Primal Day 10- Precious Moments and Primal Pancakes

I'm going to be honest, it hasn't been an easy past few days. So much life has been happening- juicy life, the kind you remember forever- finding the deliciousness within the struggle and the trying times. Those tiny moments you reach to glean and savor so that you aren't crushed by stress, worry... pain. Just so much life- to accept, to adjust to, to truly and fully experience before it's gone.

That said, I'm an emotional eater and I always have been. I stuff people full of my most delicious adoration to show my love, and when I need a crutch myself, I savor... food.
I know it isn't the greatest crutch, but I'm working on it. I have actually been pretty darn good. A little extra dark chocolate, a drizzle of raw honey, one too many apples, but nothing that throws me off track. I've been awful at exercise the past few days. I probably need it more right now. I'll get on that today I think. I need a break from the abundant cortisol!

Okay, enough about me. You want to hear about the food I've made?? Of course you do.
I've taken up this beautiful primal habit of using food up until there's nothing left in it. Animals especially. I've been reading some great stuff over on Mark's Daily Apple (because it's chalk full of great stuff!), and I just can't throw away a carcass anymore! We've been trying to get more meats that aren't chopped, trimmed and scoured down to presentable bits. Our very first official primal day, after a nice long primal shopping trip and with no time to cook before the ravenous tiny new cave people began throwing fits, we brought home a rotisserie chicken. That night I started my first homemade stock. I stuck the carcass- bones, fat, skin and all in a pot with some celery and garlic, covered it in water and boiled it for about 4 hours. It was my first time, and it was delicious, but I could do better. Since then I've made 4 or 5 batches of good chicken and beef stock- fat and mineral rich. And it's as easy as sticking the bones or carcass in the crockpot (sometimes just back in the same crockpot it was cooked in with all the fat and drippings), covering it with water and a touch of apple cider vinegar (to leach out more minerals) and letting it cook for hours. Usually at least 10 hours, sometimes up to 24 hours. It's SO good!! I've taken to freezing some of it in muffin tins and then transferring the 1/3 cup "pucks" of stock into a gallon ziploc to keep in the freezer for future use.

This morning my oldest son asked, "Mom, when is this challenge going to be over? I miss sandwiches and treats." I told him we'd be eating this way for a long time and that treats every once in a while will be okay after our bodies have fully adjusted.
It made me realize I needed to try to make some paleo "breads" and other substitutes now and then to keep things fresh- especially for my kids. So I went upstairs and made some awesome Primal Pancakes and allowed the kids some fresh local raw honey on them.
That brought a lot of smiles!
I've talked about these before, but I feel like little changes have made a big difference!

Primal Pancakes

6 large eggs
6 heaping tablespoons almond butter (about 2.5-3 oz)
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/3 cup coconut milk
2 tsp vanilla (or scrape out a bean)
a dash of sea salt

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Preheat griddle or pan to about 350˚ melt down a pat of butter and pour your batter on in whatever shapes or circles you deem necessary. Flip once bubble surface in the center of the pancakes and cook for another minute or so. Serve with melted butter and cinnamon, apple butter, sliced pears warmed in melted butter and vanilla or yogurt with a drizzle of raw honey. They also taste pretty great on their own and the texture is awesome!

Lemon Garlic Pasta Salad

This recipe just shouts spring! It turned out really delicious and the only cooking involved is boiling noodles.


Lemon Garlic Pasta Salad

12 -15 oz Whole wheat noodles- I used Hodgson Mills Organic Whole Wheat Penne with Milled Flax Seed
Water for boiling
2 cups chopped broccoli florettes
2-3 diced roma tomatoes or 4-5 campari tomatoes
approx 1/2 cup diced yellow pepper (or sliced mini peppers)
approx 1/2 cup diced red pepper (or sliced mini)
1-2 cups chopped baby bella mushrooms
1/2-1 cup diced seedless cucumber
approx 1/2 15 oz can black olives, sliced

Dressing
1/2-3/4 cup lemon juice
3 Tbsp agave nectar
1 tsp prepared yellow mustard
1/2- 3/4 cup olive oil
4 medium sized garlic cloves, minced or micrograted
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 -1 tsp dried parsley
1/4-1/2 tsp dried basil (this would be so good with fresh!)
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to directions. Run under cold water until no longer warm. Drain well.
In small bowl, place dressing ingredients, whisking olive oil in gradually to emulsify.
In large bowl place vegetables and cold pasta. Cover with dressing mix, tossing to coat well.
Serve and enjoy!
Optional: sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese

Put the AH! in Mahi Mahi

Sometimes my body just wants more protein. No better way to satisfy that craving than an awesome bit of fish. Simple and quick. Add your veg and you have a gorgeous meal!

Pan-Seared Mahi Mahi

Mahi Mahi fillets (I used the frozen ones from Costco)
1/4 cup olive oil
4-5 garlic cloves, roughly crushed with side of knife blade
approx 1-2 tsp dried bouquet garni herbs (parsley, sage, thyme...)
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F. If fish is frozen, quick thaw in warm water bath. Be sure it is thawed through. Rub generously with coarse salt and pepper on both sides. Place oil, crushed garlic cloves and herbs in oven-safe skillet (I use my cast iron). Heat until olive oil just begins to smoke and add your fish fillets. Cook about 2-3 minutes on first side until flesh releases from pan naturally, then turn and cook other side for 1-2 minutes. Once both sides are seared and flesh has released, place entire pan in oven and bake for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

There are all sorts of ways to serve this. You can add an avocado tomato salsa, a buckshot salsa with black beans, baby bella green beans and sweet corn, garlic roasted asparagus, roasted rainbow veggies, or serve it with spinach and garlic mashed potatoes and a green salad. Use your imagination!
We enjoyed it with a gorgeously colorful quinoa salad.

Roasted Garlic Dressing

I didn't have all the ingredients I wanted for a recipe I had brewing in my head, so I improvised. It wasn't one of my best and I hope to tweak it with the right ingredients at some other time, but the dressing was so yum that I thought I'd post that recipe and some suggestions for it's use here.

Roasted Garlic Dressing

1 head fresh garlic
about 3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1-2 tsp sea salt

Chop the top 1/4 off of the head of garlic and drizzle/rub with a little olive oil. Wrap tightly in tinfoil and roast in a 400 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes.
Remove from oven and foil and let cool for about 10 minutes.
Squeeze all the garlic cloves out of the head and put them in a blender (I use my magic bullet) with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, parsley and sea salt . Pulse until smooth.

This would be awesome on a lentil or quinoa salad, roasted potatoes, the rainbow roasted veggies (see prior recipe), a fresh green salad, spinach salad, the possibilities are endless!

Pina Colada Chutney

I was two weeks out from my last Costco trip and in need of some lunch but unwilling to eat anything just for the sake of eating. I needed something good. Out came random cans and leftovers and the dregs of my fresh stuff and here's what happened:

Pina Colada Chutney

1 cup leftover cooked brown rice
1/2 large can drained and rinsed black beans
1 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes with sweet onions
1/2 can drained pineapple
approx 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp sea salt
3-4 tbsp unsweetened shaved coconut

Throw everything but the coconut into a pot and mix well. Heat on stove top stirring occasionally until warmed through. Top each serving with desired amount of coconut and enjoy!

YUM!

Autumn Pasta Rolls

Yum. This is another creation of mine. Easy and healthy.

Autumn Pasta Rolls
1 package Ayuzama wraps (sheets used to make eggrolls)
Filling:
1/2 small to medium zucchini
1 gala apple (fuji or similar type would work)
approx. 2-3 cups fresh spinach
approx 1 cup shredded mozzarella plus a little extra to sprinkle on top
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp dried basil
1 and 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
Salt
Pasta sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
(place all in blender and pulse until mixed well but slightly chunky)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place spinach and cheese in food processor with chopping blades. Pulse until finely chopped. Remove chopping blades and use grater to grate cored apple and zucchini into the mix. Add nutmeg, basil, oregano, garlic and a little salt and stir with spoon by hand until well incorporated.
Spread a few spoonfuls of sauce in bottom of baking dish (prepared with cooking spray). Scoop about 1/3-1/2 cup of filling into the center of a wrap sheet and roll into a tube and place roll in baking dish. Repeat until filling is gone, placing wraps side by side in baking dish. Once dish is full, cover wraps with remaining sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake for about 5 more minutes. Let cool and set for about 10 minutes and serve with a colorful green salad.
Makes about 8 rolls- feeds 4-6.

Savory Garlic Coconut Shrimp Risotto

Holy Moly. This one came out of nowhere!

Once a week or so our family eats a little meat with our dinner. It usually ends up being Sunday night, but sometimes we have it on Saturdays too. We try to keep the animal product consumption below 10%.
Tonight I pulled some shrimp out of the freezer and some leftover brown rice out of the fridge and made magic! I made this up- yes, but I don't know quite how. Heaven.

Savory Garlic Coconut Shrimp Risotto
approx 2 to 2 1/2 cups frozen shrimp (pre-cooked, de-veined, tail off- as easy as it comes)
6 cloves garlic
1 1/2 cups water
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 cups pre-cooked brown rice
1 13 oz can coconut milk (you'll use 3/4 of it)
3/4 cup frozen corn
approx 1 tsp chili powder
salt

1. Defrost shrimp in warm water.
2.Place garlic cloves, water and 1/2 tsp salt in blender (I used my magic bullet) and pulse until garlic is in fairly small chunks.
3.Drain shrimp, place in bowl and cover with garlic water mixture. Marinate for 10 minutes.
4. Heat coconut oil in large skillet, add diced red pepper and saute for approx 1 minute.
5. Strain water from shrimp and garlic. Add lime juice and a little extra salt and toss to coat.
6. Add shrimp mixture to skillet and stir to coat with oil. Cook for approx 2 minutes
7. Add about 1/2 can coconut milk to skillet and bring to boil, then turn down to simmer. Add chili powder and a little salt. Mix well.
8. Add brown rice and mix in well. Let cook for 2 minutes or so and then add corn.
9. As the rice soaks up the milk, gradually add about 1/4 more can of coconut milk while stirring.
10. Let simmer on medium low until most of moisture is soaked up and it's at about a risotto consistency.
Serve with a colorful green salad and enjoy!