Just. Breathe.

I know it's Wednesday -- I've been technically challenged this week and couldn't get this to post! Oh, and I procrastinated a bit... I've written about this place before : I found a new spice mix there that I used to make these beauties: It's the "Coastal Blend" and it is light and lemony and garlicky and all the good things that shrimp needs. And very, very easy. I put about a dozen cleaned shrimp into a Ziploc bag and added about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mixed that around to coat the shrimp, then sprinkled in about 2 teaspoons of the spice. Tossed the shrimp in the bag and took a look -- they all had visible spices on them, so I decided that was enough. (Like how exact I am?) Then I added a couple of teaspoons of lime juice and let the shrimp sit until the grill was hot. This time, I just put them in a grill basket. So metimes I'll skewer them, but was too lazy to work that hard. About 7 minutes on the grill, tossing them around a b...

In the last two weeks, I've had quite a few conversations with friends about this Paleo thing we're doing and it occurred to me I could save myself (and them) a lot of time if I'd just condense it all into one place. This is that place. This is also a really long post, so feel free to skip to the stuff you're interested in. When you've been doing something for 6 months, there's a lot of information as well as practical experience to draw on. I've already posted on why we're doing this, and there are awesome sites out there with a huge amount of detail on what to eat, why to eat, blah blah... so that's not what I'm doing here. But I think I'm pretty mainstream when it comes to what I was accustomed to eating, and what I'm willing to put into my mouth. Liver doesn't make the cut. Tongue? No, thank you. I'm really not going to go into veal or lamb -- not because it isn't good, but because it's not been a part of my diet...

You need to go here. In Fort Worth, it's in the Stockyards. They are also online, but you miss the smelling part. So find a store and go. Here's why. They have this: Rows and rows of jars filled with EVERY possible herb and spice you could ever need, and several you may never have heard of. You can take off the lids and sniff until your nose can't take it any more. They also have this: The table in front is hard to pass up -- little crocks on top to hold your favorite spices, with adorable sterling silver spoons. I have the small white one on the right. But look behind the table: BLENDS. Very smart, very spice-knowledgeable people have done the hard work. They've created amazing blends of spices for everything from steak to fish to vegetables and lined them all up. You can fill little packets and take your favorite spices home to be your very own. Here are some of my favorites. Seafood Blackening, Salmon Tea Rub, Backwoods Hickory, Southwest Sea...