When the cats are away, the mice do what they want....

It is the last night of a week home alone without my family. Talk about a mid-winter treat. Not much to do outside (it is February after all) and with the family gone, well I didn't find myself too motivated to do much of anything except exactly what I wanted to. I did yoga, I went on walks, I pet the cows, I took naps. I read books. And then last night I finally got hungry and I made a feast. Wish I had taken pictures because it was a beautiful dinner.

First of all, a bit of broiled beef from recently butchered Gilly. He tasted all full of love, and was amazingly okay to eat. Guess it helped knowing he had a good life and a gentle death. Then there was the roasted asparagus (brushed with a tiny bit of olive oil and sprinkled with coarse Himalayan salt and then roasted at 400 degrees for 8 minutes--superb). And lastly, was this coconut dish I made up and will definitely have to make again...try this..melt some coconut oil in a hot skillet then drop in some bits of chopped fresh ginger. Add some sliced leek (preferably from the garden like mine were) and then saute those three ingredients until slightly tender. Add some chunks of cauliflower. Let that cook a bit, until the cauliflower started to get a bit tender, add some chopped red pepper and season with turmeric. Add slices of ripe mango and smell. When all the vegetables are tender slowly add some coconut milk and cook it until it thickens. As the coconut milk thickens add some Himalayan salt and a bit of fresh or fresh frozen basil (like this was from last summer's basil). Serve hot and enjoy. I was deliberately vague on the amounts because I was cooking for moi and you might be cooking for more. Anyway, it was well worth repeating. In fact, I may just have the leftovers tonight. Yum.