Paleo | theclothesmakethegirl

Oct 29, 2012 Posted by Mel

Brains! Cauliflower Brains!

Three hundred sixty four days of the year, cauliflower is a gentle vegetable. So humble, so bland and unassuming, so eager to please. What other vegetable allows you to grate it to smithereens to make rice or mash it into submission or purée it until it’s creamy comfort in a bowl? But one day a year, on October 31, when witches fly across the sky and demons crawl from the depths of the netherworld... read more

Oct 24, 2012 Posted by Mel

Golden Cauliflower Soup

It’s not exactly soup weather in Austin yet. The temperature is still annoyingly hovering in the high 80s, and the stack of (super cute) sweaters I bought a few weeks ago sits on my shelf, mocking me and the life choices that brought me to the land of perpetual flip flops and the (questionable) glory of swimming holes. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t eat soup. In fact, I’m eating... read more

Oct 18, 2012 Posted by Mel

Cooking With Hilah & Me

I want to introduce you guys to my pal Hilah. Say hi! Hilah and her partner Chris are the beauty, brains, brawn, and badassery — I’ll leave it to you to decide who’s who — behind the internet cooking show Hilah Cooking. I have to admit, I’m always a little envious when Hilah shares a new episode because she’s not hamstrung by the rules of paleo, and her food always looks... read more

Oct 16, 2012 Posted by Mel

Slow-Cooker Italian Pork Roast

There was a cosmic convergence among five factors to bring this recipe post into your kitchens: 1. Nom Nom Paleo did a cooking demo of her incredibly, lusciously delicious Slow Cooker Kalua Pig at our paleo throwdown in Estes Park, Colorado — and her 3-ingredient recipe inspired me to think about how I could adapt her technique to some other flavors. 2. I’ve had to jettison spices this month while... read more

Oct 12, 2012 Posted by Mel

Herbs vs. Spices

How much do I love spices? I own a board game called Spices of the World, have a well-thumbed copy of The Complete Book of Spices on my cookbook shelf, and it’s widely known that cumin is my all-time favorite spice. But this month, I’m abstaining from my lovely, aromatic friends while I give the autoimmune protocol (AIP) a shot. I don’t think I have an underlying sensitivity to spices... read more

Sep 13, 2012 Posted by Mel

Weirdly-Awesome, Awesomely-Weird Dinner For One

When I was growing up, my whole family ate dinner together at 5:00 p.m. most nights. But every once in a while, when I was a little older, I’d find myself in the house by myself, and that’s when I’d make weird stuff for dinner. Like a whole box of Steak-Umms (liberally sprinkled with garlic salt and browned in a pan until crispy) and a few Eggo waffles, burnt and slathered with butter.... read more

Sep 10, 2012 Posted by Mel

Healthy Lunchbox 2012

The song “Love is in the Air” is going through my head as “Lunch is in the air…” which is not the same thing at all. But lunch does seem to be in the air — summer’s over, kids are back in school, and it’s time to start the march toward the holidays which takes me through my very favorite time of year: the fresh start of fall. YAY! (And how much am I dating myself... read more

Aug 19, 2012 Posted by Mel

Mayo How-To Video

I’ll be updating my original mayo post soon with this video and some helpful tips I’ve gathered from the 296 (!) comments on that post. Until then, feast your eyes on our first how-to video! Big love to Dave for planning the shot list and shooting the video, being a supportive director, writing the theme music, and doing all of the editing — and hugs of thanks to Jude of SmartSexyPaleo for... read more

Jul 31, 2012 Posted by Mel

Tuesday 10: Paleo Burger Toppers

Oh, the bunless burger! It’s the safe refuge of the paleo eater in a non-paleo world. From low-rent burger joints to higher-end restaurants, you can almost always find a variation of meat-and-veg in the shape of a burger without a bun. A humble meat patty can save you from a meal-related meltdown at home, too. I almost always have a pound of grass-fed ground beef defrosting or already defrosted in... read more

Jul 26, 2012 Posted by Mel

Olympics Opening Ceremonies: The Paleo Menu

On Friday evening, at 6:30 p.m. Central time, I will be parked in front of the TV — with Dave, Smudge, a handful of tissues for the inevitable tears of Olympics love, and our British feast — to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. OMG. THE OLYMPICS ARE COMING! (In case you missed my previous exclamation-filled posts, you can read all my Olympics stuff here.) You know I love theme dinners, so... read more

Jul 17, 2012 Posted by Mel

Tuesday 10: Foods That Are Always In My Kitchen

After three years of paleo eating, Dave and I have drilled grocery shopping down to a science. When our local HEB grocery store rearranged all of its aisles, Dave used the map of the new arrangement to make a spreadsheet that cross-referenced the stuff we buy most often against its location in the store. Genius! (Feel free to take a peek at our grocery list right here. PDF].) We keep a printout of the... read more

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The Redbreast: A Harry Hole Novel
I'm about two-thirds of the way through this detective thriller, and I'm hooked. It's set in modern Norway with flashbacks to WWII (catnip for me!) and features a somewhat grim hero that engenders empathy. I can't help pulling for the guy as I watch him struggle with his case and his life. The cast of characters is a realistic but motley crew, and it reminds me of other favorites set in cold, snowy climes: the Millenium Trilogy and Smila's Sense of Snow.
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I picked up this book after reading an interview with Lee Child (author of the Jack Reacher thrillers). He referred to The Lost as "the book of the century" and since I devour as much as I can about the Holocaust to try to make sense of it all, I decided I needed to read it immediately. Part memoir, part detective tale, this book was thoroughly engrossing. It's intelligent, annoying, moving, frustrating, and ultimately, rewarding and beautifully written. It challenged me in ways I didn't expect, and I was sad when it was finished.