Puffy TacosA blend of ground chuck with chipotle and adobo, servedin a puffy flour tortilla with homemade guacamole.
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Sleepy Daze
It's pretty much official - since my duties as educator are coming to a close for the year, my critical faculties are beginning to hibernate and my inner voice has decreased its repertoire to variations of "I want to sleep now", "Let's watch a movie", "Ground beeeef!" and "Let's go lie in the sun!". I am okay with this, really, except when it means I forget to photograph my food or post to the blog. There are just two more teaching days of school left, and then we're not expecting many kids to show up next week for the three days of 'fun activities'. I like it when I'm this relaxed, and have time to catch up with friends and family. And I have six weeks of freedom to look forward to - time to get messy in the kitchen, messy in the garden, and un-messy in the messy bomb that is my closet.
So, two days of meat to flash before your very eyes...
Tuesday's breakfast - a lamb chop!
Lunch - porchetta and chorizo, afternoon delight!
Dinner - Pork roast with crackling!!
Wednesday's breakfast - lamb chop and two pieces of organic, shortcut bacon that costs more than than organic eye fillet steaks! But it's hella-tasty, if disappointingly lean.
Lunch - more porchetta and chorizo, like yesterday, but no photo today.
Dinner: entree - two beef sausages
Dinner: main - corned beef silverside, served with a heft of butter to compensate for all the lean meat today.
And if you're sick of these meaty-yet-plain posts, fear not: I'm hosting another dinner party on Friday night! I'm currently working on a spicy seafood soup recipe - maybe Friday will be time to try it on a test audience... Plus, another dessert!
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So, two days of meat to flash before your very eyes...
Tuesday's breakfast - a lamb chop!
Lunch - porchetta and chorizo, afternoon delight!
Dinner - Pork roast with crackling!!
Wednesday's breakfast - lamb chop and two pieces of organic, shortcut bacon that costs more than than organic eye fillet steaks! But it's hella-tasty, if disappointingly lean.
Lunch - more porchetta and chorizo, like yesterday, but no photo today.
Dinner: entree - two beef sausages
Dinner: main - corned beef silverside, served with a heft of butter to compensate for all the lean meat today.
And if you're sick of these meaty-yet-plain posts, fear not: I'm hosting another dinner party on Friday night! I'm currently working on a spicy seafood soup recipe - maybe Friday will be time to try it on a test audience... Plus, another dessert!
The Day of Good Food & Sucky Photography
Man, the pain of uploading photos from your phone to find that they're weirdly coloured, over-exposed, or just plain uninspiring. Fun. Maybe I should set up a 'buy Girl Gone Primal a gosh-darn decent camera' fund!
Despite what the pictures may suggest, my food today was truly delicious. I seem to have gone off steak, and all I seem to crave is ground beef. Perhaps a sign that my body is wanting more fat?
Breakfast - a couple of eggs, scrambled to creamy perfection (I maintain the brightness is actually due to their heavenly flavour, and not my phone's inability to cope in bright, angular morning sunlight)
Lunch: roast chicken leftovers, some taken to work and some gnawed straight from the carcass once I arrived home. I didn't even try to take an attractive photo of that one.
Dinner: ground beef - plain for me:
And as a delicious 'taco' salad for the beau - the meat was mixed with taco-esque spices, then served on a bed of lettuce, with tomato, carrot and parmesan cheese.
But even a day of crappy photography can't get me down, after this morning's ego-boost from Mark Sisson - once again, my recipes have been featured in his latest Weekend Link Love post! It is such a thrill to know that he thinks my inventions are good enough to share with the wider primal community, and I hope that the people who try my ideas give me feedback so I can help them or tweak the recipes, etc - or just send me pictures to know that my ideas are being replicated the world over! I love it! :D
reade more...
Despite what the pictures may suggest, my food today was truly delicious. I seem to have gone off steak, and all I seem to crave is ground beef. Perhaps a sign that my body is wanting more fat?
Breakfast - a couple of eggs, scrambled to creamy perfection (I maintain the brightness is actually due to their heavenly flavour, and not my phone's inability to cope in bright, angular morning sunlight)
Lunch: roast chicken leftovers, some taken to work and some gnawed straight from the carcass once I arrived home. I didn't even try to take an attractive photo of that one.
Dinner: ground beef - plain for me:
And as a delicious 'taco' salad for the beau - the meat was mixed with taco-esque spices, then served on a bed of lettuce, with tomato, carrot and parmesan cheese.
But even a day of crappy photography can't get me down, after this morning's ego-boost from Mark Sisson - once again, my recipes have been featured in his latest Weekend Link Love post! It is such a thrill to know that he thinks my inventions are good enough to share with the wider primal community, and I hope that the people who try my ideas give me feedback so I can help them or tweak the recipes, etc - or just send me pictures to know that my ideas are being replicated the world over! I love it! :D
A Meaty Weekend
With the weather finally settling into a steady, summery temperance, I have been staying out of the computer room and in the sunlight as much as possible. With nothing particularly special to report, I figured you wouldn't mind if I saved up my meal details and combined them into one big weekend post. Any complaints? No? Good.
Thursday - the beau and my 5th anniversary! I started the day with a meal that proved I had eyes too big for my bots; I barely finished one lamb chop and half of the bacon! Oh, the senseless waste...
Skipped lunch, but when I arrived home the hunger pangs kicked in, and I knew that the restaurant we were headed to later would only serve small portions of meat, so I decided to fill up the completely non-photogenic fry-up of beef mince and bacon. Good plan!
Just like last time I went to Kobe Jones, I ordered the sashimi salad (hold the salad) and lobster to be cooked by me on a hot rock. Not much meat, as predicted, but thanks to lining my stomach with 500g of ground beef (yep, 500g!), the meal filled me up very satisfyingly!
Friday - after my big anniversary dinner(s), I wasn't tempted to eat breakfast, and didn't even think to pack lunch! My appetite didn't kick in again until 6pm, and then it REALLY kicked in!
Dinner #1 - scotch fillet steak
Dinner #2 - beef burger patties
Saturday - a lovely day of relaxing and reading and getting some sun!
Breakfast (after a long sleep-in) - lamb chops!
Dinner - roast chicken thighs with my spice mix. The shot of my plate wasn't great, so here's a look at what the beau tucked into:
Finally, Sunday - another day of flopping around in the sun, whilst making jewellery and keeping an eye on the adventurous cavies as they lapped up some much-needed sun as well.
To save on the hassles on cooking, I prepared and started roasting a chicken as soon as I woke up, so within two hours I served myself and a beau a hot, juicy portion of chicken each:
Not a huge serve, but I was more than sated for the rest of the day! As 7pm rolled around, I decided I should eat more, despite not yet feeling hungry, since I hate eating too close to bedtime. So I pulled off a bit of cold chicken:
However, I couldn't manage all of it, so the drumstick eventually joined the rest of the leftover chicken, ready for tomorrow's lunch. However, it remained on my plate to feature in the shot of the last of my bacon, cooked up to go with my cold chicken, but took a little too long. I ate it, even though I was full. C'mon, its BACON! You don't waste that stuff unless it's an emergency!
So now you're up to date! My weight is stable at my new low weight, and I've got lots of loose fat just waiting to shrink some more. The freezer is nearing emptiness, so we'll be doing a run to the organic butcher tomorrow night I suspect - mmmm, more lamb chops!
I hope your weekend was well, and that you're feeling smug that you've picked the healthy way to maintain your weight and fitness, unlike those poor Slim Fast folk...
reade more...
Thursday - the beau and my 5th anniversary! I started the day with a meal that proved I had eyes too big for my bots; I barely finished one lamb chop and half of the bacon! Oh, the senseless waste...
Skipped lunch, but when I arrived home the hunger pangs kicked in, and I knew that the restaurant we were headed to later would only serve small portions of meat, so I decided to fill up the completely non-photogenic fry-up of beef mince and bacon. Good plan!
Just like last time I went to Kobe Jones, I ordered the sashimi salad (hold the salad) and lobster to be cooked by me on a hot rock. Not much meat, as predicted, but thanks to lining my stomach with 500g of ground beef (yep, 500g!), the meal filled me up very satisfyingly!
Friday - after my big anniversary dinner(s), I wasn't tempted to eat breakfast, and didn't even think to pack lunch! My appetite didn't kick in again until 6pm, and then it REALLY kicked in!
Dinner #1 - scotch fillet steak
Dinner #2 - beef burger patties
Saturday - a lovely day of relaxing and reading and getting some sun!
Breakfast (after a long sleep-in) - lamb chops!
Dinner - roast chicken thighs with my spice mix. The shot of my plate wasn't great, so here's a look at what the beau tucked into:
Finally, Sunday - another day of flopping around in the sun, whilst making jewellery and keeping an eye on the adventurous cavies as they lapped up some much-needed sun as well.
To save on the hassles on cooking, I prepared and started roasting a chicken as soon as I woke up, so within two hours I served myself and a beau a hot, juicy portion of chicken each:
Not a huge serve, but I was more than sated for the rest of the day! As 7pm rolled around, I decided I should eat more, despite not yet feeling hungry, since I hate eating too close to bedtime. So I pulled off a bit of cold chicken:
However, I couldn't manage all of it, so the drumstick eventually joined the rest of the leftover chicken, ready for tomorrow's lunch. However, it remained on my plate to feature in the shot of the last of my bacon, cooked up to go with my cold chicken, but took a little too long. I ate it, even though I was full. C'mon, its BACON! You don't waste that stuff unless it's an emergency!
So now you're up to date! My weight is stable at my new low weight, and I've got lots of loose fat just waiting to shrink some more. The freezer is nearing emptiness, so we'll be doing a run to the organic butcher tomorrow night I suspect - mmmm, more lamb chops!
I hope your weekend was well, and that you're feeling smug that you've picked the healthy way to maintain your weight and fitness, unlike those poor Slim Fast folk...
A Primal Dinner Party
December 1st, 2009
Menu for Beau & Bro
Caveman Crab Cakes
Fried Chicken Fingers with Almond Sauce, Fennel & Carrot Cornucopia
Christmas Salad
Cherry Ripe Bites & Almond & Walnut Balls
Choc-Cherry Tart with cream
And here are a few of the photos I was able to snap before the beau and my brother scarfed the lot:
Oh, what did I eat? Chicken wings and skin and a little bit of meat, all fried in butter and spices! Utterly delicious!!
Rather than go to the hassle of posting separate write-ups and photos of my eats since the party, here's a quick run-down of the meaty goodness of the last two days:
Wednesday - bacon & eggs for breakfast, skipped lunch, porterhouse steak and bacon for dinner.
Thursday - bacon and lamb chops for breakfast, late lunch of ground beef and bacon, then off to Kobe Jones for our 5th anniversary, where I enjoyed another round of lobster tail on the hot rock, and a sashimi salad (ate the sashimi, left the salad. You can see shots of my other visit here.
Thank you for tolerating my absence whilst I knocked over writing my last few reports for my students - it's all done now, and I'm practically on summer holidays! I teach just one lesson tomorrow, then two, TWO lessons in the entirety of next week! No more work to do, so it's spare time to plan for next year, and watch movies, essentially! Yay! Then I'm truly free on the 18th - hello summer relaxation, reading, and respite!
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Menu for Beau & Bro
Caveman Crab Cakes
Fried Chicken Fingers with Almond Sauce, Fennel & Carrot Cornucopia
Christmas Salad
Cherry Ripe Bites & Almond & Walnut Balls
Choc-Cherry Tart with cream
And here are a few of the photos I was able to snap before the beau and my brother scarfed the lot:
Oh, what did I eat? Chicken wings and skin and a little bit of meat, all fried in butter and spices! Utterly delicious!!
Rather than go to the hassle of posting separate write-ups and photos of my eats since the party, here's a quick run-down of the meaty goodness of the last two days:
Wednesday - bacon & eggs for breakfast, skipped lunch, porterhouse steak and bacon for dinner.
Thursday - bacon and lamb chops for breakfast, late lunch of ground beef and bacon, then off to Kobe Jones for our 5th anniversary, where I enjoyed another round of lobster tail on the hot rock, and a sashimi salad (ate the sashimi, left the salad. You can see shots of my other visit here.
Thank you for tolerating my absence whilst I knocked over writing my last few reports for my students - it's all done now, and I'm practically on summer holidays! I teach just one lesson tomorrow, then two, TWO lessons in the entirety of next week! No more work to do, so it's spare time to plan for next year, and watch movies, essentially! Yay! Then I'm truly free on the 18th - hello summer relaxation, reading, and respite!
Recipe: Cherry Ripe Bites
No, I don't have the rights to the name 'Cherry Ripe', so if I ever quit my calling and open a primal eatery, I will have to think up a new name - but for now I can live with it!
In my pursuit to perfect some decadent primal recipes, ready to whip up for family and friends at Christmas, I took advantage of the opportunity to have my brother over for dinner in order to get feedback from someone outside of the sugar- and gluten-free experience. However, the frequency of consumption made snapping photos difficult, so when I make these bites again (and I certainly will, given their response!), I will take the time to snap some nicer shots. If you make a batch of your own, I'd love to see the outcome!
Cherry Ripe Bites
This recipe was formulated to specifically replace the classic chocolate bar, which didn't so much have fruit in it as flavoured sugar. The primal equivalent, of course, fixes that problem.
Ingredients:
250g very dark chocolate - I use 100% cacao or coconut oil mixed with cacao powder, but I guess you could get away with 90% Lindtt if you need the sweetness. The fruit would do it for me.
75g coconut cream
100g dessicated coconut
50g cherries, chopped and pitted
1t ground vanilla or vanilla essence
Optional - sweetener to taste
Method:
Melt chocolate (or combine melted coconut oil and cacao) and half-fill/coat the base and inner edge of your chocolate molds or silicon muffin tray/ice tray, etc. I had nothing suitable on hand, so I took a risk and used the egg holder from the fridge! Took some pounding, but they still came out fine :)
Combine all other ingredients roughly - if the mixture is a little dry (depending on the fineness of your dessicated coconut), add a tablespoon of heavy dairy cream and stir. Add more if necessary.
Roll cherry mix into balls/shapes just slightly smaller than your molds. (I used globs, but I would be more specific next time, so the chocolate isn't so thick around the filling.) Place into the holes and ensure you do not push the cherry mixture through to the bottom of the mold. If you're using clear plastic molds, double-check that there is still a strong layer of chocolate at the 'base' of the mold.
Top with melted chocolate until filling is covered. Refrigerate until set.
When set, press out of molds onto a plate, and keep cool until ready to serve. Enjoy!
(Cherry Ripe Bites with my Apricot & Walnut Balls)
I didn't have time to get a better shot - my brother was too keen to get it back in his mouth!
The guys didn't handle the dark chocolate very well, but scraped out the filling eagerly! I'll make the chocolate crust thinner next time - maybe dip the balls of filling into melted chocolate? Then I can bag them up and give them as Christmas presents!
reade more...
In my pursuit to perfect some decadent primal recipes, ready to whip up for family and friends at Christmas, I took advantage of the opportunity to have my brother over for dinner in order to get feedback from someone outside of the sugar- and gluten-free experience. However, the frequency of consumption made snapping photos difficult, so when I make these bites again (and I certainly will, given their response!), I will take the time to snap some nicer shots. If you make a batch of your own, I'd love to see the outcome!
Cherry Ripe Bites
This recipe was formulated to specifically replace the classic chocolate bar, which didn't so much have fruit in it as flavoured sugar. The primal equivalent, of course, fixes that problem.
Ingredients:
250g very dark chocolate - I use 100% cacao or coconut oil mixed with cacao powder, but I guess you could get away with 90% Lindtt if you need the sweetness. The fruit would do it for me.
75g coconut cream
100g dessicated coconut
50g cherries, chopped and pitted
1t ground vanilla or vanilla essence
Optional - sweetener to taste
Method:
Melt chocolate (or combine melted coconut oil and cacao) and half-fill/coat the base and inner edge of your chocolate molds or silicon muffin tray/ice tray, etc. I had nothing suitable on hand, so I took a risk and used the egg holder from the fridge! Took some pounding, but they still came out fine :)
Combine all other ingredients roughly - if the mixture is a little dry (depending on the fineness of your dessicated coconut), add a tablespoon of heavy dairy cream and stir. Add more if necessary.
Roll cherry mix into balls/shapes just slightly smaller than your molds. (I used globs, but I would be more specific next time, so the chocolate isn't so thick around the filling.) Place into the holes and ensure you do not push the cherry mixture through to the bottom of the mold. If you're using clear plastic molds, double-check that there is still a strong layer of chocolate at the 'base' of the mold.
Top with melted chocolate until filling is covered. Refrigerate until set.
When set, press out of molds onto a plate, and keep cool until ready to serve. Enjoy!
(Cherry Ripe Bites with my Apricot & Walnut Balls)
I didn't have time to get a better shot - my brother was too keen to get it back in his mouth!
The guys didn't handle the dark chocolate very well, but scraped out the filling eagerly! I'll make the chocolate crust thinner next time - maybe dip the balls of filling into melted chocolate? Then I can bag them up and give them as Christmas presents!
Recipe: Choc-Cherry Tart
In my pursuit to perfect some decadent primal recipes, ready to whip up for family and friends at Christmas, I took advantage of the opportunity to have my brother over for dinner in order to get feedback from someone outside of the sugar- and gluten-free experience. However, the frequency of consumption made snapping photos difficult, so when I make these tarts again (and I certainly will, given their response!), I will take the time to snap some nicer shots. If you make a batch of your own, I'd love to see the outcome!
Choc-Cherry Tart
Ingredients:
Crust
1 cup almond flour
1 egg
1 dash vanilla essence or 1/4t ground vanilla pods
1T butter
1/2t cinnamon
Optional - enough sugar substitute to sweeten crust
Filling
(I'm listing the amounts I used, but I had extra filling so I cooked the excess in ramekins - worked very well too! Making one large tart may require the whole amount of filling...)
400g 100% cacao buttons (or cocoa mixed with coconut oil if preferred)
250g butter
3 whole eggs
5 egg yolks
200g cherries, pitted
Optional - enough sugar substitute to sweeten as desired
Note - if you use a lighter form of chocolate, such as 90% Lindtt dark chocolate, you may need to decrease the amount of butter you use to balance the fat amounts.
Method:
Crust
Preheat oven to 150°C. Prepare a pie pan or muffin tray.
Combine all ingredients into a moist ball of dough.
Press dough into pan to make a thin but consistent crust density.
Place in oven until dough becomes a light golden-brown. (Note - if you notice the butter in the crust bubbling too much, turn down your oven slightly, as you want the moisture to stay bound in the almond flour)
Filling
Melt chocolate and butter, and combine well.
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, yolk, and sweetener until fluffy.
Fold chocolate mixture into eggs gently.
Place cherries along the bottom of the tart shell
Gently pour the chocolate over the cherries until just covered. The mixture will rise a little during cooking. The filling mixture is as dark as the chocolate, but a thin layer of lighter, frothy mix may float to the top - quite a nice effect since the top of the tart then matches the colour of the base, and heightens the 'surprise' of the filling. But your mixture may not end up as frothy - it will depend on the quality of the eggs you use. I use organic, pastured eggs that do wonderful things - as Joel Salatin says, they express the true essence of egg :)
Place in oven until mixture has risen and bounces back when touched in the centre. It took around 30 minutes for me, but a large tart would take at least 45 minutes, at a guess.
Serve warm or at room temperature, with cream.
This batch made 6 muffin-sized tarts, plus three filled ramekins. It should be enough to fill a large pie dish.
Well, it certainly isn't light on calories, but the beau and my brother adored these little tartlettes! They gushed over the chocolaty insides and the joy of discovering whole cherries. I made six tarts with crusts, and three 'souffles' in ramekins, and the beau is steadily making his way through them - they're his current choice for breakfasts! As I am living as a carnivore at the moment, I could only watch and ask questions, but hopefully I'll be able to enjoy this delight on occasion in the future. Maybe it can be my Christmas treat!
reade more...
Choc-Cherry Tart
Ingredients:
Crust
1 cup almond flour
1 egg
1 dash vanilla essence or 1/4t ground vanilla pods
1T butter
1/2t cinnamon
Optional - enough sugar substitute to sweeten crust
Filling
(I'm listing the amounts I used, but I had extra filling so I cooked the excess in ramekins - worked very well too! Making one large tart may require the whole amount of filling...)
400g 100% cacao buttons (or cocoa mixed with coconut oil if preferred)
250g butter
3 whole eggs
5 egg yolks
200g cherries, pitted
Optional - enough sugar substitute to sweeten as desired
Note - if you use a lighter form of chocolate, such as 90% Lindtt dark chocolate, you may need to decrease the amount of butter you use to balance the fat amounts.
Method:
Crust
Preheat oven to 150°C. Prepare a pie pan or muffin tray.
Combine all ingredients into a moist ball of dough.
Press dough into pan to make a thin but consistent crust density.
Place in oven until dough becomes a light golden-brown. (Note - if you notice the butter in the crust bubbling too much, turn down your oven slightly, as you want the moisture to stay bound in the almond flour)
Filling
Melt chocolate and butter, and combine well.
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, yolk, and sweetener until fluffy.
Fold chocolate mixture into eggs gently.
Place cherries along the bottom of the tart shell
Gently pour the chocolate over the cherries until just covered. The mixture will rise a little during cooking. The filling mixture is as dark as the chocolate, but a thin layer of lighter, frothy mix may float to the top - quite a nice effect since the top of the tart then matches the colour of the base, and heightens the 'surprise' of the filling. But your mixture may not end up as frothy - it will depend on the quality of the eggs you use. I use organic, pastured eggs that do wonderful things - as Joel Salatin says, they express the true essence of egg :)
Place in oven until mixture has risen and bounces back when touched in the centre. It took around 30 minutes for me, but a large tart would take at least 45 minutes, at a guess.
Serve warm or at room temperature, with cream.
This batch made 6 muffin-sized tarts, plus three filled ramekins. It should be enough to fill a large pie dish.
Well, it certainly isn't light on calories, but the beau and my brother adored these little tartlettes! They gushed over the chocolaty insides and the joy of discovering whole cherries. I made six tarts with crusts, and three 'souffles' in ramekins, and the beau is steadily making his way through them - they're his current choice for breakfasts! As I am living as a carnivore at the moment, I could only watch and ask questions, but hopefully I'll be able to enjoy this delight on occasion in the future. Maybe it can be my Christmas treat!