Paleo “Lite” Diaries – Balsamic Baked Chicken Recipe

Alright, what’s this Paleo business all about? Well, I’m tying to figure that out and will be chronicling my adventures along the way.

But let’s get real for a second… I can’t invest in hardcore Paleo, I just… can’t. However, I will strive towards my “Paleo Lite” title. What does this mean exactly? To me, it means I get salt, seasonings, WINE, and the occasional Bi-Rite ice cream cake since it’s Kate’s birthday this weekend.

Today I put in a very strong effort and created a Paleo friendly Balsamic Baked Chicken. It was AMAZEBALLS and I want to share. I know a lot of you out there are Paleo, Atkins, healthy, etc. etc. I mean, this is San Francisco right? Well, this recipe is good for all (except vegetarians and the like since chicken is the star) so I hope you try it and like it!

What you’ll need:

•       10 pieces of chicken parts (or butcher your own)
•       Half of a diced medium yellow onion
•       4 cloves of minced garlic
•       2 tblsp of chopped flat parsley (thyme/rosemary would work well too)
•       1 tblsp fish sauce
•       1 tblsp lime juice (lemon is ok too)
•       3 tblsp olive oil
•       3 tblsp balsamic vinegrette
•       salt and pepper to your liking (I put about half a tblsp of each)
•       1 tsp rubbed sage

Now, let’s get cooking!

Step 1) Get your chicken buddy ready

Ignore the paint brush... random kitchen counter findings

I opted to butcher my own whole chicken, as there was a sale at Whole Foods. I think it’s imperative to mention that this was my VERY FIRST TIME! Woohoo! I did it. I feel so oddly accomplished. If you’re also up to the challenge, I found this awesome tutorial online. Give it a try & save some money. But you can also just buy your choice of 8-10 pieces of chicken for convenience.

Step 2) Creating the marinade

Combine all of the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Well not the chicken, that comes next.

Step 3) Just add chicken

You got it! Add your chicken. Feel free to get your hands in there. Make sure that every nook and cranny of that chicken is covered with the marinade.

Step 4) Patience is a virtue…

Wait it out. Cover your freshly dressed chicken parts and put it away in the fridge. I let mine marinate for 4 hours. As with all marinades, the longer you wait, the better.

Step 5) “It’s cooking tiiiimmeee” – A la Troop Beverly Hills

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees for convection, 400 degrees for conventional. Arrange pieces skin side down where applicable and spread the rest of the marinade on top. Once oven is heated, pop it in for 25 min.

Step 6) Flip that bitch

After the initial 25 min, pull it out of the oven and rotate the pieces. Now the skin side is up and will brown for crispy yumminess. Bake for another 25 min.

Step 7) Mangia!

Voila! You’ve got juicy, flavorful, paleo friendly Balsamic Baked Chicken. Let it rest for at least 5-10 minutes before diving in. It’s scalding hot and it’s good to let the juices “set” in the meat for a bit.

So there you have it. A yummy and Paleo friendly chicken that’s easy to make and even easier to devour. I hope you give this recipe or at least some rendition of it a try (and let me know how it turns out)!

Yoga: How I Have Missed You

*Definitely not me... but it sure is pretty! 

A friend recently invited me to join her for a casual, easy breezy session of yoga.  "It'll be fun!", she said.  "It's easy!", she said.  You are not mistaking if you sense hesitation in my virtual voice.  I have not "yoga'd" in about half a year.  The idea of doing anything athletic and bendy in skin-tight spandex was not exactly appealing to this out of shape, winter binge eating lady.  But the little fatty inside me knew, it was time to get back at it.  "Let's do it!", I said.

After a full day of lounging about and napping at my leisure, it was finally time to check off my one to do list for the day.  Yoga, check!  I head over to Yoga To The People.  Upon arrival, I am immediately overwhelmed.  The studio is on the fifth floor, of a walkup... I am so out of shape that even getting to yoga was kicking my butt.

I finally make it to the studio, ohmigawd...  What a gorgeous studio!  I may have gasped a little it was so nice.  Not even kidding, highly recommend that you check this studio out.  Beautiful shiny and clean wooden floors.  Streams of sunlight shining through.  Amazing views of the city.  My breath was taken away.

The yoga practice in and of itself was great too.  Not intimidating at all!  Phew.  You can move at your own pace, but probably better for people who are at least faintly familiar with yoga terms and poses.  But you can definitely cheat and look at what everyone else is doing.  Monkey see monkey do right??  It's not technically Bikram Yoga, but it gets hot up in there.  At one point, I just couldn't take it anymore and took the tee shirt off.  Wanna talk about motivation!?  Take your shirt off in a hot yoga session.  You become VERY aware of your pose, stance, and desire to tone up.

This is a donation based yoga studio.  I saw people donate anywhere from $0-$20.  I mean, it's your karma.  Do what you want.  As for me, I very much enjoyed my time there and donated what I could.  Yoga To The People is hands down one of the better yoga studios I have been too, and I have definitely paid more at less satisfying studios.  So get off your fat little butts and hike it over to the studio!  I hope this inspires you to rediscover yoga like I did.  Namaste netizens!

The People Need a Karaoke PSA

Ahhh... Karaoke... such a fun pastime.  I honestly debate hosting every event at a local karaoke joint.  EVERY.EVENT. "Your birthday is coming up!  How do you feel about karaoke??"  "Going away party... karaoke!?"  "Mazel-tov!!  Karaoke time??"  Simply put, karaoke is the shizznit.  You can be sober, drunk, tone deaf, or even Celine Freakin' Dion.  Karaoke will never turn its back on you.

As fun/amazing/life-altering as karaoke is, there are guidelines.  Take a gander below and avoid being "that" person.  You know "that" person.  The one that picks a 10 minute slow song.  The ones that think they're trying out for American Idol.  Yeah... that guy.  Just don't do it.

Short Songs
Pick a freaking normal length song.  Everyone is waiting for their turn and its not the "(enter your name) Show".  No one wants to sit there listening to you yell into the mic for an ungodly length of time.

Crowd Pleasing Song Choices
Know your audience.  Play to the crowd.  What other trite sayings can I use here?  Essentially, pick good songs.  Choose upbeat, popular, and engaging songs.  "Uptown Girl", "Baby Got Back", "Hotel California", these are guaranteed crowd pleasers.  Avoid sappy, break up, R&B, no hit wonders.

Get Into It
It's severely annoying to karaoke with someone who's just SOOO above it all.  Get over yourself.  Have a fun time, cry later.

Calm The Eff Down
The reverse of above.  You're not freaking Whitney Houston reincarnate.  You probably sound amazing (I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here), but karaoke is like an elementary school play.  Be a good sport and let everyone have their moment.  No need to be the shining star. We'll all just talk shit about you anyway.  Probably because we're just jealous and drunk.  But we're still going to do it.  You've been warned.

I'm sure there's more.  But these are my immediate major karaoke pet peeves.  Let me know if I've missed any of yours!  Happy karaoke-ing people.

I Dated an Assh*le

**May (Definitely) Contain Adult Language**

Shit's about to get real right now... get ready to know some personal stuff about me.

I dated an asshole.  It's not that I was oblivious to his "ass-holiness", it's just that the romanticism that plague most women took over for a tiny bit.  That YOU will be the exception.  Maybe it's just a maturity issue.  With time, people grow, right?  Sometimes yes, but most times, you just gotta get the eff outta dodge.

This post is not a man hating post however.  I knew what I was getting myself into.  It ended exactly how I had imagined it would.  The question that stirs my soul is, why does someone that I categorize as "asshole" get to me so much?  They're NOT worth it and they SHOULD be forgettable, and yet, here I am, devoting a post to said asshole.  (This isn't about you BTW...)

It's because I am slightly disappointed with myself.  I allowed this person to get under my skin.  A person that does not rank highly on my scaling of awesome-ness when compared to all the other glorious people in my life (you guys know who you are), simply got to me.  This less than stellar person brings destruction in his wake, and I ALLOWED it.  Woe is me.  

OK, so I gave in to the pity paragraph.  But no one likes a martyr, myself included.  Let's get a little bipolar and switch gears here.  Yes, said asshole got under my skin but if I had to do it allover again, you can bet your bottom dollar that I would.  As much as I'm sitting here in "Asshole 2012" aftermath, digesting the events of this torrid love affair, I admit I had a great time.

It was fun, romantic, and sweeping.  It was also painful, frustrating, and expletive laden.  But such is life.  I know I'm masochistic in that I find the pleasure in the pain.  It's incomprehensible to most but I do.  The hurt makes you feel alive.  The love does as well.  But can one pick and choose so freely?  No.  It's just good to feel.  I love that.

So yes, I dated an asshole.  But I felt.  I felt hard.  No regrets.  Just blog posts  ;)

That Hipsters Use "Knapsacks"

Living in San Francisco, I am fortunate enough for a front and center ticket of the "Hipsters Take Over The World" movement.  It's an epidemic spreading faster than mononucleosis at a horny middle school dance.  This "revolution" can be found in our daily lives, the influence is palpable...


The other day on Muni, I noticed an every day hipster.  They are as common to this city as Lindsay Lohan is to downward spirals.  I didn't bat an eye.  Tight purple jeans, check.  Compulsory plaid, check.  Worn-in gray hoodie, potential iPhone and American Spirits in opposing jean pockets, check check check.  What made me take notice you ask??

In said subject's left hand was a cloth material bandaged up as a lunch pail.  I believe the best descriptor would be to call it a knapsack.  This said Hipster (whom I'll start calling Slade* from here on out) had ingeniously fashioned a raggedy old bandana into a cute, earth-friendly, and colorful lunch knapsack.

Hipster of the day award goes to Slade as he has successfully created a new (to me and all other non-Hipsters) lunch tote that meets the rigid Hipster requirements of being non-conformists, environmentally conscious, and just plain too cool for school, but not really giving a damn that you're too cool for school... even though, you're just like, too cool... for school.


____________________________________________________________________
*Slade's given name is Michael.  But that is a lame name.  So he started going by Slade in the 6th grade.  He was always quite cutting edge.