Friday 13 June 2014

Paleo for the superstitious

So it's Friday the 13th on the eve of a full moon; the boys have commandeered the t.v., husband is off playing football and I'm just superstitious enough to think we all need to hunker on down quietly and get the evening over with! Since my last blog, it's finally turned wintry here in eternally sunny Sydney. It was still a balmy 20oC today. My shoulder is being given a rest, leaving me to run or walk. That was a fine alternative til I overdid it, now top AND bottom half are screwed! But, on the bright side, my efforts at Paleo living are still paying off.

Going back through my photos, the first one is from my trip to Scoop in Mosman. This place is a definite no-no for anyone on a strict budget.... but did that stop me?! Oh My Lord it was like heaven in there: huge tubs of all the glorious treats I adore. There are all the nuts, dried fruits, chocolate covered goodies and trail mixes you can imagine. I came home with a wee taste of many things but my favourites were these....

From left to right: cocoa nibs, root vegetable chips (completely addictive. Thank God Mosman is a 15 minute drive away. I even contemplated running there today to justify the indulgence), and inca berries.

Next dish off the camera roll is a freezer meal. Remember I made that kangaroo mince meatloaf? (Sunday 13th April: I'll skip on the Skippy next time). Well I froze half of it, then rebaked it with a celeriac (and a smidgen of potato) mash on top. I actually preferred it this way to the meatloaf. The celeriac mash was just an entire celeriac cut into cubes, one potato, cubed and both boiled together til tender. Then mash them with plenty of coconut or almond milk or stock and ghee or grass-fed butter, salt and pepper. Bake the dish at 180oC til golden and bubbling.


My lovely friend's birthday came along and I wanted to bake her a cake. We both agree that there are occasions when healthy options should be nixed for the sheer love of something naughty every now and then. However, I selfishly wanted the naughtiness to be Paleo! So I Paleo-ised an old favourite recipe. It's a Sephardic cake documented by Claudia Roden...

Orange and Almond Cake

3 medium Valencia oranges
6 eggs, separated
225gm coconut sugar (this is the bit I Paleo-ised; you could use caster sugar if inclined)
200g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
Coconut Yoghurt to serve (optional)
Mixed berry compote made with honey to serve (optional)

Place the clean, whole and unpeeled oranges in water to cover and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1.5 hours or until soft, adding more water when necessary.
Drain the oranges, cut into quarters, discard any major pips, and whiz the rest, including peel in the food processor, then cool.
Heat oven to 180oC. Beat the egg yolks and sugar together in a large bowl til pale. Beat in the oranges, almonds and baking powder. 
Beat the egg whites til softly peaky and fold gently into the mixture.
Pour into a high-sided 23cm springform cake tin and bake for 1 hour, til firm to the touch. Cover with some loose fitting foil if over-browning.) Cool in the tin.
Serve with just some fresh berries or the yoghurt and compote mix.



I experimented with a few other recipes: we had a cook-up for breakfast last weekend. The boys wanted those disgusting store-bought hash browns. I refused to buy them and made sweet potato ones instead.  There was left-over mixture, which kept really well in the fridge. I then used a scoop of this mixture, making a quick rosti and fried egg brekkie each morning this week. Awesome start to the day - I wasn't hungry for hours, which is unusual for me. This photo is a bit random, but it's a cauliflower puree, a couple of rosti and then a piece of smoked herring on top - surprisingly tasty!



Lastly, the search for the perfect banana bread is over! I trawled through all the banana bread websites for a recipe that contained only two bananas, as that was all I had, et voila, I discovered the wonder that is this almond banana bread. As ever, the true test lay with my boys.... they loved it!


I added some cocoa nibs to the topping which was yummy.

One more thing I'd like to share - I found this article in a website I sometimes use to realign the brain matter. It just resonated with me. Maybe it will with you too.
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/3-tips-get-out-of-head-start-expressing-yourself/

Cheers Folks.