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Looking to Incorporate Yoga Into Your Life? Tips and Inspiration from Some of My Favorite Teachers.
In this month-long total immersion in my yoga practice, as I get my certification to teach yoga – there really isn’t much else on my brain besides just that. Yoga! I find whenever I mention yoga, either here or on my Facebook page, I tend to get a lot of the same questions from people about yoga, the practice, where to start and all that comes along with it. I know this is a nice long post, likely intimidating as a reader – but, I can promise you if you have been wanting to incorporate a regular yoga practice into your life and you just don’t know where to start, maybe you are a tad nervous to just jump right in, there are some amazing thoughts and tips here for you. If you have lost touch with your practice and you need some lovely inspiring reminders of what your yoga practice can do for you, read this. If you just want to know what some people see in it or why so many people are drawn to yoga, take this all in. Regardless of why you read this post, I can assure you, it will inspire you to get onto your mat, whether for the first time or after some time away.
I asked seven of my favorite yoga teachers, some from my past, some from my present, the following two questions:
– What advice can you give someone looking to start a regular yoga practice?
– How has a regular yoga practice changed your life?
James Brown – American Yoga School, Venice Beach, CA
What advice can you give someone looking to start a regular yoga practice?
First, I would say, “Congratulations!”
Start with a beginner class. You might stay at that level for two weeks or ten months or a few years or forever. But you will know, if you start there, if, when and why to move on. I’d also recommend that you look for a class that does not bill itself as “flow” for your first few classes. Start with classes that teach you the basics before flowing. Flow classes tend to be light on instruction.
Try different teachers and classes until you find one that works for you. If you don’t feel good about yourself at the end of the class, move on to another teacher or class. Know that there are many formats and styles of physical practice, and within any style, every teacher will be a bit different from every other one. No matter your physical ability, the teacher should be able to instruct you in a way that you feel that you are already successful. While fancy poses may take a long time to master, a good teacher makes it clear from the start that the level of the pose has nothing to do with the quality of the practice. I have met many beginners who were more advanced, because of their attitudes, than more seasoned practitioners who could do more impressive things with their bodies. Find a teacher who teaches the poses without making the poses themselves the focus.
Set achievable goals. You don’t have to start by going every day. I started with a once-a-week course and that was easy to manage, so I stuck to it and 20 years later I am still at it. And if you fall off the wagon, just get back on. The yoga will always wait for you. Give yourself plenty of time for it to really stick and to become part of your life.
How has a regular yoga practice changed your life?
I can’t really think of any ways that it has not improved my life. The most profound difference is that I am happy. I feel more connected to others and I am content with the imperfections in my life.
Less profoundly, I am aging differently from the generation that I watched age before me. I am almost 50 and my body is still getting more functional each year than it was the year before. I know that things have to turn around at some point, but the age when that happens still seems to be quite distant.
An interesting affect of yoga practice is that it gets me to make better decisions in the rest of my life, particularly with issues of health and diet. The physical practice I do has made it more clear to me how those things affect my body, so I make better choices.
Ramona Tamulinas – Yoga World Studio, Long Beach, CA
What advice can you give someone looking to start a regular yoga practice?
Beginning a yoga practice is a unique, personal experience. Some people decide to practice because of health reasons, physical reasons, emotional reasons, wanting to look like a hot yoga girl, it’s a good way to meet girls (yes, I have been told more than once that is why someone started), improving flexibility, your boyfriend/girlfriend says it’s a must if you want to keep dating… the list goes on and on.
I would recommmend exploring the studios in your area and try different teachers until a place and a teacher resonates with what you are seeking. Once you find that teacher, study with them in a class setting and if your bank account allows – book some private sessions. Private sessions allow you to feel secure and comfortable and they help your teacher know you better. It is most important that you found a place, a teacher who allows you to feel comfortable and at ease. I believe deeply in a practice that builds from the foundation of comfort and ease. Yoga, if you jive with it – leads you down a magnificent path of self transformation. Loving where you begin is therefore vital.
How has having a regular yoga practice changed your life?
To me yoga is more than asana. It is service and compassion to my community. Therefore my yoga practice has taught me to embrace my strengths which are being of service and compassionate.
Before yoga, and sometimes even since finding it, I felt I didn’t have a place. I felt out of place in so many social settings, in so many realms of popular culture I searced for a place to belong and I couldn’t find it. I have always been an introverted person and one who lead internally with my heart. In this crazy world that encourages the worldly and external – I often felt lost. When I found yoga, I was full of self-doubt and wanted to be anyone else but me. I remember telling my friend who took me, “I am already flexible and calm. I need to become tough and strong.” Well yoga did that. I can say practicing has allowed me to stay sweet, calm, and flexible but allowed me to embrace the strength and toughness inside me. In a way, yoga helped me find my inner rebel.
At times I stray from practice and I notice myself questioning this inner strength, but my inner strength would realize how important this wild practice supports me and encourage me back to wards it path, back to my mat, back to teaching, back to learning. It is vital toward my life as anything inside my physical being.
It is as important as my heart, my brain, my blood, everything within me is supported by yoga. For me yoga lead me to the path of embracing my true self, my connection with the universe and my purpose. When I was a young girl the father of my church told me, “I want you to remember five words. I am beautiful, thank God.” He said “every time I see you I am going to wave with five finger to remind you”. He is gone now, but yoga has reminded me of that lesson everyday.
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Finding a Home Yoga Practice plus a Video How-to: Ardha Visvamitrasana
Today I am super excited to have my good friend and one of my favorite yoga teachers, Kathleen Engelhardt, joining us here on Tasty Yummies with a wonderful guest post. I met Kathleen at East Meets West Yoga in Buffalo, I was lucky enough to practice with her regularly and her classes were always a bright spot in my week. Not only were Kathleen’s classes filled with amazing fun and challenging flows with some of my most favorite focused and well thought out sequences ever, but I always left her classes feeling even more excited about my practice, the work that I had done and all the work that lied ahead for me. I also always left feeling so much more connected to and grateful for the body I was given and the entire world outside of me. Kathleen has an energy as a teacher and an excitement for the practice that I can only hope I will one day embody myself and be lucky enough to share with my own future students. Kathleen was gracious enough to put together some great tips for starting and maintaining a home yoga practice plus she put together a wonderful video where breaks down a modification of one of my favorite poses, Visvamitrasana.
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Hi, my name is Kathleen. I am a mom, a vinyasa yoga instructor and I am also a physical therapy student. I’m currently on a leave from school to be home with my 2 year old daughter and 5 month old son and I am so incredibly grateful for yoga and everything that it has brought into my life! We all encounter daily obstacles. For me, being home with my kids requires tremendous patience and attention (as well as a strong stomach, as there are copious amounts of spit up, poop and weird crusties pretty much all the time) and my yoga practice equips me with the armor that I need to be a compassionate and loving mother, wife and person. My daily yoga practice can range from 45 minutes to a whopping 90 minutes (if the stars align and my kids nap well). Whether short and sweet or long in duration, my practice offers me the time and space to simply observe the state of my mind and body on a given day. My post today on the fabulous Tasty Yummies blog is going to be about self- practice. As opposed to taking class at a studio, gym or online, a self-practice is, as the name implies, practicing alone and relying on your inner teacher (aka intuition) as your guide. I want to talk about my personal experience with self- practice and its value in my life. I will give some tips for how to get started and a few cautions to consider. I have also included a short video breaking down an intermediate posture that might be familiar to you if you have practiced in the past or might be a thing to aspire to if you are just getting started.
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Photo Fun Day Friday
I have been
busybad and I totally spaced on my Photo Fun Day Friday posts the last couple of weeks, so this is a bigger one than usual. I flew home to Buffalo this past weekend for the first time since we moved to Southern California six months ago! It was my niece Teagan’s 4th birthday and I hadn’t seen her since we left at the end of February. I missed her (and everyone) sooo much! It was a wonderful trip home, I crammed in as much time with friends and family as I could and just enjoyed every single bit of it.
My happy place! The yoga studio here in Long Beach I currently practice at.
A bench at the dog park. Love this.
I cleaned like crazy two weekends ago and it felt great. When I was done I had to snap a few pics, I am in love with this house.
My running partner. She especially loves running on the beach.
I finally found a place for my prayer flags. My parents bought these for me and they are the same ones as my favorite yoga studio in Buffalo, East Meets West. These remind me of home.
Bounty from our garden.
Me forward folding. One of my favorite yoga poses!
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Eat It Up: Episode 47 – Buffalo Eats Podcast
I am super excited to share with you guys, my first ever podcast appearance for Tasty Yummies! I recently sat down with Donnie Burtless of Buffalo Eats for an episode of Eat it Up. We chatted for a bit about how I came to find I had a gluten intolerance and how I came to eating the way I do know, why I started Tasty Yummies, we laugh about me missing weird foods like chicken fingers and lots more. Plus, my hubby, Mark, was on the couch in the recording studio, too and you’ll occasionally hear him give his opinions on fast food (aka prostitutes), changing his diet and food guilt. He was in rare form that night, all fired up about food and eating, it was pretty amazing! {Fair warning, there is a tad bit of swearing in this episode, nothing crazy, just a couple of excited “Sh*ts” and “Fu@ks” – food and eating is some fun stuff, guys!} Really though, I had a ton of fun doing this podcast and loved that Mark was there to lighten the mood for me, since I can sometimes get nervous when being recorded.
I hope you can take a minute to take a listen to this episode (see the player below) and be sure to check out some of the other episodes of the show.
Eat It Up: Episode 47 – Beth Manos Brickey (Tasty Yummies)
[mejsaudio src=”http://buffaloeats.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/podcast-47-beth.mp3″]
If above the player doesn’t work, use this link or see the original post on Buffalo Eats.
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How to Thrive Through the Holidays – {Guest Post by Well: Integrative Health & Healing}
I am so excited for today’s post from my very good friend, April. April and I have been friends for a very long time, I think we met some time when I was in college, through our mutual friends Kris and Tim. Although April and I never get together as often as we’d both like, we are so fortunate that whenever we do have time for each other, we can always pick right up where we left off and the conversation is so amazing, time just falls away. I always walk away feeling so warm and cozy. Last year when I “threw my back out”, I drove out to Lewiston to see April to get some energy healing and quantum touch work done from her. It was incredible, something I had never experienced before and I felt instant relief. It is amazing what love and energy can do for our bodies on a variety of levels. Even in just 5 minutes spent with April you will feel her intuitive healing energy and nature. Beyond all of the usual friend conversations, we can always get together and talk about food and our believes. I really hope you enjoy this great post from April and look for more like it in the future, as well. April and I have been discussing at length, having her create an ongoing series of health coaching guest posts, so please leave your feedback below so we know there is an interest. Enjoy!
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It’s an honor to be featured on Tasty Yummies today! Beth and I have been friends for a long time and we share a love of clean, healthy eating and cooking. I admire what she’s done with her blog and often find myself referring clients to it for ideas and recipes. To give you a little background about me, I am have been working as an Energy Healing Facilitator for the past five years am also a Holistic Health Coach. I truly believe that we all have an immeasurable healing ability within us and it is my goal to guide people to harness this capacity to create abundant health so that they can Thrive in their lives. By using energy and food along with aligning other factors in our life such as career, relationships, spirituality and exercise we are able to tap into our true selves and live lives we love.
As the holidays approach and the seasons change they bring a barrage of mixed emotions, responsibilities, excitement and our body, mind and spirit respond accordingly. I’d like to offer a bit of a toolkit for the season to navigate these changes and make the most of these special times and stick to your health goals too!
With all of the parties approaching, we often look forward to indulging. Be sure to make veggies the star of your plate and respect your body’s subtle messages. It’s ok to indulge a bit but try to steer free of the overeat/guilt/repeat cycle that many of us seem to experience, especially at the holidays.
For some of you there is fear or worry about what to eat at parties if you have a food sensitivity. If this is the case, be sure to bring something to share that you know you can eat! Believe it or not, people show up to Thanksgiving at our house every year excited about roasted Brussels Sprouts!! (Brussels sprouts and other cruciferous vegetables contain unique phytochemicals that detoxify and strengthen immunity.)
Along with the excitement comes stress. Pay attention to where you feel or hold stress in your body. Do you hold your breath? Are your shoulders tight? Are you up worrying at night? Observe. Simple breathing exercises can help to calm your nervous system and release stress. Try breathing in to the count of 5 or 6 and then exhaling for the same count. Repeat for 5 minutes or more. Visualize white light coming through the crown of your head emanating from within. Use a mantra. Feel gratitude. These added practices help you to tap into more subtle energy and raise your vibration (i.e. energy level).
I recently read an Anne Lamott quote that referred to a man who “built a cathedral inside himself”. By creating such a sanctuary within, using breath, awareness, stillness to access this place – we will have a space to return to when stress levels rise.
Stress and season change can also take a toll on our immune system.
Here are some of my staples for the season:At the onset of a cold or if you are experiencing ear pain:
Garlic Ear oil (or Wally’s Ear oil) – heat a few tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a small pan. Add one garlic clove and warm until it sizzles, turn off heat. Remove garlic and store oil in a small glass bottle with a dropper. Apply 3 drops, warm to ears, preferably at night.Add turmeric to your food! It builds immunity, has amazing antioxidant capacity and helps to reduce inflammation, to name a few!
Try Turmeric Tea:
• Bring four cups of water to a boil.
• Add one teaspoon of ground turmeric and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.Strain the tea through a fine sieve into a cup, add honey and/or lemon to taste (borrowed from www.drweil.com)
Indian ginseng – Ashwaghanda – strengthens immune system
Oil of Wild Oregano – a powerful natural antibiotic.
A good probiotic – strengthens gastrointestinal tract and increases immunity.
Drink warm water with lemon and/or ginger. This helps to drain your lymphatic system, detoxify and ginger strengthens immunity and digestion.
Finally, listen to your body. Your intuition is always subtly guiding you toward balance and wholeness. Trust your hunches, listen to your cravings. Rest, journal, celebrate, be thankful.
I’d love to hear from you! Please let me know your thoughts or if I can support you in your health goals!
* Please note that April Martino/Well Integrative Health & Healing do not replace the advice of a physician or other medical professional recommends checking with your physician before following the above suggestions or changing any medication or making dramatic lifestyle changes. April is a Certified Holistic Health Coach and has been trained to offer dietary and lifestyle modifications to improve health.
You can find April on her website and on Facebook, where you can contact her for Holistic Health Coaching, speaking engagements, etc.
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Photo Fun Day Friday
Another Friday is upon us and another wonderful week behind us. We have been taking in the last moments of summer and trying to enjoy it all while it is here. The weather has been absolutely beautiful and I kinda don’t want it to end, although I have been enjoying the cool evenings and mornings. So great for sleep!
This Sunday, if you are here in Buffalo (or surrounding areas), make some time to get out and head to Clutter s i x Buffalo’s DIY Market at the Essex Art Center. Hubby and I will be set up in a booth there from 11am-5pm, selling all of our goods and wares, including some of the brand new Tasty Yummies kitchen and cooking prints. Read more about the event and get directions here. Spread the word and maybe I will see some of you out there, it is an outdoor event and Sunday is supposed to be an absolutely beautiful day.
This is Jack, our friendly neighborhood cat. He keeps us company when we are printing in the garage most days.
I rarely take self photos because I always feel like a total goober. But, here I am, doing it anyway 🙂
Hubby and I went thrift store shopping. I snagged this cute little tie-dyed dress from just $3.99
Saturday two of the best women I know tied the knot! What a super fun night! Congrats Erika and Devin.
The wedding was at the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. My first time there, it was beautiful.
More shots from the Botanical Gardens.
Goofballs.
My sweet Jpeg taking a snooze on my chest.
I made a run to Target on Sunday to get a few goodies from the The Curiousity Shoppe’s limited line. Some super fun stuff.
My sweet girl, Seri.
A brand new print that I designed and screen printed this week. Available here.
Homemade Pad Thai. Recipe coming soon. Promise.
Films for a new kitchen print I finished up this week. Will be available for sale early next week.
We had a little dinner party get-together with friends Wednesday night. If you live in Buffalo you will be hearing a lot more about this lovely lady, Alyssa. She has plans to open a wonderful allergen-free bakery (with pour over coffee) here in the city in the near future, Wild Roots. For now you can keep up with her recipes and her plans on her blog. (Wild Roots will also be set up at Clutter this Sunday along with us and a handful of other local vendors) -
Photo Fun Day Friday
How is it already Labor Day weekend? Where has this summer gone? I am always torn on this weekend, I am partially excited for the month or two ahead of perfect weather, beautiful crisp, colorful leaves, the cool air, making hearty and hot meals, going apple picking and to the pumpkin farm, pulling out sweaters and boots, and the list goes on and on. But I am also quite sad to say goodbye to the summer! Summer is such a social time around here, there is so much going on, I love the warm weather and all the sunshine, trips to the beach and more. I don’t want it to end.
This past week flew by, as usual, but when I was pulling the photos together for today’s post I realized how much I have been enjoying slowing down and reliving each week, every Friday. I hope you guys enjoy it too and that I don’t just bore the heck out of you each Friday 🙂 Have a great weekend everyone!
Our little pop-up shop on Hertel Ave in front of Modern Nostalgia last Friday for the Shop, Rock ‘ n Stroll Event, where we sold our goods and wares and printed a brand new poster live on the sidewalk.
Me getting ready to start printing.
Mark screen printing on the street.
Me screen printing on the street.
The Buffalo-inspired poster that we printed live outside on the street. Available here.
Woke up Saturday morning and made some multi-grain gluten-free and vegan pancakes. I loved how they turned out, I just wish I had measured and kept notes so I could make them again 🙂
Outdoor Drum Yoga with East Meets West Studio, as part of the Elmwood Arts Festival, that I had the pleasure of being on stage and demoing for. So much fun! (You can kinda see my grey butt in pigeon pose up there right behind the instructor, Sara) Photo by Carrie Jacobson.
My beautiful niece Teagan, celebrating her 3rd birthday.
Homemade vegan summer rolls that I made. Look for the recipe soon, I have to make them again for you guys now that I got it right!
Seri licking the measuring cup when I baked her grain-free birthday treats. -
Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Soup) Gluten-free + Dairy-free, w/Vegan options
I am really obsessed with Thai food. I actually crave the flavors of Thai food quite often. Honestly, if we could go out for Thai food once a week, I would be totally content. However, we really try to not eat out very often, and I also really prefer to know what exactly is in my food. So, what better way to get what you want, then to just make it yourself. I started looking around at different authentic Thai recipes online and quickly learned to be able to really get the authentic flavors, I would need the proper ingredients. I planned to make Pad Thai and this Tom Kha Gai Soup over the weekend so I had to get all of my ingredients in order to do so. Seeing as a couple of the ingredients I was looking for didn’t exist in my regular circle of grocery shopping, this meant it was time for an adventure. I found there were two different Asian markets on Niagara Street in Downtown Buffalo, conveniently on my way home from yoga, so Saturday morning after my yoga practice, I took my little list and headed over to Niagara Street, feeling very intimidated.
First up, I stopped at A’Chau Oriental Food Market at 833 Niagara St., this is where I was able to grab most of what I needed to make my Pad Thai and Tom Kha Gai Soup, however they were out of fresh kaffir lime leaves. So, after really walking the aisles and grabbing some things not on my list, I headed over to Niagara Asian Market at 937 Niagara Street, where they had fresh kaffir lime leaves and a HUGE basement full of ingredients. In addition to the things I was looking for, I grabbed a few more that caught my eye. I actually picked up a HUGE 4-lb bag of gram flour aka chickpea flour, for just $4.99. I see lots of soccas in my near future! Both markets had so many ingredients I was already familiar with and so many that I had never heard of. They both had unlimited selections of rice noodles, rice flour, tapioca starches, palm sugar etc, available at very inexpensive prices. I could go nuts in those places for sure.
I also grabbed a bag of these Pandanus flavored Crispy Rolls from India, because they caught my eye only having 6 ingredients, coconut milk, tapioca starch, sesame, sugar, salt and pandanus extract. Naturally gluten-free and vegan, what isn’t to like? To be honest, I didn’t (and still don’t) really have a clue what pandanus is, but I didn’t care, I went for it. Some of the best foods and flavors I have discovered that I love are by completely chancing it and trying something totally new. These crispy rolls are super light and crispy, delicious and very satisfying, I love the crunch and the subtle sweetness. Looks like I will be stopping by these Asian markets a lot more than I had planned.
Once I got the few ingredients I couldn’t easily find – specifically the kaffir lime leaves and the galangal root, making this soup was an breeze. I ended up making it for lunch on Sunday! Tom Kah Gai soup has always been one of my favorites. Even when I know I am going to order some type of noodle dish at a Thai restaurant, which is more than enough food, I always feel obligated to order this soup, just because I don’t know when I will have the opportunity again. Now that I know how easy it is to make, I will just make it at home. The flavors in this soup are intense and so wonderful. The bright fresh flavor from the lemongrass is definitely the star of the show, but you get an equal burst of flavor from the keffir lime leaves. It is amazing what a punch those little guys pack! The galangal also brings a pungent flavor very similar to ginger, spicy with a little bit of bite. A little goes a long way with galangal. If you can’t find it easily, ginger will also work great here. Traditionally this soup is made with homemade chicken stock and along with diced or shredded chicken breast. I didn’t have any homemade stock at home so I went with some high quality organic low sodium chicken broth and skipped out on the meat and tofu. I just wanted to enjoy the best part, the delicious broth! To make this soup vegan you could substitute vegetable broth for the chicken and add in tofu or skip it like I did. It won’t be exactly the same flavor profile of traditional Tom Kha Gai soup, but it will still be absolutely delicious.
I am so glad I made the time to make some Thai food at home and explore the Asian markets. Look for my Pad Thai recipe, very soon! I made that Saturday night and both hubby and I were so excited with how it came out that we didn’t take a minute to stop eating so I could take pictures. Mark has already asked me when I will be making it again, so I should have that recipe up soon! Also, if you enjoy Asian foods of any kind (Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Indian, etc) and you know of an Asian market in your neighborhood, I highly recommend checking it out.
What is your favorite type of Asian food? Do you have a favorite dish? Have you tried making it at home?
[print_this]Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Soup) Gluten-free + Dairy-free, w/Vegan options
serves 44 cups organic free-range low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1 15-ounce can full-fat organic coconut milk
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 1-inch pieces and pounded to really release the flavors
6 kaffir lime leaves
6 thin slices fresh galangal root (or ginger)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons fish sauce (or soy sauce)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon chili flakes
1 cup firm tofu, diced (optional, you could also add in chicken or shrimp, etc)
1 tomato, diced
1/4 cup thai basil, roughly chopped (optional)
1/4 cup cilantro, roughly choppedBring the chicken broth to a boil in a large saucepan over a medium-high heat, add in the coconut milk, lemongrass, kaffir lime limes, galangal, mushrooms, bell pepper, red onion, fish sauce, lime juice, chili flakes and optional tofu (or meat or shellfish). Simmer for 15 minutes. Add in the diced tomato and stir. Just before serving add in the thai basil and cilantro. Ladle into bowls and serve immediately, topped with additional chopped cilantro, thai basil and maybe some thinly sliced green onions.
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Mexican Frittata
Andrea and I decided on a whim to whip up this Mexican Frittata the last morning we were all together at the beach house and I have to say, I am super impressed with how it came out for completely winging it. I really love cooking for people, I could have stayed at the beach house another week and just continued to cook, enjoy that view and relax. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible, we leave again in a few days for Seattle, then Chicago. I guess we will have to just make this a yearly trip, then.
My measurements are not exact on some of this, we were trying to use up a lot of the food we had on hand from the week at the beach. I only used half of a green pepper and 11 eggs, because that’s what we had. You can definitely improvise with frittatas, use what you have on hand and get creative. There really are no wrong ingredients. Frittatas are a great way to make breakfast for a large group of people with very little effort. For us, it was a great way to put a lot of the fresh leftover ingredients to good use. I had some ground pork breakfast sausage from Sojourner Farms that I really wanted to make something with, so we came up with the idea to do a Mexican inspired frittata.
Later that same day, we took a trip out to Sojourner to pick up our chickens for the rest of the season, it was so awesome to be able to show our friends the farm where a lot of the food they ate over the week came from and introduce them to the man who grows it all. We even got to meet and pet a bunch of the pigs. Pierre took us around and we really got to spend some quality time on the land. I really cannot recommend enough that you find a pasture-raised farm close by you, that you truly love, that raises safe, healthy and natural animals. Sojourner Farms has pasture-raised chickens, pork, beef and eggs, he also raises bees and makes honey. We are so lucky that it is a short trip to get there and we are rewarded with supporting a sustainable farmer who raises his animals from birth to market and has a great love not only for his practice and the animals, but also for the land he raises them on. It is so important to see where your food comes from and how it is raised. Find a grass-fed farm near you using Eat Wild
This is Sam and Black from Sojourner Farms, they are huge lovable adults used for breeding.
Mexican Frittata
serves 83/4 lb ground breakfast sausage, I use pastured-raised, antibiotic and hormone free, pork breakfast sausage from Sojourner Farms
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 small yellow squash, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons butter
12 fresh farm eggs, I use brown eggs from Painted Meadows Farms
1 cup mexican blend cheeses, grated (Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Colby, etc)
1 cup of halved cherry tomatoes
2 or 3 scallions, sliced thinly
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly choppedHeat large oven-safe non-stick skillet (or cast iron skillet) over medium heat until hot, add sausage and cook until browned. Remove the sausage from the pan and drain off most of the liquid, leave a bit and add olive oil. Once hot again, add garlic and shallot, cook and stir until tender. Add in green pepper, zucchini, squash and red pepper flakes, stir and sauté until tender, about 5-10 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid. Whisk eggs, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the sausage and butter to the vegetable mixture in the skillet, allow the butter to melt. Add the beaten eggs to the skillet, fold gently to combine. Allow the eggs to begin to set. With a spatula, lift up an edge of the frittata and tilt the skillet to allow the uncooked mixture to flow to the bottom of the pan. Continue to lift until the egg on top is barely runny. Top the frittata with the halved cherry tomatoes, sprinkle with grated cheese and slide the skillet into the oven. Bake the frittata until it is firm to the touch, about 5-10 minutes. Slide the frittata out of the pan onto a serving platter, top with red pepper flakes, sliced scallions, chopped cilantro and a bit of kosher salt, cut into 8 wedges. We served a bit of salsa verde on the side.
