Alligatorob's Diary

Flyer, another good picture, reminiscent of our youth. The version I remember better was a bit more R-rated, but I'll go with the Rock'n'Roll part.

It was another good day, ate well and I feel good. I am eating a lot of fruit, but trying to balance it a little with yogurt and tuna for protein. It feels fine.

Wednesday

breakfast
yogurt 80
cereal 120
cantaloupe 60

lunch
4 peaches, right off the trees 236

snack
pretzels 95

dinner
dinner - a big salad lettuce, tomato, carrots, okra, cucumbers 75
tuna 140
cheese 70
peach juice 118

snack cherries (frozen) 86
apple 95

total calories 1,175

The University of Modena and Reggio Emilla was founded in 1175. It is one of the oldest existent universities in the world, though it has not operated continuously. I don't know much about the University but I did once visit Modena. I had one of the most memorable meals of my life there. I was on a business trip with Italian coworkers and we were invited out. The restaurant had no sign on the door, and it was locked. Our host knocked and was recognized so we were let in. There was no menu, we were just served a huge multi-course meal that lasted at least 3 hours, small dishes each with its own wine. I do not speak Italian, and our hosts did not speak English so I understood little of what was going on. When I was offered seconds on the first course or two I took them, thinking that was all we were getting. Many courses later we were served desert and then digestivos and grappa. I am sure I consumed at least a week's worth of calories. But, at the time anyway, it seemed worth it. Guess I won't be doing that again, not that I ever could duplicate the experience.
 
alligatorob said:
There was no menu, we were just served a huge multi-course meal that lasted at least 3 hours, small dishes each with its own wine. I do not speak Italian, and our hosts did not speak English so I understood little of what was going on. When I was offered seconds on the first course or two I took them, thinking that was all we were getting. Many courses later we were served desert and then digestivos and grappa. I am sure I consumed at least a week's worth or calories. But, at the time anyway, it seemed worth it. Guess I won't be doing that again, not that I ever could duplicate the experience.
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I remember an overnight stop, during a trip to Italy, at a 16th century villa where our evening meal was a 9 course fish menu. I held back and we went for a walk between course 4 and 5 and I still couldn´t stomach any dessert - which would have been the 10th course and in any case looked much less spectacular and homemade than the fish dishes. As you said I could never duplicate the experience but then I wouldn´t really want to. I much prefer having two courses and enjoying those fully.
 
Biggest course dinner I ever had was 6 but it was a bit of a disappointment.however Rob yours sounds fantastic. The only thing I know about Modena is the balsamic vinegar which I love
 
It was a good day, I feel like I have eaten a lot, but my calorie count says I am fine.

Thursday

breakfast
yogurt 80
cereal 120
cantaloupe 60

lunch
1 1/2 peaches 89
yogurt 80
cereal 120

snack
cantaloupe 60
boiled egg 78

dinner
eggplant from our garden 40
cheese 228
tomato sauce 55

snack
cantaloupe 60

total calories 1,070

The Temple of Literature was built in Hanoi in 1070. Beginning a few years later it hosted Vietnam's first national university. That was 100 years earlier than the University of Modena and Reggio Emilla I mentioned yesterday. I guess I know very little about the history of southeast asia. We learn a little about Chinese history, not much, but nothing about places like Vietnam.
 
alligatorob said:
We learn a little about Chinese history, not much, but nothing about places like Vietnam.
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In the US of Axcellence? Gee, I wonder why.*

I have those days where I feel like I've overeaten by a ton and the numbers just don't show it. I wonder why.

Temple of literature? That must be the best name ever, I love it!

*That was sarcasm, if it wasn't clear, and not directed against the entire country OR its entire population.)
 
alligatorob said:
The Temple of Literature was built in Hanoi in 1070. Beginning a few years later it hosted Vietnam's first national university. That was 100 years earlier than the University of Modena and Reggio Emilla I mentioned yesterday. I guess I know very little about the history of southeast asia. We learn a little about Chinese history, not much, but nothing about places like Vietnam.
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G & I went there in 2006. I loved Hanoi & have been thinking recently that I would like to go back there.
 
Rob,
I was thinking of you yesterday . I got some peaches and melon . Both were dry and tasteless. I have bought 2 melons in a row now which taste yuck :(
 
hi Rob... excuse my slightly off-topic question, but since it seems like your pepper plants are ground based (mine are in pots) and i was wondering whether any plants you have are more than a year old or if you start fresh every spring? my two year old plants (only 4) were pretty pathetic in their output and i'm thinking of starting earlier in the spring next year with all new plants. actually thinking about saving some of the seeds and trying that.

starting to look really colorful... my Habenaro peppers are turning orange and some Anaheim and Jalapenos have started to turn red.
 
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overlandflyer said:
hi Rob... excuse my slightly off-topic question, but since it seems like your pepper plants are ground based (mine are in pots) i was wondering whether any plants you have are more than a year old or if you start fresh every spring? my two year old plants (only 4) were pretty pathetic in their output and i'm thinking of starting earlier in the spring next year with all new plants. tx.

starting to look really colorful... my Habenaro peppers are turning orange and some Anaheim and Jalapenos have started to turn red.
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No problem, ours are in very large pots, about 200 gallon agricultural water troughs. All are this year's, it is too cold here for peppers to overwinter, outside any way. When I lived in Florida we grew Tabasco peppers, and they overwintered very well. The older Tabascos had better crops than first year. I know some of the other peppers did not overwinter so well. I don't think we have ever tried Habenaros. I am told Habenaro means from Havana, and Cubans don't have many hot peppers, certainly not what we call Habenaros. Not sure how they got the name.
 
Petal001 said:
I got some peaches and melon . Both were dry and tasteless. I have bought 2 melons in a row now which taste yuck :(
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Both peaches and melons are hard to buy at the store, good ones are anyway. Both ripen pretty quickly so they have to be picked green for shipment to market, then they ripen, or you hope they do. Tree or vine ripened are best, but I know you probably can't find those in Ireland. I suspect you do have things like strawberries that you can get vine ripened, again much better than store bought.

My grandfather always used to thump melons and listen closely to them. One day I asked how he could tell a ripe one, and he said no idea but he always thumped them anyway. So I inherited the thumping and am still trying to figure out how, or if, that can tell you when one is right. I know for cantaloupes if they are yellow and a little soft on the end its a good sign of ripeness.
 
I thump water melons: they should sound hollow. Basically all other melons should smell slightly sweet and have a little give on the blossom end.
 
It was a good day, ate well and I feel good. This weekend we are going to try for another peach harvest and squeeze.

Friday

breakfast
milk 40
cereal 200

snack
cantaloupe 60

lunch
eggplant from our garden 40
cheese 175
tomato sauce 55

snack peach 59

dinner
watermelon 20
boiled egg 78
lean pork 216

snack
pretzels 90

total calories 1,033

Apparently there were a lot of people expecting the end of the earth in 1033, it was believed to be 1,000 years after the crucifixion. A mass pilgrimage to Jerusalem may have saved the day. Is anyone worried about 2033? We've only got 14 years to go.
 
LaMaria said:
I thump water melons: they should sound hollow. Basically all other melons should smell slightly sweet and have a little give on the blossom end.
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I have stopped buying water melons as is so hard to get a good one . I do give the honeydew a little pressure at the end and agree with the sweet smell. Does dry melon mean they are not ripe or overripe I wonder . Or just a bad crop. I watched a batch of those orange flesh melons in the supermarket for a week and they never moved . I knew it was the same batch as there was a very distinctive blemish on one of them . Lol I am easily entertained .

Rob strawberries are generally great here in Ireland but expensive.
I am not worried about 2033 . Every so often something crops up about the end of the world is nigh . Never happens .
However I did read the other day that we need not worry about climate change getting us it will be the resistance to antibiotics that will kill the human race first.
 
There was quite a bit of mass hysteria leading up to 1000 CE as well. I guess when the world didn´t end then the instigators - rather than admitting they were full of shit - claimed they´d just claimed to have misunderstood the bit where the holy spirit told them to actually include their savior´s life span in their calculations. 1666 was a good one as well, what with the number of the beast, the plague and the great fire of London coming together.
Petal001 said:
Does dry melon mean they are not ripe or overripe I wonder . Or just a bad crop.
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Do you mean water melon? I think it means they were harvested so early the transport and storage time made them go mealy instead of ripe.
 
Rob,
It looks like you are doing an awesome job with your food intake. I have never had eggplant. How does it taste?
 
It was a good day, ate well and I feel good. It was yard work day so I'm tired. Picked a couple of bushels of peaches, we'll juice tomorrow, should get ~3 gallons of juice. We are freezing the juice, for now anyway may do something with it later.

Petal, a dry honeydew sounds awful. I really like a good honeydew!

Saturday

breakfast
milk 40
yogurt 90
cereal 100

snack
peach juice 118

lunch
boiled egg 78
peach juice 118

snack peach 59

dinner

lean pork 226
peaches eaten whilst picking 118

night cap
beer 156

total calories 1,103

1103 BC (give or take a few hundred years) was the year of Zoroaster's birth. Zoroaster was the founder of Zoroastrianism, one of the oldest still practiced religions in the world. Not too many Zoroastrians today, most are in Iran and India. Zoroaster was Persian and until the rise of Islam Zoroastrianism was the primary religion of the Persian empire and some of its neighbors. Zoroastrianism seems to have influenced some of our modern regions, most notably Islam and Judaism. Some scholars believe the Jews learned their monotheistic beliefs from the Zoroastrians..
 
Shell said:
I have never had eggplant. How does it taste?
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Hey Shell, you are missing out. Eggplant are usually a large dark black vegetable with a white fleshy center. There are however many different varieties, colors and shapes. It has to be soaked for a little while to take the bitter flavors out, then it does not have a strong flavor, but what it has is good. I like it in tomato sauce, the tomato seems to draw out the best of the eggplant. Eggplant is low in calories and good at absorbing flavors. Eggplant parmesan is one of my favorite dishes. It's also good in sandwiches, kind of a veggie burger.

I even liked and ate eggplant before dieting, I really like it.

You may have had it under another name, aubergine, or melanzane are a couple. Its good diet food, you should be able to find it. We are currently growing out own, it took a couple of years to get a good crop here in Utah, in Florida it was easier to grow.
 
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