Longing for the Fall

As I mentioned the other day, I'm feeling rather under the weather. There are a few theories floating around on the internet as to where this phrase came from. A common belief (one that I grew up with) is that changes in weather can affect your health. I'm sure most of us believe that if we get stuck in the rain and end up being wet and cold, then we're more likely to get a cold. Also, maladies such as arthritis, joint pain, and migraines will sometimes flare up with bad weather. Another possible origin involves traveling via water. A weather deck on a boat can refer to any deck exposed to the outside, or the windward side deck. Thus, when people became seasick during storms, they'd often head below deck, and would therefore be "under the weather [deck]." Fortunately, I'm not on a boat (unless this illness is affecting my brain's ability to identify my surroundings) so I'm not hanging out under any decks. Plus, I get seasick when I'm not in the open air, so it'd be extremely unpleasant for me and my stomach to be hiding below deck.

Anyways, I feel a lot better than I did on Saturday, which is a pretty miraculous improvement considering my immune system's usual response time (it'd take at least two weeks for me to start feeling better again). I honestly attribute this to going Paleo. I know you may think I'm exaggerating about how terrible my health is, but I'm not. I was not blessed with a strong immune system, and I've got an entire lifetime of health records to prove it. However, out of the past five months since I started cutting out grains, legumes, and dairy, and limiting sugar, this is the only time that I've truly felt ill. Sure, there were times that I didn't feel great because of migraines, but as far as sinus infection/cold/flu, this past week has been it. It's incredible. If I compare the first seven months of this year with the first seven months of 2011, it's a dramatic difference. By this time of year in 2011, I had already had four prescriptions for antibiotics. This year: Nada! Zero! Zilch! It's really exciting to know that my eating habits have helped so much! Despite all this, one of my co-workers started off my day with "You look like shit." And another one asked me what was wrong with my nose (because it was super red). Thanks for making me feel so great about myself when I already don't feel good. Oh well. Some people need to learn filters.

So like the title of this post, I want it to be fall already. I got sick which means it has to be fall, right? This past weekend I realized how much I love fall. Every year, I can't wait for the season to finally come around. While growing up, I used to think that I loved winter, but I think that needs to be replaced with the fall. The fall has great weather and great holidays. Have you noticed that starting in May, there's a least one national holiday per month, whereas we go from New Years Day through Memorial Day without any holidays? And the fall also coincides with fall festivals, such as the Texas Renaissance Festival, the Stone Mountain Highland Games, the Sherwood Forest Celtic Festival, and Atlanta's Scandinavian Festival (I think this last one has been canceled since I last lived in Atlanta).

I was super excited when I saw Juli's post on  today. It's Sugar Detox Pumpkin Cake in a Mug with Chocolate Whip. Perfect for my recent fall-craving. I think I'll be making it sometime this week. The picture below is what Juli concocted! Doesn't it look delicious? I wish I had come up with this...

The Pitiful Sick

I've been feeling a little under the weather since I got back from my last trip to the beach (a.k.a. the past two weeks). After going for a run this past Tuesday, I got a sore throat and from there the sinus pressure, stuffy nose, and cough has developed. My best guess is that I've come down with a sinus infection. I don't know if any of you have ever felt pressure building behind your cheeks, nose, and eyes, but let me tell you, it's not pleasant. The pressure is so much that it vaguely feels as though my head isn't really my head. It made me think of a balloon that you blow up till it's about to burst. All that's necessary to cause it to pop is a sharp point (kind of similar to the sharp pains in my ears). Poor balloon.

I feel like it should be fall. I think it's the fact that I used to get ever year in the fall that has developed my association between a cold, flu, or sinus infection and autumn. I'm currently watching the Olympics (men's gymnastics to be precise), so I know that it's summertime and not fall; however, I keep expecting cooler temperatures so walking outside into 100F temperatures is a shock. But then again, I'm also wearing sweats and a sweater, and standing with my head over a pot of boiling water. The pot of boiling water is my mom's solution to clearing out my sinuses ("plus it's good for the complexion"). I always hated it because, in case you didn't know, steam gets really hot... and it doesn't feel too pleasant on my face. And since when does 75 degrees cause me to wear sweats in bed and huddle under the covers? Unless my thermometer is broken,my temp is 96.6. Can you get a reverse fever from a cold/sinus infection? Is that possible?

I've been gulping down tea for the past four days. Today, I switched to alternating between sips of chicken broth and water. I have a fondness for Swanson 33% Less Sodium Chicken Broth, which I developed when I had my tonsils removed 3.5 years ago. A cup of the aforementioned broth, heated in the microwave for 46 seconds was perfect for my recovering throat. I don't drink coffee and I'm not a huge fan of tea, so for a couple months after my surgery, my morning hot beverage became chicken broth. Weird, I know. But think about it... don't you love chicken noodle soup?Doesn't it make you feel slightly better? To me, it's as close as I'm going to get to the warm and fuzzy feeling of a doting mother's love and attention. Soooo, I stopped at the grocery store on the way home from work (yes, I went into work on a Saturday), and bought two 48-oz containers of chicken broth. I also grabbed a pound of chicken, some celery, and some carrots. The result was a chicken and vegetable soup. I also bought a Naked Juice Power-C Machine because I figured I needed the extra vitamin C.

Chicken and Vegetable Soup

1 lb chicken breast, chopped

3 Tbls olive oil

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp parsley

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

48-oz chicken broth, reduced sodium

1 lb carrots, chopped

1 bunch of celery chopped

1 sweet potato, chopped

salt and pepper, to taste

In a quart size Ziploc bag, mix 2 Tbls olive oil, 2 tsp lemon juice, 1 tsp parsley, 1/2 tsp rosemary, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp garlic salt, and chopped chicken breast. Seal and shake/mold to evenly distribute the marinade. Put in the fridge for 2 hours.

After you've chopped all of the veggies, heat 1 Tbls of olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Once hot, add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook thoroughly. After the chicken is cooked, put the chicken, veggies, and chicken broth into a crock pot. Add an extra 1/2 tsp of parsley, rosemary, and thyme, and a 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper. Set on high for 4 hours. Veggies should be soft once the soup is done cooking.

Go Bad and Go Big

"WHY?" I ask you, "Why?" I was bad, REALLY bad, at lunch yesterday. I wasn't feeling very good; I had a sore throat, just felt generally icky, and was having an incredibly hard time staying awake. I blame running outside and "sucking up" (in my dad's words) allergens, because the sore throat kicked in shortly after my run on Tuesday. Anyways, when I don't feel good, my willpower is zilch. And I guess I have this idea that eating food will make me feel better. Does it? Hell no. And after eating a small square of lasagna I felt even worse. Not only did I have a sore throat and my ever-present headache, but also I could feel the "bad" food just sitting in my stomach. If that food could talk, it'd probably say something along the lines of "F' you!", "Gotchya!", and You're gonna suffer now!" That was one of those decisions that, as soon as I finished eating it (and even slightly before I finished), I thought I really wish I hadn't done that. I wish I could take that back. That was stupid. But I can't undo it. Ctrl-Z does me no good. (Did you know that Ctrl-Y is "re-do"?) There's no way to take it back aside from sticking a finger down my throat to make myself throw up. And I don't do that. Nor does it work on me anyways. I've tried in the past when I've accidentally eaten something with shrimp/shellfish in it, and apparently my gag reflex isn't strong enough.

So sadly, I got the spend the afternoon suffering through a sore throat, achy body, and angry tummy. If it wouldn't have drawn attention, I probably would have smashed my head on the desk a few times for being so idiotic. And do you want to know what the worst part was?? The food wasn't even that good. Stupid catered food from lunch meetings. If only my fellow Paleo-ish buddy (BA) was around to smack some sense into me before I ate anything. I must remember that if I'm going to slip up, I might as well do it at a fancy restaurant with high quality food, or at home, where I know the food is going to taste good and I know what went into the meal, like homemade pasta using my nifty pasta maker. Why do I make such stupid decisions???

In response to my bad decision, I made a Paleo version of lasagna. Now most of you probably think that I'd substitute the lasagna noodles with eggplant, but you're wrong. I hate eggplant. I've tried to like it in the past, but no matter how many times I've tried it, I can never finish the dish. Since going Paleo, a lot of my taste preferences have changed, but eggplant is not one of those. Instead of eggplant "noodles," I used sweet potatoes.

Paleo Lasagna

(prep steps are color-coded)

1/2 lb chicken, in strips or cubed

1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

1/4 tsp pepper

1 link of all-natural sausage

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced lengthwise (say hello to the mandoline)

1/2 cup canned coconut milk

1 acorn squash, cubed
1 1/2 Tbls olive oil
2 Tbls olive oil

1 1/2 yellow onion

2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced or minced

1 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup artichoke hearts

1 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

2/3 red pepper, sliced

3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered

3/4 jalapeno, thinly sliced

Mix the purple ingredients in a ziploc bag and marinade the chicken for 2+ hours. After the chicken is chillin' in the fridge, prep your blue ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Pull out that acorn squash and remove the outer shell and the seeds. Chop the acorn squash into bite size pieces. Pull out a large square of tin foil and put the squash into the tinfoil, drizzling with 1 1/2 Tbls of olive oil and seasoning with salt and pepper. Fold the tinfoil over the squash and put in the oven on 400F for ~30-40 minutes.


Heat 2 Tbls olive oil in a pan over medium-low heat to start cooking the green ingredients. Once hot, add the onions and garlic, cooking until onions are translucent. While cooking the onions, season with salt and pepper. Add the peppers, acorn squash, jalapeno, oregano, cayenne pepper, and 1/4 tsp garlic salt, cooking for another 10 minutes.  Mix in the mushrooms, artichokes, and cherry tomatoes. Cook for another 10 minutes. All of your veggies should be soft at this point. In a bowl, mix your coconut milk with 1/4 tsp of garlic salt, and a few shakes of salt and pepper.

Lower your oven from 400F to 375F. And it's time to start layering. Grab an 8"x8" pan and grease the pan (I used a little EVOO). Begin by spreading a layer of sweet potatoes. Overlap the edges of the slices. Next layer is your veggies, followed by the acorn squash, and then your meat. Repeat until you run out of ingredients (I got two sets in). Top with a layer of sweet potatoes. Pour the coconut milk over. So for you visual learners, out there:

Coconut Milk

Sweet Potato

Purple
Blue

Green

Sweet Potato

Purple
Blue

Green

Sweet Potato

Cover your pan with tin foil and place in the oven. Bake for 40 minutes. Check to see if the sweet potatoes are fully baked. If not, cook longer, checking every 5 minutes until they are ready. Remove from oven and let cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Paleo Pizza and Running

For some reason, I find that when I cook during the week, it usually takes me a long time. And by the time that I actually finish whatever it is that I'm making, I'm not really hungry anymore and it's about time for me to go to bed. Sigh. At least I know what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow.

I went for a run yesterday after I got home and unloaded the groceries into my fridge. I started my run around 7:15p.m. today, with the temperature at about 86°F. My old running coaches always said to dress for weather 10°F higher than what it is, because that's what it'll feel like. And let me tell you, between the heat outside, the humidity, and the amount of heat my body was generating, I felt like I was cooking from the inside out. My legs started hurting that night, which only warned me how much it'll hurt this morning. When I stiffly walked into work this morning, you know the culprit.

I wanted to make something that I hadn't done in a while, so I decided to make some Paleo pizza.

Paleo Pizza Crust

1/2 cup almond flour

1/3 cup coconut flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp basil

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp ground pepper

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir up the dry ingredients. Taste to see if you want any other seasonings (then add said seasonings). Crack and whisk two eggs in a separate bowl before mixing in with the dry ingredients.  Use your hands to knead the dough to make sure everything is fully incorporated. Place the dough onto a well-greased or parchment paper-lined baking pan, and spread (using your hands or a rolling pin) until roughly 1/4" thick. Place is preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until crust is solid and starting to brown on the edges. And now your pizza crust is done. Voilà!


I topped my crust with a mixture of 1/4 chopped onion, 1/3 of a small red bell pepper, 1/3 of jalapeno pepper, 1/2 cup of quartered cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup mushrooms, 1 cup spinach, 1 clove garlic minced, and 3 chiffonaded basil leaves that I had cooked in a pan for about 20 minutes. Delish! The basil definitely gave it a good flavor!

Sleep/Time Management

I mentioned yesterday that there are a few things that I'm having a hard time aligning with the Paleo Lifestyle. One of those is Sleep. It's hard to fully live the Paleo Lifestyle with my schedule. To do so, I should to go to bed without setting an alarm and wake up when I feel rested. Assuming that's 8 hours of sleep, if I intend to wake up at 5:30 a.m., that means I have to go to bed by 9:30 p.m. It's darn near impossible to fit in 10 hours of work, 2 hours of getting ready for work and commuting to/from work, .5-1.5 hours for lunch, 1-1.5 hours of working out, 1.5 hours for cooking/eating dinner, and 8 hours of sleep. Out of my entire day, I have less than one hour free, assuming I don't take more than 30 minutes for lunch and don't workout for more than one hour. It's hard to make time for social activities during the week, unless it involves food which takes care of my cooking. I know this makes me seem like a hermit and I'm really not. I like being around people most of the time. The problem is that if I do something with friends besides just eat dinner, I'm almost guaranteed to be out past my bedtime (apparently the bedtime aspect of childhood is revisited once you have to become a responsible adult - or at least one that gets migraines from lack of sleep). I'll give you one guess what part of my day gets cut short when I stay out later than intended. Need a hint? There's something about REM cycles involved. And when I cut that short, I'm tired, cranky, and headachey the next day, which is no fun, in case you were wondering.

Sometimes I wonder how other people do it all. Michelle from Nom Nom Paleo has two boys, works at a full-time job that sometimes gives her night shifts, does CrossFit, and manages to blog every day. And I swear Juli from  cooks or bakes every single day, she almost always has a new recipe on her blog. Do these people not require sleep? Or are fortunate enough to not work 10-hour days? What is the secret? Man I wish I had a Time-Turner like Hermione.

Acclimation

I've been living in Texas for 3 years, 2 weeks, and 3 days. I'm from Atlanta, so I was used to the heat and humidity, but it was nothing compared to moving here in the peak of summer. When I first moved here, I kept the thermostat at 72°F and often found that warm. After about 6 months, I increased the temperature to 73°F. A year later I found myself at 74°F. Add another year (+ a few months) and another degree, and I found myself at 75°F when I moved to my current place in late April. Three months later (this past weekend), I increased my thermostat to 76°F because I found myself getting cold and waking up so chilled each morning, that I'd huddle under the covers for a while before I could work up the willpower to leave the warmth of my bed and sprint for the shower.

The reason I tell you this is because adapting to changes in environment can take a while but it does happen... And thus, we come back to Paleo. I've been following the Paleo/Primal/Caveman Diet since February, almost four full months. In that time, I've done a pretty good job of switching over, with some lapses. However, I still don't feel fully acclimated to this new way of eating/living. I realized this past weekend that I'm still thinking about when I can take breaks from Paleo. I intend to continue this long term, but I need to change the way that I think about it. I need to recognize that I'm not perfect and I'm not going to eat Paleo ALL of the time, but I also need to view this as a permanent lifestyle change. I haven't made that full change yet, and I find myself reluctant to make some changes, for example:

Alcohol. Part of me wants to give it up altogether, but another part of me says "No way! What about going out for your birthday? Or to happy hours? Do you really want to be sipping on water while everyone else around you is drinking?" So, that leaves moderation, but I don't know what limit to aim for. What is considered moderate alcohol consumption? And what's considered normal for someone in their mid-twenties? I know a lot of people around my age who drink a lot more than me on a regular basis. I also know a few that drink less. And why do most people have the urge to drink excessively and let loose? Frequently, our reaction to stress in our lives is to unwind and go a little crazy. Me? I usually want to hide out, read a book, and relax. Often when I'm extremely stressed, I want to curl up under my desk and hide from the world. Why I have the urge to hide under something is beyond me. I guess I am trying to hide from the stressful world...


As I'm sure all of you know, it's hard to make drastic changes all at once. So I'll continue working on changing gradually, and hopefully I'll get to a point where I don't crave sweets anymore and am not tempted by breads and Mellow Mushroom pizza crust. I'd like to be able to say that I'm not ever going to have anything bad for me again, but who are we kidding... Mellow Mushroom is tough to forego.


I must work on patience!

Sugar Free

I had gone without sugar for 4 days now. No sugar. At all. And you know what? I really want something sweet to drink. Well, actually, I want something with flavor to drink, instead of just water. I like water. Honestly, I do. However, right now, water is exceptionally boring. I'm tempted to buy some cucumber, slice it up, and stick it in water. That way I can feel fancy while drinking something with some flavor. Fanciness is liketasteful... maybe?

While we're on the subject of water. There's apparently a "water cafe" in NYC that sells only purified water. They've designed and built a purification system which includes reverse osmosis, UV rays, and ozone. And you have the option to add vitamins of your choice to the water. Remove chemicals... Add chemicals... I guess they thought there was a market for pure water in NYC. Would you pay $2.50 for 16 oz of water? Water Cafe?

Steak with Zucchini "Pasta"

Last night I cooked up some steak and paired it with zucchini that I had sliced julienne-style with my nifty mandoline. It's really sharp btw, and I've got the cuts to prove it. I seasoned the steak with some blackened seasoning. Below and to the right are the zucchini that I used. That's one massive zucchini (the above picture is maybe 1/4 of the large zucchini). I grabbed the largest and the smallest one from the local farmer's market just because... and I picked up some grass-fed steak.

The pasta sauce was way easy but I'll share it anyways...
Basic Pasta Sauce
1 can organic crushed tomatoes
1 can organic tomato paste
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp parsley
1 fresh tomato, finely chopped (optional)
1 tbls EVOO

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium pot. Once hot, add the onions and garlic, cooking for ~4 minutes. Add the tomatoes and spices. Cover and cook for ~20 on low heat to incorporate the flavors. Uncover and cook on medium heat until you reach your desired pasta sauce thickness. Or... you can let the pasta sauce sit overnight in the fridge for flavor incorporation. Up to you.


Despite the fact that I worked just over 12 hours yesterday and I really just wanted to go home and go to bed, I convinced myself to do 30 minutes of yoga. So it wasn't very intense exercise, but I still did it. Give me props. Plus, I haven't had any sugar or fruit in over 48 hours and I have yet to tear through the office searching for dark chocolate despite my current stress level. And I've been resisting the pear that's been staring at me from my desk. Go me!

I really want to try this recipe Pork Avocado Cream Enchiladas. If you're nice, maybe I'll let you sample it with me.

July Goals

I've mentioned lately that I need motivation. Those of you who know me personally know that I can have an iron will when it comes to eating healthy and working out. You should also know that sometimes I'm as weak-willed as any average Joe you meet walking down the street. I'm really good at sneaking snacks, even when I'm technically only "hiding" them from myself. As I mentioned a while ago, my mom has always tried to get me to eat healthy, and she succeeded for the most part. Despite this I wasn't a skinny child. I remember feeling uncomfortable with my weight in 3rd grade. My mom tried to be helpful, but sometimes it just made me either feel guilty or angry. I definitely remember times when my mom would glare at me for grabbing a second helping of whatever we had for dinner. Because of these glares, I indirectly developed my sneaking food habit. Whether or not I actually had (or have) skills at this is still unknown to me. And I guess I kind of view my unhealthy snacks as okay as long as nobody else notices. It's an accountability issue for me. And it's also the reason why I share my decision to go and attempt to stay Paleo with almost everyone. If everyone knows about my diet and I still eat something "bad," then I feel guilty.

So anyways, I need to set some short-term goals for myself that I feel are attainable for me. It's my birthday in three weeks and I think that's a good deadline these new goals. So my new short-term goals are as follows:

1. Run 4 miles without any breaks.
2. Exercise a minimum of 30 minutes per day.
3. Cut out all processed sugars (no dark chocolate) and minimize natural sugar (fruit/honey) intake. - This one will be really tough since I usually turn to sweets when I'm stressed and work is in crazy-stressful mode right now.
4. Limit alcohol consumption.
5. Hold a wall sit for 2 minutes.

I'll keep you posted on my progress. Fingers crossed!

Catching a Crab

No, I did not capture any crustaceans while I was at the beach, though Dave did catch some using the crab traps. And no, I don't mean catching a STD. Come on, y'all... what type of girl do you think I am? Maybe I should remind you that I'm a rower...

In crew, the term "catching a crab" refers to your oar accidentally getting "stuck" in the water. It can be caused by improperly squaring/feathering the oar. Catching a crab slows the entire boat down and, if it's a really bad crab, can swing back, hit you in the chest, and knock you out of the boat. The reason I mention this is because for the past few nights I've had dreams about rowing and back in my prime I used to dream of the perfect stroke. I did everything right. My slide was slow, my drive was powerful, and I feathered and squared up like a champ. Rowing consists of a few key components: the catch, the drive, the finish, and the recovery.

The Catch: Your blade is squared (perpendicular) to the water with your arms stretched out in front of you and your knees bent. When you are scrunched up, you gently drop your oar into the water.

The Drive: 1) Straighten your knees. 2) Lean back. 3) Pull your arms to your chest. This is where the power comes from.

The Finish: Your legs are straightened, you've leaned back, and the oar handle is right in front of your chest. You push your outer hand down slightly to get the entire blade out of the water and you twist your inner wrist to turn the blade so that it's parallel to the water's surface.

The Recovery: With your hands close to your lap, you straighten your arms (keeping your oar level), lean forward, and slowly bend your knees (in that order) until you reach the position you were in at the catch. This last part is called the slide.

Rinse and repeat.

Unfortunately, lately I've dreamed of catching crabs. It's a terrible feeling to wake up after dreaming that you failed to deliver. My team was counting on me and I tripped them up, slowed them down, and unintentionally sabotaged my team's chances of a win. I think it's an analogy for my life right now. I'm not being as diligent about exercising and eating healthy, and ultimately, I'm just hurting myself and my goals. Cue the sad music... Can I get a womp womp?

TV-free Week - Follow-up

Summary: Do it! Give up TV for a week.

Last week I was way more productive, I got my exercising in, and I ate better because I wasn't snacking out of boredom while I slowly sank into and became part of my couch. I like watching TV, but I feel bored while I'm doing it. It's why I fidget and commentate during movies. I'm making a new rule for myself. I can only watch TV/movies if I'm exercising or watching with a friend. We'll see how long I can last. I have high hopes though. And exercising can include crunches and planks, or weights, or treadmill running.

Speaking of working out... I've been such a slacker lately. I've started working out again, but I need a routine or something to keep myself going. I'm thinking of joining crew again. And I need to start my half marathon training. Slow and steady training is the way to go. Now I just need to find some running buddies. Any volunteers? Oh, and I start archery lessons the first week of August! YAY! I've been wanting to do this for a year now. I think it stems from my love of festivals, i.e. Renaissance festivals. I know you're all thinking that I'm some über-nerd now. And maybe I am in your mind, but I consider it quite normal. I love watching jousting and playing with swords and seeing all of the cool costumes. My parents used to take me every year to the one back in Georgia and I always loved it. Plus the Texas Ren Fest is AMAZING! It's massive.

So on the headache side of things... does anyone else ever get headaches where it feels like the air around your head is crushing your head from all sides? So much so that your jaws and ears hurt too? That happened to me last night. My foam pillow was apparently too hard for my throbbing head and I ended up switching pillows multiple times (hence why I have 5 different types of pillows on my bed), taking some meds for the headache, and grabbing an ice pack from the freezer to place on my forehead. By the time I fell asleep around 1:30, I was grumpy knowing that either I would be lacking in sleep today or I would sleep through my first couple alarms. Luckily I got both. I hope y'all had a happier Monday morning than I did!

Beach Weekend

Hey, kids. I disappeared for a few days there. Sorry. My out-of-town friend DC was kind enough to invite me to his family's beach house with him and his friends. They have an annual beach trip and I got to crash the party this year. It rained a fair amount this weekend, but we managed to find some times to go to the beach and spend some time on the boat. I'm happy to report that there was not as much seaweed at this beach and I was able to stay in the water for quite a while before freaking out at some unknown something brushing against my leg. We got to see quite a few dolphins; there were at least 6 different ones that we saw on Saturday night. It felt wonderful to get out of the city and relax. We finished a puzzle, chatted, and curled up on the couch to read books. I made it about 2/3 of the way through Ender's Game in just two days.

So I have a Groupon for 250 photos on Winkflash. I bought it roughly a year ago and it expires today. I'm realizing that I don't take photos of people so much anymore. I used to. But now all of the photos that I take are of food. Kind of sad, huh? Most of my photos from college were of friends and me (I got really great at the one arm out self photos). My new goal is to start taking more photos of my friends. Wish me luck!

Paleo Pumpkin Brownies

It's been a long week. Today I reached 41 hours of work for this week (including the day I spent at work on Sunday). I slept through both of my alarms yesterday because I was out late on Monday. I have a 7:30 meeting tomorrow morning. The back tire on my 2-month-old car is slowly losing air. I'm frustrated to say the least. So by the time I got home, I was stressed and wanted to fall back on my typical splurge on sweets stress-relief technique. I ate one of my Riesling-Pear Popsicles, but it wasn't enough, so I decided to attempt to whip up some dessert with my limited sweets. I think the sweetest things that I have in my apartment right now are fruit, dried fruit, and wine. I didn't want any of those (the dried fruit mix I have is just too sugary). It turned out okay. It's not the best dessert that I've ever baked, but it's as good as I'm going to get right now. It doesn't have a big pumpkin flavor and it gives me a slight reminder of coffee, but it's a decent dessert.

Paleo Pumpkin Brownies

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup + 2 tsp coconut flour

1 Tbls almond flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 Tbls cocoa powder

1 Tbls unsweetened baking chocolate, melted

2 tsp vanilla

2 Tbls coconut oil, melted

2 1/2 Tbls honey

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix pumpkin and eggs together in one bowl, then add vanilla, coconut oil, and honey. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Put into loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Chicken Basquaise

Last night GS and I cooked dinner. We looked through a French cookbook and decided on Chicken Basquaise. It gets its name from the French Basque style of cooking.

As a warning, this dish takes a while to prepare. I'm not exactly a fast vegetable chopper, but honestly that's not what makes the process long. It really comes down to the fact that you cook the veggies by themselves for about 55 minutes. Then you combine the chicken and veggies and cook for another ~20 minutes. So cooking time comes out to be about 1 hour and 20 minutes if you're operating at max efficiency. If you take a little time to transfer from one task to another and add in the prep time for the veggies, you're looking at roughly 2 hours before you can eat.

Chicken Basquaise

      cooking tool: deep-sided skillet with cover or Dutch oven (at least 1)

4 lbs chicken breast, cut in half

5 tbls olive oil

2 onions, sliced

4 green bell peppers, cored, seeded, and sliced in 1/2" strips

2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and sliced in 1/2" strips

3 mild chiles, thinly sliced

6 tomatoes, peeled and chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

2 sprigs thyme

1/4-1/2 tsp Piment d'Espelette (chili powder will work as well)

1 tsp salt + to taste

pepper to taste

Heat 2 tbls olive oil in a deep-sided skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onions, cooking for 10 minutes or until soft but without any change in color. Stir every few minutes. While the onions are cooking, prep all of the peppers and chiles. Add these to the onions with 1 tbls of olive oil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes until the peppers are soft. After 20 minutes, add the tomatoes, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, Piment d'Espelette (chili powder), 1 tsp salt, and pepper to taste. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Then cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and thyme sprigs.

While the peppers, onions, and spices are cooking, prep your chicken. Heat 2 tbls olive oil over medium heat in a second pan/skillet. Pat the chicken breasts dry and place in hot oil. Cook the first side for 5 minutes (browning the chicken), then flip over and cook for 3 minutes. Remove the chicken and set aside. Pour 3/4 cup white wine into the pan to deglaze the pan. Cook until the liquid is reduced to ~2 tbls. Add the chicken into the pan again and cook for roughly 4 minutes. Spoon the pepper/onion mixture over the chicken. Cook for 20 minutes. Check to make sure the chicken is cooked through before serving. (The recipe we used recommended that you serve over rice, but since that's not paleo, your other options are eat it by itself or eat with cauliflower rice).

Lamb Stew

Lamb Stew

Acorn Squash - I ended up only using the one of the left.
The picture below shows the squash after chopping.

2 lbs lamb (cut into bite-sized chunks)

2 tbls EVOO

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbls EVOO

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 onion, roughly chopped

7 cloves garlic, chopped

3 strips of bacon, chopped

1 acorn squash (~1 lb), peeled, seeded, and chopped (can use butternut squash)

splash of white wine (any kind will do, I used Sauvignon Blanc)

1 1/2 cups carrots

1 can diced tomato

1 cup beef broth

1/2 cup red wine (any kind will do, I used a blend)

1 tbls dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Heat 2 tbls of olive oil over medium heat in a large pot. When the oil is hot, add the chopped lamb, and cook until browned (if some pink remains, don't worry), stirring occasionally. Remove lamb from the pan, leaving the small bits of meat and fat. Set lamb aside.

Without cleaning the pot, add 1 tbls olive oil, celery, onion, garlic, and bacon. Add a little bit of white wine, thus deglazing the pot. Cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Add carrots, squash, diced tomato, tomato paste, red wine, browned lamb, red wine, beef broth, thyme, salt, and pepper. Stir. Cover the pot and turn heat to low. Cook for 2 hours. Stirring every 30 minutes. After 2 hours, remove the lid, and turn heat up a few notches. Set timer for 30 minutes. (This last 30 minutes will boil off some of the liquid and thicken the stew. It's up to you how thick you want the stew, so adjust the time accordingly. For a thicker stew, mash up some of the chunks of squash.)

Riesling-Pear Popsicles

Rieseling-Pear Popsicles
2 tbls honey
2 pears - peeled, cored, and chopped
1 tbls lemon juice
1/2 cup Riesling wine

Purée pears, honey, and lemon juice in blender. Mix in Riesling. Pour the resulting concoction into popsicle molds and freeze for >1 hour.

These popsicles can remain frozen for up to 1 week. They're very light and fruity!

Being Productive

I took yesterday off (as I'm well allowed to do given that I technically work a 4-10 schedule). I ran errands, decorated, and cleaned my apartment before a handful of friends came over for a game night. On Thursday and Friday, I accomplished the following...

• Finally finished the three books that I was reading simultaneously.
• Listened to half of a book on tape (while doing much of the below activities).
• Vacuumed/swept my entire apartment.
• Washed and put away dishes.
• Cleaned out and rearranged my fridge.
• Ran three loads of laundry, hand-washed one dress and five shirts that require hand-washing, and folded and hung the laundry.
• Disinfected all kitchen and bathroom surfaces.
• Went through and organized old recipes.
• Sorted boxes of random documents that I've kept for a few years.
• Cooked a ham.
• Finished a puzzle.
• Sat at the pool for an hour.
• Went to the dentist.
• Ran three miles and did some of my ankle physical therapy exercises.
• Did P90X stretching exercises.
• Bought decorations for my apartment.
• Went shopping for an hour.
• Hung picture frames.
• Hung my OCD Action Figure box by my desk.
• Finally got rid of my ex's futon frame which has been hiding behind my couch for the past three years.
• Prepped for a game night. 

Yikes! I've been busy.

TV-free Week

Back in elementary school, I would participate in the annual No TV Week. The purpose of this event is to encourage people to spend less time sedentary in front of the TV and instead do activities that promote physical activity, social interaction, literacy, etc. I remember being really upset that I was missing Power Rangers. Somehow, I got over it.

I feel like I've been really busy lately and have been having a hard time finding time to workout and have a social life. I've also had a lot of household chores and other goals that I've been meaning to do. I do watch TV most nights that I'm at home, though most of the times I only half-watch it while I'm cleaning, writing blog posts, working out, or cooking. My theory is that if I cut out TV altogether I'll be more productive because I'll put my full attention on one task instead of dividing it between multiple things.

As of yesterday, I'm cutting out TV and Facebook from my life for one week. The only times that TV will be acceptable is when I'm working out (i.e. the TV is on in the gym). I'm hoping that I'll find more time to relax and use my time more wisely. I also want to spend more time outside.

Wish me luck!

Coleslaw

Basic Coleslaw
1/4 cup EVOO
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
2 carrots, julienne
salt and pepper to taste
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/3 head of green cabbage, chopped

Mix the ingredients together. Voilà! Your side dish is complete!

Paleo Mayonnaise

I know some of you may hate mayonnaise so you mayo-haters can stop reading now.

For my mayo-lovers, or even just mayo-likers out there, this is for you. And I actually got this one to work!!! I even texted BA (my fellow Paleo-ish buddy) last night to alert him of my mayo accomplishment because I was so excited!

Homemade Paleo Mayonnaise
1 egg, pasteurized

2 tsp or more fresh lemon juice

1 tsp water

1/4 teaspoon or more salt

Pinch of pepper (white if you have it)

1 cup pure olive oil

1. Blend the egg with 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 tsp water (you can use a food processor or blender, or whisk it by hand if you'd rather). The water and lemon juice help with stabilizing the emulsion by disrupting the surface tension of the egg.

2. Blend/whisk/process the egg and lemon juice. While you continue mixing using your chosen method, SLOWLY add the oil. Start with drops progressing to a light drizzle once the emulsion forms. The slowness is necessary to create the emulsion (see below). Once the emulsion is created, you can add the oil more quickly.

3. After the oil is incorporated, add the remaining lemon juice, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

The secret for mayonnaise according to the NY Times is 1 tsp water.

I started off using the whisk and then transferred the frothy mixture to the blender after I had gotten about 4 oz of olive oil mixed in. It hadn't quite formed the emulsion yet, but as soon as I put it into the blender, it started to whip up a bit more.

My next step is to replace the olive oil with bacon fat resulting in Baconnaise! You just can't go wrong with that. I want to make a BLT where the bacon is actually baconnaise.

Definition Time

An emulsion is mixture of two liquids that are usually immiscible (unable to be combined). An emulsion is a colloid in which both the continuous and dispersed phases are liquid. Examples of emulsions include milk and vinaigrette dressing.

Types of Colloids		Dispersed Phase
		Gas	Liquid	Solid
Continuous Phase	Gas	N/A	Liquid Aerosol	Solid Aerosol
	Liquid	Foam	Emulsion	Sol
	Solid	Solid Foam	Gel	Solid Sol

Music of the day: Steel Magnolia - Last Night Again

The recipe that I tried last time that failed on me was:
2 egg yolks
3 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup coconut oil, liquid
Salt
Pepper

Spicy Slow-Cooker Shredded Beef

Spicy Slow-Cooker Shredded Beef
1.5 lbs Beef Bottom Round Rump Roast (or cut of choice)
1/2 tsp:
   chili powder
   cumin
   cayenne pepper
   paprika
   garlic salt
1/4 tsp:
   basil
   cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp hot sauce
1 onion, sliced
7 stalks celery, cut into ~2" pieces
20 baby carrots, halved
3/4 cup chicken stock (can use beef stock/broth as well)

Mix all of spices together in a bowl. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap on your counter and put your roast on top. Use a spoon to transfer spices to the meat and rub in with your hands. Once the spices are thoroughly rubbed in, wrap the meat in plastic and put in the fridge for ~1 hour. While the meat is chilling in the fridge, chop your veggies: sliced onions, halved baby carrots, and 2" pieces of celery. Later these in the crock-pot. Pour in the chicken stock and 1 tsp hot sauce. Take the meat out of the fridge, unwrap, and put on top of the veggies. Spread 1/2 tsp hot sauce on the meat. Cover. Cook for 10 hours (you can cook it a little faster/hotter if your crock-pot has the setting available. I choice 10 hours so that it would be done cooking by the time I woke up at 5am.

Before cooking

After 10 hours of cooking

 After taking two forks to the beef, you get the shredded beefiness shown below.

Rainbow Whisk

Check out my latest kitchen purchase! A rainbow-colored silicon whisk. And it was only $3 at my local H-E-B grocery store! I had been planning on getting a whisk for a while (somehow I've survived for 7 years since moving out of my parents' house without a whisk). I'll tell ya, it has been a sad, sad existence, but I've persevered and reached the point in my life where I have deemed it necessary to own a whisk. And the fates have smiled upon me and provided me with the most colorful whisk I've ever seen.

As I was walking past the kitchen utensils section of the grocery store, the whisk caught my eye from across the bakery section. (I was walking through the baked goods area, not salivating at all of the bread that I don't eat. If you happened to be walking in the same H-E-B at the same time as me, the person drooling over bread was definitely not me... just to be clear.) Anyways, my eye = caught, so I bee-lined past the fresh tortillas and snatched up the whisk, placing it lovingly in my cart. This momentous occasion occurred a week ago and I have yet to use the whisk. I'm thinking that the first task is going to be making some homemade paleo mayonnaise. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I want to avoid the disaster that I encountered on my last attempt.