Roasted Romanesco and Salmon and Paleo Aeoli

I've now completed 2 weeks of the Whole 30. It's been pretty good, except anytime I have to eat out. I had Korean food a few times and pretty sure I had some soy sauce, but I'm not going to beat myself over that. I haven't been posting all my meals, but this week I did make Nom Nom Paleo's kalua pork, paleo mayo, and a few thrown together dishes like this one...

Roasted Romanesco & Salmon with Paleo Aeoli

I love romanesco! It's like a broccoli and a cauliflower married and had an alien baby. It looks weird but is so tasty. You can eat it raw or steamed. Or roasted - which works for pretty much any vegetable you don't recognize.

1 head romanesco, chopped into pieces
1 tbsp avocado oil
1 salmon filet
lemon slices
a few sprigs of dill
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 450. Toss the romanesco in oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Clean the salmon and pat dry. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place dill and lemon slices on top of the fish. Roast in the oven for 10-15 miutes. Easy and done!

Paleo Aeoli
While my fish and veggies were roasting, I thought I'd try Nom Nom's paleo mayo. I've tried to make aeoli in the past but could never get it to work because I didn't have a food processor. Little did I know I could just use my immersion blender. This was so easy and tasty. It was a good substitute for the usual yogurt dill sauce I use when I make salmon. I must admit - the one thing I'm really missingg these days is dairy.

1 tbsp lemon juice
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper
couple sprigs of dill

Throw it all in the immersion blender cup and blend. Simple!

Broiled Whole Mackerel with Crispy Ginger, Garlic, Tomatoes, and Spring Onions

I've never understand when people say, "I don't like fish that's too fishy." Isn't that the point? I love fishy fish. Especially a nice broiled mackerel. Mackerel is flavorful, high in the good omegas, cheap, and still sustainable if you care about that kind of thing. It's pretty popular in Korean cuisine, and when I Googled recipes there were a lot of British recipes as well. I'll throw my hat in the ring with the recipe I came up with tonight for Whole 30 Day 12. The crispy aromatics were a nice textural contrast to the oily fish, and the white balsamic vinegar was a nice substitute for rice vinegar.

If you're squeamish about handling whole fish like I am, close your eyes :)  It's well worth the ickiness. Or you could use mackerel fillets. But cooking a whole fish is so much more hard core!

Ingredients:

1 whole mackerel, cleaned and gutted

2-3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly

1" piece of ginger, julienned

1 green spring onion

handful of cherry tomatoes

1 tbsp coconut aminos 

1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar (available at Trader Joe's)

1 tsp coconut oil

Cut slits in the mackerel. Allegedly this helps prevent the skin from exploding; I think it just looks good. Sprinkle the mackerel with freshly ground black pepper. Place on a baking sheet (with parchment paper if you hate scrubbing pans). Broil in the oven for 10-12 minutes, flipping over half way through. You'll know the fish is done when it feels firm to the touch. You'll also be able to see the white flaky meat in those slits you cut.

While the fish is broiling, fry the garlic, ginger, and white bulb of the onion in the coconut oil. Add the cherry tomatoes and continue to cook till they blister and split a bit. Add the coconut aminos, white balsamic vinegar, and the green stems of the onions. 

When the fish is done, drain some of the oil from the pan. Mackerel is very oily and you don't want to overdo it with the grease. Pour the prepared sauce over the fish and dig in.

Silver Lake Saturdays - Whole 30 Day 10 - Butternut Squash, Parsnip, Leek, Cauliflower "Gratin"

Today was my favorite kind of day. A sunny Silver Lake Saturday when I don't have to do anything, but do just the things I feel like doing. Which today was going to workout at the Silver Lake Reservoir with LA Beach Fit, a trip to the Silver Lake farmers market, a tasty new recipe, and cruising the Sunset Strip with Puppy.

I haven't been to the market (or workout) for a few weeks because I was sick and it's been "cold" (50s-60s). So I think I went a little crazy. In addition to the usual bounty of fruits and vegetables, I stocked up on local sustainable fish, Greek treats (olive spread, garlic spread, and sundried tomatoes), and some cute non-edibles.

Silver Lake Market

Foxy Tote Bag by Berdoo T-shirt

Fun dog print on a couch by Upcycled

After my shopping spree, I went home and threw together this delicious Whole 30 friendly roasted veggie "gratin".

Butternut Squash, Parsnip, Leek "Gratin" with Cauliflower Bechamel

Ingredients

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed in 1" pieces

1 large parsnip, sliced in rounds about 1/2" thick

1 leek, sliced in rounds (cleaned well)

1 tbsp Whole 30 friendly cooking fat (ghee, coconut oil, etc.)

1/2 head cauliflower florets

1/2 cup coconut milk, or other Whole 30 friendly "milk"

1 garlic clove

3 eggs

salt and pepper

other herbs as desired

This is basically the same cauliflower bechamel sauce that I used in my Paleo Moussaka - I love it that much!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss your chopped up squash, parsnips, and leeks in coconut oil, salt, pepper, and herbs. Roast in the oven for about 15-20 minutes as you prepare the cauliflower bechamel gratin sauce.

Add cauliflower, coconut milk, garlic, salt and pepper in sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and blend with an immersion blender. Add the eggs being careful not to let them cook in the hot sauce. It'll look kind of runny and lame - not like a real creamy, rich, non-Whole 30 bechamel sauce at all. But don't worry - the eggs somehow magically make it puff up into deliciousness.

Take out your half roasted veggies and pour the cauliflower bechamel over them. Pop back in the oven for another 25 minutes. You're done!

You could use pretty much any root vegetables for the roasting, I just had this on hand from my farm box and trip to the market. You might also want to add some greens like kale or swiss chard, just be careful to discard some of the water that will be released as they cook or you'll get a watery mess.

Lamb and Orange stew - Day 7

Yesterday was a leftovers day, and today I made new leftovers. I had lamb steaks in the freezer, and there's nothing better than a spiced lamb stew. I've made a few different versions in the past, my favorites using some type of dried fruit. I googled around and saw some versions using orange which I thought I was weird, but I got a ton of oranges in my farmshare so I thought I'd give it a try. Here's the recipe.

2 pounds of lamb meat, trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp paprika
1 tbsp paleo friendly fat (I used coconut oil)
1 tbsp minced ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 chopped onion
3 celery stalks, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
2 cups stock (beef, chicken, or veggie)
1 blood orange

Mix the spices in a bowl, add lamb and toss to coat. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot, add lamb to pot and saute until brown on all sides. Work in batches so you don't crowd the pan. Remove the meat, add a smidge more oil, then saute onion, garlic, and ginger till onions are translucent. Add back in the meat, remaining vegetables, and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until lamb is tender, about 45 minutes-hour. The longer you simmer, the more tender and flavorful the stew.

Zest the orange peel and set aside. Cut remaining peel and white pith from the oranges and coarsely chop remaining fruit. Add oranges and zest to the stew. Cover and smiier another 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

I don't have a crockpot, otherwise I would recommend using one. I make a lot of soups and stews. Maybe I should get one!

Bubble, bubble, not too much toil or trouble for this tasty stew

Whole 30 Day 5

Today was Day 5 of the Whole 30 and I feel like I'm still going strong. If you like to cook, this is a great nutrition plan/food lifestyle/diet/whatever you want to call it. I hate using the word diet, because it implies total self-denial and misery. Maybe this is my "new-trition lifestyle"?

Today I got a delivery from my biweekly farmshare from FarmBox LA. I like FarmBox because you can get deliveries weekly or every other week, and they have a variety of sizes and add-ons. I get the basic fruit & veggie share, eggs, chicken, and a fish of the week. I've also tried their cheeses and even probiotic homemade dog food for Puppy. What a spoiled little boy. Plus, your goodies come in this super cute basket!

With today's harvest, I made a prosciutto wrapped rockfish with a lemon, dill, caper sauce. I also roasted some asparagus and French breakfast radishes. Asparagus and French breakfast radishes are SPRINGTIME vegetables. I'm already getting spring veggies! If I were back home in Boston, I'd still be getting kale, potatoes, and squash. And more kale. And more squash. Hooray for Cali!

And I'll also post my bestie's Whole 30 dinner of the day: Eggplant ricotta stacks from the Nom Nom Paleo cookbook. Five days into this culinary adventure and we are Nom Nom addicts. I highly recommend buying the cookbook. Even though you can find a lot of the recipes online, it's really cute in hard copy, and it's always good to support our Asian sistahs!

The other book I read to kick off the Whole 30 was "It Starts With Food" by Melissa & Dallas Hartwig. If you're interested in the "whys" of the Whole 30, it gives a good foundation in nutrition without being too technical or too cheesy.

That's it for Day 5!

Chawanmushi, Paleo Moussaka, and Material Girls

I love weekends because I can just cook up a storm. Eating paleo requires a good amount of work, but it is totally worth it. Plus there are so many great free recipes online that you're never at a loss for inspiration or guidance.

For breakfast, I made a Japanese chawanmushi - a savory egg custard filled with whatever meats or veggies you want. I won't post the recipe since Nom Nom Paleo does such a good step-by-step tutorial here. It seems a little complicated, but you're basically just boiling water, so no sweat. I filled mine with leftover roast chicken, portobello mushrooms, and kale. Somehow the kale all ended up at the bottom. The dish is already pretty paleo, except for substituting soy sauce with gluten-free coconut aminos.

For lunch, I just had leftover avocado chicken salad. But for dinner, I made my new favorite dish - paleo moussaka!! Moussaka is like a Greek shepherd's pie with eggplant, ground lamb or beef, a tomato sauce, and a bechemel sauce. I used this recipe from The Iron You and the cauliflower bechemel sauce she makes is amazing. I halved the recipe because I had only 1 eggplant, but I wish I had tripled the cauliflower sauce. It looks kind of thin and runny before you put it in the oven, but somehow it puffs into this fluffy, polenta-like consistency. And even though I used coconut milk, you really didn't notice the coconut flavor. Seriously it was so good! Nostimo! (That's "delicious", in Greek).

And since I had a Greek-themed dinner, I'd like to send a shout-out to my favorite Greek-American friend, Elaine Dimopoulos, who has a book, "Material Girls", coming out in May! They just released a trailer for her book (which I didn't even know was a thing) and I am so excited to throw her a fabulous LA book tour party. The book is amazing, so I highly recommend pre-ordering it now!

Improv Initiation at UCB, Homemade Bone Broth, and Avocado Chicken Salad

Today I did my first improv performance as the final act of a beginner class I've been taking at the Upright Citizens Brigade. UCB was started in NY by Matt Besser, Amy Poehler, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh. They have 2 theaters in LA, one of them in a brand new state-of-the-art facility. It has been a great experience, although I've learned I'm not that fast of a verbal thinker on my feet. But I wasn't the least funny person in the class, so that's good. UCB takes a very theory-based approach to teaching improv, plus they give you free entry to shows as a student. Although at $5-10 a ticket, it won't break the bank.

I think I'll probably continue with more classes at UCB, or one of the other major comedy institutions here in LA. But I don't think the casting agents will be banging down my door anytime soon.

As for my Whole 30 progress? Today I invented a pretty cool recipe for lunch, and I made some nourishing bone broth for my cold. For those of you new to the bone broth craze, check out this article from the NY Times. Normally I don't go crazy for fads, but there's nothing I love more than soup so this one was right up my alley. Also as someone more into savories than sweets, it was a nice break from the endless juices of LA.

For my bone broth, I roasted a small cornish hen and 4 marrow bones. For the hen, I mixed some ghee, lemon zest, orange zest, ginger, salt and pepper, and rubbed it all over the little bird. I also put half a lemon and a chunk of ginger inside the cavity of the hen. Then I roasted it in the oven at 450 for about 25 minutes, flipped it over, and roasted it another 25 minutes until it was 165 degrees. After it cooled down, I stripped off all the meat and set it aside for later.

The bone marrow was even easier. Rinse the bones, pat them dry, sprinkle with a little salt, and roast them in the oven for about 15 minutes. I ate the marrow from one of the bones and I swear, my throat felt better immediately. It doesn't look like much but it was delicious!

When all the roasting was done, I threw the meat and bones in my favorite dutch oven. I added 1 leek, a bunch of garlic cloves, 2 carrots, 4 stalks of celery, and about an inch long piece of ginger. I also added 1 tsp of cider vinegar and 2 tbsp of Red Boat fish sauce (paloe friendly). I let that baby simmer for a long time - about 9 hours - until it was rich and golden.

And here's my lunch recipe! Avocado Chicken Salad on Mini Portobello "buns"

I love making chicken salad with leftover roasted chicken, but I didn't have any paleo-friendly mayo. But I had some perfectly ripe avocados - another perk to living in California! So I basically made a "rustic guacamole" with ingredients on hand, mixed in the chicken, and voila! Paleo friendly chicken salad.

Ingredients
Shredded roasted chicken
1 Avocado, mashed
1 shallot
1 clove garlic
lime juice
cayenne pepper
jalapeno (if you have it, I didn't)


Preheat the oven to 350. Mince the shallot and garlic. Mix it with the avocado, lime juice, pepper, and salt and pepper to taste. Let chill in fridge for a few minutes while you prepare the mushroom buns. Hollow out the portobellos and brush them with melted ghee, coconut oil, or other Whole 30 friendly fat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in oven for about 8 minutes, flip over for another 5 minutes.

Mix the roasted chicken and avocado mash. Scoop into the mushroom caps and enjoy!


Whole 30 Day 3
Breakfast - kale, pineapple smoothie
Bone broth
Lunch - Avocado chicken salad on portobello buns
Dinner - Himalayan sherpa stew at Tara's Kitchen. This is a tomato-based vegetable soup with chicken and yummy spices. I dream of it on cold(ish) days.

Whole 30 - Day 2

Somehow I've contracted a nasty cold this week. Maybe my East Coast constitution is not used to these West Coast germs? I've passed the worst of it, but my throat is so sore it's made eating a chore. Luckily, my Whole 30 soups have felt pretty good going down. I can't wait to make more this weekend!

Whole 30 Day 2 Menu

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with spinach; fruit

Lunch: Leftover Thai-ish soup

Dinner: NY strip steak, vegan kimchi, leftover Creamy Leftover Veggie Soup

Vegan kimchi??? I was passing a froofy health food store in Los Feliz and they happened to have 4 kinds of kimchi. All of them had sugar except the vegan brand. I actually don't eat kimchi that often, but when I lived in Korea and ate kimchi almost every day for 2 years I never got sick. SARS also didn't hit the country that hard and Koreans attributed it to kimchi. Is kimchi a magical medicinal superfood? or just stinky cabbage? Regardless, it's tasty and if it gets me over this cold faster than I'll eat it.

My bestie also sent me this pic of her Whole 30 soup recipe today. It's the Carrot & Cardamom soup from Nom Nom Paleo.  Poor girl lives in Chicago so I'm sure it really warmed her up today.

Whole 30 - Day 1!

So around new year's I got it into my head to do the Whole 30 diet. The Whole 30 is based on a paleo style diet, but slightly more strict. No dairy, no coffee, no honey, no wine...basically all the best things in life (that you can consume). But I wanted to give myself a reboot, and I convinced some of my besties to do it with me. So we planned and shopped and we're starting today. And I'm going to keep myself accountable on this blog. Sorry for those of you who don't care, but there will be some tasty recipes I'll try to share!

Today's Whole 30 Menu:
Breakfast: kale sautéed in ghee and scrambled eggs
Lunch: Thai-ish pork curry soup
Dinner: Creamy Leftover Veggie soup and Pan-roasted chicken thigh

I need to work on making my pics look more like food porn, but I just want to eat it up! Recipes below. Enjoy!

Creamy Leftover Veggie Soup

Ingredients:
1 leek
3-4 cloves garlic
1/2 cauliflower head, chopped
Chicken or vegetable stock
Coconut milk
Cumin
Sea Salt
Pepper
Any leftover veggies! Tonight I used some leftover spring mix salad greens, Trader Joe's broccoli & carrot slaw, and spinach

Directions:
Saute leeks and garlic in a diputch oven or large pot. Add cauliflower and heartier veggies, like broccoli and carrots. Add about half can of coconut milk and enough stock to cover the veggies. Add 1 tsp cumin, salt and pepper. Let come to a boil and then simmer till cauliflower is softened. Add remaining greens. When the greens have cooked down, take pot off stove and blend the mixture with an immersion blender or blender appliance of choice.

Enjoy!

Thai-ish Pork Curry Soup
I use this soup base with whatever protein and veggies I have on hand. That happens a lot. This is how I did it last night.

1 Shallot
3-5 cloves garlic
1 tsp ginger (fresh or powdered)
Thai green curry
Pork cutlets
Sweet potato
Red pepper
Carrot
Celery
Chicken stock
Coconut milk
1 tbsp Coconut oil
Red Boat fish sauce (gluten free)
Lime juice
1/2 cup pineapple, cut in chunks

Heat the coconut oil in a dutch oven or good simmering pot. Brown the meat on all sides. Remove and set aside. Saute the shallots, garlic, ginger and curry. Add back the meat. Add veggies. Add coconut milk and enough stock to cover everything. Bring to boil and let simmer till your meat is tender. At the end, add 1 tsp fish sauce, 1 tbsp line juice, and throw in some fresh or frozen ( unsweetened) pineapple.

Pork cutlets were all I had on hand and they weren't the best choice for souping. If you have a tougher meat, add your veggies after the meat and broth have simmered a while.

I would have also added some chili peppers if I had some. And thai basil or lemongrass.the options are limitless!