It's also been a while and I have a few Paleo recipes to share with you since I left off. So, I added dairy back into my diet and strangely, the aching in my thumb joints has stopped. The problem is that I really don't like the flavour of milk now, except in my tea. But it's lovely to have a slice of cheese and a big dollop of yoghurt every now and then. I also added corn back in, or more precisely, I've tried corn twice now and had no reaction, so that's a bonus.
Apart from those few diversions, I've happily remained Paleo for 99% for the time. I read that people on Elimination Diets often are hesitant to add food groups back into their diet as they are so happy with the status quo that they don't want to potentially upset their systems. This is where I'm at.
Here are some yummies I've made recently:
I went back to my favourite sweet-toothed gal, paleOMG, to make Chocolate Almond Butter Cups. They're cute, easy to make and very rich. I keep mine in the freezer. They're still not as good as her Chocolate Coffee Caramel Bars, which I'm going to make again this week.
I've loved the "not cornbread pie crust" recipe and decided to make it with Moroccan flavours instead. So I made my own chermoula and harissa.
Chermoula from Greg and Lucy Malouf's "Moorish"
2 Tbspns cumin seeds, roasted and ground
1 Tbspn coriander seeds, roasted and ground
1.5 Tbspn sweet paprika
1 Tbspn ground ginger
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2-4 whole bullet chillies, seeded, scraped and chopped
juice of 2 lemons
100ml olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
Blitz all ingredients in the food processor. Tip into a clean, sterilised jar and cover with olive oil. It will keep for up to 6 months. Top up with a little olive oil every time you use it.
To make the Chermoula flavoured cauliflower puree, I simply blitzed the cauli in the food processor with a big dollop of chermoula. It seems to keep in the fridge for a week. I love using it as a base for dishes, as with the sausage stew, or as a topping so it goes a bit crispy.
Harissa from Greg and Lucy Malouf's "Moorish"
1 red pepper, whole
10-15 dried red chillies
10 small bullet chillies
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin seeds, roasted and ground
3/4 tsp caraway seeds, roasted and ground
60 ml olive oil
Preheat the oven to 200oC. Place the pepper on a baking tray and roast til the skin starts to blister. Remove from the oven, place in a bowl and cover with cling film to steam for 10 mins. Peel away the skin and discard the stalk and seeds.
Pour enough boiling water over the dried chillies to cover and leave to rehydrate for 10 mins. Seed the bullet chillies. Crush the garlic with the salt.
Blitz all the ingredients in the food processor. Taste for seasoning.
I made this without seeding the bullet chillies..... it really is HOT!!!
Tip into a sterilised jar and cover with a thin layer of olive oil. It will keep for 4 weeks in the refrigerator.
As it's recently been the school holidays, I offered to make sushi for the boys. So we went to the fish market and my eldest chose some sashimi salmon (bless him), while my youngest chose the dodgy seafood extender of dubious origin. I've really got quite accustomed to sushi without rice (imagine explaining that in Japan?!) With lots of carrot strips, avocado, cucumber and pickled ginger, my salmon roll was fabulous.
The latest Coles recipe book has some good recipes for the family that can be adapted for Paleos. This one was a hit: Sausage Stew
1 Tbsp olive oil
8 Pork Sausages
1 eggplant (I slice mine, salt the slices and stand them in a colander. After an hour or so, I rinse the salt off them thoroughly and then cook them. It makes them more tender and less bitter.)
2 zucchini, sliced
200g mushrooms, sliced
2 x tins of basil and garlic chopped tomatoes
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Cook the sausages til just cooked through. Transfer to a plate.
Add eggplant, zucchini and mushrooms to the pan. Cook for 5 mins or til softened. Add tomatoes and 1/2 cup of water. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 12 mins or til tender. Slice sausages and add to the pan for the last 2 mins of cooking.
At this point, I made mashed potatoes for the menfolk and served the stew with that. For myself, I had a batch of the Moroccan flavoured cauliflower puree on hand. I put a layer of the puree on the bottom of the dish, topped it with the sausage stew and then took 2 stalks of kale, rubbed them with some olive oil and salt and pepper and broke them up all over the sausage stew. I then baked the lot in a 180oC oven til it was bubbling, approx 20 mins (but watch that the kale doesn't get too burnt).
This doesn't look so exciting but it was really tasty.
Then, finally, I had guests round for brunch today and decided to channel Frida Kahlo and go all Mexican. I am sorry I forgot completely to take a photo of my plate but it looked very similar to this one. I made the refried beans for the non-Paleos, and also made cornbread instead of the Spanish rice. I also should admit that I followed the instructions for the rancheros sauce and tortilla heating from this recipe... You gotta love a blog titled: Fur Coat, No Knickers - done up like a dog's dinner since 1984! So Paleos: grill some of the plantain bread and knock yourself out with the eggs, rancheros sauce, guacamole and a wee dollop of harissa. Really great flavours for all to enjoy.
Cheers x
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