Sunday Letters

Cooking/Recipes

Cookin’ and home shoppin’

heather

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything – sorry about that.  I was in NYC with my bros weekend before last, and then after that I got obsessed with finding a new home and couldn’t really focus on anything productive.  Our current home is a cute little number, almost perfect for Tim, Lucent, and me.  It has tons of character, nice bones, and beautiful hard-wood floors.  However, as you know if you read this blog, I kind of like to cook.  And I rather like having people over to eat my cooking.  Our 791 sq foot house is not very conducive to this, however.  We have a galley kitchen that is a tight fit for Tim and me, much less any company.  We only have 2 bedrooms and one bathroom, which works out fine except for the fact that ALL of our relatives live elsewhere – anywhere from Monticello 1.5 hours away to New York City to Phoenix, AZ.  As a result of our dispersed family, we have visitors staying with us at least 4-6 times per year.  Within about 2 days, it gets to be quite cozy (aka overwhelming).

I added up all these thoughts, tossed in my life-long desire to build my dream home, and decided to meet with a local builder who builds quality, well-built houses.  I’m still not sure if it was a good idea to meet with him or not.  We discovered that we can, in fact, build exactly what we want.  However, it will cost us at least $50,000 more than we really want to spend, and we will have to sacrifice our excellent location in central Davenport (close to the bike path and within walking distance of the grocery store, parks, and restaurants).  So now I’m even more confused about what to do.  Options are my bane.

To further complicate the issue, Tim and I looked at existing houses for sale over the weekend.  In the neighborhoods we like (central or east D, close to the River Drive bike path or Duck Creek bike path), the houses are all either super expensive ($190K for a house from the 1950s that needs new windows, siding, etc.), or smelly (cat pee, anyone??), or oddly put together.

So we are back to square one – spend $50K more than we want (but can technically afford) or stay in our little house that is perfect for us pretty much 80% of the time.  My www.mrmoneymustache.com-reading self says this is a no brainer.  Stay here, pay off this house in 7-10 years and enjoy decades of NO HOUSE PAYMENTS.  My recent philosophical readings of The Power of Now and A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy both dictate that instead of focusing on how nice it would be to have a bigger, better, more functional house, I focus on how much I love our current house, how cute it is, what a great location it is, how comfy it is.  I recognize this with my brain, but my stupid heart still wants its 3 bedroom, 2 bath, open floor plan house painted in lovely shades of chocolate and grey with cedar shake siding.  It would be all kinds of adorable and awesome.  So, which Heather will win??  I’m thinking the brainy one, because Tim is more on her side.  Maybe some day a long-lost relative will leave me a bazillion dollars, and then I can have my perfect little house.  If there’s one thing Stoicism has taught me, it’s if you just get the one, last perfect thing that you really, really want, you will be happy. 😉

In between looking at janky expensive houses and trying to figure out how frugal I could really be if it meant Hlo getting a new house, I tried a couple of new recipes.

Buffalo chicken egg muffins:  These little bastards were all sorts of delicious and easy.  Make them post haste.  This recipe will definitely stay in my repertoire.  My only note on this recipe – I added 2 full chicken breasts, and I ended up with 10 muffins instead of 6.  So be prepared.

Everyday Paleo Chile Verde:  I made this yesterday, and Tim was a huge fan!  He really liked the flavor.  It was very limey.  I thought it was good, but it didn’t blow me away.  It seemed to be a lot of work too!  The kitchen (the small, galley kitchen with very little work space, remember??) was a disaster, and I literally got a blister on my finger from cutting up the pork. I think I need sharper knives.  It also gave us verde poop.  All in all, though, I would make this again.  I’ll just make Tim cut up the pork next time.

And that’s been our past week or two.  Exciting stuff, eh??  Well, I better sign off so I can start doing some internet research about how to start making money on the internet in my spare time.  🙂

Cooking/Recipes, Health & Fitness, Paleo, Uncategorized

Fall Cookin’

heather

It’s Fall.  That means:

1.  I want to bake all the time.  I made these pumpkin muffins again on Saturday, and by Sunday evening they were goners.  I found this article with 33 recipes that all sound fantastic.  I think I’m going to have to make this one tonight.  I’m in love with pumpkin.

2. It’s dark.  Like all the time.  I packed up my backpack last night with every intention of hitting the pool this morning before work. But, I woke up, and it’s cold and dark outside, and I decided that shopping for boots was a better use of my time.  I saved $80 by shopping this morning!  Amazon is offering 25% off boot purchases over $100, so I ordered these. If they end up working out, they will be my 4th pair of Fryes.  I have their Carson Oxfords, their Carson Ballet Flats, and the Campus Boot.  Yes, they are expensive, but I have yet to actually wear out a pair of their footwear!!  We’ll see how these boots work out.  I’m going to NYC on Thursday to visit my bros, and I NEED some awesome boots with which to impress them.

3.  I want to eat all the stuffs.  Our office is rife with leftover Halloween candy.  It’s horrible.  Fortunately this insatiable desire to eat has motivated me to try some new recipes.  I made this Primal Ham Bone Soup on Sunday.  My mom got us some beautiful, unique squash (squashes??), so I chopped some of those up and put them into the soup.  I also added some smoked ham hocks.  I put the works in the Nesco at about 7AM Sunday morning, and by 2PM, we had delicious soup.  The squash completely disappeared!  I think it melded with the broth.

I wanted to make buns to go with the soup because there isn’t anything better than buttered buns and ham soup.  This Paleo Dinner Rolls recipe sounded delicious, and the picture of the rolls made my mouth water.  Well, I broke our 1 cup Pyrex measuring cup, so I had to use our 2 cup measuring cup.  The measurement indicators are, to say the least, confusing.  I think I ended up adding twice as much water & oil as required.  The dough was not doughy AT ALL.  It was barely the consistency of go-gurt.  I tried to salvage the concoction by pouring the batter into a loaf pan and baking it. I baked it for 60 minutes.  The top and bottom paper-thin layers were salty & delicious, and the middle was just straight up gelatinous.  Gross.  I will have to try these again with the proper measurements next time.

Hopefully we’ll have an easy winter this year, so that we can still get outside and exercise and see the sun.  I’m already getting depressed, and it’s only November 4.  I’m doubling up on my Vitamin D supplements to see if that helps.  I think a contributing factor to my downsies is the fact that I just finished a huge project at work and am feeling rather listless.  It was nice, albeit stressful, to have something all consuming in your life for awhile.  It relieved me of the need to think about and plan out how to spend my time.  Now I have no excuses!  Maybe I’ll take my new-found mental freedom and watch seasons 2 and 3 of Downtown Abbey.  I do have an afgan that needs crocheted!

And that’s it for the evening.  I’m taking my boot-shopping, TV-watching, dessert-baking self to bed.  Adios!

Cooking/Recipes, Paleo

It’s 6:10 AM, and I’ve destroyed the kitchen already

heather

Teeeemsy Tee and I had a bit of excitement yesterday.  We has a super gorgeous snowstorm hit yesterday, complete with huge flakes of sopping wet snow.  Well, all the trees here in Iowa still have their leaves, and the trees are already stressed from a very dry summer. The branches of our neighbor’s soft maple could no longer sustain the weight of the snow, and down they came on top of our breakfast nook, ripping out our power on their way down.  Fortunately, the branches didn’t break any windows, and we don’t think they damaged the roof (still need to check that out today).  And our neighbor, who felt SUPER bad about the whole thing, stayed outside all night in the cold, wet snow and chopped down the branches that had fallen against our house.  We think we’ll just need to pay to get a gutter fixed.  It could have been much, much worse.

However, this all went down yesterday around lunch time, and I was planning on putting this in the Nesco roaster for supper:  Primal Beef Enchiladas.  I had all the ingredients chopped, the meat was already seasoned, my tastebuds were already watering.  But – no dice!  No power, no Nesco.  This particular roast was a 4 pounder I picked up at the Farmers Market for $25.  All afternoon at work I was worried about the state of the food in our fridge and freezer – we are primarily invested in the stock market and meat.  If it looked as if the power was going to be off for an extended period, I was prepared to co-opt the fridge at work to save my food.

Fortunately, when I got home at 5 the utility company was already working on our line. We went out for supper, and by the time we got home at 7, the power was back on.  The fridge seemed…coldish, so we deemed its contents safe.  The only disturbing thing we noticed was that the whole fridge smelled like the baggie of garlic & onions that I had chopped up the night before. Nothing some baking soda can’t rectify.

Well, work is insane this week, so I figured I better seize opportunity where I can, so I cooked up the enchilada sauce and seared the meat this morning and then tossed the works in the Nesco (which you can set at exactly 325).  Tim is going to check it around 10AM today.  Hopefully it turns out tasty.  Hopefully it won’t kill us with some weird warm-fridge food-born bacteria.  Wish us luck!

And if you feel like being annoyed at humanity, read the comments posted on the recipe I linked to above.  Mark provided this super tasty-sounding recipe, but many of the commentors choose to ignore that piece of kindness and focus on the fact that these are not true “enchiladas.”  Who cares???  Jesus, people!  Show some appreciation.  I, for one, don’t care what the recipe is called.  I just care that it’s delicious.  🙂

BTW, can you tell Tim and I have been re-watching Firefly?

UPDATE:

So.  I burned the roast.  By the time Tim got home, the roast was already burnt all along the edges.  🙁  Super big bummer.  Fortunately he was able to salvage quite a bit of the meat.  But the sauce was a goner.  We had some of the meat for supper, and the flavor was great.  I think that this recipe is worth making again, but I will have to cook it in the oven next time.  Lesson learned. 🙂

Cooking/Recipes

My first rib foray

heather

We got some country-style ribs with the hog that we had slaughtered, so I figured I better try my hand at cooking them up.  My friend makes ribs in the crockpot and says they are the bees knees, so I melded his advice with a paleo recipe:  Oven -Baked Paleo Pork Ribs.  I used the recipe as a guide for the rub, but instead of baking the ribs, I put them in the Nesco Roaster and let them slow cook all day at about 200 degrees.  When I got home around 5, the house smelled amazing, and the ribs were super tender.  I foolishly poured out all the liquid that had cooked out of them. That pork fat mixed with the spice rub would have tasted delicious poured over the ribs or added to some stir-fried rice!

While the ribs rested I set to work on the Paleo BBQ sauce.  It turned out horrible.  The recipe didn’t call for ANY sugar (or any paleoish subs like honey or maple syrup), which seemed odd for a BBQ sauce, so I added some coconut sugar.  I don’t know what I did wrong (did the sugar spoil it??), but the sauce was super tangy and bitter.  Bleh!

So, to get to the point.  The rub was fabulous, and I’ll definitely make it again.  The sauce was horrible, and I hope to never see it’s face again.

Cooking/Recipes, Health & Fitness, Paleo

And suddenly it’s Fall

heather

Last week was H O T.  On Sunday it turned C O L D.  As in, I think it might start snowing any minute.  The good thing about the drastic temperature swing, however, is that I’m in full-on cooking mode.  Tonight I prepped pork ribs for the crockpot tomorrow, a whole chicken to bake Wednesday night, and I’m currently baking the awesomest muffins ever:  Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins.  I made a batch of them on Saturday, and they were obliterated by Sunday morning.  So I’m making batch #2.  These are awesome.  I really shouldn’t be making them because they have quite a bit of sugar in the form of maple syrup, and sugar often makes me inexplicably feel like crying.  But I’m so happy when I eat these – maybe it all evens out.

Tomorrow will be my first attempt at ribs!  I put the spice rub on them tonight, and I will put them in the Nesco Roaster all day tomorrow, and then when I get home from work tomorrow night I’ll make the paleo BBQ sauce to slather over them.  Hopefully they turn out well.

I tried a new recipe last week:  Greek-Style Lamb Meatballs.  These were good, but if I’m going to make lamb meatballs, I’m going to make these:  Ginger & Lemongrass meatballs.  They are AMAZING.  Like you can’t stop eating them.

I also made a tried and true recipe – Heavenly Paleo Meatloaf.  I can’t find the recipe online anymore, but if you want it, leave a message in the comments, and I’ll type it up for you.  Tim and I are both huge fans of this.  We ate the last of it for supper tonight -mashed up with Tim’s homemade sauerkraut and sliced Claussen Spicy Dill pickles.  So tasty.

Oh man, our house smells so good right now.  I wonder how long it will be before we get sensory blogs – where you can *smell* the food people write about?

And with Fall comes more time for reading!  I’m almost done with A Guide to the Good Life:  The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy.  This book is so good that I got overdue library fines on it and then went out and bought it anyway.  The book is an explanation of the philosophy of stoicism, and stoicism is not what you think it is.  Stoicism is not about being reserved and controlled, it’s about learning to be happy with what you already have.  It helps you break free from the cycle of consumerism and from constantly chasing your insatiable desires.  Once I finish it, I’m going to re-read it and then make everyone I know read it.

I also just bought a book (for $1.07!) by Margaret Atwood at the used book store.  I ran across an article about her on Lifehacker, and it piqued my interest.  She is friends with Ursula K. Le Guin, who I really like, so I figured I would try her out.  My brainy Facebook friends highly recommend her as well, so I’m excited to start the book.

And despite the shorter days, coolers temps, and copious amounts of food, I’m still trying to stay on top of my fitness regime.  Our biking has definitely slaked off, but we’ve had some nice, long runs.  Our next race is the 5 mile Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving.  My bros are doing with us, so I am really looking forward to it. I need to start swimming again too, lest I forget how.  Tim wants to do at least 1 tri next summer, so I need to keep working on my swimming skilz.

And, now it’s time to r e l a x.  Have a great evening.  And go buy A Guide to the Good Life. I command thee!  And read it post haste.

Cooking/Recipes, Health & Fitness, Paleo

Tastiest Supper Ever and Festmasters and Their Slutty Wives

heather

I made this tried and true Garlic Pulled Pork recipe yesterday in the Nesco Roaster.  As usual, it turned out fantastic, albeit a little on the dry side.  I think I cooked it a little too long, which is what I get for going out for drinks after work.  To moisten it up a bit, Teeeembits had the brilliant idea to mix the pork with his homemade sauerkraut.  Brilliant.  Absolutely brilliant.  This will definitely be one of the signature dishes when we decide to quit our lame jobs and open up the Sleepy Choo Paleo Palace of Deliciousness.

Perhaps we were inspired by our trek to the Wisconsin Territory for the Lacrosse Oktoberfest last weekend.  Admittedly, the trip got off to a rough start.  We arrived in Lacrosse at about 12:30 or so, checked into the hotel, and tried to figure out where, exactly, the Oktoberfest was.  No where on the website could we find the specific address of the Fest grounds.  We found a map of the grounds and deduced the location from the cross streets.  We then piled our road-weary, starving selves into the Fusion and headed downtown.  Unbeknownst to us, we were hitting downtown right as the parade was ending.  The streets we planned to use to get to the grounds were all blocked for the parade.  The other streets were all full of extremely drunk individuals with no regard for traffic signals or multi-ton vehicles who could squash them into smithereens.  We kept driving around, expecting to see signs directing us to the Fest and/or a parking area.  They were no where to be found!!!  We eventually, after 45 minutes, found a parking area, paid our $5 and finally unfolded our weary limbs in search of beer and brats.  Of course, it began pouring rain.  And we had no umbrellas.  Tim didn’t even have a hat.  We wandered off in the direction of the crowds, only to find more drunk people camped up along side the road.  We didn’t see a “Fest” anywhere!  We decided to just find food in a restaurant somewhere downtown.  Of course, thousands of other people had the same idea.  It was hopeless.  Hungry, cranky, wet, and extremely frustrated, we returned to the car and began the arduous task of winding our way out of the area, trying not to hit any toasted pedestrians.  We finally broke free and headed to the hotel area for food.

We used Yelp to find a good Mexican restaurant, and after some guacamole and margaritas, we were feeling much more sanguine.  We hit up the local Woodmans to stock up on beer and cucumber vodka and then returned to the hotel.  We relaxed in the hot-tub, watched horrible cable, and then worked up the energy to take the shuttle (which started at 4PM) from the hotel back down the the so-called Oktoberfest.

THAT was definitely the better way to experience the Oktoberfest.  The bus dumped us out at the entrance to grounds, and after paying $20 for our buttons, we were soon in line for some tasty local brews, listening to some cheerful Bluegrass music. We supplemented the beer with some brats and potato salad and really started to enjoy the evening.  We wandered over to another area of the Fest grounds, intrigued by the flashing neon promising FRIED CHEESE CURDS.  We got another beer and ate up the delicious, salty curds, while listening to an extremely talented polka band/family.  We were soon joined by a random gentlemen, keen on describing his maltreatment in the other beer tent.  It appears that some of the Festers were not respectful of his age.  We distracted him with cheese curds and questions about cycling (he was wearing his version of “drinking gloves” – bicycling gloves).  He repaid our attentions by introducing Tim to the Festmaster, whose wife bestows Festmaster buttons on to Festers.  He promised Tim that the Festmaster’s wife would slip him the tongue when she gave him a button.  Tim was not interested in the tongue (or so he said), but he WAS interested in meeting Festival royalty, and so he did.  I have pictures to prove it.

All-in-all, it was a really great, fun day – good music, good food, good beer, good people-watching.  And the drive to and from Lacrosse was absolutely beautiful.  We went up 61 on the way there and came home along the Mississippi on the way home.  Both routes were gorgeous.  I would travel to Lacrosse again just for the scenery, but probably not for the Fest.  Now, if they had a vodka or whiskey Fest, I would be there in a heartbeat.

Well, it’s bed time, and I have a long, arduous day tomorrow, so I better sign off.  Hope you have a wonderful evening.  🙂

Cooking/Recipes, Health & Fitness, Paleo

I knows youse kids like em sloppy

heather

I made Paleo Sloppy Joe Sweet Potatoes last week, and they turned out super delicious!  At first I was wary of the recipe.  It wasn’t smelling super delicious, and when I initially tasted it, it was just OK.  But I let the concoction simmer for 15 minutes, and out came delicious sloppy sloppy joes!  I used a red onion (I don’t think you are typically supposed to sautee red onions, but they turned out good in this recipe), a red pepper, coconut sugar, and our local favorite mustard, Boetjes.  For the meat I used a pound of ground pork from our hog.  Added to a baked sweet potato, this made for a hearty, delicious meal.   To simplify the meal, I did not scoop out the insides of the sweet potatoes and combine it with the meat sauce and then put it back into the skins.  We just put the meat mixture right on top of the cooked potato.  We ate the leftovers with over-easy eggs and avocado.  Again – delicious.  Try it!!

Cooking/Recipes, Paleo, Uncategorized

Recipe Catch-up

heather

Despite it being a rather busy week, I’ve been doing some (if I do say so myself) delicious home cooking lately.  I’ve been fantasizing about opening my own paleo treat business – perhaps solely as a way to justify making unreasonable amounts of paleo desserts.  On the advice of a friend, I made Chocolate Avocado Muffins.  At first bite, I was not a fan.  They seemed too oily and not sweet enough.  Tim said they were too coconutty.  However, I stored the muffins in the fridge overnight, and the next day they were delicious cold!  Tim and I both ended up really liking them.  This recipe is a keeper.

Next on the dessert tip was Paleo Fudgy Brownies.  I don’t think I’ve ever disliked a recipe from Health-Bent, and this was no exception.  I struggled with knowing if/when the brownies were fully cooked, on account of the fudginess.  I think I ended up cooking them 10 minutes longer than the recipe said – until a toothpick inserted came out pretty clean.  Straight out of the oven they were super soft.  However, I put them in the fridge, and =now I can’t keep my dirty mitts out of them.  They are super soft, chocolatey, creamy, and delicious.  So delicious, in point of fact, you have to eat them with a spoon.  And you want to eat the whole pan instead of just one.  I was reading the comments on the website, and someone had the gall to comment, “These were disgusting.”  That’s such a d-bag thing to say.  No, “I appreciate the time and energy these people put into perfecting and posting this recipe, but I was not a fan.”  Just a blanket, “These were disgusting.”  I think that poster is disgusting.  So there.

No on to real food. I made yet another Health-Bent recipe, Thai Basil Beef Balls.  We had these with a nice organic salad last night, and they are by far one of our favorite meat ball recipes now, second only the the Ginger and Lemongrass Meatballs.  I made 1/2 a batch in case we didn’t like the recipe (fish sauce can be kinda sketchy), but I wish I would have made a full batch.  I modified the recipe by using a sauteed pepper instead of a roasted pepper (I didn’t have the time or inclination to roast a pepper), but I followed the rest of the recipe to a T.

Now on to tonight.  I made Omelet Muffins and Brussels Sprouts with Bacon.   It was a bonkers good supper.  Tim will heartily agree.  For the muffins, I added kefir, avocado oil instead of mayo, mild Italian sausage from our delicious pig haul, and chopped up into fine pieces the following:  zucchini, pickled jalapenos & carrots, broccoli, garlic, green onions, red pepper, spinach, and fresh basil and oregano.  I doubled the recipe, so I used 12 eggs.  It ended up making 20 muffins!  I had to bake them about 5 minutes longer than the recipe called for, on account of the extra liquid (kefir and then avocado oil instead of mayo), but Tim said they turned out perfect – nice and fluffy.  They were paired nicely by the brussel sprouts cooked in bacon grease with bacon bits and onions.  I didn’t want to stop eating.  But that may be more of a hormonal thing than a tasty food thing.  It’s probably both 🙂

So that’s an update on all my new recipes so far.  Now I’m going to go sit on the couch and shop online at Banana Republic because they hooked me with a $30 coupon off a $100 purchase.  BR knows my buttons.

Have a good night y’all!

Cooking/Recipes, Health & Fitness, Paleo

Pork Foray

heather

We recently took our first foray into the world of buying meat in bulk directly from the farmer/butcher.  One of my friends on Facebook mentioned that he had purchased a hog from a local farm, and that the meat was great.  I got the details from him and contacted the farmer on Facebook.  They explained the process (which, simply, is you send them a check, tell them where you want the hog butchered, and they drop it off there within a week or so) and sent me an article to help fill in the details.  Tired of paying $9 for bacon at the Farmer’s Market, we decided to take the plunge, splitting the risk by splitting the hog with a friend.

The cost of the whole hog (non-confinement, no antibiotics, varied diet, humanely treated, etc.) was $350.  We got 145 lbs of meat from it, and the cost of processing (including offal charge, smoking, sausage, brats, lard) was $159.90.  So the meat cost $3.52 per pound, on average.  And it is DEEELICIOUS!  So far we have tried the ground pork, bacon, brats, and pork chops, and it has all been good.  Our friend who bought the other half said the ribs are fantastic.  We have yet to try the smoked ham hocks, lard, hams, ham steaks, and pork loin.

We did have to buy a freezer to hold the meat, however.  We opted for an upright freezer, based on recommendations from friends.  Also, we thought it would be easier to not lose meat deep in the depths.  The freezer was around $430, but that’s a one-time expense that will enable us to take advantage of more bulk meat purchases.  We are considering buying 1/2 a cow and possibly a lamb.

If we had to do it again, what would we do differently?  I would ask more questions about the processing.  The offal processing cost $29, which seems expensive for heart, tongue, and liver.  I know that organ meats are super good for you, but I can purchase those at the Farmer’s Market for much less.  Also, I wish we would have gotten the pork belly.  I’ve ran across 2 recipes on www.marksdailyapple.com that sound fantastic.    My friend who told me about the farm also recommended getting the pork jowls smoked, but I forgot to ask for that.  Next year I’ll get my act together 🙂

In the meantime we will be enjoying delicious, locally raised, non-factory farm, inexpensive meat.  Just pray that the power doesn’t go out for an extended period!

Cooking/Recipes, Health & Fitness, Paleo, Uncategorized

Mini Octoberfest and Buttery Turnips

heather

I recently ran across a recipe on www.marksdailyapple.com that, as a spawn of Hagemans and Zimmermans, piqued my curiosity – Sauerbraten:  A Classic German Pot Roast.  I had never heard of this, but it sounded interesting, and it provided an excellent excuse to have people over, as I am wont to do.  So I bought a huge beef roast, plunked it into a funky marinade, and sent out the invites to friends for a Mini Octoberfest/Beer Swap.

I learned a few things during the experience.  People are busy.  It’s hard to find an evening where the majority of my 20 or so acquaintances can all gather at the same time.  We ended up with a showing of about 9 folks, who contributed beer, Black Forest cake, coconut bars, potato salad, and cucumber and onion salad to the festivities.  It was a fun evening.  The sauerbraten turned out okay, I think.  Not ever having it before, I did not know how it was supposed to taste.  It was very…tangy.  The sauce when I first made it was absolutely TOO tangy, so I added a tablespoon of coconut sugar and 2 tablespoons of full-fat Greek yogurt.  That thickened and sweetened it up.  Tim was not a fan, but everyone less liked it, or at least SAID they liked it!

We ate supper, dessert, and then sat by the fire and enjoyed the late summer evening. We were in our PJs by 8:30, which is a perfect time to end a party, in my opinion.  :).

Would I make the sauerbraten again?  I don’t think so.  It was an interesting experiment for a party, but it’s too much work and expense for what it is – a sour tasting pot roast! Plus I burned my hand on the dutch oven lid, so I’m a little pissed at the roast.  Actually, overall it was a dangerous cooking weekend for me.  Saturday morning I was attempting to shake hot sauce on my awesome breakfast when my sensation-less fingertips lost their grip, sending the class bottle into a collision with the Corelle plate.  The plate ‘sploded.  All over the table, floor, and my legs.  I have Corelle shrapnel in my legs now.  It was very traumatic.

I recently read an article by Mark Sisson about the importance of socializing with people you really care about.  While hosting gatherings is a royal pain in the ass, with all the cleaning and prep and frustrations of dealing with peoples’ schedules, I’m glad we did it.  It’s good to be with people.  We all need our tribes!

I tried one other new recipe this week: Turnip and Bison Scramble.  I didn’t have any bison, but I did have pig, so we ate this with ground pork.  It smelled a little weird when it was cooking, but it tasted delicious garnished with some avocado, hot sauce, and green onions.  Of course, anything cooked in 2 T of butter would probably be delicious!

So we started off the weekend right – with a party and tasty food, and we ended it well – by taking a 20 mile bike ride, drinking delicious pale ale from Bent River, and sitting outside for 2 hours reading and soaking in the vitamin D.  We have a big event this week at work, so I’m going to be trapped inside for the next SIX days.  I had to get a lot of outside time in this weekend.

Hope you had a great weekend!