"Knock, knock."
"Who's there?"
"Snoopy."
"Snoopy who?"
"Snoopy do the dishes!"
This was met by blank stares and a long silence from all.
"LAUGH!", she barked in her most imperious voice.
And so we did. And every time she repeated it, we dutifully responded. To this day, we refer to it as her Mafia Knock Knock Joke.
Fast forward 35 years, and her two sons, ages 6 and 8, are heavily into Knock Knocks.
This is their current favorite, which inspired this post.
"Knock knock."
"Who's there?"
"Banana."
"Banana who?"
"Knock knock."
"Who's there?"
"Banana."
"Banana who?"
"Knock knock."
"Who's there?"
"Banana."
"Banana who?"
"Knock knock."
"Who's there?"
"Orange."
"Orange who?"
"Orange you glad I didn't say banana again?"
And speaking of Orange, the below photo is a preview for my next post, "Traveling While Paleo." Last year, we were in Amsterdam on King's Day (sometimes known as Queen's Day. It depends on the gender of the current Dutch monarch). People wear orange to celebrate the King's birthday, not because he is inordinately fond of citrus, but because the royal family belongs to the House of Orange. It is a happy and sometimes rowdy day. People drink and smoke weed on the streets, there are blocks-long yard sales, music, tacky orange souvenirs like feather boas and oversized plastic spectacles, and orange-festooned boats plying the canals all day and into the night. And everyone is even more friendly than usual. It's a wonderful city that I hope I have a chance to revisit some day.
Ambrosia Pizza
Serves 4
For pizza crust
( This will make enough for 2 small crusts; cut dough in half and freeze second half for another purpose)
2 or more cups almond or cashew flour
1 1/2 cups tapioca flour or arrowroot powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
Parchment paper
Pizza stone or cookie sheet
Topping
1 blood orange, peeled and pith removed, sliced horizontally
1 naval or cara cara orange, peeled and pith removed, slice horizontally
2 clementines, peeled with pith removed, segmented
1 banana, sliced
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut chips, lightly toasted in toaster oven
Caramel Sauce
6 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped (if dates are hard, soak for a few minutes in boiling water and then drain)
2/3 cup water
Pinch coarse sea salt
1. Put pizza stone or cookie sheet in oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients for crust in food processor.
3 Add water and olive oil to dry ingredients and blend until dough forms a ball. Add more flour if necessary.
4. Cut dough ball in half and freeze second half for another purpose. Re-form remaining dough into ball.
5. Put dough on large piece of parchment paper and cover with second piece of parchment paper.
6. Roll dough to desired thickness (flatbread thickness is good for this recipe).
7. Remove top piece of parchment paper and slide bottom piece, with crust, onto pizza stone. Prick crust all over with a fork.
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes until crust starts to color and crisp up.
9. Remove crust from oven.
10. Arrange orange slices, clementine segments and banana slices on crust.
11. Bake for 8-10 more minutes until crust is crisp and fruit softens.
12. Meanwhile, make caramel sauce. In food processor or blender, combine chopped dates, water and salt. Blend until it is the consistency of a smooth sauce. Add a little more water if necessary.
13. When pizza is done, remove from oven and sprinkle with toasted coconut chips. Drizzle with caramel sauce. Cut pizza into four slices and serve.
Banana Bread Pudding
Serves 2
Needless to say, bread pudding has not been part of my repertoire lately, but that's about to change. This one is especially easy, because it uses the basic 90-second microwave banana cake from my birthday cake post of last month (really a banana bread, if you don't frost with coconut whipped cream) as the base.
For banana bread
1 tsp coconut oil
4 TBS almond or coconut flour
3 tsp coconut flour
1 TBS flax seed meal (ground flax seed)
1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch sea salt
1/2 banana, mashed with a fork
1 TBS raw honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2 TBS coconut oil, melted in microwave
1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
1. Melt the 1 tsp coconut oil in a 2-cup microwave-safe glass measuring cup. Carefully rotate the cup until the bottom and sides are coated with oil. Pour out and discard the excess.
2. Whisk all dry ingredients in a bowl.
3. Add mashed banana, honey, vanilla, egg, 2 TBS melted coconut oil, and grated lemon rind to the dry ingredients and mix until well-combined.
4. Pour batter into greased measuring cup and microwave for 90 seconds. Check cake, and if top is still wet, microwave in 20 second increments until done. Do not overcook.
5. Let cool in cup for 1-2 minutes, the put small plate over cup and turn over. Banana bread will slide onto plate. Let cool completely.
For pudding
1 recipe Paleo microwave banana bread (above)
2 tsp ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 banana, sliced
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 TBS maple sugar or coconut sugar
1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
Boiling water
1/2 cup cream from top of canned coconut milk, sweetened to taste with maple syrup for topping pudding, optional
2 four-inch oven-proof ramekins
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease ramekins with ghee
3. Slice, then cube banana bread. Gently toast bread cubes until slightly dry, then divide evenly between the ramekins. Top with banana slices.
4. Beat the egg, egg yolk and maple sugar until smooth. Add the 1 cup coconut milk and mix until well-blended. Strain the mix and pour over cubed banana bread.
5. Put the ramekins in a baking dish. Boil water and pour into baking dish, being careful that water does not get into ramekins. Water should reach one inch up the sides of ramekins.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes until custard is set. Serve warm with sweetened coconut cream, if desired.
Duck Burgers à l'Orange
1 pound ground duck ( I get mine from the poultry farmer at our local farmer's market)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS ghee (clarified butter)
For sauce
1 TBS coconut sugar
1 TBS apple cider vinegar
2 TBS orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed
3/4 cup or more chicken broth, plus 2 TBS more broth
1 1/2 tsp arrowroot powder
Grated rind of one orange
Salt and pepper to taste
Lettuce leaves for serving
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Mix ground duck, salt, pepper and thyme, and form 4 burgers.
3. Heat heavy skillet (cast iron is best) and add olive oil and ghee
4. Add burgers and cook 1 to 2 minutes per side, until seared.
5. Place skillet in oven and cook for 10 minutes, or until burgers are cooked medium-well (poultry burgers should not be rare). A screen pan cover is really helpful in keeping fat from spattering all over your oven.
6. Meanwhile, make the orange sauce. Combine coconut sugar, vinegar and orange juice in small pot over medium heat until syrupy. Add the 3/4 cup chicken broth and simmer, stirring. Dissolve the arrowroot in the additional two TBS chicken broth and mix into simmering orange/ broth mixture. Add grated orange rind and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes. Add more broth if it seems too thick.
7. Serve each burger on a large lettuce leaf wrap with orange sauce on the side for dipping. This is good served with sweet potato or Japanese yam fries and a steamed green vegetable.