Concord Grape Sorbet

If you follow me on Instagram, you may remember that last Saturday, at the Farmers’ Market, I got my hands on some amazing Concord grapes from the Finger Lakes District (NY).
But before we proceed any further, let’s make things straight and clear: If you don’t like Concord grapes I’m afraid we can’t be friends. Sorry, it’s not negotiable.
How can you not like Concord grapes? These things are a-mazing. They are tart, strong, and the taste is usually acquired; which is why kids love ‘em.
To me, the taste of Concord grapes is an absolute flavor explosion and a true marvel of nature.
→ Brief historical digression. Do you know that when Concord grapes were first introduced in Europe in the 1800s; Italians, mesmerized by their sweetness, started calling them uva fragola; which translates literally as strawberry grapes. Cool, right?
Btw, ever notice how everything sounds better in Italian? “Uva fragola” v “Concord grape”; I mean, come on!

Tomato Curry with Creamy Coconut Cauliflower "Rice"

Remember when we discussed that exercise not only makes you fitter, it also makes you smarter? (You don’t? Read here!)
Well, turns out it doesn’t apply to me.
Yesterday morning I worked my butt off running, swimming and stretching; 3 hours of grueling training.
I got home and planned to watch football all day long. Which is what I did. But wait, here comes the “me dumb” part.
At around 7:30 PM, after watching New Orleans taking on Atlanta and San Fran taking on Green Bay (more than 5 hours of football) it suddenly dawned on me: All this was happening on a Sunday! I know, breaking news.
Here’s the thing though; during a football game commercial breaks take place after every score, whenever a player is injured, after every punt or kickoff, and when a play is reviewed through instant replay. Did I mention instant replay? Every time that swings into action, you sit and wait for another two minutes or so.
At the end of every commercial break the TV’s scream at you “Welcome back to NFL Sunday football action!” or “It’s Sunday Night football on NBC!” or “....heeeere on FOX NFL Sunday!”
Yet in over 5 hours my mind didn’t registered that tiny piece of information: Sunday.

Orange Glazed Salmon

Confession time on TheIronYou. Brace yourself because this is going to be a hard one to believe.
I DON’T LIKE FISH. Boom! There, I said it.
To be more accurate, I’ve never liked fish (except canned tuna, which really doesn’t taste like fish).
When I was a kid I remember eating just bread at Champlin’s Seafood in Narragansett (RI) while everyone else was enjoying their fish/lobster dinner.
Those were long summers let me tell you. Every time we would go out for dinner, I dreaded ending up in one of those classic New England seafood eatery where they serve only seafood.
I remember staring at the menu trying to find something to eat, but resigned myself to order either bread or coleslaw. Not even French fries. Because fries, in seafood eateries, taste like seafood.
Period.

What Does It Mean To Be Healthy?

What does it mean to be healthy?
I know, big question. One that we should have asked ourselves a while ago. After all, this is a blog promoting healthy living; so one could have rightly assumed that we knew the answer all along, before even starting our daily ramblings.
In all honesty, I decided to discuss this topic today, because I recently found out that people are quite confused about the meaning of being healthy.

Sesame Chicken Kebabs (Low Carb and Gluten-Free)

I hate long-haul flights.
Just to get this straight, I'm not scared of flying. I am not afraid that the aeroplane I'm on will fly into a mountain or crush into the sea because of pilot error, or explode without warning in flight, or that a psychopath will place a bomb under my seat, or prang into another airplane on the ground.
I don’t find flying frightening at all. Over the years I figured that once you get into the aeroplane, I’m pretty much at the mercy of the pilot and there’s not much point in worrying.
I hate long-haul flights because airplanes are very uncomfortable (unless you travel Business or First, duh!). I’m almost 6’3, and unless I get an emergency exit seat, there’s never enough legroom for me.
After a couple of hours my legs turn numb and my back start aching. So I get up to stretch my legs but guess what, when I do so, it's always turbulence time! Thus, I’m “gently” asked to return to my seat and stay put.
And then there’s the boredom factor. You see, I can’t sleep/nap on airplanes. I so envy those people who, even before take-off, are already sleeping like babies in their seat. I just can’t do it, not even if I pop a sleeping pill. I did it once and instead of sleeping, I got totally mental like if I was on drugs or something (yeah, never again in my life!)
My main goal on long-haul flights is usually to simply pass the time. I watch movies, read a book, play video games and I flip through the pages of all the newspapers and magazine I can lay my hands on.
And that’s how I found this recipe.

Chicken, Bok Choy and Basil Stir-Fry

This recipe was passed to me from my good friend Ratana.
Ratana is a whiz kid, die-hard fashionista, compassionate human being AND awesome cook.
She’s half Thai and half Chinese but 100% American (if you know what I mean...)
Her dinner parties are legendary. When you get an invitation from her, you know you’re up for a real treat.
In my opinion, when you pair passion for cooking with traditional family recipes, greatness comes out. And that’s Ratana's cooking, pure bliss.
There are many dishes Ratana makes that I love (well, probably all) but her chicken bok choy stir-fry has to be my fave. The only adjective that can properly describe it, is mouthwatering. That good.
When I do compliment her about it, she smirks at me and tells me: “If you knew how quick and easy it is to make...”
Because yeah...Ratana is one of those people who doesn’t shares her recipes. I think she sworn to her mum that she would never do it, or something like it. Bummer.

Savory Watercress Berry Salad

I wanted to make a case for watercress. I had one goal in mind, to try to convince you to eat more of this amazing cruciferous veggie. Why? Because watercress is very low calorie and has endless health benefits. Anti-aging, cancer fighting properties, benefits vision...it doesn’t get much healthier than this. You don’t trust me? Then read here you mis-believers!
But then I thought, what if I give you a delicious recipe for watercress instead?
You see, I interviewed a couple of my friends and not a single one was sure what the hell to do with watercress (besides garnishing plates in fancy restaurant). Well, except my friend Guy, but he’s British and over there they use watercress a lot (especially in sandwiches).

What I'm Reading: Cooked, A Natural History Of Transformation

I’ve read every one of Michael Pollan’s books and enjoyed all of them; he’s arguably one of my favorite authors.
His latest book “Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation” did not fail to impress me once again. His ability to take the mundane (in this case cooking) and make it interesting has - in my humble opinion - no match.

Oven-Baked Spiced Sweet Potato Fries

Let’s be completely real here; I wasn’t planning on posting this recipe. I made these Oven-baked Spiced Sweet Potato Fries just for photography styling purposes. I didn’t want the Homemade (Paleo) Ketchup to sit there alone on my kitchen table. So I figured baked sweet potato fries would be the perfect companion. Which was a winning decision tbh.
But since I posted the ketchup recipe, I’ve received tons of requests and comments about the fries. My favorite one was “Forget the catchup the fries look good where's the recipe dude? I'm hungry!”,
which I thought was hilarious.
But there were also other comments that totally made my day (in fact, you guys are pretty amazing: smart, good listeners, responsive and with a healthy amount of sense of humor. I feel privileged to have readers like you: Thanks!)
With all these requests coming at me, I felt cornered, with only one possible way out: posting the recipe.

Homemade (Paleo) Ketchup

Ok guys, I’ll be honest, I've been on a DIY condiments kick lately.
It started with (paleo) Sriracha a couple of weeks ago. I had wayyyy too much fun making it, it was wayyyy too delicious and I enjoyed wayyy too much success. Who knew?
So It was only a matter of time before I would try making another condiment. I picked ketchup, arguably the most popular sauce in the whole world (I mean, duh).