Recipes
Traditional muffins really came into their own in the 1970s and 1980s, with the rise of specialty coffee shops and bakeries that catered to the busy office-worker crowd. Touted as “healthy”, they started to become available in whole-grain varieties, with added ingredients such as blueberries, cranberries, chocolate, pumpkin and carrot. Low-fat muffins were the next rage, which necessitated a greater amount of preservatives in the batter mix to keep them from going stale a few hours after baking. The sugar content rose as well, to the point that the product resembled more of a cupcake than anything healthy.
Seeds from a Jack-O-Lantern, separated from the stringy pulp and rinsed clean
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 t chili powder
dash of onion powder (optional)
sea salt
Continue reading about Baked Pumpkin Soup & Roasted Seeds: Hallowe’en Jack-O-Lanterns
Giving up bread as part of a Paleo diet is not easy for some. Every now and then it’s just nice to know that you can have something upon which to spread your liver pate. While there are many recipes that use flax-seed as a base, here’s one that also incorporates lots of vegetables. You’ll need a food dehydrator and good blender to proceed.
I think I’m becoming a bit of an ‘expert’ in making Greek-style “kokoretsi” — or lamb innards on a spit. Kokoretsi is not only a classic dish, it’s origins are ancient. Making it is an involved process, and it takes some practice. Assuming you can find the ingredients on the fresh market, you also have to know how to clean and prepare everything, and that’s time consuming. I blogged a bit about my previous attempt earlier…including the ordeal of thoroughly cleaning the intestines.
Continue reading about Kokoretsi: Paleo Lamb Innards on a Spit
It’s Labour Day here in Canada, marking the close of another summer season and heralding our gradual approach towards Fall at the end of the month. There’s still lots of time to spend outdoors, be barefoot, and lots of occasions to enjoy some homemade ice-cream — paleo-style, of course.
This post should be titled “What to do with the REST of the animal”!
I won’t pretend they’re my first choice when it comes to meat. A roast leg of lamb sounds more appetizing to me than lamb heart and lungs. Nevertheless, organ meats were a staple throughout history, and they’re still very much in vogue in traditional ethnic cuisines from all over. In Greece, one only has to look to “kokoretsi” – a dish often seen at Easter that would be cooked alongside an entire lamb (both roasted on the spit). And if you like liver and onions, you can like kokoretsi.
Innards have been a staple of the human diet since prehistoric times. It’s odd that in our society they are shunned, since they are part of many traditional and ethnic cuisines, but our modern society often associates them with poverty, not to mention the “yuuck” factor. However, if you’re new to paleo, now is the perfect time to re-assess your tastes and expand your food experiences. Chicken livers are a perfect start. They are delicious, so much so that even many liver-haters like them. And they’re easy on the budget, which can be a factor for many who have ditched less-expensive grains and starches for real paleo food.
Ham hocks: from traditional German cuisine to American “soul-food”, they add some real smokey flavour to greens and soups and qualify as a definite comfort food. Hocks are cut from the ankle joint of a pig, and are sometimes referred to as knuckles. Smoked and cured versions are available from certain organic butchers, and you may find fresh ones as well.
Venison is as special as the word sounds, and any type of large antlered game is perfect for a paleo feast. While you might not be hunting your own wild booty, farm-raised deer and elk meat is available from select butchers, and the animals are raised without the use of antibiotics and growth hormones. Farm raised venison is naturally lean and tender, and it will cook faster than meats with more fat and connective tissue. Use the low setting on your slow-cooker, and please forget about all the venison recipes on the internet that involve cans of cream of mushroom soup or dried onion soup mix!
I’m a lover of liver – calf’s liver to be exact, done with bacon and onions. So it should follow that I’d enjoy other organ meats as well, and since they’re prized in ancient cultures and part of the Paleo diet, I figured it was time I learned how to cook other types of these delicacies.
Continue reading about Lamb Hearts and Kidneys: Paleo Organs
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