Itchy and Scratchy

Did anyone else religiously watch Friends and memorize every episode that was ever aired? Do you remember the episode where Phoebe and Charlie Sheen, her love interest at the time, get the chicken pox together? And to stop them from scratching, the "friends" duct tape oven mitts to their hands?

Meeeee too! Total soul mates!

I had a Friends moment this week. Our lives are so similar!

Prior to our trip to Cape Cod, Jerry decided to roll around in poison ivy, just to make that 5 hour drive extra special! His itch only intensified as the days past until I was certain I was going to find him in the kitchen in full-on Saw position, debating which leg to cut off first. It eventually culminated in Jerry being in so much pain, he could barely stand and us making an emergency trip to the local Urgent Care Clinic, where we learned that Jerry had a serious infection. 

One of the most annoying/endearing things about Jerry is his ability to morph into a 5 year old at any given moment. Whether it be to show you his boogers or to ask for help because he isn't feeling well, his child-like nature sucks me every time!

I spent the majority of Thursday with my sick man/child, threatening to cut his hands off if he didn't stop scratching and preparing his favorite comfort foods. I made his requested meal of scrambled eggs and Heinz beans (because, apparently, he becomes Charles Dickens when he's sick) for lunch, but dinner was going to be something we could both enjoy, soup! Because who does't enjoy soup in the middle of a heat wave?!

I'm not usually one to make meat, but for my little/big guy, I made the exception.

Chicken Meatball Soup for the Poison Ivyed Soul

by Bonnie Graham

Keywords: soup/stew tomato grain chicken

6027737

Ingredients

Chicken Meatballs Ingredients

• 1 package lean ground chicken
• 2 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 1/2 slices of bread, broken into smaller pieces
• 1/2 c Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp fennel seed
• 7 basil leaves, ciffonade
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper, to taste

Soup Ingredients

• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 -3 garlic cloves
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 large can of diced tomatoes in juice
• 2 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp celery seed
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1 cup cooked wheat berries (or preferred grain)
• 1 cup cannelli beans
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 handful parsley, chopped
• salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Heat non-stick pot with olive oil over medium-high heat. With wet hands, roll chicken meatballs and drop into hot pot. Cook meatballs in batches. Be sure not to crowd the pan.

3. Flip meatballs to ensure even browning. Don't worry about the meatball being cooked all the way through as you'll be adding it to the soup later.

4. Once you have finished browning your meatballs, put them to one side. In the same pan, over medium heat, add onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper and add in some of your spices. Let soften.

5. Add carrots. Season with another sprinkle of spices. Saute a few minutes.

6. Add tomatoes, grains, and beans. Sprinkle in the rest of your seasoning.

7. Allow soup mixture to come to a simmer, then add broth and parsley. Mix well.

8. Once broth has been added, add chicken meatballs back to the pot.

9. Allow pot to come to a low boil then reduce heat to maintain a simmer.

10. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or whenever your carrots are at a desired tenderness.

11. Remove oven mitts so eating can commence!

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99 Recipes...

...and a bitch ain't one!

You may have noticed that Get the Grub tab underneath the Goodbye Pancreas Header. Do you see it there under the main title? You may have also noticed that it has been "Soon to come!" for the last...oh, I don't know....12 months!

Well, no longer, my friends. This vacation has given me the motivation (and time) to get my new recipe page up and running. Go ahead and click on over to the "Get the Grub" for a complete listing of all my recipes. I'm using the amazing Recipage to help organize this page.

Sooo...if you're having recipe problems, I feel bad for you, son. I've got 99 recipes and a bitch ain't one.

Hit me!

Vacationing

This week starts the first of several (much needed) summer vacations. Yay! Oh yes, my friends, several.

Excuse me for rubbing your nose in it, but...are you jealous? Oh, just you wait! It gets better. 

We have several mini-vacations that culminate into a big, huge, awesome vacation to Spain in August. What better way to kick off a vacation season that ends in the Sangria Capital of the World then to make our sangria with a $5 bottle of wine?! I'm sure it's very authentic to what we'll get in Barcelona.

Until then, a glass of sangria in Cape Cod will do.

White Peach Sangria

by Bonnie Graham

6027517

Ingredients (1 pitcher)

• 2 ripe white peaches
• 5 ripe plums
• 1 nectarine
• 1 cup triple sec
• 1 bottle white wine
• Optional: fruit juice, sweetener, mint leaves, basil leaves, etc.

Instructions

1. Slice fruit and add to a pitcher.

2. Add triple sec and white wine.

3. Let sangria sit for an hour up to several hours. Enjoy!

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Oh My God, It's Your Birthday!

Growing up, I always wanted to be like my older sister.

Except for maybe in the hair and clothes department. :)


I actually feel bad for people who don't have sisters. Sure, sure, siblings are siblings. But there's really nothing like having a sister. No one understands you quite like your sister. 

Without my sister, I'd probably fall apart far more often, definitely have been arrested by now, and certainly would have less laughter in my life. I would have an emptiness in my life, void of that one person I can call at any time and have her be just as enraged/excited/happy/sad as I am in that moment. I wouldn't have that person to remind me of all the silly and embarrassing things I've done and laugh just as hard at the 100th telling of it as we did at the first.

A sister....my sister gives that to me.

Happy birthday, Lisa.
May things only go up from here.

Dirty Veggies, Part 1

With reusable, eco-friendly bags in hand and a $10 budget, I make my way to the White Plains Farmer's Market each Wednesday. Have I mentioned my recent obsession with the farmer's market?

Oh, I haven't...well then.

I'm soooo in love with my farmer's market. In fact, I'm so smitten that I've decided that you need to be too! With that, I'm going to be posting a weekly installment of all my fresh veg buys as a way of maybe convincing you to go and check out your local market too!

This week's rundown:

1 bunch fresh carrots - $1.75

1 bunch radishes - $1

1 bunch cilantro - $1.50 (so fragrant)

1 bunch parsley - $1

1 head green leaf lettuce - $1.25

5 vine-ripened tomatoes - $3.75 (my splurge)

garlic scape - $.60

Total: $10.85....just $.85 over budget, not too shabby. 

At one point or another, all those veggies will be in my salad...and then in my belly! I have something wonderfully delicious in store for you with the cilantro and parsley.

Aren't you excited?!

Dad's Day

I have many memories of my father growing up. One memory that stands out is when I played PeeWee Soccer in the third grade. The first year I played, I happened to be friends with the superstar player, Sean.  It’s amazing that PeeWee soccer had superstar players, but it did. I had the honor of being Sean’s friend because our parents were buddies.

Being one of the only girls in the entire league was tough, but I managed to have a successful first season (with Sean’s help). By the time the second season came around, Sean had aged up to the big league, forcing me to fend for myself. The second season definitely was not as good. The boys were horrendously mean to me and the coach was even worse.

A few games into the season, I had spent most of the time on the sidelines. I wasn’t the best player ever, but we were in the third grade. No one was a good player! I’m not sure what had exactly pushed my dad over the edge, but one day, as I sat bundled in a blanket, watching the game clock tick by, having barely played at all, my dad went up to the coach. Why wasn’t I playing? It’s a recreational league. Everyone should have time to play! Was it because I was the only girl on the team? Because no one else had sat out the entire game!

Granted, my dad was a bit of a bulldog back then. He threw the jersey in the coach’s face and we marched off the field. Soccer was no longer my sport of choice.

That definitely wasn’t the last time my dad came to my aid when things were unfair. Over time, his approach has definitely mellowed. His support may now come more in the form of hugs and supportive words then telling off a soccer coach, but I know, without a doubt, my dad always has my back.

When I hear other people’s stories of absent fathers (or worse, abusive fathers), I am reminded how sincerely lucky I am to have my dad. Whether it is to give me directions, paint my apartment, or harass my car insurance agent 15 times a day, I know my dad is always there for me.

And true to form, to show that I am definitely my father’s daughter, I write this post a day late. J

Thanks for everything, Dad.

Happy Father’s Day.

Dirt Eater

I love when there's dirt still on my vegetables! It excites me to think that it was not so long ago that they were in the ground at someone's family farm. It reminds me of where my food comes from, the people who grow it, and the health/environmental/financial benefits of shopping at my local farmer's market.

With the market in full swing, I have made it my mission to attend the White Plains Farmer's Market every Wednesday. This market is small, but convenient to my job and has some good deals on dirty but awesome produce. Just wait until garlic is back in season! Oh. My. Lord. So good.

I usually leave the market with a big, fat bag of produce and delicious lunch/dinner ideas swirling around my head. However, once that bag of produce enters my apartment, it is in danger zone, fighting to get out of the abyss that is my vegetable drawer!

Thank goodness that my obsession with the farmer's market also happens to coincide with my obsession for all things salad. Almost every single veggie in the recipe was grown in the Tri-state area and Pennsylvania.

Maybe now you'll let me forget that whole banana thing?

Farmer's Market Salad

by Bonnie Graham

Keywords: salad low-carb salmon

6026989

Ingredients (Enough for two large salads)

• 2 salmon fillets, preferred size

Marinade ingredients:

• 1 tbsp liquid smoke
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• salt and pepper

Salad ingredients:

• 1 head red lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
• 1 ripe tomato
• 1 bunch radishes, halved and roasted (recipe to come)
• 1 bunch baby carrots or 2 - 3 regular carrots, halved and roasted
• 6 - 7 strawberries, sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Instructions

1. Place salmon in a ziplock bag with all of the marinade ingredients. Let sit for at least 20 minutes or several hours.

2. Prepare all of your veggies and add whatever ones you like/have on hand.

3. Cook your salmon over medium high heat, skin-side down, until desired doneness is reached. You should try to get a crispy bottom. It may help to put a lid on the pan to help the fish cook all the way through.

4. Dress your salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, or a dressing of your choice.

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