I love steak my favorite steak is a big fat juicy ribeye grilled with just salt and pepper. My waist does not like that as much as my taste buds. I am a carnivore thru and thru so I need my meat fix but I wanted to find something healthier.

A few years ago I started to eat a Paleo diet. It is a diet loosely based on early man. There are all kinds of nay sayers and then there are those over the top. I can only speak to my results and they were fantastic. I call it a life style as it really is a way of living and eating vs a diet in the traditional sense. The way of eating is eating mainly meat and fish, fruits and veggies. You limit your intake of dairy and processed foods. If you think about it this is just good common sense. How far you take it is all up to you.

I have gone to eating grass-fed meats and trying to stay in the sustainable fish/seafood categories  and away from farm raised fish. I could do 10 posts on the whys of this but to summarize grains and crud in the feed that feed lot 4 legged creatures get along with the hormones and antibiotics I feel are very bad for me as a human. The farm raised fish are much the same. Now with anything it does not mean all but my general rule is to avoid these products. This is a personal choice and I urge you to research and make the decision on your own.

The beef I like best is the one with all the fat and that does not help me keep my girlish figure. So back to the internet I went. I spent months looking at possible solutions I joined a monthly meat club of grass-fed beef it was great but it was not always cuts I liked or wanted I still have a few in the freezer gathering ice crystals waiting for me to make something.

I went to every store in the area and tried the grass-fed beef and compared prices. I found one store that carried some buffalo cuts  roasts and steaks. I bought a steak it was great. I researched buffalo and decided maybe that was the way to go. It tasted good it is healthy for you.  How healthy no one could tell me and the trusty google gave me a bunch of different answers. I jumped on the bandwagon and started eating buffalo. It was so good.

Can you hear the screeching halt coming? Eeeekkkkkkkk there it is. The store I was buying from stopped carrying all but ground Buffalo. Well a person can only eat so much ground meat. Try it you will see!

I was still eating healthy but I wanted more and that came unexpectedly in the shape of a visit from my mom and her knowledge of a friends love of buffalo. Wonder Twin Powers activate. I was back in the buffalo game. In the shape of an order from Wild Idea Buffalo (I wish I could tell you I am getting paid for this plug but nope its a freeB)  The flavor is really awesome. I hope you  read about the animal management practices and the ecosystem of the great plains. It is also just a healthier meat to eat lower in calories and fat than both fish and chicken and high in protein.

The photo is what I received in my first order and I have to say I have enjoyed every single thing in the order. I am down to my last few items. I left the ground buffalo with Italian seasoning to the end(remember I was tired of ground meat)  I have tried to figure a way to make it that I could say was different and fun. The following is what I have come up with a mix between a meatball and a burger in the size of a slider.

Buffalo Meatball Slider

Ingredients

• 1# Ground Buffalo Meat w/Italian Spices
• 1 Tbsp Basil Pesto(Use store-bought if you do not make your own Costco’s is very good)
• 3 slices of fresh mozzarella torn into very small pieces.

Mix the above together and form into small slider size patties you should get about 12 patties

The following you will be putting in a pot to cook down to a jam like consistency.

• 1- 28oz can organic crushed tomatoes w/basil
• 1.5 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 crushed cloves of Garlic
• 2 Tbsp Beef Broth
• 2 Tbsp Course Parmesan Cheese

bring to a boil and then turn to simmer until it is a thick Jam consistency.

Grill your patties or pan fry top with a small slice of fresh mozzarella and the tomato jam serve open face on a slice of garlic bread I use the Alexia Baguette  as it is the prefect size but you can make your own or buy another brand. If you grill your sliders just wrap the garlic bread in aluminum foil and throw it on the grill for 10 min or so.  You will end of with these mouth-watering morsels

I have not entirely stopped eating beef I love it too much, but there is a warm place in my heart for buffalo and it truly is fun to cook with. The health and environmental benefits make me feel good about consuming it. Let me know if you try Buffalo and how you like it!

How do you get better at managing your time?  (more…)

I have written a lot about cocktails and have shared many a recipe for some of the cocktails many of those recipes have been the ones I enjoy to drinking  myself. I have not talked much about beer and wine because for me they are not a huge part of my drinking life.  (more…)

If you are anything like I am you are having a bit of Olympic withdrawal.  Yes I cheer for all the athletes and there were some really special performances that came from outside the US of A . The Refugee Olympic Team alone was enough to make a few tears drop. I was totally into Brazil the home country winning gold in the beach volleyball and Soccer. It was super fun to watch.

Those are just two amazing monuments but Seriously though I am all about the Red, White and Blue!!I cheered as Phelps did the impossible 28 medals, Wholy Shnikes!! The swimmers ! The swimmers I say again. I can swim I love to swim I love being in and around water but what those men and women do in the pool is amazing.  Yeah I know there is one turd in the pool and he needs to be shocked to get the gunk out!!But other than that Wow!!

If I were to list all the amazing things Americans did at the Olympics we would be here all day and some of you would be bored because this is a food and travel blog after all. Here is my quick run down and go…. USA 121 medals, Wrestlers, The Ohio State in the house!  Basketball for sure!  The ladies in Track can run damn fast! Rowing they sure make those little boats go fast all while getting yelled at! I can not do a somersault so what The women’s gymnastic team does blows my mind up! As stated above I can swim but water polo takes it to another level its treading water but with another human sitting on your head while throwing a little ball and being dressed in a silly cap.  I did not know it was a thing but there is a special medal for fair play and one half of a duo to win it this year was Abbey D’agostina an American along with Fellow runner Nikki Hamblin from New Zealand. If you have played sports and know about sportsmanship google their names and watch how they won the fair play medal it will restore some faith in humanity and it will also wash the sour taste of the “swimmer who will remain nameless” out of your mouth!

BRAZIL!!!! you did a wonderful job hosting the Olympics leading up to the games there were signs it would be a disaster would terrorism come creeping back to the games as it has in the past.  Would people be ill from bad water and bad food. Would stadiums tumble because they were not complete. Nope, Nope and Nope!! Short of the diving pool turning a wild color green and maybe that was just from envy because the real action was in the shallow end of the pool not the deep. You threw a wonderful and amazing Olympics.

We all know at least two of the things Brazil is famous for. Carnival it is the much bigger cousin to our own Mardi Gras. Carnival is a 5 day party starting Friday before Ash Wednesday and ending on ash Wednesday the start of Lent. The whole country is awash in festivities we here in America probably recognize the parades in Rio de Janeiro’s best, as that party alone draws about 4 million people. The Brazilians also have another symbol recognized the world over and that is Christ the Redeemer Statue it is 98ft tall statue of Christ with his arms opened wide inviting all to him. His arms span 92ft. You have seen it in movies and on TV. I hope one day to visit Rio de Janeiro and see it for myself.

Unless you wait till Mardi Gras and head to New Orleans you will be hard pressed to enjoy Carnival like you were in Brazil and as Far as a gigantic Christ monument we have two of them in the United States One near Eureka Springs, Arkansas its 67 feet tall and has welcoming arms just like in Brazil and a little closer at least to my home is the King of Kings and Lux Mundi(Latin for Light of the World) Statues in Monroe Ohio.  So if you are wanting a little feel for Brazil  go ahead and travel to these destinations they do not need a passport.

One of the reasons I hope one day to visit Brazil is so I can learn more about their food culture.  I am very limited in my knowledge of their cuisine.  I know we have Brazilian steak houses here but some how I do not think our huge buffeted Brazilian Restaurants are serving authentic Brazilian fare. They do have steak on a spear and will serve you meat pounds of meat and Brazil is known for grilled meat but I think that is as far as it goes. I am willing  to concede if I am wrong about the steak houses here in our major cities and if someone knows of somewhere I can get Brazilian food that is authentic as sitting in a restaurant in Sao Paulo please share and I will try it because I think I will love it! Years ago I went to a Brazilian Steakhouse while living in  Chicago. I took 5 businessmen to dinner and we ate steak lots and lots of steak and that was all I remember  as the one other thing we did was drink what the waiter told us was the drink of Brazil a CAIPIRINHA. It was something so light and delicious and they went down like water. I just kept thinking if this was how they lived in Brazil I was all in packing my bags and moving tomorrow! Steak and this delicious drink life could not be better!

I poured my associates into cabs our business was done.  It turned out that the night we closed an amazing deal and celebrated a milestone for the company I worked for.  It was also the second worst hangover I have ever had and by morning with my temples throbbing I was cursing Brazil and her stupid steak houses! The next year it was requested from my business associates we stick with just the American steak house, apparently those poor guys hangover was 10x’s rougher than mine as they had to board planes and fly home. I just had to lay on my couch with a cool towel over my eyes.

Now you maybe asking why on earth would I ever want to drink that cocktail again well I will tell you Brazil has struck gold!! not the gold you wear around your neck after running real fast but the gold that says your national drink maybe one of the best things ever created.

Let me share with you a little about this drink the CAIPIRINHA it is so simple and yet so glorious it is lime, sugar and Cachaca.  Cachaca is the part that may make you fall down.  It is in its most basic sense fermented sugarcane distilled into a spirit. A bit like rum but not, a bit like pisco but not it is its own drink and to compare it too closely would be a disservice to Brazilians and their drink.

The only way I know how to fix my Olympic withdrawals is to make the drink of Brazil and watch some #Rio2016 highlights.

CAIPIRINHA

• 1 Lime cut into 8 wedges
• 1 heaping Tablespoon of Granulated Sugar
• 2oz Cachaca
• ice/rocks glass

add the lime and sugar to the rocks glass muddle(mush real good) fill glass with ice add Cachaca stir for about 15 seconds to make sure all sugar is dissolved and evenly mixed. Enjoy!

You have been warned they go down real easy and have a kick but what better way to watch American Kayla Harrison kick her way to Judo Gold than with a little Brazilian kick of your own!

So it was another one of those National Days on Friday something about Photography. Pretty much I think you can have a day for anything you just have to pick a day and call it yours…I am sure there is something official and someone has to approve something. Maybe that’s a job for the Vice President I don’t really know over all what vice presidents do in down time I think it maybe special day declarer.  I will get back to you on this but until them I am going to self declare.

I do declare that from this day forward January 10th of every year hence  forth too will be National Tripping Vittles Day(it is also the day of my birth so another reason to celebrate) I have declared it, so it will be!!……..cool I have a day!

Now that is out-of-the-way lets talk photography. I love taking photos. The above photo I snapped last night while having dinner at a friend’s home.   I love looking at Photos. It is why Instagram is my favorite social media. I like to see how others see the world and with phones the way they are now you can catch some really amazing stuff from your hand.  I like how photos put you in a time and place you may be there or you may be 1000’s of miles away but photos can make you feel something.

Do I have a favorite photo that someone else has taken Yes I have many some are tragic and seem personal. I have loved New Orleans for years. It was my escape from an awful job. I would fly there sometimes 4 or 5 times a year just to immerse myself in a culture that was exotic and full of food, drink, music and life.  When Hurricane Katrina hit it was like a knife to my heart. I saw places I loved under dark murky water. There was death and dying and it was no longer what I knew it sit was something darker. I have followed its rise from the murky waters and have cheered it on. I have not returned since Katrina wreaked havoc the following link takes you too photos that won Pulitzer prizes at the time. They still bring a tear to my eye. http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/staff-62  These rank as some of my favorite photos even though they tell a dark tale.  As I write this Louisiana is facing another awful natural disaster a slow-moving storm has flooded over nearly 20 parishes and once again has displaced thousands. I hope to return in the next year or so to New Orleans a place that holds such allure to me.

Not all the photos I like are of tragedy some of my favorite photos revolve around sports. I was blessed enough to be at game 6 & 7 of the 1991 Minnesota Twins World Series win against the Atlanta Braves. The following Photo of Kirby catching a home run ball is one of my all time favorites. I did not take this photo it is not my photo!! But it holds an image I love.

It floods me with memories of my Dad and Uncle both of whom have passed on but who on that day I was with as we watched one of the greatest games in the history of baseball be played.

Photos are amazing and sometimes they bring memories flooding back. I was at the Boston bombings and I have memories of that day that no-one else has. There are some amazing iconic photos of that event and what happened when two bombs went off 12 seconds apart. We all know these photos the older runner on the ground surrounded by police. The bombing victim walking dazed his clothes shredded. I have those memories stored away but some of my favorite photos of that day have nothing to do with the bombings and they have everything to do with a beautiful trip I took with friends to an amazing city.

I love this photo because it shows the beautiful sky and a cool old Boston building. When I look at this it makes me smile.

I am learning all the time about photography. I have taken a class and am saving for a digital camera up until this point everything I have done has been on my iPhone and will continue to be until I have a DSLR in my fat little hands(I really have fat little hands). I am proud of the photo at the top of this page I think it is one of my better ones. I do though have a personal favorite food/drink photograph that I took. It is a photo of a Mi Tai that I took in Hawaii. It will never win an award it is not even close to my best photograph but the memories around it are so great and it was an incredible drink.

I urge everyone to take photos it is easier now than at anytime in our lives. Get on Instagram and share those babies follow me, click the little camera link up in the right hand corner of this page.  I will follow you right back.

There is something magical about kids and food. The wonder they have about food the utter lack of caring if its good or bad until a parent or adult tells them something is gross. The magic that happens when they get to make food their own way in their own time. (more…)

2 weeks ago I set off for Church Camp. It is a time for me to reset my spiritual self. To shut off the electronics. To consume many a  root beer float. There is more to it than just that but you get the idea. (more…)