Zucchini to Noodle

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

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

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

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

1. Kuhn Rikon Julienne Peeler

2. Spiral Veggie Slicer

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

Up to the challenge

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks Adrenaline

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

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

Paleo Thai Shrimp Salad

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

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

Two years and counting...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Post-WOD Nutrition Anyone?

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

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

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

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

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

Serve over cauliflower "rice" with the cucumber relish.

More Food Processor Love

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

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

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

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

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

A slightly blurry photo of just the rice:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

When A Girl Loves A Cuisinart

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

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

This beauty arrived on 2/13:

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

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

Coconut Butter
Cold Sesame (Cucumber) Noodles
Zucchini Hummus

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

Missing the bread? Nope...

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

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

Paleo Stuffed Pork with Mushroom Stuffing

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

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

Chilly Nights of Chili

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

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

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

Spicy Whiskey Chili

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

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

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

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

Good Old Fashioned Beanless Texas Red Chili

Quick Tuesday Braise

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


Quick Braised Cabbage

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

ENJOY!

Yes, cavemen and women ate seafood

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

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

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


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




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

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

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

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

Apologies and Smothered Chicken...

While I really want to dive into discussing my favorite fall treat or tell you how I have had Halloween decor up way too long already (it's one of my favorite holidays) I first should apologize for what has been a lack-luster ability (on my part) to keep a regular schedule for posting on my blog.  I feel like I go through these phases where I post like crazy and read everyone else's fabulous blogs and comment and then I end up on the other end of the pendulum and post infrequently (at best) and get really behind on reading about other people's exploits. Life makes things tough but it's not even really my schedule that has cause my absence of late, it's more been a problem of writers block. 

As I mentioned earlier this summer, I have gotten involved with a local CrossFit gym, well that's an understatement, I love the place!  I love the challenge of each day's WOD, I love the people, I love the way I feel when I walk away knowing just how strong I am and how much stronger I've become since starting CrossFit in May.   I adore every aspect of CrossFit and have learned so much about myself being involved in this sport, the other thing that has been a natural evolution from my involvement is an overhaul of my diet.  Through our gym's six week challenge this summer I became very closely acquainted with Paleo-Zone eating, after the challenge I told myself there was no going back and for the most part I haven't.  I have cheated occasionally (had a bite of traditional b-day cake on my birthday....it was really really sweet tasting), made some gluten-free (not grain free) mac 'n cheese but really on the whole I have been good.  Why does this matter, because it means I haven't really been sure what to post.  This blog started out being my sounding board for ideas and more often than not feats of deliciousness but delicious things that are outside the realm of my new eating habits...now, with a different perspective on things I struggle with what recipes to post, what is interesting enough to share.

I'm learning that interesting enough isn't the right phrase anymore, I will share things that might not be as 'interesting' as what I used to think blog-worthy recipes were.  I'm sorry if my recently rekindled health-nut side isn't appealing, I'll apologize now but it's where I've been lately and where I see myself in the future.

Lately I've been looking for recipes that are quick enough to make on my only non-CrossFit weeknight (read as the only night I have time to cook a slightly more time-consuming meal) but also suited to my grain-free, dairy-free (mostly), legume-free diet...I've been making a lot of spaghetti squash, a lot of chicken and a lot of stir-fry lately.


What I wanted to share today is pretty basic (technique-wise) but was a delicious weeknight dinner and is something I've repeated at least three times with different proteins (yea for seafood and chicken!). 
 
Heirloom Tomato Smothered Chicken
4 Large Heirloom Tomaotes, cut into cubes
1/2 Cup Fresh Basil, corn
4 Slices Bacon
1 Small Onion, chopped
1 Tsp Minced Garlic
1 Tsp Olive Oil
3 Chicken Breasts
Salt & Pepper to taste
*1/2 Cup Dry White Wine or Chicken Stock
 
1. Cook bacon in a medium/large cast iron skillet until crisp.  Once crisp remove from pan and keep 2 Tsp of rendered bacon fat.
2. Season chicken with salt and pepper then brown in skillet.  Remove chicken from skillet and saute onions and garlic until onions are tender and starting to brown, add olive oil if extra oil is needed.
3. Add chicken back into skillet and add tomatoes and wine/stock.  Bring to a boil and then let simmer until chicken is cooked through.
 
This recipe produces plenty of extra veggie/sauce, it's great re-used the second day as a sauce for spaghetti squash or over another protien like snapper, scallops, shrimp or pork chops.
 
Bell Pepper Slaw 
2 Ribs Celery, sliced into thin, match-stick like pieces
1 Each, Orange, Red and Yellow Bell Pepper, thinly sliced to match celery
1/4 Cup Fresh Basil (or other herbs), chopped
1/2 Cup Champagne Vinegar
4 Tbsp Truffle Mustard (or Dijon Mustard)
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Whisk vinegar and mustard together to combine.
2. Toss sliced celery, bell peppers and basil with vinegarette, season to taste.

*This salad would also be super tasty with sliced, fresh fennel in it.

Crossing my limits

It's been a long hot summer here in Texas, so hot I've barely been doing much cooking....and when I do get around to cooking there isn't much blog-worthy. We're approaching a record number of 100+ degree days, yipee! Seriously, who gets excited about breaking a record like that?? So what do I choose to do in this scorching oven known as my home-state? I joined a group of fitness crazed folks and have started going to CrossFit. I'm not sure if you know what that is or if you do know if it elicits images of crazy people doing boot camp-esque workouts but it doesn't matter, I love it. I blame my sister and her boyfriend for getting me involved in this, as you can see, Jackie is just as involved as I am (or obsessed).

What is CrossFit you say? Well according to the CrossFit website it's a strength and conditioning program built under the principle that you shouldn't specialize in any one thing but that you should excel at many. Everything is scaled to suit your own fitness level so an elite military or law enforcement officer can do the same main workout that say an out of shape food-blogger can do...we might do different amounts of weights or a variation on the same exercise but it is the same workout regardless. Why CrossFit? Because it's addictive, the competition it fosters (you vs. you), the shared goals among your classmates and team environment as well as the sense of accomplishment you get after pushing through a workout that you thought you would never be able to complete. That coupled with the fact that it's helped me get into much better shape (miles to go still but in the short few months I've done it I've seen immense changes) makes me a devoted follower these days.

Enough preaching about CrossFit....I shared this because while working out I have also started to adopt the eating habits that are prevalent among CrossFitters...which is a combination of the 'paleo diet' (basically lots of fruit and veggies, gluten free and good proteins) and a zone diet (again, lost of fruits and veggies, limited grains, if any, and quality lean protein). Being food-obsessed this was a bit tough for me at first, I have no gluten sensitivity and frankly love to try new things so the thought of limiting myself to these confines really bothered me at first. Slowly though I have adapted, partly because our CrossFit gym (much love to Milestone Crossfit!!) set up a 6-week challenge which I eagerly joined and partly because I have seen what the combo of this diet and CrossFit does for people. In four weeks my 'cravings' for grains and super-sweet candy, etc. have dwindled (not going to lie here, I would still kill for hot-buttered fresh baked french bread!) and I feel great. So again, why am I sharing all this? Because it will color a lot of what I will be posting in the near term, most of my coming posts will be recipes that have been made since the beginning of my 6-week challenge and will be reflective of ingredients that are 'zone-paleo' friendly. So be wary those of you who aren't so excited about 'healthy' food, these things will all be slightly better for you than most that I have posted in the past but none of them will taste like 'health' food, I refuse to give up good food for just healthy food.

To that end, the first recipe I want to share is a re-vamped version of something I have posted before, Mustard Green Pesto with Chicken Meatballs, only this time instead of pasta it is served over Spaghetti Squash.

Spaghetti Squash with Mustard Green Pesto & Chicken Meatballs

1 lb Mild Turkey Breakfast Sausage or Ground Chicken or Ground Turkey
1 lb Chicken-Apple Sausage*
3 Tbsp Almond Meal
1 1/2 Tbsp Rubbed Sage
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Black Pepper
1 Cup Apple Cider, reduced down to 1/4 cup to create a syrup
2 Lg Bunches Baby Mustard Greens
5 Cloves Garlic
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/3 Cup Pecan Pieces, Toasted
1 Tbsp Cider Vinegar
1 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Pine Nuts, Toasted
1 Red Bell Pepper

‎1. Cut the spaghetti squash in half, scoop out the seeds and rub 1 Tsp olive oil around the inside, sprinkle with a touch of salt and pepper. Roast at 375 F until fork tender.

2. Fold bulk sausages together wtih 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, rubbed sage and reduced cider. Do not over work the mixture, shape into balls and place in a greased 13 x 9 pan. Bake at 400 F for 25 minutes. Can be baked concurrently with spaghetti squash, squash will be ok at 400 F.

3. Remove squash from oven and let cool for 5 minutes and use a fork to scrape out the flesh of the squash with a fork. Place in a large bowl/dish.

2. While the meatballs are baking, blend the mustard greens, garlic, olive oil, cider vinegar, 1 tsp salt, pine nuts and pecans.

3. Slice bell peppers, leave raw. Toss meatballs, pesto and bell peppers together and serve on top of cooled squash flesh.