slave barb

The Melissa Etheridge show....

2010-07-23T16:23:05Z

OK, so people who know Master and i well know that someone near and very dear to us came out a few months ago (at the age of 80, i might add!) In the weeks and months in between she's been just an absolute pleasure to be around, no more fighting, no weird uber-conservative comments, no snarky remarks about hair or tattoos....just pleasant. Also, a huge thirst for music. She asked us to get tickets for Melissa Etheridge. Really? Hmmm.... i think the last concert she went to was Frank Sinatra back in the late 40's or 50's. Master hustled up some dynamite tickets and then the anticipation began to build. She was so excited!

To be honest, Master and i were a bit apprehensive. Melissa's not exactly the music we usually listen to. Her concerts last for 3 hours. Could we stand it? Could she? (i mean, she's 80. It's a long concert. She hates loud music....) Friday night, we picked her up and drove in to New Brunswick. One comment was made about what i was wearing "It's nice that you wore something low cut, you look nice. And your tattoos are showing, great!" (what? really?)

Well, we got in to our seats. The lights went down. Tribal drumming music starts. A few band members walked slowly thought the audience burning sage and cedar, blessing the room. i thought "very cool, but what's she going to think" She's looking a bit uncomfortable. But, ok, she also looks determined. Then there's this rumble coming from the crowd in the back of the auditorium. Flashlights waving around in the aisle....You hear a woman's voice on a microphone "we are all here to celebrate!" The crowd was moving like a wave....excitement! Yup, Melissa's coming through the crowd and walking right down the aisle we're in. Our newly out "friend" steps out in to the aisle and is dancing around like a 5 year old. Master and i are grinning. Melissa walks right towards her and put her hands on her shoulders in an embrace "we are all here to celebrate!" We're all crying like a bunch of fools. *grin* Melissa takes the stage, our "friend" turns to us and says "Frank Sinatra never walked through the crowd like that" i told her Lesbians are made of stronger stuff and Frank was a wimp.

The show was spectacular. 3 hours of amazing music. She won me over with the first blues riff and blew me away. She's an under rated guitar talent. Truly in the top 5 concerts i've ever seen and i've been to hundreds, if not thousand of shows. Our friend made it through the entire show, occasionally breaking out of her seat to run up front and snap some photos like a teen age fan girl. What a blast. i think i just might have to take her to K.D. Lang (my favorite) or maybe the Indigo Girls... or the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival.....

Apparently....

2010-07-20T19:52:24Z

No matter what century - someone, somewhere, somehow....has been carting LiLu to the vet.

Today we got to decrease her prednisone, so hopefully she'll sleep thru the night and i won't have to wake up every 45 minutes to let her out to pee. This coming Saturday she'll be getting chemo #5.

Manhattenhenge

2010-07-12T19:43:32Z

For those of you lucky enough to be in the NYC area tonight, please enjoy this!
Manhattenhenge.

4th of July

2010-07-08T15:57:54Z

After a brutal and distressing Friday, in which i got another pay cut at
work - it was time for a blessed and much needed 3 day weekend.
Friday
night was spent at home and was quiet and full of hot sexy fun. (This
might be too much information, but i've been having a serious issue with
a total cessation of my sex drive. Be it from the "Peri-menopause" or
whatever. It was just gone, bye-bye sex drive. However, i believe that
due to the changes in diet and supplements i've been taking, it's back.
In force. Like i was when i was 20. No kidding!)

Saturday we headed off to the gym. i was determined to set some PB's
(personal bests) since it was the 8th anniversary of my ITP diagnosis.

So, the PB's that i set on Saturday were as follows:
Overhead
shoulder press machine - 50 lbs (up 5 lbs from last week) (up 25 lbs
since Jan 2010) (plus i do these one arm at a time, because Master says
it's more difficult that way and He wants me to be tough.)

Decline bench press - 100 lbs!!! (up 20 lbs since last week) (up 35 lbs
since Jan 2010) (can you tell i've been dicking around with this
exercise? yeah....)
There were of course, many, many more exercises -
these are just the 2 that i felt were note worthy. i'll leave out the
description of me trying to do an 35 lb incline dumb bell shoulder press
and having an epic fail on that one - laid there like a bug under a
rock, struggling... Master had to rescue me. Damn. And i did that weight
a few times before!

Post gym, we swung home and picked up the Queen for chemo #3. At the
hospital, her blood tested so amazingly great that they actually
increased her chemo dose to fight those bastard cells extra hard! i was
super pleased that her tests came back so well, the supplements and food
changes are working for her too!

Home, rest, eat and eat and eat! and sex, sex and more sex. A good Saturday! Very good.

Sunday,
up early, home made bread toasted on the grill outside....off to the
gym for Leg Day. i started off with a PB on the Leg Press - 798 lbs (up
45 lbs from last week) (up 195 lbs since Jan 2010)

We also tried out some Diamond Bar Dead Lifts. Not huge weight for me,
but i've been scared to try dead lifts and it was time to get over that.
Now i like them!
Hack squats, i left the weight the same as
last week, since last Sunday i smashed the weight i was doing by 90 lbs.
Yup, another exercise that i was underestimating myself in. i went from
180 lbs to 270.

Home, food, rest, food, food, food and then... you guessed it: lots of
sex. And cooking. The funny thing is, with the changes that both Master
and i have made in our food intake, we're both always cooking.
Sunday
afternoon i realized that something was seriously amiss with my right
wrist. i believe it's a combination of the weight lifting and the sex
(there was some contortions going on). Master thinks it's funny to just
blame all the sex.

Monday was just a day of blissful rest, icing my wrist, eating and
sleeping. i'm now eating more food that i ever did and my weight is
steadily albeit slowly dropping. This was a long post with my banged up
wrist, so i am signing off now. Peace!

And now for a word from our commercial sponser....

2010-07-02T17:42:47Z

Ok, so i really hate to do this, but i'm going to do this anyway. i just go another pay cut at work. (In case anyone was wondering why they haven't seen us at many events lately, that is the reason why. i am completely broke between the pay cut and trying to scramble for money for LiLu)
i'm not begging for donations by any means but if my intrepid readers would be as so kind as to sign up for swagbucks.com, i get a little kick back each time you win some swagbucks. You use them like a regular search engine and every few searches, you win a few swagbucks, they ad up. You get to 450 swagbucks and you can get a $5.00 Amazon gift card. It's not a lot but, in the past month, i've gotten $30.00 worth, and since Amazon also carries vitamins, suppliments, etc. i can get some of the things i need for Lilu (and to be honest, for me) such as the creatine which is helping me get my energy back and the fish oil and other supplements that LiLu is taking now. This helps take a little bit of pressure off of the finances. There you go folks, a nice, no-cost way for you to help a slave and her pup out of a bit of a tight spot. Just click on the link below and sign up. It's painless, i promise! You guys absolutely rock and i thank you all!

i think i just pee'd my panties....

2010-07-01T14:53:29Z

Last night as Master was watching TV and i was reading a book.. He stepped away for a second, i happened to glance at the screen, only to see a preview of the 11:00 news. i saw this picture and a very serious sounding voice over talking about a criminal who has been robbing stores in NYC. This is a real police sketch. Really. i'm not kidding. i was laughing so hard i couldn't breathe - Master came back in the room and was all like "what the fuck are you lying on the floor and choking for?" Until i hit rewind on the DVR. He promptly slid on the floor like a boneless fish fillet and joined me in my hysteria. So, without further ado, i bring to you the dastardly Cat Burglar! (i feel suspiciously like i might live in Gotham City....)

Chemo-sabe & Folsom St. East

2010-06-22T19:30:49Z

Saturday was the Queen's first dose of chemo. We arrived at the vet, she had a great time greeting everyone and getting petted and admired. Then we were whisked off to see the oncologist. As the Dr and his assistant plopped themselves on the floor for her exam and consult, LiLu suddenly got very nervous. Tail between the legs, trembling lower lip - ridiculous! Once the exam was over and it was time for her to go in the back for her treatment, she was her usual ass-wagging self. After less than an hour, she was back in our arms. A little tired but ok. She lolled around the house all day. A bit sluggish but again, she was fine. By Sunday morning she was eating everything in sight! Really, trying to snatch food from me, pushing her brother out of his bowl. So much for bad chemo side effects. Today (Tuesday) she was finally back to her full energy, but she hasn't really had any bad effects.
Since The Queen was feeling good, Sunday we hustled off to the gym for leg day and then got our butts in to NYC for Folsom East. Fun! Hot! Again, i carried all my own food with me, and a gallon of water. Usually by the end of a street fair, i feel like crap, my feet and hips are aching, my head hurts, my stomach is upset. Not this time. Even with the tremendous heat and humidity - i felt great, right until it was time to go home. i'm certainly no slender bunny but i get so worried when i see people who appear to be near death from the heat, before the fair had even begun. (i just deleted this line twice because i don't want people to think i'm being critical... but i decided to leave it in....because i really am getting worried about the general health of the community!) Anyway, we got to reconnect with some people that we haven't seen for quite some time, we also got to see some people who we wished we hadn't (isn't that always the case with a a crowd??) but overall, it was great fun. Also great fun was having people walk right by because they don't recognize me with all this long black hair. Heh... They see Master and then peer around looking for me. Doh! i also got to reconnect with some one that i totally lost touch with. Hopefully we can stay connected this time and take it from there!
Saturday is another treatment, cross our paws that we get another symptom free event!

Southeast Leather Fest....

2010-06-14T18:01:42Z

Hot, sexy, fun, hard work, laughter, tears, draining, recharging, empowering, learning, getting pinned, getting laid, new friends, reconnecting with old friends, a cigar-ash-covered-delicious boy.....Yup, another amazing time at SELF.

It's hard to even begin writing my adventures down. What an amazing weekend. i *so* needed to recharge my "leather batteries" and this was exactly what i needed. An amazing judging panel that i was lucky enough to be a part of. i'll write more once i have a chance to process it all.

Back at the home front, the dogs were absolutely wild while we were away. One side effect of the meds the queen is on is that she has to pee a lot. When i say a lot, i mean..... holy mother of pee! So, there was a lot of accidents that the sitter had to clean up. i think some of the flooring is going to have to be replaced in the living room, but i would like to wait and see if we can get her settled down in to a non-pee-fountain before i go pulling up pergo and putting down new. So, not only was there a lot of cleaning to do but they even busted down the baby gate and had the run of the house. grrrrrr! (i don't trust dogs in the kitchen unattended since the late great Mr Basil turned on the stove once when we weren't at home and nearly burned the house down. Ugh!) But nothing bad happened this time.

i managed to carry on the 80-90% paelo/primal eating while away and felt WAY better at an event than i have in years. Good on me! It was a bit of work lugging all my supplies on the plane but totally worth it.
More later...

A BEAR!!!!! Plus Pride....

2010-06-08T19:05:58Z

What a lovely Leather/Pride weekend. HOT! Saturday i got to spend some time with Jake, and Alex (and Alex's lovely friends...) and the Daddies...and everyone! Fun! Foreplay rocked as usual. We even had a Bootblack Jim sighting!
Sunday, we marched in the Asbury Park Pride Parade. i got to carry the Girl Pride Flag. Again it was hot, but i had such a great time. i have to say that i feel the best that i have in a long time. Between all the hard work in the gym, the stretching, the change to my diet (90% paleo/primal) and all the suppliments i'm taking - my joints didn't ache and my hips didn't hurt after standing on concrete all day Saturday nor marching on asphalt on Sunday. Usually after a Pride weekend i'm crippled for a few days. i am a happy gal, let me tell ya!

After spending the weekend with assorted Leather folk and quite a few Bears...Monday's ride home was a shocker. Why are there so many helicopters flying over my job? Why is traffic backed up? What's going on? Hmmmmm... a BEAR!!!!! In the trees!!!!!!! Here he is all drugged up and ready to be moved back to the woods. Poor guy!

LiLu is doing great. Her incision is finally healed up. Chemo starts on the 19th.

Lilu update

2010-06-03T17:50:00Z

Her Royal Highness, Queen LiLu, is feeling MUCH better. After taking the stitches out, her leg was pretty much back to a normal size within 24 hours. (well, that plus ice and massage helps too)
She's back to sassin' Taybor all the time. She's back to begging for as much food as possible. She's figured out when the pill bottles rattle that it's time for peanut butter or cheese (with a pill inside it!)

Interesting factiod: When we got her, her tail was straight. As she got acclimated to the house, it got a bit of a curl to it. After she had her knee surgery, it was straight again. Until she was healed up and healthy. Then it got super curly, like a donut. Since the last surgery her tails been sort of flat and droopy. This morning we achieved full on curly again! So, now we know the Barometer Of Canine Good Health & General Good Feeling is working just fine.

Chemo starts on June 19th.

For my local peeps:

2010-06-03T17:32:32Z

This one is near and dear to me. i love my library. You should love your library too. If you live in NJ, please get involved in this. It's important. Our collective brains are at stake!

NJ Libraries Eliminated From State Budget

Gov. Christie's budget calls for a 74% decrease in funding for statewide library services. This cut includes the elimination of all statewide library programs and services. This will affect all types of libraries in New Jersey. Once state funding is eliminated, NJ will lose $4.5 million in federal funding. What does this mean to NJ residents? Once state and federal funding are lost the impact will be felt by all residents:

Access to electronic databases such as RefUSA and EBSCO will cease

Statewide interlibrary loan and delivery of library materials will cease

Libraries will lose 50% of state aid at a time when demand for services is increasing dramatically

More than half of public libraries will lose access to the Internet

Many libraries will lose email service

Many libraries will lose their websites or access to them

The Talking Book and Braille Center (known as the Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped) will close

Group contracts which bring down the cost of other electronic resources purchased by libraries will cease

At the same time the state is eliminating funding for library programs. Assemblyman John DiMaio has introduced A2555 which eliminates the minimum local funding requirement for municipal public libraries.

This assault on libraries must be stopped! Here is what you need to know:

160,242 people enter a NJ library every day

The $10 million in library programs cut from the Governor's budget represent little more than $1 per capita in state funds.

Library programs have been flat funded for 20 years so it is hard to believe these small programs have caused the state's current fiscal crisis.

Local library funding targeted in A2555 typically represents less than 3% of local property taxes.

What can you do?

Become a Library Champion. Join the Facebook group Save NJ Libraries and check for updates on our efforts.

Call or send a message to the Governor (609) 292-6000, your State Senator and Assembly representatives opposing the elimination of funding for library programs and A2555. http://capwiz.com/ala/nj/home/

Why Become a Library Champion?

Library Champions are people who love their libraries and want to be in the know about issues that may affect them. Being a Library Champion means:

Giving us your email address so that we can contact you when needed.
Taking appropriate action such as phone calls, emails to legislators or simply talking to your neighbors about the value of library services.

When you become a Library Champion we promise that we will only use your email address to contact you on issues affecting library service. We will never share, or sell, your contact information. Please join us in preserving library service in New Jersey. Click on the red icon to the left to become a Library Champion.

New Jersey Libraries - Busier Than Ever

According to the latest data your public library is a very busy place.

51,169,912 annual visits to public library
63,935,203 items checked out- up 4 million from last year
8,020,846 questions asked
3,677,575 programs attended
169,958 NJ children read 3,467,161 books during summer reading last year.
68% of the American Public have a library card
83% of New Jersey residents say funding public libraries is a good investment (source: 2007 Potomac Public Opinion Survey)
71% of New Jersey residents believe a public library is an essential service for the community- not a cultural amenity. (source: 2007 Potomac Public Opinion survey)

Tell Us Your Story

Libraries transform lives everyday. Click here to see how!

Do you have a story about how libraries (or the people that work there) have helped you? Please tell us!

Did You Know That In Just One Day

160,242 people walked through our doors

126,626 books, movies and more were borrowed

24,153 people used computers

15,053 questions were answered

1,015 people got employment help

1,121 programs were offered

892 people learned computer skills

Lessons in Lymphedema.....

2010-06-01T19:03:19Z

After a fantastic 3 day weekend, we had a bit of a scare with Queen LiLu.
First the good: 3 days off! Bliss! We cooked every meal except one outside on the grill. Even our pre-workout breakfast toast! We pretty much lived on the patio all weekend. Our dinners were great - spatchcocked chicken, dry rubbed and grilled to perfection, country pork ribs, also dry rubbed and finished with magic sauce (recipe to follow soon.), steaks-grilled with just salt & pepper to perfection. Plus some hot dogs and a few burgers here and there. (Though Taybor almost ruined Monday's dinner by stealing 3/4 of a pound of raw burgers!!!! i ended up finishing up the leftover chicken instead of having a burger. my dog is a thief!)
We made time to explore 2 really old local cemeteries, dating back to the early 1700's. Very cool. While there we saw assorted wildlife: chipmunks, a box turtle what was probably as old as some of the tombstones and a whole mess of wild turkeys! They're huge!
Sunday was spent at the gym. i pushed my own personal best and did 2 sets of 778 on the leg press. (also, realized that i am approaching, albeit slowly, a 100 lb bench press. No kidding. i've been kind of whining and scuffing my toe that "i only press 35 lbs." Master helpfully pointed out that the bar, with no weight on it is 45 lbs! Hah!) The rest of the day was spent lolling around and eating.
Monday we checked local beach. Yup, who knew our town has a tiny beach on the Raritan Bay. Is it nice? Well, not exactly. i mean it's cool cause it's local but it's kind of funky. But still a nice day bird watching and enjoying the sunshine with my Master.
Monday night.... Hmmm, what's wrong with LiLu's leg? It looks... puffy. We iced it and gave her some pain meds but it was a rough night for us all. i thought the worst - Infection. i hustled her off to the vet this morning (and on the way the wound drained all over the back seat of my car!) and they took us right in. It turns out that the girl has Lymphedema from having the Lymph node taken out. That upsets the whole natural flow of lymph around the body and can cause it to pool and swell. Not good, but not infection, yet. So, preventative antibiotics, restricted activity, massage and ice are her prescription. Dr. F also experimentally took out one stitch that seemed to be really giving her grief and wow, the relief in LiLu's whole body was amazing. She just relaxed in my arms with a huge sigh. The swelling was making the stitches put pressure on her leg like a tourniquet! So, we popped out all of the stitches, which were due to come out in a few days anyway. i left her resting comfortable at home and got my butt in to work.
And that was how i spent my 3 day weekend!

a Real Food topic

2010-05-26T15:09:17Z

i am hoping to win this:

GIVEAWAY: $85 US Wellness Meats Gift Certificate

i really love their products and if i won, well - i'd spend the whole thing on their natural dog food!
We got the news last night that LiLu will need to start chemo since they found some mast cells in her lymph node. Sigh... So, i need to nourish her with as much good food as possible. We already eat their pemmican. Well, i eat it and the dogs eat it. Master just looks perturbed and says "I am not eating a pelican!" i think it's delicious. i eat it before working out for an energy boost.
***********************
On a things are good note, the bruising on LiLu's leg is about 75% lighter and the swelling is about 60% gone. We all went for a walk around the neighborhood. (During which she somehow cut her other back foot! good lord!) Other than the cut, i think the walk did her good as far as getting her circulation going and decreasing the swelling and getting that bruising to move out. This morning when we headed out for our morning pee, she bounced around the living room , on and off the furniture like a crazy skateboarding kid, like she always does. So, i guess she's feeling better.

She's home!

2010-05-24T16:25:02Z

What a looooooooong weekend. Master deliver LiLu to the surgeon on Friday afternoon. He was thrilled that the tumor responded so well to the drugs they'd prescribed and had shrunk over 50%. Surgery was a big GO for Saturday morning.
Friday evening we were going to drop off my car for some maintenance work at the dealer, this is after i'd had to have the ignition repaired last week. LO and Behold, the same ignition problem occurred so, now i am driving a rental car that they provided.
Master & i had to attend a work function on Saturday that was a lot of fun. But by the time we got home, Master was chanting in a sing-song-little-kid-voice "feet like pancakes and skin like a lobster!" Yup, we both had some sore flat feet from standing on concrete all day and we were both pretty sunburned.
Sunday we get the call to come pick the girl up at the vet. Actually, they gave us the option to leave her there one more day since she was a mess of bruises and swelling. She'd require ice packs and massage and they didn't know if we'd be able to do that for her. What? Of course we would!!!
However, both of us were pretty shocked and horrified by how bad she looked. my poor girl looks like she'd been hit by a car. Her leg is literally black from the bruising. She's so swollen that even her toes are puffy. There are 2 huge incisions, one for the tumor and one for a lymph node that they took from the back of her leg for testing. There's a 3 x 3 square shaved in the side of her body which has a pain relieving drug patch taped on it. (it has writing on it, so to me she looks like a demented NASCAR) Add to all of this the cone collar that she has to wear and the overall effect is that she looks like a version of Tim Burton's Frankenweenie.
Since she isn't supposed to leap up on the the bed we both slept on the couch last night. Well, she slept. i lay there worrying. Then this morning, she busted in to the bedroom and hopped up on the bed, looking very proud of herself. my dog-daughter, the Tank. We'll find out in a week or so what the deal is... chemo? no chemo? Lymph node ok? More waiting games. Overall, i am feeling pretty positive about the outcome for her, but i just feel so bad for the girl that she's in such discomfort. (though, she's either taking or has taken every pain killing drug in the past 4 days, up to and including Valium AND Propofol!!!!!)

That's the update for today. i'm not sure if it makes sense since i'm a bit looped from lack of sleep.
Thank you to everyone for your support! Love ya!

This is what it looks like....

2010-05-17T15:41:39Z

This is what it looks like when i leg press 753 lbs:

RIP Dio.

2010-05-17T15:36:52Z

It's really been a tough year in Rock n Roll. Good bye Dio. Great singer! Without you, there'd be no Maloik... and all us Legions of Metal fans would have nothing to do with our hands during concerts.

my own tiny personal connection to Dio was that he was once in my car, being ferried from the hotel to the concert at Birch Hill. Very cool.

LiLu update

2010-05-13T16:19:05Z

Well, my Little One had an appointment with the oncologist last night. Things are looking very good for her, expensive but good.
We started her on a 10 day course of prenesone to try to shrink the tumor as much as possible (and also lessen any histamine release post surgery) and then she'll see the surgeon on Friday 5/21. If all goes well, we'll leave her there at that time and they'll operate the next day. After that, she'll most likely have weekly chemo for about 6 weeks. Because of the location of the tumor and her condition (muscular, no fat!) they won't be able to take out as much surrounding tissue as they'd like to. The Dr called her a tank! He actually said if she was fat they'd have an easier time removing it. LOL.... so if my dog was unhealthy, she'd have a better shot at life? Ironic....

The overall outcome looks positive. She has the "garden variety stage II" tumor. Not the super aggressive grade II. They offered us the choice between radiation afterwards (daily treatments, for many weeks, thousands of $$$ and a 95% cure rate) or chemo (weekly treatment for weeks, fewer thousands of $$$ and an 85% cure rate). We have no real choice but to go with the chemo. Not only is the radiation totally not in the budget (not that the chemo is either!) but to take her daily would cut in to our own money making capabilities and then we'd never be able to pay for this. i hate to put money in to the mix but realistically, there is no other choice.

With all that being said, i wish that any doctor that i have ever dealt with for my illnesses made me feel as confident as this guy. Dr. C was amazing. He gave us a written report of all the details that we spoke about, because we all know how you get home from one of these appointments and your mind is just blank. "What did he say?" plus, you just gotta love a Dr who will sit on the floor for 45 minutes going over the treatment options, while stroking and patting the patient (and calling her "monkey") {though, if MY doctors had done that to me it might have been a bit weird.....}
The hospital itself is beautiful, really state of the art. It's open 24 hours, 7 days. It has valet parking. Really, i'm not kidding! So, as stressful as this is, at least we'll be in beautiful surroundings during treatment.

i know we have a lot of people across the country who are keeping us in their thoughts and prayers. i want you guys to know that makes a huge difference to Master & i. Therefore, you all are not allowed to uncross your fingers, toes and paws just yet. i'll keep the updates coming as i am able.

If....

2010-05-06T19:39:34Z

If you are doing yard work in front of the house and you do sets of one handed overhead shoulder press with this:

Your neighbors will run away in fright. *grin*

If you have trouble doing math while working out and you accidentally put too much weight on the leg press machine, and you lift the weight successfully anyway - enjoy it. However, do not not be ashamed to realize that the ominous creaking in your knees means that you moved the weight up too fast and should back it down again for a few weeks.
With that said, you can still gloat that you did 2 sets at 768 lbs.
Even if you only did it because you can't add. (45+45+45+45.....and so on....)

the problem with needing reading glasses

2010-05-04T19:17:49Z

OK, the problem with needing reading glasses as i get older is not that i have trouble reading at night, in dim light or even that i have more trouble threading a needle when i want to sew. The problem is that as i am halfway through eating a delicious bowl of fresh blackberries (which i washed very well, i might add) is that i notice that i think i see something moving. So i grab my glasses and take a close look.
They... Are....Swarming with teeny tiny bugs. Thousands of them. Which can only mean that i have eaten plenty of them. When i said that i wanted to eat primal, this is not what i had in mind. At all. Blargh!

Fight Back Fridays

2010-04-30T17:08:47Z

The name behind the recipe: Master loves Rock & Roll - which means he loves Ted Nugent. The Nuge, while being a phenomenal musician, is a little too conservative for my tastes so i tease Master about listening to him so much. Whenever He listens to Ted's song "Great White Buffalo", i sing "Free Tiny Buffalo"....Which is a joke from the book "Steal This Book" by Abbie Hoffman. Abby is/was about as far to the Left of Ted as possible. (while i never got to meet Abbie, i did spend a lot of time hanging out with Yippies during the early 80's.)

So, what does this have to do with food? i'm getting to that! i've been trying to eat better and one of the ways to do that is to eat grass fed/grass finished meats. Cows (and buffalos!) are grass eaters, not grain eaters. The way we raise cattle in feed lots, eating grain, produces unhealthy animals. Eating grass, the way they were intended to, produces healthier meat with a fatty acid balance that is much better for us. So, i made a curry with my first foray in to buffalo.
Free Tiny Buffalo Curry
1 TBS COCONUT OIL
16 OZ GROUND BUFFALO
2 YELLOW ONIONS, DICED
2 CLOVES GARLIC, SMASHED
FRESH GINGER, PEELED, DICED FINE (i used about 2 TBS.)
1 heaping tsp Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Turmeric
Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Fish Sauce, to taste (If you don't have this, you could probably use Tamari or soy sauce or just salt. But it's really best with the fish sauce)
2 Red or Yellow bell peppers, diced
2 zucchini, diced
A big handful of cherry or grape tomatoes
1 cup coconut milk (not low fat, get the real kind, not sweetened.)

Melt coconut oil to pan, over medium-high heat saute the buffalo, breaking it up as it cooks. When it's about halfway cooked, add in diced onions, ginger, garlic. Keep it moving so you don't burn the garlic....After the onions become translucent, add the garam masala and the turmeric and black pepper. Stir that around and mix it in well. (Note - turmeric will stain your wooden spoons bright yellow. You are warned.) Add in the diced peppers & zucchini & tomatoes - sauté for a few more minutes then add in the coconut milk. Bring to a simmer for about 15 minutes. Give it a taste and add fish sauce. i used about a tablespoon. Simmer for a few more minutes and get ready to feast.
Serve over rice, if you're eating grains or if you're being all "primal/paleo" you could serve this over "riced cauliflower". (i'm not putting a link for that, you can google it yourself. And for all you cauliflower haters out there - Even Master eats this and He was not a fan of the cauliflower. Give it a try!)

i made this again last night using bone-in chicken thighs, it came out great. i'm also pretty sure if you added a squeeze of lime and a handful of cilantro and chopped scallions you'd be in for an even bigger blast of deliciousness.
So, that's my grass fed, healthy fat, lots of veggies included recipe for today.
Fight back and reclaim real food!