I’m smack-dab in the middle of a three-week hiatus from my zombie drug dealing duties, but that just means I’m only wearing three hats this week: full-time mommy, food blogger, and crazed cookbook author. Our final edits for our forthcoming cookbook are DUE TOMORROW, and it’s all hands on deck.

When I’m not corralling the kids, I’m poring over our proofs and cringing every time I find a typo. Henry’s exhausted, too; after the kids are in bed each night, we’ve been cranking away on edits and design. Both of us are staying up waaay too late and and waking up waaay too early.

As a result, my coffee habit has bloomed into a full-blown addiction. Every morning, I’ve been mainlining coffee as I get the boys ready for day camp—and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. I found this sketch in Big-O’s notebook:

Busted.

Yesterday, after I packed the kids’ lunches, I made myself a quick breakfast of fried sausage, sauerkraut, and sliced cherry tomatoes. 

Our meals this week have mostly consisted of slapdash, uninspired fare because I haven’t had the time or energy to make anything elaborate. But this night would be different: I promised the kids that I’d make up for my negligence by preparing a proper dinner from Elana Amsterdam’s wonderful new cookbook, Paleo Cooking from Elana’s Pantry.

For years, I’ve been a huge fan of Elana Amsterdam’s simple, fool-proof, and delicious culinary creations. I love that she healed herself with food, and I draw inspiration from her fierce commitment to her boys. Ever since I received an advance review copy of Elana’s cookbook several weeks ago, it’s been taunting me from the top of the pile of books on my nightstand:

Pick me up! Cook from me! Can’t you see that I’m filled with almost 100 gluten-free, grain-free, and dairy-free recipes? Didn’t you see my Bacon Tart recipe?! 

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In honor of Father’s Day, I created this recipe for my Pop. He’s a lifelong fan of breakfast sausage and eggs…and, um, English muffins. But who needs bread when the filling’s the best part?

To make this breakfast sandwich resemble those from a certain fast-food joint (you know: the one with the freaky clown mascot), you’ll need some special equipment—namely, stainless steel biscuit cutters—but if you’ve got ’em, this recipe’s a snap. Plus, you can totally eat these sammies with your hands.

Here’s what you’ll need to make one “McMuffin”:

• 2 tablespoons ghee, divided (plus more for greasing the biscuit cutters)
• ¼ pound bulk raw pork breakfast sausage
• 2 large eggs
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup water
• 1 heaping tablespoon guacamole (optional)

(If you don’t have bulk sausage handy, just cook up some bacon. I just Instagrammed a photo of a Bacon Egg “McMuffin” this morning—and if you’re not already food-stalking me on Instagram, you really should.)

Gently press the meat down to uniformly shape a sausage patty.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add a tablespoon of ghee. When the fat is shimmering, add the patty to the pan. If you really want the patty to keep its perfectly round shape, you can keep the mold on until the cooked patty shrinks away from the sides.

Clean the biscuit cutter and grease it again.

Fry the sausage about 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until fully cooked.

If your patty’s thick, you may need to cover the pan to make sure it’s cooked through. Once the patty’s ready, transfer it to a plate.

Now, onward to the eggy “buns”…

Grab two small bowls and crack one egg into each.

Pierce the yolks with a fork.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat with the remaining tablespoon of ghee. (Make sure you’ve got a tight-fitting lid for this skillet.)

When the ghee’s shimmering, place the two greased biscuit cutters in the pan…

…and pour an egg into each mold.

Season the eggs with salt and pepper to taste.

Add ¼ cup water to the skillet (outside of the egg molds), making sure not to splash the eggs.

Turn down the heat to low…

…and cover the pan.

Cook the eggs, covered, for about 3 minutes or until cooked through.

Transfer the eggs to a paper-towel lined plate. One easy way to do this is to slide a spatula under the mold as you tilt it up while wearing a heat-resistant glove.

Assemble the faux-“McMuffin” by sandwiching the sausage patty in between the two egg rounds.

If you’re feeling old-school, you can eat the sammie as-is…

…or wake up your palate with a squiggle of sriracha.

But my favorite addition to this breakfast burger? A big dollop of homemade guacamole.

Once you’ve gussied up your “McMuffin,” pick it up and chow down!

Sorry, Dad—I ate this one. I’ll make you another.

Happy Father’s Day!

Gadzooks! Father’s Day is THIS SUNDAY! But don’t fret if you’re unprepared—I’ve got you covered. In this edition of Forky Friday, I’ll share links about how to make the perfect steak and the best grills to cook it on. I have plenty of other ideas for gifts, too. Nothing’s too good for the top Pop in your life, right?

Even if dear old dad prefers Krispy Kreme Sloppy Joes to real food, I bet he wouldn’t turn down a home-cooked meal. For breakfast, you should make him a satisfying plate of Paleo-friendly Eggs Benedict (by Spoon & Knife, the self-described “gluten-free meat-atarian” site by my new pal Christine and her husband Mike), or my personal fave: steak and eggs!

Want some great tips on making the PERFECT steak?

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School’s out for the summer, but the lunchbox-packing continues. To keep the boys’ tummies full while they run around at camp, Henry and I still find ourselves scrambling in the morning to make sure they have plenty of fuel to get them through the middle of the day.

Sometimes, the protein consists of scrambled eggs, frittata slices, or rolled-up deli meat, but today, it’s sausage with marinara sauce.

We rounded out the Double-O’s lunches with a handful of cherries, strawberries, and carrots. (In case you’re wondering, the stainless steel food containers are by LunchBots, and the creamy stuff is homemade Paleo Ranch Dressing. The recipe’s in my forthcoming cookbook.)

Looking for more ideas about what to pack for lunch? Check out my series of posts about A Week of Paleo School Lunches!

What are you having for lunch today?

Can I tell you how happy I am to be home? Getting back from Texas in time to tuck the boys into bed made my heart sing, though it’s a bittersweet tune. Every time I give my kids a fierce bear hug, I know I’m on borrowed time; one of these days, they’ll refuse ’cause it’s no longer cool to hug their mom.

Ai ya! Enough kvetching already. Let’s cut to the chase and take a peek at my meals for the day. I didn’t make anything fancy—just a few dishes I threw together with the odds and ends I scavenged from the fridge. 

Although the school year is officially over, the Double-Os still wake up at 7 a.m. on the dot every morning. We even took the clock out of their room, hoping they’d sleep in a little longer—but to no avail. They’re like machines.

For breakfast, I sautéed sliced mushrooms…

…and tucked them into omelets, one for each member of the family.

At five to nine, Henry hustled the boys off to day camp, and I headed over to CrossFit Palo Alto to get my sweat on with the women’s class. After a challenging workout alternating rowing, running, and deadlifting, I came home and scarfed down a half a small sweet potato and a few slices of prosciutto.

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I’m still in Austin, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about you and your cooking needs. Here’s a fantastic recipe you can braise in the oven TODAY for your Sunday supper:

Doesn’t this dish look fantastic? What’s even more amazing is that my guest blogger, Joshua Weissman, isn’t even old enough to vote yet. In fact, he just finished his finals for junior year last week. Of high school. Boy, do I feel old.

Joshua Weissman is a 17-year-old food blogger with a passion for cooking, food and health. Joshua always loved food but his love for food led to an eventual weight gain. After years of endless ridicule and physical harassment, he decided to change his life and lost over 100 pounds through healthy eating and exercise. On his blog, Slim Palate, he documents his latest culinary creations with fun stories and gorgeous photography.  To keep abreast of his kitchen shenanigans, follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest. Take it away, Josh!

Before I start rambling, I have to take a moment to thank Michelle for having me guest post. Of the many food bloggers that I adore, she has a special place in my heart because we share a similarity in cooking styles and tastes. At my house, we joke around and call Michelle one of my “second mothers” along with Stacy from Paleo Parents. Now look what I’ve done; I’ve begun rambling and I haven’t even gotten to the post.

The dish I’m writing about is Lamb Osso Bucco With Gremolata.

I’m in love with braising because the technique’s practically foolproof and almost always yields perfectly voluptuous, tender and flavorful meals. When braising meat, you can opt for tougher cuts because the low and slow cooking melts the tough connective tissue. 

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I’ve already kept this secret for longer than I thought possible, so I’m just going to blurt it out: we wrote a cookbook.

I’m not talking about our iPad® cooking app, but a hardcover, 8- by 10-inch, 288-page full-color book stuffed with over 100 recipes and more than 900(!) photos and cartoons. Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans will be published by Andrews McMeel and available on December 17—just in time for the holidays! 

I guess it’s no secret that I’m obsessed with cookbooks. Growing up, I dreamed of writing one, though I always dismissed the notion as insanely presumptuous even after this blog’s readership began to take off.

Then, two years ago, I suddenly started receiving inquiries from book publishers. Their unsolicited offers were incredibly tempting, but after much hand-wringing, I turned each of them down. At the time, Henry and I were up to our eyeballs in app development—not to mention our day jobs and parenting duties. If we threw a cookbook on top of our mounting pile of responsibilities, we’d drown. 

It wasn’t until after the Nom Nom Paleo app was released (and more than a few pep talks from Henry and some of our good friends) that I started to come around to the idea of penning a cookbook. If we were to pour our hearts and souls into this project, however, we had to do it right. Henry and I promised ourselves that we would throw everything we had into this book: there would be no compromise on content, design, or quality.

So last year, my co-conspirator and I quietly began working in earnest on the book. When we weren’t working, parenting, blogging, or sleeping, we were developing, shooting, and writing recipes.

Every chance I got, I experimented with flavor profiles and tested recipes; meanwhile, Henry worked doggedly on the book layout and design—usually after a long day at the office. He also started plotting and drawing the dozens of cartoon illustrations featured in the cookbook. 

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Okay: what do you think of tonnato, a creamy, tangy sauce made with anchovies, capers, and canned tuna? For those of you smiling—high five! And if your nose is wrinkled in disgust, hear me out. I was once in your shoes, but this umami-packed sauce is truly a cinch to make from pantry staples and tastes good on EVERYTHING.

This classic Italian sauce is typically paired with chilled poached veal (vitello tonnato) and served as a picnic dish. Sadly, I almost never have poached veal lying around the house, so after I blitz a fresh batch of tonnato, I pour it on crudités, hard-boiled eggs, sliced heirloom tomatoes, poached or sous vide chicken, or steamed vegetables. Or all of the above.

It’s seriously good stuff.

Here’s what to gather to make 2 cups of sauce:

• 1 (7-ounce) can tuna packed in olive oil, drained
• 5 anchovies packed in olive oil, drained
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup Paleo Mayonnaise
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Dump all the ingredients in a blender and blitz until smooth and creamy. Done.

The sauce can be kept in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for a couple of days.

If you need more instruction and pictures before you’re willing to try this, read on, my skeptical friend.

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Yes! It’s the Friday before a three-day holiday weekend, and most of you probably have grand grilling plans, right? You’re in luck — this week’s Forky Friday is filled with links to tasty recipes for all your barbecue party needs.

But don’t worry: if you’d rather stay indoors and eat a bunch of worms, I got your back, too. 

Let’s jump right in!

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Late Sunday night, the Nombomb clan returned home from a quickie trip to Disney World in Orlando.

Although we all had a blast — the boys flitted from park to park while I soaked up lots of great information and advice from the inspiring folks in attendance at Food Blog Forum — we were ready to crash in our own beds again.

Or on the floor near the baggage return carousel at the airport, snuggled up against a much-loved, well-traveled stuffed cat.

This morning, everyone was finally ready to get back up and at ‘em. After I made the kiddos breakfast (seared sausages, sliced apple, and pastured raw milk)…

…I assembled a quick frittata with spinach and seasoned ground beef for Big-O’s school lunch.

I finished cooking the frittata in the toaster oven, divided it up, and stuck a slice in Big-O’s lunchbox and one in my piehole.

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