got our own meals – Devon got hot dogs and beans, and I had a complementary fresh gazpacho, topped with fresh pork sausage from M.F. Dulock’s. The same, but different!
by Sam Tackeff | Aug 15, 2012 | Local stores, Lunch
Yesterday I met up with a lovely woman named Anna for coffee at Formaggio Kitchen. She brought along Alex, her sweet mellow baby and we sat outside and talked for a good long time while Alex ate cheerios and keenly observed trucks and dogs and bicycles.
Having worked busily in my very small office this year without much reprieve, I’d forgotten how nice it is to have long conversations with new people. It re-charges you. Inspires you. Makes you feel like skipping down the street, which you avoid doing when you are an “adult” because someone will look at you disapprovingly. Don’t worry about them – they can live their miserable lives – you go ahead and skip if you feel like it! Have that coffee with someone new. You won’t regret it.
Before heading home, I picked up this sandwich to go.
Anna’s Big Jim : ham, salami & cheddar or Swiss on ficelle. Pressed in the panini press. Usually I get the ficelle with sesame seeds on it, but they were out. It looks huge, but it’s actually quite modestly sized – that is my smallest salad plate. It’s a perfect combination of bread, cheese and meat, and reminds me of Paris in the summertime.
