Musings on eating + moving

Like many of the busy folks we come across here in the DMV, Chris Upham’s life is a juggle of lots of important stuff – building a career, raising a family (2 boys), trying to stay healthy, carving snippets of time out for fun. Somehow amidst all that action, he’s managed to get in the best shape he can remember, lose 30 pounds and find renewed oomph for job, family and fun too.

Pre-changes Chris

Before the birth of his first son, Daniel, Chris’ family life was pretty strained and his career was still feeling the aftershock of the 2008 financial crash. 30+ lbs heavier than his happy weight, he was out of shape, episodic with his fitness and struggling to eat well with any consistency. All in all he was carrying around more than he wanted to on a number of fronts.

No delivery Thursday December 24th folks. Lots of you are traveling the week of Christmas, and it’s a great spot for chefs (and their great teams) in the PS community to get a rejuvenating breather.  

So fired up to have recently started serving intentional eaters and movers in the SF Bay area. We’ve got a great community of independent local chefs coming together to serve up distinct takes on food that’s not only super good for you but also tastes freaking great.

In these early days we’re in a preview mode. Think, “up and running, ready to roll, with an eye out for inevitable spots for touch-up in the early going”.

Come this time of year when family (by that I mean that multi-generational, in-law/sibling/cousin/neighbor influx coming soon to a "holiday" near you) meal prep is on the rise, there's often an almost election-like revisiting of familiar kitchen policy debates. Like the rules for preparing poultry... how long to cook, how much to scrub yourself and the bird before cooking, etc. The home team has their take. The visiting team then pipes in with their theory. Before long benches are clearing and you're considering player suspensions.

“Someone asks you to do something… you figure out who to go to, what you need for it... and then make it happen!”

So says the local fitness guru that we’re taking inspiration from this month (and who recently joined us for a tasting with Chef Anna) Madeline Ann Dolente, personal trainer extraordinaire, creator of Lava Cycle and Reebok ONE Ambassador.  

Hard to think of something we dig more than sharing yummy food with interesting people and gabbing about the experience.  We got to do just that recently in the latest of our #mypowermoment tastings.

This week we're dishing on a cool, crisp and refreshing summer soup recipe with another of the great makers in the Power Supply chef network, Sara Polon of Soupergirl. Her journey to soup mastery started in the pages of a book.

“How did this happen? The short and the long of it - I read Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma and got really excited about the potential impact of the local movement and seasonality.” 

Carrying forward the culinary vision of Le Cordon Bleu trained founding Chef Stefan Niemczyk, Chefs Vice and Tony of the Elite Eats kitchen in LA are brewing up all sorts of goodies, including this week’s recipe share – Pistachio Crusted Salmon Cakes.