Spicy Lamb's Quarters

SO many lamb's quarters!

Last weekend was a giant harvest of the 3 foot tall lamb's quarters at the north-side homestead. They took over the beds and aisles that are now planted with tomatoes and peppers, resulting in A LOT of lamb's quarters (two 5 gallon buckets that are stuffed full)!  I feel happy that the beds got a successive "planting" (if I can call the edible weed growth a planting). Seriously, if you have not tried it yet, this plant is really delicious - see post from a week or two ago about identifying this weed (there are lots of online recipes too).

Much of the harvest will go in the freezer for soup, but the stuff I kept out will likely go to this recipe created by My Charming Companion. It tastes sort of creamy with some nice spice and reminds me a little of East African collard greens (that I think I've had a few places, but including the Blue Nile). These are SO good!

Picture these but more creamy & yellow, with onions*

Spicy Lamb's Quarters, serves 2
1 small onion, chopped
4 c. chopped lambs quarters (or several big handfuls)
2 T coconut oil
1/4 c. coconut milk
2 tsp. coriander
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/4 tsp. garam masala
salt to taste
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1) Heat coconut oil in a cast iron pan. Add onions and saute 3-5 minutes.
2) Add spices and stir.
3) When onions are translucent, add 1/2 of the greens with some water to steam and cover the pan. After a few minutes, add the rest of the greens plus the coconut milk and stir. Cover again to steam the next batch. Add a little more water if needed. Let cook a few more minutes so that greens are wilted and cooked through.
4) Salt to taste. Just before serving sprinkle with apple cider vinegar.

*Photographic side note: I am still without camera. I am somewhat bereft at this, but making due. If I had the means to be taking pictures, you would definitely have more accurate reflections of these dishes, including a shot of the two 5 gallon buckets filled with greens. There would also likely be a photo of the garden because it is looking so dang good right now - though perhaps that would not translate to photo as much as in real life. : )

Cabbage Hash

I really love cabbage. For years I treated it as sort of a condiment type of vegetable...put a little on my burrito, use it as saurkraut, sprinkle a bit on a salad. I recently started to explore it in slaw, and also use it as the wrapper for cabbage rolls or grain free fajitas. Somewhere in there I converted to thinking of cabbage as a staple in my fridge. It also made a very prominent appearance in the Anti-Cancer book I read last month, which listed cruciferous veggies, particularly cabbage, at the top in terms of most beneficial to fight cancer (along with onions).

My latest fave way of eating cabbage is to make a big breakfast hash, which I probably have 3 times a week. I especially love it with fat green onions from the garden. I have never measured this before, so the amounts listed below are guidelines - and this is my favorite combo of veggies. It is just as good without the kale, or with some cherry tomatoes instead of orange peppers, or with onions and cabbage only. This way is prettiest though.

Cabbage Hash
2 slices bacon, chopped up
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 c. red cabbage, sliced thin
3 kale leaves, de-stemmed and chopped
1/4 orange pepper, chopped
1+ tsp. turmeric
fresh chives (optional)
Squeeze of lemon (optional)
salt

1) Heat a cast iron pan - when it is hot, add bacon and onion to cook until bacon starts to render and onions begin to get translucent (3-5 minutes).

Stolen pic to show what it sort of looks like.

2) Add cabbage and stir - let cook another 5 minutes.
3) Add kale and orange pepper - stir occasionally, letting the veggies caramelize a little as they sit.
4) Stir in turmeric, chives, a little salt, and the lemon squeeze
5) Serve with 2 fried eggs on top (which you could also cook right on top of the hash if you want to put the whole thing in the oven...I just am not so patient!)

Salmon Cakes (paleo)

I bought a can of wild salmon when it was on sale awhile ago, and have been meaning to try making salmon cakes ever since. Tonight, with its impending storm and warm temps, seemed a perfect night to try them. The original recipe is listed here - though I copied it below as well. This makes a quick and easy dinner for one - I ate mine on a bunch of salad greens with fresh dill, chives, lemon juice, and homemade mayo, or you could make them more miniature as an appetizer.

My salmon cakes included garden chives and green onions!

Salmon Cakes (yields 3 patties)
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic, pressed or finely chopped
1-2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives (set 1 Tsp aside for garnish)
1 Tsp gluten-free djion mustard
1 egg
sea salt & pepper to taste
6 oz cooked wild salmon, mashed up
1 Tsp coconut flour
1/4c coconut oil for pan-frying (quantity may vary based on pan size)
Juice & zest from 1/2 of a lemon for garnish

1. Pre-heat a small cast iron skilled with coconut oil melted in approximately 1/8-1/4″ deep.
2. Combine onion, garlic, chives, mustard, sea salt, pepper, egg and coconut flour in a small mixing bowl to combine. Add salmon and mix together until the salmon is well incorporated.
3. When the pan and oil are hot, form the mixture into approximately 2 oz patties (I just formed them in may hands very gently!) Cook the patties thoroughly until well browned on one side before attempting to flip them. If you try to flip them too early they may break. Brown the second side. Each side will take several minutes to brown.
4. Remove the salmon cakes from the pan and serve warm. Garnish with extra chives, onions and lemon juice and zest to taste. Serve over salad greens.

Jambalaya (paleo)

I just read/skimmed Robb Wolf's "The Paleo Solution" - and at the end of the book there are recipes and ideas about what to eat for a "Paleo 30" (30 days of paleo eating to notice how your health/energy/etc change and decide if you want to continue or not). And while perusing the recipes I saw one for jambalaya, which sounded new and exciting.

Usually people use andouille sausage for jambalaya - along with shrimp. I had some homemade linguica defrosting, which is much milder, and maybe a little more wine-y.  They also had only farm raised shrimp at the store, so I opted to go with bay scallops instead (the small, cheaper kind).  The resulting dish was definitely jambalaya like - though honestly I have little to compare this to since I have never eaten traditional jambalaya. The only other time I've had it was when I made enormous quantities for a fundraiser my friend and I put together in college. Anyway - the paleo version does not have the rice of course, and instead uses cauliflower. The consistency is different that way - the cauliflower just doesn't soak up the liquid like rice does - but the whole thing comes together nicely as a soup.

Mine looked a little thicker than this - with scallops, not shrimp!

1 T + 1 t olive oil, divided
1/2 pound spicy sausage (andouille)
1 c. chopped onion
3/4 c. chopped green pepper
1/2 c. chopped celery
1 t. cajun seasoning* + 1/8 t., divided
1 bay leaf
2 small cans tomato sauce**
2 c. chicken broth
1 1/2 c. water
1 1/2 c. finely chopped cauliflower
dash of cayenne
1/2 pound shrimp

Cajun "holy trinity"

In a large skillet heat the olive oil, sausage, onion, peppers and celery. (I read somewhere that the combo of onion, green pepper and celery is the "holy trinity" in Cajun cooking.) Saute for about 5 minutes, then add the seasoning and bay leaf. Cook for 1 more minute. Add the tomato sauce, chicken broth, water, and cauliflower. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf.

In another skillet, saute the shrimp (or scallops) in the 1/8 t. olive oil with the 1/8 t. cajun spice and a dash of cayenne. Saute for 2 minutes and then stir into the jambalaya. 

*Make your own Cajun spice by using 2 parts each of salt and paprika to 1 part each of cayenne and black pepper (and if you like, onion and garlic flakes). This was especially tasty to brown the scallops in.
**I have no idea how much this is. I had tomatoes and tomato paste to use up, so I used that instead. ?

Paleo meatballs

I totally stole her photo because I am still without camera.

I made meatballs for the first time this week. It was an exciting event - inspired somewhat by a dinner months ago at Crystal and Venessa's. Venessa had made these stunning meatballs that were totally scrumptious. I perused recipes for awhile, and settled on one that I give a definitive five stars. The spicing is like no other pasta I have had - kind of sweet, but not, and full of cumin?!  It also was a terrifically low stress way to do meatballs because you brown them a little and then finish them off in the sauce. So they look good all surrounded by the tomato sauce, even if you maybe made some lop-sided ones that crumbled a little and are not so spherical.

The original recipe, called "Not your typical grandma's paleo meatballs" from a blog called "Caveman Strong" recommends that you serve the meatballs and sauce on steamed kale or spinach. I followed the recipe pretty closely, except I had no cilantro and minimal parsley, and I had chopped tomatoes rather than "crushed" ones. Also, the sauce will look pretty liquid-like when you add the meatballs, but don't worry because it will cook down and thicken up over the 15 minutes that the meatballs cook. I ate mine over grated raw zucchini, but I'll totally try it on some greens too. Really - these spices are SO good together!

Lamb's Quarters, aka free spinach

Have you seen this weed growing prodigiously this spring? It's in my garden beds and along my house and sidewalk. And it is edible and tastes like spinach. I love free food!

I just cut off the top couple branches of leaves, wash the whole thing (it has a sort of powdery coating on the leaves that I like to rinse a little), and then chop them up (stems and all) and steam them and eat them like I would spinach.  Over the past two weeks I have had them in stir fry, soup, and with eggs a la egg bake. Read a little more about how to identify lamb's quarters here.

Things felt especially bountiful and forage-y when My Charming Companion came home with several pounds of morel mushrooms last week, which lead to many meals of morels, nettles (another edible "weed"), lamb's quarters and a general feeling of joyfulness. I started singing that song that tends to be sung in winter (It's the most wonderful time of the year) but changed the words to better reflect spring and growing food and free things. : )

Anyway - here is a soup recipes that My Charming Companion produced out of nowhere that turned out great. We also made some creamy versions of soup where the lamb's quarters (and sometimes nettles) were blended up with some broth and cooked mushrooms. It was very free form and very tasty.

Brothy Soup with meat:
Heat (homemade) chicken stock in a pot
Add 4 green onions/scallions, chopped
Throw in whatever veggies you have on hand: sliced purple cabbage, red/orange peppers, mushrooms, etc.
Fill the pot with lamb's quarters and cook down
Chop some bits of steak or chicken to toss in for the last few minutes (they will cook very fast)
Flavor with sriracha, splash of tamari, salt, and sesame oil

Fish!

Cooking fish seems a bit daunting - probably because I just have not done it too much. But I love fish, it is fast to cook, and Coastal Seafoods is even closer than the grocery store, and well, why not just give it a try.  Also, it turns out Coastal has sales pretty much every weekend on something or other, which provides some guidance on the wide array of fish and seafood options (you know, beyond my fave scallop option).

So, I tried two different fish recently: Monchong (white ocean fish from Hawaii) and Walleye. I was pretty impressed with myself - not there is anything difficult about this cooking - but they both tasted totally delicious!

Monchong (or any white ocean fish like Seabass or Halibut)
I didn't measure here - and of course it will vary according to how much you make, but the basic method is to saute the fish.

1) Heat olive oil or ghee/butter in a cast iron pan, and when it is hot, place the fish in the pan.
2) Cook for about 5 minutes and then flip the fish/pieces over. Stick in a preheated 400 degree oven for 5-7 minutes.
3) Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cover with tomato parsley sauce (below).  Enjoy!  So easy.

Sauce/Topping: Mix diced fresh tomatoes, chopped fresh parsley, fresh squeezed lemon juice, olive oil, basil (fresh if you have it, i only had dried), and salt. Capers would be nice in there too if you've got them. Yum!

Walleye
Walleye is a bit more fragile, so after some consult with My Charming Companion (aka fish cooker extraordinaire), I decided to bake the fish and not attempt to saute or fry it at all so that the pieces would stay together and look nice. Baking these fish was SO easy and delicious.

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2) Melt butter (at least 4 T - enough to coat the entire fish) in a shallow baking dish, and swirl in 1-2T fresh lemon juice.
3) Dip the fish in the melted butter/lemon (and flip it over so it is coated). Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4) Bake for 20 minutes.
5) Serve sprinkled with almond topping (see below!) *Parsley would also be good on this too!

Almond topping: Chop 1/4 c. of almonds into small, split pea size pieces. Melt 1-2 T coconut oil or butter in a small saucepan on low heat. Saute almond pieces until browned. I turned the heat up a little at the end to get them dark - but watch them closely!

*So this is not the fish I cooked because the almonds are not on there, but it is essentially what mine looked like. Mmm.