Books! We've got books here! (Make It Paleo)

If you've been reading this blog: you know. I love me some books. Big Books. Little books. Books that climb on rocks. Digital or papery, don't care, love them.

Naturally, this has led to a dependence relationship of sorts, with Amazon.com.

So here I sit, with all these new Paleo cookbooks surrounding me. Where to start? I should review them. I will review them.

And ironically, the first book I am going to review is one I bought from Amazon right when it came out. I have mentioned it here, briefly, and reviewed it online, and when The Food Lovers Kitchen offered Paleo bloggers the chance at a free copy of "Make It Paleo" in exchange for a review, I thought: Well: why not? (Plus, you all said, "Do it! DOOOO IIIIIT.")   And the best part is, I now have an extra copy to give away!

OK. Here's the dealio- initial reaction (shamelessly cut and pasted from my Amazon review):

All from "Make It Paleo" - except the piped frosting on the cake!

"When Make It Paleo showed up, I was initially a little taken aback by the weight of this thing. It's definitely a beast, but once I started flipping through it, I actually wished that it were longer. The photography is wonderful, and the recipes live up to or exceed expectations when you make them.

My favorite aspects: They make it look easy, and it is! Thoughtful, well detailed and explained instructions accompany each entry. I also love that there aren't any really puzzling ingredients: if you have a well-stocked Primal/Paleo pantry, you'll be able to find something you can cook easily, and avoid the trip to the grocery store. But I especially love their section on baked goods, specifically desserts. Gearing up for holidays with my extended family shouldn't be any more stressful than it already has to be, and I love that I can be confident that the Chocolate Chip Cookies will be OK for an occasional splurge, and will blend in with all the other more conventional treats on the table; people will probably have no clue that they're "special" unless you tell them. (My husband took a batch of them along on a trek to see his parents, and my non-Paleo father-in-law got on the phone at one point to tell me how delicious they were.)

There are lots of cake options as well, and they all look scrumptious. Those birthday occasions just aren't the same without cake! And if you want ice cream to go with it, that's an option too. It was a relief to tell my mom that I'll just bring my own cake this year: I know it will be much more delicious than the dark chocolate "flourless cake" that they got from Whole Foods last year.

This cookbook is giving me a reputation as a "foodie" that is pretty much undeserved. I have pretty much every Primal and Paleo cookbook out there right now, and this is the one that inspires me most. If you're in a rut but need to get motivated to dive into the kitchen and come up with something scrumptious, this book is a must-have. I keep posting pictures on Facebook of "what's for dinner tonight", and the overwhelming (99% Non-Paleo!) response is, "I'm coming to your house!" Definitely a winner, this one is in heavy rotation in our kitchen- an instant classic. Love it."

OK: now we are back in the present time. I have had this book for almost a year, and it is the one I turn to for "special occasion cooking"- namely, treats. Most of Thanksgiving last year depended on recipes from this book- Christmas, too. I felt prepared, armed with a gorgeous grain-free pumpkin pie for SG and I, not to mention the chocolate chip cookies. Which incidentally, disappeared off the cookie table before anything else did: they were dense, chewy, and delectable. And yes, that is my birthday cake in the photo at the top! Be warned: Paleo treats are yummy, but also calorie dense- and unexpectedly, super filling.  I know I seem to dwell on the desserts: when this came out, a cookbook with a vast dessert recipe section was a BIG deal. I shouldn't neglect the more standard entrees though: This book doesn't appear to have a dud recipe in it.

 So...do you want to win it? 

1. Comment on this blog post, 2. Post something amusing on my FB page to the effect of "Pick me!" and why : and 3. make sure you've "liked" the Lady Grok FB page. Yes, all three of those things: if you do all three, I know you really want an awesome free cookbook! I will do a random drawing and notify the winner this weekend. Good luck!

Keeping up with the Flintstones

As weeks go, last week was pretty much devastating. I spent most of the weekend recovering, and yesterday, I got back on the horse. More research. More phone calls. More questions. And soon, I will be out of this horrible cycle and back to my old snarky self again.

Today SG and I headed to Costco, where we has a Paleo book sighting in the wild:

 It's exciting to us- where we live seems to be some kind of vegan mecca, and going to the local bookstore can be stressful. Actually, any shopping here is stressful: the amount I spend at amazon.com is outrageous, but it's worth it not to have to deal with people looking through you at the grocery store and then having several traffic-related near-death experiences on the way home. Let the UPS guy deal with that crap. (Sorry, UPS guy. I know you think it's funny that you have a shelf in your truck dedicated to my own personal use.)

So: the bookstore. I wanted to get a copy of The Vegetarian Myth a few months ago: which is a pretty amazing book. HOWEVER. I couldn't find it anywhere. You see, the B&N near us has a pretty creative way of shelving books. So after much fruitless searching, I went to the kiosk, and asked the woman there where it was. And she became absolutely enraged. It was like I had requested a copy of "Killing Babies For Fun And Profit." The least obnoxious thing she said was, "I assure you, I am a vegan, and we DO exist."

The old me would have rolled my eyes and left. However, the grass-fed beef must be doing something because I retorted, "You know what? I don't come here to be judged for my taste in books. I do plenty of shopping online, but I thought I'd help stimulate the local economy. Amazon certainly doesn't judge me: and I doubt your manager would, either!"And I stalked off, with her following behind me with a flurry of apologies.  And I did eventually get the book, which she made a point of telling me, was in the "Theoretical Fiction" section- or something similar. Right by Religion.

And of course, she seems to be there every time we come in: long limp grayish hair, sallow skin, stooped posture. And every time SG pokes me and says, "There's your friend." And I wonder, kind of sadly, how much of that is due to her vegan diet.

We went to that same B&N over the weekend, in an effort to cheer me up, and did our usual rounds- magazines, Photography (SG) Knitting and Crafts (me) and then we meet up in the Cooking and Food section. And (unlike our Costco sighting) it is like PULLING TEETH to find Paleo cookbooks. There will be a few of them together- but typically, they're dispersed throughout the Gluten free section, or the special diets section, or the diet and fitness section. I know there are other local Groks besides us though: I keep seeing tidy stacks of Paleo books set out together on the "new releases" tables: even stuff that's not new, and obvs not supposed to be there, so I know it's not stocked that way. I have noticed that Paleo magazine is also more prominently displayed- we used to really have to dig for it.

Anyway, I had a huge stack, and SG had one of the leather bound reproductions of the classics he loves so much. And I said, "Hey, Steven Rinella has a new book out! I think it's called Meat Eater?! Let's get it." And we looked. And looked, and looked. And then I had to admit defeat. Ugh, I didn't want another scene. So I sidled up to the kiosk and asked the young man (very softly) "Do you have "Meat Eater" by Steven Rinella?

He crinkled his brows. "OK, let me look it up."  And did some typing. And then said, "We don't have a book called, "We Meet Here"."

So I upped the volume a little bit, and explained my rabid vegan story, and he laughed, then rolled his eyes and said, "Don't worry; I had ribs last night, and they were DELICIOUS." Whew! It was like a secret handshake.

As it turns out, Meat Eater is in the Sport and Recreation section.

Yummy, yummy food, plus an Amazon shopping spree.

I have been slogging away in the kitchen a bit this week. Getting the house under control finally seems like a realistic goal, which is helpful: it's much nicer to cook in a clean and somewhat orderly kitchen, and I am much more likely to take pictures of my culinary masterpieces if I don't have to clear up a bunch of clutter to do it!

Can I get a witness?!

From L-R: Zucchini Bolognese, lox, eggs, &avocado breakfast, grilled lamb steak with salad & fresh fruit!

Things are going well. I finally got back on the Wii bandwagon this week, and am happily Walking It Out, again, which is something I miss when I don't do it. I have been pretty active with all the running around and cleaning I have been doing, but I still like having that routine.

I think my hormones are continuing to straighten themselves out: I tried on a jacket that was tight last week. Now it fits comfortably. I still haven't gotten on the scale, as I don't want to fall into the "dieting mindset" trap, but I am really encouraged. 

And now, it's time for: RETAIL THERAPY!

I made a few purchases that I am really happy with this week, and I wanted to share (saving the best for last, of course!)

We go through a ton of iced tea in the summertime:  I typically make a lot of iced chai or mint tea, partially because those are easy to find organic versions of, and partially be cause- well, they taste amazing. But last week, we went out to dinner and I ordered this: The Republic of Tea's Blackberry Sage Iced Tea. And it was amazing, and I really wanted to be able to make this on my own. They do sell tea bags, but of course, those aren't organic. So I dug around and found Deckan Tea's Blackberry Organic Blend.

So far so good, right? Except: this is loose-leaf tea. I need enough to make a pitcher of iced tea. My tiny little tea ball is not going to cut it. So I bought Gigantor from Amazon.com.

Now: this is an enormous freaking tea ball. I will say that it does a wonderful job of brewing.  It fits perfectly in my pitcher too! My favorite benefit is being able to use the hook to hang Gigantor from the handles on my kitchen cabinets and drain the dregs into the batch.

Picky people, take note: I do wish the mesh was a bit finer, as there's a fine silt of tea particles at the bottom of the pitcher. I can avoid these, but can see how they might get annoying.  The other concern is, it says "stainless steel" on the purchase page, but the box and materials say NOTHING about it. (But they do say "Made in China".  I may end up testing the metal to be safe.)

My acupuncturist keeps going on about meditation. Now- I am not a good meditator. I tend to get distracted easily by noises or shiny objects or my To-Do list, and any attempt as sitting quietly is promptly shot to hell. Which is why- well, when I ran across Leela, I was immediately intrigued. I played for awhile last night, and I think I will make it a part of my evening exercise routine- a nice little interlude before I wind down for the night. Game play was relaxing, somewhat challenging but not stressful, and I definitely felt more centered afterwards. I also had crazy, amazing dreams- which may have absolutely nothing to do with Leela, but I don't remember my dreams often, so I think it may have contributed to deeper and more restful sleep.

And of course: (last, but not least) Practical Paleo. Where do I start? I guess I can start where Diane Sanfilippo starts, which is right at the beginning.

There are some people who are great at explaining complex processes in layman's terms, without coming across as preachy or insufferable, or like they are talking down to you. Diane, thankfully, is one of those people. This is good, because food choices are intensely personal, and if you read this book, you will change the way you eat. Not because of guilt, not because of a misguided sense that "it's the right thing to do", but because there's just no other logical choice.

This covers pretty much everything: cooking techniques and recipes, but also what to avoid, and exactly why, and what you can use as a replacement for the things you miss. I thought I had a pretty good grasp of Paleo: and I know the general tenets, but I didn't break it down to the point that Practical Paleo does. I learned a bunch of new stuff. For example: I knew that cutting out gluten lessened SG's horrible seasonal allergies, but couldn't explain how or why it worked. Now I know, and can explain it! Awesome.

This is also one of those wonderful cookbooks that makes you want to go out and cook. I know that part of that is due to Bill (Of Food Lover's Kitchen fame) Staley's fantastic photography, but a lot of it is due to the imagination and ease of the recipes in here. Lots of great Mediterranean options, and some original stuff that I doubt most people could come up with on their own. I stopped flagging recipes after about 10- the whole thing is great. There's a crustless quiche recipe that looks divine: like Van Gogh's "Starry Night" in quiche form, if you can believe that. I know I will be making that this week!

So in closing: if you are going to get one of the many Primal/Paleo books on the market, but haven't pulled the trigger yet: get this one. It's compulsively readable, and I hope it does for Paleo what "Stitch 'N Bitch" did for knitting. In fact, that's what it reminds me of: a fun, usefully illustrated, and compelling "how-to" book. Except instead of "how-to" knit a sweater, it's "how-to" change your life and health.  It's the most comprehensive, approachable, and yes, practical book  that I have in my sizable Paleo library, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone.