Cavemen Gourmet

Greetings from London! I have been traveling a bit and am reminded daily of how hard it is to eat well while on the road. This easy recipe is a great snack for any roadtrips or flights (especially with those dreadful airline meals!).  As simple as this recipe is, you’ll love the amazing combination of texture and taste!

Ingredients
Serves 2
2 cucumbers
8oz sliced turkey breast
2 ripe avocado

Directions
First, peel your cucumbers. I like a tiny bit of skin on mine for the added texture but you can do however you prefer. Then cut your cucumber in half (not lengthwise!).  Next, with a sharp paring knife, make an initial indentation lengthwise and start cutting the core of the cucumber out, creating a hollow log shape out of the cucumber.

Next, core and slice your avocado in quarters.  Once that is done – simple layer the turkey in the cucumber and place the avocado in the turkey. Voila! You have yourself a fresh, paleo snack that’s refreshing and delicious! Feel free to add some basil or other herbs to add more flavors. I keep this simple because my husband loves the basic saltiness of the turkey next to the crunchy cucumber and the creamy avocado.

Cheerio!

I’m a big fan of onions. Big. HUGE. Though I can’t bite into them like George Costanza can, I put eat them with nearly everything – in my omelettes, in my salads, in my soups… I would eat them for dessert but I’m not that crazy.  One thing I do love is carmelized onions for that really sweet and natural taste. This recipe was inspired by a post I recently saw where I just loved the pictures.  So I tried to make it more paleo friendly. I think you’ll enjoy the chestnut flour crust because it adds a slightly sweet flavor to it. Hope you like!

Ingredients
Makes 4 servings
For the crust:
1 cup chestnut flour
1/3 almond flour
1 egg

For the filling:
2 red onions
1 medium sweet onion
2 shallots
3 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
grated Gruyere cheese (optional)
salt and pepper

Directions
For the filling: Peel and slice your onions. I sliced mine very thin because I wanted the mix of onions to blend well together. Feel free to use any type of onion – I’m a sucker for red onions so I put more of that in than anything.

In a large pan, heat the olive oil on high heat.  Once the pan is hot, add the onions and stir for 5-10 minutes until all of the onions have softened up. Reduce heat to medium and cook the onions for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the onions have softened dramatically and are well browned.  Then add the balsamic vinegar and cook for another 10 minutes, until all of the onions are completely caramelized. Remove from heat.

Before you make the crust, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

For the crust: in a medium sized bowl, add your flours and egg together. Hand mix until you have a dough-like consistency.  (It will be a bit tougher/harder than your typical dough but that’s expected – you’re using nut flours!). Place the dough on a large piece of parchment paper. Get your rolling pin out and roll the dough until the crust is about 1/8″ thick. Then place your sauteed onions in the center of the dough - leaving enough room on the sides so you can roll up the tart. Grate some gruyere cheese on top of the onions.

With the parchment paper, fold up the edges of the crust leaving some of the onions exposed in the center (see picture). I find that the parchment paper allows me to create the hexagon shape of the tart much easier than if I use my hands. And the flour is much harder to work with and less malleable than typical dough. So use that parchment paper!

After you’re done folding the tart sides over, grate more of the gruyere cheese on top if you want. Pop in the oven for 15-20 minutes and voila! You have a paleo onion tart. Perfect for brunch or a decadent snack.

As Summer winds down and Fall approaches, I’m getting a liiiiittle excited. Ok fine – I’m getting majorly excited.  I’m not thinking of the beautiful change in seasons coming up or the autumnal colors that are about to surround me.  I’m thinking about Peyton Manning and his awesome commercials. I’m thinking of Tom Brady and wondering if he’ll be affected by being Gisele’s baby daddy.  That’s right folks – FOOTBALL SEASON!!!

I was watching Hard Knocks a few days ago and thinking this is the best show on television. This is what makes reality tv amazing.  The show pulls at your heart strings. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you feel glad that you’re sitting comfortably on the couch watching these guys while they work their butt off only to tear their achilles tendon (Ropati Pitoitua – you are my hero. I touch my healthy earlobe and it feels tender. You tear your achilles and it looks like you’re about to take a nap).  You don’t even have to be an avid football fan to watch – so hop to it and get on board the Hard Knocks Train.

When I think of football season, I also think of food and lots of it. This will be my first football season eating paleo so I was trying to think of snack-attizers to keep my non-paleo friends happy during kickoff. This recipe is inspired by my Mom who often makes a version of these wings. They’re sweet, spicy, delicious and easy to make.

Ingredients
Makes 4-6 servings
3 pounds of chicken wings
1 cup of chestnut flour
1/2 cup of walnut oil (or your favorite oil for frying)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar (I put on my paleo approved list in very small doses)
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce (optional if you don’t want the heat).
salt and pepper
1 green onion (thinly sliced)

Directions
Rinse chicken wings under cool water and pat dry.  In a large frying pan, pour in your walnut oil and put on high heat.

In a large bowl, mix your chicken wings and 3/4 cup of your chestnut flour.  Coat all of the wings with the flour so that they can fry up evenly.  (Chef’s Note – this is the first time I tried chestnut flour.  It’s slightly sweeter than other nut flours and used commonly in desserts as an alternative to all-purpose flour.  I absolutely loved the flavor that came out of it and will use again for other crusts that need a slightly sweet kick.)  Once your wings are evenly coated with the flour, add them to the hot frying pan.  Fry on each side for about 7-10 minutes until cooked through or until golden brown and crispy.

For the sweet and spicy sauce, in a small sauce pan combine the orange juice, fish sauce, vinegar, water, Sriracha sauce, minced garlic and water.  Stir evenly and add a little salt and pepper. Stir on medium/high heat and add your remaining bit of chestnut flour. This will thicken the sauce a little bit (and is a great substitute for corn starch as a thickening agent). Stir frequently.

Once your wings are done frying on both sides and are crispy, golden brown – add your sauce and reduce heat to low. The sauce will look a bit watery once you pour it in but will thicken up nicely with the heat. Mix the wings so that all of them are coated with the sauce and stir for 2-3 minutes.  Place wings in a serving dish and top with sliced green onions. Best served immediately. Enjoy!

Going to a party and not sure what to bring? Try this simple guacamole recipe. I brought this to a family BBQ last weekend and even had the kids loving it with the radish ‘chips’.  I love getting non-paleo people on board with healthy and tasty options.  Besides the awesome crunch and slightly spicy taste found in radishes, they are also a great source of Vitamin C.  The best part of this recipe – there’s no cooking!

Ingredients
Makes 4-6 servings
2 bunches of radishes
4 ripe avocados
1 medium red onion (finely chopped)
1 medium ripe tomato (diced)
1 jalapeno pepper (optional)
4 tablespoon cilantro (finely chopped)
2 small limes
salt and pepper

Directions
For the radish chips – cut the radish bulbs from their green stalks. Rinse the bulbs under water and scrub off any dirt/debris. Then slice the radishes thinly (but not too thin because you want them strong enough to dip with).  Set aside.

For the guacamole – cut the avocados in half and remove the seeds.  Scoop out the avocado and put in a medium sized bowl.  Then juice 2 small limes directly on the avocados so they stay green and don’t brown quickly. Mash the avocado using a fork until the consistency you desire.  Add the chopped red onions, jalapeno, cilantro, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly with your fork.  Add the diced tomatoes at the very end and mix one last time. All done!

Best served immediately with your radish chips. Enjoy!