Shrimp and Cabbage Lo Mein

If you had just met me, it would not take long for you to realize that I love food, especially Asian food. Since I've been dieting, I've been very good about not going to the local Chinese restaurant. I worry about them. They're probably about to file for bankruptcy without my patronage. I realize there's a lot of Asian food that isn't calorie dense, but frankly I don't trust myself.

I've decided to expand my recipe sources. Yes, Cooking Light is an awesome magazine with marvelous recipes, but then, I started looking in my cookbooks, and I came across Everyday Food Light, which is a collection of lighter recipes from the magazine Everyday Food, one of the Martha Stewart magazines. It's no longer being published, but it had some of the best recipes, many of which I go back to on a regular basis. But the recipe I made tonight is a new one for me from the cookbook, Shrimp and Cabbage Lo Mein.

There are several things I'll change next time. First, I'll use my wok. The recipe didn't say to use a wok, but I realize trying to cook down cabbage is so much easier in a wok. Also, I'll either chop the cabbage smaller and sooner, or I'll buy a prepackaged presliced bag. There were too many undercooked cabbage ribs in this batch. I'm tempted to say that I'd add more noodles, but I don't dare. Oh, I love rice noodles. And finally, I'd cook the asparagus, that wasn't part of the recipe, but a side-dish, right into the cabbage. But the noodles, shrimp, and sauce were wonderful!

I was asked to share a picture of my kitchen when it's turned into a disaster after cooking like this. Well here is a small portion of it:

Most of it is from tonight's cooking. Yes, I really am a messy cook. Some of it will get cleaned up tonight (not much) and most of it'll get cleaned up tomorrow. This is my least favorite thing about cooking.

Dieting update: Some days are good, and some days are not so good. I'm getting a little frustrated with talking about how much I've lost because I lost it in two time periods. Last year, I lost about 15 pounds. So far this year I've lost between 44 and 45 pounds. Altogether, I've lost about 60 pounds, but I don't want to seem deceptive and tell people I've lost 60 pounds, when in fact, most recently I've only lost 45. Apparently, ethics can be involved even in dieting. I'm hoping to lose at least 20 more before school starts in August. So, I've been walking and using the elliptical. I'd much rather walk than use the elliptical, but it's getting too damn hot already. I'll hold out as long as I can.