The Thankful Cavegirl.. and a glass of Cabernet

The Caveman has many mottos..
'4 legs are always better than 2 legs and 2 wings' (regarding his preference to beef over poultry)
'How did we do _______ 10,000 years ago and how do we do _______ now?' (In regards to... just about everything... and how he can apply more primal instinct)
'Only bring things into your lives that make them better'
'That's what SHE said'


Ok.. so they're not all terribly clever, and they're not all originals.. although I'm sure Michael Scott DID take a couple of comedic lessons from Sir Bacon..
But this second to last one.. the simplest.. is the one that resonates with me most often.


I see people walk into relationships they know will make them miserable. 
I see people take in trouble-making animals that will be nothing but a hinderance on their existence.
I see people apply for jobs they know they will hate...
And there will always be a reason to do these things... somewhere in our minds.
Like.. if it isn't unpleasant, it means it's not hard work.. and if it's not hard work, it's worthless.


Frustrating thought, really...


But the pleasant memory that brings this to mind is this:


Last winter.
My condo.
A Caveman is on his way over for dinner and I've decided I'm going to surprise him with a beautiful meal.
I know he's been living a newly paleo lifestyle and I want to adhere to it, but make it special.
He comes in, exhausted from a long day at work followed by training. He showers while I finish preparing


3 steaks (your favorite cut)
1 tbsp butter
shallots, sliced
Fresh garlic, chopped
Baby Bella Mushrooms
1 bottle of red wine, suitable for drinking
Pepper
Beef stock


Once your steaks are seasoned and cooked to your liking, set them aside to rest and let juices redistribute.
Toss butter in your pan and saute onions until softened. Add mushrooms and garlic.

Deglaze your pan with about 1 cup of your chosen merlot or cabernet.
Add about 1 1/2 cups of beef stock and reduce by half.


As my Caveman came down from his shower, I greeted him with a glass of wine and spooned sauce over his steak.
It was such a simple addition to what he would have been eating at home (a slab of ground beef on the foreman.. bbq sauce on top) but all he needed from me was this small, thoughtful touch. Nothing elaborate or over the top.. just special enough to show that I wanted him there.
Just special enough to show him he deserved a delicious meal...
He smiled at me so warmly that I can still feel it.
 He would have been content at home with his Fratboy-esque culinary attempt and a night of tivoed episodes of Community.. but something about tonight made our life start to feel like home to him.
We curled up on the couch and watched The Ten while we drank our wine and took turns giving back rubs.
And he was happy.
And I was thankful.

Paleo Comforts.. Banana Bread

Just a quick one today!


I made some banana bread yesterday.. which led to long conversations with The Caveman, with a friend on facebook, with a friend via text, and with several people at the gym today.
So. Here it is.
Paleo Banana Bread.


I would post some pictures of it after it was sliced, but once I served Abrabacon his first piece, warm and dripping with butter, he took a fork to the remainder and.. well. It was a massacre.
I don't know if anything could have made me happier than the sight of my big strong man with his puppy eyes.. being caught enjoying something I made for him =)


Innnnnngredients...

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/4 cup flaxseed meal
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2/3 cup chopped nuts optional (I used walnuts)
• 4 ripe smashed bananas
• 2 tbsp honey, local if at all possible
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 and grease muffin tins or a bread pan. 

I measured my 2 tbsp of honey into a small bowl and microwaved it for 10 seconds to make it easier to mix into my mashed bananas 

cracked my eggs into a separate bowl.. that way if one is bad or I screw up and drop some shells in, it's easier to adjust and I haven't destroyed my entire batter. Break yolks and mix eggs and vanilla up before adding to batter.

Sift together dry ingredients and add to the rest of your batter.

Bake muffins at 375 for about 25 minutes, bread for 35-40 (or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean)

Serve with almond butter or butter. If you use margarine, I will come punch you.

Since there are only 2 of us, I thought this would exist long enough to become stale.. no such luck ;)

But I plan to make another batch tomorrow, slice it into sticks and bake it a little longer. I'll let the crisp bread cool while I melt dark chocolate chips in my double boiler, dip each halfway into chocolate, and take them as biscotti to add to our Thanksgiving table =) =)

Have a good week, my friends!!!!

It's Friday, I'm in love..

Once a week, Friday comes around.
Once a week.. every week.
Yet looking across the book of face, you would think it were a bicentennial event..
TGIF! I can't believe I made it.. FINALLY the weekend..
I'm not complaining. I enjoy seeing this once a week miracle.
But then, the inevitable question..
'What's going on this weekend?'
Because if you're not DOING something.. it's a waste of this too-infrequent gift!


The Caveman suggests we go to the ballet.. he knows how much I love it =)
I suggest we sling our exhausted bodies across the couch and camp out in our jammy pants. 
I know how much HE loves it =)


But we usually compromise.
We would go for long walks in the Old Market.. This summer, I showed him The Imaginarium.. a little antique shop. We wandered through, aimlessly. He found an old copy of Shinobi, a game he use to play with his little brother.. and a tiny little ring that became my favorite thing he's ever given me.
As the warm days grew late, we'd stop into a cafe or restaurant we'd never been to... sometimes with terrible results (ugh.. not even naming the place, for fear it's urban-legend quality awfulness will attract the daredevil reader) and sometimes with amazing.. delicious.. friendly.. just.. I'm lookin at you, Ahmad's.. with your singing waiter and your owner who sends food to your patio table.. just cuz you look like you'd enjoy it..


And as the weather slowly cooled, we discussed important things at length.. like the fact that I instantly and permanently lose respect for anyone who can walk past a pile of crisp orange leaves without stomping through them.. 


And now it's cold.
And it's only going to get colder.


New compromise.
Find hungry friends and feed them.


It's the only thing that makes the cold bearable, really.
I love feeding people I care about. Love it.. so much <3
Inviting a warm heart into your home. Sipping wine and chatting while I finish making dinner. Inventing flavor combinations that will forever remind you of a night by the fire, playing games and listening to music..


I can't help but wonder if my affinity for feeding (or rather, cooking for) people I care about doesn't stem from childhood nights in the kitchen.
I've cooked for as long as I can remember.. and what I remember is this:


A terrible.. awful 100 year old kitchen. Red floor. Orange counter tops. Peach walls.


I remember my beautiful sisters in the kitchen.. talking and laughing. 
Always fighting over what we'd listed to.. D wanted her new Paula Abdul album. H wanted Les Mes. E wanted Phantom of the Opera. I just waned it to never end..
We'd usually just settle for whatever was on Sweet 98 as one of us did the dishes, one of us cooked. One of us swept the floor and one of us cleaned the table and counters. Little L.. a toddler with her tiny broom and dustpan 'helping'. B in her highchair, our adoring audience.
All of us dancing.
All of us making up words to the music.. since we didn't quite know it yet, but knew enough to make it sound alright.
All of us wondering if our lives would be amazing when we grew up and didn't have to live in a house so full.
The weekends were the only times my sisters didn't have too much homework to help in the kitchen. I celebrated every Friday like the gift it was.
I didn't take it for granted. I loved my sisters every day I lived with them.
But I still wish I could go hug little Sara.. she really had no idea that one day, you're suppose to grow up. You're not going to see your sisters every day and people think you're unintelligent if you show too many signs of joy.


I don't care. I choose not to grow up. I choose to adore and miss my sisters every day..
The kitchen doesn't have orange counter tops anymore. They're white with gold specks. The floor, white and blue tile. The walls... probably an off white. 
But that kitchen remembers us. I promise you. Our happy faces haunt the home we grew up it.. echoing laughter and fighting. Phantom singing from the basement where we played star search..


The house misses us as much as I miss a 7 year old with freckles, worshipping her older sisters. 


So when you come over for dinner and I'm in the kitchen, singing along with Regina Spektor or Bon Iver on my Pandora station.. when I hand you a glass of wine and a plate of appetizers to put on the table.. know that tonight, you're my family. And one day, when I'm a grownup, I'll remember having you in my kitchen on a cold night. I'll remember how warm it was <3 

Creamy Chicken Curry. *Would a Gravied Ghost Glob by any other name still taste as.... savory?

When I was little, my Mother *for purpose of this post, let's call her... ShMom*  would give our dinner interesting names.
Sometimes, it was a ridiculous name.
Ground beef left in chunks with onions, garlic, and gravy is served over mashed potatoes with brussel sprouts to create a masterpiece; Gravied Ghost Globs with Moldy Eyeballs.
Sauerkraut with hotdogs, ketsup, and cornbread becomes SwAmP StEw!
Crab meat in a béchamel with pasta is lovingly referred to as Crab Louie.


And after years of eating Creamed Chicken Hearts on Mashed potatoes with gravy.. I learned that it was actually...
Ah ShMom! You know I wouldn't have eaten that if I knew it was actually chicken hearts, yeah?


Sometimes it was a name that existed for another dish, but if you were to order it in a restaurant, you'd be quite surprised.


I learned this the hard way when making dinner for a date.
I made pigs in the blanket.
Did YOU know that pigs in the blanket are just hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls?
I didn't.
He did.
He got Hungarian Cabbage Rolls.


Did YOU know that Stroganoff is sliced steak in a creamy beef gravy?
ShMom taught me to make ground beef with cream of mushroom on egg noodles.


It was only after finding out this last bit of information that the reason for this particular post came about. You're so close to my point! Hang in there!!


After having tasted ACTUAL stroganoff, I decided I'd make it for Abrabacon.
A deceptively simple dish to make.. delicious.. and if prepared properly, totally paleo! (obviously, no noodles) I rocked it, of course.. but then again, he is The Easy to Feed Caveman ;)

Which got me thinking.. if I switch out the sour cream in this recipe for cream cheese... a whole world opens up!


The next day, I decided to abuse my friends' taste buds. They're so accommodating in this way! We often use one another for culinary experimentation. By the way.. I love my friends. A. Lot.


And thisssss, my lovelies, brings us to today's recipe.


Curry.. chickeny.. delicious.. thing I made up! *this name is pending copyright* ;)


You will need:




4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (ya know? Dark meat would be good here too.. do your thing)
5 Red bell peppers
1 large sweet yellow onion
2 small spicy peppers (I had habeneros from the garden)
1 package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick of butter
curry powder
crushed red pepper
garlic
salt/pepper
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock


For Optional Rice (cuz I know you aren't ALL paleo)


3 cups basmati rice
2 tablespoons of lavender
1 tablespoon of cloves




Chop chicken and cook over medium high heat in desired amount of butter. (you may choose to add curry to your chicken before cooking.. I do, but it's not necessary as it will be a main flavor in your sauce)
Remove chicken and add sliced onion to butter until caramelized. Remove from heat.




Raise your oven rack to it's highest setting and broil red peppers until all are blackened on all sides. (place foil or a cookie sheer on rack underneath, as peppers will leak)
Remove from oven and allow to cool.
Once cooled, remove skins and seeds from your peppers and toss them in a food processor.

Add spicy pepper (optional) Slowly add cream cheese until mixture is smooth. Add curry powder, garlic, black pepper, salt, and crushed red pepper to taste.
Return skillet to heat. Deglaze pan with stock and reduce. Once reduced, add your red pepper sauce, chicken, and onions back to the pan.

You may serve this alone, with toasted Naan or Pita, or with Rice of your choosing..

For my friends, I smashed fresh lavender and clove in a mortar and pestle and put them in a tea ball. I place them in enough water to boil the rice and steeped it until the water was ready. Remove the tea ball and add rice.

Try not to cry with how delicious this is....

*sigh* 

End Transmission 

The adventures of Paleo Puppy and Juno the Cave Kitty!!!

Today is the day I introduce you to the smaller loves of my life.. This is Sasha. I often find that when people first meet her, they assume she is a dog.. a misconception The Caveman and I never bother correcting. They'll figure it out soon enough.
If you ask her, she's a people. 
Although she wasn't always treated like one.
She was rescued from a puppy mill. Taken to the humane society in hopes of finding her a safe home.
Where she waited. 
And waited.
Until one day, my heroic little brother (who was volunteering there at the time) couldn't let her be sent to her death. A sweet girl who never had a chance.. rescued by a guy whose heart was bigger than the house he was renting. My brother was determined to give this sweet baby a chance. I'm so proud of him.. and so grateful! 
The Caveman and I live in a house with an enormous back yard.. he even built the sweet girl her own room downstairs, installing a doggy door so she could come and go as she pleases when we're at work! 


Having spent most of my life terrified of dogs, I can attest that you will know when you've found true love.. even in the most unexpected place! I can't imagine not being Sweet Sasha's mommy <3

Then.. there's my little Junebug <3
Back in Spring of 2009, I was living alone for the first time. It took a lot of getting use to.. and honestly, the reason I wanted a pet was likely just so I would have someone to tsk at when I couldn't find the sponge or when someone didn't take out the trash. 
I took the children I was currently contracted to (as a special needs nanny) to The Humane Society.
We spent.. Hours. HOURS looking at pets. Sitting in the get to know you room as they brought in animal after animal. The kids trepidatiously played with a twitchy cat. They scootched against the wall when Oscar was brought in.. a skittish persian with bald spots.
Finally.. we decided to throw in the towel. There were no kitties for us here today.
On our way out the door, an exhausted Smalls (the girl I cared for) points at a sad black kitty. Bald in some spots. Broken tooth. Stitches.
The attendant smiled sweetly at Smalls and informed her that this was not a playing kitty. This kitty had been a street cat, recently attacked by a dog who was also in their custody now. 
The woman pulled me aside and quietly informed me that this cat would be put down by the end of the day. They were in the process of pulling her out of the display already.
I panicked.... 
Well.
Let's sum this one up...
This is Juno.. The badassest cat you'll ever meet. 
Survived being half eaten by a dog 6xs her size. 
Survived starvation (she was only 3 1/2 pounds when I got her.. at 2 years old)
Survived a couple more years of her Mommy bringing children over to play with her...


She's currently surviving curling up in my lap in a little patch of sunshine.. Bad. Ass. 


So. Here's the thing... Juno and Sasha aren't the only incredible babies who needed rescue. The Humane Society struggles constantly to feed and care for these animals long enough to get them homes. It's getting colder and they're already over capacity. HELP! Please.. even if it's dropping a $5 donation on their website.. just help.


http://www.nehumanesociety.org/site/PageServer


Feel free to share your stories of animal adoption here.. I love stories of finding love ;) 
But please.. please help!

Chicken Ala Awesome And The Easy to Feed Caveman

The Caveman (to protect his identity, we shall heretofore refer to him as Abrabacon) has very simple tastes.
His diet consists of cooked, unseasoned meat.. sometimes with condiments. Usually with butter.
I'm not so much picky.. picky indicates I'd not be satisfied even after having made a choice. No.. I'd say I'm.. selective? Appititally adventurous.
If you haven't caught on yet, this blog is partially about making up words. Appititally. I don't think Mirriam OR Webster thought of THAT one ;)
It's also about the overuse of emoticons.. but I digress.

I don't do well eating cooked meat with condiments 5 nights a week like Sir Bacon. I need spices. Texture.. Variety.

So we take turns trying to wow one another in the kitchen.

Every now and then, we strike gold.. Some dish so delicious it MUST be shared!

I have a good 2 dozen recipes that I'm insanely excited to share with you, but for today.. you get just one ;)

This recipe was discovered by The Caveman and prepared by yours truly just last night, to please His Royal Baconness.. I present for your approval:

Chicken... Ala Awesome!!

****If you are unable to find Awesome locally, contact me immediately. Help is on it's way..

You will need:

 

• Chicken. We used 6 thighs.. but feel free to use any cut you like!
• Butter. 1 stick.. cuz that's how we roll.
• Paprika
• Garlic Powder
• Basil
• Dried Oregano
• Parsley
• And 8 oz of Parmesan, finely grated

Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl mix parmesan, 1tbsp Paprika, 1 tsp Garlic Powder, 1 tbsp Dried Basil, 1 tbsp Oregano, 1 tbsp Parsley with your fingers.
Wash chicken in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
Melt your stick of butter in a microwave safe bowl.
Dip each piece of chicken in melted butter and roll in your cheese/spice mixture. Place in a greased (or foil-lined and THEN greased, if you're an awesome not-cleaner-upper like me) casserole. Bake at 350 until thoroughly cooked (check with a meat thermometer at around 50 minutes)
The fat from your chicken should render slightly, creating a gooey, crisp outside and a juicy... amazing.. delicious... holy smokes I wish we had leftovers......

Reserve any butter you still have chilling out in the bottom of your casserole and transfer to a skillet. Toss some sliced zucchini and red peppers.. maybe a sliced bottleneck squash in the beautifully seasoned butter for a gorgeously complimentary side dish =) =)

To Market, To Market...

I shop like a linebacker.
I'm just going to throw that out there...
5'9. Blue hair. Broad shoulders.
Head down.. long quick strides. Stick to perimeters.. that's where they keep the healthy stuff. Very little processed food in the perimeter.. hit the produce. Fresh and frozen fish. Yogurt. Organic eggs. 
I'm not always this way, mind you..
When I shop with my best friends Rob and Angie, it's a foodventure.
We touch and taste and smell any food we can get close enough to.
We get excited about ingredients.. What can we do with this vegetable we've never tasted? How can we get Angie to like fish? What if we took everything in our cart.... and put it in a pie crust??? 
When we're together, Whole foods is a gastronomic adventure.. an exciting world of color, flavor, texture, taste, and possibility.
But when I walk through the doors of the grocery store solo, I'm intimidated by all the screaming pitfalls.
Rows and rows of processed, boxed pasta sides. Frozen pizzas. 9 flavors of queso. ....The Chef Boyardee aisle...
So I stay out of the aisles. I stick to the perimeter and keep my head down.
Then one day I got bored. I didn't want to shop with my head down.. 
Then, like a ray of hope... I met Hope.
She was walking in just ahead of me. Tallish.. rosy cheeked... and fit.
I decided that since she appeared in optimal health, she must be an excellent grocery shopper... so I decided to follow her.
Yep. I'm just that creepy...
I smiled to myself as I followed her into the liquor department. I grabbed a cabernet (cuz.. ya know. Antioxidants!) She stuck to the perimeters, much as I had...
Then.... I saw it.
As her delicate hand grabbed what appeared to be an orange cactus, I decided it was time for introductions.
I needed to know what she was about to buy.. and how I was suppose to eat this thing? 
She was as friendly as she was helpful.. Kiwano. It's a fruit.. I eventually learned it tastes like anything from a banana to a strange kiwi/cucumber.. and we talked about all the other fruits and foods that one or the other of us didn't know how to use. 
We said our goodbyes, but not before agreeing that we would, by the end of 2011, have tried every fruit and vegetable in the produce department.
When I see someone buying something I don't recognize, I ask now. 
They can't all be Rob and Angie.. and they can't all be Hope, but I like to think they're all a little like me. Curious. Hungry. Healthy.
My name is Sara. I AM that weird blue haired girl following you in the supermarket.
Come say hi =)