Love Letter to my Father:
Happy Fathers Day

Easter 1959

Happy Fathers Day Dad.

He’d have liked that. My father loved the holidays and he loved being a Dad too, though family life was particularly difficult for him. He still did the Dad stuff; the barbecues, the vacations on some lake in some woods, visiting family. The 1950s and the 1960s were a particularly good time to be a kid and to watch your Dad.

My Dad like Harleys, and he had a 56 Chevy when I was born. He even had a speed boat that he christened the “Kathleen Anne” but mostly he loved to take photographs of me. Even when I did not like it:

His love for photography and photographing what he loved was my inspiration to become a professional photographer. He tried to get me to smile and laugh, and that was no simple task when I was a child. I take everything rather seriously and sometimes things were rather serious.

My father was a cut-up, a real card as they used to say. He liked pranks and physical humor. Loved to tickle and chase, and he had a wicked little mischievous smile.

Happy Fathers Day, I love you daddy!

Almond Rhubarb Tart

How Sweet It Is ʚ(ˆ◡ˆ)ɞ

One of my fondest memories about my mother was a seasonal find that she took a special delight in finding; rhubarb! My bestest friend is quite the farmer/gardener (and the best mother I have ever seen) and she gave me some organic rhubarb last week. So in honour of mothers day I created this special dessert:

Crust Ingredients:

☘ 1 1/2 cups flour
☘ 1/4 cup powdered maple sugar
☘ 1/4 tsp sea salt
☘ 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
☘ 1 large egg yolk
☘ 1/4 cup water

Filling Ingredients:

☘ 1 1/2 pounds rhubarb stalks
☘ 1/3 cup water
☘ 3 tbsp flour
☘ 3/4 cup raw turbinado granulated sugar
☘ 8 oz almond paste
☘ 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Topping Ingredients:

☘ 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
☘ 1/2 cup raw turbinado granulated sugar
☘ 1/2 cup flour
☘ 1/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
☘ 1/4 cup slivered almonds

Preparation:

Tart Pastry Crust

Combine the flour, sugar, salt and cut in the butter using two knives until the mixture resembles small lumps.

In a small bowl beat the egg yolk and water. Combine with above, which I love to do with my hands (clean of course!) Make a ball and then pat down into a disk and refrigerate for one hour before rolling.

Roll out and place into a pie dish, freeze both for 10 minutes in preparation for the filling.

Heat oven to 350º

Filling

Trim and rinse the rhubarb stalks. Slice large stalks lengthwise. Slice all the rhubarb into 1/2 inch chunks and combine with the water in a medium saucepan over low heat. In a small bowl combine the flour, sugar stirring well until blended and add to the rhubarb. Cover but let the steam escape and simmer for about five minutes, until tender. Add to almond paste and mix thoroughly, then spoon into the tart crust.

Topping

With your fingers combine the topping ingredients until blended and crumbly and sprinkle over the top of the tart. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until topping is browned. Let cool for at least one hour.

Chicken Law & Order

Law & Order has gone to the birds.

Tommy has been working on the “Mothership” as they fondly refer to the original Law & Order for over 17 years. And I have been waiting for Dick Wolf to make a comedy version for almost as long.

I love this chicken parody and they got it spot on; the chicken licking essence of Law and Order!

Update: May 13, 2010, New York City

NBC has officially canceled Law & Order. When asked what he thought about this, creator/producer Dick Wolf simply stated “Never complain. Never explain.” But he sold the franchise to NBC years ago and I don’t think he has any say whatsoever in the matter.

Confessions of a Margarita Maven

I love tequila and I have drank it in every way imaginable, and as with all things I have definite opinions about it.

For sipping tequila I prefer Cuervo Reserva de la Familia or Sauza Tres Generaciones Anejo, both I drink in a snifter. For shots I drink Cuervo Gold or 1800, with a seltzer back with lime. And although I mostly drink my tequila straight up, I have made an art out of the margarita.

note: shot glasses made out of frozen lime juice are a delight

The BEST margarita by far is served chilled straight-up and should be made with a premium tequila, like Cuervo 1800:

Makes one cocktail
use a bar cup with a strainer
1.5 ounces of anejo tequila
1.5 ounces of Grand Marnier
the juice of two fresh ripe limes

chill over ice and strain into a chilled martini glass

But the most FUN margaritas are of the frozen variety:

use a blender (makes four 8oz drinks)
6 oz oc Cuervo Gold
6 oz of Cointreau
8 oz of fresh-squeezed lime juice

don’t skimp on the ingredients, don’t use Triple Sec, and always use fresh lime. There is no substitute.

fill the blender 3/4 way full with ice on top of the liquids, blend into a slurpee

One word of advice, NEVER drink anything but a golden tequila, the more aged the better.

Frosted Meat Muffins

A Love Story

Recently I was asked for the recipe for my “Meat Muffins” and I realize that all my measurements are relative and a handful of this, a pinch of that; making the result unique every time, but I promised to try to write down my recipe.

To start I get grass-fed ground meats; beef, pork and veal in equal proportions is my favorite combo. This started as a meatball recipe and one night as I was making a meatloaf and had lots of mixture leftover, Tommy suggested I use our muffin pan. And so the meat muffin was born.

Makes 12 meat muffins:

1 pound each of ground beef, pork and veal put into a large mixing bowl.

cover with finely ground breadcrumbs (about 1 cup)

2 whole eggs

1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup of marinara sauce

1 small onion, finely diced

1/2 of a red bell pepper, 1/2 green bell pepper, finely diced

2 cloves of garlic, finely diced

sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Knead this mixture by hand until uniform, and form into balls that you can fit into your cupped hands (about the size of a baseball I guess), put one each into your muffin pan and press down to flatten the tops.

“frost” each with marinara and cover with grated parmesan. Bake at 350º for 20 minutes and serve with your favorite pasta.

Food Rules

Some people think I think way too much about what I eat. I think that some people don’t think enough about what they eat!

For the past 30 years I have researched, experimented with and endured what is the best food to eat to achieve optimal health and sustainable energy over time. What amazed me the most on my journey was how much food scientists didn’t know. Why don’t we know what is best to eat?

Well I think we do know, but maybe some of us have forgotten. Over the past few years I have lived close to farmers and have access to grass-fed and pastured meats. It is now possible for me to know the people who have made my food.

I have tried just about everything including eating almost anything, and nothing. As a child I had a hate relationship with most food and would not eat any food that touched any other food. So soups and stews were right out. And it was as a child that I started the habit of not eating breakfast. I just have never been able to eat within a few hours of waking up.

Today my food rules are pretty much inline with Michael Pollan’s book Food Rules and I just eat whole foods, minimally processed foods and I basically eat the same diet that my grandmother taught me. I eat just grass-fed, pastured meats, farmer’s cheeses and eggs, local fruits and veggies. In short, there are very few foods I eat that I buy in a supermarket.

And I prepare all my own foods now. And I don’t trust anything anymore that promises me health benefits. I won’t eat fish because of the pollution, so I do supplement with Krill Oil (mercola.com) and since I am over 50 years old I also supplement with ALA (alpha lipoic acid, right isomer), ALC (acetyl L-Carnitane) and creatine for energy production. I don’t get enough sun (because it is too confusing) so I supplement my vit-D and monitor levels with blood tests every 6 months. And I take a calcium supplement because my doctor says I am “older than dirt” and I won’t drink milk or eat other dairy products often enough.

I eat a wide variety of whole foods, lots of colours and the more I remove processed foods out of my diet and know who is making my meals (ME) the better my numbers come back from my annual physical. The good news about food that is good for your body is that it is full of flavor, and it is kind of old-fashioned. Try it you’ll like it.

100 Faces of Kat Caverly

Shot on March 31, 2010 by Thomas Hudson Reeve.

I have spent endless hours in front of mirrors trying to think of new faces I could make. This was the first session of a series. I am planning to do portrait sessions every 4-6 weeks because of my current HAIR project.

I have done most every thing to my hair; bleached it, coloured it, cut it, permed it and dreaded it. I grew it very long in my late teens, early twenties and even shaved my head back in 2006. What was left to do? I cut my own hair in 2008 and that was new, so back in June of 2009 I buzz cut my hair to an even one inch and am letting it grow into its own hair style.

So far I am quite impressed, since I have 5-6 cow licks and my hair grows at different rates on different parts of my head. it is really quite a nice layered “cut” and for now it has quite a natural wave. Hair I am!

No Heart Left Behind

Yes it’s true. I want to make sure that everyone gets a Valentine on FEB14. Remember when you were a kid and you got the big bag of Valentines and gave one to everyone else; along with those candy hearts that have messages on them!

Valentines Day can be about that kind of love again too, not just romantic love. So:

1. I am giving away 7 Day gift subscriptions to my site Greetums.com.

2. I have created the hashtag #noheartleftbehind for updates and tweetchats (this Wednesday, FEB10)

3. all you have to do is follow me and make sure I follow you too, then DM your email and I will send you details.

4. Once you redeem your gift subscription, every Greetum Valentine/Love eCard includes a 7 Day gift subscription for the Recipient.

These subscriptions are unlimited within the 7 days so you and your friends and family can share and send unlimited Valentines this year for FREE.

Contact me @Greetums for details and to get on the list.

What Makes Kat Caverly Run?

Special Announcement: I am running my first half-marathon (13 miles) on April 25th. Remarkable considering that as of today my personal best is 500 feet! Yes I was pretty lame, almost literally.

As a child I had to learn to fight because I couldn’t run. I think it was just because I was so damn skinny; no muscle. So my wee muscles would fail and I would fall. Boom! Eventually I just stopped trying to run and I built up a prejudice against running.

For the past 26 years I have taken fitness very seriously; swimming, weight lifting, hatha yoga, Feldenkrais, boxing, pilates and I built some serious muscle! I like being strong and a couple of years ago I decided I needed to “train” for some athletics, some activity. I decided I wanted to learn to RUN.

I had the perfect excuse NOT to run; I have two herniated lumbar discs. A neurologist and my last trainer said I should not run. But something told me that I HAD to run (maybe because someone said I couldn’t). I had just moved to a new area and a friend’s sister-in-law was an elite athlete, and a perfected runner.

I started to meet her at the local track and learned how to jog and started walking. I built up to a 5 mile walk and can walk faster than some people run! But still I was worried about falling, so I never broke a jog up to 500 feet before: I was just not breathing enough to feed my muscles but I could continue to walk at a fast pace. Fear was holding me back not my body! My back never hurt from this but my core did get stronger and stronger.

Last week my now dear friend Kellee made a proposal: do the Shamrock Run on March 15 (2 miles) and the More Run in Central Park (13 miles) on April 25th. Her faith in me buoyed my confidence and I got the needed boost to get through my fear and past it into the best conditioning I have ever achieved. I am ready to start.

The goal is to arrive at each race uninjured, so I need to train smart and promote recovery from my training sessions. I am on my 55th trip around the sun, so recovery takes longer. But I am hoping that I can support my body in the following way:

1. hydration, 8 oz of water every hour awake, 16 oz of Cytomax 2 hours before training and during.

2. eat healthy, get lots of lean proteins, drink a Muscle Milk shake within 1 hour after workout, and another before bed.

3. supplement with extra Krill and Flaxseed oil, keep down inflammation

4. Sleep 8-10 hours a day, take naps

5. Train smart, take time to fully recover between trainings; stretching, balance, and core exercises daily to prevent injuries.

I am ready! I have enjoyed working through my demons and over-coming other things that kept me from doing anything. The running is as much emotional as it is physical and I will benefit by getting the best conditioning I have ever been in, ever and that is very exciting. I am also looking forward to the endorphin rush!

Do you have any advice and tips? Please comment below:

The Patron Saint of Greetings

No Heart Left Behind – Give Every One a Valentine on FEB14

Who is this Saint Valentine and what does love have to do with it? The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine, all of whom were martyred. According to one legend, Valentine sent the first “valentine” himself to his love from prison. It was signed “from your Valentine”.

Some believe that the Romans has a mid-February custom, that stems from the believe that birds chose their mates on February 14th. Pastors would substitute the names of saints to suppress such practices and February 14th became known as St. Valentines Day, but the custom of celebrating the chosing of a mate, like most old customs, stuck.

St. Valentine was executed in Rome on February 14, about the year 270. The oldest known Valentine, in England, dates from around 1400. According to Catholic.org, St. Valentine is the patron saint of “affianced couples, bee keepers, engaged couples, epilepsy, fainting, greetings, happy marriages, love, lovers, plague, travellers, young people”.

Hmmm, the patron saint of greetings?? What does Valentines Day mean to you? Please leave a comment below ☟

Visit Valentines Day on Greetums.com