Ina Garten‘s “Barefoot Contessa” is one of my favorite cooking shows. She often references using homemade chicken stock in her recipes. And even though Ina qualifies it by saying you can substitute store-bought stock or broth, the mere mention of homemade chicken stock only served to make me feel inadequate. At least it did until very recently when I finally figured out if you have five minutes, a few key ingredients and a crock pot you can make homemade chicken stock.*
Broccoli Rabe sautéed in olive oil and garlic is my all time favorite vegetable side dish. It was not something I ate growing up in Texas. In fact, even though it is quite popular in Italy (known as rapini), I do not recall eating it when I lived and worked there either. It was not until I moved to the Northeast U.S. that I discovered the deliciousness that is broccoli rabe. At home my husband G and I sometimes fight over who gets more of this dish. (“I think you got more than I did!”) And our two boys are starting to enjoy broccoli rabe too which means there will either be more fighting or I will have to remember to make bigger batches in the future.
For the Love of Bitter Greens
Broccoli rabe (aka rapini) is a highly nutritious, bitter green. My taste for bitter greens may have started when I was about eleven years old and my mother had me and my siblings help her gather, cook and eat dandelion greens for a graduate school class project.
Over the summer I took my boys into New York City a few times. It was the first summer since going paleo so our jaunts included efforts to find paleo eats wherever we went. We were fairly successful. You can find most anything in New York so it stands to reason one could find plenty of paleo-friendly food. Afterall, paleo means eating meat, vegetables, some fruit and nuts and good fats – not really that hard. Of course, New York has its share of food temptations. We had to avoid the street vendors with dessert crêpes and falafel. We did not indulge in black & white cookies and cannoli. And we stayed away from Italian restaurants – with one exception, Mario Batali’s La Lupa. That was tough because, let me tell you, there are REALLY good Italian restaurants in New York City. Sigh.
Lululemon Athletica
I lugged my camera every time we went in and managed to get some fun shots. You can see a few of them in a previous post about our trip to Madison Square Park – Paleo and the City: Madison Square Park. That particular trip was during a week when my oldest son, Big Boy, was away at church camp and Sweet Pea and I were on our own. We took a second trip into “The City” that same week which included a stop at Lululemon Athletica (quite the yoga-wear Mecca). My husband G has gotten into yoga over the last year. He enjoys practicing when he has the time and appreciates the multiple benefits. Lululemon has a fantastic men’s line of yoga clothing. But even though G is quite comfortable in his manhood he simply cannot abide the name. He can’t bring himself to buy clothes from a store with “lulu” in the name. Maybe if they changed it to “Stevestevelemon” or “BobBoblemon” or simply “Lulemon”?? Next time I shop there I may buy him something but disguise it to look like it came from a more manly sounding athletic store. In spite of the unusual name, Lululemon sells terrific products. Everything I have purchased there has been great quality and has worn and washed well. The yoga top you see in the photo below came from Lululemon. Come to think of it, so did the hat.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I love beer.
My wife, too, enjoys a high quality beer now and then. But her gluten intolerance made me feel…well, guilty if I was sitting across from her at the dinner table, sipping a cold, tasty bottle of beer while she downed another glass of ice water.
So when she discovered gluten-free beer, I was all for giving them a try.
Ever since the paleo diet unshackled me from the fear of eating animal fat I have been on a mission to indulge in foods previously avoided. Barbecued pork ribs is one of those foods. My goal with this recipe was to create something delicious that would be paleo, which means, among other things, having very little or no sugar. It was also important the dry-rubbed ribs be good enough to be eaten without sauce. Of course, barbecue sauce is pretty indispensable in the minds of most people and my family is no exception. So I have also included a spicy barbecue sauce recipe that contains no high fructose corn syrup and only 2 tablespoons of sweetener.
Continuing my ongoing effort to review gluten-free beers for Paleo beer-lovers, up next is TOLERATION Gluten Free Ale, from “Nick Stafford’s Hambleton Ales” in Yorkshire, England.
First, a little history about “Nick Stafford’s Hambleton Ales”. Not surprisingly, the company is owned by its founder, Nick Stafford. According to the company’s website, after being laid-off twice in only seven months (or “made redundant”, as the Brits like to say) in 1991, Mr. Stafford was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and decided to start his own brewery.
Plantains are not a food I grew up eating in Texas. In fact, the first time I ate plantains was in a Cuban restaurant just a few years ago. But eating a Paleo diet means no grains or legumes so I have been trying a few new foods to fill in the gaps. My problem … Read more
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak…VERY weak. I was an athlete for most of my life. I started playing competitive sports in the 2nd-grade, and actually played Lacrosse all the way through high school and college. In fact, the team I played for in college was a top-ten ranked Division 1 team, … Read more
Whole Foods is a great resource for Paleo Diet (and Primal) necessities. On the Friday before Labor Day weekend, Whole Foods held a sale on “Grass-Fed” ground beef. While steak is high on my list of good things in life I definitely love good ground beef. It’s very versatile and can be healthy and delicious … Read more
Even though yoga fits in well with the Paleo lifestyle (see previous post) I am certainly not a yoga expert. In fact it was not all that long ago I was reading “Yoga For Dummies”. But finding yoga to be amazingly helpful in relieving stress and increasing strength and flexibility has motivated me to learn … Read more
Ina Garten‘s “Barefoot Contessa” is one of my favorite cooking shows. She often references using homemade chicken stock in her recipes. And even though Ina qualifies it by saying you can substitute store-bought stock or broth, the mere mention of homemade chicken stock only served to make me feel inadequate. At least it did until very recently when I finally figured out if you have five minutes, a few key ingredients and a crock pot you can make homemade chicken stock.*
