The Drift of Things

"Ah, when to the heart of man
Was it ever less than a treason
To go with the drift of things,
To yield with a grace to reason,
To bow and accept the end
Of a love or of a season?"

from "Reluctance" by Robert Frost

Robert Frost posed the question. Is it less than treason to go with the drift of things, to yield with grace to reason, to bow and accept the end of something beautiful? My answer? It is not a betrayal of beauty or love to go with the flow, to age gracefully, to move on without a fight. To do so - to go with the drift of things, is the true essence of beauty and love.

That is Enough

“I exist as I am, that is enough,
If no other in the world be aware I sit content,
And if each and all be aware I sit content.

One world is aware, and by far the largest to me, and that is myself.
And whether I come to my own today or in ten thousand or ten million years,
I can cheerfully take it now, or with equal cheerfulness, I can wait.”

from Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

Skillet Meatza

Skillet Meatza

I've had this idea for skillet meatza for a while now, and I finally got around to giving it a try. Meatza is a paleo take on pizza. Basically it is a pizza with a crust made from meat. This skillet version is easy, and I think it's a winner. Here's how I made it.

Skillet Meatza

1-1/4 lb good sausage
3 eggs
red bell pepper, sliced
baby vidalia onions, sliced
mushrooms, sliced
kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
arugula
olive oil
salt & pepper

Brown the sausage in a cast iron skillet. (I used a 10" skillet.) 

Once browned, drain the fat and remove from the heat. Press the meat down with a spatula and ensure the bottom of the skillet is covered and the meat is well packed.

Lightly saute the onions and bell pepper in a little olive oil. Set aside.

Whisk the eggs in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.  Pour the eggs over the meat and cook slowly over low heat until almost set. Top with the onions, peppers, mushrooms, and olives.

Place the skillet under the broiler and broil on high for about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Toss the arugula with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Top with the arugula and serve.

This is how it looked when it came out of the oven.

Then I topped it with the arugula and ate a piece. Yum.



For Her. And for Me.

Whitney Houston
1963 - 2012

My eating was off track today. It started out with minor deviations from paleo, and then I found myself in a full blown sugar binge this evening.  I haven't done that in a long time. As I was sitting in my living room eating reeses peanut butter cups and surfing Facebook, I heard about Whitney Houston's death. She was basically my age, just a few years younger. I loved her in The Body Guard, and I wanted to BE her. I had a crush on Kevin Costner, and wanted him to be my body guard too. I listened to "I Will Always Love You"  over and over and pretended I could sing it like she did. Whitney Houston was talented and beautiful. And haunted by addiction. Now she's dead way too soon. I don't know why, but it's likely because she was never able to conquer her demons.  I cried for her. And for me. Then I walked to the trash and threw out the rest of the candy.

Buffalo Chicken

I found a great recipe for buffalo chicken wings in Make It Paleo. I highly recommend this cookbook. I've made the Buffalo Chicken Wing recipe twice. The first time I made it pretty much exactly as written and enjoyed it very much. The second time I made it I decided to include some drumsticks too, not just wings or drumettes. Thus the name, Buffalo Chicken instead of Buffalo Chicken Wings. I also made a couple other tweaks to the recipe; mostly I simplified the process. Here's the recipe.

Buffalo Chicken [Wings]

The Sauce
10 Fresno chilies, stems removed and rough chopped. Don't discard seeds.
1/2 cup yellow onion, rough chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 tsp coconut oil
3 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup apple cider vinegar

Pulse the garlic in food processor - a few times. Add the onion and pulse. Add the chilies and pulse until no big chunks remain.

Heat coconut oil in a large skillet set to high. Add garlic, onion, and peppers and saute about 3 minutes.

Add two cups water and cook on high for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

After 10-15 minutes add an additional cup water. Turn heat to medium and continue to cook uncovered until all water has evaporated and peppers are soft.

Transfer mixtures to food processor. Add salt and blend. Slowly add the apple cider vinegar. Blend until smooth.

Makes about 1.5 cups of sauce.


Make the Chicken

About 2.5 pounds of chicken drummettes and/or drumsticks
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 cup Buffalo sauce (recipe above)

Preheat oven to 325.

Melt coconut oil and mix with a cup of the buffalo sauce.

Place chicken in a large bowl. Pour sauce over the chicken and toss to coat.

Place chicken on foil-lined sheet pan.

Bake at 325 for 50-60 minutes for drummettes, longer for drumsticks.

Finish under broiler to get a good char on the chicken.