Grilled Nectarine Salsa

I topped this lovely salad with salmon and topped the lovely salmon with salsa.

This is going to sound crazy:  I can't eat raw apples. When I do, my mouth starts to itch. I have this problem with peaches, nectarines, plums, almonds, hazelnuts, eggplant, pears, cherries (to a lesser extent) and who knows what else. Here comes the crazy part, I can eat all of those things cooked, just not raw. Apple sauce, peach cobbler, roasted almonds, don't effect me at all. With apples, I have the worst reaction. I can't even chop raw apples because it makes my hands red and itchy.

I have a condition called Oral Allergy Syndrome. It's not uncommon, but people who suffer from it get insane looks when they talk about it, so they don't often talk about it. I've met 5 other people with the same problem. They've all been accused of being crazy. We aren't all allergic to the same fruits and vegetables. I know one man who can't eat lettuce. LETTUCE! The most nutritionally void green vegetable known to man. Can you imagine being that guy, "No thanks, I'm allergic to salad."

Needless to say, I will never become a raw foodist.

We're coming to that time of the year again. The time of year when the orchards are bountiful and their fruit is cheap. But in Arizona, it's still to hot to be doing any sort of crazy baking activities, especially when you have an electric stove and the heat lingers. My electric bill is high enough. So I find ways to take advantage of cheap produce while not agitating my auto-immune system nor raising my electric bills.

3 Nectarines (you can use peaches, but I didn't because they're fuzzy - no I don't have weird food texture hang-ups)
2 hatch chilies (also in season and cheap!)
Juice from1 lime
1/2 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes
1/2 red onion
Cumin, garlic powder, chipotle powder, ginger, salt, pepper to taste

Grill nectarines, chilies, onions. Put the tomatoes on skewers and grill those too. (I smoked the tomatoes with cherry wood chips.) When they're done cooking, chop them all up and mix with lime juice.

Bambiballs with Zucchini Noodles and Vegan Pesto

I hit the game meat jackpot at Sprouts. They had venison, elk, antelope and wild boar! Not being a hunter, game meat is an exotic treat. This recipe can be done with beef or bison if you can't get your hands on venison.

Zucchini Noodles are my newest favorite. For some reason, if I take a vegetable I'm ambivalent to and put it through a spiral slicer, it is magically transformed into something awesome. I had my smoker going so of course, grape tomatoes ended up on there. I also through some fennel on the grill and roasted some red peppers.

I do a raw vegan pesto. I have a couple of vegan friends and one was a raw foodist for a while, so I like to make recipes I can share with them whenever possible - which isn't often. I don't think veganism is diametrically opposed to paleo foodism. I once read a New York Times article on people living the paleo lifestyle and they all seemed to snub vegans. I don't think that's fair. Even though our approach is different, our goals for better health are the same and both diets require great discipline, self-control and sacrifice. Plus, you can get lots of great vegetable recipes from vegans.

For the pesto:
Fresh Basil (I used about 50 grams because that's all I had)
2 oz raw pine nuts
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
juice from 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper

Combine in food processor.

For the meatballs:
1 lb ground venison
1/2 cup eggwhites (or a couple of whole eggs)
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Mix in a bowl ( I used my hands), make into little balls. I lined them up on aluminum foil and smoked them at about 250 degrees. You can grill or bake.

For the Zucchini Noodles:

5 small zucchinis
1 tsp olive oil
salt

Use spiral slicer or julienne slicer to make zucchini into pasta-like strands. Set in a colander and toss with salt for about an hour to drain the excess water. Saute in olive oil (or coconut oil) on a low flame. I used garlic flavored olive oil just because. I also tried to drain off the excess water that formed in the pan while cooking.It took about 5-10 minutes to cook the zucchini.

I mixed it up with spaghetti squash, smoked tomatoes, grilled fennel and roasted red peppers. This meal seems to have alot of steps, but it's really simple. You can prepare the zucchini first so it's draining, then do the meatballs and while those are cooking make the pesto and then cook the zucchini.

Walnut Crusted Catfish

I have thing for nut crusted seafood. The nuts add a nice texture. I usually do catfish in pecans because it seems like the southern thing to do . . . but I'm from the Northeast and I'm out of pecans.

I'm also out of cayenne. I'm not sure how I let that happen. I'll use chipotle powder instead.

2 oz walnuts
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp chipotle or cayenne
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp brown mustard seeds
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp oregano

1.5 lbs catfish

Combine nuts, garlic and spices in a food processor and blend until coarse. Spread evenly on catfish and grill or bake for 20 minutes or so.

Pumbaa-sagna

Last week I stumbled across ground venison and ground wild boar in the frozen food section of Sprouts. As a paleo eater, the idea of wild game is appealing, because it's kind of silly to call it "The Caveman Diet" when cavemen when you're eating farm raised animals. Plus, I like trying new things. I grew up in New York City, my wild game experiences are few and far between.

Of course with venison, Bambi was the first thing to come to mind. Fortunately, Disney has a vast array of animal characters for every flavor of meat. Bambi Burgers will be a future blog. Today is Pumbaa-sagna.

1 lb ground wild boar (you can substitute pork)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp crushed brown mustard
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp basil
2 oz tomato paste
1/2 cup egg whites


eggplant
butternut squash
Grape tomatoes (really any kind will do, but I used grape)
1 tsp olive oil

I found a paleo-lasagna recipe using butternut squash once upon a time and made it and it was awesome. I usually think of meat lasagne as a beefy meal. This isn't going to be a traditional lasagne. Not even hardly. But that doesn't mean it can't be awesome. Instead of tomato sauce I just pile smoked tomatoes on top of it.

Combine meat with spices, egg whites and tomato paste in a bowl, set aside.

Thinly slice squash and eggplant. I use a mandolin. Toss eggplant in olive oil. Arrange layers of  veggies and meat in a 9x9 pan. Bake at 400 degrees until it's done, about 45 mins, the veggies should be soft. Top with roasted or smoked tomatoes.

I might have over did it on the veggies so you might want to omit one. or use less of both.

Slow Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Plum Sauce

I eat about 5-6 times a day and try to space out my meals every 2-3 hours. So my meals get packed up in little Rubbermaid containers. I have the worlds largest lunch bag.

It's not going to look this pretty when I open it tomorrow.

1 lb pork tenderloin
2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar 

Rub:
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/2 tsp Garlic powder
1/4 tsp Chipotle Powder
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Ginger
1/4 tsp Allspice

Marinate pork in balsamic and rub over night. I smoked the pork, but it could also be roasted. I cooked it at about 200-250 for about 3 hours. But I have no concept of time.


Sauce:
coconut oil
4 Plums
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
garlic
ginger
chipotle

Heat coconut oil in a pan, saute plums, add spices, add vinegar cook until reduced. 

You might want to make the sauce sweeter by adding honey or something. I like it tangy. Here it is with spinach, spaghetti squash, grilled red onions, roasted red peppers and smoked tomatoes.

Almond Coconut Tilapia

Fresh coconut = Pain in the ass. This is how I do it:

A power tool is a single woman's best friend

I drill holes in the 3 spots on top of the coconut and drain the water. It's a refreshing beverage. Then I wrap the coconut in a towel and smash the hell out of it with a hammer. I pry the meat from the shell, peel the brown skin and I'm left with lovely fresh coconut.

Tilapia has gotten a bad reputation for being a dirty, dirty fish. You can buy Tilapia, farm raised in China at Walmart for $5.99/ lbs. Now, over the years China has been trying to poison us and buy us off so I think anything farm raised there and sold in Walmart is suspect. So buy your fish from a reliable source (I shop at Whole Foods because I'm a snob) and sleep soundly at night knowing you're not contributing to the problem.

Marinade:

1 lb tilapia
Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
sprinkled with tandoori seasoning

Josh, the awesome fish dude at Whole Foods managed to measure out exactly 1 lb of tilapia. Give that man his propers.

Crust:
2 oz ground almonds or almond meal
50 grams of fresh coconut (you don't have to be so precise if you're not as neurotic as I am)
3-4 cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp corriander
salt and pepper

I put this in a mini food processor and  blended. The fresh coconut is tough so it takes a bit of pulverizing.

You can bake this or grill it. 350 - 400 degrees for approximately 20 mins or whenever.

Grill Power

Espresso Balsamic Salmon

A few weeks ago, my friend Janet and I stumbled upon a little shop in Scottsdale called Outrageous Olive Oils. They sell a unique variety of flavored olive oils and balsamic vinegars. I had to have the Espresso Balsamic Vinegar because I'm a coffee addict. It's sweet and flavorful.

Salmon is a very flavorful fish so I sometimes like to go with something a little stronger than the simple lemon and garlic standby that I would use on something delicate like sole. I thought about what seasonings pair well with coffee: cinnamon, nutmeg, and anise. Since both espresso and balsamic vinegar come from Italy, I went with seasoning used in traditional Italian cuisine:  garlic, oregano, basil and thyme.

Rub:

1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp anise
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp basil

If you don't have espresso flavored vinegar, try some finely ground coffee for the rub, or marinate the salmon in coffee liqueur and balsamic vinegar.

Pour about 1/2 tbsp (mas o menos) of Espresso balsamic vinegar on salmon and spread evenly. Add rub, and spread evenly. Let sit in fridge for a couple of hours.

I slow cooked it because I was also roasting a turkey breast and a boneless lamb shank. I cook everything I need for the week in one day so I don't have to worry about it on work days. I also like to cook outdoors to cut down on my electric bill. When my electric stove goes against the air conditioner in a Battle Royale, the only loser is me. You could grill it, bake it, whatever you want.

I have this awesome grill:

I also have a desert wasteland for a back yard. Awesome features of my grill include a gas grill, a charcoal grill, a gas burner, and la piece de resistance: a smoker box (sold separately). I usually do veggies on the gas burner while the meat and fish are cooking on the other side.

Balsamic Reduction:
1 tsp olive oil (I used blood orange flavored, because I can)
1/2 tsp fennel
1/4 tsp anise
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 cup espresso balsamic
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup strong coffee (pronounced Strowng CAWfee)

If you don't have Espresso balsamic, just double up on the coffee (or use some coffee liqueur) and balsamic.

Heat oil in sauce pan. Add fennel, then add the other herbs. When fragrant, add liquid ingredients. Heat at low temp until it thickens.

Of course, this will be served with Spaghetti Squash. I use frozen spinach because it's cheap and expedient. I also grilled a red onion, eggplant and roasted some cherry tomatoes for this. Mixed the veggies together with a 1/2 tbsp of the balsamic reduction and topped with salmon.

Get your 5 a day the color way!