O Muse...

Buy This. Seriously, Buy it now.

The Food Lovers Make It Paleo arrived on Friday.

It's one of those books that is inspirational, aspirational, and of course, delectable. I love the photography, perhaps TOO much- My eyes are literally bigger than my stomach! I have leftover bison spaghetti and a little bit of frittata left, as well as a bunch of odds and ends on my fridge. LG is heading out of town on a business trip and will be gone for two days, so it is just me. I really want to roast a chicken, but it's not the same when he's not here to share it with me. I do need to start emptying the fridge though: after that bonanza at the Farmer's market, and a trip to Costco, our puny refrigerator is bulging at the seams.

Delectable. Cookies. OMG!!!

In the interest of science, I made the Primal Palate Chocolate Chip Cookies as a special treat: They get two thumbs up. They're the first cookies I have made in nearly two years! I found them amazingly (and shockingly) filling and satisfying. I admit, I was a little scared to make them, for fear I would inhale the whole pan. I was able to stop at three: and I had IF'd lunch, so I feel really good about adding these to the repetoire.

Booty from the Farmer's Market!!!

We also went to a small Farmer's Market- just a few stalls, but one of them was Fallon Hills: we got some grass-fed lamb and beef, as well as pastured eggs. We also made a big dent at one of the organic produce stands. Three pomegranates, a Buddha's hand, fragrant strawberries, champagne grapes, and some lovely mixed radishes later, we ended up striking up a conversation with the seller: who as it turns out, is from our hometown.

Farmer's Mkt finds + Trader Joe's= Voila!!

It's a small world that we live in, and so wonderful and refreshing to meet the person who raised and nurtured the ingredients in some of your meals for the week. I also had an ulterior motive: I really want to buy pastured meats in larger quantities, and LG has been balking at the cost. Food costs so much more here in the Bay Area than it did back home,  and he has been nickel and dime-ing me on the food budget lately.  Buying a few grass-fed shanks and a roast by themselves really showed him how far I have been stretching to make things work out. When we did the math, he had to agree that we do make up for the extra grocery expense by not going out to eat as often. And who wants to eat at Denny's, when you can get sumptuous breakfasts (like the one on the right) at home?      

Not only that: what is it about eating this way that makes me  covetous of every kitchen gadget known to man? I just bought a new set of stainless steel heavy duty measuring cups and matching spoons, along with my new favorite toy: Fruit Scoops. I actually use the medium size one the most, and love it to scrape the strands out of spaghetti squash: it works like a charm. To be fair, I think I paid $3.99 for the set of 3 at Marshall's, but I think they were more than worth it! I can see them coming in handy for kiwis, avocados, mangoes...things like that. But the real test will be the pumpkin we'll be getting in the next few weeks.