I sometimes think that happiness is overrated and that contentment is what we should all be striving for. Perhaps this is because of an unfortunate cultural definition of happiness that's dependent on getting what you want, when you want it, and how you want it. But I've come to learn in my own life that what I want isn't always what I need. Finding joy and contentment in what I have is far happier than living dissatisfied with my circumstances. Since the fallout last year, I have tried to embrace contentment in the ordinary and live each moment with gratitude. It hasn't always been easy, that's for sure and there are many days I completely miss the mark. But life is a marathon, not a sprint so I think that's just part of the process of life.

    It is almost unnatural how much joy I find in cooking. And how much more joy I get out of eating. I only wish I had more time and a better metabolism to do both. For now though, I remain simply grateful. Pasta makes me happy, what can I say?

Pasta Carbonara with a twist
**I have a love affair with bacon, but upon receiving chicken bratwurst I thought Id substitute them in lieu of bacon.



1 lb whole wheat linguine (Source: FFM, Ohio City Pasta)
1 lb chicken bratwurst, removed from their casings and browned (Source: FFM)
2 egg yolks (Source: FFM)
1/2 medium onion, diced
garlic scapes, diced
tomatoes, diced
cheese
milk

Brown up your sausage (or bacon) and set aside. Get rid of all but 1 TBL of fat from sausages and saute garlic scapes and onions until tender. Towards the end, toss in the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.

Boil your pasta for 1-3 minutes in salted (like the ocean people!) water. Drain pasta and toss with egg yolks while still hot. Add cheese and 1/4 C-1/2 C milk. Mix pasta with bratwurst, onions, scapes, and tomatoes. 

Ray Lamontagne soothes my soul and tonight (Wednesday) I saw him live for the 3rd time. The first time I saw Ray I was in college in PA and my then boyfriend's brother bought us tickets to see him in a teeny tiny smoke filled burned out theater in Pittsburgh. I think there were about 100 people there but I dont remember all of that because I was so entranced by this shy guy with the soulful voice crooning and strumming his guitar. An upright bass was his only accompaniment. The next time I saw him he had a full band and the venue was quite a bit larger so I was worried some of the magic would be lost. It wasn't and I wanted him to keep playing even after the non stop 2 hours he performed. I missed him the last time he was close-by with David Gray last August so when I heard he was coming to town with Brandi Carlisle I jumped at the chance to go. Check out my (shakey) Flip video of some concert highlights.

Because I knew I wouldn't have time to put something together for dinner between lab and the concert, I had plans to take yesterday's chicken leftover's and transform them into Greek Chicken Gyros. With the yogurt from Velvet View Farms, I was able to make a delicious tzatziki sauce! To round out the Local Cleveland fun, I stopped over at Momocho for a cucumber margarita and fried ice cream to beat the heat.

Greek Chicken "Gyros"
This dish would have photographed beautifully if I hadnt been so lazy in the heat to take the time to shoot it. Bad blogger, I know but you have to make this!! SO GOOD

Ingredients:
Leftover roasted/grilled/baked chicken
Greek Oregano- this is different from Italian oregano, but if you dont have it or cant find it, Italian Oregano will do
***I used the fresh cilantro provided in my FFM package this week in lieu of oregano
Diced garlic
Sliced onions
Flatbread or pita bread
1 C plain, fresh yogurt (Source: Velvet View Farms, FFM)
Sliced cucumbers (Source: FFM)

Shred your leftover chicken. Make your tzatziki sauce: Mix 1 C yogurt with diced garlic and oregano (you can use dill if you prefer, but I dont care for that flavor!) or as I did, the fresh cilantro.

Warm up your pita or flat bread (If you have a gas stove, set it on low and simply lay the pita over the burner for a few seconds to get it warm and crispy), slather with tzatziki, place cucumber and onion slices on top of sauce. Add chicken and wrap.

The weather in Cleveland continues to disappoint with the unbelievably wet and gray "spring" we've been having. This meant the first week for the Fresh Fork CSA was delayed until June 2nd. It remains to be seen just how much the weather will affect the rest of the growing season, but I predict this year's bounty will be less interesting than the last. But this is part of the joy and privilege of having a farm share- you eat what's ready to be harvested and everything is dependent on the weather instead of shipping red ripe tomatoes from hothouses in California where it's been drier.

In the first package I received a 5 lb pasture raised chicken. Now, I love me some pasture raised chicken not just for the flavor but for the sustainability and responsibility of the farming practices. If you dont know much about the difference between free range or organic and pasture raised Chickens, Trevor from FFM included a nice explanation in this week's newsletter that you can read for yourself. I will take a locally and pasture raised chicken over "organic" or "free range" anything any day!

Because the weather's been pretty hot and I have other plans for the leftovers, I fell back on one of my tried and true ways to cook a chicken- in the crockpot. Of course, you don't get a nice crispy skin, but you do get very moist flavorful meat without the heat or time involved in roasting. And, since time is a commodity of which I have very little these days, cooking it all day while Im in the lab sounded like a great idea. I make this in the winter too and its just as delicious.

P.S. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted the photo of tonight's dinner. I suppose it wasn't that big of a loss because I was lazy and didn't haul out my "good" camera and just used my PAS (point and shoot) resulting in some rather orange looking photos.

Crockpot Chicken
***Make sure your chicken is thawed (if frozen) and giblets/neck etc have been removed. You can use these extra parts for delicious gravy or toss them in with your carcass to make flavorful stock. I've found my crockpot can handle a chicken up to 5.5 pounds with room for carrots or potatoes.

Ingredients:
1 pasture raised chicken (Source: FFM)
1 bunch carrots
1 lb potatoes chopped
4 cloves garlic diced
1 medium onion thinly sliced
rosemary, basil, thyme, S&P
olive oil

Lightly coat the bottom of the crockpot with olive oil and toss your carrots and potatoes into the bottom. Lay the chicken breast side up on top and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with your spices, including the garlic and the onions. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Season with S&P at the end to taste. Save the carcass and leftovers for use in another dish to be featured later this week!