This makes a nice, satisfying weeknight meal. The punch from cutting celery gives great flavor, but if you can’t find it, regular celery will be just fine. I usually add fish sauce to this mixture, but it skipped my mind this time, and it was fine without. If you happen to have some and happen to think about, a good squirt or three would be great here. Carrot greens are not mandatory. I happened to have a ton of them slowly dying in the fridge and decided to give it a go. They were nice, but not in the least necessary.
Pork and Celery Stir Fry
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 lb. ground pork
1/2 red onion
1 carrot
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp. grated ginger
4 Tbsp. soy sauce (swap coconut aminos if you’re going strict paleo)
1 Tbsp. ketjap manis (sweet soy sauce – swap for a bit of honey or maple syrup if going strict paleo)
3 tsp. lemon juice
1 bunch cutting celery
2 tsp. rice vinegar
Handful carrot greens
Bring sesame oil up to temperature in a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add the pork and break apart. Keep working and breaking the pork up until it starts to brown.
While you’re working periodically on the pork, thinly slice the red onion. Add to the pan, stir.
While the onion is working, chop 1 carrot and mince 4 cloves garlic. Add to pan. Stir periodically to avoid burning, 3 mins.
While that is working, chop the cutting celery.
Add grated ginger, soy sauce, ketjap manis, lemon juice and rice vinegar. Add the cutting celery, stir fry a few minutes until starting to wilt.
Meanwhile, chop the carrot greens.
Taste and add a bit more lemon or vinegar if needed. Top with carrot greens and serve over brown rice.
Still no official word, but if we end up moving I will so miss this sandwich. Pan Con Bistec on fresh Cuban bread from my favorite lunch spot, YiYa’s Bakery on the 79th St. causeway.
This was our first photo taking trip of the year, and only our second visit to this area of the ‘glades. We took a leisurely trip through the Big Cypress Nature Preserve (technically not a part of the Everglades National Park), ending up in Florida City for stone crabs.
The Big Cypress Nature Preserve (established in 1974) is the first preserve in the National Park System. This area was designated as a preserve rather than a park because the land has traditionally been used for oil and gas exploration, hunting, off road vehicle use, private land ownership, cattle grazing, as well as by Native American tribes. While this area is primarily inhabited by the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida at this time, it has also played host to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, as well as early non-native settlers.
The preserve was created to prevent logging companies from stripping the area bare and to prevent the Big Cypress Jetport (which was set to become the world’s largest airport) from destroying the wetlands and decimating local ecosystems. This use of the land would also have eliminated traditional Indian uses for this land and would have harmed the populations living there.
The Big Cypress Preserve consists of five habitats connected by the water that flows through them, with a max elevation of 17 feet above sea level. The water connecting the habitats flows from hardwood hammocks, to pinelands, across prairies, into the cypress swamps, then mixes with seawater in estuaries before it hits the Gulf of Mexico.
This picture was taken with the Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic. The daisy itself isn’t quite as crisp as I would have liked (operator error), but I love the bokeh.
Bridge Through The Trees
Another Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic shot. This is a raised boardwalk bridge thing above the path, which was boggy at best.
Swamp
Another Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic shot a little further down the path. This is some sort of swamp (I’m guessing Cypress, but with pine mixed in as well).
Ravens Roosting
This is the first of many shots of these ravens roosting in a stick jungle along the side of the highway. We saw just the sticks going into the preserve, and I’m glad we caught the golden hour to come shoot them. I was obsessed with them all day. This was taken with the Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic.
Ravens
Also taken with the Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic.
A brief respite from bird pictures.
This was taken by my DH with the macro.
Lonely Pines
Also taken by my DH with the macro.
Little Pine Balls
Little pine cone ball things taken by my DH with the macro.
Needles
Pine needles against a completely untouched sky taken by my DH with the macro.
I wonder if he'll make it to fossilization?
This isn’t the greatest shot in the world, but I was in love with this snake skeleton. If I wasn’t scared of getting a: eaten by a gator, or b: dysentery from whatever that skeevy cloudy stuff on the water is it would totally be on my bookshelf.
Sticks almost sans birds
The stick jungle raven roost part 2 – taken by my DH with the macro.
Low Flying
This bird was great to watch, and I’m thrilled my DH got such a great shot. He flew this low over the canal for quite awhile before giving up and flying elsewhere.
Raven Moon
Ravens in the stick jungle + the moon. Taken by my DH with the macro.
Raven Moon 2
I particularly like the cloud of flying ravens in this one. Taken by my DH with the macro.
The sky isn't dirty, it's just getting later.
All of these shots are untouched (minus web optimization) from the originals. The sky looks dirty here because the sun is dipping down.
Across the road stick jungle birds
These birds were in the portion of the stick jungle accessible via the hunting/AV trail across the road.
Gastography 