Recipes

Gluten-Free Skillet Cornbread And Cornbread Dressing

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I have been eating Paleo for many months now and that means I do not eat grains. Having been recently diagnosed with celiac disease it has become clear the removal of gluten from my diet has been instrumental in the general improvement in my health. I strongly believe the benefits of Paleo go way beyond the inherently gluten-free nature of this way of eating. Having said that, I will admit a willingness to indulge in eating other gluten-free grains on rare occasion.

Thanksgiving is one of those times.

Now, this does not mean I am willing to throw Paleo eating out the window even if only for the Thanksgiving meal. So we will keep everything totally Paleo but for one thing – cornbread dressing. I NEED to eat cornbread dressing at Thanksgiving. It is in my genes. It just is. So I searched far and wide for a good cornbread recipe. I found one at a blog called The Art of Gluten Free Baking. The recipe ingredients and directions have been altered a bit with the specification of coconut crystals in place of sugar, Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream and more milk to thin the batter because of the extra thick nature of the Greek yogurt. The easy recipe results in a gluten free cornbread that is very moist and tender. I like the fact it uses masa flour because it was just about the only non-Paleo food I did not throw away. It is a very fine flour similar to regular wheat flour and is used in its place in this gluten-free cornbread recipe.

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Holiday Turkey Brine: Part 3 – Roasting the Turkey

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Over the last several days, in advance of the Thanksgiving holiday, I have done a trial run of brining and roasting a turkey.  In the first post, Holiday Turkey Brine, I provided a recipe for a brine that makes enough for a twenty pound turkey.  The second installment was Holiday Turkey Brine: Part Two – Brining the Turkey. Today I want to show exactly how I prepared and roasted this brined turkey.

My bird was on the smaller side – a mere 13-14 pounds. Here’s a general guide for how much you will need:

12-15 lb turkey for 10-12 people
15-18 lb turkey for 14-16 people
18-22 lb turkey for 20-22 people

In a perfect world we would all have an organic heritage turkey that we hand fed and raised in our backyards and slaughtered ourselves. Just joking there. But seriously, it is nice to have a fresh turkey that has not been injected with lots of antibiotics and gluten-containing saline solutions. When I purchased what I thought was a “fresh” turkey I did not understand the meaning of “Kosher”. Turns out it means, among other things, the poultry has been soaked in unsalted water for half an hour and then packed in salt for about an hour. This means it has been partially brined. I ended up letting this kosher bird brine for about 18 hours but it probably could have gone for less time and been fine. That’s one of the nice things about brining, it is not an exact science.

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How to Make Homemade Chicken Stock in Five Minutes

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Homemade Chicken Stock

Homemade Chicken StockIna Garten‘s “Barefoot Contessa” is one of my favorite cooking shows. She often references using homemade chicken stock in her recipes.  And even though Ina qualifies it by saying you can substitute store-bought stock or broth, the mere mention of homemade chicken stock only served to make me feel inadequate. At least it did until very recently when I finally figured out if you have five minutes, a few key ingredients and a crock pot you can make homemade chicken stock.*

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Sauteed Broccoli Rabe with Garlic and Pepper

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paleo sauteed rapini with garlic, pepper and lemon

paleo sauteed broccoli rabe with garlic, pepper and lemon

Broccoli Rabe sautéed in olive oil and garlic is my all time favorite vegetable side dish. It was not something I ate growing up in Texas. In fact, even though it is quite popular in Italy (known as rapini), I do not recall eating it when I lived and worked there either. It was not until I moved to the Northeast U.S. that I discovered the deliciousness that is broccoli rabe.  At home my husband G and I sometimes fight over who gets more of this dish.  (“I think you got more than I did!”) And our two boys are starting to enjoy broccoli rabe too which means there will either be more fighting or I will have to remember to make bigger batches in the future.

For the Love of Bitter Greens

Broccoli rabe (aka rapini) is a highly nutritious, bitter green.  My taste for bitter greens may have started when I was about eleven years old and my mother had me and my siblings help her gather, cook and eat dandelion greens for a graduate school class project.  

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Broccoflower with Spicy Italian Sausage

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The paleo diet has been the catalyst for eating an incredible amount of vegetables.  I would venture to say I eat more vegetables than most vegetarians I know.  In fact, the paleo diet has led me to eat veggies I had purposely avoided, (kale), ones I simply ignored, (beet greens), and others I did not know even existed, (pink banana squash). The following recipe includes a food I was never motivated to try until now: Broccoflower.

Broccoflower is in the same family as cauliflower and broccoli. Because the two are so closely related they are easily cross-pollinated. The result is something that looks like green cauliflower. Romanesco broccoli is very similar to broccoflower but looks a little different due to an interesting pattern displayed by the floret.  I found the broccoflower to be truly a cross between broccoli and cauliflower in both appearance and taste.  It was milder than cauliflower and the texture, especially of the stalk parts, was very similar to broccoli.  In the following easy recipe I employed the same “ricing” technique I have used with cauliflower. But the green color of the broccoflower really added to the aesthetics of the dish.

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Chocolate Paleo Snack Cake

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Chocolate Paleo Snack Cake:: PaleoSpirit.comChocolate Paleo Snack Cake is fast becoming my boys’ favorite snack during our after school “tea time”. Before moving on to homework or other activities after school we take a few minutes for tea and a snack and share with each other about our day. I have overheard my sons proudly telling their neighborhood friends they can’t come out to play until after tea time. It’s become something we all look forward to even when the snacks are very simple.

On the afternoon of the first day of school, per Sweet Pea’s request, I got a little fancy and decked out the table for a more formal tea time. He was TOTALLY into it as you can see.

paleo tea time

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Banana Squash and Leek Soup with Bacon

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leeks in garden

This Banana Squash and Leek Soup recipe is the result of a few different factors coming together. It is the first year we have grown leeks in the new raised garden beds and I needed a suitable venue for these beauties.leeks in gardenSecondly, I impulsively purchased a gorgeous pink banana squash and found myself wondering what to do with such an enormous vegetable.

pink banana squash
Big Boy demonstrates the monstrous pink banana squash

And, of course, the weather is getting cooler and the family is ready for some seasonal soups. So combining the banana squash and leeks to create a hearty paleo recipe just made sense. Add some bacon and all is right with the world!

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Beet Greens Sauteed with Garlic and Bacon Fat

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paleo beets
paleo beets
Sweet Pea loves his beets!

Ever since adopting the paleo way of eating, my husband and I have noted, with pleasure, the progress our two boys have made in terms of the vegetables they enjoy eating.  One of the things that has surprised us the most is how much they like beet greens. We discovered this mild tasting green when we grew beets for the first time this past summer. We had been eating all kinds of other greens but had not really thought about using the oft ignored tops of the beet root itself.  One night, not wanting them to go to waste, I sauteed the beet greens in butter in the pan containing the meat drippings from a turkey breast I had just cooked.  I was halfway expecting the family to turn up their noses but was pleasantly surprised when everyone agreed they were delicious. Unlike some of the other greens like kale or chard, beet greens have a very mild flavor which makes them more appealing to picky eaters.

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Coconut Flour Paleo Pancakes

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Paleo Pancakes
Paleo Pancakes
Paleo Pancakes!

The good news is you can follow a strict Paleo diet and still enjoy awesome tasting pancakes – Paleo Pancakes! The bad news is…well, there IS no bad news. After trying several different recipes for coconut flour pancakes I have finally found one that truly stands out. They are so good I was motivated to go out and buy a new griddle because I know I will be making them quite frequently. (Big Boy is thrilled!)

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