Weston Ochse's Blog

BBQ Low Country Shrimp and Cheddar Jalapeno Grits with Peaches
Low Country cuisine usually is reserved for South Carolina and Georgia coastal cuisines. The landscape was particular for its inhospitable geography with clogged estuaries and deadly swamps, and if it wasn’t for the African slaves brought from Western Africa, the land would still be untamed. With their arrival in the region, swamps were turned into rice fields and every piece and morsel of animal, amphibian, and fish were scienced until they became the delectable details of a very particular American cuisine. Now, low country cuisine lives on from the Gullah peoples and others in the region who broke ground and created something great out of virtually nothing.
Hats off and forever props to them!
My recipe came from an eating experience at Tautog’s Restaurant in Virginia Beach. Unlike many of the establishments in VaBeach, this place is slightly off the tourist map and is a major local hangout. Lucky for me, I have been to VaBeach so many times that I get invited to many a dinner when I’m there, usually at Tautogs. When I had their version of low country shrimp and grits with BBQ sauce and peaches, I knew this was something I could remake.
And remake it I did with 1000% success on the first try.
I’ve since made it about a dozen times tweaking it here and there. Like most southern recipes, it’s not about physical measurement, but about the eyeball and the taste test. I’ll provide the recipe, but use your own judgement. This recipe is hard to mess up, but if you do mess it up, do it spectacularly.
Here’s my recipe.
BBQ Low Country Shrimp and Cheddar Jalapeno Grits with PeachesAuthor: Living DangerouslyDuration: 50 minutesAverage Cost PP: $7.00 USServes: 4
Ingredients:
Olive oilSalt12 Medium Shrimp (raw)2 Cups Bob’s Red Mill Grits 1 cup shredded cheddarBunch green onions5 Ounces favorite BBQ Sauce (10 tbs)2 fresh peaches (or can of peaches if not in season) Cut into slices.2 pieces cooked and diced bacon, prosciutto, or Spanish Chorizo (Optional)4 pickled jalapeno slices and 3 tablespoons of juice (optional)
Directions:
Shell shrimp and devein. Place shells in two cups of water and simmer for 30 minutes to create a stock. Do not add Old Bay seasoning, but do add salt to taste.
Chop green onions, separating white pieces from green pieces.
Once shrimp stock is cooked, remove shells, add water as needed for directions and begin cooking grits. Stir several times a minute to ensure that the grits will become creamy. Add butter if necessary, but the BBQ sauce might make it unnecessary. Still, butter is a food group so do what you feel is right.
On ridged grill pan or on grill, (I prefer a grill pan on the stove so I can see everything at once) cook peaches until wilted and char marks on both sides. Set aside. If using canned peaches, reserve some of the juice and add to the BBQ sauce.
Butterfly shrimp and begin cooking in pan with olive oil over low heat. When half cooked, turn over and add peaches, white parts of onions, and BBQ sauce. Continue cooking on low. The BBQ sauce should begin to caramelize.
When grits are almost done by directions, add cheddar cheese and stir frequently. Add optional jalapeno juice now if desired. Ensure that there is enough liquid for the grits to create the requisite delicate texture.
Once grits are finished, serve into four bowls. Add 4 pieces of shrimp per bowl along with an equal amount of peaches, and white parts of cooked onions and BBQ sauce.
Serve each dish with a handful of chives (green parts of green onions), a single pickled jalapeno on top, and optional diced pork products.
When eating, after photographing, Facebooking, Instagramming, and Tweeting, dig fork through the middle to combine all ingredients for each taste.
I’ve had this with and without the pork. I honestly like it without the pork, only because chorizo and other products can so overwhelm the relative delicate taste of the shrimp. The best flavor is when the shrimp is the king, with everything else as an accompaniment.

I started reading Stephen Graham Jones when I read Mongrels. I thought it a powerful piece of a family living on the precipice of a society to which they didn't really belong. I enjoyed the understatement and appreciated the coming-of-age narrative. That set me up for pretty much anything SGJ. More than anything, I think it's his voice which is as unique as his POV. 
So, it was with a little glee that I was able to arrange for an advanced copy of The Only Good Indians. I had no idea what it was about. If you were to believe Paul Tremblay in his cover blurb the book is a masterpiece. When I saw that, I decided to reserve that opinion until I finished the book. Well, I finished the book and Paul is as right as he always is. 
The Only Good Indians takes place in and along the BlackFeet Reservation in Montana. Four young American Indian men are chased by a ghost who is as implacable and cunning as any ghost in fiction. The reader isn't exactly sure who the protagonists and the antagonists are until they learn the backstory, and once learned, it's an interesting morality dance to see which side the reader comes out on.
Without giving any spoilers, ultimate survival hinges on a sixteen-year-old basketball phenom's ability to play res basketball in an epic game of 21 that will resonate through modern fiction for dozens of years.
The point of view is from those who live on an American Indian reservation. The narrative is so authentic, no Custer like me could have ever written it. Like Jordan Peele, Stephen Graham Jones shows us life through an uncomfortable but real morale lens, then dares us to inhabit it, and upon doing so, slams our heads back and forth into the harsh reality of it all. I've never been on a reservation, but I never doubted the authenticity. SGJ brought as much realness to the narrative as a scientist would to a textbook.
In the end, the book is about humanity. It's about love and friendship and regret and acceptance and the hardscrabble to accept or not accept a predetermined fate, all things that transcend race, religion, or economic circumstance. I read through The Only Good Indians in two days and in those two days I was ensconced in a way of life so unlike my own, but with people who I almost knew, that I regretted sliding past the last page.
But what I remembered throughout was that there's another part to the saying, The Only Good Indians are dead indians - said by too many white men over too long a span.
Order this book now so you can read it the moment it comes out.

I started reading Stephen Graham Jones when I read Mongrels. I thought it a powerful piece of a family living on the precipice of a society to which they didn't really belong. I enjoyed the understatement and appreciated the coming-of-age narrative. That set me up for pretty much anything SGJ. More than anything, I think it's his voice which is as unique as his POV. 
So, it was with a little glee that I was able to arrange for an advanced copy of The Only Good Indians. I had no idea what it was about. If you were to believe Paul Tremblay in his cover blurb the book is a masterpiece. When I saw that, I decided to reserve that opinion until I finished the book. Well, I finished the book and Paul is as right as he always is. 
The Only Good Indians takes place in and along the BlackFeet Reservation in Montana. Four young American Indian men are chased by a ghost who is as implacable and cunning as any ghost in fiction. The reader isn't exactly sure who the protagonists and the antagonists are until they learn the backstory, and once learned, it's an interesting morality dance to see which side the reader comes out on.
Without giving any spoilers, ultimate survival hinges on a sixteen-year-old basketball phenom's ability to play res basketball in an epic game of 21 that will resonate through modern fiction for dozens of years.
The point of view is from those who live on an American Indian reservation. The narrative is so authentic, no Custer like me could have ever written it. Like Jordan Peele, Stephen Graham Jones shows us life through an uncomfortable but real morale lens, then dares us to inhabit it, and upon doing so, slams our heads back and forth into the harsh reality of it all. I've never been on a reservation, but I never doubted the authenticity. SGJ brought as much realness to the narrative as a scientist would to a textbook.
In the end, the book is about humanity. It's about love and friendship and regret and acceptance and the hardscrabble to accept or not accept a predetermined fate, all things that transcend race, religion, or economic circumstance. I read through The Only Good Indians in two days and in those two days I was ensconced in a way of life so unlike my own, but with people who I almost knew, that I regretted sliding past the last page.
But what I remembered throughout was that there's another part to the saying, The Only Good Indians are dead indians - said by too many white men over too long a span.
Order this book now so you can read it the moment it comes out.

Day 8. Trout. Ketoing Blind. Everything Butter. And Wesley Chu.
The day started out great. Had to get ready for work and drop some info into my online college classroom and was able to do that before I left. Today's menu:
Breakfast: 2 Hard Boiled EggsMid Morning: None.Lunch: Me: 12 oz of Lono Life Thai Curry Bone BrothYvonne: Something Fucking GloriousAfternoon: 2 oz Colby Jack CheeseDinner: Baby Carrots with Butter, Brussels Spouts and Butter, and Idaho Trout Sauteed in Butter

Ordered some Swerve Sweetener, Zero Carb Bread, Psyllum Husk Powder, Almond Flour, and Keto Chow Electrolyte Drops.
More people commented on the hominy I had the other night, including friend and fellow author Wesley Chu (Buy his new book please). Here's how our conversation on FB went.
Wesley Chu: Hmm... are those legumes?Oh Hominy...psst, those are very high in carbs.
(This is where I try and get funny)Weston Ochse: yep. 24 carbs divided by 6 people. Whaaaat? That's 4 carbs. OMG. And with net carbs we're down to 1 per person. Oh, shit I'ma gonna die. :)
(Wes doesn't think it's funny)Wesley Chu: Weston Ochse what's your macros at?
(Now, I'm confused. What the what?)Weston Ochse: Wesley Chu uhhh. Uhhh. Now you got me.
(Outraged Biblically)Wesley Chu: Weston, are you ketoing blind? Get thee carb manager app and get your macros!
(Jumps in as a shill for the premium version of the Conometer app) John Hornor Jacobs: The app Cronometer we talked about Weston has that built in
(Hates math)Weston Ochse: That's a lot of math.
(Wise Man Speaks) Wesley Chu Your macros are pretty important metrics to track. For example, i'm on a 16g carb limit, 71g protein, and 140g fat. Usually okay to go over on fat. When I do carb cheat, I'll rarely blow past 20.
Weston Ochse: Good to know. I just looked up how to figure them out. I'll do that.
Weston Ochse: Wesley Chu Okay. looks like they are 25 g carbs, 113g protein, and 189g fat. Those numbers are all higher than yours. Not sure that's good. But then you are in super model-athlete-ninja shape.
Lessons I learned today. Dude, you need to drink hella more water.Dude, you need to drink hella more water.Dude, don't Keto blind.Dude, carrots should not be eaten because they are hella carbs.Dude, Buy Wes Chu's Book.Dude, Buy John Hornor Jacobs' Book.And finally, Dude, you need to drink hella more water. 

Total Weight Loss:Weston: -5
Yvonne: -5 

Day 7. Bacon. Keto Flu. Bloatitorium. Dehydration. Puking.
The day started out great. We got up about 7 AM. In retrospect, we should have gotten up earlier and walked. I'll explain later. Then I cooked a pound of bacon. We each had five glorious pieces. We saved the bacon grease and the rest of the bacon, except the one piece we gave to the dogs. Yes. One piece. And they looked pissed. I could almost see them saying, 'No one has leftover bacon, dad.'
Today's menu:
Breakfast: Bacon-Bacon-Bacon-Bacon-BaconMid Morning: None.Lunch: Me: 2 1/3rd pound cheddar bacon burgers with tomato, onion in a lettuce wrap and a scosh of ketchup.Yvonne: 1 1/3rd pound of cheddar bacon burger with tomato, onion in a lettuce wrap and a scosh of curry ketchupAfternoon: NothingDinner: Me: Three egg and havarti omeletYvonne: Leftovers from the Bottom round and mushrooms.
By 9 AM I was feeling like I'd just been rolled by a marching band and left in a ditch. I lost all of my energy. Totally gone and flatlined. I stayed on the couch until 11, when Yvonne had me run an errand with her. That sort of perked me up. I was able to get some writing done. Then I made lunch. I should NOT have had two burgers. The problem was that it was so messy that I ate it fast. We really didn't have the right kind of lettuce to make a wrap. We needed butter lettuce and we had romaine. Because I did eat it so fast, my stomach didn't register that I was full so I ate the other one and welcomed myself to the Bloatatorium. 
Using a pick axe and rope, I managed to climb my way back upstairs, where I did more work on my novel in progress. A few folks commented about my use of hominy the previous day on Facebook and I had to explain to them about math. It was all good. 
Mid-afternoon, Yvonne wanted to go for a walk. Sure. I strapped on my Suunto watch to keep track of distance, and HR, and V02 Max and other shit I don't know about. Then we hiked two miles and a half. Now, all day I'd probably had two glasses of ice tea and three or four sips of water. I read somewhere that on the Keto diet you really should drink 100 oz of water. Well, I didn't even have a fourth that much and got my HR up to 152 during part of the walk.
This was me in my new hatWhat happened? I came home and started puking up pieces of cheddar bacon burgers with tomato, onion in a lettuce wrap and a scosh of ketchup. I felt like I was three hours in at a Frat Party. I was overheated. Whenever I drank water it would come right up. It took me about an hour to get right, during which I got to watch my football team go 0-4 and their second best linebacker get lost for the season. Oh joy.
Lessons I learned today. Dude, you need to drink hella more water.Dude, you need to drink hella more water.Dude, give your damn dogs more than one piece of bacon.Dude, people don't have leftover bacon.Dude, eat slower so you know you are full.Dude, electrolytes are a thing.And finally, Dude, you need to drink hella more water. 

Total Weight Loss:Weston: -5
Yvonne: -5 

Day 6.
I felt great again today. Got up and walked 2 miles. Then I had to get some food into the oven. The plan was to have a big lunch. My parents were coming down from Tucson.
Today's menu:
Breakfast: Nothing reallyMid Morning: None.Lunch: Indian spiced lamb shanks with artichokes and hominy.Afternoon: NothingDinner: Steaks and salad
The lunch was a huge and involved meal. I'll give the recipe if anyone wants it. It really held us over for the remainder of the day. I know people said that the hominy has a lot of carbs, but if it's divided by 4 people and we still have leftovers, then it's less than 6 carbs per person. And remember, I'm not going for zero carbs. I trying for 20 - 50 carbs max.
Total Weight Loss:Weston: -4
Yvonne: -4 

Day 5.
Felt absolutely great today. Got up at 6 AM. Walked 1.1 miles. Not a lot, but it’s something.
Today's menu:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with butter and heavy cream. So good. Two sausage patties each. Mid Morning: 2 oz cheddar cheeseLunch: ChipoltleMe: Chicken Keto Bowl with Green SalsaYvonne: Steak Keto Bowl with Green SalsAfternoon: NothingDinner: Bottom Round Steak in Mushroom Gravy with Brussel Sprouts
Dinner was an interesting proposition. We had this 2 pound bottom round steak in our upright freezer for two years. I found a recipe and used the instapot. Essentially, I cut the round steak into bite size pieces and then cooked it with onions, mushrooms, and cream of mushroom soup mix for 1.2 hours in the instapot. And guess what? It came out soupy. So, I microwaved the brussel sprouts and put them in the mix, added some arrowroot to make the soup into a gravy, and we ate it like a gravy boat of beef and brussel spouts. Of course, had we not been on the Keto Diet, we would have probably used some sort of pasta to carry the gravy, but we didn’t. And good on us. HeAlso, for lunch, it was interesting that all I had to tell the guy at Chiplotle was we were having Keto Bowls. He knew exactly what the hack was. It's not on their menu. It's just a bowl without the beans or the chips. We were only able to eat half. It was damn good, but surprisingly expensive. 
Total Weight Loss:Weston: -3Yvonne: -3 

Day 4.

I'm back in the saddle again. Woke up to a better back.

Today's menu:Breakfast: Skipped (oops)Mid Morning: 2 oz cheddar cheeseLunch: Me. Leftover chicken from Day 1.Yvonne. Mortadella SaladAfternoon: NothingDinner: Adobo lime rubbed grilled salmon with zucchini noodles and an avocado.

Total Weight Loss:Weston: -2Yvonne: -3 

Day 3.
The remnants of Hurricane Lorena are still hanging around. The arthritis in my lower back was screaming today. No work. Little writing. Just pain.

Today's menu:
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with tarragon, onions, garlic, and truffle salt. Didn’t taste like eggs. Yvonne didn’t like it. I need to make it up to her for lunchMid Morning: 2 oz cheddar cheeseLunch: ApplebeesMe: 8 oz steak and garlicky green beansYvonne: Quesadilla Burger without the Quesadilla and garlicky green beans Afternoon: NothingDinner: 2 mozzarella stuffed sausages and leftover garlicky green beans
Today was tough. I spent most of it on the couch. I have arthritis in my lowest back and sometimes the weather whispers nasty rumors of pain to it.
Total Weight Loss:Weston: -2Yvonne: -2 

Day 2.
We would have gotten up and walked, but the remnants of Hurricane Lorena hit us at midnight and we're spent the day in the middle of a day long thunderstorm.

Today's menu: Breakfast

Breakfast:1 1/2 sausage patties with a slice of fig and melted cheddar cheeseMid Morning: 2 oz cheddar cheeseLunch: Me: 1 Inside Out Sandwich (mortadella, Genoa salami, ham, Munster cheese, banana pepper, roasted red pepper, mayo, and lettuce. Yvonne: Dirty Leftover Chicken Afternoon: 2 oz CashewsDinner: 1.5 Stuffed Peppers Each
Yvonne spent most of the day in Tucson at an art class. I spent most of the day at work. When I came home, I made the stuffed peppers from a recipe using cauliflower rice, so I had to make that first. I think the stuffed peppers came out great. Super tasty and filling. We have enough left over for another meal. Dinner
Total Weight Loss:Weston: -2Yvonne: -2