French Supper. Phenominal Friendships.

It started in a boarding school in the Ivory Coast (Africa). My cousins went to school there while my aunt and uncle were missionaries in Mali. I have no idea if this meal came out of desperation, laziness, or lack of groceries (or, possibly, it was intentional?) All I know is "ICA Special" came back to the good ol' US of A and its now my family's star dinner-party go-to.

We all make the beef gravy a little bit differently, so depending on whose house you're at, you'll find some slightly different flavors there. But the manner of serving and the toppings stay the same. Rice. Beef gravy. Peanuts. Coconut. Tomatoes. Pepper. Pineapple. It sounds so weird. But there's something about the combination of flavors that is so phenomenal. PHENOMENAL! I always tell my guests to use all of the toppings, even if there's something they don't like all that much (unless, of course, you're allergic to something). To date, no one has ever regretted it.

The REALLY awesome part of this recipe is how simple it is to prepare. The slightly difficult part of this recipe is the fact that there's never really been an actual recipe. All of us Fast women just know how to make it. So, I apologize in advance that the amounts aren't exact, but you'll figure it out. Just taste it as you make it!

INGREDIENTS

1 Cup Long Grain White Rice
1 3/4 Cup Water
1 tsp Salt

1 1/2 lbs Ground Beef
1 Can (14.5 oz) Beef Broth
2 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour (can substitute corn starch for gluten-free)
1-2 Tbsp Curry Powder (to taste)
Salt & Pepper

1 Large Green Pepper, chopped
3-4 Roma Tomatoes, chopped
1 Cup Peanuts (I prefer dry roasted)
1 Can (20 oz) Pineapple Tidbits, drained
1 Cup Shredded Coconut

DIRECTIONS

Cook rice per package directions (adjust water measurement appropriately depending on your cooking method).

In a large skillet, brown ground beef; drain. Stir in flour and spices (start with less curry powder, you can add more at the end to make it as flavorful as you'd like. Same with the salt and pepper). Stir in beef broth and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until gravy is thick. If it is too thick, you can add more broth or some water. If gravy is too thin, make a slurry with additional flour and cold water (about 1:2 ratio of flour to water). Shake flour and water in sealed container and add slowly to the gravy (stirring in a little bit at a time) until desired thickness is reached. Add additional spices to taste.

SERVE IT UP

Serve the beef gravy over rice, and top with desired amounts of green pepper, tomatoes, peanuts, pineapple, and coconut. If you don't prefer something, use less of it. But don't skip it unless you're allergic. Trust me, you won't regret it.

This meal is a lot like a group of great friends. Some of your friends are sweet like the pineapple, some are fruity like the tomatoes, some are calm and cool like the green peppers, and there are always a couple nuts... And there's no better way to eat this fabulous meal than to share it with PHENOMENAL friends. 

#GCnotGC

Shifting the Focus: Fostering Community

A few months ago I decided to make a change in my living space. My dining room table was becoming a catch-all for mail, work, volunteer stuff, coats, clothes, pretty much anything but what it was meant for. So I decided to try life without a dining room table. I moved it to the guest room for temporary keeping, and placed a couple great reading chairs in its place. (Forgive the odd positioning of the chairs, Gracie had rearranged them while I was at work).

I used these chairs for their intended purpose a time or two, 

but mostly Gracie used them as a comfortable Neighborhood-Watch post.

I've also begun realizing that since moving to Kansas City a couple years ago, I can probably count on my hands the number of times I've cooked for my friends. Do you know what this means? They like me for me, and not just because I can cook. I have an identity outside of my kitchen. This is phenomenal, peeps: game-changing. Do I still love to cook? Yes. Will I still share my recipes with you? Yes. But I'm changing my focus from how great of an amateur-chef I [think I] am to spending time with my friends, fostering community, living life together. 

So, as I was home sick for three days recently, I decided to rearrange again. The dining room table came back out of the guest bedroom, and the reading chairs made their way into the living room area.

For those who have been to my home, you know I have a small house, which contains small rooms. I was nervous about moving two additional chairs into my living room area, thinking it might get cramped. As it turns out, now I have two more places in my living room for friends to sit while we play games, watch movies, talk about Jesus, live in community.

For those who have been waiting patiently for my next blog entry (supposedly containing a grand new recipe from yours truly), don't fret. When I invite friends over to share a meal, I still plan to share the recipes here. But my focus has become spending the time with my friends, and so you'll probably see more pictures of sharing the meal than you will of the meal preparation, because its not about how much my friends love my food, its about how much I love my friends. And the name of my blog is still fully legit. In fact, it kind of makes more sense now, since its about sitting down to share a meal: Now I Sit Me Down To Eat.

So be on the lookout for a dinner invitation, friends.

And don't worry, Gracie still has a comfortable Neighborhood-Watch post from which to stalk the neighbors.

#BecauseCommunity

Gracie Anne: A Review of My Greatest Food Critic

"Innocent" Gracie

This is Gracie.  [Also known as: Gracie Anne, Grace, G, G-Dog, Schnookems, Schmoopy, Schmoop-dawg, Schmufalupugus, Schmupalicious, Baby Girl, Good Girl, Naughty Girl, and, occasionally, Jacey (when Opa gets her mixed up with her human-cousin, Jace)].

"Impatient" Gracie

She is so many things: perfect, smart, beautiful, playful, soft, cuddly, loving, strong, impatient, stubborn, needy, demanding, and narcissistic (to name a few).  She's missing part of one of her ears.  I have no idea why its like that, but its one of my favorite parts of her.  I love her nose the most.

The day we met, our car ride home.

Gracie was already 5 years old when I adopted her.  She lost her home when her family lost theirs.  At first they just tried to board her until they could care for her again, but after a while they had to give her up.  I imagine that was one of the most excruciating decisions they had to make.  I never would have understood how difficult that would be before I fell in love with her myself.  There are times I want to find her previous family and beat them senseless for some of Gracie's bad habits (her dog-aggression, for example), but I also want them to know that Gracie has found a new home, and she's happy, loved, well-fed, and spoiled-rotten.

The year was 2012.  I'd been thinking of getting a dog.  I'd recently moved to a new city where I knew pretty much NO ONE.  I figured a dog would help keep me company.  I started volunteering for The Animal Rescue Alliance (T.A.R.A.), walking dogs at one of their boarding facilities (not the one Gracie was at).  One day one of the other volunteers was talking about "Gracie Anne" and telling her story.  My heart broke for her and so I looked her up.  [You can find her page here.]  I completed the application, met her that weekend, and the rest is history. 

Night #1 - That's her bed on the left...

I bought all the things a dog-owner should have: dog bed, toys, treats, food, food/water dishes, kennel.  I was going to do this right.  Bedtime came the first night, and I went to direct her onto "her bed."  No matter how hard I tried (or what I used to bribe her), she refused, and would just jump on my bed and lay down.  I gave up and let her sleep with me, but decided I would try again the next night.  Guess what didn't work on night number two either?  You guessed it.  She had already decided what "her bed" really was, and it was my bed. 

"Cousins"

When I first brought Gracie home, I didn't know how long she'd been at the rescue.  I figured it hadn't been too long, I mean, she was pretty much perfect: yellow lab, house-trained, loves people.  One day I figured out she'd been there for six months.  SIX MONTHS?!  Not just that, but for those six months, she lived in a concrete run with a gate on the front.  She had a dog-bed and interaction a couple times a day, but nothing like what she lost when her family gave her up.  How discouraged she must have been, wondering where her family went and when they were coming back.

I hope she doesn't remember the time she spent basically living in a cage.  But if she does, that must make this even more awesome:

Gracie has lots of quirks that make up her personality.  Because she was abandoned, she has an exaggerated need for attachment and to always know exactly where I am.  I can't so much as pee without her being able to see me.  If I shut the door to the bathroom, she tries to push it open (she has to make sure I'm not escaping out the window, you know).  If the bathroom door isn't latched, I have to be prepared for it to be pushed open, because it will be.  When we visit my parents, if I leave the house she waits by the front door for me, even if there are other people there in the room with her.  I'm her rescuer, and she will do everything possible to make sure she's not abandoned again.

Tuesday night snuggles.

Gracie is also dog-aggressive, which means she HATES other dogs (or really anything with four legs).  She's been that way since I got her, so I don't really know what made her that way.  Her previous owners just said "she doesn't really like other dogs."  She's missing part of one of her ears, so its possible she got in a fight with another dog.  Its also possible that her previous owners just didn't socialize her.  Dogs are like home-schooled kids.  You have to provide social opportunities for them or they become socially awkward.  (Gracie is definitely socially awkward.)  I do know that if a dog ever tries to break into our house, she will protect me to her death.  (Though I'm not so sure about a human breaking in.  I've told her numerous times that if anyone ever tries to hurt me, she's not allowed to ask them for a belly rub.  I'm not 100% certain she grasps this concept.)

Gracie is quite the cuddler.  She loves anything soft.  She'll move blankets around until they're in the perfect cuddling position.  She has dibs on every soft piece of furniture in the house.  She even has her own blankets (one on the bed, one on the couch, and one in the car).

The many cuddles of Gracie.

  
While Gracie has an intense hatred for anything with four legs, she has an equal amount of love for anything with two legs, particularly kids.  This is the weekend she met her human-cousin, Jace.  I do believe she approves.  What do you think?

Gracie LOVES when I have friends over.  She gets all excited like "just LOOK at all these hands that can pet me!"   She has no shame, and is not afraid to ask for a belly rub.  She'd also really love to make out with you, and she may succeed whether you like it or not. 

"May I have a belly-rub, please?"

One day a friend came over to do a home-energy audit.  We found proof that dogs really do have cold noses (and thus confirmed why I don't enjoy Gracie waking me up in the morning by putting her nose on the small of my back...).  She also apparently has really warm eyes.  Who knew?

Photo credit: Landon Hartley

Gracie sometimes provides reviews of the recipes on my blog.  She typically gives them two-paws-up (well, she would if she could get her face out of the bowl...)

"Quack-quack-seat-back" does not work in our house.

This one sweet, stubborn girl has taught me more about love than I thought possible.  I often think about writing a book called "The Gospel According to Gracie," because of how often her actions toward me mimic those that I should be showing my Rescuer, my Deliverer, my Savior.  She's so eager to spend time with me, she always wants me close, and she desires to spend every last waking moment with me.  She doesn't want to read a book about me, she wants ME.  Plain and simple.


Gracie sent in a little "thank you" letter to the great people of T.A.R.A. to show her appreciation for taking care of her while she found her forever home.  You can read that here.  She's right, I do love her more than I could have ever imagined. If you'd have told me a couple years ago that I could love a 4-legged creature so much, I'd have said you were crazy.  As it turns out, I must be the crazy one.  #CrazyInLove