Eating well with creative recipes while following the Fast Diet

Flexible Flyer

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

As a child, I loved to go sledding. [That’s ‘coasting’ to some of you.] A prized Christmas gift was a Flexible Flyer sled and I used mine every chance I got. Some children liked the saucer-style sleds, but not I. Although I longed to have a sledding party for my birthday, mid-January always brought a thaw. Sigh. The Flexible Flyer sled was manufactured in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by Samuel Leeds Allen in 1889. Since his company made farm equipment all winter, he wanted a product to keep his skilled employees busy in the summer. The design of the sled was innovative: the steel runners could be twisted by a steering bar, thus allowing control of the sled’s path. Initially the sled was not a good seller, but Allen wisely waited and interest picked up. During winters of the early 1900s, hundreds of sleds were sold daily. Sleds were made in many sizes and could be steered with the hands, while lying down, or with the feet, while sitting up. I have two Flexible Flyers, both in the ‘Airline’ model designed in 1935. One is the ‘Junior’ at 51 inches long and the other is the ‘Racer’ at 60 inches long, given to me by an aunt who sledded with her husband. In my Golden Years, I have rediscovered the joys of sledding, especially when the air is crisp and the full moon is making the snow sparkle. That’s a treat.

Label of an authentic ‘Planet Jr. Sled’ and how it is best put to use.

The smooth mound of white dairy products in the breakfast is like a sledder’s dream hill on a snowy day. And after a long day of sledding, there is nothing like a warming bowl of home-made soup for dinner.

Citrus Breakfast: 149 calories 1.5 g fat 1.5 g fiber 15.5 g protein 19 g carbs [5.5 g Complex] 118 mg Calcium  NB: Food values given are for the plated foods only, and do not include the optional beverage. PB GF  Banish any thoughts that this classic ‘diet meal’ will leave you hungry. Delicious, nutritious, and filling, this is a great breakfast for anyone, any day. And it has tons of Vitamin C and A and D.

½ cup reduced-fat cottage cheese 2 Tbsp fat-free French Vanilla yogurt 1 clementine, peeled and sectioned OR 2 oz orange segments 2 Tbsp black currants OR blueberries Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories]   Optional: 5 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories]

TIP: Sometimes the cottage cheese and yogurt can benefit from sitting in a sieve for 20 minutes to drain off extra whey. Combine all the dairy and scoop it onto the plate. Pour fruit on top and watch it roll down the snowy hill. If you plan for a busy morning, combine everything the night before and refrigerate it. Great for a grab-and-go meal. It is a vitamin-blast.

‘Therapeutic’ Chicken Soup: 278 calories 3.4 g fat 5 g fiber 18.5 g protein 36 g carbs [26 g Complex Carbs] 78 mg Calcium   PB  The recipe is from It’s All American Food by David Rosengarten. Simple, filling, and Granma says it is good for you.  NB: Food values are for one serving of 2 cups of soup! One cup is a very hearty serving.

1½ cups excellent chicken broth, homemade or purchased 2 oz [½ cup] parsnips, diced 1 oz [¼ cup] carrots, in coins ¼ cup celery 2 oz cooked chicken breast, cut in ½” cubes ½ oz Pennsylvania Dutch noodles   3 Tbsp parsley

Prepare the vegetables. Cook the noodles in water until just underdone. Heat the stock to a simmer and add 3-4 Tbsp water, which will boil away as you cook. I added the parsnips first and cooked for about 5 minutes, then added the carrots. After another 5 minutes, I put the celery in the soup. Cook until all the vegetables are tender, then adjust the seasoning of the broth. Add the pasta and chicken. It will need extra flavor now since the pasta will have used it up. Add the parsley and cook about 5 minutes longer.

Airline Series:  The Airline sleds came out in 1935 with the ends of the runners turned back to the top of the last cross support.  This major change was meant to prevent other sledders from impaling themselves on the sharp end of another’s sled when running into them.  There were numerous Airline models, each with its own name: Ace (37″); Pilot (41″); Patrol (44″); Pursuit (47″); Junior (51″); Chief (55″); Racer (60″); Cruiser (65″); and (108″).  The Airline names were eventually dropped with a number/letter replacing them, but with the same lengths as before, and the length being the model number.

Ingredients for next week: Breakfast, single portion for Monday ………………………………….. single portion for Thursday:

whole-grain bread, 70-calories/slice1.5 two-oz eggs 
applesauce + almond flour/mealtomato sauce
ham slice/Canadian Bacon/back baconbell pepper + garlic
0% fat French Vanilla yogurt + fresh fruitparsley + apple or pear
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

Dinner, single portion for Monday:………………………….. single portion for Thursday:

1.5 two-oz eggs + uncured bacon2 buckwheat galettes
fingerling potatoes, purple or red-fleshed 3%-fat ham
chèvre + chives or green onionsbechamel sauce, no cheese
side salad with blueberriesJarlsberg cheese + side salad
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Dickens

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to Anita Vij who is now Following.

February 7 is the birthdate of Charles Dickens, the chronicler of life in Victorian England. From 1812 to 1870, he lived a life that ended up enlivening the pages of his 15 novels and 5 novellas. David Copperfield — the tale of a poor boy forced to work in a factory, who liberates and raises himself to obtain an education, dabble in the law, marry, and become a self-made man — is Dickens most autobiographical novel. But all his books contain elements of his life. His father was a Navy pay clerk who was poor with his own finances. Dickens helped to pay off the family debt [that factory job], and never forgave his mother for thinking that he should have continued to work there. When Dickens was working for a magazine, the boss took him home to dinner, and Charles met Catherine Hogarth, his future wife. Ten children later, along with many financial ups and downs, the couple separated. Always hoping that ‘something will turn up,’ Dickens wrote popular books which were serialized in magazines, and he went on speaking tours. He was terrified of poverty. Now you might think that he was just a famous author, but writing was his weapon as a Social Reformer. Through his stories and their often very pitiable characters, Dickens exposed social ills: a legal system mired in minutia [Bleak House]; for-profit orphanages [Oliver Twist]; the injustice of the debtors’ prison [Little Dorrit]; horrible boarding ‘schools’ [Nicholas Nickleby]; child labor [David Copperfield]. Even his most beloved book, A Christmas Carol, written quickly and for profit, is a screed against social inequality and wage disparity. The author was not making this stuff up — life for the multitudinous poor was abysmal [think ‘Dickensian‘] during the Victorian Era and he wanted with all his heart to make things better for them. To some small extent, it worked. Which book is your favorite?

I can imagine the economical and practical Aunt Betsey Trotwood eating watercress, no doubt harvested from streams flowing along the coast of Kent where she lived. Oysters are what David Copperfield saw Mr and Mrs Micawber eating as they left town on the top of the Post Coach — further evidence of their extravagant spending.

Watercress Bake: 139 calories 6 g fat 1 g fiber 9 g protein 6 g carbs 90 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF Watercress is so versatile and so healthy. When you see it in the market, turn it into Watercress Sauce and freeze in small amounts [from ice cube size to ½ cup] for use all year ’round.

1 two-oz egg 2 Tbsp [1 cube] Watercress Sauce, drained 1 Tbsp ricotta cheese 1/8 oz mushrooms 1 oz fresh peach + ¼ oz fresh blackberries  Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories]  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water 

The night before: thaw the watercress sauce in a sieve over a small bowl overnight. Chop the mushrooms and cook in a little water for 15 seconds in the microwave. Next morning: Combine the ‘cress, mushrooms, and ricotta. Spritz an oven-proof ramekin or other dish with non-stick spray. Whisk the eggs and add the cress mixture. Whisk again and pour into the prepared dish. Bake at 350 F for 12-15 minutes. Prepare the beverages and the fruit. What a simple, sumptuous meal.

Oyster Feast w/ Bubbly: 290 calories 10 g fat 2 g fiber 13 g protein 15 g carbs 83 mg Calcium  PB  Got something BIG to celebrate? How about a plate of raw and baked oysters with a salad AND a glass of bubbly? This serves TWO, since a celebration deserves company.

At left, six raw oysters with sparkling wine. On the right, three raw oysters and three baked with chèvre and crackers as described below.

18 medium Eastern oysters, raw   9 tsp chevre cheese 4 saltine crackers as medium-fine crumbs 3 cups lettuce 2 Tbsp raw herbs, [such as thyme, rosemary, chives], chopped  per person: 5 oz Sparkling Wine [such as Champagne or Cremant] 

Turn on the broiler. Shuck the oysters, discarding the upper shell, but keep the oyster in the bottom shell. Carefully put 9 of the 18 oysters on an oven-proof pan. Sprinkle each of those oysters with a pinch of the cracker crumbs. Then put 1 tsp of the chevre on each oyster. Top with the rest of the crumbs. Slide under the broiler until the cheese begins to soften and brown just a bit — 1-3 minutes. In a wide bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice and herbs. Toss lettuce with the dressing and add a pinch of salt. Plate the baked oysters, the raw oysters and the salad, pour your bubbly. Cheers! 

Slow Days: Cornmeal Pancakes

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People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the FastDiet Forum which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

Dear Husband’s father was the breakfast-maker in the family. Sunday was the day for something special: waffles and an array of pancakes would appear in rotation. Interestingly, Dear Husband and his brothers all assumed the mantle of breakfast-maker, much to the delight of their wives. The first time Dear Husband ever invited me over for a meal, it was for a dinner of pancakes: thin pancakes made from yellow cornmeal. Since my mother’s Sunday breakfasts were often based on Bisquick, griddle cakes of cornmeal — made from scratch — were a revelation. Over the years, Dear Husband has refined the ancestral recipe, moving from the family’s hand-written copy to one by Marion Cunningham in Breakfast Cookbook. This is his adapted recipe for Cornmeal Pancakes.

This recipe yields 12-14 pancakes.
½ c yellow cornmeal ½ c boiling waterPut cornmeal into a 1-Qt measuring cup and pour the water over it. Stir briskly until blended.
1 egg, beaten ½ c milkIn a small bowl, beat the egg and add the milk. Stir/whisk to combine.
¼ c/ 4 Tbsp butterMelt the butter and add to the cornmeal-water along with the egg-milk. Whisk thoroughly until blended and smooth. 
½ c white flour
½ tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar 1 Tbsp baking powder		Whisk or sift these together to blend.
Add to the wet ingredients and beat until smooth.
Let sit while the griddle heats.
Heat griddle to medium-high. Spray it with non-stick spray or smear the griddle with a bit of butter.
Optional: 1 Tbsp blueberries, fresh or frozen [unthawed] per pancake, Use 3-4 Tbsp batter per pancake. Cook until bubbles form on the top surface of the pancake and break. Then cook on other side. Optional: sprinkle blueberries on the pancake while the bottom cooks.***
Serve hot with maple syrup and sausage or bacon.

***Some recipes say to stir the blueberries into the batter and then cook them. The problem with this is that the blueberries break and turn the pancake batter to an unfortunate shade of grey. Then, too, the pancakes can be individualized for those who don’t like blueberries.

Cem

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

On February 3, 1451, Mehmet II, called the Conquerer, was crowned Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. This is the start of a tale in my family, involving palace intrigue, star-crossed lovers, and wars of religion. Mehmet had two sons and each was given a governorship in his empire. Some advisors in the government had the understanding that the younger brother, Cem Sultan, was the favorite and heir to the throne. When Mehmet died, various courtiers schemed for Cem to rule while others worked for his half-brother Bayezid Sultan. Both had armies and backers, but Cem lost and fled to the protection of Christian knights in Greece. With the hope of trading the prince for concessions in Jerusalem or Istanbul, the knights held Cem hostage and shipped him to France for safe-keeping. He was treated well, according to his noble rank, circulated among society, and nicknamed Zizim. Lightning struck when he met the debutante 16-yr old daughter of a local lord. Philippine de Sassanage was a woman of such remarkable beauty that all the young men wooed her, including Cem. According to family lore, their relationship resulted in a pregnancy. Of course her parents would not permit her to marry a Muslim, so Phillippine was married to another man. [Zizim was moved to Italy.] She named her son Arnulf le Turque, later called le Turk or de Turk. Arnulf did well for himself and his family prospered. His son became mayor of Nimes, but his grandson’s family became Huguenots, followers of the Protestant Calvin, and they removed to the Rhineland. Eventually, following the invitation by Queen Anne to move to North America, the family moved to New York Colony, then to Pennsylvania Colony. There de Turks married a de Harcourt [my family] and also married with the Berthelots [my family]. Thus it is that I am descended from a Turkish Prince. What became of Zizim? In Italy he was a big hit, due to his good looks and exotic background. He was immortalized by artists and joined the retinue of Charles VIII of France in an offensive against Naples. He died in 1495 [pneumonia? stomach flu? poisoning?] and was buried in Turkey with full honors.

Our foods are Turkish, as befits our topic. The breakfast is remarkably good, but then so is the dinner! For both, you will need Gozleme Bread, the recipe for which you will find below. It works well to prepare the dough the night before, then wrap it to keep it fresh. For the breakfast, use 1.6 oz of the dough per serving, roll it out and cook it to go with the breakfast. Save the rest of the dough, uncooked and wrapped well to prevent drying out, to use later in the day to prepare the dinner. That will work very well.

Cilbir:  137 calories 5 g fat 1 g fiber 11.4 g protein 11.6 g carbs 194 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the meal only, not the optional beverages. This is a very popular breakfast in Turkey and once you taste it, you will see why. Usually I distain a runny egg, but I made an exception for this delicious breakfast. What flavor! [it is pronounced ‘chil-bir’]

1 two-oz eggsPoach 3 minutes in simmering water and remove.
¼ cup plain yogurt
½ Tbsp fresh or 1 tsp dried dill
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/8 tsp salt & pinch black pepper 1/8 tsp paprika		Combine yogurt and seasonings and spread it equally in a shallow bowl or soup plate. TIP: I did this the night before and left it covered on the counter to blend the flavors and so the yogurt wouldn’t be too cold. NB: I also prepared the gozlema bread the night before.
¼ tsp Pul biber OR ¼ tsp Aleppo pepper 1.6 oz gozleme** bread or pide bread Serve the eggs on top of the yogurt and sprinkle the pepper over the egg. Add bread to the bowl.
Optional hot beverageblackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water 
Optional cold beverageOptional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [88 calories]

**Gozlema Bread makes six 1.6 oz flat-breads or use larger amounts of dough for filled Gozlemas  1 of 6 sv = 26 calories 0 g fat 1 g fiber 1.4 g protein 5 g carbs 20 mg Calcium

1¼ c white whole wheat flour ½ tsp saltMix in a 1-Qt-sized bowl. 
¼ c water ¼ c plain yogurtCombine yogurt/water and stir into the flour until well-combined. Add a bit more water if too dry.
On a floured surface, knead ~3 mins, until smooth and elastic. Cover and let sit for a few mins on the counter OR overnight in a cool place.
Divide into sizes for your recipe. Roll on a floured surface into flat breads. Cook on an oil-sprayed skillet 3-4 mins per side until turning brown in spots.

Lamb Gozleme: 200 calories 9 g fat 3 g fiber 10.5 g protein 22 g carbs 101 mg Calcium  PB This Turkish dish is just the thing when you want something deliciously different. HINT: Serves 2 [two]. The other portion would be a fine lunch on a Slow Day. The recipe doubles easily. The directions are for two large triangles of gozleme. If you prefer, cut the dough into four portions and procede accordingly.

1¼ c flour + ½ tsp salt ¼ c water ¼ c plain yogurtDOUGH: Mix flour + salt in large bowl. Combine yogurt/water and stir in until well-mixed. Add a bit more water if too dry. On a floured surface, knead ~3 mins, until smooth and elastic. Cover and let sit.
½ tsp Olive Oil 1 cup onion 1 clove garlic
¼ pound/~ ¾ c. ground lamb		Chop the onion and mince the garlic. Mince the lamb. Saute onion in oil over medium heat 3-4 minsuntil onion is soft. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.Add lamb and cook while breaking up into chunks for ~5 minutes.= LAMB MIXTURE, beginning
1 tsp tom puree
½ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp pepper + ¼ tsp salt ½ tsp paprika 1 tsp ground cumin
3 oz fresh spinach		Chop the spinach.Add tomato puree and spices to the pan.Add spinach. Cook and stir for a few minutes.Set aside to cool for a bit.Divide into 2 [or 4] bowls.= LAMB MIXTURE, completed
¼ c fresh mint leaves 1 scallion, sliced ¼ c fresh parsley
¼ c feta
½ c tomato		Chop the mint and parsley. Slice the scallion into ¼-inch pieces. Cube or crumble the feta. Dice the tomato. Divide these ingredients between 2 [or 4] bowls – not same as above. = FRESH INGREDIENTS
Divide dough in 2 [or 4] parts. Roll dough into 9 or 10” squares [or 5” squares]. Spread ¼ c. [or 1/8 c.] of lamb mixture over each. Top with fresh ingredients. Fold over dough to form a triangle and crimp edges to seal.
olives
Lemon wedges		Spray a large skillet/griddle with non-stick spray. Cook 3-4 mins/side until golden brown and crisp. Cut each large piece in half and serve with olives and lemons for squeezing.

Ingredients for next week: Breakfast, single portion for Monday …………………………… single portion for Thursday:

1 two-oz eggreduced-fat cottage cheese
reduced fat ricotta cheesefat-free French Vanilla yogurt
peach + blackberries + mushroomsclementine
watercress sauceblack currants or blueberries
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

Dinner, single portion for Monday:………………………….. single portion for Thursday:

9 raw East Coast oysters, if serving one chicken breast meat, cooked + carrots
chèvre cheese + saltine crackersrich chicken broth
lettuce + olive oil + fresh herbscelery + parsnips
flavored vinegarwide egg noodles + parsley
Sparkling wine, 5 oz per personSparkling water

Zane Grey

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to hamzeh5479 who is now Following.

Pearl is not usually a name for a male child, but that is what Josephine Alice Zane Grey named her son. It is said that she liked the ‘pearl grey’ color of Queen Victoria’s wedding gown. Small wonder that the boy preferred his middle name, Zane. The Zane family had been ‘pioneers’ in the American West in the 1800s — that’s when the ‘West’ meant the Ohio Territory. Young Pearl loved tales of his ancestors’ exploits in founding Zanesville, Ohio. The boy was supposed to become a dentist like his father and was sent to the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship. Reluctantly, Grey became a dentist. Part time, he became a semi-pro baseball player. Full time, he yearned to be a printed author. His father tried to bully him into abandoning writing, but Grey persevered. He moved to New York to set up a dental practice and to have access to publishers. His wife, Dolly Roth, supported him — using her inheritance to pay the bills and editing his work. A few hunting trips to Arizona gave Grey an enduring love of the Western landscape, people, and culture. Despite many publishers’ rejections, he penned The Heritage of the Desert in 1910, and it was a hit. Riders of the Purple Sage followed in 1912, and his career was launched. Of the 89 books he published, 56 were about the Old West. With wealth assured, Grey could pursue his other passion: fishing. [OK, his third passion was for women, which his wife tolerated.] He fished all around the world, fresh water and salt water. Being out in nature helped him to deal with his bouts of depression, he said. Five film versions were made of Riders of the Purple Sage and his work inspired the television series called Zane Grey Theater. Thanks to Pearl Zane Gray the entire literary and cinematic genre of ‘Westerns’ captured the public imagination — then and still today.

Of course there must be some sort of ‘western’ food for Zane Grey’s birthday on January 31, so we will have eggs inspired by a ‘Western Sandwich.’ For dinner, a meal that the author would have relished: pan-fried trout.

Western Bake: 270 calories 5.4 g fat 4 g fiber 12.4 g protein 45 g carbs [43.7 g Complex Carbs] 199 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF  My father taught me to love a good Western Sandwich. Thus it seemed natural to incorporate that flavor combination in a breakfast. And its a winner.

1 two-oz egg 1 oz green pepper 2 tsp ketchup 1 oz onions 2 oz pear  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water   Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories]

Chop the pepper and onions and cook: either in the microwave or by poaching in water. Drain and combine with the ketchup. Whisk with the eggs, salt and pepper to taste. Spritz an oven-proof ramekin or other dish with non-stick spray. Pour in the egg mixture and bake at 350 F. for 12-15 minutes. Plate the fruit and pour the beverages. Yee-haaw, that’s a breakfast!

Trout with Hazelnuts: 267 calories 18 g fat 3 g fiber 21 g protein 6 g carbs 75 mg Calcium  PB GF From Savoie, France comes this recipe, via Anne Willem’s French Regional Cooking  Hannibal is supposed to have dined on local trout as he crossed the Alps with his elephants. Very easy to prepare [the trout, not the elephants] and absolutely delicious. 

3 oz trout 1 tsp butter ½ oz hazelnuts 2 oz French green beans [haricots]

Bone the fish and trim off the fins. Cut the fish in half to create two fillets. TIP: if serving one person, wrap one of the fillets in cling film, put it in a plastic bag and freeze it for another day. Chop the nuts so that there are some halves and the rest are in large pieces. Start cooking the beans. Heat a heavy saute pan and spray with non-stick spray. Put in the trout and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Slowly cook the trout on one side for about 3 minutes. Turn the fish over. Add the butter to the pan along with the nuts. Continue cooking everything slowly until the fish is done, roughly another 3 minutes. Drain and season the beans, plate them with the trout, and top the fish with the nuts in butter. Enjoy your culinary visit to the French Alps.

Plumbing

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

Let’s talk about plumbing: the industry that has grown up around the bathroom and your plumbing. In ancient Greece, ‘using the toilet’ was a public event. There were stone benches with 7 or 8 holes spaced along its length. Underneath the bench, a rivulet of water in a trench carried away the waste. People of the Minoan civilization on the Island of Crete had invented the flush toilet around 2000 BCE, but that relied on water flowing from higher up hill, not feasible in flatter landscapes. Romans used the Greek system of benches-and-trenches, as one can see at Roman forts around the old empire. Most people used a simpler method: a hole in the ground, with a log across it to sit upon. [Boy Scouts use this system when they set up camp.] ‘Indoor plumbing’ consisted of chamber pots, which were then dumped in the street. Towns and cities had streams of sewage running down the middle of streets well into the 1800s. The Industrial Revolution brought lots of people into close quarters in cities, often with many families sharing one latrine. Communal wells were sometimes contaminated with human feces, leading to outbreaks of typhoid fever and cholera. Eventually, in the 1800s, cities like Paris developed sewage systems. But still there were not many indoor toilets. Thomas Crapper, an ambitious English plumber, began to change things. His innovations include the trap under the sink or toilet to prevent sewage smells from coming into the house; the man-hole cover; improvements to the ball-cock that regulates water in the tank; and, best of all, the design show-room which made people want to upgrade “the facilities”. He did NOT invent the flush toilet. When Yanks went to England for WWI, with the word ‘c**p’ already in their vocabulary, they thought it hilarious that toilets were labeled “T. Crapper” for the company that made them. Thus, calling a toilet ‘the crapper’ came into the parlance, and real indoor plumbing came into vogue.

Many people who start a diet eliminate fiber in the diet and that makes it difficult for them to eliminate waste. [yes, that was a play on words] In the Fast Diet, a well-balanced diet is encouraged. January 27 is the anniversary of Thomas Crapper’s death in 1910. We will put fiber in our diet with broccoli in the breakfast and whole-wheat dough for our pizza at dinner. The Mayo Clinic says that women should have at least 21 grams of fiber daily, and men should have at least 30 grams.

Korma-Broccoli Bake: 130 calories 8 g fat 4 g fiber 8 g protein 9 g carbs 62.5 mg Calcium   NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PG GF   The combination of curry and vegetables is terrific in eggs. See if you agree. 

One 2-oz egg 1 oz cooked broccoli ½ oz korma sauce [52 calories/ounce] 2 oz strawberries

Chop the cooked broccoli and place in an oven-proof dish which has been spritzed with non-stick spray. Whisk the curry sauce with the eggs and pour over the brocccoli. Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes. Plate with the fruit and have a great day.

Cep Pizza:  274 calories 6.4 g fat 7 g fiber 10 g protein 42 g carbs 109 mg Calcium   PB  Pizza on a Fast Day?? With a real crust?!? Yes. And it is made with delicious cep mushrooms with dried ham and Parmesan for a feast of rich flavors.  HINT: This one 8” pizza serves 2 [two] people.

Six slices of pizza to serve two people. Here you see one side salad, enough for one.

6-oz whole wheat pizza crust, at room temperature 1 oz cep/porcini mushroom, chopped ½ oz cooked spinach, chopped 3 Tbsp/1/5 fl oz crushed tomatoes 2 Tbsp parsley, chopped 1/3 oz proscuitto, chopped 4 tsp grated Parmesan   per person: one side salad with beets and cucumbers 

Heat the oven to 490F. Have one rack in the middle and one rack at the bottom position in the oven. Brush a baking sheet with enough olive oil to cover an area 8 inches in diameter. Press and stretch the pizza dough into an 8” round on the oiled baking sheet. If the dough won’t cooperate, let it rest for 2 minutes. Combine the spinach, tomatoes, and parsley, and spread the mixture on the pizza crust. Top that with the chopped mushrooms and meat, then sprinkle with Parmesan. Place the pizza on the baking sheet in the oven for 3-4 minutes. Time to prepare the salad. Now open the oven and see if you can lift the pizza off the pan with a turner. If the pizza is too floppy, return it to the oven for another minute or so. When the pizza is baked enough not to be floppy, take it off the baking sheet and put it on the lower rack, with no pan at all.  Continue to bake another 3 minutes, until the top begins to bubble. Remove the pizza to a rack to cool and ‘out-gas.’ It must be on a rack, not the cutting board or counter or plate. Remove the pizza to a cutting board and cut into 6 pieces. On each of two plates, place the salad and 3 pieces of pizza. A bit of Pizza Heaven on a Fast Day.

Ingredients for next week: Breakfast, single portion for Monday …………………………… single portion for Thursday:

1 two-oz egg1 two-oz egg + plain fat-free yogurt 
green bell pepperdill weed + garlic + paprika
catsupgozlema bread: white whole wheat flour
onion plain fat-free yogurt
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

Dinner, single portion for Monday:………………………….. single portion for Thursday:

half of a trout per servingolive oil + onion + garlic + ground lamb
buttertomato puree + gr. coriander + paprika + gr. cumin
hazelnuts/filbertsfresh spinach + mint leaves + scallion + parsley
haricots or green beans feta cheese + tomato + olives + gozlema bread
Sparkling waterSparkling water

Edith Jones Wharton, writer

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to Blunt Pathways who is now Following.

Edith Newbold Jones was born on January 24, 1862, with not just ‘a silver spoon in her mouth‘ but an entire set of spoons. You know the expression ‘keeping up with the Joneses’? Some say that Edith’s family literally were the Joneses that everyone wanted to emulate. Or not. Wealth permitted little Edith to travel often to Europe with her governess, soaking up languages while soaking in the milieu. Young Edith loved best to read and to write, two traits that were incompatible with society’s ideas of making a ‘suitable marriage.’ Finally, at age 23, she married Teddy Wharton, so wealthy that he never had to work or apply himself to much of anything. Including his marriage. Okay, neither of them was working hard at the relationship. Married for 28 years, the couple grew farther and farther apart, while Edith developed many [psychosomatic?] ailments and Teddy became increasingly mentally unstable [for real]. Edith began to write and to be published: poetry first, then short stories, then her breakthrough novel House of Mirth in 1905. Many novels followed, all treating the same themes: dysfunctional marriages; young women in high society trying to get married; high society and the nouveau-riche who tried to enter it; Americans traveling in Europe. Throughout, Wharton had a keen eye for the foibles of her class, which made her suspect. Eventually, she moved permanently to France. Her work with refugee children during World War I earned her accolades from the French government. Her novels earned her a Pulitzer Prize and a life-time income. She is one of my all-time favorite authors.

For Edith Wharton’s love of all things Italian, a frittata for breakfast. For her novel Summer, written in 1917, a meal with ‘summer’ in the name and in the ingredients. Curl up with a good book by Edith Jones Wharton today and transport yourself to the Guilded Age.

Spinach Frittata: 131 calories 7 g fat 2 g fiber 11 g protein 6.6 g carbs [5 g Complex] 127 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg bake and fruit only, not the optional beverages.  PB GF  Whether it is breakfast or dinner, Spinach Fritatta checks off all the boxes.

1 two-oz egg 1 Tbsp cottage cheese 3 Tbsp spinach, cooked, squeezed and chopped 1/8 oz/ 2 Tbsp chopped scallions, white or green parts ¼ oz Manchego OR Cheddar cheese, grated dash of grated nutmeg dash of granulated garlic 2 oz strawberries  Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water   Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories]

Cook the spinach, drain it, and squeeze it in your hands to remove excess water.  [TIP: save the drained water for cooking vegetables or pasta] Chop the spinach and mix with scallions, both cheeses, nutmeg, and garlic. Lightly spray a baking dish with oil or non-stick spray. Pour the vegetable-cheese mixture into the dish and arrange so it is evenly distributed. Whisk the egg and pour over the mixture. Bake at 350F for 15 minutes. Plate with the berries and pour the beverages.

Summertime Pasta: 234 calories 10.6 g fat 6 g fiber 9 g protein 27.5 g carbs 126 mg Calcium  PB  This excellent recipe is from Fast Food My Way  by Jacques Pepin. It is indeed fast to prepare, and after a few alterations, it is fit for a Fast Day too. Excellent as it is, but if you want to add more protein, put in ¼ cup of shredded cooked chicken breast.  HINT: The recipe as written serves two [2] persons.

Sv 2 
3 oz diced tomatoes
¾ c diced zucchini
1 oz snow peas or sugar snaps
1 oz diced mushrooms ½ tsp salt & black pepper
3 Tbsp EVOO		Mix everything in a microwavable glass bowl.
2 oz whole wheat pasta shells
1 qt water & salt		20 minutes before serving, bring the water and salt to a boil. Add the pasta and cook about 7 minutes until al dente. Drain.
Microwave vegetables 2 mins or longer until they are lukewarm.
¼ c ParmesanCombine drained pasta with warm vegetables, then stir in the cheese.
Fresh basil + edible flowersPlate and top with basil and edible flowers if you have them.

St Sebastian

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

When I was a child, my grandmother’s neighbor had a very Victorian living room. On a pedestal in the corner was a statue of a writhing man, tied to a pillar and studded with arrows. My sister and I couldn’t take our eyes off of it, which worried our mother. It was, of course, Saint Sebastian. His plight was a popular topic for artists. Born in Narbonne, France, his legend says that he joined the Roman Army so he could help Christians who were being persecuted for their faith. When he was discovered doing that, he was shot full of arrows — but he survived, nursed back to health by Saint Irene. When he continued to defy the Romans, he was at last killed for real and not with arrows. The earliest mention of him as a martyr is in 350 CE, only 62 years after his death. Sebastian in art proliferated in the 14th century for several reasons. a] depicting him was an approved way for artists to sculpt or paint the nude male body; b] his recovery from near-death was considered encouraging for Plague victims; c] art-buying patrons became interested in Greek and Roman art which was full of nudes; d] since people didn’t see much nudity, they flocked to see St Sebastian — so much so that in 1592, the Pope cracked down on nudity in art, including poor Sebastian. [One painting of him was said to cause women to sin and men to get certain ideas which the Church frowned upon.] Maybe Sebastian is due for a make-over and revival.

Since the saint was born in southern France, home of Roquefort cheese, our breakfast features bleu cheese. Since Sebastian died pierced with arrows, we will be perverse and eat kabobs for dinner. His Feast Day is January 20.

Bleu Cheese ScrOmelette: 166 calories 10.5 g fat 0.6 g fiber  13 g protein 7 g carbs [5 g Complex] 106 mg Calcium  NB: Food values shown are for the ScrOmelette and fruit only, and do not include the optional beverages.  GF PB  Bleu cheese is delightful in eggs – do try it this week.

1½ two-oz eggs  HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week.   3/8 oz bleu cheese 1 Tbsp fat-free cottage cheese 3 oz applesauce, unsweetened   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or lemon in hot water   Optional: 3 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie [44 calories]

Mash the cheeses together with a fork or the back of a spoon. Whisk the eggs and put into a hot pan spritzed with cooking spray. Once the bottom of the eggs are set, dab on the cheese, fold and plate. Portion the applesauce, brew beverage, blend the smoothie or take it from the ‘fridge and shake it before serving. Mmm-yummy!

Lamb Kabobs: 227 calories 6 g fat 5 g fiber 22 g protein 31.4 g Carbs 41 mg Calcium   PB GF  This is so easy and so perfect for summer. It can be prepared in the cold of winter, if you need some summer thoughts and memories

3 oz lamb leg in cubes 1 Tbsp tomato juice OR water granulated garlic + crumbled rosemary 1.5 oz red bell pepper, in 1½” chunks 1.5 oz zucchini, sliced ¾” thick, then cut in quarters 1 oz red onion, cut in chunks ¾ cup Corn-Tomato Salsa***  

***Corn-Tomato Salsa  1.5 cups 1 cup corn kernels 1 cup diced tomato 2 Tbsp minced red bell pepper 2 Tbsp diced red onion 2 Tbsp cider vinegar 1/8 tsp dry mustard 1/8 tsp turmeric ¼ tsp sugar 2 dashes ground cumin 

Combine the tomato juice, garlic, and rosemary with the lamb. Stir to coat and set aside to marinate for 30-60 minutes. Prepare the vegetables and Corn Salsa while the meat sits. Impale the vegetables and lamb chunks on skewers, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a grill pan [indoors] or an outdoor grill and cook the kabobs on all sides. The meat will brown and the vegetables will begin to char a bit. Plate with the salsa for a very colorful meal.

Ingredients for next week: Breakfast, single portion for Monday …………………………… single portion for Thursday:

1 two-oz egg + cooked spinach1 two-oz eggs 
cottage cheese + scallion + nutmegkorma curry sauce
Manchego or Cheddar cheese broccoli
garlic powder + strawberriesstrawberries
Optional smoothieoptional smoothie
optional hot beverageoptional hot beverage

Dinner, single portion for Monday:………………………….. single portion for Thursday:

Tomatoes + zucchini + Parmesan 6 oz whole wheat pizza dough, homemade or purchased
snow peas or sugar snap peascepe mushrooms, fresh or reconstituted + Parmesan
olive oil + white mushroomscooked spinach + crushed tomatoes
whole wheat small pasta shellsprosciutto + parsley + side salad with beets & cukes
Sparkling waterSparkling water

The Cherry Orchard

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How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier.

The Cherry Orchard, the last play by Anton Chekhov, had its debut in 1904 on his birthday January 17. He called the play a comedy, viewers often see it as a drama, but in its heart it is an allegory of the times in which he lived. In brief, the play centers around a land-owning lady who returns to her childhood home. There she had lived with her husband, raised their children, and suffered the death of her husband and son. Due to her inability to manage money, she and her family are on the edge of bankruptcy. A solution might be to cut down the family’s large cherry orchard and sell off lots for summer cottages, but the family will not hear of it. By the end of the play, the land has been sold, the family leaves their home forever, and the cherry trees are being cut down as the curtain falls. Why a play about this silly woman and her trees? The story takes place in post-feudal Russia. The serfs have been freed and can become upwardly mobile — like the business man who buys the land. In pre-Revolution Russia, there was a clash of old ideas [privileged aristocrats exiting Stage Left] and new ideas about individual rights [enter Marx and Lenin Stage Right]. The orchard represents class differences: for the serfs it means hours of labor to prune the trees, to harvest and process the fruit; for the upper-class it is a lovely place to picnic and enjoy because of the work of others. The orchard represents a land-based, old-world economy, cutting it down paves the way for modern ‘Western’ ways of life. The audience got the point and the play has been popular with audiences ever since.

Our meals today are typically Russian, and yes, there are cherries. Blinis lead the way in Act I. And a very typical cabbage soup for the serfs stars in Act II. For everyone, a recipe for Russian-style tea — not the ersatz version from the 1960s, but the genuine article.

Buckwheat Blini Breakfast: 213 calories 5 g fat 3 g fiber 9 g protein 31 g carbs 67.6 mg Calcium NB: The food values shown are for the plated items only, not for the optional beverages. Blini are associated with Russia and caviar. Here they appear in more humble company at breakfast. Sour Cherry Syrup  is just the thing to top them, though cherry jelly thinned with water would be good too. Russians would serve this with strong black tea, sweetened with honey, and garnished with a slice of lemon, called Zavarka.

2 buckwheat blini** 1 oz ham 1 Tbsp/ ½ fl oz Sour Cherry Syrup Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or black tea with honey + lemon or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] or Zavarka++ [21-64 calories]

If previously-made, warm the blini and roll them. Warm and roll the ham, too. Plate them all and lash with the syrup. A simple and tasty meal.

**BUCKWHEAT BLINI:  one batch yields 16 six-inch pancakes, ~1 oz each each = 72 calories 2 g fat 1.6 g fiber 2 g protein 10 g carbs 30 mg Calcium 

1¼ c skim milk ½ c all-purpose flour ½ c white whole wheat flour ½ c buckwheat flour ¾ tsp dry yeast 1 tsp salt 2 two-oz eggs 2 Tbsp butter 3-4 Tbsp water

Heat the milk until warm to the touch. Whisk together the flours, yeast, and salt. Melt butter and let cool a bit. Mix with the warm milk, then whisk in the eggs. Combine wet and dry ingredients until no lumps remain. Let rest 90 minutes on the counter or 12 hrs in a cool place. After the resting, stir the batter and heat a well-seasoned or non-stick skillet. Spritz with non-stick spray, then wipe with a bit of paper towel. To make 6” diameter blini, I used a 3 Tbsp scoop. The batter is thicker than crepe-batter, but thinner than most pancake-batter. It begins to cook as soon as it hits the pan, so tip/rotate the pan with one hand as you add batter with the other. Then use a scraper to nudge the batter over the edges. Cook on one side, as holes form on the top. Then turn and cook on the other side.  TIP: they freeze well

++Russian Tea, Zavarka: with 1 tsp honey = 21 calories 0g fat, fiber, protein 5.5 g carbs 0.3 mg Calcium with 1 Tbsp honey = 64 calories 0g fat, fiber, protein 16.5 g carbs 1 mg Calcium

1-2 cups of teaRecipe from  Peter Kolesnichenko
4-5 heaping tsp loose leaf tea1 cup boiling hot water Put tea into a small tea pot and add water. Let steep 10+ mins, ensuring all tea leaves have sunk to the bottom.
boiling water for tea = kipyatok (кипяток)Pour some tea concentrate into a cup, then fill the cup with boiling water. Adjust amounts, depending on your preferrence.
1-2 tsp honey per cup lemon slice per cupAdd honey and a lemon slice. Keep topping up zavarka with hot water and enjoy drinking real Russian Tea.

Shchi – Russian Cabbage Soup: 280 calories 4 g fat 4.6 g fiber 8 g protein 45 g carbs 37.5 mg Calcium  PB GF- if using GF bread or omitting. This hearty soup can be made with beef and beef stock or with chicken stock or vegetable stock. For Russians, it is the taste of Rodina, the Mother Land.  HINT: This recipe makes enough for four [4] servings.  Recipe author Julia Frey says that this soup ‘will give you the energy you need in the dead of winter.’ [ the name of the soup is pronounced like the word ‘she.’]

4-5 one cup servings
½ of an onion  1 carrot 
1 bay leaf 3-4 whole peppercorns a pinch of salt 1 L./4 c chicken stock 		Cut carrot in 3-4 pieces. Combine all the ingredients for the broth and cook 1½ hrs. If using beef: add 1/3 pound stew beef and water. After cooking, remove beef with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Strain broth through a fine sieve to clear it. Discard vegetables and spices. OR use 1 qts quality Brown Stock or Chicken Stock. I used chicken stock, simmered for 30 mins with these ingredients to give the stock a richer flavor. I did not add meat.
7 oz potatoPeel potato, cut in 1/2″ chunks. In a soup pot, put broth, beef and potatoes and bring to a boil.
3/4 cup shredded carrot ½ cup onion 1½ tsp butterShred the carrot and chop the onion.
Saute carrots and onions with butter over low heat until tender and the onions translucent, ~10 mins.
1 cup cabbage, chopped When soup boils, add cabbage and vegetables, [and beef if using] cook  5 mins and turn heat off. Do not to overcook the vegetables! 
2 Tbsp parsley, fresh 1 tsp dill, dried salt and pepper Chop parsley. Add herbs, salt, and pepper to taste. 
As always, soup tastes better if you prepare it ahead of time and let it sit for a few hours or overnight.
2 tsp whipped cream cheese
1 oz sourdough rye bread 		Serve each bowl with a dollop of cream and the optional bread.

Slow Days: Favorite Birthday Cake  

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INTRO: People who are new to Fasting often pose the questions: “Can I really eat ‘anything I want’ on a Slow Day?” and “What should I eat on Slow Days?” To answer those questions, I have decided to add some blog posts to show some of the foods we eat on what the world calls NFDs [non-fast days] but which, in our house, we call ‘Slow Days.’ This feature will appear sporadically. 

Now for the answers. Can you really eat ANYTHING you want on a Slow Day? Not really. If you eat too many calories every Slow Day, you will not lose weight. There are many questions asked on the FastDiet Forum https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/ which attest to that. Once in a while you can splurge, as long as it isn’t everyday. For what to eat on Slow Days, Dr. Mosley recommends a Mediterranean Diet. As for how we eat, an example follows.

When I was a child, the birthday cake that my mother always made for us was an angel food cake: white and towering, sweet, and fluffy, decorated with Royal Frosting. It was my ‘gold standard’ for birthday cake, even if it was made from a boxed mix. When Dear Husband took over the job of providing birthday cakes, he wanted to cook his dream cake: yellow layers with chocolate icing. For years the Darling Sons and Dear Husband made a series of layer cakes. Dear Husband had never made a sponge cake and was a bit spooked by the prospect. At last, I said, “I’d like this cake for my birthday — a hot water sponge cake from Fannie Farmer’s Cookbook.” He said, “OK, but with a chocolate ganache icing.” So we set to work to make it happen.

The mise en place, for a one-half version of the recipe

Hot Water Sponge Cake for a 9” springform pan. From Fannie Farmer Cookbook.

Heat oven to 350F. Have an ungreased 9” springform pan.
1 cup pastry/cake flour
1¼ tsp baking powder
few grains salt		Sift together and set aside.
2 egg whitesBeat into soft peaks
¼ c sugarBeat gradually into the egg whites and set aside.
2 egg yolks
¼ c hot water
½ tsp vanilla		Whisk the yolks. Add the water and vanilla, and beat until thick. The heat will cook the yolks a bit.
½ c sugarBeat into the eggs.

Now you have three bowls containing different components of the cake.

Pour the yolks over the whites and fold until blended.
Fold in the flour until blended.
Gently scrape batter into the unbuttered pan. Bake 20-30 mins. Cool cake in pan.

For whatever reason, the first time we prepared it, the cake turned out with a sunken center. Time to turn lemons into lemonade — or in this case, lemon curd. Determined to fill in that divot, I spooned some lemon curd [from a jar] into the center, pretending that it was part of the original plan.

Baked, cooled cake Remove the wrap-around part of the pan from the cake, but leave the cake on the metal plate that is underneath it. Place on a rack over a larger plate.
Lemon curdIf there is a low spot in the center of the cake, spoon in enough curd to fill it completely. If there is no low spot, top the cake with a thin, even layer of curd.

Then we made a Chocolate-Cream Ganache Glaze from the Cake Bible by Rose Levy Biranbaum.

3 oz bittersweet chocolate Break or chop or process into very small pieces. Put into a heat-proof bowl.
1 c. heavy creamPut into a saucepan and heat until starting to boil.
Pour ¾ c of cream over the chocolate, cover, and let sit 5 mins. Chocolate should melt. If it doesn’t or ganache is too thick, add more hot cream, tablespoon by tablespoon, and stir.

Pour the glaze over the center of the cake, guiding it a bit so that it covers the top and runs down the sides. Smooth any rough spots with a knife and place on a serving plate.

Here is a full recipe of the cake: on the cake stand, ready to be served to friends with Champagne at my birthday party.
You can see the lemon curd under the ganache. A marvelous contrast of flavors and textures.

After he sampled it, Dear Husband said, “I want this for my birthday too!” So we repeated it a month later. It is now our traditional favorite birthday cake. I hope you will like it too.