Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon
This recipe will serve 6 hungry cavemen/cavewomen. 😉
This recipe is my own concoction 😉
3 to 4 medium-sized white sweet potatoes, peeled cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1 cup Paleo Mayonnaise (recipe to follow)
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced fennel bulb
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped (optional)
2 slices bacon
To prepare:
Cook the bacon in the microwave and drain on a paper towel.
Cover potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.
Combine your the paleo mayonnaise, vinegar, salt and pepper in large bowl. Add potatoes, fennel slices, onion, eggs, then the bacon. If you like a little chill on your potato salad, you can refrigerate for about a 1/2 hour. However, I like mine room temperature so I pretty much eat the salad right after I put it together. 🙂
2 cups light tasting olive oil or walnut oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper
In a blender, add the eggs, vinegar, and mustard and blend together well – leave the blender running and slowly slowly slowly drop by drop or very slow drizzle add the oil.  BE PATIENT!!  Do not dump all the oil in quickly and give up!!  When the mixture begins to emulsify or thicken, only then can you be a bit faster about pouring in the olive oil but still take your time.  Turn the blender off once all the olive oil is in and the mayonnaise is thickened to your desired consistency.  Add the salt and cayenne pepper and mix well or blend again for another few seconds.
Peach Chipotle Ketchup
This recipe is featured in the Sacramento Bee Taste section today. Wanted to show you what it looks like. We used the ketchup on top of some grass-fed bun less burgers and on these parsnip chips. The ketchup is a flavorful punch of smoky and sweet and can double as a BBQ sauce. I hope you’ll try it in your kitchen! 🙂
Peach-Chipotle Ketchup
5-6 peaches
1 Onion
1 Tbs molasses
1 Tbs honey
4 yellow tomatoes
1 roma tomato
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs crushed garlic
1 Tbs olive oil
1.5 Tbs tomato paste
2 chipotle peppers, seeded
1 tsp salt
Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in a skillet and slice the onion. Sauté the onion
and then add the salt when the onion becomes translucent.
When the onion begins to caramelize, add the apple cider vinegar and
cook the onion down until it is brown and fully caramelized.
Peel and slice the peaches and place the fruit in a food processor.
Pulse until the peaches are a thick liquid. Add the molasses and honey
to the mixture and set aside.
When the onion is fully cooked, put it into the food processor with
the crushed garlic, and pulse until it is a paste. Seed and remove the
membrane from the chipotle peppers, and place them into the food
processor with the onion paste. Pulse until well blended. Set this
mixture aside.
Core and cut tomatoes into medium sized chunks and place in a saucepot
with the peach pureé. Cook them down with the peach purée until the
tomatoes break down and the mixture starts to thicken. This will take
20-30 minutes. Then add the onion mixture to the saucepot, along with
the tomato paste. Incorporate completely and continue to cook on low
to medium heat until desired thickness is reached (about 10-20 more
minutes).
Keep in refrigerator for up to a week, or you can freeze for later use.
Berbere Spiced Chicken
So I am reading listening to Marcus Samuelsson’s autobiography right now… during long runs and my ultra boring work commutes to Auburn everyday. It’s called Yes, Chef, and it’s a really fascinating book, especially if you are into food/cooking, or have ever worked in the industry. And I just love being able to listen to the book, actually read by the author in his Swedish accent. 🙂
Anyway, Samuelsson’s staple spice is called berbere (originating from Ethiopia). I have enjoyed this spice in a dish called doro wat at Queen Sheba on Broadway here in Sacramento, and wanted to present the chef’s bebere spice recipe used in a Paleo setting.
So, I decided to make the spice mix and coat chicken breasts with it, then grill them. The flavor is a delicious mix of savory and sweet and can go on almost any meat.
Berbere Spice Mix
(by Chef Marcus Samuelsson)
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/2 cup ground dried Serrano chilies or other ground dried chilies
1/2 cup paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon ground cardamom, preferably freshly ground
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4Â teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Finely grind the fenugreek seeds with a mortar and pestle or an electric spice or coffee grinder. Stir together with the remaining ingredients in a small bowl until well combined.
Toast the spices in a non-stick pan on low heat until the oils and aromatics are released. Remove from heat.
You’ll have enough spice to make about 6 chicken breasts (we use Mary’s organic chicken from Taylor’s Market), or you can make 2 breasts and save the rest of the spice for up to 3 months.
Place the chicken breasts in a medium sized bowl and cover them with 1 Tbs olive oil. Then coat the chicken breasts with the berbere and allow to marinate for 20-30 minutes in the refrigerator while your grill is preheating. If you can, buy the chicken breasts attached. This will help retain moisture during the cooking/grilling process. If you don’t have a grill, you can bake the chicken in the oven on a foil covered sheet or roasting pan.
We served the chicken with a chilled, white wine from Nichelini Winery, (they’re located outside of Napa Valley in the Chiles Valley region). The wine is called Muscadelle, and it was the perfect match for the berebere spice, because of it’s crispness and higher sugar content.
We had sautéed vegetables: eggplant, squash, and broccoli, and also a salad on the side.
Another fun weekend in the record books. 🙂
I NEED YOUR VOTE BY JULY 8th!
Pretty please! If you have a Facebook account, you can help me win the California Avocado Commission’s avocado recipe contest.
This week, submitted my recipe for Hard Boiled Eggs with Avocado, Cumin, and Curry.
Of all the entries submitted, the CA Avocado Commission will choose the top 5 vote recipients, prepare those recipes and then determine the top 3 winners.
You can vote for me every 24 hours until July 8th! 🙂
To vote, please follow the link here. Don’t forget to share the link. There are a few entries with over 100 votes, so I really need some help on this one!
Thank you in advance!!
Cauliflower “Steaks”
So, this recipe is proof that cooking doesn’t have to be complicated, messy, time consuming, or expensive. We all like that, don’t we? 🙂
Also, it’s a great crowd pleaser because it’s Paleo, vegan and vegetarian, gluten free, sugar free, soy free, and dairy free!
And I like it because it doesn’t take much to explain how to make it!
I got the idea from listening to the Good Food Podcast with Evan Kleiman. She described her favorite preparation of cauliflower (this way), and I was sold. Last time I was at the market, I bought two heads of cauliflower so I could experiment, and this is what I did:
Preheat oven to 375°
Do NOT core the cauliflower. Instead, cut the cauliflower straight down (vertically) so that you have 2 or 3 large pieces (steaks) with the florets still attached to the core.
Lay flat on a baking sheet and drizzle liberally with olive oil. Then sprinkle with your favorite sea salt. I have a fancy grey salt I got as a gift on my birthday from The Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa that I have been using in everything! 🙂
Place in oven and allow the cauliflower to roast… it will almost fry in the oil. After about 25 minutes, remove from the oven and flip the steaks with a spatula. Then return the pan to the oven and roast again for 20-25 more minutes, or until steaks are golden brown.
And that’s it! It’s that easy. And, that thing you have always been throwing in the trash… you know, the core? It’s the most delicious part!! 🙂
Spicy Fourth of July Burgers and Fun Holiday Wines
KABOOM!!!!
Happy Birthday America! To celebrate, here’s a burger recipe I’d like to share with you that will really blow up your Fourth of July celebration!!
Spicy Fourth of July Burgers
Ingredients:
1 pound grass fed beef
(The meat we used was a 1 pound package of Certified Organic grass-fed beef from Rocky Mountain Organic Meats.)
2 chipotle peppers
1 Tbs crushed garlic
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp Hungarian paprika
1 tsp chili powder
salt to taste
To prepare, seed and remove the membrane from the chipotle peppers. Put them in a food processor with the garlic and all the other spices.
Mix the processed chipotle mixture with the beef in a medium-sized bowl. Make sure the mixture is well incorporated. Form into patties based on the size you want. We made three out of the pound, and they were the perfect size.
We sampled three different wines with our dinner last night. The distributor sent a bottle of Georges Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages, [yellow tail] Sweet Red Roo, and a bottle of Hob Nob Cabernet Sauvignon (from Languedoc-Roussillon, France)
Of the three wines, I thought the Beaujolais-Villages worked best. It was fruity and acidic enough to stand up to the spiciness of the burgers.
The [yellow tail] Sweet Red Roo reminded me of some sweeter Amador wines I have tried, but without the high alcohol. It would be best served with a little chill or used in a sangria.
The Hob Nob was a nice end to the meal because it had a nice tobacco and chocolate finish. It’s a dry wine, but it served very well as dessert. Unless you count the glass of Rockwall Chardonnay that I went back to after that. Hey, it’s summer… gotta drink those whites!! 😛
I also made a Peach and Chipotle Ketchup (from scratch, naturally) to top these burgers. Stay tuned for the recipe. Peaches are really coming into season, and you’ll definitely want to try this out. The ketchup is both sweet and spicy and tasted great on the burger as well as on top of the eggplant and sweet potato fries we made last night.
About Rocky Mountain Organic Meats
Rocky Mountain Organic Meats offers Certified Organic grass-fed beef along with a large selection of other organic foods such as fruits, vegetables and poultry. All of their meats are 100% grass-fed and grass-finished. Their livestock is raised the old-fashioned way; no steroids or growth hormones, no antibiotics and no grain.
The only ingredients are clean water, grasses and fresh air. They also process the meat according to stringent USDA regulations. The meat can be ordered cut according to your specifications. You can order a quarter, half or full side of meat to fill you freezer.
You can find them on Facebook here and follow them on twitter here.
Paleo Picnic: Lamb Burgers with Curry Ketchup
This past weekend turned out to be pretty good weather, so RB and I decided we would pack a picnic and head over to Music in the Park at Curtis Park. It was a great time, and enjoyed by people of all ages.
We sat on a blanket made up of squares of old polyester pants sewn together by RB’s Yia, Yia. In our picnic basket, we brought lamb burgers wrapped in napa cabbage and topped with rings of red onion, avocado, feta cheese, and curry ketchup that I made just before we packed the basket. We also brought a broccoli, cauliflower, and bacon sauté with toasted almonds and our favorite snack, parsnip chips.
Suggested wine pairing is the Shenandoah Vineyards Zingiovese, which is a 54%Â Sangiovese, 48% Zinfandel blend*. A beautiful elixir from our friends at Sobon Estate that stands up to the spicy and sweet of the curry ketchup and the meatiness of the lamb.
*The percentages do not add up to 100%, but I took the blend info straight from their informational PDF here. *shrugs* 😉
And now… the recipes!
Lamb Burgers
1 lb ground lamb (we used Superior Farms)
1 tsp cumin
1 Tbs oregano
1 tsp coriander
1 1/2 Tbs crushed garlic
pinch salt
Mix all ingredients together with your hands in a medium-sized bowl until well incorporated. Form into 3 or 4 patties (3 for best results). Refrigerate until you are ready to grill.
Curry Ketchup
2 containers of organic tomatoes
(I used small, cherry sized yellow tomatoes)
1 small can of tomato sauce
1/3 cup water
2-3 Tbs tomato paste
1 Tbs pomegranate molasses (if you don’t have pomegranate molasses,
you can use regular molasses, or honey)
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp curry
2 tsp crushed garlic
Rinse the tomatoes then put them in a pot with the tomato sauce and the water. Bring to a simmer and cook the tomatoes and allow them to burst open. This is what you want. The tomatoes will cook and break down and get thick this way. Keep the mixture on a simmer until the liquid content reduces by half. Then, add the rest of the ingredients (all the spices and the molasses, then the tomato paste). At this point, the mixture will resemble ketchup, so continue to reduce until it gets to your desired thickness.
This recipe makes about 1 1-2 to 2 cups, so you can bottle the unused portion and refrigerate for a week. The funny thing is, is that on a picnic with RB, the ketchup didn’t make it through the night. When we got home, he piled some more of the vegetables on a plate and on top of them went the rest of the ketchup. 😉 At least I know he loved it, so that’s why I decided to share the recipe with you.
The “bun” for our burgers were leaves of napa cabbage. The leaves of the cabbage are durable enough to conveyor belt the meat to your mouth, but tender enough to bite into. We sliced the red onion very thin, and naturally, feta was the cheese of choice.
Thanks again to Superior Farms for providing such a nice variety of lamb. We really enjoyed all the cuts. You can see how we prepared the rack here and the boneless leg here.
Tahoe Dinner Party and Lemon Garlic Salad Dressing Recipe
Last weekend, RB and I traveled to his house in Incline Village and hosted a small dinner party. This time, we served up a boneless leg of lamb from Superior Farms, as well as some of our favorite Paleo dishes. You can click here to find the recipe for the marinade we used on the lamb as well as on the chicken.
We also put my parsnip chips (recipe here), sautéed vegetables with dukkah (recipe here) a huge salad, a fruit salad with strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew, and bacon wrapped dates on the menu. Maybe I’ll get RB to let me film a video demo for the bacon wrapped dates someday, and I will feature it here. 🙂
But in this post, I will give you a simple recipe for our favorite salad dressing so with all the pictures of dishes you might have seen on this site before, at least you’ll have something new to make. The dressing is also a great dipping sauce for grilled chicken or ahi tuna.
PS: The wine we served was a magnum of Scribner Bend’s Black Hat Tempranillo Lot 56 Reserve. Cheers!
And now the recipe… 🙂
Lemon & Garlic Dressing
Ingredients:
2 Tbs crushed garlic
1/4 cup lemon juice
1.5 to 2 Tbs olive oil
dash of salt (to taste)
cracked pepper (optional)
Directions:
Combine the ingredients in order, in a small bowl. I know it seems like a lot of garlic,
but it makes the dressing thick, and that is a very desirable thing! 🙂 After you have all
the ingredients together, you’re done, but make sure you give the dressing another stir
or two before you top your salad.
Tips:
1. Use the crushed garlic that comes in a jar, or make your own with a
food processor. You want the garlic to be pulverized for the best results.
2. Use the best olive oil you can find! Preferably Kotinos.
Blueberry Pork Meatballs with Blueberry Sauce
Hey! In case you didn’t see it, I am in the Sacramento Bee today, as part of a round-up of blueberry recipes.
I am posting it again here because I wanted to explain my inspiration for my recipe. I wanted to contribute a dish to the Bee that wasn’t a dessert, or a breakfast item. Something original that used blueberries (which in their original state are very good for you), and didn’t candy them up. Most of all, I wanted to make a Paleo recipe! 🙂
So, if you’re invited to a potluck, or you are throwing a little party this season, this is the perfect dish to share. It might sound a little strange at first, but think of the classic turkey and cranberry combination, and you might see where I am coming from! 🙂
INGREDIENTS
4 dried figs
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 pound ground pork
1/2 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons minced onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon rosemary (grind in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle)
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Blueberry sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 shallots, finely diced
1 cup red wine
1/4 cup water
1 cup blueberries
1/4 cup lemon juice plus 1 tablespoon zest
4 tablespoons unsalted grass-fed butter
Dash salt
2 tablespoons honey
INSTRUCTIONS
Pulse the figs, blueberries and cinnamon together in a food processor; set aside.
Mix the ground pork, ground beef, minced onion, garlic, parsley, egg, ground rosemary, salt and olive oil together until well combined.
Then add the fig and blueberry mixture to the meat mixture. Mix well, leaving small chunks of the fruit intact. (Think chocolate-chip cookie dough.) Form the meat and fruit mixture into ping pong-size balls. Line a baking sheet with foil.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees while you prepare the sauce.
For sauce: Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium high heat.
Sauté the shallots until they are translucent. Add the wine, followed by the water, and reduce for about 3-5 minutes. Add the blueberries. As the skins burst open, add the lemon juice and zest. Let the sauce continue to boil and thicken (5 minutes).
Remove the saucepan from heat and stir in butter until it is completely melted. Salt to season.
Cool the sauce slightly, and add the honey to sweeten and help thicken the sauce a little more.
Pour the sauce over the meatballs and bake them at 350 degrees until the meatballs are slightly browned and before meat is cooked through.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest. (The meatballs will be cooked through with the residual heat.)
Southwestern-style Caprese Salad
This past weekend, I needed to make something to bring to a birthday party for a good friend of mine. Since Saturday was packed full of fun activities (including 7.5 miles of running, a tour of the Roush Residence hosted by Sac Mod, and a “wine-by” of Raley’s Grape Escape), I didn’t have a big block of time to spend on the dish. Still, I wanted to bring something that looked inviting and would stand out on a potluck table. Something that would look and taste like I spent more time than I did ;), and something light that would pair well with the hot weather.
So, I was looking on the Nugget Market website for some sort of direction, and this recipe emerged. Thank you, Nugget!!
Of course, I never follow a recipe exactly, so I changed up a few things. Also, it’s not completely Paleo since there is cheese in the dish, but cheese is my little cheat.
Here’s my version:
Southwestern Caprese
Ingredients:
2 Heirloom tomatoes, sliced
2 organic tomatoes, sliced
4 Tablespoons cilantro (finely chopped)
1/2 cup Casero cheese (crumbled like bleu cheese)
1 tsp cumin
2 Tbs olive oil
cracked black pepper
lime juice
When you are prepping the avocados, squeeze some lime juice over them after you slice them to prevent them from browning. To prepare the salad, pretend you are making a lasagna or moussaka. You will have enough ingredients to make two layers.
Layer the bottom of a 9×13 in. baking dish with both kinds of tomatoes and one of the sliced avocados, then drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil over the layer. Add half of the cilantro over that, followed by half of the cheese crumbles. Then sprinkle half of the cumin and then crack some pepper over that. You won’t need salt because the cheese will be salty enough to season the salad. Repeat the process to form the top layer.
Make this salad within a few hours before you plan to serve it, or right before you plan to serve it, if possible. Organic tomatoes and avocados taste amazing, but their lifespan is extremely short. 🙂
You can follow Nugget Market on twitter here and like them on Facebook here.
Parsnip Chips
I know, this plate doesn’t look like much. But please trust me when I tell you it might change your life. It will definitely make you fall in love with parsnips if you are not already.
All you need:
5 or 6 parsnips
Olive oil
Sea salt
Preheat your oven to 355°F.
Slice the parsnips into little “coin” shapes. Arrange them on a baking sheet and douse them liberally with olive oil.
Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, then flip each one with a spatula. Bake 20-30 more minutes. Some of the parsnips will get really browned and crunchy… some will just get crispy on the edges. It’s a really great texture contrast.
Take them out of the oven when they are browned and crispy and coat them lightly with sea salt. Toss and serve.
Paleo doesn’t have to be expensive or difficult. 🙂
Spiced Lamb and Vegetable Kabobs
Probably my favorite thing to make for dinner during summer is kabobs. They’re simple, healthy, and take very little time to prepare. I put together this spice rub for lamb we bought last weekend from Taylor’s Market. It was London broil, and the butcher even cubed the meat for us.
Spice Mix:
1 Tbs Chili powder
1 Tbs Cumin
2 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Curry
1/2 tsp Salt
London broil Lamb (cut into cubes for kabobs) from Taylor’s Market
Assorted Vegetables
(mushrooms, peppers, red onion, squash)
Mix all the spices together in a small bowl. Place the cubed meat in a medium-sized bowl and pour about 1/8 to 1/4 cup olive oil over the meat. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the meat and oil and mix together with your hands until well combined.
Marinate the meat for about 20-30 minutes.
Chop the vegetables and if you are using wooden skewers rather than metal, allow them to soak in some water while you are chopping the vegetables, so that they won’t burn when exposed to the grill.
Arrange the vegetables and meat on the skewers. Of course, this isn’t rocket science… however you arrange the skewers is up to you. We had a lot of extra meat left, so we ended up doing a few skewers with meat and onions only.
Grill the kabobs until the vegetables are slightly charred and the meat is cooked to your liking.
We paired the kabobs with a Tempranillo from Fall Line Winery.
Artichoke Pizza with Bacon, Chicken, & Pesto Dipping Sauce
Pizza? Yes. It’s all Paleo. The crust is made of cauliflower and almond. Before you shake your head and walk away, just try it. 🙂
So this is sort of a long recipe, but it’s highly worth it.
I promise you it tastes better than real pizza and you will get full on 2 pieces rather than eating 4 or 5 from a delivery joint.
Artichoke Pizza with Bacon, Chicken, & Pesto Dipping Sauce
8 ounces cooked and diced chicken
4 slices thick cut bacon, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup sautéed bell peppers
1/2 cup cooked onions
1/2 cup cooked mushrooms
So, before you begin the crust or the sauces, I highly recommend you sauté the onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers in some olive oil and garlic and pre cook them before you use them as toppings on this gorgeous thing I call a pizza. You can cook the chicken however you want (grill it for the best results)… and the bacon will do just fine in the microwave or in the oven baked on parchment paper.
Now that you have your toppings mise en place, you can begin to prepare the crust:
Crust:
2 cups almond meal
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/8 cup ground flax seed
1 1/2 cups cauliflower, cooked and pulsed into couscous-like consistency
2 eggs
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp fresh rosemary chopped
Place all ingredients in a large bowl and mix with hands until well combined.
Press into a well-oiled baking pan and then bake in pre heated oven for 15 minutes while you prepare the artichoke spread and the pesto topping/dipping sauce.
Artichoke Spread (this will be one of the pizza “sauces”)
1/3 cup pitted green olives
2 15-oz cans/jars artichoke hearts, drained
1 Tbsp capers, drained
2 tbs crushed garlic
1 Tbsp fresh parsley
1/8-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Pulse all ingredients in a food processor and set aside.
This spread can be used as a “hummus” type dip for vegetables, or as the first layer of spread on this pizza.
Red Sauce
This is the only step where I took a little teeny shortcut.
I used an organic pasta/tomato sauce in a thin layer over the artichoke spread before I topped the pizza with the cooked toppings and about 3/4 cup of shredded parmesan cheese.
When you have all your toppings on the pizza, put it back in the oven and bake until the pizza is warmed through and the cheese is melted and golden brown.
Then, remove it from the oven and allow to cool slightly before topping it with dollops of the homemade pesto.
Pesto Topping
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts or walnuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves
Salt and pepper to taste
Pulse all ingredients in a food processor and set aside. You will use this “topping” on the pizza after it comes out of the oven and you are ready to eat it.
Ding! It’s not delivery… it’s Paleo… 😉
Treat Yo Self: Chocolate Covered Gingersnap Truffles
What do you do when you made a little too much gingersnap dough from the gingersnap crusted ham recipe?
Well in this case, I used it to make chocolate covered gingersnap truffles! Let me reiterate that if you are using Paleo to lose weight, you might not want to make these just yet. But, if you are at an ideal weight, need to gain weight, or you are celebrating a special occasion, these are a great dessert! 🙂
Paleo Gingersnaps
1.5 cups Blanched Almond Flour
1 tablespoons ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp clove
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 Tbs fresh ginger or ginger paste
1 omega 3 Egg
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/8 cup molasses
1/4 cup Coconut Oil (Tropical Traditions for best results!!)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (including lemon zest).
In a small mixing bowl beat eggs, honey, molasses, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer.
Pour wet ingredients into dry and beat with hand mixer until combined.
Add coconut oil into batter, and continue to blend until combined.
Press the dough out flat on a parchment lined baking sheet, about a tablespoon in size. Bake cookies for 15 minutes at 375.
Let cool completely then break the cookie into crumbs and set aside.
Chocolate Coating:
TCHO chocolate discs
Coconut Milk
Vanilla, or your favorite liqueur
Sweet Potatoes with Dukkah
This is another side dish we had during our Easter feast over the weekend. It’s just potatoes sautéed in coconut oil (Tropical Traditions is the best!) and sprinkled with a nut and spice blend called dukkah.
If you missed the recipe before, allow me to introduce you to dukkah… the nut and spice blend that is to meat and vegetables as sprinkles are to ice cream. A magical little topping that makes everything taste irresistible. 🙂 Below is how to make enough for this recipe and also enough to store in your cabinet and use on other things like fish or sautéed vegetables.
1/4 cup ground coriander
5 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 teaspoons dried mint leaves
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
Nuts:
1/2 cup raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup raw pistachio nuts
1/2 cup raw almonds
3/4 cup cashews
Place the nuts and seeds, along with the mint and salt, into a food processor and pulse into a coarse consistency.
Paleo Recipe: Gingersnap Crusted Ham
I’d like to start this post with a big thank you to Tropical Traditions. They sent me a huge jar of coconut oil to try out in my Paleo recipes. I ended up using it in the Paleo Gingersnaps that I used to crumble up and coat the ham below. Here’s a picture of their product. It’s not only good in cooking (use it in the place of –and in the same ratio as–any butter or oil), but excellent as a moisturizer!
So look at the crusty beast below! Can you believe it is gluten free? 🙂 This Gingersnap Crusted Ham was a “side” for our Paleo Easter Meal. I snagged the idea for it from the Alton Brown recipe I first made years ago.
What You Will Need:
One 2 pound”City” Ham (I used an Uncured, Nitrate Free, Hormone Free, Vegetarian Fed Ham)
You will find that 2 pounds of ham is actually only about 1/4 of a normal sized ham. 🙂
3/4 Cup Dijon Mustard
1/2 Cup Maker’s Mark Bourbon (in a spray bottle)
2 Cups Paleo Gingersnap Crumbs (To get the crumbs, you have to make the gingersnaps themselves.)
Paleo Gingersnaps
1.5 cups Blanched Almond Flour
1 tablespoons ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp clove
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 Tbs fresh ginger or ginger paste
1 omega 3 Egg
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/8 cup molasses
1/4 cup Coconut Oil (Tropical Traditions for best results!!)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients (including lemon zest).
In a small mixing bowl beat eggs, honey, molasses, and vanilla extract with a hand mixer.
Pour wet ingredients into dry and beat with hand mixer until combined.
Add coconut oil into batter, and continue to blend until combined.
Press the dough out flat on a parchment lined baking sheet, about a tablespoon in size. Bake cookies for 15 minutes at 375.
Let cool completely then break the cookie into crumbs and set aside.
Procedure:
1. Place the ham in a glass baking dish and paint the dijon mustard on it with a pastry brush.
2. Then take the gingersnap crumbs and coat the ham until it is completely covered in crumbs.
3. Spray the ham with the bourbon to seal the crumb coating.
4. Bake the ham in the oven at 350° for about 10 mins, then take out the ham and lightly spritz the it with more bourbon. Return the ham to the oven and bake it until the crust is golden brown, or if you are like me, you can get the crust a little more brown than that. Let rest about 5-10 mins and then carve to serve.
Mmmm….HAMMALICIOUS!
Leftover Easter Eggs? Make Hard Boiled Eggs with Avocado, Cumin and Curry
Here’s a great recipe to use all those leftover Easter eggs!
It’s one of the many great dishes the BF and I enjoyed this weekend in Tahoe. We ate a completely Paleo Easter dinner on Saturday evening, and day by day I will be sharing everything we had and how to make it!
Hard Boiled Eggs with Avocado, Cumin and Curry
Ingredients:
6 organic cage free eggs
1 avocado
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp curry
1 tsp garlic pureé
pinch of salt to taste
optional: fresh black pepper on top
1-2 beets
To prepare the beets, cut them into cubes and boil them until they are tender. They will slip out of their outer skins much easier after they cook. Cut into little “diamond” shapes and set them aside.
Hard boil the eggs and peel them out of their shells. Cut them in half and scoop out the yolks into a small bowl. Cut half an avocado and mash it together with the yolks in the bowl. Add the spices and garlic puree and the salt to taste. Spoon the mixture back into the egg white halves. Top with cracked pepper.
Garnish the finished eggs with the beet diamonds.
Tomorrow I will show you how I made a Gingersnap crusted ham Paleo style!
Make this Now, Thank Me Later! German “stir fry”
This one’s from the archives.
Thanks to all for supporting the new site!!
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Seriously, make this now. If you don’t like sauerkraut, you might like this dish. If you don’t eat bacon, all I can do is apologize.
German “stir fry”
What you need:
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Red or White Wine
Red Onion
Garlic
Acorn or Butternut Squash (cubed)
Eggplant, Zucchini Squash
Apple, Granny Smith, Fuji, or Gala… any non-mushy apple will do.
Bacon (as many slices as you like—you can also use pork sausage in place of or in addition.
Sauerkraut
It’s funny how our tastes change as adults. I used to HATE sauerkraut as a kid and refuse to eat it. I would go to the Waynesville Sauerkraut Festival with my mom every year, but refuse to sample any of the food there. Now I love sauerkraut, and it’s one of my favorite foods. It is fibrous, low calorie, and filling. I might be getting married to it soon.
I came up with this recipe to honor my new found love, and I have been eating it several times a week. I call it German stir fry because the recipe contains a few of German ingredients, and they are all cooked together basically like I do with a stir fry.
You can use eggplant or not, or squash or not, it all depends on what you like. I really prefer cooking to baking a lot of times, because most recipes are so flexible. This one is as well.
To prepare:
Slice the onion and sauté in oil. Salt the onions to help them caramelize. Cook the onions down and add a little wine or vegetable stock if the pan gets too dry. Add the squash and cook for 5-10 minutes. Add the sqaush, then add the apple next. Meanwhile, fry the bacon in a separate pan until fully browned and crisp.
When the squash and potato are nearly cooked, add the eggplant, and cook until eggplant is tender. Chop the bacon and the sauerkraut and toss in. Heat thoroughly and remove from heat.
Paleo Recipe: Hard Boiled Eggs with Avocado, Cumin, and Curry
Hey, I know these eggs don’t look all that exciting. I made them as a last minute surprise appetizer for the Wintun Ranch Grass Fed Steaks we had as our main course last night. According to the BF, “they almost upstaged the entire dinner!” I really loved them too, and am actually going to make some more tonight. As you can imagine, after dining with someone who has Adam Richman’s appetite (but far better metabolism), these eggs were “gone in 60 seconds”. 😉
So, wanna give them a try? Depending on how much you want to make, you can multiply the ingredients. I will give the ratio for the amount of eggs I made last night: 3, yielding the six portions you see in the picture. 🙂
Hard Boiled Eggs with Avocado, Cumin and Curry
Ingredients:
3 organic cage free eggs
1/2 of one avocado
1tsp cumin
1/2 tsp curry
1/2 tsp garlic pureé
pinch of salt to taste
optional: fresh black pepper on top
Hard boil the eggs and peel them out of their shells. Cut them in half and scoop out the yolks into a small bowl. Cut half an avocado and mash it together with the yolks in the bowl. Add the spices and garlic puree and the salt to taste. Spoon the mixture back into the egg white halves. Top with cracked pepper.
I am going to dice some beets to top the eggs with tonight when I make them again, as this will make them a little more visually appealing without affecting the taste very much. I will update with a new picture and instructions on the beets tomorrow.
Happy Sunday!
UPDATE!Â
I added beets to garnish the eggs, and they look and taste great.
To prepare the beets, cut them into cubes and boil them until they are tender. They will slip out of their outer skins much easier after they cook. Cut into little “diamond” shapes and place on top of the avocado and egg filling. Here is what it looks like:
Chicken Larb in Cabbage Cups
1 head of cabbage
2/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (about 3 limes)
1/3 cup fish sauce
2 teaspoons Thai roasted chili paste
1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
3/4 cup thinly sliced shallots
3 tablespoons minced fresh lemongrass
1 tablespoon thinly sliced jalapeño pepper
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
Separate the cabbage into individual leaves.
Mix the first 3 ingredients together with the garlic, set aside.
Melt some coconut oil in a skillet and sauté the green onions, pepper shallots, and the lemongrass until tender. Transfer to a different pan, then cook the ground chicken in the same skillet used for the shallots/onions. When chicken has cooked most of the way through (make sure you have broken it up with a spoon into small pieces while cooking). Pour in the sauce mixture and add the cooked vegetables. Add the cilantro and mint.
Spoon into cabbage pieces. This recipe feeds 4 as an appetizer and 2 as a main course.
Serve with a white wine such as Le Casque’s 2008 Roussanne. You can find it at their winery located in Loomis, CA. For more information, you can visit their website here.
Dukkah Spice Blend and Curried Cashews
1/4 cup ground coriander
5 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoon dried mint leaves
2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 cup raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup raw pistachio nuts
1/2 cup raw almonds
Place the nuts and seeds, along with the mint and salt, into a food processor and pulse into a coarse consistency.
1 cup cashews
1 cup almonds
Drizzle 1 Tbs coconut oil over the toasted nuts and then sprinkle the curry powder mixture over it. Stir with a spoon to coat the nuts completely.
Bag them up and sneak them into any sort of function where the food options are limited/non-Paleo!!
This way, you won’t starve–you eat clean–no matter what, you win–you might be/or eventually be the sexiest person in the room. #truth!
Chocolate on the Paleo Diet
You can find TCHO on Facebook here and on twitter here.
Paleo Recipe: True Love Blood Orange and Red Onion Salad with Kalamata Olives
So unique, but simple to prepare, and beautiful on the plate. I named the recipe “true love” because of the ring shapes in the salad (the symbol of eternity), and all that red/orange color in the mix.
Almond, Rosemary and Date Crackers (Gluten Free!)
Last night was one of my favorite nights of the month, wine tasting night (with a local wine group to which I belong) at the Barton Gallery (next to Michaelangelo’s Restaurant.
Typically, we each bring a bottle of wine (based on a theme we decide ahead of time for the month) and a dish (if we can) to share. This month was sort of a competition to choose the themes for the next three months, so we brought bottles to vote. The very best as decided by the group would win the themes for February, March, and April.
Some of varietals, regions, themes present last night were: Alsace, San Luis Obispo, Barbera, Barbaresco, Tour of Italy, Rare Italians, and the Middle East. We decided that next month’s theme would be Alsatian Wines, and it was an easy decision after we tried an Alsatian Riesling (C and R brought, the Domaine Gresser Riesling, Alsace 2007 to be exact) that had all the great characteristics of a Riesling, such as clean, bright, and crisp, without being sticky and cloying.
I brought these Rosemary Date Crackers to the tasting because I wanted to make sure there was some sort of cracker/snack I could eat once I got there. I do sometimes get weak and miss bread/crackers at wine tastings, but these crackers were way more flavorful than store bought. The original inspiration came from Elena over at Elena’s Pantry, but I have changed it up quite a bit. Enjoy!
Almond, Rosemary and Date Crackers (Gluten Free and Paleo!!)
2 cups blanched almond flour Â
(Tip: Make your own with raw almonds and a food processor)
½ teaspoon salt
1 Tbs fresh or dried rosemaryÂ
(Tip: If you use dried, you can grind up with a mortar and pestle to release the oils.)
4-5 Medjool Dates, chopped
1 egg
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 Tbs unsalted organic butter
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Combine almond flour, salt, rosemary and dates.
3. Mix in egg, butter and oil until well combined. It’s really best if you dig in and mix with your hands.
4. Roll out the mixture between parchment paper with a rolling pin.
5. Cut dough with pizza cutter, or for fun, you can use little cookie cutters. I left the rolled out pieces right on the paper and placed the paper on a cookie sheet to bake.
6. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes until golden brown.
7. Bring to wine tasting and people will love you for them. 🙂
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