Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Sauerkraut in pictures, and under 10 minutes


aut in pictures, and under 10 minutes

  1. Peel and discard any wilted outer leaves. Rinse the cabbage head.
  2. Core the cabbage. I discarded the core, but you could also include it.
    DSCN0629
  3. Cut it into pieces that fit in your food processor's chute.
    DSCN0630
  4. Use the slicer blade and shred it (not the grater/shredder blade, the slicer will get it fine enough).
    DSCN0631
  5. Weigh it.
    DSCN0632
  6. Add 2% salt by weight. In this case I added 7 grams. Add salt: 4 teaspoons per kilogram. In this case, I used 1.5t.
    DSCN0633
  7. Use your hands to smoosh it and wilt the cabbage leaves. You're trying to get it to release its own water to make a brine.
    DSCN0634
  8. Pack it into a jar. The cabbage should be fully submerged in the brine. If not, add a touch of water.
    DSCN0635
  9. Put a lid on it and label it with the date. Leave it on the counter for a few days. Check on it regularly to ensure it's still submerged in the brine. Taste it every so often. Once it's ripe put it in the fridge to slow ripening.
    DSCN0636
Notes: The first picture was taken at 7:15, the last at 7:25. Feel free to add other veggies and dress it up. Just follow the same rules, easy peasy.

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Calories Yesterday

Worked out in the morning: deadlifts, chin ups, bent over row, crunches. I'm a 5'11" male, 166lbs, probably ~10 to 12% bodyfat. Goals are strength & muscle gain, maintain lean profile.

Time Description Calories (kcal) Fat (g) Carbs (g) Protein (g)
1:00pm 4 egg omelet with a chicken breast, green onions and bleu cheese, with a small sweet potato on the side. 1138 60 43 105
2:30pm Protein Shake (1 scoop w/water) 120 1 3 24
  3oz Cherries 50 0 13 0
5:30pm 21oz beef sirloin tips, 4oz yogurt (marinade), 1T butter, 3oz lettuce 1469 71 16 179
9:15pm Protein Shake (1.5 scoops w/ 1/2 cup milk) 240 4 11 40
 

15g Bleu cheese, 55g sauerkraut, 30 g cashews

236 18 11 8
TOTAL  

3253

154 97 356
           
  Calories from each   1386 388 1424
  As % of Total   43 12 44

Discussion. Every once in a while I keep a tally to see how I'm doing. Use a kitchen scale and WolframAlpha.com to compute your macros. It's of course an approximation, but as close as you can get, I think.

For calories from each, use 9 cal/gram for fat, and 4 cal/gram for carbs and protein. You may notice that the percentages in the last row only add up to 98%. Close enough!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Braised Veal Chuck Roast

  • DSCN0627Preheat oven to 350ºF
  • In Dutch oven, brown all sides of a 2lb boneless veal chuck roast in bacon fat

Add to Dutch oven:

  • 4 cups homemade chicken stock
  • 2T rosemary
  • 1t paprika
  • 1/4t cumin
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 star anise pod
  • 1/2 habanero, minced
  • 1 red onion, chopped
  • 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
  • 5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 1/2T salt

Bring mixture to simmer, then place in oven. Cook covered for 2 to 3 hours, or until the meat is fork tender. Remove from oven; remove meat from liquid and allow to rest. Discard cinnamon stick & star anise pod. Smoosh tomatoes, onions, etc and reduce (you want all of the flavor but none of the chunk). Strain out all the clumps, reduce some more (should be 1/4 to 1/2cup liquid remaining). Using two forks, shred the roast. Add back to liquid, shred some more, and combine well. Enjoy.

Exquisite. The mouth feel of the ultra-reduced chicken stock is silky smooth. A little spicy and complex with deep flavors. Highly recommended. Would probably work well with beef, too.

DSCN0628

Thai Rama Beef

An experiment. Sautéed ground beef, coconut milk, a little green curry paste, a heap of almond butter and a dash of salt. Served with fresh steamed broccoli. Paste was too thick…need to get the proportions right.

DSCN0626