Tales of Turkey.. and Grain-Free French Toast =)

Abrabacon always laughs at this episode of Portlandia, but it's pretty accurate.
Here's a picture of the chicken we will be serving for you today.. his name was Colin. He had a very happy life..
It really is funny.. But it's exactly what we were looking for.


I don't think you should be allowed to eat meat unless you know where it came from. Unless you can go to the places your food is kept and not flinch. Unless you can watch it be slaughtered and still sit down to your meal.


There is SO much disconnect between Americans and our food.. and I believe that plays a huge factor in Americans and our wonderful relationship with our heart spcialist. Our Endocrinologist. Our Gastroenterologist. Dietician. Personal Trainer. Guy at Complete Nutrition. 


So. I might be the only non-vegetarian yoga instructor in my city. 
This isn't a fact.. just a probably. Based on the looks I've gotten when I sit down to lunch with any of the yogis I know. 
They think it's impossible to eat meat if you know what it does to you.
I do know. And I know all of the benefits of vegetarianism. And I respect them thoroughly for it.
It isn't lack of self control that keeps me carnivorous. It's understanding MY body and what MY body needs.


But as an Omnivore, I felt I needed to be better connected with my food.


This started with a harrowing trip to the farm The Caveman use to live on.
We won't talk about that day... sigh.


But let's move on to today.
The Caveman and I decided to make our own turkey this year. I've made a few in my day, and was excited to flex that nurturing muscle. After all, what's more womanly than making a Turkey? It has become such a symbol of family and warmth and love..
That reminds me. I think I'll call my brother and see if he wants to come over for dinner... Be right back!




Where was I?
Oh ya. So Tom. Wanna meet him?

He's not cooked yet.. but his preparation was a bit of a milestone for me =)


See.. we got him from this amazing CSA we're part of. The farmer knows us both by name. He invited us to a bbq where he made amazing pineapple jalepeno brats and delicious burgers.. He supplies us with all of the grass-fed, pasture raised, happy meat we could ever want =)


So when The Caveman asked if I could prepare a turkey I just smiled. Duh. It's me.. I can make anything.


He didn't ask if I could cook a turkey.
He asked if I could PREPARE a turkey...
I was not prepared.


The first thing I noticed as I pulled the defrosted beast from his shroud of plastic and paper was that he still had feathers. Not all of them.. but many.
As I pulled them from the bird, rotating and taking care to treat the animal with respect, I notice several other differences between Tom and what I had always known a ready-to-cook turkey to look like..
For instance..
His head was removed.. but that was the end of it.
I had to butcher my own bird.


You know that bag of stuff they put back in there when you buy it from the store??
Turns out, turkeys don't all have those handy bags of goodies that you can just feed your dog.


I had to break and cut out it's neck. I had to find and remove giblets.. and other things that I still can't identify.
It took an extra hour (and many squeals from a cavegirl in the kitchen proclaiming that she doesn't know what she's cutting) 


But there he is... in the oven. Seasoned and buttered and ready to be loved =)




Sorry! Fairly long rant about food awareness!


In other news, I made french toast today!!
Quite the feat, considering we don't eat gluten or grain...


It started with knowing how much I would want a turkey sandwich tonight. Badly, is the answer to that..
So the caveman sends me this link to another food blog he likes. It's bread.. in the microwave.. in a minute and a half.
So I made it..
And I hated it =(
I don't like coconut fat as much as the average cavegirl, I guess..
But a little messing with the recipe and I'm sure I will enjoy it!
In the mean time, I hate waste. HATE IT!!!
So. I sliced the little guy up.. 

And I mixed him with some egg, hazelnut liquor, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. Tossed him in a skillet and..

OmNomNomNom!!!


Sigh. Sorry so long-winded today guys! But there it is. 


I hope you had a very happy holiday!! I can't wait to check in with you all next week after my family has OUR Christmas =) =)

In honor of the First Happiness Ninja..

I sometimes feel I didn't have a normal childhood. I worked a lot. I didn't go to school. I lived in a packed house.. with just one bathroom. I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was 22..

But one day, I learned that surviving childhood trumps any amount of normal one could ask for.

There's a recipe at the end of this lesson.. so if you can bear with me for a few paragraphs, you'll be rewarded ;) Otherwise... scroll on down!

I was 13 or so. Word had gotten around the community that I was not only fantastic with kids, but I do dishes.

Lila was 7. So sweet. So fun to just hang out with that I often forgot I was her babysitter. She seemed so little sister-ish.. She had long blond hair that I was jealous of.. but all she ever wanted to do was to brush and braid (rip out) my own ashy locks. Her parents liked me because I made her feel just like everyone else.The only thing I realized was different about her was that she was so kind and loving.

Hard to come by, really..

So when her parents asked me to watch her so they could go on a real date.. their first since she'd gotten sick.. I of course agreed. I told Lila that I just wanted to hang out and have a movie night.. so could she ask her parents if I could come over?

I didn't feel bad about misleading her.. because really, I did just want to hang out with her. I loved painting her tiny toenails and putting on fashion shows in her livingroom. The hallway was a catwalk. The remote control was a microphone. She was a star..

Just before bed, we put in a movie. Sweet Lila looked sad. She asked if I could help her.. her eye was very itchy and needed to be washed.

I followed her to the bathroom, where I anticipated eyedrops and a warm washcloth.

She asked for a dixie cup. As I turned around with it in hand, she held out her tiny hand and dropped something in it.

Her eye.

We filled the cup with the cleaning solution the doctor had given her.

My oblivious 13 year old mind started putting it all together.

Lila had a brain tumor.

Her long blond hair was a wig, donated by Locks Of Love. Her eye, a prosthetic.

We can skip ahead 4 years at this point. Lila's tumor had come back, and was successfully treated.. but the harsh treatment had cost her all of her own freshly grown hair yet again.

She didn't qualify for a new wig because she's so recently had one. Donations were hard to come by, it seems. More and more girls were paying for real hair extensions.. so instead of donating, women were selling their hair. The organization was suffering greatly.

Lila was now a young lady. At the age where you start feeling bitter and frustrated with your body and your parents.. where you decide if you'll be a positive person who perseveres, or someone who throws in the towel when life has truly gotten the best of you.

She smiled sweetly as I helped her pick a new scarf to cover her beautiful bald head.

I went home that day. SchMom asked why I was so down. I never did tell her.

What I DID do.. was reach back and braid 27 inches of ashy blond hair. What I DID do, was hand her the scissors. What I did do, was drop that long braid to the ground, in honor of the first Happiness Ninja. 

Lila changes my life every time her sweet face enters my mind. She changes my life every time my mind wanders to what I'll never have. She changes my life every time I realize my hair has grown past the middle of my back, and that it's time to make a new donation.

Once a year, I perform my ritual of 100 things. Removing 100 things from my life that could benefit someone else, and donating them. 100 things that have served their purpose in my life, and now must move on to their next mission.

Every one of those 100 things makes me wish I was a brave as Lila. 

So here's to you, sweet girl. 100 things. And this story, is thing #1. It no longer lives in my head, but in the hearts of anyone who reads this.

I promised you a recipe, so here it is. While you go about your home cleaning your life, go ahead and detox your belly ;)

2 Detox smoothies for your tummy's enjoyment =) =) 

Healing Detox Juice

Subtly sweet and absolutely loaded with antioxidants.. and super easy =) =)

Ingredients:

3-4 Carrots
2 or 3 handfuls Fresh Spinach
Handful of Flat Leaf Parsley
2-3 Sticks of Celery

Juice all ingredients (putting celery through last). Mix with water to taste or drink neat (your preference).

I like adding some tabasco and some crushed red pepper.. but I'm just spicy like that ;)

See? Easy =)

Want another one? Okeydokey... How about. Hm.

Super basic Greeeeeeen smoothie

2 cups filtered water

2 bananas

2 peeled oranges (try to keep seeds out)

1 apple (leave the skin on.. mmmmm <3 )

1 lemon

1/2 inch chunk fresh ginger *you can leave the somewhat tough skin on this guy for tons of extra vitamins

½ - 1 head of romaine, spinach, chard, beet greens, or kale

Throw your water in the blender and fill it half way with chopped fruit.. the rest of the way with whatever leafy deliciousness you've chosen. If your blender isn't super powerful, you might prefer adding things slowly while you blend, to keep your motor from smelling like burning plastic. Not that I mind the smell of burning plastic.. but.. well. I kind of do....

Blend for a minute or two until very smooth.

Nummmmm =) =) =) 

My Latest Crush (and things I like to do with him...)

I don't know if this is a fair title... it's so much more than a crush already. At the least, lust. At it's best.. visceral, carnal.. passionate love.
Love.
I said it. And it's true.
And if you only knew how flexible... how incredibly mouth watering.. how tender and easily butchered..
I'm speaking, of course, about Chuck Eye Steaks..


 The meat pulls easily away from the fat (which SashaDog doesn't seem to mind) and can be chopped up into approximately infinity completely different recipes!


A few nights ago, I'd spent all day and night shampooing the carpets at the cave. I was so exhausted that The Caveman decided to take me out to dinner =)
Unfortunately, we forgot we live in Omaha.. and that it was 9pm. On a Tuesday...
So after driving around for half an hour looking for sustenance, we threw in the towel and came home to forage through the refrigerator.
And as always, I had some of this beautiful meat on hand (See! The Caveman supports me and Chuck's relationship!)
Being completely drained and not wanting to spend the time preparing a feast, I accidentally made the most delicious thing..


2 Chuck Eye steaks
4 eggs
salt or tenderizer
pepper


Yeah. That was it...
There's enough marbleization that I didn't need any extra fat to cook this in. Cubed the meat and tossed it seasoned in the pan.. when it was cooked to my liking, I plated it and cracked the eggs in the pan. Flipped once and served them over medium right on top of the meat. Steak and Eggs and blissss <3


Tonight, I made Sir Bacon the stroganoff he was craving (using Old Faithful) but I was in the mood for something spicy.. so I made for myself:


Chuck <3
1 red bell pepper
1/2 yellow onion
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup beef stock
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp Chili powder
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper


Cube and season meat and throw it into your hot skillet. When it's cooked ALMOST to your liking, throw in some sliced pepper (I also add some jalepeno to mine.. but I'm spicy like that ;) ) and onion. There should be enough fat in your pan to keep these from sticking, if not, add some butter.
Once the veggies are cooked down, deglaze your pan with beef stock. Add your tomato paste and reduce by half. Your dish should be creamy and sticky and delicious <3 <3 <3 I threw some pepperjack cheese and sliced avocado on mine.. because I'm worth it ;)

I'm currently sitting in the den.. Christmas socks on. Hot chocolate beside me.. Sweet kitten cuddling up beside me. 
The Caveman is enjoying one of his Christmas gifts (Madden for PS3) and I am just enjoying Christmas.
And I'm going to keep letting myself enjoy it..


And as for my new love.. well.
He's going to be the guest of honor Sunday when we have company for dinner...
I wonder what he'll wear....

Stuffed Mushrooms (and other remedies for the blues)

When I had to leave my job, The Caveman was so supportive. SO SUPPORTIVE! I've been working for such a long time. Always in a job that was emotionally taxing. Nurturing people always do tend to be drawn toward taxing jobs, yeah? I love taking care of people.. but as soon as they can take care of themselves, I get a new assignment. 

He said that if anyone deserved a month off, it was me.

If anyone deserved to just sit on the couch for a while, it was me.

I don't know what awful thing I did to deserve such torture =/

In addition, I've been in the process of moving in for.. I dunno. 4? 7? 9 months or so.... but who's keeping track?

This means that every single thing I own is living in the garage or in a box in a closet.

So between the interviews and the unpacking and the trying to figure out how to squeeze my full-grown life into the full-grown life of another human's.. I sometimes don't feel like I've got much time left in the day to just be myself.

I'm sometimes just too tired or too discouraged.. and Happiness Ninjas DON'T GET DISCOURAGED. We don't.

We keep everyone else from getting discouraged.

We bake and decorate and surprise people with trinkets to brighten their day. 

We sneak to people's work and window ninja their car with window crayon magic (more on this later) so they can't help but grin after a long, tough day.

They don't sit on the couch feeling defeated.

Sometimes, it's not until I realize that The Caveman is on his way home from a significantly LONGER, physically exhausting day (9 hours of work followed by 3 hours of training.. ) that I realize I can turn both of our days around.

I just have to do something delicious. Like. Turn on some Hello SafeRide and make something pretty for dinner =)

I've been toying with sides and appetizers lately. It ups the specialness of your meal, I think ;)

So last week, I made some stuffed mushrooms as an appetizer to stroganoff.. and they turned out SOOOO good <3

I used an entire box of Baby Bella mushrooms by the end of this night.. but half of them were used in the Stroganoff.. For the app I only used

4 Baby Bellas 

2 celery stalks, finely diced

1/4 of a yellow onion diced

1/2 red bell pepper diced

1/4 tsp ground sage

salt

Pepper

basil

And mayyyybe 3 TBSP ground almond

Sauté your onion, celery, and peppers in some butter.. salt.. pepper.. sage. basil. Maybe some garlic =)
Mix in a little bit of ground almond to bind it just a little bit.
Do not STUFF your mushroom caps.. just gently fill them. If you pack them.. I dunno. Something bad happens. I think I've blocked out the memory of what.
Sprinkle a lil bit of almond on top (for crunch and texture) and bake at about 375 for 15 minutes.
I put mine in a cupcake pan.. in case they wanted to tip =)

  I served them with a little bit of cream sauce (which was basically 1 cup of beef stock, reduced by half.. 3 tablespoons of sour cream)


I don't usually let myself get down for too long, but when I do catch myself sulking, I try to make someone I love smile.
It's medicine, really. The only cure.
My life is pretty amazing. My friends are interesting and creative. My sisters are beautiful and thoughtful of one another. My brothers are complete opposites of one another in most ways, save for kindness and selflessness. I have 20 nieces and nephews if I ever need to see true perfection. And every night, I get to make dinner.. which I LOVE doing.. and it makes My Caveman smile.
I don't forget why I'm stressed. I don't forget why I'm scared. I just remember why I'm going to wake up tomorrow and do it all over again.

Dear Santa..

I've been.. reasonably good this year ;) Not like.. I want a car or a ring good.. but I'll try harder next year =) 

But this year.. I'm thinking small.

Small business, that is..

Omaha is so full of opportunities for people trying to make it on their own terms.. lets try to support small business and local charities this holiday season!

If you know someone with any services you can give as gifts, support them! Small business is HARD!
Jacob Duncan is an incredible local musician who offers his talents as a music teacher.. in addition to his regular gigs playing concerts, weddings, parties... heck.. sometimes he just grabs his guitar because you didn't look as happy as you could be if he WERE playing..
Small craft items Like bows and clips from Curly by Anna Rose make great stocking stuffers.

Give prints of a local artist's work.. they're usually very reasonably priced and make such a beautiful, original gift! You'll never find anything like a William Holland original watercolor or graphite. Check out Curbside Clothing for everything from prints to t-shirts and jackets!

A 1 year membership to Bob's Fitness, which is Privately owned and operated in Bellevue, is an inexpensive way to get a jump start on your new year's resolution, start a healthier life, keep money in Nebraska.. and support a small business owner.

Obviously I could advertise my OWN small business *ahem! LockeYoga which is currently offering single sessions and gift certificates for private in-home yoga at 50% off* Ahem! Scuse me there.. somthin caught in my throat ;)

Or for that truly hard to buy for person on your list.. well.. do they really NEED another novelty mug? Take that $15 dollars and donate it in their name to a cause you know would speak to them. Youth Emergency Services of Omaha is ALWAYS grateful for any assistance you can offer.. and the work they do is SO important to at-risk and homeless youth! 

So please, Santa.. let's be mindful this holiday! Of course everyone loves knowing you've thought of them and spent your dollars on something extra pretty.. but lets do something more meaningful to the people around us this season =)

And to any of my friends who have happened upon this Christmas wish.. if you have any businesses or charities to recommend, please do so!!

Thank you Santa! And I'm sorry for all the times I've sworn in traffic. But seriously.. it's Nebraska! Did nobody else see the snow coming?!.. again.. next year, I'll do better ;)

Love, Sara