Saturday in Bülach

Yesterday we walked into the old town (Aldstadt) to have some coffee and breakfast.  We sat outside of a bakery and had croissants filled with egg salad, bacon and sprouts, housemade yogurt with thinly sliced strawberries and a hazelnut torte.  The brought out our lattes which were equally impressive.  They usually come in tall glass mugs with handles so you can see all the amazing layers.  On the bottom is steamed milk, the middle layer is the coffee and on top is the foam.  I love to put one packet of sugar on the top of the foam and let it sink in slowly.  Then I get to eat the lightly sweetened foam before stirring the milk and coffee together.  I'm telling you, it's pretty lovely.  The other thing that fascinates me about the coffee culture here (which is very strong), is that they use the Italian names when ordering the coffees. I guess you have to be very specific about what you want and those words seem to be in Italian!

After breakfast we showed Brian the local library and then went to the outdoor market by the main church in town.  Bought some mussels (Belgian) for dinner tonight as well as some really beautiful (read expensive) winter lettuce.  We also went to the local organic store and found some Italian white balsamic vinegar, Italian olive oil and some parsley to sprinkle on our mussels tonight.  They have a pretty good selection of gluten free products and organic meats.  It was the first place I found our version of bacon, but it came in a big slab.  It was quite the mangled slice of bacon we had for breakfast today, but it was delicious!
 
Last night we went to a restaurant in town. Their specialty was to serve a piece of meat on a hot stone with a few different dipping sauces.  The meat arrives rare with a piece of rosemary under it so it smells awesome!  I chose lamb and let it cook just a little longer to make it perfectly medium rare.  I let it rest while I ate the Rosti. Rosti is coarsely grated potatoes cooked just like hash browns.  Brian has the cordon bleu which seems to be adored around here.  Each restaurant seems to have their own special type and they are not limited by the standard ham and cheese variety.  His dinner came with rosti croquette which is really just a long tater tot.  Who wouldn't like to live somewhere that the national dish is tater tots?!?  We had some local wine and ended with crème caramel.  Pretty nice to be able to walk home afterward too!  Nora and I left right when we were done eating because her nose was very stuffed up and her throat was starting to hurt :(

Today we're going to drive to Schaffhausen and then right over the border into Germany.  I'm not sure what we're going to do once we get there or if there will be anything even open, but we'll figure it out. 

We're making Nora drink honey and lemon tea in hopes it will make whatever she's got pass quickly.

Jim Lahey's Quick Pizza Dough

500 G flour
10 G yeast
5 G salt
3 G sugar
300 room-temp water

Oil a bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let rise for 2 hours.

GF Multigrain Bread

Let sit for 10 minutes:
15g ground flax
15g ground chia
60g boiling water

100 g oat flour
100 g almond flour
100 g teff
85 g potato starch
85 g arrowroot
70 g buckwheat

Let sit for 10 minutes:
1 1/2 t yeast
8 oz warm water
1 T sugar

2 t salt
2 eggs
2 T apple cider vinegar

GF Corn Bread

1/4 C rice flour
1/4 C tapioca flour
1/4 C sorghum
1/4 C potato starch
1/4 C sugar
4 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
1 t xanthan
1/4 C shortening
2 eggs
1 C milk
1 C cornmeal

Cut shortening into dry mix
Combine eggs & Milk
Alternate adding wet and cornmeal

425 for 20-25 minutes

Amber's Gluten Free Chocolate Cake

Combine:
1 C Cocoa Powder
1 1/4 C Hot Coffee

Combine:
150G teff
100g sweet rice flour
100g potato starch
1 1/4 t salt
2 1/2 t baking soda

Cream:
2 C sugar
3 eggs
1 1/4 C sour cream
1 1/4 C veg. oil

Alternate adding coffee mixture and dry mixture to the sugar mixture.

Grease your pan and bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes.

Retrospective look at this week's menu

Monday
Tacos - seasoned ground beef, diced tomatoes, diced avocados, tomatillo salsa from Trader Joe's
Asparagus

Tuesday
Grilled pork chops
Grilled peaches
BLTA salad - bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado with oil and vinegar dressing

Wednesday
Spaghetti Squash
Seafood sauce

Thursday
Pot roast
Toasted sweet potatoes
Sauteed red cabbage

Grilled Pork Chops
Really, I just slapped 'em on the grill...half frozen...and they always turn out perfectly. The key is to make sure the grill is smokin' hot.

Grilled Peaches
Um, same thing. Cut the peaches in half, remove the pit, and put them flesh side down on the grill for about 3-5 minutes.

Spaghetti Squash
The fast way to cook a spaghetti squash is to put a few holes in the exterior with a long knife and nuke it for about 12 minutes. I know some of you are just cringing that I still use a microwave, but I'm sticking with it. Take it out, cut in half, scoop out the seeds, and pull out the good stuff with a fork. If you are scared of the waves, cut in half, scoop out the seed, put in a oven safe dish and cook at 350 for about 45 minutes.

Seafood Sauce
3 T olive oil
1 large diced onion
4-5 minced cloves of garlic
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1/2 C brandy or sherry
1/2 C chicken stock
2 C diced tomatoes (canned or frozen)
4 T tomato paste
1 lb. any type of shell fish available
1 t lemon zest
juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt & pepper

Saute onions and garlic in the olive oil and then add the mushrooms. After all the juice from the mushrooms has evaporated, add the liquor and stock to deglaze the pan. After about 3-4 minutes, add the tomatoes and paste. Cook this down for about 10 minutes. Add shell fish (I used shrimp and langoustine because that is what I had), lemon zest and juice, and salt and pepper. Serve over spaghetti squash

Pot Roast
3-4 lb. roast
2 cups canned/frozen tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
1 T dried rosemary
6 cloves garlic
salt and pepper

Blend the tomatoes, paste, rosemary and garlic to a nice smooth sauce. Salt and pepper the roast and place in the crockpot. Pour over the sauce and let it go for about 7-8 hours.

Sauteed Red Cabbage
This is an awesome recipe that my sister gave me awhile ago.
1 head red cabbage, shredded
1 large red onion, sliced
4 strips bacon, diced
2 T coconut oil
1/2 bottle hard cider (or chicken stock)

Saute the bacon and coconut oil. Add onions and cabbage after a few minutes. Pour in the liquid, cover and let cook for about an hour. Stir occasionally. Salt and pepper just before serving.

Weekly Menu

A sample menu of our Paleo week. Fell off the wagon this weekend with an amazing blender drink, but ready to jump back on. For those of you wondering: 1 can of coconut milk, use the can to fill half way with vodka, couple of cans of ice, chocolate syrup, two shots of espresso, creme de cacao if you have it, Kahlua if you don't. Blend until frothy. Yummy! Anyway, back to real life.

Tuesday AM
Apple Salad
Turkey

Tuesday Lunch
Avocado slices wrapped in ham
Tomatoes & basil

Tuesday Supper
Veggie saute
Spicy Sauteed langoustine in lettuce wraps

Wednesday AM
Eggs & Shrimp
Melon

Wednesday Lunch
Turkey slices
Avocado
Sliced veggies

Wednesday PM
Moroccan Chicken
Cauliflower Rice

Thursday AM
Melon & Turkey
Poached Egg w/ tomatillo salsa

Thursday Lunch
Leftover Moroccan Chicken

Thursday PM
Steak Skewers
Garden Salad

Friday AM
Turkey Breast
2 Eggs

Friday Lunch
Steak Salad

Friday PM
Deb & Supurna's to discuss our trip to India!

Snacks - only one per day
jerkey
1/4 C mixed nuts

Apple Salad
2 diced apples
2 shredded carrots
1/4 C raisins
couple dashes of cinnamon

Moroccan Chicken
www.everydaypaleo.com

4 cooked and diced chicken breasts

1 head broccoli chopped

1 bag of baby carrots chopped

handful of green olives or garlic stuffed olives sliced

small handful of raisins

a few splashes of chicken broth

cinnamon

ground ginger

cumin

cayenne pepper

sea salt

olive oil

Cover the bottom of a saute pan with olive oil. Saute broccoli and carrots until crisply tender and add chicken. Cover chicken with cinnamon, add two or three big dashes of ginger, two or three dashes of cumin, a dash of cayenne pepper (more if you like it really spicy), a dash or two of sea salt, and stir. Once the chicken and veggies are covered with the spices add the sliced olives and raisins and a few splashes of chicken broth to create a sauce. Simmer until all the flavors meld together (about 5-7 minutes) and serve!!

Cauliflower Rice
www.everydaypaleo.com

1 head organic cauliflower – steamed

1/2 red onion – minced

3 garlic cloves – minced

2 tbsp fresh basil – diced

1 egg

2 tbsp coconut flour

1 tsp sea salt

black pepper to taste

3-4 tbsp coconut oil

In a large mixing bowl, add the minced onions, garlic, and basil. Place the steamed cauliflower in the bowl as well and add the egg, coconut flour, salt, and pepper. Using a potato masher, mash the cauliflower down to the consistency of rice. Mix all the ingredients well. Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the cauliflower rice and saute for 7-10 minutes or until the “rice” starts to crisp up a little and the onions are tender. Remove the rice and keep warm in the oven.

Meatloaf Dinner Party

Sorry there hasn't been a post in a couple of weeks. Brian and I have been trying to figure out where we are going with our diet and we've decided we need to make a change to be more healthy and weigh less! After quite a bit of research, I've decided on the Paleo Solution. This type of lifestyle advocates for the removal of all grains, legumes, dairy and limiting sugars to just a little honey every once in awhile from your diet. There are so many wonderful heath benefits from this way of eating. We know that all three of us have either dairy or gluten sensitivities, so it made the most sense to get them out of our systems.

We want to lose weight, but not at the expense of being healthy. The Paleo Solution has so many health benefits including lower risk of heart disease, increased metabolism, slowing bone loss, better cholesterol numbers, and more particular to us, fewer GI and psoriasis symptoms.

To be frank, this isn't that huge of a change for us because we haven't had gluten or much dairy in our diet for awhile. However, Nora was still eating mac and cheese and sandwiches every once in awhile and we all still had quite a bit of unnecessary sugar in our diets. Nora was having tummy aches and BM problems because none of those things make her GI tract happy.

To accommodate our new way of eating (notice I'm trying to avoid the word diet) and still have a fun dinner party, I decided to have a meatloaf party! This means that everyone at the party got to mix their own meatloaf to his/her own tastes. It was a bit of work to get all the additions ready, but it was worth it because now we have tons of left overs for omelets!

Make ahead and put in small bowls:
Sauteed mushrooms
Sauteed bell pepper
Sauteed onions
Diced olives
Chopped cilantro
Diced jalapeno
Minced ginger
Minced garlic
blue cheese
feta
lemon zest
lime zest
Cooked quinoa
Eggs

Spices:
cayenne
fennel
curry powder
cumin
smoked paprika
chile powder
salt
pepper

Meat:
Italian sausage
Ground turkey
Ground Beef
Bacon

Have a few large bowls out as well as one pound loaf tins. Each person needs to write his/her name on a loaf tin. Fill the tin about half way with the meat combo of their choice and then dump it into the mixing bowl. The only thing they have to add to the meat concoction is an egg to help hold it together. Everything else is optional. I put out quinoa rather than bread crumbs for people that wanted a filler. Here are some optional flavor combinations:

Indian: bell pepper, mushrooms, jalapeno, cilantro and curry powder
Greek: olives, lemon zest, feta, oregano, red wine
Southwest: bell pepper, jalapeno, lime zest, cilantro, cumin, chile powder

Quite a few people just made up their own combos, and one person even added most everything on the bar! We found that the best way to use the bacon was to lay it over the top of the meatloaf when finished. It really crisped up in the oven.

It helps if everyone's meatloaf is about the same size because then they cook at about the same rate. Put them all on a sheet pan in the oven at 375 for about 45 minutes. Use a meat thermometer and make sure they are registering about 160 degrees before pulling them out. Let them sit for at least 10 minutes because they will keep cooking and just be too hot to eat!

We grilled some asparagus, zucchini and red bell peppers to go along with all this yumminess! The best part was that we passed all the plates around the table so everyone could taste the other creations. What fun!

That afternoon I made a special dessert that we could all enjoy. I warmed two cans of coconut milk and added two cups of dark chocolate chips, 1 t of cinnamon, 1 t of cardamom, and 1/2 t of cayenne. This sat in the fridge for 4 hours before we ate dessert and it was lovely with some fresh strawberries.

Have fun! Let me know if any of you have a meatloaf party!

May 2 - 6

With the celebration of Cinco de Mayo coming up, there will be quite a bit of Mexican food thrown in this week!

Monday
Spaghetti Squash
Zucchini & Mushroom tomato sauce

Tuesday
Grilled Shrimp Tacos
Grilled Pineapple Salsa

Wednesday
Braised Red Cabbage
Chicken Sausage

Thursday
Out to Eat - Mexican!

Friday
Who knows? That's a long time from now :)

Spaghetti Squash and Sauce

1 spaghetti squash
1 T oil
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato paste (make sure you don't grab the one that has high-fructose corn syrup)
1 T each: oregano, basil, & parsley
2 C chopped mushrooms
2 large diced zucchini


Cut the Spaghetti Squash in half (long way) and dig out the seeds. Place in a large pan in the oven for about 45 minutes. Use a fork to "shred" the squash to make it look like spaghetti.

While the squash is squashing, saute one large onion in 1 T olive or coconut oil. Add two minced cloves of garlic along with 2 cups of chopped mushrooms. After the mushrooms have released their juices, add two cans of diced tomatoes and one can of tomato paste along with 1 T oregano, 1 T basil, and 1 T parsley. Stir well, cover and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Dice 2 large zucchini and add to the mixture for another 15 minutes. Salt & pepper to taste

Pineapple Jalapeno Salsa
Modified from 80/20 http://www.eat8020.com/

6-8 rings of fresh pineapple, grilled and cut into small pieces

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1/2 red onion, sliced thin

3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

3 Tbsp fresh lime juice

1 Tbsp honey

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper


Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. Place in refrigerator for at least one hour prior to serving.

Grilled Shrimp Tacos

1 lb. raw, deveined shrimp
2 T jerk seasoning
1 T salt
2 T coconut oil
2 red bell peppers
1 large red onion
corn tortillas

I have a very nice grill basket (thanks Jessica) that I got for my birthday or Christmas, I can't remember which, a couple of years ago. It is absolutely perfect for shrimp tacos!

Toss 1 lb. of raw, deveined shrimp with 2 T of jerk seasoning, 1 T salt and 2 T coconut oil. Let sit at room temperature for 15 -30 minutes.

Cut two red bell peppers in half and lay skin side down on a hot grill. Place large rings of onions on the grill about 5 minutes later to ensure that they get done at the same time. Using a large spatula, flip both about 5 minutes later (after 10 minutes of the peppers being on). Place shrimp in the grilling basket and place on the grill. Give them all another 5 minutes. Take everything off the grill, chop the peppers and onions and serve everything on corn tortillas with the pineapple salsa.

Braised Red Cabbage

1 small head red cabbage
1 large onion
2 T oil
1 large apple
3 T water
1 T apple cider vinegar

Thinly slice 1 small head of red cabbage and 1 large onion. Heat 2 T oil of choice in a large dutch oven and add cabbage and onion. Saute for a few minutes until everything is well coated. Add 3 T water and cover for 60 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes or so. After 60 minutes, add one diced apple and 1 T apple cider vinegar. Allow to cook down for another 15 minutes or so. Salt and pepper to taste.