Hi guys!  More yummy food posts coming soon, but I would like to take a minute to tell you about the Fight Gone Bad 6 event happening all over the world on September 17.

On Saturday, September 17, CrossFitters around the world will come together to endure 17 minutes of one of our most grueling workouts in honor of the incredible men and women who have committed their lives to serving our country. For 17 minutes, we will push ourselves further, challenge ourselves deeper, feel the doubt and wonder if we can make it, but then remember why we are there and appreciate fully those who we are there to honor.

I’ll be doing Fight Gone Bad for the first time this year in Las Vegas, NV, and I would be incredibly grateful of your support in this endeavor.  I’m shooting to raise $500+ for the event.

Raised funds are pledged to provide full college scholarships for the children of fallen soldiers, and every little bit helps. If you have the ability to support this cause, you can make a real and meaningful impact on two phenomenal organizations (Special Operations Warrior Foundation and CrossFit Foundation) that provide immediate and measurable support to families needing it most.

Able to Donate?

Click here to visit my personal fundraising page. Thank you so very much!

The Fight Gone Bad 6 Workout

In this workout, athletes rotate through five stations of different challenges. The competition is done in five rounds, with each athlete spending 1 minute per station per round with a 1 minute rest between rounds, all for a total of three rounds. The stations are:

• Wall-ball: 20 pound ball, 10 ft target. (Reps)
• Sumo deadlift high-pull: 75 pounds (Reps)
• Box Jump: 20″ box (Reps)
• Push-press: 75 pounds (Reps)
• Row: calories (Calories)

The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. On call of “rotate,” the athlete/s must move to next station immediately for a good score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.

Will you support my 17 minutes?

Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Apple

I’ve got a new side dish for you guys today, inspired by the lovely folks over at Cavemen Gourmet: Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Apple. Brussels sprouts, eh?  I’ve had friends tell me for years that Brussels sprouts, when prepared well, can be really tasty, and honestly, I thought they were all a little crazy.  Chalk it up to my changing tastes (or maybe the fact that they’re totally right), but I really liked this recipe.  The sweet/tart of the apple is a really nice balance to the sprouts.  Plus, it takes all of about 20 minutes to make. Total. Check out my version after the jump…

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Tender, Juicy Sous Vide Pork Chops

I can’t even tell you how excited I am about this recipe… As you know, I got my very own SousVide Supreme for my birthday in July – each new recipe is an experiment! I’d been eyeing the beautiful bone-in pork chops at the Central Market meat counter, and I figured they’d make a good 2nd dish to try out (first dish was a ribeye… still need to work on that one). Pork can be a bit of a challenge to cook without the right tools – it’s super easy to dry it out, and there are few things that I like less than a dried-out pork chop. Ugh. So, I did a little hunting around and ran across a Williams Sonoma recipe that I’ve adapted for the blog… Check it out after the jump!

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Paleo Sweet Potato Fries Ready for the Munchin'

Every once in a while, it’s nice to eat something that’s a kick-back to the pre-Paleo days: something salty and reminiscent of burger drive-throughs without being a total gut-killer.  Sweet potato fries definitely fall into that category.  The combo of sweet and salty really hits the spot, especially alongside a good steak or bacon burger (bun-less, of course!). Yum!  My wonderful brother-in-law M made these when we were up in Connecticut a few weeks ago, so I had to give it a shot in my own kitchen.

Following is my recipe for baked (not fried!) sweet potato fries:
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Fresh Crab and Tangy Apple Guacamole

So, there’s a fantastic restaurant downtown here in Austin called La Condesa… it’s a gorgeous space that specializes in small-bites, interior Mexican cuisine that feels like gourmet street food. Yum! (BTW, if you feel like stepping away from super-strict Paleo for an evening, their Mexican street corn is to die for!)

Anyhoo… the point of this post has to do with one of their specialty guacamoles. They have all manner of fabulous guacamole on the menu… guac with pomegranate, guac with chipotle and almonds, and my favorite, the guac with crab and green apple. I adore this guacamole. So. Stinking. Much.

So, since I’ve been trying to come up with ways to use the gorgeous tubs of fresh lump crab meat from Central Market, it seemed only right that I try to recreate this delicious treat. Following (after the jump) is my version… enjoy!

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I have the best hubby in the world.  After about two months of my not-so-subtle hinting that I was dying for a sous-vide machine of my own (love you, Richard Blais!), my lovely husband hooked me up with the oh-so-gorgeous SousVide Supreme. Plus, my wonderful mom and dad completed the package with a counter-top vacuum sealer. Behold.

My Brand-New SousVide Supreme

Cooking sous-vide (or “under-vacuum”), is method of cooking wherein food is vacuum-sealed in plastic bags and then dunked in a (precise!) temperature-controlled water bath for extended periods.  This method allows you to cook food at the exact temperate at which you’d like it to end up (i.e. 134 degrees F for a medium-rare ribeye). Because of the slow cooking time and constant temperature, foods are cooked evenly all the way through to a precise level of “doneness.” Foods, such as animal proteins, can then be finished with a pan sear or kitchen torch to give it that additional flavor and texture that we all love.

More about my first sous-vide experiment after the jump!

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Melon Summer Soup with Crispy Prosciutto

So, P.J. (my lovely husband) loves cantaloupe, and I love prosciutto. You’d think that would mean we’d share a mutual love for the Italian classic of prosciutto-wrapped melon, right?  Well, we have a small challenge – P.J. is vegetarian, and I wouldn’t say that I love cantaloupe.  That said, I recently saw a recipe in Cooking Light for a cantaloupe-based chilled gazpacho with crispy prosciutto, and I thought I might give it a try.  I’ll say up front that, while we both liked the dish, it was perhaps not our very favorite.  Not because it’s not good, but more because the prosciutto really is a key element (which P.J. couldn’t eat), and as it turns out, I really just don’t care that much for cantaloupe.

I realize the above is not the best sales job for this recipe… 😉  That said, I believe that if you’re a fan of cantaloupe and you’re up for adding the prosciutto, you’ll probably really like this one. You’ll find my adaptation after the jump.

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Every Day Shredded Chicken

For many years, I’ve been nervous about cooking chicken, and I’m not entirely sure why.  I really like chicken (especially dark meat, not gonna lie), and I ate loads of it growing up (thanks, Mom!).  Since I’m working on adding some great easy, tasty proteins to my weekly menu, a roasted chicken that can be added to just about anything seemed like a good thing to try.  This one’s good solo, but it can also be a salad topper, a frittata protein, whatever!

This is a super-easy recipe that will give you several servings of protein to use at will during the week… enjoy!

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Well, so sorry for the radio-silence! It’s been a crazy couple of weeks for me and the hubby at our respective jobs… that, coupled with some fun travel to Martha’s Vineyard this weekend, has made me a less-than stellar blogger.  We just got back from a lovely weekend up north with two of my favorite people in the world, my brother- and sister-in-law.  Those of you here in Austin can certainly appreciate how incredible it was to leave our 107 degree state for 75 degree highs and evenings that required a jacket.

Lobsterzilla - the fabulous 22 pound lobster we saw at the Menemsha Fish Market (notice how his claw is the same size as a regular-sized lobster?)

While I didn’t eat 100% Paleo over the weekend, I did take every opportunity to eat lobster. Seriously – I had it for multiple meals every day.  Lobster rolls (sans bread), lobster mac & cheese (loved it, but not going to lie… the pasta, cream, and cheese made me feel less than 100% for hours after), surf & turf, lobster sauteed in butter… you get the idea.  It was a lobster-fest.

After enjoying such copious amounts of this delicious crustacean, I finally decided that I need to conquer cooking lobster at home… I’ve been intimidated (naturally, I think!) for some time, but I spent a lot of time thinking about why.  Cooking a lobster at home is probably as close to killing our dinner as most of us ever get, and it can be daunting to end the life of these little critters.  That said, I’m trying to eliminate hypocrisy in my carnivore nature, and I feel like I should be able to man up and kill/cook my own dinner. So, stay tuned… lobster at home is coming soon!

Gorgeous Surf & Turf (Lobster!) at the Beach Plum in Menemsha

Anyhoo… we had a fabulous time in Menemsha, and one of our favorite memories was our dinner at the Beach Plum.  All of the carnivores at the table tucked into this gorgeous surf and turf – 8oz ribeye with 6oz. of butter-poached lobster.  The sauce certainly wasn’t Paleo, but man-oh-man was it good!  Might just have to try it at home Paleo-style!

Feeding my turkey addiction: Roasted Turkey Breast

I LOVE the house-made Traditional Roasted Turkey Breast at Central Market. They actually give me funny looks at the deli counter when I ask for four pounds of this stuff.  It’s just a simple roasted turkey breast seasoned with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  I got a wild hair this week to try roasting my own turkey breast. My only prior experience with roasting turkey was Thanksgiving a few years ago… it involved a 5-gallon brining bag filled with seasoned salt water and turkey juice that ended up all over my kitchen floor.  Although I did have to thoroughly disinfect my floor, my kitchen did smell wonderfully of rosemary for several days… 😉  Needless to say, it was time to re-tackle the turkey.

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