gravitywins.com - Justin Belcher, Durham, NC

Dropbox/Git workflow

For a while I’ve been storing personal web projects in a Dropbox folder. This keeps files synced between my various computers and I just need to place a symlink in /Library/WebServer/Documents to view the site on OSX’s built-in web server. I like this setup short of two things (1) Dropbox’s version control is a bit simplistic and (2) deployment is inconvenient and hard to track. Git has come to the rescue for both.

The internets has plenty of info on Git and why it’s neat, but the main attraction for me is that it’s a local VCS—I don’t need a server connection to commit changes. Also everything Git needs is stored in a .git folder in the working directory, so Dropbox keeps this synced along with the other files. With very little effort I have a repository that doesn’t need an external server and is backed up by Dropbox. The last piece is deployment, and thanks to custom hooks this is also a breeze.

I installed Git on my shared web server, made a directory for my repositories, and set up a custom post-receive hook to move files into the live directory whenever a push happens. This process is outlined in detail here. Basically I develop locally and whenever I’m ready to deploy I push to my web server via SSH and it checks out a copy of the site into the production directory. Boom.

A few caveats: if you have root access to your server you’d probably want to go the route of setting it up as an actual Git server. Also I’m aware that there are plenty of git hosting services out there (like Github) which are nice, but for personal projects I’d rather not pay a monthly fee. Feel free to hit me up on Twitter with any questions.

Beef Stroganoff

To me, it doesn’t get much better than beef stroganoff. It’s a dish I’ve tried to perfect for as long as I’ve cooked, and while certainly a little indulgent it’s one of my favorite comfort foods. My recipe has evolved a lot over the years, but with a triumphant “wow—this is the one” from my wife I think I’m finally there.

• 1lb of tender beef (like top sirloin) cut into thin panels
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1/2lb of cremini or shiitake mushrooms, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup white wine
• A bit of good beef stock (veal if available)
• A few sprigs of fresh tarragon, chopped
• A few grates of fresh nutmeg
• Salt & pepper
• Egg noodles (I prefer homemade noodles shaped thin & wide—about the size of Monopoly money)

1. Melt 3 Tbsp. of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Increase the heat and add beef, salt, and pepper, cooking quickly but taking care not to burn the butter.
2. Remove beef to a bowl, reduce heat to medium, and add shallots and garlic to pan. Sautée for several minutes until shallots are soft and have soaked up most of the drippings.
3. Deglaze the pan with white wine scraping up any fond. Reduce this liquid until nearly evaporated.
4. Remove onions to same bowl as meat, melt 3 Tbsp. of butter in same pan, and sautée mushrooms. Add tarragon and nutmeg toward end.
5. Reduce heat to low and add sour cream. Place beef and shallots back into the pan to rewarm. If you like your sauce a little thinner (as we do for bread sopping) stir in a little beef stock. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve over egg noodles. A little garlic bread makes for a fine accompaniment.

A few notes about this recipe: (1) the choice of thin beef panels instead of cubes, strips, or ground beef is a texture preference—I like how an almost carpaccio-thin cut of beef blends with the noodles (2) some recipes have you dredge the beef in flour to create a pan roux with the butter, but I don’t feel this recipe needs any help in the thickening department (3) in the past I’d deglaze with a more traditional red wine, but I like how white wine turns the shallots into bright, acidic chunks of happy that balance the richness of the cream and the umami of the beef and mushrooms.

Above is a graph that I’m both extremely proud and a little ashamed of—my weight over the past two years. This past week I finally hit my weight and body fat goals, so I thought I’d take a second to reflect.

Near the beginning of grad school I decided that I was tired of being scrawny. An obsession with being rail-thin left me at 175lbs (which for my frame is pretty gaunt), and more than a few friends had expressed concerns over my health. So I got off the ellipticals and under a barbell, where intense daily workouts and a calorie-heavy balanced macronutrient diet yielded about 35 pounds of muscle. I felt and looked great, but the stress of my masters program was really starting to get to me. My workouts became too laxed to sustain the bulky diet, and at some point I just… gave up. Looking back I’m not sure how that happened. Maybe it was the loneliness of staying in college while all of your friends move on; maybe it was collateral damage from some tough family situations at home; maybe it was just mental rebellion over years of discipline. Whatever the cause it became clear things went too far when I stepped on the scale in Christmas of ‘07: 296lbs. We’ve all had sobering moments on the scale, but I don’t think I’ll ever forget that one.

As soon as I got home to NC I began my trek back to health. In lieu of fad diets I decided to eat well and work hard, and although that sounds great it can be excruciating to only lose a few pounds a month. Fortunately the place I work at has staff nutritionists and trainers, and they helped me stay focused, informed, and challenged. There were plenty of setbacks and plateaus to fight through, but after two years I’m where I want to be: an athletic 215lbs and ~14% body fat. I’m not vain enough to post a “hey look at my muscles” after pic, but rest assured 81lbs is a world of difference.

If I were to offer any words of advice it’d be to focus on eating healthy. Eating healthy isn’t deprivation—it’s simply being accountable for your choices and making better ones when possible. This usually entails budgeting for special meals or indulgences, but really that’s something we should all do whether we’re trying to lose or not. I’ve been eating this way for a while and it doesn’t feel like a diet at all. You also have to be patient. There are plenty of gimmicks out there, but your body will fight for homeostasis and the only way to keep it off is to go slow. This might mean your future holds 5-8 hours of exercise a week for months or even years, but it’s worth it in the end.