Dinner with a Gypsy...

This post was ment for yesterday... I totally forgot! We have had our fair share of connection issues around here lately and in dealing with that I totally missed the wagon train... but here we are anyway, pulling up the rear, baubles adorned and skirts flowing!

 So come sit with me by the campfire... and listen as the old ones tell their tales.

Have your fortune told and let me fill your belly...

Here is our offering...

                           GYPSY STEW

{photo credit: Traveling Gypsy Cravan}

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large chopped onions (2 cups)
2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped celery (1 large stalk)

2 cups peeled chopped sweet potato 

3 cups vegetable broth 

1 bay leaf 

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon basil
1 dash cinnamon
cayenne pepper, to taste
1 cup chopped tomato 
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 tablespoon tamari

Directions:

 Heat oil in large pot, and saute onion, garlic, celery and potato for about 5 minutes.

Add broth, bay leaf, and spices, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer (covered) 15 minutes. Add tomatoes, peppers and chick peas, simmer at least 10 minutes more.

Stir in tamari and serve.

                                                                                                          recipe courtesy of food.com

Momma Tips...

1} The longer you simmer this the yummier it is... and its one of those dishes that the leftovers taste even more amazing than the first night!

2} Add a little fresh pumpkin... you will thank me.

3} Best if served on a sweet autumn evening... fireside, with a side of this...

GYPSY BREAD

1 loaf French bread
1 c. grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1 sm. onion, chopped
1/3 to 1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. minced green pepper (optional)
2 tsp. white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 c. chopped ripe olives

Slice the loaf of bread lengthwise. Combine the rest of the ingredients into a smooth spreadable consistency. Spread on the bread and broil at least 6 inches from the heating unit until cheese melts.

Momma tips...

I like to make a lovely soda bread but really thats up to you
You can grill this and its amazing... perfect for the campfire!
  
Enjoy your Gypsy Dreams~

Be good to each other!       

PS... join the caravan! Pop on over to Gypsy Dreams Blog to see what adventures may await you!

 

guilt and shame....

I am really the single most self centered and cry babyish person I know.

 seriously.

Today's story begins like this:

I snuggled up early Sunday morning with a few cakes in the oven and a cup of coffee in my hand, ready to enjoy my day. That was the plan... supreme relaxation I felt I DESERVED for my Labor Day weekend {because you know; my freaking life of playing with babies and managing the bills and arguing with the chef is so damn hard.} whatever.
 All was going as planned and from my many facebook updates it would seem as though all was well, and for the most part it was... I made pie filling and frosting while dancing along to Beauty School Dropout{Grease was playing on cable...} I was getting only slightly annoyed at the idea that "Sandy" would change everything about herself for freakin "Danny Zuko" who lets be honest, is probably just gonna get her knocked up after highschool, and run off to join a band leaving her alone with 2 babies and rent due...
  It was there that I should have known something had changed in my day...  was it hormones? maybe. Stress... probably. The wind can blow wrong and my mood shifts to something ugly these days so who knows what made the switch inside me all I know is that it was there all of a sudden and I grabbed onto it with both hands.
  The rest of the story is really short, the cake was  out to get me. The icing was crap... serious crap {Thank you VERY much Better Homes and Gardens!} The cake cracked... and shortly after so did I as I found my self screaming with fists full of chocolate and cussing like a drunk sailor as I slung {is that a real word? I think so...} an entire cake... frosting, filling and all around my kitchen.
  I still have no idea why I did it, other than that dessert was gonna get it and I needed to be the one giving it.
  As I sat covered in frosting and sweet cherry filling and bits of fudgie cake I began to cry... not a "well poop I'm a nitwit all this work for nothing and now to top it all off I have an INSANE mess to clean up... " kind of cry...{have you ever seen what a double layer 8 inch round cake that serves 12 will do to a kitchen when it gets brutally murdered? Its a mess.} it was more of a release... this crazy persons way of "getting out" all the crap that has been building up in my head.
  And here is where the guilt and shame part sets in... I have NO REASON to feel overwhelmed or irritated about my life. I have a home... no matter how old and falling apart it is its mine. I have a husband, no matter how irritated we are at each other right now we have someone to hold at night and through all the crap life throws at us we are still a team. I have food in my belly, hell I have so much food I can throw it and still have more. I have a job; one that I am in control of not someone sweatshop puppet.

I have healthy kids. I'm not dealing with chemo and uncertainty. 
I feel nothing this morning but shame as I read though the struggles and small victories this family has gone through... I threw a cake around my kitchen because my bills are out of control and I was irritated by God only knows.

Cancer Sucks. and that is all.

Be good to each other,