CARROT COCONUT GINGER SOUP

One of the most annoying things about the Paleo diet, for me, is the lack of readily available soups.  All prepared soups seem to have pasta, rice, potatoes, dairy, legumes or high fructose corn syrup in them.  I love to eat soup in the winter time and now I have to make my own.  This recipe for tomato soup is very good: http://everydaypaleo.com/answering-questions-with-robb-andy-of-the-paleo-solution-and-a-recipe/.

The subject of this post is a recipe that I got back in 2002 from the now defunct Global Village Cafe in Mountain View, CA.  They were ahead of their time.  I didn't have to adjust this at all to make it Paleo.  It is, however, a restaurant sized recipe, so it makes a lot!  Be prepared to share with all your friends and family.

Ingredients:

5 pounds peeled carrots (I used bags of peeled baby carrots, but big ones work, too, if you like peeling.)
2 large pieces of peeled ginger diced into 1/2 inch cubes  (By "large" I mean 3-4 inches.)
3 Tablespoons pureed lemon grass (You can use three stalks of lemon grass, but you will need to take them    out before you puree the soup or your soup will have pieces of wood in it.  Pureed lemon grass comes in      tubes and you can find it in the produce section of the grocery store.)
1 Tablespoon of chili garlic sauce (Sambal Olek works well)
6 cans of coconut milk
2 cups vegetable stock
3 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 bunch cilantro

Directions:

Put all ingredients into an extra large stock pot.  Bring to a boil and simmer until the carrots are fully cooked. Run everything (except the lemon grass if you use whole stalks) through a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.  You will probably have to do this in batches and then mix them back together to make sure all the ingredients are evenly distributed.  Adjust the seasoning to taste with honey and chili garlic sauce.
Garnish with cilantro and serve.  Goes great with Thai food.

PALEO SALAD DRESSINGS

One of my big frustrations with a Paleo diet is the lack of commercially available salad dressings that do not contain sugar or corn syrup.  They just don't exist.  I like olive oil and balsamic vinegar as well as the next person and enjoy exotic versions olive oil and vinegar, but I like to have some pre-mixed dressing on hand.
Here are a couple of tasty salad dressings that you can enjoy without guilt.

ORANGE BALSAMIC SALAD DRESSING

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut aminos
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
zest of one Valencia orange
4 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons raw honey
1/8 teaspoon pepper
salt to taste

Directions: 

In a 12 oz. salad dressing cruet, combine 1/2 cup coconut aminos and 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar.  Zest one medium sized Valencia orange and mince 4 cloves of garlic.  Add to the liquids.  Add 2 teaspoons honey, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and salt to taste.  Shake until thoroughly blended and enjoy.

LEMON AND OIL DRESSING

Ingredients:

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Combine the lemon juice and olive oil in a 12 oz. salad dressing cruet.  Run the garlic cloves through a garlic press or chop very fine and add to the lemon and oil mixture.  Add 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper and 2 teaspoons of finely chopped fresh basil.  Dried basil flakes will work, but lack the pungent flavor of fresh.  Shake well and allow to sit for at least an hour before serving so that the flavors can blend.

SAUSAGE STUFFED ZUCCHINI (What to do with giant zucchini.)

Anyone who has ever grown zucchini knows that, sooner or later, you turn your back on the zucchini plant and end up with a monster zuc the size of a watermelon.  This is a way to make a tasty meal out of a giant zuc and make it look like you planned to let it grow that big.

Ingredients:

1 oversized zucchini
1 pound hot Italian sausage (Try to find a brand without sugar and non-paleo fillers.  Can be in either roll or    link form.  Hot Italian sausage is spicy enough that you don't need additional spices.  If you use a different variety of sausage, you may need to season it a bit more to balance out the zucchini taste.)
2 eggs
1 large onion

Directions:

• Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out all the seeds and soft parts.  You want enough room for the filling, so carve a generous trough.  Place the two halves in a 9x13 baking pan.  Glass ones work best.

•  Remove the sausage from its casings, if necessary, and put it in a medium sized bowl.
• Dice the onion and add it to the sausage.
• Add the two eggs to the bowl.
• Using your hands, mix the ingredients thoroughly.
• Spoon the sausage mixture into the hollow zucchini.

• Cover the pan with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for an hour or until the squash is soft.

PALEO WAFFLES

Every Sunday, growing up, my father made waffles.  I believe that his father had done so before him.  I am WAY too lazy for that, but I did make them occasionally, especially during peach season because waffles loaded with fresh peach slices are my favorite.  This is my first peach season since I stopped eating wheat, so I needed to devise a recipe for Paleo waffles.  Here it is:

Ingredients:

3 bananas
3 eggs
1/2 cup almond butter
1/4 cup liquified coconut oil
1/2 Tablespoon baking powder

Directions:

Mash the bananas in a medium sized mixing bowl until they are fairly smooth.  Add the other ingredients and mix until thoroughly blended.  Preheat your waffle iron.  Spray the waffle iron with a healthy oil.  Spoon (I use a small ladle that is just the right size.) enough batter into the waffle iron to cover the grids.  Close the lid and cook for five minutes.  Repeat until all batter is cooked.  There is enough oil in the batter that you will not need to re-grease the iron between batches.  Makes about 6 waffle squares.

Serve with pure maple syrup or fresh fruit.

BOHEMIAN CABBAGE (FOR NON CABBAGE LOVERS)

With very few modifications to make it Paleo, this recipe came from my former neighbor, Nancy Davis.  Give this a try if you don't normally like cabbage.  My last batch was devoured with gusto by three non-Paleo eaters.  I wasn't a fan of cabbage before I tried this, either.

Ingredients:

1/2 head of cabbage
3 strips of bacon
1 large onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Fry the bacon in a skillet large enough to hold all the cabbage until is is almost crisp.  Remove the bacon and drain it on a paper towel.  Chop into 1/2" pieces.

Add the olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan.  Slice the cabbage and onion into thin strips and add to the oil.  Cook the veggies, stirring frequently, until they begin to turn golden at the edges.

Stir in chicken stock, vinegar and bacon.  Cover and cook the mixture until tender, but still slightly crisp.  Season with caraway seeds, salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.

PALEO LEMON BARS

It all started with a recipe for lemon-lime macaroon bars in the May 2013 issue of Sunset Magazine.  They sounded delicious, but there was nothing Paleo about the nearly three cups of sugar or the butter, flour or cornstarch in the ingredients.  It got me thinking, though.  The trickiest part was figuring out what to use for the filling, since the original recipe was mainly sugar.  I decided to try sweet potatoes and voila!  They worked fine.  I have now brought these to couple of non-Paleo potlucks and people have really liked them.  No one can believe that they contain no flour or sugar.

Ingredients:

Crust

2 cups shredded coconut

1 1/2 cups almond flour

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 cup coconut oil

2 large eggs

Filling

2 cups mashed sweet potatoes

4 large eggs

1 tablespoon honey

2 teaspoons each lemon and lime zest

1/4 cup each lemon and lime juice

• Peel a couple of sweet potatoes.  Cut them into large chunks, place them in a large saucepan, cover with water and boil until soft (about 20 minutes.)  Mash the sweet potatoes thoroughly until smooth.  You want to avoid leaving any large chunks that could ruin the texture of the filling.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spread the coconut on a low sided baking sheet and toast at 350 degrees for 5 minutes or until golden brown.
• Combine the coconut and other crust ingredients in a food processor and pulse until smooth.
• Grease the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
• Spread the crust mixture evenly across the bottom of the baking dish.
• Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees or until light golden brown.
• Remove crust from oven and let cool for 20 minutes.
• Blend the sweet potatoes with the other filling ingredients and beat until smooth.
• Pour the filling over the crust.
• Bake in 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes.  Remove from oven if the filling starts to crack.  You don't want it to become too dry.
• Let cool and chill for several hours.  Cut into bars and serve.

If any of you out there are cooking for people who don't like coconut, you can substitute extra almond flour for the coconut and ghee for the coconut oil.  The texture of the crust will be more cakelike, but it still works.

PALEO BANANA MACADAMIA NUT PANCAKES

Banana macadamia nut pancakes were popular in our house long before we adopted a Paleo diet.  Since bananas are the main ingredient in Paleo pancakes, it seemed only natural that we ought to be able to make a macadamia nut version.

Ingredients

Three bananas
Three large eggs
1/2 cup almond butter
1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
Coconut oil

• Chop your macadamia nuts into small pieces.
• In a medium sized bowl, mash the three bananas.
• Add the almond butter and eggs and stir until well blended.
• Melt a teaspoon or so of coconut oil in a large skillet.  Spread the oil evenly over the skillet with a spatula.
• Drop spoonfuls of batter into the oil to make 4" pancakes.
• Cook over medium heat until golden brown on the bottom (usually when bubbles pop and the batter no longer fills the hole.)
• Turn over and cook for another minute or so on the other side.

Serve with real maple syrup or your favorite fruit.