Loose granola = better option than bars

   
                  Fiber Bomb Granola - flax seeds, wheat bran, wheat germ, dried fruits...

Despite my love for pork products and fattening foods, I do consider myself a healthy and lean (for the most part) individual.  The foods I really love I do eat sparingly and not often.  I made a deal with my wife that on Saturdays I would not think to much about what I am eating, just enjoy.  I said, "That seems ok I guess....."  I still count the calories to my bacon sandwiches at 11:00 PM tho, but she doesn't know that, ha!

In moderation they say, right?  Who is "they" anyway?.... But "they" happen to be right, in my eyes at least.  I don't feel the need to pig out on two hamburgers and a large side of fries.  The one is fine.  I pace myself.  I spread out my meals throughout the day.  My schedule seems to help with it too. Not all of you may have that luxury.

I have a filling breakfast of around 500-600 calories, usually the granola recipe above or super healthful cereal covered with low fat milk, a piece of fruit and a thermos full of coffee.  I eat a big bowl of this stuff.  I'm usually a gassy for the next 8 hours, but like all of us, we find places to fart several times a day where no one is around.  Either that or we just blame it on the dog.

I have a piece of fruit for a snack later in the day, but I split up my lunch into two parts: half at 11:00 and the other half at 3:00 (I'm a teacher so I eat lunch early).  It really only ends up being a few bites, but it gets me though the mid-day.   I might snack on a few more things in the late afternoon, but this is where I eat more calories. Usually around 800-1,000.  You would be surprised that in a 6 hours period how good you feel once you get used to the idea of not packing in 1,300 calories at Burger King in a 15 minute period.  My lunches are not just veggies and rice cakes.  I make stews, rice dishes, and even leftovers from the night before.  I am mindful of the fats I use to cook with when preparing them the day before.  I think if you constantly are buying your lunches at a deli or something, you really have no idea how much fat was used to prepare your sandwich or pasta salad. (Don't ask the busy dude at the counter either, we hate that, sorry:)... )  Just be mindful, think a little bit.

Dinner is tricky for me and usually late.  I work 6 days a week and 12 - 14 hours a day.  For some of you this may be the case as well.  I try not to eat much when I come home.  I like to eat light, a salad or some yogurt and fruit.  I make sure I don't follow the impulses to fry up some bacon and make a huge bowl of risotto.  I know I could put it down, easily. However, it is better to just keep it light, around 400-500 calories. 

What about exercise?  Yeah, that too.  Now, I am not even close to the health freak type, I just think eating well is what makes living, um... possible.  I do think that exercising, in any way, shape, or form, is vital to being a healthy human being.  About 2 months ago I noticed that my jeans were getting a bit too tight in the butt region and some of my belly fat was spilling out of my pants.  So I needed to knock off a few pounds by stepping up my exercise.  So, I started running.  I had trouble at first.  1/2 mile was all I could bare.  I wanted to get better at it, so I just kept at it.  I'm comfortable doing 3 miles now, just fine.  I learned some ab work out routines too.  I'm still a bit chubby, but I know my body thanks me every time I pick up an extra vigorous activity or two.

I was always jealous of the others that could eat whatever they want. Drink a case of beer and eat a bucket of fried chicken with out gaining a pound.  They are probably robots created by evil scientists to fuck with the rest of the human world.  That, and the dudes on the covers of "Men's Health" with their bulging gigantic genitalia and shiny pecs.  Fuck um', I bet they all have STDs and cry themselves to sleep anyway.

To sum up the post:  Eat well, eat often (but not a lot), exercise when you can, don't trick yourself with processed foods thinking they are better, cause they are not.  Keep away from corn syrup or the high fructose stuff.  Use spray fats instead of the oil "glug".  Desserts were designed for those 150 lb robots that don't gain weight, but we eat them anyway, just have one slice of cake at little frankie's birthday party , ok?

My Fiber Bomb Granola recipe is in the recipe section.  Its way lower in refined sugars (even though it's high in starch, it's good whole grain starch) than the granola bars.  Those use corn syrup and other crap to make them chewy.  Check out the nutrition facts for 1 1/2 cups of the stuff. The fat content is high too, but it's good fat!  Nut fat!  That's the fat we are meant to eat.  Do you see the squirrel community having an obesity epidemic?  No.  I didn't think so.

Stew it simple, stupid

Pork stew, poblano peppers, oven roasted tomatoes, jasmine rice and lime

 It's cold here in CT, so stew/braising time is upon us.  Cold salads aren't hitting the spot anymore.  We need meat coated in warm, thickened liquids. Flavorful liquids.  Ones that were flavored with meat before being stewed with meat.  This dish is satisfying beyond belief. First, because it tastes wicked good. Second, because it is ridiculously easy to make. Stewing is not a hard culinary task.  In fact, its easy enough that by just watching someone do it or sifting though a few recipes you could get it down on your first or second try. The important steps I will highlight now for you,

 

*aaahemm*

Use Home Made Stock

That swanson garbage will not do.  Bullion cubes are for barnyard salt-licks. I understand that it seems like a lot to go though, especially since I am claiming that it is a simple recipe, but believe me when I tell you that it is want makes this whole dish taste so good.  If you don't have the time or just want to be really lazy, I'd rather see you use tap water than canned chicken flavored water, ewwguhhhh...

Sear the meat! 

Ok, physics 101.  Cold Meat + Moderately Heated Pan =  no sear.  The pan needs to be hot, no question about that.  Yes, grease will splatter.  Yes some smoke in your kitchen will accumulate (disable your smoke detectors for a few minutes maybe?) and yes you should use extra caution.  But the truth of the matter is that skipping this step or not doing a good job at it will result in a bland stew.  When meat is seared it changes the flavor of the meat.  It is called a maillard reaction.  Without getting all sciencey on ya, it kinda like carmelization, except when protein is involved, the compounds that make up the meat's flavor change on a molecular level and.... ok, you get the picture:  Sear on high heat and be careful not to burn the pan.

Using the oven to stew

All that brown stuff that sticks to the pan is flavor right?  So to release that flavor, we deglaze the pan after the veggies have been sauteed.  The french call is fond.  I call it tasty.  With that said, you should also stew this thing in the oven instead of on the stove top.  Sure, you can do it on the burner, but oven stewing with the lid off will increase the flavor.  In the biz we call is top-fond.  You will notice that a layer of dark brown skin will form on top of the stew while it cooks.  This is good!  Every time you go in to stir, you are working that layer of browned stuff into the liquid.  This is formed from the gelatin that exits the meat as it cooks (formerly known as collagen) It gets gooey and sticks to the spoon, but work it in, you'll be happy you did.

Recipe is in the recipes section.  Do It!

Maple apple tart with fresh thyme

                           The tart fresh out of the oven and plated with some 

                                         whipped cream and maple syrup

My Sunday baking project.  I had apples, I had maple syrup, I had fresh thyme... so I came up with this.  I like using fresh herbs in desserts once in a while.  You can up the maple flavor by sprinkling maple sugar on top before baking. 

I used a basic pate brisee dough, apples and some staples in the cabinet/fridge 
This one's a keeper! Check it out in the recipe section!

Wicked crispy/herby fried chicken

                    Fried Chicken, Biscuits, Turnip Greens, Sweet Chili Sauce


There are only a few things created on this planet that will satisfy every soul equally.  One of those things is fried chicken.  If you're a vegan, you know that at least the smell of fried chicken is enough to awaken the senses.  Now, fried chicken's accessibility to the palates of Americans has been only increasing over the years by chains like KFC, Popeye's, and local places that have a few shops across any given city. Some places can do it right, others cannot.  As you might have noticed by now, I can't stand fast food.

Put aside ethical reasons and their demand for cheap, questionably raised/processed meat products, the taste just isn't that good. Even as a obese teenager (maybe I'll post about that at a later date) I disliked the taste of KFC chicken.  I think their seven secret spice mixture is all off, whatever it is. 

I took it upon myself to just use some basic fried chicken know-how and come up with a solid recipe.  Not reinventing the wheel or anything, just doing it right. 

First, the brine.  Putting meat into brines is a great way to increase juiciness and salt level.  The way a brine works is through osmosis.  A salt solution surrounds the meat and works its way in, carrying along moisture with it.  It can increase the weight of the meat by more than 10% in the form of water, which should be flavored with spices and herbs.  So, why not do this more often?  Yeah, it is more work, but for a special occasion like fried chicken, do the extra work will ya?

As for tenderness and tang, go for buttermilk.  You can skip this step if you dislike it, which will result in a tasty product anyway.  However, it just works, so try it.

Flavor the dredge, so add spices/herbs and salt to the flour. Even though the chicken is brined, the crust needs to be seasoned too.  Double dredging will increase crustiness, which is what makes fried chicken so alluring, duh.

I used plenty of herbs throughout, which increase in flavor after frying.  The use of cardamon too is an interesting attribute that plays off the herbs.

The recipe is in the "recipe" section.  I think you guys will like it. Get to it dudes and feel free to share your success.

Pizza is better than everything

                          Leek, Watercress, Fresh Mozzarella and Dijon Sauce

I am a pizza snob, and I have come to terms with it. I can't stand cardboard crust or doughy puff balls that roll out of conveyor-belt ovens. I thinks it's a travesty. Pizza was created to fulfill the needs of those deprived of crunchy things, melty/bubbly things, and just fucking tasty things in general. This wonderfully thin in the middle and burnt to bitterness on the crust creation has become one of our nations favorite foods, and rightfully so.

But WTF happened to it? The unappetizing starch bombs that occupy the market seem to never die down. I don't get it. Why the hell are people into this stuff? then I thought, "Well, I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they just think that this is pizza and it's is as good as it gets."

Then later I thought, "Fuck no, people are smarter than that."

So, Where is this real pizza I speak of? In New Haven, CT. In NYC. In some random small town in Iowa where the dude wants to make it right, anywhere but fucking Pizza Hut.

Seriously, why make something inferior for your customers. Oh wait, I know. It's because marketing has shown that people like it. Fuck that. When dominoes ditches the big boy toaster ovens, I'll give it another shot.

So I'll help you guys out. My "live by, die by" pizza formula is in the recipe section. Get a digital scale.