Fair Flavors

Creamy sauerkraut with apple and bratwurst

2014-02-11T12:07:00.000-08:00

In the previous post I made an awesome sauce for Brussels sprouts and while the boyfriend and I were raving over those sprouts at dinner, the thought occured that this sauce might work just as well for sauerkraut. Since I love a good sauce and a good experiment, I went ahead and came up with this dish. Was I right? Did the sauce work for sauerkraut? It sure did! This is sauerkraut like you never had it before. Honestly, I have always liked sauerkrat, but never really loved it. But with this sauce, and the apple...in combination with a good bratwurst, oh my! I will definitely make this again.

Creamy sauerkraut with apple and bratwurst

(2 generous servings)

450 gr. (1 pound) sauerkraut
0.5 tbsp butter
150 ml (5 ounces) of heavy cream
500 ml (2 cups) chicken stock * (see note at bottom)
1 small onion, chopped finely
60 grams (2 oz) of bacon, coursely chopped
1 apple (I used a crisp, slightly sweet variety, named Pink Lady)

Take the sauerkraut and rince it well. Put it in a pan and cook it, with about 5 cm (2 inches) of water for about 10 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

While the sauerkraut is cooking, reduce the cream in a skillet or saucepan, to about a third of it's original volume (50 ml/2 oz). It should no longer be very liquid, but more like a thick syrup consistancy. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet and sautee the onions and bacon. Add the chicken stock and on a medium to high heat, let it reduce for about 20-30 minutes, (or) until the stock has reduced to about half a cup (125 ml). Add the reduced cream and stir well. It should be a thin sauce consistancy. If it is still very thin, reduce a little more, but be careful not to let it get too thick. It's good enough when it just about coats the back of a spoon.

Chop the apple and add it to the sauce. Stir well. Add the cooked sauerkraut to the sauce and stir until all is mixed very well. Let it simmer on a very low heat for about 10 minutes, until the sauerkraut is fully cooked and the apples are slightly softened. It's is not a saucy 'wet' dish, since after about 10 minutes of slow simmering, the sauce is absorbed by the sauerkraut, which is now very soft, very rich, very creamy....and very lovely :-)

Because I think that both sauerkraut and apple scream for pork, I served this dish with bratwurst. I imagine that any pork sausage, good pork chop or some pork belly will work just as well. I put the sausages in a skillet when I had just put the sauerkraut in the sauce to simmer and the sauerkraut and sausages were done at the same time. Of course, other types of meat may vary in cooking time.

Whole30, day 16: Curiousity & cravings

2012-03-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

For the first time in two weeks, I was really craving something sweet today. First I was thinking about chocolate, later it became a serious craving for a giant glass of cola. I resisted. A challenge is a challenge and I can keep anything up for thirty days, right?

Also, I'm very curious to see if I have lost any weight. I've been stalling for nearly two months before starting this challenge and I really want to know if I have broken that stall. Some people report a loss up to 12 pounds, and although that would be awesome, I would really be happy with "just" 4-6 pounds. Oh well...I resisted getting on the scale too. I will for it patiently.
Dinner today was totally awesome. I seriously should invite more people for dinner who cry "But what CAN you eat???" if you tell them you don't eat grains, sugar or dairy. There's never a day I eat less than 1500 calories (usually between 1500-1800), and I'm without exception, always satisfied after dinner. Satisfied, but never stuffed.

Today, we ate a big salad for dinner, accompanied by spiced meatballs. Here's the recipe for the salad:

Salad with sundried tomatoes, nuts and a lovely dressing (serves 2)

4 big handfuls of mixed salad greens
handful of olives, halved
5 sundried tomatoes, chopped (soaked if necessary)
handful of nuts, roughly chopped (I used walnuts)

Dressing:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
juice of half a tangerine
juice of half a lime

Mix the ingredients for the dressing. Whisk wel, so the oil and juice mix properly and the dressing gets a little bit thicker.

Toss the nuts, tomatoes and olives with the salad leaves and add the dressing. Mix well, preferably with your hands, so every leaf gets a good coating of dressing.

Simple but delicious. This salad will definitely be served a lot during barbecue season! ;-)

Whole30, day 15: Eggs in Indian spiced tomato sauce

2012-03-12T12:42:00.001-07:00

Two weeks in and I keep feeling better and better. The lovely spring weather is helping, but it can't get all the credits. I'm not sure what it is, because I have been eating pretty much primally since august 2011. Does not eating any dairy really make me feel this much better? Or is it the lack of crappy sweeteners (I was using quite a lot of sucralose and I was sneaking more and more diet coke into my diet)? If I'm honest, I hope it's the sweeteners, because I think it's easier to live without...

It amazes me what a challenge like this can do to the way you think and feel about food. When I started this only two weeks ago, I told myself I could stuck to anything for only thirty days, but I would definitely eat cheese or cream as soon as those thirty days were over. Now, only two weeks later, I think I could live without dairy for a few more weeks. It's not nearly as hard as I thought it would be. I used make quite a few dishes with cream in it. Now I use coconut milk or creamed coconut a little more and I really don't care much for heavy cream. Ghee is nearly as good as butter and a tablespoon of fruit juice in a dressing is just as fine as artificial sweetener. I won't say I will never have any dairy or sweetener again, I'm sure I will, but honestly...it's a lot easier than I imagined. And maybe it sounds a little silly, but that insight, that I don't need all these things, makes me feel happy and kind of liberated. What a thirty day challenge can do....
And now, todays food: An Indian spiced tomato sauce with eggs. Seriously, this is good! There's this spice mix called "Panch Phoron" or "Panch Phoran" or whatever...apparently there's not one way to spell it. Anyway, however it's spelled, it's very very tasty. It's a mix of equal parts of cumin seeds, nigella, fennugreek, fennel seeds and black mustard seeds. This combination is really special and aromatic. I don't use it very often, but every time I do, I always think I should use it more. It's really that good.

This recipe is a very nice and cheap way to make a meal. Eggs are not very expensive and a can of tomatoes costs next to nothing. Maybe you have to invest in some of the spices, but I can tell you that's worth it. Here's the recipe:

Eggs in Indian spiced tomato sauce (sauce for 2-3)

Hard boiled eggs, as much as you like. I used 5 for 2 people. The sauce is enough for about 8 eggs.
1 can of tomatoes (400 gr. / 14 oz.)
1 tablespoon panch phoron
1,5 inch (3-3.5 cm) ginger, peeled
2 cloves garlic
1 small onion
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp coriander powder
3/4 tsp turmeric powder

In a blender, combine tomatoes, ginger, garlic and onion. Blend until it's a smooth paste.

In a pan, heat about 1 tbsp of fat. When hot (a little smoky), put in the panch phoron and stir immediately, turning the heat to low. Stir for 10-20 seconds and be careful not to burn the spice mix. Pour in the tomato mix and stir wel. Add the salt, coriander and turmeric and mix well. Simmer on low heat for about fifteen minutes to reduce the sauce a little.

Cut the eggs lengthwise in half and place them carefully in the sauce. Let them simmer in the sauce for about five to ten more minutes until they're warmed through and have taken on some of the sauce.

We served this with cauliflower rice. Enjoy!

Whole30, day 14: Lunch in the sunshine!

2012-03-11T13:36:00.003-07:00

Today, I believe, was the first day of spring. We're not quite there yet, but after months of frost, rain, storms and dull grey weather, today was bright and sunny. And I loved it! I wanted to take in as much sun as I could and had my morning coffee outside in the garden. It was a little chilly, I have to admit, and in the shade it was just cold, but I just had to sit outside and enjoy the sunlight. It warmed up a little, and at one o'clock it was warm enough to enjoy lunch outside in a t-shirt. So I did...

If you've read more of my posts, you know that I love all things curried. Today I decided on a very easy curry soup, with some leftover ingredients.

You can make this soup with just about any kind of stock. My favorite is shrimp, but that's not something I have around the house a lot. Another good one is chicken, but ordinary fish stock is fine too. It depends on your preference. Today I was lucky, because a few weeks ago we had lobster for dinner and I put the empty shells in the freezer. Today I took them out and simmered them in water for 45 minutes. Voila: simple lobster stock.

This soup is quite spicy, because of the curry paste I used (Mae Ploy, red paste). You can choose a milder paste, or use less paste. But I think that anything less than half a tablespoon will not give enough flavor. Today, I chose not to put meat or fish in this soup, but you could add some protein if you like. Shrimp, chicken, beef or even boiled egg are a very nice addition. Since I had enough protein for breakfast and knew I would eat lots of protein again for dinner, I skipped it for lunch.

Coconut curry soup (serves 2)

1 cup of good stock (chicken, fish, shrimp, whatever you like)
2 cups of coconut milk
1 tsp salt (optional, if your stock is already salted, you might not want to add more)
3/4 to 1 tbsp curry paste
2 handful of fresh vegetables, bite sized (I had green beans and bean sprouts leftover)
A good squeeze of lime juice
Fresh cilantro (coriander), chopped

Heat the stock with the coconut milk and add the curry paste and salt. Mix well. Add the vegetables (and fish/meat if you want), bring to a boil, lower heat and let it simmer until the vegetables are done. In my case, I added the bean sprouts later, because I like them when they are still crunchy.

Taste the soup, if you think it needs more salt, you can add it. Just before serving, add a splash of lime juice and the cilantro. And that's it. Incredibly easy, but incredibly good. And very Whole30!

Whole30, day 11: Sauerkraut & pineapple

2012-03-09T01:41:00.000-08:00

Not even half way through the Whole30 experience and I'm already starting to think that I maybe should turn this into a Whole60! That's how good I feel. At least I know for sure, that after these 30 days, I won't eat dairy as often as I did before (like munching on whole chunks of cheese). I'm fine eating the way I eat right now and I'm sure I can keep eating like this for a long time. Maybe I'll use cheese, butter or cream more as an occasional treat instead of a daily habit. The same goes for stevia. Nearly two weeks in, I'm fine now with drinking my tea without a sweetener. I do love my Paleo coconut cake though, but I don't need to eat it every day, or even every week. Just as an occasional indulgence. And taken every now and then, stevia probably won't hurt me. It really amazes me how you can change your outlook on foods. Once I thought I couldn't live without bread. Now I'm living without it just fine. Three weeks ago I thought it would be really hard to give up my beloved cheese, but now I find that it's not that hard at all. Yesterday, I did however wanted a little sweetnes, so I decided to go for some fruit.

Not really low carb, but I don't eat high sugar fruits daily. As a matter of fact, this was my first piece of fruit since starting Whole30. I paired it with sauerkraut. Plain sauerkraut is a little too...well, sour for me, so mixing it with something sweet seemed like a good idea. And it was. I also put in some curry powder. Lately I seem to use curry powder a lot. It's such an easy way to make stuff taste incredible in an instant.

It doesn't seem like much of a recipe, because there are not many ingredients involved, but here's how I made it:

Sauerkraut & pineapple (serves 2)

1 pound (450-500 gr) sauerkraut, well drained
3/4 cup fresh pineapple, in small chunks
1 tsp mild curry powder (I used mild madras)
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 tbsp ghee (or coconut oil, or butter if you're not doing Whole30)

First I started by cutting the sauerkraut with scissors into smaller pieces, to make it more managable. I heated a tbsp of ghee in a large skillet and on low to medium heat I stirred in the sauerkraut. Not really frying it, more like warming. When hot, I added the curry powder and ginger powder and mixed it well. Finally, I tossed in the pineapple chunks and just warmed them through. It seemed like a waste of nutrients to really cook the fruit and sauerkraut for too long.

And that's it. It was really nice. Not "OMG, that's awesome" good, but it was a nice and different way of having sauerkraut. We ate this with (crapless) sausages.

Whole30, day 10: Feeling better by the day

2012-03-07T11:44:00.000-08:00

I seriously have been sleeping like a baby for the past three nights. It can't be my imagination anymore, and if it is...I don't mind, I love it. When I go to bed, it takes me no more than fifteen minutes to fall asleep. I sleep for seven to eight straight hours and wake up without hitting the snooze butten a gazillion times. Love it!

Also, I started logging my foods on Fitday, to see what my carb/protein/fat ratios are and how many calories I consume. I averaged at 60% fat, 25% protein and 15% carbs, and between 1400 and 1800 calories. That seems pretty decent to me. I never really worried about ratios before, but I thought I'd see how I'm doing lately. Quite well I think.
For breakfast I ate a simple spinach scramble. I took some bacon pieces, fried them and added two hands of frozen spinach. When all was warmed through, I addes two eggs and started stirring. Tossed in some salt and Italian herbs and voila: breakfast.

A year ago, I couldn't imagine eating a breakfast without bread. A typical Dutch breakfast is two to three slices of bread, some butter (or margarine), topped with cheese or meat slices. Jam, peanut butter, or hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles) are also favorite choices. Fried eggs in the morning, with bacon are considered very British or American and very unhealthy. Unhealthy my a**! I remember a little over a year ago, when still eating two slices of bread for breakfast. I usually took two sandwiches to work and had to restrain myself from eating at least one of them before 10 a.m. I was hungry all the time. Since going primal, I eat my breakfast at 7, and don't feel a until 1 p.m. And it's not even terribly hungry.

I'm very curious to know where this is going...how good I can feel and how much weight I can lose. So I'll just keep going!

Whole30, day 7: Haddock & roasted vegetables

2012-03-04T10:52:00.002-08:00

Yay! I finished my first week. That alone makes me feel good. The only thing that bugs me, is that I'm not allowed to weigh myself. I am really curious. But...I won't do it. I took this challenge, and I will complete this, including every single rule.

Is it my imagination or am I sleeping better? I went to bed last night at 12 and woke up, fully rested at 7:30. Normally, I wouldn't be rested with less than 8 hours of sleep, especially not in march. I'm better with less sleep in the summer. The early morning sun usually gives me more energy. But in this time of year, I always feel I have to hibernate, sleep for hours and hours...so I was a little confused when I woke this early. Oh well, more time to do stuff!

The boyfriend was gone for the day and I took my time alone to prepare my food for the work week. I made a large pot of chicken broth and a batch of beef curry with spinach that's good for at least three lunches. Dinner tonight was haddock with roasted vegetables and a little guacamole. Roasted vegetables are awesome, soft, with some crunchy edges and a lot of natural sweetness. If you've never tried roasting vegetables, you really should. It works with a lot of different veg, and I usually do it when I have some leftovers. Here's the method:

Roasted vegetables

Assorted veg (I had some squash, fennel, leek and red pepper)
Olive oil
salt
(other herbs are optional, like oregano or herbes de provence)

Cut the veg in chunks, don't worry about size. Drizzle with good olive oil or some melted ghee or coconut oil. Sprinkle salt (and/or herbs) and give them a good toss. Put them in a preheated oven, at 400F (200C) for 20 minutes. Toss them again and put back in the oven for another 15-20 minutes. And that's it!

For the haddock (per fish)

cleaned haddock, head removed
3-4 lime wedges
fennel tops
olive oil
salt
some basil leaves
1 crushed garlic cloves

Make a few slices in the flesh. Put a lemon wedge and a basil leaf in each "pocket". Fill the cavity of the haddock with the crushed garlic. Put the fish in an oven proof baking dish. Drizzle some oil on top and give it a sprinkle of sea salt. Put in a hot oven, 425F (220C), for about 20-25 minutes.

Whole30, day 6: Bone marrow, beef & vegetable soup

2012-03-03T11:04:00.000-08:00

I woke up today at 06:30, refreshed, awake and feeling just fine. I slept like a baby for 8 hours straight. Last night I was really tired, so I had planned on sleeping in today, but I guess my body had other plans. Could this be the diet, or is it just coincidence?

For breakfast I had a big mug of peppermint tea, tomato and avocado salad and two scrambled eggs. After that I took a quick shower and went to the market. I bought a bunch of fresh vegetables, smoked mackerel and a few pounds of haddock that was on sale. After that I went to a plain old supermarket to buy meat (that's hardly ever sold on Dutch markets). I whipped up a salad for lunch with daikon, a bit of fennel, kohlrabi, a bit of paleo mayonnaise and smoked mackerel.
As I came home I quickly put on a big pot with beef shanks, marrow bones and water, so it had some time to simmer for dinner. I just love bone and marrow broths, they're incredibly satisfying and flavorful. For dinner I made this marrow, beef and vegetable soup:

Bone marrow soup, with beef & vegetables (serves 2)

1 pound (450 gr) beef shanks (weight, of course, including the bones)
1 pound marrow bones
1 pound of assorted vegetables, cut into tiny pieces (I used carrot, leek, cauliflower, pepper and a bit of celariac)
1/2 pound (200 gr) ground beef
1.6 quart (1.5 liter) water
salt to taste

Put the shanks and marrow bones in a pan and cover with the water. Bring it to a boil, turn down the heat and let it simmer on the lowest heat possible for at least 5-6 hours. Take the bones and the meat out and let it cool enough so you can handle it. Leave the marrow in the broth. The marrow looks like wobbly fat. I use a stick blender to blend it with the broth, but you can also use a regular blender to do this, or use whisk to brake up the marrow and blend.

Turn the heat back up a little and put in your diced vegetables. Put a little salt to taste in the ground beef and mix well. Make tiny meatballs and put them in the broth as well, stiring so they don't stick together. Simmer on low heat untill the vegetables are soft and the meatballs are done. Tear the shank meat in pieces and put it back in. Now you want to put the salt in and taste.

*Note: I made this with both shank and meatballs, but that's personal preference. Of course you can put in an extra shank, for a little more meat.

Whole30, day 5: Feeling sunny

2012-03-02T14:12:00.000-08:00

Today, my work shift started late, so I woke up a little later than usual. The sun was shining, and as the rays of sun fell into my kitchen, I suddenly felt all cheerful. Soon, the leaves on the trees will start growing again, it will get sunnier and warmer. I kind of felt like I was coming out of hibernation and felt a sudden longing for dinners in the garden, fresh salads and fruits, barbecues in the sunshine and warm summer nights with friends and a bottle of prosecco. I know, I know...it's only early march, but spring is getting closer and I really love spring. I think it's my favorite season, the way friday night is my favorite night of the week. It's that satisfying feeling that you're done with the work week and the promise of two whole days off ahead of you. Spring, to me, is just like that. The dark days of winter are over, and the warm days of summer are just lurking around the corner.

All of a sudden, I didn't want my usual breakfast of fried or scrambled eggs and bacon, but something more "summery". I whipped up some tomato-avocado salad, with a sprinkle of himalaya salt and some good olive oil. With it I ate a simple boiled egg and some smoked salmon. Now, how's that for decadence? I have to tell you, a year ago, I would have never thought I would eat fish and salad for breakfast, but I love it! It made me feel refreshed all morning. After I finished breakfast, I had a mug of peppermint tea and I was ready for the day. And a bright day it was.

Whole30, day 4: Jamaican inspired pork curry

2012-03-01T11:20:00.000-08:00

This is probably not the most photogenic food, but....dang, it's só good! I am a sucker for curries, and thank goodness, there are loads of them: from India, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Jamaica...to name a few. An Indian chef told me once that the word "curry" means "sauce", and that if you had more people for dinner than planned, you just water the sauce down, and there's enough for everyone.

Today, is day 4 of my Whole30 experience. I can't say I was feeling on top of the world today, but all in all I'm still doing fine. The hardest part for me is to think before I put something in my mouth. I was already used to not eating sweets and cakes mindlessly, but now I even have to think about a piece of sugar free gum! I almost had one and realised that it had of course artificial sweetener in it, so I put it away again. And I have to admit that I miss cheese and cream. This diet is not hard, I still can eat loads of things I love, but I'm sorry...I do miss cheese and cream.
Now...back to the food. I once saw this Jamaican chef on tv and he was putting scotch bonnets (ridiculously hot peppers) in just about anything. Those peppers look so pretty and cheerful, so I bought some (they look a little like habanero). Wow, I don't think I have eaten a pepper in my life that hot. It was really too much for me. The thing I kind of forgot, was that he didn't actually cut them, but just dumped the whole pepper in the curry. After a good hour of simmering, the pepper released its fruity flavor, but without the horrible heat. It is a little spicy though, and the longer you leave it in, the spicier it gets, so be careful if you can't stand some heat.

This dish is perfect for a slow cooker. Some people make curries with lean meats, but I love them so much more with the fattier cuts. Stewing meat for hours makes it so tender and gives it a good chance to let all the flavors mix.

Jamaican inspired pork curry (serves 2)

1 pound (450 gr) pork (I like the stewing cuts, like shoulder)
1 small onion
1 inch (2,5 cm) fresh ginger root, peeled
3 garlic cloves
3 all spice berries, ground (or all spice powder)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 scotch bonnet (or habanero, or if you really don't like it spicy, you can omit the pepper)
1 cinnamon stick, broken
1 bay leaf
salt to taste (appr. 1-2 tsp)
hot water

Puree the garlic, ginger and onion together. Put some fat in a pan (for instance a Dutch oven) and stir fry the paste for a minute or two. Add the meat and stir well. It's not necessary to sear and brown the meat, but if you want to, you can brown the meat before you put it in the paste.

Add the coriander, cumin, salt, broken cinnamon stick, bay leaf and all spice. Stir well and add the hot water, just enough to cover the meat. Stir again and taste a little to check if it needs more salt. Finally, add the pepper, put a lid on it and let it simmer on very low heat for about 2 hours. The longer it simmers, the softer the meat gets. And beware of the pepper! Take it out after an hour, if you like it fruity, but not hot. If you don't mind a little heat, you can leave it in longer. But don't let it turn too soft, because if it breaks, the seeds will be released into the sauce and dinner will be like hell fire.

Whole30, day 3: Curried leeks & pork belly

2012-02-29T10:18:00.004-08:00

Day 3 and I'm feeling much better. The headache is gone and I'm feeling more like myself today. For breakfast we ate some scrambled eggs with bacon and for lunch I made zucchini soup (with a few bacon pieces) from home made chicken broth. I've been preparing all weekend for this week, making broth, ghee and easy lunches for me to take to work.
For dinner I made curried leeks. You can "curry" just about any vegetable. If you can handle a little heat you can use the red paste, otherwise you might want to use some yellow or orange paste. It's milder. Curry pastes are a blessing. Together with coconut they transfer any old vegetable or piece of meat into something very exotic and tasty. My favorite is Mae Ploy, because it doesn't contain any crap, keeps forever in the fridge, is cheap and tastes just like home made curry paste.

Curried leeks (serves 2):

about a pound of leeks (white part only), sliced in half and then chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
1/2 tbsp red curry paste (I used Mae Ploy)
1 oz (30 gr) creamed coconut
water (as much as needed)

Put some coconut oil in a pan (skillet or wok), and fry the curry paste in it for about a minute on medium heat. Add the creamed coconut in pieces and add a little water, as much as needed to make a thick sauce. You could also use coconut milk, then you don't need the water.

When the thick sauce starts to bubble, add the leeks and stir until the leeks are covered with sauce. You may have to add a little more water. Just make it as thick or thin a sauce as you like. Cook on low heat until the leeks are soft.

We ate this with some pork belly I cooked in a clay baker. I will do a post about this awesome piece of cookware later.

Whole30, Day 2: Horrible headache & a kickass salad

2012-02-28T11:15:00.001-08:00

I didn't post about my experiences with Whole30 on day one. Why? Because I was in bed with a horrible headache. I barely finished the work day, went home, whipped up a quick bite to eat and went to bed. I suspect the lack of coffee being responsible for it. I mean, it can't be a "carb flu", because I haven't been eating grains or sugar for months. I have been drinking buckets of coffee lately.

It's now day 2, and I still have a headache. Not as bad as yesterday, but I can tell you, I will be going to bed early again. The fact that I feel this lousy tells me that it's probably not so bad that I lay off the caffeine for a while. I always thought I wasn't addicted to the stuff, but now I think I am. And if it weren't for the fact that I don't like coffee without sweetener, I would still be drinking it. Even doing Whole30!

For dinner today, I made this salad of some leftover veg. It was really nice. I chopped third parts of Belgian endive, kohlrabi and cucumber. I made some paleo mayonnaise (without sweetener) earlier this weekend and mixed some with a little mustard and a little curry powder. Then mixed the vegetables with the dressing and threw in a good hand of tangerine parts cut into pieces. With it, we ate a good steak.

All in all, I'm okay now, but I can't say "I'm full of energy and feeling awesome". Oh well...probably at the end of the week. Maybe it has to be worse before it gets better...right?

A Challenge to come

2012-02-26T03:52:00.000-08:00

I haven't been blogging for a while, because life got in the way a little. Not blogging about my recipes doesn't mean I have been slacking on my diet. I have stayed Primal pretty much 90/10. The main reason I started the Primal way of eating was because of weight problems. I didn't feel healthy and was very much overweight. I quickly lost about 35 pounds, but then I stalled. For a very long time. So...I think it's time to take it up a notch: I'm going to do a Whole30.

Starting tomorrow I will eat a strict Paleo diet. No more sweeteners and dairy for at least 30 days. First I was a little intimidated by the idea, I mean, I really love cheese, butter and a little cream in my coffee. And speaking of coffee, I can drink it black, but I can't stand it without a little sweetener. I have tried, I really have, but I hate it. So, I'll be giving up coffee for the 30 days too.

I decided to start in the first week of march, and because I always like to start things on mondays (so I have time to prepare myself for it during the weekend), I start on monday the 27th of february. Once the date came closer, I got no longer intimidated by it, but much more excited. I am really curious. Will I feel some changes? Is dairy really stalling my weight loss? Is it the sweetener that's causing the problems? I still have over 80 pounds to loose, so I can't kid myself into thinking that this is the weight my body wants to be. I'm feeling way better eating Primal, then I ever did eating a vegetarian diet, but for the sake of my health and the sake of pretty clothes, I really need to lose more weight.

I will blog about my experiences this month. I hope there are people who read it and will share their wisdom and experiences with me. But even if nobody reads it, it's probably still good for me to keep some sort of journal.

And now I will have my last cup of slightly sweetend coffee with a drop of cream :-)

(over)stuffed eggplant

2011-09-26T11:19:00.000-07:00

There was a time when I didn't really like eggplant. Then I found out that you have to use salt first to get the slightly bitter taste out, and that changed my mind about this vegetable. This recipe takes a little time to make, because the eggplants have to soak in salt water first. Then you fry them, which also takes some time. The good news is, that you can easily prepare the eggplants ahead, and then finish the dish quick and easy when you want it for dinner on a busy workday.

First trim the stems of the eggplants. Then you peel a strip all around, like in this picture below:

After you've peeled them, you want to cut into the eggplant lengthwise, creating a "pocket", like in this picture:

Start about 1 inch (2,5 cm) from the end and cut until about 1 inch from the other. Don't cut all the way to the bottom (then it won't be a pocket anymore of course). It won't look like much of a pocket when the eggplant is raw, but once it's cooked, it opens up.

Now, it's time for the soaking. Put about 2 tablespoons of salt in a quart of water and place the eggplants in the water. Put a lid or a plate on top (maybe with something heavy on it), to hold the eggplants under water. Soak them for about an hour. Rinse them under running water and dry well.

Heat a good amount of your favorite fat in a pan that you can cover with a lid (like a Dutch oven). Fry the eggplants on high heat quickly on all sides. Lower heat to very low, and let them cook very (very!) gently, turning them every now and then and making sure they don't stick to the pan. While they cook slowly, they will release a lot of liquid, so you don't have to add water to the fat. The cooking of the eggplants takes about 45 minutes. By then, they're soft, nice and greasy. They have opened up sufficiently to fill them.

All the eggplant preparing described so far, you can easily do a day ahead. Put the fried eggplants in the fridge and stuff them the next day and bake them in the oven.

The stuffing recipe is for 2 hungry or 3/4 not so hungry people...I used this amount for 2 eggplants, and as you can see in my picture, it was too much to get into the eggplants, but it was a good amount for dinner. But...if you want a neatly stuffed eggplant as a side dish for instance, you need to cut the amounts for this recipe in half or...get two more eggplants :-)

Stuffing:

0.5 pound (250 gr) ground meat (I used beef, but lamb would be lovely too)
5 oz (150 gr) canned tomatoes,chopped (liquid as well)
1 (green) bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
1 tsp oregano
1.5 tsp salt
0.5 tsp pepper
0.5 tsp cinnamon
(optional: cheese)

Preheat the oven at 400F (200C). Heat some fat in a skillet and fry the meat until brown. Add the garlic, onion and pepper and fry for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add the tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper. Cook for 2 more minutes. Add the cinnamon and stir that in. Turn of heat.

Take a spoon and stuff the soft and cooked eggplants with the meat mixture. Put a little fat in an oven proof dish and place the eggplants in it. If you have too much meat to stuff into the eggplants, just put the excess meat in the oven dish as well. If you want, you can grate some (aged) cheese on top.

Put the dish in the oven for 15 minutes. If the eggplants were just taken out of the fridge (or really cold), add about 10 minutes to the cooking time.

Paleo Pumpkin Fries

2011-09-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

Fries. Who doesn't love them? But if you're lowcarb, you probably won't eat them anymore. Or maybe you do, as your occasional cheat meal. Some people swap them for the healthier sweet potato fries, but those are still heavy on carbs. Pumpkins are much lower in carbs and, as I found out today, a lovely substitute.

Besides being very tasty, they're also very easy to make. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

Pumpkin
Olive oil
Salt
To taste: pepper, herbs, spices

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400F (200C). Cut the pumpkin (I used a little butternut squash) into (not too thick) pieces. Make sure they're pretty much equal in size, so they cook evenly. Place the pieces on a baking sheet coverd with foil. Drizzle a good amount of olive oil on top (I used about 3 tbsp for nearly a pound of pumpkin), and toss them, so every piece is covered in oil.

Now it's time to season them. I used some coarse sea salt and a sprinkle of dried mixed Italian herbs. But you can use anything you like. Cumin, coriander, garlic...to name a few.

Place the baking sheet in the hot oven and bake for about 15 minutes. Toss them again, and bake for about 15 more. Keep an eye on them, it depends on the thickness of the pieces how long it takes to bake them. I kept them fairly thin, so 30 minutes was more than enough. Just look at them and feel. If the edges are browning and feel crisp, they're almost done. If they're completely brown, you probably overcooked them.

They were lovely with a generous serving of garlic mayonnaise. Even the boyfriend, who wasn't very hopeful (he's not a big pumpkin fan), was pleasantly surprised and sad that I didn't make some more.

Creamy Fennel Soup

2011-09-24T07:10:00.000-07:00

The best thing about vegetable soups is, that they're such an easy way of getting loads of vegetables in, without having to feel like a ruminant. I love making these soups for an easy and quick lunch, or as a starter to a lovely steak and salad.
This soup is great compared with something fatty and smoky, like smoked salmon. I didn't have that on hand today, so I made it a few pieces of fried bacon. Not too much, it's not about the bacon, just a few pieces for seasoning.

Ingredients (serves 2):

1 medium sized fennel bulb (about 9 oz./250 gr)
1 small onion
17 fl oz. (0.5 L.) chicken stock (home made or cube)
2 oz (60 gr.) heavy cream, or coconut cream
Salt & pepper to taste
Some smoked salmon or bacon pieces (fried)

Cut the fennel in half and remove the core. Chop the fennel and onion. The size doesn't really matter, you're going to puree the soup anyway, so it doesn't have to be pretty.

Heat some of your favorite fat and fry the onion and fennel for one or two minutes. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Once it boils, lower the heat and let the soup simmer until the fennel is soft. Puree the soup until smooth. Add the cream and heat through on very low heat. Don't let it boil anymore. Finally, add salt and pepper to taste. If you use stock cubes, it's probably salty enough. If you use an unsalted home made stock, you might want to add some salt.

Devide soup between two bowls, sprinkle some salmon or bacon pieces on top, maybe a few fennel top and serve hot.

Spiced Scotch egg

2011-09-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

For some people, the lack of starchy foods on their plates seems a little boring. I can't say I mind having just a big piece of fish or meat, with a big salad, but sometimes it's nice to spice up the ordinary daily plate. This is such a recipe. Ordinary meat transferred into spicy meat with a surprise inside.

I believe that Scotch eggs are traditionally eaten, cut into parts, as a snack. They are also breaded and deep fried. So technically, this recipe is not for Scotch eggs. The spice mix I used is also probably not very Scottish either...

I decided that I don't really care and call them "Scotch" anyway. Ïf you fry them well enough, they will be crispy and you will never miss the breading. Also, I chose to shallow fry them. Why? I don't have a deep fryer. That one's still on the wish list. So, here's the recipe for not-so-Scotch-eggs:

Ingredients (makes 2 Scotch eggs):

2 hard boiled eggs9 oz. (250 gr) ground beef
1 egg white, beaten
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp onion powder

Mix the meat with the egg white and spices. Knead thoroughly. Devide the meat into two portions and flatten on a work surface, like in the picture below.

Fold the meat around the egg and seal. Make sure it's properly sealed. Heat, on high, a good amount of fat (2 tbsp) in a deep pan, for instance a Dutch oven. When the fat is hot, take the meatballs between to spoons and gently lower them into the pan. Now comes the hard part. You've got to cook them all around. That's not easy, because of the round shape, but with the use of two spoons, it's a little easier. Just be patient and turn them every two minutes, moving them around a little, so they don't stick to the pan (and avoid breaking the meat).

Once you've seared them all around (which makes them slightly crispy on the outside), lower heat to very low, put the lid on, and let them cook for about 20 minutes, turning them every now and then.

I served them for dinner and after a few bites I suddenly heard the boyfriend shout out in surprise: "Oh wow! There's an egg inside!", like a little kid with a Kinder surprise. Only this time the surprise wasn't in the egg, the egg actually was the surprise. And not a choking hazard :-)

Dessert Coffee Deluxe

2011-09-22T06:28:00.000-07:00

Coffee. I love the stuff. I don't have to drink it all day and every day, but when I do drink it, it has to be good. Not the average cup of weak watery stuff, but good quality coffee. Strong and sweet. This is my favorite coffee after a meal. I'm not much of a dessert eater, I don't really care for it. But every now and then we do have something sweet and when we do it's usually this coffee. It's very easy to make and very delicious. So, if you're a coffee, chocolate and cream lover, keep on reading!

Since I already mentioned I like my coffee sweet, it's probably needless to say I still use a sweetener for my coffee. I gave up sugar, but use sucralose in my coffee. Not the best stuff, I know, but while I love stevia for all kinds of sweetening, I can't stand it in my coffee. Sucralose (Splenda) may not be king of sweeteners, but at least it doesn't give me a spike in blood sugar. And since I don't use it for any other sweetening than my coffee, I'm fine using it.

This recipe is made with two different sweeteners I happened to have: stevia and sucralose. But, of course, you can use any sweetener you want. Or none, that's up to you.

For 1 cup of heaven:

1/2 cup (100 ml) strong black coffee or espresso
1.5 oz (55 ml) heavy cream (or coconut cream)
1 scant tsp cocoa powder
Pinch of cinnamon
Optional: your favorite sweetener

First, whip the cream. I sweetened the cream with a pinch of stevia (put in a little at first, stir and test sweetness befor you start whipping. You can always add a little more). Whip it until it's very firm and peaks can be formed.

Make the coffee. Mix the cocoa powder with the coffee and stir until all is dissolved. This is also a good time to add a sweetener if you want. Gently put the cream on top of the coffee. I like to use two spoons for that job (if you dump it in too fast, the cream sinks straight to the bottom. Not bad for taste, but not very good on the looks). Give it a sprinkle of cinnamon, put in a spoon, or a cinnamon stick like I did, and enjoy.

Some of the cream melts into the coffee, making it a chocolate-creamy coffee goodness. Some of the cream you can spoon straight into your mouth...so good!

Sweet and spicy chicken

2011-09-21T07:08:00.000-07:00

What's not to like about good old chicken? I have to say, I don't really care for the breast meat, but drummettes and thighs...any time!

They're best if marinated for quite some time, but this recipe works even if you don't have that much time. It's all in the spice mix!

Spicemix for 1 pound (450 gr) of chicken (drummettes, thighs, wings etc,):

2 tbsp olive oil
4 ground allspice berries (or 1/4 tsp allspice powder)
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp sweet paprika powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cayenne (or more if you like it really hot)
1 tsp salt
Your favorite sweetener. I used 1 generous tsp of xylitol (equal to 1 tsp sugar)

Preheat oven to 430F (220C). Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Rub the mix into the chicken. Now, if you have some time, leave it (preferably overnight) to marinate. If you're short on time, well, then don't :-)

Put in the hot oven for 15 minutes, then turn and put back for 15 more minutes. If you have a meat thermometer, the core temperature (near the bone), should be at least 170F (75C). If you don't have a meat thermometer, you have to guess. But really, you should go and get one, because it's a sure way of knowing if you're meat is thoroughly cooked, or, if you want it to be, rare or medium rare. Since I own this device, I never under or overcook my meat anymore (I consider it a big waste to overcook a perfect grass fed steak).

The last step, is to put the chicken under a broiler for about 5 minutes, to crisp up. You have to keep an eye on it, you want it crisp, not cremated. Now get your favorite sauce and enjoy your chicken.

How to cook the perfect steak

2011-09-20T08:52:00.000-07:00

Every meat eater loves a good steak. But I bet most people find it hard to cook steaks to perfection. I know I did. If you're not a skilled chef, how do you know whether your steak is rare, medium rare or medium without cutting into the meat? There are probably not a lot of people who want their steaks well done. Overcooked steaks, to me, are a waste. If I want meat to be well done, I'll buy a cheap stewing cut. But how do you make sure you don't overcook your expensive grass fed steak?

One method of determining this, is using your hand, like described over here. That's great, but the problem with it, is that by the time I figured out if the firmness of the steak is indeed the same as the firmness of the muscle at the base of my thumb, the steak is usually overcooked. Maybe I'm an idiot, but this method never worked for me.

In my opinion there is only one way to really make sure you get your steak exactly the way you want it. Buy a meat thermometer! Really. Do it. They're awesome. I own a thermometer from Ikea. It's very cheap and extremely useful. It even beeps when it's at the set temperature, so you don't have to watch it. It doesn't matter if you fry the steak, cook it in an oven or on a barbecue, this always works!

Here's my method for a basic pan fried steak :

Pat the steak dry. Use whatever spices you want on the raw steak (usually, I use nothing but a sprinkle of salt and pepper). Put some fat in a skillet. Use fat that has a high smoking point, like ghee, lard or beef tallow (otherwise your kitchen will be filled with smoke).Wait until the fat is very hot. On high heat, sear the steak for about a minute on one side, so it browns and crisps a little. Turn and sear the other side for a minute. If it's a thick cut steak, you might want to sear the sides also. Turn the heat to medium-low. Put the thermometer in, and when it's about halfway the temperature you want it to be, turn one more time. Put the thermometer in again. If you're about 5 C. (41 F) away from your preferred temp, put a good knob of butter in the skillet. Wiggle your steak through the melted butter, tilt the pan, pick up some of the melted butter with a spoon and baste your steak with it a few times. Now, all you do is wait for the temperature to be exactly right. Then you turn the heat off, and serve your perfect steak.

Core temperatures:

Steak very rare                                     45C    (113F)       (also called "bloody")

Steak medium rare                                45-50C    (113-122F)

Steak medium                                       55C          (131F)

Steak medium/well done                        55-60C    (131-140F)

Steak well done                               60C         (140F)   and higher for very well done
                                                                                        (also called "bloody shame")

It doesn't matter how thick cut the steak is, or what size, a certain core temperature always corresponds with the rareness (or doneness) of the meat. Since I use this method, I haven't screwed up my steaks anymore.

*Note: It's also a perfect tool to make sure some meats are thoroughly cooked, without having to cut it open to check. For instance, you don't really want to eat chicken at less than 75C (167F), because of bacteria.

Roasted tomato soup with beef shank

2011-09-19T06:10:00.000-07:00

I used to do a vegan version of a roasted tomato soup. But since I'm eating meat again, I updated my old recipe. And for the better, I have to say! This soup is amazing. The base is a bone stock, made from beef shank. Then flavored with roasted tomatoes and herbs and finished with super tender shank meat and a good dollop of heavy cream. Roasting the tomatoes gives them loads of extra flavor.

If you make this soup using the home made shank stock, it takes quite some time to make, but it's really cheap (because shank, at least in my country, costs next to nothing compared to other stewing cuts), easy and very, very (did I say very yet?) tasty! Of course, you can take a short cut with a beef stock cube, and some sausage. But try roasting tomatoes for soup, that's really worth the effort!

Here are the ingredients (serves 2):

About 2 pounds (900 gr.) of ripe tomatoes
1 1/2 pounds (700 gr) beef shanks
1.5 qt water (about 1.5 L)
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp mixed Italian herbs
A few tbsp olive oil
Some of your favorite (non caloric) sweetener that equals 1 tbsp sugar
Salt & pepper to taste
About 1 oz (30 ml) heavy cream (or non dairy cream if you don't eat dairy)

First, you make the stock(or broth, or whatever you call it in English. I can't figure out the difference :-)). Put the shank in a pan and cover with the water. I use nothing for flavoring, because I don't really care, since the tomato mixture will bring all the flavor later. Bring it to a boil, cover and let it simmer on very low heat for 4-5 hours. I like 5 hours, because I want the meat to be as tender as possible. The liquid is probably reduced by this time, to roughly 1 quart (or 1 L.), which is good, because that's the amount you need for the soup. Take the meat out of the liquid, let it cool for half an hour and take the meat off the bones. I usually dump the marrow back in the broth and keep the meat aside.

Preheat your oven to 475 F (250 C). Cut the tomatoes in half and put on a greased baking tray (or oven proof dish, just make sure that they're separated). Drizzle with a good amount of olive oil and toss until all the tomatoes are coverd in a little oil. Sprinkle the herbs, some salt and pepper on top. Crush the garlic cloves and scatter some pieces of garlic between the tomatoes. Do the same with the chopped onion.

Place in the hot oven for 35-45 minutes. Keep an eye on it. You don't want it burned of course, but it's good when some tomatoes have slighlty black edges. It's probably not necessary to say that you should be careful with taking them out of the oven, but I say it anyway, because they're really crazy hot.

Put the tomato/onion mix in the broth and simmer for 15 minutes, to get the flavors incorporated. Now, you can add the sweetener. Use a (stick) blender to puree the soup and put it back on the stove. Put in the meat and cream and cook slowly until the meat is heated through. This is a good time to taste the soup and determine if you want some extra salt and pepper.You can finish the soup with some fresh basil leaves and/or some grated Parmesan.

P.S. Anyone who can tell me the difference between stock and broth, is welcome to do so in the commentary section :-)

Paleo Coconut Cake

2011-09-18T07:01:00.000-07:00

This cake is great for breakfast, snack or dessert. It's good at any time of the day, easy to make, it freezes very well and thaws quickly. So, what's not to love about that? If you double, or triple the batch (which I do quite often), you can portion it, stuff it in the freezer and always have some ready when you want it.

Almost every day, the boyfriend has a big square of this coconut cake in his lunchbox, as a snack. Personally, I'm not very hungry between meals, so I usually eat it for breakfast when I want a break from the eggs. A square of cake, a little whipped cream and a few berries....so good! You can whip this cake up in under 15 minutes and enjoy it for a long time!

Edit july 2016:

I found something out about this recipe. Some people who commented here found the cake too dry. I gave this recipe to a friend of mine and she had the same problem. She tried to make it three times, but every time it failed: way too dry. Finally we figured out what the problem was. It was the brand of dessicated coconut she used. I always use big bags of full fat dessicated coconut made by Renuka (like these http://www.renukagroup.com/agri_business_cocnut_products/renuka_description.php?p_id=RDC001). Because of the high fat content, it releases some fat when ground up. My cake is really never dry. So you might want to try one or two brands of dessicated coconut with this recipe.

(Check out the comment section for more advise on how to make this cake without it being too dry)

Ingredients:

2 cups of coconut flour
3 oz (90 gr) butter or coconut oil, melted
3 eggs
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
Sweetener of choice (equal to about 4 tbsp sugar)

Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Put the flour in a bowl and mix thoroughly with the baking powder, eggs and butter (or oil). Add a sweetener. The sweetener is always a little hard for me to put into amounts. You have to use very little stevia for instance, compared to honey or xylitol. Xylitol and stevia are my favorite sweeteners. I favor the taste of xylitol, but it's much more expensive (at least, the one made from birch is. I don't use the cheaper one made from corn). Stevia and xylitol paired together is a good alternative for me. I like this cake to be quite sweet, it's a cake after all, so I put in the equivalent of 4 tbsp sugar, which was about half a teaspoon of stevia and about two tablespoons of xylitol. But you might want to taste for yourself when you use your favorite sweetener (if you don't want to use a sweetener at all, you could use a mashed banana for some extra sweetnes).

Your cakemix should be a thick batter-like consistancy. Not as stiff as dough and not as runny as pancakebatter. Put it in a greased baking pan and bake for 35 minutes. Let it cool for about 15 minutes, then take out of the pan and let it cool completely on a cooling rack. Cut into squares or slices and eat it or freeze it.

Stuffed Sardines

2011-09-17T08:05:00.000-07:00

A few years ago, while on holiday in Italy, I ate fresh sardines for the first time. Before that I only had these little fish out of a can. Such a waste, because they're very tasty and versatile when fresh. And very hard to get. Sardines are not very popular in Holland. We eat the look-alikes (herring, raw and fermented) a lot, but not sardines, so the fishmongers hardly ever sell them. Last week I told my boyfriend how I would love to have some sardines again and the next day, while shopping at our local market, I saw them. A big pile of fresh sardines! How's that for coincidence (or was it fate...hmm...)?

The sardines weren't cleaned yet and the sales people were very busy, so they couldn't do it for me. So I just bought 2 pounds and went home, figuring I could do the cleaning myself. Now, I have never in my life gutted a fish before. I've seen it done, I have filleted fish, but never cleaned one.

Since I'm on this primal diet, I thought it would be very primal to slaughter an animal. The chances of me killing and slaughtering a cow or a pig are pretty minimal, but a fish, that's doable, right? I didn't even do the killing part myself, so I told myself to stop being so girly and squeamish, and just to go ahead and do the job. And I did. (Warning: graphic picture ahead)

First, I stared at the pile of dead fish for a few minutes, mustering up some courage. Then I watched this video (I really love Google and Youtube, it's so incredibly helpful!). Then I stared at the pile of dead fish again. Finally, I grabbed the sharpest little knife I had and gutted my dinner.

The first fish was a little awkward, the second a little less awkward and by the third sardine, I felt like a proper fish gutting professional. I did it exactly like in the video: first cut all the heads off, then cut and gut them all and finally butterfly them. The only step I added was that, while taking the backbones out, I held them under running water, to make sure the blood was gone. It was a breeze. Really. Nothing to be squeamish about. I have to admit I even felt a little pride. For a proper primal experience I have to catch and kill them first, but this came pretty close.

Now, the proof:

Still fancy a fish for dinner? :-) Then keep on reading.

Half of the prepared fish I put in a bag to freeze for later use. The other half I used for dinner. With all the effort I had put into cleaning and preparing them, I didn't just want to fry them up. I wanted to do them justice and make something really nice. And it sure was nice.

Ingredients (serves 2)

8 sardines, cleaned & butterflied
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 oz (30 gr.) fried crispy bacon, cut in very small pieces
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried mixed Italian herbs
Salt & pepper to taste
Handful of pine nuts
Olive oil
1 lime or lemon

Preheat oven to 440F (225C).

Heat some fat in a skillet and fry the onion and garlic until soft. Add the tomato, herbs, salt and pepper (to taste). Stir for a minute until is mixed well. Lower heat and let it simmer for one to two minutes. Add the bacon and turn off the heat.

Put a sardine, skin side down on a work surface and put a table spoon of the onion-tomato mix on it (maybe a little less, it depends on how big the sardine is). Roll it up from head (well, where the head used to be before you brutally chopped it off) to tail. Repeat this with the other fish. Stack them in an (greased) oven proof dish. Give it a good drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon or lime, and scatter some pine nuts on top. Place in the hot oven for about 15 minutes. This also toasts the pine nuts, so you don't have to bother toasting them first.

Greek yogurt with figs & raspberry-mint sauce

2011-09-17T04:54:00.000-07:00

I don't eat fruits every day, because of their high sugar content. But when I do, I like to make something nice and pretty with it, instead of just eating an apple. This easy recipe combines a few of my favorites. I just love fresh figs. And according to this post on Mark's daily apple, they're not even very sugary. Raspberries are probably my favorite in the "berry categorie" and as luck would have it, I found some nice fresh and juicy figs and raspberries on yesterday's market.

Now, I know that the hardcore Paleo People don't eat dairy. I tolerate it just fine, but if you don't want to eat the yogurt, just skip it. Just the figs and sauce are perfect. Maybe you could eat some Paleo ice cream with it, or coconut, or....before I get carried away with all the possibilities, here's the method:

Ingredients (for 2 servings):

10 oz. (300 gr). Full fat Greek yogurt
4 fresh figs
1 big handful of ripe raspberries
half a handful of mint leaves
8 tbsp water

Put the mint in the water, in a glass or measuring cup. Crush or muddle the mint leaves. Be patient with this. The better you crush them, the more of the flavor is released. Transfer the mixture into a sauce pan and heat on very low. Let it simmer for a few minutes, so the water takes on as much of the mint flavor as possible, but don't let it cook for a long time, because then all the liquid will evaporate (a little is ok).

Strain the liquid and let it cool. Add the minty water to the rasperries and puree until it becomes a smooth sauce (you can add a little sweetener to it if you want, I didn't bother). Cut the figs into quarters and with a teaspoon, scoop the flesh out of the skin. Pour some yogurt into bowls, devide the figs between them and pour the raspberry-mint sauce on top.

Carrots with orange and cumin

2011-09-16T06:15:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I subscribed to an initiative of a few organic farmers in my area. All kinds of farmers, produce, cattle and dairy, joined forces and created a website where customers (in a certain area) can order their foods. They deliver it at your house every friday for a measly three euros (about four dollars). So, every week I look what they have to offer and order what I want: all organic/grass fed and local. Brilliant!

This week they had these rainbow carrots on sale and I thought they were too pretty not to buy. So I ordered them and then had to figure out what to do with them. Because they are so pretty, I thought it would be a waste to chop them up and dump them in a dish where you could hardly recognise them.

So I came up with a recipe that was very easy, only a few ingredients, and would bring out the beauty and flavor of these babies. Orange and cumin go very well with carrots, and roasting them brings out the best of their flavor. You can serve it hot or cold. It's lovely either way. And of course you don't need rainbow carrots for this recipe, it works just as well with regular orange ones.

Serves 2:

1 pound (450 gr.) carrots
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp of finely grated ginger
1 tsp cumin seeds
Your favorite sweetener (equal to1 tsp sugar. Raw honey is very nice in this recipe)
Juice of half an orange

Preheat oven to 440F (225C). Cut both ends of the carrots, wash and peel or scrape them. Put the carrots in an oven proof baking dish. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a small sauce pan. Add the melted butter to the carrots and toss, covering all the carrots with some butter. Cover the dish with alu foil and place in the hot oven for 30 minutes. When they're almost done, melt another tbsp of butter in the sauce pan.When the butter is really hot, add the cumin seeds. Let them sizzle for half a minute and add the grated ginger. Stir for half a minute more and turn the heat off. Add the orange juice and sweetener and stir, until all is mixed well.

Take the carrots out of the oven, remove the foil and add the butter/orange mix. Toss again and put back, uncovered, for 15 minutes. This caramelizes the carrots beautifully and makes them a little sticky and shiny. Take the dish out of the oven and serve hot with some nice meat or fish (we had it with gorgeous slow cooked pork belly) or let it cool and eat it as a salad (with maybe some greens added). If there is some dressing left in the dish, just pour it over the carrots. It's a waste not to use it :-)

Note: I love ginger with orange and carrots, so I added it to the recipe. Some people can't stand the taste of ginger and I know from experience that this recipe is also lovely without it. It's the combination of the orange and cumin that really does the trick. The ginger gives it an extra kick.