London Broil salad

One of the items I usually cook on Sunday for meals for the week is a London Broil. Actually, I often cook 2 of them since my Big Guy eats them for lunch during the week.
This week some thinly sliced London Broil made its way in to a salad comprised of romaine lettuce, radish, grape tomatoes and a drizzle of Magic Sauce. Fantastic! As if Magic Sauce isn't magical enough, the weather has been so warm here that I was still able to make it with rosemary, oregano & thyme from my garden.

Roasted chicken salad

I usually roast a chicken on Sunday while I am cooking for the week. Once it's cooked off, I pick all the flesh off and store that in the fridge for use during the week.
This salad was roasted chicken, romaine, carrots, radish & red pepper with a touch of home made japanese style mayo and a squeeze of lemon juice.

"Thai" style chicken

Testing phone blogging

Here's a batch of sauerkraut made with red cabbage & red onion. 2 days in and its getting sour & fizzy. Onion taste is mellowing somewhat. Beautiful, tasty & full of probiotic goodness!

Rutgers AG-Field Day

Last Saturday was Rutgers AG-Field day. It's sort of a celebration of all things relating to Rutgers University fantastic Agriculture department, their lovely Farmers Market and all of their nature/earth sciences departments. They have a huge plant sale, with most of the plants being grown in their own greenhouses. I scored a couple of beauties for a very low price - Motherwort, Comfrey,(which the lady was kind enough to remind me "don't eat this, it's dangerous" Never mind that that's the magic plant that enabled me to get out of the hospital in record time after my surgery...)  Borage, this beautiful Red Veined Sorrel and a different type of oregano than we have now. Also scored was 2 bunches of the first NJ asparagus of the year. I cooked one batch with poor girl's panchetta (read: BACON!) and had that with dinner. Leftovers, not that there was a lot left over.... were eaten for breakfast with sunny side up eggs and bearnaise sauce. Yummy!

Easter weekend.

Nice 3-day weekend for me. We got permission to start construction in our yard, so I spend Friday ripping out our old patio so that I could level it off and re-install it before we begin the rest of the construction. I didn't hit the gym at all because my work outs consisted of lugging around 75 lb bags of sand and gravel, running relays with them on my shoulder from the car and though the house to the yard. Nice, functional strength!

I was planning on drying a bunch of crispy almonds and a batch of jerky in my new L'Equip dehydrator....I soaked the nuts, I marinated 8 lbs of thinly sliced beef....I loaded the dehydrator with nuts, plugged it in and.....a few hours later the fan stopped working and part of the machine melted! whoa! Not fun. Still deciding what I should do. Return and refund or return and get a new one.....

Sunday's dinner was great. We went to a local Italian place where I usually just get a steak and veggies. Their calamari salad caught my eye so I got that as an appetizer. Yum - it's the best dish I've ever eaten in this restaurant! My main course was a green bean salad with sliced steak. This was the 2nd best thing I've ever had here. Winner! Enough left over to have again for tomorrow. Calamari for breakfast! I'm going to try to recreate this dish as I think it would be fantastic to have during the hotter months. Stand by for recipes....

L'Equip Dehydrator = epic FAIL.

I was planning on drying a bunch of crispy almonds and a batch of jerky
in my new L'Equip dehydrator....I soaked the nuts, I marinated 8 lbs of
thinly sliced beef....I loaded the dehydrator with nuts, plugged it in
and.....a few hours later the fan stopped working and part of the
machine melted! whoa!

Not cool. The scary thing is I usually run my dehydrators overnight. What if this thing had melted down while I was sleeping? Do I need to stand there watching it the whole time it's working? If I get a replacement, do I have to unplug the darn thing every time I leave the room to use the bathroom? I did a lot of research and this unit gets great reviews, I thought I was getting a good machine.

Now I've got a pile of soggy nuts and a bunch of marinated beef that needs to be dried pronto. I'll have to dig out my old dinosaur dehydrator and fire up my oven on low to get all of this done before it all spoils. I am pissed.

I hope the replacement that I ordered from Amazon works correctly but to be honest, I'm thinking of returning the replacement and getting something else because this experience left a really bad melted plastic taste in my mouth.

grumbling and not grumbling

Well, apparently Windy has a defective front tire that won't stay inflated. Grumble.

On the non-grumbling side of life, I scored some large plant pots for cheap and I loaded up on a bunch of herb plants to fill them up with. Rosemary, Mexican Tarragon, Oregano, Lavender, and a couple of others. I also picked up a bunch of Swiss Chard plants. I love the way it looks and I so want to like it, since it's so darn good for you. But...I think it tastes like...dirt. I can't stand it. Actually, I had it once in a restaurant, cooked with bacon and it was delicious. I've tried to recreate the recipe and it still tastes like dirt. With bacon.  I'll keep trying though.

Fingers are crossed that the townhouse association will give us permission to re-do the backyard again. We've spent a ton of money trying to get grass to grow back there but it fails every year. Not one house on our side of the court has grass, they've all put in decks so I'm pretty sure that grass just won't grow there. We want to make it more of a stony patio situation which will enable us to use it more and give the dogs more space. (The mud pit has been fenced off from them in a pathetic attempt to spare the grass) I had to resubmit the plans with some spiffy CAD drawings. Hopefully this will pass muster with them.

If they give the go ahead, then I can also install a pull up bar - I mean a trellis, disguised as a pull up bar. Which will mean I can start working on my pull ups and using my set of rings. Like this:

Power Clean and Ring Pushups - CrossFit Oldtown

CROSSFIT LONDON UK.RING MUSCLE UP LEG ACTION

Introducing.....

Introducing my brand new bike. Her name is Windy.

I was really doubtful that I'd still be able to ride. You know, the old adage "it's just like riding a bicycle!" I was sure it wouldn't apply to me, because I am a unique snowflake. :-) Well, a few minutes of floundering around in the parking lot and I was zipping around the neighborhood like an old pro, like a little kid. What a blast. I loved the feeling of freedom and wind in my face. I loved the feeling of my body moving - not effortlessly, but rather with a nice, sustained effort.

I did also pick up a helmet, never used one of those when I was a kid and I wasn't happy that my Big Guy was so insistent that I get one. I was sure I'd look and feel like a dork. I got over that pretty fast - after all, I'd look and feel like a dork if I cracked my skull open.

I picked up a bike rack, which totally didn't fit this style of bike., It was enough to get Windy home from the store but it was a scary ride. Apparently you need an adapter to fit this type of bike on a standard rack. I have one on order so I can use the car rack so I take her for rides along the Henry Hudson Trail.

I also got a bell for Windy. Why? Just because.

Quick update

Just a quick update -  the tonsillitis is clearing up. I'm actually happy that all I got was plain old penicillin, not some super antibiotic.  I'm still laying off they gym for now since my ear is still feeling funky from the tonsils being inflamed.
Tomorrow the Big Guy and I will be attending a local body building contest. Fun! I love taking photos at these shows.
Sunday I will hopefully be shopping for a bicycle! Hurray for me! I have my heart set of a cruiser type bike. Very retro looking, not to mention a nice (wide!!!) comfortable seat. If I'm lucky I'll be able to find one that meets my specs and my budget.

Egg Coupon

One of those rare paleo foods coupons is available.


Last week was a rough one. This week I have tonsillitis! Oy, I am off to the Dr. this afternoon to get some antibiotics. I haven't needed any of them in over 2 years, so I am bummed out that I got sick. However, I am not at all surprised since there was such a large quantity of low spirits in the past 10 days.

Spanky

We lost a friend and family member this week. One of the strongest and gentlest men I have ever known. Brave and so proud of who and what he was. A man I was proud to call a brother, or a sister, depending on what shoes he was wearing at any given moment. In boots or in heels, Spanky was the very definition of a beautiful spirit.

Obituary from the Asbury Park Press.
Mark F. Bialous

AGE: 44 • Neptune

Mark F. Bialous, 44, of Neptune, passed away Tuesday, April 5, 2011, at his home of complications due to esophageal cancer. He was surrounded by his family and friends. Affectionately known as "Spanky", Mark was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. and has resided in the Asbury Park area for many years. A licensed practical nurse, Mark had worked in the Monmouth County Correctional Facility and was Pharmaceutical Manager for the last three years. In 2008, he earned the title of Mr. NJ Leather. He was also a friend of Bill W.

Mark was predeceased by his mother, Viola; and his father, Henry. He is survived by his brother, Henry "Hank" Bialous of Lindenwold; his sister-in-law, Linda (Mini Mom) Bialous; and his external family of choice.

Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 9 in Buckley Funeral Home, 509 Second Ave., Asbury Park. A Memorial Celebration will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mark's name may be made to the Foodbank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties or a charity of your choice.

Words are worse than Sticks and Stones

Words are worse than Sticks and Stones

$1.00 off sunbutter coupon

It's pretty rare that there's ever a coupon for a Paleo type food, but here's a link to a good one! It's a PDF, so you can print as many as you need. The expiration is October 2011.
We go through about a jar every 10 days here as we are on a mass gain crusade for the Big Guy. (I, on the other hand, have to keep the sunbutter to a dull roar since I'm on a leaning out crusade myself. Sunbutter is like delicious pasty crack cocaine to me.)

Melicious has a recipe for Sunshine Sauce that rocks and makes me not long for Thai Peanut Sauce so much...

Sunshine Sauce

The coupon is here.

Yucca!

In the quest to add new and exciting vegetables, I tried Yucca at a restaurant over the weekend. I loved it! I found some at my local veggie market and cooked it up (peel, cut in to chunks, boiled 25 minutes) Score! It's a nice replacement for white potatoes which I am trying to limit since I think they make my sore joints flare up.

We're still loving the tostones (plantains) and since we had a few plantains that got ripe, we made the "other" version called maduros. They were tasty but sweeter. I'd make them again if we had ripened plantains but maybe not as a dinner side dish.


Here's the video Yucca Man, by Love/Hate. They were my favorite band and were/are an all round swell bunch of guys. True rock n roll gentlemen. The drummer, Joey Gold, sigh....that boy made my heart go pitter pat in the 80's and early 90's.

Love/Hate Jizzy Pearl 1993 Long Beach, Ca Yucca Man

Tostones!

While I was at the veggie store picking up some ginger to make tea for the Big Guy's cold, I saw some Plantains. They looked good. I've never cooked them before but decided to give it a try. I found this video on Youtube, followed the directions, except that I used some luscious extra virgin coconut oil to fry them in, rather than the not-good-for-you-at-all vegetable oil that's recommended in the video. They came out amazing! Don't be put off by the use of the tostones tool that's shown, you can just flatten these little critters using a saucer or as I did by using my tortilla press. (I'd been wondering what on earth I was going to use the tortilla press for since I've given up grains!) Amazing tender, crunchy, salty, savory morsels of paleo happiness. They went well as a side dish to some homemade chicken soup.

How To Cook Plantains Platanos -- Puerto Rican Style

not for the squeamish

On my way home, I spotted something along the side of the road. Luckily I had my camera with me, so I turned the car around and got some amazing photos! I am so pleased with these. Red tailed hawk is special to me, near and dear to my heart.Apologies to the seagull.


A few weeks back I got some fantastic shots of 2 turkey vultures eating the remains of a hare outside our doorstep. I seem to be attracting a lot of raptors lately.

Paleo + Chiropractic = Motorhead???

For the past couple of years, when ever we went to a concert - which was fairly frequently - i would end up being practically crippled by the end of the night. My hips and knees would seize up, shooting pains all over my body, etc. I'd have a hard time getting out of the car at the end of the night, limping in to the house in agony. I chalked it up to wearing big stompy boots on uneven wooden floors in crappy night clubs. Or arthritis. Or whatever. It just became a way of life. Normal for me to be so uncomfortable.

That's been getting better since switching to a paleo diet, but after months I still wasn't having full relief.

A couple of weeks ago I had my first chiropractic adjustment. Turns out my hips/sacrum/back are a mess. After a few adjustments I feel so much better that it's shocking to me.

Last night we got to rock out the mighty Motorhead. I stood through 3 bands, danced all night, fended off stage divers with my newly strong arms, walked out of the club pain free (though deaf!) got out of the car when we got home. Wait, where's the pain? I ended up doing a couple of squats next to the car, just to see what I would feel like. Nothing, no pain. Amazing.

To think I lived with this for years when all I needed was a change in what I eat and a couple of adjustments. Now I am officially ready to rock even harder than ever!

3 new Veggies

Adding variety to your way of eating is key for good nutrition and to stave off boredom. Looking at the way I eat now versus the way I ate when I was a vegetarian, I have to admit with both horror and humor, I eat WAY more vegetables now that I am a meat eating cave girl than I did when I was a "striving-to-be-a-v*gan-but-can't-give-up-butter-or-I'll-die-vegetarian".

I'm trying to add at least 1 new vegetable to my circle of veggie friends each month. The latest 3 are:
Chayote! Looks like a wrinkled old lady, tastes like...well, a bit like zucchini, with a much more sturdy-when-cooked texture. It also stores well in the fridge (unlike zucchini, which always seems to go to mush before I can get to it) Great in stir fries, curries and allegedly can stand in for apples in baked dishes if you add enough cinnamon. Haven't tried it that way yet, but if it works that would be a nice way to get the taste of an apple-filling without the sugar since I'm trying to lean out. Chayotes are also supposed to be easy and super prolific to grow. I have 3 of them sprouting on the window sill now, waiting for warmer weather so they can go outside and take over the neighborhood.

(Cooked) Arugula. Yup, just like the kind you put in your salad. I scored some 2 lb bags at my local produce market for a dollar. If you've had it in a salad, you know it can be peppery and downright sharp and pungent if the leaves are older. Not necessarily they type of green you'd want to make an entire salad out of. I quickly stir fried it with fresh garlic, red pepper flakes and a sprinkle of lemon - wow! That 2 pound bag was done in 2 days. Delish! My new favorite deep green vegetable! The key is to cook it quickly. Get your garlic going in the pan first then when the garlic is cook to our satisfaction, add in the washed arugula, with a bit of moisture still on the leaves - that'll make enough steam to cook it beautifully. Stir it around for about 10 seconds and you are ready to dig in.

Tomatillos. They scared me for a long time. That weird husk....would they taste all puckery like green tomatoes? I finally bucked up and bought a little pack of them and whipped up a super pico de gallo with them that I served with a grilled skirt steak. Let me just say, I have no more fear of tomatillos, unless it's the fear that I will run out of them! I haven' tried them cook yet but I hear they are great on the grill. Can't wait for it to warm up here so I can try that.

Those are my 3 new vegetables - any suggestions for something I should try next?

Missing your morning oatmeal?

I accidently came up with an oatmeal replacement. I've gotten mighty tired of eggs in the morning and a girl can only eat so much tuna or sardines for breakfast before she becomes known as "the girl who eats stinky fish for breakfast in the office". Today i had a small portion of baked, cubed sweet potatoes, topped with a bit of coconut milk and cinnamon, heated in the microwave. Wham! It's almost like oatmeal. Delish, it totally hit the spot on such a chilly morning. Next time I think I'll add a bit of grated apple or a couple of raisins. Fantastic post workout meal along with some US Wellness Meats Pemmican.