SuperKALEifragilistic!

One of the surprising things about getting older is the fact that your stomach starts to tell you what it does and does not want you to put in it. Salads get a big fat yes, Greek yogurt with fresh fruit, gets a yes, please and fried onions on a burger at nine o'clock at night, gets a resounding don't-even-think-about-it-unless-you-want-to-be-up-all-night. The good thing about this change in your digestive system is that certain foods look much more appealing than they ever used to and others, like the newly resurrected Twinkies and slabs of cheesecake smothered with whipped cream (I'm talking to you Cheesecake Factory), look a whole lot less.

Today, I got in my car and drove ten miles to get something for lunch. I had a taste for something specific and I just had to have it. It wasn't a juicy Italian Beef from Portillo's. It wasn't a bacon cheeseburger with cheddar and onions from Smashburger (although now that I'm typing it, that does sound good), and it wasn't deep dish pizza from Lou Malnati's (again, sounds pretty good). No, what I got my shoes on for was located in the nearest Whole Foods - raw kale salad.

I know, I know, kale is the new arugula. Everybody is jumping on the healthy eating bandwagon and proclaiming their love for this leafy green veggie that absolutely no one had in their refrigerators a year or two ago. But, trust me, this stuff is good.

First off, Whole Foods makes all their pre-made salads look amazingly appetizing. I don't know what they do to it, if they shine some special light on it or if we're all being hypnotized the minute we walk in, but all the quinoa, farro, bulgur, and all the other unknown-a-year-ago options actually look better than the cupcakes and gelato that are just a few steps away. The raw kale salad is no exception. Its bright green, ruffly leaves topped with bits of tomatoes, cranberries and pine nuts and drizzled with lemony vinaigrette practically scream "eat me". And I did, along with samples of several other worthy contenders. The farro salad was a "meh" (needs more seasoning) and the grilled veggie salad was an "I'll be back for more of that later" hit. After filling my cart with additional treats from the salad bar and three types of fish, I headed for the cashier with nary a brownie or key lime tartlet in sight.

Not that I should get too cocky. I know there's a pint of sea-salt caramel Talenti gelato sitting in my freezer (more on that obsession at a later time) that will be hard to resist a few hours from now. But I did make myself one heck of a healthy lunch.

Baby steps, right?.

I Scream, You Scream

Labor Day weekend is just a few days away and that can only mean one thing. (Well, two things if you count the 'can't wear white after' nonsense). It means that ice cream season is almost over.

I don't know about you but I don't have a whole lot of interest in ingesting frozen confections when it's 12 degrees outside. Once those hot summer nights give way to blustery winter hibernation, I comfort myself with warm chocolate chip cookies and a cup of tea instead of a sundae. Somehow, dodging icicles outside has a way of shutting down my desire for fudgsicles when I'm inside.

But tonight, it's still August. It was still warm enough to walk around town after dinner. I wasn't going to pass up one of the remaining opportunities to enjoy a frosty treat. Lucky for me, I didn't have to have to settle for ice cream; our town has a gelato shop. Yes, I know. I'm addicted to anything Italian but, c'mon, I don't care how American you are, comparing ice cream to gelato is like comparing a Mitsubishi to a Mercedes. If you've had it before, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, what are you waiting for?

I'll have you know, I did behave myself. I got a small cup filled with a strawberry and raspberry combo. (The fruit flavors are definitely where gelato has it all over ice cream). As my husband and I wandered through the town, dipping our tiny plastic spoons into each others' flavors (I know, that sounds a little dirty), I tried to soak in the waning hours of this 27th day of August.

Summer's almost over. I've got a few more flavors to try before I'm ready to say good-bye.