Ratatouille

Ratatouille...not just an adorable Disney cartoon but a really delicious dish that takes advantage of the best that nature can offer in terms of colorful, tasty, and healthy vegetables.  There are a lot of great recipes for ratatouille and they all utilize the same primary ingredients- eggplant, tomato, bell pepper, squash, and basil.  The key is to use fresh ingredients for this dish.

I adapted this particular recipe from Alice Waters, Epicurious.com (and yes, perhaps a bit from the cartoon too).  The recipe takes a little bit of time because you want the vegetables to soften and develop deep flavors that are cohesive.  Another nice feature of this dish is that it keeps well for several days.  You'll see on the bottom that I used the ratatouille as a side to accompany a lemon & rosemary chicken dish.  For breakfast, I added it to my scrambled eggs.  Later in the week, I cooked ground turkey breast with the ratatouille for a quick dinner.

Ingredients
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2-3 zucchini or yellow squash, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 bell peppers (go for colorful ones!), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large onion, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (should yield about 2 cups)
6 garlic cloves, minced or chopped finely
4-6 basil stems (stems and leaves attached) tied together with kitchen twine
8 basil leaves, chopped
2 teaspoons of fresh thyme
1/4 cup of fresh chopped parsley
Red chili flakes (pinch)
Salt, pepper, oil

Instructions 

1. Place the eggplant in a colander and toss with some salt.  The salt will help extract excess liquid from the eggplant- should take about 20-30 minutes.
2. While the eggplant is draining, heat oil in a large, heavy bottom pan, or pot over medium heat.  Cook the zucchini, stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes.  Add the bell peppers and continue cooking until cooked through and soft.  Remove the zucchini and peppers and set aside on a plate.  
3. Add more oil to the now empty pot and cook the eggplant.  Stir constantly and be mindful of the oil, adding more if necessary. Once the eggplant is cooked through and beginning to soften, remove from the pot and add the veggies resting of the plate.
4. Add a bit more oil and cook the onions.  Saute until soft and translucent- about 5-8 minutes.  
5. Add the garlic and a pinch of the dried red chili flakes. Stir for about 1 minute.
6. Put in the chopped tomatoes and any accumulated juices and let cook for another minute.  
7. Stir the eggplant, squash and peppers back into the pot with the tomatoes and onions.  Add the basil bunch and thyme.  Add salt and pepper and ix the vegetables together thoroughly.
8. Let the vegetables simmer over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pot/pan with a lid and let simmer for another 5-10 minutes, stir the vegetables from time to time.  
9. When all the vegetables are soft and thoroughly cooked, remove the basil bunch.  Add more salt and pepper if necessary.
10. Stir in the chopped basil and parsley, and serve with your favorite protein!  

Simple and Sweet Paleo Meatballs Smothered in Marinara Sauce

This is a pretty simple recipe but it's a warm and comforting dish for a cold January evening.   Instead of breadcrumbs, the almond flour will help keep the meatballs together and add some texture.  A simple side salad or some steamed veggies would be an awesome match to complete your meal. If you want to make more of the sauce, you can add spaghetti squash or strips of zucchini to have yourself a paleo spaghetti & meatball meal.  

Meatballs (makes about 26-30 balls)  
1/2 lb of ground beef
1/2 lb of ground pork
1 egg, lightly beaten.
1/4 cup of chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp of chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp of chopped parsley
1/2 tsp of black pepper
1/4 tsp of salt
2 Tbsp of almond flour

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Mix all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

3.  Take about 1 tablespoon of the mixture and roll in the palms of your hands until you form a uniform ball.

4.  Place each meatball one inch apart on a baking sheet.

5.  Bake for 10 minutes and then add the meatballs to the marinara sauce simmering in low heat, where they will continue to cook.  If you don't plan to use the sauce and just want the meatballs, bake for another 5-8 minutes.

6.  Simmer the meatballs in the sauce for another 30 minutes.

Marinara Sauce

Super Fudgy Paleo-ish Brownies (and raspberry sauce!)

It has been way too long since I've added something to this blog.  With the wedding, honeymoon, work and the holidays, there really just hasn't been enough hours in the day.  That doesn't mean I haven't been cooking or thinking about paleoodie.  Finding the time has just been difficult.

Well, I'm happy to share this recipe for a super fudgy brownie (and raspberry sauce) that I made for Christmas Eve dinner with my in-laws.  They seemed to really enjoy it so I think you will too.

Super Fudgy Brownies

Ingredients
1 cup of chocolate chips (I like to use Chocolate Dream from Whole Foods)
1/4 cup of vegan shortening

4 eggs
1/4 tsp of salt
1 cup of coconut palm sugar
1 Tbsp of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of almond flour
2 Tbsps of coconut flour

Making the brownies:
Preheat oven to 350F
1.  Slowly melt the chocolate and shortening together in a medium sauce pan.  Remove from heat.

2.  In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, salt, sugar, and vanilla.  Add to the chocolate mixture.

3.  Incorporate the almond and coconut flour.  Blend all the ingredients together well.

4.  Pour the brownie batter into a greased 8x8 brownie pan.

5.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.

6.  Cool and server with raspberry sauce (optional, see recipe below).

You may also see from my photo that I sprinkled some powdered sugar on top of the brownies.  That is certainly not paleo...but it looked so nice with the raspberry and mint garnish, I had to do it.  Besides, it was Christmas!

Raspberry sauce
Ingredients
2 cups of fresh raspberries
3/4 cup of coconut palm sugar
2 Tbsp of coconut flour (optional)
Almost forgot about the lemon zest (about half a lemon's worth) and 1Tbsp of lemon juice.

Heat raspberries in medium saucepan over medium low heat.  As the raspberries begin to breakdown, stir in the sugar.  Add lemon zest and juice.  Continue to stir until the raspberries release all their juices.  Optional, add the coconut flour and stir well to mix in.

Pour the sauce through a strainer and serve on the side of the brownies, or drizzled on top.

Note:  I decided to add the coconut flour to try to thicken the sauce a bit.  Traditional recipes call for a cornstarch water mixture, which I wanted to avoid.  Unfortunately, the coconut flour did not break down all the way so I was afraid the sauce was a bit grainy.  I served the sauce on the side to let everyone choose whether to use it.  They all thought the sauce was  fine so I decided to add the recipe for the sauce.

A Giant Meatball Stuffed with an Egg! (or, Scotch Eggs)

"Oh my god- is that a giant meatball stuffed with an egg?!?!"  That is what Andrew excitedly asked me when he saw me making these.

They are actually called Scotch Eggs and I found the recipe in a new cookbook - Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan.  The great thing about the cookbook, besides all the awesome paleo recipes, is that she filled the pages with great looking photos.  When I saw the Scotch Eggs, I knew immediately I had to make them.  The process is easy to follow and you end up with a great tasting, protein packed meal or snack.  I didn't have all the spices Melissa recommended on hand, such as nutmeg and dried tarragon leaves, so I made some substitutions which I put in my version below.

Scotch Eggs

2lbs of ground pork

1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of allspice or nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1Tbsp of dried chives (I omitted this, but it still tasted great!)
1tsp of dried tarragon leaves  (I substituted with 1/2 tsp of fennel seeds)
1 Tbsp of minced parsley (from about 1/4 cup of fresh parsley)
2 cloves of garlic, minced

8 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled

Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Place a piece of parchment paper on a large baking sheet.

Mix all the spices and dried herbs together in a small bowl.

Place the ground pork in a large mixing bowl, add the spice-herb mixture, parsley and garlic.  Mix everything together until well incorporated.

Stuffed Zucchini with Turkey Bolognese

This turkey bolognese sauce has been my go to pasta sauce for a long time.  Since pasta is one of the items I have cut back on recently, I decided to substitute it with zucchini which I hollowed out to make "shells" for the bolognese.  The baked zucchini had an al dente texture and it offered a clean and fresh compliment to the flavorful sauce.  I think I might make zucchini ribbons or slice it into thin strips for a paleo spaghetti night in the near future.  Will post photos when I do.   :)

Stuffed Zucchini with Turkey Bolognese


1 1/4lbs of ground turkey
3 slices of bacon, chopped
8 zucchinis
1/2 cup of finely chopped onion
1/2 cup of finely chopped carrots
2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
2 cups of sliced white mushrooms
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp of fresh thyme, plus 2 tsp of thyme (separated)
1/2 Tbsp of fresh oregano, plus 2 tsp of oregano (separated)
1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 28oz can of plum whole tomatoes or diced tomatoes.

2 Tbsp of coconut oil (separated)
1 Tbsp of olive oil, with extra for brushing on the zucchini
Salt and pepper for taste

My Chocolate Dream Dream...

The nearest Whole Foods from where I live is over 17 miles away so sadly, I do not go there as often as I would like (which is probably a good thing for my wallet).

When I am able to make the trip I love walking up and down every aisle perusing the produce section and all the shelves of foodie goodies that I do not find at the usual grocery stores in my area.  Last weekend I was there, walking aimlessly and happily through the aisles when I came across these bags of dairy-free and gluten-free chocolate chips called Chocolate Dream.

I bought two bags immediately and popped one open as soon as I got into the car.  I put a few chips in my mouth and tasted the chocolatey gooeyness as the chips slowly melted.  They were delicious and I knew I had to make paleo chocolate chip cookies with these.  In fact, I made two batches and they tasted great!     

Tuna, Heirloom Tomato, Avocado and Black Olives

This is a picture of my lunch- a simple tuna, tomato, avocado and olive salad.  It was a super simple and super delicious dish that took me less than 5 minutes to assemble.


I'm not the first to say this but it is absolutely true- the fewer the ingredients, the better quality the ingredients ought to be.  For this dish, I used an heirloom tomato that was juicy and sweet, good quality canned tuna, and fresh lemon juice to bring it all together.

After I assembled my plate with the chopped tomatoes, avocado, tuna, and black olives, I sprinkled everything with freshly ground black pepper and squeezed lemon juice all over.