By Craig Valency, CSCS
Well, Wifey is pregnant and in no mood for slaving over a hot stove, so her loving, half Moroccan husband decided to make an original creation based on basic Moroccan flavors and whatever was in the fridge. And it was good! Happy wife, happy life!
Craig Valency, CSCS
There’s nothing like grad school to throw off your blogging mojo! After a relaxing semester of neurobiology and advanced exercise physiology, I am finally ready to resume writing. The long wait is over. Easy Eats Part 3 is finally here.
We’ve already talked about some on the fly meals that don’t involve a telephone or a coupon (Part 2). You may still be looking for convenient snacks and appetizers. There are times when a celery stick or apple is just not enough. You need something a little more interesting, but you don’t want junk food, and you are not about to start cooking. Here’s a few of our favorites: Continue reading
Christa Crawford
Last Friday, we went to Starlite San Diego for dinner. As an appetizer, we ordered an avocado with mushrooms and truffle oil. For our main course, we each ordered a hanger steak. We opted out of the potato gratin because it had flour in it. I have to admit that I was pretty sad when the server told me I’d have to replace it with a salad. I settled on the strawberry salad. Yawn. Right? Continue reading
Christa Crawford, MA
I think I’m finally ready to crawl out of my winter cave. I’ve been hibernating my way through several never-ending, miserable colds, thanks to my generous second graders. Can any of you relate?
Anyway, onto the point of this post. We were short on money in March. Distraught over my first world problems (the soaring prices of dark chocolate and the fact that I want a new vacuum and a new phone but can afford neither one), I sat down to get a better look at where all our money has been going. I already knew that we spend a lot on food. But when I saw what it really costs for both of us to eat for a month, I was shocked. We need to seriously trim our food budget. While I do understand that disclosing the dollar amounts would attract more readers, I think I’ll just share a little glimpse of what my bank statement looked like: Continue reading
Christa Crawford, MA
I’ve been freezing cold all week. I can’t seem to warm up. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t get butternut squash soup off my mind. It’s perfect on a cold night. I know – this is a fall recipe. We are approaching Valentine’s Day. But better late than never, right?
Continue reading
Craig Valency, CSCS
Hopefully by now, you’ve found the Fridge Fairy (Easy Eats, part 1) and have lots of tasty, good-for-you meals that last well into the week. But there are still times when you get home and realize that you’re facing a bunch of raw meat, fish, eggs and vegetables. What do you do then? Here are some of my favorite quick meal ideas.
Christa Crawford, MA
It was Christmas Eve. I was thirteen years old. I was sitting in church wearing my new Christmas dress, thinking about the chocolates I was about to devour. Suddenly, I was overtaken by the most excruciating pain I had ever felt in my life. My entire abdomen was enraged. The pain was accompanied by nausea, anxiety, and a systemic deathly feeling. My teeth began to chatter. I was sweaty and cold. I didn’t know what was going on.
On the way home, I was too embarrassed to tell anyone that I was on my period. I felt like I was dying. The pain grew so unbearable that I blacked out. For a few seconds, everything disappeared. You can’t feel pain when you’re unconscious. As soon as I awoke, I realized that the Pain Monster had not gone anywhere. It was unrelenting. I vomited. This cycle continued for several hours: Vomit, faint. Vomit, faint. Several injections of dilaudid later, the pain finally subsided. It was the worst experience of my life. Continue reading
Craig Valency, CSCS
It’s January, and I’m feeling a little bloated after the holidays. I’m guessing I’m not alone. Perhaps some of you are tired of the junk food rollercoaster. Maybe you’ve decided to give this real food, paleo, primal, whatever-you-want-to-call-it-diet a try. You’re on board with vegetables, fresh fruits, nuts, fish, eggs, poultry, and meat. Sounds pretty healthy. You go to your farmers’ market, Trader Joe’s, or Whole Foods and stock up on local, pasture-raised, grass-fed, organic meats. You buy a free range chicken to cook for dinner. Your macadamia nuts are raw and organic, and you know that sweet potatoes are a safe starch. You purchase only wild-caught salmon. You’ve been reading the blog, so you know all the buzz words.
When you get home, you load up the fridge. It’s so full that there’s a partial eclipse of the mini light bulb. Before shutting the door, you gaze at your bounty, smile, and gently nod your head as you congratulate yourself on your healthy choices. Well done! Continue reading
Christa Crawford, MA
If you haven’t had short ribs in a while, you need to run to Whole Foods, buy some short ribs, and start cooking. That’s exactly what we did yesterday, and we had one of the most delicious meals of all time. Miraculously, we had some leftovers. We managed to save a few ounces of meat, a jar of braising sauce, and a few tablespoons of leftover gremolata. It was just enough to make a wonderful brunch. Continue reading
Christa Crawford, MA
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present my cooking video debut. In this video, I show how to make a pan sauce using the drippings from a roasting pan.
In case you want to practice right away, here are some recipes that call for a pan sauce.
Happy cooking!
