Well, dating an O is always both a joy and a challenge. Grubster brought a big piece of roast meat over to stew in my crock pot, so I added what I happened to have in my fridge that evening....baby carrots, pre-soaked organic black beans, zucchini, green beans, red table wine, Himilayan pink salt, kelpt, dulse, and some random spices (oh, and a bay leaf).

Well, it's kind of hard to resist pot roast when the aroma of that stewed beef fills the home. So, naturally, like most mammals, I had to have some. And so did my dog. For the last 48 hours, this has been my staple (with some other random things mixed in, more later). Now, eating this beef, especially mixed with the black beans, I was anticipating some huge intestinal warfare issue, but that department was fine for me. What suffered was my liver. For the last two days, I have barely been able to get out of bed! And this is coming from someone who does not have to work until 10 am most days now!!!! Somehow, this food was not well processed by my body. While I don't have that usual anxiety feeling, I just felt so incredibly sluggish and even a bit nauseated both mornings! So, word to the wise As, beef certainly is a once in a while thing!

From an ayurvedic standpoint, beef stew is also probably not the best option. Here we are in our springtime where Kapha is most dominant. Heavy oily foods do not help. And believe me, this roast had plenty of oil!

What else is new? The garden is coming up fantastically! There is this strange plant called "pigsqueak" that had my mom baffled last summer when I bought the house in August. Since I was very plant- illiterate moving into this home, I didn't know what the heck the previous owners planted. My parents knew most of the plants but when I came to this one, "What the hell is that?"

And then these pair of plants survived through the winter with the leaves turning a deep red and thick. Not much can survive a Minnesota winter but this this is somehow a superplant related to the coniferous family. Now in the spring, these beautiful fuschia flowers droop down like bluebells. Everything is starting to bloom! Now, again, trying to get my dog to stop making the garden his toilet. A big challenge. And I mean big. Pew!

The building biology projects ongoing in my home are also turning out to be successful. I am sleeping so much better than I used to. I can tell when the switch doesn't get turned on at night because I wake up feeling like I was hit by a truck! Luckily this has not happened for quite some time.

I'd like to highlight a new dining venue that I experienced in the midst of my pot roast marathon (I had to have something different!). Patrick's (French) Cafe and Bakery on the Richfield/Edina border has many authentic French desserts, pastries, breads, and sandwiches (e.g. croque monsieur). I can't remember the name of the entree I tried but it was so good and so rich that I could only eat half of it and had to save the rest for breakfast! I also had a chocolate dessert with mousse, praline wafer, and edible gold on top. This was the real deal. Yum!

More later,

EK