When Nerds Attack!

I meet all sorts of great people on the internet! Today I'd like to talk about one of them, Barb, who runs a great website called When Nerds Attack. W.N.A. is a blog site the focuses on one of my great obsession, the San Diego Comic-Con. Barb posts all sort of tidbits and observations about the convention, the people who love it and the popular culture it celebrates.

Barb was kind enough to post an article I wrote featuring food suggestions for Comic-Con attendees. Every year I hear from folks who have sacrificed their appetites for the rigors of the exhibit floor, which is a terrible shame.

Please head on over to When Nerds Attack and see what I have to say about chowing down at Comic-Con!

Nifty Nifty, Look Whose Fifty!

...Fifty pounds down that is! As of this mornings weigh in on the Wii Fit I have officially hit the fifty pounds lost mark, an exciting milestone in a journey that started 7 months ago. I'm a mixture of happy and sad and scared and anxious all at the same time.

209-ish.

 Happy for the improved health that I surely will have and for the smaller size pants that I can fit into. Happy that I've been able to take my time, and have, for the most part, keep my cool about my rate of progress and loss. Fad diets and get skinny quick schemes are abundant but too often they are also temporary. My method is slow and steady and intended to improve my health for the rest of my life.

But I'm sad about the life-long changes too. I think about the foods I've eliminated from my diet and the foods that I miss eating but it's all fond thoughts. I know that someday I'll be able to order French fries in a restaurant, eat them, and not have it derail me, but that time is not yet and I know that.  I have about 50 more pounds to go before I'm considered clinically "healthy." Right now my BMI is still in the "Obese" range and while I try not to give the BMI  too much focus, it's still jarring to still be considered OBESE after all my hard work.

And it IS hard work. I do cardio exercise seven days a week. As I type this I'm still sweaty from a bike ride that I took and I'm preparing to hop on the treadmill as soon as I'm finished. I've started getting up early enough a few days a week so I can exercise before I go to work, leaving my evenings free to have dinner at a decent time and relax, like a normal person. Some would think that because I don't have children and because most of my hobbies are sedentary that I have not sacrificed much for my exercise routine. To those idiots I can only shrug, those people don't know me well enough to say that.

I'm anxious for the summer, to do the things that I usually do but to do them without the extra 50 pounds of baggage. I'm excited to be more mobile, to walk with ease, to sweat a little less. I'm even a little bit excited to shop for summer clothes. It's never been that fun shopping when you're limited to just a few stores or a few racks of clothing, or even a few brands. I'm anxious to see photos of myself and not be ashamed of them.

I'm scared of my eventual plateau, the point where my weight loss starts to level off. I worry that I won't have anything *more* to give, anything else I can do to cut caloric corners and keep myself rolling on the treadmill. I'm also scared of competing my One Million Steps goal. At the time I started it seemed impossible to me that I would even be able to complete it yet here I am, less than 90,000 steps away, changed physically and mentally for the better. When I reach my million steps what's next?

What's next is that I keep going. I need to see the million steps as a milestone, not as an end. Part of me had grand ideas, like reaching the million steps should be akin to the end of a marathon, there should be a ribbon for me to break as I cross it. But it's not the end of a marathon, it's only the passing of a mile-marker. Forward, forward, the journey must go on.

If you'd like to catch up on my journey please read my post, Half Way To Somewhere.

Faux Fried Chicken Tenders - A Recipe!

Superfro and I have had some good luck lately with recipes suitable for two people. Cooking for two sometimes requires alteration of recipes and ingredients and sometimes conversions don't always work out so well. Not the case with these Faux Fried Chicken Tenders. You could make 2, 4, 12 or even 30 of them, it's a really flexible recipe.


But, how do they taste? An excellent question! I thought they perfectly satisfied my craving for something fried without actually being fried. You should try for yourself and let me know!

Faux Fried Chicken Tenders
(adapted from a Food Network Magazine recipe)
Servings - 2

First, go ahead and pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. I promise that it will get more exciting after this but pre-heating the oven is essential so just get it done and over with.

Next, line a baking sheet with foil. If you have a baking rack, place that on top of the baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. If you don't have a rack, don't panic. You can still participate in the making of these Tenders. How about you just spray the foil on the baking sheet instead?


INGREDIENTS ASSEMBLE!

• 1 pound chicken "tenders" or boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
• 1 egg
• 1 T. Worcestershire sauce
• 1 T. ketchup or your favorite BBQ sauce
• 1/8 c. buttermilk (OPTIONAL)
• 1 cup bread crumbs (I like to use a mixture of regular ones and Panko style)
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. chili powder
• salt & pepper
• cooking spray

In a small bowl beat the egg just a little bit. Add the Worcestershire sauce, ketchup (or BBQ) and the optional buttermilk. Stir it all together and set it aside for a bit.

In a shallow dish mix the bread crumbs, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper.

Now, you're ready for the messy work. Using some tongs, dip one piece of chicken into the egg mixture until fully coated. Lift out and let the excess drip off. Place the chicken in the breadcrumbs and gently roll it around to cover it. I use a spoon to help move the bread crumbs around. Place the chicken gently on the baking rack or sheet and then repeat until all the chicken is breaded.

Keep your tongs handy, you still need them! Spray each piece of chicken with cooking spray then gently flip them over using the tongs and spray the other side.

By this time your oven should be nice and hot (you DID pre-heat it, RIGHT?!?) Bake the chicken for 20 minutes. During this time wash your tongs, you'll need them again but you need them to be clean! After 20 minutes remove the chicken and flip each piece over. Return to the oven and bake for 10 more minutes.


Enjoy!

Mobile Masterpieces: XI

I can just about taste spring in the air, any by "spring" I really mean all the Easter candy that is flooding the markets right now. I'm craving some Brach's jelly beans like mad but my will is strong...I shall not give into the craving! Instead, I will indulge in some mobile masterpieces! Join me, won't you?

Superfro is doing his best "serious western lawman" face, just after shaving off his winter beard,
but leaving the moustache for a few days in order to illicit some laughs, which it did!

Poor Paxton! She's really such a good sport when it comes to having
her picture taken.

I received this large pile of books from the American Booksellers
Assoc. I'm still working my way through them.

Oh, here's a Christmas leftover, one of the cookie boxes I made.
*drool* I want one of those peanut butter balls STAT!

AWWWW! What a precious wittle Paxy with a candy necklace on!

The Penguin is Paxton's favorite of all the Batman Rogue's Gallery (she fancies the monacle!)

When Coke Zero goes on sale I don't waste any time loading up the back on my Scion.

The cool kids at Gearbox sent me this great little gift package. Thanks guys!

One last pic of Paxy, staying warm at the store with her Daddy's hoodie!

Curator's Corner: Olly Moss Movie Prints

It seems like it's been forever since I've posted anything. Somehow February slipped away from me and now it's already March and life is just getting busier and busier! But, never fear, here is a new blog, completely devoid of all mentions of food! A miracle!

One of Superfro's and my favorite graphic artist is Olly Moss. We don't know anything about Olly other than we love his style. Even before we knew who he was, Superfro gravitated towards Olly's Threadless t-shirts and once we put a name to the artist we started to actively look for some work. I don't think Olly sells any original art, mostly just limited edition art prints via various art houses. Here is what we have managed to collect!

Superfro and I are hoping to get several of these prints framed so we can hang them up, though I'm not sure which one we'll start with, do you have any favorites?


And this is Superfro's favorite Olly Moss Threadless shirt, featuring all sorts of movie "spoilers."