What I’ve been up to…

I’ve had a bunch of cool things going on lately, so I wanted to expound on them here a bit.

I’ve been working on a couple of projects with Screen Designs Inc (2009 Central Avenue Colonie, NY). So far, they added a neat touch to my chefs coat. Since I’ll be teaching a cooking class to a very large group next month in Mexico (you read that right!), I figured why the hell not.

They did an awesome job with this project, awesome enough for me to have something else in the works with them. I’ll have an extensive write-up of my experience working with them once the second project is ready.

Local yoga instructor, Katie Collins, put together a Yoga in the Park event at Washington Park a couple of weeks back. Musician Kevin Paris was there to provide the soundtrack for our workout, and it was a blast. A good amount of people came out to practice. The energy was great. Katie does an awesome job as an instructor. I’d highly recommend taking a class with her (she teaches at a bunch of places including EStudio). Kevin and Katie were kind enough to pose with me in my newest DDP Yoga workout outfit.

There were photographers taking pictures, too. Here’s a fun shot. See if you can pick me out from the group.

I got to see my friend Rebecca Breslin, another awesome local yoga instructor (find her classes at Free Style Fitness, among other places). We finally got a chance to get a picture together in the signature “DDP” Diamond Cutter pose:

I’ve been training like crazy for the DDP Yoga retreat in Mexico. A big part of that is my DDP Yoga practice, but I’ve also been hitting the Orangetheory Fitness workouts hard.

Another part of that training is focusing in on my intake. I’m eating a lot of protein these days. I’ve been working on creative ways to get my protein in, and protein waffles has been a recent favorite of mine. Actually, my trainer at Orangetheory, Sarah, sent me a recipe, and I made a few tweaks to make it my own. I have something pretty solid, solid enough to challenge professional wrestler, Stevie Richards, to a competition (Stevie has become well-known for his protein waffles). Yeah, I issued a challenge to a wrestler. He has yet to accept, so I’m going to kill two birds with one stone and make a video with my recipe this weekend.

For now, you can gawk over this picture of my waffle topped with sliced banana, D’s Naturals Vanilla Maple Fluffbutter, and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Speaking of videos, there’s now a YouTube button in the header if you’re viewing this on a desktop. If not, here’s the link to my YouTube channel so you can subscribe and get access to my video as soon as it’s ready!

And speaking of the icons in the header, you’ll notice there’s also a calendar icon. I’m going to use that to organize my public events. So if you were ever interested in my cooking classes, DDP Yoga classes, dining events, or other things I deem worthy of promotion, that’s going to be an easy place to find them.

My dad had knee replacement surgery, so I visited him in Middletown this weekend. They’re controlling his carbs, so I figured I’d bring him an antipasto. What could be bad about La Quercia proscuitto, Calabrese sopresatta nuggets, 3 year aged provolone cheese, and mixed Greek olives?

Assembling that plate at Whole Foods Albany was super fun. You haven’t lived until you cut sharp provolone cheese with a plastic butter knife!

It was also my brother’s birthday, so he, his wife, my mom, and I had dinner at one of our favorites, El Bandido.

That was an awesome dinner. I had the enchiladas with real-deal, authentic Mole Poblano, and it made me sad for the fact that there is nowhere locally that makes this.

I guess that’s it for now, so keep your eyes open for that recipe video this weekend!