Author: Brent Schrader

Leek, Mushroom & Tomato Sauté with Scrambled Eggs

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Today I’m telecommuting. I love these days. TELECOMMUTING.IS.THE.BEST.

So, for Brent’s breakfast this morning I heated up a keilbasa sausage (I had cooked up the package of 4 yesterday, but only used 2 in the recipe I made them for) and scrambled up some eggs. He was a very happy man leaving for work with such delicious food in his belly.

Now, my plan was to make the same for myself a little later–after getting the laundry going, dropping the car to the gas station within walking distance for an oil change, dumping drain-cleaner down our bathtub drain, etc. But, as I was going into the fridge to pull out the eggs and last keilbasa, I remembered the leek…

We made something with leeks weeks ago. (I honestly can’t even remember at this point what it was, haha!) And there’s been one lonely leek hanging out in our veggie drawer ever since. Also chilling in the veggie drawer: some baby portabella mushrooms, Roma tomatoes, avocado, onion, etc. Well, knowing that leek needed to be used because I HATE wasting food, I decided to say “maybe another day” to the keilbasa and find a way to use that.

Here is what I came up with: a sauteed mixture of leek, mushrooms and tomato served with eggs. This was super easy and fast, and best of all, it came out delicious!

Leek, Mushroom & Tomato Saute with Scrambled Eggs

1 Leek (just the light green part), sliced and rinsed
1 Roma tomato, quartered and sliced
5 Baby portabella mushrooms, sliced and rinsed
1/2 – 1 Tablespoon of bacon fat
2 Eggs, beaten

First, make sure you rinse the leeks and mushrooms well under cold running water in a strainer. Leeks tend to have little gritty stores of sand between the layers, and it’s best if you try to separate the layers while rinsing the slices to make sure all that washes away.

1. Melt the bacon fat in medium skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Toss in the leek and mushroom slices.
3. Sauté until soft (about 3-5 minutes).
4. Add the tomato slices and continue to sauté for about 1 minute.
5. Put your sauté mixture on your plate or in your bowl, leaving a small amount of the juices in the skillet.
6. Scramble your eggs in the skillet.
7. Put the scrambled eggs on your plate or in the bowl with the sauté mixture.

Now, you’re ready to eat. 🙂 Enjoy!

I hope you like this as much as I did. The leek provides a subtle, oniony flavor. The mushrooms, of course, provide a nice earthy undertone. Meanwhile, the tomatoes keep it light and fresh! And who doesn’t love the hint of bacon-y goodness from using bacon fat? Feel free to toss in a little salt, pepper or other seasonings; but I think this is great without anything extra. 😉

Asian Pork Shoulder Stir Fry

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This recipe was a nice combination of leftover pork and what we had laying around the house.  It turned out amazing, and I really hope to make it into part of our regular rotation.  We had slow cooked a pork shoulder last week, and still had a good deal left (while a good amount of it got slathered in our Potent Primal BBQ Sauce).  This was a nice and filling dinner that doubled for a great lunch, even cold.  As far as I’m concerned, being able to eat something that was prepared hot as a cold dish is the ultimate test.  Without further ado…

Asian Pork Shoulder Stirfry

Ingredients:

  •  baby bok choy (about 10-12 of them)
  • 1 green onion, diced
  • 1 medium carrot, cut with a julienne peeler (about 1/3 cup)
  • 1 8oz can of water chestnuts, drained
  • 1/3 of a 10.58oz can of bamboo shoots, drained
  • 1.5 pounds of pork (previously slow-cooked), cut into small slices
  • 1 egg white
  • 2 teaspoons of ginger, divided evenly
  • 1/2 tablespoon almond butter
  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons coconut aminos 
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • red pepper flakes, to taste

Method

First thing we did was cut up our pork shoulder and marinate it.  If you have not yet cooked your pork, I’m sure this marinade would also work well with sliced, raw pork shoulder.  Cooking it down and then sauteing the vegetables in the juices would probably be a great flavor boost!

In a ziplock bag, we combined the pork, almond butter, 1 tablespoon coconut aminos, and teaspoon of ginger with the egg white.  I’ve heard and read that egg white and baking soda are great for tenderizing and marinating pork, but baking soda is unnecessary.  At least, we found it to be. We marinated for a few hours, but I’m sure anything beyond an hour (but less than 24) would be good.

Once you’ve marinated your meat (and cooked it if it was raw):

  1. Melt 1 tablespoon coconut oil in large pan (or wok if you have it)
  2. Saute bok choy for 1 minute
  3. Add water chestnuts and bamboo shoots and 2 teaspoon coconut aminos
  4. Saute for another 2 minutes
  5. Add carrots, green onion, and sprinkle with red pepper flakes
  6. Saute for 1 minute
  7. Add marinated pork and 1 teaspoon ginger
  8. Sprinkle more red pepper flakes (optional)
  9. Saute for 3-5 minutes, or until pork pieces are heated through

 
And done.  This was a great unexpected surprise for us, but we’re glad it turned out.  Please let us know how it turns out, or what you decide to do with the idea!  Also, don’t forget to follow us on twitter and Facebook.  Enjoy!

Whole30 Challenge, Again. Say what?!

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As we may or may not have already mentioned somewhere on Facebook or Twitter,  Brent and I have begun yet another Whole30 Challenge. We haven’t done one in a while, and we know it makes us feel great. This time, it will actually be more than 30 days:

We started this past Monday and we’re planning to keep clean until the Mid-Atlantic Super Spartan 2012 at 11:00 A.M. Saturday, August 25.

Yep, that’s right. We are participating in the Mid-Atlantic Super Spartan race. It’s going to be insane. We are so very excited and, maybe, a little frightened. (…Ok, ok, I’ll admit, I’m frightened a lot!) We’ve been working out and eating pretty well–I’d say we average 80% clean Paleo most of the time–but we knew we wanted to do something to kick-start our last month of training for this crazy event.

So, on Monday we took measurements and photos. Also, Brent crafted a nifty template which we will use to track our progress! 

Meanwhile, we’ll continue to post as frequently as we can new recipes as well as occasional tweets about the Whole30 approved meals we’re particularly excited about. If you’re doing a Whole30 too, keep in touch with us! Let us know what you’re doing to keep clean. Tweet at us, like our Facebook page and leave a comment on our wall, or simple leave comments here.

We’d love to hear from you!

P.S. If you just so happened to stumble upon this blog randomly and you don’t know what Whole30 is, you should learn more here at Whole9life.com/category/Whole-30. Then, you should try it. 🙂

IT. WILL. CHANGE. YOUR. LIFE.

Bacon, Leek, Zucchini and Tomato Frittata

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As you all probably know by now, we eat scrambled eggs and bacon A LOT. Like, nearly every morning for breakfast. We love eggs and bacon. Still, we like to switch things up sometimes, so last Sunday I created this delicious frittata with the spare ingredients I had laying around the kitchen.

Honestly, I was on a roll that night. I made a whole rabbit stew, chicken and leek soup, and this frittata. The rabbit stew was the only thing I made from a recipe. The other two–yep, that’s right! I made them up. Why? What sparked that surge of creativity? And was I seriously successful?
Well, to the latter, “yes!” The soup was way better than I thought it would be, and the frittata… well, I really believe it’s hard to mess up frittata. It’s like a pizza–you take leftover whatever, toss them together, add a few standard ingredients and poof! You have a yummy dish. 
To the former questions: I’ve never used leeks before, and in order to make the rabbit stew, I had to buy some. After setting up the stew to cook low and slow, I googled “what to do with leeks?” I can’t tell you how many potato-and-leek soups I passed over, looking for something Paleo and delicious. Fortunately, someone somewhere on the webs said that leeks can be used in place of onion. “Well that’s handy!” I thought to myself. I didn’t have any onion left in the house. 
I was staring at the other food in the fridge, and saw my eggs. Wouldn’t it be nice if I made something interesting for breakfast this week? Frittata was the first thing that came to mind. I knew it would make breakfast for the week easier (cooking at one time for five meals instead of cooking five separate meals, one per morning). 
Plus, I was excited to switch things up a bit. (As an aside: we should probably watch how much egg we eat. I’ve heard if you over-do it with any food item, you can develop allergies to it. But eggs are so easy, yummy, and good for us, it’s not been easy to take “breaks” from them. We have for a week here or there, but it’s not something we feel we could sustain long term. We love our eggs too much, lol.) Anyways, we had plenty of zucchini and small tomatoes. So, I decided I’d make a frittata with the those and the leeks. Oh, and of course bacon. How could I not include bacon?! 😉
Alright, so here it is. I hope you enjoy it!


Bacon, Leek, Zucchini and Tomato Frittata
Ingredients
  • 10 eggs, whisked in a large bowl
  • 6 slices of bacon, chopped
  • 1 leek, sliced and well rinsed (white and light green parts only)
  • 1 cup zucchini, chopped
  • 1 cup tomato, sliced
  • salt and pepper to taste
Method
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. In a caste iron skillet or dutch-oven-like pan, cook the bacon over medium-high heat until just before it gets crispy (about 3 – 5 minutes). Be sure to flip the pieces around so both sides get cooked.
  3. Add the zucchini and leeks to the pan.
  4. Cook the bacon, zucchini and leeks together until the leeks are soft, stirring occasionally (about 3 – 5 minutes).
  5. Meanwhile, sprinkle a little salt and pepper to taste into the bowl of whisked eggs
  6. Pour the egg over everything in the pan.
  7. Allow it to sit and cook for at least 2 minutes.
  8. Next, carefully place the tomatoes on top. They will sink into the egg, but since will have cooked a little, they should stay near the top.
  9. Cover the pan and place it in the over.
  10. Bake for 20 minutes.
  11. Check the frittata–if the center is still very soggy/uncooked, give it another 5 minutes.
  12. Uncover the frittata and cook for 5 more minutes to brown the top slightly.
  13. Allow it to cool, flip it out onto a plate and serve!

It looks like a pizza, doesn’t it?

This frittata was a great alternative to our usual scrambled eggs and bacon. I cut it just like a pizza into eight slices and we each took a slice for breakfast Monday morning through Thursday last week. The leek really did act like onion–but it wasn’t sharp or bitter. The frittata had a nice, savory onion flavor complimented by the salty bacon and sweet tomato. I’ll admit, the zucchini flavor wasn’t much to speak of, but it did add good texture. 🙂 Breakfast success!