Teriyaki Beef Heart with Bacon

Since i've been on a roll of Super Foods, i'll keep it going with this Beef Heart Creation I was stoked on.  

Beef hearts, in the super food offal category, are available at most butchers, you just have to ask because they tend to keep them frozen in the back. The demand is low so they are A LOT cheaper than your standard steak (hello cheap grass fed nutrient dense meat!). And they taste the same, just with way more beneficial nutrients...

I knew some free range bacon I stocked up on from El Salchichero since it was 15% off would go well with it, especially complementing the Roasted Brussel Sprouts.

BBQ seared to perfection, I love my meat rare! It's like sushi, traps in maximum flavor and nutrients. Ok I could of cooked it a hair more... You can't overdo tougher cuts of meat though (think things that are contracted/used a lot)

Accompanied by a Roasted Kabocha with the usual Cinnamon and Coconut Oil/Sea Salt combo as well.

One massive 1 lb beef heart made enough for 2-3 meals-2 for me :). It tasted INCREDIBLY similar to a nice flank steak! + Teriyaki deliciousness. So tender.

BBQ Teriyaki Beef Heart w/ Bacon and Roasted Veggies

Slice beef heart into thin slices maybe ~1/2 inch thick and marinate 30min-1 hour in equal parts Rice Wine Vinegar, Sake, Mirin (optional, add honey if you omit this), Reduced Sodium Temari (GF Soy Sauce).

Heat up grill to medium/high heat and sear the outside maybe ~2 min per side depending on how you like it. Rest meat for 5 minutes (otherwise it will be contracted and tough).

Sauté Brussel Sprouts in Coconut Oil until soft, tender, and a darker green shade (high heat first for browning, then medium-low).

Cook bacon as you normally would.

Roast Kabocha Squash and Onion in Oven at 400ºF for one hour. Top with Coconut Oil/Cinnamon/Sea Salt.

Enjoy!

I eat a beef or lamb heart (can't really handle livers) once a week or every other week and it's delicious!

Canada To Cali

A few quick inclusions from the trip from Canada to Cali:

A pretty dialed meal as far as eating while driving goes. Well balanced bursting with flavor and super healthy.

 I am obsessed with these Bombay Curry Kale Chips! They are extra tasty with a bit of spice and all good ingredients. Some yummy big clusters and they remind me a little bit of childhood BBQ Lays.

The Grass Fed-Teriyaki Jerky was pretty good too.

More of the Standing Stone Brewery! I wish I could eat here so many more times to try everything on the menu!

I had to try their in-house kimchee, and it was delicious. Lots of ginger and they use real chile flakes to avoid the preservatives in other kimchee seasonings/peppers. Different (the ginger factor) but quite good. And they let me sub it for the salmon's pub mashers!

Wild Alaskan Salmon Fillet

 So goooood! A quality fish but the highlight was the sauce on top, lemony with a hint of curry/cumin, definitely Thai-influenced. Served over a delicious mix of sautéed veggies.

I can't wait for the Ashland Mountain Challenge in 2012 so I can go here again!

Keeping It Grass Fed and Japanese

I just moved back to Norcal from Canada so apologize for the lack of blogging but will be posting all the last Canadia eats in this post + one more! And a blog update over at maxhoutzager.com with tons of riding and traveling photos soon as well.

Who said eggs, potatoes and breakfast sausage couldn't be sweet potato, free range eggs, ground grass-fed buffalo, and cooked in coconut oil?

Wins all around. The coconut oil for the eggs (and last sweet potato wedges thrown in) makes such a difference in the taste.

I truly enjoyed the sausage, first one i've eaten in a looong time. I used some pine-nut/sunflower seed 'hummus' I made on the sweet potato and then some fresh greens with a Red Miso and Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing.

 I recently got into some giant tender creamy garlicy scallops, and am not quite over my epic flavor combo of Ginger-Miso-Garlic-Temari-and Nutritional Yeast for miso soup (with kale), so enjoyed this nice big bowl accompanied by also recent favorite kabocha squash!

The more orange skinned kabochas are definitely much sweeter (i've heard the best tasting squashes are the uglier ones)! I decided to include an up and personal photo of the epic melty coconut oil and cinnamon combo on already delicious sweet mushy squash.

 Some more Farmer's Market Local BC Grass-Fed Rib Eye Steak. This time stove top broiled and topped with a White Wine and Miso Sauce.

 Boy am I loving it rare! Probably because of my addiction to sushi.

Sauté in coconut oil on medium-high heat for just ~2 minutes per side.

I also roasted garlic in the oven for the first time thanks to Oh She Glows. Combine that with a sauce that beats A1 by about 1000x and you have the tastiest steak dinner ever. Plus a yummy sweet potato and massaged kale salad with more Red Miso and Cider Vinegar Dressing. Definitely repeating this in the future!

Please comment if your keen to find out the 'recipes' (was a while ago so wasn't eager to try and remember the details).

Noodle Tutorial and New Japanese Favorites

It's time for a noodle tutorial. Salads, soups, and stir fry's...

Available at your local Whole Foods! 0 calories, shelf stable until opened, clear, noodl-y, a bit crunchy raw, soft when heated. Nutrients and fiber... (Ingredients=Kelp)

Rinse before use

Shirataki Noodles! Also mostly fiber, made of Mountain Yams (turned into a flour first). Not the sweet kind, more like a daikon or turnip and turned into noodles! More likely only at your Asian grocer, possibly just labeled yam noodles.

I like buying them in these little packages, and then untying the little bundles after rinsing... Soft and noodly from the start! (Ingredients=Yam Flour)

First in a salad, both kinds mixed with some fresh veggies

Tossed with delicious Ginger-Yuzu (Citron juice)-Garlic Dressing

And some Steamed Sesame Squash and Raw Sushi Salmon (Wild BC amazingness of course, couldn't not take a bite before the photo...)

Finally all tossed together with all my other favorite ingredients! They really make me feel like i'm eating wheat noodles/pasta. Quite amazing for the nutrition.

A little break from 'noodles', this is a Gluten Free Seasonal Fruit Bar from the Farmer's Market! Blueberries and Nectarines this time, with crunchy Quinoa Flakes and Apple Juice/Honey Sweetened.

Onto soup!

This 'Miso' was so much more.

It rivaled my favorite Ramen from Izakaya. That's a feat.

Topped with my favorite Kimchee available everywhere in Whistler!

Kale 'Ramen' Miso Soup

This is when they seriously start to act like noodles. Extra tender and full of the broth's flavor. This soup combo is now my go to version for miso!  I consider Enoki mushrooms in here just as good substitutes for noodles as well. 

• 2 Cups Water to 2T White Miso, 1T Ginger, 1T Garlic
• 1/2 Bunch Kale
• 1 Sheet Nori Sushi Seaweed
• Shirataki and Kelp Noodles
• Soft Boiled Egg+2 More Boiled Egg Whites
• Enoki Mushrooms
• 1 Package Plain Natto and 1 Block Tempeh (tempeh toasted first)
• Sushi Ginger, Kimchee to top

The flavors in this soup concoction are so good, and the contents bring them even higher. I am especially pleased with using Natto for the first time, it's almost like having slightly bitter not strong chewy miniature coffee beans in your soup! Soft Boiled Eggs and Nori Seaweed for the win of course...

My other new Japanese FAVORITE: Kabocha Squash. Yeah you guys eat your NORMAL fall pumpkins... I'll stick with Japanese. (and wait for Persimmons!)

 (Japanese Pumpkin)! Just slice to desired size, scoop the seeds, pop it in the oven w/ some cinnamon/cayenne/coconut oil if desired (at least do the coconut oil!), and enjoy, skin and all! Slightly less caloric then a sweet potato and more so than butternut squash.  40 min. to an hour at 400º. Dialed.

Remember when I said I was going to enjoy some Wild BC Salmon Burgers with a legit creamy dill dressing? Well I did it!

 Not fully accomplished yet, but the added dill dressing matched the taste of the salmon and the fresh dill in the herb salad mix! All mixed up, can't wait to use some tahini to make a more mixed up (Coconut Milk doesn't mix with oil so well) Creamy Dill Dressing (like Annie's Goddess gone dill...mmmm).

Resource Rhythm

I'm trying to use up all my nuts/grains, and also wanted a good carb source to have on hand so tried whipping up another batch of Gluten-Free Quick Bread! So easy and tasty. Epic with Hummus or Baba Ghanoush. I love being resourceful, not buying ingredients, and keeping things tasty!

 This time I went beyond S&P for flavor and added a bunch of Bragg's 24 Herb Mix. I also used a mashed date instead of applesauce, 5g of agave nectar instead of sucanat, and my homemade extra thick almond milk. It came out super flavorful, savory but a tad sweet with nice crunchiness and occasional date treats!

 Since I used up the almond milk and almond butter I made, it was time to move on to my next nut sources. I did Brazil Nut Milk w/ contents of 1 Vanilla Bean Pod and then Hazelnut Butter! Wow. They rule. Especially in a delicious bowl of overnight oats:

• 1/4c Oats
• 1 Scoop Vanilla Plant Protein
• Cherries
• Dried Cherries and Cranberries
• Cacao Nibs
• Chia Seeds
• Shredded Coconut
• Brazil Nut Milk
• Hazelnut Butter and Cinnamon to top

So creamy and nutty with oodles of berries/cherries and the cinnamon and cacao nibs match up perfectly.

 Another Sashimi Salad, this time with a little Wakame Salad, Avocado, and Albacore Tuna. Mmm I don't ever want to lose access to quality cheap sushi grade fish.

Japa-Huevos Rancheros and Coconut Carob Cookies

 My first use of an entire egg (access to Canadian free range organic grain fed) in a while inspired me to do a Japanese Huevos Rancheros proper. Stoked on it!

Thank you to all of these epic farmer's market goodies! And discovering a quality cheap Seaweed Salad available at costco.

• Seaweed
• Steamed Squash w/ Sesame Oil
• Heirloom Tomato
• 1 Egg+ 3 Egg Whites cooked in Coconut Oil
• Sautéed Fennel in Coconut Oil
• Cashews
• Rainbow Gomasio
• Wakame Seaweed Salad
• Nutritional Yeast
• Grass Fed Beef Jerky

Using coconut oil in the pan = prime time! And the jerky bits acted just like bacon! Got my alternative cheese with yeast and plenty of Japanese flavorings make this dish all time! Definitely worth repeating.

Finally got around to making another buckwheat bake! I used what I had and was too lazy/interested in finding out what happens when you just use ungrinded buckwheat. It made for extra crunchiness!

 I went with a Tropical Coconut-Vanilla-Blueberry flavoring and was successful with all three! Just need to get the texture down a bit more. (Vanilla whey, Blueberries, Egg, Coconut Flour, Pecans, Dried Pineapple)

With Coconut / Homemade Cinnamon Almond Butter

I got pretty into it at the end. It tasted like vanilla-coconut-blueberry-almond-radness. The vanilla whey protein and whole egg combo made kind of a burndt vanilla sugar effect, like the burndt sugar ice cream from cows :) yum.

Grain Free Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies?

 The true question for these is what did I use because there's pretty much not a single normal chocolate chip cookie ingredient.

• 2T Coconut Flour
• 1/4 Teaspoon Sea Salt
• 1 Scoop Vanilla Whey
• 2T Shredded Coconut
• 18g Agave Nectar
• 1/3c Coconut Oil (cooled)
• 2 Chia Eggs (1/4c Chia Seeds, 1/2c Water)
• 1/4c Carob Chips

I went with whey protein added to some to see which came out better (it was the yellow whey protein ones!) 25 minutes at 350º F.

They actually don't break apart at all (chia seed magic), super chewy almost gummy like.  They aren't airy at all (no baking soda available) but tons of coconut flavor with a bit of crunch from the coconut/seeds and the kick of sea salt makes it. Carob is always delicious as well.

Best Broccoli, DIY Almond Milk and Butter

I should have waited one more meal before my last post because this version of my Sushi Salmon salad blows all others out of the water!

Sashimi Super Salad

• Wild Sockeye Salmon for Sushi
• Steamed Crookneck Squash w/ Sesame Oil (Leftover)
• Herb Salad Mix
• Sugar Snap Peas
• Seaweed
• Quinoa
• Cashews
• Shredded Coconut and Sesame Seeds
• Minced Ginger, Flax, Lemon, Temari

This time the salmon was off the hook. Combine that with the other quality ingredients, mainly farmer's market crookneck squash, and some amazing flavor from the best add ins and dressing.  I bought a small jar of minced ginger and could not be more pleased, and the nuts/seeds/coconut were all time.

 This meal was also the debut of a bunch of turkey breast I grilled in the oven w/ Coconut Oil, herbs and spices (different on each portion), AND my first time homemade Almond Butter!

•  Turkey w/ Dried Basil
• Turkey w/ TJ's Everyday
• Sweet Potato Homemade AB/Coconut Butter
• Steamed Squash and Romanesco Broccoli w/ Coconut Butter/Hummus
• Sugar Snap Peas and Seaweed

I have so many almonds thanks to Julia Violich, my coach (co-director of Violich Farms), so I decided to not buy Almond Milk and Almond Butter this time.  Both so easy! I even successfully used a blender.  I went untoasted nuts on the butter and added a tad of the almond milk after for a bit more liquidy/creamy texture, and a bit of stevia in the milk. So easy, cheap, and can't wait to try flavoring as well as use my abundances of nuts (cashews, brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, pecans etc) with vanilla/cinnamon/dates and more! I highly recommend trying both out.

Post workout protein breakfast pudding cereal. All the best textures and flavors:

• Quinoa Leftover
• Homemade Almond Milk!
• Hazelnuts
• Dried Cranberries
• Vanilla Plant Protein
• Cacao Powder
• Blueberries
• Coconut Butter
• Cinnamon

Romanesco Broccoli is the bomb. It doesn't taste much different but it looks rad! Definitely one of my farmer's markets highlights.

• Romanesco Broccoli, Carrot, Cucumber (steamed)
• Hummus, Sunflower Seeds
• Kale Saute (Olive Oil, Garlic Gold, Pepper, Rainbow Gomasio, Macadamia Nuts)
• Quinoa w/ Bragg's 24 Herbs
• Chicken w/ Everyday Seasoning

I loved the macadamia nuts toasted with the kale sauté and delicious herbs and hummus with the chicken, quinoa, and veggies goes quite well.

• First of the Chicken w/ TJ's Everyday Seasoning
• Brazil Nuts
• Mixed Greens (w/ raw chard again)
• Carrot
• Squash Leftovers
• Flax Oil, Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar, Pepper

Just a Hhalthy clean grilled chicken breast salad with some leftover steamed veggies and more of the best heirloom green tomato, and some yummy Brazil Nuts!