A Saturday To Be Rivaled

A beautiful Saturday, the last in March, and Colorado is going out of its way to make it lovely. Today's the kind of day that sets a standard to which others will try to meet and will fail spectacularly. Sunny with some cloud cover; warm without frying skin off your very bones; light breeze, like a recurring sigh. And with my brand new library card, four books checked out and one down already, a cleaner home, and a belly full of beef stir-fry, it's hard to imagine how this day could be any better.

Let's go back to the beef stir-fry for a moment. First of all, where has sauteing been all my life? Hot pan, healthy oil, meat and veggies, DONE. After taking the girls to the dog park earlier this afternoon, I swung by the grocery store and got a few things, spying a package of Laura's Lean ground beef and throwing it into my basket. After getting home and cranking up some music, I heated my pan, pulled out my veggies and spices, and got to slicing.

Years ago, my mom had commented on how my grandma "didn't believe" in Tupperware. Apparently, saving leftovers in air-tight containers that one had to purchase didn't jive with her. I am not Isabelle's granddaughter. Living Paleo means making the most out of what you hunt (or buy at a grocery store) and gather (or buy at a grocery store), and that's where storage comes in. (Another one of my main arguments for eating Paleo-- it's more convenient and economical than buying pre-packaged garbage.) Would you rather have self-prepared fresh food at your disposal or packaged food that's been in the back of your pantry for about 7 years and has kept in the back of your pantry for about 7 years... and will probably keep in your belly for about 7 years?

And this is just ONE spice cabinet in my kitchen!

I had some random veggies cut up from the other day, so I threw those into the pan along with the ground beef that was already frying in olive oil, garlic, curry, and chili sauce. I work with a college-aged girl that's dieting by eating food without any spice or flavor. What she hopes to accomplish, I don't know. Instead, she's eating incredibly small quantities of bland sandwiches and cereal and dry pasta... and I smack my head against the wall. My own spice cabinet is extensive, filled with tons of flavor to add to my food, none of it with dairy, soy, gluten, or disgusting chemicals and preservatives. Why eat if your food isn't going to taste yummy?

So my ground beef was tender and juicy, and my veggies were still a little crunchy, and before I knew it, I was eating my lunch on the patio, curled up in a chair with exercised doggies lounging next to me and a book waiting to be read. Cooking took me all of 10 minutes with very little technical skill required-- how hard is it to cut carrots or stir beef? Today, after all, isn't about cooking. It's about enjoyment!

Next book on my list: "The Cinnamon Peeler: Selected Poems" by Michael Ondaatje. Striking out at the library so far, but I'm optimistic...