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.




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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.








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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.

 

 

 

 

 

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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.





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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!








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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.









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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.



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