Brendan Coyle and Grain Free Banana Bread Muffins

Posted on February 18, 2014 by Leigh Walkup

Good Morning!! The sun is shining in the Bluegrass today. It makes me feel like a new person. We have had such a dreadful winter that nice weather is what we all so desperately need right now. Anne and I spent this past weekend doing meal prep and watching Downton Abbey. My mother has went on and on about this show and I had only watched a couple of episodes with her last year. While I did like what I saw, that was about as far as it went. My coworker bought all three seasons on DVD and loaned them to Anne and I so we could get caught up. OMG. Obsessed is not the right word, because I would need a stronger word to describe how I feel about this show. I was shocked that I even liked it because the time period is not my favorite but I found myself ALL day on Sunday watching it. When I say all day, I mean literally ALL DAY. I have to say, it was the BEST day. Sometimes there is nothing better than curling up on the couch and becoming lost in a wonderful TV show. I loved every second of it. I am a huge fan of Brendan Coyle (Mr. Bates on the show) so any scene with him is a huge bonus. 🙂

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I have read a lot about Brendan Coyle and I love that he has such a drive to work and he came from a working family. He also appears to be a bit of a social misfit or socially awkward. I am very much a social character but have always been drawn to  quiet socially awkward people. I don’t know why, they intrigue me for some reason. So while I watched Downton Abbey and got my Brendan Coyle fix, Anne and I also cooked some food for this week. We made Grain Free (Paleo) Banana Bread Muffins. They are fantastic and I love having these to grab in the morning on my way to the office and or down to the barn. They are a great “on the go” food and easy, easy!

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Here is the recipe:

 Paleo Banana Bread Muffins
 2 Bananas
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 cup of almond flour
1/4 cup of coconut flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup of honey
1 teaspoon of vanilla

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. I mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another and then combine them. Be sure and spray your muffin pan so they won’t stick. I fill up the muffin cups about half way and bake for about 25 minutes. Once a toothpick goes in and out smoothly, they are done! I love these with almond butter or a bit of real butter. Enjoy!!

Posted in Day To Day, Recipe, Southern Grace | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

That Driveway

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Leigh Walkup

YardTST1When I was a kid I spent a lot of time at my grandparents farm. Actually, through out my entire childhood it was really my home. It was the one place that never changed. My father built a house, my mother moved a couple of times but that farm was always there. It was my little haven. Everything a child could ever want in this world was there. It had a really long gravel driveway that was probably close to a mile long. I loved it. That gravel drive saw so much. It had cattle guards at each end (these are grates in the ground so that cattle can’t cross them, therefore keeping them in) and when you first turned on it, it had a big long hill that you had to go  up, then around the corner and TAAAAAAAA DAAAAAAAAAA…………..Heaven. Huge wide open spaces of beautiful pastures and a big ole plantation style house. Of course everything is always bigger when you are little, right? In my young eyes, this place was huge. I always loved the driveway. I can still feel the vibrations of going over the cattle guards in my dads truck. Long nights of being at  rodeos with my dad, falling asleep in the truck, that vibration would wake me up and I would know we were home. I can feel the gravel under my feet as Anne and I would walk it countless hours, looking for birds to shoot at with our b.b. guns, going on “adventures” and riding our horses. I remember the day my Grandmother accidentally ran over a squirrel but it was still alive, so of course Anne and I had to save it. However, after putting it in a box out on the deck with airholes, that squirrel would prove to heal itself as my father walked up the back steps to find a box runnin around all over the deck. I can still hear him now “what in the hell is in the box on the porch?”  “Oh Daddy, that is a squirrel that Grandmother hit with her car, we are trying to revive it” “Uh, well I believe he has found his breath, he is wide awake, get him OUT of the box……but take him off the damn porch first!”  We were always in to something. I remember Anne and I packing little lunches and walking down the drive to a little spot out in the field to have a picnic. I also remember that  driveway led us to the pasture that we had to cross to get to our friend Melissa’s house. We became best friends walking up and down that driveway. I remember my fathers friend tearing an axle out on his horse trailer one night coming up that gravel drive. I remember the sound of trucks coming down that gravel road and knowing someone was coming for a visit. That meant great conversation and lots of laughs! That driveway always brought me amazing memories. They say as you get older you have to learn which paths to take in life. Which direction to go. I learned at a young age that that driveway, that path always led me in the right direction…….back to my heart. 🙂

Leigh Walkup

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Life on the Other Side of the Screen Door

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Leigh Walkup
See! We could entertain ourselves with a wagon!

See! We could entertain ourselves with a wagon!

Ever hear these words when you were little “Ok, ENOUGH, go outside and play!” Now, no one needed to tell us exactly what to do once we got out there. We were innovative enough to entertain ourselves. Gosh, I cant even begin to think of the countless hours that were spent playing kick ball, jumping on hay bales, climbing trees, riding my bike, catching crawdads in the creek, looking for tree frogs, swinging on the homemade swing my dad made, etc. Hell, give me a stick and I could be entertained for hours! A stick people, a STICK! My childhood was busy. I wasn’t busy in front of a TV, computers were not even a thought, a phone call was made sitting down because…….wait for it…..it plugged in to the WALL! Gasp! If I needed entertainment it consisted of trying to get my sister to touch the electric cattle fence and see what happened. heehee! It consisted of racing my sister up and down the driveway to see which one was fastest. That would be her! It may have been all that electricity running through her from the fence, who knows. It consisted of making snow men, working along side my dad as he fed cattle or picking tomatoes with my mother. It consisted of making homemade french fries with my grandmother or rocking on our southern front porch with my grandfather. It consisted of catching fire flies and playing with my bb gun. It consisted of riding my horses hours and hours and get this……….learning how to be quiet. Learning how to love the things around me. It consisted of me not having to find things to entertain me, cause I learned how to do that for myself. It wasn’t an ipad, an iphone, computer, a TV, it was me. It was life on the other side of that screen door that taught me so much and I am forever thankful for those experiences.

Till Next Time!

Leigh Walkup

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The Station Wagon…..Yesterday’s Mini Van

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Leigh Walkup
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It looked like this but ours was GREEN….even better, right?

I was born in the late 70’s and being an 80’s -90’s kid I grew up in a station wagon. I am sure many of you can relate from my generation. I remember when I was really young my Mom had one that had the wood paneling around the middle of it, in fact I am pretty much convinced the entire damn thing was made of wood. At any rate, my mother ended up having a wreck and totaled that car. In my mind, the car was gone…it was the end of an era, something I was gladly to say goodbye too. However, never fear Daddy’s here with another one ten times worse than the first one. This “new” station wagon was HIDEOUS. I absolutely despised it. I have no earthly idea where my father found this car. Wait, I take that back. I don’t know who at Chevy said “Stop! put the pencil down my friends, no need to sketch any further, that right there IS the face of the NEW Station wagon” Surely, the people that approved this enormous road boat heard the words “you are fired” shortly there after. This station wagon was lime green. Yes, folks you read that correctly…LIME GREEN. When I say road boat, I mean it. This thing was huge. The front seat was as wide and long as a church pew. 13 or 14 people could sit in the front and be completely comfortable. I am convinced you could hold a concert in the front seat and comfort wouldn’t have been a complaint. The back seat of this car was a good football field length away from the front seat. This was not the car where your mother could reach back with her arm to the back seat and grab  “a holt” of ya. Remember that threat? “You better be nice to your sister! You don’t want me to reach back there!” Yeah, I don’t ever remember that threat because no way in hell could you have reached anything in the back seat from the front of this vehicle. I guess this was really the ultimate family car back in my day. My parents could throw me and Anne and half our first grade class in the way way back, we could play My Little Ponies all the way to town while my Mom and Dad listened to Willie and Waylon and solved all the worlds problems. I was tossed around so much in that way back seat that I should have probably wore a helmet. Later in life as I got older, that car became my nemesis. The thought of my mom picking me up at school in the green machine would be UTTER embarrassment, something this little cheerleader could barely mentally handle. It would so have it that a flood would carry that car away down a creek years later. I was so excited. Until my mother hired someone to drag it out of the creek bed with a bulldozer. Here it came like the Loch Ness Monster to haunt me. Of course wouldn’t you know that stupid car started right up! What are the chances?? That green station wagon’s only purpose in life was to haunt me and of course to NEVER DIE. I left home and went to college and moved to Lex years later. I got a house with some friends and guess what was sitting in the driveway next door. No seriously, I can’t make this up. That damn green station wagon. I laughed and laughed when I called my mom. I look back on that big wagon and think fondly of it now. It was a great car and it served it’s purpose, which was to embarrass me as I grew up and became an adult. It is funny how things turn out, my little nemesis growing up, became a treasured memory. Pretty cool!

Till Next Time!

Leigh Walkup

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Easy Paleo Tomato Soup (gluten free/grain free/dairy free)

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Leigh Walkup

PaleoTomatoSoup1

This recipe is wonderful for cold weather and it is simple enough to make when you are in a hurry.

You will need:

White Onion
Garlic
Coconut Oil
Crushed Tomatoes (28 ounces)
1 cup of Unsweetened Coconut Milk
1 Cup of Chicken Broth
Basil 1 tsp

In a medium size pot, add you coconut oil, chopped onion and garlic. This is your personal preference how much onion and garlic you like. Once browned, add your can of crushed tomatoes, chicken broth, coconut milk and basil. Bring it all to a boil to blend flavors, and then let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.

This recipe made about 4 servings. Enjoy!

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Review in Reality: Crazy Hearts: Nashville

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Leigh Walkup

Leroy-Powell-Crazy-Hearts-Nashville-700x350

Ok, everybody, how goes it? Today I am going to do a bit of a review of one of my new favorite reality TV shows. Now, in order for me to talk about this, I have to give you a bit of a background. I haven’t always been in to reality shows. In fact, I believed them to all be stupid and I refused to watch them. One afternoon while talking to my  Mom on my way home from work she says to me “Leigh, this rapper Flavor Flav is just an idiot” At this point, I thought “yes, I would agree” but then immediately my thought was “How in the world does my mother know who Flavor Flav is??” This rapper from the late 80’s and 90’s was on some crazy reality show and my Mom was watching it. I made SO much fun of her. I mean every time I got on the phone, it was “So how is Flavor Flav today” and she would just laugh. Little did I know that I would later become a reality TV junkie myself. I now realize that Reality TV is great! You know why, because it reminds you how awesome your life is and it allows you to just simply watch, laugh, make jokes and just enjoy. So that brings me to one of my new obsessions: Crazy Hearts: Nashville!  Have you guys been watching any of this show? I believe this week will be their fourth episode. It  basically follows 8 cast members through their ups and downs in the honky tonks of Nashville. It shows how they navigate their music with relationships all while trying to balance drinking and partying. In my eyes, the PERFECT reality show. I grew up listening to all the old school country music and I have always loved a good drink and a great hole in the wall bar. So obviously this show is perfect in my eyes. It doesn’t come off corny to me. These people are motivated to do something with their music careers (except for one, the little frat boy Jimmy Stanley, he really hasn’t added much to the show yet. Of course this can change in the upcoming episodes!) while equally motivated to have a good time. What more is there in life? Ha!! Anyway…. if music, relationships, craziness,  beer and smokey hony tonk’s are your thing……tune in! Also, individuals and originality have always caught my eye. If they turn your head as well then…..you gonna love Leroy Powell. YUMMY! 🙂

Learn more at aetv.com

Until Next time!

Leigh

Posted in Review in Reality | 3 Comments

Winter isn’t Letting Up

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Leigh Walkup

snowstorm7-TSTI hate to sound like a broken record but the weather here in the Bluegrass has not been fun at all. I know that the people in the North East are getting a ton of snow and cold weather and I don’t evny them one bit. We have around 4 inches on the ground at home and if it was just snow, it would fine. However the negative temps make everything so difficult. Just the process of going outside to take care of the horses is exactly that…a process. It takes about 10 minutes to put all the layers of clothes on just to get out the door. In this kind of weather, what normally would take 20 minutes takes 40. Tuesday Anne and I had to get a load of hay for the horses. Driving a dually truck in snow is not that much fun, thankfully it is 4X4 so we didn’t have any trouble. Yesterday we came home to find someone  had completely run over our mailbox, left the mailbox in the middle of the road with mail every where. Isn’t that nice? Did they stop to say “I am so sorry, but I have completely demolished your mailbox” No, no they didn’t. I hope they have a hole in their radiator. I do. Wait, I take that back. I need to remember what my Grandmother would say “pray for them child, cause they aren’t right” I will pray for them, Grandmother. 🙂 

 

The cold weather is a funny thing. Once Anne and I get everything done outside and finally the layers of clothes off, the last thing we feel like doing is going back out. However 30 minutes in the house and we are restless. It is a weird feeling. We are both sort of bored but not motivated to do much about it. HA! I have learned to just try and relax, read, clean the house and savor these moments because they will be few and far between come spring time. Life shouldn’t be go, go, go all the time. Maybe this is Mother Natures way of telling us to slow down, enjoy the quietness of the winter and reflect…….so that is what I am going to try and do. 

 Hope everyone is staying warm!

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For the Love of Animals

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Leigh Walkup

Well HELLO everybody! How goes it? Is everyone staying warm? The temps in KY were around -25 yesterday so it has been a bit hard to stay warm. Anne and I have horses that have to be looked after and taken care of and of course extra precautions have to be taken when the weather gets bad. When the weather is super cold it seems that everything becomes more difficult and takes more time. To just get dressed to go down to the barn takes about 20 min with the amount of clothes that I have to put on. I will say this.. Carhart Coveralls….best things ever!

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I can’t live without them! Our pipes froze at the barn yesterday so we have been packing water from the house. To say this is a pain is an understatement but I just remind myself how blessed I am to live the life I live and that I even have animals to worry about and take care of. In this cold weather my horses are even happier to see me when I come waddling down to the barn bundled up!  My trusty Aussie is always  with me at the barn, even in -25 Spur wouldn’t let me go to the barn by myself. Animals are amazing, aren’t they?

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As a little girl, I remember helping my Dad in the cold weather take care of all the cattle and horses. I always dreaded it because I knew I was going to be so cold but when Anne and I would hop on the back of the truck and throw hay off for the cattle, it really was a magical moment. I loved seeing them in the snow and coming up to eat, they were so happy to have nice fresh hay. I look back on those memories and cherish them. I am so glad that I got to spend those moments with him even though I am sure at the time, I complained a wee bit about it. There is something about taking care of an animal that you love so much and knowing you are making their life better. It really is a wonderful feeling. I thank God every day my parents raised me on a farm and taught me the meaning of loving animals. Even in the cold horrible weather when all I want to do is stay in my warm house, it is an amazing feeling to see my animals happy. 

 I hope you all of you are staying warm and your animals are all happy!!

Posted in Southern Childhood | 2 Comments

Avocado Nest..

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Leigh Walkup

Avocado Nest…

TSTAvocadoNest

Well we are totally back on our health track and decided to try something new. This recipe can be very versatile, don’t be afraid to make it your own. It is rather simple and a great refreshing breakfast.

You will need:
Avocado
Egg

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cut Avocado in half, remove seed, then scoop out a round area, enough for your egg.  Set extra aside for later use. Add your egg to the newly created hole. You will want to put to set it in a baking dish for going in the oven. We cooked ours for around 25 minutes, it really depends on how “done” you want your egg. Now this is the fun part, you can top it with whatever you desire. We mixed the leftover avocado with a little salsa verde and put that on top, with some jalapenos.

To complete this great breakfast we added smoked sausage for a side. Enjoy!

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2014 is Almost Here……Recipe for Paleo Waffles!!

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Leigh Walkup

It is almost 2014! I love the beginning of a New Year. I always feel like it is the perfect time to hit the reset button and to take a chance on things you haven’t in the past. I love to look back over the previous year and take a moment to smile about the accomplishments that were made and to regroup on things that maybe didn’t get done. The New Year brings excitement, I mean what is more exciting than the thought of making even more dreams come true? I have been off work for a couple of weeks which has allowed me plenty of time to think about what I want 2014 to look like. Will 2014 turn in to exactly what I envision, of course not. Isn’t that part of the fun? Knowing I have some control to make it what I want and then the fact that it can even be better and bring things I can’t even foresee, how exciting!!

One of the things that I will certainly keep up with is my Paleo lifestyle. I have never felt better than when I eat Paleo and that isn’t anything I plan on changing in the New Year. Did I eat Paleo through the holidays? Nope, I had foods I hadn’t eaten since the Holiday season last year and I loved every minute of it. You have to find a balance in life and I have done pretty well so far. Taking some time to enjoy some yummy food and cheer with family is what the holidays are about for me. I ate plenty of pieces of my Momma’s Jam Cake and didn’t regret one moment but it is time to get back to being me and that means cutting out some foods that make me not feel my best. So Anne and I will get back to eating yummy Paleo Waffles instead of jam cake for breakfast. 🙂 Here is our recipe that we use and love. Let us know if you try it!

PaleoWaffles1

Paleo Waffles

3 Eggs
4 Tablespoons of Almond Butter
1 Teaspoon of Honey
Splash of Vanilla and a pinch of Cinnamon
1 Tablespoon of Coconut flour
1/4 cup of Almond Milk

Mix all ingredients together with a hand mixer or in a blender. Pour batter on a hot waffle iron that has been sprayed with non stick spray so your waffles will come off the iron easily. This makes between 4-5 waffles. I put honey, almond butter or homemade jelly on mine!

Enjoy and HAPPY NEW YEAR! Bring on 2014!!

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