My favorite coffee and Chad's blog

Another 2 pounds gone! That's the great news.

Now for the good news. I've found a coffee that I love, that is made sustainably and can be bought in my small town as well as all over Madison. Kickapoo Coffee is an artisan fair trade coffee. My favorite is the Driftless Dark, which is bold and dark in flavor, but mellow. There's a hint of chocolate that you really don't even taste without thinking about it long and hard, but it gives it a lovely flavor. I truly have never found a better coffee. Kickapoo Coffee, of Viroqua, was named Roaster of the Year by "Roast" magazine. It's pricey, about $10.75 per pound, but it's worth it!  I have avoided Starbucks for a while because I sometimes get a fishy aftertaste and sometimes it smells a little like cigarette butts. It's gross to even think about, but I've smelled it a few times and so I won't buy it. And I hadn't found anything else I liked as much. But this coffee has me savoring each cup.

I have also found a fellow food fanatic, Chad Brown, who has a terrific blog on how to cook seasonal foods. Both he and his fiance, Lindsey, are in great shape and spend a lot of time hunting for terrific foods and great recipes. I highly recommend his blog, Local Seasonal Eats. Recipes currently on his blog include a lovely Spring Green Risotto and Alison's Wild Asparagus, Leek and Morel Soup.

Recent new behaviors on my part are starting to pay off. When I go out to eat, I nearly always pay better attention to when I'm full. I also package up food the minute I start feeling full. A week ago, we ate at El Pastor in Madison (Park Street) and after just a few bites, I packed up my food. I rationed it across two separate meals over the next few days. It was terrific.

The other fabulous trend is really walking a lot more. Instead of parking as close as possible and then walking as little as possible, I'm creating a mindset where I think "score!" when I find parking that's far away and having a great time walking to the store.  Tim and I went to a concert last night at the kid's school and I was a little dismayed that we found parking so close. But it was cold and rainy, and we were without umbrella, so that was alright.

Now, there is a little bad news. Lately, I've slipped back into drinking diet soda. One of my Skinny Chicks let me know that she has iced coffee a lot, but I don't want to go that route because I already have a hard time sleeping. So I'm going to start brewing iced tea. So far, I really like any berry-flavored tea for ice tea. We'll see how that works. And, of course, water.