Chicken Biryani—Paleo Style

22 Sep

I think my long-standing readers know my Indian food obsession by now, so don’t worry—I won’t be blathering on about how much I love it, how important it is to toast and grind your own spices, and how delicious it is.

But a main component of Indian food is rice, especially if you can’t have naan bread to soak up all the delectable saucy goodness of a good curry. And saddest of all, I recently found out my stomach is not happy with poppadums, made from chickpea flour, and I have had a hard time coming to terms with this. It’s certain that The Husband had nothing to do with it, because if he could control my digestion, he could. But I did think it for a minute, since he’s never been a fan of chickpeas! Continue reading →

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My Unrequited Love Affair with Cheese

15 Sep

Cheese and I go way back. Back to the days of my childhood, where a box of Velveeta seemed to continually self-replicate on the same shelf in the fridge. We were never without it, and I can still see its distinct orange color in my mind’s eye, and taste that creamy, extremely fake flavor. A grilled cheese sandwich was made with none other than Velveeta when I was young.

My tastes developed as I got older, moved on adventurously to Monterey Jack, on to what we Americans call cheddar, then when I moved to England, my cheese mind was absolutely blown. Has anyone heard of Neal’s Yard Dairy? (UK friends: No prizes for guessing.) This place is incredible. It is like Mecca for cheese lovers, the Holy Grail. Seriously, if you’re a cheese lover, you’d weep when you enter. Why? Because they let you taste everything! EVERYTHING. Continue reading →

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Shiso Overload

9 Sep

The sun shines bright on shiso-basil pesto.

We’ve been getting the most delicious produce ever from Alegría Farms, a vertical hydroponic farm that popped up in Laguna Canyon. Twice a week we get a beautiful bouquet of lettuces, chard, kale, collard greens and plenty of herbs. (And the tomatoes. OH the tomatoes! The taste is so good you could faint.) The Husband loved their green smoothies so much that he bought me a Vitamix, which means I’m a very happy girl. Continue reading →

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Chocolate Caramel Brownies

1 Sep

Caramel and chocolate—a close second to peanut butter and chocolate!

I meant to post this last weekend, but it was a crazy few days filled with boring Quickbooks data entry, a visit to an awesome vertical farm in Laguna Canyon, drinks with my parents, two kids’ parties, a run around Lido Island and a stop at the Newport Beach farmer’s market.

You might be wondering how my paleo-style diet’s going, seeing as how these brownies are not on the menu at all, and I’m happy to say it’s going well. I made the brownies for the Laguna Beach Public Works Department, as they rescued my iPhone from certain death in a storm drain. Yes, I managed to drop my iPhone during a run which, combined with some unfortunate timing, bounced off my foot and straight down a storm drain. Continue reading →

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Triple-Green Zucchini Pasta With Broccoli-Arugula Pesto

15 Aug

I think I already mentioned that I’d taken a blood test to finally figure out what my food sensitivities are. It turns out that all grains are off the menu, as are soy, beans, legumes and dairy. Well, we knew about dairy already, so no surprises there.

But it made me think seriously about my diet. Beans, legumes (i.e. lentils, my absolute FAVES) and soy are some of the first things I reach for when I’m going for a vegetarian or vegan alternative. Er, those are out the window. Basically I’ve found out that my diet falls under the “Paleo” title, which makes it easier as there’s some cookbooks out there to inspire me.

Now, please don’t think that I’ve fallen for this whole “pre-agriculture everyone was healthy and that’s how we should eat now to avoid every ailment” theory. I know it’s not scientifically accurate, but that’s not what was bothering me. It was reintroducing meat into my diet.

Continue reading →

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A Raw Deal: Blueberry “Cheese”cake

12 Aug

Cool, raw and delicious.

So, nobody ever dares make me a birthday cake, and I don’t blame them. It’s tricky with my dietary restrictions, plus I guess all my baking makes a few people a little hesitant to make things for me. Although my dad did make a vegan carrot cake for me once—it was tasty, but the presentation was hilarious, mainly because he plopped it down in front of me, saying: “And that’s what you get when you don’t make frosting with real butter!” Yes, the frosting appeared less than perfect, but it was all delicious. And I loved him for making a vegan cake for me!

This year I made my own, and about a month after my birthday. What with all the celebrating, I didn’t really have a chance before that! Continue reading →

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Oatmeal Chocolate-Chip Cookies

4 Aug

You can’t eat just one.

I had some time to myself since The Husband was out holding an open house, and it was too hot to make cupcakes. The neighbors’ son, daughter-in-law and two lovely boys had just flown in from Sardinia, and I thought they could use a little American treat.

And this recipe is distinctly American, because it uses an ingredient that is hard to find outside of the U.S.: Continue reading →

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The Asada Treatment

29 Jul

So it must be pretty obvious by now that The Husband and I like a few things, namely spicy food, grilling and drinking. We like entertaining and having friends over, and the grill (and the Southern California weather) are pretty perfect foils for that.

Recently I found a carne asada recipe that I decided to tweak and use for marinating a whole chicken. “Carne” means meat, right, not necessarily beef, so I thought it would work. And boy, did it. I butterflied that chicken and let it sit for a day before throwing it on the grill, and everyone was happy! Continue reading →

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Pork Burgers and Green Bean Fries

28 Jul

We are usually addicted to bison burgers on a Friday night—they’re just so good we can’t seem to deviate. Until that Friday when there was no bison to be had at the Whole Foods. PANIC! I called The Husband to see if he wanted a turkey burger, which he initially poo-pooed until he realized he had no choice.

Then I spotted the ground pork—hey, I could mix the ground turkey with the pork to give it more flavor! No, said The Husband. I want an all-pork burger. And so he shall, I decided, but of course I need to make it spicy like my bison burgers. So off to the chili section for some serranos, and the store actually managed to have some jalapeño-cheddar burger buns. Result! Grab some arugula and we’re good to go. Continue reading →

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Vegan Lemon Curd Cupcakes

22 Jul

I’m posting this because Lucy requested it, and I hope she makes them for her delightful-sounding little ones. They’ve got so many food allergies, and Lucy seems to be a supermom keeping up with it all! Although they can’t have dairy or eggs, luckily they can eat wheat, so these cupcakes should be a perfect treat for them. Continue reading →

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