Liver and onions with other goodies too

Liver served with purple kale

I’m deficient in a couple of B vitamins and can’t take B supplements because I react badly to supplements of all sorts.

I’ve been eating lots of organ meats from grass-fed animals to get my B vitamins. I’ve never been a fan of beef liver but I’m finally getting liver right so that I actually enjoy it when I eat it.

So, I’ve been experimenting a lot to come up with a recipe that I enjoy.

And I did it this time…YUM…never thought I could really enjoy liver and onions. Really it was the last frontier because I like almost everything if it’s cooked right.

I made some liver with lots of browned/carmelized onion, celery, parsley, rosemary, thyme and sage. And at the very end simmered on high with a 1/2 cup of brandy (the alcohol gets completely cooked out)…mmmm, Good.

So here are the ingredients and how I did it:

●  1lb liver sliced in thin strips

●  1 or 2 large onion cut in thin half circles

● 3 cups thin slices of celery (I include the tops and leaves etc)

● 1 bunch of parsley chopped

● I also included fresh rosemary, thyme and sage from the garden — about three tablespoons of the mixture chopped up.Use dried herbs if you don’t have fresh. You won’t want to put nearly as much of the dried herbs.

● 1/2 cup of brandy

● salt and pepper to taste

I sliced the onion in thin half circles and sautéed them until they were lightly carmelized. Then I tossed in the three cups of celery and sautéed them for about 3 minutes along with the fresh herbs. At that point I put the cooked veggies into a bowl and sautéed the liver in the pan briefly on high. I used ghee (clarified butter) to saute the veggies and the liver. You can use whatever fat or oil you choose to cook with. I avoid industrial seed oils and generally cook with lard from pastured raised animals, ghee or coconut oil. I also use olive oil but not generally for sautéing. (to learn about the problems with industrial seed oils click here and scroll down the page a bit) Good fats are very important for brain health and healing.

Once the liver is lightly browned but not cooked all the way through I put the cooked veggies back in the pan with the liver and tossed it about.  Don’t over-cook the liver. I then again turned it on high and added the final touch — the 1/2 cup of brandy. Let it simmer madly for a couple of minutes. Toss in the chopped parsley at this point and then turn off the burner and cover the dish for about 5 minutes. Now it’s ready to eat.

Enjoy.

Another way to get liver and all its dense nutrition is here: Chicken liver pâté

Nori fish wrap

One of my favorite foods I’ve added to my diet since concentrating on healing foods are various kinds of seaweed. I have two favorites that I use a lot. I love wakami which I toss into broth and various soups quite often. It grows over 30 times it’s dehydrated size so it’s also very economical along with just plain delicious.

The second seaweed I eat a lot of is nori. Nori is the stuff sushi comes wrapped in. It comes in sheets that can be used as a wrap so I use it instead of bread for sandwich like foods. I also take plain sheets and brush them lightly with olive oil and a bit of salt and eat them just like that…they’re crunchy and delicious. A great tasty and nutrient dense snack.

Today I made guacamole, fish wraps.

Here are the steps I took. I first made guacamole. I mashed two avocados with:

● 1/8 of a finely diced onion

● juice of half a lemon

● salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

● Then I mixed in a bunch of finely chopped cilantro.

That’s it. Very easy and quick guacamole. You can add hot sauce or tomatoes and jalepenos…whatever  you like really.

Then I baked a few pieces of white fish. I believe it was flounder. Tilapia would work well too.

I put the guacamole onto two sheets of nori (one will do fine, too. I just really like nori and it’s so GOOD for you too)

Then I rolled it up.

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Nice, simple lunch that tastes good and packs a nutritional punch.

 

OMG Good, “spaghetti” and spaghetti sauce for the nightshade (tomato) free and grain-free eater

Even if you can eat tomatoes and grains this recipe is a winner! I was very pleased with this. I do a lot of experimenting and this particular “spaghetti” turned out really good. My best effort so far.

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So the recipe? As always these are my best guestimates. You’re responsible for tasting and checking to see if the amounts of what you’re using work. I’m not someone who has ever stuck to a recipe and I don’t claim to write them very well. I do cook pretty damn well.

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 2 tbls oil or fat to cook with
• 1 full head of garlic
• six carrots
• one celery plant (ALL the stalks, ribs, whatever you want to call them and the leaves that come with them)
• 1 small or medium size onion
• 1/2 (small beet) too much will make your sauce PURPLE
• 5 fresh rosemary sprigs (substitute dry if you must)
• thyme (about 1 tbs fresh) if you substitute dry you don’t need as much — that is true of all the herbs)
• oregano (about 1/2 a tbls)
• 1 tbls dried basil (or a bit more fresh)
• 15 sliced Kalamata olives
• 3 tbls capers
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

I tossed a fairly large spaghetti squash into the oven at 400 degrees for 1 hour. I put them in whole, but one MUST remember to stab them all over with a fork or it will EXPLODE!! yes.

While that is cooking I minced an entire HEAD of garlic and then sauteed it in some beef tallow. One can use any fat/oil of their choice.

While that heated up on low I coarsely chopped six carrots, most of an entire celery plant, half a small beet (that is for color…put too much in and you’ll end up with purple spaghetti sauce!) and the onion and  I tossed them all in the food processor and chopped them up relatively finely…but with some chunkiness left for texture. (I filled up the processor twice)

Once the garlic is sauteed and lightly browned I tossed in the processed veggie mix. Cooking in my stainless steel pot, I put the burner on high long enough to brown the bottom of the veggies at which point I added 3/4 cup of red wine and then turned the pot down and allowed it to simmer.

I went into the backyard and picked 5 fresh rosemary sprigs, and some oregano and thyme. Then I chopped them all up together and it came out to be about 4 tbls of fresh herbs. I also added about 1 tbls dried basil since I didn’t have any fresh one. I added this all to the veggies and wine as they simmered on low.

While that is simmering I got a pound of ground grass-fed and pastured beef and browned it in another pan. Once it was brown I added that to the above mixture. I added salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.

I allowed that to simmer another 1/2 hour or so at which point I added a whole bunch of chopped parsley (as bought in a bunch at the store). I also added about 15 chopped Kalamata olives and 3 tbls capers. I brought that to high heat and boiling just for a second and then turned it off and left the lid on and let that sit for another 10 minutes or so.

Once the squash is cooked I cut it in half and emptied it. You can add a bit of butter or ghee to it and a bit of parmesan if you eat it. And then top it with the sauce. My husband ate it with a bit of parmesan, I ate it without. We both liked it!

London broil, kale and butternut squash…a menu and how to do it

Breakfast of last nights delectable left-overs

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The menu:

Roasted butternut squash:

Peel (I use a potato peeler) and cube a butternut squash. Roast on high tossed with chopped garlic, salt and pepper in lard (use your preferred fat/oil here). Stir a few times while they are browning. Once soft and browned toss with fresh finely minced mint (the more the better!).

Steamed Kale

Steam kale, toss with olive oil and lime

Grass-fed, pastured London Broil

Marinate the beef for several hours (up to 24–the more the better). I used 1/4 cup red wine, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup Tamari, minced garlic (I used about 6 cloves), a generous amount of fresh minced rosemary, thyme and oregano and fresh ground black pepper. Put it all in a plastic bag and moved it around/turned it over every hour or so for 6 hours. (I saved the garlic and herb bits from the marinade and put it on the meat while grilling)

I then grilled it on high in a foreman grill type thing for about 14 minutes. (Would be ideal on a real outdoor grill and a broiler could work too). It was a large London Broil a bit over 3 lbs so yours may need more or less and then cook to desired doneness too!

Eat it don’t tweet it!

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Ha! ha!

This is me I’m afraid.

I am actually cooking a lot and getting very creative since my diet is restricted. It’s made me get additionally creative. Some of my friends who see and hear about what I make tell me I should do a cookbook. I’ve said, I really should start blogging again before I do a cookbook.

In any case it’s a lot of additional work to blog everything I cook and I’ve simply felt overwhelmed a lot lately. So no go, right now, but maybe at some point.

Raisin pumpkin bread in a 8 x 8 cake pan (grain free, sugar free)

Pumpkin bread with raisins

I mentioned to a friend that I had made pumpkin bread. She asked for a recipe, so I figured I’d do a post and share it with her. Thank  you Heather! You’ve coaxed me to return to my poor neglected food blog.

So this is a paleo acceptable dessert of sorts. It’s also acceptable on the GAPS diet for the most part. You might want to skip the baking soda. Otherwise it’s all legal.

It’s a favorite snack for me since I am no longer eating grains. It’s not like a grain based cake or bread. It’s better to think of it as something altogether different in my opinion.

I modified the pumpkin bread from the cookbook Cooking with Coconut Flour: A Delicious Low-Carb, Gluten-Free Alternative to Wheat.

It’s really quite a lot different. I put more squash and spices. Different spices as well and I added raisins. Nuts would be nice too if you wanted to add 3/4 cup of some kind of nut. Walnut would be good. I’ve actually done that before.

• 1 cup pureed pumpkin or butternut squash
• 8 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 heaping tbls cinnamon (you can do less, I just love spice)
• 1 tbls ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp baking soda (baking powder would be better if you can eat it, I can’t)
• 1 cup raisins (I put less, but it would be better with more)

mix the dried ingredients well

mix the wet ingredients well — I roast and puree the squash in a blender or food processor.

combine the two — I used an electric mixer.

put in a 8 x 8 square pan that is well oiled (I use coconut oil)

bake at 350 for about 40 or 50 minutes

Thanksgiving dinner for two

Thanksgiving dinner for two

I’ve not posted in a very long time. I’ve got nothing to say for myself.

This was our Thanksgiving day meal:

• Turkey, slow roasted, all night long, with sage, butter and rosemary.
• Cranberry sauce with apple, orange, raisins and ginger. (no sugar added and very YUM)
• Pseudo stuffing made with quinoa, amaranth, celery, garlic, butter, apple and walnuts.
• Roasted potatoes (for Paul…I don’t eat the tubers though I do have fond memories of them cooked like this: rosemary, garlic, olive oil)
• Mixed green salad with lots of arugula
• And a pumpkin pie (100% from scratch)

Yeah…it’s over…had to do it early as I don’t last long…as it was I pulled off an amazing feat…and actually had fun doing it…a holiday miracle…

I’m an Italian mother even when there is no one to mother!

It was just me and my husband…we’ll have leftovers for days.