Sprouted Quinoa Mushroom Porridge

I had some liquid left over from my cream of mushroom pork chops last night. As a reminder, it was made with coconut milk, mushrooms, olive oil, thyme, rosemary, and garlic. I cooked 1/4 cup quinoa in the microwave, and then threw in some carrots and two Omega-3 eggs to make a weird egg drop porridge soup. Throw in a kale salad with sriracha, and it made for an interesting breakfast.

Sunday: Liver & Onions, BAS, Cream of Mushroom Pork Chops

I'm still feeling a little sick (sinus issues) today, so I didn't feel like putting a ton of effort into

cooking. For breakfast, I went with liver & onions cooked with butter and garlic, with some mozzarella sprinkled on top (and a little hot sauce). I definitely prefer beef liver to chicken livers...the taste doesn't "hit" as hard, and it pairs really well with onions and cheese.

For lunch, I had a big bowl of cauliflower (with hot sauce) and a "salad" of cauliflower "greens", the rest of my cabbage, tomato, carrots, and two Omega-3 eggs.

Dinner was a cream of mushroom pork chops. Probably one of the most delicious, albeit "conventional" things I've made. I browned the pork chops, sauteed mushrooms and garlic in olive oil, and then added coconut milk, thyme, and rosemary to make a nice sauce. I let all that

simmer for an hour, and roasted some baby carrots with salt, pepper, EVOO, and garlic salt. Abso-freakin-lutely heaven.

And the cherry on top was a two fudgy coconut flour brownies. My grandma made these for me, and we hid half the pan in the other freezer before we sat down to eat. Good thing too, because I could have eaten the whole damn thing. (That's my cousin's Dora bowl, by the way. Its was the closest thing near me, and I almost didn't get to take a photo before I scarfed it down.)

I'm back on campus now, but I should have a few microwave creations to share this week. Stay tuned.

Big Ass Salad & Orange Turkey

No real commentary on this. It was all quick and delicious.

Big ass salad = kale, avocado, bell pepper, tomato, red cabbage, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, EVOO, and hot sauce. Also had broccoli, brussels sprouts, and kale chips with a tall glass of almond milk.

Dinner was a turkey drumstick with an orange/juice, and some zucchini. With the rest of the broccoli and sprouts.

Sweet Potato Pancakes (Sorta)

I had to wake up bright and early to get to my brother's basketball game, so I packed a zip-loc bag of random vegetables and fruits. Red cabbage, asparagus, mushroom, avocado, tomato, and a bell pepper. Nice road treat.

For a proper breakfast, I tried this recipe for sweet potato pancakes sans the butter. I failed miserably. I didn't have baking powder, I used dairy milk instead of coconut, didn't even measure the milk, didn't use almond butter, and my skillet was too big to cook properly. There was so much liquid that the cake never "set", so I ended up with a mush. It had the consistency of mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs.....and the

TASTE OF HEAVEN. I topped it off with some honey...boy oh boy.

I made half regular with cinnamon and nutmeg and another batch with some chocolate powder. So good, and fairly easy. This may become a staple in my primal breakfast arsenal. I'll keep playing with the ingredients and heat to perfect the pancake shape.

Turkey Drumsticks, Roasted Squash, and Veggies

I had to come home again this weekend. So as usual, here's my Friday night meal.

I baked a turkey drumstick in Frank's Xtra Hot sauce, along with some hot peppers and pearl onions. I baked the other drumstick with olive oil, pearl onions, garlic salt, Italian seasoning, and thyme. Both were absolutely delicious. Who doesn't love turkey?

For my carbs, I nuked an acorn squash and then cut it up, tossed in olive oil, and did half with cinnamon and the other half with garlic salt. Roasted them in the oven until they were almost crispy. So good. I also threw in a tomato and asparagus on the side, served with a tall glass of almond milk. Quite a meal.

I'm going to try some new stuff tomorrow and Sunday, so be sure to keep an eye open for those posts.

I will slay thee, sinus infection!

Short update: I had an MRI done on Monday, and the results came back normal. So, no pituitary tumor. That means I have to get more blood work done this weekend to try to figure out what the hell is going on with my body. I don't really mind because it gives me more opportunities to cook, plus I'm usually pretty bored here in Columbus on weekends anyway.

Anyways, I started coming down with a cold on Sunday and by Tuesday it was obvious that I had a sinus infection. Without a doctor nearby, and a total ignorance of the health services that OSU has to offer, I've decided to tough it out. I've been using a saline sinus rinse AND alkalol, which is an herbal nasal wash with menthol and mint. It really clears me out. I've also been taking cayenne pepper capsules and adding more sriracha to my food (as if I needed an excuse.) I guess my reasoning is to keep the sinus cavity clear, and hot foods tend to help with that. I've also upped my vitamin C, even though I know that doesn't help; its a subjective remedy.

Another thing I'm doing to find the cold, and my excuse for this post, is I cracked open my stash of homemade bone broth. I made this a few weeks ago with some soup bones, short rib bones, and leftover steak bones. As this random article I just found explains, bone broth is full of minerals, helps with digestion, and has a creamy, fatty taste. I had this for "breakfast", along with a small steak and bag of green peas. It really hit the spot. If you can get your hands on some soup bones (they're dirt cheap at most grocery stores), I highly recommend making a batch of broth for yourself.

I also had one of my pickles today; WAY too much salt. I choked one down, and I'm not sure I want to finish the jar. I'm looking for other recipes for next time.

Peace.

I've really got myself into a pickle...

Stupid title.

Last week, I read Mark Sisson's post about naturally fermented pickles. In a nutshell, the stuff in the stores is heavily sweetened, and even if you buy the variety that

isn't full of HFCS, the rest is soaked in vinegar. This preserves the pickles longer and imparts that classic, or should I say "vlassic" (derp), sour taste.

The "problem" with pickling with vinegar is that it stops fermentation. Instead, he recommends fermenting in a simple salt water (plus spices) brine. Mark has written about the benefits of fermentation many times before, mainly that it helps promote digestive health via probiotics (lots of gut bacteria), and it makes certain nutrients more available for our bodies to use. Yogurt, sourkraut, kimchi, chocolate, and alcohol are all fermented to varying degrees.

All that is fine and dandy, but I was mostly attracted to the idea of DIY. I own a jar, I can buy salt and cucumbers, and water is free. I went with a little garlic and a splash of apple cider vinegar for flavor. Here you go:

I let this batch sit for 9 days on my desk, and now they are sitting in the fridge. I cut out a small piece to test: very salty, not quite as crunchy as I would like, but not a terrible taste. I've been having some stomach problems the past few days, so I'm going to wait for that to clear up before I really jump into the world of probiotics. I'll have a full taste review in a few days.

Thanks for reading!