Thursday, June 19, 2008

Roasted Turkey with Caramelized Vegetables



serves 2

2 carrots, cut into chunks
1/2 a medium onion, sliced
1 small fennel bulb, sliced
fronds from the fennel bulb, minced
1/4 cup EVOO
2 8-oz turkey breast tenderloins
2 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 425. In a large pyrex dish, toss the carrots, onions, and fennel bulb with the EVOO and a small pinch of salt. Roast for 15 min.

While it's roasting, trim the turkey if necessary. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Coat one side of each turkey breast with mustard, and sprinkle with paprika.

Take the veggies out of the oven and stir them. Push them to the sides of the dish and add the turkey to the center. Return to the oven for 15 min.

Remove from the oven and stir the veggies. Roast 15 more min.

Remove the turkey to serving plates. Stir the reserved fennel fronds into the roasted veggies. Serve veggies.

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The turkey was a little dry, but the flavors were really good, especially if you ate a bite of veggies with a bite of turkey at the same time. I served this with a small green salad made with spring mix, cucumbers, and walnuts and an EVOO dressing.

* I used this recipe as a loose guide: http://www.fbnr.com/Recipes/055/4154001055.htm

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Non-meat, non-egg, paleo breakfast

Does such a thing exist?! Yep, and I've eaten it for the past two days.



A coconut muffin made with almond flour, dried unsweetened coconut, and agave nectar. Sliced strawberries. Earl grey tea.

I'll do a muffin post soon because I have several different recipes to share.

Stuffed Zucchini



serves 2

2 large zucchinis
1 lb ground bison/buffalo (ground beef will work too, but you want a very lean meat...otherwise it will give off too much liquid and your zucchinis will be swimming)
1/2 a large onion, minced
salt and pepper to taste
dash of cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp of oregano
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 T tomato paste (optional)
1/2 cup chopped olives or olive tapenade (I used tapenade from Trader Joe's)
1 egg
coconut oil

Cut the zucchinis in half longways. Scoop out the insides to form a large trough in each zucchini.

Heat coconut oil in a skillet and saute the onion and the scraped out zucchini insides. Caramelize it and make sure all the water cooks out. Remove the zucchini/onion mixture to a large bowl.

Add the meat to the skillet and brown, along with some salt and pepper to taste, the cayenne, and the oregano. Drain it if there's a lot of liquid after the meat is done cooking. Add the tomato sauce and paste and stir to combine.

Add the meat/tomato mixture to the bowl with the onion/zucchini mixture, along with the olives. Mix well and make sure it's slightly cool. Beat the egg and mix it in.

Mound each zucchini half with the mixture and put in a large baking dish with a little water on the bottom. Bake at 400 for 40 min. You can make the filling and stuff the zucchinis in advance and hold them covered in the fridge until it's time to bake them.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Celery-Apple Slaw



This is a really nice simple side dish that goes well with any grilled meat.

All quantities are to taste:
celery, cut into matchsticks
apple, cut into matchsticks
parsley, minced
lemon juice
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt

Just toss everything together. This is also great if you add in some thinly sliced fennel bulb and then use minced fennel fronds instead of parsley.

German-ish Dinner?

Tonight we had bratwurst, braised broccoli rabe, and fried apples. I fried the apples in butter, which isn't really paleo, but you can do the same thing with coconut oil or lard or something and it would turn out equally yummy. :)


Sausages cooking. I simmered them in 1/4 inch of water for about 15 min, then drained the pan and let them get a little brown.


Apples frying. Just apples and butter, nothin' else.


Broccoli rabe before and after wilting down. I minced a shallot and sauteed it in olive oil until it just barely started to turn brown, then added a bunch of broccoli rabe, about 1/2 cup chicken stock, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Covered it and let it simmer for 20 min or so.


Dinner is served! I actually only ate one of the sausages. We had some mustard with it too.

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Meal Photo: Breakfast



Just a photo for you. Roasted almonds, pear slices, black coffee, and braised red cabbage with two medium-boiled eggs. With a spread like this, you don't even miss all that sugary, grainy breakfast food that is usually the norm.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Veggie Hash



This is a concept more than a recipe. Just throw whatever veggies you have around into a big pan with some coconut oil or meat drippings and cook until everything is tender. My particular hash has onion, red cabbage, carrot, broccoli, and a very small amount of potato. I also put some chorizo in there. Top it with some eggs and you've got a tasty meal.