Citrus and Spice Salmon

Citrus and Spice Salmon
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4 cloves garlic minced

3 shallots or half and onion, minced

2 TBL fennel seed, crushed or ground

zest of one lemon and one orange

juice of one orange and half a lemon

2 TBL chopped fresh Tarragon, or ½ TBL dry

1 TBL ground black pepper

2 tsp chopped thyme, or 1tsp dry

½ tsp cayenne pepper

3TBL oil of choice

salt

Combine all of the above in a bowl,

then place 1-2 lbs of Salmon filets in a baking dish (I use the amounts above for 1 lb, although the recipe says they are for 2-2.5 lbs, cause I like spice!)

spread mixture on top.

Bake covered for 25-35 mins, to your desired opaque-ness.

I have also grilled this skin side down outside with success, in case it is too hot to turn on the oven :)

I enjoy serving with mashed potatoes and a nice green veggie from my CSA box.

 Sorry I don't have any photos....

Breakfast Veggie Pile-up

The garden is in full swing with green beans, zucchini, cucumbers, and various other greens. Exciting! I've been eating lots of veggies for breakfast lately - always in the form of some sauteed veggie medley topped with either fried or scrambled eggs. It feels really decadent to eat so many vegetables for breakfast, and it is surprisingly easy. And you can use just about anything. I always make the veggie mix on my fave cast iron skillet, starting with the onions and slower cooking veggies, and adding in whatever else I am using so it all finishes about the same time. Then I dump the veggies onto my plate, put a little ghee in the pan, and cook up a few eggs to go on top.

This one was beets (from my co-worker's CSA), red cabbage, onion, and a little bit of sweet potato and bacon. I put a little homemade mustard in with the veggies too.

Greenery! There is zucchini, green beans, onions, basil, and kale in this one - everything was from the garden but the onions. I cooked some basil in with the scrambled eggs too, and put a little lemon juice on the greens while they cooked.

This photo got my breakfast table in addition to my plate - ah well.  This one was zucchini, bacon, onion, green beans, chives, and a leafy green called Tyfon Holland greens from the garden. They cook down pretty small (like spinach)- and are super good to throw in just about anything.

Beef (or Venison) Stew

Summer and hot kitchens = the joy of crock pot cooking. I tried making stew with an actual recipe recently, and it turned out really delicious. The recipe is slightly modified from Paleo Comfort Foods (which I now returned to the library, so I guess that wraps up the recipes I have posted from there).  It's a slightly higher maintenance stew recipe than my usual (little more than me putting stew meat, tomatoes, broth, wine and carrots in a pot and cooking for a long time) - though it seems like the increased prep worked in equal ratio to increased enjoyment! So I determine it was worth it.

Mmm...this photo (not mine) is sans green beans.

4 anchovies (or anchovy paste)
1 T tomato paste
2 T coconut oil
3-4 lbs chuck roast, cubed
3-4 pieces thick bacon, cut in small pieces
2 large onions, chopped
4 med. carrots, cut in 1" pieces
fresh tomatoes (however many you want!)
2 c. red wine
3 c. chicken broth
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 c. green beans (optional)

1. Mash anchovies and stir together with tomato paste; set aside.

2. Heat oil in a large dutch oven over med-high heat. Working in batches, add meat and brown 5-6 minutes on each side and flip with tongs. Set aside.
3. Fry bacon in same dutch oven pan.
4. Add onions and stir to get any bits off the bottom of the pan. Add in tomato/anchovy mix.
5. Stir in wine and cook until it is reduced some.
6. Add broth, tomatoes, thyme, and bay leaves and bring to a boil.
7. Transfer to crock pot and add meat and carrots to the whole thing. Turn crock pot on high for 4 hours. (If this is not summer and you want things to move faster, you can also cover the dutch oven pot and put in a 300 degree oven for about 2 hours.)
8. Add green beans in at the end, and cook with the stew for 5-10 minutes.

Cold sesame (cucumber) noodles

I went up to the northside homestead to harvest some of the veggies yesterday. Green beans!  And the blueberries, and so many greens! The cucumbers are still pretty small - but I am already planning to make some cucumber kimchi and pickles. I love eating cucumbers in hot weather, which we are decidedly having, hence today's recipe. This is another one from The Clothes Makes the Girl blog, and I thought it turned out delicious. The cucumber makes great noodles, and the sauce was perfect. This makes 2 big servings, or 4 smaller ones. I had mine with some sauteed green beans and a fried egg - which sort of made me want bibimbap. Maybe I will try a paleo version of that soon?!


Sesame (cucumber) noodles

1 teaspoon sesame seeds
2 cucumbers
1 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoon sunbutter (sugar-free) - *I used almond butter
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon tamari or braggs
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 scallion, dark green part only, thinly sliced

1. Heat a small saute pan over medium heat, then toast the sesame seeds until light brown, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Peel the cucumbers, then turn them into noodles with a julienne peeler. Place in a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl, mix the tahini, sun/almond butter, oil, tamari, vinegar, water, red pepper flakes, garlic, and ginger with a fork until smooth.
4. Pour the dressing over the cucumber noodles and toss gently with a rubber scraper until evenly coated. Mound on a plate and sprinkle with the sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds.

Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Coconut Milk Ice Cream

I have been trying to find a non-dairy ice cream recipe that doesn't turn into a big block of ice when frozen, and I think I have finally done it. This coconut milk ice cream stays relatively creamy due to two key ingredients: eggs and vanilla extract with alcohol.  The key to the eggs is separating them and then whipping the egg whites into stiff peaks before adding them to the mixture.  This process helps the ice cream become more creamy than icey.  The alcohol in the vanilla also helps the ice cream not freeze completely.  Then, stirring the ice cream periodically as it freezes keeps the eggs from separating.  All of these elements help it turn out more like real ice cream.  I am still perfecting his recipe, so if you have any alterations please post.

You do not need an ice cream maker or a vita-mix, but they do come in handy.  The ice cream maker helps the ingredients stay well mixed while freezing and the vita-mix helps make the coconut milk if you decide to go that route.  However, you may want to skip making your own coconut milk and just get a can from the store.  Although, making your own coconut milk is very easy.

Ingredients:

Coconut Milk:
2 cups water
1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
3 drops liquid Stevia
1 tsp vanilla

Ice Cream:
Coconut milk from recipe or large can of coconut milk
3 drops liquid Stevia
1 tsp vanilla with alcohol
2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 egg, separated

Instructions:
Soak coconut flakes in water for 1-2 hours.  Blend in vita-mix with Stevia and vanilla for 1-2 minutes.  Strain through a nut milk bag or cheesecloth.  Discard coconut solids.

Blend coconut milk, Stevia, vanilla, and 2 egg yolks in the vita-mix.  Beat the egg whites into stiff peaks and gently stir into mixture.  Put in freezer and stir every 30 minutes until frozen.

I am addicted to ice cream, especially in the summer, and this recipe is a great non-dairy alternative.

Jane

Pulled pork and barbecue sauce

I got 5 pounds of pork butt at the farmer's market last weekend from my favorite meat vendor, Hilltop Pastures Family Farm.  They are super friendly and the (10 year old?) daughter meticulously calculated my total, plus the meat is delicious.  I wanted to make a big batch of pulled pork to eat and freeze so that I didn't have to cook so much in this hot weather. Due to aforementioned heat, I also opted to use the slow cooker.

I used a simple dry rub recipe modified from Paleo Comfort Foods, and I also tried their barbeque sauce. I really like barbecue sauce, maybe because there is usually lots of brown sugar in there. This sauce turned out really nice: tangy and just sweet enough. I don't know that you can really go wrong here - any rub, or no rub will all still be good; barbecue sauce or no, still good. Yum!

Make sure your pork butt is thawed out (mine took almost 2 days in the fridge). Rub it all over with the following dry rub, but feel free to modify/add other spices in there.

Rub that spice all up over that meat!

Quick rub:
1 tsp ground cumin 
1 tsp fennel, ground
2 tsp black peppercorns, ground
2 tsp garlic powder
1 T chili powder
1 T dried rosemary

Set the pork in the slow cooker and the low setting, and cook for 10 hours. When it is done, there will be lots of juice which you will want to remove most of, and then SAVE. This juice makes greens so incredibly delicious it is almost worth making a huge pork roast just for that (just heat up the liquid with a bunch of whatever greens you have: collards, swiss chard, or kale and cook down a bit). Use two forks to pull the pork apart, and voila!  You can eat it just like that (I add salt too.)

You can also make some bbq sauce and stir that in (and for even better results, let cook together for another hour or so to really get all the flavors simmered together).

Barbecue sauce with some kick
(from Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook)
6 oz. tomato paste
1 c. beef stock
1/4 c. minced shallot
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 t. prepared horseradish
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1 T. avocado oil
1/2 t. salt
1 t. red pepper
1 t. cumin
1 t. cayenne
1 t. black pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a simmer on medium heat.
2. Reduce to medium low and cover for 15-20 minutes. Stir frequently so it doesn't stick.
3. The longer the better for this sauce! If you have 1/2 hour, add an extra 1/2 c. of beef stock at the beginning and simmer for 25-35 minutes/until desired consistency.

Asparagus Soup

Asparagus Soup

I know this sounds more like a cozy winter recipe, but this creamy soup makes a tasty dish any time of year.  I have been eating a lot of soups lately and this is one of my favorites.  I make my own stock, which increases the flavor and over-all health benefits of the soup, but stock from the store will work just fine.

This recipe is from Recipes for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet by Raman Prasad.   SCD is a diet that restricts carbohydrates, obviously.  However, this soup doesn't have any odd substitutions that are common on the diet, such as almond flour or fermented yogurt.

I usually pair it with a grilled chicken breast or baked salmon.  However, on a hot summer day, sometimes all I am hungry for is a bowl of soup.

Ingredients

- 2 pounds asparagus

- 1 Tbsp olive oil

- 8 spring onions, finely chopped

- 5 cloves garlic

- 1 3/4 pints vegetable stock

- 1 Tbsp butter

- 1/4 tsp salt

- 1/4 tsp pepper

Clean and prepare asparagus by cutting and discarding the woody stems.  Chop the rest of the asparagus into 1 1/2 inch lengths.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the spring onions and garlic until soft but not browned.  Stir in the asparagus, cover the pot, and let it sweat for 10 minutes.  

Add the stock, butter, salt, and pepper, and bring to a boil.  Stir occasionally.  Reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for 25-30 minutes, partially uncovered.

In a blender, food processor, or using a hand-held immersion blender, blend the soup in batches until smooth.

Enjoy!

Jane