I love food and by the looks of my one-year-old picture (on the right), it is obvious that since the beginning, food loved me too. From very early on, I remember people saying that I had legs like Bronk Nagurski. They remain solid to this day.
In my family, having meat on your bones was a safeguard. This was reinforced by my Lebanese Aunt Lizzy and Uncle Tom, a Polish butcher. When visiting, after the warm hugs were given, they would hold us at arms length and say; “Looookatch you – you are too thin – what if something happens? Come, sit down – you must eat”. Platters of cheeses and hot miniature sausages would follow. We would gobble them up and then be treated to one of Aunties delicious desserts. After all, you never know… one must be prepared.
Although farm chores helped keep us lean, some of us had trouble spots. In my early teens my siblings teased me with the nickname BB. Embarrassingly I confess that it stood for “big butt”, not the other that one might think. Although not completely true, it added to my awareness that I would have to watch growing, not up, but out.
I have been notably thin only three times in my life. Mostly, I have maintained a healthy weight by good ol’ fashioned eating right and exercise. Occasionally, the numbers on the scale have shocked me into chasing the latest fad diet. I have had some success, (with my favorite being, the dark beer diet) and many failures. No sweets other than wedding cake – turned me into a “wedding crasher”! Cottage Cheese and Grapefruit – 1 day tops! Take away my carbohydrates – never!
Growing up in a “foodie” family has not been easy. But, every January, after the holiday binging is over and the Seasonal Affected Disorder has settled in – I renew my vow to take better care of myself. After all, you never know… one must be prepared.
Cheers to fresh starts, good health and success with your New Year resolutions! Jill
Fragrant Stir Fried Buffalo
Serves 4. Approximately 243 calories per serving, (calories calculated with out rice or noodles).
Note: The recipe below is not diet food, but it’s good for you, simple and tasty. Adjust vegetables to your preference. Serving with white rice makes for a prettier plate, but wild rice is healthier, (which Dan thinks taste like dirt), so we compromise and do a mix. Rice noodles are also a nice accompaniment.
- 1 – 1 lb. Buffalo Steak Strips, rinse and pat dry
- 2 – Tablespoons Sesame Oil
- 1 ½ – cup White Wine
- 1 – Tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1 – Tablespoon Asian Fish Sauce
- 1 – Tablespoon Red Curry Paste + to taste
- 2 – Teaspoons Brown Sugar
- 1 – Red Bell Pepper, julienned
- 1 – Red Onion, julienned
- 1 – Head Broccoli Florets — about 2 cups
- 1 – Cup fresh Cherry Tomatoes, halved (or) sub ½ cups chopped Sundried Tomatoes
- 1 – Cup Basil, julienned
- Mix together white wine, lemon, fish sauce, curry paste, and brown sugar.
- Over high heat, heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in heavy sauté pan or wok.
- Add Buffalo Steak Strips and flash sauté for 1 minute. Turning to brown.
- Remove Buffalo to platter and lower heat to medium.
- Heat remaining oil in same pan and add the pepper, onion, and broccoli. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add wine mixture and tomatoes. Bring to simmer.
- Add buffalo back to pan and basil. Quick stir to incorporate. Remove form heat and serve immediately.
Serve on rice or rice noodles and garnish with fresh basil leaf and lemon wedge.
Wine pairing: 2009 Chateau Les Rouilleres Bordeaux, France
A dry red with a light fruitiness, compliments the spice in the dish nicely.
Comments 8
I love your fresh honesty in this article. Somehow I look at your lives there as ‘perfect’ and all of you are thin as rails. It really gives me hope knowing you have to work at being healthy also! Thank you !
Jill, I have been using Slim Fast — hope it is available in SD. So far I’ve
lost 20lbs. and am planning on another 20. I use SF morning and at Noon. Eat a regular meal for dinner. I have found Weight Watchers ice cream, and that has been my dessert at Noon. So far so good. Good luck on your efforsts
Jill; Still waiting for your cook book to be published!! Great way to market your buffalo!
Go for it Jill! Best wishes to both you and Danj. I am looking forward to his new book and am very glad he is back on a regular writing schedule.
merci pour vos recettes faciles à comprendre pour un français, vos commentaires sont très drôles, super, dommage que vos bisons soient si loin
Jill,
Love your one year old picture, I looked very similar with very sturdy legs and I was always told I had “Krautstampfer” those are the legs you need to stomp down sauerkraut in the barrel.
copied your stirfry recipe.
Hello Jill:
1/Just in case you did not translate Francis Collet’s text, here is a short version:Thx for recipes-easily under- stood in french-your remarks are funny-too bad the Bisons (=buffalos) are so far away… (from France).
2/My dietician has asked me the calories contents of your hamburger meat for 1 or a 1/2 lbs amount or per serving?? Where can I find this ?
3/We have served buffalo meat (stew) at several occasions. At times it has a little bit more (or less) ‘gamy’ taste.
To compensate this we have used a recipe made w/ good Belgian (or German) beer. It makes the meat easier to digest. Cooking w/ beer is very “in” in Belgium. For desert we have Belgian pralines. These are fancy, small chocolate deserts that neutralize the meaty (gamy) aftertaste.
For more info, get in touch with me. Yours, with a ray of sunshine from California – Christian V –
Hi Christian,
Thanks for the post. We have health info about our buffalo on the home page of our website, but to answer your question a 1/2 lbs of our ground buffalo has approximately 290 calories, almost half of what grain-fed beef and bison has in it.
Thanks for the suggestion on the stew recipe, we will have to try it out. Belgian beer seems to make any meal better whether it is an ingredient or just by itself.