Savory Herb Lamb Patties with Pepper, Cilantro and Walnut Sauce

Lamb burgers are awesome and for some reason, I've been craving one for a while.  I finally had time today so I set out to make one worthy of a paleoodie paleo meal.  I made these lamb patties with lots of fresh herbs and spices, then topped it with a roasted red pepper, cilantro and walnut sauce.  For my meal tonight, I also added thick slices of heirloom tomato and ribbons of baked sweet potato.

Savory Herb Lamb Patties 

Serves 2

Ingredients

1/4 cup of finely chopped onion

1 Tbsp of finely chopped parsley

1 Tbsp of finely chopped cilantro

1 Tbsp of finely chopped jalapeno pepper

1 large clove of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp of paprika

1/2 tsp of cumin

1/2 tsp of coriander

1/4 tsp of black pepper

1/2 tsp of salt

zest of half of a lemon 

juice of half a lemon (approximately 1-2 Tbsp)

1lb of ground lamb

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

After making the delicious grain free chocolate chip cookies from PaleoPlan.com, I decided to tweak the recipe a bit and try to create a cookie that was more dense and chewy.  After some experimenting, I put together the recipe below.  If you used to love peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, this may be a good one for you!

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

*makes about 18-22 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup of chocolate chips

1/2 cup walnut oil

Dry Ingredients:

3 cups almond flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

Wet Ingredients

1/2 cup raw honey

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup of creamy, unsalted almond butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375℉.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients well with a hand mixer or use a stand mixer.  
5. Add the dry ingredients slowly into the wet mixture and beat until well combined.
6. Stir in the walnut oil and blend.  
7. With a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.
8. Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet, making sure the give the dough enough room the spread out during baking.
9. Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on the baking sheets for another 3-4 minutes.
11. Remove cookies and cool completely on cooking racks.

Hint

Whenever I bake cookies, I always rotate the baking sheets and switch the racks they were on about half way through the cooking time.  This helps with even heat distribution.

Cajun Roasted Salmon with Pineapple Mango Salsa

Hopefully I won't offend anyone by saying this but  I think you can turn anything into a "salsa" if you have fresh limes, jalapeno peppers, onions and cilantro or parsley.  Add tomatoes and you have the classic pico de gallo.  Put in fruit and you have a fruit salsa.  Mix in other ingredients and it may not taste as good i.e. almonds, but I would still call it a salsa.  And who knows?  Maybe there are some out there who would enjoy a good almond salsa.


Fruit salsas are awesome to eat with fish but it wold also be great with shrimp, chicken, lamb, and steak.  The sky is the limit on the type of fruit and you should put in more of the fruit you like, add more onion if you like a bite, and more peppers if you like it muy caliente!


A fresh fruit salsa that is tangy, tart and sweet is great company for a well seasoned cajun style salmon.  Here's my version- enjoy!


Salmon
2 6-8 oz center cut salmon filets
2 Tbsps of Cajun seasoning*
1 lime for zesting


Salsa
1/3 cup of diced mangoes
1/3 cup of diced pineapples
1/2 a whole avocado diced
2 Tbsp finely minced shallots
1 Tbsp of finely minced jalapeno or serrano pepper (more as desired)
1/4 cup of fresh lime juice (1-2 limes)
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro or parsley
zest of one lime
salt and pepper to taste
 -papaya and kiwi would also be great and colorful additions

A Great Paleo Chocolate Chip Recipe

Last week I decided to make some chocolate chip cookies.  I found a recipe on www.paleoplan.com, a web site that I use quite a bit.  The recipe was simple and the cookies were amazing!  I followed the recipe exactly and I ended up with soft, fluffy, and light chocolate chip cookies.  They had a hint of coconut because from the coconut oil and just the perfect amount of sweetness from the honey and chocolate chips.

Here is the recipe that I used:  Paleo Plan Grain Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ah-Ma’s Paelo-fied Rice

My mom makes a very simple fried rice.  It was always a great way to use day old rice.  Luckily for me, and for the sake of this blog, she used minimal amounts of soy sauce so when I “paleo-fied” this recipe, the soy sauce omission did not make a major impact.  

Ingredients:
Protein
¾ cup of chopped ham
3 eggs, beaten

Vegetables
2 cups of cauliflower rice
½ cup of chopped carrots
1 scallion, sliced on the bias

Spices/Herbs/Seasoning
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. of minced garlic
1 tsp of sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat 1 tsp of coconut oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat.
2. Add ham and carrots and cook until carrots just begin to soften.  Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Add 1 tsp of coconut oil and add ginger and garlic.  Stir constantly so they do not burn.  About 1 minute.
4. Add cauliflower rice and stir to coat evenly.  

5. Move cauliflower to the outer edges of the pan to create space in the center.  Pour beaten eggs in the center.
6. As the eggs begin to cook, use a spatula to gently stir the eggs together, just like you are making soft scrambled eggs.

Orange Salmon with Avocado and Tomatoes

Serves: 2

Ingredients
Protein
2 6-8oz Salmon Filets

Vegetables/Fruit
3-4 large navel oranges
1 large avocado
1 cup of cherry or grape tomatoes
3 cups of fresh spinach

Sauces/Spices
3 Tbsp of balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper

Method:
1.  Zest one orange and sprinkle on the salmon.  Squeeze out the juice from the orange and also pour over the salmon.  If there is not enough juice, use the second orange.  I try to get at least ⅓ of a cup to ½ cup of juice for the marinade.  Sprinkle some pepper and salt if it’s your preference, and then set the salmon aside for at least 20 minutes.

2.  In a medium bowl, grate the zest of an orange.  Squeeze the juice from the same orange and then add the balsamic vinegar.  Whisk together with some salt and pepper to taste.

 

3.  Halve the tomatoes and cut the avocado into chunks.  Cut and slice another orange into wedge slices.  Put the avocado, tomatoes, and orange wedges into the bowl.

4.  Using a spoon, toss everything together well and set aside.

Paleo-ish?

There are actually varying degrees of the paleo diet, of.....paleo-ism?  Not sure if that’s a word coined in the paleo community yet but if not, I’ll take credit for it...along with “paleo-ish”, which is a word I’m starting to use more often to describe some of the recipes I’ve been thinking about.  :)


The strict paleo diet completely eliminates all grains, beans/legumes, processed foods, fermented foods, processed sugar, dairy, salt, alcohol and many other items.  The first few items make sense.  Eliminating grains, processed foods, etc., is an integral part of the diet but the rest may be too extreme for a good number of those who simply want to incorporate the paleo diet into their lives.


I want to support the hard-core with recipes and ideas that are paleo worthy and foodie in taste.  I absolutely hope that they find value and good recipes from my site, and if not, that they leave their opinions and feedback.  Having said that, I also want my blog to be fun and useful to the following:

•    those who are just starting to explore paleo,
•    those who want to incorporate some paleo dishes into the meal rotation,
•    those just looking for creative new dishes,
•    and those who adhere fully to the paleo diet but practice a more, dare I say, modern approach to cavemen to eating. 

The last group are people who may see the benefit of paleo, but also see that there may be health and/or taste benefits from things like tofu, honey, or vinegar, or even adding some salt.  The benefits are more than worth the supposed trade offs.   


Of course, I am not a paleo expert, anthropologist, nutritionist, or anything medical related.  I’m not asserting the paleo diet is the best diet for everyone, nor am I asserting that it is the healthiest.  I do, personally, believe it has many benefits, and so I’m actively seeking ways to maximize the benefits by creating recipes that you and I can use every day, or every other day, or however want.                   


For the hard core paleo community, I hope you do not take offense that my recipes may not all be 100% “kosher” so to speak, and that there will be some that are just “paleo-ish”.  For everyone else, please use my recipes as a way to add paleo healthy & tasty dishes into your meals and to reach what personal goals you may have in health and fitness.