Fishhugger’s Leg o’ Lamb

If you’ve been reading our posts for the past few months then you’ve seen the name Fishhuggers, I am sure. We’ve never told you how we met them and why we love Kenny and Brenna, aka The Fishhuggers. Part of eating Primal and Paleo is to eat only sustainable foods. Foods that are natural and real. These foods are typically found at Farmer’s Markets.

We met Kenny and Brenna about a year ago at one of our favorite local Farmer’s Markets, the RoadRunner. They were advertising for Sockeye Salmon, had a large selection of locally harvested honey, but also were selling this beautiful grass-fed beef and lamb. My husband and I looked at each other and smiled…all of our favorite items in one place? Really? :-)

They were wearing their signature funny green Fishhugger t-shirts, had kind smiles and really took their time with each customer. Absolutely wonderful! …they’re always like this! Brenna and Kenny make you feel special and like family. We believe that their wonderful personalities come out in the foods that we prepare.

We could go on and rave about all of their amazing fish and meats, but today we wanted to share a very easy to prepare Leg of Lamb dish. In fact it is one of those cuts of meat that most folks either forget about or are a little unsure of how to prepare. It is a great deal for the amount of meat that it yields and is incredibly delicious. You could marinade it the day before, or in the morning before leaving for work. When you get home you can shove it in the oven and voila…40 minutes later, you have a gourmet meal to serve to your family.

Leg of Lamb – Oven Roasted (don’t you just want to sink your teeth into this?) :-)

Ingredients

2 lbs Lamb Leg
3 stalks Green Onions chopped
1 pinch Sea salt to taste
2 teaspoons Chili flakes
3 stalks Fresh Rosemary de-stemmed
1 small Lemon sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons Gluten-free Natural Dijon Mustard
1 tablespoon Coconut Oil


Instructions
Marinade:
Rub lamb leg with mustard, salt, chili flakes, rosemary, green onions and place lemon slices on top. Marinade for a couple of hours in a freezer bag at room temperature.

Pre-heat oven to 350°F, then add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil to roasting pan and place lamb inside, bake for 40 – 50 minutes. After the first 15 minutes, turn leg with tongs, repeat after 15 minutes and continue to bake until leg reaches a meat temperature of 140°F for medium-rare or 160° for medium to well done.

Place on a serving platter and serve!

Acorn Squash Cream Soup with Bacon

We love a good squash, butternut, spaghetti, acorn, etc. Today we would like to share our Acorn Squash Cream Soup topped with yummy crunchy bacon. Mark Sisson calls Acorn squash a smart fuel, and duly so.  This soup is fabulous warm or served chilled on a hot day for lunch.  Either way, it is incredibly light and yet totally satisfying.  We recommend at least 2 strips of bacon as topping. :-) This recipe feeds 4 very hungry Primals, or 6 as an appetizer.

Acorn Squash Cream Soup with Bacon

Mmmmm…Yumm – Enjoy! Jo and Henry

Ingredients

2 medium Acorn Squash halved & seeded
1 teaspoon Sea salt to taste
1 teaspoon Crushed Chili Flakes to taste
2 cups Water
1/2 cup Raw Cream
1 1/2 tablespoons Unsalted butter
4 strips Bacon


Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

Cut acorn squash in halves long side and removed all seeds with a big spoon. Place the squash upside down onto cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Then add ¼ tbsp to one half and salt lightly. Put squash back together so it looks whole and bake for another 15 – 20 minutes. You will know if it’s finished by taking a look at the squash, if it’s very shiny and moist looking on the outside and if a fork can penetrate the skin, then you’re good to go.

Take it out of the oven and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Otherwise it’s too hot to peel and you’ll burn yourself.

Once cooled, scoop out all the flesh and place it in a soup pot. Tip: I usually put on some dishwashing gloves and scoop everything out with my hands – it is so much easier and faster. Mash the squash up with your hands or a big spoon and add all other ingredients with the exception of the bacon. Once all ingredients are coarsely mashed, puree them with a handheld blender until very smooth.

Thai Bananas in Coconut Milk (Kluai Nam Wa) Paleo-ized

These last few days have been incredibly busy, thus the late post.  So as a reward for your patience, we thought it pertinent to share a dessert with you. :-) It is super delicious, very easy to make, has no added sugar and can be enjoyed warm or cold.  As many of you know, we love Thai foods and really anything made with coconut.

Today we’d like to share a very popular and traditional Thai dessert with you, minus the added sugar.  Thai Bananas in Coconut Milk or Kluai Nam Wa, eliminating the sugar makes this a perfect Paleo dessert.

Ingredients that you will need for 4 serving of Paleo-ized Kluai Nam Wa:

  • 3 – 5 Red bananas (can also use regular bananas)
  • 1/4 cup Coconut Cream
  • 1 1/2 cup Coconut Milk
  • 1 pinch Sea Salt
  • 1 tsp Organic Vanilla Extract

We recently covered why cooking with coconut oil is good and beneficial for us. Many folks have asked us about Coconut Cream lately, what it is, why it’s good for us, etc. So we wanted to shed some light on it, as we enjoy it all the time. It’s an amazing energy food and it’s completely natural. Coconut Cream Concentrate is certified organic whole coconut meat in concentrated form. It contains no additives* (not even water).  The dried coconut meat is ground into a very fine powder, giving it a creamy consistency due to its high fat content. Since it is 70% fat, it is a rich source of pure coconut oil.  Note: this is a food, not a cooking oil.

Why red bananas? Because they are less sweet, have a slightly tangy taste and don’t get as mushy as yellow bananas. This dish can also be made with the little greenish yellow cousin (not to be confused with plantains) of these little red lovelies.

So how do you make this traditional dish?

Peel the bananas and cut them vertically into half, then once again cut the pieces horizontally, basically resulting in 4 pieces for each banana.
Pour the coconut milk into a small sauce pan and heat on high until it begins to boil. Once the coconut milk is at a boiling point, add bananas and tiny pinch of sea salt and reduce heat to medium. Cook bananas until tender, but be careful not to overcook them, or they will be a mash.  Once they are tender turn off the heat. Now add the coconut cream to the pan. Continue to stir, carefully, until all the lumps have disappeared. Let it cool for 15 to 20 minutes and serve.
Note: The bananas should remain as distinct pieces and not break down to a pulp.  We love this dessert cold as well.

Want to add an antioxidant punch?

Follow the preparation instructions above, but add fresh berries, such as raspberries, blueberries and some strawberries with a little cinnamon on top! Oh, yeah baby! :-) Now that our friends, is Food Porn.

Coconut Ginger Salmon

Who doesn’t love the combination of coconut, ginger, veggies and salmon? This is a very easy dish to prepare and make. It is faster and easier than our Obscene Tilapia dish (my sister-in-law named this dish…she loved it that much :-) )

If you have company coming it’s the perfect meal to make, because it has minimal prep time and is not messy. You can hang out and converse while it’s baking perfectly. Remember, anything with sauce or coconut milk, usually tastes better the next day as the flavors have a chance to settle in. So left overs are just as delicious.

Here’s how to make it and the ingredients that you will need:                   Enjoy! Henry and Jo

Coconut Ginger Salmon


Ingredients

4 thick Salmon filets or steaks
2 inch Fresh ginger peeled & thinly sliced
4 medium Cloves of Garlic thinly sliced
13 ounces Tomatoes sliced
1 teaspoon Cayenne to taste
1 small Bell pepper chopped
1 teaspoon Coriander seeds
1 can (14 oz) Organic Coconut Milk
1 pinch Sea salt to taste
1 large Lime juice only (1/8 cup)
10 leaves Fresh basil roughly chopped


Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place the fish filets or steaks in a somewhat shallow ovenproof pan (we used an oval lasagna dish). Pick a pan that will not leave much room in between the salmon – you want them close together.

View of the dish prior to baking

Top the salmon with the garlic, ginger, tomatoes, bell pepper, coriander seeds and about 8 chopped basil leaves. Squeeze the lime juice evenly over the dish and sprinkle with sea salt and cayenne. When the fish is perfectly covered with all ingredients, slowly pour all the coconut milk (full fat) over the fish. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes. 30 minutes will give you a pink tender center, whereas 40 minutes will be completely cooked through.

Top with remaining 2 leaves of fresh basil before serving. Enjoy this light and delicious dish!

Cooking with Coconut Oil: Fig Ricotta Tart

If you’ve perused our site and read some of our recipes we’re sure that you’ve noticed our love for good fats, especially coconut oil.  Roughly 80 percent of the things that we create are made with coconut oil, ranging from a tablespoon to 1/4 cup, depending on the recipe.  Coconut oil has a non-evasive sweet aroma and a very subtle sweet taste that subsides when you cook with it.  We have tasted several different labels and find that Tropical Traditions has the best taste, quality and price.  We not only cook with it, but we also use it as replacement to body lotion.  There really is nothing better than a sheer smooth coat of pure coconut oil on your skin. It does not leave a film on your skin, it nourishes it.  As a matter of fact, people, myself included, that have or are suffering of Keratosis Pilaris, no matter or light or severe, greatly benefit from using coconut oil on the affected areas.  I used to have a mild a case of it, and since switching to coconut oil, it has virtually disappeared. Yes, we go through a ton of this stuff.  We just got our 2 gallon shipment from Tropical Traditions yesterday.  For those of you who share our views on coconut oil, do check them out not just for their oil, but also for their Coconut Cream Concentrate, which is amazing and delicious. Look through our recipes to find ways to bake or cook with it.

Coconut oil is very heat stable so it makes an excellent cooking and frying oil.  It has a smoke point of about 360°F (180°C).  Because of its stability it is slow to oxidize and thus resistant to rancidity, lasting up to two years due to high saturated fat content.  You’ll find that plantain chips or yucca (cassava root) have never tasted better.

Although coconut oil has suffered from ill-directed publicity in recent years, many recent studies prove these claims as untrue.  These studies contradict claims that coconut oil contributes to heart disease and also support earlier research showing an antimicrobial role for the fatty acids in this traditional fat.  The Latest Studies on Coconut Oil

Ready to make a quick and simple dessert using Coconut Oil?

Try our Fig Ricotta Tart

  • 2 1/4 cup Turkish Figs chopped
  • 1 cup Almond Flour blanched
  • 2 tbsp Raw Honey
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese
  • 1 Lemon
  • 1 pinch Cinnamon
  • 1 pinch Fresh ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 pinch Sea salt
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 1/8 cup Coconut Oil

Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 375 °F, and set an 8 inch cake pan aside.

Crust:
Chop Figs in food processor, add Coconut oil and pulse until mixed. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add honey, almond flour, 1 egg, cinnamon, nutmeg and mix well until it’s a pliable sticky mass. Distribute crust mass into cake pan and pack in tightly and evenly and set aside.

Tip: If your figs have started to dry up and gotten very sugary, soak them for 15 minutes in water, this not only gets all the excess sugar off, but also prepares them to be perfect for your crust. Be sure not to forget to cut off the little stem prior to processing them)

Topping:
Separate 2 eggs. Beat egg whites first until very stiff and set aside. In a separate bowl beat egg yolks, vanilla extract, sea salt until a little creamy. Now add the juice of a lemon, the grated rind of the lemon, and ricotta cheese. Continue to mix with a handheld mixer until consistency of topping is creamy, then gently fold in egg whites, and pour on crust and bake for 30 minutes.

Excellent if topped with a bit of Greek Yogurt or some fresh whipped cream.

My husband said that it is fantastic! :-)

Rhubarb Kompotte

One of my personal all time favorites is Rhubarb. I love the tart taste, the beautiful color and the amazing diversity of it. As kids we used to just cut a stalk, peel it with our fingers and either dip it into a little sugar or just eat it by itself. The peeling part was half the fun for us, as it’s very stringy and easy to peel. Typically you can find Rhubarb from about February to late May in Northern parts of our globe, as opposed to the Southern parts when you’ll find it most readily available during the October/November time frame.  Because it’s grown in hothouses, you can typically purchase it all year, but it will be more expensive.

Rhubarb grows easily and makes a pretty addition to your garden, but beware that the leaves are toxic and cannot be consumed unlike those of Kohlrabi, Kale, Beets, etc.  Most people are surprised to find out that this amazing super-food is actually a vegetable, because it is mostly used in baking, such as pies, muffins, etc. It is fantastic when paired with pork in a chutney, or perhaps as part of a stir-fry or as a delicious soup. There are some great recipes out here if you’re unfamiliar with it or just want to rediscover it.

It has large fleshy leaves and beautiful hot pinkish red stalks. Once the stalks are peeled a lighter greenish pink is revealed, which when cooked turns into a mouth-watering blush color.

Jo's Rhubarb Kompotte

This veggie packs a bunch of goodness and is packed with nutrition. Back in the day, about 2700 BC that is, it is said to have been grown for its medicinal qualities and it still continues to be used for folk healing with its most common use being that of a highly effective laxative. Rhubarb helps with digestion, is excellent in helping the intestine regulate the absorption of fats, and is loaded with red carotenoids. It may have benefits of cutting some cancer risks, aid in blood circulation, help minimize hot flashes, helps reduce high cholesterol, and on it goes.

Well, because this veggie is not that well-known, it is currently in season, and it is getting warmer out – 97 here in Scottsdale today :-) , I thought it would be nice to start you off with a childhood favorite of mine:  Rhubarb Kompotte.

It is served chilled and each serving is about 6 oz. Feel free to have it as a snack, dessert, or over some Greek Yogurt for breakfast…Yummm! This is super refreshing and light. Since I like the tart taste of Rhubarb, I do not drown it in sweeteners. We don’t like very sweet things to start with. Too much sweetener takes away from the actual taste of the fruit or in this case veggie.

Here are the ingredients that you’ll need:

I used a whole bunch, because we love it, but you can easily adjust the amount of Rhubarb to your liking.

  • 9 large Rhubarb stalks
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 14 whole cloves (about a tsp)
  • 1/4 of a lemon’s peel
  • 2 tbsp raw honey
  • water enough to cover all the Rhubarb

This picture shows you ingredients and the progression from the stalk to the cut ends, to the peeled and cut stalk.

Shown in pot without water

Preparation:

You will need a soup pot. Add all sliced Rhubarb, cloves, lemon peel, cinnamon stick and 2 tbsp of raw honey, and cover with water just above the Rhubarb and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, cover, and turn off. Let it stand for 5 minutes, uncover and let cool for 15 minutes. Then transfer into refrigerator for chilling. Serve as suggested above anytime.

Here is the nutritional breakdown of my Kompotte which you see above. We hope that you try some and like it as much as we do!

Happy Cooking!

Amino Glazed Cod

When we lived in Boston, Henry and I used to visit Oishii Sushi on special occasions. The chef used to prepare this fantastic warm glazed black cod for us. …one of the tastiest morsels that we’ve enjoyed on our culinary journey. A short while back, we discovered a cool coconut company that sells Coconut Aminos and Crystals among other great stuff. On our recent trip to the Bay Area, we were going to visit them, but unfortunately ran out of time.

So Henry, my little chef, decides to experiment with creating a glaze, that actually turned out to taste much like the glaze that we remember from Boston. Amazing!!

It is a perfect complement to the texture and flakiness of the cod. The glaze penetrates the beautiful white flesh just enough to give it a light amber hue of perfection. The taste is out of this world, sweet and subtle – this is a must try for sure for anyone who loves fish and Japanese inspired glaze.

…presenting: Amino Glazed Cod

  • serves 2 hungry primals
  • prep and active time 10 minutes
  • shown with some sautéed asparagus
Ingredients

3 8 oz Cod Filets
1 tablespoon Coconut oil
2 tablespoons Unsalted butter
1 tablespoon Coconut Crystals
1 tablespoon Coconut Aminos
1 teaspoon Sesame Oil
2 cloves Garlic chopped
1 pinch Sea salt to taste
1 pinch Black Pepper to taste


Instructions
Heat all ingredients on medium, with the exception of the crystals. Once all ingredients are warm and mixed well, stir in the crystals until it’s dissolved. Reduce heat but keep warm.

Fish:
3 Cod filets 8oz each
1 tablespoon coconut oil

Coat cast iron pan with coconut oil, and add filets on medium – high heat. Use basting brush to coat filets on both sides until fish is cooked through 5-8 minutes depending on heat and pan used.

Yoga for Foodies, Primal Foodies that is!

Today we’d like to share an experience of the senses with you. An experience that many would deem perhaps as strange and unconventional, but that is what makes this experience unique and special. As some of you may already know, our friend David Romanelli has been traveling throughout the US to bring us Yoga for Foodies experiences. We were fortunate to be able to join him at At One Yoga for his session in Phoenix recently.

Yoga for Foodies Program

David believes that once your senses are open and heightened the experience of clean food, chocolate and wine are that much more enjoyable and allow us to understand and appreciate life just a bit better. We all move so fast, it’s good to slow down and to relax and take it all in. He begins his yoga session with breathing and some slow vinyasa poses, followed by warrior As and Bs…mixed in with some chaturangas. All while listening to an awesome playlist consisted of Marley to Tori Amos. Once you’re in savasana, David quietly makes his way to each yogi and gently pats a tiny amount of very special lavender oil on your shoulders to calm and invigorate your senses at the same time. It is amazing!

After regaining your awareness, David introduced three wonderful entities. Each of them played an important part in preparing the food that we experienced on our mats while each spoke to the production, the importance of clean fresh food and thoroughly explained each vegetable, each dish. Everything was gluten-free, sugar-free – and truly a combination of meals to remember. Let’s not forget our very own Arizona Stronghold to help us digest properly. …thank you Eric & Maynard! :-)

The making of Yoga for Foodies…check out Henry and I on the first shot in the yoga studio to the right of David! :-)

The 3 companies present were:

  1. Maya’s Farm, Fresh – Local – Natural, who provided all the wonderful ingredients
  2. Blackbird Naturals, who made the most amazing sugar-free, gluten-free truffles
  3. Slow Food Phoenix, Patty Emmert, who was kind enough to be the chef for this amazing culinary experience

The menu created by this triangulation of talent, as you can see, was deliciously amazing.

If you can make it to one of David’s sessions, do try, you’ll be sure to love it. Support your local farmers, support your local chapters of Slow Food. Don’t forget to breathe, open your senses and slow down enough to enjoy life!

Have a wonderful midweek! Jo and Henry

**Henry & I did not eat the bread of the crostini**

Primal Meat Sauce

As many of you know, we had my parents fly in over the weekend with two other couples, so needless to say it was a great weekend, but very busy as they all stayed with us. Lot’s of meat was cooked up in a variety of ways with great veggies. So with that said, Henry and I were exhausted last night and had to take another day off from posting. We decided to whip up some grass-fed meat sauce that we love and served it over some spaghetti squash. I had mine plain as I was not that hungry after an amazing power yoga session. So the photo is obviously of my plate. :-) We have eaten this on top of a little bit of red quinoa or just wrapped in some butter lettuce.

  • This feeds 4 hungry Primals if served with a side dish
  • Active cooking/prep time is only 10 minutes, the rest of the 30 minutes is simmer time

Have a great Tuesday and enjoy this simple, but yet energy providing meal.

Primal Meat Sauce

Ingredients

2 large Shallots sliced
2 medium Green onions sliced
1/8 cup Coconut oil
2 Serrano chiles seeds in
1 medium Red bell pepper chopped coarsely
2 small Vine ripe tomatoes chopped
1 teaspoon Majoram ground in your palm
3 pinches Turkish Cumin
1 teaspoon Caraway Seed
2 pinches Sea salt to taste
6 ounces Tomato paste
6 ounces Water
2 lbs Organic Grass-fed Ground Beef
2 tablespoons Red wine vinegar
2 Baby Portobello Mushrooms coarsely chopped
1 Bay leaf


Instructions
We use a high-rimmed quart size pan with a lid.

Heat coconut oil on medium-high and add shallots and green onions – brown until glossy golden. Then add tomatoes, bell pepper, bay leaf and chiles. Sautee for about 5 minutes, and add mushrooms, majoram, cumin, caraway seed, continue to cook for another minute or two stirring all ingredients well. Then add grass-fed 85/15 ground beef. Be sure to break up any large chunks of meat so to ensure that spices and flavors can penetrate through the beef. Once the beef is slightly browned, add sea salt and stir well. Now add the tomato paste (it should not have any other ingredients except for tomatoes), and stir in 6 oz of water. Stir well, add vinegar, stir well once more, cover, and reduce heat to the lowest possible. Simmer for 30 minutes and serve with your favorite side dish.

We love it on top of spaghetti squash! Amazingly tasty and always a hit with our friends and family.

The best part is that you can prepare this dish in advance.

Note: Modify spices or ingredients to taste after simmer time is up. Sometimes extra salt is required.

Grass-fed Beef Stuffed Bell Peppers

Now that everyone knows how much we love bell peppers, we wanted to share our favorite stuffed bell pepper recipe with you.  Of course we use grass-fed ground local beef. The peppers and eggplant are organic and also locally grown. When choosing your bell peppers make sure to pick shiny crisp ones, not ones that are soft, or wrinkly, as it will alter the taste and may become a bit bitter.

Traditional ground beef recipes, such as meat balls or stuffings such as this call for bread crumbs, or white bread, instead, we use the more delicious and healthier alternative - eggplant.

This is such a great dish to pre-cook and freeze for those evenings when you are pressed for time. These babies are so delicious and usually taste even better the next day. It should only take about 10 minutes to prep the stuffing and to fill the peppers, the rest of the time is yours as they simmer along for 40 minutes. So it’s a very easy to make meal that you can enjoy that day or keep for another. Satisfies 3 – 4 Primals! :-)

Please try and enjoy our recipe for Stuffed Bell Peppers!

Ingredients

6 whole Green Bell Peppers
2 lbs Grass-fed ground beef
1/2 White onion diced
3 cloves Garlic minced
1 teaspoon Caraway Seed
2 teaspoons marjoram ground between your palms
1 pinch Jalapeno pepper flakes or 1/2 fresh spicy
3 pinch Sea salt to taste
1 small Eggplant peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon Paprika
1 pinch Turkish Cumin


Instructions
Filling:
Combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix with your hands until everything is perfectly blended. Adjust the salt and/or spice according to your liking. If you prefer to add a whole spicy serano or jalapeno pepper instead go for it, but make sure to mince them.

Bell Peppers:
Wash bell peppers well and carefully cut off the top on the stem side. Carefully remove seeds and any other remaining flesh inside the pepper, but be sure not to crack or split the peppers. Place a pepper in your hand and stuff with the other. Hand-stuffing ensures the least amount of damage to the peppers. If you have left over meat mixture, just roll them into meat balls and place along side the stuffed peppers when you cook them.

In a large rimmed sauce pan, prepare our “Perfect Tomato Sauce”, which will serve as the base sauce for our Stuffed Bell Peppers.
Ingredients:
2 6 oz tomato pastes
2 cups of water
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 pinch sea salt to taste
1 pinch black pepper to taste

Place stuffed peppers into tomato sauce, bring to a quick boil, cover and simmer for 35 – 40 minutes on the lowest heat.

Serve with spaghetti squash, mashed sweet potato, or just plain with a nice chilled butter lettuce as a side salad, as we prefer it.

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