A Bit of Swift

"...the whole state is ever in the profoundest peace after a full meal..."

Jonathan Swift

A Full and True Account of the Battle Fought Last Friday Between the Ancient and the Modern Books in Saint James' Library (1692)

Asparagi alla Geremolata with Grilled Salmon

Here's the healthy recipe from Mario Batali I mentioned a few posts ago. You really can find healthy and delicious recipes everywhere.

This dish is a perfect example of how a few extra minutes in the kitchen and a little attention to detail can transform a vegetable into something wonderful. I've paired it with a simply-prepared fillet of salmon for a fairly easy weeknight meal. Omit the salt if you want this to be strictly Paleo.

Asparagi alla Geremolata with Grilled Salmon
Modified from Mario Batali's Molto Italiano

1 to 1.5 lbs. asparagus
Salt (if using)
Large fillet of wild-caught salmon
Freshly-ground black pepper
Light olive oil for oiling grill
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
Zest of one orange
2 Garlic cloves, chopped fine
2 Tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 Tablespoons mint leaves cut into chiffonade
1/4 Cup very good extra virgin olive oil

Remove the fibrous end of each asparagus stalk with a sharp knife. Bring a pot of water large enough to accommodate the asparagus to a rapid boil. Add a tablespoon of salt to the boiling water (if using). Add the asparagus carefully to the boiling water and boil until crisp-tender. Cooking time will vary and will depend on the thickness of the asparagus. Immediately shock the cooked asparagus in a large bowl of ice water, insuring that it has been completely cooled. Drain the asparagus well and set aside.

Light a medium-hot charcoal fire and place the hot coals under one side of the grill. Brush the grill clean and oil it with a paper towel soaked in olive oil using tongs. Season the salmon with freshly-ground pepper and sea salt (if using) and place it on the cool-side of the grill skin-side-down. Cover the grill with the vent open slightly. Grill the salmon indirectly until almost cooked through and the flesh just begins to flake. The surface of the fish will become marbled with a beautiful white fat.

Meanwhile, combine the zests, juice, garlic, herbs, oil, and salt in a bowl and mix well. Toss the asparagus gently in the mixture.

Plate the asparagus alongside the salmon. Devour.

Photo by Kirsten Shafer

Huron for the Mississippi

I've tried to avoid the personal on this blog. This little spot on the web is about about food and health, not me. But I wanted to take a moment to thank all the wonderful people I've come to know in St. Louis. I'm leaving tomorrow morning in a Ford Escort with a stereo-microscope, a Macintosh workstation, and a few hundred strains of Drosophila melanogaster to start a new adventure (my family will be traveling before me in a cruise-controlled Mini-Van).

I'll also be taking along memories of wonderful people. I've learned so much about life, health, and fitness during my time in St. Louis, and that's because there have been so many passionate folks here working hard to get these things right. So, for all my CrossFitting, O-Lifting, and Food-Loving friends in the STL: I love you all and will miss you more than I can express.

Come up and see me soon.

And as for Ann Arbor: I look forward to meeting you.

Arch under construction found here.

Greens, Portions, and The Lingering Meal

There is something undeniably comforting about a large plate covered with food. Perhaps it activates some ancient circuit within our central nervous system that decides that food is plentiful and times are good. Restaurants have known this for a long time; they've been making fortunes selling us comfort in the form of plate-fulls of cheap and nutrient-poor starch.

If you're proportioning your food as dictated by the Zone diet but haven't turned to Paleo-friendly foods, you probably haven't experienced a full plate in a while. Three tablespoons (one block of carbs) of rice just don't cover that much real estate on your plate, especially when compared to a cup and a quarter of cooked collard greens (also one block of carbs).

But the pleasures of a full plate go beyond our natural desire to be well-fed. Mealtime is culture time, one of the only times during the day when we settle down for conversation and pleasure. A good meal should linger and serve as a daily opportunity to sit in the presence of family and friends.

So, cover your plates with something nutritious, turn on some music, light a candle or two, and celebrate life with the people you love over a nutritious and bountiful meal. The health benefits of doing this regularly will extend far beyond your blood lipids and body composition.

On a related note, check out Michael Pollan's New York Times Magazine Article on cooking and it's importance for health and culture.

And here's another recipe for greens, my go-to plate-filler.

Fragrant Indian-Spiced Greens

1 pound fresh spinach
1 pound leafy greens (mustard greens, collards, or kale)
4 tablespoons coconut oil (refined for medium-high heat)
1/2 large white onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
2 green chili peppers, seeded and minced
1 cup chopped canned tomatoes
1 teaspoon ground cumin seed
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
Sea salt to taste (optional if strictly Paleo)
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 cup water

Wash the spinach and greens well under cold running water. Spin them dry and chop them coarsely. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in dutch oven or large skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Add the onion to the hot oil and cook, stirring frequently, for 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and chili peppers and stir-fry for a minute or two. Add the chopped tomatoes, ground ginger, salt (if using), and the garam masala, and cook, stirring frequently, until the tomato juices thicken a bit but have not evaporated. Turn the heat down to medium and add two handfuls of the spinach/greens mixture and stir well. When greens have wilted, add another handful of greens and stir and cook till wilted. Continue adding greens this way until they have all all been added. Add 1/4 cup of water, cover, and cook until the greens are tender. Serve warm.

These greens are great when made ahead of time and then gently re-heated. Click here, here, here, here, and here, for other greens recipes from past posts.

Also, I'm happy to report that Naomi is Back!

Resonate....Or Else

Human beings are genetically programmed to be diurnal. We are therefore physiologically predisposed to be active when it's light outside and to sleep when it's dark. But the advent of cheap electrical lighting has made possible the modern phenomena of graveyard-shifts and all-nighters.

We're just beginning to understand the negative repercussions of failing to resonate with our planet's daily rotation about its axis.

A recent study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that falling out of sync with the Earth's normal 24-hour schedule has effects that mimic the metabolic derangement associated with the Neolithic diet and Syndrome X. This is only one study and not a particularly well-controlled one. There's certainly much more work to be done on this subject, but these results do suggest that a failure to maintain a regular pattern of nightly sleep will counteract the metabolic benefits of a healthy diet.

Click here for a brief commentary on the work.

A note to readers: I'd like to thank everyone who has continued to drop in on this blog despite the dearth of posts lately. I've been working hard to find an academic position for the last few months and this has left little time for blogging. The good news is that it's paid off. I'll be starting my own lab at the University of Michigan in the Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology Department this fall. I feel honored to have been welcomed by such a great institution and department.

I'm still cooking Paleo and will continue to post recipes along with the occasional bit of Science and Literature, though there may be some lags in posting as I adapt to life as an Assistant Professor.

Thanks to you all for your continued interest.

Grapenuts and Caviar

"There is more simplicity in the man who eats caviar on impulse than in the man who eats Grape-Nuts on principle."

G.K. Chesterton, Heretics

Image of Chesterton at work found here. Click here for electronic sources of his works.

Grain and Dairy Free Tacos

Taco night need not be a cheat night in the kitchen. Here's a way to make it Paleo-Friendly.

The leaves of small heads of Boston Bibb lettuce make great taco shells. Here I've filled them with a chicken recipe that's traditionally used for enchiladas and topped it all with grape tomatoes, avocado, and a little hot sauce. This meal had all the flavor of great Mexican cooking, but no corn, flour, or cheese.

Omit the salt if you want this to be strictly Paleo.

Paleo-Friendly Tacos

6 dried guajillo chiles
1/4 Cup apple cider vinegar
1-2 heads of Boston Bibb lettuce
Chicken broth or water (enough to cover chicken below)
1 to 1.5 Pounds chicken breast or tenders.
3 Tablespoons olive oil, sunflower oil, or lard
5 Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 Large Onion, peeled and quartered
4 Tomatoes, cored and quartered
2 Teaspoons ground cumin seed
Sea Salt to taste
Freshly-ground black pepper
2 Cups grape tomatoes,quartered
1 Large avocado, seeded, peeled, and cubed
Hot sauce, to taste
Lime wedges for serving

Seed and stem the chiles and soak them in the vinegar. Separate the leaves of the lettuce and remove the tough white core from the inner leaves. Wash the leaves, spin them dry, and set them aside.

Pour the stock or water into a pot and bring it to a boil. Add the chicken, wait for the stock to return to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Poach the chicken just until cooked through. Reserve the cooking stock and allow the chicken to cool until it can be shredded by hand. Pull the chicken apart into small shreds (see photo) and place it in a large bowl.

Heat the oil over medium heat in large pan or skillet. Add the garlic and onion and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until soft. Drain the chiles and add them to the skillet with the tomatoes. Cook until the tomatoes release their juices and the chiles have become soft, about 7 minutes. Add the cumin and season with salt (if using) and pepper. Carefully transfer the vegetables to a blender and blend until smooth. Add just enough of your reserved stock to make the mixture smooth and creamy but not watery.

Pour just enough of the sauce (probably half to three-fourths) onto the chicken to create a pasty taco filling. You can freeze the remaining sauce for your next taco night. Spoon two heaping tablespoons of filling into each lettuce shell. Top with grape tomato, avocado, a squeeze of lime, and a few drops of hot sauce.