Apple Pie with double (grain free) crust

This year I poted to go for a gluten free Apple Pie for Thanksgiving (I seem to flip flop between pumpkin and apple on alternate years.) I neglected to get a photo, but want to remember this recipe because it tasted great. The crust got a bit soggy by day three, but still tasted good - it was almost like it just had a crumble top.

I used a recipe from Comfy Belly, a blog whose grain free biscuits are also great. This Apple Pie recipe is a double crust with apples that you cook in a saucepan. Note to self: cut apples in large pieces so they don't get too mushy when cooking. Also, press the bottom crust into the pie plate, and use care when rolling out the top crust. Mine tore a bit, but it actually looked good that way in the end - I just layered it a bit. It was rough and homemade looking that way.

I used only a Tablespoon or so of honey in the whole recipe split between crust and filling, and about 1 1/2 Tablespoons truvia (1 T for the filling). It was not overly sweet, but was sweet enough and will not elevate blood sugar!

(We also brought squirrel organ pate and cauliflower mashed potatoes to dinner. The pate was a initially met with some doubt, but all gave it some thumb's up after trying it.)

Spleen, and Pork Belly Rillons (together)

I happened across some fresh pork spleen at the co-op on Friday, and it looked really beautiful and was only $2. I have to say, offal is very affordable in addition to being good for you. I had no idea what to do with spleen so came home and searched my "The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating" and "Odd Bits" cookbooks. Both had good options, but I went for the latter. (I will definitely try the former though, as soon as my sage comes in: Rolled Pig's Spleen with bacon and sage sounds great.)

Spleen rolls and 2 Rillons chunks!

It turns out the spleen is like a very mild liver, really soft and buttery on the inside and tastes more like chicken liver. It comes as one long organ with fat on the inside, and both cookbook recipes were suggesting a long/slow braise of rolled up spleen. McLagan of Odd Bits says her fave way to eat spleen is to cook as Rillons (rillons being chunks of pork belly caramelized on the outside, then cooked in seasoned fat until they are moist and tender on the inside). I happened to also have pork belly, and had tried the rillons recipe one other time but overcooked them. This time they came out perfectly: melt-in-your-mouth goodness. They are higher maintenance than my regular roasted pork belly (which I make at least once or twice a month), but definitely fancier. These would be great dinner party appetizers.

Rillons (with Pork Belly and Spleen)

Rillons before I added the spleen

2 1/4 lbs pork belly (or part pork belly part spleen)
1 T sea salt
2-4 T lard
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 large sprigs thyme
1 fresh bay leaf
1 tsp smoked paprika
pinch cayenne
1/2 c white wine (or vermouth)
1/2 c water
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Cut the pork belly into equal large cubes about 2 1/2" by the thickness of the belly (about 12 pieces). Place them in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Toss together, cover, and refrigerate overnight. *If using spleen, salt the whole thing and refrigerate with belly.

2. Remove pork belly from refrigerator, pat pieces dry. (Spleen will not be browned and can stay in fridge for another hour or so.)
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
4. In a large, heavy frying pan melt 2 T of lard and brown the pieces of belly on all sides; they should get dark and caramelized. (A splatter screen helps here!)
5. Transfer the pieces to a casserole dish/dutch oven just big enough to hold them in a single layer (with room for spleen). Add garlic, thyme, bay leaf, paprika and cayenne. Strain the fat from the frying pan, leaving behind any debris, then pour it over the meat along with the wine and water. Season with pepper. Place in the oven and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
6. Lower the oven temp to 300 degrees. Check the amount of cooking liquid in the pan: it should be about halfway up the pieces of belly; if it's not, add some of the remaining lard and a little more water if necessary. Cover and return to the oven to cook for another 2 hours until the pieces are very tender; stirring a couple of times. *If using spleen, it cooks for 60-75 minutes. When ready to add, pat spleen dry. Cut into 3-4 pieces crosswise, and roll each piece up, fat side in. Secure with a toothpick and set alongside belly.
7. The rillons can be eaten warm, or set them out to eat at room temp. Refrigerate for up to a week (and eat them on salad, or reheat in a frying pan.) For the spleen: slice each roll into thin slices and eat just like that, or on salad. Yum.

Chia-Flax Crackers (Paleo and nut-free)

Well, it turns out I have become an Intermittent Poster. Perhaps that is because I am mostly eating recipes of things I've made before, with a little less culinary creating. But My Charming Companion discovered a new cracker recipe in the last week, and after making 4 batches, I want to preserve the recipe! It doesn't have any nut flours in it (all my previous crackers have used almond flour). This is more of a seed cracker - it's great with butter, with avocado, smoked oysters, and plain. This is the cracker I want to have when I next make gravlox - it seems a bit more rye-like and I imagine the combo to be quite delicious.

Original online recipe is here, My Charming Companion's version is below. These crackers were made on one of those flat edged baking sheets (which makes spreading the mixture really easy).

Chia-Flax Crackers
1/2 c.  flaxseed meal (we grind whole flaxseeds in a coffee grinder)
1/4 c.  chia seeds 
1/4 c. whole flax seeds
1 c. water
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp.  Tamari (or twice that amount of coconut aminos)
1/8 tsp. sea salt

1. In bowl, combine ingredients. Let stand for 10 minutes to thicken.

This is the blob on the parchment covered cookie sheet before spreading.

2. Evenly spread mix on parchment lined baking sheet. This takes some time - you want a thin layer that should cover your entire baking sheet.

You can see how gelatinous the mixture is!

3. Bake at 350°F  for 15 minutes, remove from oven and "cut" into squares (you are scoring more than cutting).
4. Return to oven for 15 minutes, then flip crackers over and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes (the parchment becomes necessary here as your agent to flip the crackers). You can also break them into their individual crackers now. They are done when they are crispy. If you did not have an even spread, some of the thicker crackers may need a few more minutes.

These cool almost immediately and you can eat them right away.

Paleo Mu Shu

Happy Solstice! I have not posted in a long while - definitely not since the days were much longer and the garden was still in full swing. A couple of months ago I began an experiment and moved up to the northside homestead full time. Now I am by the garden all the time, but it's got a layer of snow covering the whole thing. Snow that looks pretty mushy today! The harvest continued so late that I am only now finishing off the last of the tomatoes that have covered the kitchen table since November. Otherwise there are about a dozen carrots left, and 3 squash. I had to start buying vegetables at the store last week for the first time since summer!

The final carrot harvest! So pretty!

Tonight's dinner was an attempt at Mu Shu, but rather than wrapping it in the traditional "Chinese pancake" I used steamed cabbage leaves. Mu Shu was the only thing I ever ordered at Evergreen restaurant, a really delicious, home-style Chinese place, and really all for the pancakes. I haven't eaten there in years because of my gluten allergy, but I trust they still make great Mu Shu. Other than the pancake, the only other thing to "paleo-ize" was the Hoisin sauce, which is a critical component to the whole thing since it is what gives the flavor.

The verdict: it was delicious, and the cabbage leaf made a perfect stand-in for the pancake. The Hoisin sauce was definitely different - instead of bean paste, I used nut butter (per various online recipes). It tasted really good, just more like hoisin-sauce-meets-thai-peanut-sauce. Which makes it sound weirder than it was, because really, it was great.

I adapted an online mu shu recipe and paleo hoisin recipe to get what is below. Because I was trying to be authentic, especially for the first go of this, I wanted to get bamboo shoots. You could substitute carrots if you wanted, but, My Charming Companion says part of what makes Mu Shu is the blandness of color - everything is white-ish/yellow except the green onions. Carrots would sort of ruin it. So, I went to Sun Foods up here in Brooklyn Center for bamboo shoots - I had never seen them fresh before, and was originally expecting to get them canned. But as I walked into Sun Foods, which is basically an international Cub foods that feels like a different world - I started seeing all kinds of produce that made me think, huh - is that a bamboo shoot? I walked by enormous yams and tubers that seemed of African origin, and then a bunch of cactus and plantains and yucca before getting to these long yellow things that were the bamboo shoots. Which then were sold in 4 different varieties! So, uh, no need for the canned ones. I was in a time crunch, so the only other thing I got was friend plantain chips (YUM!) but I am pretty curious to go back there and see what strange new fruit or vegetable I come home with.

Paleo Mu Shu, serves 2-4
3/4 lb. pork loin, cut into strips
2-3 T tamari (or slightly more coconut aminos)
1-2 T sesame oil
1/2 small head cabbage, cored and thinly sliced*
1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
3-4 eggs, beaten
3-4 stalks green onion, julienned on the diagonal
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup chinese mushrooms, stemmed and cut into strips**
1 cup bamboo shoots, cut into strips
5 T coconut oil/lard
Steamed cabbage leaves*
hoisin sauce
*Note: the taste will be superior if you have two separate cabbage heads - 1 for steaming and 1 for slicing for the insides. You will have leftovers from both cabbages, but one will be pre-steamed and won't be as crunchy in the mu shu!
**I just used regular mushrooms - we had some dried ones in the cupboard from a friend, so I re-hydrated those.

1. Steam cabbage leaves, aka mu shu wrapper: cut the core from one medium cabbage head. Steam the cabbage head in whatever steamer system you've got - it takes about 15 minutes before you can peel the outer 4-6 leaves, and another 10 minutes to get the next 4. The cabbage is hot when it comes out of the steamer, but use tongs to help you peel each of the leaves. It's easy so long as it steamed long enough. 8-10 leaves should do it. I set them aside in a cake pan, then 5 minutes before dinner, pop them into a 200 degree oven so they will be warm.
2. Prep your veggies and pork. Cut everything up because things go fast as soon as you get started. Put sliced pork in a bowl with tamari and sesame oil.

3. In a large cast iron skillet, heat 1 T fat on med-high heat. When pan and oil are hot, pour in the beaten eggs. You are basically making one big flat egg sheet. Let the egg set until firm enough to flip in one sheet; flip it over for another 10 seconds or so, then flip the whole think out onto a cutting board. Slice the egg sheet into thin strips and set aside.
4. In the same skillet, heat 2 T fat over high heat. Add half of the green onions and stir for about a minute, until onions are sizzling. Add bean sprouts and cabbage. Saute until cabbage is wilted, but still crunchy (this took just a few minutes). Remove from heat and set aside in a bowl.
5. Heat the remaining 2 T fat in the same skillet over high heat. Add the rest of the green onions and garlic and saute for a minute, until fragrant. Add pork and stir fry until just done. Add the mushrooms, bamboo shoots, cabbage, sprouts, and egg sheet. Stir fry for another few minutes.

6. Serve each mu shu cabbage leaf with a smear of hoisin sauce down the middle. Place several spoonfuls of mu shu inside and fold the sides in! (Really, we ended up cutting each cabbage leaf in half because they were so big - these do get a little messy, so be prepared!)

Paleo Hoisin Sauce, makes about 2/3 cup
3 T tamari  (or more coconut aminos)
3-4 T nut butter (I used part almond butter/part peanut butter)
1 T honey (or use part stevia)
2 tsp cider vinegar
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
freshly ground black pepper

Stir everything together until combined - make sure to work nut butter well!

Paleo Sushi

Last weekend I bought some wild coho salmon from the Seward because it was on sale, and in deciding how to prepare it, My Charming Companion was urging sashimi. Which then created a desire for some sushi rolls to go with. The amazing thing was I had all my fave sushi ingredients in the cupboard and fridge - even some pickled ginger - so impromptu sushi dinner it was. In my pre-paleo days I ate homemade sushi pretty often. I had looked at various paleo sushi options online over the last few years, never seeing anything I was excited about. But Studio Snacks had a version recently that included a one-egg omelette-like layer in lieu of rice that I found intriguing. So that is what I tried - it turned out amazing! And was actually much easier than traditional rice sushi because the egg is way less fussier than the rice. This would work for all kinds of sushi rolls, but here are the two I made.

Paleo California Roll
Nori sheets
cucumber, sliced lengthwise
carrots, sliced lengthwise
homemade mayo (opt)
1 egg per sushi roll
coconut aminos
avocado, sliced
sesame seeds (opt)

Paleo Salmon Roll
Thin slice of quality raw salmon
1 egg per sushi roll
coconut aminos
homemade mayo (opt)
cucumber, sliced lengthwise
sesame oil
toasted sesame seeds (opt)





1. Prep all veggies/fish - slice them and have them ready to lay in roll.
2. Make egg "sheets":To prepare them you will need one egg per roll. Ideally you want a pan that is 8-9" wide that is either a well oiled cast iron, or a non-stick pan. Heat the pan on med, with just a bit of coconut oil on the bottom (I replenished the coconut oil for each egg sheet). While pan is heating, mix one egg with a splash of coconut aminos. When pan is hot, pour egg into pan and swish around so that the egg layer covers the entire pan. You want the heat setting so that it cooks the egg pretty quickly, but not immediately. I tried two techniques next: either flip the egg to cook the other side (this takes about 10 seconds since it will be mostly cooked through), or just cook it all the way on side one. Either method works - just be somewhat careful because the egg sheet is quite thin, and you want it mostly intact to lay on the nori paper.
3. Assemble rolls: Lay one sheet of nori down. Spread a thin layer of mayo (if using) along bottom half of the nori. Lay your egg "sheet" on top - it should cover much of the nori. Then make one layer of your veggies/fish. Experiment with how much to fill. Roll up, using a bit of water to "seal" the nori to itself. (Studio Snacks has some photos about how this looks step by step.)
*One note is that because the egg sheets are round they will inherently have a less tight roll at the ends. You could cut the sheets into squares, or just trim one part of the circle and place it on the edges of the roll to make this more even. I just used the egg as is and had slightly uneven ends!
4. Slice sushi rolls. If you made the raw salmon ones, drizzle some toasted sesame oil over the top. Sprinkle rolls with toasted sesame seeds if you want, and serve with coconut aminos, wasabi, and pickled ginger.

The photo shows the full spread, including the sashimi of salmon with ginger (beautifully cut and arranged by My Charming Companion). Another endeavor I hope to try is to pickle my own ginger, maybe with a little honey. I found a couple of fermented versions, so I'll post that when I get around to trying it.

Sicilian Dried Zucchini

I stumbled upon this dried zucchini recipe at Hunter, Angler, Gardener, Cook recently, and decided it would be worth testing out since I am always on the hunt for new ways to consume zucchini. (My fave way of eating zucchini lately is actually the Zucchini Noodle Bowl I posted a month or two ago - it's become a staple breakfast for me. Zucchini makes fantastic Asian soup noodles - I can eat this several mornings a week it is so good!)

I actually made this Zucchini recipe a couple of weeks ago, and am finally posting now as the weather is turning and the zucchini is waning. If you have any left, this is a nice way to use up a lot. It tastes delicious, and is texturally really different than you would expect. It's really dense and almost meaty - like vegetarian pepperoni (they are a bit salty too from the salt sweating). The recipe takes a bit of time...salting slices and dehydrating, but is somewhat novel - I wished I had dinner guests to share the dish with!

Post dehydrator zucchini - see how they are a little pepperoni like?!

I'm just going to send this recipe directly to his blog post because he includes lots of helpful tips. He gives an option for drying the zucchini in the hot summer air (he's in Northern California), but here in MN we are blessed with humidity, and that means air drying would definitely not be an option. You have to use a dehydrator here. I followed his directions and sliced my zucchini, then laid it out on trays with salt; I waited 30 minutes then patted the slices dry. I actually think you can easily just salt slices and put them in a colander for 30 minutes, swirl them around a bit, and pat dry. I've done this to "sweat" zucchini before and it works fine - using less space and salt. It also took closer to 4 hours in my dehydrator - though that may have been because I had a couple of trays of cherry tomatoes in there too.

The final cooking with mint, lemon, and chili pepper was delicious. Worth a summer day's experiment for sure!

Minnesota Fried Squirrel - Grain free

I have not eaten much fried chicken in my life, and I was joking that this meal is the closest thing I have ever had to KFC. (I did once eat KFC mashed potatoes at the end of a cross country bike trip - my sister and I had just arrived to the coast in Oregon, and were hungry for mashed potatoes. We got some from KFC and were sorely disappointed!) So My Charming Companion names these "MFS" instead. I don't know that it will become the next big restaurant chain - but these WERE super tasty. If you don't have squirrel handy (perhaps you do not have a road-kill acquiring charming companion like I do) - chicken will also work. Squirrel is tougher than chicken though, so it needs to be poached for a good 30-60 minutes first. If you haven't eaten squirrel, it's a darker meat. I have eaten goose only once, and I thought it was a bit goose like. But really it is just like chicken, but smaller.

This MFS also utilizes the new frying technique that My Charming Companion has been working on (initially for fish frying). Guess what works great? Parmesan cheese (the kind from a can at Cub foods) and ground up pork rinds. They turn out crisp, crunchy, and delicious. Also - there are actually no weird products in either the parmesan or the pork rinds. Who knew? The pork rinds are fried in their own pork fat (double check that in the ingredients, this may vary by brand) so you aren't getting some weird oils, and salt is the only other ingredient. It isn't a pastured or grass fed animal, but I guess I am not willing to make my own pork rinds just yet.

Minnesota Fried Squirrel (MFS)
1 squirrel per person (or chicken breasts or thighs)
Equal parts Parmesan cheese and ground pork rinds
1 egg, whisked
Bacon or pork belly fat for frying

1. If using squirrel, you'll need to poach it first to make it tender. Put squirrel pieces into pot and cover with water by about an inch. Depending on the size (age), you will need to boil for 30-60 minutes. You can test this by poking the meat with a fork. you want it to feel tender.

Cooked squirrel pieces

2. Prepare your parm/pork rind mix in a bowl. You'll need to grind the pork rinds in a coffee grinder or food processor to get a flour-like consistency. For two squirrels you will need about 1/4 c each of parm cheese and the powdered pork rinds.
3. Heat your pork fat in a cast iron - you'll need the pan to be filled about an inch on the bottom. You want this to be hot when you put in the meat - the fat should be smoking a bit.
4. Dip your pre-cooked squirrel or raw chicken pieces in the whisked egg, then coat with the fry mixture (turn it in the mix and make sure all sides are coated). Carefully lay in frying pan so as not to splatter yourself. Cook until crispy and browned on one side (about 4-6 minutes) and flip. If using pre-cooked squirrel, you do the same for side two, and then serve. If using raw chicken (or tender, aka young squirrel) then cover the pan with a lid, turn the heat to medium-low, and cook for 30-40 minutes. Once the chicken is done (you can  check with a thermometer), turn the heat up again and flip the meat over to re-crisp the top side.

5. Let meat rest for a couple of minutes to cool down enough to touch, then serve. We had these with some cauliflower mashed potatoes to complete the MFS meal. Yum!

Here is a fried sardine salad using the fry technique - yum!