Coconut Fried Chicken

Ah, there was a moment this week when we felt like we were eating fried chicken!  It was nice to have some new flavors in our mouths and it was a little like cheating, although I know it is still in our healthy perimeters.  We ate ours with a lovely green salad with fresh tomatoes, lemon cucumbers, and peas.  I made our dressing with apple cider vinegar and olive oil.  I might try this with fish next time for a good trickery!

Ingredients:

• Chicken, breast or thigh, cut into large bite sized pieces.  
• 1/2-1 cup dried coconut (not the sugar variety)
• 2-4 eggs, beaten
• Salt
• Coconut oil for frying

Directions:

1. Heat coconut oil up in a skillet on medium low.
2. Dip chicken into egg and then coconut and then place in a warm skillet. Salt them while cooking.
3. Cook on both sides evenly.  Serve.

GAPS BBQ

Memorial day inspired us to make a traditional BBQ menu.  It was a small party of 5, but well worth all the effort.  Here is what we served:

BBQ Chicken
Seasoned Bone-in, skin-on Chicken Thighs with tandoori spices, garlic, and salt.

Coleslaw
Mixed grated cabbage, carrots and pears with olive oil, vinegar and salt.

Watermelon
Cut off the rind and served in triangles.

Potato-Free Salad
Ingredients
2 Cauliflowers, cut into small florets, steamed
2 Pickles, but up into small pieces
4 Celery spears, cut into small parts
2 Green Onions, minced
1/3 cup cooked bacon, cut in small pieces
1/2 cup home-made mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Mustard
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions
1. Steam Cauliflower.
2. Cook bacon.
2. Cut up pickles, celery, onion and add to a large bowl.
3.  Mix Cauliflower, veggies, bacon, mustard and mayonnaise.

Asian Pork Soup

Ingredients:
1 onion, sliced
4 Tb. animal fat, I used pork lard
2 large portabella mushrooms, cut into squares
5 cups bone broth
1 lb. ground pork
3 cloves garlic
2 green onions
2 Tb. apple cider vinegar
5 clusters of baby bok choy, chopped
1 carrot, grated
2 eggs (can easily omit)

Directions:
Heat oil, onion, and mushrooms in soup pot.  When onions are translucent, add bone broth.  In food processor add garlic and green onions, puree.  Add to garlic and onions pork, apple cider vinegar and salt to taste, Puree.  Drop pork mixture into hot broth mixture by the Tablespoon.  After pork is almost cooked ( a few minutes), add chopped bok choy and grated carrot.  Before serving, scramble eggs and slowly add them to the soup, stirring while you add them.  Salt to taste and serve.

Slow Roasted Tri-Tip

Tender and succulent, this meat will melt in your mouth.  Enjoy with a variety of side dishes or just plain and dipped in home-made horseradish mayonnaise.  We made two, and had lots of left overs for lunches and snacks in the week.

Ingredients:
Tri-tip
Herbs (a variety is great: rosemary, thyme, chili powder, cumin, etc.)
Garlic, minced
Salt

Directions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 400*.
2.  Slather tri-tip with herbs, garlic and salt to your liking.
3.  Place on a raised roasting pan.  Let cook for 20 minutes.
4.  Lower the temperature to 250* and let the tri-tip cook for about 3 hours, to your liking.  Check with meat thermometer for about 135*.
5.  Let rest for 15 minutes before cutting.

GAPS BBQ Pulled Pork

Ingredients:
4 lbs. Pork Butt Roast, bone in
1/2 cup water
1Tb. Apple Cider Vinegar
1 cup Tomato Puree, Organic in jar
1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
4 Tb. Honey
1 Tb. Mustard
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

Directions:
1. Add pork, water and 1 Tb. ACV to crock pot**.  Let sit on high for 4 hours or low for 8.
2.  Shred pork with forks, remove bone.
3.  Mix 1 cup ACV, tomato puree, honey, mustard, salt and red pepper flakes.  Add to crock pot with pork.  Let meat continue to cook and absorb the flavors of the sauce.  Serve after 1 or more hours.

Let me tell you how delicious this is.  It will dance in your mouth with all it's flavors.  Thank you to Kelly for sharing your recipe!

**There has been lots of talk about lead leaching in crock pots and someone suggested using a bowl inside the crock pot to cook the meal.  I did this for the pork and it worked great. I just placed my glass pyrex bowl straight in and turned it on.**

Garlic & Jalapeno Prawns

It has been far to long since my last post.  The meals around here have been so boring and not worthy of inspiring anyone to make something delicious.  I vowed to make a meal plan this week, and have some yummies lined up.  We have been getting tired of the usual roast or chicken around here and decided to let loose a little and try something "crazy".  Everyone loved it!  Girls ate way more than I did.  My hubby grilled up a grass-fed organic T-bone and made it a surf and turf.  So, here's one I altered from my dear friend, Martha Stewart:

Ingredients:
1 lb. prawns, deveined, mostly skinned
15 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tb. animal fat (I like duck)
1/2 jalapeno, de-seeded and finely chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 Tb. organic white wine (optional)
Salt

Direction:
1.  Heat oil in skillet, add garlic, saute until lightly browned.  Quickly add jalapeno and toss in prawns.
2. As prawns began to get pink, add wine and lemon juice.  Salt as needed. They cook quickly, 1-2 minutes per side.

I served it with the Cucumber Mango Salad.

Chicken with Summer & Winter Squash

Ingredients:
4 Chicken Breasts
2 Onions, sliced thinly
6 Zucchini, but in rounds
1/2 cup olives, sliced in half
Butternut squash, cut up for steaming

Method:
-Cut Butternut squash and steam until fork pokes easily through.
-Saute chicken breasts in duck fat.  Salt and pepper to taste.
-After you have flipped the chicken, add the onions.  Let them get a little translucent.
-Add zucchini and olives until soft.  Salt to taste.
-Serve Chicken with both squashes.

Roast Pork with Apple Gravy

Ingredients:
4 Apples, cored and roughly cut up
7 Carrots, cut in large chunks
2 Onions, cut in large chunks
5 lb. pork butt roast
3 cups bone broth
Salt

Directions:
-Pan sear the pork until it is slightly crispy on both sides.
-While searing, cut up the apples, carrots and onions.  Place them in a lidded oven-safe dish.  Pour in bone broth.
-Put seared pork on top of the veggies and fruit, salt, place in an oven at 325* for 4 hours.  Keep the lid on.  If you want you can remove the lid for the last 15-20 minutes of cooking.
-Let pork rest a few minutes before cutting.
-Blend (some or all) apples, carrots, onions to make a thick gravy.  Serve on sliced pork.

Cubana Picadilla

Here I am listening to the Buena Vista Social Club, making some Cuban food and trying to reach out and touch that Cubana in me.  My Grandfather was Cuban, so here is to him, a toast of my heritage.  I was certainly surprised by the mixtures of flavors and spices.  Certainly the base of this is a lot like my typical chili, but adding the cinnamon and the raisins change the flavor palette.  I served this with Tostones and Baked Almond Crackers.  

Ingredients:
2 diced onions
1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 seeded and finely chopped red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds ground beef or ground round
1/2 can (28oz) of diced tomatoes
1/3 cup raisins
Sprinkle capers or green olives
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
-Sauté onion in a large frying pan. Sauté about 5 minutes, until the onion is softened, then add cumin and cinnamon to roast them a bit.   Then add the garlic, red pepper and ground beef.
-Mash the onion and red pepper into the sautéing meat and cook until the meat is browned, about 5 minutes.
-Add the tomatoes and raisins. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.
-Salt and pepper to taste.
-Serve like chili or over squash.

Some of my favorite Cuban things:

The Buena Vista Social Club
Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale by Carmen Agra Deedy

Hungarian Pork Stew

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 can (28 ounces) Diced Tomatoes, undrained
• 1 chopped cabbage
• 4 large sliced carrots
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cup bone broth
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Directions

-In a large saucepan, cook pork and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink.
Add the next 9 ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 50-60 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

-Stir in parsley; cook 5 minutes longer. 

GAPS Meatloaf

Ingredients:

2 lbs Grass-fed Ground Beef (Can use lamb or chicken too)
1 lb. Ground Pork
2 Eggs from Pasture-fed Hens (I used 4 whites because I had them leftover in the fridge)
½ Yellow Onion
1 Bulb Garlic
3 Carrots
2 Celery Stalks
5 Mushrooms
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1/2 Cup Fresh Parsley
Tomato Paste
2 Tablespoons Honey
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions: 

Mix the ground meat and eggs together until thoroughly blended.

In the Cuisinart, mix onions, garlic and parsley until well mixed.  Add the vegetables, tomato paste, mustard, salt and pepper to the cuisinart and blend well.  Remove and mix by hand thoroughly into the meat mixture. Bake at 375 º F for about 45 minutes to an hour until the juices run clear and the meatloaf’s center is  cooked through.

Top with tomato paste and honey mixture.  Bake for another 5 minutes.
I served mine with Cauliflower Mash and Garlic Spinach.  

Chicken & Chickpea Tagine

• I am normally not one to follow "recipes" with measurements (unless I am baking), but this one has some seasonings in it that are not in my normal repertoire.  My family gobbled it up.  I am not certain garbanzo beans are GAPS friendly, but we needed to challenge a food allergy.  So far so good.  Note:  Can also be cooked without a pressure cooker.  You can use canned beans, a crockpot, or slow cook on the stove.  
• 2 Tbs. animal fat (I used duck)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 cup dried chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ tsp. paprika
• 2 tsp. honey
• 5 cups chicken bone broth
  
• 3 bone in chicken thighs
• 3 Tbs. finely chopped parsley
• 3 medium carrots, sliced into thin rounds

DIRECTIONS

Heat fat in large pressure cooker over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 2 to 3 minutes, or until onion slices are soft. Stir in spices, honey, and 5 cups broth. Add chicken.  Cover and bring to pressure for 35 minutes, let pressure release naturally. Remove chicken and shred and remove bones.  Add chicken back to tagine.  Add carrots and parsley, simmer for 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Sausage & Artichoke Soup

Was inspired by Sunset Magazine's recipe this month.  Adapted to be GAPS friendly.  

1 onion, diced

1 Tb. duck fat or other animal fat

3 Tb. Masala or white wine

5 cups chicken bone broth

1 lb. ground turkey (or pork)

3 Tb. parsley

2 tsp. rosemary

3 Tb. fennel seeds (smashed)

5 leaves of basil

3 cloves garlic

2 bulbs of fresh fennel, thinly sliced

2 large handfuls of baby spinach

1 can of artichokes, sliced into quarters

Saute onion and duck fat until onion is translucent.  Add masala or wine until thickened.  Add broth.  Bring to a boil.  

In food processor mix parsley, rosemary, fennel seeds, basil, and garlic.  Add ground turkey, mix until processed well.  Another dash of wine would be nice too.  

Add drops of mixture to boiling broth.  Add fresh fennel, baby spinach and artichokes to broth.  Let simmer for 10 minutes.  Serve.  

Clam Chowder

Made this recipe for my Solstice party tonight.  No time for a decent photo.  Proof of how delicious it was is at the end of the pot.

Recipe:

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

5 carrots, cut into small pieces

5 celery spears, chopped

2 leeks, halved and sliced (whites only)

4-8 cups of bone broth (I used beef, fish would be good too).

2 heads of cauliflower, 1 1/2 whole, 1/2 in florets

2 cans of minced clams with juice

2 tsp. dill

Bay leaf

Salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion, garlic.  Add carrot, celery and cook for a few minutes.  Add broth, whole cauliflower and cauliflower florets.  Add both cans of clams, dill, and bay leaf.  Let simmer until veggies are soft (30 minutes).  Remove whole pieces of cauliflower and puree in the blender with some bone broth.  Add back into chowder for creamy effect.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy.

Chicken "Noodle" Soup

As the weather changes soup begins to become a nightly ritual for us.  Here is a quick easy way for chicken soup that will remind you  of the ol' stuff too.

Bar-b-que the chicken, it will add a different dimension to the flavors.  If not, you could cut them up in pieces and add them to the hot broth.  I use chicken thighs because I like the flavor better.

While you are waiting for the BBQ, saute some onions, garlic, carrots and celery.  Add fresh thyme and salt when the veggies become more translucent.

Add the broth, chicken, and cut up tomatoes (or a spoonful of tomato paste) and the butternut squash cut with a spiralizer to make into wavy "noodles".
Eat and enjoy.  This soup went so fast I couldn't even catch a photo.

Sunday's Meals

I made a raspberry Almond/Coconut Muffin for breakfast today.  I did not get around to going to the Asian Market to pick up Coconut milk, so no yogurt for us.  I will try again this week.

Lunch was a vegetable quiche.  I was quite fond of it, but the kiddos were not.  They have enjoyed it in the past.  Perhaps I put too many green things in.  

I couldn't find any fish at the Farmer's Market today that I was willing to shell out bucks for.  So, instead, I cooked up the chicken that was leftover in the fridge and used the broccoli that I accidentally left out of the curry for a side dish.  Simple, easy day.  No stress and really peaceful.  

Saturday's Meals

Hello Weekend!  Time for some breakfasts that take a little extra time.  I got this breakfast idea from another GAPS momma who is on the Yahoo list serve (I will credit her when I can find her post...).  This has been a hit with my family, and certainly my husband who's favorite breakfast pre-GAPS was Biscuits and Gravy.

Saute sausage, onions, spices.  Steam Cauliflower in bone broth, blend.  Add blended cauliflower to sausage.  Stir.  Add pepper and salt to taste.  Biscuit recipe here.  I used bacon fat instead of coconut oil. They were a hit for the family, but a little to "cookie" like for me.  I meant to cook up some cabbage too, and I am not entirely sure why that went unnoticed.

For lunch, we took it on the go.  We heated up the leftover soup from Tuesday (No leftovers from last night, they were all eaten up!).  I made a squash puree, grabbed an avocado and we headed out to the Sacramento Waldorf Harvest Festival.  We had a blast, but were a little limited on food, and luckily there was a farmer's market there and we bought some fruit too.

Thankfully, my husband had made dinner that morning, so it was ready when we arrived home from our big rainy adventure.  He used the pressure cooker to make a brisket.  I made some green beans and mushrooms, and bone broth and that made dinner.

Friday's Meals

Steamed squash and scrambled eggs with onions this morning.  Easy.

Left over chicken from roasting made a beautiful chicken salad that my family will easily eat for lunch.  (Except Maeve who does not care much for mayonnaise).  I cut up the chicken into little bite sized pieces.  I added the following: celery, chives, grapes, apple, red pepper, dill, onions, salt, and home-made mayonnaise.

For dinner I made a recipe adapted from Diet for a New World by John Robbins called, "Curry in a Hurry".  I have changed the original to add meat and to make it GAPS friendly.
4 T. animal fat
1 lg. onion
2 chicken breasts, cut up into small bite sized pieces
3 carrots, cut into small pieces
1 small cauliflower, cut into florets
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
1 cup squash, cut up into small pieces
1 Tb. curry powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. turmeric
2 cups bone broth
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
3 T. coconut aminos

Saute Onions and Chicken with animal fat (I used pork fat).

Add Cauliflower, Carrots, Broccoli (I forgot mine), & Squash

Add Curry Powder, Turmeric and Cumin.  It calls for soy sauce, but we use Coconut Aminos which have a salty hearty flavor like soy sauce.  Add several cups of bone broth and simmer until veggies are soft.  Add frozen peas at the very end.  The heat of the curry will defrost them quickly, no need to continue to cook.  Serve.

Roasting a Chicken: Mason Jar Style

Beer-can chicken was all the rage for a while, and it is quite moist and delicious.  The first time I made a chicken in this fashion I was amazed at how JUICY it was.  I want to share my tips for what makes a perfect chicken, every time.

First, I make sure I remove all the innards.  Nothing worse that cooking a bag of plastic with your bird.

Then I take a small Mason jar (12 oz), and fill it with a variety of things.  I usually start off with salted broth, but you could use water, juice, beer, tea, lemon juice, etc.  Then I add seasonings.  Usually I base these ingredients on what I will be coating the chicken with and how it can compliment my side dishes.  This particular one I put in bruised lemongrass pieces and an onion.  You place this jar in the middle of your pan.

Then salt and pepper the bird while it is laying down.  Or you can get creative and add cumin, or rosemary, or cinnamon.  The options are limitless.  Then, place the bird on top of the mason jar, pushing it down a bit to have it fit snugly.  Sometimes I can get the legs to cross, not this time.

Then, I fill the roasting pan with veggies.  Again, options are limitless.  I used brussel sprouts and onions.  But I have used: carrots, cauliflower, squash, garlic, beets, etc.  I also pour chicken fat over the veggies and give them a bit of salt.

Bake low in the oven at 350* for about 1 1/2 hours.

To ensure a chicken is baked well enough, you should be able to pull the wing off with ease.  Let the chicken rest for several minutes before cutting.  I used to try to wrestle the chicken off the jar, but now I cut all my bits off while it stands there at attention.

Once you have collected all the chicken off the carcass, you now have half the makings for some bone broth.  You can start a pot now, or throw this carcass in the freezer for another day.