A beautiful sunset at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC – plus catching up with old friends and family — today was a great day.
June 17, 2014
It’s good to re-discover loved ones.
June 16, 2014
Bubble lights
June 15, 2014
Columbus Circle
June 14, 2014
Game night.
Paleo Pork Picadillo
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.
June 13, 2014
Afternoon storms
June 12, 2014
Truck graffiti.
June 11, 2014
The old man.
What To Do With A Box Of Vegetables: Paisley Farm CSA Box 1
I am so happy to be able to bring this feature back to the blog. It’s been forever since I’ve been part of a CSA (not really since living in Miami!) and I’ve really missed the planning and creativity a forced allotment of vegetables brings to the menu planning table.
This year’s CSA is from Paisley Farm, a 25-acre operation located in Tivoli, NY. Paisley Farm grows organically and plants with the chef in mind. The 22-week CSA runs from June – October and I purchased the standard vegetable share. This share includes 8-9 vegetables and herbs per week (8-12 pounds) – enough to provide a family of three with 3-4 dinners’ worth of veg. The price equals out to $25 per week, the cost of which will be calculated in my weekly Adventures In Budget Paleo Cooking posts.
This go round is going to be tricky – pickup is on Wednesday evenings, rather than my accustomed Sunday, and it looks like (at least for this first box) there will be little advanced notice of what the box actually contains. Adventure cooking!
Paisley Farm 2014 CSA Box 1
2 Arugula bunches
1 Rapini bunch
1 French Breakfast Radish bunch
1 Tokyo Turnip bunch
1 bag of mixed Lettuce
1 Spring Garlic bunch
1 Asparagus bunch
How I Used My Share
I planned poorly for this batch. Despite repeated questioning by my DH, I thought our shares started on the 22nd, so I was woefully unprepared for additional vegetables.
I used the arugula and bag of mixed lettuce in salads for lunch and dinner
I used the rapini as a braised side dish to go with meatballs & marinara
I used the spring garlic everywhere – in salads, in dinner, pretty much everywhere
I’ve been using the radishes and turnips in salads and plan to use the bulk in tonight’s dinner (braised with their greens)
I have yet to use the asparagus, though I plan to shave it thin and serve alongside some steaks
My Favorite Dish From This Box
This week, it’s been the salads. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a “real” salad and I forgot how good they can be. The lettuces from the CSA are fantastic.
Gastography 