*

We were inspired by the cooking class we went to last week at Natural Grocers: “Paleo Cooking with Caveman Cafeteria: Where the Hunters Gather“. Jon has been a friend and supporter of Will from Caveman Cafeteria for awhile now, and if you haven’t been to his food truck, I *highly* recommend trying it. The deep fried brussels sprouts are amazing!

Anyway, back to the cooking demonstration. I wasn’t sure what to expect, if it was going to be more informational, educational or an actual demonstration. When we got to Natural Grocers I was surprised by their presentation kitchen! There was plenty of room for people to watch, and the kitchen was huge!

I had never heard of a grocery store like this doing a cooking demonstration, nor had I ever attended, so I didn’t know how many people attended, but it was a full house.

After a brief introduction, Will and his head chef, Johnny, talked through some of the dishes that they would be preparing for the crowd.

Caveman Cafeteria made a Zucchini Salad to start, then presented a Bistro Steak and ended with Sausage & Peppers.

Oh man, they were all so good!

Here are the recipes (and photos to show how good the food was):

Zucchini Salad:

Ingredients
1 Zucchini
2-4 Torn Mint Leaves
1 Teaspoon Capers
1 Teaspoon Fresh Chopped Garlic
3/4 Teaspoon EVOO
1 Teaspoon of Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
Salt & Pepper to Taste
Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper

Instructions
Thinly shave the zucchini with a peeler on all sides until you start to see the seeds.
Tear mint leaves.
Add all ingredients to a bowl.
Toss together.
Add salt & pepper to taste and a pinch of crushed red pepper.
Serve.

Bistro Steak:

Ingredients
4 oz Flap or Sirloin 100% Grass-fed Steak
Salt & Pepper to Taste
Fresh Thyme
Fresh Chopped Garlic
1 Portobello Mushroom
1 oz Caveman Cafeteria Demi-Glaze (or substitute)

Instructions
Use a grill to mark steak until seared on all sides.
Allow steak to rest 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator before slicing into 1/4 inch thick pieces against the grain.
Heat bacon grease in a saute pan and add fresh thyme.
Allow to sizzle before adding sliced portobellos.
Add salt & pepper to taste.
Cook almost until complete before adding slices of steak.
Finish with chopped garlic and a pinch of fresh thyme.
Top with demi-glaze.

Sausage & Peppers:

Ingredients
Melange Peppers
Onions
Spicy Italian Sausage
Tomato Sauce
Fresh Chopped Garlic
Fresh Chopped Basil

Instructions
Spread spicy Italian sausage on pan and bake in oven.
Saute peppers and onions in clarified butter (ghee).
Add tomato sauce.
Crumble sausage and add to peppers.
Serve.

*For our meal tonight we added serrano peppers to the saute, omitted the tomatoes and added some bacon to the finished meal. It was a bit spicy for Jon, but we think the tomato sauce may help cut the spice a bit.

I have to say, this is the first cooking class I have ever attended and I really liked it! I was impressed by the layout at Natural Grocers and I loved how open the class was. People got out of their seats to get a better view of what the Chef was doing, Will was answering questions from the audience the whole time and I think we all learned a ton.

Where do you gain your recipe inspirations from?

Have you ever driven one? Oh wow, what I wouldn’t give to take a ’60′s ‘Stang out for a road trip. So much power in that car.

Why all this talk about cars? Well I am going to the Denver Auto Show this weekend and can’t wait to see what new technologies the car companies have come up with recently.

Here are just a few things you can expect to see from Ford at the Denver Auto Show (images taken from the @FordAutoShows Instagram account):

(Sadly this car won’t be at the Denver Auto show, but it is still awesome!)

Did you know my grandfather has a Model A? He used to drive me to school in it everyday. I love the horn! Ahooga! Ahooga!

Hoping to see some of these logos at the show!

Who wouldn’t want to turn a classic car into a pool table? You can actually play this pool table at the Denver Auto Show!

Want to go with me? Ford’s #FiestaMovement was nice enough to give me a pair of tickets to the Denver Auto Show this weekend that I’m giving away to you! All you have to do is follow the instructions below in the Rafflecopter and you’re entered! I’ll pick a winner on Friday afternoon.

Now tell me, what are you looking forward to seeing at the Denver Auto Show this weekend?

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Submissions are now closed, but see the entries for Prom King and Queen on Bop Skizzum’s Facebook page:

Can’t wait to see who is crowned King and Queen 2013! The top 3 will compete in between bands on Friday night and it is guaranteed to be entertaining.

Now for the Facebook Marketing lesson.

I don’t mean to pick on Bop Skizzum, but just wanted to point out something I noticed from their Facebook marketing so that others can learn from their example.

Bop Skizzum recently promoted this post:

See the issue? No? I didn’t at first either. Then I asked myself “When do submissions need to be in by?” “What day is 6 days from now?” “Wait, when was this originally posted?” That is when I realized that they had promoted a status update from earlier in the week that I was seeing on Thursday.

So the lesson we are teaching here is, when selecting which posts to use as promoted posts for a time sensitive event, make sure you are as specific as possible with deadlines. This may apply to more than just event specific promoted posts, but always good to ask yourself “If I see this post in 2 days, will I understand all the details?”

Enough of the lessons. Who will I be seeing at Nerd Prom, and what will you be wearing? I plan on re-using the following costume (which is eerily similar to my Prom dress senior year, except this one doesn’t show off my belly button). And yes, I did crimp my hair in high school.

Here are the bands (Facebook links):
Vetta Star with their song “Auto Pilot”
Reno Divorce with their song “I’ll Always Be Your Slave”
Rachel and the Kings with their song “Fall Down”
The Photo Atlas with their song “Memory Like a Sinking Ship”
Navy with their song “Something Good”
My Body Sings Electric with their song “Oceancrest”
Monroe Monroe with their song “Everything You Give”
Medic with their song “Everything We Have”
Foxfield Four with their song “Money”
Chemistry Club with their song “Bend to Colors”

Thank god for the iHeart Radio app (iTunes link), meaning I can literally listen to 93.3 on my iPhone from anywhere at any time!

Don’t forget to sign up to receive the surveys!!

Honestly I get more excited for the announcement of Hometown for the Holidays bands than I do for Christmas! I mean, the number of times I blog about it should tell you something.

Tonight KTCL will be announcing the top 10 bands at Not So Silent Night at the First Bank Center. I will not be there (yes, I failed to obtain tickets before they sold out), but I have a few friends who will be texting me…as they are announced (no, I can’t wait for the official announcement).

I know you want to rate these bands, so go sign up to receive the survey via email. Click the image below to sign up now!

As soon as my friends text me, I will update this blog post with the top 10! So check back later tonight!
#HTFTH – Navy, Chemistry Club, Veta Star, Reno Divorce, Medic, My Body, Monroe Monroe, RATKings, Photo Atlas, Foxfield 4

As soon as I saw the Grease suggestion, I knew that was the one I had to pick. I used to listen to that song/watched the movie so much I knew the lyrics by heart.

Or at least I thought I did. Turns out they played a little trick on me and played the DIRTY version of Summer Nights for me! Watch the video below for the lyrics, but be warned, they are not safe for work.

I have to admit, I was kind of glad they did it. That took the pressure off of me singing and the whole bar got to enjoy me fumbling along and laughing at the lyrics instead of attempting to sing.

Matt even capture this photo of me to prove I did indeed sing:

So next time I *happen* to be at a Karaoke bar, any suggestions on other songs I should learn in advance so I don’t look like a fool if I get called up to the mic?

When I was in NYC for BlogHer, I rode in many Uber cars thanks to my friend George. It was so nice and easy! The cars were clean, the drivers were always super nice one had even had two iPhone chargers for us to use!

I have to say that my first experience with them in Denver was so-so. I ordered a cab because a friend of mine had had a few too many drinks and needed to go back to the hotel. I loved that I was able to order the car with a click of the button, and he arrived within 10 minutes! We put her in the car, told him where to go and when they arrived I was notified via a message that my card had been charged. It was so nice to know that she had been dropped off and was safe! Now, here is where I got a little annoyed. My receipt said I had been charged $15 dollars! The ride was all of 5 blocks, so $15 seemed to be a little expensive. After a little bit of research I found their pricing for Denver. Looks like all rides are $15 minimum. Now, this info was probably in the terms and conditions that I obviously didn’t read, but I was just caught a little off guard by the price of that first ride. Despite the minimum, I will definitely be using them again.

The app is SO easy to use! You just open the app and set your pick up location. It shows you were all the Uber cars are close to you and how long until they can pick you up:

Setting up a credit card was even easier! No more typing in every single digit. Thanks to card.io you just let the app scan your card and it imports all of the numbers!

Want to try it for yourself? Just go to uber.com/invite/ubermon and you will get $10 to use on your first ride! Not quite a free ride, but I think you will agree, Uber is better than trying to hail a cab in Denver! This will be the perfect way to arrive to GABF in style this year!

Not only do the DJ’s attend shows, the station also holds contests and allow local bands to open for their Big Gig concert every year. They have just announced the top 10 locals who are in the running to open for this years show which includes acts like Silversun Pickups, The Hives, The Wombats and more!

So now it is up to YOU to help these bands make it!

In order to vote for your favorites, you MUST SIGN UP TODAY! The surveys go out tomorrow and will be delivered to your email address.

Want to listen to the top 10 before taking your survey? No prob! All of their songs are below for your listening pleasure.

(Yes, my brother’s band is the first one listed, but that is the random order that KTCL put them in on their site. I am not *that* biased! There are a ton of great bands below).

Rachel and the Kings – Underwater

Nautical Mile – Face You

Bop Skizzum – Heavy Petting

Perfect Like Me – A Life of Dying

The Photo Atlas – Shakin’ In My Skin

Regret Night – LIE

Eldren – Hug Rabbit

The Royal – My Name

Post Paradise – A Way With Words

Host Club – Bring You Up

Does this sound like an event that is right up your alley? Well, lucky for you, I have a ticket to give away for Saturday’s event! Entry is easy and open to anyone who can attend on Saturday (yes, the event is 21+).

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Plus, you will get to hang out with me!

They’ve got my back, literally. They were nice enough to gift me with the following active wear pieces (and boy are they comfy)!

They gave me the Mackenzie Knickers, the Quinn Chakara top and the Kira top:

I mean look how cute I look at 6:00 am!

And? I look even more stylish when actually doing Pilates.

I picked up the clothes at their brand new Cherry Creek location, and couldn’t help but look around. It was such a nice store:

They had so many cute sundresses in there as well. I didn’t have enough time to shop (was headed to a concert), so I am going to have to go back soon for some new clothes. prAna’s clothes are perfect for the music festival season that is now upon us.

prAna was also nice enough to give me Mackenzie Knickers and Quinn Top to give away to one of my readers! Comment below and tell me what activities you would do if you won this new outfit! Follow or like prAna for more chances to enter!

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