The Bitten Word

Paleo Dinner: Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Grapes and Sage, plus Date Sandwich Cookies

Whole Living (October 2012)

We bet you know someone who's on the Paleo diet. 

It goes by other names -- caveman, primal, hunter-gatherer. It's a fad diet that first started in the 1970s, but has exploded in popularity in the past few years. The idea behind the Paleo diet is this: For millions of years, our cavemen ancestors ate a diet of lean meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, nuts, roots and fungi. Then, relatively recently, our ancestors began farming grains, potatoes and other refined starches. Evolutionarily speaking, our bodies haven't adapted to that change in diet. So we'd all be better off trying replicate the diet of Paleolithic man.

In other words, lean proteins and veggies are in. Carbohydrates, refined sugars, legumes and dairy are out.

Simple enough. And who can argue that modern-day humans couldn't stand to cut down their carb intake? Paleo is, at its most basic, high in protein and low in carbs. (In a lot of ways, Paleo seems like Atkins 2.0.)

We're a little torn on Paleo, to be honest. For one thing, it's always struck us as questionable to talk about "a Paleo diet" as if there was one single set of foods being consumed by cavemen the world over. We're no experts, but we're pretty sure the guys sitting around painting caves in Lascaux weren't slugging coconut water (a major part of the modern Paleo diet). And the guys who were sipping on coconut water probably didn't have access to, say, buffalo.

And we're not sure about the argument that "this is what cavemen ate so this is what's best for you." Cavemen ate whatever cavemen could find. That doesn't mean their diet is necessarily the healthiest mix of foods for human consumption.

Also, their lifestyles were so vastly different from our own that we wonder how much we should be comparing our diet to theirs. For instance, our ancestors needed as much protein as they could find. But modern humans don't "need" meat at all. In fact, a lot of nutritionists smarter than we are say we'd all be much better off eating no meat whatsoever.

We have a lot of friends who are going Paleo these days. We're not among them (as the croissants we ate in San Francisco will attest). But this is all a very, very long-winded way of saying that we're intrigued by the Paleo diet, but unconvinced about its merits.

But one night recently we hosted a Paleo dinner to see what all the fuss is about.

Spicy Zucchini Frittata

Whole Living (July/August 2012)

There are a few specific times when we make a frittata:

We're craving eggs but are a bit bored with our routine of scrambled or fried...

It's after work and we're ready to eat but haven't gone to the supermarket and have very little on hand...

We find ourselves with an overflowing crisper drawer and need a quick way to use up a bunch of vegetables...

And often, it's a combination of all three. 

The frittata (or FRRREEE-TAH-TAH if you're Giada) is a handy, simple recipe to have in your back pocket when hunger comes calling. 

And you can't find a more basic template for creating your own frittata than this version from Whole Living that combines ingredients that are in their prime time right now: zucchini and corn. 

Mustard Turkey Burgers with Avocado, Parmesan and Peppadew Peppers

Whole Living (June 2012)

The June issue of Whole Living has a killer turkey burger on the cover. Fat and juicy, and topped with avocado and peppers, it just looks amazing. We don't typically cook turkey burgers. In fact, burgers are an infrequent meal at our house, and when we do make them, we almost always use beef. 

The Whole Living feature with this dish has a few other tasty-sounding grilling ideas, including some gorgeous kebabs and a Berry Hobo Pack we really want to try.

But we kept coming back to the turkey burgers. With their unique mix of mustard, Parmesan, arugula, Peppadew peppers and avocado, they sounded like the kind of burger we could get behind.

Our Test Kitchen Tour

As you might remember, visiting a food magazine test kitchen is something that's been on our list of Culinary Resolutions for two years now. 

Last Friday, we finally had the opportunity to make that resolution a reality. Where'd we go? We'll let this photo do to talking:

Yep! We were fortunate enough to be given a tour of the offices of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, in New York. We had the best time!  And of course we wanted to share our photos with you.

So come along!

Cod with Pecan-Raisin Salsa Over Broccoli

Whole Living (April 2012)

We consider ourselves conscientious consumers. Struggling conscientious consumers, but still. 

We try to support local farmers through our farmers market and CSA. We try to cut down the amount of waste we produce -- we've eliminated most of our paper towel use (it takes us a couple months to go through one roll now), and we wash and reuse resealable plastic bags. We buy very few processed foods and, for the most part, we care about where we're spending our money. 

That's not to say that we're perfect. Far from it. Being a conscientious consumer can be equal parts overwhelming and exhausting. You think you're doing a good job in your little corner of the world, and then it's pointed out just how little you actually know. 

That was the case in January, when we made Swordfish Puttanesca. Unable to find swordfish steaks at the time, we bought monkfish without a second thought. After we wrote about it, however, a few readers pointed out that both swordfish and monkfish are on the Monterrey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch List. According to the watch list, some swordfish is acceptable, but all monkfish should be avoided. Lesson learned. 

Are we kept up at night, unable to sleep, because of our errant monkfish purchase? Well, no. But if we'd known then what we know now, we likely would have chosen a different fish. Hey, you don't know what you don't know. 

So we were happy to see that the April issue of Whole Living features a spread on sustainable seafood choices. It features Barton Seaver, a D.C. chef whose recent cook book, For Cod and Country, is all about sustainable seafood options. (It's a beautiful book, lovingly photographed by the lovely Ms. Katie Stoops, who, coincidentally, was our wedding photographer. Small world!)