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Cascade
03-24-13, 10:29 pm
Hey Guys.

So, I've been around the Forum awhile now and I thought I would do something to give back to everyone here. I'm pretty good in the kitchen, even cooked professionally for a time before getting into strength and conditioning, so I thought a thread about what I'm cooking would be great for everyone.

A little bit behind how I cook. I am firm believer in seasonal, local food. I purchase MOST of my food from Oregon or the northwest. When we travel around, I always bring a cooler so I can stock up on local delicacies, whether its southern Oregon's amazing lamb, or the coasts razor clams or dungeness crab, I'm always stocking the freezer or fridge with the BEST possible food I can find. Outside of supplements, I rarely buy anything processed or anything that comes out of a box.

Recipes will be a little of everything. Homemade granola, tacos, curries, stews, literally everything. If you ever have questions about anything posted, don't hesitate to ask.

Cascade
03-24-13, 10:51 pm
Most taco recipes I see call for tilapia, which is an AWFUL, but lean white fish. The regions where the fish are farmed (South America, China), yes farmed, have lax standards and the fish live their lives stressed in overcrowded pens. They are fed unnatural diets which include soy or corn, and may even include accidental ingestion of their own feces which they can't help but get away from. Gross.

You can check out this NY Times article for more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/science/earth/02tilapia.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

So, for my tacos I chose wild caught Rockfish. Sometimes called "Rock Cod" or "Pacific Red Snapper", its a lean white fish, flaky when cooked. It great pan seared, but also good in a stew. Ok, here is the recipe.

Sauce
1/4 cup greek yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Spice Rub
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup thinly sliced white onion
4 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets
1 tablespoon olive oil
corn tortillas
1/2 ripe peeled avocado, thinly sliced

First, make the sauce in a food processor. If you want, add some spice. I thought sriracha would have been a great addition. Then refrigerate.

Then put the rub together. After the rub is done, sprinkle it over the fish, on both sides.

Then heat up the pan over medium heat and add you olive oil (or oil of choice, coconut would be nice!). Cook the fish about 3-4 minutes each side.

In a separate pan, heat the corn tortillas. Add the guacamole, onion, fish and sauce and enjoy.

Appollonian
03-25-13, 7:58 am
Thanks for this bud. I'm always open to new ideas to try in the kitchen.

naturalguy
03-25-13, 1:58 pm
Nice, I am always looking for more recipes

C.Coronato
03-25-13, 2:08 pm
Awesome bro!

Cascade
03-25-13, 4:16 pm
Thanks for the good words guys. Definitely have WAY more to put on here.

Also, a note to the fish tacos. Alaskan cod, or ling cod would be great for these also. Just want to make sure there aren't a bunch of big dudes invading grocery stores looking for Rockfish!

Cascade
03-26-13, 9:50 pm
This recipe comes from Food.com: http://www.food.com/recipe/perfect-pork-tenderloin-63828

This recipe is SUPER easy and it surprisingly works. I've done it twice and the tenderloin is always moist and perfect when its done. Pork tenderloin is cost effective, should run you less than $10 per lb., and its very lean and requires very little trimming. Can be easily be sliced into portions and can be spiced anyway you like.

2 lbs. Pork Tenderloin

Salt

Fresh cracked black pepper

Spices/Herbs of choice (Since we are still in early spring I went with oregano and rosemary)


After you have cleaned up the tenderloins, apply the salt and pepper and then rub the your spice/herb rub all over. Place the tenderloins in a baking pan.

Now, here is the magic.

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F.

You are going to cook the tenderloins for 5 1/2 minutes per lb. So if you have two, 11 minutes is your time. Adjust if they are smaller tenderloins.

After they cook for 11 minutes, TURN OFF THE OVEN BUT DON'T OPEN THE OVEN DOOR. Leave the tenderloins in the oven for 1 hour. You should have perfectly moist tenderloins that are about 145-150 degrees F internally (if you have a thermometer).

BigChrisF
03-26-13, 11:27 pm
I came all the way in here wondering how or why anyone would cook with dish soap...the recipes look delicious, but I gotta say that I am a little bit disappointed that I don't have the answer I was looking for. Well played, sir.

Cascade
03-26-13, 11:59 pm
I came all the way in here wondering how or why anyone would cook with dish soap...the recipes look delicious, but I gotta say that I am a little bit disappointed that I don't have the answer I was looking for. Well played, sir.

Just have to be honest. Took me WAY too long to get what you were saying!

BigChrisF
03-27-13, 12:20 am
Just have to be honest. Took me WAY too long to get what you were saying!

Yes, I'm frequently confusing (I like to believe it's witty) which is why most people just ignore me. sad face.

Appollonian
03-27-13, 8:28 am
I really dig pork tenderloins, but my wife HATES it so I'll save this recipe for a dinner with my two brothers and grill her a steak or something.


Yes, I'm frequently confusing (I like to believe it's witty) which is why most people just ignore me. sad face.

I'm not ignoring it, I thought it was pretty funny.

Cascade
03-27-13, 11:46 am
Yes, I'm frequently confusing (I like to believe it's witty) which is why most people just ignore me. sad face.

Chris, I'm saying it was too witty bro! It took me too long to connect the two!

Nix0r
03-27-13, 11:49 am
I came all the way in here wondering how or why anyone would cook with dish soap...the recipes look delicious, but I gotta say that I am a little bit disappointed that I don't have the answer I was looking for. Well played, sir.

When I first saw the thread, I thought he was talking about Cascade hops.

Homebrewing... yay!

Cascade
03-29-13, 3:30 pm
I made this sort of in a panic since I CRUSHED all the food I had made previously and had nothing for meals 6 and 7. Couple that with our move coming up and things are pretty bare here in casa de Cascade. BUT frozen chicken breast to the rescue.

I call it "asian style" because it consists of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean ingredients that came together pretty well. The numbers are all guesses since this was truly inspired cooking.

4 Chicken breasts sliced thinly
1 Tbs. sesame oil
2 Cloves of garlic
2 Tbs. FRESH Ginger, minced finely

1/2 Cup tamari (or soy sauce if you prefer. This is an estimate of how much I really used.)
Honey (no idea how much I used, best guess... 3 tbs.)
Franks Red Hot (1 tsp.?, chili oil could also be used here)

After slicing up all the chicken, place it in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes.

In a warm pan add the sesame oil and then add garlic and ginger. Let it simmer for a bit. Make sure to move the garlic and ginger around the pan to prevent burning burn. When the chicken is done I just poured out MOST of the water and then added the chicken right from the pot to the pan.

Once the chicken is in the pan, add your soy or tamari and then put the honey right into the pan. Mix well in the pan. Then add as much hot sauce as you like.

If there is a lot of liquid in the pan you can turn the heat and let some of it burn off, just make sure to keep your eye on the pan so nothing burns!

Enjoy, you filthy Animal.

Cascade
04-03-13, 12:00 am
This was an idea I've been thinking about lately and had GREAT sucess with today.

2 cups coconut milk (I used the "So Delicious" brand, might try the regular canned version next time)
1 Frozen Banana
1/2 Cup Frozen Blueberries
1/4 Cup Quinoa flour (I bought this at the co-op, Bobs Red Mill sells bags for about 7-8$, 4 g. of COMPLETE protein)
2 tbs. Sunflower Butter (Peanut butter messes up my digestion, about 8 g. of protein)
2 tbs. Flax Meal (3 g. of protein per 2 tbs., loaded with EFA's!)
1/4 cup Cocoa (another bulk co-op buy, alkalized for better mixing, cocoa is loaded with polyphenols, as well as protein, about 5 g. for 1/2 a cup.
Stevia to taste