Oh. My. Cod.

I ordered this new cookbook this week and was excited to try some new recipes. I had a few meyer lemons on hand so I thought this simple cod dish sounded pretty good. Well I was wrong. It wasn't pretty good, it was one of the best fish dishes I've ever made. I'm noticing a trend with my obsession with lemons, so maybe it's just me, but this was to-die-for-good. I altered the recipe a bit, so here is my version:

Roasted Wild Cod with Meyer Lemon and Caper Relish

 Ingredients:

2 small to medium Meyer lemons

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons of champagne vinegar

2 tablespoons of honey

3 or 4 (5 oz) Wild Alaskan Cod Fillets (got mine at Trader Joes)

2 shallots, minced (about 3 Tbsp)

1/3 cup capers, rinsed, drained and coarsely chopped

5 tablespoons of freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley

 3 tablespoons of EVOO

1 Tbsp coconut oil

2 Tbsp butter

Do it:

Start the lemons preferable the day before and no fewer than four hours before you plan to devour, I mean eat this dish. Cut both ends off the lemons, cut in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Use a sharp knife to cut into thin wedges and then finely dice. Add the lemon pieces to a bowl with any juices that have puddled on the cutting board. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, the vinegar and honey and stir. Cover and leave at room temp for at least 4 hours, up to overnight. 

Remove the fish from the fridge and allow to come to room temp. and pat dry. Arrange the rack on your oven to the top third and preheat to 400. Add the shallots, capers, parsley and EVOO to the bowl with the lemon mixture and stir to combine. The mixture should be pretty wet. Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper. Warm the coconut oil and 1 Tbsp of the butter in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat and add the fish fillets to the pan without touching each other. Sear each side for about 2 minutes until just golden. Spoon the lemon relish on top of each fillet, allowing the liquid from the relish to drip into the pan as well. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp of butter to the pan and pop it in the oven until the fish is done (about 6 minutes). After removing the fish from the oven carefully transfer to a plate and and drizzle some pan sauce on top and then prepare for mouth orgasm.

 

My marinading lemons.

Relish done.

Right before going in the oven.

Viola!

This morning I had an affair...

...with my eggs, veggies and bacon. Sauteed the veggies in butter, broiled the bacon and scrambled the eggs (they were camera shy). But they are in love with each other and I am in love with them. And I hope it's a love that lasts forever.

My balls are special.

Growing up, we always had steel cut oatmeal as a breakfast option. I remember other kids getting to annihilate their cereals with sugar on top. I was kinda jealous at the time... kinda. The reason it wasn't a sad start to the day for us is because we got my mom's "special topping". Super uncreative name, but it was a super delicious, sweet alternative for topping our oatmeal. I don't eat much oatmeal anymore, but I still crave Special Topping. So I thought, what's better than topping? Well the answer is balls. Actual balls, not like, "Ah Balls!" Everything is better in ball format. Hence the Special Balls were born. 

Ingredients:
1 cup of raw almonds
1 cup of raw sunflower seeds
1 cup of raisins (golden or regular)
1 cup of shredded coconut
1/2 cup pecans or any other nut you so desire
Roughly 1 cups of almond butter
1 Tbsp of vanilla
1 tsp of sea salt
1 Tbsp of honey (optional)

Do it:

I made my balls mix in the blender, but I actually prefer the food processor. Pulse the almonds in the food processor until coarsely chopped. Add the raisins and the sunflower seeds. Pulse until they are all medium to finely chopped. (Now you have Special Topper, done!) Or, make balls: Add the pecans. Combine the nut/raisin mixture and the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. I prefer to combine everything with my hands. The mixture can get crazy sticky, but if you have a little coconut flour, you can add it in small spoonfuls so it's workable. Roll the mixture into bite size balls as big or small as you like and refrigerate them so they harden. Eat those balls! Yum.

Farmer Friday: Fennel and Celery Salad

So this Farmer Friday is actually not from my bag, but from my friends. :) She was wondering what to do with her fennel bulbs and I remembered this great recipe that I use every spring. I love the liquorice taste of fennel with the balance of lemon. Super tasty and fresh. I actually like to put this on top of a bed of arugula and top it with my favorite dressing. 

Fennel and Celery Salad

Ingredients:

2 medium fennel bulbs, trimmed, some fronds reserved

3 celery ribs, trimmed

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, more to taste

Salt to taste

1/4 teaspoon black pepper, more to taste

Freshly shaved Parmesan cheese.

Cut fennel bulbs in quarters lengthwise, discarding outer layer if it is exceedingly tough. Use a mandoline to slice quarters thinly; slice celery equally thin. Put sliced fennel and celery into a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and toss gently to combine. Top with lots of freshly shaved Parmesan and chopped fennel fronds if you like.

Most entertaining blog... ever.

Thug kitchen. Hilarious. Informative. My kinda blog. Check it.

Farmer Friday: Paleo Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble

I've gotten the most delicious strawberries in my produce box the last few weeks and was lucky enough to score some stalks of rhubarb as well last week! My Dad's favorite is a strawberry rhubarb pie so I thought I'd make us a paleo crumble instead. (Apologies to my Dad for telling him I made him a crumble and then eating the whole thing before he got to have any. Whoops!) Either way, it was pretty dang good.

 Ingredients: (topping)

1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 Tbsp raw honey
1 cup almond meal
1 cup shredded coconut
1 Tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp of coconut sugar
1 cup of slivered almonds

In a mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients using your fingers squish together into clumps and set aside.

(filling)
3-4 cups of rhubarb, rough ends trimmed, and cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups ripe strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup coconut sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Grated zest of 1 lemon

 

Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, lemon juice and zest. Pour into a 9 inch baking dish. Sprinkle the crumble over the fruit and bake for 35 to 45 minutes until the fruit is bubbling and the crumble is golden brown. Remove from the over and allow to rest for a least 10 minutes before serving.

The original recipe calls for cornstarch, which would make the fruit a bit thicker and hold together well, but in an effort to keep the recipe simple and pure, I omitted it. All in all, this turned out to be different in texture then most crumbles but a delicious paleo alternative to the spring dessert. Enjoy!

Got raw milk?

“Milk does the body good”... but only if it has the same beneficial bacteria as breast milk. Not willing to hook up to the teat for the best nutrition? You don't have to. Milk does the body good--if it’s raw (unpasteurized).

Mark McAfee, owner of Organic Pastures raw milk dairy in California, lectured at the Price-Pottenger Nutrition Foundation recently. Mark is one of the largest organic, raw dairy producers, is pre-med trained, an educator for various health departments, and has lectured at Stanford Medical School, Rutgers and several other institutions. He educates farmers, consumers, legislators and government officials about the safety and nutritional benefits of raw dairy products.

I just watched this video and, although long (1:32), it was incredibly informative and inspiring. If you don't know much about raw milk, I would recommend watching any of the videos on this topic from the Price Pottenger Nutritional Foundation.

Click here to watch the video.