Taco Meat

Not on this last vacation, but a few weeks ago we went to my parents' house and visited our family farm.



We have a small herd of Longhorns, and they are delicious! Here is my Uncle Jay being the Bull Whisperer.



We were able to get pretty close, and we drove up in trucks and got out and walked around a little, with the kids on the back/roof of the truck. Not all the Longhorns are agressive, but they can inadvertently cause some damage just turning their heads around.




Here's the origin of the post title, if you haven't seen it yet.

Dell Inventors Awards Banquet

Monday night was the Dell Inventors Awards Banquet. It's for everyone who has had at least one invention/patent disclosure make it through the (Engineering) Patent Committee to get submitted to the US Patent Office.



This was my third Inventors Banquet. This year it was at the Renaissance Hotel in the Arboretum, and everyone gathered in the atrium (360degree Java image) for cocktails and mingling. We've started our diets again, so I was bummed at the idea of not taking them up on free wine, but eventually we had some (hey - we've been really good!).

Michael Dell gave an opening speech about innovation, simplification and the contribution to Dell from patent submitters. We unknowingly sat two tables away from him, who was spirited away when I wasn't looking.




After The Big Dog spoke there was a mad rush to the buffet. Salads included Caesar and some kind of Thai salad. Moving up, there was some sort of pasta area that we skipped. Next came the meat of the dinner...the meat. Moroccan chicken with some sort of great curry dusting, some kind of roast, and Halibut steaks...all very good. We said no to the rolls and desserts, but of course said yes to coffee.

During the dinner our Chief Technology Officer (my manager's manager's manager) talked more about our patents, future trends, actual crazy patents and gave awards, alongside our patent counsel.

The event was semi-formal, and we'll take any opportunity to dress up when we're out of the town sans bambinos. After some last minute changes (new purchases) to our wardrobe before leaving the house we were a pretty good match.

Experiments with chocolate are always good

So we're on this diet and it's working, but the dessert choices are fairly limited in the beginning. One of the choices in the second phase is Pistachio Bark, which is roasted pistachios in melted semi-sweet chocolate, and you break off sections. It's really good.

I bought some Mexican chocolate which is infused with cinnamon, and I've been trying to duplicate a Mexican mocha coffee drink from an Austin coffeehouse. I figured why not mix things up a bit and try the Mexican chocolate with the pistachios, right?

Eh, not so much.

We started out melting the chocolate in a double boiler and roasting the pistachios in a cast iron skillet.



The chocolate is pretty grainy, so it didn't melt into liquid, per se, like the baking chocolate bark does.



After pouring some soy milk in it looked a lot better and creamier.



All you do after that is pour the pistachios in the chocolate, mix and spread out on wax paper. It needs to harden in the refrigerator for at least an hour, but then you (and the bark) are set.



When we use regular baking chocolate, or even semi-sweet chocolate chips, it turns out really delicious, but the Mexican chocolate never totally set, so even after a day in the refrigerator it was malleable. It didn't taste like what we expected either...not bad, but not what we were used to eating. We finally abandoned the idea and have gone back to the baking chocolate.

I've Switched to Decaf, and other signs the apocalypse is upon us

I know it sounds bad, but let me explain.

Someone in our family was diagnosed with what may become prediabetes. Note - it's not prediabetes, but symptoms are exhibited that could escalate, at some point in the future. We are trying to act proactively, so we started...wait for it...the South Beach Diet. One of the symptoms the book mentions is localized fat around the midsection (based on our ancestors' feast or famine lifestyle necessitating storage of fat while leaving the extremities leaner for escape or whatever), and that's something with which I've been struggling.

I've thought the South Beach Diet was a fad, or something ridiculous like Atkins. Follow the link above if you want more info, but I've read one of Dr. Agatston's books, and done some research online, so I'm satisfied with the validity.

The basic gist is to reduce bad carbs and bad fats while increasing good carbs and good fats, change eating habits, etc. We are in the first, most strict phase, aptly named Phase 1, which has the most severe reduction of carbs. I'm finding it not too bad, but my wife started out climbing the walls. Of course, this comes from both of us loving to cook, especially bake.

No alcohol of any kind is allowed during Phase 1. Now, I'm not one to get sodded every night, but I enjoy my Guinness. Sometimes I'm even known to enjoy my Schlitz! This wasn't that bad a restriction, but we stopped buying wine for dinner.

The diet recommends reducing caffeine (or eliminating it during Phase 1), since caffeine stimulates the pancrease to produce insulin. It also said that if you are following Phase 1 requirements, one cup (caffeinated) a day probably won't ruin your progress, and if it really makes you feel good, go ahead and do it. My wife and I talked about it, and then I figured if I'm in for a penny I'm in for a pound. Behold: the start of decaf for me.

We started the diet Monday (after a Sunday afternoon at Chuy's! Oh, snap!), and Phase 1 lasts for two weeks, or longer if you want to stay on it. At least for me, the jury is still out on staying on it or entering Phase 2, which is just the gradual, monitored inclusion of some carbs back in to your diet.

What's interesting is that you don't really count calories, or have really restricted portion sizes. You eat until you are full, with three meals and two snacks a day. Of all our meals and snacks, I feel like I'm eating a lot, volume-wise. I don't get that too-full, bloated feeling, and sometimes I feel hungry a little bit after a meal. What I think is happening is that I'm getting the nutrition that I need, but I'm so used to eating carbs and fats that I expect the full feeling, and something must be wrong if I'm hungry after eating a sirloin steak, broccoli and beans.

Don't get me wrong - the temptation is there. I make everyone's lunches, and I am at a point where I could probably destroy a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in one bite.

It's only been a little over three days but I think I can already see a slight change. Some clothes seem to be slightly larger, but I'm not sure yet if this is just my imagination. I'll keep posting on any progress I see.