This is a recipe borrowed from Health Bent, one of my favorite Paleo Bloggers. Charlie saw the recipe and I was pretty sure I was going to have to keep him from gnawing on my computer screen. To say he loves chorizo is a bit of an under statement. Enjoy!

Fried Egg Chorizo Burgers with Caramelized Onions

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb fresh chorizo, casing removed (berkeley bowl has bulk chorizo without the casing)
  
• 2 red onions, thinly sliced
• coconut oil for frying
  
• 6-8 eggs
• 2 beautiful heirloom tomatoes, sliced
• 2 avocados, sliced
• 1 lime, sliced into wedges
• S&P

Method

In a large bowl combine the beef and chorizo. Mix well with your hands. Patty the meat into as many burgers as you'd like. We got about 6 out of the mixture. Put the 4 extra in the freezer for later.

Place the burgers on a pan (or grill them) and s&p them.  Bake until the burgers are medium to well, whatever you like best. Cooking times are going to depend on the thickness of your burger, so check them, don't rely on our times.

While the burgers are cooking...

Using coconut oil, over medium-low heat, saute the onions until they've developed a nice carmel color-this may take a while, so if you're in a hurry, crank up the heat and get the onions charred and crispy.

Once the burgers are done and resting...

Fry the egg to your liking in the same pan you used to caramelize the onions. Sunny side up, over easy, over hard, doesn't matter to us-though we enjoyed a runny egg yolk, as it made a nice 'sauce'.

To serve, top with sliced tomatoes, avocado, a squeeze of lime juice and a fried egg.

While the rest of the world welcomed in the new year, I was in bed by 8:00pm. I am officially old. Either that or just very jet-lagged. I like to think it is the latter. We had planned on arriving back in California a full day earlier than we actually did. The journey was a mission! We flew from Cape Town to Johannesburg only to find that our flight was 12 hours delayed. We then stood in line for 3 hours to get accommodation for the night. We finally got to the hotel at about 11pm where the porter deftly sent my camera bag rolling out of his golf cart. Really? I spent the night hiding from a dive bombing mosquito to crawl out of bed at 3:30am to a downpour.  We called for the golf cart man to take us to the lobby (I held onto my bag this time). Our entire flight of passengers then had to wait in line at 4:00am for a bus to take 12 people at a time to the airport. What a mess. We finally made it to the airplane and spent the next 17 hours watching movies while getting progressively more sleepy while being unable to sleep. We arrived in Atlanta (where my sandal broke...now its barefoot all the way back to SF. At this point all I could do was laugh. And snort.) to find that there were no seats available on our flight to San Francisco. We had to fly standby. Charlie made it onto the plane, I did not. So, it is another 4 hour wait to get a hotel. I finally made it home the following day. So you see, After hardly sleeping for three days, I figured that welcoming in the New Year with a bubble bath, a glass of champagne and and early night was a perfect plan. And it was.

So it was a bit of a rough way to end the year, but I can not complain. We have been extremely fortunate, it has been a wonderful year for us. We have traveled more than our fair share, spent loads of time enjoying friends and family. My business has brought me more joy than I could have hoped for while being challenging and pushing me to the limits of my creative and professional ability. We are healthy, strong, happy and excited for what the future holds. Life is good.

P.S. This shot was taken in from my in-laws home in Simons Town, South Africa. We had Christmas there, they have a beautiful view. Perfect for recovering from a cold!

It has been an interesting trip so far. Normally, when I arrive in South Africa I am full of energy, I run up Table Mountain multiple times, always on the go. This time...not so much. When we stepped off the plane in Cape Town and I felt like I had a head on collision with a semi. My body was wrecked, I was hacking up various shades of green (sorry for the detail) and I wanted to do nothing more than sleep. I did sleep. I think I slept through my first three days here. I am finally just about to start feeling better, and now Charlie is getting sick. What a bummer. So, I figure we can use this time to just relax and heal.

On another note, I figured I could do a few posts about local food that neatly fit onto my paleo plate. Today, Cape Gooseberry. I first tasted these little treats about five years ago when a flat mate purchased them at the local market in downtown Rondebosch. I wasn't a huge fan the first time I had them, but they have grown on me. Much like many of the Cape specialties. These little berries are about the size of a marble, sweet when ripe with a bit of tartness. Perfect for summer. I have yet to try the Cape Gooseberry in any form other than in its raw, whole form... perhaps it will make its way into a dish in the future. I am curious to see if these can be found a the Berkeley Bowl. If not I might have a note for the suggestion box.

One of Charlie's dearest friends, Nick, was married on Friday. The timing was perfect for us to go, a rare treat to take part in such a special event. I know it is hard for Charlie to be so far away from his family and friends, so when the timing works out and we are able to take part, it is a joy for us both. The ceremony was in a sweet little church in Paarl, a 45 minute drive from Cape Town. The ceremony was beautiful, Nick and Dine couldn't be happier. I don't think Dine stopped smiling once, and Nick was the most tearful groom I have seen. So full of love for one another, it was touching to witness. I put my camera away during the reception, I just enjoyed myself. I almost regret not getting images of all of the details, Dine clearly put a lot of work into making it just perfect. My favorite: personalized notes to each one of their nearly 200 guests.

It was a challenge for me to be at the wedding and just enjoy it. Charlie started to get concerned about the nervous twitch in my trigger finger. I did end up grabbing just a few shots, I couldn't help it.

 Congratulations Nick and Dine! Thank you so much for including us in your day. Your joy is infectious.

The next time I post I will be on the other side of the globe. Hopefully this time all of my luggage will make it in one piece!