Happy New Years ! 2011 !

Looking forward to the new year . 2011 is my goal year. I am hoping to accomplish alot this year. I will also be keeping up with my blog since I really have been neglecting updating :-( ... But that is going to change as well as alot of other things that pertain to my life.. Hopefully for the better! But for today... my only goal is to have fun with friends and family and enjoy bringing the new year in close with people I love.
                                                          *Anthony

Update!

So I want to apologize to the readers who expected me to update yesterday about my new diet and such. I just was way too busy and by the time I got some time to myself, I just crashed.. So Anyways .. As for my getting into shape strategy.. my current weight is at 225. I Want to lose 20 say within 3 months. I am ultimately aiming for my birthday in January, so we shall see. Today I ate very minimally which is good and bad, but only because school was very demanding and it was very hard to find time to actually eat. Tomorrow I will start my cardio and so forth, and keep posting. But for right now, until I get into the swing of things, there wont be much to say about it! ~~~~~~~~

Moving on~ 

                So today at school my class had a lab all day. A lab is basically a day out of the week where my group from my entire class gets to prepare all the restaurants menu items as well as working on other things such as techniques, etc. I made my own variation of a Panzanella salad to compliment a Chicken dish that my group made. I thought it was a nice touch. I'll post the traditional recipe below, but I will put in parenthesis my own twist or technique that I find works better. Its a quick easy salad, from an old rustic Italian style of cooking. ~~~~~~~~

Panzanella Salad

Ingredients

• 6 cups day old Italian bread, torn into bite-size pieces
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 4 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
• 3/4 cup sliced red onion
• 10 basil leaves, shredded
• 1/2 cup pitted and halved green olives
• 1 cup fresh mozzarella, cut into bite-size pieces

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. (I would just put some olive oil in a sauté' pan and just sauté the bread pieces, I find its a quicker way to do it, also if done right you will end up with a bread cube that has one side that is crispy, and the other that is flavorful and soft.)
2. In a large bowl, toss bread with 1/3 cup olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic. Lay bread on a baking sheet, and toast in the preheated oven until golden, about 5 to 10 minutes; allow to cool slightly. (Or just see my technique above, remembering to still season your bread crumbs, just in the pan over high heat until they are crispy)
3. While the bread is in the oven, whisk together 1/4 cup of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Gently toss together the bread, tomatoes, onion, basil, olives, and mozzarella cheese. Toss with the vinaigrette and let stand for 20 minutes before serving. (Whisk together olive oil, Salt, pepper, balsamic vinegar, pour over bread crumbs in pan. Serve this over a bed of fresh spinach, add some tomatoes, onions, and just serve it!) 

Weight loss plan

So... I have always been somewhat overweight my whole life.. I mean I was never like obese or anything, but I have always been carrying a little extra since I could remember haha. Anyways.. I am going to seriously take a crack at eating healthier and exercising more. I am just tired of how I look. I want to look better and more importantly feel better about myself. Its time to get serious and put my ass into motion. Tomorrow (Monday, October 18th, 2010, I am officially starting my new diet plan. I am eliminating carbs for awhile and eating mostly only proteins and raw foods. I have to lay off the alcohol and start getting better sleep if I want to succeed. I am also going to start an exercise routine tomorrow before school. I will first start out by walking about 1 mile in the morning and then doing some various cardio workouts throughout the day. My hardest goal however is going to be drinking WATER and only WATER. I will have to ultimately eliminate all other liquids from my diet. Phew!
I have alot of work ahead of me, and its going to be tough. But I need to do this if I am to look and feel better about myself!! I Will update my progress every single day starting tomorrow. I will have my current weight and my goal  set tomorrow! Wish me luck! Ill need it......
~Anthony

Finally get it?

Things have actually been on the up and up since my last post. I can feel my attitude towards life in general just overall improving. I am slowly but surely understanding how I can actually live day to day without dealing with drama and being so damn negative. I will have to admit to myself that my mood was in the shitter for alot of reasons but especially since my last relationship ended. I honestly just have to get over it and accept the fact that things are different and will never be the same. Ehh its life right? I really have to stop being such a pussy and just get out there and live without worrying about anyone else.. haha i sound crazy but its the truth right? I mean I dont want to lose who I am.. I have always been the guy that had a great time with anyone I was with and always the guy to be impulsive and creative in any situation.. at least thats what I can get out of my own behaviour..lol. As far as my ex goes... well Shes my ex... did I take the breakup hard ? Yeah, of course.. we both invested a good amount of time in each other and just had a connection... but things change.. people make mistakes.. and life still goes on..just as long as you learn from your mistakes is what matters. I honestly feel like I have changed in alot of ways... I mean given I still can get angry at times and sometimes should really monitor how I react to certain situations... but maybe thats just who I am? I mean we cant all be extremely calm and collected all the time right? Anyways.. its Friday and Im going to see if I can get into anything interesting this weekend. Everyone have a great weekend as well and just remember to live and just be yourself no matter who likes it or not.

                   ~Anthony

Eating live fish? Why?

So today in school I came across a youtube video, showing people eating a live fish as a sashimi dish. They have all the garnishes set on the plate, its all decorated very nicely... then you have a fish that is still alive that people are eating. NOW... don't get me wrong I love Japanese food and sushi and all that but honestly what is the purpose of keeping the fish alive while you and your friends dig in? I mean as a culinary student and just well a regular consumer of fish, this appears to do nothing but put the fish through immense pain and suffering. I researched it just a little bit and found that many popular places mostly in Japan and korea, serve the fish this way to show how fresh it is....OK.. my problem with that is, well your fish will still be extremely fresh if it were killed just moments before serving. Now, I am not a vegetarian or anything like that. I am by all means a meat eater. I don't even get involved with peta stuff.. but to me, watching a life being taken away because your literally eating it alive is just well.... sick. Anyways that was my rant for today. If you want to check the video out yourself, you can find it @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2kEmRFe50c&feature=fvst

If your sensitive to animals rights and all that, I don't suggest watching.. but hey its only fish right?

Ehh. mediocre at best.

SO.....
   I am pretty much in a blah mood. Kinda have been for awhile now. You know how you have one of those days where just everything goes wrong without rhyme or reason? Yea..well thats been the last few days for me. I do have to admit, I can definitely be way to negative for my own good~BUT~ I just have been feeling out of it, more then normal I guess. School has just become blah anymore, I feel like I really need to step up my game with focusing. My grades are good, so its not like I'm failing at all but I just feel like I could be be giving it more effort. I don't want to make any excuses but I do have to say that sometimes at school I realize how many students there actually don't give a damn, suppose it can rub off on you if you linger around that feeling. As far as my more personal life, well...its a little complicated. I am trying to better my self as a whole while working on salvaging a few relationships that I have left. Friends, exes, etc. It is def. taking a toll on my mind, and I can say that its probably more so the reason why I have trouble focusing... that or extreme A.D.D. ... but I honestly don't think I have that.. lol.  I dont know~I need a change! I need more excitement! Maybe I should look into traveling? Money is def. tight... but maybe theres a way I can do it and not risk being uncomfortable? Anyways.. Goodnight.

New Netbook!

Just bought this brand new HP netbook for only $300 from Best Buy. Pretty sweet deal. Its def. no Mac pro book but its still pretty sweet. If your looking for a great deal on netbooks check out http://www.bestbuy.com/

A night of epic happenings..

This is my night in a nutshell:

 1. Extremely strong drinks with mom at bar in philly, waiting for her friend.
 2. Traveled to night club an hour away in nj.
 3. Mom convinced some old mob guy that I in fact was in the mob and knew Donald Trump. (Drunk now)
 4. I told some guy that Id "slit his throat, if he touched my mom again" (Really drunk now)
 5. Smoked about 6 cigarettes in a row outside while watching moms friend grab the attention of all 150 people outside by her crazy ass dancing. (Beyond drunk now)
 6. Dancing inside with a slew of cougars and mobsters with really expensive suits and wrist watches.
 7. Drove back towards home, got home... but decided the diner was best to visit first.
 8. Mom so drunk she couldnt speak or stand, Moms friend.. gets out of my car in front of diner and simultaneously fall backwards into a huge shrub and gets completely swallowed whole.
 9. Mom too drunk to go in diner so i sit in my car with her while her friend (who is shhwasted) goes in and orders scrapple and eggs..
10. We finally get home after alot of arguing and laughing and just plain out being stupid.

~~~~~Recipe for a hangover cure ~~~~~~

• TO DRINK:
• Tomato Juice
• Tabasco sauce
• Lemon Juice
• 1 measure of Vodka
• TO EAT:
• 3 Rashers of Back bacon
• 3 tinned tomatoes
• 2 scrambled eggs
• 1 orange

Prep time 5 mins : cooking time 5 mins

Now contrary to popular belief, the best way to beat a nasty "morning after" feeling is to eat little and often for the first 4 hours you are awake rather than go for the "monster" fry - up. You should avoid fibre and carbohydrates at all costs as these will make you feel like a Zombie due to their slow release into your blood.

Now the first thing you want to do is take a long slow drink of the tomato juice laced with the Tabasco, vodka and lemon. The reason for this and for a bloody mary being world renowned as a good hangover cure is that tomatoes are packed full with antioxidants which cleanse your blood from all impurities like alcohol and fat.

The reason that you feel so low is not the lack of sleep you have had but your bodies withdrawal from the booze. This is why you feel better after "The hair of the dog" being the vodka, as it gives your body a break from fighting the disfunction. So, The eggs for protein to build your red blood cells back up, the tinned tomatoes for the extra antioxidants ( fresh ones are lower in capacity) , the bacon for the fat to counter the spirit in your blood and the orange for the citric acid to cut through the fat from the bacon....PHEW!! Now trust me on this, I am a pro. so know what i'm talking about....this WILL work but you must eat more of the same again within 4 hours and DO NOT go back to bed as this will not exite the antioxidants in your blood and you will not recover as quick!! Take a hot shower with a blast of cold before you get out and splash on some nice aftershave as this will stimulate your senses and promote a feeling of well - being....Good luck!! ...

Feeling brand new....

So Ive decided to start blogging. ~yay~ I have officially popped my blogging cherry haha. Anyways. If you want to know more about me just check out the "about me" section. I will be posting alot of recipes that I think are worth while, since I am a culinary student. Also, I will just be generally blogging about life in general... sounds boring right? oh well dont read it then.. haha .. my life is pretty crazy at times though... might be worth the while to stick around.. until next time


                                       ~Anthony ;)