Since I’m still a little sick, there’s not a lot of excitement going on for blogging purposes. I feel the need to take this time to profess my love of something else besides bikes, punching stuff, and my dogs… Cooking. Alongside various cartoons and the “drama” of  WWF shows, I used to watch all of the PBS cooking programs when I was a kid, and when a Blockbuster opened near me, I probably rented the same Julia Child cooking video at least 20 times. So, without really knowing it, I learned the basics at an early age.

I’ll start by letting you in on a really great recipe I’ve cooked at least 3 times in the last month. It’s braised beef short ribs, and it is one of the greatest combinations of flavor and texture in all of my culinary experiences. I found this recipe on a page called the Pioneer Woman Cooks a few weeks ago when I somewhat spontaneously decided that I wanted to expand my cooking expertise to slightly less obvious cuts of meat: Braised Beef Short Ribs.  Out of all the ones I looked at, this one seemed incredibly simple (from ingredients out to putting it in the oven is ~30 minutes), and used just a few ingredients, all readily available at most grocery stores (I stick to grass fed beef and nitrate-free bacon or pancetta, so I end up buying those things at Whole Foods). Oh yeah, I also leave out the “roll the ribs in flour” step, and I don’t think they’re any worse for it…

(No, smartass, the ant trap in the background isn’t grass-fed)

Last night I cooked up a mess of those and tried rainbow chard for the first time

In sticking with my “simple” motto, I just chopped it up and sauteed it with butter, garlic, salt, and pepper. It was OK, but I’m gonna try something else next time… according to Matt, the stems taste too much like beets.

Here’s a typical breakfast frittata that is excellent following a hard morning workout:

It’s simple, too… just saute whatever you want in your frittata, then pour it in to three scrambled up eggs with salt & pepper. Let it cook on the stove for a minute, then pop it in the over under the broiler for a minute to cook the top.

If you’re looking for the Ronda Rousey of fiber-containing dishes, try this: kale salad

Here’s something else I want to try to make, if only for the name…

I’m always looking for something new to cook… especially in the “slightly less popular cuts of meat” and “greens & vegetables” categories. So, if anyone out there has suggestions (or if you want to come over for dinner sometime), drop a comment below.