Shrimp Civeche

One thing that I really love about living in Northern California, is the access to such a wide variety of fresh foods.  Within a 100 mile radius, this area produces almost every fruit, vegetable and meat one typically eats.  Olive groves for fresh olive oil.  Fields of artichoke plants.  Acres of citrus trees. Miles of pasture lands for animals.  Tomato fields.  Fresh and salt water fish.  Rice paddies.  Dairy farms.  You can even grow some varieties of bananas! If I were to go on a strict locavore diet, I don't think I would really miss out on anything at all.  Everything I love is grown around here. 

I'm still surrounded by bags of fresh lemons, so they are making their way into almost everything we eat.  And, even though it's only mid March, the temperatures have been creeping their way into the mid to high 70s!  When it starts to get warm outside, I only want to eat cold foods.  I decided to make my take on a shrimp civeche.  It was great eaten as is, but I also enjoyed it on a bed of butter lettuce leaves and scooped it up with organic tortilla chips. 

Shrimp Civeche

1 pound very small cooked shrimp, rinsed (I used 100 count shrimp)
2 Tbsp salt

Juice from 3 limes 

juice from 4 lemons
1 red onion, chopped
1 bunch cilantro, large stems removed and chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and diced

1 bunch of radishes, diced

Green Tobasco to taste
1-2 avocado, peeled, seed removed, cut into small chunks

Fresh butter lettuce (optional)

Organic corn tortilla chips (optional)

 

Place shrimp in a large glass bowl (do not use metal). Mix in the lime and lemon juice, red onion, cilantro, cucumber, and radishes. Refrigerate until ready to serve (at least 1 hour)  Right before serving, add the Tobasco and avocado. Serve chilled on a bed of fresh lettuce or as a dip with organic corn tortilla chips.  Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.  

Learning To Eat My Greens

My mom and grandma used to always grow chard in the garden when I was a kid.  That stuff grows like a weed, so they were always feeding it to us.  My mom's favorite way to prepare it is to steam it in a skillet and add a little butter and salt and pepper.  That is probably my least favorite way to eat it.  So as an adult, I never bought chard because it was "slimy and gross."

Then my friend told me about this wonderful method of frying up a couple strips of bacon, then braising your chard (or other greens) in the bacon grease and topping it with the cooked bacon.

We all know that bacon makes everything better, so I knew I had to try it.

You know what else goes good with bacon?  Mushrooms!

I absolutely love eating chard this way, and actually look forward to getting it at the market!

Bacon and Mushroom Chard

4-6 slices of uncured bacon, diced
1 large bunch of chard, washed and chopped into bite size pieces
1lb mushrooms, washed and sliced


Cook bacon in a large deep skillet over medium heat.  You want to slowly cook the bacon to render out as much of the fast as possible.  Cook the bacon until it is crispy, but not burned.  Remove the bacon from the skillet and set aside (keep warm in the oven if possible).

Add the mushrooms to pan and cook them for about 5  minutes without stirring, so they get browned.  Stir the mushrooms and add the chard to the pan.  Let the chard sit on top of the mushrooms undisturbed for another 5 minutes.  Stir the chard and continue cooking until all the water has cooked out of the mushrooms and they are beginning to brown.  Remove from heat.  Add bacon and season to taste.  Serve hot.

***I think this would be really good served with a fried egg on top and a little bit of hot sauce***

Chicken lettuce wraps

I love my crockpot.  I really do.  I have two full size crockpots, a mini crockpot for dips, and now I have a small lunch crockpot for my desk.  I love the fix it and forget it method of cooking.  I love that I can put something in when I leave for work and when I get home, it's ready to eat. 

(Except the other night.  My work day plus commute is fairly long and a tomato sauce based recipe that cooks 

for 6-8 hours on low ended up burnt and inedible and my house uninhabitable after an 11+ hour day...)

When I discovered the website Crockpot 365 , I was really excited to find many new recipes so I could expand the use of my crockpot.   Even better that all of the recipes are gluten free! 

The hardest part of eating gluten free is no more Chinese food, so I was very excited that she put up a few make your own takeout recipes.  And even better yet, they were all for the crockpot.  It's practically exactly like takeout, but waaaaaaay cheaper and healthier. 

I know many people (especially me) look at their favorite over or stove top recipes and try to figure out some way to make it a crockpot recipe.  But for ones, I was looking at a crockpot recipe and wondering if I could make it a stove top recipe.  I was desperately craving lettuce wraps, and wanted them NOW (along with a golden goose) and I didn't want to drive the hour to the closes PF Changs and didn't want to wait the 4+ hours it would take for them to cook in the crockpot.  So I looked at the ingredient list and cooked the old fashioned way, slaving over a hot stove. 

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

(Adapted from Crockpot 365)

1lb of ground chicken
1/2 onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic
1-2 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 can of water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1/4 cup gluten free soy sauce or coconut aminos
1/4 cup white wine
2 tbl balsamic vinegar
Fresh ground black pepper
1 bunch of green onions, sliced thin
1 head of butter lettuce

Brown chicken in a large deep skillet.   While cooking, break chicken into small pieces.  I love to use my PC hamburger chopper for these kinds of jobs.  When the chicken is almost done, and sufficiently broken up into small bits, add the diced onion and cook for about 3-5 minutes until the onion is soft.  Add the garlic, ginger, and water chestnuts and cook for about a minute.  Add soy sauce, wine, and vinegar.  Cook for about 5 minutes until the sauce is reduced by about half.  Season with pepper to taste.   Spoon a bit of the chicken mixture into a lettuce leaf.  Sprinkle with green onions.  Serve while chicken is warm.  Makes a great appetizer or light dinner!

Maple Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Before I started on my journey for a healthier diet, I used to think sweet potatoes were reserved for Thanksgiving dinner and were only to be eaten with scorched marshmallows on top.  I never cared for them because they were too disgustingly sweet.  I think there was more sugar in the dish than actual sweet potatoes.  

As I began to learn more about cooking, especially after beginning my food allergy journey, I began to realize that there was a beautiful world of sweet potatoes out there beyond the marshmallows.  

Baked Sweet potatoes with butter and maple syrup.  

Sweet potato fries. 

Sweet potato tots.

Sweet Potato hash. 

Roasted Sweet potatoes.  

Now that I've found that I need to limit my consumption of potatoes (and all nightshades), sweet potatoes (not nightshades) are my new favorite menu items.  

Lately, I love preparing them roasted.  Theres something about roasted veggies that just a staple of winter-time meals.  Plus, turning on the oven also gives the house an extra boost of heat to the chilly house. 

This recipe is great served any time of day. For breakfast with a side of bacon and topped with a fried egg.  For lunch topping a salad with a leftover chicken apple sausage.  For dinner as a side to roasted chicken.  Mmmmmm! 

Maple Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes


2 large sweet potatoes
1 tart apple (I like pink lady or Arkansas Black)
1tbl coconut oil melted
Salt, pepper, and cinnamon
2 tbl maple syrup

Peel sweet potatoes and cut into small cubes.  Core apple, peel if desired, and cut into cubes.  Melt coconut oil and toss with sweet potatoes and apples.  Season with salt, pepper, and cinnamon to taste.  Spread onto a cookie sheet in a single layer.  Roast at 400* for 25-30 minutes until soft and slightly browned (or desired level of done-ness).  Drizzle with maple syrup and serve immediately.

Homemade Ghee

I don't know about you, but I have always had an aversion to all foods "diet."  

Diet sugars taste like chemically dirt. 

Diet milk tastes like white water. 

Diet butter tastes like the plastic tub it comes in.

Diet cream cheese tastes like paste. 

Diet desserts taste like their cardboard packaging. 

It just never made sense to me....

Why eat a bunch of diet foods, when you can just eat a small bit of the real food?  If you eat 2 boxes of diet cookies, you are still overeating...

But like every young, overweight girl, I fell prey to the media marketing of girls needing to have a body that looks like an 8 year old boy.  I ate my fare share of everything diet, sugar free, and fat free.  Those foods never satiated my appetite and always left me hungry and craving more food, as well as craving REAL food.

As I got older and started to have so many health problems, I always knew that my problems were somehow connected to diet despite what my doctors were saying.  I spent hours researching about all the harmful pesticides on and in our foods, the genetically modifying of crops, the chemicals, preservatives, and additives that are in so many of our foods.  I really started becoming mindful of what we ate, choosing organic over conventional, as well as drastically reducing the amount of processed foods we ate.  We started eating real foods. 

I found that eating a small portion of real food kept me energized and full for much longer than a large portion of diet foods.

One thing I have always had a love affair with was butter.  Real butter.  

Mmmmmmm!  

Paula Deen has it right on the butter part for sure. 

Butter became a staple in my kitchen once again.  However, it was used in moderation, just like everything else.

But then the food allergy/intolerance tests came back and I had to eliminate dairy.  

I have felt so much better since going dairy-free, and can definitely tell a difference in my overall health if I have dairy.  Bleh.   I miss cheese and butter. 

But then I hear about ghee. It's butter that has been clarified, thus removing all the milk solids which contain the lactose and casein, which most people are allergic and intolerant to.  I gave it a try and was happy to find out that I was able to tolerate it.  YAY!!!  I could have butter back.  

If you have ever purchased organic ghee from grass-fed cows, you know it can be pretty expensive.  I was paying $7 for an 8 ounce jar at the grocery store.  Ouch! I figured that it couldn't be that hard to make, so I found a recipe and tried it on my own.  

It turned out just as good as the store bought stuff!  I was so happy.  

I followed the DIY Ghee Recipe from Nom Nom Paleo exactly and will make it over and over again. Because I'm so busy and ghee keeps for a long time, I tripled the recipe, using 3 pounds of organic grass-fed butter.  It make a quart size jar, plus filled up my little 8 ounce jar from the grocery store.

Supposedly, you can keep it at room temperature, but I keep it in the fridge just to be safe. 

I was surprised how easy it was to make.  This is one DIY project that is worth the minimal time and effort! 

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

I discovered this adorable tiny little farm stand out in the country when I went to pick  up the last of the chickens from the now closed Soul Food Farms.  

Can we please have a moment of silence?  

I had a nice conversation with the farmer, Michael, and got a little star struck when I found out he sells his produce to Alice Waters at Chez Panisse. The little stand is set up on the honor system complete with a scale and a money jar. Love love love! I was so excited to find that they sold organic winter squashes for a really good price. Usually organic anything is expensive, so I had to stock up and walked away with 3 giant spaghetti squashes.

I, like so many other people, have a bad habit of buying winter squashes and letting them sit on the counter until the bottom rots out.  I love them, but they can be time consuming.  I do not have the patience to cook a squash for an hour after I get home from a 12 hour work day.  But not this time.  I immediately cooked it up, ON THE WEEKEND, using my friend's tutorial as a guide.  It came out perfectly and we ate it that night with spaghetti sauce.  

But I still had a ton of squash leftover and no sauce left.  What to do, what to do.  

Normally, I would just put butter and parmesan cheese on the top, but the pesky dairy allergy is keeping that from happening.  Booooo.  

So I searched on all my favorite cooking websites and blogs and finally came across this yummy sounding Spaghetti Squash Casserole from Peas and Thank You.  Doesn't it look mouthwatering? 

I changed it up a bit to fit our tastes and added some organic, grass fed and finished hamburger because it just sounded good.  It was so yummy and made a huge dish.  I made this on the weekend, covered and refrigerated it and then cooked it during the middle of the week.  The leftovers were even better, and I portioned out half of it into single servings and froze them in microwaveable containers for work lunches.  

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

Yum!  I want to make this every week!!!

1 large organic spaghetti squash

Coconut oil

1lb organic, grass fed and finished hamburger

1lb sliced mushrooms

15-16 oz tomato sauce (home canned or organic brand)

1/4 c chopped fresh parsley

8oz non-dairy cream cheese (organic cream cheese if not dairy-free) 

1/4 c. nutritional yeast (Parmesan cheese if not dairy-free) 

2 c. non-dairy shredded mozzarella cheese (organic mozzarella if not dairy-free) 

Prepare spaghetti squash and set aside.  

Preheat oven to 350*.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add coconut oil and melt.  Add hamburger and cook completely and crumble.  Remove hamburger from pan to a bowl and set aside. In the same skillet, add a little bit more coconut oil, if necessary, and cook the mushrooms until they are completely cooked but not yet beginning to caramelize.  Add the hamburger back to the pan with the mushrooms.  Add the tomato sauce, non-dairy cream cheese, and nutritional yeast.  Cook until the cream cheese has melted down and the sauce is warmed throughly.  Turn off heat.  Mix in spaghetti squash and parsley.  Transfer to a large oven safe baking dish (like a 9x13) that has been greased.  Top with mozzarella cheese.  Bake uncovered for 30 minutes until cheese is melted and dish is bubbling in the middle.  Makes 6-8 servings.  

If you are making this ahead of time, do not bake.  Just cover and put in the fridge or freezer.  If frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge.  Then bake for about 45-60 minutes until bubbling in the middle.  

Lime & Coconut Chicken Legs

Organic chicken legs were on sale, and in my effort to keep my menu from staying in a rut, I looked for a fresh new idea on how to prepare them.  

I found this yummy sounding recipe by Rachel Ray and I knew I had to make it.  It had many of my loves in it:  Lime, coconut, and green onions.  

I had all the ingredients on hand, AND it fit within my restrictions, so I didn't need to make many adjustments to the recipe!

I served it on some brown rice that I had tossed with cilantro and lime juice and a side of sauteed squash.

 

I didn't have to make many changes to the recipe (which is shocking considering all my restrictions)!  Hope you enjoy it!

Lime & Coconut Chicken Legs

from Everyday with Rachel Ray

3 cloves fermented garlic  
1/2" fresh ginger, peeled
1 bunch green onions, white and green parts, ends trimmed
1 bunch cilantro, large stems removed
1 tsp sriracha
2 tbl coconut aminos
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbl toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup raw local honey 
1 cup light coconut milk 
juice and zest of 2 limes
salt and pepper to taste
8 skin-on chicken drumsticks

In blender or food processor, combine all ingredients except chicken; puree. Marinate in coconut milk mixture overnight. Transfer chicken to rack placed on foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 30-45 turning chicken every 15 minutes so that it does not burn.  (I think this would be really great grilled as well.  Just be careful of the flare up from the faty chicken skins!)

Italian "Salsa"

My cherry tomato plants will not quit.  They keep producing like there's no tomorrow.  I finally had to start coming up with new ideas because I am so burnt out on all my standby recipes.   I made kalua pork in the crockpot over the weekend and was tired of having it in tacos or over plain rice and shredded cabbage like we always do. 

Don't you just hate when you get in a cooking rut? Ugh! 

As I was looking at the cherry tomatoes and was getting ready to throw them in the food processor once again for lazy salsa, I had an idea.  Couldn't I add similar, yet different ingredients and make an Italian style "salsa" instead of a Mexican flavored salsa?  A few minutes later, the Italian "salsa" was born.

Italian "Salsa"

4 cups of fresh tomatoes

1 bunch of basil, large stems removed

1 can of black olives, drained

1jalapeños, stem removed, seeded (if desired...seeds=spicy)

Juice of 1-2 lemons

Salt, to taste

Rinse off all your veggies.  Place all your ingredients, except salt, in the food processor and chop until desired consistency is reached, about 5-30 seconds.  Add salt to taste.  Can be served immediately, or chilled to let the flavors develop.  Stays good in the fridge for a couple of days. 

If you aren't eating GF, this would be great served with those crunchy toasts you would use to make bruschetta.

 

I served the salsa on top of some polenta rounds I baked in the oven until they were crispy and the leftover shredded pork.  It was really yummy! 

Shared on Southern Sundays 

Shared on Wednesday Fresh Food Link Up

Shared on Recipe Linky

 

Cucumber Tomato Salad

My garden is still overflowing with cucumbers.  We can't eat them, pickle them, or give them away fast enough.  Even if we ate cucumbers 3 meals a day, we would still have too many.  And yes, this is only from one plant!  Those things grow like weeds! 

When I was finishing up dinner the other night, I realized that I had forgotten to make a veggie to go with the meal.  I needed something fast so I decided to make a quick cucumber tomato salad.  It's so refreshing and tasty, it makes you forget you are actually eating something healthy!  

I like to start by washing and slicing up my cucumbers and tomatoes and putting them in a serving bowl.  I grind some fresh salt and pepper over the top.  Then I will drizzle over some oil and vinegar over the top.  In 5 minutes tops, I have a yummy vegetable to serve with my meal or as a stand alone snack.   

I have a slight addiction to gourmet spices, seasoning blends, olive oils, and vinegars.  I love that you can make the same basic dish and make it different every time based on a slight variation each time.   So even though I make this salad frequently, I always try to change it up to keep it from getting boring.  Sometimes I'll use rice vinegar and sesame oil.  Other times, I'll use olive oil and apple cider vinegar and toss in some fresh basil.  I've even added some sliced sweet red onions, mozzarella cheese, and olives to the mix.   

This time I used olive oil and a 20 year old aged pomegranate balsamic vinegar.  In place of salt, I used some Garlic Gold Sea Salt Nuggets.  Have you tried Garlic Gold before?  If you haven't you really should.  (No, they aren't paying me to say this...I just love this stuff).  I picked up some with a Groupon-like deal a while ago and I'm obsessed.  Little crunchy nuggets of garlic and sea salt.  This is not the garlic salt my mom used when I was little.  This stuff is awesome.  

I think that this was probably my favorite combination that I have put together so far.  Maybe we were really hungry, or it was really that good, but I was really disappointed when the bowl was empty.  

Cucumber Tomato Salad

1 cucumber

1 large tomato

1-2 tbl olive oil

1-2 tbl vinegar

salt and pepper

Wash cucumber, peel and seed if desired.  Slice.  Wash tomato and slice.  Place tomato and cucumber slices into a serving bowl.  Drizzle with oil and vinegar.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.   

This post was shared on Whole Food Fridays Week #11 and Creative Thursday Link Party #26

Thai Lemon Shrimp

I have found a new love of coconut milk recipes, but not yet a love of curry, so I get very excited when I find a non-curry coconut milk recipe!

I found this amazing recipe and modified it to what I had on hand.  I'm sorry there's no picture to go with it.  We inhaled this so quickly and I didn't think you all wanted an after the fact picture of lonely shrimp nubs.   

Thai Lemon Shrimp

1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 lemon and 1 lime, juice and zest
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 small jalapeño whole
1 tablespoon fish sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon honey
1/4 cup light coconut milk
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 tsp oil

Mix all but shrimp in blender or food processor. Marinate shrimp in sauce for about 30 minutes in the fridge.

Heat a pan over medium high heat and spray with your misto or add a teaspoon of your favorite higher heat oil (I prefer coconut oil).

Discard the marinade and add the shrimp to the skillet and cook until shrimp are done, about 2-3 minutes.  Do not overcook or your shrimp will be rubbery. 

Remove from heat and serve immediately.

How I Learned to Love Breakfast ~ Homemade Breakfast Sausage

I never ate breakfast growing up.  I despised most breakfast foods.  I didn't like eggs, bacon, pancakes, cereal with milk, toast, sausage, or danishes.

There were a few exceptions:

Donuts

Waffles with fresh strawberries and whipped cream

Apple cinnamon walnut pancakes with butter and cinnamon sugar

Biscuits and Gravy  

Hash Browns

Pilsbury Cinnamon Rolls in the pop tube

Those were special occasion foods reserved for Birthdays, vacations, and Holidays. I only ate breakfast when those were on the menu.  And even then, it wasn't until mid morning, hours after I stumbled out of bed.

I am not a morning person AT ALL.  It takes me a while to roll out of bed, and even longer before I'm functional.  The thought of food or coffee within the first couple hours of me waking up was nauseating.  I used to get sick on car trips as soon as dad cracked open his green thermos full of coffee.    

Once, when I was about 7, we were visiting my Grandparents in Washington, and they took the whole family to a super fancy brunch at a restaurant overlooking Snoqualmie Falls. Rumor has it that the breakfast was very expensive, even for children, and that I only ate a few strawberries.  My Grandparents were NOT happy with me.  

Most mornings I skipped breakfast.  My mom was always on me about eating breakfast.  Sometimes she could get me to have a poptart or a glass of Carnation Instant Breakfast.  But most times I'd just wait till I got hungry around lunch time.

I know, I know. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day blah, blah, blah. 

As I got older, I still couldn't really eat until I had been up for a while.  But I had started to like some breakfast foods.  Bagels and cream cheese?  Yes, please.  Leftovers from the day before?  Sure.  A grilled cheese sandwich or a quesadila?  Always.  But still no eggs or "traditional" breakfast foods. Eventually, I learned to like an egg breakfast casserolle my mom made for Christmas breakfast every year.  It barely tastes at all like eggs and is full of bread, sausage, cheese, and a mushroom sauce. 

Mom, I can't wait for Christmas breakfast.  I look forward to it all year long.  We'll make an allergy friendly one again this year! 

When I met Dave, he was a breakfast person.  I'd want to go out for an early Sunday lunch.  He would want a big, Sunday breakfast.  Most places won't serve lunch until 11.  But every Sunday morning hangover needs a filling, greasy meal to make you feel better.  I usually ended up getting a side of hash-browns or a side of biscuits and gravy.  Sometimes I would order a meal and ask for the eggs on the side and give them to Dave.   I always wanted to order the fruit bowl, but they always have melons, and I'm very allergic to them.  Sometimes I timidly asked if they would make an exception to their lunch service times and ordered a sandwich or a burger. I got mixed responses.  I never went hungry, but I didn't understand the obsession with breakfast. 

As slowly as I introduced him to new foods, like cheesecake, he introduced me to breakfast foods, like bacon and cheese omelets .  Then suddenly breakfast became my favorite meal of the day.  I couldn't get enough of omelets.  Fluffy eggs stuffed with veggies, meats and cheeses.  A pile of hash-browns.  A side of gravy.  Sourdough toast slathered in butter.  Then came the love of bacon.  Glorious bacon. 

I could eat an enormous breakfast Sunday morning and then not eat again till dinner, or even Monday morning. 

As I've gotten older, my body has decided that it functions much better on a protein heavy morning meal.  I am more awake and less hungry throughout the day. It just makes me feel better.  

Last year, Dave started working and living out of town, so I ended up cooking scrambled eggs for myself most nights.  It was quick, easy, and filling.  I was loving breakfast so much, I was now making "brinner."

Then in February, I found out I was allergic to eggs.  The food that I had grown to love, ripped away from me.  

Once again, my dear friends, who both eat a paleo diet, found me recipes that didn't have eggs, or could be made without eggs, but were still filling.   One of the recipes was a root vegetable hash topped with meat and avocado and a fried egg.  Leave the fried egg out of the recipe, and I would have a tasty breakfast! 

My local grocery store makes amazing homemade sausages.  They have so many flavors, including an Italian breakfast sausage.  Right now, I can't eat it because it contains bay leaves and some other ingredients that I tested positive to.  

The other day, I really wanted some sausage on my breakfast hash, so I decided to figure out how to make it myself.  

I am a lazy cook, I admit it.  So instead of starting out with a whole pork roast and pork fat and grinding it myself, I decided to buy plain, organic ground pork and just season it for myself.  I added salt, pepper, some of my fermented garlic cloves, and a chopped up red bell pepper.  I mixed it all together and browned it in the skillet.  I could have stuffed it into casings or even made patties, but that's so much work, and I was hungry! 

I ended up roasting my sweet potatoes in the oven only because they end up using so much fat when you cook them in a skillet and they get a bit too greasy for my taste.  I know that one should get plenty of healthy fats in their diet, and I would already be eating lots of other healthy fats in this meal. 

 Everything in moderation, right?!?!

While the sweet potatoes were cooking, I added a diced up onion and added it to the browned sausage.  I let it cook until it was soft and translucent.  When the potatoes were done, I added them to the skillet with the cooked sausage and tossed it.  I served it with sliced avocado on top.  You could definitely add a fried egg or two on top.  I was getting low on veggies when I made this, but I will add more veggies in with the onions, like some chopped baby spinach or some shredded zucchini.  And with any breakfast, it would be great topped with some hot sauce.  But the eggs and hot sauce will have to wait for me right now.  But you should try it and tell me how it was!  

Homemade Breakfast Sausage 

2 lbs organic ground pork

2 tbl salt

2 tbl of pepper

1 red bell pepper, minced

4 tbl fennel seeds

10 (fermented - opt.) garlic cloves, minced

Mix all ingredients together until just combined.   Can form into patties first if desired.  Brown in the skillet or use in your favorite recipe! Always cook pork thoroughly until no longer pink in the middle. 

Grain-Free Summer Fruit Crisp

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism." ~Erma Bombeck

Ah, the 4th of July.  A day for celebrating our country with BBQ's, alcohol, and explosives.  A day off of work to spend with your friends and family surrounded by piles of food.  A day spent hopefully near a body of water - a lake, a swimming pool, a slip-n-slide - to help you manage the summer heat.  

When you have food allergies, and you are going to a BBQ, instant panic sets in.  What will I be able to eat?  What if I eat something that makes me sick?  Should I just pack all my own food?  Will I offend the host if I don't eat any of their food?

As I get further along my journey, I have become more pro-active about making sure I will be able to eat when I go somewhere.  I am learning to speak up at a restaurant to ensure I don't accidentally eat something I shouldn't.  I am carrying snacks in my purse in case we are out later than anticipated and I need a quick bite to eat.  I am bringing my own food to BBQs so I can guarantee that there is something I will be able to eat.  

A couple days before the 4th, I asked my in-laws what was on the menu:  cheese burgers, chili dogs, spinach dip, broccoli salad, potato salad, cake, peach cobbler.  All the family 4th favorites.  Nothing I can eat.  

I had to get creative.  Nothing is worse than feeling like the odd man out.  I'm watching you eat your cake while I eat an apple.  Sure, it's a million times better for me, and it's not going to make me sick, but I really miss having cake with everyone else.  

I searched and searched.  I came up with a menu for the day that will be 100% things that I can eat, but will also be foods like everyone else is eating, and yummy enough to share.  

Roasted corn and jalapeño salsa

Late July Organic Chips, Summertime Blues and Sea Salt by the Sea Shore

Grass-fed hamburger patties

Applegate Organic All beef hot dogs

Quinoa "pasta" salad

Grain-Free Fruit crisp

It was going to be a yummy 4th of July for me.  There would be no surviving on a lara bar for me today!  And best of all, there would be no stomach aches and no food hangovers!  

I have a dear friend that has started eating a "Paleo" based diet.  She eats nothing processed, no grains, no dairy, no soy, no legumes, no sugar.  Nothing but lean meats, fish, nuts, fruits, and veggies.  Eating just like someone in the "Paleo" era, or a Caveman, would eat.  She has lost tons of weight, has become super active, and feels amazing.  She is so inspirational to me!

Lately, I get much of my cooking inspiration from paleo style recipes.  With the exception of eggs and a few other minor things, I can eat many paleo recipes, unaltered.  Even though I don't eat this way exclusively, I try to focus most of my meals around this food lifestyle.  I feel so much better during the day if I skip the carbs and fill up on proteins that will fuel my body hours after the carbs have burned off.  

Paleo desserts?   

Who knew there was such a thing?!?!?!  

I love peach cobbler so much, but can't eat that soft, buttery, sweet, cake-like biscuit on top.  Crisps and crumbles are also my favorite, but they are full of oats, flours, and butters.  More stuff I can't eat.  

Enter the grain free crisp.  

I found this amazing sounding grain-free apple crisp at Stacy's Paleo Kitchen.  I read the recipe, and my mouth was already watering.  

A quick call to mom.

"Can you make apple crisp with other fruits, like peaches and berries?  Can they be fresh? Frozen?"

"Yes." 

"Yes." 

"Yes."  

And a bit of advise. 

"Make sure to add some extra thickener to the fruit if you don't use other fruits besides apples or else it may get too runny." 

I went in the kitchen, grabbed out all my favorite fruits, fresh and frozen, and went to work.  I'm a really bad baker because I don't usually measure anything.  I just dump, sprinkle, and pour 'till it looks and tastes right.  Which is probably why I'm so bad at baking where measurements really matter.  This recipe is really forgiving because it will work even if you just use a big spoonful instead of exactly 2tbl of coconut oil! 

Grain Free Fruit Crisp 

4-6 cups mixed fruit, washed, peeled, seeded, cored, etc(apples, plums, apricots, peaches, nectarines, blueberries, raspberries, etc)
1-2 tbl cornstarch  or arrowroot powder
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbl raw honey
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 - 3/4 cup shredded coconut
1/2 - 3/4 cup pecans, chopped
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbl coconut oil
1/3  cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350*.

Place fruit in a medium sized glass baking dish.  An 8x8 square, large pie pan, or a casserole dish. I never measure the fruit, just keep adding until the dish is full.

Sprinkle fruit with arrowroot powder, cinnamon, and honey and stir gently to combine.

In a medium bowl, mix together, almond flour, coconut, pecans, cinnamon, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt.

Top the fruit with the crumble mixture and bake until the top is browned and the fruit starts to bubble, approximately 45 minutes.  Serve warm.

This post was shared on whole food fridays.