ian- were you by any chance a chef at any point in your life? or do you just have a fetish for high-quality food, like me, and no real pedigree?

i have always taken cooking as a challenge, and have always taken joy from the unique pleasure of feeding someone's soul with fabulous foods. needless to say, going low-carb looked to be a real downer for me (italian was my absolute fave- read incredible fresh pasta dishes... *sigh*), but after making the commitment, i realized that it was yet another challenge, and perhaps the best one yet! and one that few people i know can beat me at! *grin* i have met people whose handmade croissants licked mine a hundred fold, but i have yet to meet someone who could boast that "that lemon-blueberry muffin you just enjoyed had 2 (count 'em, TWO) grams of carbohydrates, was chock full of high quality protein and fiber, and free of any processed frankensubstances or trans-fats" you know what i mean? i have conquered curries and sushi and timpani and hollandaise and etc... but making low-carb bread that doesn't taste like scrambled eggs with sand in it... now THAT's a challenge!!!

most often the comments i get over meals i serve to friends is "oh my God, i can feel my arteries hardening just smelling this..." i just smile and dig in, and tighten my belt another notch!

sounds like an awesome dinner- sometimes i feel like i'm alone in feeling that trading our donuts and mountain dew for slim jims and diet rite is really not improving us at all... thanks for the encouragement!