EatPood

Shamma Lamma

You don’t need me. I know it’s true, and I should be embarrassed because pretty much everything I’m cooking and blogging about lately is from Everyday Paleo. Seriously, why do you need me when you have the real deal? Is there a restraining order on the way, Mrs. Fragoso? Am I an official and bona fide Stalky Stalkerton?!

Speaking of Everyday Paleo as I do, incessantly, I made some lamb burgers a while back. These had their genesis as meatballs, but I was feeling too lazy to make a bunch of those. All that squishing and rolling - ugh! I’m exhausted thinking about it. Instead, I just made a few burgers and served them alongside some dressed up cauli-couscous with a pretty salad.

The lamb was good. It came from Indian Creek Farm in Monroe County, WV where the Copeland family raises Suffolk/Dorset crosses. These little guys live free range on the farm where they eat grass in the summer and hay in the winter. The Copelands do not give their livestock antibiotics, chemicals, or hormones of any kind. If you are a member of PETA or a vegan or a sheep who has learned English, don’t read this next part –

Happy sheep are yummy in my tummy!

 
 
Lamb Burgers
1 cup chopped, dried apricots, rehydrate by soaking in hot water for 30 minutes
1 lb ground lamb
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of saffron threads (omit if you, like Jack, think it tastes soapy)
¼ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon fresh grated ginger
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
1 egg
1 tablespoon coconut oil
Cilantro leaves for garnish

Mix all ingredients together, but hold back about half the apricots for your couscous.

 
Place the lamb mixture in fridge for 15 minutes to let the flavors meld. Remove the lamb from the fridge, and form it into four or five burgers.

 
Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook up the burgers in the coconut oil for about five minutes on each side, or longer if you like them well done.

 
Cauliflower Couscous
1 head cauliflower
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
½ yellow onion, finely chopped
½ C chopped, rehydrated apricots (see lamb burger recipe)
1-2 T olive oil or coconut oil
½ t sea salt and black pepper to taste

Wash the cauliflower and cut the florets from the stalk. Place the cauliflower into a food processor, and whirl it into little bits.

Heat the oil in a skillet. When the oil is hot add the onions and sauté, until they are soft. Then add celery and sauté for about five more minutes. Add the processed cauliflower to the skillet, and sauté around 10 minutes until it begins to brown. Mix in apricots and heat for a few more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

 
 

 
 

If you're enough lucky to be Irish, you're lucky enough!

Sorry for the lack of blogging this week. I’ve been lacking creativity AND also a little bit of my joie de blog AND also I recently made some unblogworthy meals. AND… I was trying to come up with some clever sort of St. Patrick’s Day recipe, but I didn’t get there. Last night I made this dish which is an adaptation of a dish that originated in the British Isles. I say that’s close enough so here we go…

Cottage Pie
Topping:
1 large bag frozen cauliflower florets, defrosted
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
salt & pepper to taste
paprika for garnish

Meat Filling:
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 cup chopped onion (about 1/2 of a large onion)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef or lamb
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 cup beef or chicken broth
1 teaspoon coconut aminos
2 teaspoons fresh chopped rosemary (1 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme leaves (1/2 teaspoon dried)
1 egg white

Make the topping. Place the coconut milk and cauliflower in the bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth. Melt the coconut oil on the stove or in the microwave and add to the cauliflower, along with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Make the Filling. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the coconut oil. When it's hot, add the carrots and onions, reduce heat to medium-low and cover; allow the vegetables to get soft but not brown. This takes about 5 minutes.

 
Add the garlic to the pan and stir about a minute. Add the ground meat and break up with a wooden spoon, until it's cooked through and brown, about 5-10 minutes.

Add the tomato paste, broth, coconut aminos, and herbs.

 
Stir to combine, then bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes or so.

 
Set the pan aside and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes. Lightly scramble the egg white and blend into the meat mixture.

Assemble the pie. Spread the meat mixture evenly in a medium-sized baking dish, about 2-quarts. Spread the cauliflower mixture on top of the meat with a spatula.

 
With the tines of a fork, lightly create some texture on top. Sprinkle lightly with paprika.

 
Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the top begins to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for 5-10 minutes before serving.

I added two huge handfuls of raw baby spinach to the filling at the end of cooking. That is why you see green stuff in my filling.

Recipe from The Clothes Make the Girl, a Whole9 envoy.

Sláinte!

 
 

Souper Duper

Tonight I’m making S’mores Cheesecake, and I’m going to eat a piece. Maybe I’ll eat two pieces if I feel like it. You can’t stop me. I wish I could share that recipe with you here, but that wouldn’t be right.  Would it?  Instead, I’ll stay poody ("Stay gold, Ponyboy!") and give you this recipe modified to be Primal-compliant.  I like the Greek twist on classic Wedding Soup.  The feta cheese gives the meatballs a bit of a bite and the lemon juice in the broth is heavenly.  Not as heavenly as S'mores Cheesecake, but you'll have to take what I give you.

Greek Wedding Soup
• Two 32-ounce containers (8 cups) chicken broth
• 3/4 pound ground lamb or beef
• 2/3 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1/3 cup flax meal
• 1/4 cup feta cheese, chopped or crumbled
• 1 large egg
• 2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
• 2 sprigs oregano, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• 2 C grated cauliflower
• Grated peel and juice of 1 lemon (or more to taste)
• 1/3 cup chopped mint leaves

Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a Dutch oven. Lower the heat and bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the lamb or beef, half of the parsley, flax meal, feta, egg, garlic and oregano; season with salt and pepper. Form into 1-inch balls.

 
Add to the simmering broth along with the cauliflower and cook for 8 minutes. Stir in the lemon peel, lemon juice, remaining parsley and the mint.  Also, I almost forgot!  I had some spinach that I wanted to use up.  I chopped it up and added about 3 or 4 cups to the broth along with the cauliflower.  That's the green stuff you see floating around in the broth.

 
I didn’t use the mint because I didn’t have any. Also I used ground beef. Finally, I bumped up the lemon juice because I like lemony Greek soups.  The whole family gave this dish a thumbs up.

 
Recipe adapted from EveryDay with Rachael Ray.

silence of the lambs

We love, love, love lamb. Not in a Mary-had-a-little-lamb kind of way, but in a get-in-my-belly kind of way. Over the next few weeks, I’ll share some of our other fave lamb recipes. The whole family enjoys these gyros. Sometimes, the kids eat theirs in a pita. Cliff and I forego the pita and wrap everything up in a big leaf of romaine lettuce. Yum!

homemade gyros

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 pounds ground lamb
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary or 1/4 teaspoon dried
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Lettuce
• Tomato, sliced
• Red onion, thinly sliced
• Tzatziki
• Fresh mint leaves (optional)

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to a large bowl and let it cool.
2. Add the lamb, lemon juice, oregano, rosemary, cumin, salt, and pepper to the onion mixture and mix well. Form the meat into 8 thin patties, each about 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
3. Heat the remaining oil in the sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the lamb patties and cook for about 5 minutes or until the juices run clear, flipping the patties halfway through.
4. Place each meat patty in a large lettuce leaf and top with tomato, onion, tzatziki as well as mint leaves, if desired.

The recipe says this makes 8 gyros, but I think that must apply to pita-eating people. I typically make fewer, larger patties, and the four of us have been known to eat all the meat in one meal.

Tzatziki

• 1 medium cucumber
• Salt
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 crushed garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Pepper

1. Peel the cucumber and grate it finely into a medium-size bowl. Add salt and, if you have time, let it sit for 15 minutes before wrapping in paper towels and squeezing out the juices. Stir in the yogurt, garlic, olive oil and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 1 1/2 cups.