Paleogram
  • Blog
  • About
    • About
    • What is Paleo?
  • Tips & Hints
  • Contact

Soupe du Jour!

2/10/2016

2 Comments

 
Twenty years ago, my husband, Henry, and I adopted a sweet pit bull puppy with myriad health problems. We named her Tess. One day he was walking her in the park when he was stopped by two older women.

"Oh, she's so cute! What's her name," they inquired. "Tess," he answered. "Oh, what does that stand for?"one of them asked.

Henry, who is gifted with a vivid imagination and the ability to think on his feet, answered immediately:
"Theresa Immaculata. The Holy Father has christened her the Holy Dog of Patient Suffering. In fact, she is the star of the radio show, the Catholic Pet Hour. It airs at 6 on Sunday mornings."


When he recounted the story later, I was horrified: "How could you do that? Those poor women are going to get up early on a Sunday morning to tune into a radio show that exists only in your imagination!"

But that was not the only thing going on in his imagination. By the time he got home from the park, Theresa Immaculata, the dog, had morphed into Thérèse-Immaculée, a little French Canadian girl who lived in Montreal in the 1850s. Her raison d'etre was to perform good deeds, especially for abused and abandoned animals. She became the heroine of a tale that Henry spun at bedtime each night, for the benefit of Tess and me.

Each installment began the same way: " One day, when little tiny Thérèse-Immaculée was only 4 years old, she was walking down the streets of her parish in Montreal when she exclaimed 'Soupe du jour!'"

This was what she said when she was about to embark on another rescue adventure.

Thérèse's father was a leader of skilled artisans and her mother was known throughout Quebec for her "superb cuisine and her high standards of housewifery." She fed her family and she also fed the hungry in the soup kitchens of the parish.
​

For Thérèse's maman, making soup was a labor of love. It is for me, too. 


Avgolemono (Greek Lemon Soup)
Serves 4

This soup is traditionally made with rice, but riced cauliflower makes a good Paleo alternative.

Ingredients
6 cups chicken broth (I use Imagine brand)
1/2 small head of cauliflower, diced in a food processor, so pieces resemble grains of rice
4 eggs
5 TBS fresh lemon juice
2 tsp or more sea salt
Freshly ground pepper
Chopped parsley or mint for garnish 


Picture
1. Bring broth to a boil, then add cauliflower.
2. Lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes until cauliflower is tender
3. Beat eggs until frothy
4. Add 6 TBS of hot broth to the eggs, one TBS at a time, stirring after each addition.
5. Carefully pour egg mixture into simmering broth, stirring the whole time. Do not allow broth to boil, or eggs will curdle.
6. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley or mint 


No-Bean Ribollita 

Serves 4 

On a trip to Tuscany over 20 years ago, I fell I love with this soup, whose name means "reboiled". I ordered it in every restaurant. Of course, this iconic soup is made with beans. But this version, made with pumpkin seeds, is as delicious as any I ate in Italy. It is very thick, more like a stew than a soup. Served with a salad, it's a complete meal and a great idea for "Meat-free Mondays" ( see Paleogram post 12/30/15). 


Picture

Ingredients
1 cup pumpkin seeds, soaked over night in water and 1 TBS sea salt
6 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 large leek, white part only, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 large zucchini, steamed and puréed, to make about 2 cups
3-4 large fresh tomatoes ( or frozen, and defrosted, if you've been lucky enough to preserve the bounty from your summer garden)
1 lb cabbage, sliced
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tsp or more sea salt
Pepper to taste
1 cup baby kale, sautéed in 2 tsp olive oil, for garnish
1/2 cup grated Paleo mozzarella cheese (see Paleogram post, 12/30/15)



1. Heat olive oil in large pan and sautée leeks, carrots and celery until soft.
2. Add tomatoes, thyme and puréed zucchini; cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add cabbage, salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, drain and rinse the pumpkin seeds and purée 1/2 cup of them in 1/2 cup water. Add the whole pumpkin seeds and the puréed pumpkin seeds to the soup pot.
5. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cook slowly for one hour. Add water if soup gets too solid, but soup should be thick. Taste and correct seasonings.
6. Ladle soup into bowls, then garnish with sautéed kale and grated Paleo mozzarella cheese and serve hot. 




Super Easy Pumpkin Soup 

Serves 4 

I get lots of emails from other food bloggers, mostly Paleo, but some vegetarian/vegan as well. The other day, a recipe jumped out at me from the screen because I was feeling a little lazy about making dinner and because I had all the ingredients right in my pantry. We ended up having this wonderful, easy-to-prepare soup along with some leftover Paleo meatloaf and a salad. The original soup recipe, from the blog www.bychefchloe.com, only needed a little tweaking to make it Paleo. 
Picture

Ingredients
2 TBS olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced
2 tsp sea salt
Small pinch of cayenne pepper
3 cups low sodium chicken broth (I use Imagine brand) or vegetable broth ( to make it vegan)
1 15-oz can organic pumpkin purée
3/4 cup canned organic coconut milk
2 TBS coconut sugar
1/4 cup raw shelled pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted in a frying pan or toaster oven
​


1. In large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and sauté onion and apple until soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in salt and cayenne pepper and cook for another minute.
2. Add broth and pumpkin and bring to a boil. Lower heat and add coconut milk and coconut sugar. Stir and then turn off heat
3. Purée soup with an immersion blender or purée in batches in a regular blender. In any case, reheat and serve hot, garnished with the toasted pumpkin seeds. 


2 Comments

This Little Piggy Went to Market...

1/27/2016

0 Comments

 
My first husband was Episcopalian, so he definitely didn't have my Jewish pork phobia ( or to be more accurate, my pork ambivalence, since I adored bacon). When we were newly married, I decided to surprise him by cooking a fresh ham (something I had not only never cooked, but had never even tasted). I did know that you had to cook pork until there was no trace of pink, to avoid trichinosis. So, I dutifully followed the recipe for fresh ham in The Joy of Cooking. When it had cooked for the allotted time, I took it out to check it: Still pink. Back into the oven it went for another 15 minutes or so and then another check: Still pink. Back in the oven, then another check: Pink. Oven. Check: Pink. This went on for several hours until I pulled out a burned-to-the-crisp on the outside still pink on the inside piece of unrecognizable and definitely inedible meat.

"Honey, " my husband said gently, " that was a SMOKED ham. It's supposed to be pink."

When my kids were growing up, my go-to recipe for birthday dinners was Michael Fields' genius recipe for Choucroute Garni in his marvelous book, "All Manner of Food" (still one of my favorite cookbooks,  as evidenced by the food stains on many pages).

Choucroute is the French word for sauerkraut and the dish can be made with all different kinds of pork like bacon, sausages, pork chops and/or ribs.  It's REALLY porky and makes a warming winter meal ( it helped that everyone in the family had birthdays from December through March).


That recipe was also time-consuming, which was why it was saved for special occasions.But here's another, easy choucroute recipe that can even be cooked on a weeknight. This is traditionally served with boiled potatoes, but to make it Paleo, serve with baked sweet potatoes.

Choucroute Garni
4 servings


Ingredients
1 large onion, sliced
1 TBS coconut oil
2 large pears, peeled, cored and cut in chunks
4 slices raw no-nitrate bacon, ( preferably without sugar, like Vermont Smoke & Cure
   Cider-Brined Low Sodium or Garret Valley Sugar-Free Dry Rubbed) cut in small pieces
1 pound sauerkraut, drained
1/2 pound breakfast sausages, made without grains, soy, or dairy
1 rack spareribs, OR 2 boneless pork chops, each chop cut in two portions
1 TBS olive oil, if using spareribs
3 cups low sodium chicken broth (I use Imagine brand)
4 sprigs parsley
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped parsley for garnish
Mustard
Picture
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Melt coconut oil in large,oven-proof pan.
3. Add sliced onions and sauté until soft, 5 minutes
4.Add pears and cook for another 5 minutes
5. Add sauerkraut and bacon and cook for another 5 minutes, then add chicken broth, bay leaf and parsley sprigs and bring to a boil; cook on low heat for about 15 minutes
6. If using ribs, brush with olive oil and roast ribs in oven for 20 minutes; if using boneless pork chops, salt and pepper then sear chops on each side in a frying pan until browned, about 3 minutes per side.
7. At the same time, prick each sausage with a fork, add about 1/2 inch water to a baking dish add sausages to the dish and roast for 15 minutes
8. When sausages and ribs are done roasting (or when pork chops are seared), lower oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bury meats in the sauerkraut, cover the pan, and cook in the oven for 1/2 hour. If using ribs, cut the rack into individual ribs before burying in sauerkraut.
9. To serve, remove bay leaves and parsley sprigs, mound sauerkraut on a platter. If sausages are large, cut each one in half and place on top of sauerkraut, then pile on the ribs or boneless pork chops. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve with mustard on the side, if desired.

Pork Loin Braised in Coconut Milk
2-3 servings

This is a riff on Marcella Hazan's Pork Loin Braised in Milk, which breaks all of the taboos, eating pork AND mixing meat and dairy. But there's no dairy in this Paleo recipe, so I only feel half guilty :-). The coconut milk cooks down to make a delicious gravy. Served with roasted delicata squash and steamed broccoli, this makes a comforting cold weather meal.

Ingredients
Pork tenderloin, about 1 pound
1 tsp coarse sea salt and a few grindings of fresh pepper
1 TBS fresh rosemary, chopped
1 TBS fresh sage, chopped
1 TBS ghee (clarified butter)
1 TBS coconut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 can full-fat organic coconut milk
Rosemary sprigs for garnish
Picture
1. Mix, salt, pepper, rosemary and sage and rub into meat on all sides.
2. Melt ghee and coconut oil in heavy pan, brown meat on all sides, then remove meat from pan.
3. Using the fat in the pan (pour some off if it seems like too much), sauté the onions until they are soft and translucent, but not brown.
4. Add mushrooms to the onions and cook until soft.
5. Return meat  to the pan and carefully pour in the coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and partially cover pan.
6. Cook over low heat for about an hour, basting with sauce from time to time, until meat is done. Remove meat from pan and cover with foil to keep warm.
7. Raise heat to high and bring sauce to a boil, stirring, until it thickens.
8. Slice tenderloin and serve with sauce, onions and mushrooms . Garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs.
0 Comments

Cakes, Reconsidered

1/13/2016

1 Comment

 

When I went  Paleo, I gave away a lot of my old cookbooks. When was I ever going to bake bread, frost cakes, or make pasta again? Now that I've been adapting recipes, I wish I had them back. One book I couldn't bear to get rid of was All Cakes Considered by National Public Radio Producer Melissa Gray, because it's a gorgeous book... the photos are practically food porn, they are so good. Also, because the author offers tons of  baking tips I've never thought of before (see Tips and Hints) and because every cake I baked from All Cakes was absolutely luscious, the book stayed in my "keep" pile.

Ms. Gray, a producer of All Things Considered, baked these cakes and brought a different one to work each week. Her lucky colleagues were the taste testers.I thought that was such a wonderful idea that the year before I retired, two colleagues and I baked a different recipe from this book and brought the cakes to our monthly staff meetings. We were very, very popular!

For the past several years, though, the book has collected dust on my shelf.  Now I have finally opened it again and started to "paleotize" the recipes. And, thanks to the generous permission of the publishers, I can share my efforts with you. (All Cakes Considered, by Melissa Gray, is copyright 2009 and is used with permission of Chronicle Books, San Francisco. Visit www.ChronicleBooks.com )

Baking is as much a science as an art, and Paleo baking even more so. Nut or root flours (like tapioca or cassava) can't be swapped out 1:1  for wheat flour. Coconut flour, for example, absorbs a lot more liquid than other flours and if you substituted it for all-purpose flour 1:1, you'd have a very dry cake indeed (see Tips and Hints for more about flour).


​Missy G's Sweet Potato Pound Cake

This cake is well worth the effort, because it's one of the best I've ever tasted. The author says it makes between 20 and 32 servings. Judging by the way it disappeared when I brought it to my book club and my French class, I'd say 20 was a more accurate estimate. Note that the original cake is a lovely sweet potato color when finished. The Paleo recipe uses coconut sugar, which is brown, so this cake is quite a bit darker, but every bit as delicious.
​
Picture

Picture
All Cakes Considered, by Melissa Gray, is copyright 2009 and is used with permission of
​Chronicle Books, San Francisco. Visit 
www.ChronicleBooks.com
​

Ingredients
For cake
4 medium sweet potatoes
1 cup ghee (clarified butter)
2 cups coconut sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup cashew flour or almond flour
1 cup arrowroot powder
1/4 cup coconut flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup coconut milk (from can, shaken    
       to incorporate cream)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp maple flavoring
1/2 cup peeled, sliced apples
Coconut oil for greasing pan

Topping
2 TBS cold ghee, cut into pieces
2 TBS coconut sugar
3/4 cup chopped pecans



1. About two hours or the day before baking the cake, prick the sweet potatoes with a fork (so they don't explode in your oven), preheat oven to 325 degrees, and bake  for at least 45 minutes until they are soft. Remove from oven and let cool for at least one hour. Scoop out the insides and mash with a potato masher. Measure out two cups and cool to room temperature before mixing into the cake.
2. Position a cake rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line the bottom of a 10-inch tube pan with parchment paper and grease the bottom and insides of the pan with coconut oil.
3. Cream the 1 cup ghee in a mixer on medium speed.
4. Gradually add the two cups coconut sugar to the ghee, 1/4 cup at a time, beating at medium to high speed after each addition.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time (see Tips and Hints), beating at medium to high speed for one minute after the addition of each one.
6. Reduce the mixer to low speed and add the mashed sweet potatoes, 1/2 cup at a time.
7. In a separate bowl, whisk together the cashew flour, arrowroot powder, coconut flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
8. In another separate bowl, combine the coconut milk, vanilla, and maple flavoring.
9. With the mixer still on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and coconut milk mixture, beating after each addition. Start with a third of the flour mixture, beat, then add half of the coconut milk mixture, beat again and repeat until the last of the flour mixture has been beaten in.
10. Turn off the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, then mix the batter on medium to high speed for 2 minutes.
11. Slow the mixer down to the lowest speed and add the apples, mixing until just incorporated.
12. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and use the back of the spatula to smooth the top.
13. In a separate bowl, combine the 2 TBS cold ghee, 2 TBS coconut sugar, and chopped pecans to make the topping. Mix with a spoon until mixture is crumbly.
14. Sprinkle the topping all over the surface of the batter and bake cake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes before testing for doneness. Use a sharp knife or toothpick to test the cake, and poke around in a couple of places (as Ms. Gray says, "This cake can fool ya.")
15. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Unmold the cake by flipping it onto a plate, and then onto a cake rack, topping side up.

​Miss Saigon Cinnamon Almond Coffee Cake

A picture is worth a thousand words. The two pictures that accompany this recipe are priceless to me. My almost-eight-year-old grandson baked this cake. I collected the ingredients but he read the recipe, measured, mixed, poured, and tested the final product to make sure it was done. He wondered why it was called a coffee cake when there wasn't a drop of coffee in it. He also scarfed it down and asked me to bake another one for his upcoming birthday. He loves watching Chopped and Master Chef Junior, and wants to be a pastry chef, a sushi chef, or a hockey player when he grows up. This boy made me a grandmother, and he and his little brother have my heart.
Picture
Picture
Ingredients

For streusel:
2 TBS ghee
1/2 cup coconut sugar
2 tsp Saigon cinnamon (regular cinnamon works, too)
1 cup sliced almonds
2 TBS cashew or almond flour

For cake:
1/4 cup Spectrum Organic All Vegetable Shortening (available in the health food section of your grocery store)
1 cup coconut sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup cashew or almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cup arrowroot powder
1/2 cup coconut yogurt ( see Paleogram post for 11/4/2015) with 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1
tsp maple syrup added (Note: Some people on Paleo eat raw milk yogurt made from the milk of grass-fed cows. If you can tolerate dairy, you can add the vanilla and maple syrup and use this yogurt instead of the coconut yogurt)
1 tsp almond extract
Coconut oil for greasing pan

1. In a microwaveable dish, melt the ghee on high power, about one minute.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the 1/2 cup coconut sugar, cinnamon, almonds and the   2 TBS cashew or almond flour. Add the melted ghee and stir to make the streusel. Set aside.
3. Position a rack so the cake will sit in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the inside of an 8-inch square baking dish with the coconut oil.
4. Cream the shortening with a mixer on medium speed and gradually add the 1 cup coconut sugar, beating well after each addition.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. In a separate bowl, whisk the cashew or almond flour, coconut flour, arrowroot powder and baking powder together.
7. Add a third of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, beat, then add 1/4 cup of the  yogurt and beat again. Repeat once more, add the remaining flour mixture, and beat again.
8. Add the almond extract and beat well.
9. Using your spatula, guide about half the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out. Sprinkle 1/3 of the streusel over the batter. Pour the rest of your batter over the streusel and smooth again. Sprinkle the remaining streusel over the batter.
10. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan and serve.


1 Comment

Meat-free Mondays (or Tuesdays...)

12/30/2015

5 Comments

 
Beatles or Stones? Back in the '60s, I could never choose. Sometimes I was in the mood for the bad boys, and sometimes I couldn't get enough of the Fab Four.

John Lennon or Paul McCartney? Again, why choose?  I loved them both.

Carnivore or vegetarian? With Paleo, you can be an omnivore: One day you can dine on a juicy grass-fed  steak and the next, you can go vegan. Isn't it cool that we don't have to choose?

Which brings us back to Paul McCartney. He and his family have started a movement called Meat Free Monday, which encourages people to reduce their environmental footprint by having at least one meat-free day per week. The idea is to help slow climate change (livestock production is responsible for at least 15 % of global gas emissions, according to several research studies) and preserve natural resources across the globe.

Although Paleo eschews grains, legumes, dairy and soy, it isn't difficult to come up with some delicious vegetarian and vegan dishes (see below).

So, in anticipation of the upcoming New Year and its accompanying resolutions, I'm going to do my part to reduce global warming by going meatless at least one day a week. 
Want to join me?
​

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Paleo Mozzarella, Mushrooms and Onions

I really miss pasta, and when I don't feel like dragging out the pasta maker to make homemade Paleo pasta, spaghetti squash is my go-to alternative. And I can't say enough about Jane's Healthy Kitchen's Paleo cheeses ( or her website, www.janeshealthykitchen.com, which has pretty amazing recipes as well as the science behind Paleo choices). Jane was gracious enough to allow me to share her recipe for mozzarella here. Even confirmed cheese snobs like my husband think this cheese is pretty awesome!
Picture
Ingredients

For roasted squash
1 spaghetti squash, pricked with fork in several places (this is so the squash doesn't explode in your oven)

For mushrooms and onions
1 1/2 cups Baby Bella or white mushrooms caps, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 TBS olive oil

For mozzarella
2 TBS lemon juice
1/2 cup canned coconut milk (thick)
1 cup coconut butter, softened (put jar in warm water)
3 TBS nutritional yeast (available at natural food stores)
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp Vitamin C (ascorbic acid), available at natural food stores or pharmacies
2/3 cup coconut oil, melted

Make mozzarella first ( or even the day before...there will be lots left over for other purposes)

1. Put lemon juice, coconut milk, coconut butter, nutritional yeast, salt and vitamin C crystals in a food processor and blend well.
2. Add melted coconut oil and blend until smooth.
3. Pour into freezer-safe container and freeze for one hour.
4. Remove from freezer and allow to warm for 5 minutes, then slice or grate as much cheese as you would like for spaghetti squash. Keep leftover cheese refrigerated.

To cook squash:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put whole squash ( don't forget to pierce the skin with a fork) in pan in the oven and roast for one hour until tender. When squash is done, remove from oven and let cool.
2. Cut squash in half, lengthwise. Remove seeds and then shred pulp with a fork, until strands resemble spaghetti . Put "spaghetti" in a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm. This recipe will use half the squash. Reserve the other half for another meal.
​

For mushrooms and onions:
1. Put olive oil in pan, heat, and add sliced onions, cook over low heat until soft and melty.
2. Add sliced mushrooms and sauté until soft.

To assemble:
1. Mix mushrooms and onions into squash, then add the sliced or grated cheese. Mix and serve.

Baked Sweet Potato/Kohlrabi Latkes

I told my husband  that we were going to have veggie burgers for dinner. He thinks he detests veggie burgers, so he threatened to "get McDonald's". So I said, actually, we were going to have sweet potato latkes (pancakes), and he forgot all about McDonald's. And, in fact, although I thought these baked patties would turn out to be a Paleo version of a veggie burger, they don't actually resemble burgers at all, so I wasn't lying. I served it with the Curried Cauliflower (recipe below) for a really satisfying Meat Free Monday meal (even though it was Friday).

Anyway, you can make this recipe with any kind of shredded  vegetables. Kohlrabi happens to be my new favorite, especially eaten raw as a snack. It's kind of like a cross between a cucumber and a radish, but it is not spicy. It is extremely crunchy, so I like to cut it in chunks (peel first), sprinkle with salt, ground cumin and ground coriander and, at 36 calories a cup, it is much healthier than chips or crackers, even Paleo chips and crackers.
Picture
Ingredients:
1 medium sweet potato

8 ounces kohlrabi, peeled and cut in spears
1/2 small onion
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup arrowroot powder
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
Chopped parsley for garnish
Coconut milk yogurt (see blog post for 10/22/15)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grate sweet potato, kohlrabi  and onion in food processor using grating attachment
3. Put mixture  in large bowl and mix in other ingredients
4. With your hands, form mixture into patties, squeezing out as much liquid as possible
5. Bake on parchment lined pan for 15 minute, then turn and bake for another 15 minutes until crisp.
6. To serve, top with a dollop of yogurt and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Curried Cauliflower

Indian food lends itself perfectly to vegetarian meals. This recipe is one of my absolute favorites.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 TBS fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
1 tsp ground cumin
2 TBS chopped parsley
Picture
1. Heat coconut oil, then stir in mustard seeds, cumin seeds, ginger, onions, salt and turmeric. Simmer for two minutes.
2. Add cauliflower and stir so florets are coated, then stir in ground cumin
3. Cover pan and simmer about 15 minutes until cauliflower is tender.
4. To serve, sprinkle with chopped parsley.

A happy and healthy New Year to all!
5 Comments

'Tis a Gift to be Simple

12/16/2015

3 Comments

 
O.K., I confess, I was that lazy-ass mom who kept sending Rice Krispie Treats to the bake sales at my kids' school. Yep, every single bake sale. And, you know what? They were the first items to sell out every time because, let's face it, who doesn't like Rice Krispie Treats?

So, in that same vein...no, not the Rice Krispie vein, sorry, they are SO not Paleo...here are some really simple, but oh so good Paleo holiday gifts you can whip up in just a few minutes.

Last year, I made these nut butters for friends and family, and everyone adored them. In fact, when I was sending them to my brother in California, our friendly post office guy, Mike, asked me what was in the package. "Homemade nut butters," I replied. "Oh, yum!" he said. So, this year, I'm making some for Mike, too!

Pecash Butter

This recipe is from Julie and Charles Mayfield's book, Paleo Comfort Foods, and reprinted here with the kind permission of the authors. It's wicked simple, 2 ingredients and a food processor. When nut butter is done, spoon into canning jars, cover and tie a ribbon around each jar. Voilà ...A deliciously easy holiday gift!

Ingredients
3 cups raw cashews
2 cups raw pecan halves or pieces

1. Pour the nuts into the bowl of a food processor and turn on (don't worry, this will be really noisy at first)
2. Allow the processor to run for 8 to 10 minutes or until you have a smooth, creamy butter. You can stop the motor and scrape nut fragments down after about 5 minutes, if you like, then turn it back on until finished.

​(P.S. If you are looking for another delicious gift that's just slightly more labor-intensive than the one above, bake the Morning Glory Muffins from Paleo Comfort Foods. I've gifted these, as well, and baked an extra batch for me. They are completely fabulous and healthy, too! Definitely add the teaspoon of grated orange zest suggested under "Variations".  You can also find this recipe on the Mayfields' blog, www.paleocomfortfoods.com.)
​
So, the above recipe is a yummy everyday treat. If you are craving something nutty and sweet, you'll also want to try the cookie dough nut butters from Amy Lyons at Fragrant Vanilla Cake (www.fragrantvanilla.com). This is not a Paleo blog, but a raw vegan site with some of the most gorgeous cakes I have ever seen. Amy has recipes for 10 different nut butters. After you've tried the following two, you'll probably want to visit her site for the other eight.
Picture

Raw Sugar Cookie Dough Nut Butter

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups raw macadamia nuts ( or you can use all cashews to economize)
2 cups raw cashews
3/4 cup dried, shredded unsweetened coconut
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
​
1. Combine nuts and coconut in food processor and blend until smooth
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth

Gingerbread Nut Butter

Ingredients
2 cups raw cashews
1 1/4 cups raw pecans
3/4 cup dried, shredded unsweetened coconut
3/4 cup coconut sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBS powdered ginger
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1. Combine nuts and coconut in food processor and blend until smooth
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth
​
And if you are attending holiday parties, the Spiced Pecans from Elana Amsterdam's website, www.elanaspantry.com are a divine inspiration. Just be careful you don't eat them all before you get to the party...they are sooooo good! The site is a great resource for all things Paleo.

Spiced Pecans

Picture
Ingredients
2 cups raw pecans
1 egg white
2 TBS honey
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sea salt
1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne

1. In large bowl, whisk egg white, then whisk in honey
2. Toss pecans into egg white mixture and stir so pecans are evenly coated
3. Add spices and mix
4. With slotted spoon, transfer to parchment paper-lined baking sheet
5. Bake at 300 degrees for 25 minutes or until pecans are browned and coating is dry
6. Cool for 20 minutes

These will keep for several days in an air-tight jar.

I requested permission from the original authors of all of the above recipes, and all of my requests were graciously granted, along with words of encouragement for this blogger newbie. I am really heartened by the generosity of the food blogging community, and I can't say enough about how their books and websites eased my transition into Paleo.
​

Whatever, whenever, and however you are celebrating, I wish you a joyous, peaceful and healthy holiday.
3 Comments

Cooking in French

12/2/2015

5 Comments

 
When I was approaching retirement, someone asked me what I planned to do "after." The first thing that popped out of my mouth was "Learn French!"

I'm not really sure where that came from. I was a terrible French student in high school, had a mad crush on my teacher, Monsieur Trapp, and spent way more time looking up dirty words in my Larousse than learning verb tenses.

But my husband and I had recently traveled to Paris and I was dreaming of a time when we could return and Parisians would not respond to my attempts to speak their language by answering me in mine.

So, I enrolled in a French class at our local senior college, found a tutor, discovered an app on line called Duolingo, and found a French-speaking pen pal in Belgium who wanted to learn English in exchange for helping me learn French. My pal (ma copine), Claudine and I have been emailing each other for almost a year now, and Skyping once a week for the past several months. I find myself looking forward to Wednesday mornings, because our language exchange has turned into a lovely friendship for both of us.   We talk about our families, our travels, what we did during the week, and our weekend plans, and we laugh...a lot. We sometimes struggle to understand each other but can often figure out unfamiliar words from the context of the conversation. One morning, she was telling me about an appointment she couldn't keep because the office was blocked by protestors. She used the word "pistolet" which my French dictionary defines as gun or pistol (duh!) so I assumed she was talking about police officers with guns who were there to make sure the protest did not turn violent. I then talked to her about strikes and protests in the US that usually did not require armed law enforcement. She began to giggle and then guffaw, and then patiently explained that in Belgium, pistolet also meant a small, round loaf of sandwich bread. So, apparently unable to keep her appointment, she went out to lunch! We both had a great laugh over that, and the following week when we Skyped, she announced to me in English that she had brought her gun, and pulled a small, round "pistolet" out of a bakery bag.

Food is actually a focal point of many of our conversations, and early in our correspondence, I suggested we exchange recipes (hers to be written in French and mine in English) and asked her to send me something typically Belgian.

The next day, I received an email with the typically Belgian recipe for...Rabbit!

 Eeeew! I had never eaten it-- let  alone cooked it--before, but in the interest of politesse, international relations and world peace, I decided to tackle it. And, o.k., despite my husband making snide remarks about eating the Easter Bunny, we polished it off. It was that good!

​My Friend Claudine's Rabbit with Prunes and Bacon
(Lapin aux pruneaux et aux lardons)
Serves 2


Although rabbit is not as readily available in the U.S. as it is in Europe, I have sometimes seen it in the frozen meat section of our grocery store, and I  am able to get fresh, cut-up rabbit from a local poultry farmer at the Farmer's Market.Serve with puréed sweet potatoes or butternut squash (use ghee instead of butter) and steamed kale or other hearty greens for a perfect cold-weather meal. And if you absolutely cannot bring yourself to eat rabbit, this is probably very good with chicken :-).
Picture
Ingredients
1 rabbit, fresh or frozen, cut into four pieces
2 TBS olive oil
1 TBS ghee (clarified butter)
Water
4 strips no-nitrate, sugar-free bacon, cut in one-inch pieces (either Vermont Smoke & Cure's Cider-Brined Low Sodium Bacon or Garrett Valley's Sugar-Free Dry Rubbed Bacon; if these are not available, just use no-nitrate bacon)
1 cup pitted prunes
Salt and pepper
Fresh parsley sprigs for garnish

1. Season rabbit with salt and pepper.
2. Heat olive oil in pan and add rabbit.
3. Brown rabbit pieces on both sides, then remove from pan.
4. Pour off most of the oil, then add the ghee to the pan and put the rabbit pieces back in the pan.
5. Add a little water and cook, covered, over low heat for 1 1/2 hours. Check frequently and add water as necessary.
6. While rabbit is cooking, gently cook bacon pieces in a separate pan until fat is rendered.
7. 20 minutes before rabbit is done, remove bacon from fat with slotted spoon and add bacon to the rabbit.
8. 15 minutes before rabbit is done, add pitted prunes to pan, cover, and cook until rabbit is done (when meat is tender and separates easily from the bone). Serve garnished with parsley. (Note: Claudine only cooks the thighs and legs, les cuisses, because the breast section is quite bony. I have not been able to find just the leg and thigh sections for sale, so just be aware of all those little bones when you are cooking and eating all of the parts).

Bon appétit!

Mystérieux aux poires
Serves 4
​
Some things are definitely lost in translation. In English this dessert would be called Mysterious Pears, so let's just call it by its lovely French name. This is an adaptation of another of Claudine's recipes. Her recipe calls for mascarpone  cheese, which I've replaced with a Paleo version.
Picture
Ingredients
2 cups cashews, soaked in water for 4-6 hours
1/2 cup coconut cream (from the top of a can of Native Forest Organic Classic Coconut Milk)
2 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 cup, plus 1 TBS honey
3 TBS organic cacao powder
2 small ripe pears, the first peeled, cored and chopped, and the second, for garnish, cored and sliced, but left unpeeled
1/2 cup Livin' Spoonful Chocolate Sprouted Cookies (see Tips and Hints, 11/4/15), pulsed in food processor until they are coarse crumbs, optional
Fresh mint sprigs for garnish

1. Drain water from cashews and dry thoroughly. Discard water.
2. Blend cashews until they are creamy.
3. Add coconut cream and lemon juice to cashews and blend until creamy.
4. Add ghee, honey and cacao, and blend until all ingredients are incorporated and mixture is smooth.
5. If using cookie crumbs, place 1/4 of them into each of four small ramekins.
6. Place 1/4 of the chopped pears on top of the crumbs ( if not using crumbs, just put pears in ramekins)
7. Spoon the mascarpone mixture on top of the pears, then garnish with pear slice and sprig of mint.
8. Refrigerate for one hour. Remove from refrigerator 15 minutes before serving.

The Tarte Tatin That Wasn't

Like Julie Powell, the eponymous main character in the delightful memoir (and movie) "Julie and Julia", I sometimes try to channel my inner Julia Child when I cook. When we were in Paris in 2012, the 100th anniversary of her birth, I made a pilgrimage to some of her favorite places: the apartment she shared with her husband Paul at 81 Rue de L'Université ( which she dubbed "Rue de Loo"); Dehillerin (which she called "the kitchen supply store of all time"); G. Detou ( a great food store, especially for chocolate,,whose name is a play on words--J'ai de tout or " I have everything"). We did not eat in her favorite restaurant, Le Grand Véfour, having experienced sticker shock when we looked at the menu in the window.

I have long  wanted to bake Julia's Tarte Tatin, kind of an upside-down apple pie, and I was  in possession of a new kind of Paleo flour, cassava, which purports to be a 1:1 substitute for wheat flour. Yeah, well not in pâte brisée, the kind of crust you need for this tarte. The idea is that you caramelize sugar in the bottom of a cast iron pan, add apples and butter ( I used palm sugar and ghee to make it Paleo), then cover with the pâte brisée, bake, and then carefully flip over so the caramelized apples are on top. A well-made Tarte Tatin is a work of art ( see photo on left)  Mine, not so much (photo on right). The crust never held together, so it was pretty much of a culinary disaster when I flipped it over. It didn't taste bad, though, so we ate it. I will continue to seek the best Paleo ingredients to substitute, however, and if  I succeed, I'll include it in a post....maybe in honor of Julia's birthday next August?
Picture
Picture
"Apple Tart Tatin" by Joy  is licensed under CC BY 2.0
Found at  Creative Commons 

I wrote this post before the horrific attacks in Paris...and Beirut...and Mali in November.  In my grief and horror at these evil acts, I returned again and again to the video ( which has now been viewed by millions of people all over the world) of the Parisian father and his little boy being interviewed by a TV reporter. When the child expresses fear about bad guys with guns, the father points out all the flowers at a makeshift memorial to the victims of the terrorists and tells the boy that flowers are a powerful weapon against guns. "Pour protéger? (For protection?) asks the little boy. "Voilà! ( You got it), says his dad.

We weren't so wrong back in the '60s...Peace and love to all of us.
5 Comments

The Best Thing About Thanksgiving Turkey? Leftovers!

11/18/2015

2 Comments

 
I have a pretty large extended family. Back in the day, when we didn't all live so far away from each other, we would gather at the home of one aunt and uncle or another  for Thanksgiving. The turkey was carved in the kitchen and then brought to the table for all to dig in. Invariably, a cousin or two or three remained in the kitchen for a minute or two eating what was left on the carcass (yes, after all these years, I admit that I was one of them.
​As for my partners in crime, well you know who you are).

What we were doing, of course, was eating the scrumptious leftovers even before the meal had started.

These days, I don't wait for Thanksgiving to make turkey. I roast one whenever I have the urge for turkey soup, one of my husband's specialties ( in fact, one of his only specialties, if you don't count the macaroni and cheese made with Velveeta which our grandsons clamor for and call "the bomb," their sincerest words of praise...of course Velveeta has no place in a Paleo blog. But the soup definitely does).



Henry's Turkey Soup
4 to 6 servings

This is a two-day process, but don't be intimidated. The first day you make the broth (with just two ingredients), then refrigerate it overnight. On day two, you add the rest of the ingredients, simmer for an hour, and, voila...a rich and delicious soup for dinner!
INGREDIENTS
Carcass, bones, skin, and drippings or gravy from a cooked
​     turkey (leave a little meat on the carcass)
3 quarts low sodium chicken broth (I use Imagine brand)
2 cups cooked turkey, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
4 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 leeks, white part only, cleaned and sliced
2 onions, peeled and chopped
3 parsnips, peeled and sliced
3 TBS fresh dill, chopped
2 TBS fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Picture
Day 1
1. Place carcass, bones, skin, drippings or gravy in a large soup pot and add chicken broth.
2. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for 6 hours. Let cool slightly and refrigerate overnight.

Day 2
1. Remove soup from refrigerator and heat until broth liquefies. Strain through a colander placed over another soup pot or large bowl. Discard skin, carcass and other bones, and most of the by-now shredded meat, but if there are larger pieces of meat, add them back to the strained broth.
2. Add vegetables, herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Add the 2 1/2 cups reserved turkey meat along with the vegetables and herbs. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and simmer for one hour until vegetables are tender. Serve hot.

​Turkey Sandwich

This one's easy: Take a bunch of Paleo leftovers and pile them on sliced Paleo Rye Bread. I use turkey ( of course), cranberry sauce, and kale. Then I add sauerkraut (make sure it is free of additives) and Paleo mayo ( see Tips and Hints section). For Paleo Rye Bread, simply follow the Paleo Sandwich Bread recipe in the Breakfast, Part 2 post, below, but substitute regular flax meal for golden flax meal and add 1 TBS of caraway seeds to the mix.

Curried Turkey Salad
Makes 3 1/2 cups

INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 cups cooked turkey, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large apple , peeled, cored, and chopped
1/4 cup raisins or cranberries ( if using cranberries, fruit juice-sweetened only)
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup Paleo-friendly mayonnaise ( I use Primal Kitchen Mayo with avocado oil-- see Tips and Hints section)
1-2 TBS curry powder, to taste
Juice of 1 lemon
2 TBS chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley sprigs for garnish
Leftover cranberry sauce for serving, optional

Picture
1. Mix mayo, curry powder and lemon juice in a small bowl.
2. Mix turkey, celery, apple, raisins, almonds and chopped parsley in large bowl.
3. Stir mayo mixture into turkey mixture and combine well.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste ( if you are using Primal Kitchen Mayo, go easy on the salt)
5. Garnish with parsley sprigs and serve with leftover cranberry sauce on the side.

This is also great with leftover chicken, but, after all, this is a Thanksgiving post.

​Turkey Paté

Don't be put off by the anchovies in this recipe. They add a nice salinity and you don't have to use
​additional salt to season.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups cooked turkey, diced
2 canned anchovies, rinsed
1/4 cup ghee
Juice of one half lemon
2 TBS fresh sage, chopped
Sage leaves for garnish
Picture
1. Put turkey, anchovies, ghee and lemon juice in a food processor and process until mixture is smooth and holds together
2. Add chopped sage leaves to the mixture and pulse a few times until sage in incorporated into mix.
3. Garnish with whole sage leaves and serve with Paleo crackers (see Hints and Tips)

What are your favorite Thanksgiving leftovers? Please post a comment and let me know.


2 Comments

Got (Coconut) Milk?

11/4/2015

0 Comments

 
           When my kids were little, we lived in the Hudson Valley of New York State, in a  fixer-upper house that never quite got fixed up. When my son had an allergic reaction to cow's milk, we were advised to start him on goat's milk. Back in the day, goat's milk was not readily available at the local grocery and health food stores were few and far between. So, we schlepped each week , recyclable bottles in tow, to a local farmer for our supply. Eventually, it seemed to make sense to milk our own goats (it didn't make that much sense in mid-winter when we trudged to the barn twice a day to milk them, though). Anyway, we had LOTS of milk, so I made yogurt and cheese. It was kind of a production, with precise temperatures and timing and special equipment. The kids didn't even like it. A lot of work for very little payback.

          Fast forward thirty-some odd years, and I am once again making yogurt and cheese (well, cream cheese, anyway), but this time with coconut milk and without all the paraphernalia. It's easy, fun, and, oh yes, delicious.

Picture
Coconut Yogurt
Makes about 1 pint


           This summer, my cousin Amy came for a visit and brought a rare and coveted gift, a container of Anita's Creamline Coconut Yogurt. I practically swooned when I tasted it and made up my mind to put in a standing order. Alas, Anita's is only available in New York City and they will not ship it no matter how hard you beg or grovel. When I looked up recipes for this yogurt, they all required hacking up baby coconuts to extract the meat. Way too labor-intensive, so I reconciled myself to no yogurt. But then I wondered what would happen if I used canned coconut milk, instead. And guess what, it's really, really good--not quite the amazing, sensual taste sensation of Anita's, but perfectly wonderful if you live in rural Maine and get to New York City maybe once every couple of years.

Ingredients
-Cream from the top of one can of coconut milk, plus enough coconut water from the can to make a smooth yogurt (I use Native Forest Unsweetened Organic Classic Coconut Milk. This brand contains organic guar gum, but when I tried this with a brand without guar gum, the texture was unacceptable. In any case, do not use reduced-fat coconut milk--unless you want to make kefir) If your kitchen is very warm, you can put the can in the refrigerator overnight before you use it so cream will thicken.
-Contents of one probiotic capsule

1. Scoop the cream from the top of the can and put it in a bowl. Add as much of the liquid from the bottom of the can as you like--if you want a thick, Greek-type yogurt, just add enough so you can stir the mixture; if you like traditional yogurt, add a little more liquid. Do not use the whole can or yogurt will not thicken properly.
2. Empty the contents of probiotic capsule into the cream and stir until well-combined. An immersion blender helps if there are lumps of coconut cream in the mixture.
3. Pour into sterile glass jar, cover, and place in a turned-off oven for 24 hours.
4. Refrigerate and enjoy!

Paleo Sour Cream
Makes about 1 pint


                 When my siblings and I were very young, sour cream and bananas was a favorite dinner choice. I don't remember if this was offered as the actual dinner, or maybe the alternative when we turned our noses up at what my mother put on the table (liver and onions, perhaps?). I actually loathed bananas, and this was the only way I would eat them. It still is, but now my sour cream is made with coconut milk. The bananas, however, are still made with bananas     
​ ( just slice them into a bowl and top with sour cream--voila, instant kid dinner. Or, even better, use coconut yogurt in place of the sour cream, add a tablespoon of raw organic hemp seeds, and you have a healthy adult breakfast).
Ingredients
1 can coconut milk (see yogurt recipe for information)
1 TBS fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Sea salt to taste

1. Scoop cream from top of coconut milk into bowl
2. Add lemon juice and salt to taste and mix thoroughly
3. Use in any recipe that calls for sour cream (like my Aunt Honey's Sorrel Soup, see below)

Paleo Cream Cheese

Ingredients
Same as for Paleo Sour Cream, above

1. Follow recipe for Paleo Sour Cream, above
2. Line a strainer with an unbleached coffee filter and place strainer over bowl, then add Paleo sour cream
3. Cover with a clean dish towel and leave on counter overnight so liquid can drain
4. Remove coffee filter and transfer to a small bowl. Refrigerate and use as you would any conventional cream cheese (yes, you can still have lox and bagels on Paleo--check out Elana Amsterdam's recipe for Paleo bagels on her website www.elanaspantry.com)
Picture

Aunt Honey's Sorrel Soup (Schav)
Serves 4

                  My mother was the oldest of 6 girls, and was 20 years older than her youngest sister, so I have several aunts who are not much older than I am. The following recipe, adapted for Paleo, is from my second youngest aunt, who always signs her letters to me FYAHWLY (from your Aunt Honey what loves you). As of mid-October, I still have sorrel (a lemony-tasting green) in the garden. It's a perennial and I planted it just for this soup (it also makes a great sauce for salmon).

Ingredients
3 medium onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic (I omit this, because garlic doesn't like me)
1/4 cup ghee
Sorrel leaves (remove stalks and large veins), coarsely shredded, approximately 8-10 cups
2 TBS vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt, pepper to taste
4 cups low sodium chicken stock (I use Imagine brand)
1 egg, beaten
Paleo sour cream (see above) to garnish

1. Sauté onion (and garlic, if using) in ghee until golden
2. Add sorrel leaves, and cook, covered, until wilted (about 5 minutes)
3. Add stock, vinegar, lemon juice, salt and pepper and cook, covered, about 30 minutes
4. When ready to serve, beat egg in a small bowl, add a little hot soup to the bowl  and then return the mixture to the pot. Stir well. Do not allow the soup to boil or the egg to set.
5. Serve at once with a dollop of sour cream.
Picture
0 Comments

How Do You Like Them Apples?

10/20/2015

7 Comments

 
About 10 years ago, we put an addition on our house. This scrawny, 3-foot-tall apple sapling was in the way, so the contractors dug it up and relegated it to the trash heap.  We rescued it and lovingly replanted it in a sunny spot in front of the house. The next year it was a little taller, and a couple of years later, it actually bore fruit (about six little apples). Fast forward to this year, and we are knee-deep in organic apples from the 9-foot tall tree we've named Frankie. I like to think she's giving back because she's so happy to have been saved.

I have 6 bushels packed away to store for the winter; I've made 10 pints of applesauce and enough filling for 5 apple pies; have given away apples to friends and the local soup kitchen; and I still have 3 or 4 bushels to do what with? Apple-ginger chutney? More pies? Apple clafoutis...definitely yes. And maybe even some apple butter.
Picture
Picture

Applesauce

This is so easy to make and freeze.

Apples
Water to cover
Honey, optional ( if your apples are very sweet, you may not need additional sweetener)

1. Core apples, but do not peel (you'll get a lovely pink sauce from red apples). Cut into chunks.
2. Put apples in large pot and add water to just cover the fruit.
3. Bring to a boil and simmer until apples are soft.
4. Put apples through a food mill and discard the peels.
5. Taste applesauce and add a little honey if you think it needs sweetening.
6. Pour into wide-mouthed freezer jars to fill-line and freeze. Enjoy with a roast chicken or turkey this winter.

Picture

As Easy as Pie... Not!

O.K., the filling is easy, but more about that in a minute. I have been making the delicious Double Crust Apple Pie from Lisa Yockelson's book, Country Pies, since 1988, when the book was published. No, I take that back: I have been making the filling from this recipe since 1988 and then popping it between two ready-made, store-bought frozen pie crusts. They were good enough and, despite my many years in the kitchen, I was completely intimidated by pie crusts....especially since pie crusts made with lard had the reputation of being the best, and given my somewhat ambivalent relationship with pork (see Breakfast, Part 2, below)...Anyway, true confessions: Before I switched to Paleo, I don't remember ever making a pie crust. But now, if I want pie, I have to.

The pie crust recipe I like the best is the one with a lattice crust from Gather: The Art of Paleo Entertaining, by Haley Mason and Bill Staley. I've made a couple of changes, though, substituting palm sugar for maple sugar and lard (yes, lard) for palm shortening. So, just so you should know from the get-go, this pie crust is a pain in the butt to make...and one of the most delicious pie crusts ever, Paleo or no. Probably because I used lard that was room temperature, I had to use a ton of arrowroot, a lot of which ended up on my kitchen counters and floor, and dogs do not clean up spilled arrowroot off the floor the way they clean up say, spilled turkey gravy or ice cream. The dough was not very stiff, so making a lattice top crust was out of the question. The strips I cut looked like a kindergartner had snipped them with plastic scissors. So, I abandoned the lattice and used a cookie cutter to cut out dough flowers for the top, instead. They don't exactly look like flowers, but I think the pie looks kind of rustic. The important thing, though, is that it tastes fabulous. So, come Thanksgiving, I'll roll up my sleeves, do some yoga breathing, and tackle this pie again.

Now, about that easy filling: one of the things I did with our apple bounty was to make enough filling for six pies and then freeze the filling in aluminum pie tins, and then put the filled tins in freezer bags. When it was time to bake the pie, I just popped the frozen filling into the partially-baked crust, no need to defrost it. This is a handy hint from Janet Chadwick's book, The Beginner's Guide to Preserving Food at Home. Of course, you can also make the filling fresh.

Filling (adapted from Country Pies)

1 TBS plus 1 1/2 tsp arrowroot powder
2/3 cup palm (coconut) sugar
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
4 cups peeled, sliced apples (about 5 large apples), tossed in 1 TBS fresh lemon juice

1. Combine arrowroot, palm sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl. Add apples and toss (filling may be frozen at this point if you are not going to use it right away).

Crust (adapted from Gather: The Art of Paleo Entertaining)

3 cups blanched almond flour
1 1/4 cup arrowroot, plus more for dusting (lots more, trust me)
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup palm sugar
1 TBS vanilla extract
1/2 cup lard (I use Fatworks Pure Lard, ordered online. If you don't want to use lard, you can use the same amount of palm shortening. The recipe from Gather calls for melting the shortening, but I would use the lard at room temperature or cold)
2 eggs, whisked
1 egg white for wash on top of the pie
Picture
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Combine almond flour, arrowroot, salt, baking soda and palm sugar in a bowl.
3. Add vanilla and lard and mix in.
4. Add whisked eggs and combine.
5. Make a ball out of the dough and add arrowroot as needed to make it "rollable".
6. Lay out parchment paper and dust with arrowroot. Place dough on paper, dust with more arrowroot and cover with another piece of parchment paper. Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick.
7. Remove top piece of parchment paper. Place the pie pan upside down on the rolled-out dough and cut around the rim of the pan, leaving half an inch of extra dough. Remove the excess dough and use for topping.
8. Carefully turn over the pan with the dough--it will sink into the pan. If you need to make repairs, you can use some of the excess dough. Crimp the edge of the crust.
9. Prick the dough several times with a fork, and bake crust for 15 minutes.
10. While it is baking, roll out the remaining dough, using the same method as in Step 6, above. Cut shapes out with cookie cutter.
11. Remove crust from oven and fill with fresh or frozen pie filling.
12. Carefully place cut out dough on top of the filling, with pieces overlapping each other (don't worry if they break, you can always roll and cut them out again)
13. Brush top of pie with egg white, put back in the oven, and bake 15-20 minutes until crust is golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

                  Whew! It took me most of the afternoon, including washing the floor and counters. But so, so good. My husband and I ate 1/3 of the pie the first night, and finished it off the next two nights. We did not even share it with the dogs...we were so greedy!
7 Comments

Salad Days

10/7/2015

6 Comments

 




Lunch Salad
Serves 1



When it comes to lunch, I'm a creature of habit. I eat a salad pretty much every day. When I was working, it was easy to throw everything into Tupperware every morning, and, now that I'm retired, it's even easier.
Picture
So, anyway, in order to keep from getting tired of this meal, I follow a few simple rules...hmmm, I seem to recognize a pattern here: Simple...Easy...:
   1. Make it beautiful: We eat with our eyes as well as our mouths. Herbs and edible flowers can turn
everyday salads into delicious works of art.
   2. Make it big...in fact, make it humongous. You can always finish it as a snack later in the day (although that's never been an issue for me...I eat every last mouthful at lunch).
   3. Vary the ingredients--the more veggies the better, and change up the protein and garnishes.
   4. Whenever possible, grow your own salad and go for the unusual. That means you need to plan ahead. When you are drooling over the seed catalogues next winter ( and judging from the temperature in Maine this morning, that's going to be sooner than we think),opt for the exotic like tatsoi, mizzuna, arugula, mesclun, mustard greens, as well as romaine, kale, and some of the more unusual lettuces. And don't forget the herbs...I especially like mint in salads.

Choose an assortment from each category, below:

Greens: Kale, romaine, lettuce, mesclun, arugula, mizzuna, tatsoi, etc., washed, dried and torn into pieces

Other vegetables: Carrots, cucumber, fennel, radishes, sugar snap peas, haricots verts, leftover roasted vegetables like beets and cauliflower, and avocado ( yes, I know it's a fruit)

Herbs: Mint, dill, parsley, savory, etc.
Picture
Add-ins: Sliced apples, raisins, raw sunflower seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, raw nuts, dried cranberries (only without oil, and sweetened with fruit juice), and edible flowers such as nasturtiums and marigold petals

Protein, choose one: Canned wild-caught sardines in water, drained; small can tuna or salmon in water, drained; hard-boiled eggs, leftover chicken, meat or fish

1. Toss the greens in a salad bowl
2. Add your choice of other ingredients from the list, above
3. Toss with "The Only Salad Dressing You'll Ever Need ( and the easiest, too)

"The Only Salad Dressing...etc."

Juice of 1/2 lemon
2 TBS olive oil ( I like Trader Joe's Sicilian Olive Oil)
Pinch of coarse sea salt

1. Shake ingredients together in a jar and pour over salad and toss ( or, if you don't feel like getting a jar dirty, just squeeze the lemon juice onto the salad, drizzle the olive oil over it, add a pinch of salt, and toss...see, I told you it was easy).

Salade Niçoise
Serves 2

One of the easiest dinners ever, and also one of my husband's favorites. The only cooking you have to do is hard-boil the eggs, cook potatoes in a little salted water, and ditto the string beans.

You will notice that there are both potatoes and tomatoes in the accompanying photo. While tomatoes are technically o.k. on Paleo, if you are experiencing inflammation, joint pain, etc., best to steer clear of all nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and peppers). The Paleo jury is out on potatoes ( but sweet potatoes are definitely a Paleo staple), but, again, if you are avoiding nightshades, best to skip them, too. I skip them both, but serve them because my husband could live on potatoes and tomatoes. But not to worry, there are enough
ingredients in this salad so that you will never miss them.
Assorted greens
1 can imported tuna ( I use Cento Solid Pack Light Tuna in Olive Oil-- this salad is just not  
   as good with regular old canned tuna, and,  
   surprisingly, it's not as good with fresh
   cooked tuna)
4  hard-boiled eggs, peeled
1 cucumber, sliced
6 anchovy fillets
6-8 baby potatoes, cooked in salted water,
   optional
String beans, fresh or frozen, briefly cooked
   in salted water to retain color
Cherry tomatoes or chopped tomatoes,
   optional
Picture
In addition, you can add sliced radishes, avocado slices, canned artichoke hearts (drained), hearts of palm, pitted black olives.

1. Place greens on platter
2. Arrange other ingredients on top of greens
3. Serve with "The Only Salad Dressing You'll Ever Need", see recipe above.

Indian-Spiced Zucchini-Coconut Soup
Serves 4

Surprisingly, zucchini did not run rampant in my garden this summer. Not so the pattypan squash: Every day, there would be at least 2 to 3 bright yellow frisbee-sized squash waiting for me. You can make this soup, an adaptation of Molly O'Neill's recipe from the NY Times Cooking website, with any summer squash.

2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 medium ( or one giant) zucchini or pattypan squash, diced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
Pinch cayenne
1 tsp sea salt
Ground pepper to taste
4 cups low sodium chicken broth (I use Imagine brand)
1 can unsweetened coconut milk (I use Native Forest Classic, not low-fat)
2 tsp chopped mint

1. Heat oil in large pan. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add zucchini and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Stir in the salt and spices, then stir in the broth and coconut milk. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is soft, about 25 minutes.
4. Use immersion blender to purée soup
5. Serve with chopped mint to garnish.

6 Comments
<<Previous
Forward>>

    Picture

      Deborah Shepherd

    New recipes and Paleo adaptations of family favorites I've been cooking for years that I hope will work for all of us, whether Boomers or beyond.

    Picture

    .

    All
    Breakfast
    Comfort Foods
    Dessert
    Dinner
    Lunch
    Travel

    Archives

    June 2017
    May 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    May 2015

    RSS Feed

Home      About     Contact

Copyright 2015 Deborah Shepherd
Website design by Liz Mortati