Fajita Marinade

As of January 1st, I have re-committed myself to the Primal lifestyle. I have at least 20lbs left to lose and they're not going to fall off by themselves. So back to eating more protein, cutting out sweets and getting more exercise (even if it's freezing outside).

I found this recipe for a steak fajita marinade the other day and it was delicious. I think these turned out even better than the Cook's Illustrated recipe. (I know! It's almost blasphemous!) Try it, you'll love it.

Marinade:
1/4 c lime juice
1/3 c water
2 Tbsp oil
4 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp gluten-free soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp liquid smoke

3 lbs Flank Steak - no, skirt steak won't cut it.
1 large or 2 med onions
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
Cheese
Sour cream
Salsa
Avocado

Mix the marinade together in a gallon-size zip-top bag. Put flank steak in the bag, squeeze the air out and massage it around until all the steak is covered. Allow to marinate for 2-24 hours.

Sear steak on both sides in a pan over med-high heat, just until browned. Set it aside. Cut onion, red and green bell pepper into bite-size strips. Stir fry them in the pan while you slice the steak across the grain into bite-size pieces. (It should still be pretty raw in the middle.) Add steak back to the pan with the veggies and cook until desired doneness. Serve warm over salad greens or spinach & top with sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, salsa & cubed avocado.

Lots of good fat and protein in this dish with fairly low carb load. The leftover meat and veggies go really well with eggs for breakfast the next morning too.

Super Yummy, Garlick-y Pulled Pork Goodness

I can't believe I haven't blogged about this recipe yet. I made it months ago with my best friend and cooking buddy, Debe. I guess maybe it was a bit hectic since her daughter broke her arm that day while we were cooking and had to be rushed to the ER. I'm going with that excuse.

Photo from marksdailyapple.com

But really, there is no valid excuse. This pulled pork was amazingly good and super simple. Even my very picky eaters loved it and kept asking for more for days. This was the first time I'd cooked a pork shoulder and we actually finished it before it went bad in the fridge or freezer, and Eric, my wonderful husband, was out of town on a business trip. So it was just the kids and me inhaling an 8lb pork shoulder.

The recipe calls for a 4lb pork shoulder roast, but I could only find the big 8-pounders. So I doubled the recipe and hoped for the best. I forgot the lime juice, but it still turned out very tasty. The only hiccup that I had was that the roast wasn't getting tender and fall-y apart-y in the oven. After about 4 hours in the oven, I decided that it was time to put it in the crock pot. I left it to cook overnight on low and woke up to a tender, juicy, easily shredded, super garlicky pulled pork.

I think that I'll make this pulled pork again this weekend. I've had a difficult time getting enough protein in my diet. With this on hand, I doubt that will be a problem for the next week or so. The more likely problem will be keeping myself from eating a whole pound of it in one sitting.

Christmas Knitting Has Begun!

A few weeks ago, I received a box of yarn I ordered from knitpicks.com. It was full of Wool of the Andes, a beautiful, worsted-weight, wool yarn, in a gorgeous evergreen color. This was the yarn that I had ordered for a sweater for my brother. With how crazy life has been the past few months, I missed his birthday. So I decided to make up for it with a hand-knit sweater for Christmas this year. I hadn't had the box opened for an hour before I had cast on for my gauge swatch. I love Love LOVE this yarn. It's beautiful, it's fairly soft for wool and it knits up into a wonderful fabric.

I chose this pattern to use, with the help of my sister, Suzy. She's the fashionable one in the family. I, however, was known for wearing turtlenecks under my sundresses as a child. I rely heavily on Suzy's opinion when it comes to clothes, especially when knitting for other people.

The sweater pattern is beautiful and very simple, a basic all-over rib pattern with minimal shaping at the underarms. This one is really knitting up quickly. I love that. I love the instant gratification of knitting with heavier yarns. And I just love the color. I really hope Aaron (my brother) likes it and will wear it. Because even though this pattern is quick to knit, knitting a sweater for someone really is a labor of love. Yes, Aaron, that means I love you.

I'll post pictures as I go along.

I'm A Slacker and I Love Pumpkin Muffins

It's been over a month since I've posted anything new. What a slacker! Well I'm here to change that now. I have been in love with pumpkin lately. I'm talking big love. It seems to hit me every year about the same time the weather starts turning cooler. Very appropriate, since this is when pumpkins are ready for harvesting.

My last recipe was a pumpkin bread and this one is similar, but different. I was skeptical about this recipe before I made it, but my whole family loves it. I had never considered baking with protein powder, but it works really well. The recipe can be a bit involved, but it is worth it. I'd post a picture, but they disappear too fast for me to snap one. I'll just have to make them again when no one else is around and hope I can get a picture before I eat them all.

Pumpkin Protein Muffins

1 c pumpkin puree
1 1/2 c almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c whey protein isolate powder
2 Tbsp coconut flour
3 eggs
1/4 c honey or maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla
Pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin tin.
In a small pan, cook down the pumpkin over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. This concentrates the pumpkin flavor. If you want to skip this step, cut the amount of pumpkin back to 3/4 cup. Set aside to cool.
When oven is hot, toast pecans for 7-10 minutes, or until fragrant, stirring once. Set aside to cool. When they have cooled, coarsely chop them.
In a medium bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients.
In large bowl, whisk together eggs, honey or syrup and vanilla. When pumpkin is cool, whisk it into the egg mixture. Fold dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture.
Using a spring-loaded ice cream scoop, fill the muffin tin. Sprinkle pecans on the top of each muffin.
Bake for 25 minutes.

These are great with the cream cheese frosting I posted with the Pumpkin Pie Bread and a few extra pecans. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Bread

It's September, school has started and even though fall hasn't officially started yet, the weather here has turned cooler. And cooler weather makes me want fall-type foods like pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread. So I made something that turned out to be kind of a hybrid. The recipe I used called it bread, but the middle, even when fully baked, was still a bit creamy like pie filling. It was amazingly delicious. I've made it twice in the past couple weeks and it disappeared pretty quickly both times. The second time, I made some spiced maple cream cheese frosting to go on top and we sprinkled toasted pecans on the top as well.

Pumpkin Pie Bread

1/3 c coconut oil
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c honey
4 tsp xylitol

1 1/2 c pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla 
1/4 c coconut flour
1 c almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 pan.
In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, cook down the pumpkin 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (This is to remove some of the liquid and concentrate the flavor.) Transfer pumpkin to large bowl to cool. Stir oil, maple syrup, honey and xylitol into pumpkin. Once pumpkin has cooled to just warm, whisk in eggs and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients. Dump over pumpkin mixture and stir together.
Pour into greased pan. Bake 45-60 minutes, or until toothpick comes out fairly clean.
Allow to cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp maple syrup, or more to taste
1/2 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice

Cream all ingredients together and dollop on top of pumpkin bread.

Not-At-All-Primal-By-Any-Stretch-Of-The-Imagination Tamale Pie

I know that this recipe isn't Primal, at all. But I had this post saved and forgot to post it back in April. This dish is amazingly tasty. It is one that I will definitely be missing. I haven't figured out how to make it primal, but I'll post any progress I make with it. Until then, my non-primal friends, enjoy this one for me.

Tamale Pie
Filling:
2 tsp oil
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 large onion, minced
1 medium jalapeno, minced
1 Tbsp tomato paste
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
28 oz can petite diced tomaoes
14 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 1/2 c frozen corn
2 c shredded cheese, either cheddar or jack
1/4 c cilantro
salt & pepper

Cornbread Topping:
1 1/2 c flour
1 c corn meal
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp sugar
1 c buttermilk or sour milk
8 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs


Heat oil in large skillet over med-high. Brown beef, breaking into small pieces for 5 minutes. Add onion, jalapeno and 1 tsp salt and cook 5-10 minutes or until softened. Add tomato paste through oregano, cook 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and beans. Bring to simmer and scrape bottom of pan to remove brown bits. Add corn and warm through. Remove from heat and add cheese and cilantro. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour into 9 x 13 pan and smooth surface.

Make cornbread topping:
Sift dry ingredients together into large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in medium bowl. Pour wet mixture over dry mixture and stir with rubber spatula until just combined.

Pour over beef mixture, smooth top and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with salsa, sour cream, guacamole and extra jalapenos and cilantro.

A Not-So-Primal Evening

My friend, Debe, likes to go up to Nova Scotia every year for their blueberry festival. She's been going for years, but couldn't go this year. So she invited a bunch of friends to her house for her own blueberry festival. Everyone brought meat for the grill and something with blueberries in it. Everything was SO good. I know that almost everything had sugar and/or wheat in it, but I couldn't resist. I love blueberries and just had to try it.

But first things first, we brought a couple t-bone steaks and some kabobs for the grill. We picked up half of our 1/2 cow order a week or so ago and we wanted to try some of it. All we used for seasoning was Montreal Steak Seasoning. The kabobs had beef, red onion and red bell pepper and the steak seasoning. They were all so good. The meat really tasted beefy, unlike many steaks you buy at the supermarket. Just one dinner with this grass-fed beef and I'm convinced. It's more expensive at one time but cheaper by the pound if you buy locally and buy a 1/2 or full cow. Worth it!

Mashed Turnips Are Amazing! And So Are Sweet Potato Chips

I don't think that I had ever tasted a turnip before tonight and they have just become my new favorite root vegetable. We have been steering clear of potatoes since going primal and I've missed them a bit. I was told that mashed turnips are a good substitute, so I thought I'd try them. I was also told that they don't taste like potatoes and to be prepared for them to be a little sweet. I'm not sure what I expected them to taste like, but they were awesome. I peeled them, chopped them and boiled them for about 20-25 minutes. Then (technically Eric did this) buzzed them in the food processor, added some butter, cream and salt and pepper. They were heavenly. Turnips have made their way onto my regular shopping list from now on. I served them with steamed asparagus and stuffed chicken breasts.

This weekend, we also tried sweet potato chips. Eric was wanting some nachos, but we don't eat corn so tortilla chips were out. After doing some searching online, he found that some primal folks like nachos made with pork rinds. So I ran to the store, bought some along with the sweet potato chips (cause I was hungry and they sounded tasty) and brought it all home.

Quick Tips for Cooking and Baking

I have spent a lot of time over the years bothering the internet with my problems when it comes to cooking and baking. I've looked up so many tips and tricks for getting my baked goods to turn out right, especially with regards to baking at high altitude. However, I tend to look the same things up over and over again because I forget. So rather than continue with that pattern, I figured I'd get all my helpful hints organized and posted here. Maybe next time I cook or bake and forgot an ingredient or rule for adjusting for the altitude, I'll remember that I've got all that info here on my blog. Maybe. More likely I'll forget about this post and look everything up again from the beginning. Here goes anyway. These are just general "rule of thumb" tips. Each recipe may need a bit of tweaking to get everything just right.

Substitutions:

Baking Chocolate: For each ounce of unsweetened chocolate use 3 Tbsp cocoa powder and 1 Tbsp saturated fat such as coconut oil or butter.

Bittersweet Chocolate: 1/2 ounce unsweetened chocolate plus 1 tsp to 1 Tbsp sugar for each ounce needed

Butter: Use an equal amount of coconut oil or lard

Buttermilk (for baking): Pour 1 Tbsp vinegar in measuring cup and add 1 c milk. Allow 5-10 min to sour.

Condensed Milk: For each 14 oz can needed, heat 1/3 c water, 1/2 c honey or maple syrup and 3 Tbsp butter to steaming. In heat-proof bowl whisk in 1 c dry milk powder. Allow to cool before using. Or, if you have the time, bring 6 c whole milk to boil, reduce heat and simmer 45 min, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/4 c honey or maple syrup and continue to simmer 10-15 min more or until reduced to 3 cups. Strain through mesh strainer and refrigerate up to one week.

Cornstarch: For each Tbsp needed use 2 tsp arrowroot, 2 Tbsp flour, 1 Tbsp potato flour or 4 tsp quick-cooking tapioca. (Using arrowroot in a milk-based sauce will cause the sauce to have a slimy mouth-feel, so use potato flour for those applications.)

Corn Syrup or Molasses: Substitute local raw honey equally or use equal amount of sugar and increase liquid in recipe by 1/4 cup.

Cream of Tartar: Use an equal amount of baking soda

Flour:
 - Baking - For each cup needed, use 3 oz almond meal and 1 1/2 Tbsp coconut flour
 - Thickening - For each Tbsp needed, use 1/2 Tbsp arrowroot or potato flour
 - Breading: Use an equal amount for almond meal

Half-and-Half: For 1 cup, use 1/2 c milk and 1/2 c heavy cream

Heavy Cream: Except for recipes calling for whipping the cream to either soft or stiff peaks, use equal amounts of regular coconut milk. Or use 2/3 c whole milk and 1/3 c melted butter for each cup needed.

Kosher Salt (coarse ground): For each tsp needed, use 1/2 tsp table salt

Maple Syrup: Use an equal amount of honey.

Sugar:
 - Baking - For every cup needed, use 3/4 c honey or maple syrup, reduce liquid by 3 Tbsp and reduce oven temperature by 25 degrees F. (Honey causes baked goods to brown more quickly.)
 - Cooking - For each cup needed, use 3/4 c honey or maple syrup.

Vanilla bean: Use 2 tsp vanilla extract for each whole bean needed.


High Altitude Adjustments:
For Denver/Boulder altitude - around 5280ft

Baking:
 - Increase oven temperature by 15 degrees F and reduce baking time by 20%
 - Reduce leavening by 1/8 to 1/4 tsp for each tsp needed
 - Decrease sugar by 1-2 Tbsp
 - Increase liquid by 2-4 Tbsp
 - Whip egg whites to soft peaks rather than stiff peaks
 - Thoroughly grease pans except when baking angel food cake
 - Consider using XL eggs instead of L
 - For cookies add up to 1/4 c flour

Cooking:
 - Increase boiling/simmering time (water boils at lower temp)
 - When making candy, reduce target temp by 1 degree F for each 500ft above sea level
 - When deep-frying, decrease temp 3 degrees for every 1000ft above sea level

So there you have it. As I remember more tips or substitutions that I've needed, I'll update the list. Hope this helps.

Grain-Free Fudgy Brownies

Eric asked me to make brownies for him again, but the wasn't quite as impressed with the last batch as I was. So we tried the recipe from The Primal Blueprint Cookbook. I really wish we hadn't. They were awful! They smelled so good and looked pretty good, but they tasted nasty. So, we stuffed those down the disposal made another batch. They turned out wonderfully. We used Cook's Illustrated's Chewy Fudgy Triple Chocolate Brownies recipe and used almond and coconut flour instead of the regular flour. Not primal, but still grain-free.

5 oz Ghiradelli 86% dark chocolate
2 Tbsp coconut oil
8 Tbsp unsalted butter
9 Tbsp cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1 c brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
3 oz almond flour
1-2 Tbsp coconut flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 8 x 8 pan with foil using the *sling method and butter the foil.
Melt chocolate, oil and butter together in double-boiler. Whisk in cocoa powder until smooth. Set aside to cool.
Whisk eggs and sugar together in small bowl. When chocolate mixture is slightly cooled, whisk egg mixture, vanilla and salt into chocolate. Fold or whisk in flours, using 1 Tbsp of coconut flour. If batter isn't as thick as you like, use the second Tbsp of coconut flour. (We used 2 Tbsp.)
Bake 35-40 min or until toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
These will cut much better when they are cool, so try to be patient. If you can't wait, lift the brownies out of the pan with the foil sling and cut into 1" cubes. Or just top the whole thing with some vanilla ice cream and chopped nuts and grab a spoon.

*Sling method: Fold a 12 x 12 piece of foil into a 7 x 12 rectangle. Press into pan leaving a handle on either side. Repeat with a second piece of foil laid perpendicular to the first piece. Your pan will be completely lined and the brownies will lift out for easy cooling and cutting.

We're Done Moving!!

We moved this week. Everything is finally at the new house and the old house is spotlessly clean. My family and I have been eating out for the last week and I'm so tired of it. I used to love going out to eat, but it's not so much fun when you really don't have a choice. And when your kitchen is so full of boxes that there is no way to get to the refrigerator or counter tops, you don't really have much of a choice when meal time comes around. And for a person who is trying to avoid grains, potatoes and excessive salt, it's difficult to eat out.

I'm so happy that we have unpacked our kitchen stuff, at least the cooking stuff. I still haven't found the plates, so paper will have to do for now. But at least I can start cooking again. We had some wonderful scrambled eggs this morning for breakfast. It may have been my favorite meal since last Sunday. I knew exactly what was in it and I knew for certain that it would be tasty. I was ecstatic.

Now that we're all moved and we have enough unpacked to have a functional house again, I'm going to be focusing my time (that isn't spent unpacking) on figuring out what I'm going to study in the fall. Eric and I were discussing it this morning and I had a bit of a revelation. Eric asked, "What is something that you could enjoy doing for 10 hours a day every day?" My answer: baking. I could spend every day baking up delicious treats for others and thoroughly enjoy it. I still really miss baking since switching to a Primal diet, even if I don't miss eating the results. So it is possible that I could be enrolling in pastry school in the fall. How fun would that be?! And I may actually learn how to bake a cake at high-altitude that doesn't fall and leave a big dent in the middle.

So that's all for now. Since my cookbooks are still all packed, I'll be searching the internet for recipes to cook. I'll post any winners. In the mean time, check out this recipe for Sweet and Salty Primal Trail Mix.

I made it last week so I could have an easy snack while I was packing. I just eyeballed everything, tripled the recipe and tweaked it to my liking. Here's about what I used:
1 1/2 to 2 c each walnuts, pecans, almonds, pumpkin seeds & sunflower seeds
3 Tbsp coconut oil
2 Tbsp vanilla
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c honey
1 1/2 c dried cranberries & dried apricots, cut into small pieces

Instead of following the directions, I toasted the nuts for 7 minutes and then broke them into smallish pieces. I toasted the seeds for about 3 minutes. Then I tossed the seeds and nuts together. I melted the honey and coconut oil together in a small pan and stirred in the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. (I cut back on the nutmeg because I'm not a big fan of it.) I poured the honey mixture over the nuts and seeds, toasted it for another 5 minutes and then mixed the fruit in. It's absolutely delicious. I put it in my morning yogurt and cottage cheese (yum!) and just ate it right out of the storage container. I had to force myself to stop eating it when my stomach started feeling too full. Seriously, if I didn't practice self-control, I could eat the whole batch. In fact, our last batch is gone, so I think I'll make some more right now.

Update:
I followed the recipe this time to the letter, measuring everything. My first batch was SO much better. This last batch turned out too nutmeg-y and too salty. I prefer the first batch. I'll be going back to that "recipe."

Lasagna With Zucchini "Noodles"

I have been meaning to get this recipe posted for almost a week now. Sorry it's taken me so long.

I was worried, while I was making this, that the kids wouldn't eat it. I shouldn't have worried. They all loved it. None of us missed the pasta noodles at all. I used my mandolin to slice the zucchini about 1/8" thick and layered it all just like regular lasagna. Unlike regular lasagna though, I had to use a sharp knife to cut it into pieces rather than just using the spatula. That was the only drawback and really, it's pretty minor.

Lasagna With Zucchini "Noodles"

4 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise 1/8" thick
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced small
6 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbsp)
1 lb ground beef
1/2 c heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 - 28oz can crushed tomatoes
1 - 28oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained
24oz cottage cheese
2 eggs
1 1/4 c Parmesan cheese
1/2 c fresh basil, minced or 2 Tbsp dried
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1-1 1/2 c mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In large 12" skillet or dutch oven heat oil over med heat. Add onions add cook 4 minutes or until just beginning to soften. Add garlic and cook 1 min more. Add ground beef to the pan and break up while browning. After 4 minutes, pour in cream and continue cooking until all the liquid has boiled away and just the fat is left. Add salt, pepper and canned tomatoes and stir to combine. Turn heat to med-low and allow flavors to meld while you prepare the cheese filling.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs slightly. Add cottage and Parmesan cheeses, basil, salt and pepper. Stir together thoroughly.

Assembly:
Scoop about 1/2 cup of tomato sauce into the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan and spread it around. Arrange a layer of zucchini to cover the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/4 of the cheese over the zucchini. Top with 1 1/2 c sauce. Repeat these layers 3 more times, pouring the remaining sauce over the top. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until bubbly and the zucchini is soft. Remove pan from oven and turn oven to broil. Top lasagna with mozzarella cheese and broil until melted, brown and bubbly.
Allow lasagna to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Variations on the same theme:
 - I am making something similar tonight. It's more of a ratatouille than a lasagna and my husband called it "Ratatouille Lasagna." I didn't use the cheese and used Italian sausage instead of ground beef. I layered zucchini, yellow squash and eggplant with the sauce. I added the basil to the sauce since there was no cheese and baked it all together until it was soft. After serving, we topped it with a little goat cheese for a bit of tang. If you are not opposed to eating bread, a crusty baguette would be wonderful with this. Or maybe some rice.
 - You could leave the meat out of the sauce and serve grilled salmon or chicken with the ratatouille version.

 - You could add more veggies to the lasagna, such as spinach, mushrooms, broccoli or eggplant.

Almost Primal Chocolate Chip Scones

I found this recipe and just had to make it. I tweaked it a bit like I am apt to do these days to make my food more primal. I was hopeful, but still a bit skeptical about these. I've found many recipes for primal baked goods that got rave reviews. But when I tried them, they were horrible. (I'm a bit picky about my baked goods.) These were amazing. My kids gobbled them up in less than 5 minutes. I think that they'll become a breakfast staple at our house now.

Instead of using canola oil, I used coconut oil. I melted it and mixed it with the eggs, but it solidified in the eggs. So next time, I'll cut in the coconut oil like I would with butter. I used table salt instead of kosher, I just used half as much. I also used honey instead of agave nectar. I used mini semi-sweet chocolate chips because that's what I had on hand. They were a bit too sweet for my taste, so next time I'll use 1-2 Tbsp of honey if I use extra dark chocolate or just leave it out altogether, especially if I use semi-sweet chips again. These would be really good with wild blueberries and a bit of lemon curd too.

 

So here's how I'll make them next time:

Chocolate Chip Scones

(makes 8 large scones)

2 1/2 c almond flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/3 c coconut oil
1-2 Tbsp honey

2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4-1/2 c chopped 85% dark chocolate


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
Using a pastry blender or a fork, cut in solid coconut oil.
In small bowl combine eggs and honey. Pour into dry ingredients and stir with rubber spatula.
Stir in chocolate.
Using a spring-loaded ice cream scoop or two spoons, scoop dough onto pan.
Bake 15-17 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.

The Cake Is A Lie!

For those of you who are not PC gamers, this scarf is a nod to Portal, a great game that my husband got me hooked on a while back. Portal 2 came out recently and I thought my dear hubby needed to have a scarf that say "The Cake Is A Lie." I had planned to give it to him before Portal 2 was released, but that didn't happen. I had been working on this scarf patter for about 9 months. I have started it and ripped it out so many times that I lost count. I tried fair isle knitting, but it ended up all bunchy and awful. I tried doing more of an intarsia technique and it looked worse than the fair isle. I finally decided that since in the first game, the cake was an illusion, an illusion technique would be perfect.

Once again, I started and ripped out the scarf many, many times. I just didn't like the way the alphabet fonts were knitting up with this technique. I ended up scrapping everything and tweaking an alphabet chart so it would work. And I think the scarf  turned out wonderfully. It took me forever to make it and I'm so glad it's done. But, it is completely my creation, from inception to completion. I'm quite proud of it, even if I did finish it just in time for summer. When Eric wears in come fall, people are going to be amazed.

Chucking The Grain Is Getting Tough

I am a baker. I love to bake all kinds of yummy creations and fill my house with the smell of something wonderful ready to come out of the oven. Since diving into the Primal lifestyle, my house has been devoid of all baked goods (with the exception of a few treats for end-of-the-year parties for the kids classes). I'm not going to lie, it's really tough for me.

Since going primal, I don't really crave sweets anymore. I used to "need" something sweet every day. These days, a few squares of a 77% Extra Strong Chocolove bar is too sweet and I have to pair it with some unsweetened almond butter. But I still want to bake and have those smells filling up my house. I've tried baking using coconut and almond flours in place of regular flour, but have had little to no success. It's rather disappointing. The baked goods smell good, but turn out like hockey pucks or with the texture of an omelet rather than a baked treat. Seriously, this is the only difficult part of the lifestyle change for me.

I've given up all breads and baked goods as a result of all my failed attempts at substitutions. Very sad for me, the compulsive baker. I don't always miss the bread though. I recently put my chicken salad into endive leaves and thoroughly enjoyed it. Even the kids loved it. They were inhaling the little bite-size morsels as fast as I could put them together. If the kids eat it, I call it a winner.

I've also had some other wins with primal cooking rather than baking recipes that I have posted on the blog that I share with my sisters. Feel free to check them out.

Primal Fajitas

I made some fajitas for dinner the other night. It was sooooooo good. Since we're going primal, we didn't eat tortillas. At first I wondered what we would have with our steak and veggies. The answer: more veggies. Instead of heaping our fajita fixings into a flour tortilla, we put it on top of a big bed of mixed baby greens. Then we topped it like we would do with regular fajitas or a taco salad, with sour cream, fresh salsa and fresh guacamole. (Have I told you how excited I am that this diet lets me eat tons of avocado? I'm pretty ecstatic.)

It was fantastic. Really simple solution with super tasty results. Another option that I considered was using butter lettuce leaves in lieu of tortillas. I think that would have been just as tasty, but we didn't have any that night. *sigh* Next time.

So here are the recipes. The original recipe calls for using a grill, but it was raining and we don't like grilling in the rain. So I adapted it for the stove top. Enjoy!

Fresh Guacamole
3 medium avocados
2 Tbsp red onion, minced
1 small jalapeno, minced
1 medium clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 c cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Scoop out the avocado into a medium bowl. Smash with a fork until it is about half smooth and half chunky. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together. Cover with plastic wrap and push it right onto the top of the guacamole. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Fresh Salsa
3 medium tomatoes, diced small
1/2 c tomato juice
1 chipotle chile, minced fine
1 medium red onion, diced small
1 medium clove garlic, minced
1/2 c cilantro
3 Tbsp fresh lime juice

Mix it all together in a medium bowl and refrigerate 1 hour.

Fajitas (serves 8)
2 1/2 lbs flank steak
1/4 c lime juice
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 very large onion, cut in wedges
2 large bell peppers, cut in wedges

Squeeze lime juice onto steak and season with salt and pepper, both sides.
Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a skillet over med-high heat until very hot. Add veggies and saute until just starting to soften. Remove from heat and transfer veggies to a large bowl.
Heat remaining oil in skillet. Add whole steak. Cook covered for 5 minutes on each side.
Remove steak from heat and transfer to a cutting board. Slice across the grain into thin strips. Return all steak, any juices that have accumulated and veggies back to pan. Saute until steak is cooked to your liking and veggies are heated through.
Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, fresh salsa and fresh guacamole over mixed greens or use lettuce leaves for tortillas.

Losing weight!

Okay, so I wrote that last post about 5 days ago, but forgot to post it. So here's an update about the new diet.

I have lost 4 pounds since my weigh-in last week. 4 POUNDS! And that was only from changing my diet. I didn't really exercise since my weigh-in except for a couple walks because I was sick and then super busy. But I still managed to lose 4 pounds.

And here's the super exciting part: I wasn't hungry all the time. I ate as much protein and veggies as I wanted at meal times and grabbed a banana with almond butter for a morning snack and that was it. I had energy all day long, no highs and lows, just constant energy. I slept like the dead most nights and have been in a pretty good mood all week too. I'm in a great mood today since it was weigh-in time and I had lost weight.

I was pretty skeptical about this diet when we started and I kept track of what I was eating. I figured that there was no way I could lose weight without feeling half-starved all the time. And absolutely no possibility of losing weight when I was eating eggs and bacon most mornings. But it really does work. I've lost a total of 12 pounds in the last month. At this rate, I'll make my goal of losing 20 pounds before my birthday with plenty of time to spare. And that means I'll get my big reward (to be determined, I haven't figured out what it will be yet. If Eric meets his goal, he gets a big chunk of cash toward a $1500 bike. That's how big I'm talking.)

Gotta go get the little monsters from school. Oh, that reminds me. I didn't really think about it, but my kids have had more energy because they are doing this diet too. I hadn't considered that. They've been bouncing off the walls for a week. Time for some play time at the park, I think.

If you want to learn more about this diet, start here:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com//welcome-to-marks-daily-apple/

Time to Trim Down

Hooray, Blogger is working again!

So, it's no big secret: I'm a bit overweight. Okay, more than a bit. I've put on a lot of weight since Eric and I got married almost 10 years ago. (It'll be 10 years on May 19th!) We both have. I've been trying to watch what I eat lately, counting calories eaten and burned, cutting out the sweets (mostly), drinking LOTS of water and cutting back on my fat intake. I've been exercising between 3 and 6 times a week. I have been doing pretty well with the exception of a few cheat days and a week of being so sick I could hardly get off the couch. I lost 7 1/2 pounds in about 3 weeks, which is good. But, I haven't really been feeling better. I've been tired and feeling hungry and deprived most of the time. I have a goal of losing 20 pounds by my birthday and if I could stick to my plan, I could probably make it. However, I'm not sure I could continue sticking to that plan. I don't do well with deprivation. I tend to get to a breaking point, then I binge on junk and feel like a failure. Time to change tactics.

Eric and I watched Fat Head last week when I was sick. There was a lot of information in that film that made a lot of sense to me. And it got me thinking and asking questions:
1) Why has the government told us to eat a lot of grains as part of a healthy diet when animals are fed grain to fatten them up? Can't wrap my head around that one.
2) Is the abundance of gluten allergies these days occurring because our bodies aren't programmed to handle so much grain? Quite possibly.
3a) Are vegetable oils really "healthy" if they have to be chemically extracted from the vegetables? Doesn't sound right to me
  b) And if it is so healthy, why can consuming said oils contribute to developing cancer? Again, seems like that goes against all logic. "Healthy food" shouldn't contribute to a person getting cancer.

Happy Mother's Day

I had a bit of a frustrating night on Saturday night. I went to bed annoyed and didn't sleep particularly well. When I woke up on Sunday morning, I really didn't want to be awake. I just wanted to stay in bed for the day.

My day got a lot better though. My wonderful husband told me to pretend to be asleep so the kids could bring me breakfast in bed. There was no need to pretend. I went back to sleep and it was great. Next thing I knew, Eric and the kids were bringing me my breakfast. Lizzy made me bacon. Joshua made me scrambled eggs. Jacob made me some toast with lots of butter. And Eric made me a mimosa and added some strawberries to the plate. I'm not sure who decided I needed cookies with my breakfast, but I gladly ate them. It was sincerely one of the best breakfasts I'd had in a long time. And of course one of the best parts about it was that I didn't have to do the cooking.

After breakfast, Eric and I played some cooperative Portal 2. Lots of fun. That game really makes you have to think to figure out the puzzles. Love games like that.

We had some quiet time. The kids stayed in their room, Eric fell asleep and I watched a movie and worked on my knitting project. Very relaxing. After quiet time, we all went for a long walk, almost 4 miles. The kids did pretty well considering it was a fairly warm day. Our destination was a Redbox kiosk at Walgreens to return and rent movies. We picked up a pack of Uno cards too. We ended up playing Uno until bath time and then it was bedtime for the kids.

It was a really good day. I know that, like most moms, I can get really fed up with and tired of my kids. But really, they are great kids. I love them. They are sweet, loving and smart, each one of them. I am grateful for them and a wonderful husband who keeps me from giving them away on my more stress-filled days. This Mother's Day was the best one I've ever had.

Brown Butter Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

What? Is it possible to pack that much tastiness in one cookie? Why yes, it is. These are the most amazing cookies I've ever had.

I introduced my friend Debe to the Cook's Illustrated Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe a while back. Recently she informed me that she made them even better. I was skeptical. I mean, can you really improve on perfection. Apparently, you can if you add coconut. Now, I love coconut, but it never occurred to me to put it in chocolate chip cookies. That's mostly due to my obsession with following a recipe to the letter. (I'm a little OCD when it comes to following baking recipes.) I am so glad that Debe's not that way. It's one of the many reasons we get along so well. She pushes me to be more laid back with my recipes and I introduce her to lots of new and amazing recipes, which she goes on to tweak to her heart's content.

These cookies combine the nutty, toffee-like flavor of browned butter with toasted coconut and chocolate. If you like nuts, a cup or so in this recipe would not necessarily go amiss, (perhaps some macadamia nuts). I, however, will save my nuts for another recipe. I think trying to pack anymore goodness into these cookies would be a bit reckless and possibly dangerous, at least to my waistline.

The technique of browning butter can be used for any cookie recipes to add a little extra tastiness. So, next time you get a hankering for amazing chocolate chip cookies, something extra special, here's what you do:

Dig out your favorite chocolate cookie recipe. Take 3/4 of the butter and melt it over med-low heat in a skillet, about 2 minutes. Once it is melted, keep an eye on it. Butter can go from browned to burnt in a snap. Once it turns a light golden brown, 1-3 minutes more, remove it from the heat and add the remaining butter, allowing it to melt as well. Pour the melted butter into the bowl of a mixer and allow to cool a bit

While the butter cools, toast your coconut in a 350 degree oven on a baking sheet. Again, keep an eye on it. Stir it every 2 minutes until it is golden brown and toasted. Put the toasted coconut in the blender or food processor and pulse it until chopped fine.

Continue following the recipe, substituting coconut extract for vanilla and adding the toasted coconut with the flour. Bake as directed.

These are best right out of the oven, but if there are any that last until they're cool, store them in an air tight container. I don't know how long they'll keep since our batch only lasted 2 days.

Enjoy!