Penzeys Spices to Open San Diego Location

I was so happy to receive a postcard in the mail announcing the opening of a Penzeys Spices in San Diego.  According to the Penzeys website, the store will be located at 1274 University Avenue in the "Hillcrest Colonnade" shopping center.  I believe they will be taking over the old Blockbuster Video space. 

I first read about Penzey's spices through Elana's Pantry.  Once I placed an order, I started receiving their catalogs, and have been impressed with the company ever since.  Most recently, I've placed orders for Penzeys spices recommended by Melissa Joulwan of Well Fed fame.  I searched for images of Penzeys stores on the internet and it seems like they have a variety of different looks.  Here's one of the shots that I thought looked pretty welcoming:

Will be nice to have a high quality spice shop like Penzeys in town, don't you think?  I will post another entry with an update when the store gets closer to opening. 

Chinese Hot Plate from Well Fed

A few days ago, I made another "Hot Plate" from page 36 of Well Fed.  I've made this one at least five or six times, partly because it makes such great leftovers for work.  I almost always make a double batch (using 2 pounds of chicken) but opted for a single batch this week because I was about to restock with Pete's Premade Paleo.

I hadn't done any of the prep work beforehand, so I started by seasoning and grilling the chicken:

While the chicken was grilling, I chopped and steam sauteed the celery and green bell peppers.

Then, I used my food processor to "rice" the cauliflower:



With all of the ingredients prepped, the rest would be easy.  Here's my set-up shot:

I followed Melissa's instructions to assemble and cook the onions, protein, veggies, cashews and seasonings.

While that was cooking, I also sauteed the cauliflower with onions in coconut oil, adding a little salt and pepper.

Once everything was cooked, I spooned the protein/veggie mixture over some of the cauliflower rice, and then took a picture of the steaming Hot Plate!

Muffin Delivery from Not So Fast Food Truck!

Over the weekend, I made a funding donation to Not So Fast, San Diego's first Paleo food truck.  If you back them at the $25 or $50 level and live in San Diego, they will bring you a batch of muffins (3 at the $25 level or 6 at the $50 level).

Well, Bob and June just showed up at my door with 3 Turkey Meatloaf Muffins and Primal Ketchup!  How cool!



They were delicious.  (Yes, I ate them all).  Very flavorful and moist, and the ketchup was amazing!  Go check them out on KickStarter! 

My Favorite San Diego Paleo Resource

The wonderful and talented John Vosseller of Point Loma Fitness told me about a service called Pete's Premade Paleo a few weeks ago.

High-quality food. Fresh & local ingredients. Variety. Strictly Paleo. Inexpensive. Delivered. Period.

I picked up my first batch of food last Thursday and it has been amazing!!  The quality and taste of the food is excellent.  And the best news is that it's freed me up from having to spend so much dang time in the kitchen.  I really can't say enough good things about it.  The only issue that people might have with ordering Pete's is that you can't customize your menu very much.  This seems like a bummer, but I found that I "ate the rainbow" more than I would have had I been allowed to pick and choose.  In fact, I tried several veggies that I'd never eaten before!  That's a big Paleo win in my book.  So, I'm actually grateful that the program is fairly rigid.  I'll take some pictures and blog more about Pete's in the coming weeks.  I can't wait to pick up more food on Thursday!

Paleo at Sammy's Woodfired Pizza

We had dinner at Sammy's Woodfired Pizza last night.  I love having one of their locations right down the street and they do serve a few GF + Paleo dishes.  I ordered the Oak Roasted Chicken Breast, which I devoured.  It's served with pine nuts, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and herbs.  Sorry about the terrible picture!

The San Diego Union Tribune featured this dish in an article about gluten-free restaurants back in March of this year.  Check out the article (along with their far superior photography!) here.

On a side note, I love that fact that Sammy's offers a separate gluten-free menu in their restaurants, but I can't find the current GF menu anywhere on their website.  Big mistake Sammy's!  Gluten-free and Paleo folks tend to plan their restaurant meals in advance.  Help us out by letting us preview the menu on your website.  I was able to find an old GF menu buried in a Press release from 2010 (menu is on page 3 and 4 of the pdf).  The prices on this menu are out of date, as are, presumably, some of the other details.

Re-Purposed Pasta Canisters!

What's a Paleo girl to do with now-empty pasta and rice canisters?  Use them for nut storage, of course!  This was part of my pantry reorganization a few months ago.  Now, when I stock up on nuts from Trader Joe's, I scoop 1/4 cup servings into snack baggies and then use my old glass containers for storage.  Having them already divided into the baggies is really helpful when it comes to portion control.  That, and I hide the cashews in back and try to pretend I don't know they're there...

Paleo Food Truck Coming to San Diego!

I was so excited to read about this on Mark Sisson's blog a few weeks ago.  Not So Fast is a Paleo/Primal food truck launching in San Diego this summer!  I can't wait.  Their menu sounds amazing.  They are currently fundraising and most of the way there.  Check it out and become a backer on Kickstarter!

A Trusty Favorite

I picked up this meal idea from Robb Wolf's The Paleo Solution.  It's my go-to dinner plan when I don't feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen.  It is so incredibly simple and only requires a few ingredients.  (Serves 2)

First, I slice the sausage at a bit of an angle.  You'll notice that I changed the type of sausage between these two shots.  I couldn't decide - I love them both!

Next, I pan-fry the sausage in large dry pan.  Then, I add some diced onions and stir them in with the sausage, allowing everything to brown a little. 

While it's cooking, I wash and spin down a bag of baby spinach.

Next, I heat a large pot and then add a tablespoon of coconut oil.  I transfer the sausage mixture to the pot and allow it to cook a little bit in the oil over medium heat.  Then I decrease the temperature, add the spinach and cover the pot so that the steam will wilt the greens.  After that, it's ready to go!

If you're like me and have an egg allergy, this also makes a great Paleo breakfast. 

Well Fed Indeed

Last night I re-made a Thai hot plate from page 37 of Well Fed.  I tried this one a few months ago using eggplant as the recipe suggested.  Turns out that I'm not a big fan of eggplant.  So, I subbed zucchini (yum) for the eggplant this time and it was amazing!!  It had kind of buttery/cheesy flavor to it.  I have no idea how that happened given the ingredients I used, but it was a pleasant surprise.  It might have been the extra long simmer on the stove, or perhaps the spaghetti squash noodles provided some hidden magic.  Regardless of how it happened, this was the best Paleo meal I'd eaten in weeks.  I can't wait to get at the leftovers.

Here's my set-up, though I forgot to include the coconut oil:

And complete, before serving over spaghetti squash noodles:

I realize this doesn't look that appetizing, but as the old cliche goes... what it lacks in appearance, it makes up for in flavor!

Paleo Books at the San Diego Public Library

Here's a few of the Paleo/Primal books that are carried by the San Diego Public Library.  Checking these books out has been wonderful for me because I've been able to put more money towards buying quality food. 

If you're sad that The Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Paleo isn't available right now, that my fault!  It's sitting on my coffee table right now.  The library makes it easy to place a hold though.  Just follow the instructions on their website and you can pick it up at your local branch when it becomes available. 

Happy reading!

Liquid Dark Chocolate

I never learned to drink coffee without copious amounts of chocolate and/or syrup sweeteners.  The same was true after switching to Paleo.  So, I had pretty much given up on drinking anything other than water (and the rare glass of freshly squeezed orange juice).  However, while surfing the Paleosphere last week, I ran across Mark Sisson's article on "The Benefits of Eating and Drinking High-Cocoa Dark Chocolate."  The key word for me was "Drinking."  Maybe there was a way to make a completely Paleo/Primal-approved dark chocolate drink.  Google came to the rescue and I found this recipe on mom vs chaos.  I have made it three times in the last week and LOVE it!  It tastes like, well, liquid dark chocolate.  I drink it without any sweeteners and am thrilled to have a warm drink option.  

Setting up:

Complete:

Weekend Roundup

I celebrated Mother's Day with my mom on Saturday this year.  We went to Mimi's for breakfast.  They have an allergen menu that lists which items you can order gluten-free.  I had the smoked ham, pork sausage, red skin potatoes, and a small glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.  (I have an egg allergy.  Otherwise, I would have ordered an omelette, which can also be made gluten-free.)  My stomach was feeling so flat and non-bloated from a great week of Paleo eating that I didn't even whimper when my mom ordered her usual buttermilk spice muffin. 

After breakfast, we headed up to Encinitas for the San Diego Botanical Garden's Chocolate Festival.  We used up 4 tickets each on some gluten-free goodness and then spent some time exploring the gardens and soaking up the sun.

Saturday night I decided to try the Country Captain Chicken recipe from Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan, which is easily my favorite Paleo cookbook. 

I think Melissa is brilliant and I am thankful for so many of her recipes (Chocolate Chili, Zucchini Noodles, etc.)  Here's my prep shot as I was gathering ingredients:

And cooking:

Complete:

I enjoyed the curry flavor of the chicken, but didn't think it was a truly stand-out recipe.  I'm sure I will cook it again, but it won't make it on to my monthly or weekly rotation.  I should state that I didn't add the raisins or the toasted almonds, so perhaps I missed out on the secret ingredients that really put this recipe over the top.  Has anyone else made this?

Tonight I made a batch of Melissa's Meat and Spinach Muffins.  This is the second time I have made these because they were an absolute hit with my boyfriend the first time around.  Thankfully he helps me with the tedious squeezing of the spinach.  If you've ever made this recipe, you know exactly what I mean!

Here's my prep shot:

And the finished muffins:

That's it for tonight!

Excuses, Excuses...

I have been toying with the idea of starting a Paleo blog for months. I kept stopping myself for three reasons:

1. The first reason was a time issue. I was spending nearly all of my time shopping for food, and then prepping, cooking and cleaning in the kitchen. Can anyone relate?

Excuse busted: I am getting better at staying on top of the weekly food haul and the truth is that I do have the time.

2. The second reason is that there are already so many fantastic Paleo blogs out there. I didn't feel that I had anything particularly different or special to contribute.

Excuse busted: Everyone has a unique story to tell and the more people who are out beating the Paleo/Primal drum, the better it is for all of us. Also, I would love to connect with other Paleo people in San Diego, and if I can help someone along the way, that's great. We all need the support.

3. The third reason is one of my old standbys: PERFECTIONISM. One of the bad traits about a perfectionist is that they can't accept a good enough solution. And frequently they won't start something unless they already know how to do it perfectly. I want my blog to look great right out of the box and I have to face the fact that it's not going to.

Excuse busted: This blog is going to suck for a while, but dealing with that and moving forward anyway will be good for my perfectionist soul.