Author: jcurd

Update!

So, it has been forever since I have written in here.  I have been super busy with work and life in general. 

House

I’m closing on a house shortly and that has taken most of my time and effort (and also, my money!).  I’m pretty excited about this as it is a huge step forward in life; my biggest financial decision to date for sure.  It is a gorgeous house in Glen Allen, VA just around the corner from my current client, close to shopping, great school district and a great neighborhood.

Ankle

So, my ankle is healing much better now that I decided to stop playing paintball until it gets better.  A few months ago I started hitting the gym again, then I was able to do deadlifts and squats.  I started incorporating calf-work that includes ankle movement.  This mobilization of the joint in a slow fashion while emphasizing progressive strengthening of the joint and connective tissues is what I feel has helped me the most.  I am now back to being able to train at higher intensity and include plyometrics and speed/agility training once a week again.  I am hoping to be able to play and run in cleats again by the DC NPPL 7 Man event and the third PSP event of the year which is rumored to be held in New Jersey.  Missing Chicago pains me, but it is for the best.  I’m also closing on my house that week.  Good luck to all my friends playing in Chicago especially Richmond United, Nasty, Assault, and Revolution.

Diet

So, I am doing the Paleolithic diet with my girlfriend and some friends.  I thought it was going to be horrible.  However, after lots of research I have found plenty of recipes and food substitutes for most of my favorite recipes.  I’m excited to give it a shot.  So far I have been doing the diet for one week and have already lost 12 pounds.  Of course, since it is a high protein, low-carb diet the initial weight loss is expected to be pretty large and I know this is water weight.  But my previous success with low-carb diets leads me to believe that this will be a worthwhile endeavor.  I’m planning to be pretty strict on this for 30 days and then see where it goes from there.  I might add brown rice and sweet potatoes to the diet after this initial month long period. 

Hopefully through my workouts and this diet I can lean back out to where I once was, if not even more so. 

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Simple and delicious bleu cheese crusted ribeye steaks

Ingredients:

  • Parsley
  • Garlic
  • Butter
  • Olive oil
  • Rosemary
  • Thyme
  • Bleu cheese
  • Steaks
  • Salt
  • Bread crumbs

Steps:

  • Preheat oven to 325*.
  • Remove steaks from fridge a little while before cooking.  This ensures even cooking.
  • Add 1/2 cup bread crumbs to a bowl with a bit of parsley, rosemary and thyme.  Add bleu cheese and mix together with fork.  I try to break up the really large pieces of bleu cheese while doing this.
  • Coat steaks in olive oil then salt generously (the salt helps with the browning).
  • Add oil to pan, bring to temp over medium-high heat.
  • Sear steaks on both sides.
  • Place a pad of butter on each steak and insert into the oven for a few minutes (usually about 10* prior to your ideal finish temp about 125* for med-rare).  In this specific case, I sautéed some minced garlic in a pan with butter and poured that over each steak.
  • Turn oven to broil.
  • Cover steaks in bread crumb/bleu cheese mixture, packing it on well.
  • Insert steaks into the oven under the broiler.  Keep an eye on the steaks and remove when the bleu cheese crust has turned nice and brown.
  • Let the meat rest on a board for about 5 minutes.
  • Enjoy!

Pictures:

Just got back from the Orthopedic Surgeon!

We have good news: no fracture!  Seems to be, as initially thought, just a really bad sprain.  Dr. Seth Cheatham at VCU Sports Medicine is the man.  If anyone needs an Orthopedic Surgeon in the Richmond, VA area, I highly suggest this clinic!  The facility is great, the staff is wonderful and the two doctors I had were excellent as well. 

He wrote me a script for Physical Therapy and also gave me a brace to use.  I should be good to go by the next practice on Feb 20th and that means I should definitely be good by Texas!

VCUHS Sports Medicine Center

Guinness braised short ribs!

Hey guys, here is the recipe I used for last night’s dinner.  Very simple and take about 3 hours total from start to finish!  I recommend serving them with some sort of starch and everyone’s favorite definitely seems to be mashed potatoes.  All you need is a dutch oven, chef’s knife, cutting board and wooden spoon to cook these.  Smile

Ingredients:

  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 6 nicely sized boneless beef short ribs
  • sea salt
  • fresh ground black pepper
  • 1 large yellow onion – chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic – minced
  • 2 carrots – chopped
  • 2 celery stalks – chopped
  • 2 cups low-sodium beef stock
  • 1 pint of Guinness
  • 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
  • 2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Directions:

  • Preheat oven to 380*
  • Chop your vegetables
  • Over medium-high heat, drizzle oil in your dutch oven.  With the oil hot, sear all sides of your short ribs (DO NOT COOK, JUST BROWN THEM).  Be sure to let them get a nice crust.  Your oil must be hot!
  • Remove the meat from the pan when done.  Add the garlic and onion, scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan (use a WOODEN spoon).  I lower the heat a bit here as to not burn the garlic.  Burnt garlic tastes awful!
  • Add the carrots and celery and cook for about 5 minutes!  Scrape the bottom of the pan once again, ensuring you get all of the brown bits up.  I usually semi-cover the pan here.
  • Add one cup of the beef stock, scraping the bottom again.  Then add the meat back to the pan.
  • Add the remaining beef stock and the Guinness.  Drop in the thyme and rosemary.  Salt and pepper to taste.
  • Let the dutch oven simmer for about 20 minutes, uncovered.
  • Place the duct oven into the oven covered!  Cook at 380* for roughly 2 hours.
  • Enjoy!