Blessing....And Curse

I am trying very hard to be excited about the fact that my salary is about to double when I take on my new position (which, btw, is my dream position), but it is really hard to stay excited when you suddenly you make TO MUCH money! This all started when I realized that I had money stuck in a 401a account in Chicago, IL.  I decided it was time to get that money out before Chicago pulled an Enron and "stole" the money from me (if you are not paying attention, go look at the political climate in Chicago for teachers).  I called TIAA-Cref to talk about setting up an IRA to transfer the money.  I have spent my entire adult life living from paycheck to paycheck.  I have never made enough to be able to afford to pay my bills AND open an IRA account.  So, I never did.  Well, here's the deal, the restrictions on income are making it hard for me to figure out what kind of IRA I should be opening up.  I was so excited because, finally, I would be able to open an IRA and get some tax benefits.  Oh no, that's not to be!  Once I am making my base salary, we already exceed the income limit for getting the tax break (that's not even taking into extra income from taking extra classes and/or teaching in summer!).  So, then I thought, well, since I can't get the tax benefits, I'll just open a Roth IRA.  Well, we are very, very close to the income limit for even being able to contribute to a Roth.  Don't you think that the government would WANT us to be saving for retirement?  I am so ticked off about all of this.

So, now, fast forward to my search for a place to live.  So far, I have been frustrated here too.  The only nice house that I have seen (single-family home) is this beautiful 2 story, 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, finished basement home which is quite a bit larger than I need (since it's just going to be me).  I really, really liked it and the location is great, but I worry about the utilities.  So my search continues (btw, the house has been rented now, so I waited too long).  Today, I found a bunch of small houses that just look great.  Beautiful new, 2 bdrm, 1 1/2 bath houses on small lots that allow animals, etc.  Yeah, well, the catch here is that they are tax qualified and clearly, that won't work for me.  Ugh!  So, those of us that are making a living wage (comfortable living wage) are supposed to live in crappy old houses while those who cannot afford a house get to live in beautiful new houses? 

I know, you are thinking, why don't I buy a house?  Well, that would be because my ex husband screwed me when we divorced and I am still fighting to get my credit rating out of the gutter.  The plus here is that I will be able to finally achieve that given my new salary, but it will take time.  So, in the meantime, it's looking more and more like I am going to have to take what I can get for now and move again later.  Given that I have moved 11 times in 12 years, I really was hoping to avoid that!  Ah well, life goes on.

Guest Blog: Lettuce Wraps

Every Thusday, the Case Farm has a farmers' market in the atrium of the BRB from 11-2.  I am especially grateful for this for two reasons: 1) The CSA is on hiatus getting ready for summer (starts June 5 if you haven't already signed up, you should!) and 2) because I am moving at the end of June, I will not be participating this year (I am so very sad about this!  Fresh Fork, I will miss you beyond words!!!!!). 

Yesterday, they had these beautiful large leaf heads of lettuce (like Boston Bibb, but not).  As soon as I saw them, I said to the girls that I was going to come back for one because they would be perfect for lettuce wraps.  I then went off to get lunch.  When I came back to grab one, Corinne told me that I inspired her with that thought and started asking how I would make said lettuce wraps.  So, in the end, I sent her one of my pages that has my Thai sauces on it and then a webpage with several recipes for braising chicken.  She wrote me back this morning with what she did and said that the wraps were "probably one of the best meals I've ever made."  So, I asked her if I could post her recipe on my blog!  It's sounds wonderful and I cannot wait to give it a try myself!!!!  She is putting together a cookbook for the farm which will be released sometime this summer.  I will make sure that she lets me know the details so I can post them here so my readers can get a copy if they want!

Shredded Chicken and Vegetable Lettuce Wraps

Contributed by Corinne Burr, Farm Food Program Associate, CWRU Farm

Ingredients:

For the shredded chicken:

5 lbs pasture raised chicken (6 full legs, 3 breasts)

¾ c Apple Cider Vinegar

1 large onion

6-8 cloves garlic

Water

2-4 tbsp Tamari (wheat free soy sauce)

6-8 sage leaves, whole

A couple dashes of sea salt, pepper

For the vegetables:

2 zucchini

1 summer squash

2 carrots

1 head broccoli

2 yellow peppers

15 shiitake or 2-3 bunches oyster mushrooms

1 leek

6-8 cloves garlic

EVOO

sea salt

Tamari

Toasted Sesame Oil

For the fixings:

1-2 large heads big-leafed lettuce

2-3 avocados

1-2 limes

Directions:

In a heavy-duty large pot, put in all of the shredded chicken ingredients, adding enough water to just cover the chicken. Bring to a boil for about 15 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, dice all of the vegetables. You want everything to be diced into small chunks, with the garlic being more finely diced than the rest. The broccoli florets can be slightly larger as they will pull apart as they cook.

In a large frying pan, sprinkle sea salt and place over low-medium heat. Pour in enough EVOO to cover the pan and let heat for 30 seconds, but not long enough that it begins to smoke. Toss in the leeks, garlic, and mushrooms and let cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally, until very soft. Then add in the squash and carrots. After those have cooked for several minutes, add in the rest of the vegetables and continue to cook, mixing occasionally. Pour on some tamari and a touch of sesame oil as needed. Continue to cook until everything becomes quite soft, and begins to resemble sort of a vegetable stuffing. This can probably continue cooking while you move onto the next step with the chicken.

The chicken should be ready by now. Remove the chicken from the pot onto a pan or plate, and let the stock continue to boil for another 15 minutes, uncovered so that it reduces. With two forks, removed the skin from the chicken and then pull the meat apart. As you shred the meat, place it in a bowl.

Once the stock has reduced and the chicken is all shredded, turn off the stove and add the chicken back into the pot, letting it mix back into the stock.

The final steps are the lettuce and the garnish. Gently tear off the full large leaves of the lettuce and rinse them, stacking them on a plate as you go. Cut the limes into eighths, and slice open the avocados.

When the vegetables are cooked, transfer to a bowl. Place the pot of chicken, the bowl of vegetables, the limes, the avocados, and the lettuce on the table and let everyone construct their own wraps, layering the vegetables, the chicken, and avocado slices on the lettuce, then drizzling with lime juice.

Easily serves 4-6

(shredded chicken recipe adapted from Rachael Ray’s)

The Run

Yep, Saturday morning, I got up bright and early and went with my husband to the Dow Run/Walk in my hometown of Midland, MI.  He ran the 10K (with his best time yet) and I then did my first race in 3 years.  I participated in the 1-mile run (which was more like a run/walk for me).  According to John, my time was 19:13, which is almost 10 minutes faster than the last race I did.  The only bummer part of the set-up is that even though they now allow adults to run this race, it's still treated as a kids race and the adults are not timed.  That's a bummer because it really makes me feel like a second class citizen.  This is a typical set-up for races.  They include a 1-mile race, but they don't time it.  It's not the first time I've been faced with this situation.  And I have to wonder why they feel it's not important to include those of us who are unable to complete longer races.

I have no cartilage in my knees.  AND I am only a year out from my gastric surgery  (about 145 lbs down).  So, why would they believe that I would physically be able to run further than I did this past weekend?  I actually am not sure that I should be running at all because the impact could just be doing damage.  But my current orthopaedic doctor seems to believe it you can do it, you should.  I guess I will get a definitive answer when I move to Midland and find a new doctor.  At any rate, I feel really good about what I did because I couldn't run at all before (heck, a year ago, I could walk with out aid).   So, this becomes my latest milestone.  There is another race at the end of June in Cleveland.  I will at least get a shirt for this one (I didn't even get a shirt for running in the Dow run/walk).  And it's time for me to actually get out there and start training to run!

Chicken Chard Quiche

Looking through my refrigerator, I find I have leftover chicken, ramps, bacon and Swiss chard. I thought that would make a very tasty quiche. If you've never had ramps, you are definitely missing out. The only thing that makes me sad about them is that they are only available a couple weeks a year. But I made pesto this year, so I will get to enjoy them longer. This quiche, however, uses the green leaves. I'll have to try it with the pesto sometime.

 Chicken Chard Quiche

•  1 cup cooked, leftover chicken*
•  4 slices thick-cut bacon*
•  1 small bunch Swiss chard
•  1 small bunch ramps leaves*
•  1 cup sharp cheddar
• 1/2 cup fresh shredded parmesan
•  5 eggs*
•  1 1/2 cup 1% milk
•  salt and pepper

 Wash Swiss chard and remove stems. Place chard and ramps in a microwave steamer with 1/4" water and cook on high for 2 minutes. Allow to steam while cooking bacon (1 minute per slice in microwave). Uncover vegetables and cool to handle.  Squeeze out moisture and chop into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle chicken, vegetables and bacon into pie plate. Sprinkle with cheeses. Whip eggs with milk and seasonings. Pour over fillings. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 35 minutes.

*CSA ingredients

Chicken in the Crockpot

I love 2 things; the chickens we get from the CSA and cooking them in the Crockpot! The farmers' Market at Case started up  2 weeks ago and I've been picking up fresh herbs from them. So this time, I placed some fresh thyme and fresh chives into the cavity before cooking and it turned out so yummy!

 Thyme and Chive Crockpot Chicken

• 1 farm-raised chicken*
•  5 sprigs fresh thyme
•  1 small bunch fresh Chives
•  salt and pepper

 Thoroughly dry the chicken inside and out. Place thyme and chives into cavity and place chicken, upside-down, into the Crockpot. Season with salt and pepper. Cook covered for 8 hours on low.

 Note: When done, I remove meat and return skin and bones to the crockpot with water to make stock. cook overnight, then remove bones and cook for rest of day. Cool; remove fat. Pour into ice cubed trays to freeze for later use.

* CSA ingredients

Clothing Check

Okay, it's time to do a clothing check again. And a picture from our anniversary.

Pants first: Before - 34W/After - 16 (Note: NOT 16W)

Shirts: Before - Unisex 2X/After- Unisex S

Ready for our anniversary dinner!

Ramps Pesto

I got the most beautiful bunches of ramps this week. If you haven't tried these beautiful wild leeks, you need to go find them at a farmer's market. They have a flavor that combines onion and garlic flavors. I discovered these 3 years ago in my first year of the CSA and now they are my most-anticipated item. This year, I decided to do double duty with my ramps. I am making pesto from the leaves and I will pickle the bulbs. Look at how beautiful these are!

Ramps Pesto

•  2 bunches ramps leaves*
•  1/2 cup romano cheese
•  1/4 cup pine nuts
•  olive oil
•  1 Tbsp lemon juice

 Wash ramps and cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces. Place ramps, cheese and nuts into blender with 1/4 cup olive oil. Puree, drizzling more olive oil as needed, until pesto is right consistency. Add lemon juice to taste. Pour pesto into an ice-cube tray to freeze if not using right away.

*CSA ingredients

 To come: Chicken in the crockpot

Scale Stall; Body Changes

Have you ever noticed that you always see the biggest body changes when the scale doesn't change so much! I think that is because body changes take energy that is normally being used for weight changes. Does that make any sense? I have put off taking a picture of myself in workout gear because of all the excess skin, butthis morning, I looked in the mirror and saw strength. So here is my latest picture, excess shin and all. I finally feel like I am getting my athlete's body back and I need to embrace that. I will eventually have that excess skin removed and I will look beyond amazing, but for now, I need to embrace the fact that, despite the skin, I look pretty amazing already. So here's my celebration of progress! The scale may not be moving as fast as I like, but my tone and condition is improving and that is what counts the most!

Oh, I forgot that my 47th birthday was Thursday. My husband took a picture of me at dinner and in 20 + years, I don't think I've had a casual shot that I didn't feel self-conscious about! How far I've come in just over a year!

Quiche du Jour

Various people in my life have introduced me to the homemade sausages from Jack's in Midland. One of our favorites is the German Ring Bologna. I happen to have some in my fridge right now, as well as really nice avocados. I figured I would use these as the basis for my quiche today.

 Avocado Quiche

•  5 eggs*
•  1 cup 1% milk
•  3 oz German ring bologna
•  1/2 avocado
•  1/2 cup sharp cheddar
•  1/2 cup Swiss*
•  1 tsp garlic powder
•  1 tsp onion powder
•  salt and pepper

 Place bologna, avocado and chesses into bottom of prepared pie plate. Mix together eggs, milk and seasonings. Pour over fillings. Bake for 35 minutes in a 350F preheated oven.

*CSA ingredients