iscah meal log 052517

 

 

May. 25th, 2017 09:30 am = TENACIOUS THURSDAY! ♥ It's also ASCENSION THURSDAY, which is the BIGGEST and most BEAUTIFUL source of hope & purpose ANYONE could possibly hold on to today!!! ♥ Glory Be!! ♥

Breakfast= a cheese omelette, home-fried potato squares, two turkey sausage links, vanilla soymilk, strawberry Ensure, apple juice, & orange spice tea. Today, I have unfortunate news-- the tea DOESN'T taste like orange! It's heavily bitter, with a hint of "orange rind" to it maybe, but NO fruit taste. So I'm thankful I got to try it, but it's not for me. I drank the apple juice too cold to really re-grasp it today, but I noticed that it had a slight "bitter apple" taste, too? Like when you pick one off a tree at home! THAT sort of cold, autumny, neutral-sweet & slightly tart taste, with that tinge of a "harder smaller apple" bitter accent. Like how it tastes closer to the core, I'd say! But that was cool. I also drank the Strawberry Ensure all at once today-- I was a little depressed-distressed and I needed the pink-sweet-heavy comfort of it. Actually, that pink leans?? It's NOT the light pink of the yogurt, OR the cerise richness of cherry pie... it doesn't have the surprisingly "bluer" lean of the magic cup, OR that cotton-candy-bubblegum quality of heavy-impact, saturated-color sweet tone. The Ensure is like... red leaning?? Just a tad? It STILL tastes like Easter, more than anything, but NOT like the "Bonnie cake"-- that's too white, too pale a pink, too saturated & clear a tint!!! The Ensure is the COLOR of pink-toned white chocolate, too, and really I can't think of a better comparison. It's NOT cake-y; like I said yesterday, that's REALLY a reddish-tone pink, technically a cerise hue?? And too fruity. Not so the Ensure, which is sweet in a creamy way, but too thickly grounded to resemble ice cream. We'll get there! Also, I can't give you legit soymilk data because I put it IN the Ensure cup and it ended up TINGED with that pink-- so it LEGIT tasted like VANILLA CAKE... but with that pink-sweet tint and HOLD UP, I think maybe THAT tasted like the Bonnie cake!!! Dude I HAVE to double check that now; I never considered drinking half of each and THEN combining, and contrasting THAT new taste to BOTH!! ♥ Now THAT could be enlightening! So we'll try that! ♥ Next up for today's breakfast, we have the turkey sausages. I REALLY paid attention, and I GOT DATA!! ♥ They have PEPPER on them; I never noticed! They're also QUITE salty, but it's the "heated salt" taste that ISN'T sharp like dry white salt, but broader in flavor-width, and mellower? It's hard to tell, because there was ALSO a lot of oil taste! Clearly, too! And it had a nice neutral flavor-- probably canola-- that carried the salt well and enriched the meat, without being overpowering (like nut oils). The sausage itself was SO GOOD, especially at the browned ends, which were salty-oily but BROWNLY so, not yellowish-sharp like chip oil-salt!! Like a warm, amber-leaning brown? Orangey? There's reddish tone in it I think, so. But! The meat itself is a nice neutral lighter brown, juicy & firm, WITH the SAME essential non-tacky slight-sweet taste of SUNDAY'S turkey? But that was SO TOUGH to pick out under all the salt! SO, I'll just have to put salt on SUNDAY'S turkey & see how close it gets! ♥ Compare & contrast, add & subtract. We learn! As for the potatoes? THEY have spices, too-- and THAT is what gives them their vermilion tone AND surprisingly sweet flavor touch! I think there's PAPRIKA on 'em!! Plus a bit of salt, also heat-mellowed with oil, and making the potatoes themselves softer & sweeter, like french fries... ALTHOUGH, there were two pieces that DIDN'T get oil-sauteed OR spiced on one side, and guess how THEY tasted? Like a BAKED POTATO!! Honestly! It was a shocker! They become neutral white & papery-toned, instead of the oddly "warmer" feel of the "french fry" soft potato? IS there a color lean to that? There's SOMETHING, but I can't place it yet! I'll get there. ♥ I just wish I had more side-by-side comparison opportunity! Ah well; I will next Thursday! ♥ I do just want to add that the slightly-sweet, chili-spicy paprika kick was surprisingly reminiscent of a wimpie taste? Obviously, as it IS in there! But that was interesting. Last but not least, the omelette! ♥ I really need to try them warm next time; saving 'em for last highlights their sweet-egg tone, but I'd like to see how the warmth richens it. Nevertheless, cooled as it was today, the egg is less "yolky" than scrambled, much fluffier, and so soft. The CHEESE is even sweeter-- still salty, sure, but its amber tone is milder & kinder than bolder orange, and it's so friendly and happy-calm with the egg's similar gentle tone-- but both are still so BRIGHT in their yellow-spectrum hues, however softer, and that-- plus their "grounding" taste of fats, which are always "relaxed" and mellowing-- makes every omelette a joyous "good morning," yet the color of the first sunlight after dawn-- new happy light in the sky. And its warmth! ♥ But we'll get that bit next week, too! ♥

Lunch= a veggie burger w/ cheese on a wheat bun, lettuce & tomato, potato salad, vanilla Ensure, apple juice, and an ice cream sandwich. I ate the ice cream all together, on the plate, in nice bites, chewing it well, and I wasn't afraid of it! ♥ I was worried about the dairy before, but it's fine. The cookie part still tastes mostly like an Oreo cookie, but a but warmer-toned; a bit like a chocolate graham cracker, but not so floury, and vaguely like chocolate cake, but lighter & drier & biscuit-y and not so sweet. Essentially! It works beautifully with the vanilla, which is gently sweet & richly creamy & a pure soft white tone. Compared to it, the Ensure is actually SURPRISINGLY close? But warmer in tone, less "playful," more (you guessed it) salted. SOMEHOW. But, honestly? Mentally comparing, it tastes a LOT like... tapioca pudding. The YELLOW-toned sort, not the pure white sort. Same with rice pudding, without the rice taste! So it's definitely an "artificial" vanilla, but as for how closely it resembles the extract taste itself? Well, I'll check again tonight. ♥ And I'm gonna say this now-- the Ensure makes me REALLY sugar-nauseous & gassy & miserable. Not cool, yo. So! I'll ask Team for another backup-drink option, OR a CS swapout. Until then, I'll let this be a cross of empathy. Now, next is the apple juice! The only new data is that 1) it's VERY tied to "childhood flashback" vague-feelings so it's tough to analyze purely objectively, and 2) it tastes like... Gala apples? Like the sorts with greener-tinge fruit & warmer skin. NOT green skin, NOT yellow fruit? There's that tartness, remember! Yellow-flesh apples are too sweet; they're closer to pie apples right from the outset. Their juice would be a lot sweeter, I think? I'll check again at TOMORROW'S lunch! Now, the potato salad. The potatoes are textured halfway between a french-fry potato-- like breakfast-- and... well, I want to say a "baked potato" but it's not! They're firmer-- a tad "raw" in that sense, but still that beautifully starch-soft solid build of the sauteed squares-- NOT mushy like the parsleyed ones, NOT "fry but fork-breakable" like the baked. Plus they ARE red potatoes, which are moister & 'sweeter' than the brown anyway! Still 'earthy,' but even that is lighter. It's SO COOL. ♥ Thank You God! And yes, there are green pepper bits AND celery in there too, both yellow-green & dulled, BUT still bright in their vivid little snaps of bitter-sweet and salty vegetable tastes! Also, there is PAPRIKA in it, AND some greener, subtler herb-- parsley? No idea! But there's pepper again, too, maybe? There IS a hotter "nip" to that creamy, culture-brightened zip of the mayonnaise, rich with a notable flavor of egg whites mixed in, rounding out that zing of vinegar-- but that might be the paprika too; who knows! But as always, it was DELICIOUS. ♥ And I must also add that the total flavor-tone IS mainly thick-white, with bits of green-olive, AND that "orange-amber" overtone brightness from the "sour" aspect... but the spicy kick of the paprika DOES add a similarly colored head-tone?? Like, it's more of a TONE than a TASTE? How much does this stuff involve SMELL, I wonder, with its ability to pick out super-subtle "flavor elements" that the tongue cannot? Hm! It's worth looking into! But not now, because now? It's BURGER TIME!! ♥ And yes, I think there ARE mushrooms in that patty-- there are little dark greyish mushroom-looking pieces in with the light beige soy-protein base-- which still has that soy-sauce edge tone, AND a previously unnoticed heat-kick of pepper-- as well as red bell pepper bits, AND tiny carrot pieces! So that was cool to discover. As for the rest? Well, I put ALL the lettuce & tomato on it this week, and they sang JUST as beautifully with the whole-wheat and cheese as they did last week, AND yesterday on the grilled cheese... but!! The BUN is different from the bread! It's DOUGHY, and stiffer, and more notably "grainy," ironically-- whole wheat is sweeter, and more wholesome-tasting & mouth-smooth, as bread-- as a bun, it gets stiffer, and the whole grains are less finely ground? It gives that texture impression, at least! BUT, that lighter tone is what carries the SUPER-RICH "umami" & peppery taste of the patty, without "blanching" it like white bread would! And, perfectly, the cheese adds a warmly bright & richly orange tone, lifting it gently but enthusedly out of monochromatic brown, "grounding" their tastes in the fat's rounder taste... BUT! With the VEGETABLES, it REALLY DOES SING. ♥ They immediately add a brilliant, soaring burst of light & water & levity & COLOR, soothing the heavy flavor combo of brown & orange, and making it more easily comprehended. It dances on the wheat bun, is embraced by the cheese, and lifts the patty joyfully on its united shoulders! ♥ But really, my favorite bit is how the LETTUCE tastes on it!! That green is PERFECT with all that brown!! ♥ And the pinkish tomato, too, while subtle beneath that nearby-hue weight, still adds its little sweet melody... which the cheese picks RIGHT up. ♥ It's beautiful. Thank you GOD!! ♥

Dinner= chicken with herbs (garlic, rosemary, & (I assume) poultry seasoning), instant mashed potatoes, bread pudding bites w/ whipped cream (+nutmeg & cinnamon), vanilla soymilk, vanilla Ensure, a butter pat, and a LOT of corn! I'm still so grateful that THIS is a fearless meal, considering how I was 6 weeks ago. Good riddance! From now on this meal will CONTINUE to be free & loved, as will ALL foods, as long as I have any say in it, for God's literal sake-- and I DO, so fear not. ♥ As always, I started with the corn, my dear friend. It has a sweet yellow taste, leaning amber, and a particular "malty" subtlety that I really like. Its texture is also super unique; there's a LOT of water in those little kernels, and their "skins" are thin but rubber-tough, a little? Like tomato skins, but a bit firmer? Not as slippery. And, like I said last week, there's a warm yellower tone TO that water content, too! But yes, the more I reflect on pure corn data, the more I familiarize myself with its taste, and I can REALLY say I recognize it in the Sun Chips now! ♥ And it'll probably be easier to recognize corn sugar, too-- especially as syrup. I'll keep learning! I'll have to see if I can CLEARLY recall what Karo tastes like, from 7th grade! God only remembers WHY I needed it for what project then, but at least it's an anchor! And elementary school is an anchor for the mashed potatoes, too-- either with hot lunch, or at church dinners & such. It does NOT taste like baked OR french-fried potato; nor does it taste like pagach! But it DOES taste similar to Monday's pierogi filling! It's not yellow like that, or salty, BUT the base is the same! ♥ And that sourness is definitely buttermilk; I can't imagine what else it could be! Oh yes, and today, I noticed there's PEPPER in it! Which warms up the taste, complements the sour, & prevents blandness. It's nice, and new! Thank God for discovery every day, even now. ♥ Next, our dear chicken! You'll notice I LISTED the spices today-- not only did I LOOK, but I TASTED! And the rosemary is wonderful on it. ♥ I also looked AT the chicken-- it's a creamy, vaguely pinkish white? Not really "off white;" I can't see it as yellowish. But the bottom texture is like... softer? Squishier? I want to say "it looks frothy but solid" but really I think the meat is just a tad "spongier" on the bottom where it doesn't brown? But it's all meaty & solid still; no mush, but it IS soft & juicy, but not overly so. No "wetness!" It has a slight tack to the chew, but not much; the softness reduces it. And it had NICE fat pieces at the ends again, all white! And those pieces tasted JUST like good homemade chicken soup broth. Lovely stuff; slightly amber-toned, but more yellow, and richly calm, like all fats. The chicken itself is "milder" than the "archetypal KFC taste" of potent chicken, being lighter in flavor intensity and saturation, but it's still strong-medium and super nice, especially with the herbal complements. But I literally have NO vocab for that yet. I need to study! Lastly, I put the butter on the corn, which made it SUPER mellow yellow, almost overwhelmingly so-- it's really a punch of COLOR!-- and, compared to the Ensure, the soymilk tastes almost WATERY! I never noticed how LIGHT it was weight-wise, despite its smooth texture! And it tastes ever more strongly of "cake vanilla"-- I can't wait to compare it tomorrow! ♥ The Ensure, though, I mostly compared to the bread pudding-- and it's CLOSE!!! Talk about a surprise! It's the SAME COLOR, for one, and it DOES have vanilla extract-- but the pudding has that bread base-tone, AND I'm not sure how much the whipped cream contributed to the similarity! But tomorrow, I'll check yet again. ♥ For the pudding itself, the whipped cream DOES have both those spices-- by look (just subtle enough a variation!) AND taste! And, although the bread is a bit similar to the French toast at its crusted bits, it has NO egg taste, being "blander" and yet sweeter, AND it is REALLY CHEWY!!! I couldn't even dent it with the plastic knife! But, as you probably guessed, that makes its chewing texture DOWNRIGHT GORGEOUS. ♥ If that's a stale-bread quality, I'll need to eat more of it in the future! And finally, I'm not sure what makes the wet-bread bits taste like they do, or what makes them so supersoft & mushy, but NOT sticky or dense or spongy... but I literally smile & close my eyes whenever I taste it. It's truly a kiss from/ of Heaven, here on Earth. ♥ All that vanilla taste, the tan sort, not white... the slight 'extract' nip... the bready base, the creamy softness, the pure & gentle but richly sweet taste... thank You, God, for such a Good Gift!! ♥

Snack= the third time's the lucky one for the NUGO TRIAD!! ♥ It was a challenge to choose it, but a joy to do it... because it was an exercise in VIRTUE: courage, reparation, hope, faith, determination, forgiveness, honesty, humility... light. I ate it 100% with that, and I can feel it. ♥