Grokfeast in Augusta, Georgia
On September 8th I asked my readers to host picnics and to send me the results. The following is one of 27 amazing submissions, the best of which will win an entire cow, courtesy of US Wellness. Vote for your favorite on October 8.
Plans for the picnic started when a wellness committee member at work (Nikki Rebernak) read about the Grokfeast challenge and visions of cow patties danced in her head. Our company has two main buildings on a large plot of land. In between the buildings is a cow pasture and a walking path. She came to me with the idea of suckering our wellness committee into having a picnic with the cows… and it was all downhill from there. In a flurry of e-mails we had 12 people agree to have lunch together. Some brought their own food, Nikki made up a salad and some fresh berries, and others trusted me to provide something tasty.
Our Primal Picnic started with me replacing my work shoes and shirt with flip flops and a t-shirt. I picked up some good soul food from a local restaurant including meatloaf, chicken and veggies. I even let them give me cornbread (for later use). I also grabbed a sack full of fresh fried pork skin to surprise some of the fat-phobic folks out there.
We all met at the picnic tables and promptly began our 1/4 mile trek up the “cow path” to hunt some cattle and work up an appetite. Once at the top of the hill we found many cow patties and our cows, snapped a picture and headed back down to EAT. On the way down we encountered a 5 foot long rat snake in the grass and an urban cowboy (Dustin arrived on his bike).
Once everyone got settled we chowed down on good food and had good conversation. A few people tried fat back for the first time, and no one asked where the dessert was. Oh, and the cornbread muffins? Well, we used those and leftover bagels (the free ones left by our kind vendors at work) to have a little game of launch the bagel. Thank you Chad for providing the golf clubs.
After lunch we had our Wellness Committee meeting outside (the first outside meeting I’ve held), discussed all of our great ideas for our current wellness event (the 2010 Poker Run – Complete Challenges to earn cards) and had a pleasant and productive meeting. I went back to my office, reluctantly cleaned the dirt off of my feet and my shoes and work shirt back on. I must say, today’s meeting was the best meeting I’ve had at work, and unless someone stops me I’ll be having all the wellness committee meetings outside.
The Feast
- Big Honkin’ Salad
- Cucumber salad
- Fried Fat Back strips (aka Primal French fries….yummy)
- Baked chicken on the bone
- Meatloaf (no bread crumbs)
- Collard Greens cooked with fat back
- Green Beans
- Broccoli
- Black Eyed peas (just a small portion)
- Muscadine grapes (picked fresh)
- Berries (picked fresh)
- Some others brought their own food
Recipe: German Not Potato Salad
- 1 lb carrots peeled and cut into pieces (round or small chunks)
- 1 chopped onion
- 3-6 strips of bacon (to taste…)
- Brown sugar
- Salt and pepper
Slightly cook carrots in boiling water, just until tender. Remove from heat and drain. While carrots are cooking, cook bacon in skillet.
Remove bacon and cook onions in grease (remove some grease if needed) for 3-min or until onions are clear mix carrots and onions together.
Crumble bacon and spread in a layer on bottom of 9″x 9″ casserole dish. Spread carrot, onion and grease mixture over bacon. Sprinkle with brown sugar, salt and pepper to taste.
Cook in oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 min or until carrots are cooked.
The Tribe
Brian Prochaska (me), Nikki Rebernak, Dustin Hanson, Billy Roberts, Darlene Thomas, John Lowe, Gail Hildreth, Chad Thompson, Pam Welty, Kaye Rogers, Michael Jacobs, Leland Curtiss, Two Cows, One Snake, Many ants
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
“bagel launch”…maybe the pga should take note …cause golf is boring
Haha, I love the cows in the background! Great job, guys!
Ha, bagel launch. I love it
fried fat back…. that sounds right.
LOVE the bagel launch. Also love how they kept it southern with the fat (one of my favs)!
Loved the picture with the gold club and bagel
Nice setting for your event.
work and play… and food too…
The bagel launch is a nice touch! XD
I know not everyone can do it, but it’s a real privilege for me at my job to be able to just just walk outside every afternoon, take my shirt off, and lie in the sun for 20 minutes. Like at this picnic, it really gives you the chance to recapture a slice of normal, natural life every day, to reset from all the computer screens and phone calls. Do it if you can, people!
It is definitely a big benefit having our Wellness Committee to open people’s eyes about taking some time out to relax and enjoy life even though you are “at work”. I loved our Grokfeast and hope to have another one soon.
Hilarious. Launch that bagel into the Agricultural Revolution.
what a great way to use bread, FOUR!
Now that’s a lunch break
haha or “launch” break
Looks great!
bagel launch – haha. I love it.
Bagel as golf ball = priceless
That cracked me up! When I saw the first photo of the club next to the bagel without reading the story first, I was highly confused. Loved it!
I’ll bet if you age the bagels for a week or so you could increase the distance of your shots. How was it getting them in the hole? Oh wait, bagels have their own hole.
Bagel golf…awesome
hahaha….I loved the bagel launch
Wow the hill we walk up is a real challenge on a hot day but very enjoyable with company!Our company does a good job of standing behind us in the wellness activities we do which is a real blessing in this day. Glad to be part of our wellness team Enjoyed looking at all the others who feel the same about health.
Glad everyone endjoyed the bagel launch. It actually does pretty good as a golf ball, you would be suprised. This was a great event and hope to do it again sometime.