zoodles with peas and pesto

Posted on April 14, 2013 by

What can I say about zoodles with peas and pesto?

Nothing, apparently, and I’d rather go eat it as a side dish with a lamb leg steak. Instead, I give you some pictures:

Pesto, pre-blended

Pesto, pre-blended

green garlic. It must be Spring

green garlic. It must be Spring

This recipe makes more pesto than you'll need; keep it in the fridge and add it to eggs, roasted vegetables, or just about any meat.

This recipe makes more pesto than you’ll need; keep the extra in the fridge and add it to eggs, roasted vegetables, or just about any meat.

all of the ingredients

all of the ingredients

Zoodles with Peas & Pesto

serves 2 as a main dish or 4 as a side.
 

3 large zucchini
1/2 cup fresh peas (about 1/2 pound before they’re shelled)
2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup fresh basil. mint and green garlic pesto:
1 big bunch basil (2 cups leaves, packed)
3/4 cup walnuts
1/2 cup good extra virgin olive oil
3 sprigs mint
2-4 tablespoons lemon juice, depending on how lemony you like it
thumb sized piece green garlic, sliced (1 clove garlic if you can’t get green garlic)
1 teaspoon salt

  • Start by making your zoodles: Either with a spiral slicer or julienne peeler, make long spaghetti like noodles out of your zucchini. Place in a colander in the sink and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons salt. Mix well.
  • Shell your peas and place in an bowl. Set aside.
  • In a blender, add the remaining ingredients; basil, mint, walnuts, lemon juice, green garlic, 1 teaspoon salt and olive oil. Kick the blender on high. You’ll have to stop the blender a few times and mix the contents if you don’t have a Vita-Mix or equivalent blender. I don’t, and my cheap-0 Oster blender does just fine. (cough*MyBirthdayIsJuly1st*cough)
  • Your zucchini noodles should have shrunken in size significantly by now, which means the salt has pulled out some of their liquid.
  • Set a medium pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the zoodles and peas and blanch for one minute. Drain them well. You can use the same colander, but give it a rinse while the zoodles and peas are boiling, so it doesn’t make the dish too salty.
  • Let cool for a couple of minutes before placing 1/4 cup of the pesto, zoodles and peas in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine. Add more pesto to taste, if desired.

All that’s left to do is:

Dig in

Dig in

...and twirl!

…and twirl!

 

Posted in 21DSD, condiments & sauces, grain-free, potluck, vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Whole 30 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Thai Chicken Skewers with Peanut-Free Satay Sauce

Posted on April 9, 2013 by

It is very rare that you’ll find me in a woe-is-me state of mind in regards to food. I see the fact that I can’t eat gluten as somewhat of a blessing in disguise; it’s what led me to better health, and eventually to a mostly paleo diet, which led to even better health. As I state in The Paleo Miracle, I was never really sick or overweight. I was just unwell. Constant headaches, brain fog, lethargy, skin issues and mild depression were all a part of my “normal”. Changing my diet to correct all of those things is really a small price to pay, especially considering my diet is extremely delicious and satisfying. It’s gotten to the point where I’ll be out for burgers with the family, and will find myself completely amazed that people actually eat their burgers on a bun. As if that’s abnormal. Hah!

But I’m human. And I’m a human who cooks for a living and sometimes doesn’t feel like making dinner. I’m also a human who grew up in a place where there was no such thing as delivery anything, and at 30, moved to a place where there’s delivery everything. And that was something I enjoyed very much for a few short years. So once in a while, I have a little pity party about the fact that I can’t go online and check boxes next to the pictures of the food I would like to appear at my house in about 40 minutes.

I’ll admit it, I miss Thai delivery. But in all honesty: although slightly more time consuming, my chicken satay is better than takeout. And did I mention it’s peanut-free, 21 Day Sugar Detox friendly and Whole 30 friendly? I love you too.

Better Than Take Out

Better Than Take Out

Straight grillin'

Straight grillin’

These skewers are great either warm or cold, making them perfect party food.

These skewers are great either warm or cold, making them perfect party food.

All of the Ingredients

All of the Ingredients

Thai Chicken Skewers with Peanut-Free Satay Sauce

1.5 – 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast *
1/2 cup coconut aminos
2/3 cup unsweetened natural almond butter, divided
1/2 cup lime juice
1 handful fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3/4 cup canned coconut milk
1/2 cup (or as needed) water or chicken stock, preferably homemade

you’ll also need bamboo or metal skewers

  • If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for at least one hour before threading the chicken on them.
  • Cut the chicken into one inch wide strips. ** Place in a glass dish large enough to fit the chicken and marinade.
  • In a blender, combine coconut aminos, garlic, ginger, lime juice, curry powder, cilantro, and 2 tablespoons of the almond butter. Blend until smooth.
  • Pour all but 2 tablespoons of the marinade over the chicken, reserving the remainder for the sauce. Allow the chicken to marinade for one hour, at room temperature. (much longer you’ll have chicken ceviche because of all the lime juice)
  • In a small saucepan, combine the reserved marinade, reserved almond butter, and coconut milk. Heat on medium low heat for about 5 minutes. You just want the flavors to marry, and mellow out some of the rawness of the lime juice. If it gets too thick, add some liquid. Set aside to cool.
  • After the chicken has marinated for an hour, turn your grill on medium-high heat. Once hot, grill the chicken for about 3 minutes on each side or until cooked through, with the top down. If it’s sticking, it’s probably not ready to turn.
  • Serve the skewers with the sauce and garnish with cilantro, if desired.

* Boneless skinless chicken breast is rarely my first choice, but is what tastes best with this recipe
** If serving this at a party as finger food, use short skewers and bite sized strips of chicken

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Posted in 21DSD, Appetizers, Chicken, Dinner, Paleo, potluck, Shmooper's Top 10, Whole 30 | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Help Me Get On Chopped!

Posted on April 6, 2013 by

Happy Saturday, lovely blog readers!

Some of you may already know that I’ve been a bit obsessed with getting on The Food Network show Chopped. If you haven’t seen it, the premise is this: 4 chefs compete to make impressive dishes from the mystery basket ingredients they’re given. Each round, one chef is “chopped” until there is only one standing. The winner wins $10,000 and the title of Chopped Champion. While the prize money would be great to put into the Zenbelly Kitchen fund, I really want to get on Chopped to represent the paleo community, and show the world that people who choose a paleo or grain-free lifestyle eat truly incredible food. It’s time we do away with the belief that eating this way is restrictive or missing something.

I know that I would be a great competitor on this show, and have a lot of experience making delicious dishes out of seemingly impossible ingredients. In fact, it’s pretty much my specialty!

Since Chopped receives a lot of applications, I’m asking for your help in getting their attention: I’ve started a Facebook page, and would love if you could take a second and go “like” it, and share it with your friends if you feel so inclined. The more people who like the page, the more clear the message that we want to see some paleo representation on Chopped!

Thanks in advance, everyone. And I can’t tell you how humbled I am that you visit this blog and try my recipes. I appreciate every one of you!

Cheers,
Simone

Posted in News | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Rainy Day Biscuits

Posted on March 21, 2013 by

I grew up in New England, where snow days where a regular occurrence. Sometimes, the school district over reacted to the weather report so much that they canceled school the day before. While it was nice going to bed at night knowing that there would be no alarm to rip you out of REM sleep the next day, it took away from the magic of waking up to a world that had unexpectedly been turned white and fluffy.

In my house, snow days meant biscuits. My mom is a 4th grade teacher, so if we had a snow day, so did she. I’m not sure there’s a snow day on the books that didn’t include her in the kitchen making biscuits when my brother and I groggily shuffled in.

I had it on my list for this week to perfect my biscuit recipe, so when I woke up Wednesday morning to the sound of falling rain, I knew it was the day to do it. Living in San Francisco, it wouldn’t make sense to wait for a snow day.

While I can’t say I miss the snow, with the exception of the first magical one of the season, I obviously miss biscuits. Because duh, biscuits are awesome. They’re versatile too. This recipe is a perfect cake for your strawberry shortcake, a replacement for rolls at Easter or Thanksgiving, or for breakfast with scrambled eggs and bacon jam. Of course warm from the oven with a slathering of grass fed butter isn’t so bad, either.

not bad at all.

not bad at all.

all of the ingredients

all of the ingredients

crumbs

course crumbs

The dough is sticky, but can be dropped on parchment and shaped into rustic drop biscuits.

The dough is sticky, but can be dropped on parchment and shaped into rustic drop biscuits.

They'll come out of the oven looking like this. And smelling like heaven.

They’ll come out of the oven looking like this. And smelling like heaven.

Rainy Day Biscuits

makes 6 large biscuits

2.5 cups almond flour
3/4 cup arrowroot flour
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) cold butter, preferably grass-fed
2 tablespoons honey
2 eggs, preferably pastured
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

  • Preheat oven to 350 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, arrowroot, salt and baking soda. Combine with a whisk.
  • Cut the butter into 4-5 pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or 2 knives. You’ll want the result to look like coarse crumbs, no larger than pea sized.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the honey and eggs.
  • Gently mix into the dry ingredients, but try not to over mix. You want it just to come together.
  • Drop the batter onto your prepared sheet with a large spoon. It helps to dampen your hands to shape them a bit- the dough is sticky. This recipe makes 6 large biscuits. (If you make smaller ones, adjust your cooking time accordingly)
  • Bake for about 15 minutes, but give them a peek after 10.

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Posted in Dessert, grain-free, primal, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Sesame Asparagus Salad

Posted on March 19, 2013 by

Asparagus season is officially here in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I’ve already eaten my weight in it, and have been reminded of just how versatile this pretty sign of spring is. It’s great roasted, blanched, raw, grilled, hot, cold… you name it.

This simple salad is made in practically no time and is perfect to bring to a spring potluck, or eaten with your fingers standing in front of the open fridge while trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I’m only guessing.

all of the ingredients

all of the ingredients

asparagus is just so photogenic

asparagus is just so photogenic

chopped on the bias

chopped on the bias

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Sesame Asparagus Salad

1 bunch asparagus (about 1 pound)
2 tablespoons coconut aminos
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
2 teaspoons sesame seeds (a combo of white and black is pretty)
~ 1 tablespoon salt
optional, for heat: a pinch of crushed red chili flakes

  • Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the salt.
  • Have ready a colander and a bowl of ice water.
  • Cut off the tough bottom ends of the asparagus and discard. Chop the remainder into bite site pieces at an angle.
  • Prepare the sauce by combing the coconut aminos, sesame oil, and ginger in a medium bowl. (Large enough for the asparagus as well)
  • Once the water is boiling, carefully add the asparagus to it and blanch for about one minute. (slightly more for thick asparagus)
  • Strain the asparagus and immediately plunge into the ice water.
  • Once cool, strain again and add the asparagus to the sauce.
  • Stir to combine, transfer to a serving platter or bowl, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

2013-03-14 16.10.36

Posted in 21DSD, Paleo, potluck, vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Lemony Roasted Asparagus

Posted on March 14, 2013 by

Asparagus season is way too short. I pretty much missed it last year; it seemed to last all of 7 minutes. After seeing the same produce for months and months (not that I’m complaining; I consider myself very lucky to have year-round farmers markets), it’s hard to believe that any vegetable could be so fleeting.

This year, I’m taking full advantage, and promise to pack in as many asparagus recipes as I can. (given my schedule, this might mean two, but I’ll try my best to do better than that)

all the ingredients

all the ingredients

This recipe could actually be two in one, but I won’t be cheap and count it as two.

You could stop here. Roasted asparagus with some sea salt is incredible on it's own.

You could stop here. Roasted asparagus sprinkled with sea salt is incredible on it’s own.

Either way, it’s simple and delicious. If I were pressed for time, I would be perfectly happy with roasted asparagus and sprinkled with sea salt. For some added zest, try it how we serve it as Passover; roasted and tossed with lemony vinaigrette and lemon zest.

Springy!

Springy!

Lemony Roasted Asparagus

1 bunch asparagus (about 1 pound), tough ends snapped off
1 teaspoon dijon mustard (make sure it’s gluten-free)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon
1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs, such as parsley, tarragon or chives
sea salt ( a few good pinches)
2 tablespoons fat for roasting (duck fat, lard or light olive oil would be my picks)

  • Preheat oven to 450.
  • Toss asparagus with your fat of choice and spread out on a baking sheet. (Lined with parchment, if you prefer)
  • Once the oven is hot, roast the asparagus for 10-20 minutes, depending on it’s thickness. Mine took 15, and I’d call it average size.
  • Meanwhile, prepare the lemon vinaigrette:
  • Zest the lemon and squeeze one tablespoon of juice into a small bowl. Set the zest aside.
  • Add the olive oil, herbs, and mustard and whisk to combine.
  • Once the asparagus is tender and a bit caramelized, sprinkle with sea salt and transfer to a serving platter.
  • Pour over the vinaigrette and garnish with the zest.
  • Serve hot, cold, or at room temperature.

2013-03-14 16.29.16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in 21DSD, vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Whole 30 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Indian Spiced Grilled Lamb Chops

Posted on March 8, 2013 by

I can’t remember the first year that my mom made grilled lamb chops for Passover, but I definitely can’t remember anything else ever being in the center of the table. As I mentioned in my post about brisket, there would be certain mutiny if she tried to swap out these chops for anything else.

While grilling lamb chops for a crowd might seem daunting, it’s not bad if you’re prepared. If you have everything else staying warm in the oven, you can throw these on the grill at the last minute, and they’ll be done in under 10 minutes. The best thing about these is that they’re extremely low maintenance, aside from the actual grill time; The magic happens in the overnight marinade!

Wondering about weather? Passover is in Connecticut for me, not California. We haven’t been bamboozled by a Passover snow storm yet, and if it ever does happen, someone will be out there with a shovel.

all the ingredients

all the ingredients

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Indian Spiced Grilled Lamb Chops

serves 6-8

4 pounds lamb loin chops (about 2 chops per person)
3/4 cup full fat plain Greek yogurt
2 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced
2 tablespoons garam masala
1 teaspoon cayenne, chili powder, or chipotle powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 t coriander
1 teaspoon cardomom
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive oil (confession: I forgot to put this in the marinade and it was no issue, if you’re concerned about olive oil + high heat, leave it out)
lime wedges, for serving

  • In a medium bowl, combine all of the ingredients except for the lamb chops. Stir to combine.
  • Coat the lamb chops with the yogurt marinade and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.
  • Turn your grill to medium high heat.
  • Remove the chops from the marinade, leaving as little of it on the lamb chops as possible (it’s done it’s job!)  Discard any remaining marinade.
  • Once the the grill is hot, grill each chop for 3-4 minutes per side. (to yield medium-rare chops)
  • Remove to a platter and tent loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm.
  • Serve with lime wedges
Posted in Dinner, Lamb, primal, Shmooper's Top 10 | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment