Dine & Dash

Owen and I at El Chingon in Denver! 

Egg bowl w/ sauteed spinach, flax seed oatmeal, queso fresco, smokehouse almonds.

I was thinking about a sandwich for lunch... ... but then I remembered that wheat is evil and will likely cause your offspring to be two-headed demon children.* Better tacos than sorry. *Unless you actually are GI/celiac. In which case it will give you the runs and equally unpleasant symptoms.

If I could've been born to another culture, I'd choose Brazil. But because I can't, I make Brazilian food. Simple grilled chicken with a spicy sauce - or "molho" - and green beans sauteed in herb butter. Bom apetite!

Combine 2T peanut butter, 2 scoops chocolate protein powder, 2T ground flax seed (fiber, son!), a squirt of honey, and enough water to bring the mixture to a playdough consistency. Roll into balls. Freeze till firm.

Preheat oven to 450. Make a few curlicues of olive oil on a big metal pan. Wash, and haphazardly chop a head of c-flower into bite-sized pieces. Check your Facebooktwittertumblrmyspacezipper while the oven heats up. (Bonus: check yourself before you wreck yourself.) Toss the pan in the oven and repeat the above step for 20 minutes or so. Here's where the magic happens. When golden brown and sizzling, remove from oven, toss with s&p, cumin, garlic powder. Serving suggestion (actually it's mandatory): On salad, with roasted meats or via iv. Serves: One hungry you.

The Useful Stuff: Located in The Source, 3350 Brighton Blvd., Denver. Also in Longmont. www.eatcomida.com

Every relationship, no matter how good or bad, leaves you with a lesson when it ends. One lesson I learned was the beauty and simplicity of Latin American and Hispanic food from a guy I dated who had part-Cuban heritage. We loved to cook, and the easiest thing to fall back on was soft tacos. Tacos with leftovers; tacos with beef, chicken, pork; tacos with breakfast food. Sometimes we'd make fresh tacos with a masa/water dough and his mom's tortilla press. A quick turn on a greased cast iron and the soft, hearty rounds would be ready for however much or little filling you're feeling that night. I still make tacos now because they're just as simple, customizable and delicious as they ever were. My favorite combinations are: fried egg and pesto, roasted sweet potatoes and queso fresco, barbecued cauliflower, and as shown in the picture, sweet spicy pork with avocado and crumbled qf. Yum.

The newest addition to our family.

Perfectly rare steak, kale wilted in its juices, cauliflower battered wing-style and smothered in balsamic-sriracha sauce.

The best things in life are simple. Fried egg soft tacos. Roasted kale. Guacamole.