Jenny Craig Update… down 85 lbs

me at 234

 

Well… we dropped in for our weekly weigh-in at  Jenny Craig.

Somehow, when you are down 85 lbs. and nearing my goal… you wonder when to stop?

Frankly, I am feeling fine at this weight and I may drop a little more… but wearing a size 32 pair of jeans is just amazing to me! I joke that I plan to donate some of the sizes I  ‘passed through’ (including 36’s) to some of my friends who might need these ‘fat’ clothes. ha!

On the left — in case your are wondering — I am enjoying some “Biltong” that Karen brought back from South Africa. This piece came from Kruger Park and it is Springbok! Yes, very yummy!

Everyone in the family has been on Jenny Craig… and it seems like — collectively — we have lost a small Toyota.

Now… I will reward myself on Sunday with a South African ‘Bobotie’… a recipe that I have been exploring and I will post my recipe.

Roger Freberg

 

a REAL 50 mph H.P.V.*

* Human Powered Vehicle

a real 50 mph vehicle

Is it a toy? Is it practical? If it takes your entire body to power it, how easy is it to steer? Sooooo many questions… in the meantime, it looks very cool.

I received an email from the  ol SciFi.Com folks  … and since I have been a fan of recumbent bikes, I thought I’d give it a look.  The HyperBike folks have a nice web site  and it looks like they have more in the future:

“For the next prototype, which he hopes to begin work on soon, DeForest has garnered technical assistance that begins to address some of the issues the current prototype presents. He has attracted attention from the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program, a NASA-funded program based in Florida with offices throughout the country.”

For the rest of us… we’ll have to see if this develops into something practical… it already looks fun!

Roger Freberg
 

Huntin’ for an ‘Ostruducken!’

THIS is a TURDUCKEN... and it goes INSIDE the Ostrich Meat!!!! 

It’s tough living within a family of ‘super tasters’… everyone wants something new and interesting… I guess years of ‘Turduckens’ weren’t tasty enough? Now , the crowd is demanding a South African-style “Ostruducken.” I ‘assumed’ that an Ostruducken was put together much like any other bird within a bird recipe… you know… a chicken within a duck within a turkey … all stuffed into an Ostrich… however, it doesn’t work that way, since the Ostrich has very little breast meat…. but their legs are the size of a Buick! I went on the internet and found little help…  Hormel  is usually good… but not this time:

Osturducken….

Similar to a turducken, this food is a combination of four meats, ostrich, turkey duck, and chicken that are layered together and rolled into a poultry roast. With the exception of the ostrich meat, turducken and osturducken are prepared in the same manner, starting by spreading a spicy seasoning over the meat, then placing a cornbread and sausage stuffing over the meat as they are layered together, and rolling the layers into the shape of a roast. Typically, the skin of each bird is kept on the meat if this is hand made, in order to add moisture and flavor to the combination of meats. Commercially produced osturducken often removes the skin and layers only the meats together.

So, have you ever cooked anything more than an Ostrich steak or burger? Frankly, I haven’t … and I was ready to build a giant smoker to handle this latest holiday challenge… but it isn’t imperative anymore…. Thanks to ‘Roger’ and the good folks at  Blackwing Quality Meats … I have ordered what should be the right about of meat to cover my Turducken to transform it into an “Ostruducken.”

I still have a few loose ends… finding the right stuffing mixture to place between the Ostrich and the Turkey…. the right wine(s)…. but this is all the fun part.

I’ll post the final recipe after we do a little testing and let you know how it turned out!

Roger Freberg

Patriotic & Proud YouTube Poet

Patriotic & Proud American

She called…

Blacks, Whites…wait
African Americans and Caucasians, Asians, excuse me.
Vietnamese, Philipenes, Koreans and Jamaicans or
Haitans, waitin’ Hispanics y’all.

Please be paitent
Mexican, Puerto Ricans, Venezualean, Cuban, Dominican, Panamanian Democrats
I beg your pardon, you partied with the late, great Reagan?
Republican, Independent, Christian, Catholic,
Methodist, Baptist, 7th Day Adventist, 5 Percenters,
Hindu, Sunii Muslim, Brothers and Sisters who never seen the New York city
skyline when the twin towers still existed.
But still She called.

From the bowels of Ground Zero she sent this 911 distress signal.
Because She was in desperate need of a hero,
and didn’t have time to decipher what to call ’em,
so she called ’em all Her children.
The children of the stars and bars who needed to know nothing more than the fact that she called.
The fact that someone attempted to harm us
this daughter who covered us all with her loving arms.
And now these arms are sprawled across New York City streets.
A smoke filled lung, a silt covered faced,
and a solitary tear poured out of her cheek.
Her singed garments carpets Pennsylvania Avenue and the Pentagon was under her feet.
As she began to talk, she began to cough up small particles of debris
and said, “I am America, and I’m calling on the land of the free.”
So they answered.

All personal differences set to the side
because right now there was no time to decide which state building the Confederate flag should fly over,
and which trimester the embryo is considered alive,
or on our monetary units, and which God we should confide.
You see, someone attempted to choke the voice
of the one who gave us the right for choice,
and now she was callin.
And somebody had to answer.
Who was going to answer?

So they did.
Stern faces and chisled chins.
Devoted women and disciplined men,
who rose from the ashes like a pheonix
and said “don’t worry, we’ll stand in your defense.”
They tightened up their bootlaces
and said goodbye to loved ones, family and friends.
They tried to bombard them with the “hold on”, “wait-a-minute’s”, and “what-if’s”.
And “Daddy, where you goin?”.
And, “Mommy, why you leavin?”.
And they merely kissed them on their foreheads and said “Don’t worry, I have my reasons.
You see, to this country I pledged my allegience
to defend it against all enemies foreign and domestic.
So as long as I’m breathin, I’ll run though hell-fire,
meet the enemy on the front lines,
look him directly in his face,
stare directly in his eyes and scream,
“I AM AMERICA! WE WILL NOT BE TERRORIZED!
WE WILL NOT BE TERRORIZED!
I REFUSE TO BE AFRAID!
I’LL FIGHT YOU ANY COUNTRY, ANY CONTINENT, ANY TERRAIN.
I’LL FIGHT TO MY LAST BREATH!”

And if by chance death is my fate,
pin my medals upon my chest,
and throw Old Glory on my grave.
But, don’t y’all cry for me.
You see, my Father’s prepared a place.
I’ll be a part of his Holy army standing a watch at the Pearly Gates.
Because freedom was never free.
POW’s, and fallen soldiers
all paid the ultimate sacrafice
along side veterans who put themselves in harms way.
Risking their lives and limbs just to hold up democracy’s weight,
but still standing on them broken appendages anytime the National Anthem was played.
You see, these were the brave warriors that gave me the right
to say that I’m Black. Or white.

Or

African American or Caucasian,
I’m Asian, excuse me.
I’m Vietnamese, Philipene, Korean, or Jamaican.
I’m Haitan, Hispanic

Y’all, Please be paitent.
I’m Mexican, Puerto Rican, Venezualean, Cuban,
Dominican, Panamanian, Democrat
I beg your pardon, you see I partied with the late, great Reagan.
I’m Republican, Independent, Christian, Catholic,
Methodist, Baptist, 7th Day Adventist, 5 Percenters,
Hindu, Sunii Muslim,

Brothers and Sisters We’re just Americans.
So with that I say
“Thank You” to the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines,
for preserving my rights
to live and die for this life
and paying the ultimate price for me to be…FREE! ”

___________________________________________

Roger Freberg

Here’s more on this inspiring soldier

Ostrich “Biltong” ( jerky) in America!

Support the Troups... Buy Jerkey!

South African ‘Biltong’ is grand! However, this ol boy has enjoyed what we call “Jerky” since he was a mere sprout.

I had the opportunity to try some J.C. Rivers “Ostrich” Jerkey… teriyaki style… and frankly, I wanted to eat it all myself! Not only is this stuff good… but they discount shipments to military personnel… and my daughter told me they lived on this stuff when they were running convoys to and from Bagdad.

Here’s a link to their site!

Love that Ostrich!

Roger Freberg