I keep having to re-learn this lesson: I am not capable of being efficiently productive with stationary (computer) work, if I am hungry. I’ll get things done, but it will take a lot longer.
Tasks that require me to move – walking from point A to point B, [non-food] shopping – are not affected by this, within reasonable limits. Neither, for the most part, are stationary tasks that happen mostly on autopilot, like driving.
George wants cross-blog recipes, so here’s a wonderful cold soup from the old country, for a hot summer day. Its name is pronounced uh-KROSH-kah. Some also call it cold borsch, but it’s really a very different soup.
Before we begin: it involves beets. Even if you don’t like beets (which I don’t), this is excellent food. The amounts below are enough for one of those large soup pots. Oh, I don’t know, probably a couple of quarts.
2 medium-sized beets
radishes
boiled potatoes
green onions
hard-boiled eggs, if you like
cucumbers
plain (not fruity) kefir
cooked hot dogs, cubed or
bologna cubes or
mortadella cubes, if you’re not vegetarian
salt
Quarter the beets; cut one of the quarters again in half and reserve one of the pieces for later. Make a beet broth: just boil them until they start to get soft and the broth is fragrant. The water will lose a bit of its pretty color towards the end, so just add the reserved piece of beet, cook a couple more minutes, and let cool. Then refrigerate it, with the beet pieces still in it, until cold.
Cut everything else (but not the kefir) in cubes and/or slices, and if you’re using eggs, use half an egg per plate. Put a little of everything in each plate, pour some of the broth over, mix in kefir to taste. Add some salt, if the soup needs it.
If you can’t find kefir in your dairy section, or if all they have is the fruity stuff, use some plain yogurt — for this soup, probably anything but full-fat, or it’ll get too heavy. Feel free to improvise with the ingredients.
If morning’s your time to do work (as it is, usually, mine), feed your brain accordingly. Oatmeal? Enh. Today’s breakfast: leftover cioppino from last night, with some pasta thrown in for carbohydrate goodness. Besides carbs, this takes care of protein (seafood) and vegetable matter (peppers, tomatoes, veg. broth). And caffeine but that’s from coffee, not the cioppino.
My brain had better appreciate this. I already feel more awake, and haven’t even had that much coffee. Must be the protein.
(San Francisco style, my nose. I believe this is a Roman dish; it’s certainly Italian.)