Eggplant Pizza with Tomato Sauce

Eggplant was abundant at my CSA this year.  Lucky for them because with the drought we've had, not much else was hearty enough to withstand it. 

Lucky for them, less lucky for me, since I don't love the stuff.  Ratatouille - meh.  Eggplant Parmesan - can't do bread crumbs.  Babaganoush - looks like a big pile of mush.  I can't just throw the things away and giving them away seemed kind of wasteful also.  Somewhere my brain recalled a video of someone making a Paleo pizza crust from eggplant.  I haven't had pizza in forever.  Pizza is delicious!  Yay brain!  Let's make PIZZA!

I won't try to fool you and say this pizza tastes just like delivery.  But if you have eggplant, this is a pretty good vehicle for using it up.  And eggplant is really healthy and has lots of fiber.   Mmmm... Fiber.  Just kidding.  But we all know we need it, especially after a lot of meat-gorging.

The recipe for the crust is simple, and I used one I found here:

INGREDIENTS

About a pound of eggplant, shredded

2 whole eggs, beaten

1 oz, weight (about 1/4 cup) grated parmesan cheese

1 Tbs golden flax meal

1/4 tsp salt

Coconut oil

Sauce, cheese, and toppings of your choice

Preheat oven to 450

Toss the eggplant shreds with the salt while you prepare the other ingredients. This will help draw out some moisture.

Squeeze out as much moisture as you can from the eggplant (either by hand or using the press method shown below).

Combine the drained eggplant shreds with the other ingredients.
Line a baking sheet or pizza pan with parchment paper. Lightly coat it with coconut oil. Press the eggplant mixture into a round shape about 1/4" thick.

 

  Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

 

Flip the crust half way through baking: coat a second piece of parchment with coconut oil and lay it on top of the pizza crust.  Put a second cookie sheet on top of the parchment and flip the whole works over (please PLEASE do not burn yourself.  If you are clumsy, please wait until the first cookie sheet has slightly cooled before attempting this maneuver).  Remove the first cookie sheet and peel the first piece of parchment off. 

Continue baking another 5 - 10 minutes or until golden brown, then top with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and whatever toppings you like.  I used Applegate Naturals Uncured Pepperoni.  I also highly recommend crumbled homemade sausage.


Pizza Sauce

6 oz. can tomato paste
1 teaspoon coconut sugar (optional)
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

After topping, bake an additional 5 - 7 minutes, until the cheese has melted. 

This re-heats really well in a toaster oven, if you have leftovers.




.

Paleo Zucchini Bread

Just look at that gorgeous, tall loaf of bread.

One thing that I struggled with about Paleo (and being gluten-free) was the nasty bread alternatives.  Gluten-free breads are typically dry and crumbly.  Okay for toast or bread crumbs but I never found one suitable for a sandwich. 

Paleo bread recipes do not rise the same as traditional breads.  There is no gluten in them to help the molecules hold together but there are other ways to achieve baking magic.  Cooking is an art, but baking is a science.  Once you learn the science, the recipes become managable.  I realize not everyone is a science-of-baking nerd like me, so I will do a whole other post about the science of Paleo baking some other day.  Let's just talk about this pretty loaf right here.

Zucchini bread.  Healthy, right?  Traditionally, no.  My original recipe calls for lots of sugar, flour, and a little zucchini.  My improved recipe has less than 1/2 tablespoon of honey per slice which makes it very low carb.  I don't feel guilty eating this bread.  It is moist and delicious and since it's not very sweet, I might even use it to make a sandwich.  But really, it's so good all on its own, it'll probably never make it to sandwichdom.

After shredding, squeeze some of the liquid out of the zucchini.  Just simply take a small handfull and squeeze it before measuring and pack it lightly in the measuring cup.
Or you could do this method.   Place the shredded zucchini into a fine mesh strainer over a larger bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, place a smaller bowl on top and put into the bowl a weight of some kind. This is a 1-pound jar. Then let it sit for one hour.

Low Carb Zucchini Bread

1 cup almond butter (toasted, unsweetened)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/3 cup honey
3 eggs
1 cup shredded zucchini (squeezed)
1/2 cup golden flax meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or 1/2 tsp. ground ginger, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon allspice)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Prepare a bread pan by coating with coconut oil and line the bottom with a piece of parchment paper, then coat the parchment with a little more coconut oil.
In a large bowl, mix together almond butter, coconut oil, honey, and eggs then stir in zucchini.  In a smaller bowl, mix together flax meal, salt, baking soda, and spices then stir the dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture.  Add vanilla. 
Place into parepared pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
After removing from the oven, allow the bread to sit in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and allow it to cool on a rack. 

Slice and wrap the cooled loaf in plastic and store in the refrigerator for 1 week (if you can keep it around that long) or store in the freezer wrapped in plastic and placed in a zipper freezer bag with most of the air squeezed out.  This loaf will keep in the freezer for 4 or 5 months.








.

Collard Wraps

Wrap sandwiches are a quick, portable lunch.  Collard leaves make a wonderful Paleo alternative to tortillas for wrap sandwiches.  Turn over the leaf and with a sharp knife, remove as much of the rib as possible without cutting through the leaf.  I found that it's much easier to do this if I bend the leaf over the edge of the cutting board.

 

Add sliced meats and cheese (if you are ok with dairy), onion, peppers... or whatever you like.  Fold in the ends and roll up.  I look for large leaf bunches but if you can't find them, you can set two together: stem-end overlapping stem-end and continue wrapping the same way.  You will have a separation you have to pay attention to, but if you overlap enough, your wrap will stay together.

 



 

 

Wrap in plastic.

Another option for filling is cashew cheese or use cashew cheese as a base for mock chicken salad (add onion, celery, sunflower seeds, a bit of apple cider vinegar, some walnuts, if you like).

 

Dry ingredients work best as fillings since the collard leaf will not absorb any moisture.  Meatballs and marinara are not recommended... take my word for it.  You may as well try to eat soup with chopsticks.

 

 

 

 

 

.

Paleo Teriyaki Sauce

There are many varieties of Teriyaki sauce.  My favorite is sweet, salty, and a tiny bit spicy.  Some say that garlic is not traditional in Teriyaki but I like it.  If you prefer, you can leave it out or replace it with a teaspoon of fresh ginger.

I may have mentioned that I like sauces.  I try not to over-indulge in sauce.  It's better to taste the food with a hint of sauce, I know... I know.  I'm getting better about that.  At least now, it's healthy, real food and not some mass of chemicals bound together with corn starch and soy. 

Paleo Teriyaki Sauce
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 can (12 oz.) frozen pineapple juice concentrate
1/2 cup Coconut Aminos
2 to 4 teaspoons fine sea salt
2 tablespoons crushed garlic
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 cup honey

In a medium sized pot over medium heat, saute onion and 1 teaspoon salt in olive oil until onion is translucent and beginning to brown.  Add pineapple juce concentrate, Coconut Aminos, garlic, red pepper, vinegar, and honey plus 1 tablespoon salt.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce to medium and continue simmering for 10 minutes.  Turn off heat and mix well with a stick blender (or cool slightly and mix in a food processor or blender).  Taste and see if it needs more salt.  Return to heat and boil gently for another 3 - 4 minutes.  Sauce should be thick but not a paste.  Cool, then place in jars and store in the refrigerator for up to one month.  Makes 3 half-pint jars.





.

Creamy Ranch Dressing

We are still in recovery mode from storms that hit last weekend.  Our home was without power for four days and we do not own a generator yet, which means not only was I unable to blog but the oppressive heat made cooking unbearable and the thought of eating was mostly undesirable. 

No power also means I lost every perishable food item. 

No carefully frozen strawberries for smoothies.  No gallons of chicken stock that boiled on the stove for 10 hours until it was delicious, thick, chicken-flavored gelatin.  No grass-fed milk for my coffee (that one was the real sore spot).


So now, I'm cleaning up and thinking how I'm going to rebuild my precious food stores when the continuing 100+ degree temperatures make thoughts of cooking less than wonderful.

Before all this craziness and heat, I was thinking about Ranch dressing.  I was considering the components and decided to do a little research and see if there were any Paleo recipes out there.  Are there ever!  One Paleo site I really admire is Mark's Daily Apple.  He posts recipes, exercise, and general Paleo living info.  His recipe for Creamy Ranch Dressing looks easy and delicious.  So, rather than repeating his recipe here, you can check out his post instead.

I'm going to eat some cold salad and try to beat this heat!








.

Potluck Cabbage Salad

This is an excellent salad to bring to a potluck.  No weird ingredients for skeptics to sneer at and nothing fussy.  Just toss all the ingredients together when it's gathering time.  This salad is best when it is freshly made.

Crunchy cabbage and almonds with a sweet/salty dressing and just a hint of smokiness from the bacon oil.

1 pound green and red cabbage, shredded
2 large or a couple of handfuls of baby carrots, shredded
    (or go the easy route and throw in a hand full of pre-shredded)
6 green onions and tops, diced
1/4 cup toasted, slivered almonds

To make ahead (because that's always more convenient!) shred the cabbage and carrots and toss with the green onions.  Keep the almonds separate until you are ready to serve so they don't absorb moisture.

Bacon dressing:
2 Tablespoons melted bacon oil
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 teaspoons fine sea salt

Pour ingredients into a small jar with a lid and shake vigorously to combine.
Drizzle over mixed cabbage, carrots and onions and toss.  Then top with almonds.









.

Paleo Vanilla-Caramel Ice Cream

Treat, Don't Cheat

This is a great motto!  Follow the Paleo guidelines but still allow yourself to have fabulous treats.  Ice cream is definitely a treat, wouldn't you say?  

This is true, old-fashioned ice cream.  Real milk and cream from grass-fed cows (scroll down for a dairy-free version).   Pastured/cage-free eggs (don't be mislead by the term 'vegetarian diet' -- that means chickens were not allowed to roam freely and eat bugs, as chickens like to do).

Coconut sugar is minimally processed.  It does not taste like coconut.  The lightest coconut sugar is labelled 'Blonde'.  I have not tested darker sugars so I don't know how they would turn out in a recipe.  Blonde sugar gives a bit of caramel flavor and light beige color.

Be sure vanilla does not contain corn syrup.


Paleo Ice Cream
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup 'blonde' coconut sugar
5 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla

Separate eggs and place yolks in a large bowl. 

Over medium-low, begin to heat 1 cup cream and 1 cup milk in a large-sized sauce pan. When the milk begins to steam, add coconut sugar and stir constantly with a heat resistant rubber spatula until the milk begins to thicken slightly and sugar is dissolved.  Milk will have a caramel color and you may see a few brown floaties.  This is totally okay.

Temper hot milk into egg yolks.  Place your bowl on a shelf liner, damp towel, or one of those rubbery hot pads to keep it from sliding around, whisking with one hand, begin to add milk very slowly.  You want to gently warm the yolks without scrambling them.  Add just a few drops at first, then slowly increase the stream as you are pouring and whisking simultaneously.  Pour about 3/4 of the hot milk into eggs, then pour the egg mixture back into the pan of milk.  Cook over very low heat for less than one minute, stirring constantly.  You are cooking the eggs without them knowing it. 

Pour the milk/egg mixture through a fine mesh strainer into your large bowl to remove any egg lumps or large bits of sugar.  Add remaining 1/2 cup milk and 1-1/2 cups cream and stir well.  Place a piece of plastic wrap on the surface of the liquid, gently working any large air bubbles to the side of the bowl.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Add vanilla just before churning your ice cream.  Follow your machine's instructions.

Dairy-Free: substitute coconut milk for all of the milk and heavy cream.  All other instructions remain the same.  I prefer Thai Kitchen coconut milk (full fat variety).

In the top photo is a delicious zucchini brownie, also Paleo.  You can find the recipe here.



.

Classic Spinach Salad with Hot Bacon Dressing

Next time you cook bacon, use the drippings to make this dressing.

1/2 cup bacon fat oil, melted
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 or 2 tablespoons honey
sea salt & black pepper

This dressing is meant to be hot to help lightly wilt the spinach.
Place all the ingredients in a glass jar with a lid and stir with a spoon.  Then drizzle the mixed dressing over:
Chopped baby spinach
Red Pepper
Red onion

Refrigerate unused dressing and use within two months.  Remove the jar lid to reheat in the microwave.

Wilted Mixed Greens with Bacon

Greens!  Greens!  Greens! 
Greens are packed with vitamins and minerals and when I cook up a big batch, they become convenience food.  I always get a bundle of mixed types of greens in my CSA pack, and usually never enough to make a meal of just one type.  All greens do NOT taste the same, and I prefer the taste of some over others.  If it weren't for my CSA, I would proabably not eat Rainbow Chard by choice.  It is lovely to look at, but I just simply don't enjoy the taste of the darn things.  Mixed with a variety of other greens, a bit of vinegar, some honey and hot pepper, and of course bacon, unappealing greens become a healthy and tasty balanced meal, or quick snack when I'm starving before dinner.


1 yellow onion, diced
6 strips thick-sliced bacon (nitrate & nitrite free)
1 pound mixed delicate greens -- choose Swiss Chard, Rainbow Chard, beet greens
1 or 2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup honey
Sea salt & black pepper

Slice raw bacon into matchsticks, or get yourself a kitchen shears and snip it!  This is the fastest way I know to cut bacon.  It also saves having to wash another cutting board.

Over medium-high heat, begin to cook bacon until some of the fat melts a bit, then add onion and 1/2 tablespoon salt and reduce heat to medium.  Saute until bacon is browned and onions are golden.

Remove stems from greens.  Dice stems and add to onions.  Increase heat to medium-high.  Coursely chop leaves and set aside.  Saute stem/onion mix until stems lose a bit of their crunch, about 3 minutes.

Add chicken broth, garlic, red pepper, black pepper, vinegar, and honey.  Taste the broth to see if it needs more salt.

When broth liquid is boiling, add chopped greens.  Gently turn leaves to wilt those near the top.  This should only take a few seconds.


This recipe also works for Mustard greens, Turnip greens, and Dandelion greens however, you may want to increase the amount of vinegar and honey in this recipe to help balance the bitter flavor.






.

What is Paleo?

FastPaleo.com
http://fastpaleo.com/free-paleo-cheatsheet/







.

Paleo: What To Eat: Out

Paleo is not difficult to live.

...as long as you are home and have complete control over what goes in your body.  Frequently, I travel and that requires some forward-thinking to avoid catastrophe as well as much bloating and discomfort. 

I have a variety of plans, depending on the length of the trip. 

For a day- or evening- trip, such as when I have an appointment that doesn't allow me a leisurely meal (or when I just don't want to spend a lot of money), I go to a place like Subway.  Yep, Subway is my go-to- in a pinch when I'm at the mall at lunch and I'm starving.  Subway offers a few salad options that are delicious and easy to fit in Paleo.  Stores offer lettuce, tomato, green pepper, onion, pickles, peppers, grilled chicken breast, vinegar and oil (not 100% sure about what type of oil but I've never had any negative reaction from it).  Currently, they are offering avocado, which is a great healthy fat.  Their nutrition information also says that some of the deli meats are gluten free (however, I wouldn't rule out corn or soy here, so the safest option is chicken).

My other option is often: the grocery store.  Let me clarify - the Organic grocery store with lots of gluten-free, dairy-free options and staff who understand that my questions about these are not to be taken as an annoyance, but as a way of survival.

This was my dinner the other night from Fresh Market grocery store: organic lettuce, Naked juice (orance carrot), whole avocado, and smoked salmon.  Other options for me on this particular day could have included shrimp, whole fruits (grapes, cherries, apples, etc.), or olives.  This dinner with 1/4 pound of smoked salmon was about $12.  I still have half the avocado and most of the lettuce left, so I feel this was a decent bargain.

The salad bar.  The salad bar and I have a love-hate relationship, it seems.  Every time I test a salad bar it seems fine.  I find lettuce, tomato, onion, egg, sometimes a vinaigrette that doesn't contain soy or wheat ingedients.  Usually it's around $7/pound, which is pretty reasonable.
When I go back a second time, I have issues so... Do the salad bar at your own risk.

Things that are totally unsafe at the salad bar:
mayo-based salads
pasta salads
imitation seafood
Jell-o
bacon bits
croutons

I think one problem with the salad bar is cross-contamination.  People use the tongs meant for the onion to serve up a bit of pasta salad.  Once the tongs touch the gluten, it's all over for the onions.  A lot of people (including my husband... surprise!) don't understand how easily cross-contamination occurs.  If they felt the pain of a hugely bloated gut one time, maybe they wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it as over reacting.
I also do not choose items from the pre-cooked deli for similar reasons.  I have no idea what has gone onto the items I'm about to purchase so I err on the side of caution.

Items at the pre-cooked deli that I consider unsafe:
roasted chicken
deli meats
most cheeses
anything with a "sauce" on it

Sometimes I go out and find that I have been out for much longer than I anticipated and do not have snacks with me and I'm starving.  What to do?...  These are items you can find in most grocery or convenience stores.

"Safe" Emergency Snacks:
roasted almonds (unflavored)
sunflower seeds
macadamia nuts
pistachios in the shell
raisins
bananas
grapes
water
100% orange juice
100% apple juice
fruit cups in 100% juice


For an extended stay (3 days or more) I use a phone app: TripAdvisor to scope out restaurants, get menus to peruse, and check ratings on restaurants in the area I will travel.

There are a few tricks I use when eating out that help me have fewer distressing issues.
For breakfast:
Never choose scrambled eggs.  You will most often get eggs from a carton that contains stabilizers made with gluten.  Instead, choose whole eggs over-easy, over-hard, sunny-side-up.
Never choose omelets, for the reason above.
Never choose sausage.  I know you love it, but packaged sausage has a ton of garbage in it and it's unlikely that your potential restaurant makes their own sausage.  Choose bacon.  It may not be nitrite-free, but it will be closer to your Paleo requirements than anything else on the menu.
Fresh fruit (if you need the carbs)
Coffee or tea with honey (if they have it).  Better than non-dairy creamer by far!
For lunch:
salad
grilled chicken
I avoid burgers when eating out. I try to avoid beef that is not Grass-fed and I have very little luck finding a really great burger out anyway, so I figure it's no longer worth it to even try.
For dinner:
steak
salad (ask for no croutons -- I often forget)
grilled chicken
steamed shrimp
broiled fish
Japanese sashimi, seaweed salad, avocado
Italian anti-pasto salad
mussels in white wine sauce
duck
lobster
raw oysters
I'm in Maryland so, steamed crabs are a great option, in season.


I am a "snacker".  I love little nibbles of things throughout the day.  Here are some Paleo things that help me.  These are excellent snacks to take along on short trips or when you may be out shopping for the day.
Larabar
http://www.larabar.com/

Larabar that are not Paleo: peanut butter, chocolate chip, and Uber bars that have rice syrup.
Otherwise, Larabar is the perfect Paleo snack.  Made with dates, nuts, and fruit and that's it!  I love them.  So simple.  So delicious.


Kale Krunch chips
http://shop.kaiafoods.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=1814

Simple kale snacks that curb my craving for potato/snack chips.  They are made with kale, cashews, and a few other Paleo-approved ingredients.  Read the label.


Tanka Bites
http://www.amazon.com/Tanka-Bites-Pepper-3-Ounce-Packages/dp/B0045TXNSS/ref=pd_sim_gro_2

Tanka Bites are bison and cranberry.  The Hot Bites are not terribly spicy and are slightly less sweet as compared to the regular flavor.


The Buffalo Guys Bison Jerky
http://www.thebuffaloguys.com/catalog/jerky

Sweet, salty, bison-y.  These are a staple whenever I travel.

Love Force Italian Kale Chips
http://www.naturescornernaturalmarket.com/2012/05/19/staff-picks-love-force-vegan-raw-italian-kale-chips/

These are my favorite kale chips.


Just Fruit Salad, Just Fruit Munchies, Just Peaches, etc. from Just Tomatoes, Inc.
http://www.justtomatoes.com/jtstore/pc/viewCategories.asp?idCategory=4

Freeze-dried crunchy fruit.

When the chocolate craving hits:
http://stirsthesoul.com/

Many of their bars are sweetened with dates, coconut palm sugar, or honey.







None of the products I mention have paid me for this -- they are simply products that I love.

Kale Salad with Dried Cherries, Toasted Pecans, and Berry Vinaigrette Dressing

This salad came at the suggestion of a friend at work.  She too is trying to eat healthier and kale is super-fantastically healthy.  A lot of people don't love kale with its hearty, dryish texture.  Curly kale is particularly difficult to get really clean and even washing every leaf individually still leaves me with one or two crunches of sand.  I highly recommend Red Kale which is much easier to clean and a bit more delicate than the curly variety.  Remove thick sections of stem for an even more delicate salad.

Mixed with chewy, unsweetened dried cherries, crunchy toasted pecans, and a fruity vinaigrette dressing, kale actually becomes fabulous.  This salad is super quick to make.

Berry Vinaigrette Dressing

In a jar with a lid mix:
1/3 cup juice sweetened preserves such as those in the previous recipe or one from the list below*
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, or champagne vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
sea salt & black pepper
Shake vigorously to combine.
Refrigerate remaining dressing and use within 2 weeks.

Toast shelled pecans by placing them on a baking sheet (I toast a cup or so at a time so I don't have to turn on the oven every time I want a salad.) into a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes.  They should smell toasty and any broken pieces will begin to look tanned.

Drizzle dressing over chopped kale, toss lightly then top with cherries, pecans, and a bit of red onion, if desired.

Bare Fruit dried cherries have no sugar or other sweeteners.


Fruit Spread brands without sugar or sweeteners (other than fruit):
*McCutcheon's Juice Sweetened Seedless Blackberry Preserves
http://shop.seasidecountrystore.com/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=64

St. Dalfour Preserves
http://www.amazon.com/St-Dalfour-Raspberry-Spread-2-pack/dp/B007XXXICO/ref=sr_1_22?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1339014915&sr=1-22

365 brand Fruit Spread (not jelly)
 http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/item.php?RID=896

 Bionaturae Organic Fruit Spread
 http://www.shoporganic.com/product/bionaturae-organic-wild-berry-fruit-spread-9-oz/jams_jellies_fruit_spreads

 Crofter's Just Fruit Spread.
http://www.amazon.com/Crofters-Organic-Blackberry-Fruit-Spread/dp/B0078DPY12/ref=sr_1_8?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1339015631&sr=1-8







.

Spiced Strawberry Preserves

Preserves are one of my little secrets.  I could make foods without them, but those foods would not be fabulous.  Why eat anything that isn't fabulous?  Put into your body, your temple the best food with fabulous flavor and your body will be your friend.  Maybe for the first time in your life.  Before I started on the Paleo diet I hated my body.  Even when I was young and thin, my body never felt this good.

One misconception I had when I started the Paleo journey was, "Everything is going to be so boring, I'll never stick with it."  No soy sauce?  No Teriyaki?  No sweet and tangy barbecue sauce on my chicken wings?  All of those sauces in the grocery with their bright labels and syrupy deliciousness were killing me and I didn't know it.  Corn syrup, monosodium glutamate, soy, canola oil (do you know what it's made from??).  Chemical stabilizers to keep all the ingredients perfectly combined while the bottle sits on the shelf for months.  But, gee... they sure are delicious!

Delicious.  I must have delicious.

So I got to work figuring out how to make the delicious without the bad-for-me.  I read labels of sauces I liked and figured out how best to create sauces that fit with the Paleo style.  There are Gluten-Free sauces you can buy, but they still contain corn starch and soy ingredients which do evil evil things to my body. 

Enter the star of this post: Spiced Strawberry Preserves.  You may be thinking, "Hold on now, preserves are not sauce."  You are correct.  Preserves are not, by themselves a sauce exactly.  Although you can melt them and use them as a sauce over ice cream.  I use these preserves as a basis for sauces and dressings as well as a flavoring boost for things like fruit crumble.  Is your mouth watering yet?  More recipes are definitely on the way.

Made on a whim when I had an abundance of fresh picked, local strawberries.  Some of my best inspirations come when I'm in a pinch because I'm in a hurry and don't wish to run to the store.  The original preserve recipe called for white wine and I didn't have any.  I had just been perusing recipes that used strawberries and Balsamic vinegar and thought that sounded like a fine combination, when I already had Balsamic on hand.  Be aware that some Balsamic vinegars are made with caramel color and this is often made from wheat so search labels to find one without it.

For my recipe, you should use a water bath canning method and Pomona Pectin.
http://pickyourown.org/water_bath_canning_directions.php
http://www.pomonapectin.com/faqs.html
One small box of Pomona Pectin Powder will make several batches of jam or preserves.


Spiced Strawberry Preserves

3 pints strawberries  ( 5-6 cups )  rinsed, hulled, and slightly mashed
3 lemons zest and juice (1/2 cup)
1/3 cup Pomona Calcium Water (instructions in the box)
4 teaspoons Pomona Pectin powder
16 oz. frozen apple juice concentrate
1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon Jamaica allspice

Quick directions, if you have done this canning thing before:
Wash and rinse jars; let stand in hot water.  Bring lids to boil separately; turn down heat; let stand in hot water.
Prepare fruit.  Place fruit with lemon juice into a pan.
Add calcium water into the pan and stir well.  Begin warming the fruit on low heat.
Bring 2 cups of juice concentrate to a boil separately.  Put in blender or food processor.  Add pectin powder; blend 1 - 2 minutes until all the powder is dissolved.
Bring fruit + lemon juice to a boil.  Add pectin-concentrate, stir until well mixed.  Bring back to a boil and remove from heat.  Add remaining ingredients.  Cool a spoon full and taste.  If it is tangy, that's good.  If it is really sour, add 1/4 cup of Wildflower Honey.
Fill jars to 1/2" of the top.  Wipe rims clean.  Screw on 2-piece lids.  Put filled jars in boiling water to cover.  Boil 5 minutes.
Remove from water and place on a towel.  Let cool.  Check seals -- lids should be sucked down.
Makes about 10 -  8oz. jars.

-----> If you have never canned before, this is an excellent recipe to get your feet wet.  Read the canning directions carefully, print them out if you need to, and also read the instructions for using Pomona Pectin. 

After jars have cooled for 24 hours remove rings, gently wipe the jar's screw-top ridges with a damp cloth, and place jars in a cool dark place (without rings*) for at least one month before using the preserves.  This gives them time to fully develop flavors.  It is best to use the preserves within one year but if proper canning methods are followed and jars are kept cool and seals remain in tact, they can easily be kept for two years.  If you ever notice a jar's seal has popped during storage and the top is domed, do not use it!  If you open a jar and its contents smell bad, do not use it!  Wash and save rings for use after you open your preserves and want to keep them in the fridge.

*You want to remove the rings and clean the jars to avoid mold and deter insects and other critters from being attracted to your canning.  Jars that are properly sealed do not need rings on them until after you open the jar.

I have found a ton of uses for these preserves and I will be sharing some recipes later that use it.  Here is a little teaser to keep you interested:  Strawberry Barbecue Sauce, Strawberry Vinaigrette Dressing, Mixed Berry Vinaigrette Dressing, Chicken Liver Pate' with Bacon and Strawberry Preserves.

I flubbed (read: I didn't follow my own directions) and the fruit floated to the top in the jars.  This will not affect the preserves at all.  If this happens, simply stir the contents when you open the jar.




.

Country Pork Sausage

Packaged sausage is expensive and contains corn syrup, a lot of salt, and usually some mystery ingredients (DHA? natural flavorings?) as well as Modified Food Starch or dextrose, which are gluten ingredients.  I never knew I could make my own sausage, thinking there was some magic to it.  There is no magic and you can customize it to your own tastes.  You can add ingredients like sun dried tomatoes or dried apple pieces, if those are things that lure you to try the packaged stuff. 

Unlike baking which requires measuring exact amounts of ingredients to make chemical magic in the oven, when cooking, I rarely measure ingredients.  I dump in a little or a lot depending on my mood.  To test for flavor, I place a small ball of sausage on a paper plate and microwave for about 20 seconds.  Allow it to cool slightly before tasting.

Country Pork Sausage

1 Lb. organic ground pork
1/2 Tablespoon onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground sage
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)
2 Tablespoons honey (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl then press into a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Don't worry too much about the shape, just try to get everything to an equal thickness, about 1/4 inch thick for even cooking.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 - 25 minutes, until the fat starts to pool around the edges.  Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before cutting into portions.

Place portions side by side (with a little room between) in a plastic zipper bag and freeze, laying on a flat surface.  This isn't always easy in my freezer, by the way.

I eat mine in the morning so I like it a little sweet and not too spicy.  If you like very spicy sausage, add more crushed red pepper.






.

Weight Loss Salad

A salad without dressing is just a bowl of leaves.  Joining a CSA taught me to be creative with a salad since I was eating one or two every day through May and June of last year just to keep up with what I was getting in my weekly share.  Grocery store salad dressings are full of chemical nastiness, hidden glutens in the form of Modified Food Starch, and soy.  Read the label some time.

Dressing can be so versatile, tasty, and cheap when you make it yourself.  I keep a variety of small bottles and jars on hand so I can switch up according to my mood of the day.

One salad I turn to when I'm in weight loss mode is the Italian Salad with Garlic Vinaigrette Dressing.  Completely sweet- and fruit-free to keep my sweet tooth from being activated, this salad has satisfying Pepperoni, Genoa Salami, salty olives, spicy Pepperoncini, and tangy, garlicy dressing.

Bitter, hearty greens work much better in this salad than delicate Butter Lettuce.  Try Romaine, red or green curly leaf, or a combination with Arugula (aka Rocket).


Italian Salad with Garlic Vinaigrette Dressing

Greens
Red onion
Red pepper
Cherry tomato
Applegate Farms Genoa Salami and Primo Naturale Uncured Pepperoni or grilled chicken
Kalamata olives or a variety
Pepperoncini (spicy pickled peppers)

Garlic Vinaigrette Dressing:
Red Wine vinegar
Extra Virgin olive oil
Minced garlic (or grushed, roasted garlic is delicious but doesn't seem to stay fresh for long)
I use 2 to 4 Tablespoons or cloves per cup of vinegar.
Dried spices (oregano, basil, marjoram)
Salt & pepper

I re-use an old plastic olive oil bottle and toss in the ingredients without measuring which gives me the freedom to make a little or a lot.  Mix vinegar and oil using a One-to-One ratio (equal amounts of each-- just eyeball it in the jar) then add your other ingredients.  Place the cap on the bottle and shake vigorously.  Keep this dressing in the fridge for a month or more.  Shake vigorously before each use.

Take or leave salad ingredients as your taste buds and produce stock allow.

Old MacDonald had a CSA

What is a CSA and why should I (or shouldn't I) join?

A CSA or, Community Supported Agriculture is a farm in your area that produces animal and/or vegetable products to be sold mainly in the community.  These are not huge farms that crank out Nuclear Chickens to be shipped all over the country.  These are small Mom and Pop operations, usually with a few additional hands to help with the heavy workload that comes with farming.  CSAs make their money before you get your products.  They buy the seeds, pay for labor, and buy/fix equipment needed to grow the food.  If your farm (once you pay for your share, it really becomes your farm) flourishes, you reap the benefit and get more food but what happens if there is a drought or animal sickness?  There is always that risk but farmers are not stupid and they care about their farms.  If they didn't, they wouldn't be in the business.  More often than not, people who join a CSA find that they have more food than they can use.

There are a variety of CSA programs, each one decided upon by the individual farms.  I found several CSA farms in my area just by searching the web.  The one I chose was fairly small, convenient to my home/commute route, uses organic growing methods, and I liked their website.  Before the season started, they had a sort of "Meet the Farm" day where they hosted a potluck lunch, gave a tour of the farm on a hay wagon, and invited all the members to hang out and mingle, to see who else was interested in the CSA.  There were a lot of new-comers and just a handful of returning members.

I did some research before I finally made up my mind about joining.  It is a big commitment after all and I had a ton of questions: "What if I get vegetables I don't like?"  "Will I really get my money's worth?"  "What if I can't eat it all every week?"  For me, joining the CSA was a big part of making the commitment to eat Paleo.  I found that, with all the produce I was bringing home every week I was forced to stay out of the grocery store since there was simply no room in my fridge for anything more.  The rest of the household is very anti-vegetable so I had to be very creative with using up my weekly share without letting it go in the compost.  I learned ways to keep lettuce fresh, longer.  I learned to make lettuce soup and lettuce pesto (which my daughter later decided she loved).  Lettuce pesto also freezes beautifully so when you're getting 5 heads of lettuce per week and you are tired of salad, make that pesto!  I learned to make pickles from a wide variety of vegetables.   Pickled radishes wowed a few people at work.  I learned it's possible to can cantaloupe and it's a wonderful treat in January!

If you find vegetables you don't like or can't or won't use, share!  Your family/friends/neighbors/co-workers will love you for it and you will be thankful that you don't have to throw it away.  You can also use this method when you are getting beyond capacity in the fridge or if you're planning to go away on vacation.


Some quick advice tidbits:

Before the season begins, clean out your fridge, freezer, and pantry as much as possible so you have enough room for all the wonderful veggies coming your way.

A salad spinner will make cleaning your produce infinitely easier.

Read about canning and find recipes that sound good to you.  Keep them in a place you can find them quickly.  Buy canning equipment if you don't already own it.  Buy canning spices if you don't already own them.

Stock up on paper towels, plastic zipper bags, and save the plastic grocery store containers from lettuce and spinach.

Sharpen knives.


On the day of your CSA pick-up:

Be sure your sink, counter,and cutting boards are clean and ready to use.

Don't plan to do anything else before your share is cleaned and put away.
Lettuce and greens get wilty very quickly if even a small amount of dirt is left on them for a couple of days.  I set aside at least an hour and a half to clean and put away my share.  I plan to eat something left over from the previous week so I don't have to worry about cooking on top of cleaning and putting everything away.

Pull out anything left from the previous week and be sure it is still usable.
Delicate lettuces wilt or get slimey very quickly, so always eat those first.  Save heartier lettuces and greens for later use.  Some items such as cabbage will keep a VERY long time if kept dry.  I have had them last more than a month and they were still delicious.

Plan recipes to cook later in the week with what you have brought home.  My CSA posts recipe suggestions on a menu board at pick-up and sometimes emails recipes.

This post comes after my CSA has started, but there are other CSAs near me that are still taking members, if you're looking to join.  If you think you want to join but aren't sure about the commitment, start at the weekend Farmer's Market.  You will see what produce is in season in your area on different weeks and can buy a little to try recipes or get the hang of canning.  I think the reason a lot of people don't return to a CSA is guilt over not being able to use the whole share every week.  I did give away a few things from my share and the recipients were very grateful.  I will admit, there were also a few things that slipped through the cracks and ended up as compost but not many.  Supporting local farmers makes me feel really good and I love being able to visit my farm each week.  Please note that some CSA programs deliver to a central location or even to your home.  Check them out for all the answers.