Sunday, January 8, 2012

Today was filled with those pesky Saturday chores. You know the ones that just don't or can't be done during the week. That's one difficult part of owning your own business, you don't every really get time off. Weekends are just extra time to get work done. Still worth it.

So today, among other things, we went shopping.

Whole paycheck was quite busy which the Mr. hates but I made him come anyway. He keeps saying he doesn't know what to eat so I wanted to show him. Basically, it's nothing from the isles and all from the perimeter. We don't have to worry much about meat because I bought 1/4 of a cow from Olsen Farms in Seattle. There is nothing like buying your beef directly from the owner.

Here was our Whole Foods haul.

The Mr. tried his first kombucha today and will be trying baba ganoush later. I will let you know how that goes. FYI, I think kombucha is whole 30 if there is no sugar and only sweetened with a bit of juice. The sugar in the juice is consumed by the beneficial bacteria, therefore it is almost negligible. But don't get all litigious on my ass. There is no black and white here peeps.

So here is dinner...



Here is what you need...

A big fracking chuck roast (grass fed, grass finished)- I think mine was 1.5 lbs but I wish I would have done a bigger one for more leftovers
4-5 large organic diced carrots
1 large diced onion
3-4 diced celery stalks
3-4 large Portabella mushrooms, whole caps, diced stems
2-4 tablespoon of tomato paste
2 bay leaves
1 rosemary sprig
2 diced garlic cloves
Enough beef bone broth or chicken broth to almost cover the meat, keeping the top exposed.
Grass fed ghee

Preheat oven to 325
First brown the meat, using ghee, in a dutch oven, cast iron skillet or pan. I prefer the dutch oven for the one pot meal effect. Less clean up=happier mama.  Then place the meat aside and in the same pot saute the carrots, onions and celery. When the onions begin to brown add the tomato paste making a mirepoix. Turn off heat. Now you can add the mushroom stems, garlic, meat, stock and bay leaves. Adding the garlic now avoids over cooking the delicate flavor of the garlic. Then place the mushroom caps on top of the meat and the rosemary on top of everything. The rosemary flavor will infuse into the whole dish without being overwhelming.

Bake covered for 2-4 hours depending on the amount of meat. I suggest you check after 2 hours. If it is done the meat will fall apart  when you twist a fork in it. As little kids we used to call this "string meat."

The butternut squash pictured above was tosses in,

4 tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp thyme
sea salt and white pepper

Roast on convection at 375 until browned slightly. If you don't have convention, bake at 350. This can be done after the meat is finished. Usually takes about 20-25 min but keep an eye on it becuase it can go faster depending on the size of the cubes.
You can also use acorn squash or pretty much any squash you like. 'cept spaghetti squash...probably not a good idea.

Enjoy!







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