Family secrets

This Rosemary Mustard Glaze recipe is the dish that my dad is known for. “Dad’s Secret Sauce” we like to call it. I’m going to leave part of his methods a secret, because I’ve changed this recipe to make it an everyday delight rather than special occasion only. His way uses a leg of lamb, and while the lamb is the more spectacular dish, it’s not exactly wallet or waistline friendly. So I’ve taken everything amazing about this recipe and made it cheaper, faster to prepare, and much, much leaner. I’ll tell you a secret: it’s still amazing.

A few weeks ago I made this recipe for 60 people to be served at a local shelter and it only took a few hours. This is something that can easily be made in large batches and then frozen, it thaws out perfectly. Even without the sauce, a pork sirloin tip roast makes a great replacement for sliced sandwich meat. I get the roasts at Costco for just $1.99 a pound, bake them to an internal temperature of 145, carve them and freeze, to be thawed at a later date. It sure beats $6-$9 a pound for sliced meats at the store.

Pork Sirloin Tip Roast with Rosemary Mustard Glaze

serves 6

1 pork sirloin tip roast (about 2 1/2 pounds)

chicken broth

For the glaze:

2 tsp. chopped rosemary (fresh if possible)

3-4 clove garlic, crushed or 2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce

½ cup Dijon mustard

2 tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put meat in a casserole or roasting pan and fill 1-2 inches of the bottom of the pan with chicken broth. Bake until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.

Allow the meat to cool for 30 minutes. This allows the meat to reabsorb the juice and not dry out. 

Mix all ingredients for the glaze together. I usually cut up the garlic and rosemary into big chunks and then take my immersion blender to the whole mixture, but you can also chop everything finely before mixing.

Carve meat and baste glaze between each slice and over the top.

Serve and enjoy!

And here’s one of my favorite low calorie vegetable dishes to go with it.

Whipped Cauliflower “Mashed Potatoes”

1 large head of cauliflower

1 cup 1% milk

1 tsp. Herb Ox no salt chicken broth powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. salt or to taste

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Steam cauliflower until very soft, about 20-25 minutes.

Put all other ingredients in a blender, add half the cauliflower, blend. Add the other half of the cauliflower and blend. You may have to stop the blender and stir a few times as it will be getting thick at this point. The mixture will be thinner than mashed potatoes, this is expected, it’s not an exact replica. That’s it! Serve and enjoy!

Truthfully sometimes I make a recipe of this and eat it all by myself in one day. At less than 300 calories for the whole batch, I don’t feel bad about it.

Nutrition information for 1/6 of the meat and veggies, which is about 6.5 oz of pork and 3/4 cup of whipped cauliflower:

Calories: 264

Fat: 8.5 g

Total Carbs: 8.5 g

Fiber: 3.5 g

Protein: 41 g

Note: If you don't want to pay for fresh rosemary and don't have any at home, learn to identify the plant in public. Lots of store parking lots use rosemary as a groundcover, bush, or hedge, and I used to scavenge for it back when I lived in an appartment. Be sure to prune gently, don't leave a gaping hole, and if you think there might be an issue, ask permission first.

Random acts of gratitude

Yesterday was a terrible awful no good rotten day. I spent all day at the veterinarian with my kitty and her sheer terror about the car and the vet always makes me irrationally upset. She's sitting there for hours just shaking like a leaf and I kind of boiled over by focusing on the bad, my whole body was tense and felt ready to explode.

My go-to anti-anxiety is of course food. And I did eat some ice cream that belongs to my husband that I'm not supposed to know is there (that plan worked out well, btw), but it was a controlled, measured amount. And guess what? A controlled measured amount wan't enough to bury the anxiety. Shocking, right? I'm going to have a heart attack and die of not surprise.

So, I've decided that my new anti-anxiety is GRATITUDE! Breathe, be thankful, repeat.

I am grateful that my kitty is happy and doesn't seem to be bothered by her sickness.

I am grateful that we both have a warm place to sleep tonight.

I am grateful that I have an amazing job that allows me to spend a day at the veterinarian's without having to worry about lost wages.

I am grateful for two random strangers who said something nice to me this week. To the lady who was super impressed by me squatting 100 pounds, and to the lady who asked me if I am a dancer, thank you! You guys made my week.

Gratitude is my new anti-drug food. Donuts, not even once.

Words to live by

If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it.

- Frank Zappa

I know that if I listen to other people about how I should live my life, I'll only have myself to blame. When I know what I want, I go out into the world with my blinders on and don't let anything or anyone distract me. Sometimes people react poorly when you don't do what they want, but over time they will respect you for recognizing what makes you happy in life.

Figure out who you are and do it on purpose.

-Dolly Parton

To me this means that I have to ability to decide what I want to be known for and what I don't want to be known for and I choose to behave in a way that's in line with those principals.

and simply

Live your life on purpose. 

Don't let things happen to you. Don't let a perfectly good day pass you by because you were too distracted by the interenet or things you can't control. Time is not found or made, time is a finite resource that can only be allocated based on prorities. What are yours?

I'm back!

After an entire year of healing a busted ankle, I returned to the slopes for some snowboarding in February! And while I was petrified at first, I ended up really getting back into the groove and improving my skills. By day four, I managed to have an entire day of boarding without falling down! This is a huge victory because, you see, I've never done that before. Just goes to show that if you stick to your goals despite obstacles, you will get there.

This picture, taken at Homewood Mountain Resort, is a paltry representation of the magnificent view overlooking the California/Nevada border. I've never seen scenery so breathtaking. And this is just one reason I love the snow.

To read about how I managed to tear some stuff in my ankle, check out the story of my first alien abduction.

Oh the vanity...

Sometimes I have moments where I catch my brain thinking about myself as if I'm still an overweight person. I'll be looking at clothes or whatever and just pass certain things by because they're probably not flattering, or I won't eat junk food in front of people because I think they'll judge me.

I had a moment like this the other day that's kinda embarrasing. (That of course is the reason I'm sharing with the entire internet.) I was getting frustrated with my running stamina, especially when I've been in calorie defecit for more than a few days, and I was trying a few things that might help. More iron in my diet, more sleep, caffine, and maybe even breathing more deeply.

So I'm on the treadmill trying to focus on deep belly breaths (like my pilates teacher taught me!) and expanding my lungs as much as possible when I realize something: The way that I hold in my stomach has been impeding my ability to breath properly. (Facepalm) In order to take that big deep breath, I have to completely relax my belly. It's not like I think I have a big belly and need to hide it, this is something that's carried over, something I've just always done for years and years, the way that I hold my body out of habit.

And behold, I could run for longer! The pinching feeling in my airway went away. I feel pretty silly, but glad I've relized what I'm doing. From now on, I'll be letting it all hang out.