Green Soup

I'll always encourage folks to eat the seasons.  I try to do so as much as possible by participating in a local CSA 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.

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.

"Horchata" Protein Shake

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."

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.

How to Get Started in "Paleo"... and Where It Leads

There are 100+ ways to define paleo. Primal 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 paleo template. Look... What works for me may not work exactly as well for you. We're all built and wired (physically, mentally and emotionally) differently.

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.

Primal Texas Gardening Resources

After 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.

My wife and one of last year's turnips!

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.

Primal Economics 102 - Produce

I 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 ketchup.  [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.

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.

Bacon Rosemary Cod

I haven't done anything with seafood in a while.  I take that back.  I haven't posted 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. 

You may or may not have noticed... I'll wrap bacon around just about anything.  Dates, eggs, 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.

To prepare...

Restaurant Review - Louis Mueller Barbecue

Stepping 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).  Caveat emptor.

Having been in Austin for PaleoFX12, we decided to stop at Louis Mueller Barbecue 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.