Ah, life gets in the way while we are living

OK, I'm still alive...just got tied up with other things that took me away from this blog.  Thank you for everyone who checks out my food ideas and occasional ramblings.  And thank you UCLA girls flag football for helping UCLA beat the WSU Cougars last week - if it wasn't for your last minute participation WSU (my alma mater) would have walked away the victor.

My left knee is still in recovery mode.  Currently I'm experiencing a number of hyper extensions every day as I slowly try to walk down-grades or as my leg fatigues during the day.  My 3 year old J took off from me the other day at the store laughing and honestly stating "you can't catch me!"  Of course she came running back when I asked.

So, moving forward I am going to keep blogging about my food, my joys in life (right now my instant gratification is a bottle of vino from Trader Joes but the 90 degree weather in So-Cal this week was pretty good too) and whatever else I feel like.

During business school, back in the 90s, I learned setting goals that are measurable, achievable and challenging were keys to a successful plan.  So starting this week:

1. Food budget, including cleaning supplies, vino, potting soil/plants/veggie seeds, food while eating out and grass fed beef/organic chicken will be $100 per week.  I will measure this on a weekly basis.  We are just a family of 3 however with an egg allergic kid there goes one of the most nutritious food sources.  Plus grass fed gets expensive but it is so good.

2. Preferencial purchasing will be made in this order - California produced, American produced, Canada produced, Internationally produced.  I will not purchase apples from New Zealand when Washington Apples are available even if they are a higher price.  And no more French, Spanish, South American or Aussie wine.   This goal isn't just for food; it includes gasoline companies, future car purchases, clothing, shoes etc.  Stay tuned for more updates on this.

Paleo tomato pasta sauce with grass fed meat balls

Anyone living in southern cal knows its been hot the last couple of days.  Normally I wouldn't cook in the kitchen with 90 degree weather outside but with time constraints tonight I had to come up with something quick and easy.  

Tonights dish we served with rice pasta.  My knee therapy has gotten more intense and the extra bump in carbs makes a difference in the way my body feels during the recovery.  Plus I'm rediscovering the joys of push ups, dips and abdominal exercises so overall my body needs a little more zip.

Ingredients:

3 cans of roasted tomatoes

1/2 cup of olive oil

1 leek (or onion I just didn't have one)

2 lbs grass fed ground beef (90/10% works better than 80/20%)

3 garlic cloves

Mushrooms

1 cup of red wine (Doon Buggy!)

Parmesan cheese

Oregano or Italian seasoning

Salt n Pepper

Red pepper flakes (optional but would add a nice bite to this dish)

1. Heat pot over medium high heat.  I like to cook this in my stock pot as it doesn't splatter as much on my white stove and countertop.  Once pot is hot (does water dance when dropped on the bottom) gently add 1/2 cup of olive oil.  The oil will get hot quickly so be careful.  Then pour in the three cans of roasted tomatoes.  I keep the lid partially covering the pot when doing this so it doesn't splatter on me.  No need to stir the pot (unless you really want to).

2.  Prep three garlic cloves.  No need to chop up.  Normally I would chop an onion but the only onion like item in my fridge were three leeks.  Leeks are a great substitute for an onion in this dish.  If you have never cooked with them before, just barely cut off the root end, cut off the leaves area (where it gets dark green) and slice open like the pic below.

3.  The leek needs to be run under water and peel apart each layer to ensure all the dirt is removed.  Chop up and add the leeks, garlic, handful of mushrooms, salt, pepper, 1 cup of red wine and oregano to the sauce.  Still no need to stir as the tomatoes will boil it in.

 4. Grate about 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese into a bowl.  Add some salt, pepper and oregano.   Then the 2lbs of ground beef (or veal, chicken, turkey etc).

 5. Using your hands mix the ingredients together.  Twist, knead, turn, mold until you are confident the flavors are evenly mixed.

6.  Now go ahead and mix the sauce.  It is still over medium high heat.

7.  Roll the mixed meat into meatballs and gently place into sauce.  The meatballs will be about 3/4 covered and thats OK.

8.  In about 10 minutes gently move the meatballs around so the tops get under the sauce.  Cook another 5 minutes and serve.

I forgot to take a picture of the adults plates before we chopped up the meatballs and mixed everything together...so here is the 3 year olds's plate, plastic fork included.

The only thing I would change in tonight's meal is gone with a leaner beef.  The 80/20 blend would work great with something (mmmm crusty bread) to soak it up.

Great weekend and thanks to the readers of my blog

Hey everyone.  Its Monday morning.  Two weeks ago I came off crutches!  My knee is improving and I'm now able to walk up and down stairs unassisted.  The physical therapist was explaining the doc's post surgery report to me on Friday and in addition to the meniscus tears and loose ligaments I have a stretched ACL from my knee being off center.  The doc cut some tissue that allowed my knee to realign correctly while relieving pressure on my ACL.  Now Therapy is strengthening my knee to overcome the natural pull of the hamstring and reteaching the muscle memory of the previous tweaked muscles.  Today I am off to buy a pair of five finger vibrams or other low profile running shoe...might as well relearn how to run correctly,

Today is a big day for the better half.  Last week she dropped a bombshell on me - she wants to go primal. As a family most of our dinners have been primal.  Breakfast and lunch (oatmeal, cereal, flour tortillas, crackers, pita bread) along with a daily one pump mocha from *bucks kept her from fully living the lifestyle.  I know she will do well.

So my challenge now is to improve the primal food options...I can live on bacon and bone broth but she is a little more picky in her selection.  I pre-ordered Make it Paleo: Over 200 Grain Free Recipes For Any Occasion by http://www.primal-palate.com/ to improve my selection of food.  Still our biggest diet challenge is J's, my three year old, egg allergies.

Not a typical post for me.  If you clicked looking for a food idea here it is:
1lb 80/20 % ground beef
Mold into 4 patties
Place in microwave and nuke for three minutes each
This is an emergency back up plan when the hotel (nationwide chain) tells you on the phone there is a guest grill then changes their mind after you prepay on-line, arrive and check in...a rant for another day.

Blogger tracks the page views for my blog.  It doesn't track RSS feeds.  I'm sure there is a way to track those but I haven't had the time to figure it out.  I read most of the blogs I follow through my Mac mail reader.  Any suggestions from bloggers who know what they are doing...or if you read via rss can you please leave a comment so I can get an idea how many people may be following my blog via rss.
Thanks!

Living with food allergies

We thought "J" had eczema from genes.  Never did we realize it was a reaction to egg products in the store bought baby food.

Most of her first foods were homemade - sweet potatoes, apple sauce, cheese, broccoli, spinach, ground meat, carrots, peas, brown rice, yogurt.  And she loved it all.  And she ate a ton.  We introduced one food at a time and limited one new food once a week to ensure there was no allergic reactions.  Making her food from scratch was my contribution to her growth (since "N" was still nursing).  Many times J's meals were the inspiration for our meals (like the spinach wall soup in the photo).

However being new parents we did occasionally rely on store bought prepared food.  We stuck with the organic brands and paid more with the intent of getting a better product (but they still tasted awful to me).

J had a little bit of eczema and we dismissed it to genetics.  Never did we think the egg proteins in the store bought food or the eggs in N's diet, transferred by nursing, was causing it.  It was never excessive and our doctor told us not to worry.

So how did we discover the egg allergy?  Right after J's 12 month appointment.  I'm not a huge fan of statistical averages and J's height was above the normal mean and her weight was below the normal mean.  Doc said feed her more.  We told him she eats, eats, eats, plays, plays, plays...and we did not feed her junk.  Looking back her only "junk food" was freeze dried yogurt drops and crunchy melt in your mouth crackers.  Doc said give her an egg a day.  Yippie I thought..scrambled eggs for breakfast with my kid.  I was getting tired of sweet potatoes and oatmeal every morning.

That night I had to work.  So N is home by herself with J.  N scrambles an egg with cheese and J gobbles it down.  Then J's eyes swell, she became congested, broke out in hives and begun throwing up.  J is having a text book anaphylactic reaction to the eggs.

N calls 911.  Paramedics arrive (and those who know me personally know how much I appreciate the FD) - but this night they let me down.  By the time they arrived J's reaction was almost over (she threw up most of the eggs).  The Medics were rude to N, which in turn upset her even more.  One medic couldn't understand why we didn't own kids benadryl and dismissed the event as a non emergency.  Come on guys, a little compassion.

N calls me in tears and a short time later we meet at the local hospital (medics said to go there instead of the pediatric trauma hospital a few minutes further down the road since this was just a non emergency reaction).  On a side note, the local Community hospital visit was a waste of time and money.  When I get billed I discover the doctors organization contracted with the ER are out of network even though the hospital is in network - go figure.

The next day we visit our pediatrician, who is also an allergist, and receive training in using an epi pen.  We toss any food item that contains egg or is made on shared egg equipment.  We buy books, stress about meals and wonder how we are going to protect our little girl from eggs.  And then we discover we are not the only ones dealing with this.

It seems everyone knows someone who has an allergy of some sort.  We are lucky J's are limited to eggs.  However most of our meals are also soy free, wheat free and can easily be dairy free.  If you have a child with allergies recognize it will be a challenge however it is also a great excuse to eat good food.

J wants ice cream, instead we make fruit icicles...muffins are made with bananas and apple sauce instead of eggs (and I think the banana chocolate cup cakes rock), which reduces the sugar ingredients and she can eat the batter out of the bowl.  At birthday parties we make cupcakes for all the kids, or pack one homemade cupcake or she gets a  Peter Rabbit Organics, Organic Mango, Banana and Orange 100% Pure Fruit Snack, 3.5-Ounce Pouches (Pack of 10)  as her celebration treat.

In Orange County an allergen focused bakery just opened up http://www.sensitivesweets.com  and Vegan restaurants have great allergen free items too.

Eating out we've discovered Chilis and In N Out to be allergy friendly.  Chilis has a great allergen menu and once we explain J's allergy they are very accommodating.

Here are some alternatives to allergen foods:
Mayo (eggs) - avocado
Cake mixes - Whole foods/Trader Joes have allergen free prepared mixes
Wheat pasta - rice pasta
Butter for cooking - bacon grease, olive oil, coconut oil
Cheese - teese vegan cheese (awesome on pizza)
Flour - rice/potato flour
Eggs - apple sauce or bananas when a bakery good needs eggs
Bread - corn tortillas
Pizza crust - spinach crusts/meat crusts/potato+rice flour crusts
Crackers - sliced veggies, cucumbers, carrots, celery
Ice Cream - fruit juice icies

Traveling to relatives and friends homes can be tough.  We usually pack meals, bring an ice chest, move allergen foods out of reach...and it sucks sometimes.  Some days we feel like people understand J's allergies however make no effort to accommodate.  But to put it in perspective, we live with her allergies every day, they don't and don't have an allergen free routine built into their wiring.  Maybe we are a little overprotective at times however I NEVER want to use her Epi Pen.

J is now old enough to understand she has an allergy.  She knows her buddies D and C have allergies too.  And its comforting that she knows, and her buddies know, they all have something special in common.

I am by no means an expert with allergies however I am happy to share with you how we, and our network of friends, have dealt with allergies.  If you live in the Southern Cal area I'll even go shopping and/or cook with you.  Just send me a message through blog.

On a funny note, whenever N and I go away on an overnight, kid free trip, we always make eggs our first meal.

Grilled guacamole

Avocados.  I didn't start eating them until I was 32.  And at that point I could only tolerate a few slices on a bacon cheese burger covered in blue cheese dressing.  When "J" started eating solid foods one of the first and still to this day favorite is avocados.  She can eat them directly out of the skin-no salt, no pepper, no hot sauce, just plain old avocado in a primal fashion.

Enjoy this guacamole with corn chips, next to your steak, on top of your burger or just eat straight out of the serving bowl with a spoon. Traditionally a jalapeno is also mixed in...but with a three year old I cut it out of the recipe.

This is a non measured "add X" amount recipe.  Sorry.

Ingredients: (makes serving for 2 adults and 1-3 yo)
2 Avocados
1/4 onion chopped (or grill a couple of round slices and then chop)
1 lime (but I use 2 because I like the extra lime juice flavor)
Cilantro (small bunch) chopped
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Optional:
1 small tomato diced and added to mix
1 jalapeno (grilled and seeds removed) chopped
Hot sauce

Directions:
1. Heat grill

2. Slice avocado in a long quarters i.e. top to bottom leaving skin on

3. Slice limes in half

4. When grill is hot place avocado and limes over medium to high heat for about 3 minutes

5. As items grill flip gently with a bbq spatula

6. Once the avocados get grill marks, like a steak, on both sides remove from heat - the limes should be done about the same time

7. Remove avocado skins and mash

8. Squeeze limes over the mash (I prefer to use a hand lemon/lime juicer)
9. Add the onions and cilantro to the mash and mix together with a fork (along with any other optional ingredients)

10. Enjoy! Add salt and pepper to adjust for your liking.

Sidenote-"N" prefers to chill the mash before eating.  I'm happy with it hot or cold.

Grilled romaine wraps with bacon, onions, blue cheese and reduced balsamic

Damn these were good!  I am using an iPhone to take the pictures and the pictures do not do justice to the flavor of this meal.

Since eliminating gluten from my diet lettuce has become my official wrap for In&Out burgers and sandwiches.  This week I was inspired to grill romaine as another alternative for bread like products (tacos, burritos, bun).  With the dense leaves I figured worst case I could throw the outside leaves away while salvaging the inner lettuce guts.  This was not necessary.  They outside leaves were slightly wrinkled and softened while the inside stayed crunchy.  The grill flavor was so good and I envision more grilled romaine meals using ground burger, lamb, feta cheese, salsa...stay tuned for other ideas.

Ingredients: (assume 1 romaine lettuce per person)

Romaine lettuce

Bacon (2 slices per person)

Onion (1/4 cup per person)

Olive oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Blue Cheese - crumbled

1. Heat grill
2. Dice bacon and onion, add to fry pan and cook over medium heat until the onion is browned and bacon slightly crunchy - set pan contents aside

3. Add about 1/3 cup balsamic to fry pan and heat over a medium heat - the vinegar will bubble and slowly thicken up.  Do not overcook it as it turns into a taffy like substance.

4. Cut romaine lettuce in half and coat the inside with olive oil

5. Place lettuce on grill and monitor closely.  Turn often and remove from grill when browned and outer leaves wilted.

6. Place two halves on a plate.  Top the lettuce with bacon, onions and crumbles of blue cheese.  Drizzle the reduced balsamic vinegar on top and enjoy.

On an interesting side note, my cross country truck driving friend Steve is starting the Primal diet.  His challenge we be finding places to eat primal while on the road.  I am going to work on simple meals that he can cook on the small propane grill he is adding to his gear.  If you want to minimize your efforts, you could cook this meal all on the grill.  Grill the bacon crunchy-set aside.  Grill the onion by cutting it in rings, covering in olive oil (or butter) - set aside.  Reduce the balsamic in a small cast iron pan over the grill or not reduce it at all.

Kind of Primal (egg free) pancakes

Besides for the occasional bite of pizza, a couple of strands of pasta and emergency tortilla wrap, wheat products have been out of my diet for over a year.  However these pancakes we devised for "J's" egg allergy are pretty good and I've become addicted to a couple (slathered in butter and almond butter) a week.  The mix is commercially produced and I've discovered when I eat wheat/gluten I tolerate bleached flour products better than whole wheat products.

(You can read more about the wheat health issues in Mark Sisson's book available at amazon through this link The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy.)

The recipe is pretty simple and slowest part is cooking the pancake mix.  Some days I will get out my two burner griddle but most of the time I use a small, flat fry pan.  The mix is pretty thick and I recommend keeping the pancake sizes to about that of a soda pop can circumference.  Anything bigger takes too long to cook and the outside burns.

Ingredients: (For 8 small pancakes - feeds my family of 2 adults and 1 3yo) 20 mins start to clean up
1 Banana
2/3 cup of bisquick
2/3 cup of heavy whipping cream
Butter

Optional: mix in if you want
Chocolate chips
Blue berries

1. Put pan over medium heat
2. Mash banana in a bowl with a fork until consistent with baby food
3. Add bisquick mix to bowl
4. Add cream to bowl
5. Mix together until the dry ingredients are wet
6. Check heat of pan by dropping a little bit (water hanging off your finger) of water onto the pan-if the water sizzles and dances the pan is hot enough - adjust heat if necessary
7. Add a little bit of butter onto pan and swish around
8. Using a measuring cup pour pancake mix onto pan to form small pancakes
9. Cook until the mix bubbles and there is adequate firmness to flip over
10. Cook other side and serve

Without the egg, and by adding the banana, the pancakes will not cook the golden brown we have all become accustomed to.  Let me know how you like the flavor.

The first photo is from breakfast today.  Apples for the ears and arms, crispy bacon for the legs, blue berries for the eyes, raspberry for the nose, almond butter for hair and chocolate chips for the mouth (added after pancake was cooked). 

Wow-Kale can taste good

Kale-the next miracle veggie?  Whole Foods ranks it high on their list of best foods.  But most often kale is used as a decoration in the salad bar.  Kale can be grilled, roasted, boiled, sauteed, blended into soups, chopped raw into a salad...

Cooked properly kale can be a great side dish, cold snack or even a wrap for a turkey & cheese sandwich.  Today's recipe is inspired by the great southern Cal weather, cool evening beach breeze and awesome smell of grilled steaks.  I enjoyed the Kale with the ribeye steaks last night however the Kale was even better cold the next day as a snack.  After sitting overnight in the fridge, the usually rough center stem was softer and had a great smokey flavor.

Overall cook and prep time - 3 minutes (assuming you have a hot grill)

Ingredients:
1 bunch of Kale from the supermarket (About $1-1.50)
Olive oil
Salt

Optional
Garlic Salt
Seasoned Olive Oil

Directions:

1. Heat grill
2. Wash kale and dry
3. Place kale in a round bowl and drizzle with olive oil...I cover half the olive oil opening as I pour the oil onto whatever I'm drizzling 
4. Add salt/garlic salt onto the kale
5. Place kale on grill over a high heat 
6. Monitor the kale and minimize olive oil flare ups - turn often using tongs like OXO Good Grips 16-Inch Locking Tongs
7. Once the OUTER kale leaves start to wilt/brown/crispy and the overall body shrivels up, remove from the grill
8. I usually slice the kale in half and serve the upper half stem and leaves.  The lower half I cut the leaves off and do not serve the lower stem...it is too tough.

I just realized my chicken with prosciutto, basil and cheese pictures did not post.  I will add those to the previous post.

Paneed chicken with prosciutto, basil and cheese toppings

I love to cook with cast iron.  Cast iron Lodge Logic L14SK3 Pre-Seasoned 15 Inch Cast-Iron Skilletcan quickly transfer from the stove to the oven/broiler to finish off this meal.  Depending on the number of servings you may need to use a cookie sheet to finish this recipe.  The recipe assumes you are using an oven safe pan.

What is paneed?  Years ago while traveling cross country my wife and I had a few days in New Orleans....this was way before Katrina.  Our waiter, "Bear", was asked what is paneed?  His response, "Chicken cooked in a pan." The place was so good we returned the next night.  I wish I could remember the name of the restaurant.

Prep and cook time: About 20 mins

Ingredients: (for 1)
1 chicken breast (or two/three skinless/boneless chicken thighs)
Slice(s) of prosciutto or ham large enough to cover chicken
Handful of basil (love my plant growing on our deck)
Handful of cheese (sharper is better) to cover chicken
2-3 tablespoons of butter
Salt (I prefer fresh ground sea salt)

Optional
1/4 cup Bread crumbs (gluten free is preferred or Ian's Natural Food Panko Breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup Heavy cream

Directions:

1. Heat pan 
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
3. Place chicken in a heavy duty plastic bag
4. Place bag on a cutting board and cover with a kitchen towel 
5. Now comes the fun part, pound the chicken flat...use a meat tenderizer, can of food, bottle of wine, rolling pin, whatever you have that is heavy - should need about a dozen hits  
6. Add butter to pan and melt over medium heat
7. Pour bread crumbs into a bowl and season with sea salt
8. Pour 1/4 cup of cream into a bowl, remove chicken from bag and drench in cream
9. Transfer creamed chicken into the bread crumbs bowl and cover chicken with bread crumbs
10. Place chicken into pan of hot, melted butter 
11. Cook chicken for about three minutes over medium heat and then flip, cooking for about another three minutes (cook time will vary depending on the thickness of the chicken)
12. Turn off heat
13. Place prosciutto on top of chicken, then basil leaves and finally a hand full of cheese (This picture is extra breasts I broiled on a cookie sheet)
14. Place pan in oven and turn on broiler
15. Broiler for about two minutes until the cheese is melted, slightly browned and bubbling (Love using cast iron)

You can skip 7-9 (the creaming and bread crumbing of the chicken) if you wish to avoid the carbs/gluten/wheat.  Just season the chicken with a little salt when you add it to the pan

Carbonara (Primal and pasta options)

Carbonara is a rich, creamy pasta sauce.  Traditionally it is served over fettucini with a raw egg on top.  For this recipe the egg and peas are optional along with the pasta.  I use the zucchini as the pasta replacement for my primal diet.

Ingredients: (for 1 serving)
2 slices of bacon diced (I use Fresh and Easy sodium nitrate free bacon)
1/4 onion diced
1 tablespoon of butter (if I am out of butter or want more bacon flavor I use bacon grease)
1 zucchini sliced into long pieces
3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
Fresh grated parmesan cheese

Optional:
1/4 to 1/2 cup of frozen peas
Serving of pasta
Egg

Directions:

1. Start heating pan (if you are making pasta start that now by following the pasta directions - delay starting the sauce a few minutes to ensure pasta is done at same time as sauce)
2. Dice bacon and onions
3. Add butter/bacon grease to pan and allow to melt
4. Add bacon and onion and cook on medium heat for about two minutes-stir with wooden spoon 
5. Add zucchini and cook on medium for about four minutes until it starts to brown - season with salt 
6. Add heavy cream (and peas) and turn up heat 
7. Stir as cream boils and thickens - about 2 minutes - DO NOT over heat cream 
8. When cream thickens turn off heat 
9. Add egg (optional)
10. Add pasta (optional)
11. Serve in a pre-warmed bowl
12. Grate fresh parmesan using Zyliss 11370 Classic Rotary-Style Cheese Grater

Pasta Version

Primal Version