Paleo Challenge

An other russian traditional meal is soup. We like the beetroot soup, cabbage soup, pickled cucumber soup and mushroom soup amongst others. They’re all based on meat or chicken stock. Today I made a chicken soup with paleo noodles. For this dish you will need:

• a whole chicken to place in a saucepan filled with water
• bring to boil and remove the foam that forms on top as the soup heats up
• in the mean time peal 3 large carrots place them whole in the pan with a whole onion
• wrap a whole bunch of parsley with a string and add as well
• if you have celery in branches cut them in small peaces and add to the soup
• if you have celery leaves wrap them whole and add also
• leave to simmer for an hour or more, after adding a bit of sea salt
• When ready take the chicken out and separate the meat from the carcass, cut it up and replace in the pan
• cut the carrots in pieces and return them also in the soup
• remove and throw away the onion, the bunch of parsley and the bunch of celery
• Take a whole green zucchini and cut it lengthwise in 4 long peaces. Take the peeler and peal it lengthwise to make long strips resembling linguini. Add them to the soup, they don’t require any cooking time.

Chicken soup

Enjoy on those cold autumnal days!

Here’s a great recipe for Paleo-Primal Pancakes. I always have to make enough of them as it causes riots in the kitchen when everybody doesn’t have at least one in each hand. And that until they’re all full of course. To make them you’ll need:

• 3 eggs
• 3 Ts rapeseed oil
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 ts honey
• 1 ts vanilla extract
• 1/4 ts salt
• 1/2 -1 cup coconut flour
• 1 ts baking powder
• Mix it all and cook in coconut oil (you can find it in the Migro or Coop in a pot) 3 min each side
• Makes 10 small pancakes double the numbers for more

Paleo pancakes

Watch out the little fingers.

Enjoy!

All the kids like meat balls in Russia we call them kotleta and they are made with bread. My paleo version does not include cereal. To make them you need:

• meat of your choice, I used 1/2 beef, 1/2 turkey but it could be pork or chicken or even lamb for a stronger tasting ones.
• put the mince meat in a large bowl
• chop an onion and fry it in a bit of olive oil then add to the meat
• stir in 3 eggs
• chop a bunch of parsley and add it in the mix
• finely chop 3 large mushrooms and add it in the bowl
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• mix well
• roll the mixture in your hands into golf balls and
• roll them in crushed almonds
• you can cook them in a pan with olive oil (5 min per side) or in the oven (45 min)
• I added some tomato sauce just from concentrated tomato paste and water with a bit of garlic powder and a bit of sea salt.

As for the veggies I took sliced zucchini, egg plant (make thin slices for faster cooking), and tomato cubes on top sprinkle with olive oil and herbs and put them in the oven for 45 min. You can also take large slices of onion, tomatoes and pepper and lay them layered in the oven proof dish.

Enjoy!

When we went to Miami last spring we discovered this wonderful place called Whole Foods and in it a multitude of wonderful things to eat. Thinks like organic everything, grass-fed animals, vegetables without pesticide, etc.. We ate them there and took some with us and also ate them at home. And now that they are gone  what do we go. We make them ourselves. Such as cashew butter or almond butter. OMG! They are soo good that you will not want to hear about peanut butter again, ever, I promise. And this is how to make it:

• in a preheated oven at 150° roast your almonds or cashews for 45 min or until desired taste
• when ready and cooled down put them in a food processor and crush them until desired consistency. I like them crunchy with big chunks.
• add 3-4 table spoons of rapeseed oil or another not strong tasting oil and blend with the mix.

Cashew butter

We love it with dried mango bits. To be used in moderation of course because of the fat content.

Enjoy!

A delicious way of preparing the seasonal pumkin is to put it in a muffin and have it for desert or a snack with tea or coffee. Here is how to make it:

• take a winter squash  (the long ones) cut it in 2 lengthwise, take seeds out and put it in a oven proof dish the cut side down with 1cm of water. Bake for 45 min approximatively or until the fork goes in easily.
• set aside to cool down then remove the skin with a knife and put in a mixer to puree the pumpkin.
• take 2 cups of the puree and add
• 4-6 eggs depending on the size,
• 2 cups of almond flour,
• 1 ts of baking powder,
• 2 Ts of grapeseed oil,
• 1/4 ts of ginger,
• 1/2 ts of nutmeg,
• 2 Ts honey.
• mix well and put in muffin cups on the muffin tray.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 40min.

Pumpkin muffins

Enjoy!

Here’s an interesting article about why no grains by Robb Wolf: “How to keep feces out of your blood stream”

On the Wednesdays my mum comes to spend the day with us and usually brings something deliciously paleo for lunch. Today we’re having it documented and available for all to try. And that’s what we’re having:

• filet de merlu baked in the oven for 25 min with a bit of olive oil and herbs (parsley and chives)
• fish sauce with coconut milk, garlic, onion, chilli, olive oil, shredded coconut, simmer to reduce
• and for veggies a broccoli, carrots, onion, garlic, chilli and olive oil all in a wok with a bit of water, safran (infused in warm water prior that) and paprika

With such a wonderful day today (Sunday the 19th of September) we could only think of one thing to do. Get some neighbors over for a grill. For the main event we had some côte de boeuf for the meat eaters, some wild salmon and tuna as well as some veggie burgers and sausages for our vegetarian friends. All on the grill with a bit of sea salt.

For the side dishes we made:

• a tomatoe and cucumber seasonal salad with basil from the garden.
• a figue, dried tomatoes and grilled walnuts salad on a bed of rampon with some grilled bits of beacon on top.
• a traditional coleslaw with white cabbage, carrots, raisins, onion and mayo
• salad dressing with olive oil and colza oil, lime juice, mustard 1Ts, honey 1Ts.

For desert raspberries with thick coconut milk.

Miam!

I found this wonderful website Everyday Paleo that has a tone of ideas for yummy meals.

I tried this one the other day and it had a great success. It’s made with berries, almond flour, eggs and cinnamon. Very easy and quick to fix:

• preheat the oven at 180°C
• pour berries  of your choice (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries) in an oven dish
• in a bowl mix 3 eggs, 1 cup almond meal, 2 Table spoons of coconut oil, cinnamon and a bit of honey
• spread the mixture on the berries and put it in the oven for 35min
• serve it warm with some coconut milk in top

Berries crumble

Enjoy!