Baked Black Cod with Dairy Free Basil Pesto

Baked Black Cod with Dairy Free Basil Pesto
2 black cod filets
1/2 cup olive oil
3 medium garlic cloves, peeled
2 cups fresh basil leaves (fresh from our garden)
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
a couple of walnuts
salt
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place black cod on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil.  Bake for 15 minutes.
In a blender combine all the ingredients (minus the fish) and blend until smooth.  Top each fish with some of the pesto.

Sauteed Beet Greens
1 bunch of beet greens, cut into large chunks (we saved these from the other night when we had beets)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
olive oil
In a large skillet add some olive oil and garlic.  Heat garlic until fragrant over medium heat.   Add greens to skillet, toss and cook until wilted.  Serve

Cooked Sweet Potato
We cheated and cooked this in the microwave which we normally don't like to do.
1 large sweet potato
Place in microwave and cook until tender.  Cut in half and serve.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin, Green Beans and Beets

Our garden is really starting to produce some really great vegetables.  For this meal we had beets, green beans, lettuce and our first tomato all coming from our garden.

My husband Mike wanted a rub for on the pork tenderloin, he is the grill master in this house so I let him decide (on some things) what he wants to do regarding cooking the meat.  The rub comes from the Grassfed Gourmet Cookbook.


Mustard Sage Rub with Grilled Pork Tenderloin
2 tablespoons nutmeg
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 tablespoon powdered mustard
1 tablespoon coarse salt (we used kosher salt, however 1 tablespoon of salt is really too much for us, so we reduced it)
1-1/2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper (I am currently avoiding foods that I show an allergic reaction to so we did not add this to the rub - yes can you believe that I have an allergy to pepper?)

Rub pork tenderloin thoroughly with the rub.  Place the tenderloin on a 450 degree Fahrenheit grill and cook for 3 minutes.  Turning every three minutes and continue to cook until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 135 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cooked Green Beans
I usually steam my green beans but Mike wanted them cooked like his grandmother cooked them.  Add your green beans to a pan of water (just enough to really cover them), add 1 tablespoon of olive oil (don't ask me why, I assume it imparts some flavor but who am I to argue with grandma).  Let the beans simmer on the stove until tender.

Cooked Beets
I love cooked beets and these were fresh out of our garden which make them super tender and don't have much of that earthy taste.
Take a handful of beets, wash and cut the tops (including greens) off.  Save the greens (Put them in the refrigerator, I will use them later).  Place beets into a pot of water.  Boil the beets until fork tender (where you can stick a fork into the beet without adding a lot of force).  Remove the beets to a bowl. With a paper towel (caution the beets will be hot) rub off the skin of the beet.  The skin should just slide right off.  Slice the beets and serve.  Save the water that your beets were cooked in, let it cool and then add that water to your outdoor plants.  The nutrients from cooking the beets will be in the water which will help your plants.

Serve with a small side salad of fresh lettuce, tomatoes and carrots.

Meatless Monday - Assortment of Vegetables

We went to the farmer's market on Saturday and picked up some fantastic vegetables.  We picked up an assortment of beets, swiss chard, and heirloom carrots.  From our garden came green beans and 1 beet.  We decided to cook all the vegetables and go one night with no meat.

I tried for the first time to roast the beets in the oven.  After 45 minutes they were still hard, even with the oven at 350 degrees and I knew that there was no way they would be done anytime soon.  So I had to go the regular route of boiling them to cook them.

Cooked Beets
Clean beets really good, cut off the stems (save some to add to the chard) and place them in a pot of water.  Boil until the beets are tender (you can poke them with a fork).  Remove from water and using a paper towel (careful they are hot) rub the outside of the beets to remove the skin.  The skin should just slide right off.  Slice beets and serve.

Sauteed Swiss Chard
Clean leaves really well to remove any sand and dirt.  If your leaves have wilted somewhat, bring them back to life by placing them in a bowl with ice water.  Let it sit for several minutes and drain.  The leaves will no longer be limp (you can do the same with lettuce).  Remove the stalk by cutting them out and chop leaves into large pieces.  In a skillet, place some olive oil and one minced clove of garlic.  Cook garlic until fragrant.  Add the chard and toss.  Cook until slightly wilted.  Continue to cook until they have reached the right texture.

Steamed Sauteed Green Beans with Walnuts
Steam green beans in a steamer and cook until just tender.  In a large skillet add some olive oil and add a handful of chopped walnuts.  Stir walnuts so that they warm, don't let them burn.  Add green beans and toss until well coated.

Roasted Carrots
(Since I originally tried to roast the beets, I had the oven on and roasted these along side them)
In a foil pouch add washed carrots, drizzle with olive oil and add some fresh chopped dill.  Place on cookie sheet and cook in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 45 minutes.

Serve all of these vegetables with a fresh avocado and some fresh cut mango.

Beef Stir Fry with Vegetables over Mashed Sweet Potatoes

We are slowly cleaning out our freezer of odds and ends.  We defrosted some left over beef roast, it was about one pound.  Instead of making sandwiches with the leftover beef, I thought about doing something different.  Along with some fresh vegetables, a handful of green beans from our garden I figured a stir fry was in order.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 can of coconut milk
Salt and Pepper
Place sweet potatoes in large pan with water and bring to a boil.  Cook until potatoes are tender.  Drain and add potatoes back into pan.  Place pan back on stove on low and mash using a potato masher.  Add a small amount of coconut milk, mashing to mix.  Continue to add milk to get the consistency you want.  Add a little bit of salt and pepper to taste.  Remove from heat, cover and let sit until ready to serve.

Beef Stir Fry
1 pound cooked beef, (leftover beef roast)
1 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then cut in half, cut into julienne cuts
1/2 of a red bell pepper, julienne cut
1/2 of a green bell pepper, julienne cut
1 hand full of green beans
1/2 onion, sliced thin
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, thinly diced
1 cup coconut aminos (coconut aminos are similar to tamari or soy sauce in taste)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon coconut oil
In a skillet heat coconut oil over medium high heat.  Add a small amount of fresh ginger to pan, stirring until fragrant.   Add onions and peppers.  Cook until just tender, add green beans and continue to cook. In a measuring cup add coconut aminos, vinegar, and ground ginger.  Add a small amount of the liquid to the skillet.  Continue to cook vegetables.  Add zucchini and rest of fresh ginger.  Add beef and the remainder of the liquid.  Toss vegetables until thoroughly mixed.  Serve over mashed sweet potatoes.
Note:  I like my green beans and zucchini to have a little bit of crunch to them so I didn't cook them for very long.

Lamb Burgers with Feta Mint on Maple Pancake Buns (Gluten Free)

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.  Mostly we have been having salads which I don't think is necessarily post worthy.  Tonight we decided on lamb burgers.  I bought this Paleo cookbook called Paleo Indulgences.  This is the first thing I have made out of this cookbook.

Maple Pancake Buns

Dry Ingredients:
1/4 cup almond flour
3 tablespoons coconut flour, sifted
Pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Wet Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted, plus more for greasing

Place the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk to combine.  Add wet ingredients, except the oil.  Blend slightly.  Add the oil and mix well.  Let the batter sit for 2-3 minutes to thicken.  Drop 1/4 cup scoops of batter onto a greased hot skillet.  Cook until bubbling and browned on the edges, flip, and continue to cook until done, about 2 minutes per side.  Cool slightly.  Ready to use as hamburger buns or for breakfast.
My Notes:  The next time I make this I will substitute honey in place of maple syrup for something different and eliminate the vanilla.

Lamb Burgers
1 pound ground lamb
Fresh lettuce leaves
Pat ground lamb into 4 burgers.  Place burgers on a 450 degree farienheit grill and cook for 6 minutes per side and check for the desired-doneness.

Feta Cheese and Mint
1/2 package of feta cheese, crumbled
a couple of sprigs of fresh mint, leaves chopped fine
1 tablespoon olive oil
Mix all ingredients together.

To assemble place some lettuce leaves on top of the pancake bun, top with feta cheese mixture and place lamb burger on top.  Top with more feta and the top bun.   Serve.

Cuban Pork Tenderloin and Yucca with Garlic Sauce

This is my attempt at making Cuban food.  There is a Cuban restaurant that we like to go to on occasion and they have the best pork and what they call cassava (yucca).  I get the same thing every time we go, so I thought it was finally time on trying my hand at making it myself.

I searched the Internet looking for what I wanted.  I found two different sites and thought that their recipes sounded really good.  The one recipe comes from Our Full Plate and the other comes from Three Guys from Miami.  I made the recipes exactly to the specifications that they had, of course you know me, I plan on tweaking it when I make this again.

I hope you enjoy!

Cuban Pork Tenderloin
1 pork tenderloin (about 2 to 2.5 pounds)  This tenderloin came from IdleWild Farm
1 yellow onion, sliced
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 limes, juiced
1 large orange, juiced and zested
2 cups homemade vegetable broth
1-1/2 tablespoons oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Place some of the sliced onion in the bottom of the crock pot, place pork on top.  Add dry ingredients and massage those into the pork.  Add lime and orange juices.  Add garlic and onion.  Pour vegetable broth over all.  Place lid on crock pot and cook for 8-10 hours on low.  (I actually cooked mine on high for about 8 hours, it made the pork so tender and it just pulled apart).  Serve with juice and cooked onions from crock pot.


Yucca with Garlic Sauce
1-1/2 pounds yucca, peeled and cut into chunks **see below on how to peel a yucca
Juice from 1 lime
6 cloves of garlic mashed into 1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
Place yucca in a saucepan; add water until yucca is just covered.  Add a little bit of salt to the water and the lime juice, bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until tender about 30 minutes.  Drain.  Remove the woody or fibrous core from the center of the yucca.  Mash garlic cloves into salt using a mortar and pestle (if you don't have one, use a knife and mash it on a cutting board).  Add garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and onions to a separate saucepan, heat until bubbling.  (I cooked this at the same time the yucca were cooking).  Add yucca to the pan of onion mixture, toss to incorporate and saute it over medium heat.  Serve

Here is how to peel a yucca (don't you just love the Internet?).  Check out this YouTube video. 

Peeling the yucca

This is what the fibrous/woody part of the inside of a yucca looks like.  It will be easier to remove once cooked. 

Turkey Sausage with White Wine and Garlic, Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Garlic and Peppers and Onions

I went shopping today to pick up a couple of items for dinner.  Somehow when I go to this store I end up spending a small chunk of change, today was no exception.  I picked up the sausages that contain white wine and garlic.  I thought this would make a nice meal for tonight's dinner.

Cooked Sausage
Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium heat with a small amount of olive oil.  (I have a glass top stove and cooking with cast iron you have to be careful because if you heat it up too fast the pan will get hot and could cause the glass to break).  Place sausages into pan and cook.  Turning often so that they will cook evenly.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Garlic
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
small amount of olive oil
Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  Place sweet potatoes into a Ziploc bag along with garlic.  Add a small amount of olive oil, just enough to coat potatoes.  Shake and knead bag to incorporate the oil onto the potatoes.  Pour potatoes onto a cookie sheet and place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until tender.  Turning potatoes at least once.  Serve

Sauteed Peppers and Onions
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 vidalia onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt
Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium heat, add olive oil.  Place peppers and onions into pan, stir.  Continue to cook until onions and peppers become soft.  This could take as long as 15 minutes.  When the onions and peppers are about soft, sprinkle a little bit of salt (the salt will help to remove some of the moisture and flavor the peppers and onions).

Serve the above meal with a small salad.