Update: What am I eating now?

I have done battle with the green monster's from my last post. Found 3 of them on my plant. I found a nice long poll, so I could dispatch them from the next county over, and knocked them down. I hope they can't crawl back up! Ok, I'm exaggerating a little. My first year I had to deal with them I did seriously get out a 5' long poll. *shiver* This year I got some tong out and used them. Only dispatched one, the other two I knocked down and I'm hoping they get lost in the wilderness and die of starvation.

My thyroid levels have fallen drastically, judging from my temperature and various symptoms, which is a really good way to figure out how your thyroid is doing by the way. So not sure why, my pharmacy has been giving me a new brand of generic, maybe that's the problem. So anyway, the weight simply won't budge despite some pretty severe dieting.

I've been keeping everything VERY low carb and pretty low calorie too (after my brief foray into higher calorie and subsequent weight gain). I have a protein shake in the AM (low carb of course). I was using whey but found it gives me the same symptoms I get when I have casein: Post nasal drip, sneeze-y feeling, nose blowing... I call it feeling "milky". So I have some egg protein and pea protein on order. We'll see how that goes. I'm really fond of these morning smoothies. I usually add instant coffee granules and perhaps some hazel nut flavored sugar-free syrup.

This morning I made coconut flour pancakes. They looked beautiful but were a little bland. I think they needed some salt. I topped them with hot raspberries, made from frozen, a little sweetener added. The way I make these is I mix about 2 Tbl of coconut flour with about 1/2 tsp - 1 tsp baking powder. Try to get the lumps out before adding the wet stuff. Next I crack an egg into that and work it in, adding water until it has the proper consistency for pancakes (sorry, haven't ever measured). With coconut flour you might want to let it rest a bit and add more water if it needs it. Coconut flour is thirsty stuff and can really absorb the water.

I recommend Aloha Nu coconut flour. I don't know if you'll find stores that carry it locally, I always get it over the Internet from Netrition.com or SimplyCoconut.com.

I'm usually having a steak at lunch which I cook with my usual method (sear then finish in the oven). My tutorial is here.

Dinner time has been either salad or fish! Yes, I am finally learning to cook fish. Something I've always been somewhat intimidated by. I saw Rachel Ray do an egg coating on fish and then fry it. I did that and it was very good! Basically I used an egg and a splash of coconut milk, beat together well. Coated the fish and tossed it into the pan with some hot oil on the bottom. The coating actually had a little crunch to it on the edges. I did try something new last time, I poached the fish in coconut milk and spices with a little lemon juice. For spices I used a Kaffir lime leaf (traditional Thai), some chili pepper flakes, salt and pepper. It tasted very good, very Thai like.

Salad is the usual quickie of pre-washed baby lettuce with herbs (from Trader Joe's). I cut up some avocado, throw in some chicken breast, maybe add some olives (I'm a freak for olives). My obsession with dehydrated onion really comes out here. I use a lot of them. They give the salad a lovely crunch. And sometimes I chop up some nuts and sprinkle them on. Then I pour on some oil, usually olive or peanut oil, and splash on rice vinegar and toss. I never get tired of this!

Costco has big containers of dehydrated onions for a good price.

What am I eating now?

No... not eating this horrid green thing. I have nightmares about these things!

Well, drifting a little further from Paleo at times. I've started using Whey protein for shakes. They certainly are delicious and a nice break from my usual left-overs or eggs with fish sauce. I got reminded of the "perfect cold chicken" recipe I posted back in 2008 and made another one of those. The broth is so awesome.

I've been in kind of an eating rut lately. Eating a sort of Asian cabbage salad with either chicken or shrimp daily. I use slightly sweetened rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, dehydrated onions and sometimes throw some avocado in there too. It's great and super fast to make.

I've also been on a pork spare rib campaign. They're 1.99 a pound at Costco and come in really huge containers. A typical package is about 7-9 pounds. So I've been experimenting with various rubs and roasting them in the oven (250 degrees) for a looong time, until they start to fall off the bone. About 6 hours. Then I make up a sauce of ketchup, sweetener, vinegar, onion powder. I think maybe some pickle juice would work good in there too. I should probably use tomato paste instead of ketchup to keep it lower carb.

Speaking of tomatoes, my tomato plant is producing despite my general neglect of it. I really need to get out there and looked for dreaded Tomato Hornworms... *shiver puke* They come every year and I have to overcome my strong repulsion to deal with them. I think I can blame my worm issue on my Mom. She used to pick them off her tomatoes and squish them with her foot. One time one splattered all over my legs (when I was a child). I must've been traumatized by that. :)

Baba Ganoush Update

Just made a batch without the Tahini and I must say I like it a lot. So you can save some $$'s and skip the Tahini.

Better than Hummus -- Baba Ganoush!

I love Hummus but it has legumes which I think aren't so great for me. During my Hummus period my arthritis really flared up. So I went off in search of something more Paleo and someone recommended Baba Ganoush. It has all the same ingredients but is made with eggplant instead of chickpeas.

Here's my latest recipe:

1 - 1.5 # Eggplant
Tahini (5 Tbls or to taste)
Lemon Juice (1/8 - 1/4 cup)
1/2 tsp citric acid (optional but really good!)
2 regular sized cloves of garlic
Salt -- to taste

You can optionally peel your eggplant first and de-seed it if you want. Depends how much work you want to do. I suppose it is slightly more attractive, paler color, without the skin. But I suspect there are a lot of good nutrients in that deep purple skin. I leave the seeds in and the skin on generally. But I like to minimize my time spent cooking.

Slice the eggplant into circles. 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick. Roast the eggplant for about 30 minutes in a 300 degree oven or until slightly browned. Turn once during that time.

Put the roasted eggplant into your food processor and process until pretty much a paste. Add the other ingredients tasting as you go.

You can use this in place of the Hummus in the Avocado/Hummus Omelet recipe I posted recently.

First time I made this I used 2 giant garlic cloves and that was too much. This time I cut it down to one giant sized clove and I think that would be about 2 normal sized cloves. I love garlic but I prefer the lemon and tartness to shine through a bit more than the garlic.

One of these times I'm going to try this without the tahini. I actually don't like the taste of tahini plain, so I'm wondering if it really is adding anything to the Baba.

I never would have thought of adding citric acid (which comes from lemons) but it really does give it a nice flavor than just lemon juice alone. The video for Hummus from Dedemed.com suggested using citric acid. I found citric acid in bulk at the local Henry's (health food store). You can also buy it from Wine making supply stores, or online.

Hummus Avocado Omelet

Straying a little away from Paleo, legumes not being allowed, I have a luscious new treat.
Makes one generous omelet which keeps me full for 4-5 hours.

Ingredients

Ingredients
2 Large eggs
Fish Sauce (or Soy... but recommend Fish sauce)
1.5 - 2.0 oz of Hummus (whatever brand you love)
1/2 Avocado
[Optional] Spring onions or green onions, something mildly onion-y

Step 1:

Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk briskly with a fork. Add a little fish sauce (1-2 tsp) and add about 2 tblsp of water. This thins down the omelet so it'll spread out wide, like a crepe.

Cooking

Step 2:

Heat some oil in a pan and let it get nice and hot. Pour in your egg mixture and let it spread out and entirely cover the bottom of the pan. Let it cook and set. I usually gently push the cooked part back and let the uncooked part flow through. Once it gets mostly set I flip it (over something easy to clean in case I miss my flip).

Assembly Required

Step 3:

Carefully slide the omelet out of the pan onto a waiting dinner plate. Put the hummus in the middle of the omelet/egg-crepe and then dice up your avocado and add it. Sprinkle with mild, sweet onions. Wrap the sides of the innards and enjoy!

Ready to Eat

Fish or Soy Sauce?

I have to say that fish sauce is vastly better for this than soy. I think soy would be too over powering and fish sauce works very well with eggs. You can find fish sauce almost anywhere nowadays, in the regular grocery store it should be in with the Asian foods, right next to soy sauce. Or you can buy it in big, vastly cheaper bottles at any decent Asian market.

In Thailand the street vendors there make an omelet similar to my basic egg crepe I make here but sometimes they put peanut sauce on it.

Anyway, in case you're repulsed by the idea of fermented fish let me reassure you it is very mild tasting and you don't really taste the fish at all, just a sort of flavor that should be very familiar to you if you enjoy Thai food... a touch of salt, a bit of umami. It really makes eggs come alive.

Chicken Soup

I got quite sick in the early part of February. It started as a nasty sore throat, the worst I've ever had, then developed into a nasty sinus infection. After suffering for over a week I saw my doctor and got a prescription for antibiotics to attack the sinus infection. I've had issues with clearing sinus infections in the past so I didn't want to go through that again.

Anyway, after I got to feeling better (I felt like a truck hit me) I decided to make some chicken soup. I've never really liked my soups in the past but this one came out just fine. I was still sick so I didn't want to work too hard.

Equal parts Celery, Carrots and Onions, chopped into soup-sized pieces.
Fat for cooking the veggies
Chicken (I pulled left-over rotisserie chicken off the carcass and used that)
Chicken broth -- Store bought, didn't have any made. Enough to cover the veggies and chicken and a bit more.
Herbs ( I used sage, thyme and a little basil)
Garlic: A few cloves either chopped well or pressed.

Optional: I used some left over compound butter (Garlic and Marjoram) to saute my veggies in a second batch of soup I made. This turned out even better!

Cook veggies in fat until they get as soft as you like. I don't like crunch in soup personally. Add chicken. Add stock. Allow to cook at low simmer about 20 minutes. If you use raw chicken that should be fully cooked by then.

This makes a hearty and filling soup!

Asian Marinade (Bulgogi-like)

I've been buying flap meat from Costco. Kind of pricey at 4.99 a pound but it sure is delicious.

I made this marinade which I like to think is inspired by Korean Bulgogi.

1/4 Cup soy sauce (or Wheat free Tamari)
1/4 Cup water
1-2 tsp seasame oil
1 tsp of onion powder
The equivalent of around 2-3 tsp of sweetener (sugar, honey, splenda, whatever)
3-4 cloves of freshly crushed or chopped garlic
6 or so slices of fresh ginger (don't bother chopping or peeling)
Red pepper flakes (to taste)

Put the beef in the bag with the marinade and let it sit for at least a few hours. I usually take my 2-3 pounds of beef and chop it up into 4-5 oz servings and divide the marinade between two bags, along with the meat. Then one goes in the freezer for later. The other, I start using the meat from after it has had a bit of a soak.

I cook this meat about 2 minutes on each side in a pan of the stove top. The marinade will pretty much evaporate so after the meat is done, I add a bit of water to the pan and let some of the water boil off until the marinade is reconstituted. Then I pour it on top of the meat, or perhaps over a vegetable side dish.