Cauliflower Rice

Rice is nice when you crave a grainy consistency.  Sticky or fluffy, it bulks up your meal and adds a great texture component.  Rice may be touted as healthy, especially if it is brown or wild, but really, who are they kidding?  Unfortunately, just about everyone.

I have heard the argument that kids need grains.  They are "good" for them.  What can you get out of a grain that you can't get tenfold from vegetables, fruit, and meat?  Name me something other than digestive problems.  Don't think you have digestive problems with grain?  Try giving it up for two weeks, cold turkey, then go right back to eating your bread, pasta, and rice.  See how it feels to clean out your system and reintroduce an irritant.  Chances are highly in my favor that you won't be fine.

Why No Rice?


Rice is a grain.  White rice is a highly refined carbohydrate, meaning it is processed to make it more digestible.   Doesn't that say something right there?  If we have to process something to eat it, should we be eating it?  That is one of the reasons behind arguments against tubers (they have to be cooked to be eaten).  There is definitely more to argue here, but trying to consume less processed foods is a step in the right direction.

White rice has lost most of its nutrient value since its outer layers have been stripped away.  But lectins and antinutrients are still prevalent.  According to the "Nutritional Quality of Cereals" chapter of Fermented Cereals: a Global Perspective, grains mess with your enzymes, chemicals needed for chemical reactions vital to your bodily processes.  The enzyme inhibitors found in rice are concentrated in the bran (i.e. what brown rice retains) and interfere with digestion causing problems with the pancreas (where insulin is made) and disrupting amino acid utilization.  The kicker: these enzyme inhibitors are heat stable, meaning they stick around after cooking.

According to Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes, a prominent reference detailing the problems with refined carbohydrates, a British researcher and retired physician of the British Royal Navy, named Thomas Cleave, tried to warn the medical community in the 1960s.  He found a trend that societies who left their traditional foods and adopted a carbohydrate staple such as sugar, white rice, and white flour were set on a disastrous path.  With these refined grains came cavities and periodontal disease then obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.  Refining grains increases their digestibility, which means a blood sugar spike as they are quickly broken down into glucose.  It also means they can easily be over-eaten since they are refined down and more concentrated.  Look at the Zone blocks of rice (brown or white): 1/5 of a cup.  That is just over 3 tablespoons.  Is it worth it?

Rice is also high glycemic.  On a scale where 100 is white sugar or pure glucose, white rice averages 64, long grain white rice at 56, brown rice averages at 55,  and even wild rice receives a 54.  High glycemic foods are 50 and higher, meaning they easily break down into glucose and flood your blood, spiking your blood sugar dangerously.

While glycemic index numbers around 50 might not convince you, glycemic load values should.  Glycemic index values measure how fast a carbohydrate breaks down into glucose, which floods the bloodstream.  Glycemic load takes into account quantity of carbohydrate in a food to give a more complete picture.  For example, while watermelon is sugary and high glycemic at 103, it is also full of water and has less carbohydrate content, so its glycemic load is really low at 4.  Your best bet is to eat foods low on both scales, and more often than not, foods low on the glycemic index also have a low glycemic load, which  means values of 10 or less (20 or more are considered high).

The glycemic load of rice is much more nefarious than its glycemic index.  White rice and long grain white rice share the same number: 23.  Wild rice and brown rice both have glycemic loads of 18.  Most rice glycemic loads were extremely high, though.  How about a glycemic load of 60 for boiled white low-amylose rice from Turkey or 46 for rice cooker prepared jasmine rice?  Look for yourself on this comprehensive international table of glycemic index and glycemic load values.    

Think your kids still need grains to be healthy?  Probably not, but that might not be the problem.  Many people just fall back on grains because they feel they have few alternatives.  Try this: Cauliflower Rice.  Cauliflower works perfectly as a rice substitute.  It can be sticky with the right addition of liquid or fluffy when sauteed just like the Uncle Ben's commercial's advertised.  Frustrated your kids won't eat veggies? Here is one they will devour.

Why Cauliflower?

Cauliflower is a clean palate in the world of veggies.  It has little of its own flavor, but loves to soak in that of its sauces and spices.  It also has a great ability to be tossed in the food processor and come out in rice-like kernels similar to the pasta variety of couscous.

Cauliflower is chock full of nutrients.  It is one of Barry Sear's top 100 Zone foods for being filling, high in fiber, low in calories, and vitamin rich.  It has your recommended dosage of vitamin C in just one cup.  Its heart helping nutrients, folate and vitamin B6, break down homocysteine, an artery damaging chemical.  Its phytonutrients also protect against cancer.  One study found that combining the spice turmeric with cauliflower leads to protection again prostate cancer and slows its growth, perhaps accounting for the low incidence of prostate cancer among men in India.  

Rapid cooking keeps the nutrients intact and avoids mushiness or sulfurous compounds that can make cauliflower bitter and smelly.  Cauliflower is in the same family of vegetables as cabbage and kale, so it has similar health benefits.  So what can I do with it?  Read on!

Kristy's Cauliflower Rice
This will take your love of rice dishes to a new level.  Have fun experimenting!
Zone Blocks: 4 cups of cooked cauliflower (in floret form) is one block.  Eat your fill!

1 medium head of cauliflower per diner

Hardware:
chef's knife
cutting board
spatula or rubber scraper
food processor
salad spinner
large bowl

Cut the cauliflower into florets of medium size (no need to cut down to small ones, but the food processor doesn't like them too large either).  Yes, this is messy and I always get particles of cauliflower all over the counter, floor, my clothing...  It is the price for home-made goodness.

Wash the florets and do a quick scan for little buggies that enjoy hiding in the nooks and crannies.  Spin the florets in a salad spinner or dry some archaic method.  Plop a handful into your food processor (DO NOT load up your food processor--believe me--you'll be scooping out the unbroken florets to repulse in two batches anyway) and pulse til you break up the big chunks (probably less than 10 pulses).  Then, hold down the button and continue to process until the cauliflower rises up the sides of the processor and the blade just spins uselessly, just a minute.  I love how the cauliflower itself determines the right consistency--no need to fuss.  It tells you when it is done by rising up the sides away from the blade.  Scoop out the rice into your bowl, replace the blade that likely fell out too, and repeat.

Continue to work through your cauliflower in batches.  I know this is tedious and you might be tempted to load up the food processor, but don't unless you want that challenge of trying to scoop out large chunks amongst the processed rice to reprocess them.  Not worth it, man.  Not worth it.  

Once done, you are ready to cook.  Basically, the rice just needs heating and time to mesh with some spices.  It can be ready in 10 minutes or less.  If you like your rice sticky and clumpy, try adding liquid to the cooking method you use.  The rice comes out fluffy with sautéing.  Try using your cauliflower rice in any rice dish (just remember to cook it first)!  Below are some cooking options that I have enjoyed:

Cooking Options: 

Cilantro-Lime Curry Rice

Delicious Indian spices with a citrus kick.

ingredients:
Kristy's Cauliflower Rice for 2
1/4 C chopped cilantro
1 lime, cut in half (more if desired)
curry powder
turmeric
garlic powder
salt
coconut oil
optional: instead of powdered garlic, use chopped garlic and grated fresh ginger and add them with the other spices
also optional: like your rice more sticky? add some chicken broth while cooking to clump it

Prepare the Kristy's Cauliflower Rice above.  Then, heat a skillet over medium heat and add the coconut oil.  Up to you how much, but a tablespoon will probably do.  Once hot, add the spices (start with a tablespoon of curry powder, turmeric, and garlic and a pinch of salt if desired).  Give them a moment to get fragrant, then, add the cauliflower rice and mix well.  I have had success with adding it in batches since there is too much rice to mix at once.  Taste and add more spices if desired.  You want to warm the rice without making it mushy (or add some chicken broth if mushy is your goal), so it should be done in 10min or less.  Once done, squeeze half a lime over the top and stir in chopped cilantro.  Taste and add more lime as needed.  The lime really adds a great flavor kick, awaking the spices and flavors.

Serving suggestions:
Add any cooked meat to the rice or serve beside it.  We have had great success with scallops and shrimp (just saute in coconut oil).  It also pairs great with fish, especially when prepared using a recipe with the same spices.

NOTE: the above picture is of the following rice recipe prior to adding the shrimp, but since it looks pretty much the same as Cilantro-Lime Curry Rice, I used its picture.

Indian Spiced Paella
This recipe came about when trying to make the rice above but finding out with horror that I was out of curry powder, as I was cooking.  So I grabbed other spices that looked good and came out with something quite tasty.  


ingredients:

Kristy's Cauliflower Rice for 2

two servings of uncooked, cleaned shrimp (however much you want to eat; tails on or off)

1/4 C chopped cilantro

1 lime, cut in half (more if desired)

coriander

turmeric

dried onion (or regular onion, chopped)

chili powder

garlic 6 cloves (or more), chopped and split into two equal piles

ginger, about 1-inch segment, grated or chopped finely, to get about the same amount as the garlic, split into two equal piles

salt

coconut oil

Prepare your garlic and ginger first--too often have I overheated a pan during preparation taking longer than expected.  Heat coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat and add one pile of the garlic and ginger and the spices: one tablespoon each of turmeric, coriander, dried onion, chili powder (this one is up to you), plus a pinch of salt if desired.  Give them a moment to get fragrant, then add the rice and mix throughly.  Taste and add more spices if desired.  You want to warm the rice without making it mushy, so it should be done in 10min or less (or, if mushy is your goal, add some chicken broth).  Once done, squeeze half a lime over the top and stir in chopped cilantro.  Taste and add more lime as needed.  Scoop cooked rice into a bowl and clean out your skillet.

Now for the shrimp.  Add more coconut oil and the remaining piles of garlic and ginger to your skillet placed back over medium heat.  Once fragrant, add your shrimp and get your tongs ready.  Shrimp cook fast, so give them a minute and start flipping.  You are looking for white, opaque color and pinkness in the tails (if you left them on).  Treat each shrimp individually, don't wait for the whole batch to turn.  Once you think a shrimp is done, both sides, get it out fast.  Shrimp overcook in a heartbeat, so err on the side of "I think this looks done" rather than "Yup, that is definitely done."  They will continue to cook a little when you toss them in the hot rice, which of course, is the last step!

Enjoy your paleo feast!


Pesto Rice (check back for the recipe coming soon!)

Cauliflower

Troubling Tubers

Tubers are a point of contention in the paleo community.  The paleo diet as prescribed by Loren Cordain says tubers of all sorts are out.  They require processing (cooking) and are too nutrient dense and high on the glycemic index.  If anyone can find me more data on why Cordain rules them out when they were clearly eaten by many hunter-gatherers, please point me to a source.

Complex carbohydrates like tubers are quick energy, breaking down into glucose easily, starting with your saliva.  In saliva is amylase, a digestive enzyme designed to break down complex carbohydrates like starch into simpler ones for digestion and absorption.  The enzymes follow the food through your digestive system, breaking it down.  Amylase is interesting because there is a gene for it that has more copies on the chromosomes of starch-eaters (on average) than those that don't have starch as a large part of their diet, according to researchers.  Some speculate that amylase copying is a critical point in human evolution, the divergence between humans with more copies of the gene for improved starch digestion and other great apes with fewer copies.

Starches would be beneficial for human evolution because they are such a concentrated energy source.  Reliance on nutrient-dense tubers could fuel our brain growth and change our social interactions.  One article discusses the evidence and arguments surrounding this hypothesis.

One caveat discussed: tubers are not readily digestible until cooked, so human ancestors would have needed fire.  Evidence of cooking hearths and consistent use of fire doesn't show up in the archaeological record until later in human evolution.  Of course, just because we haven't found it doesn't rule it out, but more data is needed.  However, there is evidence in the teeth of our oldest ancestors, the Australopithecines, that show a diet of soft-tough food items, which could mean a diet of underground storage organs, namely bulbs and roasted tubers that are rendered soft and digestible.

Another caveat from my physical anthropology background: savanna-dwelling primates dig up roots and tubers, notably baboons and some chimpanzees.  Why haven't they become larger-brained? 

Perhaps it is not just the starch that fueled our evolutionary path.  Perhaps it was the combination of eating high energy sources like tubers, adding meat to our diet, cooking our food, and creating organized food redistribution that led our ancestors on a different path than our closest relatives.  While chimpanzees exhibit hunting and root acquisition, they lack cooking and food redistribution akin to hunter-gatherer groups.  

In my opinion, there is never going to be one thing to pinpoint and say "aha! that is what makes us human!"  My argument is that perhaps our reliance on roots and tubers is something that evolved with us and has been with us for millions of years.

You make up your own decision, but here are some pros and cons for eating tubers, namely the sweet potato:

Pros:

1.  They are great energy sources for quick refueling after intense activity.

2.  They contain high concentrations of vitamins like B6, and especially vitamins A (beta-carotene) and C.  Carotenoids help stabilize blood sugar levels and play a role in many bodily systems, such as skin growth and repair.

3. They are high in potassium, essential to our bodies, namely cell function.   

4.  They are also high in fiber, so they promote digestive health and satiate your hunger.

5.  They are chock full of antioxidants, which are linked with reduced risk of cancer and disease. 

Cons:

1.  They are relatively high glycemic foods (compared to other vegetables), which is great for getting energy fast, say after exercise, but not that great at more sedentary times.

2.  They are often fried and/or over-processed (i.e. those that come in bags and boxes).

3.  They require cooking to promote digestibility.

4.  They don't digest well when eaten in conjunction with protein.  Proteins require a more acidic stomach environment to digest them, while starches require a more alkaline environment.  This means that your stomach plays tug of war with its acid-base balance and thereby can't digest either efficiently.  The combining of these foods can lead to bloating, gas, indigestion, and heartburn, among other problems, described more here.   Starches are best with easily digested protein sources, such as whey, eggs, and milk (eggs being the most suitable on a paleo-style diet).

More on Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes can be orange or white and most supermarket "yams" are really just orange sweet potatoes.  Yams have a lower glycemic load and glycemic index (more on those values in another post!), so they are preferable if you can find true yams.

There are a multitude of ways to prepare sweet potatoes, and I will definitely return to them in future posts.  I love them best in savory applications since their inherent sweetness needs no accentuation, at least to me.

The Most Basic Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges

Cooking Time: 1/2 hour start to finish

Zone Blocks: each medium sweet potato is 3 blocks, 1/2 T of olive oil is about 4-5 blocks.  Use less if desired, but beware of stickage.  

1 sweet potato per diner (each is 3 blocks on the zone diet)

1/2 T olive oil per sweet potato

garlic

salt

pepper

Start heating your broiler on Low and remember to keep the oven door open a crack (I know, this has always weirded me out--if the oven can clean at ungodly temperatures, why am I cracking it and losing all this heat for broiling?).  Make sure one of your oven racks is in a high enough position to get right below the upper heating elements. 

Peel your sweet potatoes and slice lengthwise into thin wedges (say 1/4 inch), no need for a mandolin (unless you have one you really like to use), just a heavy chef's knife will do.  I am awful with anything sharp; I almost always grate part of my hand whenever using the grater, so I am especially careful with knives for my inherent idiot factor.  To make this easy: after peeling, cut your first 1/4 wedge off the sweet potato side furthest from your hand (smart, huh?).  Then, lay the rest of the sweet potato on the cutting board with the cut side down, making it steady and now a little thinner to slice.  Of course, this will leave you with wedges that aren't perfect ovals--they'll have a straight side, but really, do you care?  Slice them more if desired, but the wedges work fine for me. 

Once cut, pile them on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil, and sprinkle garlic, salt, and pepper (your discretion about how much to use--I like mine garlicy and salty).  Then, get your hands dirty by tossing the potatoes to evenly coat every one with oil, salt, garlic, and pepper--both sides.  Then, arrange in rows to allow for the most surface area exposure to the heat.  Whack in the oven (but leave the door open a crack!), and give them 10 minutes--more or less.  Look frequently for browning and remove to flip once you see any evidence of burning.  This is a fun game of how far can you let them go to get crunchy without going over the line to burnage.  Fun!  Flip and repeat on the second side noting that this side always takes less time.  Once done, remove and try not to burn yourself devouring them!  They are yummy!

Serving Suggestion:

I am naughty and still eat starches with beef and poultry, but perhaps eggs would be a better choice now that I have looked into it more.  Let me know what combinations work best!

Sweet Potatoes

Not Your Mama's Pot Roast

UPDATE: I tried using Cab Franc instead of pomegranate juice since I was out of the juice, and it came out delicious!  So feel free to experiment and replace the juice with similar wine.


Yeah, pot roast has a bad reputation for its dry, stringy meat devoid of flavor.  I've tried a bunch of recipes, am still in the process of tinkering, but this one is the result of yesterday's trial and error and is damn good, so I thought I would share.

Does grass-fed matter?


Yes.  Most cattle are fed grains, which their digestive systems are not meant to handle (sound familiar? If not, please read Pasta Sans Pasta).  They evolved on grass, not corn.  The grains are the reason they are pumped full of antibiotics and need supplementation to survive.  Grains fatten them up fast for the slaughter, are cheap, and allow cattle to live out their lives in confinement.  Not healthy, and not the meat I want to eat.  Beef production is one reason why there are moral vegetarians.  The alternative?  Feed cattle what they evolved to eat and DON'T finish them on grains.  You want 100% grass-fed and NEVER "grain finished."  Grain finished means fattening them up on grains a few months before the slaughter.  While grass-fed might not mean ideal lives on green coastal cliffs like those we see on Highway 1, it is a step in the right direction.

A better diet for the cow translates into healthier meat.  Compared to grain-fed beef, grass-fed beef is much richer in healthy omega-3 fatty acids.  It has more vitamins E, B, and C; minerals like calcium, potassium, and magnesium; and more CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), which has been effective in weight loss and reducing cancer risk.  Grass-fed beef is also leaner, more like the prey animals our ancestors ate that we evolved upon.  It even looks better: darker red and slightly yellow fat.  Finally, it just tastes better--it is richer, meatier, and more complex in flavor than grain-fed beef.  Period.

Method to the Madness

I found Emeril's Garlic Studded Pot Roast and gave it a try.  His idea of tucking the garlic inside the roast is brilliant to avoid burning the garlic, which a searing roast is apt to do.  To one up his idea, I also tuck in sun dried tomatoes to infuse the meat with a tomato flavor.  On this culinary excursion, I tried pomegranate juice because I didn't want wine or plain water and had no beef broth on hand.  It added a fruity acidity like wine and a flavor complexity that rivals cabernet.


Then there is arrowroot.  I was SO excited when I first found a substitute thickening agent for corn starch and flour.  It is called arrowroot powder.  It is a root!  Arrowroot is native to the West Indies, and its name derives from its use to draw out the poison from a poisoned arrow.  Neat!  Can't you see me jumping up and down?  The conversion is 2 tsp of arrowroot for 1 T of cornstarch or 1 tsp arrowroot for 1 T flour.  It thickens at a lower temperature than the others, so cool the liquid you add it to and then raise heat after adding.  You can even use it for baking (recipes to come!).  You can find arrowroot powder in an expensive little shaker in most supermarkets or sold as a powder out of the spice bin area in stores like New Leaf.  NOTE: I originally posted saying arrowroot is paleo, but here is more information: Since the paleo diet doesn't like tubers, arrowroot would fall into the same category as potatoes and not be favorable.  In my paleo-style world, however, it is an acceptable alternative to wheat or corn products.  Tubers are an essential part of my diet and that of many paleo-diners--though perhaps not an everyday carbohydrate.  There is some debate about how much our ancestors relied upon tubers and whether tubers should be excluded from the paleo diet.  See Troubling Tubers for more details.

Not Your Mama's Pot Roast
Cooking Time: 4 hours start to finish (yeah, it takes a long time, but it is a pot roast, what do you expect? And 3 of those hours are down time for you.)
Zone Blocks: 1.5 oz of roast = 1 block of Protein, gravy is a pretty minimal Carb source: 2 blocks if you down all the gravy yourself 

1 3lb boneless chuck roast of grass-fed beef, room temperature (leave out for an hour or two before cooking)
1/2 C pomegranate juice
10 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced in half or quarters, lengthwise ideally
6 sun dried tomatoes cut into thin strips width-wise
1.5 C water
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
arrowroot powder

Prepare the sun dried tomatoes and garlic (yes, this is sticky and messy and NOT fun, but wouldn't you miss this fun if you bought chopped garlic? No... so perhaps I should buy some).  Start heating a dutch oven over med-high heat.  Cut slits in the roast and insert garlic and tomatoes into each.  I found this went faster when I made larger slits and stuffed in a bunch or used the fat marbling and got up under it like getting spices under chicken skin.  Whatever works, but prepare both sides of the meat this way.

When finished, wash those meaty hands and rub the roast in salt and pepper.  Add the roast to the preheated dutch oven and let 'er sear.  Give it a few minutes per side and look for tasty brownage.  The browner, the better.  Try to brown the sides too by holding the roast vertical with tongs.  Okay, done with the browning.

Now, three things need to happen fast: 1. turn the heat down to 3ish (keep a low simmer throughout, so wherever that translates to on your burner).  2. add the water and juice.  3. with the tongs, move the roast around to get the brown bits off the bottom.  Finally, lid the sucker and let 'er sit for 3 hours.  It'll be worth the wait!  Make sure periodically that your roast is doing okay in that little hot box and has some liquid on the bottom.  I haven't had a problem with the liquid vanishing, but I always see this in recipes, so might be worth mentioning.

Once you are salivating and can wait no longer, check to make sure the roast is fall-apart tender.  If so, evacuate the roast.  Let it rest on a plate.  Crank up the heat on the pot to medium or medium high.  Add 1 tsp of arrowroot powder at a time using the slurry method (put arrowroot powder in a shallow cup/bowl, add a little cooking liquid, mix well for no lumps, then pour back to the pot).  NOTE: I haven't had the greatest success with this thickening process, so try to cool the liquid slightly (run bottom of cup under cold water or use an ice bath before adding the arrowroot).  Repeat to thicken and reduce as long as your heart desires (or you just want to eat the damn roast already!).  For me, it took 2 tsp arrowroot and perhaps 15min to thicken to a light syrupy thickness.  Makes a great au jus or gravy if you are willing to wait that long!

Serving Suggestions:
I had mine with plantains (damn I love those way too much) and my husband had freezer homefries (just potato in the ingredients, but still NOT ideal).  Starches and roasts just seem to go together, even if it might not be ideal (I need to do more research in this area).

Better options: rice (cauliflower rice, that is--recipe soon to come!), grilled or sauteed veggie medley, or fruit.  There are so many paleo carbs out there, go nuts (well, nuts are a fat, but you get what I mean).

And about nuts, we have added NO FAT!  Yay!  That means you can use your fat blocks elsewhere like a tasty dessert muffin perhaps? :)

Pot Roast

Plantains--the other Banana

I had looked at plantains for a long time before ever trying them.  Could they actually be eaten when they looked like bruised and beaten, rotting bananas?  Could they be eaten green and under-ripe, looking thick and tough?  Were they really starchy like potatoes and not sweet fruit able to eaten raw like their neighbors in the fruit isle?

The answers I found through some trial and error.  Being terrified of the battered plantains, I tried the green ones first.  They are firm and starchy, meaning they are harder to swallow and need liquid or fat to help them traverse your esophagus.  That is my impression anyway, but my husband LOVES them green.  I finally got up the courage and tried the yellow ones, moving on to the more and more ripe and defaced of the bunch.  They are incredibly complex in flavor: sweet and mushy like a ripe banana, but still preserving what I love about under-ripe bananas, that tanginess.  They have a sweet and sour flavor complexity and are absolutely delicious!

So either way you like them, green or yellow, here is a delicious and relatively quick way to prepare them:

Squashed Plantain Chips

Cooking Time: half an hour or less start to finish

1 plantain per diner

coconut oil
salt

Set a skillet to medium high heat and add the coconut oil.  Cut the ends off the plantains.  Score the plantains lengthwise with a knife so you can peel strips of the skin off.  Cut the plantains into 1 inch disks and add to oil.  Brown the bottoms (be careful not to burn them!), flip, and brown the tops.  Remove to a plate or cutting board and squash them down with the bottom of a glass wet with water to help prevent sticking.  You can also use any object relatively plantain-sized with a flat bottom.  Add more oil to the skillet if it is gone, then add the flattened plantain disks.  Brown again on both sides.  Remove and salt on a plate.  They are ready to serve!

Serving ideas:

Serve with guacamole on top (if you can stand more fat in this meal) and/or top with carnitas.  They make the most delicious mini-sandwiches imaginable!

Fried Plantains

South of the Border Goodness

When I found the website of the Homesick Texan, I was enthralled.  Her food photography is amazing, and her recipes are even more so.  However, I can't eat more than half of them!  Here is my take on one of them that has forever changed my relationship with pork.  I thought bacon was the end all, until I met Carnitas.

My Darling Carnitas 
inspired by Carnitas, Houston Style
Feeds two quite well with leftovers but feel free to double or triple the recipe to feed a crowd
Cooking Time: 3 hours start to finish (or four if you double/triple the batch)

1 3lb boneless pork butt or shoulder (same thing, but I prefer butt since I watched too much Beavis and Butthead as a kid)--make sure you DO NOT remove the fat!
1 C acidic fruit juice (I have tried orange juice, apple juice, lemon juice, and pomegranate juice with success, just make sure you get 100% juice)
water
1 T cumin
1 T garlic powder
1/2 T salt
1/2 T pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper

To prepare the meat, DO NOT REMOVE THE FAT--that is what makes carnitas.  If you don't want a fatty meat, don't try carnitas.  This is not an everyday meat, but a delicacy.  Cut meat into long strips about an inch wide and 3+ inches long.  Add to a big, deep pot--such as a dutch oven (no lid needed).  Best method: season the meat now while dry by adding cumin, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper and massage into meat.  Will do method: add seasonings after liquid and try to move the pork around.  Either way, the liquid will mix with the spices and the pork will have its seasoning.

Once the pork is in the pot, seasoned or not, add the juice and then add water to just submerge the pork (the water always varies with how much meat you are using and size/shape of your pot--tap is fine).  Crank the heat up to high and come to a good boil (watch carefully since it could foam up and make a mess).  Really wait until you get a good, clear boil going.  The surface should be a tempest!  Then, turn the heat down to low slowly so you don't lose all of the bubbling (start at medium low or 4 on the dial then reduce to 3 or perhaps even 2 as long as you can keep a simmer) and simmer for 2  hours uncovered (3 for larger batches).  DO NOT TOUCH THE MEAT during this time.  Your fussing will just make it into pulled pork, which although good, is not what we are going for at this stage.

After 2hrs (3 for larger batches), crank the heat up to medium high and let her go for a good half hour before checking for browning at the bottom.  During this last hour, the liquid will reduce down to fat and fry the meat on the bottom.  Reaching this stage happens fast--you can have bubbling liquid reducing and no brownage one minute and burnt meat the next, so after a half an hour, check back OFTEN to look for frying.  Once frying, now you get to SCRAPE the bottom (be careful if using non-stick--I destroyed too many non-stick pans and now use a big stainless steel pot that I can take the metal spatula to--but it is tough work!) and turn the meat to brown it as much as you feel comfortable with.  All the small bits will blacken, but they aren't carbon--they are caramelized meat from the fruit juice and pretty damn tasty--but you don't want your whole batch of carnitas to be black.  The scraping can get labor-intensive if you have a sticky pot, but your work is definitely worth the effort!

Once you have a desired degree of browning, remove from the heat and strain the meat from the fat (a wire mesh strainer works well--but don't go crazy straining all the juices out too, use a light squeezing with the back of a spoon). And DON'T throw away that fat!  Store it in another container for cooking eggs and plantains (see picture below).  It is delicious!  The cooled meat will store for a week in the refrigerator in a covered, air-tight container (and the fat can last even longer).  But there won't be leftovers for long!

Pork Carnitas

Five Dollar Muffins

UPDATE 9/30/09: Tried a batch today using hazelnut oil and 1T vanilla instead of 1tsp and made 12 regular sized instead of 6 huge ones, taking between 15-20min to bake.  They are delicious!  So I am changing the recipe below to account for this new tweak.  Enjoy!

When I think of these muffins, I think of the $5 hamburger commercials.  Something has to be a big deal to be worth $5, and these muffins are worth that or more.  Depending upon how you like them, they can be oooey-gooey on the inside and actually improve with refrigeration.  Good luck saving them for long!

The Ultimate Banana Walnut Muffins
Makes 6 huge muffins or 12 regular sized
Cooking Time: 30-45 minutes start to finish
Zone Blocks: 6 blocks of Fat for each muffin when making a batch of 12, 1.5-2 blocks of Carb and 1/4 block of Protein--so basically call each of these a 6 block Fat.  


Dry Ingredients:
2 C almond flour/meal (NOTE: I use Trader Joe's Just Almond Meal brand since it is cheapest.  Other almond flours might turn out differently, so feel free to experiment!)
1/3 C coconut flour (sifted gives the best results since it clumps easily)
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg (grated fresh)
1 C walnuts

Wet Ingredients:
2 bananas, the riper the better
1 T vanilla
3 eggs warmed to room temperature
1/3 C honey
3 T oil (olive oil is fine, coconut oil when liquid is excellent, and hazelnut oil or walnut oil hits it out of the park!)
2 T almond butter (unsalted, but if salted, just add 3/4 tsp salt instead of 1 tsp)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place walnuts in preheating oven on a sheet rack to roast.  Watch them carefully--too many times have I let them burn and ruined a whole batch!  Meanwhile, peel bananas and mash them to a liquid (can be chunky) in a medium-sized bowl.

To the bananas, add honey and almond butter and mix well.  Next, prepare the eggs.  I usually crack them in another bowl to avoid stray shells, then mix them there before adding to the other wet ingredients, for better mixing.  Add those eggs, the oil, and vanilla to the banana bowl; mix to incorporate.  (Check walnuts!)

In a separate bowl, add almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda.  Mix to incorporate.  (Check walnuts!) Prepare your muffin tin.  You'll notice that I have a non-stick muffin tin, but the non-stick quality only lasted a few batches before stickage ruined the bottom of enough muffins that I gave up on it.  I need to buy muffin cups! In the meantime, I use homemade (read: lazy) parchment paper "cups" that only stay put once batter is scooped in them.  Not ideal, but they work.  If using a naked muffin tin, grease it with the same oil you used in the batter (or try mixing and matching, what the heck!).

By now your walnuts are either burnt to a crisp or you rescued them once golden brown and fragrant (I always think of the host of Good Eats, Alton Brown, saying "I smell nuts!").  Chop them up into tiny bits, but not dust.  I have found that knives pale in comparison to crunching them with a metal spatula or even a bench scraper.  The bottom of a bowl or cup will also do.  Measure out a cup or so of roasted, chopped walnuts.

If your oven is preheated, you are good to go: add the wet to the dry and scrape the bowl.  Mix well and add walnuts.  Don't worry about mixing so much that you make rocks of your muffins since we don't have to deal with temperamental gluten here, but I still stop when just incorporated evenly, just in case.  Dollop into muffin cups (see pre-muffins pic above) and bake for about 20 minutes if making 6 huge muffins or between 10-15 if smaller.  Check for golden brown color and mostly set tops.  I love oooey-gooey ones, so I never bother with the toothpick test or completely set tops.  Cool on a rack.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge once cooled.  They won't last long due to extreme deliciousness, not spoilage!

Pasta Sans Pasta

Nothing beats a heaping bowl of spaghetti when you want something filling, simple, and comforting.  I have the perfect substitution for pasta that is BETTER than pasta.

Here are just a few of the problems with wheat pasta (Disclaimer: this is MY take on the information out there I have gathered through my CrossFit Nutrition Certification by Robb Wolf, my biology and physical anthropology degrees, books on diet and health, and my internet searches.  I am NOT a biochemist, but I want to try to explain things as I understand them hopefully in a way YOU understand and can benefit from):

1.  It contains wheat, which is a grain, which has lectins and gluten that screw up your digestive system making it difficult to digest and absorb nutrients.  Grains put your digestive system in a state of battle with the food you are ingesting.  Gluten is sticky and lines your gut, promoting harmful bacteria growth and decreasing your ability to absorb useful vitamins, minerals, and nutrients into your bloodstream.  Plus, now your immune system has to fight that bacteria.  Lectins are mild toxins found in grains that inhibit the repair processes in your gut and leave the door open for particles from your gut to leak into the bloodstream.  These foreign particles illicit an immune response from your body to search out and destroy them.  Autoimmune disorders can result from an overtaxed immune system.  It is no wonder most of us are gluten sensitive to some degree and even if you think you are "fine," try going without them for two weeks and then reintroducing them.  They will likely make you sick in a not so pleasant way.

2.  Grains have a very high glycemic load.  They are sugar in disguise and release a ton of glucose (a simple sugar that all carbohydrate is broken down into) into your bloodstream, which forces your body to release insulin, a hormone whose job it is to get glucose out of your blood and into your muscle and liver cells as an energy source.  Once they are full, the overflow of sugar going to those cells must be stored  instead.  So excess carbohydrate becomes FAT.  Your body tries desperately to get glucose out of your bloodstream and into cells because it is toxic there--it binds to proteins and clogs arteries.  The cycle of fat storage is made worse by the fact that insult inhibits a fat-burning enzyme, lipase, so you can't use your fat for energy as efficiently.

A constant overflow of sugar also makes you insulin resistant, which means it takes more and more insulin to get the same response as if you had a lower glycemic diet.  This is because your body is trying to squish more glucose into cells that say "no vacancy," so more insulin is released to find other places to stick it, which are fat cells.  Your body learns that to get the glucose out of your blood it takes more and more insulin, so it releases more each time.  The production of insulin by your pancreas isn't cheap and high levels of it in your bloodstream are toxic, leading to more problems such as arterial clogging plague and cancer cell proliferation.   The disastrous cascade goes on and on...

Thus, by ingesting foods with high glycemic loads like grains, you are essentially breaking your digestive system and making its use of nutrients for energy less efficient.  And guess what happens when you crash after eating too much sugar--you get tired and hungry again.

3.  It isn't very nutritious.  The nutrients are bound up inside it and isn't a good source of vitamins, minerals, and fiber compared to going to the source: veggies.  Even meat has more available vitamins and far outweighs grains as a protein source.

4.  It is more processed.  We are trying to mimic a more natural diet of our ancestors.  Think outside the box.

5.  Finally, does it actually have a taste?  Is it something people can eat alone (without fat)?  Not really.  It is mostly just cheap, bulking filler to satiate you.

Vegetable pastas have taste, are grown and not processed, are nutritious, are low glycemic foods, and are natural back-to-the-earth foods.  You can support your local farmers by buying them fresh and local.

Here are two vegetable pasta varieties that will blow your mind and forever change your pasta perceptions.  Both are superb served with a meat sauce, but I encourage you to experiment with them and other sauce varieties.

Basic Meat Sauce
Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes 

1 lb ground beef (preferably grassfed)
1 16oz can of crushed tomatoes
1/2 T each of oregano, basil, onion powder/dehydrated onions, garlic, kosher salt
1/2-1 tsp each of red pepper flakes and black pepper
(NOTE: You can get fancier, but this sauce is quick and easy for a weekday meal)

Brown beef over medium high heat in a skillet.  Once browned, add sauce and spices and simmer to mix flavors and reduce sauce to desired consistency (minimum of 10min).  Combine with pasta choice and enjoy!

Zucchini Pasta
Zucchini has a neutral, fresh veggie taste with a lovely crunch
Cooking Time: prep time is 5 minutes, cooking is ZERO (just warm)

1 med-large zucchini per diner
specialty equipment: serrated veggie peeler to make noodles when instead of peels (between $5-20 at a cookware store, looks just like a regular peeler just with teeth along the blade)

Wash the zucchini.  Cut off the ends.  Peel into noodles with the peeler.  NOTE: gets tricky at the end with the nubs that don't want to peel.  You can chop those and add them to the sauce.  Warm noodles in the sauce before serving.  They have a delightful crunch!


Spaghetti Squash Pasta
Spaghetti squash pasta has a nutty, buttery taste with a pleasing crunch
Cooking Time: less than 30 minutes

1 med-large spaghetti squash (oval, bright yellow squash)
(NOTE: one large one can easily feed the whole family!)

Punch holes in the squash with a fork or chef's knife (the skin is thick!).  Place in microwave with moistened paper towels circling it (one layer).   Microwave on high for 2-5 minutes, flip, and repeat for as long as it takes to be able to compress the top of the squash easily--about 20 minutes for really large ones.  Remove and place on cutting board.  Rest 5 minutes.  Then, using a chef's knife, carefully cut in half lengthwise being careful not to burn yourself on the steam.  Use a large spoon to remove the seeds and stringy seed casing.  Then use a fork or spoon to scrape the sides of the squash into noodles and separate them into another bowl, separating the noodles into strands once there.  Continue until you remove all of the noodles you can and add them to the meat sauce, coating them evenly.  Enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash
Zucchini Noodles