Pork Fried Cauliflower Rice

 I made this to go with the Garlic-Ginger Shrimp

3 cups shredded cauliflower
1 egg, scrambles, fried and cut into small pieces
2 oz bacon or pork belly, diced
1-2 Tbsp fat of choice 
1/3 cup onions, finely chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp coconut aminos
1/4 tsp Red Boat fish sauce
1/4 tsp Chinese Five Spice
salt to taste.

In a large pan or wok, cook bacon. Add onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic and ginger and cok for another 30 seconds. Add fat and cauliflower. When cauliflower starts to slightly brown, add Coconut aminos and Fish Sauce. Add egg, Five Spice and salt. Toss together for about 3 minutes and serve.

Spinach Omelet with Pesto

3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup frozen spinach or 1/4 cup cooked/wilted
1/4 cup zucchini linguini
1 Tbsp Cilantro Pablano Pesto (or any pesto you've made recently)
Grilled onions
Roasted red peppers
Avocado slices
Hot sauce (I used Chipotle Tobasco, my FAVORITE.)
Chili Cilantro Aioli (optional, but recommended)


Heat spinach (thaw if it's frozen) and mix together with pesto and zucchini. Scramble eggs and cook in a pan (duh). Mix onions and peppers into the spinach-pesto mix. When eggs are almost cooked, put veggies in the middle and fold. When the eggs finish cooking and the veggies inside are warm enough (you might want to heat them before you put them in the omelet if they're not already hot) remove from pan an put on plate. Top with avocado and hot sauce.

Mayonnaise

I have several recipes for aioli and flavored mayo, but none for plain mayonnaise. Mostly because it's more fun to add flavor and you can find a basic mayonnaise recipe anywhere. This is what I used in my cole slaw recipe. I figured if I publish the cole slaw recipe I should include a recipe for mayo on the site for easy reference.

1 egg
2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
juice from 1 lemon
1 tsp dry mustard powder
1/2 tsp salt
pepper
3/4 cup olive oil

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a food processor. blend thoroughly. slowly drizzle the mayonnaise in while blending. Once all of the olive oil is in, keep blending for a couple more minutes. store in a glass container and refrigerate.

Dill Aioli

This is awesome with bacon wrapped scallops Works well with salmon too.

1 egg
Juice from 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped
3/4 cup olive oil

Leave all ingredients out so they're at room temperature. Combine first 6 ingredients in a food processor. Blend thoroughly. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil. You don't want to do this all at once. Take your time; it should be a thin drizzle. once thoroughly combined, put into a container and refrigerate.

Pumpkin-Banana Pancakes

I don't like adding honey or maple syrup to foods if I can avoid it. These have no sugar added and only get the sweetness from the banana. I used a banana that was just becoming ripe, pale yellow with green tips. If you prefer them sweeter, use a riper banana. I rarely make pancakes or any other type of substitute for gluten laden foods. Mostly because the texture is never right and they just leave me wishing for the real thing. This was a good alternative. Theses are thinner and denser than traditional pancakes, but very flavorful and have a good texture. Next time I'm going to leave out the coconut oil to see if they turn out fluffier because the egg and fruit mixture was pretty frothy until I added the oil.

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 banana
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice.
1 Tbsp melted coconut oil (optional) and coconut oil for the pan.

Beat the eggs. Cut the banana into chunks then beat with the eggs. Add pumpkin and pumpkin spice beat it all together and then add the coconut oil.

Spoon the batter into a well oiled pan and cook until the pancake starts to stiffen and is flippable (about 3-5 mins) then flip, and cook for about another minute. This recipe makes about 8 small pancakes. You could also make them bigger and use them as crepes.

Top them with whatever you like. I like flavored olive oils and vinegars. Like these from local small businesses: Vanilla Bean Olive Oil and Dark Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar

Avgolemono (Greek Egg-Lemon Soup)

It really disturbs me that the place mat isn't centered, but this was the only pic I took of the soup.

Nikos asked me to make this for him when he was sick. I didn't actually get around to making it until he was better though. He got the onion soup when he was sick. That kicked some germ ass.

1 2.5-3 lb chicken
2 quarts water
1 head of garlic, peeled and smashed
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar or white balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
4 eggs separated
4 lemons, juiced
more salt
pepper

Clean chicken and remove bag of inner bits. (Save them for another recipe.) Put chicken in crock pot with 2 quarts of water and cook on high for 2-4 hours. When chicken is cooked, remove it from pot and separate the meat from the bones and skin. Put chicken meat in the fridge for later; put bones and cartilage back in the crock pot. Add vinegar, 1 tsp salt, and garlic and cook for 12 or more hours on low.

When broth is done, strain out bones and garlic. If you're not making the soup right away, refrigerate the broth until you're ready to cook it. If you are making the soup right away,chop up the chicken very fine, almost shredded and put the chicken back in the crock pot and heat on low or warm.

Separate the eggs. in a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks are formed, add in yolks and continue to beat. Slowly add lemon juice. Add lemon-egg mixture to soup and mix it all together. the creamy egg mixture will float on top. add more salt and pepper, serve warm.

Curry Fisherman's Pie

There's eggwhites in this. I must have used the yolks for Hollandaise. Sometimes I can't think of anything interesting to write about. So, on to the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 lb Mahi Mahi or really any fish will do
2 lemons, juiced
3 tsp madras curry powder separated
4 eggwhites
2 whole large eggs
2 cups frozen spinach
2 cups pumpkin fresh pumpkin puree, or 1 can
1 tsp salt, separated
1 sweet onion
4 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp coconut oil (or any fat)
1/2 tsp salt separated

Marinate Mahi in lemon juice and 1 tsp curry powder.

Preheat oven to 350.

Heat oil in sauce pan. Saute onion until translucent. add garlic cook for 30 seconds, then add 1 tsp curry.  cook 30 more seconds, add marinated Mahi and 1/4 tsp salt. cook for about 5 -10 minutes, then add spinach cook until spinach is thawed.

In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites until fluffy. Pour Mahi mixture into baking dish, then fold in egg whites. In a mixing bowl beat 2 whole eggs, then add pumpkin puree and 1 tsp curry and 1/4 tsp salt. Blend thoroughly and top mahi egg mixture. bake for 45-1 hour.

Spinach Scallion Pancakes

My friend called me the other day and asked me about coconut milk. He wanted to know if he could have it with cereal. He said he was allergic to cow's milk so he switched to almond milk and now he's allergic to that. Just now I got an email from him saying he's going to have to try rice milk because he's allergic to the coconut milk. I replied, "Maybe you're allergic to cereal".

For those of us who don't eat grains, it's difficult to obtain that full ethnic cuisine experience. I was never really a big bread eater, except when it came to things like naan, injera, pizza and pita bread. So when I made gyros, I needed something flat to eat it with. I couldn't really wrap the gyro in these pancakes, but perhaps with a little work, one day I'll have something reasonable.

3 eggs
2 tbsp coconut flour
1 16oz bag frozen spinach, thawed
2 bunches scallions
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt
pepper to taste
olive oil

Beat eggs. add all other ingredients and beat together. Heat a pan with olive oil. Scoop out batter to desired size. cook for about 3-5 minutes and flip, cook for another 3-5 minutes.

Portobello Eggs Benedict

Why is it that all uncured bacon products I've come across have added sugar? I've been wanting to try beef bacon, but I can't find one without added sugar. I know the amount is miniscule, but I eschew all added sugar. Eggs Benedict is traditionally served with Canadian Bacon. However, I  substituted Trader Joe's uncured prosciutto because it only had 2 ingredients: pork and salt.

I had this idea in my head ever since the Portobello Eggs Florentine. I used to order Eggs Benedict when I was a kid every time I went to brunch. Bust as I grew up I become fat-ophobic, raw egg yolks mixed with melted butter just didn't sound appetizing and I would opt for a veggie and egg white omelet instead. I'm so glad I got over that.

I am a lactard, and butter is not an option. I decided to try making the Hollandaise with coconut oil instead. The sauce seized on me. I know the exact moment it happened, I accidentally spilled a little too much oil into the bowl at once. You need to pour the oil in very slowly and whisk as you pour. Rather than try to save it by adding another yolk, I just ate it as is. Technically, you are supposed to use Hollandaise immediately and cannot refrigerate it. It was actually refrigeration that saved my sauce. It was already separated so I didn't see any harm. It was the next day, when I started to warm the sauce that I had the idea to mix the cold sauce with an immersion blender (mini processor would work too). What I got was creamy, buttery, lemony goodness, but cold. I figured it would be easier to work with. It warmed and melted a on the hot egg and Brussels Sprouts so I consider it a win.

Portobellos:

4 Portobello caps

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

olive oil

Marinate the mushrooms in the balsamic for 10-30 minutes. brush bottoms with olive oil and grill. 

Hollandaise:

4 egg yolks

1/2 cup coconut oil

Juice of 1 lemon

Pinch of salt

Pinch of cayenne

Melt coconut oil. Heat pot with water. You want the water to be hot, but not boiling. Whisk egg yolks and lemon together in a bowl. place bowl over the hot water, but don't let the water touch the bowl. You don't want to cook the yolks, just heat the mixture. Continue whisking. Slowly drizzle melted coconut oil into the yolk and lemon mixture and continue to whisk. Do not pour too much in at once. Once all the oil is blended, keep the sauce warm.

Eggs Benedict:

4 grilled portobello caps

4 oz prosciutto

4 eggs poached or sunnyside up (you want the yolk to be runny.

Hollandaise sauce.

 Assemble shroom on bottom, next prosciutto, next egg and top with hollandaise. 

Portobello Eggs Florentine

Is it "Portobello" or "Portabella"? How do you determine the gender of your mushrooms?  If we call it a "Portobella" or "Portabello" is that just plain wrong or are we being inclusive?  No matter what, my spell check tells me it's wrong. I have a problem when I try to speak Spanish because I always use the wrong article with the verb. For some reason, no matter what I'm saying, I use "un" and "la", never "una" or "el". I have a hard time with the assigned gender of words. It's like when you're a kid and people call things "girl toys" and "boy toys". No one stopped me and my sisters from playing with trucks. I knew boys that played with dolls. Let's get over it.

I looked it up. The Italian word for mushroom is "fungo". IT'S A BOY! I will call them "portobellos" from now on - but recognize that divisive language, um, divides.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup frozen spinach (or 1/2 cup cooked fresh)
1 tsp cashew butter (any nut butter will do)
2 large eggs
2 portobello caps (I used medium sized)
Salt, pepper, Italian Seasoning, perhaps some nutmeg

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Olive oil

Marinate mushrooms in balsamic vinegar for 10-30 minutes. Brush with olive oil and grill or broil until soft. About 10 minutes.

Poach or fry egg (sunnyside up). You want the yolk to be as runny as you can stand it.

Combine spinach, cashew butter, seasoning. I was using raw cashew butter, so I added a splash of walnut oil and balsamic vinegar to make it more mixable.

Assemble: Mushroom on bottom, spinach in the middle, egg on top.

Obviously, if your cooking for more than one, you can double or triple the recipe. You can also do this for a paleo brunch and make a whole carton of eggs and whole bag of spinach.

Broccoli Mushroom Omelet

I know, I'm not the first person in the world to make a broccoli mushroom omelet. But I might be the first person to make it with cashew butter. When cheese is not an option, omelets can be a bit bland or unexciting, or lack a the right texture . . . or something. They're also a little harder to stick together since cheese has a certain adhesive quality.

In my spinach fennel omelet recipe I used tahini. Really any nut/seed butter will do. I like to think about which nut butters lend itself to the other ingredients. Cashew butter is sweeter than tahini, so I used tahini with the fennel since it's a has it one unique sweetness. Mushrooms are umami and salt help to bring out that flavor so adding something a little sweet balances the flavors.

Ingredients:
2 large whole eggs (or 3 if you prefer)
1/2-1 tsp of some kind of oil
1/2 cup steamed, parboiled or nuked broccoli
1/2 tsp cashew butter
1/4 cup sauteed mushrooms
5-10 grilled cherry or grape tomatoes
Italian seasoning, salt, pepper to taste

Combine broccoli, cashew butter and seasoning in mini food processor and blend. In a small bowl. Transfer to small bowl and mix in mushrooms and tomatoes. Set aside. Heat oil in pan. In another small bowl, scramble the eggs. When oil is hot, add to pan. Cook eggs until almost done, add veggie mixture and fold over. when done, transfer to plate and eat.

If you notice, I have alot of things cooked ahead of time and stored in the fridge. It really cuts down on time. Often when I have the grill going to cook one meal, I'll throw some veggies on there for a future meal. I also live alone (unless you include the 2 dogs) and it's easier to make several servings at once to reheat later. The dogs don't really like vegetables anyway.


I topped mine with a tsp of balsamic vinegar and tsp of white truffle infused olive oil from Queen Creek Olive Mill, a local small business. Whole Foods and Gourmet shops may have other brands local to your area, or you can order online.

Creamy Spinach Omelet with Fennel

If that isn't food porn, I don't know what is.

I ate fennel for the first time about a month ago and fell in love. It has a very mild licorice flavor. Very mild. Don't think black Twizzlers or Good n Plenty. It's not nearly that strong. Don't even think Sambuca or Ouzo. Fennel Licorice and Anise have similar flavors, but the fennel bulb itself does not have the intensity.

I've eaten spinach in some form almost every day for the past 10 years. I've grown weary of eating it at times, looking at it, trying not to think about it as I scarf it down. I've discovered if I mix it with Tahini or Almond Butter it's exponentially more palatable. I think it's because it requires some fat to help with the absorption of calcium. I do believe there is a strong mind-gut connection. Also, Tahini, Almond Butter, Sunflower Butter, etc. make a flavorful alternative to creamed spinach that can be used as a side dish or snack (or Vegan main course). One day I'll post a Vegan friendly recipe for Creamed Spinach.

Ingredients:

2 large eggs, scrambled
1/3 cup frozen spinach, thawed or fresh spinach steamed or wilted
1 tsp tahini (or any nut butter you prefer)
1/8 cup grilled onions
5 grilled cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped grilled fennel
salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, anise seed to taste (or whatever you prefer)
1/2 tsp olive oil or walnut oil (do not heat walnut oil)
1 tsp balsamic vinegar (I used Espresso flavored)

I grilled the veggies the other night and put them in separate containers in the fridge to add to whatever. Combine spinach, tahini and seasoning in a bowl, mix in other veggies. In an oiled pan, cook scrambled eggs until almost solid, slightly runny. Add veggie/tahini mix. Fold omelet and cook until finished. Plate and top with oil and vinegar (optional). If you're making more than one omelet, you can mix all the veggies together and scoop them evenly into the scrambled eggs as they cook. If you prefer a 3 egg omelet, you might want to add more veggies as well.