A Few More Words of Wisdom from Anthony Bourdain

"When you let pleasure control your life, and not your life control pleasure, you will find great passion."
- Anthony Bourdain, Sicily

Ancestral Health

This event looks incredible. And I'm so excited to say I'm going! It's a two day lecture series in Los Angeles on August 5th and 6th on health and nutrition from a evolutionary standpoint. Many of the big names in the Paloe movement will be there, such as Loren Cordain, John Durant, Erwin Le Corre, and Nora Gedgaudas. How cool is that?

Yesterday

So, yesterday I woke up at 5:15 and was out the door by 5:30.  Why you ask?  Well, I was going with Patrick (the driver) the pay the taxes in a small town over two hours away.  It's like driving to Sacramento to pay your taxes in person.  A little bit crazy.  But it was a beautiful drive.  Rural Kenya is quite stunning.  The open grasslands are golden and spotted with small, prickly acacia trees.  There were large dark clouds overhead,a nd yet the morning sun was shining through, and the bougenvelia was blooming.  And then we had an excellent breakfast, a necessary part of any good day.  I had two fresh simosas (small triangular pastries stuffed with spicy beef and onion), a fresh mandazi (I would describe a mandazi as a croissant crossed with a pita bread) eaten with two fried eggs.  Not exactly Paleo, I know, I know, but sometimes you have to make exceptions in order to really experience a place and it's culture through food.
We went from there to deliver the taxes and then started on our way home.  But nothing in Kenya ever goes as planned.  Only about 15 minutes in to our journey home we were pulled over, not because we were doing anything wrong, but because the police man wanted us to take a woman and her baby girl into the nearby town to go to the hospital.  The baby, Anne was her name, was apparently sick, with what we never found out.  But let me tell you, little Anne was one of the most adorable babies I have ever seen.  She had a very serious little face, and big, dark, curious eyes.  Beautiful.
And then came the really dramatic moment: the breaks in the truck stopped working and the hood flipped up while we were driving down the freeway.  Luckily, we were quite close to a town where Seeds actually has a house.  So, we put the hood down and drove carefully back to town.  It took some time to fix, but everything was resolved with the car and we were able to return home safely.    

"Nutella" Coffee

On that note...
This is my new favorite coffee drink.  However, I think Kenyan espresso might be a must.  So, good luck with that.
This isn't so much a recipe, as a compilation.  The proportions are 3/4 coffee to 1/4 hazelnut milk.

- freshly brewed espresso
- lightly agave sweetened hazelnut milk
- cocoa powder

1.  Prepare your coffee in the usual fashion.  I use a French press.
2.  Warm the hazelnut milk on medium high heat.  Stir rapidly with a whisk as it heats to create froth.  (Note:  Hazelnut milk doesn't get very frothy at all.)
3.  When the milk is warm, mix in about two tablespoons of cocoa powder.
4.  Pour your coffee into a large mug, no more than three quarters full.  Then add the warm chocolate hazelnut milk.
5.  Try not to guzzle it because it's so good!  Sip, savor, enjoy...

A Little Bite of Something Funny

"I need a hot chocolate and a couple of fat chicks."
- Anthony Bourdain, Paris: Why the French Don't Suck

Paleo Waffles

I love waffles.  But really, who doesn't love a good waffle?  All crispy and sweet and full of all those little wells that you can fill with whatever form of deliciousness you like.  Waffles are so unbiased - you can dress them up in any mix of flavors and they pretty much always turns out with you lusting for more.  So here's my take on what is, in my opinion, one of the world's best food groups (yes, waffles are a group).
This recipe can also be used for pancakes, but why would you do that?


- 3 eggs

- 2  tablespoons grapeseed oil

- 1/4 cup agave

- 1 tablespoon vanilla

- 1/4 teaspoon salt

- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

- 1/4 cup coconut flour

- 1/4 cup applesauce

1.  Beat eggs and oil in a mixer on high speed until fluffy.

2.  Add everything else.

3.  Brush grapeseed oil onto waffle iron

4.  Cook, eat, enjoy!

These are great with chocolate chips, cinnamon, apple sauce, blueberries and yogurt.  I bet they'd even be great with bacon and melon.  But then again, everything is good with bacon.  

What's your favorite waffle topping?  How creative can you get?  Post a comment with the craziest waffle combo you've ever eaten.

The Road

Well, roads rather.  The roads in Kenya are the only thing that really make me want to go home.  They are bumpy, full of pot holes, and follow and incredibly illogical route.  The roads in Kenya are like the neurons of a crazy person - utterly chaotic and firing off in every direction.  And then you add to these lovely Kenyan roads the even more lovely Kenyan drivers.  Driving in Kenya is like bumper cars all the time.  No one follows any traffic laws of any sort.  Every time I get home, I'm relieved that we weren't car jacked or hit by a matatu.  When I get back to California, whenever that may be, I will have a new found respect for traffic lights and stop signs, and even an orderly six lane freeway.  I suppose you never know what you'll really appreciate till you don't have it any more.