recipes Archives - Yael Writes

What I’m Eating: Two More Paleo Meals

November 1, 2011 By Yael Grauer Leave a Comment

Here’s a couple of Paleo meals from the past week.

This first one is from the November issue of the Performance Menu, where Scotty Hagnas provides Paleo recipes each month.

It is a Slow Cooker Curry recipe which is actually very easy to make and quick to prepare.

It includes stew meat, coconut milk, cauliflower and various herbs and spices (cumin, curry, tamari, garlic), plus coconut milk.

A very hearty stew.

The next dish is the Primal Meat and Vegetables recipe from The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Total Transformation by Mark Sisson. (I hope to write a review of this book soon.)

It’s pretty much just steak (cooked over the stove and then in the oven), spinach, mushrooms and onions topped with herb butter (parsley and butter).

Seasonings are limited to salt, pepper and olive oil.

Happy cooking!

Book Review: Make It Paleo

October 25, 2011 By Yael Grauer Leave a Comment

Make It Paleo is the newest Paleo cookbook that landed in my mailbox for review, and I’m so glad it did! This is an awesome cookbook: visually appealing, tasty yet simple recipes and amazing variety.

The recipes are divided into the following categories: breakfast, appetizers, entrees (further subdivided into meat, poultry and seafood dishes), salads, soups, sauces and dressings, side dishes, and a treats & cheats section (including cookies, cakes, pies, baked fruits, candies, cupcakes/muffins, ice cream, and frostings/toppings.)

One of my favorite parts of the book is the Paleo kitchen section, which has cool diagrams showing you which parts of the animal various cuts of meat come from, have a list of seasonal produce (divided by season), describe various oils and fats as well as nuts and seeds, and list herbs, spices and seasonings by which types of meat they work well with.

The recipes are incredibly aesthetically pleasing–not just the beautiful color photos, but also the font and color selection and formatting. Below the recipe title and information, There’s a box with a list of ingredients, difficulty scale (indicated by whisk icons), prep time, cooking time and servings. The process is on the right of the box, and below it are informative notes (if necessary).

The recipes themselves are fairly simple, but there is a wide variety–so it’s good both for tried and true favorites as well as some variety that isn’t too complex or time-consuming. I like that there are some pretty unique recipes, such as sushi, or those that use fun ingredients, like red wine, balsamic vinegar, etc., but that they don’t take hours to prepare. Aside from the great entrees, it is the salads and appetizers that to me really shine. I always want to add more side dishes to my meals, and these recipes make it quick and easy–especially since many recipes are not that complicated, so it’s not hard to find all the ingredients laying around. I have not yet delved into the deserts, but there’s some bacon cookies, coconut macaroons, raspberry torte, almond fudge brownies and pistachio bark with my name on them. Yum.

Lastly, I was really excited about the menus for special occasions, featuring 4-6 recipes (and the pages they’re located on in the cookbook), in the back. Myboyfriend and I were considering cooking a Paleo meal for Thanksgiving–and rosemary roasted turkey, cranberry sauce, roasted brussel sprouts, pumpkin chiffon pie, carrot souffle and garlic and herbed mashed cauliflower hit the spot! Even the Valentine’s Day meal is perfect–strawberry salad, oyster’s Rockefeller, balsamic and rosemary chicken, raspberry torte and roasted baby carrots. And who wouldn’t want a Sunday brunch consisting of coconut-nested eggs, coconut flour waffles, frittata and prosciutto e melone? Other special occassion menus include a birthday dinner, Easter or Passover dinner, New Year’s celebration meal, “the Big Game,” a winter holiday meal, a summer cookout, Tex-mex night, Far East flavors and an Island Laua. And, of course, a conversion table and list of resources (books and websites) in the back.

At $34.95 for over 200 recipes, the book is a steal. Highly recommended.

To see photos we took of some recipes from the cookbook, check out yesterday’s post!

Three Paleo Meals

October 24, 2011 By Yael Grauer Leave a Comment

I am lucky enough to live with my boyfriend, who is a really awesome cook and has really embraced this whole Paleo thing ever since we did a Whole30 and saw fantastic results. Here are three awesome meals he cooked for me, all from the Make It Paleo cookbook (which I hope to review in the next couple weeks). On the left are pan-seared scallops cooked with coconut oil and shallots, served with roasted broccoli and balsamic onions. On the right is a taco salad which was actually a touch spicy for me. And on the bottom are smoked paprika chicken thighs with garlic and herbed mashed cauliflower.

Paleo Meal of the Week: Coq au Vin

October 13, 2011 By Yael Grauer Leave a Comment

Ever since my Whole30 experiment, I’ve been taking loads of pictures of Paleo meals–and I thought it’d be fun to post some of these to share with you, as well as describing where I got them from.

Pictured here is coq au vin, or casserole of chicken in red wine, from the Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook. I was really excited about putting brandy in my food and setting it on fire, but it didn’t catch for some reason. Maybe it’s because I used a regular pot instead of a Dutch oven? Who knows. I just hope to one day get to flambe for real.

This was definitely a time-consuming meal. I think it took over an hour total to prepare, and probably an additional hour or so to cook, but of course there is some overlap. It is a great winter meal–the butter, bacon and chicken are hearty and the pinot noir, mushrooms and onions, combined with a touch of tomato paste and spices, give the chicken a great flavor. I had trouble getting the almond flour to really stick to the chicken, but the result was delicious!

Plus, cooking with wine and brandy makes me feel all fancy, even if it didn’t catch fire!

What’s your favorite, fanciest Paleo meal?

Book Review: Paleo Comfort Foods

October 3, 2011 By Yael Grauer Leave a Comment

Let’s face it. We all love comfort foods. Anyone who’s Paleo and doesn’t eat cheat meals regularly probably craves some good home cooking every once in a while. And although the benefits of a Paleo diet far outweigh the occasional feelings of self-deprivation, being able to find similarly flavored meals which you can digest and feel good after eating is win/win.

Except when it’s not. There’s definitely a time and a place to just eat whatever it is you’re craving. If you’re not suffering from an autoimmune disease, a cheat meal every now and again isn’t going to kill you.

Having said that, the elaborately prepared dishes in the Paleo Comfort Foods cookbook are a marvelous alternative for when you are craving a specific flavor but not the effects that come with it. Deviled eggs, crab cakes, spicy chicken wings, sliders, hummus, chili, enchiladas, fried chicken, pot pie… as well as comfort foods that are already Paleo: your salsas and dips, meatballs, dill pickles, tomato sauce,

There’s some great soups and salads, including a delicious tomatillo stew and Paleo gumbo. And while I don’t really crave grits, the cauliflower-based alternative was absolutely delicious.

Hash, slaw, fried green tomatoes and multiple okra recipes definitely showcase the authors’ Southern roots. I was also pleased to see recipes with less-traditional meats including some wild game. We’ve got mushroom stuffed quail with dijon sauce, venison medallions with mustard sauce, braised rabbit and venison-stuffed peppers.

Then there’s things like biscuits made with coconut flour and almond flour, coconut flour tortillas and pumpkin pancakes. I’ve been experimenting with these and find that their flavor stands on its own… perhaps it is elitist to assume that this is superior to, say, vegans eating not dogs or tofurkey, but I really do think some of these recipes stand on their own right and that giving up entire textures or flavors is not really necessary.

Going Paleo causes your taste buds to adjust, so the cave ketchup, barbecue sauce and other condiments are a very welcome addition. And while we haven’t dug into the dessert section yet, the selection is delicious: cakes, breads, tarts, pies, pudding…

It is a truism that you can only have two of the three: high quality, high speed or low cost. Meat and vegetables, in my mind, are quite affordable and the recipes are certainly quality. Some of them do take a bit of time to prepare, though. I believe the shrimp and grits took about an hour, between the chopping and cooking and preparing. I’m okay

with that, but if you’re always in a rush, perhaps Everyday Paleo might be a better fit, or even just picking and choosing simpler recipes.

All in all, I’d highly recommend Paleo Comfort Foods. The types of recipes included are not really available, Paleo-style, anywhere else. There is a huge selection, easily classified by color-coded sections–starters and snacks, sauces and staples, soups and salads, side dishes, main dishes and desserts.

The cookbook is also beautiful to look at, with full-page full-color photos. If you’re looking for healthy versions of delicious homestyle recipes, look no further–this is the cookbook for you.

The book retails for $29.95 but includes over 125 recipes and runs 336 pages long. I’ll admit that I don’t have more than a handful of tried and true favorites–so thirty bucks is a small price to pay for brand new recipes to test out.