Cooking with Apples Series: Gala Red Cabbage

06/07/2011 Leave a comment

Cooking with apples adds interesting flavor and texture and is an amazing addition to dishes especially for pork, poultry and fish. This is my mom’s goody – but oldie.

It’s best if you use tart apples such as Gala, Fuji, Granny Smith apples unless you want to make something very sweet and more pulpy.

The rich red color of red cabbage reflects it concentration of anthocyanin polyphenols, which contribute to red cabbage containing significantly more protective phytonutrients than green cabbage. Interest in anthocyanin pigments continues to intensify because of their health benefits as dietary antioxidants, as an anti-inflammatory, and their potentially protective, preventative, and therapeutic roles in a number of human diseases. WHFoods: Cabbage Nutrition

Ingredients

  • 1 large Gala apple, cored and peeled, and shredded
  • 1 large red cabbage, cut in half, chopped into thin slices
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 3/4 cup of water
  • 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 3 whole cardamom pods
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • Pink Himalayan sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 pinch of caraway seeds

In a large skillet or sauce pan, heat coconut oil on medium – high, add onions and saute until very glossy, then you add cabbage, water and all other spices. Cover, and reduce heat to low – medium and cook for about 15 minutes. Now add shredded apple and vinegar stir thoroughly until all ingredients are blended and all water has evaporated. Check to make sure that it tastes to your liking and serve. 

This side dish takes about 20 minutes to prepare and cook and is very easy. Enjoy, we served it in the last post as accompaniment to our pork shoulder.

Filed under Paleo, Perfect Health Diet, Primal, Recipe, Side Dish Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Nutty Kitchen is on Vacation

05/04/2011 3 Comments

So much has happened for us, Jo took a new job, family was visiting, clients, … and then a planned vacation to her home country in Austria for her dad’s 70th birthday among other family things.  Upon arrival and for her dad’s birthday, we had grass fed steaks, various salads, and great wines from the Wachau region in which her parents live.  It’s been amazing ever since.

One of the most famous things to do in the Wachau is to visit a “good” Heuriger where you can get the most amazing home made meats, cheeses and wines for very little money. One of our family favorites is Heuriger Denk, but there are many others that hang out their Guild with a braided sign to signal that they are open for business and are delicious and fun. A Heuriger is only open for 2 – 4 months at a time, serving only their best – the servers are clothed in traditonal Wachau Dirndl, everything meaning the check is calculated by hand and folks are very friendly. If you ever make it out to Austria, this is a must see.

Let us share a line up of plates for a traditional Heuriger’s line up in order:

  1. Tomato salad with vinegar and olive oil and some green onions – little salt, little pepper
  2. Amazing “low-sodium” prociutto, from local/their own pigs with some fresh grated horseradish root from the garden
  3. The creamiest of Emmenthaler cheese with typically red bell pepper garnish
  4. Homemade beef tongue, sliced ever so thin – delicious!
  5. Kuemmelbraten – pork belly broiled with caraway seeds on top and sliced very thin and served cold
  6. Wild Boar liver pate with yogurt fresh chive sauce
We’ll keep you posted as we make our way through these next couple of weeks. Have fun, live well and appreciate life.
Our best – Jo and Henry

Filed under Paleo, Primal, Recipe, Salads, Side Dish Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Cuban Ground Beef – Picadillo de carne

04/25/2011 6 Comments

So this time we thought that we would share a different way to prepare ground meat…Cuban Style. This dish is not only extremely delicious, easy to make, but also very light.  We served ours with some white cauliflower rice (without bacon), and some traditional Colombian Patacones, twice fried green plantains; watch for our recipe.

We’d love to hear your thoughts!

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 1 lb grass fed ground beef
  • 1 lb ground pork sausage
  • 2 Large Yellow Onions
  • 6 Cloves of Garlic
  • 2-4 Serrano Peppers (depending on how hot you’d like this)
  • 2 Limes
  • 2 Large Tomatoes or 1 cup Organic Strained Tomatoes
  • 2 Tbsp Virgin Coconut Oil
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Combine ground sausage and beef with juice from 2 limes and salt.  Make sure the mixture is well combined.
  2. Finely chop Onion, Peppers, and Garlic and combine together with meat.
  3. Cover meat, refrigerate, and allow the meat to marinate for at least 1 hour
  4. Heat Coconut Oil in a large pot on medium-high heat, add ground meat, stir often to avoid meat from clumping together.  Reduce heat if meat begins to clump and stir well to make sure .  Cook for 5-8 minutes.
  5. Add Tomato and allow to simmer, if meat becomes to dry you should add a 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of water.

Filed under Entree, Paleo, Perfect Health Diet, Primal, Recipe Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Rockfish Ceviche

04/18/2011 4 Comments

We went on this awesome hike early this morning, Tom’s Thumb, took another “new” way down, was not a good idea in hindsight; we took Gardener’s Wall down. Oh boy…LOL

We were hungry, but wanted something light and fabulous, because it is getting hot out, so Henry whipped up some amazing ceviche. Check it out below. We made some fantastic guacamole which we will share shortly, along with some regular/small taro chips, which we’ll share as well. Henry you are amazing. In the meantime don’t forget to check out our big taro root chips.

This makes about 4 servings

  • 2 lbs Rockfish, we got ours from Justin at Alaskan Pride Seafoods – fantastic fish, all line caught, and they ship to you;
  • 1 Large Green Pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 Large Yellow Onion, finely chopped
  • 1/2 a bunch of Cilantro, (thank you Nancy Cahill, for your amazing garden grown :-) ) most of it finely chopped, garnish with a Tbsp chopped
  • 4 Spicy Peppers (we used Serrano’s)
  • 15 small limes
  • Salt and Crushed Black Pepper to taste
  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Here’s how:
  1. Cut fish into equal 1/4 inch or so bite size pieces and place in large glass bowl
  2. Squeeze fresh lime juice onto fish
  3. Add Onions, Peppers, and Cilantro and mix well with fish and lime
  4. Place bowl in refrigerator for at least 45 minutes
  5. Serve on large plate and add Olive Oil, Cracked Pepper, and Salt to taste
Just Enjoy!

Filed under Entree, Paleo, Primal, Recipe, Salads, Side Dish Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Coconut Frog Legs

04/04/2011 1 Comment

This is one of our favorite things to eat. The meat is very tender and tastes a little like Halibut cheeks meets super tender chicken. We purchase ours from a local Asian market as they otherwise sometimes difficult to find. The frog meat is very lean and will work well with more complex side dishes if you so choose.

Our recipe yields 18 pair…yummmm!

What will you need?

  • several packages of frog legs, you’ll have to thaw them out as they are most likely frozen
  • plenty of coconut oil
  • some sea salt
  • 2 eggs
  • plenty of coconut flour (at least 1 cup, depending how many you’re making)
  • 1 cup of coconut flakes
  • 1 pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 1 sprinkle of chili powder
  • 1 pinch of fresh black pepper

Here’s how to make them:

Mix coconut flour, black pepper cayenne, chili powder and sea salt – set aside for battering.

Dry the frog legs off with paper towels, quickly dip into fork whipped egg, and roll legs into the coconut batter mixture, dip them into the egg once more and roll into the coconut flakes. Pat gently before placing them into the hot coconut oil.

Heat your favorite pan, we used our cast iron skillet, and put enough coconut oil in so that the legs are 1/4 covered – make sure that you heat pan to get very hot, then reduce heat to medium heat. Place your frog legs into the hot oil carefully, until they are golden brown, 3 – 5 minutes on each side should do it. 

Place onto paper towels and serve with your favorite side dish. We’d love to hear from you when you make yours. Enjoy! Jo n Henry :-)

Filed under Entree, Paleo, Primal, Recipe Tagged with , , , , , , , , , ,

Happy Birthday Henry!

03/29/2011 Leave a comment

Henry with our little nephew Gabriel

It was a big week last week, among many things, most importantly it was Henry’s 40th birthday. He has never looked better, since we have switched  to a Primal/Paleo way of life about 2 years ago. He has gotten so much stronger, his workouts are amazing – thanks to many including Robb Wolf, Martin Berkhan, and our amazing friend Zach Kepes.

My parents were still here with us to help celebrate, and his brother, sister-in-law and our sweet 5 month old nephew drove in to see us too. We had a wonderful group of people share in Henry’s festivities, among them two wonderful people who brought their AMAZING homemade beef jerky, thanks so much Amy and Angelo of Latest In Paleo, you are amazing!

We had so much stuff to do, so we decided to make food that we could prepare before the arrival of Henry’s guests. So here is what we served:

Juicy Roasted Pork Shoulder

Delicious Cubed Pork in Sauerkraut

Cevapi, we added veal this time

Persian Cucumber Salad

Some delicious and refreshing Tabouleh, fresh strawberries, black berries and a few other amazing things.

My dad cooking cevapi

I made him some Paleo Carrot Cake with fresh whipped raw cream, BUT forgot to take a picture. I will be making that soon again and share the recipe with you.

Filed under Entree, Paleo, Primal, Recipe, Salads, Side Dish Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Baked Taro Chips

03/21/2011 13 Comments

Behold the Baked Taro Chips!

We make these anytime we want some sturdy dipping chips.  These are awesome to make ahead of time for guacamole, salsa or a great yogurt dip.  They are hardy and very tasty, easy to make and a must try.

Taro root is a great alternative to potato chips but must be cooked properly to avoid toxicity!

B

Ingredients

  • 1 Large Taro Root
  • 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

How to make these amazingly tasty and easy treats:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (we heat ours to 400 convection)
  2. Remove outer peel from Taro Root, we used a vegetable peeler
  3. Use a mandolin to cut into thin uniform slices
  4. Warm Coconut Oil in Microwave or with warm water and brush chips with Coconut Oil
  5. Sprinkle with Salt and Pepper
  6. Place sliced taro on oven racks or sheets and rotate the baking sheets in position to make sure that all chips cook evenly.
  7. Bake for 20 minutes per side, check often to make sure you don’t burn them!

Thanks Amy for the awesome Lucky Bamboo; it’s very happy in the Nutty Kitchen. :-)

Filed under Condiment, Hors D'Oeuvre, Paleo, Primal, Recipe, Side Dish Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ćevapi – Croatian Sausage

03/14/2011 4 Comments

What a treasure to have my parents visit.  This is a very old, very traditional dish that I grew up with.  A good glass of wine and good company makes this meal even more enjoyable to share.  Tonight my dad made these amazing Cevapi, I loved every bit dad!   Thank you!

Ingredients for about 25 2oz sausages:

  • 2 lb grass fed ground beef
  • 1 lb ground lamb
  • 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
  • 5 shallots, finely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
  • salt to taste

How to make them:

  1. Mix all ingredients together
  2. Form into 2 oz sausages, let sit a few hours or overnight
  3. Grill and serve

Filed under Entree, Hors D'Oeuvre, Paleo, Primal, Recipe Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Paleo Ube Jam – Purple Yam Jam

03/06/2011 6 Comments

Good Shepherd's Offerings

A few years ago on a trip to the Phillipines, Henry made the day trip from Manila to The Good Shepherd Convent in the town of Baguio.  This Convent is world renowned for their delicious desserts, specifically their Ube Halaya or Ube Jam.  What is Ube Jam?  A delicious combination of Purple “Yams” (Sweet Potatoes really), Evaporated Milk, and Sugar.

"Tierra de Maria" - sight seen on the way to The Good Shepherd

The Good Shepherd version of this Filipino dish is so popular, that you have to wait in a long line, and you can only buy two at a time!  Obviously, the sugar and milk make this a non-starter for our whole food/real food diet.  However, we came across some Purple Yam’s recently and decided to attempt a dairy and sugar free Paleo version of this treat.  Give it a shot and please tell us what you think?  You should be able to find Purple Yams at your local Asian market.

Josephine about to enjoy her very first bite of Ube Jam

Ingredients for 6 servings

  • 2 Large Purple Yams
  • 1/3 Cup Aroy-D Coconut Cream
  • 1/4 Cup Tropical Traditions Coconut Cream Concentrate
  • 1/4 Cup Pure Maple Syrup, Honey, or Brown Rice Syrup
  • 1 Tbsp Organic Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 tsp Sea Salt

How to make it?

  1. Boil Yam in large pot for 20-30 minutes or until you are able to easily insert and remove a fork
  2. In a separate smaller pot, on medium heat, combine Coconut Cream, Coconut Concentrate, Maple Syrup, and Vanilla Extract.  Stir to combine ingredients well and to avoid burning or sticking to pan.  Reduce heat once Coconut mixture is homogenized.
  3. Remove Yam from warm water and peel and discard the yellowish skin.
  4. Combine Coconut mixture and Yam in either a food processor, or in a large pan/bowl where you can mix with a hand blender,  blend until Jam is smooth, thick, and very well combined.
  5. Use a spatula to load into 4 small serving cups.
  6. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.
  7. Enjoy!

Filed under Desserts, Paleo, Primal, Recipe Tagged with , , ,

Breakfast BLE – Bacon Liver and Egg

03/02/2011 Leave a comment

Yes, my wonderful husband was at it again…he made an amazing breakfast for me since I was not going to be able to eat all day due to meetings, etc. He used fresh left over liver filets from our most amazing dinner, another new liver recipe which we will post soon.

This amazing breakfast consisted of one cage free egg a perfect strip of bacon, a few slices of boiled sweet potato and an deliciously prepared slice of fresh calf liver, roasted in a few green onions.

We already know that you can prepare all other ingredients to perfection, but here’s how to prepare your liver filet.

Ingredients for 3 servings

  • 3 strips of uncured nitrate-free bacon
  • 3 slices of fresh calf/veal liver
  • 3 stalks green onion, chopped
  • 1 boiled sweet potato
  • 3 organic cage-free eggs
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. In a medium pot boil water, add sweet potato and cook for 30-40 minutes or until easily punctured by fork. (This can be done the night or day before)
  2. In a large pan start to cook bacon on medium heat until most of the fat is rendered 3-5 minutes.  Remove bacon slices and keep someplace warm.
  3. Add  chopped green onion and cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally to avoid burning.
  4. Add eggs to pan (we use like to use non-stik egg rings to maximize cooking surface)
  5. Add liver slices and cook for about 2 minutes per side
  6. Serve as shown above

I absolutely loved this meal; it tasted amazing, was incredibly satisfying, and best of all kept me full all day. Thanks Henry for always taking care of me. :-)

Filed under Breakfast, Paleo, Primal, Recipe Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

← Older posts

Newer posts →

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 204 other followers