I’m in the middle of another week of graveyard shifts, but I’m whistling a happy tune. Know why? ’Cause Henry was supposed to leave for India today on business, but his trip was cancelled (or at least delayed)! I’ve been grinning ever since I got the good news. FaceTime is great, but it doesn’t beat face time.
(There’s another reason I have a big smile on my face—but you’re going to have to wait until the end of this post to find out why!)
Enough blathering—time for some tasty links!
Break It On Down
I’ve been researching lobster recipes lately, but the idea of dismembering a live, wiggling crustacean with my bare hands has always intimidated me a bit. As a kid, I watched my mom do it in our kitchen all the time; the results were delicious, but the process struck me as grisly.
But after watching the stunning and amazing Kristen Kish break down a lobster with both grace and force, I’m inspired to give it a shot.
(Video link here!)
Gooble Gobble, One Of Us!
I’m a Twitterholic. It’s my hands-down favorite social media platform; I keep track of current events, TV spoilers, and gossip of the day on Twitter, and try to respond to just about everyone (who isn’t rude) who tweets me. (Are you following me on Twitter? Because I want you to. Unless you’re a psycho killer, in which case please don’t.)
So I was excited to learn back in January (via a tweet) that Jack Dorsey—the guy who gave birth to Twitter—was giving Paleo a shot. It looks like it wasn’t just a short-term New Year’s Resolution kind-of-thing, either; according to this profile of @jack in this week’s New Yorker, he’s stuck with it!
Meanwhile, Jack’s fellow Twitter co-founders are investing big in the vegan fake-meat start-up that I wrote about a while back. Hmm.
And If You Threw a Party, Invited Everyone You Knew…
Questlove of The Roots has some killer dinner party tips for you. My faves?
- Serve things on sticks.
- Have a lot of ice on hand.
- Bring down the house by playing the Golden Girls theme song.
DONE.
Did Someone Say Cookie Dough?
Guess what showed up on my doorstep yesterday?
The Food Lovers’ Primal Palate has teamed up with Cappello’s to offer a new product: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough!
As you know, I rarely make treats, so I don’t keep a lot of baking ingredients in the house. For me to make chocolate chip cookies would mean trekking to the store (and possibly several different ones) to buy a bunch of pricey ingredients that would then sit unused in my pantry after my batch of cookies were done. If you’re like me, on those special occasions that call for a grain-free treat, having a package of the Primal Palate Cookie Dough in the freezer can be a huge time- and money-saver.
Plus, I hear the new formulation’s even better than Bill and Hayley’s original recipe for their famous chocolate chip cookies, so I’m looking forward to baking some up!
Waiter! There’s Scat in My Bowl!
Okay…this item isn’t necessarily all that appetizing.
The newly opened Magic Restroom Café in Southern California ain’t Paleo in the slightest, but I have a feeling my two boys would get a kick out of dining there. The premise? You eat sludgy Taiwanese stews and curries in toilet-shaped ceramic bowls—while seated on toilets.
The only thing missing: Squatty Potties.
I’m not sure who the target customer is supposed to be, but I guess it’s someone keen to scarf down a toilet bowl filled with something on the menu called “Bloody Number Two.” (It’s actually a vanilla-strawberry sundae.)
On the plus side, I’m pretty sure I could easily replicate the experience of eating at Magic Restroom Café by leisurely eating dinner while sitting in my bathroom.
DC’s The Place to Be
If you’re dining out in the nation’s capital and you want to stick to a Paleo template, you’ve got new options! According to this article in the Washington Post, you can dine like a caveperson at Chix, Juniper Restaurant, and Protein Bar.
That’s not the only reason the DC metro area is the place to be next weekend. The Paleo Parents are throwing their annual candy-less Halloween party, and a number of Paleo bloggers are gathering from far and wide for the festivities—so Salt and Pepper Books is hosting a ginormous Paleo superfriends booksigning the night before. Get yourselves over there!
Also, my pal Diana Rodgers will be giving a presentation about Paleo Myths Debunked and signing copies of her wonderful cookbook at CrossFit Federal Hill on Thursday, October 24th. After her talk, she and the equally awesome Russ Crandall will field questions about Paleo nutrition, cooking, and sustainability. In lieu of her fee, she’s requesting that folks donate just $15 to the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund. Get your tix here!
Where’s The Fish?
Hey, where did all the sardines go? They’re apparently gone from the coast of Vancouver. We’ve got a mystery on our hands—someone call the Scooby gang!
(But if you can get your hands on some fresh sardines, make this recipe!)
April’s Way
Every time I find myself in New York, I try to grab breakfast at The Breslin—primarily because the English Breakfast is so meatalicious.
But I’ve never made it there for dinner. That might change with my next visit, because this Serious Eats slideshow on Chef April Bloomfield’s preparation of ribeye is mighty tempting.
Mushroom Hunters
I love the meaty umami of mushrooms, but I had no idea that the world of mushroom foraging was so adventure-packed. Check out this Outside Magazine interview with Langdon Cook—author of The Mushroom Hunters: On the Trail of an Underground America. If I actually read books, I’d totally pick this one up!
Bang for the Buck
The Kitchn published a piece about the ingredients that are worth the splurge. Read all about it!
Vote!
Have you cast your ballot in Paleo Magazine’s Best of 2013 Awards yet? It’s your chance to vote for the best in the Paleo community, so if you haven’t already, please take a moment and vote for your favorites.
And while I’m nominated in a bunch of categories and would love your vote, I’m not going to campaign against the other nominees—they’re all awesome. There’s no wrong choice!
Baby Cabbages Are Back!
Yes, I know Brussels sprouts aren’t actually baby cabbages, but that’s what I like to call them. So cute! Here are some Brussels sprouts recipes I love:
- Saveur’s Brussels Sprouts with Chorizo
- Serious Eats’ Seared Scallops with Pancetta and Brussels Sprouts
- Joy the Baker’s Mushroom and Brussels Sprout Hash
- But my bestest Brussels sprouts recipe is in my cookbook (now less than 2 months away from release—woo hoo!): Cavolini al Forno!
Speaking of My Book…
A few days ago, a package arrived from Andrews McMeel, our publisher—and in it was…A FRESH-OFF-THE-PRESSES COPY OF MY COOKBOOK!
WHEEEEEEE!!!! It’s been three days since I got the book and I still can’t stop squealing about it!
I don’t know how to say this (I may be chatty, but words fail me sometimes!), but I am so, so, SO flat-out head over freaking heels in love with this book. We worked our butts off, and to be able to finally hold it in our hands is…indescribable. The result has surpassed all my expectations, and I CANNOT WAIT for you to flip through it! I really hope you’ll love it as much as I do.
(What—you didn’t know about my cookbook? Catch up on all the details here!)
For now, we’re treating our copy of the book like a newborn baby, swaddling it in padded layers and not letting anyone touch it without first washing their hands. After all, we have just one solitary advance copy—the rest won’t arrive at our publisher’s warehouse from overseas for another month.
Don’t worry—I’m going to do my best to shut up about the book for now. I just couldn’t NOT share this happy moment with you. More details will follow as the release date (December 17) approaches!
Enjoy the weekend, everyone!
