tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89544545538913092652024-03-05T01:46:07.216-06:00Primal TexasAndrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-8102289306479558682012-04-17T08:00:00.000-05:002012-04-17T09:34:41.827-05:00Green SoupI'll always encourage folks to eat the seasons. I try to do so as much as possible by participating in a <a href="http://primaltexas.blogspot.com/2012/03/primal-economics-102-produce.html" target="_blank">local CSA</a> and growing fruit and veg in my backyard. The coolers of veg we've been getting this time of year are brimming with greens. As much as I LOVE wilted greens (cooked in bacon grease, chicken fat, Kerrygold, etc.), I need other options. Enter: my wife.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnoyehc1DxqgoBb0VfzcUmJlp7qhnsJIF17QXnB7-Vb7QA0OBbDiC6B-UpFGoRmSpyAt6gYy-kDU_YOwSqLlwuUpJCS0yBAE4BbvNWDEqrDDlixA1kYNBIqQtOZg8g8iP9SEOlxd235I/s1600/IMG_0251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnoyehc1DxqgoBb0VfzcUmJlp7qhnsJIF17QXnB7-Vb7QA0OBbDiC6B-UpFGoRmSpyAt6gYy-kDU_YOwSqLlwuUpJCS0yBAE4BbvNWDEqrDDlixA1kYNBIqQtOZg8g8iP9SEOlxd235I/s320/IMG_0251.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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She doesn't cook too often. While I do 80-90% of the cooking in our house, her less frequent contributions are awesome. This recipe of hers has been a staple in our house during the springtime for at least a couple of years now.<br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Green Soup</em></strong></span><br />
<br />What you'll need:<br />
Stock pot<br />
Immersion blender<br />
Spoon<br />
<br />
Ingredients:<br />
2 tbsp butter<br />
1 cup diced onions<br />
3 cloves garlic, minced<br />
3 cups chicken stock<br />
1+ lb. assorted greens<br />
1 can coconut milk<br />
Salt and pepper to taste<br />
<br />Melt the butter over med-low heat in your stock pot. Add the diced onions and minced garlic and saute until the onions start to become translucent. Add the chicken stock and raise the heat to med-high. When the stock starts to simmer, add in all of your assorted greens. Lightly season with sea salt. Allow the greens to wilt for about 5-10 minutes (some greens are heartier than others and need longer to break down). Remove the pot from the heat after all of the greens have wilted.<br />
<br />With an immersion blender, blend the stock and greens together until you get a smooth, consistent texture. With a spoon, stir in the can of (full fat) coconut milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper.<br />
<br />A few notes: (1) When I say assorted greens, I mean whatever you have. This past week, we used red and green romaine, turnip and radish greens... and softened the radishes in butter with the garlic and onions. (2) If you don't have an immersion blender, you can blend the stock and greens in a regular blender... It might just take a couple of batches to finish. Also, (3) feel free to add shredded chicken or garnish with crumbled bacon. A little protein doesn't hurt.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIL9oCvLAYWJrj3z12B1Jj_fZhLC21dOyKqYQVgqSqHJ6Qz4DD_T8GBYVBAhOx0IICWTNyglWXIul7Vw_KqNEtB_S-luXOe3eH722ePyAAWeOJhzryBv_9vvC3nVeB1MNCCEbg2CzDjI/s1600/IMG_0261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiIL9oCvLAYWJrj3z12B1Jj_fZhLC21dOyKqYQVgqSqHJ6Qz4DD_T8GBYVBAhOx0IICWTNyglWXIul7Vw_KqNEtB_S-luXOe3eH722ePyAAWeOJhzryBv_9vvC3nVeB1MNCCEbg2CzDjI/s320/IMG_0261.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
<br />Ladies and gentlemen, green soup.Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-27004814490462484392012-04-16T17:00:00.000-05:002012-04-16T17:00:06.066-05:00"Horchata" Protein Shake<br />
Horchata is a sweet Mexican rice milk... somewhat of an "agua fresca." The homemade stuff you'll find in little taquerias all across this state is made with rice, milk... and sugar. Hmmm... at least one of these things strikes me as "not very paleo or primal."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyOQcRD7GuloZEbCsAMcn7wa49AhuT-97CTukMYss7TO86TvTeZA4jbV65K7w4COANbK5ceqsiQ7s-IVJWhv6cKrPH1VH0goF4YIHnhVIP7g-D8Qr4MMYG-G463hOdh4tmHXy8v1gIzE/s1600/Horchata.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyOQcRD7GuloZEbCsAMcn7wa49AhuT-97CTukMYss7TO86TvTeZA4jbV65K7w4COANbK5ceqsiQ7s-IVJWhv6cKrPH1VH0goF4YIHnhVIP7g-D8Qr4MMYG-G463hOdh4tmHXy8v1gIzE/s1600/Horchata.jpg" /></a></div>
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One of the guys I work with comes up to me and asks where I got the horchata I'm drinking. I looked down at my protein "shake" and thought about correcting him. But, after thinking about it for a half second... the way I mix my protein looks, smells, and kind of tastes like horchata. So, this is either an accidental recipe for faux horchata or an intentional recipe for how I drink my protein.<br />
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"Horchata" Protein Shake<br />
(makes 1 serving)<br />
<br />12 oz water<br />
1 1/2 scoops of vanilla flavored 365 Whey Protein Powder<br />
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon<br />
1 packet stevia<br />
8 oz ice cubes<br />
<br />
In 12 ounces of water, shake or mix the protein powder, cinnamon and stevia until well combined. When all is mixed well, add ice cubes and shake a few times to chill the drink. Enjoy.<br />
I find what I've described above to be a nice, occasional sweet refreshment for the times I find myself hungry between meals. While you can use whatever type of protein powder you desire (check servings/measurements), I'm going to recommend the vanilla flavored 365 Whey Protein Powder available at most Whole Foods Markets. I came to use this brand after a lot of price comparisons and label searches. You don't have to look far to find some overpriced protein powders... nor do you have to look much further to find ones with insane amounts of added sugars and gut bacteria killing artificial sweeteners. While the 365 vanilla is sweetened with "sweet dairy whey," the chocolate variety has added glucose.<br />
<br />Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-34787376790064038952012-04-12T14:00:00.000-05:002012-04-16T16:48:01.138-05:00How to Get Started in "Paleo"... and Where It Leads<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are 100+ ways to define paleo.
<a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-101/#axzz1rliKaswL" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Primal</span></a> is just a more
specific version. And while my paleo kitchen may not even match up
ideologically with some of the other folks I swap recipes and produce with...
it all falls under the same <a href="http://chriskresser.com/beyond-paleo-moving-from-a-paleo-diet-to-a-paleo-template" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">paleo template</span></a>. Look...
What works for me may not work exactly as well for you. We're all built and
wired (physically, mentally and emotionally) differently.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I had a friend call me the other day
and ask me what I've been doing to get healthier. He's put on some extra weight
and is now frustrated to the point where he's willing to try what has worked
for me. Which begged the question... How do I explain to him what worked for
me? I decided to keep it simple. Below is the one page summary (italicized) that I sent him... my best effort to spell out what a paleo/primal
lifestyle requires.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Anyone can do this…
because it’s easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most people won’t…
because it’s “too hard.”</span></i></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">80% of body
composition change is tied to what you eat. </span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Fat
loss is diet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Muscle gain is diet and
exercise… but even so, you can gain muscle by eating the right things and not
working out.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Train like a monster, not like a hamster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i></b><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Constant cardio for
the purpose of losing weight… scares me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Constant cardio will make a person lose as much muscle weight as fat
weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t want to lose muscle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want to use muscle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you want to be the hamster on the
treadmill or the king of the jungle? News flash: Lions don’t do cardio to
maintain their figure.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><strong><em>6 Days a Week:</em></strong></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><strong>I eat lots of:</strong> </em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><strong>Meat</strong> (beef, chicken, pork, salmon, cod, tuna, turkey, lamb, bacon, etc.)</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em><strong>Veggies</strong> (especially spinach, broccoli, asparagus, okra, cauliflower, turnips, onions, carrots... and anything else that is in season)</em></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Eggs</em></span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>I eat some:</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Fruit</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Whey protein powder</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Sweet potatoes</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Dried fruit</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Nuts</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Milk</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Cheese</em></span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Every now and then:</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Dark chocolate (> 70%)</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Dark beer</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Red Wine</em></span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>I avoid:</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Sugar</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Flour</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Wheat</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Soy</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Corn </em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Beans</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><em>Peanuts</em></span></strong><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><em>On the 7th day...</em></span></strong><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><em>I eat whatever I want. Really. Anything.</em></span></strong><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">If you want to try this (for the purposes of losing fat), you’ll need:</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Scale</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Tape measure</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">A notepad</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Time to cook</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Containers to store what you’ve cooked</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">A lunch bag</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Ice packs</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">On the morning of
the 7<sup>th</sup> day, I workout, weigh and measure myself (chest, belly,
thighs).Throughout the rest of the day, I eat whatever I want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I had a craving earlier in the week, I
sometimes make note of it so I can indulge on the weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Over the course of the weekend, I prepare my
breakfast and lunches for the weekdays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
are packed away in containers on the shelf of my fridge, waiting to be put in
my lunch cooler before I leave for work each day.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">A couple of days during the week I’ll workout… A
couple of days during the week I’ll walk/sprint/jog. The other days, I rest.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I try to make sure
I get 8 hours of sleep each night, too.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This is the protocol I came up with
to get myself <strong><em>started</em></strong>... and just about anybody can tweak it to fit their life.
Not everybody is able to go cold turkey and go <a href="http://whole9life.com/" target="_blank">Whole 9</a> for 30 days right off the bat. Some folks can manage the 30 days just fine... but go off the deep end to compensate for their restrictions at the end of the challange. I believe the 7th day keeps most people sane.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There are some extreme statements in there, too... things that might deserve an
asterisk or footnote. But this is the answer I give when someone asks what how
I got started. When they start disecting it and asking further questions, we
start to smooth the rough edges and clarify some statements.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While this is how I got started, it is certainly not an
exact measure of how I live/eat today. It is a less than comprehensive list of everything I eat or avoid. And, that 7th day?... My definition of
"<strong><em>anything</em></strong>" has certainly changed over the course of the past year. Nowadays, my 7th day doesn't get much more
extreme than something like an order of gluten free chicken and waffles from <a href="http://companycafe.net/" target="_blank">Company Cafe</a> and maybe something off of the "every now and then" list. I've come to find that the closer my consumption on the 7th day mimicked a
Standard American Diet (SAD), the more hungover I felt the next day. Sound odd?
Watch Dr. Lustig's YouTube video titled <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">Sugar: The Bitter Truth</span></a> to find out how sugar is
processed by your body. Doesn't sound so odd to me, now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-15541365622366762732012-03-28T01:00:00.000-05:002012-03-28T08:17:55.263-05:00Primal Texas Gardening ResourcesAfter the suffocating summer we endured last year (and a shortage of bees), my wife and I had trouble getting much of anything started in our vegetable patch for this past fall/winter. That said, we were more than ready to get the early spring vegetables going in our garden. Ready enough to start planting in February. In these unseasonably warm first few months of the year… we decided to gamble. We planted a number of seeds in the last week of February, waited two weeks and planted more. Things are looking good as we seem to have survived March without a frost or freeze.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">My wife and one of last year's turnips!</span></div>
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Hope springs eternal this time of year. We all have visions of what we want our lawn and garden to look like; lush, green, bountiful. And before reality starts flooding in, we head to the store to stock up on seeds, fertilizers and supplies. Know that not all stores are the same… and where you get your supplies may play a role in the success of your garden.<br />
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Just as I would encourage you to buy your produce from as local of a source as you can… buy seeds and seedlings that will thrive in your area, as well. This is less likely to happen in your big box stores advertising on TV. Think about it… Wal-Mart buys toothpaste in large quantities and distributes the exact same product in their stores all across the country. Using the same model (to manage costs in their purchasing department), Home Depot/Lowes will buy their seed packets, tomato seedlings, and “5-gallon bucket” trees in bulk and ship them out to stores in every corner of the country. Toothpaste works just as well in Washington as it does in Texas. Apple trees don’t. But that doesn’t stop the folks in orange aprons from trying to sell me an apple tree for my yard in Dallas, Texas. It may grow, but it will never thrive or fruit like it would in a more hospitable climate. [I wonder if they try to sell citrus trees/shrubs in Anchorage, AK?]<br />
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The big box stores are hoping to wedge their way into our lawn and garden dreams (and wallet)... regardless of our regional realities. Fear not. There is usually someone in town that sells not only what you need. Yes, the small businesses I will refer to are trying to get into your wallet, as well. I’ve found that you get a better return on your investment from them, though. Support your local gardening store. The folks working there have lawns and gardens just like yours… and will more capably answer any question you have about any problem you might be facing. Chances are, they have (or someone else working there has) faced the same obstacle. <br />
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I walked into Redenta’s last summer with a couple of leaves that looked like they’d endured shotgun blasts and a half eaten tomato covered in tiny black bugs. They were quickly able to tell me (the inexperienced gardener) that I had cabbage loopers (punching holes in the leaves) and a furry critter dining in our garden. The flea beetles were of little to no consequence. Verdict? Spend more time with the plants, picking off cabbage loopers and other pests as I see them. If that wasn't enough... a spray form of bacilulus thuringiensis (bt) that kills cabbage loopers, but is not harmful to humans, pets, birds or beneficial insects. As for controlling the furry critter?... Get a dog. Or buy some fox urine. The scavenger just needs to know that a predator of some sort has already "claimed" that area.<br />
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When I presented the same pieces of evidence to the folks at Home Depot, we spent five minutes looking for somebody who might know what to do... and then found a couple of poisons to spray throughout the garden.<br />
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In summary, just as you would buy local produce to eat... grow local produce variants. If you want to know what works in your area, ask the fine folks at your local gardening store. Listed below are a few of the places I use (and would recommend) in the Dallas area. Please feel free to chime in with a comment if you have any other recommendations in the Dallas market or elsewhere in the Lone Star state.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.redentas.com/" target="_blank">Redenta’s</a> - Fantastic, friendly staff... They'll tell you what they're growing, what has worked and failed for them, and will make recommendations specific to your yard and its soil/lighting.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.roachfeedandseed.com/" target="_blank">Roach Feed & Seed</a> - Great stock and knowledgeable staff.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.dallasarboretum.org/" target="_blank">Dallas Arboretum</a> - The people who work here love what they do... to the point that their work/love carries over into their personal gardens. Small stock, but this place is a treasure trove of ideas and knowledge.</li>
</ul>Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-70252537613475661922012-03-23T01:00:00.000-05:002012-03-23T12:39:17.489-05:00Primal Economics 102 - ProduceI wasn't always a fan of the produce section. The veg in my shopping cart used to come in the way of some canned green beans, an onion, a few out of season roma tomatoes and a bag of frozen french fries. Oh, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketchup_as_a_vegetable" target="_blank">ketchup</a>. [Odds are the tomatoes were going to go bad sitting on my counter.] My shopping cart slowly evolved over the years... and the places I got my produce from changed, as well.<br />
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While most Central Market grocers have well organized and beautifully arranged produce sections, you have to do a little digging to find what little organic produce they stock. Whole Foods carries more organic produce... but you're going to pay for it. Listed below are a few of the other ways you can affordably source your produce.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)</em></strong></span><br />
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Once a week, for about 8 months out of the year (long growing season down here), my wife and I pick up a cooler full of locally grown, organic produce from a farmer named Gene. How did we come to find out about Gene and his super secret dropoff spot? No big secret, really. Go to the <a href="http://www.localharvest.org/csa/" target="_blank">Local Harvest</a> website, enter your zip code, and you'll get information on every farmer in your area that delivers. Gene, the owner of <a href="http://oakridgeorganics.com/" target="_blank">Oak Ridge Valley Farms Organics</a> (our CSA), is one of 13 local farmers to deliver to the DFW area. In addition to produce, he also offers eggs shares (dark orange yolks!) and opportunities to get in on the occasional grass-fed cow that goes to slaughter. While I highly recommend Gene's farm, there may be someone with a more convenient dropoff for you. Check the list of farmers in your area.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Farmer's Markets</em></strong></span><br />
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There are probably more than you know. In the Dallas area alone, they can be found in Frisco, Coppell, Rockwall... and, of course downtown Dallas. Be wary, though. Just because the folks selling to you are more personable than the kid stocking the produce section at your local grocer, doesn't mean they grew the produce themselves. Or that it was even grown locally. Even at the gigantic Dallas Farmer's Market, the bulk of the produce is shipped in from all over the world. That juicy pineapple they're offering you a slice of didn't come from East Texas. Be smart about your shopping at the farmer's market... just as you would in the grocery store. <a href="http://www.eattheseasons.com/" target="_blank">Eat the seasons</a>. And if something isn't labelled, ask questions. Where did it come from? Is it organic? If the vendor is worth their salt, they'll be happy to answer. Heck. If they grew it themselves, they'll talk your ear off about how they grew it, the rain they have(n't) been getting and what they'll be harvesting next week.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong><em>Backyard Gardening</em></strong></span><br />
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If you have an area of full sunlight, you have an opportunity for a backyard garden. It doesn't get more locally sourced than that. Don't think you have enough space? Grow tomatoes, herbs and peppers in pots. Bad soil? Grow everything above ground in a <a href="http://www.squarefootgardening.com/" target="_blank">square foot garden</a>. That little 4x4 plot (shown above) my wife and I started last year gave us everything from mustard greens to cucumbers to peppers, snap peas, spinach and turnips. We had tomatoes, beets, and radishes on the other side of the yard. Have picky eating kids? They probably love getting dirty... and might try a few of those previously untouched vegetables if they had a hand in growing them.<br />
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We did our first round of planting a few weeks ago and should get our first CSA dropoff next weekend. There will be significantly less veg in our shopping cart... but more on our dinner plates. You can probably expect a few more veggie driven recipes in the weeks to come. <br />
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To break it down, in the growing season we probably get 50% of our produce from our CSA, 25% from the backyard and the remaining 25% from the Dallas Farmer's Market and Whole Foods. Fiscally, I may not spend <em>significantly</em> less than I would if I shopped at a grocery store alone... but I waste less food (and I do actually spend less). <br />
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It's harder to waste something when you know (or are) the person who grew it.Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-87754450932805619282012-03-22T01:00:00.000-05:002012-03-22T01:00:01.693-05:00Bacon Rosemary CodI haven't done anything with seafood in a while. I take that back. I haven't <em>posted </em>anything to do with seafood in awhile. I made salmon cakes a couple of weeks back. On the plus side, they tasted great! They just weren't very appealing to the eye. Worth trying again later, though. <br />
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You may or may not have noticed... I'll wrap bacon around just about anything. Dates, <a href="http://primaltexas.blogspot.com/2011/10/bacon-wrapped-eggs.html" target="_blank">eggs</a>, chicken livers (a-frickin'-mazing)... and fish. Looking at this recipe, instead of cod, you could probably sub in chicken tenders or some sort of lean beef cut into strips. But, cod plays nicely in this dish. It has a good, firm texture and it's not a fishy fish (for those who complain about such things). And, considering the fact that my freezer is stocked with the 2.5 pounds of the cod I bought at Sam's... it's time to make cod.<br />
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To prepare...<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Bacon Rosemary Cod</strong></span><br />
Makes 4 servings<br />
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What you'll need:<br />
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An oven preheated to 375<br />
Baking dish<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
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4 pieces of cod loin (I used 5 ounce pieces)<br />
4-8 rosemary sprigs (as long as the cod loins)<br />
4 strips of bacon<br />
Salt and pepper to taste<br />
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Pat your cod loins dry. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Lay the 1 or 2 rosemary sprigs across the top of each cod loin. Secure the rosemary to the cod loin by wrapping a strip of bacon around the whole thing. Place the bacon wrapped pieces of cod in a baking dish. Place the dish on the middle rack of your 375 degree oven. After 15 minutes, turn on the broiler in your oven. Let the bacon brown and crisp for at least 5 minutes under the broiler. Remove the dish when the bacon is crisped to your satisfaction.<br />
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Before cutting into your cod, remove the rosemary stem by simply pulling it from one end. Some of the needles will stay tucked in between the bacon and cod. Eat them. <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/health-benefits-herbs/" target="_blank">Rosemary is good for you</a>. The cod shown below was served with garlic butter wilted kale. I love butter... and bacon. Kale is pretty good in my book, too. This made me happy.<br />
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Ladies and gentlemen, bacon rosemary cod.Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-80184173253817370812012-03-18T18:19:00.000-05:002012-03-18T18:19:27.337-05:00Restaurant Review - Louis Mueller BarbecueStepping outside of your own kitchen, you lose control of how your food is prepared. Most restaurants will give you a brief description of the dishes on their menu... but few will tell you what is actually in them. Do enough digging online, and you can find out how much MSG you choked down at a national chain... and how many more ingredients there were in their crispy french fries (aside from potatoes, oil and salt). <em>Caveat emptor.</em><br />
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Having been in Austin for PaleoFX12, we decided to stop at <a href="http://www.louiemuellerbarbecue.com/" target="_blank">Louis Mueller Barbecue</a> on our way out of town. Louis' is a mere 45 minutes northeast of downtown Austin, we took "the long way" home. It was well worth the side trip.<br />
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Driving east on Highway 79, you'll find Louis Mueller's in the middle of Taylor, TX. It's in an unassuming brick building, but easy enough to find. It's the restaurant with the packed parking lot and the big American flag flying out front. Walk on in and get in line. After you pass the large urns of ice tea and other beverages, you'll come to the menu taped to the wall. As you can see below, it doesn't look like they've changed much over the years.<br />
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I'll rattle off the list of ingredients in the brisket we ate: grass-fed beef, salt, pepper. The pork ribs? Seasoned with salt and pepper. The sausage? Beef, tallow, and seasoning. Oh, wait... what? Yes, I said grass-fed brisket. Behind the register was another sign posted advertising grass-fed brisket for $14.99/lb "while it lasts." As this was only $2 more per pound than the regular menu item... and we wanted nothing to do with any of their sides (all dressed with Kraft mayo)... my wife and I had them load up our tray.<br />
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To be sure, we got odd looks from a couple of the other patrons walking past our table. Their peckish portions of meat were surrounded by bread, beans and other filler. That's fine for them, but we didn't go to Louis Mueller's for the side dishes. I mean, really... who goes to any barbecue joint because a friend tells them, "You've GOT to try their coleslaw!" It's about meat. All of that scary <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/will-eating-red-meat-kill-you/" target="_blank">red meat that is supposed to kill me</a>.<br />
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One other thing to note, before slicing your brisket, they will ask you if you want "lean or moist." Moist is their nice way of saying "fatty." Get the moist... especially if you opt for the grass-fed. And, if you're like me, grab a few extra napkins (because I found a fork to be unnecessary).<br />
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Ladies and gentlemen, Louis Mueller Barbecue... is Primal Texas approved.<br />
<br />Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-35775402045542066812012-03-16T01:00:00.000-05:002012-03-16T01:00:04.827-05:00What is a Paleo/Primal Kitchen?The question of how to stock a primal or paleo pantry is a common one... and each of our answers are a little different. While we all stock our fair share of meat and vegetables, the details start to vary from there on. But what about the actual kitchen itself?<br />
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I imagine the original paleo kitchen was pretty simple: a fire, a knife and maybe a flat stone that could be heated and cooked on... maybe a mortar and pestle. Even looking back a mere hundred years or so, most people would be lost in a kitchen circa the turn of the 20th century. No ice or filtered water dispensed from the refridgerator door? No dial on the oven to meter the temperature inside? No food processor? No microwave? <br />
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Just as the human diet has changed and evolved over the centuries, so have the kitchens we use. I started thinking about how and why...<br />
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Some of the kitchen's evolutationary changes are driven by necessity. I don't (have to) hunt for meat on a daily basis. But while I can stock up and buy meat for a month or so... I need a freezer to store it in. Likewise with vegetables and fruits, I can gather a week's worth of produce at once and keep it in the drawers of my refrigerator. In a sense, we're still hunter-gatherers... we've just changed how we go about those activities.<br />
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But what about the changes that are driven only by convenience? They're not always a bad thing. Steak knives rock. The food processor saves me loads of time (and possibly injury). My microwave comes in pretty handy for quickly heating up water to steep tea in and reheating food that I made earlier in the week. But aside from those two functions, I've been racking my brain and can't think of any other use I have for my microwave.<br />
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Since changing the way I feed myself, I've added a grease strainer/keeper and a butter crock to my kitchen arsenal. Some of my tools have been repurposed. I use my "ice cream" scoop to portion meatballs. Ultimately, half of the stuff in my cabinets has become irrelevant to me. My toaster?... nothing to toast. The juicer (in the far reaches of the cabinet above the fridge)?... not going to strip down my fruit/veg. Cabinets filled with more storage containers than I need (probably not even all mine) and drawers stuffed with more gadgets than I use (... A local charity is about to get an interesting box of donated goods). And then there is the pantry. A quarter of it is spices, seasonings and oils. Another quarter is canned fish, nuts, dried fruit and tea. And half of it is empty.<br />
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I used to have a vision of the perfect kitchen... probably not unlike one in a newly built model home. Spacious counters, cabinet space galore and a ginormous pantry. Room for all of my appliances and tools. But the more I think about it, the less I think I need. <br />
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If you've made the transition to a paleo or primal lifestyle, how has your kitchen changed? Is there anything you no longer use? What tools and implements have you added? Is these anything "new" you can no longer live without?Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-73471786274648650212012-03-15T07:00:00.000-05:002012-03-15T07:00:02.498-05:00Apple Cinnamon BitesThese little guys are in a freezer bag tucked away in my backpack as I wander around PaleoFX. I kind of wish there was a time activated sensor that rationed these out to me... then I wouldn't need "self-control." While they certainly aren't cookies in a traditional sense (no sugar, flour, etc.), eating them in excess will still not do me favors. Eating almonds, apples and raisins are all better for you than cookies... but you can easily eat too many of those things as well.<br />
<br />I thought about naming these Cinnamon Raisin Apple Paleos... but they taste way better than that acronym would imply. To make these...<br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Apple Cinnamon Bites</strong></span><br />
Makes approximately 20<br />
<br />What you'll need:<br />
<br />An oven preheated to 350<br />
Mixing bowl<br />
Baking sheet<br />
Parchment paper<br />
Small "ice cream" scoop<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
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1 cup almond butter<br />
1 cup apple, chopped fine<br />
1/2 cup raisins <br />
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, chopped fine<br />
1 tsp cinnamon<br />
2 eggs<br />
<br />Combine the almond butter, chopped apples, raisins, coconut, cinnamon and eggs (all ingredients) in the mixing bowl. Stir until well incorporated. Depending on the density of the almond butter, this could take a little bit of time and muscle (or a few second on low power in the microwave to soften it up a bit).<br />
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Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. I this thing that looks like a small ice cream scoop to portion out the mix. It probably has a name. I don't bake... or know what to call it. You could use a spoon, I guess. Each scoop/spoonful is about 2-3 tablespoons worth. Drop the scoops onto the baking sheet with about 1/2 space between each one (no baking powder/soda... no spreading). Press each one down with your fingers (or the back of the scoop/spoon) to flatten.<br />
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Place the baking sheet in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes... or until they reach your desired level of browning. Remove from the oven and let cool. Enjoy.<br />
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Ladies and gentlemen, Apple Cinnamon Bites.Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-48025984239763512272012-03-13T07:00:00.000-05:002012-03-13T09:37:25.113-05:00Other People's Food - Volume 2My wife and I went to a formal dinner this weekend. I'm always interested in seeing how other people plate and portion food. Looking down at my plate, I was shocked at the lack of veg. At first, I rationalized that it might have something to do with budgeting... managing costs for an event that was serving a couple hundred people. But then I saw the tenderloin on everyone's plate that weighed in around 6-8 ounces. If they can afford to feed us all beef tenderloin, they can afford to give us more than two skinny asparagas stalks and an equally atrophied carrot. The food wasn't meant to be the focus, so all in all, it was a great event. I'm just saying...<br />
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Listed below are a couple of the recipes that have supplemented the menu in my house the last couple of weeks...<br />
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<a href="http://paleomg.com/banana-bread-french-toast/" target="_blank">Banana Bread French Toast</a><br />
This was a-freakin-mazing. Last meal worthy. If I would have died somewhere between this meal and lunch, I would have died happy. I will suggest that the notion of this recipe making "2-4 servings" is a amusing to me. My wife and I destroyed the whole loaf after a <a href="http://www.crossfitwhiterock.com/workout/ImPRESS+Me/37410" target="_blank">Saturday morning WOD</a>... and some bacon. I suppose (if you're more disciplined than I am) you could stretch this into 4 servings...<br />
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<a href="http://www.health-bent.com/proteins/cuban-pork-tenderloin" target="_blank">Paleo Cuban Pork Tenderloin</a><br />
I couldn't wait for this to get out of the oven... except I did wait because nobody wants trichinosis. Crispy pork on the outside, warm pickles and cheese on the inside. I ate mine with a side of jalepeno <a href="http://primaltexas.blogspot.com/2012/01/sweet-potato-hash-with-eggs.html" target="_blank">sweet potato hash</a>.<br />
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I look forward to more food from kitchens other than my own this week... as I travel to Austin to attend PaleoFX. I foresee lots of barbeque.</div>Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-48575959157098383952012-03-12T10:00:00.000-05:002012-03-12T10:00:00.508-05:00Chicken "Waldorf" SaladI'm putting the name "Waldorf" in quotes because, well... it only slightly resembles a Waldorf salad. A <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf_salad" target="_blank">Waldorf salad</a> is traditionally described as "a salad made of fresh apples, celery and walnuts, dressed in mayonnaise, and usually served on a bed of lettuce as an appetizer or a light meal." My version eschews celery and adds tons of protein... because I'm not looking for an appetizer or a light meal. I want a lunch that will get me through the rest of my day at work and through whatever <a href="http://www.crossfitwhiterock.com/" target="_blank">CFWR</a> has in store for me... and hold me over until dinner.<br />
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And, my version has bacon.<br />
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A couple of things to note... this recipe yeilds a large volume, but the bulk of the volume is leafy and green. I had to toss and mix everything together in two batches. This week's lunch containers are packed pretty tight. If you really want, you could stretch this into 8 servings... I'd just add a little more protein. As for the type of greens I used, this week's version was half baby spinach, half "baby kales." I've had kale before... just never heard of baby kales. It looked interesting and it was reasonably priced. In the salad, the bitterness of the kale turns out to be a nice counter to the sweetness of the apples.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Chicken "Waldorf" Salad</span></strong><br />
Makes 4 to 6 servings<br />
<br />
What you'll need:<br />
<br />
A big bowl for tossing/mixing<br />
Knife and cutting board<br />
<br />
Ingredients:<br />
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1 whole, cooked chicken (or 1 1/2 to 2 lbs of chicken meat), shredded by hand<br />
2 apples, diced<br />
1 red onion, diced<br />
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped<br />
6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled<br />
10 oz. salad greens<br />
3/4 cup homemade mayonaisse<br />
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard<br />
Salt and pepper to taste<br />
<br />
Combine the shredded chicken meat and skin, diced apples, diced onion, chopped walnuts, and crumbled bacon in the mixing bowl. Add in the greens and stir/toss by hand until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Add the mayonaisse and mustard and toss everything together until there is an ever-so light, shiny coating of "dressing" on every leaf. If needed, salt and pepper to taste.<br />
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Ladies and gentlemen, Chicken "Waldorf" Salad.Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-25573600075970580822012-03-11T13:00:00.000-05:002012-03-11T18:08:03.574-05:00Poblano Chicken Bake<span style="font-size: small;">Why do casseroles on TV always have pasta in them? The commercials show a smiling mom opening the oven door (with gleeful children onlooking) and pulling out a steaming dish... that is 80% pasta, 20% meat, lightly tossed in "tomato" sauce and covered in breadcrumbs. Just watching this makes my insulin spike. Thankfully, the next commercial is usually for some sort of diabetes medication. Paula Deen would approve. Based on the use of sweet potatoes and bacon grease, she might even approve of the recipe I have below.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><a name='more'></a></span>It wasn't all that long ago when pasta casseroles were a regular feature in my kitchen. Easy to put together... and from what the USDA was telling me, healthy! What's wrong with a big serving of whole grain pasta? Well... it's hard to tell what a food does to/inside your body when it is part of a regular (often chaotic) routine. Your body's responses to the food are part of that same routine and don't exactly stand out. But, if you eliminate something from your diet for 3-4 weeks and then slowly add it back in, you might hear something in the silence. Listen to your body. <br />
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We're all wired differently. Some of us can process things that others can't... but <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/why-grains-are-unhealthy/" target="_blank">none of us need grains</a>. Not for the nutrient profile, not for the energy, and certainly not for the "heart healthy fiber." Anyways, this is what a casserole looks like in my kitchen now...<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Poblano Chicken Bake</strong></span><br />
Makes 6-8 servings<br />
<br />What you'll need:<br />
<br />
An oven preheated to 375<br />
Box grater or food processor (with shredding blade)<br />
Large pan for sauteing<br />
Large mixing bowl<br />
13" x 9" casserole dish<br />
<br />Ingredients:<br />
<br />
2 lbs sweet potatoes, shredded<br />
1 lb frozen whole leaf spinach, thawed<br />
1 large onion, cut into thin strips<br />
3 poblano peppers, cut into thin strips<br />
1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-2 inch pieces<br />
Bacon grease (or fat of your choice)<br />
Salt and pepper to taste<br />
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Shred your sweet potatoes in a food processor with a shredding blade (or by hand with a box grater). Thaw your frozen spinach and wring out the excess liquid in a clean kitchen towel (or some heavy duty paper towels). Cut your onion and poblano pepper into thin (less that 1/4 inch) strips. In a pan with a couple of tablespoons of bacon grease (or your fat of choice), saute the onion strips until they start to become translucent. Add the poblano strips and cook until they start to soften, only a minute or so.<br />
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In a large mixing bowl, combine the shredded sweet potatoes, spinach, onions, poblano peppers, and chicken. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Mix well. It's a big bowl with a lot of stuff in it... I recommend using your hands to combine all of these ingredients.<br />
<br />Using a paper towel, grease the edges of the casserole dish with a little more bacon grease (... or your FoC). Pour the contents of the mixing bowl into your casserole dish and spread it around evenly. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. If you want a dark crispy top, switch your oven over to broiler for an additional 5 minutes.<br />
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<br />Ladies and gentlemen, the poblano chicken bake.</div>Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-33341484081964590312012-03-10T07:00:00.000-06:002012-03-10T07:00:05.885-06:00My Second Change: CrossFitExactly 52 weeks ago today, at 10:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning, I set foot in a CrossFit box for the first time. In the early part of 2011, I came to the realization that I was incredibly out of shape... and fueling myself on a fast food diet while leading a sedentary lifestyle wasn't going to do my lifespan any favors. I knew I had to find some sort of physical exertion that I could enjoy enough to stick with. I'd tried running in my neighborhood... and found it to be boring. Treadmills and ellipticals bored me even more. But across from my old office, there was a gym that seemed to be thrown together in a warehouse. Unlike most gyms, there was no traditional equipment to be seen inside... and the people who went there did odd things... like running around the block while carrying heavy objects. Interesting. The sign out front boldly proclaimed the establishment as CrossFit Strong. As I wanted to find out more about how they would make me "fit" and "strong," I checked out their website... and tumbling down the rabbit hole I went.<br />
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I searched for a Crossfit affiliate near home and found <a href="http://www.crossfitwhiterock.com/" target="_blank">CrossFit White Rock</a>. I decided to check out their free intro class on a Saturday morning. It's an incredibly well organized facility (the best I've seen in my travels over the past year). After a brief talk on diet, health and the components of fitness, the coaches offered us a taste of what a CrossFit workout would be like. <br />
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I almost passed out in the warmup. I'm not exaggerating or being dramatic. Things started going black and fuzzy during some shuttle run variant. I had to step off to the side, elevate my legs and wait for the world to stop spinning. We'll call this a decision point. I could listen to the little devil on my left shoulder, walk out and go home because this CrossFit was "obviously too hard for someone like me"... Or, I could listen to the voice on my right shoulder and sign up because "I obviously need this more than anyone else in the room."<br />
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I started going to CrossFit twice a week. For the first few months, that was all I could handle. It took me a couple of days to recover from most workouts. I wasn't lifting as much or running as fast as the people next to me... and I was finishing DFL often. But I was finishing. And loving it. After a couple of months, I started running on my "rest" days. Running was still boring. But I was encouraged by the progress I was seeing in my performance and my waistline. <br />
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While I had changed my diet pretty significantly, having gone 80-90% primal, it took me a while to make any correlation between my workouts and how I fueled for them. Then my "Whataburger WOD" happened. I was supposed to work late one night, and thought I would reward all of my hard work in the week with a small cheat meal. I remember it so well. A Green Chile Double Cheeseburger. Tasty, for sure. When I got off work earlier than I expected, I thought "Hey, I can still make the 7:15 p.m. class!" I don't remember what the workout was, but it was the closest I've come to throwing up afterward. (Fight Gone Bad came close, too...) Lesson learned? What you eat really does affect how you perform... day to day and in CrossFit WODs. Things got a little more primal in my diet after that night.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Not good pre-workout fuel</span></div>
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By the end of the summer, I had signed up for unlimited classes. Since then, I've been going to CrossFit 4 to 5 times a week. After losing massive amounts of body fat, I started to add muscle. I've still got some leaning out to do, but I feel like I'm improving with every workout. And my <a href="http://www.crossfitwhiterock.com/profiles/6802" target="_blank">times and weights</a> affirm what I'm feeling. My only CrossFit regret was that I did not log my first few months of workouts. Not that I want to dwell on how bad I was, I would just like to know how much I've improved.<br />
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Painted on the wall of our box is the phrase, "Be better than yesterday." With a year worth of yesterdays behind me, I look forward to every chance to improve myself in the coming year. Come along for the ride with me. Not sure if you want to hop on this crazy train? Try an intro class. Every CrossFit affiliate offers them. Don't like the feel or culture of the first gym you tried? Try another. CrossFit boxes are popping up everywhere. And hey, maybe CrossFit isn't your thing... but you'll never know until you try. The important thing is to just getting moving.<br />
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A year from now, you'll wish you started today.<br />
<br />Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-81332143875057199942012-03-08T07:00:00.000-06:002012-03-08T07:00:13.901-06:00Primal Texas ChiliThis recipe is overdue. I have no excuse for not posting it sooner. In a perfect world, I would have made it on a bitterly cold winter afternoon. Few things cut through a winter chill like a warm bowl of Texas Red. But alas, I don't know that we had a winter this year. It was 78 degrees the day I made this batch. And with little chance of a freeze on the horizon, I decided I just needed a bowl this past weekend. <br />
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How do you define chili? Ask ten people and you'll get ten different answers. Folks in the upper midwest put cinnamon in theirs. Sometimes "chili" is served on top of noodles. People from all parts use recipes with all sorts of beans. There's even debate about the kind of meat that should be used. I've had some good venison chili, and some people like to incoporate pork into their recipe. While most people believe that chili meat starts and ends with beef, they're still divided into cubed vs. ground beef camps. Overall, I keep my recipe simple.<br />
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Years ago, when I wanted to learn what "real" chili was, I found myself circling back to the recipe of <a href="http://www.lbjlib.utexas.edu/johnson/archives.hom/faqs/recipes/chili.asp" target="_blank">Lady Bird Johnson</a>, wife of Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th president of the United States. While she has a decent platform to start from, there are a few things I must change:<br />
<ul>
<li>I am in the cubed beef camp: 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes of chuck roast, to be specific. </li>
<li>Chili is not soup. I like a mine to be reduced down quite a bit. And...</li>
<li>Everybody is eventually going to season their recipe to their own liking.</li>
</ul>
And, without getting too soapbox-ish, I'll just quickly note that beans are just pointless filler (blasphemous to some folks) and if you ever serve Texas Chili on top of noodles... well, I just don't want to hear about it. As this is being presented in a primal/paleo forum, those last two points shouldn't even be an issue. This is Primal Texas... and this is my spin on a bowl of Texas Red.<br />
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<strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">Primal Texas Chili</span></em></strong><br />
Makes 4-6 servings<br />
What you'll need:<br />
<br />Stew pot/dutch oven<br />
<br />Ingredients:<br />
<br />3-3.5 lb chuck roast, cut into 1/2 to 3/4 inch cubes<br />
1 large onion, cut with a 1/2 inch dice<br />
1 tablespoon of minced or smashed garlic (about 3 cloves)<br />
3 tablespoons of chile powder (that's chile with an <strong><em>e</em></strong> not chile with an <strong><em>i</em></strong>)<br />
1 tablespoon of ground cumin<br />
1 can (28 oz.) of diced tomatoes, undrained<br />
Salt to taste<br />
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Over med-high heat, brown the cubes of chuck roast. We're not looking to cook the meat through, but we do want a good sear on the outside. I recommedend browning the meat in 1 lb. batches as to not overcrowd the pot and subsequently "grey" the meat. Lightly season each batch of meat with salt.<br />
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After the last batch of meat is browned, remove it from the pot. Add the onions to the pot and reduce the heat to medium. If your chuck roast was lean, you may need to add a little bit of your fat of choice to the onions (I recommend a tablespoon or two of bacon grease). When the onions begin to sweat, add in the garlic, chile powder and cumin. Stir well and let the onions continue to cook.<br />
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When the onions become translucent, add the meat back in... as well as the undrained can of diced tomatoes. Stir to incorporate all of the ingredients. When the chili starts to simmer, reduce the heat to low and let it cook for at least an hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so.<br />
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<br />Feel free to serve and garnish with hot sauce, fresh diced onions, or some shredded raw cheddar cheese. I'll even give a pass to pico de gallo, avocado slices or some full fat sour cream. But, please... no noodles.<br />
<br />Ladies and gentlemen, Primal Texas Chili.Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-58317551509530012742012-03-07T07:00:00.000-06:002012-03-07T07:00:09.272-06:00Egg Muffins: The Spinach ExperimentIt is a fantastic source of iron and calcium. It was a food item I went out of my way to avoid as a child. It is a staple food in Popeye's diet. Folks, I'm talking about spinach. While I wouldn't touch the stuff as a kid, I can't get enough of it now. I know it's good for me. I mix it into meat sauces and stews. I wilt it and serve it as as side dish. I make it the green, leafy foundation of a salad. And, now I'm eating it for breakfast.<br />
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This week, I decided to turn my recipe for my batch of egg muffins on its ear... meaning more veg, less meat. Using my normal template for <a href="http://primaltexas.blogspot.com/2011/10/egg-muffins.html" target="_blank">egg muffins</a>, I came up with...<br />
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<strong>Spinach and Bacon Egg Muffins</strong><br />
Makes 12 egg muffins<br />
1 lb bag of frozen spinach, thawed and wilted<br />
1 tablespoon of hot sauce<br />
4-6 pieces of cooked bacon, crumbled<br />
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Prepare these as you would any of the other <a href="http://primaltexas.blogspot.com/2012/01/egg-muffins-variations-on-theme.html" target="_blank">egg muffin variations</a>, but this time around, the veg is outnumbering the meat. After wilting the spinach and letting it cool, wring out the excess liquid in a clean kitchen towel (or some heavy duty paper towels). Mix the spinach and hot sauce in with a dozen beaten eggs and season with salt and pepper to taste. After pouring the eggs into a greased muffin pan, sprinkle the top of each raw muffin with the bacon crumbles.<br />
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These turned out to be even better than I thought they would. I still get start my day with eggs and bacon. I'm just adding more green, leafy vegetables into my diet with very little added effort.<br />
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Mom was right... Spinach won't kill me.Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-84990484497603517242012-03-05T07:00:00.000-06:002012-03-05T07:00:02.083-06:00Primal Economics 101Grass fed beef gets expensive. So does free-range chicken. Especially when you are feeding more than one mouth... or a growing family. And, while someday I may be able to shop exclusively at Whole Foods and the like, I'd like a little more wiggle room in my grocery budget. I decided to conduct an experiment in consumer economics that I would like to call Primal Economics 101.<br />
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I looked at my last few grocery bills and realized that the majority of the bill was going towards protein. Meat, fish, eggs, bacon, nuts, protein powder, etc. There was a significant amount of produce on the receipt, too... but that will be reduced soon, as our vegetable garden will start producing and we will be picking up our weekly share from a <a href="http://oakridgeorganics.com/" target="_blank">local CSA</a> (community supported agriculture) farm. I'd heard from a few sources about how serious money can be saved by shopping at Sam's, Costco and the like. But nobody provided a breakdown of what and how much. And then there's the idea of having to pay for membership. I remained skeptical.<br />
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So, this weekend, using a free one-day pass that I found online to try out our local Sam's Club...<br />
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<br />
... This is what I found. I saved enough to pay for a few <strong><em>years </em></strong>worth of membership in one trip. My fiscal skepticism disappeared in the blink of an eye. The doubts I had that revolved around food quality were soon to follow. After taking a closer look at what I was actually buying at Whole Foods, I was able to find comparable quality products in <em>almost</em> every protein source I was looking for. When buying ribeyes at Whole Foods, I wasn't paying $19/lb for the top of the line grass-fed cuts... but their grain fed ribeyes were still $17/lb. And the frozen wild-caught fish at Whole Foods cost twice as much per pound on average... but wasn't any wilder or more superior in any way that made a dramatic difference to me.<br />
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This is not an indictment of Whole Foods and their peers. I will continue to shop there... often. When Whole Foods run a sale on grass fed ground beef or chuck roast, I'll stock up! Many staple items in my pantry just don't have comparables at Sam's. I'd love to buy almond butter in bulk... but not if my only options have added sugar. And, they didn't have a protein powder that met my standards, either (I prefer 365 Whey Protein Powder - Natural Vanilla Flavor... an awesome value).<br />
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Bottom line? Stick with the basic tenets of a <a href="http://marksdailyapple.com/primal-blueprint-101/" target="_blank">primal</a> or paleo lifestyle (just because Costco has a great deal on 144-packs of PopTarts, doesn't mean they should end up in your cart...) while getting the best quality meat and produce you can afford. If you have a large freezer, stock up on cheap grass-fed beef when the opportunity presents itself. <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/cowpooling/" target="_blank">Cowpool</a>. Check out your local farmers market, co-op or CSA. Be smart and efficient with your meal planning, your budget and your storage space. The more you routinely save, the easier it will be to splurge every so often on something like a beautiful wild-caught Alaskan King salmon fillet.Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-21699240196043555602012-03-01T15:00:00.000-06:002012-03-01T15:00:00.747-06:00Other People's Food<br />
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My wife gets on to me when we're at restaurants for craning my neck to peer at passing plates or even openly gawking at what is being eaten at the table next to me. Is this rude? Really? My favorites are the neighboring tables that start conversations about what each of us ordered and what else we've tried/recommend off of the menu. The patrons at <a href="http://companycafe.net/" target="_blank">Company Cafe</a> and <a href="http://jonathonsoakcliff.com/" target="_blank">Jonathon's Oak Cliff</a> have been the most talkative... and there is plenty to talk about with their menus.<br />
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When my mind starts runs out of ideas and I can't find inspiration on my bookshelf or by wandering the grocery store... I wander the internet, the world's biggest free cookbook. Listed below are a couple of the recipes that have supplemented the menu in my house the last few weeks...<br />
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<a name='more'></a><a href="http://balancedbites.com/2012/01/easy-recipe-bacon-wrapped-smoky-chicken-thighs.html" target="_blank">Bacon Wrapped Smoky Chicken Thighs</a><br />
I'll wrap bacon around just about anything. Figs, dates, chicken livers... not sure why it hadn't occurred to me to try it with chicken thighs. I skipped the "smoky spice blend" and just wrapped the thighs in jalapeno bacon. Simplicity = Awesomeness.<br />
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<a href="http://paleomg.com/enchilada-chicken-stew/" target="_blank">Enchilada Chicken Stew</a><br />
Made a crockpot of this a couple of weeks ago and ate it for lunch all week. I thought it would be good (in theory, how could it not be)... and it was better than I could have imagined. Makes the house smell great, too... like an enchilada scented candle.<br />
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Then, there is shepherd's pie. We had company over this weekend and rolled out a variation of a couple of different paleo versions I found online. Why didn't I post the link to one of the recipes? Because the recipes were wrong. Okay, that sounds harsh... but let's say you make a "bacon" out of turkey... I think you have to call it "turkey bacon"... right? Well, if you use beef in "shepherd's pie" it becomes "cottage pie." By changing the meat, you are changing the very essence of the meal. Next thing, you'll be trying to sub in tofu while saying it's close enough to meat, and... I shudder to think of such horrors! Let's just nip this one in the bud and end the madness before it starts.<br />
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Why haven't I posted my version of shepherd's pie? We ate it before I could take pictures. It'll be a project for this weekend. That... and finding something to do with the ridiculous amount of chard and parsley we harvested this past weekend (while prepping our vegetable garden for spring).Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-20440483183040930892012-02-26T08:00:00.000-06:002012-02-26T08:00:02.752-06:00Spiced Chicken and Root VegetablesThe language of food can be a fun one. It spans continents and cultures. It can make you sound sophisticated. It can also make you sound like an immature 12 year old boy. At the top of my food vocabulary favorite list (right behind "fishmonger") is "spatchcocked." Walk up to the meat counter at your local grocery store, ask for one of the whole chickens in the case... then ask the butcher to spatchcock it for you. I can usually keep a straight face right up until the butcher does a double take and asks me what I just asked. I quickly explain that a spatchcocked bird has the back cut out and the breast bone removed or broken (both of which can be reserved and used later for stock). They slowly nod and prep my chicken. Why do I ask the butcher to do it for me? They have better knives and shears than I have... and I just have fun asking.<br />
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If your butcher doesn't cut meat/poultry to order, check out this guide on <a href="http://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2011/09/spatchcocked-spatchcock.html" target="_blank">how to spatchcock</a> your own bird.<br />
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Also, I decided to take this bird into previously uncharted territory (for me, at least) when it came to seasoning. To satisfy a craving I've been having all winter, I dusted this bird with cinnamon and allspice.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Spiced Chicken and Root Vegetables</span></strong><br />
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What you’ll need:<br />
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An oven preheated to 425 F<br />
Kitchen shears (or a friendly butcher)<br />
Meat thermometer/alarm<br />
13”x9” casserole dish<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
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A 3 to 4 lb whole chicken, “spatchcocked”<br />
1 large sweet onion<br />
5 or 6 parsnips, peeled<br />
2 lbs of sweet potatoes<br />
½ stick of butter, softened<br />
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon<br />
1 1/2 tsp ground allspice<br />
2 tbsp salt<br />
1 tsp ground black pepper<br />
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Chop the sweet potatoes into 1-1 ½ inch chunks, the peeled parsnips into 1 inch segments and the onion into (what will fall apart into) 1-1 ½ inch pieces. Mix the chopped sweet potatoes, parsnips and onion up and spread them out across the bottom of your casserole dish. In a small bowl, combine and mix the cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper. Lightly dust the vegetables with about 1/3 of the mixture.<br />
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Rub the spatchcocked chicken with the softened butter. Use the rest of the spice mixture to evenly coat the buttered bird. Lay the bird out, skin up, across the vegetable mixture in the casserole dish. Insert the meat thermometer halfway into the thickest part of the breast. Set the alarm to chime when the bird reaches 165 F. Place the casserole dish into the preheated oven.<br />
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Things to note: (1) You don’t need to toss your vegetables in any type of fat/oil… as they will have plenty of chicken fat and drippings to cook in. (2) Cooking time will be less than it would if you were roasting a bird that still had all of its bones. (3) If you don’t have a meat thermometer/alarm, start checking your bird’s temperature every few minutes after the first 30 minutes... until it gets to 165 F.<br />
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In a 425 degree oven, the skin will brown nicely. Crispy chicken skin is right up there with bacon. Well, not that high up there. But it's good.<br />
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Ladies and gentlemen, Spiced Chicken and Root Vegetables.Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-17743519873397462622012-02-24T10:00:00.000-06:002012-02-24T10:00:04.271-06:00Fennel & Apple Slaw with Pork ChopsEvery family has their standbys and quick go-to meals. They are part of a rotation. Thinking back to when I was a kid, I remember hot dog/mac’n’cheese night, taco night and grilled cheese/soup night. One of my favorite meals that my mom kept in the rotation was pork chops, apple sauce and Rice-A-Roni. If I want to overanalyze it, I’m sure the roots of the recipe below can be found in that childhood meal. I wasn’t trying to mimic or recreate it… just thought of it while eating my latest creation. I’ll wager that this version has a little less sodium than boxed rice and noodles… and a little less sugar than jarred applesauce. And it has vegetables! <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fennel" target="_blank">Fennel</a>! [That’d be the funny looking onion-like bulb that smells faintly of licorice in your produce section.]<br />
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Buy and use as many pork chops as you need for this meal. The slaw portion prepared below makes about 4-6 good sized servings… but then I’ll eat a quarter of a cabbage head in one sitting.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Fennel & Apple Slaw with Pork Chops</span></strong><br />
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What you’ll need:<br />
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Food processor with slicing attachment<br />
Large pan/skillet<br />
A good knife<br />
<br />Ingredients:<br />
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Pork chops<br />
Bacon grease (or your fat of choice, but c’mon…)<br />
2 green apples (I used Granny Smith)<br />
1 fennel bulb, stems removed<br />
1 head of cabbage<br />
Salt and pepper<br />
<br />Starting with the cabbage, cut the head into quarters and trim out the hard core that comes up from the base. Cut the quarters into pieces that you can feed into your food processor. Use the slicing blade of your food processor to shred your cabbage. Using a good knife, cut the fennel bulb into quarters, as well. Similar to the cabbage, there will be a tough core at the base to cut out. After removing the core, slice the fennel into 1/8 inch thick strips. As for the apples, keep the skin on, remove the core and cut the “meat” into ¼ inch thick strips. <br />
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Use a large pan or skillet for this recipe. You’re going to end up with an entire head of shredded cabbage in it… and then some. Over med-high heat, sauté the fennel in bacon grease until it just starts to become translucent. Add the apples. When the apples start to soften (shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes), add in the head of shredded cabbage and stir to incorporate all of the ingredients. The cabbage will start to steam in its own juices and begin to wilt. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste. <br />
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After a few minutes, when the cabbage is softened enough to your liking, remove it from the pan. Add a little more bacon grease and cook your pork chops. There are a dozen different cuts of “pork chop” at the meat counter… and a hundred different opinions on how they should be prepared. I prefer thin cut pork chops (they cook quickly) cooked medium to medium well. Hot and fast.<br />
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I plate this pairing together by putting a good sized portion of slaw spread across the plate and then resting the chops on top.<br />
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Ladies and gentlemen, Fennel & Apple Slaw with Pork Chops.Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-72746581227551820002012-02-23T19:30:00.000-06:002012-02-23T19:30:00.775-06:00Upcoming Primal/Paleo Events in TexasThere's always something going on, but the events below are a little bigger than a local paleo potluck or Whole 30 Challange info session. Houston, Dallas and Austin are each hosting an event... and all of these events are coming up in March.<br />
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<img border="0" height="71" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-fQcZvJIKN2zFtft9jghySDYZLoOgkZh33yLO4rtDXd_aJJcGgQZ62xILzmQ9msBnBy2OzuSAYqw7dX_lKiPjKIsWJUxhuqR6SefEdMXiWgwvfuchA91W5t-eahvfGkK4M8lpXjUccRw/s200/paleofx_logo_1_-_final.jpg" width="200" /></div>
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First on the calendar is <a href="http://www.paleofx.com/">Paleo FX</a> in Austin, March 14-17. <br />
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I'd be lying if I said I wasn't geeking out about this. At least once a week, I print up a new copy of the tentative speaking schedule and attack it with a highlighter. And each week, it seems I get more excited about something new on the schedule. Speakers will include <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/" target="_blank">Mark Sisson</a>, <a href="http://www.robbwolf.com/" target="_blank">Robb Wolf</a>, <a href="http://everydaypaleo.com/" target="_blank">Sarah Fragoso</a>, <a href="http://www.sebringclinic.com/" target="_blank">Lane Sebring MD</a>, <a href="http://www.whole9life.com/" target="_blank">Melissa & Dallas Hartwig</a>, <a href="http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/" target="_blank">Melissa Joulwan</a>, and <a href="http://www.crossfitfootball.com/" target="_blank">John Welbourn</a>. That's not even half of the names I have highlighted on my schedule.<br />
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I recommend registering soon, as the all too well known SXSW music festival will be going on at the same time in Austin. Book your hotel room yesterday.<br />
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Next up on the calendar is a double shot from Mark's Daily Apple, with <a href="http://primalblueprint.com/products/The-Primal-Blueprint-Transformation-Seminar%3A-2012.html" target="_blank">Primal Blueprint Transformation Seminars</a> on back to back nights. The presentation will be in Houston on Wednesday night, March 28... and Dallas on Thursday night, March 29. This 3-hour crash course in the Primal lifestyle is great for those in the Houston/Dallas area that may have missed out on the day long seminars that hopped around the country last year... and is a little friendlier to the wallet.</div>
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<br /></div>Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-57224215646737146222012-02-22T20:47:00.001-06:002012-02-22T20:48:05.036-06:00Buffalo Salmon JerkyIf you want something done right, sometimes you have to do it yourself. The buffalo salmon jerky recipe I will share below spawned in the deep, dark recesses of my brain when browsing the seafood counter at our local Whole Foods. They happen to make/carry a version of this treat. But, after reading the ingredient card and talking with the fishmonger, I discovered that they make their salmon jerky using farm raised Atlantic salmon and have a number of soy based ingredients in their marinade. [sigh…] Not something I want to spend my hard earned money on, much less eat. As if the presence of soy wasn’t disappointing enough... wait. Why, you ask, am I so wound up about the sourcing of my jerky meat?<br />
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<a name='more'></a>I am an unrepentant salmon snob. My wife will bear witness to arguments I’ve had with local fishmongers (I love that word…) who have tried to sell me their farm raised salmon. I could go on for a while on this topic, but I’ll simply give you my strongest points of contention and a link to Mark’s article on the Farmed vs. Wild debate.<br />
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- Texture: Wild caught salmon has a more firm texture. Farmed salmon is, in a word… mushy. I don’t like mushy salmon.<br />
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- Healthy fat: Tie this bullet point to texture. You could say that farmed salmon are mushy due to their higher fat content, which sounds great at first! Salmon fat is healthy fat, right? Considering that farmed salmon has higher ratios of omega-6s and less protein per serving because of higher fat composition… no. Farmed salmon fat is not nearly as healthy as wild caught salmon fat.<br />
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- Color added: Wild salmon are carnivores, subsisting mostly on krill. The krill in their diet give their flesh that beautiful pink hue that wild salmon are known for. Farmed salmon, on the other hand, are nourished with protein pellets (yum!). While there is fish/seafood protein in the pellets (to mimic the natural diet of the salmon), the dyecanthaxanthin (an active ingredient in FDA banned “tanning pills”) has to be added to make sure the farmed salmon flesh gets pink enough to sell… because grey salmon just doesn’t appeal to the eye.<br />
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- Health of the animal: I’m sure we all agree it is healthier for us to eat healthier animals. As an example of this point, I’m sure we’ll all agree that grass-fed, pasture raised beef is healthier than feed lot beef. So let’s compare the farming of two different species. Feed lot beef is fed a diet it wasn’t built for, as cow are ruminants and ruminants (are supposed to) eat grass. When the feed (they aren’t designed to process) and cramped living quarters start to stress the feed lot beef, they get sick. To keep them from getting (too) sick, they are pumped full of antibiotics. Now… applying this same formula to farmed salmon… carnivores whose protein pellets include soy and corn ingredients… live in tight confines infested with sea lice and feces… you get sick salmon. Unless, of course you supplement their feed with antibiotics.<br />
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[Stepping off of soap box…]<br />
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Needless to say, I was happy enough to find flash frozen Alaskan sockeye salmon on sale for $9.99 a pound. I bought a lot. One of those fillets was dedicated to my buffalo salmon jerky experiment. I am more than pleased with the results, and have listed the method to my newly discovered madness below.<br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;">Buffalo Salmon Jerky</span></strong><br />
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What you’ll need:<br />
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Baking sheet(s)<br />
Wire rack(s)<br />
Mixing bowl<br />
Whisk<br />
1 gallon freezer bag<br />
A good, long knife<br />
An oven preheated to "Warm"<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
<br />
1 – 1 ½ lb salmon fillet (I used sockeye)<br />
8-12 oz clarified butter or ghee<br />
2-4 oz hot sauce<br />
3 cloves garlic, crushed into a paste<br />
3 tablespoons of paprika<br />
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Remove as many pin bones as you can from your fillet. Slice salmon fillet crossways into ½ inch thick strips. If you prefer, remove the skin... I kept mine on (helps hold it together). I happen to LOVE salmon skin, but realize that not everybody else does.<br />
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In a mixing bowl, whisk the garlic paste, paprika and hot sauce into the clarified butter. Pour the mixture into a 1 gallon freezer bag. Add the salmon strips to the bag, seal it and allow it to marinate in your refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours... or forget about it overnight like I did.<br />
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Place your wire rack onto your baking sheet. Remove the salmon from the marinating bag, laying the strips out across the wire rack. Keep the pieces spread out enough so they do not touch. Place the salmon in the preheated oven... and after 3 hours, flip each piece over. Put the salmon back into the oven for another 3-5 hours, checking every hour toward the end for the doneness/texture you desire.<br />
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Remove from the oven when you are satisfied with its texture. Store in an airtight container in your refrigerator for up to 2 weeks (as this recipe does not have any preservatives). <br />
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Two things to note: (1) I would recommend about 8 oz of clarified butter for every lb of salmon, and (2) I only used 2 oz of hot sauce... and could have easily doubled it. Use hot sauce according to your taste buds preference.<br />
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Ladies and gentlemen, Buffalo Salmon Jerky.Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-23727795714258534702012-02-17T10:00:00.000-06:002012-02-17T10:00:06.249-06:00Buffalo Chicken WingsAside from some of the harsh lessons learned in my kitchen these past couple of weeks, there have been a couple of successes. One of them was the bacon bouquet I made my wife for Valentine's Day. A bacon bouquet doesn't last as long as a dozen (overpriced) roses, but roses don't taste like bacon. If they did, I still wouldn't buy them because real bacon is cheaper. Next Valentine's Day, show your love with bacon. If the target of your affections rejects your offering, move on. Anyone who rejects bacon doesn't deserve your love.<br />
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I digress. You're probably thinking, "Did he mislabel the post? He hasn't said a thing about chicken wings..." And if you're hoping to find out what a bacon bouquet looks like, sorry. It didn't last long. So, buffalo chicken wings...<br />
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Incredibly easy. They take a little time, but it's time well spent. <br />
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<strong><em><span style="font-size: large;">Buffalo Chicken Wings</span></em></strong><br />
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What you'll need:<br />
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Baking sheet<br />
Paper towels<br />
Parchment paper<br />
Mixing bowl<br />
Whisk<br />
An oven preheated to 425<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
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3 lbs. chicken wings<br />
1 stick of butter (1/2 cup)<br />
2-4 oz. hot sauce (your tastebuds... your call)<br />
3 cloves garlic, crushed into a paste<br />
3 tablespoons of paprika<br />
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If you are using whole chicken wings, remove the tips (freeze them until you need to make stock) and separate the wings at the joint between the drummette and the... um, wing? Using paper towels, pat each piece dry. As dry as you can get them. Arrange the wings and drummettes on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Try to keep them spread out enough to where they won't be touching each other. This will help them get crispy and keep them from steaming each other.<br />
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Place your loaded baking sheet into your preheated oven. After about 20 minutes, flip each piece over. While your wings are cooking, melt the butter in a mixing bowl in a microwave on low heat (or in a saucepan over low heat). Whisk in the garlic paste and paprika. In increments, add the hot sauce to the butter. Taste often to make sure you end up with the heat you desire.<br />
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After your wings have been in the oven another 20 minutes or so (40-45 minutes total), they should be a nice golden, crispy brown. Remove them and move them immediately to your mixing bowl. Toss them with hot sauce/butter mixture until they are coated well. Serve them with celery sticks and <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/creamy-ranch-dressing">creamy ranch dressing</a>. Or, do like I did and just eat them from the bowl.<br />
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Ladies and gentlemen, Buffalo Chicken Wings.Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-73190876932526498012012-02-16T19:53:00.000-06:002012-02-16T20:05:20.303-06:00Lessons Learned in My KitchenThe past couple of weeks in my kitchen have been checkered with successes and failures. Some people think that "failure" may be a harsh criticism to throw out there. But, I'd be sugar coating the reality if I tried to downplay some of my poor results... and sugar isn't primal/paleo. While almost nothing I made was worth posting on Primal Texas, I suppose these lost endeavors cannot be labeled total failures. For one thing, nothing that was prepared had to be wasted. It may have tasted kind of "meh", but my wife put on a smile that even I (almost) believed and told me it wasn't as bad as I thought. And, there were lessons learned in every instance.<br />
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Lesson 1: There is such a thing as too much dry rub.<br />
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Lesson 2: You cannot substitute any old vinegar you have on hand for the apple cider vinegar in Mark's <a href="http://www.marksdailyapple.com/alternative-healthy-condiment-recipes/#axzz1mbCuCZQA">recipe for mayonnaise</a>. [The link is actually to a different mayo recipe of Mark's. I tried to make the recipe from page 224 of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Primal-Blueprint-Cookbook-Grain-Free-Gluten-Free/dp/0982207727">The Primal Blueprint Cookbook</a>.]<br />
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Lesson 3: When making two batches of something (simultaneously and in separate ovens), do not set a timer for the first batch and think to yourself, "Remember to take out the second batch five minutes after the first one." You won't remember... until you smell it. Set a timer for the second batch, too.<br />
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Lesson 4: When letting something simmer and cook down on your stovetop for a couple of hours, check the setting before you walk away. <br />
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Lesson 5: While the previously mentioned dish is simmering, don't get distracted by whatever football game is on TV... stir it now and then.<br />
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Lesson 6: Don't try to crush/sprinkle artisan sea salts between your thumb and finger. It hurts. Not immediately. But a couple of minutes later, you realize that you have the equivalent of a dozen or so deep paper cuts on the pad of a single finger. Cuts made by salt. Yes. Coarse grain artisan salt is sharp.<br />
<br />
Lesson 7: As long as you still have bacon grease in supply... it's not all bad.<br />
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Within the past year, bacon grease has vaulted up the list of my favorite cooking fat choices. The rankings get shaken up a little on a week by week basis. But, bacon grease splits time at #1 on the leaderboard with butter and coconut oil.<br />
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When staring at the contents of my fridge the other day, I was struck by what I was sure was not an original idea... but one I had never heard of before. After discussing the resulting dish with a few other folks, I learned it definitely wasn't an original idea... but one that would make Paula Deen proud. Only, Paula would serve it with some sort of battered and fried meat and hot rolls or cornbread. I opted for a couple of eggs.<br />
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Yes, ladies and gentlemen. That's shredded cabbage cooked in bacon grease.Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-25514958203506441742012-02-01T21:49:00.001-06:002012-02-01T21:49:32.875-06:00Hearty Beef Stew<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If it were to ever get cold in Texas this “winter,” I’d
have started making this months ago and more often.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, alas… It’s going to be 70 degrees or
warmer the next couple of days with no dip into the 30s for a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes it’s hard to want to make stews and
chilis when it isn’t cold outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>However, I took advantage of the amazing unseasonal weather we’ve been
having and started cleaning up and prepping the back yard and vegetable patches
last weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some things we planted
last year are somehow still going strong: chard, parsley… and rosemary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While the recipe that follows is headlined by
beef (a favorite leading character), rosemary certainly deserves a nod as Best
Supporting Ingredient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t steal
the spotlight, but brings a depth to the entire production that would be
lacking if it were not there.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><strong><em>Hearty Beef Stew</em></strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">What you’ll need:</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Large frying pan or skillet</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Large slow cooker</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ingredients:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">4 lbs grass fed chuck roast</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1 lb carrots, ¼ inch slices on the bias</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">8 oz. baby portobello mushrooms, quartered</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1 lb turnips, peeled, ½ inch cubes</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">1 lb white onions, ½ - 1 inch “cubes”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2 cups beef stock</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">2 cans tomato paste (6 oz. each) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">½ bottle (375 ml) red wine</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">3 sprigs rosemary, 3-4 inches each</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Olive oil</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Salt and pepper to taste</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Start by cutting your chuck roast into roughly 1-2 inch
cubed pieces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why do I take the time to
cut up a roast (as opposed to just buying what the meat counter advertises as
“stew meat”)?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The store cut stew meat
can contain meat from a variety of different parts of the cow… and even more
than one cow if you think about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ensuring your meat comes from one cut (and one cow) adds a layer of
consistency to the dish that I take comfort in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Lightly season your beef cubes with salt and pepper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With a drizzle of olive oil in the pan, brown
the cubed beef in batches.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The operative
word there was “brown.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overcrowd your
pan with meat and you will only “grey” it, imbuing the dish with fewer flavors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rush or skip this step, and you are cheating
yourself and anybody else you are serving.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When the meat is sufficiently browned, transfer it to your
slow cooker, and start the next batch of meat until the entire roast is
browned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add another drizzle of olive
oil to your pan, then add the carrots and mushrooms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lightly season them with salt and pepper,
stirring the pan occasionally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the
edges of the carrots are just beginning to do the softening, transfer them to
the slow cooker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add another drizzle of
olive oil to the pan, and this time add the turnips and onions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, lightly season them with salt and
pepper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">When the onions start to become shimmery and translucent,
slowly pour the 2 cups of beef stock into your pan while scraping up all of the
browned bits that have stuck to the bottom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This is known as deglazing… a French culinary technique that I translate
to mean “getting every last bit of flavor out of the pan.” After you have
deglazed the pan, pour the onions, turnips and stock into the slow cooker.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Add the two 6 oz. cans of tomato paste and a half bottle
(375 ml) of red wine to the slow cooker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As for the red wine, I prefer an organic wine with no sulfites added…
and one that doesn’t cost a fortune.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Something cheap enough to use in cooking… but good enough to drink what
isn’t used in the recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lately, I have
been using <a href="http://www.badgermtnvineyard.com/">Badger Mountain</a>’s 2010 NSA Pure Red in the 3L box.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did you just scoff at the idea of boxed
wine?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get over yourself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At roughly $25/box, this is quality
intersecting with value… probably the best red blend I’ve tried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the Dallas area, I have found it at the Whole
Foods on Park Lane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spec’s told me they
would be carrying it in the near future, as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you can’t find it (or don’t want to…), use
whatever dry red wine you would like.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Stir everything in your slow cooker until the stew is mixed
evenly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lastly, bury your sprigs of
rosemary throughout the dish, making sure they are fully submerged into the
stew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cover with the lid, set your slow
cooker to “low” and let it cook for 10 hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The needles will have fallen off the rosemary stems and incorporated
into the stew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stir around until you
find the rosemary stems and remove (only) them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Without adding any flour, starch or filler of any sort, your
stew should have a fairly hearty “gravy” to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And it measures out to about a 50/50 meat/veg ratio.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you don’t have a large slow cooker (or
don’t have a demand for massive quantities of stew), you can easily halve this
recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As listed above, this will
prepare 8 sizable 16 oz. servings… or a little more tha</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">n
10 manageable 12 oz servings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ladies and gentlemen, Hearty Beef Stew.</span></div>Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8954454553891309265.post-25955017847568834922012-01-26T12:00:00.001-06:002012-01-26T12:00:02.007-06:00Tough Mudder! - March 31stSo, I signed up for this little event called the <a href="http://toughmudder.com/">Tough Mudder</a>. Maybe you've heard of it? Ten mile course, 20+ obstacles and mud. And, as a few friends were quick to remind me (while telling me I was effing nuts for signing up for it)... fire and electric shocks! What else could you ask for in an endurance event? Sure, <a href="http://www.hotchocolate15k.com/dallas/">some 5ks</a> offer hot chocolate at the end of the race ("Because I <em>earned/burned</em> enough calories to deserve something sweet..."), but the Tough Mudder serves up beer to its participants ("Because I just ran through fire and live wires, damnit!").<br />
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<br />
While I have been training at <a href="http://www.crossfitwhiterock.com/">CrossFit White Rock</a> for ten months now, the prospect of a ten mile course started to get in my head. We never run more than a 5k, and even then, we only do it once every few months. Our WODs contain a lot of 400m, 800m and 1 mile run segments. But, I started wondering if I needed to supplement my training with long runs each week.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>This past Sunday, I decided to do a one hour run and measure the distance. We'll call it my best/worst run in quite some time. Not sure of what to expect from my body, I decided to keep the pace steady while keeping my heart rate between 160-170. I surprised myself. I had more fun than I thought I would... and I logged 6.25 miles in 60 minutes. Based on this, I don't think I really have to modify my training as much as I thought I would have to. CrossFit metcons rock!<br />
<br />
On the bad side of things, while I ended the run feeling strong (like I could've gone a few more miles), I had to ice down my Achilles' and knees. They were sore through the next day.<br />
<br />
By Tuesday, my outlook on the whole ordeal was greatly improved. Another member at CFWR approached me after our WOD and said he was doing the Tough Mudder... and heard that I was, too. One of our coaches overheard the ensueing conversation and said he would sign up, too. Boom! That was the sound of a kick-ass team forming.<br />
<br />
I learned that I wasn't the only one feeling trepidation toward long training runs. We are working up a once a week running supplement to our training that will alternate weeks of 400m intervals, 800m intervals and long runs... maybe even trail runs.<br />
<br />
I'm fully confident that I will be ready for whatever the course has to throw at me come March 31st.Andrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04864160203844892886noreply@blogger.com0