Dinner Tonight!

I think I need to make this for dinner tonight - yum! So many veggies are finally in season, making a trip to the farmer's market this weekend keeps sounding like a better idea!

Via The Seattle Times





What the heck?!

I've been seeing some pretty interesting products at the grocery store lately... how exactly do you cook 'beef liver sliced' or a whole goose?!  

Safeway on 75th



QFC on Roosevelt



Funny!

Hilarious! I haven't learned how to do a snatch yet, though I'm not sure I'd want to wear this shirt out in public even if I knew what I was doing.  Wikipedia's definition of a snatch if you're curious!

via Manimal Wear





Mama Melina's Tropicale Salad

A couple of weeks ago I went to Mama Melina's for lunch with the girls. I wouldn't recommend going here if you're trying to avoid gluten and cheese, it took all of the will power I could muster to stop myself from ordering a heaping plate of pasta. I was pleasantly suprised at how good a Hawaiian inspired dish could be at an Italian restaurant.  Funny.  This salad was very easy to recreate at home, I combined romaine lettuce, hearts of palm, pineapple, corn and chicken and made a quick dressing using olive oil and lime juice.  Perfect for the sunny weather we're starting to see in Seattle!

Curried Cauliflower

Sometimes after a long day at work, a tough workout or any other excuse I can think of I don't feel like making myself dinner. This inevitably leads me straight to prepared food section at Whole Foods. Last week I dished myself up a generous portion of their curried cauliflower and though delicious, it was dripping with oil. Yuck.  Nom Nom Paleo had a easy sounding Roasted Curried Cauliflower recipe, I tried it out this week with astounding success.  Yum!

Right before going in the oven

This is actually really good for breakfast!

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower, cut into bite sized florets
• Melted coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons curry powder (I used Penzey's Maharajah Curry Powder)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Half a lemon or several tablespoons of lemon juice

Directions: Preheat over to 450 degrees.  In a large bowl toss the cauliflower, coconut oil, curry powder, salt and pepper.  Place the cauliflower on a foil lined baking sheet and cover tightly with another piece of foil.  Roast for 15 minutes, remove the top piece of foil and continue roasting for an additional 20 minutes.  If you have time I would suggest flipping the florets every so often.    Plate and serve with lemon juice. Enjoy!

Dessert!



Not eating refined sugar presents a bit of a problem when you're craving dessert.  I found these two recipes on The Kitchn and am dying to try them!





Chocolate Avocado Mousse via The Kitchn





Banana Ice Cream via The Kitchn



Sleep Like an All Star

The Kid sent this to me yesterday - pretty interesting!  There's a few fun facts and a graph of much sleep famous athletes get every night.  I wish I could get 9 or 10 hours! Someone's bringing down the average, I'll give you hint, it's a guy.  This made me laugh, I wonder what he's doing at night instead of sleeping?! HA!

Sleep Like an All Star

Giada's Asparagus and Zucchini Crudi

I was channel surfing last weekend and starting watching Giada's Everyday Italian on the Food Network.   She made a very simple asparagus and zucchini crudi.  I've been trying to eat more raw vegetables and this was perfect! 

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
• 2 zucchini, trimmed
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• Salt & pepper to taste

Directions: Using a vegetable peeler, shave the zucchini into long thin strips.  Thinly slice the asparagus on a diagonal. Combine the zucchini and aspargus in a large bowl and toss with the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Enjoy!

Doesn't This Food Look Amazing?!

So I'm back on my paleo kick for the month of May.  I'm only 6 days in but so far it's going really well!  Paleo is essentially eating only animal protein, veggies, healthy fats and some fruits and nuts.  No bread, dairy, rice, refined sugar, etc etc.  The first thing people usually ask when I tell them about eating paleo is some form of 'what do you actually eat?!' The Kitchn had a great post today - A Peek Into the Paleo Diet: Dinner with Philip & Lenora.  Doesn't the food look amazing?! This is the type of stuff you get to enjoy when you eat paleo. Yum!!


via The Kitchn



Egg Cups

Finally got around to making those egg cups from a couple weeks back.  So incredibly easy!  I didn't use a recipe - just greased up a muffin tin, cut some turkey deli meat slices in half and laid them in the bottom of the cups.  Added one egg in each tin and sprinkled some black pepper, garlic and dried basil on the top.  I baked them for about a half an hour on 350 degrees.   Maybe next time I'll add some tomatoes, pesto or some other fun ingredient.  Enjoy!



Penzey's!

I went on a little field trip yesterday to Penzeys Spices in downtown Seattle.  If you have 20 minutes to kill I highly recommend it! I smelled just about every single spice and extract in the store, it was a little bit of a sensory overload.  I originally went in looking for a southwest/taco/fajita seasoning without salt (I need to get ready for Cinco de Mayo!) but wasn't very successful. They did have a lot of delicious smelling curry blends - I picked up the Maharajah Style Curry Powder. I hope it tastes as good as it smells!

Bought some garlic powder too!

Roasted Mushrooms

I tried out the roasted mushroom recipe from The Kitchen and they turned out great! Much easier then sauteing in a pan.   I enjoyed these with some bacon wrapped chicken (healthy I know).

Right before they went in the oven

They look a little gross but they were delicious!

A Few Ideas

I haven't tried out any new recipes in the last week or so, I'm starting to get back logged! Here are some of the options I've been eyeing, you should probably try them out and let me know if they're work making!

Roasted Mushrooms with Herbs - this looks amazing! I'm thinking these mushrooms would be excellent with some honey-balsamic marinated flank steak.

via The Kitchn

Make Your Own Curry Recipe Maker - I found a link to this site while browsing through The Kitchn.  I've made curry quite a few times without any sort of recipe, I love all the ideas this gives you!  I also saw a awesome looking recipe for curry yesterday on Everyday Paleo, I need to try this one too!

Red or Green Thai Curry via Everyday Paleo

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas - I'm not gluten free but I love reading the Gluten Free Goddess for inspiration and the pretty pictures. I saw sweet potatoes and enchiladas in the same sentence and was sold on the idea of making these. Maybe for Cinco de Mayo?!

via Gluten Free Goddess

Another NY Times Article

You need to read this! What's the Best Exercise via The New York Times.

Pretty interesting though some of this seems like common sense.   We actually do A LOT of squats and burpees at crossfit, can't really say that they're my favorite.  

Via CrossFit Santa Cruz

Wing Dome

The Kid and I went out to the Wing Dome in Kirkland last night to cheer on Matt while he undertook the 7 Deadly Wings Challenge.  He ate them like a champ and licked the last bits of sauce off his fingers just before the time ran out. I wonder how he's feeling today?!

I didn't eat any 7 alarm wings (extreme spicy is not my thing) but I did try out 4 of the other flavors AND some pickle chips. As usual it's go big or go home if you're going to eat a bunch of unhealthy crap.  The hands-down favorite between The Kid and I was the Sambal Peanut Sauce wings, who knew peanuts and chicken would be such an amazing combination?! I'll have to try to find a recipe for these online...

Channeling our inner Snooki

I didn't get to eat these all myself, I had to share. LAME!

Sweet Potato Latkes

The Kid made me sweet potato latkes last weekend!  Is there anything better than a fried sweet potato?! I've been wanting to try these for awhile now and they were just as good as I thought they'd be.  Enjoy with a little (or a lot of) sour cream.  There are tons of recipes for these online, All Recipes and Epicurious had decent offerings.  Next up - zucchini latkes?!

Delish!



Latkes taste even better if made while wearing this shirt!



Copy Cat

Last week I met Sara at the Cheesecake Factory in Bellevue, and as usual, deciding what to order took forever.  Their menu is extremely overwhelming! Are the multiple pages really necessary?!  I got the avocado egg rolls and just about died they were so good! I HAD to make them at home.  There are a lot of recipes for these online, the one from Food.com seemed the most legit. Instead of making the actual deep fried egg rolls I decided to put all of the ingredients on a bed of crunchy romaine lettuce and use the dipping sauce as a salad dressing. You should stop what you're doing and make this right NOW! I followed the recipe pretty closely but didn't add the tamarind pulp because I couldn't find any at Whole Foods.  The dipping sauce ended up being fairly thick, when I make this next time I'll add a little more olive oil. Yum!

Cheesecake Factory Avacado Salad


Ingredients:


Dressing

• 3 teaspoons white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 pinch powdered saffron
• 1/2 cup cashews
• 2/3 cup fresh cilantro
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 cup olive oil (needs more)

Salad

• 4 cups of romaine lettuce
• 1 avacado, peeled, pitted and diced
• 3 tablespoons sundried tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon minced red onion
• 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro

Directions:  Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a food processor and blend until creamy.  Combine the salad ingredients in a large bowl and top with the dressing. You'll probably end up with extra dressing but that's a good thing! Enjoy!

Cooking fail

Cooking an egg in a tomato seemed so simple until the tomato burst....at least it was delicious! Maybe next time I'll try cooking the tomato in a mini muffin tin?  The options are pretty much endless for what you could add into the tomato, I put some pesto into the bottom before cracking the egg.  Yum!

For some reason this makes me laugh

Pesto makes anything better



Weekend Project

I try to eat breakfast at home on weekdays as there aren't very many healthy options in downtown Seattle.  If I don't eat before I reach the office I usually fall prey to the delicious baked goods from Specialty's... bad news bears. 

Recently my favorite lunch buffet place started serving breakfast. Yup, I took a picture.  See that cute little ham and egg cup in the upper left hand corner?  I hadn't seen anything like it before but apparently there are a lot of recipes online for variations of ham and eggs cooked in a muffin tin.  Who knew?  This recipe from Epicurious got really good ratings, I'm considering making it this weekend.  Maybe sub turkey for the ham?

I'm also thinking about making the tomato egg cups I saw at the kitchn.  They look delicious!



Cute little ham and egg cup!



Tomato Egg Cups at At La Casita Inspirada



Ick!

Guess what I found in my Trader Joe's baby spinach AFTER I'd finished most of the bag?!  Yuck.  I know that people eat grasshoppers in some parts of the world but this really isn't saying very much about TJ's quality control.   On the bright side I'm sure there is A LOT worse things to find mixed in with your veggies.

 



BIG Summer Plans

Right now I'm pretty doubtful about spring...but I have BIG plans for summer.  I want to do everything I planned on last year but somehow didn't have time for. Not this year! I'm going to do it ALL (hahaha check back with me in September)!  A few things on my list:

Stand Up PaddleboardingI actually rented boats a few times last summer through Green Lake Boat Rentals but never went paddleboarding.  Wasn’t this the big thing with celebrities last year or the year before? I guess I’m behind the times but it still looks like fun!

Buy An Inflatable BoatI NEED an inflatable boat this year for floating in Green Lake because I refuse to get in the water. It's disgusting! Did you know that back in the day they used to pump raw sewage into the lake?!  Yuck.  I'm picturing myself sitting in this boat on a warm sunny day with some yummy snacks and a good book.  Perhaps in a few years I'll move up to something with a motor!

Go HikingThe last time I went hiking I was in Los Angeles, the time before that I was in San Diego.  I think it’s just about time to go hiking in Seattle!  Anyone have some recommendations for an easy hike that's close by? Preferably with some sort of view, waterfall or other site worth seeing?  I need to spend some time perusing around online for some good ideas - maybe some research at Washington Trails Association?

Hollywood sign!

Blog Love

I've only been to Black Bottle once and I unfortunately did not order the garlic blasted broccoli but both of my roommates have tried it and couldn't stop raving.  A quick Google search for the recipe lead to me to Dana Treat and I've been following her ever since.  She's in Seattle! The pictures are mouth-watering!  It's not really my type of food (mostly vegetarian) but I always want to make everything she posts. Anyone interested in taking one of her cooking classes?!

"Blasted" Broccoli via Dana Treat

The garlic blasted broccoli I made tonight!

Purple Cabbage Slaw

Another great recipe inspired by Everyday Paleo!  I'm really on a cabbage kick lately, not sure where that came from?  The next time I make this I'll be adding more mango and avocado, you can never have enough!

Purple Cabbage Slaw

Ingredients:

• 3 cups purple cabbage, chopped
• 1/3 cup purple onion, finely chopped
• 1 mango, diced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions: Combine in a bowl.   We ate this with some taco seasoned chicken. Enjoy!





Food for Thought

A couple articles from yesterday that I thought were interesting:

Italian Mamma Put Meals on Wheels, Say 'Mangai' to Faraway Offspring - WSJ

The Model Roberta Mancino Raises Her Profile By Showing Some Skin  - New York Times

Fat Stigma Spreading Around the Globe - New York Times

Chicken and Vegetable 'Lo-Mein'

I've been making a lot of Italian, Mexican and American dishes lately, definitely time to spice things up a bit! Last night the Kid and I tried out a recipe from The Food Lovers' Primal Palate and it was a smashing success. Such amazing flavors! I had never cooked with coconut aminos and ginger before - why didn't I try using these sooner?! I would include the recipe but we didn't really make any note worthy changes so without further ado - check out the recipe!  The only thing we did differently was to add extra garlic (you can never have enough) and quite a bit of chili power.  Enjoy!

I'm not a Monday person

I'm really not a Monday person but honestly, is anyone?  In the spirit of being a bit more postive here are the top 3 reasons that THIS Monday was awesome (I know really, who uses the word awesome anymore?!):

1. I am officially signed up for Warrior Dash! There are only three start times left on Sunday so if you want to sign up you should probably do it soon.
2. After having to do a quick return and re-order my new correctly fitting purple Brooks finally showed up on my doorstep. LOVE at first sight.
3. I decided to treat myself to some flank steak for breakfast this morning.  This turned out to be such a great decision that I think I will be eating steak for breakfast for the rest of the week. Try not to be jealous. I can't find the recipe I used for but the below is pretty close!

Lemon-Lime Flank Steak Marinade

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon cilantro
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried onion
• 1/2 tablespoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions: Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Add the flank steak to a large ziploc bag and pure in the marinade.  Refridgerate overnight. Enjoy!

Obligatory picture of me wearing the purple Brooks!



I either really love to cook or I've gone a bit crazy....

Last night I might have gone on a cooking spree...don't think I'm going to need to make anything else for at least a week.  In no particular order I made:

• Baked sweet potatoes with lime and cilantro
• Baked asparagus with lemon and pepper
• Mashed yams and cauliflower with coconut milk (the topping from the sheperd's pie)
• Lemon spinach with onions from The Clothes Make the Girl
• Random Italian stir-fry with ground turkey, chicken sausage, zucchini, asparagus, spinach, sun dried tomatoes and marinara sauce (everything in the fridge that was about to go bad)

Everything but the kitchen sink!

Steamy yams and cauliflower

Lemony spinach with onions



Dinner on Sunday



Triple XXX Rootbeer Drive-In

The Kid and I headed out to Issaquah yesterday for Nick and Laura's wedding (congrats you two!).  On the way home we decided to stop at Triple XXX Rootbeer Drive-In because apparently that's all there is in Issaquah besides Pickering Barn.  It's funny, we're both trying to eat really healthy right now but I guess you either go big or go home if you're going to cheat.

The picture doesn't really do the burgers justice...

Rootbeer float the size of my face!

Whole Slow Roasted Chicken

I actually made this last week but completely forgot until I noticed the pictures while looking for something else on my computer.   Don't be intimidated by cooking a whole chicken! The only gross part is taking out the giblets and that's over it about 3 seconds. I usually buy mine from Trader Joe's - they have Draper Valley Farms chickens for around $6. Their chicken isn't really organic but I think it's good enough!  Yup, I want to know where my chicken comes from. I'm guessing everyone and their mom has seen this clip but just in case!  The first couple of times I made this I used a recipe from Food.com but finally branched out and made my own spice blend.  Gina posted about this too, check out her pictures!

Spice blend from Food.com:

4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder


My spice blend:

2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons onion power
1 teaspoons garlic power
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon basil

Obvious ingredient: 1 large whole roasting chicken

Directions: Combine all spices in a small bowl. Clean the chicken and remove any giblets or other gross bits. Rub the spice mixture onto the chicken.  Place the bird inside a resealable plastic bag and refridgerate overnight (optional but worth the extra effort).  Put the chicken into the crockpot and cook on low for 4 - 8 hours. (I've been cooking mine for 7 hours). If you're worried at all double check the bird with a thermometer - it should be around 165 degrees. Enjoy!

The 11th Crossfit Skill

I follow quite a few crossfit/paleo blogs and also read a lot of fashion blogs.  I didn't really think the two went together until I stumbled accross The 11th Crossfit Skill while reading the latest post from The Clothes Make the Girl. 

Fantastic idea for a blog!  I included a few of my favorite outfits below.  Apparently I really like purple workout gear, short shorts and knee high socks.  I would love to rock this look but don't short shorts and knee high socks scream LOOK AT ME!?   Well maybe that's the point.

Sure Doesn't Feel Like Spring

I don't think Seattle got the memo that it's suppose to be spring now.  I'm still in winter comfort food mode due to all of the rain, freezing wind and general nastiness outside.  I found this recipe via chowstalker, it's a website similar to allrecipes except paleo friendly.  Shepherd's pie is fabulous on a cold day, it's completely worth the effort!

Inspired by Family Living Simple

Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 pound organic ground beef
• 2 bags frozen blend of carrots, green beans, peas and corn
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 head cauliflower, cut into pieces
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup almond meal
• 6 or more cloves of garlic, minced
• Oregano, basil, black pepper and salt to taste

Directions:  Preheat over to 400 degrees. Boil a few cups of water in a large stock pot and add sweet potatoes and cauliflower.  It would also work to steam them but I think boiling is a lot easier. Defrost veggies and saute in a large wok with coconut oil (olive oil would work too).  In another pan saute the ground beef with a few cloves of garlic.  Once the sweet potatoes and cauliflower have softened drain out the water. Add the coconut milk and mash together with a fork. Once the ground beef is thoroughly cooked add it to the veggies and stir in the almond meal.   Add spices to taste.  In a large baking dish spread out the the veggies and meat with the sweet potato and cauliflower mixture on top. Bake for 40 minutes or until lightly browned. Enjoy!

Veggies and ground beef

  

About to add the sweet potatoes and cauliflower



Perfect for *spring* weather