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I Heart Induction Cooking Event

Last night I headed downtown after work for a date with Electrolux at Desiron, a gorgeous furniture gallery in SoHo.

003While I normally tend to be more conservative in my interior design tastes, I was immediately taken aback by the gorgeous pieces when I walked through the doors. The colors, textures, and finishes were like a warm breath of fresh air as I found refuge from the cold winter air. I secretly wanted to spend the next hour upstairs, exploring the furniture, but I quickly headed downstairs for an hour of cooking fun with Johnny Iuzzini  and Anne Burrell instead.

004The event, which kicked off Electrolux and Frigidaire’s “I Heart Induction” campaign, was themed around Valentine’s Day and highlighted the many benefits of induction cooking from both a chef and a pastry chef’s point of view. Induction heating, which has been around for years, is still a mystery to many. Induction cooking uses induction heating to directly heat the pot instead of a heat transfer from gas or electric burners. In order for induction cooking to work, the pot used must be made of magnetic material so that the heat may transfer. Therefore, cast iron pans work wonderfully but aluminum can’t work. Simply said, it’s the magnetic reaction which creates the heat.

Benefits

  • Sleek like electric but cooks like gas
  • Can touch it without risk of getting burned.
  • 70% more energy efficient than gas and 20% more energy efficient than electric
  • Responsive and even cooking
  • Can boil water in 90 seconds

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While their cooking styles and personalities were very different, both showed a passion for food and induction cooking that was contagious. 006

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The duo whipped up a delicious Valentine’s Day meal including a fennel and grapefruit salad, spaghetti Bolognese, and a poached pear dessert.  While they each prepared the dish, they highlighted some of the many benefits of using induction cooking over the traditional gas or electric stove, common in most homes.

 008012  022The best part about induction cooking is that it doesn’t have to cost thousands. Frigidaire makes a portable induction burner which is perfect as a more affordable option. My father actually gave Bo and I one last year and we love it for quick and precise heat. It’s only $199.00 and can be easily stored in even the smallest of kitchens!

Question: What’s your favorite type of heat? Gas, electric, or induction?

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ashleyd /

A Quarter of the Way There

Happy Thursday! Are you guys ready for the weekend?

Bo and I feel like we’ve been going non-stop since December 10th when we hosted our first of two holiday parties. Since then we’ve flown over 4,000 miles, spent time with our families in Savannah, celebrated New Years in Cozumel, and started 2012 with a busy work week. This has left no time for relaxation, breathing, or even collecting our thoughts. This weekend’s agenda is short and sweet, leaving plenty of time for relaxing.

  • Take down Christmas decorations and put them down in storage unit
  • Unpack
  • Run the Joe Kleinerman 10k

Like I said, short and sweet!

Even though it’s been a busy week, I’m proud to say that thus far I’ve stuck to my plan 100% so far! While I know we’re only five days into 2012, rumor has it that it takes 21 days to start a habit. Therefore, I’m quarter of the way there! 

Today was a great test in my recommitment to Weight Watchers and tracking everything I eat.

Instead of enjoying my planned soup and salad for lunch this afternoon, five of us went out for a girl’s lunch to wish one of our co-workers farewell as she begins a new chapter in her career. I wouldn’t have missed this opportunity but going to a Rain Thai restaurant for lunch didn’t allow for many healthy options. Their menu was limited to 12 or so different lunch options, of which more than 8 were deemed spicy.  (source)

In the end, I ordered pad thai chicken.  An old favorite of mine, I haven’t had it in ages and forgot how much I love it and how difficult it is to stop at just a few bites. (source)

Thirty minutes and lots of laughter later, I realized my bowl sat before me, empty. At the same moment, I realized my stomach hurt terribly. Instead of getting frustrated for over eating and indulging, I went back to the office, opened my Weight Watchers tracker, and tracked restaurant pad thai into my tracker.

imageWhile I didn’t eat lunch at Noodles & Company, this option seemed to be the most similar and realistic to what I ate.  The points were a bit shocking but instead of getting frustrated or discouraged, I decided to use this as a test and practice listening to my body. Since I had used up all my points for the day, and would have to use Weekly Allowance points, I vowed not to eat again until I was truly hungry.

Tonight at 8pm, my stomach finally growled. If I wasn’t focused on listening to my body I would have eaten around 6:30 or 7 tonight since I was out of work early. Since I had such a heavy lunch I was craving a big salad. I’m rocking the homemade dinner resolution this week!

Remember Tuesday night’s pork chops? They were the perfect salad topping tonight!

001I topped the last bit of my bagged lettuce with cherry tomatoes, onions, leftover green beans, cherry tomatoes, and sliced pork chop with Annie’s Naturals dressing for a delicious dinner!

As promised, below is today’s Weight Watcher food journal for your reference.

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My First Homemade Weeknight Meal of 2012

 

Tonight, I was determined and inspired to bring one of my 2012 resolutions to life: cook a homemade meal for Bo and I at least once a week.

This sounds like a simple task since there are five week nights in a week and that means I only have to cook 20% of the time, but it’s a very common week when we order in or pick up takeout every night due to our busy schedules, empty fridge, or lack of motivation. Even though we didn’t land back in NYC last night until past 9pm, I made a shopping list for the week last night and printed it out so I could reference it at the grocery store today. In addition, being able to leave work at 5:30 on a Tuesday made going to the grocery store and cooking much less daunting on a week night.

001By 6:30 I was home and unloading four bags of groceries; enough ingredients for four weeknight meals as well as the components for breakfasts, lunches, and snacks.

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Bo and I are lucky to have a kitchen which includes a microwave, dishwasher, and oven as many New Yorkers do not have these simple kitchen items which many Americans take for granted each day.  The time I spent in the kitchen tonight was more relaxing than I remembered and was a wonderful way to relieve a Monday’s worth of stress.

Tonight’s menu was very simple and a perfect way to ease into week night cooking.

Menu

Simple salad (lettuce, tomatoes, herbs, shallots, salt, pepper, and Annie’s low fat dressing)

Steamed green beans dressed in Garlic Gold and olive oil

Grilled pork chops rubbed in Rub with Love 

002 004 I referenced an old favorite cookbook of ours, Weber’s Real Grilling, for the pork temperatures and cooking times. If you find yourself grilling often, indoors or out, I highly recommend this beautiful cookbook. It is a dummies guide to cooking delicious meats and vegetables and after five years of use we’ve yet to find a recipe we don’t like.

010 008 Ten minutes later, from start to finish, dinner was plated. The pork chops only took 7 minutes to cook and I steamed the green beans at the same time. While the pork chop rested, I made my simple salad and set a place at the table.

Also, as part of the Food Journal 30 Day Challenge, I will be logging all my bites, nibbles, and meals on Weight Watchers. During my original weight loss journey, during which I lost more than forty pounds on Weight Watchers I tracked my food at least five days each week. I think this will be a great way to keep myself accountable as I begin training for my upcoming half marathon and focus on returning to my Lifetime Weight Watchers goal weight (150 pounds). I’m trying to figure out an easy way to share this with you each day so please let me know if you have any suggestions. For now, all I know is to snap a picture of my journal.

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Question: Are you interested in seeing my food journal on my blog daily?

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