All of Us | Redefining Perfect

DigIN – A Taste of Indiana #Giveaway #Indy CLOSED

by Sarah | Aug 9, 2013 | All About Indiana, Blogging Life, DigIN, Indiana Family of Farmers, The Reluctant Hoosier

Everyone in Indiana knows that DigIN is a great place to eat some marvelous food prepared by fabulous chefs, and get some locally brewed beer that’ll knock your socks off.

Did you know that it’s also a great place to meet the people behind those fabulous dishes? The men and women that grow the food, or raise the livestock to get that locally sourced food on your plate?

DigIN is about so much more than the people that cook the food. It’s about the people that provide the food.

I’m happy to once again be a part of getting the word out and telling you about this fabulous festival and encourage you all to go.

First I’ll give you the details, but then keep going for a GIVEAWAY 😀

What: DigIN – A Taste of Indiana
When: Sunday, August 25, 2013. 12-5PM
Where: White River State Park
Tickets: $40 General Admission ($60 gets you in an hour early); Children $10 (under 4 are free)

Indiana Family of Farmers is an amazing sponsor of the event and wants to give you TWO tickets to come see (and taste) the Heartland on August 25, 2013 at White River State Park.

I’m going to make it even easier than usual to win, just two ways to enter.

Visit the DigIN site and leave a comment here telling me what part of the Event you’d like to “dig in” to.
Tweet about my giveaway w/ a tag to me (@sadiecass) and leave a comment here saying you did so.

That’s it!

Giveaway ends on Tuesday, August 13 at 10:59PM. Winner will be contacted first thing August 14th & will have 24 hours to reply or I will pick another winner.

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Dig IN, A Taste of Indiana 2013 RESTAURANTS, CHEFS and DISHES noted, as available (subject to change)

18 on the Square, Joseph Martin: Duck Gyro, Grilled Flat Bread, Relished Summer Vegetables, Daredevil Sauce (Protein provided by Maple Leaf Farms)
Black Market, Micah Frank: Indiana Berry Shrub
Brad Gates Catering, Brad Gates: Grilled Duck Breast & Poached Peach Salad
Cerulean, Chase Hinton and Caleb France: Duck, Fennel, Sorrel, Cherries, Chilies
Chef JJ’s Back Yard, Chef JJ Boston: Curried Pork and Lamb (Protein from Paul Russell’s Farm and Gunthrop Farms)
Circle City Soups, Roger Hawkins, Indiana Gazpacho
Circle City Sweets, Cindy Hawkins: Honey-Shagbark Granola with Yogurt
Courses Restaurant, Joseph Davey: Albondigas (Protein from Keegan Poe’s Farm)
Craig Baker, Craig Baker: Pork Country Style Torchon, House Pickled Seasonal Veg Salad, “Bloody Mary,” and Micro Herbs (Protein from Birkeys)
Delicia, Ricardo Martinez: Spicy Beet Salad
Fermenti Artisan, Mark Cox: Smoked Bison Shoulder and Curtido (Protein from Bison World)
Goose the Market, Chris Eley: Meat on a Stick (Protein from Donnie Brewer’s Farm)
Indiana Downs, Greg Schiesser (Protein from Dallas & Meggie Foster’s Farm)
Joseph Decuis, Aaron Butts: Mini Wagyu Burgers with Spicy Tomato Jam and Bleu Cheese Mousse (Protein provided by Joseph Decuis Farm)
Just Rennie’s Cookie Company, Chef Doug & Marla Rennie: Just Rennie’s Gourmet Cookies
JW Marriott Indianapolis, Brendon Cheney: Indiana Pig: The Adventure Begins (Protein from Chris & Jent Campbell’s Farm)
Kelly Ford, Jeff Ford: Duck Confit Egg Roll/Spring Roll with Pork Belly & Jalapeno “Duck” Sauce (Protein from Maple Leaf Farms)
Lemleys’ Catering, Alexa Lemley: Chicken on a Grit Cake (Protein from Tyson)
Meridian Restaurant and Bar, Layton Roberts: Faux Noodle (Protein from Matt Gibson’s Farm)
Mesh on Mass, Mark Henrichs: Compressed Watermelon Salad
Napolese, Tyler Herald: Focaccia Caprese Sandwich
Northside Social, Nicole Oprisu: Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Protein from Tyner Pond)
One World Catering, Corbin Morwick: Moroccan Lamb Meatballs (Protein from Keegan Poe’s Farm)
R bistro, Regina Mehallick: Beans & Beef (Protein from Fischer Farms)
Scratchtruck, Matt Kornmeyer: Bourbon Braised Brisket with Peach Bourbon Glaze (Protein from Fischer Farms)
Severin Bar, Vincent Russo: Pulled Pork Sliders with Bourbon/Watermelon Slaw
Spice Box, Nitin Naidu: Goat Channa (Protein from Gunthrop Farms)
The Chef’s Academy, Anthony G Hanslits: Lamb Reuben + Napa Cabbage Slaw + Minted Mustard (Protein from Keegan Poe’s Farm)
The Indigo Duck, Karen Hewett: Rabbit Sloppy Joe’s (Protein from Meat the Rabbit)
The Loft Restaurant, Brandon Canfield: Grass-fed Beef
The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Courtney Loyd (Protein from RDM Shrimp)
Valley Kitchen & Bar, Cory Muro: Pork Belly Lettuce Wraps(Protein from Gunthrop Farms)
Zest! Exciting Food Creations + Twist Lounge, Valerie Vanderpool: Elloté Salad with Cornmeal-Crusted Perch (Protein from Bell Aquaaculture)

INDIANA ARTISANS

Best Boy & Co., Ft. Wayne/Roanoke: Caramel bourbon sauce and fudge sauces
Burton’s Maplewood Farm, Medora: Maple syrup and infused syrups
Capshew Cellars, Lanesville: Black cherry, pear and red wine vinegars
Captain Jim’s Sauces, Indianapolis: Hot sauces made from naturally grown, sustainable peppers from a local farmer
Chocolate for the Spirit, Shelbyville: Truffles and bon-bons
Cornerstone Bread Co., Indianapolis: Vienna, Marble Rye and Cherry Chocolate breads, Scotch Ale rolls made with Sun King Brewing’s Wee Mac Brown Ale
Frittle Candy, Indianapolis: Frittle, a cross between fudge and brittle
Front Porch Pretzels, Kokomo: Small-batch, hand-poured jams featuring organic fruit
Sweet Poppin’s, Kokomo: Gourmet flavored popcorn

FOOD TRUCKS/REFRESHMENTS

Bee Coffee: Plum Buzz Iced Coffee
Duos: Golden Chanterelle Vegetable Bisque
Natural Born Juicers: Strawberry Smoothie
Nicey Treat: Paletas, ice pops made with fresh fruit
Scratchtruck
Spice Box

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*Disclaimer: As an Indiana Family of Farmers Ambassador I received two free tickets to DigIN. As always, all opinions and reluctance to be called a Hoosier are all mine.

The Guilt

by Sarah | Aug 8, 2013 | All of Us, Crap, Special Needs

Someone recently asked if I carry guilt.

Unwarranted guilt.

Two kids with CF.

One with Autism.

The truth of the matter is…

Yes.

Every day.

Most days I am able to ignore it.

Most days I’m able to ease Erik’s guilt over the wholething.

To continue forward and do what we must do. What we have to do. To live our lives.

Because I love them.

And wish I could take their challenges onto myself.

I try to never let them see it.

Or feel it.

I don’t know that it’s something we’ll ever shake. Or be able to fully let go of. There are risks in the future if they have kids. There are risks in the future of how their lives will turn out.

But I’d feel guiltier if they weren’t happy.

And I believe they are.

I hope they are.

I hope they always will be.

The Battlefield is Prepared

by Sarah | Aug 6, 2013 | All About Learning, All About Molly, Autism, IEP, Special Needs

Molly is entering 3rd grade.

It’s hard to believe that my little girl is in 3rd, and the baby is going into 2nd.

They start school in just over a week.

8 days.

Since mid-July I’ve been bracing for the upcoming struggle and battle.

Behaviors at home have gotten out of control again.

Anticipation always worsens the load for her.

I began in July.

I knew that it was on her IEP, but the school has convenient ways of forgetting these things during summer break.

I called the school office in July.

Voice mail told me the office was closed until August 1st.

But then July 31st we get the first official email from the principal. So I reply. I remind her of the IEP, and that Molly is to meet her teacher in advance.

And so, last week, Molly met her teacher. I met her teacher and was able to give a few ‘heads up’.

The school year hasn’t started, but I’ve prepped the field for battle.

I hate that I have to look at the start of every year this way, but I’m tired of her falling through the cracks and there being trouble because they don’t understand.

I’ve gone in guns blazing.

First battle is ours.

Now to finish picking up some sensory toys from Amazon. (Our favorites are the [amazon_link id=”B001EWC5M4″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Tangle[/amazon_link] and the [amazon_link id=”B00A8PS4NC” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Stretch Balls[/amazon_link])

A Moment 25 Years in the Making

by Sarah | Aug 5, 2013 | 45 before 45, All About Me, Blogging Life, Bucket List

*I’m totally re-exposing my nerd status with this post, but I don’t care one bit.

When I was 12 years old, I was one of those girls…

With New Kids on the Block posters taped ALL over my walls. The pictures ripped out of magazines, the buttons, all of it.

One thing I never got to do that I always wanted to, was go to a concert.

Last night (thanks to the help of a twitter contest from Bohlsen Group) I got to achieve that life-long teenage dream.

Totally bucket list worthy…and so much fun.

Of course, it helped to go with a fellow big fan – Heather…who was my date since I didn’t wish to torture my poor husband.

Indianapolis was the last stop on the package tour, so we got to see BoyzIIMen and 98* (98-who? The crowd thinned out at that point for bathroom breaks, etc…both Heather & I had trouble recognizing anything beyond 1 song, I think).

The sound quality wasn’t very good (I even had trouble recognizing very well-known NKOTB songs sometimes)…but still, just being there and being able to clearly see these men on stage was amazing…

And I have to say – they have gotten BETTER with age. I’ve always had a weak spot for Joe Mac…but now? He’s totally on my list (sorry, Hugh Jackman, you are no longer the sole person on ‘the list’).

My 12 year old self is so happy with my adult self. Finally achieving a silly dream that still just made my year. Seriously.

One of the best concerts I have ever been to.

Bar none.

(my 12 year old self says it IS the best ever…she’s a bit biased)

Kid-Friendly Sushi = Lunchtime Fun

by Sarah | Jul 24, 2013 | All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Learning, All About Molly, All of Us

*This is a recycled post from a couple of years ago. I thought with school starting it would be a fun re-do for school lunches. All those [amazon_link id=”B00DE2PVTG” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]bento boxes[/amazon_link] out there makes this possible!

(L – top to bottom. Cheese cutouts, Peanut Butter w/ banana strips. R – top to bottom. Peanut butter w/ orange marmalade folds, PB & grape jelly rolls, Nutella rolls.
Even my teen will make his own version of this for himself. Molly, the pickiest eater of them all, cleans her plate when I make this kid-friendly sushi. Since it was requested on twitter…I thought I’d post how I make them. And it’s super simple…and to be honest I got the idea from Pinterest and ran with it.

*~*

First, the supplies. Bread (1 slice makes 4 mini-rolls), a [amazon_link id=”B0000VLY7C” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]rolling pin[/amazon_link] (pizza & pastry roller if you have one), whatever fillings/toppings you want.

Cut off the crust (I keep mine to feed the birds) and roll the bread flat, or cut into strips.

Get your toppings on your bread. For fun I used a mini cookie cutter to cut the banana for some of the strips, and for others I just cut it in half and length-wise. I used my leftovers for a bowl of cereal 😉

Roll them. I rolled some in spirals. I’ve read that you should roll these tight, but w/ the jelly I actually roll loose otherwise all of the jelly is squished out. For the orange marmalade I rolled in both sides and then folded to the middle (securing with a small strip of peanut butter between the two edges).

Last but not least for a little extra fun I used [amazon_link id=”B000U3NHD4″ target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]some little cutters[/amazon_link] I had lying around to cut out shapes in cheese (I nibbled on the scraps).

Usually I make less sushi and include some small strips of carrots for a well rounded meal. My kids totally scarf these down faster than you can blink.

Some other ideas I have yet to try, but plan to…

Butter & cucumbers rolled
Jam w/ sweetened whipped cream cheese strips or folds
Herbed whipped cream cheese with cucumbers strips
Carrot peel & herbed whipped cream cheese rolls
Nutella and Strawberry strips or rolls
Whipped cream cheese (sweetened) w/ blueberries

These do not take me a ton of time (Well, this one did but I was taking pics and making more than I usually do)…and the kids love them. They are SO worth a shot!! Try them!!