let's try this again

The questions started weeks ago - What are you going to give up for Lent this year?  Are you going to write about it again?  40-day vegetarian, 2.0?  Or will you buck up and go vegan?

Let me start with the fun/easy part first - the blog! I'm back with more delectable recipes from my everyday life and reflections on the absurd things that happen to me along the way.   I've thought on and off about getting back into blogging, but there just hasn't been a good time - I've been busy at work and at play, and writing hasn't been my top priority.  Moreover, I am entirely lacking in the technology department right now - my trusty point-and-shoot has been dropped on the cobblestone streets ten times too many, and my seven-year-old Dell Latitude leaves much to be desired by way of speed, memory, and Internet navigation.

But, enough excuses.  This is life.  There's never a good time.  There's never an easy way.  Who cares if my "laptop" is Old Faithful one day and a p.o.s. fossil the next?  Faulty equipment is only an excuse for traffic court.  So what if I'm busy with professional obligations, a full social calendar, and maintaining my sanity with running and trashy TV?  Good thing I'm a great multitasker.  As for the finicky camera?  Well, I've got an iPhone and Instagram, which makes every picture more hipster artsy and beautiful.  I'll make it work.  And this isn't a real food blog anyway, so get over it.

Now for the not-so-easy part....my actual Lenten promise.  When soliciting ideas for what I should forgo, I couldn't pinpoint exactly what I wanted to try.  I didn't want to go completely vegan - eggs and greek yogurt are a major protein source for me.  A good friend of my mom's suggested going gluten-free and comparing and contrasting the positive and negative side effects with last year's meat-free diet.  Another one of her friends suggested giving up sugar.  And because I am nothing if not an overachiever, I decided to do both.  No gluten.  No added sugar, refined or unrefined (natural sugars already in whole foods are okay).  No artificial sweeteners.  No excuses.

Many of you are probably scratching your head as to why I have named the blog "caramelized memoirs" if I am giving up sugar.  After all, to caramelize means "to change (as sugar) into caramel".  But, caramelization also occurs with sugars found naturally in fruits and vegetables.  And vegetables roasted to the point of melt-on-your-mouth carmelization are some of my favorite things to eat. 

But, if we're being honest, the real reason is that one day I spent far too long anagramming my name and my friends' names.  Fun Fact:  My name is an anagram for "caramel memoir".  So, I took some creative liberties with the domain name, and here we are.  (Side note:  If you have never anagrammed yourself, please do so at www.wordsmith.org/anagram.  #byebyeworld) 

As for the obvious changes for me until April 8, there's going to be no (real) bread, muffins, bagels, pasta, cookies, candy, or confectioneries.  No sugar, no maple syrup, no honey.  No Diet Coke.  No Sweet & Low in my morning coffee.  But there's a lot that is less obvious.  No beer.  And, tragically, as Caroline reminded me during her gluten-free stint - no bourbon.  Damn that grain distillation!  I guess I'll finally become a real woman, joining the ranks of other young ladies who guzzle vodka-sodas (remember, tonic water contains sugar).  Cereal is also out, unless it's gluten-free and sugar-free (ew).  I imagine gluten-free cereals will be hard to find without added sweeteners - even my healthy Kashi cereal contains "evaporated cane juice" and "brown rice syrup", which are just fancy names for unrefined sugar.  And even little things like pantry staples have to be re-examined to make sure there are no traces of gluten or sugar.

But, there's plenty I can eat.  Meat.  Cheese.  Fruits and vegetables.  Rice, potatoes, quinoa.  Legumes and lentils.  Greek yogurt, since the thick, plain stuff doesn't have sugar added.  Homemade salad dressings, marinades, and condiments.  Wine, since the fermentation of natural sugars in the grapes is what yields the alcohol.  Oh, and vodka.  Don't forget the vodka.

I'm weirdly excited for this little experiment and I hope you'll join me again.  As you can tell, I've migrated my old posts from the 40-day Vegetarian over to this blog.  I'm going to delete the old URL soon.  Posts may be a little light this week as I get back into the swing of things.  Enjoy your Mardi Gras - maybe I'll head to il Canale and Baked & Wired for pizza and cupcakes.  They don't call it Fat Tuesday for nothin'.