I LOVE Bibimbap!

I”ll admit that I’m not the most adventurous eater, but I have become totally obsessed with the Korean dish called Bibimbap. Translated into English, Bibimbap means “mixed rice” and consists of different types of vegetables (stir-fried shitake mushrooms, julienned carrots, bean sprouts, zucchini, fernbrake or kosari (a Korean plant), spinach, etc. and protein (stir-fried ground beef, sirloin, chicken, tofu, whatever you want) set on top of cooked rice, with a fried egg on top. My husband and I usually order the Bibimbop that is made in a hot stone pot with sesame oil on the bottom so the rice gets kind of crunchy. When you order Bibimbap at a restaurant they bring you a delicious red pepper paste condiment to stir into the Bibimbap. This red pepper paste is spicy but not too hot, if that makes sense, and it is absolutely essential to the amazing taste of the dish.  I recently saw a few different recipes for Bibimbap and I figured I’d try to make it for myself. Unfortunately, this Korean red pepper paste, or Gochujang, is not that easy to find in regular grocery stores (and I live in a large city in the Northeast), so you’ll have to buy it online or find a Korean grocery store in order to get it.  I decided to order my Gochujang from a website called www.koamart.com and I’m so excited that I can hardly wait for it to arrive. This website has several different brands of Gochujang, but I was careful to look at the ingredient list as some of them have MSG.  I did find two brands on the site that didn’t have MSG so I chose the one that looked the best. I really hope it’s good.

New Year’s Resolution – Eat Real Food and Workout Smarter

I used to be really serious about healthy eating and regular exercise. I lost weight and was in great shape. Unfortunately, I felt consumed by my focus on exercise and counting calories, and eventually it was both mentally and physically exhausting trying to keep it up while at the same time working long hours at my job. So I stopped exercising regularly and ate pretty much whatever I wanted during most of 2008. Not surprisingly, I’ve gained some weight and I’m not happy about it.

Eating Real Food

For 2009 I have resolved to do something about my situation, but I’m going to do things differently this time.  Instead of focusing on the calories and counting everything, I’m going to try to eat reasonable portions of healthy foods like whole grains, vegetables, fruit and lean proteins at every meal. I have a natural tendency to overeat carbs because I usually don’t have enough protein in my diet to feel full. To combat this I’m going to try to up the protein in my diet by eating more low-fat yogurt, nuts, lean protein, and drinking fruit and plain yogurt smoothies with whey protein powder.

Smarter Exercise

My solution to losing weight was always to workout more and for longer periods of time. It totally worked, but it left me feeling like I had no free time for anything else outside of work. Over the weekend I went to a bookstore and leafed through a book called the 90-Second Fitness Solution, by Pete Cerqua. I didn’t buy the book, but I read enough to take away some of the key points in the book. Basically, he argues that building muscle is more effective for overall health and weight loss than doing hours of cardio and that effective weight training exercises don’t have to take a long time. He advocates two 90 second sets of strength training five days per week for a total of 15 minutes per week. As soon as I read this I was hooked. Of course he suggests healthy eating in conjunction with the exercise, but I was planning to do that anyway. I’ll probably go back and buy the book at some point, but for now I’m going to try simply eating smarter and doing about 10 minutes total of cardio and strength exercises five days per week. This should not be hard for me to do, even with my schedule. I guess we’ll see if this improves my level of fitness and if I lose any weight over time.

Cast the Other Parts in a Stephanie Plum Movie

I think the most important roles to cast in a Stephanie Plum movie, besides Stephanie, have got to be the parts of Joe Morelli, Ranger, and Lula. Not surprisingly, I’ve got a few ideas about who should be cast in those roles.

Many people, myself included, imagine Queen Latifah as Lula.

I imagine the Rock playing Ranger, but it really depends who they cast as Stephanie. I think the Rock is on the older side to play Ranger, so if Stephanie is particularly young looking, like Anne Hathaway, it might not work for him to be cast as Ranger or it would seem creepy. Another good idea for Ranger is Vin Diesel. But again, chemistry between the actors is key.

For Joe Morelli, I always imagine someone who looks like Danny Nucci, but I don’t necessarily think he’s popular enough to get the role. Mark Ruffalo could also work, if he hit the gym.

Who Should Play Stephanie Plum in a Movie?

I have some ideas about possible actresses who could pull off the role of Stephanie Plum in a movie adaptation of Janet Evanovich’s popular mystery/romance/adventure novels. Ten years ago I think Sandra Bullock would have been the perfect choice to play Stephanie. Unfortunately, and while it’s totally unfair, I just don’t see any major movie studio agreeing to cast Sandra Bullock  or any other actress over the age of thirty-nine as Stephanie. Sandra Bullock is gorgeous and she’s a great actress, but it’s just not going to happen. That being said, as I started to think about alternatives I came up with two actresses who seem plausible as Stephanie – Michelle Monaghan and Anne Hathaway. Although, I think Anne Hathaway might be a touch young. What do you think?

I also thought of a few more actresses I could envision as Stephanie.  In some ways I’d put this person slightly ahead of, or at least tied with, Anne Hathaway. Her name is Anna Friel and she’s English. She’s the right age and she’s recently become known in the US for her role in the cancelled ABC tv show Pushing Daisies. I’ve been a fan ever since her role in the BBC film adaptation of Charles Dickens’s Our Mutual Friend. 

Another person I’ve heard mentioned is Evangeline Lilly. 

I could also see Jennifer Garner as Stephanie.

Just for fun, here are some of the actresses under the age of forty who I’d never want to see play Stephanie:

Reese Witherspoon (love her, but she’s not right for this part)
Angelina Jolie
Jessica Alba
Jessica Biel
Cameron Diaz
Eva Mendes
Eva Longoria Parker
Jennifer Love Hewitt
Emily Blunt
Liv Tyler
Clare Danes
Alyssa Milano
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Amanda Peet
Katherine Heigl