Grace and Ben

I purchased a Maryland bison steak (Delmonico cut) yesterday at the Waverly farmer’s market for $12. It was frozen so I allowed it to defrost in the fridge for 24 hours until this morning, when I removed it to the kitchen counter for about 30 minutes to warm up to room temperature before cooking. I used my All-Clad (stainless steel) pan and seared it on high heat for 3 minutes on the first side, then I turned the steak to the other side, lowered the heat and cooked for 2 more minutes. I removed the steak to a plate and let it rest for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, I scrambled some eggs in the excess steak juice/grease. The eggs were delicious and I was hungry so I didn’t take a photo of them. However, I remembered to document the steak for future reference for studies of cooking time and technique.

I have been contemplating what I’d like to cook the next time I’m in Chicago. I am looking forward to Ben’s parents and brother and sister-in-law visiting and am going to research some pan-cooked fish recipes (whenever I use the oven in the studio, there is much smoke and the small space gets hot easily). I may also try to find a vendor of bison steaks in Chicago. The advantage of the bison over the grass-fed beef is that 1) bison is also grass-fed, free range, but doesn’t cost as much and 2) bison, like grass-fed beef, is very lean so even the Delmonico steak, which is a fattier cut, tasted quite lean and delicious!

I had a good eating day. Two hard boiled eggs for breakfast, plus a small cup of coffee and a big cup of loose leaf earl grey tea. About 1/2 cup of raw almonds for lunch around noon, followed by about 4 oz. pheasant meat around 2:30 pm and 2 hard boiled eggs and a grapefruit at 4 pm. After walking from my school to the Giant grocery store this evening, I stir fried 8 oz. white mushrooms with parsley and garlic in olive oil. I also purchased Ghiradelli chocolate (100% cacao) for $2.99 and am contemplating eating some… A good food day. Meanwhile, my laundry is in the machine and I’ve already showered. A good start to the evening.

Ben is trying out a new paleo diet in which he only eats foods his ancestors ate. I don’t quite understand it, but I like reading blogs where people record exactly what they ate each day. Kind of interesting. So I think I will try it.
This morning, I drank 6 oz. of coffee (french press), 2 (12 oz.) cups of earl grey tea and ate 2 hard-boiled eggs (no seasonings).

For lunch, I ate 1 large grapefruit and 1 cup of cubed rutabagas that I baked over the weekend and about 6 oz. of pheasant meat (also leftover from weekend exploits). The pheasant had been baked whole and rubbed with olive oil, orange juice and ground black pepper and stuffed with a cut-up orange, a few cloves of garlic and some parsley. This afternoon, I have consumed 3 more 12 oz. cups of tea (1 teabag of english breakfast from Trader Joe’s and 2 teabags of green rooibos from Numi).

This evening, I  ate 3 unsalted, roasted almonds, 15 raw almonds, and 2 raisins and a pheasant wing. I also toasted 1/2 cup of flaxseeds. They are really good toasted. I took the raw flax seeds and put them in a pan and waited until they popped. I learned to cover the pan in the future. The seeds fly everywhere (like popcorn). I decided to the try the can of wild caught pink salmon I got from Whole Foods. Not bad!  I’m feeling very good. I like consuming less salt and sugar than I was eating previously.

I have several short-term personal goals: lose 4 pounds before Joyce’s wedding in April, get my hair cut and dyed before the end of March.