Recipes – Page 45 – Gastography

Paleo Summer Squash & Almond Fritters

August 2, 2014December 29, 2014CSA Shares, RecipesLeave a Comment

Score! This recipe a: used up 2 big zucchini from my overabundant CSA squash stash, and b: was tolerated (possibly even enjoyed) by my poor, long-suffering zucchini-averse DH. I call that a success in my book. And, since it’s a relatively quick and delicate-tasting side that can be dressed a bunch of different ways, I’m calling this the LBD of zucchini dinners.

I think I’ll be making it a bunch throughout the rest of this squash season.

Gluten-free, paleo, whole30, ovo vegetarian

Paleo Summer Squash & Almond Fritters

2 large zucchini or other summer squash (I used overgrown pattypan squash)
Onion (I used 5 large red spring onions – bulbs and lower stalks only)
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup parsley (this week’s CSA held curly parsley)
1 tsp. + sea salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
4 Tbsp. coconut oil

Shred your squash and add to a colander to drain. Sprinkle with sea salt and let sit 20 minutes to draw some of the water out.

Shred the onion while you’re waiting and add to a large bowl. Chop the parsley. Add the almond flour, egg, parsley, 1 tsp. salt and black pepper to the bowl.

When your squash is done hanging out, squeeze all the water you can from it and add 2 cups to the bowl. Mix well to combine and shape into patties. For this amount, I got 6 large patties.

Heat the coconut oil your largest skillet over medium-high heat. Once the hot oil has reached the temperature that a drop of water sputters when it hits the pan, gently add the patties – leaving room between each so they don’t steam. Cook 3-4 minutes per side, or until nicely deeply browned.

Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch as a side

Roasted Beet & Chard Greens aka “CSA Cleanup”

July 26, 2014December 29, 2014CSA Shares, Recipes1 Comment

Did you get a mess of beets in your CSA box this week? Want to know what to do with all those random greens? Roast them! This recipe saves beautifully and leftovers can be re-worked a million different ways. Just think of them like spinach. Would spinach be good here? Like, say, tucked into an omelette or as a nice burger topper? Yes? Use a hand full of these greens instead!

Vegan, Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Paleo, Whole30

Roasted Beet & Chard Greens aka “CSA Cleanup”

A boatload of greens – I used the tops of 1 large bunch of beets + 1 bunch of rainbow chard (8 cups or so total)
Garlic – I used 10 cloves
Fat – I used a drizzle of olive oil because that’s what I had. Bacon fat would be luurvely here.
Salt & pepper
Optional: citrus juice or preserved lemon

Set your oven to 375. Prep your largest baking sheet with a foil liner.

Wash your greens and slice into inch or so thick ribbons. Arrange on the prepped baking sheet as evenly as possible.

Chop your garlic roughly and sprinkle over the greens.

Drizzle with fat.

Salt and pepper liberally.

Roast 20-30 minutes, or until the greens are slumpy and the garlic is beginning to brown.

Serve. These greens are fantastic with a shot of citrus juice or some preserved lemon.

Makes 2 huge dinner servings if you’re using these greens as the “bulk” of your meal or a bunch of little additions for other meals.

Franken Notato Salad with Sausages

July 19, 2014December 29, 2014RecipesLeave a Comment

It started with the best of intentions. I set out to make a nice little fauxtato salad – something along the lines of this one from Health-Bent. And then I started tinkering. There are a million different ways to make potato salad – and a million different flavor profiles to choose from – but when I think potato salad, I think of mustard and crunchy celery and hard boiled eggs and summer evenings spent picking bites of cold potato salad out of the fridge. And the deli potato salad from Food Lion. And Duke’s mayonnaise.

This is not that potato salad, but it filled a craving.

Behold: this ~~monstrosity~~ pile of yummy goodness. The franken salad. A dish that kind of tastes like a hybrid between german and Southern potato salads, but is definitely neither. This dish would be fantastic at a picnic or cookout, and is pretty freakin great on its own in a bowl for dinner.

Gluten-free, paleo and Whole30 compliant (check your labels/check with your butcher)

Franken Notato Salad with Sausages

2 large Hot Italian sausages
1 large fresh chorizo
Tokyo turnips (about 2 cups diced)
4 medium carrots (about 1 cup diced)
Half a Vidalia onion (about 1 cup diced)
2 hard boiled eggs
3-4 Tbsp. bacon fat
4 Tbsp. grainy mustard (I use Maille – check your label)
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. celery salt (check your label)
2 stalks celery
2 scallions
Optional toppers: olives, chopped garlic scapes, chopped parsley

First, get your eggs on to boil and prep your veggies. You want everything in a fairly small dice so it cooks nice and quick.

Uncase sausage and add to a large pan over medium heat. Cook, breaking the sausage up as you go, until browned. Remove from the pan and add to a large mixing bowl.

Add the bacon fat to the pan. Add the turnips, carrots, and onion. Sautee, stirring occasionally, until everything is softened and beginning to brown around the edges. (about 10-15 minutes)

While this is working, dice the celery and slice the scallions. Don’t forget your eggs, which should be finished sometime during this step.

Add the mustard, cider, celery, scallions, and celery salt to the sausage bowl and stir. When the veggies are done cooking, add those as well. Taste for seasoning and add more vinegar/salt as needed.

Chop your cooked, cooled and peeled egg and gently fold in.

Top with halved olives, chopped parsley and chopped garlic scapes if desired.

Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch

Herbed Lemonade

July 12, 2014December 29, 2014CSA Shares, RecipesLeave a Comment

I don’t know about you, but I always seem to have a plethora of herbs leftover at the end of each CSA week. A bunch of herbs that are threatening to shrivel into blackened husks of their former selves; a whole bouquet of usingallthethings defeat. Welp, no more. I’ve found a cheap, fast and above all else, tasty way to use up a whole hand of herbs in one shot: lemonade.

I realize I’m not reinventing the wheel here, but I’m completely happy with my new evening sip. So far, I’ve done sage and chocolate mint and I’ve loved both. Sage was a surprising love – didn’t think that one was going to work, but it worked magnificently. And now I know what to do with a small bush of sage.

Safe for everybody but Whole30-ers – even vegans.

Herbed Lemonade

1 lemon
1 hand full of herbs
1-2 tsp. maple syrup
4 cups warm water (warm from the tap is fine – you want a little warmer than room temp, but not boiling)

Peel your lemon (I use a vegetable peeler) – you want large strips with as little pith as possible. Add to a bowl with the large hand of herbs. Add the water and let the herbs & lemon steep for 30 minutes.

Fish the herbs & lemon peel out and add to your storage vessel. Add the sweetener and all the juice from the lemon and stir.

Serves 4.

Apple Sage Turkey Burgers with Caramelized Onions (paleo)

July 5, 2014December 29, 2014RecipesLeave a Comment

Mmmm…. sage and turkey and apples. In summer. I got a massive bouquet of fresh sage in my CSA box last week and have been using it in pretty much everything – and since sage goes brilliantly with turkey & apples, I thought a quick and easy turkey burger was in order.

Gluten-free, Paleo and Whole30-compliant (if you omit the maple syrup)

Apple Sage Turkey Burgers with Caramelized Onions

1 lb. ground turkey (dark meat is best!)
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh sage
2 Tbsp. minced onions
1 tsp. maple syrup
1 Tbsp. granulated garlic
1 Tbsp. Red Boat fish sauce
1/4 c. minced Fuji apple
Liberal sprinkles of salt & pepper
2 Tbsp. Fat of Choice (I used bacon fat)
Caramelized onions – optional – see recipe below
Ketchup for grownups – optional – recipe here

First, start your onions if you’re serving with caramelized onions. Second, prep your mise. Mince the apple and onion, and finely chop the sage. When your onions are about 3/4 of the way done, add all burger ingredients to a large bowl, mix well (hands are best), and form into 2-4 patties.

Heat your fat in a large pan over medium heat. Add the burgers and cook 5 minutes per side to ensure doneness. This is not the time for a medium-rare burger.

Serve with caramelized onions and Ketchup for Grownups.

Feeds 2-4.

Caramelized Onions

1/2 to 1 whole onion (any white variety will do)
1-2 tsp. Fat of Choice (I used coconut oil)
Big pinch salt
1/2 tsp. maple syrup

In a medium pan over medium low heat, add the fat and bring to a melt. While your fat is coming up to temperature, peel and very thinly slice your onion – I generally halve mine lengthwise first to make the slicing easier. Add to the pan, making sure to break the onion up as you toss it in.

Let cook gently 5 minutes or until just beginning to turn translucent. Add a liberal sprinkle of salt and 1/2 a teaspoon of maple syrup. Stir. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally to avoid burning, until the onions are deeply caramel colored. This is not quick. Allot a good 20/25 minutes to this process. The maple speeds it up a bit, but this is still not a speedy topping. It’s a labor of love.

Serves 2-4, depending upon how much onion you cut and how much you like on your burger.

Chile Dusted Summer Fruit

June 28, 2014Recipes1 Comment

This week’s recipe is not so much a recipe as a suggestion. After a tiring but great vacation, I just couldn’t bring myself to focus on the menu for last week – or on making something interesting and/or tasty enough to share with you guys. I made a bunch of thrown-together meals that were really simple and light- nothing terribly inspiring or particularly out of the box.

I still have a wicked fruit craving going on (it’s all I’ve wanted to eat the past 3 weeks) and am happy to say I’ve finally started branching out from the standard fruit in a bowl with nothing on it except for salt on melons. It turns out there *is* enough fruit existing in the summer that I *can* do something different and I won’t miss out. A good lesson to learn in one’s 30s.

This week, I experimented with chili powder + salt on a little mixed fruit salad and it was fan-freakin-tastic. And dead easy. Just sprinkle the spices and go. For a cup of fruit, I used 1/2 – 1 tsp. of chili powder and a liberal sprinkle (or two) of kosher salt.

Also fantastic: aged balsamic vinegar & cracked black pepper on fresh strawberries, mint on any fruit, cucumbers mixed in your fruit bowl, the possibility of basil making an appearance, and lime juice on pretty much all fruits.

The tomato harvest had better hurry up, lest I eat nothing but sweet fruit this season.

Sweet & Smoky Chipotle Sauce (paleo)

June 21, 2014December 29, 2014Recipes2 Comments

This sauce started out as a request from my brother, who asked me to recreate the pizza sauce from his favorite pizza joint in the town he and his wife just moved from. “It tastes kinda like the Chipotle sauce from Tabasco,” he said. And that’s about all I had to go on.

So I took to the kitchen and came up with a sauce that works well both as a BBQ sauce and a pizza sauce. And it’s good. Smoky, sticky, a little sweet, a little earthy, with a shot of tart – fantastic with chicken thighs and braised turnips/radishes and really good on a pizza. Hopefully this does the trick.

Paleo (check your labels and swap the brown sugar for maple syrup), and gluten-free (watch your labels)

For the record, I was going for "artfully messy plate" here, not "dropped schmutz all over the plate" :) — *For the record, I was going for “artfully messy plate” here, not “dropped schmutz all over the plate” 🙂*

Sweet & Smoky Chipotle Sauce

1/2 c. minced onion or shallot
1 clove minced garlic
2 tsp. ghee
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 chipotle in adobo, chopped
2 Tbsp. coconut aminos (if you’re not paleo or gluten-free, you can use soy sauce)
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar (the cheapie stuff is fine)
2 Tbsp. ketchup (check your labels!)
1 Tbsp. molasses
2 tsp. brown sugar (swap for maple syrup if paleo)
Kosher salt

In a small saucepan, heat the ghee over medium-low heat. Add the onion and garlic, hit with a big pinch of salt, and sautee until translucent.

Add the tomato paste and chipotle and sautee 30 seconds to a minute, mixing vigorously the whole time to combine evenly.

Add the coconut aminos and balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer 1-2 minutes. Add the ketchup and molasses and stir to combine. Taste. Add the brown sugar/maple syrup if needed.

Let cool. Blend to break up the onion pieces if desired.

Makes about half a cup of sauce – enough for chicken + a pizza if needed.

Paleo Pork Picadillo

June 14, 2014December 29, 2014RecipesLeave a Comment

Picadillo is a Cuban dish that can be made a million different ways, but generally includes ground meat (generally beef), some sort of sweet something (raisins or dried apricots or both), tomatoes, and olives. To me, the combination is magical. The brine of the olives gets under my skin, leaving me craving more for days to come. Luckily, the other half of this household is olive-adverse, so more for me.

Paleo, gluten-free and Whole30-compliant

Paleo Pork Picadillo

2c. chopped butternut squash
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
2 tsp. dried oregano, divided
1 lb. ground pork
1 yellow onion
4 cloves garlic
1 bell pepper (any color)
1 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. capers
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
Hand full of golden raisins (or more, if you’re a raisin lover)
1/2 cup olives (or more, if you’re an olive lover)
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. olive juice
Kosher salt

Preheat your oven to 400. Dice the butternut squash and spread out on a cookie sheet. Toss with 1 Tbsp. coconut oil, 1 tsp. oregano and a few pinches salt. Bake 20-35 minutes, or until tender. You’ll want to turn the squash a few times during cooking to avoid burning.

Heat the other Tbsp. coconut oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the pork and cook until browned, breaking up as you go along. Hit with a big sprinkle of salt.

While the pork is working, dice the onion, garlic and pepper. Add to the pan and sautee until the onion is translucent.

Add the second tsp. oregano, cumin, chili powder, cinnamon and capers plus another big pinch of salt. Sautee 1-2 minutes to let the spices bloom.

Add the diced tomatoes, raisins, olives, vinegar, and olive juice. Bring to a boil. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Drop the heat to a simmer and let go 5-10 minutes.

Serve the picadillo over the butternut squash.

Serves 2 for dinner + 1 for lunch.

Avocado + Dill Egg Salad (Paleo)

June 7, 2014December 29, 2014Recipes1 Comment

This, my friends, is a revelation. I’ve been crushing hard on avocados for months now, and adding them to eggs for a quickie egg salad snack was like a freaking thunderbolt out of the sky. Ridiculously delicious.

I ~~ate~~ inhaled this snack? lunch? heavenlygoodness? in a matter of seconds with nary a thought as to a proper serving vessel. But, if you’re not so inclined, some form of paleo cracker would do nicely – or mash up finer and stuff into egg whites for extra-delicious deviled eggs. Or just eat plain.

Paleo, gluten-free and Whole30-compliant.

Avocado + Dill Egg Salad

1/2 avocado
2 hard boiled eggs
1 Tbsp. fresh dill
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. Dusseldorf style mustard (or your favorite mustard)
big pinch kosher salt

Peel your eggs and chop or run through an egg slicer twice to get a nice fine dice. Add to a small bowl, along with the avocado, vinegar, mustard and salt. Chop the dill fine and add. Mash everything together with a fork or other mashing apparatus until you like the consistency. Enjoy.

Serves 1 – I suppose this can serve 2 if you’re not a glutton, but for me there is a zero point zero chance I’m sharing something this delicious. Or leaving any in the bowl.

Vietnamese Pork Bowl

May 31, 2014Recipes1 Comment

This simple bowl takes humble leftover pulled pork and quickly transforms it into a sticky/sweet/tangy Vietnamese-inspired dinner bowl that’s simple to prepare and on the table lightning-fast. This dish isn’t strictly paleo as written – the Ketjap Manis features both sugar and soy sauce – which is easily remedied by using coconut aminos + an additional dash of honey. The sugar can also be omitted in the pickle if needed. This dish is, however, delicious.

Paleo with substitutions, Gluten-free with label policing

Vietnamese Pork Bowl

1 medium carrot
2-3 radishes or 1-2 inches daikon
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Liberal pinch salt
Liberal pinch sugar (omit for paleo)
Leftover pulled pork (or fresh pork; whatever you have)
2 tsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. Red Boat fish sauce
Small shallot
2 large cloves garlic
2 big pinches Kosher salt
Few grinds black pepper
2 tsp. ketjap manis (swap for coconut aminos + a dash of honey for paleo)
1 tsp. honey
2 Tbsp. lime juice
2 Tbsp. sriracha (check your labels!)
1-2 jalapenos
Hand full cilantro
Extra lime juice
Broccoli slaw

First, make a quick pickle. Dice the carrot and radish and place in a small bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, water, sugar and a liberal pinch of salt to a boil. Pour over the carrot & radish and let sit half an hour (or up to overnight) to pickle.

Now go about your business.

The pork portion of this recipe can take anywhere from 15 minutes to 8+ hours, depending upon what type of meat you use and whether you want to marinate it or not. I used leftover pulled pork and did not marinate. If you are using fresh, marinating might be nice, but it is optional. Either way, make your sauce.

In a separate small bowl, combine the sesame oil, fish sauce, shallot (minced), garlic (minced), salt (2 big pinches), pepper, ketjap manis (or substitution), honey, lime juice and sriracha. Stir to combine. Marinate your pork or not.

Bring a large pan up to temperature over medium-high heat. Add the pork. If coming straight from the fridge, some pork fat is a great addition here. Heat through. Pour the sauce over top and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently to avoid burning, until the sauce gets sticky and reduces a bit.

While the pork is working, add broccoli slaw to a bowl (a couple hand fulls per bowl is perfect). Top with the pork when ready. Add the quick pickled veggies (drain first). Dice the jalapeno and cilantro and add to the top. Squeeze some extra lime as a topper and maybe a drizzle of sriracha if you’re feeling saucy. Enjoy.

Serves 2-4, depending upon how much pickle you have, how much pork you use and how much broccoli slaw you serve. I used 10-12 ounces pork, and 1/3 of a bag of broccoli slaw per serving and had enough for two for dinner with leftover broccoli slaw.

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