The Book that Changed My Life and a recipe

When The Soldier first introduced me to the Paleo diet, he told me to go to the bookstore and buy The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf. It is a wonderful book that explains EVERYTHING about the Paleo diet. It isn't some science filled textbook with mumbo jumbo that you never understand. Wolf is hilarious and describes everything on such an everyday human level. The book also has a 30 day diet plan that is sooooooo easy to follow. The Soldier and I did it. And we loved it.

Here is one of the recipes that we fell in love with and use all the darn time is this salmon recipe. It is tried and true and easy as anything you can make.

Here is what you need!!!

Coconut Oil

1 lb of salmon

2 Tbsp of chopped up pecans (although, we've tried this with almonds as well...)

2 tsp of rosemary

pinch of sea salt

Here is what you do!!!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Take your coconut oil and spread it over a cookie sheet, Make sure its even.

Place your salmon on the cookie sheet, skin down.

Then pour your rosemary over the salmon. I sometimes need a little more and I don't feel bad about it!

Then, if your nuts aren't crushed...crush them. I've had the walnuts in bigger chunks and I've crushed them down to a fine powder and either way...it's still delicious!

Cover the rosemary covered salmon in the nuts.

Sprinkle a little bit of sea salt over the salmon.

Cook for about 15 minutes. For, Sully...this was too long.

You want your salmon to be flaky but still moist.

So since The Soldier and I have eaten this time after time, I like to change it up. I plated the salmon on some baby spinach and put some grape tomatoes around it. I also roasted some asparagus (tossed them in some olive oil, spread them out and put some sea salt over them and roasted them at 350 for about 20 minutes).

Makes for a beautiful plate.

And its so very filling.

The Soldier mentioned that he wanted to try this with some balsamic.

We poured some over a bite of salmon with spinach and a tomato. We both shrugged our shoulders. We think that if you put the balsamic over the bed of spinach and maters BEFORE you plate the salmon...then it would be fantastical!

Then, we cleaned the kitchen and threw the dogs on their new dual leash and walked them till they begged us to stop. Now, they look dead, kinda.

Yardwork and some Snacks!!

The Soldier woke up this morning determined to do some yard work. I loathe yard work but agreed that it needed to be done. He was gone for three weeks straight and I am terrified of the mower and we didn't (he bought one today...) own a weed eater. So, needless to say, I let the yard get kinda bad. Like your neighbors down the road who NEVER do anything to their yard. Like the ones my next door neighbors complain about because their yard is beautiful.

But...it's hot.

Or...she may just be tired. Who knows.

See? Even the dogs think its so hot they don't want to go outside!! And that is sayin somethin!!

So...I decided that since The Soldier hadn't eaten breakfast...I would cook up some wonderful snacks for him that would require me to stick around the kitchen for a bit!

I made him those beautiful bacon wrapped peaches that you can find the recipe in one or two posts below.

This time, I totally forgot about putting the balsamic vinegar on them...and they were JUST as tasty.

He loved em!

Then I made Guacamole Deviled Eggs. They are sooo freaking good.

Here is what you need!

6 or 7 eggs (boiled)

1 1/2 avocados...pretty ripe and mushy

mild organic salsa

pinch of sea salt.

Here is what you do!

Boil those eggs!!

Immediately after you boil those eggs, transfer them to an already freezing cold bowl of water and then chill the eggs for about 10 to 15 minutes. This is basically the only way I can peel an egg.

When they are chilled, peel the eggs and then slice them longways.

Take the yolk out of those eggs and put the yolks in a bowl.

Then take 1 1/2 avocados and peel them, remove the pit and throw the avocados into the bowl with the yolk.

I took two heaping spoon fulls of the salsa and put that in the mix with the avocado and yolk. You can use more or less depending on how you like your guac. I suppose that you can even use hot salsa, again, depending on how you like your guacamole.

Mix all of that stuff in the bowl together, really really well.

Toss your sea salt in there as well.

Once you have all of that mixed up really well, take a small spoon, load it up and then deposit it into the hollow part of the egg.

If you want, you can sprinkle a little more sea salt on top of the finished product.

These things are good.

You will probably have some of the mixture left over. Throw that in some Tupperware, making sure you put a pit of the avocado in there to preserve the guacamole mixture.

You can use this stuff again in scrambled eggs, an omelet, even a topping on some meat or a salad. Or you could eat it with a fork.

So then, you ask me..."Laura! What do I do with the half of an avocado that I've got laying around now?!" Well, I will answer you in two ways.

1. Eat it.

2. Cut it up and find some grape tomatoes and put some balsamic on it and eat it.

Your choice!

But I would choose the one with the balsamic. Just in case you REALLY wanted to know what I think!!

Sarah, over at Everyday Paleo has a recipe just like this one and its basically where I got my idea for it from. Hers is a tad different and looks so tasty. Go ahead and take a look at it here. She's got all sorts of wonderful things going on over at that blog. So while you are eating the guacamole eggs with your left hand, surf on over there and read the interesting stuff there!!

And?!?!?! He's back!

After a long two months of The Soldier coming and going....and then a three week period to where he wasn't home at all, The Soldier is BACK!

I cooked his rear end some wonderful squash spag last night with ripe tomatoes and some chicken, added a little spinach and then roasted some baby artichokes for our side. And I didn't take any pictures cause I was just so happy that I was cooking for someone other than ME!!

Its really a funny thing to wait for The Soldier to come home. I mean, I knew he was coming home some time yesterday...but when I got up here in Savannah (8:00am) it was 7:00am there and I don't think he was even outta bed and I texted him and said 'are you on the road or what?!' and he politely (as he always does) that nothing was open yet and he couldn't 'out-process' until things actually opened.

And then he had a ton to 'out-process' so I think by the actual time he left...he might have been re-thinking coming home cause I'm sure that my numerous texts as to when he was leaving was getting rather ridiculous!

So knowing he is on the road and texting him as to where he is at...so I can pin-point his location is stressful! Almost to the point where I want to get in my car, meet him where he is at so that I can see him, hug him and then drive behind his rental car!

Im sure the dogs feel it too. Sully spent the afternoon staring at the window. Itchy spent the afternoon chasing black flys and licking the carpet (so normal).

But...the main thing that I am posting about is....HE IS HOME. And for (knock on wood) awhile.

There are many reasons that I love having him home. Not just the mowing of the yard, killing of the black widows but because it provides motivation, balance and just love in this house. I mean, he walked in the door and I didn't even get to hug him for like 20 minutes!!! Those dogs were all over him like balsamic vinegar on an avocado!!

We are going to Atlanta this week to file something for his Soldierwork and then we are planning on visiting the CrossFit here in Savannah to see if we can fit it all in. I am super excited.

Anywhoodle....the dude is home. Here. With me. And the dogs. I get to cook amazing food for someone else and I like it.

Bacon Wrapped Peaches

Well? I haven’t been that Paleo lately. I have a whole list of excuses but I’m gonna just go ahead and say I was pretty lazy this week.  Also, I hate it when I don’t know when The Soldier is coming home. He was supposed to be home today, 6-17-2011. But thunderstorms overcame Soldierland and he couldn’t fly. So he is flying this evening BUT can’t get all checked out of Soldierland until Monday. Sigh. So another weekend with me and The Two Crazies.

So I haven’t been eating well and it shows and it feels so I decided to make a little something extra Paleo but extra extra fantastical this evening after chomping on nuts and hard boiled eggs today. I cruised around the web and found a neat Paleo website called Following My Nose. It’s packed full of recipes so I dove in and right off the bat found one for Bacon Wrapped Peaches

Well, as you know…I happen to now live in Georgia and there are plenty of peaches here. You MUST make this. It is amazing. I also added it to a salad with some Top Sirloin slices.

Here is what you need!

2 pretty big peaches

6 slices of bacon (cut them in half so you have 12 pieces of bacon)

12 fresh basil leaves

Some balsamic vinegar

Here is what you do!!!

Preheat your oven to 350. The slice your peaches in half and remove the seed.

Then take those halves and cut into three slices per each half.

Then, take one of those basil leaves and wrap it around the peach.

Then take a slice of bacon and wrap that around the basil leaf and peach slice.

Place the wrapped up peach on a cookie sheet and put it in the oven.

Cook for 15 minutes and then turn the peach to its other side.

Cook for another 15 minutes.

At this time, check your peaches. Is the bacon pretty darned crispy? If so, then take em out. If the bacon is almost ready, stick the peaches back in for 3 or 4 more minutes.

Once they are finished, put them on a plate and drizzle some balsamic vinegar on them. I didn’t try it without, so I don’t know for sure, but I would think they would be perfection without the balsamic as well.

So I had some baby spinach lying around as well as some top sirloin fillets. I seared the filets about 3 minutes each side, then cut them up into slices. I put the spinach in the bowl first, topped with slices of steak and then put four peaches on each side.

Terrific!!

Penzeys Spices

Penzeys Spices

So…I haven’t rectified the spice situation quite yet.

But I did get my HUGE order from Penzeys Spices in the other day!!

Look at all those spices! And how big the bags are!!

I also absolutely love the bumper sticker as well and it will go on my car the next time I wash it. (Meaning; it’ll be awhile).

I got so many things ranging from Russian spice blends to Italian spice blends to just some other stuff I had read about and wanted to try.

It’s so neat to see that there are so many more spices out there than what is just at your local publix!

Also, I totally blame my favorite Paleo bloggers for getting me hooked on Penzeys.

Gadgets! And of course, foods!

Gadgets

You know me! I love me some gadgets in the kitchen. So when I went into my favorite Publix the other day, I saw this beautiful Julienne slicer. I accidentally bought one for my Dad when I was home in February and cooking Paleo for him and his wife. When I first sliced into it and saw that it was a Julienne slicer, I was so mad.

But then, when I couldn’t buy some spaghetti squash, I needed that Julienne slicer!

So, I bought one! And it matched my peeler so I was happy.

And then, made my own Paleo spaghetti!

Here is what you need!!!

1 to 2 lbs of turkey (or I’m sure chicken breasts or cutlets would taste just as awesome)

3 medium sized zucchini

8 to 10 small/medium on the vine tomatoes (but if you can’t find those, I would use grape tomatoes).

3 garlic cloves, minced (or, again more if you are a garlic lovah like me)

1 Tbsp of olive oil.

Here is what you do!!!

Because I was SOOOOO excited to use my Julienne slicer, I sliced up the zucchini’s first.

Then I poured my oil in the skillet, heated that up.

I tossed the zucchini in the heated skillet and let that cook for a bit.

Then I added my loads of garlic. Man, I love garlic.

I sliced the turkey into bite sized pieces and then put those in the skillet as well.

I took the tomatoes and sliced them into halves, then quarters and threw those in the mix as well.

I cooked until the turkey was finished.

I made my own spag!

I added 2 avocados (I know that TWO is a little overkill, but they were about to go bad…) and then cut up some beautiful fruit!

Pretty nice dinner!