Turnip chips

Sliced as thin as possible, fried in coconut and olive oils, these were sweet and wonderful.  I seasoned with turmeric and red pepper, and I sprinkled basil after I pulled them out of the pan.

Albacore with Fried Sage, Oregano and Garlic

Trader Joe's frozen fish - the trick to get a good texture is to use several paper towels to press out moisture after thawing and just before cooking.  I love fresh herbs, this time sage and oregano.  I cooked this in a mixture of coconut and olive oils, about 2/3 ratio.

Bison brisket is bomb

Last Thanksgiving, I made a beef brisket with Whole Foods grass fed beef.  Last weekend, I tried a 2 lb. bison brisket, grass fed and grass finished, from Linder Farms.  It was about $10 per pound, the same price as the WF brisket.
I was concerned that bison is leaner than beef, so after defrosting, I marinated overnight in lime juice, olive oil, and red pepper flakes.  When I was ready to cook, I pulled the meat out to allow it to come to room temperature and turned the oven to 450.
While the meat warmed, I started my two large golden onions, 1.5 bulbs of garlic, and chopped cabbage to cook in coconut oil.  Cabbage in a brisket?  I'm Polish.  I seasoned with oregano, cumin, parsley, thyme and red pepper flakes. 

Then I seared the brisket in very hot coconut oil.

I added it to the vegetables and added my low-sodium vegetable broth.  I don't use any foods that include "spices" or "flavor."

I covered, brought the broth to a boil, and put it in the oven.  After 30 minutes, I turned the oven down to 200 and left it for five hours.

I consider both briskets to be a success.  Both had great flavor but slightly different texture.  The beef was more moist and stringy, while the bison was firm and drier.

I made a salad with radiccio, a spicy yogurt and olive oil chimichurri sauce, and slices of brisket.

I chopped small pieces of the brisket and fried them in olive oil and coconut oil, added eggs and small chunks of real Parmesan cheese.

Italian snacks in the apartment

ricotta salata, oil, cayenne from Pakistan, dried basil

bufala mozzarella

beef, mozzarella, spicy olives, olive oil, dried basil

Spicy curry fish with greens and garlic

Sometimes all you need to make fish and greens exciting again is a new spice blend.  I got some spicy curry from a Pakistani stall in the Nuovo Mercato Esquilino.  The fish is a snapper, I think.  The greens are lambs' lettuce or purslane.  They are the only vegetable that has any significant amount of omega-3 fats, so this meal packs a very healthy punch.  I've seen this kind of greens at Trader Joe's.

Spicy fresh garlic dip

Trader Joe's full fat Greek yogurt, a healthy drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and minced fresh garlic.  With these three ingredients, you can customize the rest of the spices to make what you like.  This time I used red pepper flakes, paprika, basil and oregano.

Shrimp with shells on

The Romans cook and serve their shrimp with the shells on, so I decided to try it, especially because they're cheaper.  Turns out the shells also add flavor.  I like to cook my onions and kale for quite a while to get a soft, sweet result.  This dish also included bay scallops.

Organic Power to the Greens - TJ's new bagged product

I'm always looking for easy ways to add greens, thought this was pretty good.  I tried it as a salad and sauteed to go with my beef.  The leaves were fresh and crisp, and the combination of kale, chard and spinach was delicious.  It is $1.99 for a bag.

Meat? Yes please, and what kind?

This short article gives information about how meat is grown in this country, how we are prevented from regulating it, antibiotic use, and gives some advice.  It is important for your health, the health of your children and the health of our world to respond to this sick abuse of animals.

Food Science is Beyond "complicated"

Here is a short slideshow of a few food pairings.  These foods, when eaten together, enhance each other's benefits. 

Carbs

It is important to experiment to find the level of carbohydrate feeding that your body can tolerate while you maintain your healthy figure. No grain or fruit for me, and I like to eat high fat. Tomatoes and a large avocado provide approximately 40g carbs, and I added cucumber, olive oil, basil and oregano.

A Calorie is Still Not a Calorie

This short article from the Huffington Post gives a quick overview of some ways that a calorie is not just a calorie.  The extent to which a food has been processed matters, and even the mix of microbes that each individual carries inside their body.  Way cool thought-provoking.

Poor Cows - What are They Feeding You?

Cows are what they eat, just like us.  This farmer is feeding his cows salvage candy because he can no longer afford corn.  Just another reason to seek out farmers who feed their cows grass.

smothered beef burgers

crispy outside cool inside with red onion, real zucchini and garlic in coconut oil and olive oil

If it isn't the sugar, industrial fat, or salt, watch out for additives

Processed food is bad for us in so many ways, and this short article discusses food additives that the FDA allows food companies to continue to put in our food.  To me, trans fats are the biggest problem.  They're proven to kill people.  There is no safe level of consumption.  And yet they are still in FDA's GRAS category (Generally Recognized as Safe).

Transform Mealy Apricots

Cooked down in coconut oil, then added coconut butter to thicken and fresh squeezed pink grapefruit to cut the sweetness.  Ate with huge clouds of fresh organic heavy whipped cream.

Shrimp with Veggies is Very Fast

If you want good food fast, chop up your colors (here you see red pepper, green pepper, dark green, light green and yellow zucchini) and your garlic, sautee them in coconut oil to your desired texture, then add shrimp and cook until just opaque.  I seasoned mine with turmeric, black pepper and cayenne and served with a big wedge of lemon.  You can make this even faster if you have to - buy pre-chopped vegetables.

Awesome Little Girl with Blog

This little girl blogged about her gross lunches that included almost no fruit and vegetables, and her school ended up making some pretty big changes.  I think that is pretty awesome, but at the same time I worry that those kids who don't have access to a computer and internet at home are at even more of a disadvantage.

Greek Meatballs with Tzaziki

Meatballs:
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground lamb
2 eggs
white onion
fresh garlic
fresh and dried mint
fresh parsley
pepper
cumin
paprika
fried in olive oil with a bit of coconut oil
I don't mind a very onion-y taste and I'm lazy, so I didn't chop the onions very fine.

Tzaziki: Trader Joe's full fat Greek yogurt - 2 cups
skinny cucumbers, partially seeded
lots of fresh mint
a bit of fresh parsley
1/4 cup raw onion
roasted garlic
fresh lemon juice
olive oil
salt and pepper
This came out as a sauce, not a dip, because I didn't fully seed the cucumbers.  The raw onion adds a very sharp taste, so adjust for your preference.  I used a blender.

Green Leafies = Great Skin

We all knew we are what we eat. But did you know that veggies can make you prettier? It stands to reason.

Radiccio

I "discovered" radiccio in Rome, and I haven't been able to stop buying it since. It wasn't offensive before, but I never picked it up. It goes great in a salad, especially with vinegar-based dressing, and I like to put a pile on my plate before I put my hot food on top, especially eggs with veggies.

Good thing it has a variety of wonderful health benefits, including lots of antioxidants (the color tips us off) good for the eyes. Great news for me since I hate carrots.

Eating in Rome

The salmon is from a market on Principe Amadeo and Mamiani, served with radiccio and purslane. That mixture was from a supermarket called Elite and was pretty cheap.

The meats, eggs and fish I've bought have been very fresh and high quality. The eggs are large with orange yolks and very thick shells.


The greens in the beef and eggs pics say broccoletti on the package, apparently part of the brassica family, which I religiously eat daily.



The cheese is ricotta salata, quite the taste sensation, also from the market at Principe Amadeo. I also bought a cabbage and an onion there, and to my taste the cabbage was particularly sweet and the onion very strong.


When I went out to eat, so far I had a beef dish in red wine with mushrooms served over arugula, no pic.

Is sugar a toxin?

Some researchers are arguing that we should call sugar a toxin, tax it, etc.

Another reason to buy from a farmers market

It doesn't come as a newsflash that mistreated food industry workers, really poor people who have to come to work sick, are highly correlated with outbreaks of food-borne illness.