The Primitive Foodie

Gluten Free Coconut Pancakes

2013-03-18T22:57:00.002-07:00

Fluffy Gluten Free Pancakes!

Some people crave sweets, such as chocolate, candies, or salty foods like chips and fried foods. My personal weakness is pancakes. Fluffy, melt in your mouth pancakes. The kind that you just want to savor and enjoy. My family will tell you that I have been on this quest for a while. We used to eat strictly paleo, and the one thing that I missed was pancakes.

We still eat very healthy and avoid processed foods, cooking everything from scratch. I really don't define myself by any diet at the moment. My hashimoto's has kept me gluten free, dairy free, and nut free for sometime. One thing I never gave up on was finding a pancake recipe that would be a staple Saturday recipe.

Finally, I made one really worth sharing!! Best of all it is fairly simple, and easy to make.

Ingredients:

1 cup sweet rice flour
1/3 cup potato flour
2 tbls and 2 tps of tapioca flour
1/3 cup shredded coconut un-sweetened.
1/4 tsp of Xanthan gum i
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup coconut milk
1 egg
1/2 cup of lite canned coconut.
3 tablespoons of butter melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tablespoon of maple syrup

Directions:

Mix first seven dry ingredients in a large bowl. Slowly add coconut milk, 1 egg, melted butter, extract and maple syrup. Stir until all mixed. Scoop 1/3 of a cup of the batter onto a hot skillet. It would be fine to use either coconut oil or butter to grease the skillet.

Makes around 15 pancakes.

Here are some shots from my camera phone, we added banana's in the skillet when we were done, and browned them for a minute and then topped our pancakes with them. It tasted amazing!

Coconut Avocado Smoothie

2012-09-30T23:00:00.001-07:00

This last year I have been diagnosed with Hashimoto's a thyroid autoimmune disease, that leaves me exhausted all the time. Although, I had been on a Paleo diet, I was not diligent with staying away from gluten, and was doing a lot of my baking with almond flour and other kinds of nut flours. Slowly, while doing paleo type diet 95% of the time, I gained weight. I also began to lose all of my energy, to where it was hard for me to even get out of bed. Literally, I felt like I was slowly dying.

After a trip to the doctor, the blood labs came back with an elevated TPO antibodies. It has always been my goal not to take any medications, even advil. My doctor agreed with me, in not taking the medication for the time being, and I am giving my body a couple of months before I go into an endocrinologist to get more test done.

In my decision to not take medication, I have felt tired and wiped out. Around 3:00 p.m., is when I feel most tapped out and ready to go take a nap. Feeling groggy, with no energy, unable to even form a thought. I have been fighting through it, the best I know how.

There has been a lot of changes that I have made to my diet. Adapting to my body. Now, gluten is not even an option. It activates my antibodies to attack my thyroid for weeks to months, putting me at a higher risk of thyroid cancer. Soy, is another poison that I dare not touch. Strawberries have been eliminated and the list can go on.

Where I used to eat bacon, eggs, and coffee for breakfast, and still find myself hungry an hour later, I now have been drinking a smoothie, that fills me up for hours and gives me a boost of energy that last several hours too. This energy is incredible, and I feel amazing instantaneously. My husband (who used to hate everything that would make up this drink) has been drinking it as well, and is trading in his morning breakfast for this smoothie too.

Although, my new diet habits are evolving, I no longer consider myself paleo, but still do eat very close to that. Diets have never worked for me, but eating as healthy as I can, without depriving myself, has always been key. Our goal is to have another baby, and I know that my health is upmost important. Crash dieting will not solve my health problems, but listening to my body, to how food makes me feel, how exercising make me feel, will. I may not be at the weight have been at in my past, but I am happy now, and will honor and cherish this body. When I drink this shake, I feel like I am doing exactly that. Cherishing my body.

Here is my morning shake, (from Living Without)

1 ripe Avocado
1 cup of coconut water
1 cup of coconut milk ( in a carton, not a can)
1 cup of frozen mango
1/2 a lime juiced
2 tablespoons of fresh basil
1 tablespoon of local honey
Dash of Kosher salt

Throw it all into the blender and mix on high until smooth.

Chocolate Magic hard shell ice cream topping

2012-05-28T23:44:00.000-07:00

I am a sucker for hard shell ice cream. Before I realized that I was lactose intolerant Dairy Queen's dipped ice cream cones was my favorite treat in the world. A weakness of mine during pregnancy. My husband would take me to get one almost everyday when I was expecting my daughter Emma.

It was kind of sad when we gave up chocolate syrups, and hard shell dipped ice creams. I had a sigh of relief when coconut ice cream showed up to my local grocery store. Perhaps, I even sang some hallelujah's ~~out loud in the grocery store isle~~ in my head!

This month in my bon appetite magazine I found a recipe for BombeBasticks. They looked so good I had to make them, and best of all they fit into our allowed non gluten/ non dairy cheats.

Ingredients:

12 ounces of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate. ( I used a bag of dark chocolate chips)
1/3 cup of coconut oil
1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon of lemon juice

Directions:

Combine dark chocolate and coconut oil in a medium metal bowl, and set over a medium saucepan with boiling water. Stir Chocolate until melted. Remove from hear and add cinnamon and lemon zest. Let slightly cool and pour on top with a spoon on your ice cream. Garnish with pistachios, or almonds!

Note: The recipe called for 8 sugar cones and 2 pints of ice cream. In which she coated the scoops of ice cream. We did not do this. With the excess, I made little chocolates. Pouring the melted chocolate in molds, and then we froze the molds to let the chocolate set!

Fried egg on sweet potato hash

2012-05-24T23:18:00.000-07:00

Seeing that it has been a while since my last post, I thought thought that I should post something up really quickly.

This recipe is one that we made several weeks ago. The inspiration came from a food magazine, of coarse in my quest to make it healthier, the mayonnaise is homemade, and the salsa is a fresh organic brand from whole foods.

This dish is a perfect Saturday, or Sunday brunch, and would the perfect crowd pleaser!

Ingredients:

Mayonnaise~

1/2 cup of mayonnaise (homemade if you like)
3 tablespoons of salsa
1 teaspoon of lemon

Hash~

3 small to medium sweet potatoes
6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, or coconut oil
1 cup of onion (diced)
2 Anaheim Chilis, cored, seeded and diced
1/2 cup of red bell pepper (diced)
2 tablespoons of minced fresh garlic
1 jalapeños
2 tablespoons of cilantro
2 teaspoons of oregano
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
6 eggs

Directions:

In a bowl mix all ingredients for the mayonnaise.
Peel sweet potatoes and dice them. Cook in boiling water until firm/tender. About 3 to 5 minutes. Dreain and set aside and in a large nonstick skillet heat 3 tablespoons of oil on medium heat. Cook onion, red pepper, and diced chiles. Stir frequently on medium heat for 15 minutes. Add in garlic and jalapeños. Cook for about 2 more minutes and then transfer to a plate.
Increase the heat to medium high, and add the rest of the oil. Add in potatoes and cook for about 8 to 10 minutes until brown. Return onion and pepper to mix, stir in cilantro, oregano, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Remove from heat, and mix in mayonnaise mixture. Stir in transfer to a plate.
Fry 6 eggs, that will top servings of hash.

Serve and enjoy!!

Spaghetti Zucchini Squash Limone Parmeggiano.

2012-05-09T23:22:00.000-07:00

I am completely obsessed with zucchini and squash, the God sent replacement to pasta. Everything italian has recently been making the rounds at our house, thanks to this super vegetable that subs as a great pasta. Best part about it is that the kids actually love the taste and ask for more. So no complaints here, except that it does not nearly make enough to go around for seconds.

The recipe that I made tonight is an adaptation from Gwyneth Paltrow's "my father's daughter" cookbook. For me it is fun to adapt recipes to fit my gluten free life style. Recently, I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's so eating healthy has become not just important to our family, but vital for the health and happiness of my family. This diet is strict, no iodine salt, no gluten, no sugar, no coffee, no caffeine, and the list goes on. My choices have been greatly limited, but it has been nice to finally have an answer to so many health problems that I have had over the years. ~~(no ranting here, seriously it is fun to give up coffee)~~

Spaghetti Zucchini Squash Limone Parmeggiano.

Ingredients:

3 cups of fresh leaf spinach
4 zucchini
2 squash
1 juice of a lemon
a dash of pepper
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup of fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon of Kosher Salt
1 1/2 cup of finely grated parmesan cheese (optional) Paleo friends just substitute chicken or shrimp :-)

Directions:

Wash zucchini, squash, and spinach. Slice off the end of the zucchini, and then use your vegetable peeler to peel length wise on the zucchini and squash. While you are peeling, sauté spinach in a large skillet, with the olive oil. Add noodles, juice of the lemon, salt, pepper, and cook for 8 minutes on medium. Add basil, and remove from heat. Transfer into a serving dish, then add Parmesan cheese, and toss until the cheese has melted.

Serve and enjoy!

Chicken Deviled Egg Salad

2012-05-03T23:58:00.002-07:00

Who doesn't love Chicken Salad and Egg Salad!!! There are foods that I have craved after giving up gluten and chicken salad was one of those! Although, this version is served in eggs, it was a great lunch and the our kids loved to snack on them through the week. Chicken salad is a great source of protein, and full of omega 3's and 6's, which are essential fatty acids building blocks that the body needs. This recipe is great for lunch dinner, or a snack! Just make sure to double up this recipe, it is sure to disappear fast!

Ingredients:

4 cups diced poached chicken,
1 teaspoons of fresh dill
2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon
1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt
Dash pepper
1 tablespoon of honey Dijon mustard, plus one teaspoon of Dijon Mustard
1/2 cup of mayonnaise, plus one tablespoon of mayonnaise
1/2 cup thinly diced celery
2 green onions diced
Dash paprika
7 eggs

Directions:

Fill a sauce pan with water and add 7 eggs. Boil eggs for 10 minutes to 15 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Run under cool water and peel shells, and slice length wise. In a small bowl spoon egg yolks, 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise, paprika and 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard. Mix thoroughly, as you would deviled eggs.
Dice chicken, celery, green onions and dill. Toss in a medium sized bowl, and add Mayonnaise, Dijon, lemon, salt and pepper. Stir in egg mixture, and spoon into the hard boiled eggs.

Serve and enjoy!

Rainbow Carrots

2012-04-19T00:48:00.001-07:00

Several weeks ago, I was surfing the internet as I usually do, looking at photos of food blogs that are a joy to look at, primarily for the gorgeous photos of yummy food that makes you crave it that second! Primarily I go, just to look at the photos of course. All the love and skilled creativity that goes into food blogs. The staging of the meal, the lighting, and how some dishes seem to pop out and say Make Me Now and then Eat Me!

While looking for our Easter Dinner, (I had decided that carrots would be the best themed menu for this year), I found the most amazing photos of Rainbow Carrots at Family Fresh Cooking. And yes these carrots screamed Eat Me, ASAP.

So off to the market I went to buy my own batch of Rainbow Carrots, and to my surprise my trustee whole foods market did not have them in stock. Sadly, realizing that rainbow carrots would not possible happen for Easter Dinner, I headed to my corner grocery market for some last minute items, and there they were. Flashing the brilliant colors of purple, red, orange, and yellow. In my head I was singing hallelujah.

Yes, I know it may seem funny, or even trivial, that I get this excited about food, and carrots for that matter. But I do. And it was fun taking the photos. The colors were gorgeous, and they tasted amazing. With just a touch of garlic to the melted Kerrygold Butter, and then slow roasted to perfection.

Ingredients:

1Batch of Rainbow Carrots
2 Tablespoons of melted Kerrygold Butter
2 teaspoons of Garlic Seasoning
Fresh Thyme (optional)

Directions:

Set to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt butter and add in spices. Wash/ dry, and cut off the tops of the carrots. Place carrots on parchment paper, and with a rubber brush, start to brush on butter mixture on to the carrots. Make sure to turn the carrots while brushing. I roasted mine for about 45 minutes, but times may vary.

Serve and Enjoy!

Gluten Free Waffles

2012-04-04T17:52:00.001-07:00

On Saturday and Sunday's we love to cook brunch at our house. This normally consist of bacon, sausage, and eggs for my husband and I, and pancakes or waffles with eggs for the girls. When we started eating Paleo we tried several versions of pancakes and waffles, but none compared to what we had been used to eating. We had been buying Pamela's mix for the girls, but I wanted to try something different, and a little bit more healthier than the normal mix you find in the stores. We have made this recipe twice, and has been a hit with my girls and we even cheated and ate one each. Although, this is not at all the normal "Paleo" recipe I would post, it is a more healthier of an option for a gluten free waffle that you will find online, or buy in the store. They are also the best out of all the recipes that we have tried so far!

Ingredients:

3 teaspoons of baking Powder
1/2 tsp Himalania Pink salt
1 cup of brown rice
1/2 cup of Potato starch
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup of coconut oil
1 1/2 cup of Coconut Milk
2 tsp honey
1/2 teaspoon of Baking soda
3 eggs

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl, and slowly mix in wet ingredients. Cook on low in waffle machine.

Serve and enjoy!

Strawberry Banana Spinach Smoothie

2012-03-20T23:12:00.001-07:00

Spring is in the air, or should be at least. All the updates on Fb from around the country keep telling me that it is. People are grilling, and drinking fruit smoothies as the weather gets warmer. Portland has yet to warm up. The only signs of spring are the birds, and the slow bloom of our cherry blossom trees, and tulips. Of course it is still cold, and we are prepared for the cooler weather and rain until early July, which then we will join the rest of the country in summer weather, and the joys of warm summer grilling parties next to the pool.

When my friend posted a similar recipe, "Green Monster Spinach Smoothie" that she made, it only reminded how much I loved the warmer weather, and sipping on smoothies. Immediately, I sliced and froze my bananas. This recipe is packed full of nutrients, and could serve as a meal. I tweaked a few ingredients, to make it more Paleo friendly, and added strawberries, and a hint of cocoa.

Every ingredient in this recipe, is a power food, and good for you. It was a great afternoon treat for my girls too. All three, drank it up and have been begging for more. Perhaps, breakfast tomorrow will be served with an egg, and this tasty treat!

Ingredients:

1 sliced frozen banana
1 cup of sliced Strawberries
1 tablespoon of Almond Butter
1/2 cup of Plain 0% Greek Yogurt
1 cup of Coconut milk, unsweetened
5 cups of baby spinach
1 tablespoon of honey
1/2 tablespoon of 100% pure Maple Syrup
1 heaping spoon of Cocoa Powder

Directions:
In a blender combine all ingredients, and puree until desired consistency.

Serve and Enjoy!

Obesity in Animals and Infants, not just an American thing anymore

2012-03-20T00:24:00.004-07:00

Tonight we ran across an article talking about the obesity epidemic we face as a society, and the role that our ecological system plays in this problem. Here was my husband's thoughts that I found quite interesting! Which I feel about sums it up, and I quote;

"I don't think any one thing is the actual cause of why people and
animals are getting sick "fatter". I think numerous contributing
factors are what is causing the problems. For example

1. Pollution is a major problem that is destroying our ecosystem. The
same ecosystem that provides a closed loop cycle in the production of
our air, water, food, environment. Issues created in a closed loop
system turn into compounding issues in all parts of it.

2. Genetically modified seeds. This has been shown numerous times that
it destroys the environment as well as the animals "humans included"
internal organs.

3. Current farming methods have removed a vast majority of the
nutrients in the soil. It can take up to 25 years using the
Hugelkultur Raised Beds method to increase the vitality of soil to
where it needs to be. Newer farming methods such as permaculture,
aquaponics, landraces, food forests, etc. can provide over 1 million
pounds of food from just 3 acres and can help heal a natural closed
loop system like our ecosystem.

4. A move away from natural foods. As we have seen the cost for a
family to get natural foods such as grass feed meats, birds "chicken,
turkey" that are free range and only eat bugs is cost prohibitive for
most people. So the move to food for both people and animals that are
not made by nature in the real world is having dire consequences
beyond what most people can fathom.

5. Fitness. The most financially important phrase in fitness and
health is "to keep them confused". I see people buying into
mis-information that is un-healthy and counter productive to the way
our muscle, skeletal, and internal systems actually need. Also a move
to people working in doors at desks is not natural and bad for you as
we have seen in recent studies.

6. Health system. Our current system frequently causes more harm than
good and renders many people in effect lifelong patients.

7. Life improvements. When I look at some improvements that we as a
society has created in the past 100 years it looks like some key
inventions actually do more harm then good. Nike running shoes for
example. Staying up late and getting little sleep due to technology.

8. Stress. Humans have always had to live with stress, however in our
natural environment those stresses were only present a few times a
week. We were more in tune with our surroundings and had more control
of our lives. Our current society has created a almost endless and
constant supply of stress of which most of it is actually false.
Stress has been shown to contribute to weight gain. I wonder if the
animals that were living in cages experience the same type of constant
stresses."

Here is the link to the article.

http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2012-12-19/animals-and-6-month-old-infants-are-getting-fatter-…-which-mean-it’s-somethin

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/03/the-real-cause-of-the-global-obesity-epidemic.html

Gluten Free Taco Salad

2012-03-20T00:13:00.002-07:00

Confession, I have been craving Taco Salad like crazy lately. Being on a Paleo type diet, we try really hard to be constantly mindful of what we put into our mouths. I do not eat fried corn tortilla shells, nor really chips. With that said, even Mark Sisson says he recommends the 80/20 method.

So here is my cheat that I share with you guys today. It is still gluten free, and corn free.

Make this salad…. but at the last minute add Cheddar Nut thins, and continue to cook for a minute or so.

Click here for Recipe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ingredients:

1/2 head of Lettuce
1/2 Avocado
3 green onions
12 ounces of Grass fed Organic, ground beef
2 Organic Roma tomatoes
2 tablespoons of fresh salsa
1 teaspoon of cumin
3 teaspoons of Chili powder
1 clove of garlic
A pinch of Sea salt, and black, and red pepper

Directions:
In a skillet brown beef, thoroughly. As you are cooking the meat, add all the spices listed above. When ground beef is 1/2 cooked add in green onion and then when meat is almost done, add in Cheddar nut thins, salsa, and tomatoes. Stir well.

Chop/Dice up lettuce, and slice avocado. In a bowl, toss lettuce, and then top with grass fed beef, top with Cheese and avocado.

Serve and enjoy!!

Easy Lazy Sunday Mexican Salad

2012-03-19T23:40:00.001-07:00

Ever feel like you really just do not want to cook anything elaborate, but at the same time you are craving taste, flavor. You would go eat out, but you know that they are going to throw ingredients into that super yummy dish, that are really unhealthy.
That is how I felt tonight, which is why I have named this dish Easy Lazy Sunday Mexican Salad. This salad is packed full of nutrients, and is fast and easy.

Ingredients:

1/2 head of Lettuce
1/2 Avocado
3 green onions
12 ounces of Grass fed Organic, ground beef
2 Organic Roma tomatoes
2 tablespoons of fresh salsa
1 teaspoon of cumin
3 teaspoons of Chili powder
1 clove of garlic
A pinch of Sea salt, and black, and red pepper

Directions:
In a skillet brown beef, thoroughly. As you are cooking the meat, add all the spices listed above. When ground beef is 1/2 cooked add in green onion and then once meat is done, add in Salsa, and tomatoes. Stir well.

Chop/Dice up lettuce, and slice avocado. In a bowl, toss lettuce, and then top with grass fed beef, and avocado.

Serve and enjoy!

Sweet Potato Cinnamon Everything Cookies

2012-03-15T17:39:00.012-07:00

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Once upon a time, when we used to eat grains, and thought we were being healthy, Wild Oats Market, had a cookie, called the Everything Cookie! My husband would devour these cookies. Inhaling the cookies, would be a better description of how he would go through them. In the past I have made versions of these cookies with almond flour. My almond flour cookies are amazing, but we have since quit making them, because it was hard for me to digest (thanks to belly issues). I have been dreaming of another alternative to making cookies, that would not require almond flour, or other gluten free flours.

That was until the other day, when I ~~accidentally blotched,~~ made Health Bent's Paleo Sweet Potato Pancakes. By not paying attention to exact measurements, and then trying to fix my failure, we eventually evolved the pancakes into even worse pancakes, that I tried to salvage into making muffins. Delicious success, that left me wondering, could I make these into a cookie?

Days later, after scouring the Internet for sweet potato cookies, or bread, or muffins, we found nothing. So back to Health Bent, and previous knowledge of cookie recipes, and voila, probably one of the most healthiest, yummiest, cookies ever made to date!

Ingredients:

3 cups potatoes ( about 3 small/medium)
1/3 cup coconut flour
1/2 to a 1 full cup shredded coconut flakes
2 tablespoons coconut milk
1/2 cup of Kettle almond butter ( this is important, different brands will give different consistency)
5 eggs
2 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1 cup raisins
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp honey
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 tsp salt salt

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Directions:

Peel sweet potatoes and chop. Boil in pot until you can puncture with a fork and it is soft. This will take around 15 to 20 minutes. Once the sweet potato is cooked thoroughly, transfer to a bowl, immediately add coconut flour, cinnamon, honey, and maple syrup, butter, baking soda, baking powder, and almond butter. Set aside and let cool for about 15 minutes. For faster results cover and cool in the refrigerator.

While cooling add eggs, coconut milk, vanilla extract, salt in a separate bowl. Gently whisk until all ingredients are mixed.

Once sweet potatoes are cooled combine egg and milk mixture mix on high. Add your choice of chocolate chips, raisins, and coconut flakes.

If you are making cookies then on parchment paper, spoon out batter by the tablespoon, and bake for about 15 to 25 minutes in a preheated oven 350.

Bread will take longer. I would advise breaking the batter up into two loaves, as not to make it too thick. Time estimated is around 30 minutes, or until middle runs clear when poked with a tooth pick.

Serve and Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Pumpkin Bread!

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Irish Carrot Soup

2012-03-13T18:55:00.001-07:00

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Carrot soup is one of my favorite soups to make. It can be very versatile, and if made right deliciously satisfying. My girls love carrot soup as well, which I find ironic, seeing that I can't get them to eat a carrot.

This recipe is a Irish tradition, and is a great St. Patrick's Weekend treat.
Ingredients:

1 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoon of Kerry Gold Butter
3 pounds carrots, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
6 whole cloves
5 cups of fresh chicken stock
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon of Raw local Honey
salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup heavy cream
fresh parsley, for garnish

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium heat, heat butter and oil. Add carrots, onion, garlic, cloves, and cook until onion is translucent. Add the 4 cups of chicken stock, cover, and simmer until carrots are soft enough to stab with a fork.

Remove cloves from stock and discard. Transfer mixture to a food processor or blender and process in batches until smooth. Stir in heavy whipping, lemon juice and honey. Season to taste with salt and pepper and, if needed, thin with remaining broth.

Serve and enjoy.

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Hollandaise Sauce

2012-02-22T11:11:00.003-08:00

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The rule of thumb for Hollandaise sauce, is one egg yolk per serving. Seeing that I made six servings for my Eggs Benedict recipe, I have decided to use 6 yolks. We reserved the whites for another recipe. This would be a perfect opportunity to make a meringue pie, or macaroon cookies.

This was my first time to make Hollandaise sauce, and Eggs Benedict. It turned out successful, except that I made the sauce before the eggs were done, and my sauce hardened a little, because it sat on the side for a few minutes. With out thinking I threw some of the sauce in a bowl and put in the microwave to liquify my sauce… :-) Needless to say that was a fail, and a scrambled my Hollandaise sauce after all. So lesson learned, don't let your Hollandaise sauce sit to set, and don't microwave…

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons of juice of a lemon
3/4 cup of Clarified Organic Kerrygold Butter
6 egg yolks
Pinch of Cayenne, and paprika
1 teaspoon of salt

Directions:

In a skillet boil water. In a stainless steel bowl, add egg yolks and lemon juice. Hold steel bowl over boiling water, but carefully do not let the bowl touch the water. Rigorously whisk, yolk sauce will thicken, whisk as fast as possible so eggs will not get over heated and scramble. Once yolks are looking like a thick sauce, add clarified butter. Slowly, and in segments. Whisking rapidly, until all butter is added. Add salt and spices. Drizzle neatly over Eggs Benedict.

Serve and enjoy!

Click Here for Eggs Benedict

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Eggs Benedict

2012-02-21T23:19:00.001-08:00

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Primitive Foodie, is going Irish for a month. Paleo Irish that is. For fun, we are connecting back to our ancestral roots, and cooking with foods that our grandparents would have cooked with. Growing up with a grandfather that was Irish, the cuisine and culture was ingrained in me as a "wee little one". At my grandparents house, the meals were Irish, the Gaelic was spoken, and the heritage strong. It has been a long time since I have connected with that, and since I have gone Paleo, I avoided most of the dishes, due to the starches. Ireland cooking, however does not have to include a lot of starches. You can be paleo and enjoy foods from around the world and this is what we hope to prove by this experiment. Not to limit ourselves, and be creative as possible in our lives. WE will be creating dishes that incorporate a lot of the Irish food, while staying focused on healthy eating. On our list, there will be a lot of Breakfast items, as that is one of my favorite meals to cook!

Ingredients:

6 slices of Canadian Bacon, or BACON!!
6 Duchess potatoes
6 eggs
2 teaspoons of white vinegar
Hollandaise Sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of parsley

Directions:

In a skillet brown bacon, slightly. Set aside for later. Fill a skillet half way with water, and add vinegar. Heat to a boiling. Carefully, break eggs one by one into skillet of water. Simmer eggs for 4 minutes on low, while carefully stirring the water around the eggs, paying close attention not to break the yolks.

Remove eggs, carefully, from skillet with a slotted ladle spoon.

Assemble, Duchess potato, top with bacon, Eggs benedict, and Hollandaise sauce.

My Hollandaise Sauce

Serve and enjoy!

To make this even more of an Irish dish add Cod!

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Homemade Chicken Broth

2012-02-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

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I Have a SECRET CONFESSION, so listen up!!! Up until recently I have been cooking with store bought chicken Broth! The horror, the shame, the embarrassment.. I think that is why it has taken me so long to post this recipe.

After going semi- paleo, I could no longer buy my broth without guilt from the grocery store. Knowing that what I was buying was processed, and full of salt, taking natural flavors away from my dishes, and above all causing my meals to be less nutritionally dense.

Homemade chicken broth is fast, and easy and adds vital minerals and vitamins to your dishes, and soups. And did I say Flavor, tons of flavor.

Ingredients:

4 pounds of chicken
1 medium onion diced up
3 cloves of garlic chopped
2 carrots chopped
1 Potato of choice, sweet or Yukon
1 rib of celery
2 Bay Leaves
2 Quarts of Water + 1 Cup

Directions:

Place Raw chicken and all ingredients in stock pot. Bring to a boil and the reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
Remove the chicken and set aside for reuse. Generally, we love to use this chicken in our salads, and eggs during the week.
Strain Broth into a bowl.

Remove Bay leaves, we normally do not discard the mixture of vegetables, instead we set aside for a quick and easy lunch during the week.

Reserve Chicken broth for soups, or dishes that may call for broth!Pin It

Carrot Macadamia Coconut Honey Raw Balls

2012-02-07T23:17:00.000-08:00

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Recently I saw a photo posted from Foodie and the Family for Carrot Cake Bites, courtesy of Daily Bites.

The recipe and photo inspired me to make a special treat for my kids and husband! We have been very cautious as what nuts we use, and have been favoring Macadamia nuts these days due to the omega 6:3 ratio. Macadamia nuts also contains all essential amino acids, and contains healthy fibers. Overall they are best for us!

Ingredients:

1 cup of Macadamia nuts
1/3 cup of Unsweetened Coconut shredded
1/4 to 1/3 cup of Honey, depends on desire of sweetness
One carrot shredded, about 1/3 of a cup.
10 dates pitted, and soaked in water for 5 minutes to soften
1 tablespoon of Olive Oil
2 tablespoon of Coconut to roll balls in

Directions:

In a blender process Macadamia Nuts, and then simply individually add each item. Roll into tiny balls and then on a plate roll spread enough shredded coconut and roll to coat!

Serve and enjoy! Pin It

Spicy Italian Pumpkin Harvest Soup

2012-01-29T00:35:00.000-08:00

If you love pumpkin, and you love a dish with Heat, I am sure you will love this dish!

Sometimes pictures are worth a thousand words, right? So I will not be writing up story to go along with this dish. :-)

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons of butter
1 cup of chopped onion
1 15 ounce can of pumpkin (or you can use fresh pureed if you have it on hand)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced ( your choice, I am sure that sweet potatoes would go well in this dish. we used yukon gold, however next time I will try this recipe with the sweet!)
4 cups of chicken broth ( fresh homemade)
1/2 cup of Organic Heavy whipping cream ( or your choice of dairy substitute)
1/2 teaspoon of Cayenne pepper
salt/ and pepper
1 to 2 tablespoons of chopped dry parsley

Directions:

Melt butter in a french oven. Add onion and saute for a two minutes. Add Pumpkin, and potato, cream and chicken broth/ Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat. Cook until potatoes are soft. Add spices, and salt and pepper. Transfer into a bowl, and puree soup.

Serve and enjoy!

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Almond Butter Chocolate Cups

2012-01-18T23:24:00.000-08:00

Portland Oregon does not snow, however this week we had our mix of flurries and sleet. Cold temperatures kept us in, and we did not have much on hand besides dark chocolate chips, and Almond butter. This recipe is pretty straight forward, and is very easy and quick to make.

Ingredients:

1 bag of Dark Chocolate chips
3 Tablespoons of Almond Butter, or nut butter of choice

Directions:

Melt 1/2 the bag of chocolate chips, and layer in silicon muffin cups. Place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for 15 to 20 minutes.

Once set, arrange about a teaspoon of butter in the middle, and then melt second half bag of the chocolate chips, and layer on top of the Almond nut butter spread. Once again, cover and freeze, for twenty minutes.

Serve and Enjoy!!

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Sun- Dried Tomato and Spinach Spaghetti

2012-01-17T15:25:00.000-08:00

Generally, you can tell how much I love a recipe, by how many photos I take of it. Naturally, we are drawn to what we love the most, and want to preserve whatever it may be, for as long as we can. For me, it is this dish!

When I gave up pasta years ago, I found it very hard to substitute pasta with a vegetable, or fruit (spaghetti squash). In my mind there was no substitiution, so we avoided all forms of pasta, or had the occasional cheat. Recently, while in Denver visiting friends, I decided to give it a try, and fell in love with spaghetti squash. When cooked correctly, there are so many wonderful flavors and the texture of squash, that can bring out the flavor in any dish, and making the meal not only that much more healthier, but tastier. Squash will also fill you faster, and is not processed, and is a gluten free substitute.

Ingredients:

2 cup of sun-dried tomatoes
8 ounces of sliced mushrooms
1 3/4 cup of chicken broth
1/2 cup of Extra virgin Olive Oil
2 garlic cloves diced
1/2 tsp of Sea Salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
2 teaspoons of basil
9 ounces to 12 ounces of Fresh washed Spinach
1 medium Spaghetti Squash
Goat Cheddar Cheese to garnish or crumbled goat cheese ( 4 ounces)
Italian Parsley to garnish
Add sliced chicken, seasoned with basil, pepper, and salt if desired…..

Directions:

Place the tomatoes in a small bowl, and fill with hot water, enough to cover the sun-dried tomatoes. Let sit for 5 minutes to soften. Saute, garlic in olive oil for two minutes and add mushrooms, continue to saute for 4 more minutes. Add tomatoes, and chicken broth, and spices. Heat on a medium- low for 8 more minutes, and then add spinach. Cook until spinach wilts, and remove from heat.

At this point you can add the cheese of your desire and let it melt into the mixture. Goat crumble cheese would go lovely in this dish, as well.

Add mixture to Spaghetti Squash (recipe here).

Serve and enjoy!!!

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Cinnamon Fruit Crumb Cake

2012-01-16T23:30:00.000-08:00

Teasing me, in my freezer sat 3 bags of fresh picked raspberries, black berries, and blueberries, that had been picked at a local Oregon Farm this summer, by my daughters and I. No longer could I pass these amazing berries, calling me to bake them into something special.

Although, we did have almond meal on hand, I decided to use Pamela's Ultimate Baking and Pancake Mix, which is wheat free and gluten free. After two years of baking with Almond meal, I am opting to find other avenues to bake with, the Almonds are to harsh sometimes on our bellies, and now we are trying to find other baking substitutes. Coconut flour, is great, but it does not provide the texture that I was looking for on this special recipe.

Here is my gluten free crumb cake.

Ingredients:

Cake Filling

1 1/2 cup of Pamela's Baking Mix
3 Eggs
3/4 cup of Brown Sugar
2/3 cup of greek yogurt
1 tsp of Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp of lemon zest
1/2 tsp of cinnamon

Middle:

1 cup of blueberries ( defrosted, and rinsed)
1 cup of raspberries ( defrosted, and rinsed)
1 cup of blackberries ( defrosted, and rinsed)
2/3 cup of greek yogurt

For topping

1/2 cup of brown sugar
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
1 stick of butter room temperature
1/4 cup of Pamela's Ultimate Baking mix

Mix listed above ingredients for the Cake filling, in a medium size bowl. Butter a 12 x 9 stoneware baker. Spoon batter into bottom of the baker.

After defrosting berries, rinse and dry with paper towels if needed. Lay on top of the cake mixture, and top with the brown sugar topping. Topping mixture I just used a spoon to place in upon the berry mixture. Don't worry if it does not apply evenly, or look perfect right now, it will all melt beautifully while baking!

Bake at 350 degrees F, for 25 to 40 minutes. You will need to watch closely. Using a cake tester, bake until it comes out clean.

Serve and enjoy!!!

Up coming post!

2012-01-14T11:35:00.000-08:00

Simple Bacon in a hurry

2012-01-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

I love bacon. Fried bacon is delicious, but sometimes I don't have the time, and I get sick of dishes, and cleaning up the splattered messes of grease. Not to mention I really don't use bacon fat that much, so we are running out of containers to store our grease. So here is my bacon solution, which to me is new, but to most probably an old idea… Bake your bacon. You can pre-bake all your bacon for the week! It is less greasy, more crisp, easier to cut for salads, or omelets. Perfect for those weeks when you are in a hurry, and dont' have time to fry and clean all the mess that bacon grease leaves behind!

How to bake your bacon…

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

You will need a large baking sheet, lined with foil on top.
Place as much bacon as you can fit. If your baking sheet is flat, make sure to fold up the edges on all sides, so the bacon grease doesn't drip down onto the bottom of your oven.
Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until bacon looks brown, but not to crisp
Let cool, and place between paper towels to soak up excessive grease, if you wish..

Serve and enjoy!!!!

Pork Shoulder Roast

2011-12-27T00:42:00.000-08:00

New Years Eve is around the corner, and I am already feeling tired of all those sweets. I feel a detox coming on, and I am ready to ban all sweets from the house starting now! Hearty foods with substance, protein, and vitamins is what I am craving now! This roast has it all, flavorful, and filling, you will want to go back for more. I loved the tarragon flavor that we added in this recipe, so much so that I made a Roasted Chicken with the same vinaigrette.
This is the perfect New Years Day Roast, or a winters evening dinner!

Ingredients

1 boneless pork shoulder (about 4 pounds)

5 garlic cloves, smashed

2 teaspoons oregano

3 tablespoons Kosher or Sea salt

1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

2 tablespoons tarragon white wine vinaigrette

Make a paste out of the ingredients above but leave out olive oil and tarragon white wine vinaigrette. Slit pork shoulder in various spots and rub the paste into pork. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate over night, for up to 4 hours.
Remove Pork from refrigerator, sitting to room temperature for 30 minutes. Add Olive oil, and tarragon white wine vinaigrette.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Roast for 3 hours, uncovered, or until the skin is crispy-brown. Let the meat cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
Serve and enjoy!

Serve with Butternut Squash and leeks, seasoned with oregano and garlic!