Smoked Salt & Pepper

I started this post about 5 years ago, when I was living in College Station and really into making sushi at home. At the time, there were not many good sushi restaurants in the area, and I was homesick for any and all kinds of ethnic food. There is just so much Lane's fried chicken tenders and delicious crinkle-cut fries or Sodalack's chicken-fried steak or McAllister's one girl can eat. So a few of my friends and I started rolling sushi at home. I'd done it once or twice before starting veterinary school, but hadn't busted out my bamboo mat very often. Because fresh fish was a bit hard to procure in College Station without being an angler or restauranteur myself, I stuck with smoked salmon. Also, as a beginner sushi-maker, cooked stuff is much less intimidating. And probably safer for everyone partaking. Hah. Sushi is pretty easy to make. As long as you can roll things (burrito, spring rolls, cigarettes, jelly rolls, etc.), you can probably ro...

Reid and I know some of the coolest people. Maybe I'm biased, but we think our friends are cool. One of our friends is named Josh Eilers and he has a Wagyu beef ranch in Austin. For those who aren't huge meat eaters, Wagyu beef is a very special, very expensive type of beef with insanely high intramuscular fat marbling. That's what makes beef really tender and flavorful. So Wagyu beef, which is a Japanese breed of cows, make really good and amazing steaks. Among other things. My son, John, is about 2 years-old. He is going through that, "the cow says..." phase of his development. We know dogs bark, and cats meow, and chickens...make chicken noises. And tigers ROAR!!!! As do dinosaurs. As do bears...etc. John's been to a few zoos. So we've seen some of these animals in real life, but besides our long car rides through the Texas state, we've never introduced John to a cow up close. And I want my son to know about food. And where food com...

A Mediterranean mezze platter is what I call any random plate full of all the yummy dips and falafel and pita that you can get at a mediterranean restaurant. I love making my own hummus , recipe linked, but there is also a delicious hummus made locally in Austin that I like called "Grandma's Hummus" by The Mediterranean Chef . Granddaughter runs the cafe/shop a lot of the times Reid and I eat there and they are a super nice family. I love supporting them and so I buy plenty of the hummus, babaganus eggplant dip (Whole30 compliant!) and sometimes the falafel. I grab a bag of Stacey's Pita Chips from the grocery store and have an easy lunch or dinner. Some whole grain pita pockets are also a great way to eat any of the mezze platter things. If I'm feeling real fancy, I'll make my own falafel, but otherwise I buy and re-heat The Mediterranean Chefs' falafel. One of the great things about this quick meal is the low-carb benefit. I struggle wit...