..."mindful of using that when needs using up first rather than what I want to make, risking something going bad." We are much more conscious of this - we are not bakers or sweets eaters but there is no flour or yeast to be had where we are, anyway.

Comfort food, heaven help me. Trying to eat down the freezers. Fighting the urge to bake . . .

I stocked up on what I'd mostly consider comfort food, lots of carbs because I want to have what my grandson will eat mostly, so lots of pasta, I bought some good cheddar cheese, but also velveeta for long term because it's shelf stable. I haven't bought that for 30+ years, maybe 40, but grew up on it and still love the taste and texture in toasted cheese sandwiches or mac and cheese (along with other cheeses). I never buy canned veggies but I bought some of those to store - I grew up on them and like them fine, but always prefer fresh or sometimes frozen now. I didn't buy any, but I even like canned spinach and canned asparagus, lol. Never eat it but I wouldn't feel too upset if that's all I could get. I bought some locally made dried Chinese egg noodles (like spaghetti) that were my favorite as a child. I didn't know they were still being produced. I grew up eating them with Cream of Mushroom soup over them. If I would have thought of it or seen it I would have bought spam. I used to love it, too. I guess it's being hoarded and impossible to find around here. Haven't had it for the same 30-40 years.

I bought my childhood favorite pancake mix (never eat them now) and some cornbread and pumpkin bread mixes.

Every single thing in my now doomsday pantry calls to me every single day because they are my old time comfort foods. But I don't eat like that now and I want to make sure I have the stock if things get a little tougher. So I'm actually eating really healthy with all the fresh seafood and veggies I've still been able to buy. I find I am eating less to make things go further and I am not drinking wine, as I'm hoarding that, too. So, I suspect I'll lose some weight, although the only exercise I ever get is swimming and the pool is closed. So, we'll see.

Not eating nearly as much as I used to, and thanks to Misfits I have several pieces of citrus delivered every 2 weeks. I am snacking on those rather than junk food. We did burgers on the grill tonight. Cooked 4, ate 2. The other 2 will go into the freezer for another tasty meal maybe on a damp chilly rainy day.

It still floors me that flour is sold out. I have quite a bit but only because I got it at the start of winter, planning ahead. Where we live, if 2 flakes of snow are forecast the stores immediately run out of bread & milk. They had said we were probably in for a bad winter. Turns out to be the winter-that-wasn't and I didn't use nearly as much as I thought I would and right now it is physically beyond me to do any baking. I've actually asked around and nobody around here even wants any of the flour, nobody bakes, apparently. Go figure.

On Tuesday, some friends dropped by a big bag of fresh steamer clams they'd dug on their property. I had them purging in saltwater on the porch until tonight, so I did sacrifice one of my loaves of french bread and a bottle of white wine to go with. Not bad for an isolation diet. I may have to break into some of the pasta and use the nectar and leftover clams to make a clam sauce tomorrow.That didn't take long to break my resolve to use none of my larder.

I've also been finding it difficult to enjoy eating. I've been cooking, but don't enjoy doing that as much either - too many worries right now 😟

Definitely trying to stay healthy and use up the fresh things before they go bad.

I haven't lost any weight and haven't really done anything differently than usual, but flour cannot be had here right now. So, today Madi and Maci came over and had their daily "lesson", we talked about growing wheat, and preparing wheat to grind and grinding wheat into flour. Their teachers are getting daily updates from the students and their teachers were impressed, said they were the only kids they knew that were grinding wheat, LOL. They chewed a couple of wheat berries, we talked about the difference between Einkorn and other wheats, and whole wheat flour vs white flour, and hybridization and GMOs. Then we ground wheat:

After that, we made peanut butter cookies from the freshly ground flour. The girls thought the cookies needed frosting, but I liked them, they were not very sweet but they were soft and fluffy and very much the flavor of fresh grain. A sprinkle of raw sugar on top gave them a nice crunch.

I'm thinking the rest of the wheat we ground might make some pretty decent bagels, so no, I'm definitely not losing weight, LOL.

John you're a grown man and you're smart and I won't lecture you much, but you really need to bring a meal with you if you are going to work those hours. If you get run down, you'll more easily become ill, and that would not be good for your family, your community or your new business. Take care of yourself so you can take care of the others who are depending on you.

Annie

Comfort food here, too. It's windy and trying to snow. I haven't even started to use anything out of the freezer or pantry (was Poof'n Poop on this forum? ). We hit Costco on Monday before the stay home order was given and I'm working on perishables... a rotisserie chicken, leftover corned beef (late St Patty's day). and salad kits. I've been winding down the last couple of days after several months of pre-construction craziness at work. Absolutely no motivation and wallowing in it. Wish I could take a three week break from the world under better circumstances. I'm a food hoarder, we'll be fine, lol.

You are right and SWMBO brought me a bunch of food to store in the office for breakfast, lunch etc. I can make sandwiches, snack on nuts, eat (safe) fruit, etc now.

I had a bad day, really frustrating stuff - basically bulls—t paperwork problems that took me away from working on the market and stocks almost the whole day - was cursing and throwing things. Normally I’m utterly calm, outwardly anyway, so that was weird and I’ve been thinking about why I reacted that way. Besides that I really hate bulls—t and really need to be running at top speed to stay ahead of things, I think the stress of launching my own biz in this period is getting to me. Also SWMBO was in the other room of my office making some phone calls and the sound of someone talking was so strange that I just couldn’t think - I’ve gotten so used to total isolation that I’m not used to coping with distractions - even though normally I completely tune her out (is what she’d say).

The thing is that you have to stay cool and unemotional, move with your greed / fear but identify when you reach a peak greed / fear and then change direction and move the direction opposite of what you so desperately want to do. Can’t do that if you’re rattled.

So I left at 7 pm and am sous viding some lamb racks while SWMBO is making sides for my birthday dinner. I’ll drink some wine and go to sleep, tomorrow I’ll ride my bike to work, then only work one day this weekend. That’s my plan!

Oh the other thing weird is being in an almost totally empty building all day. It is locked up, no access, realistically no reason to worry, but still feels creepy at times.

John I hear that. I have a little library in podunkville and it's a bit eerie being in there alone, even though I'm often there on Saturdays for hours after everyone leaves. Eerie driving to work, too.

So far, the only difference I have noticed is that eggs are difficult to find. Other than that, nothing has changed in the way I cook, and we still have a few eggs left, but I don't know when we will be able to get more. I looked into getting powdered eggs, but they were much more expensive than what we thought they were worth. We can wait until we find fresh eggs in the store.

they had two of those trolley pull carts full of big bags of flour they were unloading on Monday. I grabbed a big bag.. went around the store and then down the same flour aisle and the shelves were already half full/empty.

I find I don't have much of an appetite.........so I have not been doing much cooking or eating. The last real meal I cooked was corned beef and cabbage. And after plowing through what leftovers I didn't freeze last week, it's just been soup, popcorn or grapes. And breakfast, which is one of the few meals that appeals to me at any time. Tomorrow, I will force myself to make and eat a salad as I have fresh stuff that needs to be used ASAP.

I stopped by the grocery today to get bread, dairy and more fruit. Other than a complete lack of TP and cleaning supplies, the store was fully stocked. Meat, chicken, eggs and baking supplies in abundance. Any kind of packaged or canned goods. But the soup island was closed, as was the self-serve hot deli and hot wings bar. And they are packaging bakery goods differently - no open bins of bagels or rolls and all donuts were being sold by the box, not individually.

I find I am craving take out :-) Could murder for a good burger and fries!! Or fish and chips. Neither of which I would bother making for myself, as they just don't taste right homemade and are too much fuss anyway. But not desperate enough yet to go out of my way to get any.

Annie, I hear you on flour missing in Michigan stores, no sugar at the stores either. I started making sourdough bread in January and had more flour than usual on hand for that. And then I stocked up on more flour, eggs, and peanut butter to make dozens and dozens of cookies for a meal a group I'm part of was doing at a homeless shelter. Well, soon after that purchase, the virus isolation/distancing came along. Stores sold out of baking ingredients. The shelter cancelled all outside visitors and food so we gave them a $$ donation instead to use for in-house prepared food. That left me with lots of flour, eggs, and peanut butter - all things I'm glad to have right now.

We have been eating our fruits and veggies: fresh, frozen, canned, and dried. Eating healthy is one thing we feel we can do to help our physical and mental health. We try for some walks or other exercise every day, too. There are some comfort food treats, too. Guess that helps with the mental health if we don't go overboard. Chocolate chips for me, cake for DH.

We eat what we have as we do not want to go into public places if we can possibly avoid it. We should be fine with what is here for now.

And Olychick, I have a can of generic Spam. I have not eaten that in years. I have fond memories of eating it years ago on camping trips. We didn't have refrigeration on the trips. We sliced it thin and fried it like bacon. It was planned for our spring camping trip this year which is now cancelled. We also have canned beef stew from the camping stash.

We find ourselves more thankful for food and sunny days than in the past. We realize how fortunate we really are.

My diet is pretty much the same as it's always been. My life has not changed much. We both are still working. I go to the grocery store when I need to. But other than that we don't really go anywhere.We never really did,both of us being hard working homebodies. The only thing different is that we used to get takeout a couple times a week just for convenience since we both work long hours,but SO has declared that he does not want to eat out of restaurants right now. So I am cooking more,and therefore I am buying more when I do have to go to the store. I do have to work around the panic hoarders when it comes to meat selection. It's a shame that a lot of that will probably go to waste.

We are eating about the same or better. ALOT less but that was due to stress last week and WAY less activity. We are ramping up the exercise now the weather has changed.

We are well stocked in most areas but were down to one egg, no fresh ginger, one or two potatoes, etc. (a co-worker was bringing us his duck eggs)

Misfits a lifesaver. Then the wholesaler opened for home delivery so we are officially hoarders, without much appetite.

I, for one, finally got back some appetite. I've had an unrelated illness that might have affected my appetite, but I don't know. Maybe it's the bread. :)

I tried the KA recipe for herb bread again, yesterday. The first try was too dense and needed more hydration. I cut the flour (volume) by a quarter, and a sixth of what was left was KA AP rather than KA bread flour. It felt fine after kneading, but I think it could have used an autolyze period to strengthen the gluten. I didn't bother with a steel or stone, but got good oven spring. The crumb is open and soft without being lacy. The flavor is almost sourdough-like, and the herbs are delicious. If I'd been inventing an herb bread, I would have used fresh herbs big enough to see. The dry powdered herbs give a great flavor.

I think maybe the bread has stimulated my appetite. :)

plllog, glad you are on the mend. Bread is a wonderful thing!

Right now I am just so frustrated with my physical self. I would just about kill for a freshly baked cinnamon roll but it just ain't gonna happen :-(

Edie, I know what you mean! When I reported having the blahs a couple of weeks ago, I didn't realize it was because I was sick. :( I'm just so glad to have the same old crud, rather than what's going around. Feel better soon!

Thank you. Doc says at least a month before I will see much in the way of improvement. Blech.

Well, I hope everyone stays well, at least we're eating well!

John, I'm glad to hear you have food/meals available, and that you are at least getting a bit of bike riding. I spent the day repairing fence so the cows can be turned out onto pasture, and just being outside, getting some fresh air and doing something that seems "normal" was a good thing for me. Take care of yourself, and good luck with that business.

Edie, you should feel better just on time to be released from confinement!

Still no flour here and we're about to have an emergency, I'm almost out of Diet Coke, LOL. I have to figure out what I'm cooking for Mother and get that out to her, and pick up whatever groceries I can find.

Lars, the chickens are just now starting to lay more eggs, so at least I can find those. I just have to look under chickens for them!

Annie

Annie, Walmart on line has 4-6 packs of Diet Coke for $16.98. Might be worth the extra $$ to get it delivered?

Well here's another weird one... Can't get tomato puree nor tomato paste. All brands/sizes are listed as out of stock. I noticed a couple of months ago that I didn't see any puree but thought it was just a timing thing. But now paste too? Something's going on... Scary.

Around here, only two local stores were carrying puree for awhile, then Whole Foods started carrying it again. Before the hoarding. I assume a lot of people are making spaghetti and lasagna. ;)

Thanks annie. My birthday dinner turned out really well. SWMBO made mashed potatoes and roasted veg. I sousvided the lamb racks at 125F for 1 hour, then cut into chops, dried and dusted with garlic powder, seared and torched, made a reduction of red wine and the purge from the lamb. SWMBO made creme brulees.

For presents I got a pulse oximeter (kind of morbid) and a mason bee house (a nice hopeful gift). My present to myself arrived, a vintage Monroe Bond Trader calculator (a desktop calculator used to compute bond yields, etc - I have to fix it, and really this stuff is all online now, simply type in the bond identifier, but it’s fun to play with old stuff).

Today I woke up groggy and tired, went to the office, couldn’t shake the cobwebs, and decided that what I really need is a day off. So I did low stress, low brain stuff until noon and then ran errands at the bank and UPS, didn’t go to Trader Joe’s (they are letting in a few people at a time so there was a line down the block to get in), went home and slept. I’m going to wake up tomorrow refreshed, do stuff around the house, then go back to the office on Sunday.

We have had a young lady living with us, a recent college grad and daughter of close friends, who came to Portland because SWMBO got her a job in a political campaign. This has lately been a source of stress because she’s 22 y/o, not personally concerned about the virus, and while she intellectually understands the need for precautions and distancing, she doesn’t really get it. Recently she started dating a very nice young man and wants to see him, go out, go to his place for dinner, etc. Which I’m not good with because he’s kind of in a similar headspace, and his office isn’t working remote so I have no idea what he’s exposed to.

So I told her she should either take “shelter in place” seriously or live elsewhere during the duration of this, which is feasible since all the people running Airbnbs (5-7K units in Portland) are now desperately trying to find long term tenants and offering very low rents. She found a furnished studio apartment (ex-Airbnb unit) in no time and is moving out tomorrow. Hopefully she’ll return after the SIP but for now, I’ll be happy to have one less person in the house.

Yes. I wouldn't want a careless person in my home.

We're eating quite interestingly as i have more time to experiment and try recipes I've been wanting to try for a while. I'm shopping once a week and staying in or around the house.

I woke up to the news that 1000 people died in Italy yesterday.....very sobering.

The good news is that we'll all be okay by Easter 🤔😋😷

That is good news, Islay. Here in California, it's supposed to peak at the end of April.

I am making a batch [2 doz] cookies each weekend. with two of us, they are 'supposed to' last a week ... yeah right. I swear I don't know how one sneaks away every morning around 2 am ...

Happy Birthday, John, your dinner sounds lovely. I'm not sure I'd ask for a pulse oximeter as a gift, but I got a chicken plucker one year, so who am I to say? (grin) Yay on the mason bee house, I have a couple hanging by my garden, I like to encourage ALL the pollinators to visit and then stay a while.

I'd also have trouble with the careless resident, and I'm glad she found a cheap available rental space, it'll make it easier for everyone involved, I think.

Bragu, I think the dark has something to do with it, my cookies seem to just evaporate in the middle of the night...

Annie

Annie, I didn’t ask for the pulse oximeter, that’s the creepy aspect ... not sure exactly what SWMBO is trying to say :-)

Plllog, it was your president who said you would be ok by Easter, I don't think anyone else on the planet thinks that.......😋

Oh! I listen the the L.A. County health officer and the Calif. governor, but that's enough press briefings for me! I was hoping you meant that France would be past the hump by Easter. I know it's been very bad there.

Our peak is supposed to be this week or next.

Annie, what do your charge for tuition, and may anyone of any age apply: :-)

plllog, I love this question, and my answer would be: all of the above! Attempting to be frugal and use everything fresh before it goes bad; choosing one preparation over another to stretch impossible-to-find foods. And also comfort food, just because : ) But then worry sets in, so healthier fare! And finally, some pampering... Madagascar vanilla bean ice cream!

Oh Lordy, my favourite ice cream and this is the real thing!

I stocked up on eggs like a weasel.preparing for siege. 3 dozen in the freezer and 6 dozen in the fridge

An omelet a day keeps COVID away.

I went through the veggie drawer and found all kinds of bits and pieces so ... A big pot of veggie soup. It was mighty tasty. And enough left for another meal.

Still not up to from-scratch baking but I did manage to make blueberry muffins from a mix. The mix was actually for cinnamon but I had a small container of blueberries needing used up so I dumped them in. Pretty tasty!

wintercat, I had no idea one could freeze eggs, even blended. Makes sense though, as you can freeze things with raw eggs in them! Learn something new every day. Yup, 2 cups of heavy cream, 1 cup whole milk, 4 yolks, and I did cook to a custard. Limiting myself to 2 scoops daily... which is not really limiting : )

Oh, edie, that sounds good, and I just remembered I've a stray blueberry muffin mix in the pantry! Funny, I've never gotten that excited about muffin mix before...

I just scored a delivery window from Whole Foods. I only need a few things. They all went through the checkout process, so I hope they might all appear.

I've been struggling deciding which store to go to. I usually go to them in turns. I am going to have to go to the pharmacy later in the week, and also get gas.

I'm trying to decide when kind of bread to bake next. I keep thinking onion and mustard. I'm not sure why. I don't know if the mustard flour would just lose its flavor in the bread, or if it would taste weird. Mustard seeds would be too crunchy I think. They could be interesting stuck to egg wash, but I'm saving my eggs. :)

I can't comment on mustard flour, but regarding the delivery - yay for you! For what it's worth, and I hope so much it's not the case for you, when I order for curbside pickup, all items except TP and disinfectants go through. Midway to pickup time, some are removed. It's not until I get home that I see much more has been taken off.

It's so hard to order items for specific meals/recipes when you have no idea what is available and what isn't - it's just frustrating at times. Yesterday I was talking to DH about how it'd be more productive if I just went in. He said why not do that? I rolled my eyes and said, no way! Not worth it for me, for us. End of Rant. Hope you get all you want on your list!

I did not believe I was cooking or eating any differently. However, my bathroom scales told me another tale this morning - I have gained 5 da**ed pounds. At my age they are not easy to come off. Am reviewing my meal plans for the last few weeks. Dang it!

Oh, no! WalnutCreek, I'm so sorry! It's the law of fat conservation. I didn't know it worked remotely. The law of fat conservation says that if you lose five pounds one of your friends will gain them. <hanging head> Those were my five pounds, and I don't quite feel guilty enough to offer to take them back. :(

2Many, I was pretty hopeful on my order because of the whole Amazonness of it. I had previously tried as other people have said, and saw everything disappear from my list but a jar of yoghurt. Based on the difficulties everyone else had, I wasn't "shopping" again, but just looked to see if there were any openings based on the jar of yoghurt.

It said "limited availability" and "no 1 hour windows", but there were 2 hour windows for the whole evening. So I went back and added my few items (bunch of bananas, four onions, OJ, etc.). I took a flier on One Buns, which are flat sandwich buns. I thought since it was clickable that they might have them. They arrive to the stores frozen, I know. That one I figured was a crap shoot, because it's so specific. It's the only thing they didn't have and they offered a gluten free sandwich loaf instead. :) I declined. They offered white onions instead of yellow. I accepted. Oh, and they didn't even have an option to buy extra pulp OJ, so I just got regular. I added soluble fiber to it, but it didn't make it pulpy. :)

So on my list, when I get my flour, is making my own flat buns. I had a sourdough failure which I rescued by baking flats in a muffin top pan. I'm thinking something like a wetter pizza dough would work.

2many, no tuition required, I'll take it out in farm work, LOL. The next "lesson" will be chicken anatomy, the girls are going to love it when I tell them that chickens have to eat little stones ON PURPOSE to help grind up their food, LOL. And I'll have baby chicks by then. I think we're going to have our Earth Sciences class too, maybe plant some seeds and learn how the vitamins and minerals in our plants actually come from the earth itself.

John, I'm sure SWMBO just wants to make sure you're well. After all, the pulse oximeter is painless, she could have gotten you something that you could use to really hurt yourself, LOL. Stay well.

Wintercat, I've always frozen eggs when I was getting a lot, and used them through the winter when I got fewer. Now the B&B buys every extra egg I have so I'm getting more chickens! I'd love to be able to have so many eggs that I "have" to freeze some. Now, of course, the B&B is closed, so I'm up to 6 dozen in the refrigerator, and we got 8 more today, I might go back to having an egg every morning for breakfast...

2many, I've seen that ice cream before, and it's terribly unfair. I think you should have a big ice cream social when this pandemic is over and invite all of us. Or maybe we could just have a "virtual" ice cream social, everyone making their own favorites when ingredients are readily available again, a celebration of sorts.

Walnutcreek, I know exactly what you mean. I've been outside, not even cooped up indoors. I've been fixing fence and shoveling chicken coops and yet I'm still not thin. Life is not fair, and I want ice cream!

Plllog, I hope you get your order and get it on time. I think things may be "easing up" a little in the grocery store, although I also think the worst of this pandemic is still in front of us. (sigh)

edie, even a muffin from a mix is better than no muffin at all. Get well.

Stay healthy, everyone.

Annie

Annie, the order actually arrived early, in the window I'd taken for the yoghurt, though when I checked out my edited list it gave me a later one. That's the big score--a delivery window same day within a couple of hours with everything I actually needed. If only I could get a window for Amazon Fresh, for non-Whole Foods things, with the same luck on my list, I could try to get delivery from the pharmacy and never go out at all. :) I mean not past the patio or mailbox. :)

The pandemic hasn't really gotten to you yet, since you've only had a few known cases. I feel so bad for the people in Detroit! With any good luck the actions now being taken in the middle of the country will keep them from being flooded with desperately ill patients, especially outside of the big cities. What I gleaned from the news conferences today is that in NY they expect the next two weeks to be way worse, but are hoping that's the peak, we're 2-3 weeks behind NY, and with the early stay at home orders in the biggest population areas, we may not get it quite as bad. The surge of most patients needing hospitalization in CA as a whole is expected in May. Something I shocked my friends by saying was acknowledged today, that it's going to be a year or two (if we're lucky) before this is no longer a threat.

First case of COVID one town over. Nothing in my town (yet). But we're a small town that has no groceries or shops. Rather than going to the larger city with the supermarkets, I've dropped off once a week to the small town two over - which has a Mom and Pop grocery and a surprisingly good supply of standard food, including a meat and cheese counter. They now won't let customers in - you write down your order (or call it in) and they'll find it for you if they have it.

The town also has a Mom & Pop Tractor-Supply-like store where I can get hardware goods, and chicken feed / needs. That store does let you in (for now). Unfortunately they don't sell lumber - which I need for the upcoming quail housing. But I have some old pallets around here I'm going to disassemble this week, and I bought the hardware wiring and a wire cutter for assemblage.

There's a restaurant in that town doing take out (I haven't been since the shut down), a liquor store (yeah, I did stop in - and actually got a small bottle of Everclear...), and a cat shelter that I'd hoped to have started volunteering at, but since I hadn't quite signed up, I'm not going to, for the duration. (I sent them money via PayPal, however.)

I go out to bring egg donations to our community center, which is providing cooked food to anyone wanting some in the area. I go out to check my mail (we don't get home delivery here) and to drop the trash off at the dump, where it is easy to stay 15 feet from everyone. Unfortunately I do have to use the hand rail because of my weak knee.

Shopping on-line is like an adult video game. A wish list that will never come. It started happening over and over. By the time my secured date came, they were out of stock for most things. Then no delivery date to be had. Still that way.

NYTimes just listed a few more wholesale restaurant delivery services that will home deliver. Baldor saved us. I did have to purchase some bulk quantities like pasta but all the bulk is what we will use anyway. Not hard at all to get the amount up to 250 for the free delivery. Minimum for delivery. Lots of produce and dairy in small quantities like 1 doz eggs, 2 avocados, (bought 6), 2 onions, etc. Love wit rice so bought the 5 lb bag at a great price. Excellent organic feta. Long fridge life. Dried porcini are so expensive I rarely buy them anymore.

So check your local restaurant wholesalers. If your restaurants are closed, they have lots of stock to offer.

Some of my loot. The cheese has a sell-by date in September.

Oh, I'm going to check out restaurant wholesalers near me. I suspect, though, most of them are finding more charitable ways of using their surplus (I live in an urban area), so they may not benefit from my business. ETA, Sleevendog, I read yours again, and if they're doing this in the NYC area, then I might have some success. I will look around.

I have my young adult kids home who are health conscious, so, although I'm cooking much more than usual, it's all good, healthy food. One of my sons and I are doing a 5-vegetable a day challenge (must eat 5 different vegetables, preferably different colors, each day. Corn and potatoes don't count!) Because I myself only eat once or twice a day, my meals are very veg-oriented. I've always been mindful of food waste, but especially so these days. My lunch yesterday could have been called "hodge podge."

You forget, though, the metabolism of youth... goodness, these kids can eat a lot.

I recently returned to the clementine cake I learned about on this forum (I think it was). Made it last weekend, and microwaved the clementines instead of boiling them, which expedited the process. If you want something sweet that's relatively healthy on the dessert spectrum, I highly recommend. This is the recipe I followed.

I've lost another couple of pounds myself. I think it helps that my comfort food is artichokes not pasta. :) Your friends are just jealous. :)