Musings on Meat

Fresh Community Market Veggies - Yum!

Let me begin by setting the stage (or table as the case may be) for you. We sat down to dinner with Robert’s parents who are visiting Flag for a while. It was the summer solstice. The weather was beautiful so we sat outside. We had this amazing meal to indulge in together. A giant garden salad with tomatoes, radishes, carrots, salad turnips, sunflower sprouts and greens. A pile of roasted golden beets. A sweet corn and potato hash I had just encountered on one of the 1001 food blogs I read. Roasted carrots and sweet potatoes to accommodate my mother-in-law’s dietary needs.

As I surveyed everyone’s plate of food, I proudly realized that every single item, down to the onion and garlic, was either from our CSA share or the Flagstaff Community Market. Way to be local and sustainable! BUT. There was one more thing staring up at me. A big brown slab of meat. Steak to be exact. Steak that I had bought for just this purpose before knowing I was going to embark on a challenge posed by my friend Colette. Steak that after a bite or two, I decided was not really doing it for me and was filling up the space in my tummy that could be instead filled by all these amazing vegetables. I ate another bite or two and gave the rest to Robert wondering why I had even bothered in the first place.

Colette decided to take on a personal challenge to be vegan from June 19 to July 14. She also sent an invitation to all her friends to join her in this endeavor. You can check out the experience of the participants on Facebook at Community Challenge: Vegan for a Month. Her reasons for doing so? Here is a little excerpt from her invitation to us:

“However lately as I drive by the Swift plant and hear screeching pigs on the way to work or read about chicks with overgrown breasts that break their legs being jammed into wire baskets, or our that oceans will be depleted by 2050 I find myself feeling really guilty and awful about our level of consumption. Granted, I strive to eat as locally as possible, and am increasingly careful where I purchase meat and dairy down to researching how they are butchered to if they are grass finished or not. However, I can't shake the feeling that if I ate less local meat and dairy, there would be more for folks who aren't ready to be vegan.”

It should also be noted that she goes on later to admit that she is not sure worldwide veganism is the answer and acknowledges that our current food system structure could not handle such a drastic change and provide sustainably for everyone if we all immediately switched to an entirely plant based diet. She also talks more about her purpose in doing so at the blog she started with her partner Drew to capture how the experience goes. I encourage you to read at least the first entry to learn more about why they are trying out this drastic diet change. Her sister is also supporting her in the challenge and also blogging about it. She has some good thoughts and comments on food systems and sourcing as well.

Colette invited everyone to consider taking on one of four options:

1. I will go vegan from June 19 thru July 14th and encourage folks who aren't ready for it to buy local instead.
2. I will go vegetarian and encourage folks who aren't ready to buy local. I will try to source my dairy from sustainable, humane sources.
3. I will buy only local, humanely, and responsibly raised food for this month.
4. I will do challenge 1, 2, or 3, not for a month but for a day or one week.

Knowing Colette loves to eat well, and that in some ways this would be a tough challenge for her. I, of course, wanted to be supportive. So I opted for an emphasis on number 2, with a dash of 1 as was reasonable, and a little number 3 thrown in as an option to give me some leeway since I was not expecting Robert to embark on this little adventure with me. Honestly, I wasn’t troubled by the idea of giving up meat, but I wasn’t sure I wanted give up dairy and eggs. However, I mentally told myself that I would attempt to be as plant based as possible throughout this process and use dairy and eggs sparingly.

Important Things to Note

Robert and I already eat a mainly plant based diet with animal products being more of our “vice” than animal flesh itself. First of all, we like vegetables and grains. They are yummy when fresh and prepared well. This quinoa and vegetable salad is a great example of how we like to eat. Clearly, it is not vegan because of the mozzarella, but it was locally made and purchased at the Community Market. And of course, you could just leave the cheese out if you liked. For quite some time, meat has been more of a treat than what we center our meals around. Knowing the status of factory farming and acknowledging our budgetary restraints, we have mutually agreed that we would rather spend more on a small share of local beef through the CSA and stretch it out than buy $1/lb chicken breasts weekly at a big box grocery store.

Toasted Quinoa Salad

I would also like to note that I do not want to make any family or friends feel uncomfortable about their own food purchasing decisions and worry that there is judgment from us with regards to what you chose to eat and/or serve us when we are guests in your house. Of course, I will always encourage critical thinking about the topic and appreciate recognition that it IS a serious issue worthy of pause and consideration. We should all know and understand how our food is sourced and produced. What you do with the information after that is up to you. That is all I will ever ask.

The issue of using animals as a food source has been one that I have been struggling with for about two years ever since I took a philosophy class entitled Animal Ethics. I went into the class knowing the basics of our food system problems, but this class took it to a much deeper level for me and forced me to really examine my love of animals and my choice to use them for a food source. Can they coexist? Is it hypocritical to want both? I don’t have the answers… clearly. But, it was the impetus for beginning to drastically reduce my intake of animal flesh. In fact, a lot of times, it just doesn’t taste that good to me anymore. Psychological or physical reaction? Who knows.

So, you are thinking… if I am willing to do the vegetarian thing then what is the big deal with giving up eggs and dairy for a month? Here is where I am right now on these particular issues:

We can get local eggs very easily, and I believe it is an ethical choice if you have that option. The key is that eggs we get are unfertilized, which means we are not eating a future baby chicken. That hen was going to lay that egg regardless of whether or not Mr. Rooster was around to fertilize it for her. It will just eventually rot if not eaten by someone. I feel more comfortable buying from a small scale operation knowing that the chickens are be treated humanely, get to chill and eat bugs in a pasture, and are going to lay the eggs anyway. So, I guess that is why I am okay with eggs. But by doing so, I am also committing to spending almost $5 a dozen to do it right, which compared to grocery prices seems expensive. However, if you do the math, we are talking less than 50 cents an egg. Pretty cheap and healthier eats, really…. We have started exploring the use of egg substitutes when it comes to baking. We have done some experimenting and found some good options like combining ground flax seeds and water and a commercial egg substitute product that has given us good results. That also helps stretch the dollar a bit and reduces our egg intake.

Dairy…. That is a harder one. Anyone who bothers to do some research quickly realizes that for both dairy and eggs, words like “humane,” “organic,” “free-range,” etc. can have some pretty loose interpretations these days. We’d like to think that the idyllic drawing on the side of our milk carton and the organic stamp means that we are doing better… and I guess we are… but it is STILL a big corporate operation. And frankly, those animals’ lives are not really that much better than their cousins down the way as these large corporations still engage in some questionable practices. It’s a hard truth to face, but it is the reality. However, oh how I love my dairy products. Buttah (think Paula Deen when you say it to yourself), cheese, ice cream, cream cheese, sour cream, cheese (oh, said that one already didn’t I?)…. It tastes really good, and much of it is critical for proper baking.

Luckily, I know we can source locally made butter and cheeses at a fairly reasonable price at the CSA. For right now, I just don’t see dairy going anywhere in my life, and instead, I hope to make the best possible choices I can. That doesn’t mean I am not willing to try some experimenting like we have with the egg substitutes. For my first deliberate attempt at a vegan dish the other night, I made this Cosmic Cashew and Kale dish. It had some execution issues due to the type of greens I ended up pulling out of the freezer, but the creamy cashew sauce… Yep, I think I could use that as a substitute for some stuff. I know some of you are thinking, “Well, Cori, there are some lovely dairy alternatives out there made of soy, rice, etc.” My response to you, “they taste like sh*t.” Just not going to happen, boys and girls… and I could get on my soapbox about THEIR production, but we will save that for another conversation.

So back to meat. As I began thinking about all of this, I started considering whether or not choosing to eat the locally raised meat in Arizona is a sustainable and justifiable option as it is quite accessible here. Additionally, at such a high elevation with only about 75 growing days, large scale farming is not really a viable option for everyone around here. I should point out that pretty much all the produce I have been referencing is grown 1 to 3 hours away from here. What we do have is lots of open land that is perfect for grass and grazing. As a result, there are several reputable free-ranging ranches. According to this article, the climate is ideal for open land ranching and there are ways to do it sustainably and actually contribute to the ecological health of the area. Probably the best known is Flying M Ranch, which provides beef for many local Flagstaff restaurants. They are part of the Diablo Trust, which is an area land management organization with the goal of responsible and sustainable land use. The CSA sources a lot of its meat from the A Bar H Farm, which also cites sound ecological practices and humanely raised animals. I also found this gem of website, Eat Wild, which has the purpose of telling you what are your local sources for grass-fed meat, eggs, and dairy. It also shares information about the benefits of these practice: for your health, the animals’ health and the environment. Just like eggs from free-range, pastured chickens, pastured and grass-fed beef is a much healthier choice for you. The Flying M Ranch also cites several studies about why their practices make for a healthier product for us.

I guess the real question will always be, no matter how it is raised, is it ever humane to kill an animal for the purpose of eating it? For the time being, it will be up to each of us to make the decision. For me personally, I still go back and forth on the issue. However, I do find comfort in knowing that I have the option to select products where I know the animal has had the best quality of life possible. The other consideration to think over is whether or not eating meat on a regular basis can ever be a sustainable practice given the resources required to raise and process them as a food source. Not sure where you stand on all of this? Perhaps start with your own challenge. Use Colette’s guidelines above or just challenge yourself to give up something “animal-related” for a designated period of time and see if you really miss it or need it. This is also the best time to try a vegetarian diet while you can take advantage of the summer’s bounty and diversity.

Moab Adventures

I really thought I would be better about blogging once my summer got under way. Ha! Here's to hopefully getting into a better groove. Enjoy!

With my semester drawing to a close and knowing that R’s super busy season where he is not allowed to take time off from work was beginning, we decided to plan a long weekend getaway to Moab, Utah. I had been through there on my way to a conference in Denver this past fall and had been in awe of the landscape.

Gorgeous landscape - in Arches

I also thought it was a cute looking little town. We also figured it would soon be pretty darn hot there, so we should visit it before summer weather settled in for reals there. We had been itching to finally get back into camping, so it seemed like a perfect destination.

So, as I finished wrapping up my papers and what not, we also started making a list of gear and food needed, collecting gear, and packing. Good times. We decided to leave uber early on Friday morning (6 am-ish) so that we could get there around noon and still have half a day to enjoy after we set up camp.

Thursday arrived, and I am physically and emotionally spent from the end of my semester and here is how my day went. I worked until about 1 pm, then I raced home to start packing and cooking and prepping… So between then and about 4 pm, when I went to a friend’s presentation, I made cookie dough (Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip), these muffins (minus the dates because I didn’t have any. Next time I would toast the pecans.). I thought they would be both a tasty and filling option for breakfast and snacks, which they were. I also gathered other food and started collecting all the crap I thought I might need on this trip. At 3:55 pm, I zipped down the hill on my bike to watch my friend T’s presentation. Raced back up the hill. Baked the cookies and made hummus, kept gathering stuff, then raced back down the hill at 6 pm for the Thesis Public Presentations where I gulped down a couple of glasses of free wine to calm myself down a bit. Then I met R for dinner (where we got in a “fantastic” argument over something really stupid), picked up the car and the rest of our gear, and kept packing until about midnight. Good times. We began questioning whether or not this was a good idea. Maybe we should just call the whole thing off?

At this point we concluded it would get better and we had already invested a lot of time and energy into this process… So, we went to bed and the alarm went off really early. We had a few more hiccups, which I won’t bore you with, but finally, the two of us, our mountain bikes, a crapload of camping gear, with the white beast hauling all of it were on the road, for better or worse. Once we got on the road, we finally settled down and began to embrace the idea of getting away, exploring a new place, and (heaven forbid) perhaps even having fun!

It was enjoyable watching the terrain continue to change as we headed north. After about four hours, we stopped for a late breakfast in Bluff, Utah on the recommendation of our friend J. In this tiny little town in the middle of nowhere, there is a great little coffee shop and restaurant called Comb Ridge Coffee. We had these freakishly amazing blue corn pancakes and some tasty coffee. Now we were feeling REALLY good. Yay for road trips and getting away!

Pancakes!

We continued our trek north and enjoying the scenery and each other’s company. Finally, we arrived in Moab. We had done some preliminary research, and knew there was a number of Bureau of Land Management camp sites that were our best bet for a place to stay. So, we drove through downtown and confidently turned onto 128 with eager anticipation about picking out our camp site. We admired the canyon cut out by the Colorado River and began watching for campground signs. We drove through the first one – all taken. Okay, no big deal. Many more to go. Drove through the next one… all taken. Okay, we still have plenty of options. Well, as more miles progressed and we drove through more full campgrounds, our confidence and happy moods began to falter. Huh. Wow, these all filled up really quick. Twenty miles later, we reached the end of our options and concluded there was nothing available. Okay, well, there is other camping in the area. No big deal. We will just try some of the other locations. So, no need to drag you through the minutiae of our agony and failures to find just one. freakin’. spot. There is a happy ending of sorts. We did find a place to rest our weary heads. It just took us two hours, a lot of not trying to take it out on each other, and $20 to conclude that our best option was to set up camp in an open field along with a mixed bag of RV campers, mountain bikers, and off roaders. I squashed R’s skepticism, and said I want to stop and we WILL make this work.

I left R to unwind, and I headed back into Moab because I concluded we needed beer and we needed it stat! I picked up a growler at the local Moab Brewery, and then returned to help R finish setting up camp and unwind myself.

Camping!

We concluded it was not exactly what we envisioned, but hey, we were finally camping! We were there. We were a bit sad at the wasted day. Clearly, our visions of getting in an afternoon hike were wrong. So, instead, we sat back and enjoyed the sunshine and the change of venue. We made a yummy dinner of steak and sautéed veggies (parsnips, potatoes, carrots, red pepper, fennel, and onion - most was from our CSA) and enjoyed that with the local brew. We enjoyed a little campfire and then called it a night. The next morning we enjoyed an omelet with cheese and the leftover veggies from last night. Yum, yum!

Dinner!

The one in the middle is the famous "Balanced Rock"

We had plans to spend most of the day at Arches National Park, but didn’t feel comfortable leaving our gear at its current location. This meant packing it all up, which meant giving it another go for another location. Again, will spare you the long drawn out story, but no go. However, some friends from Flag had made the last minute decision to head to Moab, and we soon heard that they scored a really great site near where we had been the night before. Great. We knew we had a place to sleep and some fun people to hang out with, too. Off to Arches we went… trying to ignore the ominous gray clouds that were quickly filling the sky. It could NOT rain on us, right???

North Window Arch

Turret Arch and Ominous clouds...

Hiking the slick rock to Delicate Arch

Arches was amazing and beautiful. I highly recommend everyone consider going at some point. Rain continued to threaten to dampen our fun, but ultimately, we only had to deal with a few sprinkles. We also quickly realized that it was actually a good thing because it was keeping it cool. We did the hike to Delicate Arch, which is one of the most famous in the park, and from when we started to the end the clouds completely burned off and the temperature probably increased by about 15 degrees.

Ute Indian Rock Drawing of a Hunt

Delicate Arch

Although we had not made it all the way through the park, we decided to head back and locate our new campsite and set up camp again. We figured we could explore the rest of the park and the other hike Sunday afternoon after our bike ride.

Awe... see we DO like each other and had fun!

Our other friends were off rock climbing (crazy people), so we set up camp and then decide to bike the couple of miles into downtown Moab and enjoy a beer at the Moab Brewery.

Like I said, crazy people...

We were decidedly more relaxed and happy than when we started this crazy adventure. We were excited about having people to share a campsite with as that is always a more fun way to camp. After finishing our beer, we headed back to the campsite to start dinner (bean and veggie burritos). Everyone else arrived soon after we started prepping dinner and so all cooked and ate dinner together.

Making Dinner

Yep, a classic face from this one!

We then decided to go into Moab to check out the Art Walk that was happening that night and pick up some beer for campfire drinking. We wandered around for a while, and then we missed the closing time for the state liquor store (9 pm sharp!)… so no beer for us. We decided to have a drink in town and then head back to camp for the night. All in all it was a good day.

Camping is always more fun with friends.

We had planned to eat breakfast in Moab our last day, then head out for a mountain bike ride, and end with a hike in Arches. Well, not all this happened, and everything took more time than I hoped. First, we had to pack all our gear up again so we didn’t get into town until about 10 am. Our friends who had been to Moab before kept raving about The Love Muffin Café, and I had also been interested in trying the Ekleticafe, which was a cute looking little hippe joint.

More Arches

However, there was a line out the door at The Love Muffin and Ekleticafe looked just as busy. So, we ended up down the block at the Jailhouse Café, which still was estimated to have about a half hour wait. So, we waited as that seemed to be what was going to be case for the day, and it had Eggs Benedict, which Robert expressed a hankering for. Well, it ended up being worth the wait. The place specializes in breakfast only, and was the location of the county’s original courthouse and jail. We also got to sit outside. Robert got the Southwest Benedict and I got the cheddar and bacon omelet. We will just have to go back and try the other two next time!

North and South Window

However, it meant it was after 11 by the time we finished breakfast and half our day was gone and we still had a 6 hour drive to factor in to our day plans. So, we decided to start with biking since we had dragged our bikes along and the biking was one of the draws to Moab. Most of the biking is quite technical, so we had few options that were “Cori friendly.” Based on recommendations, we decided to head out to the Bar M loop, which was a ways past Arches.

It started out well, then the trail split and R, who was in the lead went to the right. I tried to flag him down because based on the signage, I thought we should veer to the left. However, he kept going and I followed. Heh… that was my first mistake… After a little ways, we found more signage that made it clear we were now on Bar B (You may want to click on Bar B and read the trail description for better context of this story). R sez, this isn’t so bad. You are doing fine. Let’s keep going. Against my better judgment, I agreed to keep going. Eventually, the slick rock got the best of me and this happened.

My ouchie... makes me look a lil bad ass, eh?

I stuck it out though, with lots of bike walking and putting down of feet, and we finally ended up back on Bar M. Bar M was awesome. Great views. A trail that I felt comfortable on with a little challenge here and there. With the extra couple of miles and the scraped up legs, I was pretty much done by the time we got back to the car.

The type of riding I can do

The type of riding I can't really do

See that red painted line. You follow that.

We concluded we would have to save the rest of Arches for our next trip and that we should start making our way back to Flag. We decided to grab lunch on our way out of town and went to the Peace Tree Café. I had an AMAZING spinach salad with roasted beets, goat cheese, bacon, and parmesan crisps along with a smoothie. Robert had a yummy looking Thai Peanut Chicken Wrap. It was a nice way to end our trip to Moab. I really wanted a tshirt because it had a tree with little peace signs instead of leaves, but they were super expensive.

Despite the headaches of preparing and the bike crash, it was a wonderful weekend getaway to celebrate the end of my first year at NAU and the start of the summer.

Spring at 7000 feet….

Is not exactly what I expected. I am rounding the bend in completing my first full year in Flagstaff, and along with that, my first experience of all four seasons at 7000 feet. I guess I should have been better prepared for what that experience might be like. Spring has been interesting, and challenging for me. I have realized how much I look forward to that magical re-greening of the world around me and that warming up that comes along with spring. It is not so much that it is not happening in Flagstaff, it is just much more erratic and slower than I anticipated it would be.

Sidebar: why is it that in every place you live, long-timers likes to take such pride and pleasure in informing you that “if you don’t like the weather, just wait a while and it will change.” Perhaps they don’t realize this little phenomenon is not quite as unique to their own long-term locale as they like to think it is? I am pretty sure I have heard that in every part of the country in which I have lived. Granted, experiencing rain, hail, snow, and sunshine before noon was perhaps a bit more extreme than most weather experiences I have had in recent memory!

In some ways, I have struggled with spring mountain weather more than I have the cold winter. In the winter, I expected to be cold and to bundle up. There was something a little magical about everything being covered in a blanket of whiteness every so often. Now, I am ready for cute skirts and sandals. My sweaters and me need a break from each other. There have been some teasers along the way that have fooled me into thinking that spring has truly arrived.

The last couple of weeks have tried to squash my hopes with several bouts of snow that have tested the limits of my patience. To make things worse, each snow has been preceded by that beautiful spring-like warm weather that I have been craving. I have included a few pictures of our most recent snow to show the juxtaposition of the gradual approach of spring with the snow that actually stuck. Crazy, right? That along with the constant high velocity, bone-chilling winds have, honestly, made me second guess choosing to live in Flag. Looking on the bright side? I had to chuckle at the series of Facebook updates that my Dallas friends made from their closets and bathrooms last night as they hunkered down for a tornado warning. Not really a spring concern here.

Everyone keeps promising that June is amazing here, and I do remember how nice July seemed to be, so I am optimistic for the future. I also have to admit that I spent a few minutes outside today on my lunch break enjoying the sunshine, and I caught myself almost complaining to myself about how warm I was getting. Needless to say, I nipped that in the bud! Bring it, sunshine!

When Life Hands You Grapefruits, Make Grapefruit Juice? No, I Can Do Better!

Apparently grapefruits are the April seasonal citrus that is arriving in our CSA. I don’t mind grapefruit. Occasionally, I like to eat one or have some Ruby Red juice. However, R hates the bitterness of grapefruits. Seven or eight grapefruits started seeming a little overwhelming, and I was just not in the mood for juicing and drinking them. I thought to myself, surely there are other options out there. So, I started perusing my favorite blogs for inspiration. We also had two different potlucks to go to on Easter Day. Perfect! Other people will like grapefruit, right? I won’t be stuck eating something all by myself that Robert rejects as to grapefruity.

My first adventure ended up being this recipe for Grapefruit Yogurt cake. After doing a bit of Googling, I found that this combination of yogurt and grapefruit in cake is pretty popular. I also found variations that use honey instead of sugar. Next on my list if we get more grapefruits is this scone recipe for scones: http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2011/03/grapefruit-honey-yogurt-scones/

I ended picking this specific recipe since she made it as a loaf cake, and I knew it would be easy to slice into smaller pieces to share at a potluck.

I did make the syrup, but I did not do the glaze. Really didn’t miss it. The instructions don’t say to do so, but I pricked the top with a fork before pouring the glaze to assist it in soaking in and not running off the sides and being wasted.

It had a lovely texture and the grapefruityness was subtle. (Sidenote: Apparently my grapefruit adjectives are made up as spell check is hating on them!) Even R grudgingly admitted they weren’t bad. Everyone at both potlucks gave them the thumbs up. So super easy and super tasty!

My second contribution was this Grapefruit Guacamole. It was tasty, and grapefruit and avocado seems to be popular recipe combination. Unfortunately, it did not all disappear as hoped. People did say they liked it. It was just hard to compete with the elote and regular guacamole others had made! And of course, leftovers with avocado rarely keep. It was fairly chunky and juicy, so not too easy to eat as finger food on chips. I could definitely see it being yummy on a piece of fish. Of course, that will not happen in our house unless I happen to be cooking for myself. R did not touch this one at all.

It was a super simple recipe, but sectioning citrus is a royal pain in the @$$. I am not fan… I also added a little sugar to the pickling onions as a personal preference. As I was looking up the link, I found this version. If I did ever make it again, I think I might want to add the jalapeno and garlic it calls for to really make it seems more like a traditional salsa. I might also mash it up bit to make it more dippable. Probably would would not be as pretty looking, though. Oh, and I left the cilantro out because I think it is super yucky. I forgot to take pictures, but mine pretty much looked like the one in the picture with the recipe link.

PS I really love this resource when I have a random ingredient and am seeking ideas of what to do with it. It is a search engine for food blogs. Type in your ingredients and surprise! You get all sorts of ideas. http://foodblogsearch.com/

Pickled Pink and Other CSA Food Adventures

I had to share these beauties with you.

Ironically, BEETS have actually been a rare root vegetable in our weekly share. I am truly not a big beet fan. I like to pickle them, like these, or we will grate them and turn them into a rosti (giant hash brown). On the other hand, we have received a ton of turnips and several rounds of rutabaga. These two definitely have a place on my list of foods I just really never enjoy eating. I can’t explain it really, the best I can come up with is that their flavor reminds me of how body odor smells. Clearly, that is not pleasant. Robert has snuck them into a couple of things, and I have tolerated them. Most have been given away to others whose palate preferences differ from my own.

We have also received a ridiculous amount of RADISHES. I have realized that there are just not a lot of options for radishes besides salads…. We did experiment one night with sautéed radishes and peas. They weren’t bad, but the leftovers were not great. It was an unusual way to eat them, but unfortunately, not something we wanted to repeat on a regular basis. I also pickled a large batch of them (our other pickled pink). These turned out pretty well, but again, you can only eat so many pickled radishes. I think we are done with radishes for the time being, and ironically, I just came across a recipe use for them that sounded quite intriguing: Radish Butter. You dice them up super fine and mix them with butter and some seasoning. You then serve it as a spread and/or dip. So, if I get more radishes, you know what I am doing!

Here is the sauteed radishes with peas.

We have also made some interesting PIZZAS with some unconventional toppings like butternut squash and assorted greens. It is actually pretty fun to come up with creative and tasty combinations to put on pizza. We have also put beets, carrots and broccolini on our pizzas at different times. We recently did one with spinach, caramelized onions, carrots, and fennel, and broccolini along with some chicken sausage, blue cheese and mozzarella. It was quite tasty, but I think I concluded that I just don’t like roasted broccoli that much.

Beets on a pizza? Sure, why not!

Speaking of GREENS, those continue to keep arriving week after week. I think I have enough frozen greens to last until next winter at this point! The nice thing is that I have found that you can substitute quite a few different greens for spinach. In addition to pizza, it has made its way into a veggie lasagna and a tasty tortellini vegetable soup. They have slowly grown on me as the winter has progressed. I have also found that some olive oil, vinegar, garlic and salt will work quite well with the flavor of most leafy greens

Next up is tackling all of our CITRUS. Although we both like oranges, tangelos, and tangerines, we just don’t snack on them nearly enough. I am planning to experiment with some baked goods. For some reason, although I like lemon cake, I have always thought an orange cake sounds weird. However, I am not really sure I have actually tried one. So, that is my next culinary experiment. I have read about a Portuguese Olive Oil Orange Cake that I find intriguing to try. For our first round of citrus baking, however, we ended up making these Citrus-Currant Sunshine Muffins. They were tasty, but we didn’t exactly follow the recipe, so we may need to try it again! We forgot the citrus from the orange and the lemon juice, and we didn’t have any currants. I think some dried cranberries would be tasty next time.

I was excited to get FENNEL a couple of different times. As mentioned, it made its way into a pizza. Along with our citrus, it also allowed us to make one of our all time favorite couscous salads. I highly recommend this one, and grilling fennel gives it a wonderful flavor. It is super simple and filling. Here is the link for Grilled Fennel Couscous Salad.

Other cooking adventures included this Roasted Green Chile and Corn Chowder. Although not all CSA ingredients, it did contain some red potatoes and some of the green chilies that are still hanging out in our freezer. It was quite tasty, and R made the bread bowls for it.

Finally, we have received several bags of DRIED BEANS. We have discovered the joy and ease of using our slow cooker for them. You don’t even need to soak them! Just give them a rinse, cover them with hot water and let them simmer all day long. I will usually throw some chopped onion and garlic in there, but that is about it until the last half hour or so of cooking. At that point, you add some salt and pepper along with any other seasonings you might want. I like to put some Smoked Spanish Paprika in there to keep it vegetarian but still give it that hint of smokiness that would come from cooking some sort of smoked pork product along with it. With some corn bread, it makes an amazingly simple but satisfying meal. I think I will use up the last of my canned beans, and then completely convert to cooking my own in the future. It is healthier, cheaper, and better for the environment (less processed and packaged foods means less trash).

It's Possible I Have Developed a Bike Addiction

So, I have had a bike pretty regularly in my life for as long as I can remember. I think my first “big girl” bike was purple and got it for Christmas one year. In fact, that particular present kept me puzzling over the mystery of Santa’s existence for many years. We had left before Christmas to visit family, and there was definitely NOT a bike under the tree when we left. Upon our return, there it was! Mom finally explained the mystery when I asked, which I think was actually not that long ago! After loading me into the car, they had said they had forgotten something and went back in. While inside they put the bike out to surprise me when we returned.

Having a bike was especially important to me when I was growing up because it was my way of getting places to visit friends. I think I have mentioned before that we lived in a pretty rural area, so I did not have a posse of neighborhood friends. I had to venture out into a three to five mile radius if I wanted to play with friends. Even after turning 16, I did not have regular access to a car, so biking continued to be a way for me to get around to places. By now, I had upgraded to a Murray ten speed, also a purplish color. This one went to college with me. I did not ride it nearly as much in college, mainly because it was a very small and walkable campus. For most farther out errands, I would mainly get rides from friends (I was still not the owner of a car).

My main use of my bike during college was to train for DePauw’s Little 500. I am not really sure what prompted me to undertake this endeavor as I was really not athletic enough for such adventures! I think it was mainly because we really need riders in order for my sorority to field a team. It calls for a pretty grueling training schedule to prepare for the race. The race itself is a relay race where you race around the ¼ mile track as fast as you can. You ride single speed coaster-brake bikes that must be a certain weight (they all get weighed the day before the race). Because of the nature of the bikes and the race, you have “pushers” and “catchers.” To get your momentum going, a pusher rocks you back and forth inside a small taped box, and then pushes you off as your previous team mate completes their lap. Because of the speed and the coaster brakes, it is necessary to have a strong person at the end to catch and stop you so that you do not go flying over your handle bars and crash. Football players are often very popular for these tasks. Unfortunately, the story has a sad ending. Due to a series of illnesses and injuries, our poor little team had to call uncle shortly before the race, so I never completed the actual race. In future years, I was actually part of the student organization leadership that coordinated the race and associated events. I decided event coordination was more of my strength and interest!

After college, I took a hiatus from bike riding. I think I left the ten speed at school after graduation, actually. Then, I started my travelling job. It wasn’t until I settled in Louisville that I decided I wanted a bike again. That was around the time that comfort or hybrid bikes started gaining popularity. I became the proud owner of a Trek Navigator 200 (2000 model). That bike served me well for many years until it was stolen two years ago out of a locked bike locker at SMU.

Sadly, I don’t think I have any pictures of it, but I did find this one on the Internet.

Yeah, if you can figure that mystery out, I will be your best friend forever. Both mine and R’s were stolen, and we were just heartbroken. We replaced R’s pretty quickly, but I decided to hold off on replacing mine. We really didn’t have the money to replace both; I was dealing with my foot injury; and I was being stubborn. I wanted my Trek back, and the newest version had cheesy cruiser detailing that I didn’t like at all. My Trek had mountain bike lines and had a nice navy and gray color scheme. Nothing R showed me was appealing. In addition, we just didn’t ride that much. Dallas is NOT a bike friendly town in the slightest. We mainly used our bikes to do our weekly volunteer date night: SMU Feral Cat feeders.

When I knew we were leaving SMU, I knew I would replace my bike after I got to NAU. I knew it would be a bigger campus and a better place to ride. So shortly after getting here, I deliberated about what kind of bike I wanted. I definitely did not want a cruiser. I had liked my hybrid with the cushier seat and more upright handle bars. Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, many of the comfort and hybrid series had taken a decidedly cruiser look in styling. They were also color combinations that I suspected I could get tired of quickly and had flowers and stuff on them. I realize this probably sounds ironic to those who know me well. I am a pretty girly girl, and I like pretty things. For some reason, I like my bike to not be so girly. Go figure. R was pushing me towards a straight mountain bike in hopes of getting me out on some trails with him. We finally decided we just needed to start making the rounds at the local bike shops and see what we could find.

Luckily, in Flagstaff, there are many bike shops. So we went to several places and I test rode several. After several stops, I found the one I wanted. And it was on sale. And it was less than $400. And it wasn’t girly, but it was attractive to me. Ironically, it was a brand I had never heard of, Haro. So, I became a proud owner of a Haro Flightline 3 mountain bike. It is white with some bright green and black accents. She is called Rita. I think of Ritas as being small, but feisty and strong. And margaritas are green. I have enjoyed her a lot, and since I bought her in September, I have put quite a few miles on her. I even finally took her mountain biking in Sedona this January.

Me and Rita on the trail

In the interim, I fell in love with another bike. Now, I never thought I would be a multiple bike owner. In fact, I was amazed by the fact that my friend, J has four. I get that each serves different purposes, but I really struggled to wrap my brain around owning four separate bikes. When we travelled to Costa Rica, R picked up a cycling magazine that I ended up flipping through. It had a whole article on city bikes. Now, city bikes are different from cruisers. They are meant to move a little faster (bigger, thinner wheels, so R tells me). They often have fenders so that when the streets are soggy you don’t get it all over your nice work clothes. They often have chain guards so that you don’t have to roll your pants or fasten them tight. They are more up right , have cushier seats, and more of a step through style (this is where they do have some cruiser like qualities). However, they are just, well in my opinion, classy and not cheesy like cruisers. They look like the type of bike that a classy Parisian or Roman woman would use to get around her city. Enter the Felt Café 3. It was love at first sight. I liked her lines. I liked her robin egg’s blue color, her brown leather saddle and handle bar covers. I loved the drink holder! But did I really need another bike?? I mean, maybe? This would be nicer for getting around town and campus. I wouldn’t feel quite as silly to be all dressed up and riding my bike. It would make it easier to wear skirts (the step through). It was not a ridiculously expensive bike. And she was soooo pretty. She was feminine in a good and classy way!

Editor's Note: I did NOT intentionally dress to match her. I just like the color. It is why I got the bike in this color!

J took this picture. She was stalking Lizzie, I think.

So, we discussed it. We agreed that as long as I committed to doing more trail riding on Rita, that it would be okay for me to get a second bike Of course, no place in Flagstaff, despite the 15,000 bike shops, carries Felt. I called every store in Phoenix and none had the one I wanted in stock. So, finally, I had to order it, and now I am the proud owner of two bikes. I am one of those people! I have multiple bikes for multiple reasons. And I don’t regret it in the slightest. After much deliberation, I have called her Lizzie. I wanted something French like Lola or Gigi, but it didn’t seem quite right. I considered Tiffany for a while given her color, but I kept saying Lizzie in my head so I finally concluded that was the right name. She has been a dream! Robert just added a rack and a basket. We tested it this weekend, and I hauled home 23 pounds of groceries, with two uphills, and in the wind. Whew! It is going to take some getting used to the new weight distribution, but I am excited about all the new adventures Lizzie and I will take, especially as the weather starts getting warmer.

Who needs a car? I can haul my own groceries home with the help of Lizzie!