First Step, First Day

For a few different reasons, which I will tell you all about in a later post (or two), Murphy and I have decided to go Paleo. We have done a similar eating plan in the past, but after reading up on the hows and whys of Paleo, I think it is going to be a really good fit for us.

I am excited about the prospect of essentially erasing everything I know about cooking and starting from the basics. Take a food, say a vegetable, something simple like a carrot, and eat it raw. Now, cut it into chunks and roast it, with nothing more than olive oil, salt, and pepper. Now, cut it into thin chips and sautee it with coconut oil and cinnamon. Now, put it into a broth with other vegetables and chicken, or beef. And each time, taste it. Really taste it. What is it about something so simple as a carrot, is it the texture, that crunch when it has been washed and peeled? Is it the slightly sweet flavor?

This is the first step down the path of discovery. Why do we eat what we eat? Why do we love certain foods and avoid certain others at all costs? Could it be possible to love all foods, in their natural state, or enhanced by other foods or herbs in their natural state? I'm hoping we can figure all of this out.

So today, Monday, January 21, we begin. I've been in the kitchen all morning.

For lunch today, our first official Paleo meal, we both had Mustard Glazed Chicken Thighs and Legs. The recipe comes from the book Practical Paleo. The mustard flavor gets a little lost, so I think next time I would put a light layer of the glaze on the bottom of the baking dish, then place the chicken on top, then cover with another layer of the glaze.

I also roasted three different vegetables: Kabocha Squash, Butternut Squash, and Sweet Potatoes. I kept it simple - they were all tossed with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Kosher salt, and black pepper. All were roasted at 400 degrees from 20 - 25 minutes.

I ate the Kabocha Squash with my chicken because I had never had this particular variety of winter squash. It smelled a little like rutabega while it was cooking and came out with a sweetness that I didn't expect.

Murphy had a little of all three of the vegetables. No complaints, although he did put more salt on top before he ate them (but not without tasting it first, which I appreciated).

Dinner tonight will be chicken again and more roasted vegetables. I am looking forward to the meals we have planned this week.