Cozy Cauliflower Cheese, gluten free

         The other day we hosted a “Hipster Thanksgiving” for our friends. Named so because we did turkey day before everyone else! Clever, right! Right? It was definitely something that couldn’t happen without all of our friends bringing dishes! We had everything a proper thanksgiving should have... including almost 20 people stuffed into my apartment, and a too small kitchen! It was crazy, and fun, and just what I love to do.

     Ever since then I have been craving comfy cozy foods. This is especially difficult because I live in coastal Florida, which you know definitely never feels cozy like a cool fall day. In my search, I ended up on an english website where I saw this dish, albeit a much simplified version. ANY new way to make common things is great in my book. So I read the recipe... and promptly changed it to something way delicious (at least to me).

Spring Catch-up.

Well this blog entry seems to be all side dishes. AND all Primal-friendly! Just wanted to get some pics out there so I could clear some files. Nothing crazy today...

Veggie stir fry. Zucchini, oyster mushroom, cabbage, carrot, broccoli stem, snap pea, celery. Add a little garlic, ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil.

Yum. Rabbit with tomato, onion, cream and parsley.
Zucchini and tomatoes with a little seasonings.

Asparagus and shallots with fennel pollen and a little lemon.

Sauteed veggies with lemongrass.

BLT salad with avocado. Dressing is yogurt, cream and some Mrs Dash table blend. It was quick.

I loooove me some bacon.

Taste & Create #3: Ruths Kitchen Experiments.

Well its time for another Taste and Create! Its something I have done a couple times and I plan to keep it up. Its a really fun and a very cool way to see what people in other parts of the country/world are cooking! This month I was paired with Ruth from Ruth's Kitchen Experiments. The girl has some cool recipes and it was very difficult trying to force myself away from making the Lemon and Blackcurrant Cake or the Victoria Sandwich Cake (with LOTS of IMBC) or these Mince Pies (I know its not Christmas time anymore but they look sooo good)! I decided to make something meat based because, unfortunately, the cakes and pastry don't really match with my primal diet. I chose Aloha Chicken. It looked interesting and used some flavors I would never put together so I tried it.

I am happy I got to this because I had the FLU!!! Listen, I always say I never get sick and then BAM... the flu. Started feeling bad Friday (Mar 20) then was pasted in bed Sat, Sun, Mon and Tue with a 103F fever and sleeping 20 hours a day. Wed it was 102F. Thu, Fri and Sat I was super tired but no fever. By Monday (9 days later) I was back to normal. I dont think I have ever had the flu. It was horrible. I thought my head was going to explode and went to the doc to make sure I didnt have meningitis... or mono. All better now though, just in time for my Bday!

Aloha Chicken
650g Chicken breast (or 3 chicken breasts)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp paprika
1 tbsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 cup pineapple juice (I used pineapple tidbits)
2 tbsp dark brown soft sugar

Recipe
1. Mix all ingredients. Place chicken in bag and pour mixture over.
2. Marinade in fridge overnight.
3. Place in a 9x13 baking dish and place into a 400F oven.
4. Bake for about 40 mins.
5. Enjoy! I served it wih some pineapple, onion, pepper and tomato kebobs.


Verdict: I really liked it, but I would leave the cinnamon out next time! I decreased it a little, but it still gave a flavor that wasnt super compatible with the Hawaiian flavor.



Thanks Ruth!!!

Almost primal dinner... not so primal dessert.

Since I have committed to being primal (Well, aaaalmost... I still drink raw milk and eat raw cheese but that's better than the reg stuff. I eat a lot less now than I did, but I'm not supposed to have it at all. Take away breads and sugar and all that but don't effing touch my cheese!) I have eased into it. I still eat fruits and sometimes some beans or sweet potatoes or banana, but it still puts me in the under 80g a day area so its cool. Getting rid of refined stuff was easy... too easy...? Usually, no carbs besides veg, fruit and milk. I do participate in the DB Challenges still, but I usually give the goodies away. I dont have a big sweet tooth, its always been like that. These pics are from a while ago, as I am trying to put up all my back-logged stuff.

So, here are a couple mostly primal dinners for you and a def not primal dessert.

Duck with blueberry-orange sauce, roasted blood oranges, sweet potato latkes and asparagus.
Got the idea from Jennifer McLagan's book Fat. Its a book all about using animal fats to cook, which is way better than veg oil. Lots of great recipes and ideas. I recommend you check it out!
Her recipe features duck breast with blackberries. Well, duck beast is expensive, so I went with legs. Also I have a big Tupperware in the freezer full of blueberries from last year so I used some of those. I never follow recipes anyway, I just use them for ideas.

Duck legs, ready to score (with a very sharp knife).

Blueberries out of the freezer. Starting blueberry sauce, saute shallots.

Grated sweet potato, egg whites, coconut flour and cardamom for the latkes.
Seared duck.

Sauce coming together.

Roasted blood oranges with salt and pepper.

Duck leg covered in orange-blueberry sauce, roasted blood oranges, sweet potato latkes

with sour cream and asparagus cooked with a little lemon and pepper.

Now onto the not primal dessert I made this with a friend in mind who was going through a difficult time. It was very good (yeah I had a bite) and still featured the orange-bluberry theme, haha.

Orange and blueberry bread pudding with slivered almonds.

The last primal dinner of this post. Got the idea from Use Real Butter when she did this with boursin. I had goat cheese so I used that.

Goat cheese, basil and spinach chicken with mushrooms, broccoli and asparagus (with homemade butter).