Stress Relief = Food, Good Food

Sundays can be stressful, especially in Mormon households. This fact didn't dawn on me until I hit the mission field. Sundays as a missionary in the Florida Ft. Lauderdale Mission in Miami in the mid-80's were nothing short of uncontrolled chaos - racing to get to church, where we'd spend the day, hoping folks would show up, filling in for whatever the local leadership needed, and just contending with the lunacy that was Miami in those days. I chewed aspirin like breath mints. Honestly, it's a wonder more of us didn't have strokes, but I suppose that's why we go on missions when we are 19 and 20. I was always so relieved when Sunday was done...today kind of felt that way. I taught my first lesson in the HP group and I was more than a little intimidated. And it was no walk in the park topic either. So I'd gotten up early to review it and it had me stressed. I do have to give props to our good friend Elaine for taking some of the edge off when in Sunday School (a slew of us are currently attending the Marriage/Family Relations class, aka Remedial Parenting) she broke down the word 'assume.' As in you know what happens when you assume...if you don't know, you figure it out. I literally applauded her. It was an outstanding move, one that would have impressed even J. Golden Kimball.

So coming home from Church meant an opportunity to decompress and relieve some stress. I've always found food to be a great stress reliever. However, since embarking on the Great Weight Loss Adventure '08, actually mowing through a heap of food to relieve stress has lost some serious appeal. And that, my friends, is where the Web has gotten to be all kinds of good. I can turn to a couple of websites and blogs, and I all kind of food happy. So I thought I'd share a few of my favorites today:

WEBSITES
CHOW - I love this site. Great way to find place to eat and the boards are awesome. Scored some great ideas about dining for our trip to Sydney in a couple of weeks.
Naughty Curry - I recently stumbled onto this site and it's a lot of fun. All things curry, all things good.

BLOGS
Asian Food - This blog is simply stunning. The photography alone is gallery-worthy. I want to be these people and go everywhere they go!
Burritos - Seriously, a blog dedicated to the burrito. It doesn't get much better than a killer good burrito.
Chinese Food - another amazing blog with cool photography. It's a feast for the senses.
Mormon Foodie - we are way more than the shredded carrot green Jello salad, people.
Orangette - the gold standard of food blogging. She's a gifted writer.
Pastry - is there anything better than a pastry? This one could gladly cause me gain back more than a few pounds.

So there you have it...a little more insight (probably more than you wanted) into my world. I'm telling you, though, perusing these sights does the mind all kinds of good. Stress...get the hence!