It’s Another Wild and Crazy Wednesday!

Welcome to another Wild and Crazy Wednesday in my house. Actually, on our meal planner (yeah, I think ahead) Wednesdays are Wildcard. That means anything goes. Wherever the wind blows me or my taste buds carry me, that’s what’s on the menu. Sometimes I feel like throwing a dart at a board filled with recipe cards just to see where it lands. That’s how wild and crazy I am.

I know a thing or two about crazy. I don’t talk about it much publicly, but I think I should. I think we all should. Mental Illness is a real problem in this country, especially for those without the financial means nor mental capacity to seek help. When Ronald Regan was governor of California, he decided the state should not fund Mental Hospitals, with the exception of the criminal insane. So he closed all the state hospitals and turned the crazies loose. I can say crazy because I am a little nuts, from a line of disturbed people. My mother was mentally ill. She began spending time in and out of mental wards when I was five.

Mom was eight when war came to the Philippines. She survived the war, but not intact. My mother and in particular the women in her family carried emotional scars that ran deep. Like a traumatic physical injury, a traumatic emotional injury leaves a person shattered. The next generation, my generation, while spared the actual trauma, are also scared and broken. We know what it is like to grow up with a parent who is ill. And like it or not, we tend to be fragmented. It’s only been the last 6 years of my life that I’ve felt anywhere near whole. That’s because of strong faith, and a man who has worked hard for years to help me feel safe while allowing me the space to be just a little bit crazy. So many broken people don’t have that kind of support, and they remain broken.

I don’t think we can ever truly cure mental illness. It’s not like catching a cold that will go away. But we can learn to live with it. Sometimes I feel like I’m held together with duct tape, waiting until God calls me home again. When those unraveling moments happens, I’ve learned to just let go, and give it all up to the Father.

Way back when, we rounded up the broken people; locked them away someplace where we didn’t have to be reminded “there but by the grace of God”, and then we threw away the key. These days we leave them wandering about in the streets, avoiding any eye contact as though we might “catch” whatever they have. We pretend that everything is fine and ignor them right up until they snap. By then it’s too late, they’ve done something so horrendous we have no choice but to lock them up and throw away the key. And we blame the guns because that’s easier then facing the epidemic of mental illness in this country. Until we do, it’s not going to get better.

That’s my crazy rant for today. Don’t mind me, I’ve been in a dark place lately. Sometimes I need to go into the dark reseses of my insanity just to clear out the cobwebs. And that’s okay – Hubby is always nearby. So I know I’ll find my way back to him.

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Today is Coq au Vin day. One of my all time favorite meals, which I am saving for another day. Since I’ve sort of wandered down a strange path on the darker side of memory lane, I thought I’d make what I consider to be my favorite comfort food to shine a little light on my mood.

Once upon a time Hubby and I did a lot more traveling. (Although we’ve sort of taken up traveling again, on a smaller scale). Back then, we lived in Nevada. Every time we traveled to California to visit family, the first thing I would do upon settling into the hotel room was to check room service. Don’t ask me why but a turkey club with fries somehow signaled we have arrived home. It’s not like I ate turkey clubs as a kid, I didn’t. But for whatever reason, it’s the first thing I wanted from a California Hotel. Sometimes it’s fun to be just a little crazy.

Note: While the typical club sandwich uses 3 slices of bread per sandwich, mine only uses 2. Country Bread is thick, almost like Texas Toast. To use 3 slices would have been way too much bread. If you are using regular sandwich bread, feel free to throw in that third piece between the turkey and bacon.

Turkey Club Sandwich with Chipotle Mayo
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
Chipotle Seasoning to taste
4 Green Leaf Lettuce Leaves
1 large Beefsteak Tomato
8 slices Bacon
8 slice Thick Country Bread
1/2 lb Deli Smoked Turkey, thin slice
4 slices Pepper Jack Cheese
1 Avocado, optional

Note: If you can find it, Peppered Bacon or Jalapeno Bacon is especially good in this sandwich.

In a small bowl, mix the mayonnaise with chipotle seasoning to taste. Cover and refrigerated until ready to use.

Break off crisp lettuce leaves from a head of green leaf lettuce. Rinse and pat dry. Slice the tomato into 4 slices, set aside. Fry bacon strips until crisp, drain on paper towels. Once cooled to the touch, break bacon slices in half.

Toast bread to desired color. If using avocado, peel and slice just before assembling the sandwich. Place toasted bread on a cutting board. Spread chipotle mayo mixture over each slice of bread.

On four slices of bread, place lettuce leaves, 2 ounces of Turkey meat, a slice of Pepper Jack cheese, 4 slices of crisp bacon, a slice of tomato along with the avocado if using. Close sandwich with remaining bread.

Serve and enjoy. Awesome with Steak Fries.

Steak Fries
12 oz Steak Fries
Cooking Spray
Salt to taste

Heat oven to 450-degrees. Arrange frozen Steak Fries on a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet. This will allow air to circulate around the fries.

Spray with cooking spray. Season with salt. Bake in the heated oven for about 24 minutes or until cooked to a light golden color. Shut oven off without removing fries. Let continue to bake another 2 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

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The Son of Man came to serve,
and to give His life as a ransom for many.