Sweet and Savory Indian Root Veggie curry

This was an experiment, so measurements are totally unreliable. Sorry!

3 parsnips, chopped into 1" or less pieces
1-2 potatoes, chopped into 1" cubes
1 carrot, diced
1/2 onion, diced
2 cl garlic, minced
enough coconut oil to cover the pan/cook some veg in
salt to taste
1/2 c coconut milk, maybe less
splash chicken broth, optional
pinch smoked paprika
pinch mustard and cumin seeds
2 tsp or so curry powder
pinch of chopped cilantro

Boil root veggies until not-quite-soft, drain.

Saute onion and garlic in oil, add spices, stir to make paste

Add in the root veggies and coconut milk

If you need more liquid as it cooks add more coconut milk or chicken broth, you want it a loose curry but NOT soup or stew if that makes sense. Cook until veggies are cooked/soft and flavors meld. Add cilantro if you haven't yet. Serve over rice.

Cheesecake!

Cheesecake! Yes, cheesecake, as long as you can have cultured milk products, nuts, coconut, and honey. We'll wait and see if I can.


Winner winner chicken dinner...err...dessert. OMG it was heavenly and even non-GAPS people gobbled it up so you know it's good.


You first need homemade cultured sour cream and cream cheese. Basically make homemade yogurt and left sit extra-long in an incubator for sour cream (24 hours) , and then use your leftover yogurt for cream cheese; Alton Brown has a good recipe http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/yogurt-cheese-recipe.

Cheesecake Crust:

 1/4- 1/2 c pecans - put in food processor to make into flour. Almond might work too but almond hates me.
2 c coconut, I use a super-fine unsweetened coconut.
1/2 c honey or to taste (I used a little less)
1/4 c oily mix- I mixed ghee and coconut oil

Mix in food processor until it resembles graham cracker crumbs.

Use muffin cups/liners or lightly oil (coconut oil) muffin tin - 12 total muffin cups.

Press in the "crust" on the bottom, you will likely have leftovers- enjoy, it's a good snack!

Pre-bake 325f  3-5 mins

yummmmm

Filling

Soften cream cheese- I had about 8oz or so
Add tablespoon or so of sour cream
add tbsp honey
add a few zesyts of lemon
put in mixer and mix until creamed, high speed, about 1 min. Add....
1 egg.
Mix slowly for 10 sec. and increase speed to high, mix 2-3c min until well mixed.

Spoon onto crust

topping:
Lemon Curd!
Follow any recipe you find online, but what I did was...
heat 2/3 c lemon juice
1/2 c honey
splash vanilla extract
over medium heat, not until boiling, just warm and well mixed. Add barely-a-pinch of salt and stir.

Whisk...
3 egg whites plus 1 egg and 1/4 c honey, until the color changes and it is well mixed.

Very very very slowly drizzle or spoon in the lemon mixture...do not curdle/scramble your eggs!

Add back to saucepan, cook on medium low stirring often until it coats the spoon without too much dripping off. Let sit and cool to room temperature, it will thicken

Dollop lemon curd on top of cheese mix on the crust, stir gently.

Cook 325 10-20 min, really it depends on your oven. As soon as the cakes are not jiggly, take them out before they cook too much and crack.
Let cool on counter 1 hour, place in drudge at least 2 hours before serving.

Kadoo Bourani or Afghani/Indian "Hamburger helper", GAPS friendly

As you can see, my kids had hamburger helper for dinner, at left. I never exactly loved hamburger helper, but cheesy-gooey-noodley-wheat-goodness looked appetizing, since I cannot eat it. I made an alternative, at right.

So...

I googled recipes for ground beef, and settled with using ground turkey in my recipe instead, but ground beef would work just as well.  I just wanted meaty-goopy-goodness.

Kadoo Bourani is the pan at right.

Adjust cayenne to your liking...I like it HOT!


1 lb ground turkey or ground beef 
splash coconut oil (enough to coat the pan)
1 onion, chopped
1-2 gl garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

1 ~14oz can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste

1 1/2 tsp turmeric
3/4 tsp garam masala
cayenne- I added a tsp but most will want much less spice.

1 cup cubed raw pumpkin or butternut squash
2 tsp coconut oil
1 tsp of a mix of curry powder and smoked paprika
pinch salt 

1/4 c homemade yogurt  (or full-fat coconut milk)
a few mint leaves (or 1/2 tsp or so of dried mint flakes)


Heat oven to 400. Put foil or parchment on a baking sheet. Mix squash, 2 tsp coconut oil, the curry-paprika mix and salt. Mix up and put on the ban and bake 15-30 min until tender.

Meanwhile, add onion, coconut oil to saucepan. Cook until translucent, add garlic, cook 1 min. Add ground beef or turkey, cook until cooked through, add salt and pepper.


Add tomato products to the meat mixture and mix well. Add turmeric, garam masala, cayenne.  Mix and cook about 3 minutes. Add water if it gets too dry.

Add the baked squash/pumpkin to the meat mixture and stir, cook an additional 5 minutes to let flavors meld.

Let cool about 5 minutes. Drizzle with homemade yogurt and mint.

Enjoy!

cheesy cauliflower "rice"

Here's where we see if I can stomach aged cheddar! I sure hope so.

So I tried cauliflower "rice" once before, with some broth and herbs and...ok...yes, I ate it. Did I like it? No, but I ate it cause I had worked hard to make it.

So I'm at Costco and my husband sees pre-riced cauliflower and buys it. I was not going to lose out on fake-o rice because I love love love rice and like cauliflower, despite my barely-edible first cauliflower rice attempt.

So this is one of those I-didn't-measure-a-thing recipes because it was a total experiment I figured would go horribly awry. And it....turned out tasty!

1/2 bag costco riced cauliflower, or one head cauliflower, riced (food processors work well)
1 tbsp ghee, use most to coat a baking dish (I used a 9' round one)
1/2 cup aged white cheddar or regular aged cheddar
spoonful homemade yogurt
salt and pepper, to taste
pinch garlic powder
scant pinch cayenne (optional)
splash chicken broth.


Heat oven to 400f.

oil up the pan using about half the ghee or so, until coated.

In a mixing bowl, combine all other ingredients except broth, reserving a bit of cheese. Mix well so the yogurt mixes in. Sprinkle remaining bit of cheese on top. Add a splash of chicken broth, just enough to coat the baking dish just barely. Too much broth = cauliflower soup, too little=burnt dinner.

Bake, covered first 10 mins,  stir gently, bake uncovered for 10-20 more minutes, until cheese is melty and cauliflower just gets a little golden-brown in spots...this adds a nuttiness.

And...serve!

OMGhee

A great way to make roasted acorn squash, and it is GAPS friendly...

Cut squash in half.

Place on a baking tray and set oven to 400f.

Place in each half a squash the following:

1 tsp organic raw local honey
2 tsp homemade ghee
pinch salt, pepper optional

Roast 45 min or so until desired tenderness.

These are so much better than regular old butter and brown sugar.

GAPS spaghetti and meatballs

** if eggs and tomatoes bother you, don't eat this. Also, you can add parmesan if you can have it. I'm not "there" yet.


I love Italian food. It was my favorite cuisine as a child and I could eat pasta every day. Ok, in college, I did and gained 30 lbs, and then went on a daily diet of pizza.

I miss those foods. Enter much sorrow and crying here ____.

Eggplant-
Cut eggplant into 1'4" slices. Sprinkle with salt and let sit on a rack or plate with paper towels 15 minutes. (Meanwhile make sauce and meatballs) Then rinse  eggplant well, Cut into noodle ribbons.

Boil water and cook..
1 carrot, chopped, until soft. Strain.
Drizzle olive oil in a pan just to coat.
Dice...
1/2 red onion
3 cl garlic
sauté until translucent. Add carrots.
Add salt, pepper, italian seasoning to taste.
Place in food processor until saucy.
Add sauce back to pan, add bay leaf, cook slowly.

MEATBALLS
In a food processor, mix up..
1/4 red onion (if large..1/2 if small)
1 cl garlic
handful or less parsley (to taste)
pinch salt and pepper
pinch italian seasoning

Add the mixture to 1 lb organic ground beef.
Add 1 egg.

Mix mix mix by hand.

Heat a pan, add oil if the meat is very lean. Cook up the meat balls, turning to cook evenly.

Add meatballs to sauce,

Heat saucepan and just barely coat with olive oil.
Add eggplant noodles and cook, medium heat, 30 seconds to 2 minutes until desired consistency, tossing often.

Pour sauce, meatballs over eggplant noodles. Garnish with parmesan if you can.

Muesli

Many years ago I spent a month in Austria in a home built in the 1600s stop a hill. There was a lady who came in daily with homemade  Kaiser rolls, cold cuts, cheese, and muesli  for breakfast.

I fell in love with muesli.

Here is a GAPS friendly recipe but measurements are approximate.

1/2c or more homemade yogurt
1/2 tsp + raw honey
1 tsp + unsweetened fine coconut
1 tsp+ finely chopped nuts (whatever your body can handle )
Pinch cinnamon

Mix and enjoy.