FreshFoodFanatic

When my friend sent me a copy of Paleo Comfort Foods my initial thought was the recipes had too many ingredients for me.  Plus they included ingredients that I didn’t often use. However there were a few that peaked my interest and I decided to give them a try.

I definitely was looking for a Paleo version of the sweet potato casserole we have at Thanksgiving and this recipe provided it.  I boiled the sweet potatoes, mixed them with coconut milk, eggs, lemon zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.  Pureed everything in the food processor, then poured the mixture into a pyrex dish and topped it off with some chopped pecans.  This definitely isn’t as sweet as my mom’s recipe, but removing brown sugar will do that.  I find this dish to be incredibly satisfying and extremely tasty.  It’s been a perfect late night recovery snack after my lifting classes.  

The Fried Chicken made me change the way I think about this cookbook.  I’ve baked almond crusted chicken before, but this was a whole new level.  All the seasonings added such incredible flavor to the crust.  Plus frying the chicken first then baking made all the difference.  The skin was crispy, salty and crunchy, while the chicken was moist and juicy - everything you want in fried chicken.  Honestly this is one of those foods that tastes just as good making it paleo as it does traditionally.  Seeing how the authors took a simple idea and made it taste so good, makes me think these other recipes are definitely worth a second glance.

Happy Cooking!!!

I made Texas chili a while ago.  Texas chili = no beans!! Which is perfect because I don’t eat beans.  This chili involves lots of grassfed ground beef, onions, tomates, cocoa powder, cumin, chili powder, salt, and some other goodness.

My friend Cassidy served green beans this way, and I enjoyed the dish so much I had to make it again myself.

I’ve made this meat loaf many times before thanks to NomNomPaleo and it’s a truly hearty dish chock full of vegetables and protein which lasts through the entire week.

This was a all in one type of dish.  The supermarket selection was barren, so I grabbed the thin sliced meat, frozen peppers and onions, and a jar of salsa verde…presto!!!

I found this recipe in my Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook.  I loved the way the grits turn out, similar to a thick savory porridge.  Perfect for these cold winter days in NYC.

I stumbled upon this recipe on Elana’s Pantry.  This recipe is ridiculously simple and quick.  Warning: you might eat the whole tray in one sitting.

I’m trying to catch up.  I’ve been very negligent with my blogging….my apologies.  These two dishes took less than an hour and were perfect to get me through the week.

I treated the turnip like I would if I were roasting carrots.  Cut into matchsticks, season with salt, pepper, and evoo, roast at 400 until softened (approximately 35-40 minutes).  Hearty, and incredibly satisfying.

I wanted to change up my typical ground beef dish.  I remembered that M over at Nom Nom Paleo always makes sliders. I have a huge bag of my turkish seasoning from Penzey’s spices which I LOVE.  I bought a “meatloaf” package of beef, which included pork, veal and beef - yum! added a tbsp of the spice blend (plus a little more) to the meat and formed them into mini hamburgers.  I used my cast iron skillet (aka my mistress…I’m married to my food processor) and the sliders seared up in minutes.  I had delicious protein for my lunch all week long and even into the weekend.

See look at that…short and sweet!

It’s all about the sauce!!

No I’m not talking about Liquor - well not simply liquor.  The two meals I made this week both involved a sauce and even without bread for dipping (ew) I lapped up every bite.

First I made Melicious’ Calypso chicken with a delicious spicy pina colada sauce.  First I prepped my sauce: coconut milk, lime juice, cayenne pepper, garlic, and crushed pineapple. I placed all the ingredients in a medium sauce pan so they could simmer and get happy.  While the sauce was going I seasoned and grilled my chicken breasts.  After about 20 minutes the sauce gets thick and has a deliciously rich, citrusy-sweet flavor with a slight kick from the pepper - yum!

Next I took a new approach on the classic pork chops and apples combination.  I found a recipe and simply tweaked it a bit to “paleoize it.” First I assembled all my ingredients because once you start cooking this dish it moves very quickly.  I seasoned the boneless pork chops with salt and pepper.  I used semi thin pork chops, for this recipe you’d ideally have thick boneless pork chops. I seared the chops, not cooking them all the way through because I will be returning the chops to the pan later on.  I then added some butter (Kerrygold’s Irish grassfed butter of course!) to the pan drippings and threw in my apples and onions, letting them soften and release some juices for about 8 minutes. Next I added some white wine and beef stock to deglaze and thicken the sauce.  Think pork fat, apple juice, butter, wine, and stock - mmmmmm.  I then added the chops back into the sauce, covered, and let the whole dish simmer until the chops are cooked through - approx. five minutes for my chops.

I have not made this dish since last winter and I think this was my best attempt.  The sauce was rich and full of flavor.  The apples were soft and the chops were tender without being tough and chewy.  Looking forward to the next time I make this dish - it’s a definite keeper!

Use what you got & keep it simple.  

This is my message for this post.  I haven’t blogged in a while - the start of the school year has been very hectic, mostly due to overbooking functions and activities on the weekends.   But I stayed true to eating well and cooking for the week.  So on weekends when I’m crazy busy I use whatever I have in the fridge, and keep it as simple as possible.  

I’m a big fan of trying new recipes, I love mixing it up and believe that repetition would be the downfall of sticking to Paleo - the key is definitely variety.  However I sacrifice variety when I’m busy because I only want to cook things that will take very little time.

Therefore, when I peeked into my fridge one sunday I saw I still had some carrots and cherry tomatoes left over from a CSA pick up.  Plus an onion - because they are always in my fridge.  I decided to create an impromptu roasted veggie dish. I always roast carrots but I also love roasted onions - especially around a roasted chicken mmmmm - and I’m definitely more of a cooked tomato person than a raw one. The result was perfection.  

To keep it simple I decided to make a meat dish I’ve done several times.  It’s my take on taco ground beef.  Rather than simply browning some ground beef and adding taco seasoning I saute mushrooms and onions first and bulk up the meat dish.  I mostly use cremini mushrooms (aka baby bellas) because they hold up to the meat well with their texture and taste.  I usually spice the meat with cumin (2tbsp) and chili powder.  However since I’ve discovered Penzey’s Arizona Dreaming spice, I’ve never looked back. Then as a final touch, thanks to Sarah Fragoso at Everyday Paleo, I add half a jar of Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde.

This ground meat dish is so versatile, throw it in some bibb lettuce leafs and have tacos.  Mix with eggs for an awesome mexican scramble.  I made this dish again recently and simply sauteed some peppers and onions to have as a side - reminiscent of fajitas.

I will blog again tomorrow with last weeks eat.  Sorry for the delays I plan to post more consistently.

LEAVE ROOM FOR DESSERT

Since I’ve had more time on my hands I had opportunity to make dessert. Inspired by the banana pop at the food festival in Brooklyn.  I took frozen bananas and sliced them into little bite size pieces.  Thus, I eliminated the need for sticks/skewers.  I choose my toppings  - shredded unsweetened coconut and sliced almonds.  I placed a sheet of wax paper on a cookie sheet.  I began melting my chocolate.  I bought some bittersweet melting chocolate, but it was too bitter.  I slowly added pieces of 72% dark chocolate until I got the sweetness I desired.  I don’t like super sweet chocolate, and I knew the banana would provide sweetness as well. Thus I left the chocolate a little bitter.  I melted the chocolate in a metal bowl over a shallow saucepan with an inch of simmering water.  As soon as the chocolate melted I removed it from the stove and added some more chocolate to bring the temperature down slightly, - only an ounce or two.  With a slotted spoon I coated one piece at a time.  Now you have to move quickly.  As soon as I placed the banana on the cookie sheet I sprinkled my toppings.  Since the bananas are already frozen the chocolate hardens quickly and you need to get the toppings on quickly before it does.  Thus I only coat one piece at a time.  If the chocolate begins to harden simply return it to the sauce pan, be careful though….chocolate will burn, so if there isn’t much left add some more chocolate to melt. Once I was done (approx 2-3 bananas.) I placed the cookie sheet in the freezer to solidify everything.  Remove from freezer immediately before serving.  SUCCESS!!  You can definitely use fresh bananas and then freeze everything together.  Next time I think I’ll try sea salt as a topping - salt/sweet yum!

In august I participated in a charity Mud Run for MS - 6 miles of muddy obstacles.  I knew my team and I needed to be energized so I made some of Sarah Fragoso’s Nutty Cookies.  These delicious and completely paleo cookies combine banana, apple, cinnamon, nuts, almond butter and coconut milk into some delectable cookies loaded with carbohydrates, protein, fat to give any athlete the energy they need in a cookie!! The recipe calls for almond butter and walnuts.  I prefer pecans and also I mistakenly bought almond butter with sugar added, so I chucked that and used peanut butter since it was the only nut butter I had in the house.  I also threw in some shredded coconut.

The cookies brown up but remain soft and chewy, and the smell of cinnamon fills your kitchen. The great thing about this recipe - there is nothing raw in it, so if you want, eat the mix before you bake it - who doesn’t like to lick the bowl.

Alright it’s been a while…I took my time off from work as a vacation from everything…including blogging.

I’ve been cooking a lot of old faithfuls so no need to post the same recipes again.  However two weeks ago I tried out two new recipes.  First I made these delicious and very easy stuffed mushrooms courtesy of Nom Nom Paleo. First I cleaned and roasted my portobello mushrooms. I microwaved the frozen spinach and let it drain in a colander.  Then I browned the onion and meat.  I let everything cool then combined the meat, spinach, eggs, coconut flour and seasonings and stuffed my mushrooms. Since the filling was already cooked all I needed to do was broil the mushrooms until brown, approximately 5 minutes.  This recipe made 5 mega stuffed mushrooms - so good.

I also sauteed some green beans with butter, lemon and almonds.  Brown the butter and stick the par-boiled green beans in the pan, and add some lemon zest and juice.  Once the beans are warmed through add some slivered almonds and saute until the almonds are browned and toasted.  5-7 and you are ready to eat!!

Such delicious eats for the week!

First I made the winning dish from our CF cook off - Todd’s Spicy Meatballs.  He gave me the recipe and it worked out so well - although next time I think I’ll add more peppers.  His meatballs were moist, and had a serious kick.  Mine were cooked perfectly but not as much heat.  I mixed 2lbs of meat.  Todd used veal and pork, I used turkey and pork because I was shopping at a chain supermarket and couldn’t get grassfed beef.  I mixed the meat with salt, pepper, and three eggs.  Added four cherry peppers and 1/4 cup juice from the jar.  These meatballs are very sticky and a bit hard to roll, but managed to create a good enough shape.  I thought of adding coconut flour or almond meal to create a less sticky mixture but I wanted to try the recipe Todd’s way first before modifying.  After tasting the meatball - no flour is necessary - these babies were deliciously moist and hard to resist.

Next I defrosted a chicken breast I got from the CSA.  My friend had mentioned poaching the breast but I nixed that idea.  1st- I don’t know how to poach.  2nd - it’s similar to boiling - and I don’t want boiled chicken for lunch this week.  I decided to debone the breast, and wrap it in bacon-so I could use the bacon to create a seared crust - rather than the skin.  I also found some onion, zucchini and peppers left over from a CSA pickup and figured I’d saute them in the bacon fat and then deglaze the pan.  I seared the chicken, then stuck it in the oven at 400 for 8 minutes - I then removed the chicken from the skillet and added the vegetables.  Once the veggies were softened I added some white wine and chicken broth to deglaze the pan - yum!  Once the liquids thickened and reduced I added the chicken back in for a few minutes -done!  I like this meal because I made it on a whim - no recipe.  Plus all the ingredients were in my fridge I didn’t purchase any of them this week.  

I sauteed some swiss chard I had frozen with some diced shallots, I also added a bit of wine.  Since the challenge is over I’m incorporating wine back into my cooking.  I won’t add it to all my food, but it definitely adds a wonderful rich flavor which gives body to any dish.

Next I roasted some carrots in the oven.  I forgot how good roasted carrots are - these aren’t going to last long.  I coated the carrots with some extra virgin olive oil and Penzey’s Fox Point Seasoning (great herb blend).  I roasted them for 30 minutes at 400. Super Super simple, and incredibly delicious.

Here is a demo….sort of.

A few months ago I took a knife skills class (kitchen skills, not throwing skills).  The instructor was fantastic and very easy going.  One of the great things he taught us was a trick to cutting a bell pepper, jalapeno and tomato without touching the seeds.  Above I tried to document the step by step process.

1. Slice the top off

2. Turn so pepper is perpendicular to you.  Slice into the side, careful not to hit the middle.

3. Continue slicing along the side as you roll the core away from you.

Tada!

I went to the Smorgasborg Food market today.  Seriously awesome! Tons of food stands, market stands selling amazing goodies out in the open right on the river in Williamsburg.  My friend B came along and we shared a delicious lunch on the grass.  Sadly I was bad about taking down names of the stands we went to - I just started calling them the ‘rib place” or the “vietnamese sandwich place” - ooops, no free advertising today.  

First we walked around and assessed our options.  Tons of Paleo-friendly and non-paleo eats.  Most places I could figure out a way to “paleo-ize” the food - the only one I couldn’t was the “fried chicken on a biscuit” stand - :( - but I got over it when I saw the smoker.  I walked by some girl who had a plate of meat, without shame I asked her where she got it and she pointed to a smoker not far away.  When we got to the smoker we saw a LONG line - I looked at my friend and said - “we’re eating here”. 

When it was our turn to meet the meat men portioning out the food, I started joking around and talking with them - aka shameless praise and flirting.  It worked!!! - we got a serious portion of ribs (probably double the serving).  So in reality - no shame.

We grabbed some delicious agave sweetened ginger soda and popped a squat on the grass.  After covering my face in sauce and enjoying every bite of the ribs we moved on to the vietnamese stand.  I ordered the beef sandwich with a crunchy slaw on top.  B got the pork belly sandwich.  Both were delicious - but mine was the winner - slightly sweet seasoning and the slaw added the perfect crunchy bite.  My belly was so happily filled with meat that I ditched the brioche bun and moved on to more important matters - dessert.

On our way over to the market I saw two girls walking with a chocolate covered banana pop - I told B that I would be “doing that” once we got there.  I found the stand (also had a long ass line) - I waited patiently bouncing and doing my “I’m excited for food dance” while waiting and deciding what version of the banana pop I’d choose.  You could have the frozen banana dipped in chocolate or with many toppings added on.  I went for the almonds and sea salt.  I LOVE  the combination of dark choc. and sea salt.  They also had coconut as a topping option - but I could tell it was sweetened coconut, and since the choc. was providing me with enough sweetness I passed.  The choc was lightly warm but hard enough to give a snap when you bit into it.  The banana was ripe, and softened just enough, while the toppings added the perfect crunch and salty bite - truly heavenly.

We left the food market and I devoured my banana pop - I barely paused for B to snap a picture of my “crack addict” face.  As we were walking I started imagining all the lovely desserts I could create with frozen bananas….yay inspiration.