Bison Ribs w/Egyptian Walking Onions & Sorrel

I have a ribs obsession, which i'll talk about more in a bit, but first a little on the Crossfit Open. I tip my hat to them - that format was bold and they took a lot of heat for it. I still would like to bitch. Crossfit HQ bowed to the general populous. Their goal was CLEARLY to not discourage people from crossfit, and show any ninny could do it. That bummed me out a little, but this IS a business after all. Geez i was hoping to feel just a little "F^cking Elite" but there really was none of that in the Open programming. In the end, i think they indeed rounded up the best athletes. Those that barely made it, or barely missed it (me), can argue but realistically their chance of winning THE GAMES are probably on the order of getting raptured to heaven. Looking at the Regional workouts, it seems more in line with what I consider crossfit and i'm happy to see that kind of programming. I'll keep paying my membership dues ;-)

OK, bison ribs. HOLY $HIT THEY SELL THEM AT COSTCO! Good call whoever is buying the meats there. Bison is expensive, after all, they can walk thru fences that keep lesser animals (beef) at bay, so sure, charge a little more. But seriously, the nice cuts are kind of ridiculous. Not ribs though - $20 for a HUGE rack. I have no idea if Costco outside of Boulder sells this stuff. If not, you can go on-line but they won't be nearly as reasonable.
Now about those egyptian walking huh? We have a great Farmer's Market here in Boulder and they caught my eye. Basically HUGE scallions that form a bublet on top. As it gets heavy and falls over, it lands in the dirt and "plants" itself - so essentially "walking" across your garden. I also grabbed some mixed mushrooms while i was there and sorrel - very lemony and tart. To be eaten in small quantities because it contains oxalic acid. As a garnish though, it really adds a unique taste (if you can't find it - just give the dish a squeeze of lemon towards the end). One more note about ribs. I'll say it again, i'm LAZY. I know some people parboil them and do a little dance, blah blah. Heck i'm so lazy I literally threw away ALL my socks and bought just woolie boolies three years ago. Hiking, biking, work, crossfit - whatever - SAME socks. Best thing i ever did. So, I really don't care if the meat falls off the bone, that's what teeth are for and this is WAY less work. Don't get me wrong - they're still pretty tender. Here's the recipe:

Bison Ribs with Egyptian Walking Onions & Sorrel

1 rack of ribs - dry rub with spices. Smoked Paprika is a "must have" spice. Besides that, i use garlic salt, onion salt, pepper, etc. Put on the barbecue - took mine about 1/2 hour or so.

1 plate of mixed mushrooms, garlic, pecans, and "egyptian walking onions" or equivalent (leeks) - chopped.

Get 2 slices of bacon and cook it up. Put bacon to the side and saute ingredients above in the bacon fat. Start with the pecans - then add the rest. Salt and pepper to taste. It doesn't need much more - pretty rich. Just before it's done, add sorrel (just a few leaves chopped) and bacon pieces.
Enjoy! Steve "Paleo"

Cutting Loose with Bison-Kale and the Norcal Margarita

I've been eating variations of this meal for awhile - time to share! But first, a little education. People often ask "Where do I get my calcium when eating this paleo scam?" The answer of course, is the same place cows get it - greens - unless you're just jamming them full of grains which is a whole udder topic. So, how much calcium IS in greens? Well, oz for oz, there's more calcium in kale than milk. Ya ya, 8 oz of kale would be impressive, but you see my point. Eat lots of dark greens and you'll be fine.


OK... on to the recipe..This is a completely balanced 5 block meal that cooks in 9 minutes flat.

5 oz bison (I used Great Range sirloin steak)
2 oz kale - chopped
6 oz garnet yams - chopped ( be lazy and don't peel it )
2 mushrooms - sliced
small handful of diced red onion.
1 Tablespoon coconut oil

Get a big skillet on the stove - good and hot - put the coconut oil in it. When that's hot, add the yams. Keep flipping and after 4 minutes, add mushrooms and onions. After a couple more minutes, push to the side and add kale and bison. Bison is SO lean, you barely want to cook it. Keep pan covered now but every 45 seconds, uncover and stir. Spices - i like celery salt and lemon pepper. Ready in 9 minutes... enjoy!

Now.. what you've been waiting for.. i've yet to find a paleo nut that doesn't appreciate this margarita and since beer effs me up these days, this IS the beverage of choice.I first heard of the norcal margarita from Robb Wolf's Podcast which I highly recommend. Here's the "recipe"..

ice
juice of 1 lime
2 shots tequila
diet tonic water*

* he prolly didn't call this out but it makes a huge difference to me (ya there's artificial sweetener in that stuff - but hell, it's an alcoholic beverage!) Oh, one last thing, don't be cheap. Get the good stuff for crying out loud - cuz gawd knows you're saving on health care and the recipes are free ;-)
Eat Well! Steve "Paleo"
PrimitiveFoods.com

Bacon-Shitake Lamb Chops w/Walnut Guacamole

Just in time for Valentine's Day - This meal will impress your Paleo buddy and it's easy/fast to make. Before we get there though - a little rant...
This is probably insanity, but i'm gonna talk about cholesterol, specifically MY cholesterol. Now hold on, i know you don't give a rat's a$$ about some paleo punk's lipid profile, but hold your water... How often do you find someone with terrible cholesterol, on drugs for many years, who tells his doctor to shove it and goes Paleo, full tilt, for 1.5 yrs, drugless, and lives to tell about it? ;-) So, on the slim chance some of you care about what all this does under the hood, here's a very short glimpse/summary by admittedly a non-doctor, non-nutritionist, non-dietician, paleo-punk.

If you're interested, and thus familiar, with all these numbers, the data is pretty self-evident so i won't jibber jabber along. I will say i'm pissed that i was not given the right information when i asked the doc what to change in my diet. So instead, i stuffed a white pill down my beak for several years. Bottom line, a PZ diet is almost as good as straight Lipitor and if i get my HDL up a little more, it will be equivalent - at least on this sample of one. And here's what really blows.. Doc says cut back on red meat and eggs. What did I do? Ate more! I'm not happy about the HDL (future experiment..) but it is what it is. This is also not an "iso-body-weight" experiment - leaned up on that PZ stuff. Couldn't help it, ain't goin back...BTW, Lipitor is about $1/day. U do the math... OK... enough ranting.

Bacon-Shitake Lamb Chops with Walnut Guacamole
... this is enough for two 35 gm P meals. It's low carb/high fat. Sub it for a standard 5 block PZ meal just for fun.

Enough Lamb Chops to yield 12 oz meat - I buy it at Costco and trim the meat off the bone. It's from down-under - darn good.
1 Full Cup sliced shitake mushrooms
1 green onion - finely chopped
2 slices bacon
1 sprig fresh rosemary - finely chopped
2 tablespoon olive oil - 1 for lamb, one for mushrooms/onions
1/2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
celery salt and pepper to taste

Preparing the lamb and mushrooms:
Trim lamb meat off the bone - lose the fat.
Get Bacon going in the pan - when done, remove, but leave bacon fat
Add 1 Tablespoon (if necessary) olive oil and saute mushrooms and scallions, when almost done, add rosemary. Break up bacon and add to mushrooms. Keep warm.

With really hot pan, add olive oil then 10 oz lamb. Add celery salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce. Saute 'till done. Dish it up and top with mushroom saute. I garnished with some yellow pepper but whatever fresh veggie you have in the fridge will do, just to add some color.



Guacamole - you can buy this pre-made. This is simplified- based on what i had on hand. You should prepare this ahead of the lamb and have it already on the plate.
1 1/2 Avocado
1 scallion - finely chopped
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
Mix well, put on some romaine or other leafy green, top with walnuts.
... U might serve a glass of red dependent upon the occasion ;-) If you haven't had lamb lately, you're in for a real treat.
Last thing is a status on the whole macro-nutrient cycling (MNC) experiment i'm doing. I was inspired by Rob Faigin. Where am I at on it after ~4 weeks? Well, at the risk (probably high) of appearing vain, right about here... Now this is 1.5 yrs of PZ and ~4 weeks of MNC so don't draw conclusions yet. I can say it's not HURTING me but i'm on the fence about how much it's helping me. BTW, i'm not on any sauce, helpers, HGH, or supplements of dubious origin - and never was. On occasion, i will take creatine, glutamine, glucosamine,and fish oil - but it's irregular.

The other night, right after a FRAN workout, i did my carb-up meals. The next day I felt HUGE, like someone turned a switch on. IDK, gotta keep going with it. Will do my post MNC crossfit total in 4 weeks and more blood work. The other reason i posted this vanity shot, and the lipid table, is to hopefully encourage the old (yes i'm 47) and the young to read the books, question the docs, lift heavy $hit, crossfit 'till U puke, eat a PZ diet, and make up your mind. For the first time ever, we're getting good information on fitness and nutrition - and it works. Thank you Crossfit, Audette, Cordain, Wolf, Sears, Taubes, Wiley, and many others. If you don't know what i'm talking about, ask them (they figured it out), or ask me (a practitioner with an eye for detail - i hope).
Eat Well! Steve "Paleo"
PrimitiveFoods.com