Loving food too much

Image by roboppy via Flickr

 "I love food."


"I know. Just love food a little less."


That pretty much sums up the exchange today between me and my doctor after my yearly physical. My weight -- 226 pounds, four more than in May 2009, but four pounds less than my recent peak -- prompted his advice that I'm eating too much, even though I go to the gym five days a week.


His words weren't exactly ringing in my ears when I drove to the other end of Englewood to see if I could pick up three fish dinners at Jerry's Gourmet & More. I was out of luck; I only found one dinner with fish among the restaurant-quality chicken and pork meals.

Jerry's was probably the wrong place to go after my physical. I had to fast for the examination and needed breakfast, and all the free samples of cheese, bread and olive oil were too hard to resist. I had a dozen or more small cubes of cheese, four or five pieces of bread dipped in extra virgin olive oil, crackers and yogurt, but didn't try the energy drink. 


I bought three of Jerry's small, chewy focaccias ($1.49 each) -- covered in marinara sauce and lots of chopped garlic (I had half of one to complete my breakfast at home). The Original Napoletana Pizza Margherita (like the one in photo above), with house-made fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, tomato, salt and extra-virgin olive oil, was $4.99, a bargain when compared to what a Neapolitan pizzeria charges.


For dinner tonight, I'll heat up Jerry's two-pound lasagna (meatless, $10.99) and steam a pound of French green beans from Costco.


Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St.,
Englewood; 201-871-7108

Web site:
Jerry's Homemade

Try this "local" dinner at home

Image by Anne With An "E" via Flickr

We started with Alaskan king crab and corn chowder.

The entree was ravioli stuffed with smoked mozzarella and artichokes, and I dressed two salads of organic mixed greens with organic extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I put a pan with more than two dozen Little Neck clams (photo) on the table. All but two had opened after I steamed them in  sake and a little sweet cooking wine.

The ravioli were in marinara sauce and I would have loved some bread to soak it up, but didn't put any out.

I drank wine. Then, I looked at the food and mentioned to my wife and son that soup, salad, olive oil, clams and ravioli had come from Costco, less than two miles from home.

While my wife was washing the pots, I drank the salty clam broth-sake mixture straight from the pan. A nice dinner.