The kids spent the night at their grandparents’ last night, but we didn’t have the luxury of sleeping in. At the crack of dawn, Henry and I rolled out of bed, made a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs with furikake (I use Urashima All Natural) and homemade sriracha…
…and headed out to San Francisco to meet up with Chef Pete Evans at the Ferry Building Farmers Market.
Pete’s visiting from Down Under, where—as my Aussie readers know—he’s an acclaimed mega-celebrity chef, having launched the hugely popular and award-winning Hugos restaurants before becoming a cookbook author and television heartthrob. For the last few years, Pete’s been a judge on the TV cooking competition show My Kitchen Rules—a ratings monster for Channel Seven. Americans may recognize Pete as the host of his PBS series, Moveable Feast.
Best of all? Pete cooks and eats Paleo.
Pete’s newest book, Healthy Every Day—which makes its debut next month in Australia—is filled with delicious and nutrient-dense real-food dishes. Yes, quinoa makes an appearance here and there, but even the most fanatical orthodox Paleo eaters will heartily agree that the pages of Pete’s cookbook offer brilliant, creative takes on the healthy, nourishing foods we all enjoy.
And let’s face it: his dishes are pure eye candy.
Pete and I have corresponded via email for months, but we hadn’t met in person until today. In town to shoot footage for his new “Recipes for Life” series, Pete asked me to accompany him on a trip to the San Francisco Ferry Building Farmers Market. Our plan was to pick out some fresh, local ingredients (with a small camera crew in tow), and then head back to our house to film our cook-a-thon for his show.
We got to the Ferry Building early to avoid the crush of the Saturday morning crowd. As I chatted with Pete, his producers and camera-wielding geniuses, Rob Tate and Gustavo Monroy, circled and swooped around us…
…while I did my best to avoid looking awkward.
I’ve been told my natural expression is a worried frown. From the photos that Henry took of our morning market trip, I think everyone is right.
Despite my jangling nerves, the shoot went remarkably smoothly. Our shopping was done in a flash, and I’m happy to report that I didn’t trip and fall on camera.
Then again, I wasn’t the one who had to walk backwards through a crowded concourse of morning market shoppers.
By the time we drove back to our house in the ’burbs, we were more than ready to get cooking. On the menu: Paleo Sriracha, Chinese Egg Foo Young (the version from my cookbook, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans), Roasted Broccoli and Bacon, and Cracklin’ Chicken.
I happily ceded the sriracha-making to Pete (who bravely chopped the peppers sans gloves).
As I told him more than once, I kind of like having a personal chef—especially one as talented as this guy. I even suggested that our kids marry each other so he could cook for us all the time.
Pete evidently likes his sriracha as spicy as possible; he decided to leave all the seeds intact, making this the hottest batch of delicious rooster sauce my kitchen has ever produced.
Even just looking at this photo makes me sweat.
Next up: Egg Foo Young.
I hadn’t made a batch of these stuffed egg patties in a while, and I’d almost forgotten how easy and flavorful these savory pancakes can be…
…especially when topped with freshly-made, hair-on-fire-hot sriracha.
To complete this simple family-friendly meal, I made the Double-O’s favorite vegetable side dish: Roasted Broccoli and Bacon.
By popular demand, I roast this dish in our countertop toaster oven at least three times a week.
As we were polishing off the meal, Pete discovered that the crunchy broccoli makes a great filling for Egg Foo Young sandwiches (with the savory pancakes as the “bread”). Brilliant!
The final dish we prepared was another one of my boys’ faves: Cracklin’ Chicken.
Simple and easy is my favorite.
The shoot was a blast, but by the time we finished, I was bushed. The boys and I spent the rest of the evening crashed out in front of the television.
(Here’s the final video of me cooking with Chef Evans!)
Sometimes, all you need is a blanket, a bar of dark chocolate, and Season 3 of Adventure Time.
And that’s a wrap!
Looking for my recipes? Head on over to the Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPad® app, and in my New York Times bestselling cookbook, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel 2013).
