You might have noticed that I haven’t reported on the personal progress with my dieting and intermittent fasting lately. That’s because there hasn’t been any progress — quite the opposite. No progression, just regression and digression from the plan. Judging from the snug fit of my 34“ pants and my belt notches, I’d say I’ve gained about 15 lbs since the beginning of the year. Yes, I can focus on the fact that I’m still down 60 lbs since January 2020, but I’m not a ”glass half full“ kinda guy when it comes to my weight. My current mantra: I AM A BIG LOSER FOR FALLING OFF THE WAGON AFTER FOUR YEARS.

Which made it kind of ironic when I got an email from The Day’s new HR person inviting employees to sign up for a company-wide Biggest Loser weight loss challenge. I called Lisa in HR and signed up right away. Normally, I’m not much of a joiner, but the opportunity to compete for cash and prizes in a weight loss contest proved to be irresistible.

Actually, there is no cash to be had in this contest. I’m not even certain what the prizes will be, but I have to break this cycle. I’ve been fixated on building a viable farmers market side business, and that involves most of my free time cooking and baking at home. Which, by extension, means a whole lotta taste testing. And eventual snacking. And then, due to my impulsive nature, pigging out. The pig outs are far and few between, but the testing and snacking are perpetual.

For instance, I love my recipe for Nashville Hot Pecans. I developed that recipe over a period of a few months this spring and then sprung it on the unsuspecting customers at the Waterford Farmers Market. Proud to say that I have sold a couple hundred bags of these nuts since April. Yay me!

But picture this ... it’s 10:15 on a Wednesday night and I’m cramming the baking into the hours after my full-time job doing layouts at The Day. Tonight, I’ve got batches of the Nashville Hots and the Parm & Peppercorn Pecans on the schedule, and I’ll be up till around 1 a.m. getting them roasted in preparation for the market this Saturday. But, as I pull the sheets of roasted nuts out of the oven, I sample a nut off each pan before I put it into the cooling rack. That’s nine pans over the course of a couple hours. Which means an extra 250 calories outside of my noon to 6 p.m. eating window. It adds up quickly because I’m doing this almost every day.

Today, I’ve had my big floor mixer humming along for a quadruple size batch of the Pumpkin Spice Bisconies I’m putting out this weekend. Two nights ago, I pulled a quarter sheet pan with a test batch of six of these cookies out of the oven at around midnight. That spicy narcotic aroma filled my entire house. I weakened. I softened. And my resolve melted away. I ate all six of those cookies in about 10 minutes. And I went to bed filled with deliciousness and self-loathing. This is not intermittent fasting, this is just sporadic eating.

In the run-up to the Biggest Loser - Day Edition, I’m trying to focus more on eating fresher, more filling vegetables during my eating window. This week, I’m spotlighting two quick recipes that utilize some of the best summer has to offer: corn and tomatoes.

Southwestern Pickled Corn

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 seeded thinly sliced jalapeño (I used the pickled, jarred kind)

¼ chopped medium red onion

2 cups fresh raw corn kernels (from about 2 ears)

¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems

¼ cup fresh lime juice

¼ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

½ cup apple cider vinegar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon sugar

Place first 7 ingredients in a quart size jar.

In a small saucepan, bring vinegar, salt, sugar and ¾ cup water to a boil.

Pour over corn. (Add water to cover, if needed.)

Seal jar. Let cool and then refrigerate. Use within 4 weeks.

Note: If you’re going to try this recipe, do yourself a favor and get some corn from a local farm stand or farmers market. It’s the best chance you have of getting the freshest, sweetest corn.

I saw a recipe on the NYT Cooking site called Bloody Mary Tomato Salad, and it sparked my interest. I love tomato juice, and a Bloody Mary is one of the few alcoholic beverages that I’ll gladly swill. But when I got into the nuts and bolts of their recipe, it had almost nothing in common with a real Bloody Mary. I’m not talking about the vodka. The recipe had no horseradish or Worcestershire. The writer had replaced the Worcestershire with a mix of soy sauce and balsamic vinegar in order to make it vegan. Sorry, Charlie, it needs the Worcestershire with the anchovies in it. And no horseradish? My version has both horseradish and a splash of hot sauce. The bloodier the better, I say. Because this salad has a large amount of tomatoes and all of their juices, I used a cocktail sauce for the combination of concentrated tomato and lots of horseradish, which gets diluted by the juices from the tomatoes. The best, non-ketchup based one I have found is Gold’s Extra Spicy Cocktail Sauce.

Bloody Mary Tomato Salad

2 stalks celery, cut into thin slices

1 small red onion, peeled and cut into thin slices.

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 lbs fresh local tomatoes, any variety, cut into bite size chunks

1 medium sized cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut into bite size chunks

8 ounces cocktail sauce with horseradish (I use Gold’s Extra Spicy Cocktail Sauce)

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp hot sauce

1/4 teaspoon celery salt.

2 Tbsp olive oil

Place celery and red onion in a bowl, and add lemon juice, ¼ teaspoon of salt. Toss and leave to soften for 5 to 10 minutes.

Pour the cocktail sauce, Worcestershire, hot sauce, celery salt and olive oil in a salad bowl and stir to combine.

Place the tomatoes and cucumbers into the salad bowl and then add the celery and onion. Stir gently to combine. Season with additional salt and black pepper to taste and then serve.

Rich Swanson is a local cook who has had numerous wins in nationally sponsored recipe contests. He is also the layout specialist here at The Day.

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Rich Swanson can be reached at TheSurlyTable@gmail.com.