Harvest Pomegranate Chutney

10/23/2012 2 Comments

Thank you all for being patient – we have been burning the candle at both ends; thus the tardy post. I began my Yoga Teacher Training and you can follow my journal here.

We made this chutney a few weeks ago in anticipation of fall, and have made it a few times since. It really is very easy to make and quite tasty.

Some major qualities of this tasty fruit are:

  • Antioxidant power house
  • Helps to prevent Osteoarthritis
  • Helps to promote heart health
  • It’s known to lower blood pressure
  • It has cancer fighting agents
  • It’s great for your gum and teeth health
  • It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber and Folate, and a very good source of Vitamin C and Vitamin K

Here are the lovely fresh ingredients:

  • 2 Large Pomegranates, seeds only
  • 1 bunch of fresh green onions, chopped
  • sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds, crushed
  • 3 Thai chiles chopped
  • 1/2 inch fresh turmeric, peeled and minced, (
  • 1 inch minced fresh ginger
  • 1 large lime, juice only
  • 1 tbsp coconut vinegar

Fold all ingredients together and chill for about an hour or two in the refrigerator. We love pairing this with pork, especially pork chops. It’s refreshing and light; this also works well with fatty white fish and lamb.

What is your favorite protein combo?  We are going to try this with our turkey this Thanksgiving.

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Zwetschkenknoedel Nutty Kitchen Style

09/18/2012 7 Comments

YUMMM! That’s all we can say. I grew up eating these all the time, but they were made with flour. The end of summer is perfect for these as the European plums are in season and they have just the perfect ripeness and flavor. The original dumplings are made with dough from flour and are boiled and then rolled in buttered bread crumbs, which believe me were amazing. But for those of us who can’t have gluten or simply chose not to, these are a terrific alternative.

We made ours with Yuca root aka Cassava and they are just out of this world and rank up there in our most loved desserts. Even though we don’t post many recipes about Yuca, we eat it often and use it for versatile dishes.

This time around we thought we would teach you how to make an amazing dessert with it. It’s simple, delicious and it’s power food for those who love to gear up for some good sweating in the morning. Every time we eat it for dinner, we sleep like babies and wake up with a ton of power. For those of you who just love an amazing dessert, just go for it and give this a try.

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Here is what you’ll need:

  • 1 – 2 medium or 1 large Yuca root
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 to 1 cup coconut oil
  • tiny pinch of sea salt
  • European plums (1 for each dumpling)
  • 1 – 2 tbps homemade jam (low sugar – we use honey with ours and real fruit chunks) Apricot is best

First heat a large pot with slightly salted water and bring to boil. Peel and Yuca, cut into 2 – 3 inch chunks – quarter those and remove the woody stem from the middle and boil until they get opaque in color. They should be fairly soft for this. 20 – 30 minutes on medium cooking.

Remove and strain well – place into a food processor while hot add butter and a tiny pinch of salt and pulse on dough. You can absolutely use coconut oil instead of the butter. It will be really sticky so prepare yourself for that! Remove it all and put  into a dish covered tightly and place in the refrigerator over night. Don’t wait more than two days before making this or it will get dry and it will not work.

It will be best if you make it the next evening.  Take out your cast iron pan or your favorite equivalent and heat coconut oil. The reason for the cast iron pan is that it heats evenly and you’ll get the best results.

Sprinkle your counter or favorite surface with coconut flour and dust your hands, so that the dough will not stick.

With a small serving spoon scoop out a golf size ball of dough. Roll it between your hands and then press it into a patty. Then roll it out with a dough roller, I use a small wooden one. Once you have a nice flat round dough patty fill it with a pitted European plum that has been filled with the apricot jam and close the dumpling up. Be gentle so not to rip it.

Whip the egg with a fork until frothy and then bathe the dumpling before placing it in the hot oil. Once you start baking/frying the dumplings reduce the heat to medium so not to burn them and keep rotating them with a fork until all sides are golden. Serve warm and sprinkle with coconut flakes and serve with your favorite side. Coconut whipping cream, Greek yogurt, or heavy cream, whatever floats your boat. :-) These will make you smile; they are worth the effort – let us know what you think.

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Patacones

12/12/2011 5 Comments

My brother Marc asked us to finally post this for him.  So babe, here it is: Colombian Patacones for you! My husband and mom in law taught me how to make these amazing treats. You should have these like most carbs after your workouts, don’t forget.

Fabulous Ingredients Required:

  • 2 Large green/unripe Plantains
  • Sea Salt, to taste
  • Water
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil

Here is how you make these great companions for your food:

  • Peel and cut the plantains  into 3/4 inch long slices.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Douse Plantains with Coconut Oil and place into oven for about 10-15 minutes turning over as needed.
  • Remove Plantains from oven before completely cooked and use two cutting boards to smash them into a thinner “patacon”.  These should now be about 1/4 the size you started with.
  • Splash with some water, sprinkle sea salt, and brush with some more Coconut Oil.
  • Place back into oven.  Cook for another 10-15 minutes turning to make sure they are nicely browned on each side.
These are so incredibly delicious and healthier then the Colombian twice fried traditional; you will love them.  These are amazing with guacamole, cuban style dinner, or anything else that you love!
Enjoy Jo & Henry

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Pan Roasted Purple Sweet Potatoes

07/18/2011 5 Comments

We love sweet potatoes, as you know. We make lots of great dishes with them, including a delicious Filipino dish called Ube, but today we are going to share a new way to enjoy these ultra delicious potatoes.  We like eating these before or after a long or high intensity workout.  Along with Taro, Green Plantains, and Cassava we consider these excellent sources of low glycemic carbohydrates (or “safe starches”).  Sweet Potatoes are also high in caratenoids, vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.

This dish boasts fresh ingredients, coconut oil and is jam packed with perfect carbs and glucose.

Here’s what you will need to make this complimentary dish to your favorite protein:

This side dish feeds 2 – 3 people 

  • 3 medium to small purple sweet potatoes, raw
  • 1 full stalk of fresh curry leaves
  • 2 medium sized stalks of fresh rosemary, blades only
  • 1 large white onion, sliced
  • fresh cracked black pepper to taste
  • pink Himalayan sea salt to taste
  • 1 tsp capers, drained
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil
  • 3/4 cup of cooking sherry (optional) if you don’t like sherry, use water, but the sherry really does add amazing flavor
Heat coconut oil in a large skillet, once really hot add fresh curry leaves, rosemary, capers and onion. The curry leaves will get nice and crispy…you want that. :-) Continue to cook on medium – high, depending on your skillet.
With a vegetable peeler peel sweet potatoes and then slice them with a mandolin. Once the onion slices are golden brown, add potato slices and toss until they get a little brown. Then add the sherry, salt and pepper, cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 20 – 30 minutes.  Depending  on your skillet and your stove, you may need to add a sprinkle of water or two within the cooking time.  Make sure to check often to ensure that you are not burning them.
This is a great side dish and we hope that will enjoy it as much as we do.
As always, our best and live healthy. Jo and Henry

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Platanos Maduros Caldenses – Colombian Sweet Plantains

04/11/2011 7 Comments

This is a modified version of a very typical dish from the Caldas region of Colombia.  This may seem like a dessert, but it is always served as a side dish and usually accompanied  by rice and meat.  We were feeling a little homesick and had to indulge; yet, still managed to make this dish in a healthy Paleo 2.0 fashion.  We served ours with a King Salmon and super fresh Bok Choi from our friend Nancy’s garden with Mushrooms.  Delicious! (thank you Nancy, Rob and Kelly)

Ingredients for 6 servings (1/2 plantain per serving)

  • 3 large and very ripe (black and yellow and NOT green) Plantains
  • 6 Tbsp Labne Cheese (Lebanese cream cheese)
  • 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • Salt to taste

Preparation Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  2. Gently warm Coconut Oil until it melts
  3. Cut each plantain lengthwise through center (avoid cutting in two pieces)
  4. Use a basting brush to generously coat Plantains with oil
  5. Stuff Plantains generously with Labne Cheese
  6. Dust with cinnamon
  7. Place in casserole and bake for 40-50 minutes or until golden brown

Seriously enjoy- Henry and Jo

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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!

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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. :-)

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Sesame Ginger Bok Choy

12/08/2010 2 Comments

This is the other half of the tasty Halibut Cheek recipe that I am sure you’ve been waiting for. Baby Bok Choy is perfect right now and we couldn’t help it but pick up another batch from our favorite produce stand at our local Farmer’s market.

It is a very easy dish to make and will surely go with any of your favorite dishes, we love pairing it with fish.

This recipe feeds 3.

  • 4-5 heads of Bok Choy
  • 1 inch fresh Ginger root, finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp Sesame Oil
  • 3 Tbsp Coconut Aminos
  • 2-4 Thai Chili Peppers
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup of water

Cut the ends of the Bok Coy leaving center bulbs intact; then in a wok or large pan heat sesame oil, peppers, and ginger on medium heat for 3-5 minutes.

  • Add Coconut Aminos salt/pepper and cook for another 2-3 minutes
  • Add Bok Choy and toss vigorously for another 2 minutes
  • Add water, reduce heat, and cover for 5-8 more minutes

Check to make sure Bok Choy is starting to soften but still firm, serve and enjoy! Henry :-)

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Persimmon Salmon en Papillote

12/06/2010 2 Comments

This is an exquisite way of preparing a perfect Salmon filet with a different flair. The persimmon was a beautiful companion to the wonderful taste of Sockeye. We served it with a tasty mushroom and leek medley, but you can pair this dish with some of our other side dishes such as, Ensalada de Agucate y Tomate, Leek, or a wonderful squash. Either way you will surely love this infused, ultra light and delicious version 0f Salmon.

This serves 2 hungry Svendblads. :-) after a workout and a mountain bike ride.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds of Alaskan Sockeye Salmon (from The Fishuggers), cut into 3, 8 ounce slices
  • 2 medium Persimmons, cut into 12 slices
  • 1/8 cup of fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
  • 1/8 cup of Red Onion, finely chopped
  • 2 Tbsps of Coconut Oil, gently warmed
  • Juice from 1.5 limes
  • 3 large cuts of unbleached parchment paper

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees convection bake setting
  2. Combine Lime Juice, gently warmed Coconut Oil, Red Onion, and Cilantro in small bowl and mix well
  3. Brush Persimmons and Salmon pieces liberally with mixture
  4. On a parchment paper place two Persimmon slices below and on top each Salmon filet and seal each into nice package (cooking in Parchment Paper instructions)
  5. Place cookie sheet and place in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes

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The Perfect Paleo Pumpkin Pie

12/04/2010 24 Comments

We love a good pumpkin pie and indulged in this amazing creation from Norcal Strength and Conditioning for our Thanksgiving meal. Thanks Jenny, it was a hit, and we will be making it again before the Holidays are over.

Crust:

  • 1 1/2 cups of almond flour (blanched)
  • 1/4 cup melted unsalted pastured butter (or use coconut oil to keep this “Orthodox Paleo”)
  • pinch of sea salt

We mixed ours with a hand blender until the consistency was even then took the dough and evenly pressed it into the pie pan about 1/2 inch up the sides so that the crust was evenly distributed.

Note: The filling is enough for two pies, so you may want to consider making a double portion of crust or you could just bake the filling by itself and enjoy it that way. We made two crusts, and modified one, by adding a little almond extract and lemon zest to one crust.

Filling:

  • 1 can of pure pumpkin (29 oz) nothing else added
  • 3 “real” cage free eggs if you can get them (if they are really small, add a fourth)
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup local honey
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
  • pinch of sea salt

Beat eggs, honey, vanilla until frothy, then add all the other ingredients and carefully blend until even and smooth. Fill pie pan with crust and bake on convection at 350 F for about 50 minutes. Check it to make sure that it’s not burning and ultimately check with a toothpick or metal kabob stick to see if anything sticks, if not it’s done.

This is the best pumpkin pie that we’ve had, you should give it a try. It’s simple, it’s delicious. Thanks Norcalers! :-)

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Ratatouille & Pork Chops

10/20/2010 1 Comment

Ratatouille is a traditional French dish that is simply mixed vegetables baked in a casserole dish.  There are hundreds of ways to prepare this savory dish and most of the recipes you’ll find are already Paleo, or nearly so.  We made ours with some squashes that are in season and available at our farmer’s market.  For the pork chops we wanted to stay with the French theme and marinated our Meat Shop AZ chops in some home-made Herbes de Provence and grass-fed butter.

Ingredients for 6 generous servings of Ratatouille (the two of us ate 4 of these servings) :-)  

  • 1 Large Sweet Onion, thinly sliced
  • 2 Red Bell Peppers, chopped into 1/4 inch strips
  • 2 Green Bell Peppers, chopped into 1/4 inch strips
  • 2 Anaheim Peppers, chopped into 1/4 inch strips
  • 2 Yellow Chile  Peppers, chopped into 1/4 inch strips
  • 1 Acorn Squash, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
  • 1 Carnival Squash, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
  • 3 Average size Eggplants, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
  • 2 tsp Fresh Thyme
  • 2 tbsp Fresh Basil
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 8 Garlic Cloves
  • Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
  • 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO), or pastured butter
  • 2 Large Tomatoes, diced into 1/4 inch pieces, used as garnish
  • 4 small tomatillos, diced into 1/4 inch  pieces, used as garnish

Pork Chops & Marinade

  • 1.5 Tbsp grass-fed butter
  • 1 tsp Fresh Thyme
  • 1 tsp Fresh Rosemary
  • 1/2 tsp Dried Basil
  • 2 large Pork Chops from The Meat Shop AZ (2 Lbs.)

Here’s how: 

  1. Marinate the pork chops for at least 2 hours by placing all marinade ingredients in a large zip-freezer bag and into a warm water bath.  This will allow the butter to melt and coat the chops.
  2. Coat the bottom of a large casserole with EVOO, herbs, salt, pepper, garlic and onions.  Add all other ingredients on top making sure they are evenly distributed.  Do not add tomatoes or tomatillos yet, this will be the last step for the Ratatouille.
  3. Add the remainder of the EVOO and some additional salt and pepper to top of casserole.
  4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees on convection setting and cook for at least 60 minutes.  Your oven may cook faster or slower, so check a few times to make sure all veggies are cooked through.  It’s ok to mix veggies to avoid anything burning on top.
  5. Remove casserole from oven and add tomatoes and tomatillos and mix into casserole.  Let everything cool while you focus on your pork chops.
  6. Grill pork chops to desired temperature.  We cook our 1 1/2 inch chops in a cast iron grill pan on high heat for 2 1/2 minutes per quarter or 10 minutes total.
  7. Serve and enjoy!

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