Jerry Timms

Likely a testament to how hard I’ve been working out lately, tonight I simply craved the thickest and rarest steak I could get my hands on. I interpreted this as a sign that my body needed protein for some serious muscle building, so I gave in and headed to Safeway where I bought a couple choice top sirloins. I threw one on the grill, but only for long enough to get it warm and juicy.

Exquisite…lemon flakes performed admirably (as they always do) as I sliced and stabbed my way to heaven. Rare, soft and juicy, and just perfect. A perfect finish to my evening of running a mile and working out in the gym.

I’ve been working out fairly regularly for about 6 weeks now. I’m starting to see some real results, and it has me excited since I think I may be in the best shape I’ve been in for a few years. That’s both physically and mentally. Funny how both efforts have been actually very closely tied together.

Working out with Jerry and Daren has been really fun…and there’s actually a lot more involved to our evenings than just the workouts. We’ll also often go out to a bar or two afterward (or hang out at Jerry’s loft), drink some beer, and hang out and bs with one another. Steve also started hanging out with us, and we always have a good time. Talk about dates, significant others, work, etc. Jerry describes this as his new fraternity, and that’s a fairly accurate description of how it feels.

Hanging out with Rich, Justin, Philip and Bernard is a very similar fraternal part of my life lately. I am impressed, and humbled, by what strong bonds exist within this circle. And deciding to do some of the party curcuit with them this year is what’s motivating me to stick with those workouts, stick to my diet, and what had motivated me last year to finally give up smoking.

I’m not quite where I want to be yet, but I know my goals are achievable and right around the corner. So, cheers to all of you that help. My shoulders are looking better, but what’s on top of them is feeling pretty good, too.

Sorry if it seems like this is turning into a recipe blog, but I find that if I plan on posting my dinner recipe, it forces me to come up with something more delicious and healthy than what I normally cook. I ate this after work today, and it was delicious. The secret to a good low-calorie shrimp fettuccine? No Fettuccine!

Calories: 239 (39 g protein, 7 g fat, 3 g carbs, 2 g fiber)

Chef-Boy-Are-Jerry’s Shrimp Fettuccine

14 Black Tiger Shrimp, 26/30 ct.
Big Handful frozen broccoli and cauliflower (approx. 1 cup cooked)
1 tbsp. butter
Trader Joe’s Lemon Pepper (with Lemon Flakes - you knew that was coming)

Saute the vegetables in the pan with butter until almost cooked. Add the shrimp and cook until entirely pink. Don’t overcook shrimp, or else they get all gross. If you don’t see any gray left then you’re fine. Grind some lemon pepper over the whole thing to taste, and toss a few times.

This is important! Use a slotted spoon to remove the shrimp and vegetables from the pan (most of the butter will drain out of the spoon and remain in the pan) and place in a serving bowl.

Enjoy!

So, here’s an interesting story. I was going through my web analytics yesterday, and checking out the different search terms that people use to find my site. One stuck out as kind of odd….lemon flakes. I was a little confused what it was all about, and then I realized that I used that term in my recipe for General Timms’ Chicken. I used some pepper that has little flakes of lemon peels in it. It’s really good, and I highly recommend it if you’re cooking some quick chicken. But the most amazing thing? I rank #9 in Google for the term. Go ahead, go to Google and search for “lemon flakes.” Out of 1.1 million relevant pages, I am number 9. Number 9!

So, not being one to settle for mediocrity, I decided to go for #1. So here you go, this is my lemon flakes blog. Hopefully within a couple weeks I can claim my title as the most relevant site to the topic of lemon flakes! It’s the little things…

Update 3/26/07: Well I guess it only took 4 days, as I’m currently the #1 result!

After an afternoon of running errands, I made a chicken dish for dinner that was just too good not to share! This is a variation of a dish I made last week, only tonight it was about 100 times better after some strategic changes. And best of all, it only took about 15 minutes to prepare. Enjoy, and let me know how you like it.

General Timms’ Chicken

1 Lb. boneless chicken thighs (yes you need to use thighs - if you substitute breasts you are going to be really disappointed!)
1 bag fresh stir fry vegetables from Trader Joes (bok choy, snow peas, sugar snap peas)
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
canola oil
white cooking wine
lemon pepper & sea salt

Heat your seasoned wok on very high heat for about 10 minutes, and coat the inside with about 1 tbsp canola oil. If you don’t have a wok, go down to your local asian market and get a carbon steel wok for about $10. And make sure you season it, or everything will stick to it and you’ll get upset! While the wok and oil are heating, pound the chicken thighs with a heavy cleaver until it’s in very small irregular pieces (don’t cut the meat with a knife - get yourself a good cleaver if you don’t have one - again, one can be purchased at your asian market very inexpensively).

Throw the chicken in the wok and cook for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle some garlic powder over the top of the chicken and mix well. Pour in a couple splashes of cooking wine, and continue cooking for about 5-10 more minutes, or until you’re pretty convinced the chicken would be safe to eat (don’t over cook!). Doesn’t this smell good? Everything should be all bubbly now. Add the oyster sauce and mix well.

Empty the bag of vegetables over everything, and toss for about 5 minutes, or until the bok choy reduces and turns a very dark green. Sprinkle lightly with lemon pepper and sea salt (I used a combination seasoning from Trader Joes that has lemon flakes, pepper and sea salt all in one container that has a built-in grinder - $1.99!). Mix again and serve!