Category: Food

This Asparagus with Mushrooms and Hazelnut recipe is a really nice paleo side dish. I was a little hesitant about the vinegar mixture as I was afraid that it would be too bitter but it came out great!

Here are the ingredients you’ll be needing (minus the olive oil, salt and pepper):

Next you’ll be prepping your vegetables by cleaning and trimming the asparagus and cleaning and chopping the green onions.

Then — clean your mushrooms.  Give them a nice shower! (Note: I like to prep and wash my veggies first so they can air dry while I work on everything else.)

Next — chop the hazelnuts. (Notice the Minnesota chopping board in the background? Pretty cool, eh?  That was a Christmas gift.)

After chopping the hazelnuts, you’ll be toasting them.  I did this on the stovetop.  Keep an eye out on them though as you don’t want them to burn.

Now, you’ll want to combine the red wine vinegar with some salt and pepper. It will look like this:

To prepare for the next few steps, you’ll need a colander, a medium pot of boiling water (enough to put your asparagus in), a large skillet and a medium sized bowl of ice water.

Once your water is boiling, put the asparagus in for about 4 minutes or so. It should be a “soft” boil not a roaring one. You want your asparagus to blanch (should be crisp when you take it out).

Okay so — things are moving quickly now. In a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and when it’s heated, add the mushrooms. You want them to be semi-soft.

Next you’ll be adding the green onions to the mushrooms and tossing it all together. Ahhh, so pretty!

By now you should be checking the asparagus as it should be done. Drain the asparagus in the colander and quickly cool them off by tossing the ice water over the asparagus. A nice cold shower for them!

Make sure the asparagus is drained well then add them to the skillet with the mushrooms and green onions …

Looking good!  Toss it all together now. The mushrooms should be getting nice and soft. Next you’ll be pouring your red wine vinegar mixture into the skillet.

Combine it all together and put it in a nice bowl then toss your hazelnuts on top. Ready to try it?

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 pound fresh asparagus, washed, ends trimmed and cut in half
• Olive oil
• 1 pound of mushrooms, washed
• 1/2 cup green onions, washed and sliced
• 1/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped

Directions

1. Prep your veggies and lay them off to the side.
2. Prepare a medium sized bowl of ice water (I used a salad bowl but you can use any container) – lay this off to the side til needed.
3. Chop the hazelnuts and toast them on the stovetop or in the oven (they don’t take long to toast so keep an eye on them) – then lay this off to the side.
4. Add the vinegar, 1 tablespoon of the oil, salt, and pepper to a small bowl and lay this off to the side.
5. Fill a medium sized pot with water and boil it. Once boiled, add the asparagus for approximately 3-4 minutes to blanch them.
6. While the asparagus is blanching, put a 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet and heat on medium high.
7. Add the mushrooms to the skillet and saute until they are almost soft.
8. Add the green onions to the skillet with the mushrooms.
9. At this point, the asparagus should be ready. Taste one to make sure — it should be crisp but not raw.
10. Drain the asparagus in a colander, pour the ice water over them immediately then drain the cold water from the asparagus.
11. Add the asparagus to the skillet mixture, toss then cook for another 3 minutes or until the mushrooms are soft.
12. Turn the skillet heat off then slowly add the vinegar mixture into the skillet. Toss everything together.
13. Put the vegetable mixture in a bowl and sprinkle the toasted hazelnuts over the top.

Whala!!! You’re finished and it tastes absolutely delicious!

I found this recipe at Paleo Plans which has a really neat section that includes recipes they have tried — very similar to the page I have that has a list of recipes.

Hope you enjoy this one!

So, this Chive Baked Sweet Potato came out surprisingly good.  The original recipe calls from a regular potato but I paleo-ized it (somewhat). Instead of using a regular potato I used a sweet potato. And instead of soy cheese, I used grated aged parmesan cheese.

This recipe is a keeper — it’s easy, filling and quite tasty. It also uses few ingredients.

So — here’s what you’ll be needing:

You’ll be making a sauce with the cashews and a little bit of water. I was a little skeptical as to whether or not I would like the taste but it turned out quite well.

So … let’s try this simple recipe, shall we?

Ingredients

• 2 Sweet Potatoes (you could also use yams)
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 cup of raw cashews
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice (I used freshly squeezed)
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• Salt (to taste)
• Handful of Aged Parmesan Cheese, grated
• Chives, chopped

Directions

1. In a blender, add the cashews, water, lemon juice, garlic and salt then blend it all until it’s creamy.
2. Poke holes on the top of the sweet potatoes.
3. Wet 2 paper towels and wrap your sweet potatoes in them.
4. Put the potatoes with the towels on a microwave safe dish and microwave them for 6-8 minutes (mine took 8 minutes but I had thick potatoes).
5. After removing the potatoes from the oven, poke them with a skewer or fork to make sure they are cooked all the way through (the skewer/fork should go through easily).
6. Put a large slit in the top of each potato and add some of the cashew sauce along with some grated parmesan cheese on top.
7. Put the potatoes back in the microwave (without the towel) for 2 minutes to melt the cheese.
8. Remove from the microwave and top with chives if you wish.

That’s pretty much it!  Here’s the finished product:

Yum, yum, yum! Special thanks to the Vegan Stoner for the original recipe.

This Roasted Parsnip Pear Soup has two of my favorite ingredients. Can you guess what they are?  (laughing)  You’d be right if you guessed parsnips and pears.

Although I love pears, they don’t like me very much. It’s not the pear really — it’s the pesticide they use on the pear. I can scrub the pear well, peel it and still have a tingly feeling on my tongue.

This time what I experienced was a tad different.  I actually had bumps that came out on my hand from handling the pear. Isn’t that odd? Here’s what it looked like:

You’re probably wondering why I’m making a recipe with pears if I’m allergic to the pesticide they put on them, right? Well, I have found that when the pear is cooked it doesn’t bother me. Another odd thing, no?

This soup was a surprise in some ways and not so much in another.  First, my husband did NOT like it. He’s not a fan of creamy type soups anyway and this one looks like Farina/Cream of Wheat. It also has the same texture and came out very very thick. I added some light coconut milk to make it creamier and that seemed to work well.

So — here’s what you’ll be needing (olive oil, salt, pepper and coconut milk not shown):

You’ll be preparing your vegetables …

After chopping the onions you’ll be putting them in a pot with a little bit of olive oil and cooking them until they are clear.

After preparing the pears and parsnips, you’ll be adding them, along with everything else, into your large pot.

You’ll also need to caramalize your nuts — I used pecans.

Let’s get started on this, shall we?

Ingredients

• 1 lb. parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 4 ripe pears, peeled, cored and chopped
• Olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups vegetable bouillon
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon sage
• Cinnamon
• Salt
• Pepper

Ingredients for the caramelized pecans

• 3/4 cup pecans, chopped
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
2. Place the prepared parsnips and pears in an oven-proof baking dish.
3. Drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and toss well to evenly coat.
4. Place the baking dish in the oven15 minutes to roast the parsnips and pears.
5. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large soup pot and add the onion.
6. Sauté the onion until its soft and clear.
7. Add the vegetable bouillon and stir to mix.
8. When the pears and parsnips have roasted, add them to the vegetable bouillon in the soup pot.
9. Add the rosemary, sage and cinnamon to the soup.
10. Allow everything to cook together until the parsnips are soft.
11. When the parsnips are soft, puree the soup in a blender to a creamy mixture.
12. Prepare the caramelized/candied pecans. Click here for instructions on how to do that (very simple).
13. Season with salt and pepper.
14. Serve the soup with some caramelized pecans on top — a nice touch!.

The soup was not bad — not scrumptious but not bad. It was “heavy” in the belly. Next time I would strain the soup to make it more liquid-y and I wouldn’t serve it as the main dish but as a side to another dish.

If you decide to try it, let me know if you make any adaptations. I did adapt the original recipe, i.e. didn’t use white wine, used pecans instead of walnuts and added a wee bit of coconut milk.

And this is the final product … (I took the picture late in the evening so the natural light was all gone — thus the strange lighting.)

Served with a salad, this would make a nice light lunch or dinner.

I bought a large container of tomatoes because they were on sale and then got home and thought “What do I do with a bunch of tomatoes?”

Some of my options were –

• Slice them and eat them raw
• Slice them and add them to a salad
• Make a stir fry and include them in it
• Make homemade salsa
• Make homemade spaghetti sauce

All of those options were good but instead, I decided to bake them as a side dish. And, they came out pretty good.

The recipe calls for aged grated parmesan cheese which is not really paleo but more primal (the primal diet allows cheese). It’s quite interesting reading about the difference between the paleolithic diet and the primal diet. There are so many opinions and variations on these diets — it’s enough to make your head spin.

Despite this, I’m putting this recipe under the paleo category and you can choose whether to add the cheese or not —

First, you’ll need a few ingredients …

Next, you’ll be combining the oregano, cheese, salt and pepper. It will look like this …

You can use basil (dried or freshly chopped) or any other herb you like.

Next, you’ll be slicing your tomatoes lengthwise and putting some of your herb mixture on top of each tomato. Then you’ll be pouring a little bit of olive oil over the tomato halves.

Next they’ll go in the oven … Are you ready to try it?

Ingredients

• 4 large oblong-shaped tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
• 1 teaspoon oregano (I used dried)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated aged parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Ground pepper
• 4 teaspoons extra virgen olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450° Fahrenheit
2. Place tomatoes cut-side up on a baking sheet
3. In a small bowl, combine the oregano, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper
4. Top the tomatoes with the herb/cheese mixture
5. Drizzle the olive oil on top of the herb/cheese mixture
6. Bake the tomatoes until they are tender, about 15 minutes (but set your timer for 5 minutes earlier in case they get done sooner)

And that is pretty much it. They are juicy and great tasting!

This recipe was adapted a tad from Food.com.

I just had to share this paleo Avocado Ranch Dressing with you as it’s so easy to make and goes with any salad.

Here are the ingredients. I used dill seed instead of the fresh dill that the original recipe calls for, however, next time I’ll use fresh dill as I believe it will give it a stronger flavor.  (Olive Oil not shown)

Ingredients

• 1 ripe avocado
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dill seed or 2 Tablespoons fresh dill
• 2 Tablespoons fresh chives
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. In a blender or food processor, pulse the avocados.
2. Add the remaining ingredients then pulse to combine it all.
3. Puree everything until its smooth.
4. Store it in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.

The dressing came out quite thick so I adapted it by adding 2 tablespoons olive oil and then it was “pourable.”

This recipe will work on top of any salad and I also found that I can use it when making tuna salad, chicken salad, etc.

Special thanks to tgipaleo for this recipe!

For the new year I’m planning on making more salads.  Why, you ask?

Because I really enjoy them! This Red Cabbage Salad with Pears and Walnuts was simply scrumptious.  I know, I know — red cabbage!! It’s true though. The salad tasted great without the usual salad fare such as lettuce or spinach.

In addition to not being disappointed with this salad, you’ll probably be one of the first on your block who makes something out of the ordinary. Hey! That means you’ll be just like me!  (laughing)

Seriously though — I really did like this salad.

So — here are the key ingredients …

The original recipe called for grape seed oil. You won’t see that in the picture above because I decided to substitute the grape seed oil with a Basil and Sun Dried Tomato Olive Oil — it’s what I had in the cupboard and I thought it would work fine (and it did).

I also decided to make my own pomegranate syrup which was easy peasy.  (I know, I know, there is no such word as peasy but it always rhymes well …)

Anyway — let’s get to making this salad which is also paleo, shall we?

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil (or Basil & Sun Dried Tomato Oil if you can find it)
• 2 teaspoons pomegranate syrup (see directions below to make this)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 head red cabbage, cut in half, cored, and very thinly sliced (4 cups)
• 1 pear, cored and sliced
• 1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion

Ingredients for Pomegranate Syrup

• 1 cup (8 ounces) pomegranate juice
• 2 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Directions

1. Whisk the vinegar, oil, pomegranate syrup, and mustard in a small bowl then set this aside.
2. Toss the cabbage, pear slices, walnuts, and red onion in a serving bowl.
3. Serve the dressing on the side or (if you’re sure all of this salad will be eaten at once) toss the salad with the dressing.

To make the pomegranate syrup:

1. Simmer 1 cup of pomegranate juice with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and 1 Tablespoon lemon juice over medium heat for approximately 1 hour until it becomes thick.

That’s it!  Enjoy!

Waking up to a -24° Fahrenheit temperature (-46° windchill) yesterday, I was not looking forward to what the day had in store.

Here is what the kitchen window looks like.  We don’t have to put our vegetables in the refrigerator as the window sill keeps them cool enough.

In spite of the cold, I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to accomplish quite a bit and also try a new recipe.

It was just “one of those days” when everything went right. I paid my bills and a friend’s bills, sent out January birthday cards, organized files for the new year, prepared my quilting blocks for more sewing then cooked a new recipe.

In the middle of all that, I headed outdoors when the temperature was a -16° to put the mail in the mailbox for pickup. Later, when it was a balmy -12°, I went outside to retrieve the delivered mail. Brrrr.  I should have worn my long johns.

Feeling a sense of accomplishment, I went to the kitchen and gathered the ingredients for the new recipe I wanted to try. Hmmm … after reading through the recipe, I decided I was going to improvise on the instructions and ingredients — and so I did. The original recipe is a Broccoli, Chicken and Almond Saute but I used a vegetable mix instead of just broccoli along with a few other changes.

So — here is what I did. And — you will enjoy this one. It’s easy and quite tasty.

First — here are the ingredients you’ll be needing (olive oil and chicken not shown):

After preparing your chicken thighs, you’ll be putting them in an olive-oil-greased cast iron skillet (if you have one) for browning …

This is looking good …

While the chicken is browning, you’ll toss your vegetables in a skillet to start their cooking process along with a splash of sesame oil.

After the vegetables are about halfway cooked, add the chicken and toss everything together.

Allow everything to cook through.  Ready to try it?  Remember you’ll be using two skillets side by side.

Ingredients

• 4-5 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cleaned and cut into bite-sized pieces
• Salt
• Olive oil
• A Spice Rub of your Choice (I used Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute)
• 1 lb vegetable mix – cut into bite size pieces (I used carrots, cauliflower and broccoli)
• 1/8 teaspoon chile powder
• 1/2 cup sliced toasted almonds
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil (or a splash here and there)
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Add the spice rub (or spices of your choice) in a large bowl along with some salt and pepper.
2. Add the chicken pieces to the spice rub and toss to coat.
3. Heat an iron cast skillet on medium and add a tablespoon or two of olive oil.
4. Toss the chicken into the skillet and allow the chicken to brown on both sides.
5. On the other skillet, add a tablespoon or two of olive oil along with the chili powder and set the heat on medium low.
6. Once the skillet is hot, add your vegetable pieces to this second skillet and toss with the olive oil.
7. Add a splash or two of the sesame oil.  (Take a peek at your chicken and turn it to make sure it’s browning on both sides.)
8. Once the chicken is browned on both sides, remove it from the heat and set it aside until the vegetables are starting to soften.
9. Add the chicken to the vegetable mix and toss together.
10. Taste one of the chicken pieces to make sure it is thoroughly cooked through.
11. Add the almonds and toss everything together again.

That’s pretty much it. It’s quick, easy and a great comfort food for any day of the week. And, I thoroughly enjoy my Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute. It has a tad of cayenne pepper — small enough for me to enjoy and strong enough to give the chicken a flavor boost the way my husband likes it.

All of you who are in the midst of this polar vortex — STAY WARM!!!

This Baked Butternut Squash recipe is a “side” dish from none other than Betty Crocker.  Remember her? I wonder if she knew she had made a paleo dish. It’s not hard to do.

You won’t need too many ingredients.

And you won’t need to do too much to make this recipe either.

Alright so … let’s take a look at this easy peasy recipe …

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 lb butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 2-3 cups)
• 1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used one Firebird apple)
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 375°F.
2. Place the butter in  a 13×9-inch glass baking dish.
3. Heat the butter in the oven for 5 to 7 minutes or until melted.
4. Remove from the oven and stir in the cinnamon and nutmeg.
5. Add the squash and toss to coat the squash with the cinnamon mixture.
6. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
7. While waiting for the squash to bake, get a large bowl and mix the apples, syrup and vinegar together.
8. Once the 20 minutes are over, pour the apple mixture over the squash mixture.
9. Cover with foil again and bake another 10 minutes.
10. Remove from the oven and stir then bake another 5 to 10 minutes longer or until the squash is tender.
11. Stir everything one last time before serving.
12. Sprinkle with the pecans if you desire.

And that is pretty much it.

Enjoy this easy to make recipe.  I did!

Looking out the window, small snowflakes fall to the ground and join the thousand others that have attached themselves to the cold sidewalk. We should have a good 5-8 inches before the day is over.

The air is crisp — the sky white. Beauty at its best.

And here to make matters even better is the perfect soup. Really. I wouldn’t lie to you. This soup is much better than the squash soup I’ve made in the past and it’s vegan, paleo and gluten free. Yes! The sweet potatoes give it a wonderfully sweet taste. No added sugar. You just have to try it.

You will need just a few ingredients.

And it’s so easy to put this soup together. One of the “hardest” parts is slicing and chopping the leeks.

These will be put in a large pot (make sure you read all the directions below as I’m giving you a very shorthand account of the steps you’ll be taking – just the major ones).

The second hardest part? Peeling your sweet potatoes and cutting or chopping them into small bite sized pieces.

Then you’ll be adding the sweet potatoes to the pot along with a few other things …

Oh, this leafy vegetable (called watercress) was something I had never tried before. Don’t be afraid of it though if you’ve never tried it. Although it tastes bitter when eaten by itself (of course I had to try it), it blends beautifully with the sweet potatoes and has no bitter taste at all when cooked. (Some people describe the taste of watercress as being peppery and tangy but I didn’t get that flavor.)

Look at this beautiful soup that’s coming along so well …

Okay so — you’re going to try it, right? I strongly encourage you to try it. This soup is chock full of vitamins. Go on — search it out and see for yourself. Check out the nutrition in the sweet potatoes and the watercress. Can something this healthy be so good?  Yes!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 3  large Leeks, white & palest green parts only, chopped and rinsed well
• 3 large Sweet Potatoes, peeled and diced (original recipe calls for 4 but mine were pretty big so I used 3)
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 Vegetable Bouillon Cubes
• 1  cup packed Watercress leaves, chopped loosely
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups Light Coconut Milk
• Salt and freshly ground Pepper to taste
• 1/4  cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot.
2. Add the leeks and saute over medium heat, covered, until they begin to turn golden. Stir occasionally.
3. Add the sweet potatoes, bay leaf, bouillon cubes and enough water to cover everything.
4. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer, covered, until the sweet potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. (Prick a fork through a few of the potatoes to make sure they are tender.)
5. Mash some of the potatoes against the side of the pot with a fork then stir those pieces back into the soup to thicken it.
6. Add the watercress leaves and coconut milk then simmer over very low heat for 10 minutes longer.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Remove the pot from the heat and set aside, covered, for an hour or two before serving.  (You can also make this soup the day before as it tastes even better the more it is allowed to blend together. Make sure you refrigerate it.)
9. Add the parsley right before serving and heat the soup through one more time.

I adapted the original recipe by using coconut milk instead of rice milk as it makes it more paleo friendly. Thanks to Kahakai Kitchen for this recipe.

I served this with a side salad and paleo muffins.

If you like sweet potatoes, you will definitely enjoy this soup.