Bytes from Texas: One Longhorn's Adventures

Zucchini to Noodle

2013-06-20T22:41:00.001-05:00

While I would like to believe I am really 75-80% nutritionally"good" on a regular basis I never fail to learn that I can do much better than I do. This first week of the six-weeks of "strict" paleo has been kicking my butt from here to next week. It's funny because I'm not working out any harder, sleeping any less or drastically changing my diet, I didn't eat bread every day or drink sodas as part of being hydrated, I ate fairly clean (except for some grilled cheese binging last week, but that was abnormal) on a regular basis. I am not doing a Whole30 per-say but I actually have been eating the same way without noticing it so reading the "stages" of Whole30 reminded me that I always feel a little tired, cranky, etc. when I start over. I'm starting to feel the "I need a nap" phase a bit more strongly than I would like to admit but that's fine, it's almost the weekend. I'll just have to refrain from trying to "paleo-ize" (and why it's bad when you're first getting rolling) everything that looks tasty on TV...come to think of it I think I'll steer clear of some of my favorite lazy-tv time (cooking channel anyone?) to avoid the temptation.

In the meantime I'm looking forward to getting my meal planning for the week done and doing some prep, I might even be really nice and prep some food for a certain boyfriend who doesn't cook much for himself. After coming home from the gym I was far too tired to want to make the Cinnamon Beef Stew (from Well Fed) that I had intended to make, it'll just have to wait till tomorrow. Instead I cut the portions in this delicious Carbonara recipe down to suit dinner for myself. I used one of my new favorite tools, a julienne peeler to cut some Farmhouse Delivery zucchini into "noodles" and tossed the Carbonara sauce over the top.

While I don't do a lot of "paleo" noodles (too much work unless I can buy them) I do love turning squash, zucchini and sweet potatoes into noodle shape and sauteing them until they are the right texture to serve as a delivery vehicle for my favorite sauces. Let's face it, all noodles do is deliver sauce to you...delicious amazing sauces, so who cares what the noodles are made of? Veggie noodles just mean more veggies which is never a bad thing!

My two favorite tools for turning veggies into noodles are both Amazon.com finds (I admit I'm a bit of an addict when it comes to Amazon):

1. Kuhn Rikon Julienne Peeler

2. Spiral Veggie Slicer

The peeler does a bang up job with cucumbers and zucchini, the spiralizer (as we call it in my family) does a great job with everything but I have gone through one already because the plastic doesn't hold up well to repeated use with stubborn sweet potatoes. I have thought about getting a really fancy metal one but for $23 I can't beat this, even if it only lasts a year. Both of these are invaluable to me and help me turn random produce into a quick and easy dinner on a regular basis.

Up to the challenge

2013-06-16T18:25:00.002-05:00

While I do try to live a "paleo" lifestyle I have been a bit more relaxed about it all for the last few months. My sister and I have attempted not one, but two Whole30's that really were more like Whole5's...not exactly a giant success. So when word came down that our gym would be doing a 6-week nutritional challenge I begrudgingly signed up. Begrudgingly because it spans the height of lake/boat/pool/beach season and July 4, who wants to be the girl not enjoying a cocktail during those events? Not I. Despite all of that serious enthusiasm (insert sarcastic look here) I signed up anyway to give me the shove over the cliff back into a lifestyle that I know makes me feel good and perform well. I did take a little bit of advantage of the impending challenge start date to enjoy some things I wouldn't be able to during that time, some vino, a grilled cheese and popcorn at the movies last night. The grilled cheese might've been the worst idea in that list. Heading into the week I planned a list of meals that will make life a little easier for me, they are all good for me and even better, I actually will want to eat the leftovers.

First on the list, left over Wild Boar Ragu (yes this was the vino on my pre-challenge list), originally I had it over zucchini "fettuccine" and tomorrow night it'll be over some spaghetti squash.

Wild Boar Ragu:
1 Lb Ground Wild Boar
8 pieces thick cut bacon, diced
1 8 oz Package Baby Bella Mushrooms, sliced
1 Medium Onion, Diced
1 Cup Diced Carrot
1 Cup Diced Celery
28oz Crushed Tomatoes
4 Cloves Garlic
1/4 Cup Dutch Processed Unsweet Cocoa
4 Bay Leaves
2 Springs Rosemary
1 Tsp Anchovy Paste (you won't even know it's in there)
1/2 cup chicken stock or red wine (*if you use chicken stock add 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar as well)

1. Mix ground boar and diced bacon, put in the bottom of a crockpot. Cover the bottom completely with the meat mixture.
2. Sprinkle onion, carrot, celery over the meat mixture.
3. I used fresh tomatoes vs. canned since it's in season but either works well. Add tomato, garlic, cocoa, anchovy paste, salt and pepper and puree in a blender until it's relatively sauce-like. I prefer a little less smooth sauce but you can puree to your hearts content. Pour tomato/garlic mixture over the veggies.
4. Add sliced mushrooms over sauce, then pour wine or stock + vinegar over the mushrooms and put the lid on it.
5. Cook this on high for 1.5-2 hours or on low for 4-6 hours.

In addition to this I've got a handful of other easy but yummy recipes planned, a fajita recipe from the PaleOMG cookbook, Cinnamon Beef Stew from Well Fed a green bean salad with shrimp and grilled chicken with fresh tomato, bacon, leek sauce. Hopefully between those and the breakfast "casserole" (a word I hate) I'll have plenty of options to keep me from wandering from the path this week.

Thanks Adrenaline

2013-05-31T21:15:00.000-05:00

It's the eve of the second attempt this spring at a "competition" for me...this one is much more for fun than the last one but being the type-A girl that I am the words sticking in the back of my head are "competition" and "crossfit" not "fun." Last time around I was so excited I couldn't help but be a little nervous. In my past life nerves was a good thing for me, it usually fueled the competitor within and pushed me, what I learned at the last competition I entered is that those nerves fueled adrenaline and the adrenaline ran out quick...like real quick. The last competition I did had three separate workouts, during the first one I very clearly remember hearing my boyfriend and my coach each screaming "slow down" over and over as I (apparently) flew through my first 21 deadlifts and burpees, somewhere around the next 15 deadlifts I felt like I'd lost the willpower to even pick my feet up, much less continue rolling through the remainder of that one workout (or two more!). Let's just say Event 1 wasn't that great for me, not because I wasn't capable or ready for it but because I burned out faster than I even knew possible, thanks adrenaline.

This time I decided that I need to approach the whole thing differently, partly because I don't want to burn out quick this time around (I only get one workout to prove myself tomorrow) and partly because it's a partner workout and my partner is a grade-A badass who I would hate to disappoint. So instead of spending most of my day today thinking about competition, considering what I need to do in the morning to be ready or even going to bed ridiculously early I decided I will treat tomorrow as a normal workout...none of this crazy build up to something that my nerves get in the way of, nothing to stress about, just another Saturday morning workout with friends. No idea whether this will pay off or if I'll be knocked to smithereens by some burpees and wall balls tomorrow but I figure it can't be worse than burning out in the first five minutes either. I don't know what I made for dinner before the last competition but it certainly wasn't this, so that's good too right?

Paleo Thai Shrimp Salad

1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1/4 cup thinly sliced celery
1 large bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 seedless English cucumber (or 2 regular large cucumbers), sliced with a spiral veggie slicer or a julienne slicer
1-2 cups cooked shrimp
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice
1-2 tbsp Asian chili garlic sauce or dried chili flakes
1 big clove garlic
A handful of cilantro leaves
Sliced lime, extra cilantro and crushed cashews for garnish
1 small Thai chili and lettuce – optional

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the fish sauce, orange juice, lime juice, garlic, chili garlic sauce and chopped cilantro leaves, set it aside to blend flavors. The dressing should be the balance combination of salty, sweet, tart, and spicy, however, you can adjust it to your own preferred taste
2. In a large bowl, add cucumber, chopped celery, red onion, shredded carrot, and cooked shrimp - Pour the dressing over and mix well. Let stand to mingle the flavors for about 3 minutes before serving on chopped lettuce/cup with a sprinkle of toasted cashews and/or more Thai chili if you like it hot.

Two years and counting...

2013-05-29T21:48:00.000-05:00

Five years ago I started writing about what I was cooking, regularly I searched out new and interesting things to cook and increasingly difficult methods of cooking. I subscribed to many cooking magazines, blogs and read cookbooks for fun. Two years ago my sister talked me into coming to Milestone Crossfit with her...somewhere among the wallballs, pushups, squats, burpees, pullups and olympic lifting my life shifted gears. I still love to cook, I still look for interesting and innovative ways to prepare the stuff I eat but my respite from the daily grind of the office is no longer cooking, its working hard to push myself beyond my comfort zone every night at Milestone.

June marks two years for me, in that time I have found myself cutting out grain (not 100% of the time, but a lot of the time), switching from cooking from the likes of Gourmet and Bon Appetit to PaleOMG, Health-Bent, NomNomPaleo, and Well Fed, drinking club soda at work happy hours, re-arranging my schedule to fit in workouts and spending more money on workout shoes than I do on heels. What do I have to show for all this? I can push 165#'s over my head, deadlift 325#s, do pull-ups, run a faster mile than I could as a kid, I don't have pain or aches where old injuries used to exist (other than the soreness that let's me know I did good work the day before) and I've made some amazing friends along the way. No, I'm not always thrilled to drag myself out the door but getting there I feel happy and at home. Yes, I do occasionally miss the simplicity of getting a sandwich for lunch when they are ordered in for the office, but when I decide to eat that sandwich I remember just how much I didn't love sandwiches to begin with. On the whole, I have found that I am capable of so much more than I ever knew before June 2011 and I look forward to what two more years will bring.
My sister conned us all, she got me and her fiancee and her soon to be brother-in-law and our mom involved. It's become a family affair with us. It is funny how the simple act of my sister asking me (ok, repeatedly asking) to go with her snowballed into so many of us doing it. As I sat with her at the South Central Crossfit Regionals on Saturday watching some of the fittest people in this country do amazing things I realized just how much I owe her a major thanks. Without her I'm very certain I'd be sitting on the sidelines thinking about how crazy all these "crossfit" people are...now instead I'm one of them. Not quite sure that's something I would ever have even wanted but I love what I have proven to myself thus far in this journey.

I still get all the random cooking magazines because I enjoy reading them, I obsessively watch Anthony Bourdain (both his new and old shows), read Chef biographies for fun and I enjoy cooking way more than most normal people but on a day like today where I am frustrated and worn out after work there is nothing that leaves me feeling more accomplished than walking out of the gym after my workout. It doesn't matter that I still hate burpees (really, who likes them) or that I am a million miles from being what I would deem "good" at Crossfit, what does matter is that I feel satisfied leaving the gym knowing I accomplished more today than I did yesterday.

Kicking off 2013 with some luck

2012-12-28T08:48:00.000-06:00

As 2012 comes to a close I start to plan for the last 'holiday season' meal, one that many people may not celebrate quite the same but it is definitely tradition in my family...New Years Day. As as kid I grew to expect black eyed peas (gasp, not paleo!) every New Years Day and as an adult, regardless of my typical diet I expect them all the same. I always knew it was for luck in the new year but didn't really know much else, I just kind of accepted that. Because I'm a huge nerd when it comes to stuff like this I started digging to understand why they are considered good luck, one of my favorite lists of good/bad luck foods for the new year was here on Epicurious. It just lists out legumes (again, paleo eaters gasp!) in general as luck around the world for a few reasons but here's the reason why we consider it so in the US:

"In the Southern United States, it's traditional to eat black-eyed peas or cowpeas in a dish called hoppin' john. There are even those who believe in eating one pea for every day in the new year. This all traces back to the legend that during the Civil War, the town of Vicksburg, Mississippi, ran out of food while under attack. The residents fortunately discovered black-eyed peas and the legume was thereafter considered lucky."

Some of the other descriptions I found on the internet were a little less detailed, things like, "they look like coins" and so they are lucky...I'm not so sure I agree, black-eyed peas don't look like any coins in my pocket but oh well...they are clearly an agreed upon 'lucky' item. So this year I'll make them the way I was taught, with a big old smoked ham hock.

New Years Day Black-Eyed Peas

24 oz Fresh Black-Eyed Peas
1 very large or two medium sized smoked ham hocks, or the bone-end of the Christmas Ham with some meat still attached
Salt & Pepper
1 clove minced garlic
2 onions, diced
1 can chopped, fire-roasted tomatoes
Springs of cilantro (optional but great for garnish)

Place black-eyed peas and ham in 8 quart pot. Add enough water to fill pot 3/4 full. Stir in diced onions, and season with salt, pepper, and garlic, add tomato. Bring all ingredients to boil. Cover the pot, and simmer on low heat for 1 to 1 1/2hours, or until the peas are tender. Garnish with cilantro.

We always start with fresh peas in our house, I think because it's something you can really always find in the south at this time of year but really they are the best way to start. In addition to black eyed peas we always have some kind of greens, the basic idea being that greens symbolize money and wealth into the new year. We'll be having some greens with our peas and the last (but probably my favorite part) key piece of our meal will be to have some pork. Not only because I love pork in all of its incarnations but because pigs root forward as they move, symbolizing moving forward in the new year. By the same token, Epicurious lists out some 'bad luck' protiens, lobster and chicken because these two move backwards...and who wants to go backwards in the next year? We'll be indulging in a braised pork belly recipe based on Emeril's Asian Style Pork Belly.

What will you enjoy on New Years Day?

Get Local in the New Year

2012-12-27T08:59:00.004-06:00

As I've mentioned in many posts, I'm a huge fan of farmers markets, locally produced goods and any opportunities to make getting those things a bit easier (ehem, my Farmhouse box being delivered to me). Recently a new company reached out to me with yet another way to get easy access to locally produced produce, meats, etc., it's called CitySprout. I have yet to try it but here's how it works, you log onto their website and join a 'community' in your area, once the community reaches critical mass and has enough members local food producers are alerted and can begin making offers for fresh food. Then, as people accept/buy the offers the producers bring the items to you somewhere close by. This can be anything from veggies to coffee to bakery goods to honey or grass-fed meats (just to name a few).

The part of the CitySprout mission that was interesting to me is this: "CitySprout was founded to help solve many of the problems currently facing U.S. agricultural production and food distribution. As CitySprout continues to grow and reach more and more communities, so does our ability to effect positive change on an economic, environmental, and social level." Currently there isn't an active community near me so I started one (talk about grassroots!), we'll see how quickly it grows and what becomes available in my area. Check it out yourself and see if you've got a community.

It starts with one step...again and again and again

2012-12-18T11:10:00.001-06:00

Being healthy is a long journey filled with many steps in the right direction and some in the wrong direction. I remind myself that it's a journey on a regular basis but also stumble often enough too. In my quest to be stronger, faster and healthier I strive to fuel my body with wholesome, healthy foods and to challenge myself many nights a week at Milestone Crossfit. I've been on this path for a while now, a year and a half, and know it's not a destination, that it's a journey you constantly walk and a for me, someone who loves food and cooking it's also a fight. It's a fight to do what I know is best, what makes me feel best and perform best vs. doing what is easy, comforting in times of stress or what just plain looks good.

This summer I struggled a lot, not with any one thing but with it all. I'm the type of person that throws themselves into the things they love so when I started Crossfit in 2011 and found out that I loved it, I embraced every facet of it and jumped in head first.   Going 90 to nothing for a year and a half is a little rough, I am the girl who doesn't move a workout unless it is absolutely necessary (i.e. I have to travel for work and must accommodate that schedule), I am the girl who can empty all the "bad" food from her pantry and have the strongest will and the strictest diet without turning back. I am also the girl who takes on misstep and says, "eh, I'll get back on track on Monday" and maybe never does get back on track. I think it would be an understatement to say I can get derailed, I think it's more like the train flips over, rolls down the embankment and never rights itself. I didn't go completely nuts and start eating funnel cake for breakfast and stop working out...more like it was a gradual slide into seeing crackers in the pantry, bread on the counter and having some major apathy about my workouts.

Apathy (also called impassivity or perfunctoriness) is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation and passion. Thanks Wikipedia, that about sums it up. I spent most of this summer with a very large amount of apathy, don't get me wrong this only applied to my life in crossfit and somewhat with nutrition. I still enjoyed all the other things that make me tick, spent a lot of time with family, friends, my boyfriend...got to do a little traveling and did some fun "Austin" things. But at the end of my summer of apathy I started to really question what I was doing and why I was failing. Yes, I know how obvious the answer to that is...failure was a direct result of my level of giving a damn. But for some reason that didn't quite occur to me...I felt some need to assess whether what I was doing made sense and if I should continue down the path I had been on.   Then I read a blog post by someone I have major respect for, a blogger I love to read each day, PaleOMG. (If you are not familiar with Juli Bauer's blog RUN to get there!). Juli writes for a few sites but on the Again Faster blog she posted something that really resonated with me. To give you some context Juli is an amazing paleo blogger but she is also a Crossfit coach in Denver, CO and a competitor. Her post called Creating My Crossfit is all about her struggle to feel as excited about Crossfit as she once had. Seeing someone who has infinitely more skills, has dedicated herself to training others and is clearly committed to the healthy lifestyle struggle with a similar set of feelings made me think twice about abandoning my course.

It took me some time, thinking about it all, remembering why I got involved in this in the first place and realizing how stupid it would be to truly abandon something that has given me a new view of what I am capable of and a place that has introduced me to some of the best people I could ever meet. I realize I am very hard on myself and that my apathy came in part from my struggle to meet my own expectations.   It is very hard to do something day in and day out only to feel like you are not measuring up to what you think you should be able to do. Ironically, I actually reached some major milestones this summer, I managed to deadlift 300lbs+, I got my first kipping pullup and I set PRs (personal records) in nearly all of the other things we did (benchmarks, various lifts and even sprint/running related things). Somehow I ignored all of that in favor of feeling like I hadn't done enough, like I wasn't able to do more and then getting angry and eventually apathetic.   All the stuff that makes me who I am, all of my personality quirks that make me good at my job and make me pretty decent at the hobbies I enjoy turned against me to some extent to make me hate something I loved because I felt like I wasn't good enough (according to the one important expert, me). Wow, that's absurd. After a summer of apathy and some over-thinking I realized the only way I was going to get anywhere was to ignore the part of me that constantly told me how I was failing to measure up. Not so easy, believe me.

Starting the week before Thanksgiving (told you it took me a long time to think through it all) I decided to throw myself back in. About that time our coaches decided to beat us to a pulp so in addition to my renewed effort I was barely walking that week. So here I go, a few weeks before New Years, my resolution is to not be so hard on myself.   Besides, my dedication to and love of Crossfit has been embraced by my family too (not gonna lie, my sister started this for all of us) but so much so that our Box even laughs about it...

So I guess the path of least resistance (and most to an extent) is to keep rolling and get back on track again.

90 degree Spring?

2012-04-02T11:32:00.002-05:00

Somewhere the weather here took a turn for summer much faster than it should have, perfect illustration of that fact: yesterday my sister, mom and I met up with my grandmother in San Antonio for the day. We packed a picnic, wandered some of our favorite thrift stores, a normal spring day I could've gotten by with a t-shirt and jeans and not been sweating to death...no, yesterday I wore a tank top and shorts and there were a few times where I think I might've been overdressed still. It's a really good sign that it's ungodly hot here already and it's just April 2. Needless to say cooking with a stove hasn't really been at the top of my list in this weather, lots of grilling, plenty of cold meals and salads.

I'm kind of picky about salad, I hate iceberg lettuce, it's void of any flavor in my opinion, isn't quite as nutritious as it's pretty dark green cousins (or red ones for that matter) and frankly it's boring. No wonder I don't love salad, iceberg, ick. For years salad meant pasty looking iceberg lettuce to me, no my mom (who is an amazing cook) didn't force-feed us iceberg but it's just what I associated salad with. As I've learned to expand my definition of salad I've become a bigger advocate of them, you'll see, perusing any salad recipes I post, many don't even have lettuce in them but iceberg is definitely not featured here! This salad is no exception, a few weeks back I was getting head after head of cabbage in my Farmhouse Delivery boxes, green, napa, red, you name it, I got it. So I made slaw, a lot. I wouldn't call this a slaw since I feel like slaw is another one of those terms with not so pretty connotations but I'd say it's a cabbage salad instead.

Asian Red Cabbage Salad with Pan Roasted Chicken

Salad:
1 Small Head Red Cabbage, Chopped
1/2 - 3/4 Cups Green Onions, Chopped
1/2 Cup Chopped Dried Pineapple (no sugar added)
2 Tbsp Black Sesame Seeds
2 Tbsp Hemp Hearts

Dressing:
1 1/2 Tbsp Coconut Aminos
2 Tbsp Coconut Vinegar
1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1/2 Tsp Minced Garlic
1/2 Tsp Minced Ginger

Chicken:
3 Chicken Breasts
1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp Rice Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Coconut Aminos

1. Coat chicken in sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and coconut aminos, let it marinade for at least 30 minutes.
2. Once chicken is ready, head a cast iron skillet over medium high heat with 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil, once skillet is hot add chicken and brown well on each side, cooking time will vary based on thickness of chicken but mine took about 8 minutes on each side before it was cooked through. As it was cooking I poured the leftover marinade over the chicken.
3. Once chicken is cooked, slice and set aside.
4. To make dressing, mix vinegars, coconut aminos, garlic and ginger together. Slowly add oil in, whisking continuously so that the oil is well incorporated and doesn't separate.
5. Toss salad with dressing, top with sesame seeds, hemp hearts and chicken.

A quick note about one of the salad toppings listed above (and shown below), Hemp Hearts. I stumbled across these in my local Whole Foods recently, they are a great nutty, crunchy topping for things and I've just started using them. I loved the nutty flavor and they have super healthy benefits, they are rich in Omega's with a great balance of Omega-3 to Omega-6 and also are a great source of gamma-linoleic acid which has been shown to support healthy skin, hair and nails. Tasty and good for you, double win!

First Day of What?

2012-03-20T10:55:00.000-05:00

Here in Austin it's been "spring" for a while...I've been working out in shorts and t-shirts and sweating to death for at least three weeks, maybe more because Texas doesn't seem to know that the first day of spring was actually today. Ha, someone let me know when we officially hit summer too, I'd bet $10 it's summer here much earlier, ahh the pleasure of living in Central Texas. While I moan about the heat I should stop to consider the irony of posting this recipe, who knew I'd be so behind that I would be posting pumpkin recipes the first day of spring...

So why pumpkin? Besides the fact that I'm completely obsessed with them every fall and that the seeds make tasty tasty snacks, they are hugely good for you, just a few things you should know:

Just like all brightly colored fruits and veggies, the gorgeous orange color of pumpkins is a key indicator that it's loaded with beta-carotene, which may reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, offers protection against heart disease and the degenerative effects of aging
Just one half cup serving of pumpkin contains 5 grams of fiber which helps decrease cholesterol levels, control blood sugar and promotes healthy digestion
Pumpkin is rich in vitamins C and E which boost immunity, reduces risks of high blood sugar and promotes healthy skin
Pumpkin is also rich in potassium and magnesium which are extremely helpful to the body in a range of ways from promoting a healthy immune system to contributing to bone strength

Do you want to be less healthy? No, didn't think so. Isn't pumpkin tastier than taking a fist full of pills to supplement your diet? Yes, it very much is.

With a pretty little pumpkin that came in my weekly Farmhouse Delivery box I set to finding something to do with it. I was a little unsure at first, pumpkin is something I don't cook with a lot, love carving them but cooking with them was a little foreign. Inspired by the Farmhouse Table (Farmhouse Delivery's Blog) I grabbed some green curry paste and a good knife and went to work.

Thai Green Curry with Pumpkin
inspired by Farmhouse Table

4 oz green curry paste
2 14 oz cans coconut milk (full fat)
1 6 oz can coconut cream
1 Tbsp fish sauce (or to taste)
½ small pumpkin, peeled and cut into chunks
1 pound cubed chicken
1 bunch basil, leaves picked

1. Place thick coconut cream in a large cast iron skillet or dutch oven, add curry paste and fry til fragrant.
2, Add remaining coconut milk, simmer for 5-10 minutes, then add fish sauce.
3. Add pumpkin cubes and meat.
4. Simmer til pumpkin is tender, then stir in basil leaves

The original recipe is served over rice, I roasted some cauliflower in the oven while the curry was cooking and served it alongside.

Post-WOD Nutrition Anyone?

2012-03-06T08:20:00.000-06:00

Lately I find it is getting harder and harder to cook and want to eat after Crossfit, partly because I'm exhausted by that time and partly because it's been warm here and I've had no desire to eat. Truth be told you've got to eat after working out that hard, some kind of nutrition is important so I usually give in even though I am not hungry and dig up something. However, on those random days where the weather decides it's still winter I have a different issue, I want something warm, comforting and tasty...the problem is most of that kind of food takes time and I don't like to sit up all night waiting on dinner either. So I search and search for things that I can pull together in a limited amount of time that will be worth eating.

After making a big batch of cauliflower 'rice' I knew this Chicken Tikka Masala would be the perfect compliment, actually I love this dish (and sauce) so much I could eat it on it's own...with just a spoon. Yes it's that amazing.

Quick and Easy Chicken Tikka Masala - Paleo Style!
Inspired by Real Simple's Chicken Tikka Masala

1 15-ounce Diced Tomato
1 Medium Onion, Chopped
1 Tablespoon Garlic, Minced
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 Tablespoon Garam Masala (Indian spice blend)
1 Teaspoon Ground Coriander
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
1 1/2 Pounds Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs (about 8)
1/2 English Cucumber, Thinly Sliced
1/4 Cup Fresh Cilantro Leaves
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lemon Juice
1 Cup Coconut Cream
1 14oz Can Lite Coconut Milk
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1. In a 4- to 6-quart dutch oven, brown the chicken thighs in the olive oil.
2. In a small bowl, toss the cucumber and cilantro with the lemon juice and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.
3. Remove chicken from dutch oven, add onion and garlic, saute until onion is translucent.
4. Add chicken back to skillet, add diced tomatoes and juice, coriander, garam masala, cinnamon, salt and pepper (to taste) and coconut milk.
5. Once all of items from prior step have been incorporated, add in tomato paste and stir well. Bring up to a simmer and let simmer for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and tender.
6. Just before serving, stir the coconut cream into the chicken tikka masala.

Serve over cauliflower "rice" with the cucumber relish.

More Food Processor Love

2012-02-28T08:51:00.000-06:00

The love affair with my food processor certainly isn't dying anytime soon. In fact, day by day our love grows (ha, now you know I've taken a dive off the deep end!). I've been using my new gizmo for everything, from turning my paleo cocoa bites into something even more delicious to stuffing dates with "almond cream cheese" to making paleo "rice." Ahh the marvels of the food processor. So, to start off (and no, there's no picture of these), two Saturday's ago we had a 1/2 way mark potluck at Milestone Crossfit, it was a little paleo celebration of being half way through our eight week challenge. Since we've all sworn off sugar and everyone else was bringing meat and veggies I decided to do a variation on my paleo cocoa bites.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Truffles
2 6oz Bags of Pitted Dates (nothing added to them)
1 5oz Bag, Unsweetened Coconut
2 Cups Cashews
1 Cup Pistachios
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
2 Teaspoons Chipotle Pepper Powder
1 Tablespoon Mexican Vanilla
1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/4 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

This one is easy - it's really one step...throw everything in the food processor and pulse until it's chopped up nice and tiny and can be formed into balls, bars, etc. If your mixture needs a little moisture to come together, add hot water by the tablespoonful slowly (1 tbsp at a time).

These were a huge hit at the potluck, once of our coaches swore it was better than chocolate and one of my fellow challenge members told me 'bless you' for bringing them. Ha, guess we are all surprised at how much we missed the sweet goodies!

My next feat from the food processor was to make some paleo 'rice' - using the fabulous instructions on Nom Nom Paleos' post about cauliflower rice, I whipped up a big batch of 'rice' with one of the monstrous heads of cabbage in my weekly Farmhouse Delivery box. I was really surprised at how simple it was to create rice.

A slightly blurry photo of just the rice:

What did I eat with my 'rice' you ask? Well some amazing and quick Chicken Tikka Masala! That recipe will be coming along shortly, I promise :)

Finally, to round off my food processor related creations, almond stuffed dates. Nope it's not just an almond stuffed in a date. In an effort to keep the book club snacks paleo, healthy and tasty I keep trying to find something interesting to take along. With a few of the leftover dates from my truffles I searched for inspiration. Interestingly, the vegan nut 'cream cheese' recipes I've seen provided just the right inspiration.

There are tons of variations on how to soak nuts and turn them into a cream cheese type texture, this is just the way I did it, I can't wait to experiment though to find new ways to do this and new flavors.

1 Cup Raw Almonds, soaked overnight in water
1-2 Teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
3-4 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper

1. Soak almonds overnight in water. After they have soaked, blanch them for 5 minutes in very hot water.
2. Pour off the hot water, pinch off the almond skin and set aside the almond meat.
3. Blend almonds with all remaining ingredients in a food processor.

*If it does not reach the texture you want, add a little bit of water (teaspoonfuls) until it does. I added basil infused sunflower oil at this step to give it a little basil flavor.

Bacon-Wrapped, Almond Cream Cheese Stuffed Dates
1/2 Cup Almond Cream Cheese
14 Dates, Pitted
7 Strips Thinly Sliced Bacon

1. Split a date in half like a hot dog bun, leaving it intact. Fill with a teaspoon or two of the almond cream cheese and freeze for at least one hour.
2. Remove from freezer and turn oven to 375 F.
3. Cut bacon into halves, use one half strip of bacon per date and wrap around.
4. Place dates on a baking rack (raised above cookie sheet) on a foil-lined (easier clean up) jelly roll pan.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until bacon is crisp or close to done, if bacon is not yet ready feel free to crisp it under the broiler.

When A Girl Loves A Cuisinart

2012-02-20T07:30:00.000-06:00

Like most things people tell me I need, a food processor was always a useless object in my mind. Why on earth would I want an industrial capacity to shred things, mix things, etc. when I have a box grater, microplane, blender, immersion blender, hand mixer and stand mixer? No, I definitely don't lack for kitchen gadgets. In fact I technically own a little 3 cup food processor, Kitchen Aid is smart and makes a cool little 'duo' that uses the same motor/base for the blender and food processor. Until this past month I could have counted the number of times my 3 cup food processor was used on one hand...well three fingers to be exact.

What changed? Have I become the slaw queen of the south? Or am I making french fries in such volume that I need to shred them in 7-cup increments? No, not really. I know, it's all the pie crusts I'm whipping up on my grain-free diet...again, no. As I have gotten deeper and deeper into paleo cooking and have started looking to what all the other proclaimed paleo-types on the web do, I've noticed the food process is ubiquitous. Want mayo that doesn't have a bunch of strange scientific-sounding ingredients in it? Food Processor. Love coconut butter but hate the price? Food Processor. Miss rice? Food Processor. I suspect you're seeing the pattern. Anyway, there are a lot of skilled paleo folks out there who do amazing things with food processors and I was tired of being left out of the party. I started small, used my little 3 cup processor about twenty times in one week, started ogling the bigger ones online and in stores and finally made a purchase last week.

This beauty arrived on 2/13:

I'm in love. Plain and simple, how did I live without a food processor??? (Yes mom, you were right). I've been busy whipping up all kinds of yummy stuff, soon I too will be one of the enlightened who is posting their own food processor recipes :) World beware!

Here are a few recipes I've found on the web that have made it into regular rotation:

Coconut Butter
Cold Sesame (Cucumber) Noodles
Zucchini Hummus

The first two come from an amazing blog (written by an Austin girl!) that is full of tasty as can be paleo recipes, The Clothes Make the Girl, I highly recommend it!

When Your CSA Hands You Lemons...

2012-02-16T15:02:00.000-06:00

Week 4 of 8 weeks of hardcore, sugar-free paleo life isn't too bad, some days I end up stretching myself creatively....but sometimes the best solution is right smack in front of you, simplicity is the best answer. When my Farmhouse Delivery box appeared with some beautiful Meyer Lemons and greens aplenty I scratched my head a little. Normally I'd turn those amazing lemons into something sweet, a pie or tart (mmmm) but since adding sugar isn't in the plan right now I had to think of another way to enjoy their special blend of sweet and tart. Greens, well those are easy, olive oil, crushed red pepper, garlic - boom greens solved!

After a little thought I figured I'd make a chicken piccata type dish, with my Meyer Lemons at hand there was no breading needed to make this dish sing! Come to find out, piccata doesn't actually need breading, the word piccata just simply means to pound flat, so any protein can become a 'piccata' without losing the spirit of original dish.

Paleo Chicken Piccata
4 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Dry White Wine
1/2 Cup Chicken Stock
1/4 Cup Meyer Lemon Juice (freshly squeezed)
2 Tbsp Capers (rinsed and drained)
1 Tbsp Freshly Chopped Flat Leaf Parsley
1 Cup Frozen, Halved Artichoke Hearts
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Lay chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper, pound out to about 1/4 inch thickness.
2. Saute chicken in olive oil and brown the outside, approximately 2-3 minutes per side. Remove chicken from pan.
3. Return pan to medium heat, add white wine and chicken stock and scrap bottom of pan with a wooden spoon to remove the brown bits. After wine has come up to a simmer, add artichoke hearts.
4. Add lemon juice and bring artichokes up to temperature.
5. Remove from heat, stir in capers and parsley, serve sauce over chicken.

Along side the chicken I served some sauteed greens and a braised eggplant dish (easiest thing on the planet!). I cut the eggplant into cubes, doused them in an entire jar of fresh marinara sauce (sugar and creepy unpronounceable ingredient free!) and let that bake in the oven at about 350 until the eggplant was cooked.

Sometime the answer is simple :)

Feeding My Inner Book Worm

2012-02-03T09:49:00.000-06:00

I'm a book junkie, really I have more books than I could read in a year, have been known to read more than two or three books at a time and in addition to being a die hard lover of actually, physical books am also completely in love with my Nook Color. So when my sister said she wished she could find a book club I jumped on the bandwagon with her. Instead of finding one (because it seemed like most in our area were reading crappy romance novels and such) we just started our own. Now what started as an excuse to read more books is an excuse to spend more time with good friends and snack on tasty treats. I know, you're shocked that between my love of books and cooking such an event would turn into an excuse to snack :)

This was all well and good for the first few meetings, i.e. pre-paleo challenge time. Cheese, vino and crackers, sliced fruit and veggies abounded during that time. This past week was my turn to host and suddenly I was feeling panicked, what do you serve a mix of paleo/non-paleo folks? Well since we're in strict challenge mode I couldn't tempt myself (or my sis) with cheese or wine (sad) and serving a plate of just straight up veggies and deli sliced turkey was too boring for my inner-chef. So off I went, searching for crowd pleasing, challenge friendly appetizers and snacks. The results, actually pretty good. I ended up with two paleo friendly dips (below), sliced fruit and veggies, some olives, plain plantain chips, homemade pickled veggies, nuts, smoked, peppered pork tenderloin and nitrate-free sliced turkey. All in all not too bad, might even make a reprise for some of these things come Super Bowl Sunday!

First on deck we had a zucchini hummus, many versions of that exist on the web but the one I used was:

Paleo Hummus

3 small or 2 medium zucchini
1/2 cup Tahini
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic

1. Peel zucchini very well so that no green is visible anymore. Chop roughly and drop into food processor.
2. Put tahini, garlic and zucchini together in food processor and pulse until smooth.
3. Add olive oil, lemon juice, salt, cumin and pulse again until well incorporated.

The second recipe was a fruit dip made with coconut butter (yummy), coconut milk, peaches and lime. I'll be messing with this recipe further as I think the texture could be less grainy (a product of my homemade coconut butter I suspect).

1 cup Coconut Butter (feel free to buy this but it's pricey, or you can make it easily, instructions here)
1 can Whole Fat Coconut Milk (I believe the cans are appx 14-16 oz)
2 Whole peaches, pitted
1 Lime, peeled and seeded

1. Drop coconut butter, peaches and lime in the food processor. Pulse until well blended.
2. Slowly add coconut milk, I did this in batches so that it became well incorporated.

Coconut is my newest obsession, I warn you now because it'll likely begin appearing here regularly. Sorry all I have is a pic of the whole spread on Wednesday night, not the individual dips.

Ginger: Beyond the Wasabi

2012-02-01T12:51:00.000-06:00

As I think more about what I put into my body from a 'fuel' perspective I also have started paying more attention to the supposed benefits of some of my favorite herbs and spices. I have always adored various Asian flavors in cooking but have more recently come to love ginger, let's just say I've been a slow adopter. For me, ginger was just that pink stuff (not ham as I so sadly found out many years ago) that sat alongside the wasabi on my sushi order. I have avoided it, been disgusted when large pieces of it appeared in stir fries or soups and have just ignored it for many years. Of late though I've been adding it to marinades, sauces and stir fries beacuse shockingly (yea I know, I'm late to the party), it tastes good!

http://www.ehow.com/how_5985572_make-pickled-ginger.html

Ginger is kind of amazing, it's actually a root (if you leave it on your counter long enough it'll spout greenery and grow!), it can be yellow, white or red in color depending on the variety and has a kin that can be thicker or thinner depending on how mature the plant was when it was harvested. Ginger is sought out for it's medicinal properties from relief of motion and seasickness, anti-inflammatory properties, immunity boosting properties and there are even studies to understand its effects on fighting various cancers. Pretty powerful stuff that you can find in your local grocery store.

http://www.healthytextures.com/articles/20100414/print

The use of ginger dates back over 5,000 years where the ancient Chinese and Indians recognized it's powerful medicinal uses and viewed it as a healing gift from God. While many think of ginger as a very eastern spice, it was actually widely-used in ancient Rome (it was exported via the spice route from India), sadly with the fall of the Roman Empire, ginger fell out of circulation. As the Arab control of the spice trade increased, ginger became a highly prized but very expensive spice used mainly in its preserved form through the Middle Ages. At this time it was very pricey with a value equal to a whole heard of live sheep!

http://www.freefoto.com/preview/01-44-13/Herd-of-sheep--Coquetdale--Northumberland

Ginger did not regain it's full popularity in western countries until about the 11th Century when it was again used for making sweets, cooking meats and in pastes. In the 16th Century, Henvry VIII recommended ginger as a remedy for the plague. It is said that later his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I, invented the gingerbread man, surely the rise of Gingy helped spread ginger!

http://www.desktop4ipad.com/index.php/tag/gingy/

From 1585, Jamaican ginger was the first oriental spice to be grown in the New World and imported back to Europe (wikipedia). Currently India leads the world's production of Ginger with over 30% while China, Indonesia, Nepal and Thailand rounding out the top remaining producers. Ginger is widely used and found across the globe today.

Ok, now for the goodies...what is sure to become one of my favorite paleo stir fry recipes:

Ginger-Pork Stir Fry
2 Thick-cut Pork Chops, butterflied and cut into strips
2 Crowns of Broccoli, cut into small florets
2 Large Red Bell Peppers, or 3 Small, cut into strips
1 Tsp Minced Garlic
2 Tbsp Minced Ginger
2 Tbsp Tamari Soy
2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
5 Green Onions, Chopped

1. Over high heat, add oil to a wok, once oil is sizzling add pork and garlic, saute until pork is browning on outside.
2. Add broccoli and ginger, saute two minutes and add peppers, green onion and tamari.

3. Heat another two to three minutes, don't over cook, you want the veggies to have crunch

Missing the bread? Nope...

2012-01-24T14:42:00.000-06:00

Forget the mac 'n cheese, leave the french toast behind and jettison the baked goodies. Wow, that sounds pretty scary doesn't it? Well, truth be told once you get away from legumes, dairy, grains and sugars you go through some withdrawal, and then as Whole9's Robin Strathdee says, you grieve. After the grieving and the withdrawal the first time I did this I went down the path of trying to paleo-ify everything....yea another bad idea. If you want to understand why that's a bad idea, again I'd direct you to the smart smart folks at Whole9/Whole30, they are definitely opinionated on the subject.

So this time, as I wander back down the path of another Paleo Challenge with Milestone Crossfit I am fighting some serious desires to lapse, go get a block of cheese and say forget it! Instead of doing that I'm trying to find ways to keep making tasty and diverse meals (yes, I get bored easily). Thank God I've got a lot of other folks around to lean on when I'm struggling, and truth is, it's early to be struggling, I'm only in day 4 of an 8 week stint! So last night, coming out of a WOD that beat me up pretty good (yes, I'm slow like a 90 year old today) I was looking for a little good old fashioned comfort food, what's more comforting and meat stuffed with goodies, baked sweet potato and stuffing? Nothing, that's right, nothing!

Paleo Stuffed Pork with Mushroom Stuffing

1lb Pork Cutlet, pounded until thin
1 Granny Smith Apple, chopped
1/2 Large Sweet Onion, chopped
12-14oz Whole Roasted Chestnuts, packed in water (if canned)
1/2 Cup Dried Cherries, chopped
3/4 Cup Dried Apricots, chopped
4 Portobella Mushrooms, chopped
4 Tsp Dried Garlic
4 Tsp Dried Rosemary
5 Tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Chicken Broth
Salt & Pepper to Taste

1. Mix apple, chestnuts, cherries, apricots, 2 teaspoons of the garlic and rosemary together in a medium sized bowl. Lay pork on a cutting board and put about 1 cup of fruit/herb/chestnut mixture inside pork and wrap pork up to look like a tenderloin. Once pork is wrapped, it's best to tie it up with twine/kitchen string. I'm not super fancy with this step, I tie it so it won't all come out as it's cooking but there are great videos, like this one, that show you how to tie it up all pretty.
2. Place pork in an oven safe baking dish. Drizzle remaining garlic, rosemary and 2 tsp olive oil over the top of the pork and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 until cooked and brown (30-45 minutes).
3. While pork is baking, saute onion with 1 tsp olive oil until begins to caramelize, add remaining fruit/chestnut/herb mixture to pan and saute for about five minutes. Add mushrooms and broth to pan and cook until broth has reduced to almost nothing. Stir regularly.
4. When pork is cooked remove from pan and let it rest for a few minutes, slice and serve with stuffing and baked sweet potato.

Chilly Nights of Chili

2012-01-18T12:21:00.002-06:00

I've ranted and raved before about what it takes to be "chili" ok so technically that was about the use of chile in chili...guess that means I can rant about the perfect Texas chili now. What is Texas chili you ask? Well let's see, it is not:

Something that contains beans
Served on a bun
Eaten over spaghetti
Something that has celery, rice, or other funny ingredients in it

Ok, so I'm sure you have some reason why I'm wrong, why? Because everyone who likes chili is passionate about what it contains/doesn't contain, how it's served or what you should eat it with. How can one food inspire such strong feelings, after all it's just a meat stew right? Well it might have something to do with the fact that there are so many regional variations on the dish ranging from ingredients (the aforementioned beans, celery, rice, etc.) to how it's served, in Cincinnati for instance it's served over spaghetti ?!? (if you could only see the alarm on my face!) Generally speaking here in Texas (aka God's Country) we've accepted there are no beans in chili, it isn't served over spaghetti, it's not a sloppy joe and really unless you're in a Tex-Mex restaurant it doesn't go over tortillas/tamales/burritos, etc. It is socially acceptable to serve it over/with Fritos and cheese or cornbread but beware, doing something else will definitely mark you as a non-Texan.

Spicy Whiskey Chili

1/4 cup good quality whiskey
4 teaspoons dried oregano
4 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons cocoa powder
4 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2½ cups beef broth
2 medium onions, cut into ¾-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
3 red or orange bell peppers, stems and seeds removed, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Chalula chipotle hot sauce
2 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons backstrap molasses
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2½ pounds sirloin steak, ground on 'chili' grade grinder
3-4 slices of bacon (3 if it's thicker cut) cut into ½-inch pieces
salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute onions in 1 tablespoon olive oil until they are translucent in a large, heavy bottomed pot or dutch oven. Add bacon once onions turn translucent and let bacon get nearly fully crisped. Add garlic and bell peppers with bacon.
2. Add ground sirloin and let it brown, mixing in 2 teaspoons of oregano, cumin, cocoa powder, and coriander.
3. Add tomatoes with juices to pot along with 2 teaspoons of molasses and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. Add whiskey and beef broth and let it come up to a boil.
4. Once boiling add remainder of dried spices and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon to pot as well as hot sauce. Taste for flavoring and add salt/pepper as needed.
5. Let simmer, stirring occasionally for at least 1 hour, if chili is not at your desired thickness add tomato paste to adjust.
6. Serve with sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream (or greek yogurt) and avocado to top.

While I usually try to stick to a pretty 'paleo' diet anyway, our crossfit box is holding an eight-week paleo challenge starting this Saturday....eight weeks is a long time so I decided it was ok to let myself enjoy some cheese and sour cream with my chili :) If you were to leave those dairy items off the list you'd have a paleo pot of Texas Chili...quite tasty for a chilly winter night!

Note about chili, it's tasty the day of but it gets better with a little sitting around...read as: leftovers are worth fighting for!

Good Old Fashioned Beanless Texas Red Chili

A Duo of Resolutions

2012-01-04T13:37:00.003-06:00

While the New Year is upon us and so many of my friends and family are resolving to be healthier and active I am renewing my commitment to my healthy lifestyle. I am already fairly active, crossfitting (yes its a verb!) pretty much four days a week and running the other three, I found myself slipping back into bad nutritional habits over the week between Christmas and New Years. While I don't feel guilty cheating occasionally I also know the difference between doing whatever and having a bit of discipline, which I had none of during that week! In an effort to right myself and get back on track I decided to pull together a few salads that are combinations of my Farmhouse Delivery box goodies and my favorite Asian flavors.

Beyond my continued resolution of being healthier I wanted to find other self-improvement type resolutions, this year I've decided to get more organized (granted I'm completely inspired by all the fun organization boards and pins on Pintrest) and second, I will get my sweet puppy Sam trained, actually trained not just haphazardly making him sit when need be. Sam is now 10 months old and while he's really good natured and relatively well-behaved we had a scare last week that has made getting him trained all the more necessary. Last week Sammy had to have an unscheduled abdominal exploratory surgery to remove pieces of two dog toys he had eaten along with some garbage....he's doing well now but I have since removed all plush and rope toys from the house, switched all the trash cans to the type that require you to step on them to open them and am watching him like a hawk. Sam now is learning how to live with a nice plastic cone hat, so stylish! He'll have that off on January 13 but until then he's busy running into things with it.

He's ok just sleeping it all off anyway!

First up, a take on a recipe that was featured on the Farmhouse Delivery blog (such a great place for ways to use the fabulous produce I get from them week after week).

Vietnamese Chopped Cabbage Salad

2 chicken breasts, bones and skin removed

1/2 head cabbage, finely shredded

1 small bunch green onion, sliced thin

1 handful cilantro leaves

1 handful mint leaves

1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds, for garnish

1 apple, julienned

2-3 radishes, sliced or julienned

juice of 1 lime

4 Tbs. grapeseed or sesame oil

1 Tbs. soy sauce

3-4 Tbs. fish sauce

1 tsp. siracha chili sauce (substitute chili flakes or tabasco sauce)

2 Tbs. rice wine vinegar

1. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and either broil or saute in sesame oil until cooked.

2. Whisk lime juice, sesame oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, rice wine vinegar and siracha into a dressing.

3. Toss cabbage, green onion, cilantro, mint, apple and radishes, dress with vinaigrette and top with sliced chicken and toasted sesame seeds.

The second recipe is inspired by one of my favorite sandwiches, a Vietnamese Bahn Mi. I don't typically miss bread, etc. much but this sandwich is one of those things I do miss when I see them. Typically featured on a baguette and stuffed with tasty meats, pickled diakon radish and carrot, lettuce, mayo and spiciness they are heavenly! So, after seeing a recipe (thanks Serious Eats!) that looked evil and good for a Bacon Bahn Mi I decided I needed to make a Bahn Mi salad to quell my cravings.

Chicken Bahn Mi Salad

Pickled Veggies (courtesy of Bahn Mi Battle)

1/2 lb. carrots -shredded in food processor, sliced in thin rounds or thin match-like strips.

1/2 lb. daikon radish – cut same as carrots.

3 cups warm water

3 Tablespoons distilled or rice vinegar

2-3 tablespoons sugar, depending on how sweet you want your pickles

2 tablespoons salt

Salad Ingredients
1 head romaine lettuce, washed and torn
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
Broiled or Grilled Chicken Tenders
1/2 cup Cilantro, washed and chopped

Dressing:
4 tablespoons almond butter
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon siracha (or more to taste)
1 to 2 tablespoons water

To make veggies:

1. Mix warm water, vinegar, sugar and salt until everything is dissolved. Choose a pitcher or bowl with a lip that can be used for pouring mixture.

2. Peel, wash and cut daikon & carrots to desired size. Combine both together in bowl and blot dry with paper towel.

3. Fill carrot & daikon mixture into a tight lid jar, bowl or similar container.

4. Pour liquid salt mixture into carrot & daikon container till full. Close lid and let it pickle for about 3-5 days, or till desired sourness. For immediate use, let marinade for about 1 hour.

To make salad:

1. Whisk almond butter, rice vinegar, siracha and water together to create dressing.

2. Toss all salad veggies in dressing, top with chicken strips.

Quick Tuesday Braise

2011-12-07T15:05:00.001-06:00

Most Tuesday evenings I can be found heading to Milestone Crossfit, well let's be real, three nights a week and most Saturday mornings I can be found heading there ;) What that means for my cooking is not too much in the summer when I usually want quick, small, not too cooked bites. What it means in the winter when I usually want a slowly braised hot meal is that I have to either start using my crockpot more (yes I need to do that) or figure out ways to achieve the same flavors as a good braise with less time/effort required. The latest attempt to quickly braise something arose from the need to do something tasty in little time and the need to use up an ever growing pile of veggies coming from my Farmhouse Delivery box. In honor of my quick Tuesday night meals here's one that will certainly make the rounds again...

Quick Braised Cabbage

Head napa cabbage, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 med onion, chopped
1/4 cups chicken stock
Salt, pepper to taste
2 smoked ham hocks
 
1.  Saute ham hocks in olive oil until browned, remove from skillet
 
2,  Add onion, celery and carrot, saute 2 min 
 
3,  Add cabbage
 
4.  Shred pork off hocks, add to skillet
 
5,  Add stock and season, let stock boil down till its nearly gone and serve

ENJOY!

Hunters Pie: Paleo Comfort Food

2011-12-06T12:03:00.001-06:00

It's funny how your tastes change over time. As a kid I went through a phase where I hated shepherds pie, there was something disturbing to me about all that stuff under a potato crust. Looking back on it I think it was the inclusion of peas (mom didn't cook with them all that often but they sometimes appeared in her shepherds pie). Peas have never been a favorite for me, still not sure that they are. Somewhere along the way though I came back around, started enjoying the warmth that a slice of shepherds pie imparts on the eater.

Rejoining the shepherds pie bandwagon I have come up with a recipe I like (and have shared it before), given my recent dietary changes though my pie needed to undergo a little bit of a makeover. This time around I was inspired by a venison roast we had eaten the night before (to be posted soon), the roast was delicious and yet it also yielded plenty of leftovers. Similar to the origins of shepherds pie (a nutritious and delicious way for shepherds to take a meal with them into the fields to tend their flocks), hunters need a nutritious and delicious way to take food with them off to the hunt. It is deer season here in Texas so there is plenty of venison to go around combine it with some sweet potatoes and tasty root veggies you get a hearty and delectible fall/winters eve meal.

Hunters Pie
1 Medium Sweet Onion, Diced
2 Carrots, Chopped
1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
1/2 Large Bunch of Mustard Greens, Chopped
2 Medium Sweet Potatoes, Mashed
1.5lb Venison Roast, Cubed
Salt & Pepper to Taste

1. Saute Onion, Garlic and Carrots with 1 tbsp olive oil and liberal amount of ground black pepper.

2. Once onions and carrots begin to take on brown color, add meat*. If meat isn't cooked, brown very well. If using leftovers/cooked meat just bring to temperature. Once meat is at desired state of brown/heated through, add greens to allow them to wilt.

3. Pour veggie/meat mix in the bottom of a 9x9 pan. Top with mashed sweet potato.

4. Bake at 350 until top begins to brown.

*If you are not using leftovers/pre-cooked meat, season the meat well with basic, salt, pepper and garlic.

Holiday Sides for the Health Conscious

2011-11-28T12:44:00.000-06:00

The holidays are tough with dishes full of heavy cream, butter, bread (mmm yummy bread) and all those things that the healthier set tries to limit or avoid. What's a hungry holiday go-er to do? How about cmoe prepared with your own tasty treats? Here are two of my favorites.

Brussel Sprouts with Tasso Ham and Smoked Cashews
1/2 lb Tasso Ham
1/2 Cup Smoked Cashews
1/2 Cup Chicken Stock
1lb Brussel Sprouts, shredded
1 Tbsp Peach Balsalmic Vinegar
1 Tbsp Garlic, minced

1. Cut fatty portion of tasso ham off, saute in large skillet to render fat; once it has cooked down add brussel sprouts and garlic and saute until sprouts begin to caramelize.
2. Add chicken stock and cook until sprouts are tender.
3. Once tender turn off heat, add vinegar and cashews.

Yes, tasso ham is a cured meat, defintiely not something you should have as an everyday food but in a side dish on occasion it's mighty tasty! If you have a holiday ham this would be a great leftover ham recipe, just some of the tasty bits that are on/near the bone would be delicious if you don't have access to or can't get ahold of tasso.

Fancy Mashed Cauliflower
1 Large Head Cauliflower
1/4 Cup Shredded Sharp White Cheddar
1 Tbsp Vegan Butter
1 Tsp Chopped Fresh Rosemary
Salt & Pepper to Taste

1. Cut cauliflower into florets and steam until very tender.
2. Put cauliflower and butter in blender (or use a hand blender) and puree until desired texture. I prefer it to have some texture and not be 100% smooth.
3. Mix in shredded cheddar, rosemary and seasoning.

Similar to the tasso ham which is a special occasion food, the cheese in this dish isn't strictly Paleo...it's definitely a cheat but for the holidays I feel ok making that addition. If you don't then that's ok, you might want to add a little chicken broth/stock (very small amount) to your puree to add a little more flavor.

Gobble Gobble Graphics

2011-11-24T06:04:00.000-06:00

While I'm more than outspoken on my hobbies, where I live and how I eat, I don't speak much about my job here. It has been a concious choice, I'm not sure my job is always the most interesting but to give you all a glimpse of that other part of my life I am in marketing. Nothing super glam, I manipulate data and help pick strategies based on what that data says. That being said, since I'm a data junkie I love a good graphic. If you're not familiar with the term infographic, all it means is using pictures to show off information in a more consumable format. Yes I could show you charts all day long, but a pretty picture means so much more!

In the spirit of the day and because I love a good infographic (yes I'm a big nerd) here two cool Thanksgiving infographics I've stumbled across this last week.

Happy Turkey Day! Read these, cook good food, be thankful and enjoy your time with family and friends!

Originally found at Huffington Post

Originally found at Visual Economics

Yes, cavemen and women ate seafood

2011-11-21T09:02:00.000-06:00

Eating like a caveman (ok cavewoman) sounds absurd, just the idea that you won't eat things that cave-folk were unable to eat. Then you start thinking about it, that means no boxed/preserved food right? Not so crazy. Yes, I miss Cheetoes...oh well. It also means no legumes, no dairy and no grains. Again, you're probably thinking I'm crazy. Maybe I am but I also am in the best shape I've been in in years, I recover substantially faster from tough workouts than I have ever and I'm learning that I have no limits, eating like a cavewoman is only a small piece of the puzzle but it's definitely helping. So to keep myself interested in what I'm cooking and to keep what I'm doing from becoming 'routine' I have to stay creative, which means 'paleo-fying' recipes I already loved and finding new and interesting things.

A lot of people who make major dietary changes look for ways to force their old tastes into the box of their new diet, I'm not sure I feel that is the best answer. If this is going to stick it's better to make the switch, embrace it and on occasion allow myself a treat that is paleo but is paleo masquerading as non-paleo goodies.

In keeping with my love of the Farmers Market (and the whole, it should be wild thing that Paleo folks recoomend), I have been buying 99.9% of my seafood from a super vendor at my local market, K&S Seafood, they always have an amazing assortment of Gulf seafood, from shirmp and oysters to tuna, flounder or snapper. All summer long I would pick up seafood from them almost on a weekly basis, for no reason other than the fact that everything I've gotten from them has been top notch. So in the spirit of catching up on tasty things and bringing down the queue of recipes I haven't blogged here are two of my seafood delicious dishes from this past summer.

Crab Stuffed Zucchini
1 Large Zucchini, halved with the center scooped out
1/2 Pint Cherry Tomatoes, halved
1 Medium Sweet Onion, diced
1/3 Cup Dessicated Coconut (Unsweet)
1/2 Bunch Green Onions, chopped
1 lb Lump Crab Meat, separated to remove any bits of shell
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Once the oven is hot, place the zucchini halves in large glass baking dishes, put about 1 inch of water in the bottom of the dish and rub a small amount of olive oil along all exposed sides of the cut zucchini. Salt and pepper zucchini and heat in oven until fork tender.
2. While zucchini is cooking, saute sweet onion until tender in a tsp of olive oil. Then after onion is translucent, add remaining zucchini (what you scooped out of the center) and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Turn off heat, mix in cherry tomato halves, fold in crab meat.
4. Stuff zucchini with zucchini-onion-tomato mixture, top with coconut and green onions and put back in oven to brown.
5. Let zucchini brown, if the water has completely evaporated add another inch of water to keep things from drying out.

Poor Girl's Cioppino
1lb Snapper Filets, cut into 2 inch cubes
1 lb Lump Crab Meat, separated to remove any bits of shell

2 Fresh Hatch Chiles, seeded and stemmed
1 Bunch Green Onions, chopped
1 14.5oz cans of fire roasted chopped tomatoes
1 Medium Sweet Onion, Diced
1 Tbsp minced garlic
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1. Saute sweet onion and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil until onion is translucent.
2. Once onion is cooked add 1 diced hatch chile and saute for about two minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and one can of water, let it come up to a boil.
4. Turn down heat so that broth/soup is simmering, let it simmer for 20 minutes. Add salt/pepper to taste.
5. Add snapper and let it cook for about 5-10 minutes (depending on the size of the pieces you cut, you just want the fish to cook in the broth) then turn off soup and add crap in.
6. Serve topped with a slice of hatch chile and chopped green onions.

Apples to apples

2011-11-16T10:56:00.000-06:00

Somewhere between Halloween, the time change and today I realized the holidays are about to come crashing down upon me. Scary thought, 10 days to Thanksgiving...OMG what is a girl to do? Well this girl will start arming herself with all forms of delicious veggie sides, some kind of turkey recipe (we usually turn to a brined turkey but maybe something new) and of course a dessert. It doesn't seem so overwhelming yet but just wait, I'm sure the stress will start getting to me.

Before pilgrims, turkeys and cornucopias come flying my way I want to share some non-turkey influenced recipes centering around my favorite fall ingredients...apples! I have always enjoyed apples in the fall, between caramel apples, apple cider, apple baked goodies and just plain delicious apples it feels like fall when they are around. I was super excited the last few weeks to receive apples in my Farmhouse Delivery box, who can beat local apples after all? For those of you unfamiliar with Farmhouse Delivery, they are a very cool service from here in Austin that delivers bi-weekly or weekly produce boxes to your home or office. While I am slightly outside their delivery zone I get a weekly box delivered to my parents house; each Thursday. I greedily look forward to the contents of that box starting long before pickup on Thursday and then happily share it with my family. It is a constant reminder of the diversity of products available in this area. On top of the produce that is routine (and ever changing) in each box, you can order meats, canned goods, eggs, cheese and other extra grocery goodies to be delivered as well. It's amazing how a $39 box has decreased my grocery store trips! The other neat perk to this is that while they will swap out items due to dietary constraints, having that box delivered with whatever is available, fresh and seasonal means you have to work with it. Just like other CSA-type programs I have opened up my box to find everything from pears to grapefruits and greens or even turnips (no, I don't know what I'm doing with those yet).

Running backwards after my trip down the Farmhouse Delivery rabbit hole...the main event today, apples.

First up, a twist on a Cooking Light recipe, Savory Baked Apples.

Stuffed Savory Apples
Inspired by Cooking Light

2/3 cup chicken broth

4 large Honeycrisp apples, cored

1 lb ground pork

3/4 cup finely chopped sweet onion

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon dried rubbed sage

1/2 cup sharp white cheddar, shredded (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Using a small spoon, carefully scoop out centers of apples, leaving a 1/2-inch-thick shell, and chop apple flesh. Brush the inside of apples with a small amount of broth. Place apples on a baking sheet, and bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until just tender.
3. Preheat broiler to high.
4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork, and sauté 5 minutes, stirring to crumble. Remove from pan; drain. Add chopped apple, onion, sage, salt and red pepper, sauté 4 minutes. Add garlic; sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add pork, onion mixture, walnuts and divide mixture evenly among apples; top with cheese. Broil for 5 minutes or until golden.

This year the Honeycrisp apples have been delicious, I will eat two maybe three in a day (if they aren't the massively big ones). Apples appear in stuffings (haven't found my 'paleo' alternative to the bread yet), soups, stews, baked with cinnamon and agave nectar over the top and now as a main dish.

Apart from the stuffed apples, I also made a mean pork-apple soup a few nights back. I don't mind soups, as a rule I used to love them as an excuse to have a nice crusty loaf of bread around, I think that's part of why I've avoided having a lot of soup since switching to my mostly-paleo diet. Frankly this soup was delicious and would've been tasty with some crusty warm bread but being a good girl there was none to be found!

Pork & Apple Soup

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Pork and Apple Stew

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound pork sirloin, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

Salt and pepper

1 onion, chopped

1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds, (optional)

4 cups chicken stock

1 cups water

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 pound green cabbage, shredded (about 2 cups)

2 tart green apples such as Granny Smith, unpeeled, cut into 3/4-inch chunks

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. In a Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Toss pork with 2 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add meat to the pan, and brown, turning occasionally, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

2. Reduce heat to medium-low, add remaining 1 tablespoon oil, onion, and caraway seeds, if using, and cook until onion softens, about 3 minutes. Stir in stock, water, mustard, cabbage, pork, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Add apples, and continue cooking, covered, for 10 minutes.

3. Just before serving, stir in chopped parsley. Be careful not to simmer soup too long, extensive cooking will turn the pork tough.

The final recipe isn't as detailed, or even a recipe so much but instructions on making one of my favorite desserts. It's quite simple really, core an apple (or two or three or pears or both), put it into an oven safe dish. Put a few teaspoons of agave nectar or honey as well as flax seed granola (one of my favorite local finds - Flax Z Snacks) and then toss it in the oven (350F) until the fruit is tender.

Tagine Tuesday?

2011-10-17T16:45:00.000-05:00

I am always on the lookout for new and interesting ways to cook things, my family (who knows this) gave me a very cool birthday gift this year (aka a new way to cook stuff), a tagine. Tagines are a North African/Moroccan earthen ware pot that traditionally is made out of heavy clay. Not all tagines are glazed but some are beautifully painted and some are glazed, thankfully mine is, it made clean up a breeze. These days you can find a fantastic tagine at any good kitchen store in material ranging from clay to enameled cast iron. Tagines are great for braising tougher cuts of meat, they slowly let the contents simmer away in their juices while the dome provides a crock-pot like environment where the steam stays trapped inside the dish. The result: deliciousness!

Image from Emily Avila

Last week I was feeling inspired (and needed to use a whole chicken I'd purchased) and cut up a chicken and veggies and seasoned it before I went to CrossFit. There is nothing better than walking in the door after a hard-fought workout to the smells of a simmering dinner. The possibilties for the tagine are endless, the spice, protien and veggie combos are infinite, I can't wait to cook up something else new, I have a feeling that I might start seeing the tagine in action a lot more.

Moroccan Chicken Tagine

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon tumeric

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 chicken, 3-4 lbs, cut into 8 pieces

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1 lemon, sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds

1 cup green olives, pitted

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup dried apricots

1. Combine all the spices in a large bowl. Pat dry the chicken pieces and put in the bowl, coat well with the spice mixture. Let the chicken stand for one hour in the spices.
2. In a large, heavy bottomed skillet, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces, sprinkle lightly with salt (go easy on the salt, the olives and lemons are salty), and brown, skin side down for five minutes. (If you are using a clay tagine, you will skip the browning step, and bring oven up to 325F.) Lower the heat to medium-low, add the garlic, onion, apricot and liquids. If using clay tagine, bake in oven for 3 hours instead of simmering.