Ramen Redux!

Ah, it's good to get back on the healthy horse again!  After three weeks of NY food bliss, I have been craving REAL food again.  If I ever thought there'd come a day when a Brooklyn Boy like me would actually utter the words, "I'm so sick of pizza," I would have had myself committed long ago.  It's just a reassurance that I AM committed, to the caveman/paleo diet, chemical free organic food, and a healthy lifestyle.

Came home from NY late Wednesday night to a completely empty fridge and pantry, so continued non-caveman eating through Friday to add insult to injury.  Basically what it came down to is I'm a lazy bastard.  I'll say this for paleo, it takes some energy to cook EVERYTHING, and sometimes I just don't have it in me.  But I still wasn't worried, I didn't do the caveman diet for over 40 years, and in the first 3 months of doing it, I felt better than ever, so I knew I'd feel that way again in a week or so of returning to my cave.

I spent all day yesterday shopping.  First the farmers market to get some nuts for bread making (and bread crumbs), jalapenos to add spice back into my life (I loved cooking for Sherilyn and Lorin, but I'm a spice nut, and they eat VERY bland for my tastes) and fruit and veggies that are in season.  They have those delicata squash for only $1 a pound, so I got a ton for future mock sweet potato fries (if you're lost, do a search on my blog for Sherilyn, or delicata, find out what the hell I'm talking about, and stop being such a lazy bastard)!  Then I went to Trader Joe's for eggs, and whatever else I could find to make my ramen soup again (look. it. up.).  Then I went to Whole Foods to get whatever I couldn't get at Trader Joe's (who by far have the best prices, although their selection on organics is limited compared to Whole Paycheck, um, I mean Whole Foods).  It feels so good to have caveman food in the house again.  Part of making paleo easy for yourself is keeping organic, non-processed food in the house, so that when I'm hungry, it's right there for me, ready to devour.  Otherwise, you have to first go to the store, then put away the groceries, then prep the meal, then cook the meal, then eat the meal, then clean up the mess.  I'm exhausted just writing about it.  It's a lot easier (and harder to make excuses) when you're hungry, look in the fridge, and take out some healthy leftovers, or a carrot, or make a quick salad (another tip is to make your favorite salad dressings in advance and keep them around in the fridge so you're not making it from scratch every single time), or a beautiful orange, or an apple with almond butter, or coconut butter spread on a piece of rosemary walnut bread, or... the list of yummy healthy snacks goes on for infinity, as long as you have them around in the house, because I know I'm not the only lazy bastard out there, so make life easy on yourself if you're going paleo, and SHOP!  Those green bags from AS SEEN ON TV are great for making organic produce last for weeks, so you don't have to shop every other day either, but only once a week, like "normal" people (are the paleo eaters normal, or is everyone else?  Good argument for the cavemen I think).

You see ladies, this is what guys really talk about.  You think it's all, "Ugga-Bugga, football, ribs, baseball, steak, hardware store, burger, fantasy league, beer, porn, snore, fart, sleep."  But in actuality it's, "Ugga-Bugga, grocery shopping, Whole Foods, produce, Bed Bath & Beyond, Spirooli, Green Bags, coconut shrimp with an apricot dipping sauce, porn, snore, fart, sleep (some things are universal)."

So I made my soup again, and this time, loaded up on the red jalapeno, and freshly grated ginger!  Wow, my mouth was on fire the whole night, but it was wonderful.  And of course I made my zucchini noodles.  The more I eat them, the more I realize they can take some cooking, and remain al dente, not getting mushy at all.  And softening them up by cooking (in whatever broth or sauce you're using at the time) definitely makes them more noodle-like!  Take a look:

Mmm... Soup IS good food!  And for dessert, I had a persimmon, which is in season right now.  I had my first persimmon earlier this year (among the many other first time foods I've tried since going caveman), and I really liked it, but this one was different.  Last time I only saw these little tomato shaped persimmons, but these were rather big, look:

It was sweet and pretty, but a bit chalky for my taste, but hey, you live and learn!  I'm gonna have leftover soup for awhile, but then I'm gonna tackle one of my all time favorite dishes, cold sesame noodles!  If I can convert that to caveman, I need to be sainted.  Saint Fat Bastard?  Hmm, doesn't have quite the same ring as the other saints.  Saint Caveman?  Saint Ugga-Bugga?  I'll keep working on the noodles, you keep working on the name.