Visited the Little Farm in Gilbert today. You may have read about this place on my website before as I do on occasion write about the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) service that Caroline and I subscribe to. Well, I finally made my way out to Gilbert, Arizona, to visit the farm and to see where our bag of fresh organic veggies comes from. I had the chance to meet Lauren, who showed me around and introduced me to the animals. What a bunch of great characters! Especially the pot-bellied pig who nudged me about, looking for apples or any other treats I might have for her. I will be posting a more in-depth article about the farm on my other site www.happybumblebee.com
Hives
Hives, I’ve got hives. Never had hives before, hope I never have them again. It looks as though I’m covered in 50 million mosquito bites, and they itch just as much. I think I’ve isolated the cause to the buckwheat I tried in my last granola recipe; who really knows? Benadryl was supposed to help but hasn’t yet. Caroline thought for a moment I might have scarlet fever; all I know is I’m ready to give up eating everything I ate yesterday so this itchy crap never happens again.
Heart Attack Grill
Welcome to the Heart Attack Grill where today it was a Valentine’s Day Massacre of All-You-Can-Eat for FREE!!! There ain’t nothing medicinal or healthy about this place, the name Heart Attack Grill is not a misnomer. This is the home of a heart-stopping 2-pound burger featuring 4 1/2-pound burgers topped with an egg each, three slices of bacon each, a slice of cheese each! This monster is rightfully called the Quadruple Bypass. There are no sissy ‘French’ fries here; these are Flatliner fries – would you like those drenched in gravy, cheese, or chili, how about all 3 with some extra salt?
The ‘nurses’ taking orders barely wear the restaurant industry’s shortest uniforms, with some hot lacey underwear. I swear it took me an hour just to eat my Single Bypass 1/2 pound bacon cheese coronary on a plank, not that I was distracted or in need of medical care. Visit their website to see the range of uniforms the Heart Attack Grill stands behind. I wonder if this isn’t the future of grocery shopping and banking…
Thanks to Seth Chadwick and his blog at Feasting in Phoenix for the tip.
You Call This Air?
Maybe due to our love of urban sprawl, hyper-growth, and the SUV, or since after gazing out on the horizon and not having our own snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro we are bored with visibility, we are getting rid of clean air and are replacing it with SMOG!!!
I for one am driving around these days senselessly burning hydrocarbons to foul the air because I don’t like looking at our anemic skyline or the hideous Camelback mountains. When I drive on the 101 and look 40 miles east at those Four Peaks mountains I get disoriented, wondering if the world isn’t just too damned big for me. When I’m surrounded by smog, I feel like I’m wrapped in a cozy blanket, snuggling in with my pal pollution, feeling warm and fuzzy.
Where’s The Rain?
A year ago these mountains in the Dreamy Draw Park were bursting with wildflowers and deep fluorescent greens. Today this parched terrain hasn’t seen rain in 118 days. A year ago today the Salt River was raging as the Tempe Town Lake had to be lowered to allow the floodwaters to pass, Death Valley in neighboring California was in full bloom. Now, a year later, we think apocalyptic global warming is the culprit behind this comparatively dry winter. Maybe the earth just isn’t as perfectly organized as we might like? Nah, it’s definitely the end of times!
My New Blog
Later today, I will post my first entry to my new blog HappyBumbleBee. This new site will focus on vegetarian, vegan, raw, organic, healthy foods and meal preparation from the perspective of a dyed-in-the-wool meatatarian. Because my wife Caroline is a vegetarian, I only prepare veg meals at home – for the carnivorous experience I go on the hunt at restaurants.
At first, I was averse to the idea of eating carrots and sprouts, therefore, it has taken quite a while of cooking organic, veggie, healthy meals at home to arrange my perspective to allow me to enjoy good vegetarian cooking. I have had to branch into many an ethnic cookbook and be open-minded enough to try different veggie meals and restaurants in order to experience the breadth and scope of what vegetarian and vegan cooking can be and, recently how great RAW foods can be.
While remaining omnivorous, I have come to hold with a certain disdain the need for people to cling to the idea that the labels of vegetarian, vegan, raw, Ovo-Lacto vegetarian, etc., are lifestyles to be held in near-religious esteem, instead of being more inclusive and recognizing that it is better that society adopt more healthy life choices that include a variety of these things. Thus, it is with this idea of helping us meatatarians better understand and enjoy the world of those leaf-eaters that I am launching HappyBumbleBee.