Food Renegade » Recipes

Salmon Croquettes Recipe

KristenM — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:44:21 +0000

This recipe for Salmon Croquettes came to me courtesy of Ann Marie’s new Surf & Turf class. (Have you entered that giveaway yet?).

Featured in Lesson 5 (along with 14 other amazing seafood recipes), this recipe puts my typical salmon patties to shame. It’s not any harder than what I do, but it packs in much more flavor and a lot of vegetables, too! Because I’m now a nursing mom, I’m making an extra effort to eat more seafood and organ meats each week. These salmon croquettes are a hit, and will certainly be added to our meal rotation.

Salmon Croquettes

The Players

Wild salmon, canned or freshly steamed — canned is cheaper (15 oz)
Bread crumbs, dried or toasted — you can use sprouted or sourdough bread, or a gluten/grain-free bread* (3/4 cup)
Mayonnaise, preferably homemade (1/2 cup + extra for serving)
Onion, yellow or white (1 small)
Bell pepper, yellow, red, or orange (1 small)
Celery, organic if possible (1 stalk)
Parsley, fresh (1 small bunch)
Egg, pastured, organic (1)
Lemon, organic if possible (1)
Mustard, dijon (1 tsp)
Worcestershire sauce, organic and additive free if possible (1 tsp)
Sea salt
Macadamia nut oil — cold pressed, unrefined, lard or tallow, pastured, or refined, expeller pressed coconut oil (1/4 cup)
Optional: Tabasco sauce, or any hot sauce (6 drops)

*I used a basic almond-flour bread (recipe to come).

The How-To

1. Peel and coarsely chop onion. Toss into the food processor.

2. Rinse and dry the bell pepper, celery, and parsley. Coarsely chop and add to the food processor. Process by pulsing on and off until everything is finely minced.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the canned or cooked salmon, 1/2 cup of the bread crumbs, finely minced vegetables, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, egg, dijon mustard, worcestershire sauce, sea salt to taste, and optional tabasco.

4. Rinse and dry the lemon. Grate about 2 teaspoons of the zest and add to the bowl.

5. Mix all together with a large spoon and then shape into patties with your hands.

6. Spread the rest of the breadcrumbs out on a plate. Roll the patties in the crumbs to coat and set aside.

7. Heat up the macadamia nut oil, lard or coconut oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the patties for 3-4 minutes on each side, until nicely browned and crispy. Cook only 4 patties at a time to avoid overcrowding.

8. Serve the patties with additional mayonnaise for dipping and a fresh green salad.

I’ve been getting seafood about twice a week, once as tuna salad and once as something else like Southwest Mussel Chowder or a simple baked fillet of some variety of fish. Our only organ meats of late have been liverwurst sandwiches about twice a week for lunch. I am *so* looking forward to the Surf & Turf class, so that I can get some variety to keep our seafood and organ meat selections fun. Plus, I want to go from eating these nutrient-dense foods twice a week to at least three or four now that I’m nursing again.

NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE: http://cmp.ly/5

(photo by dalboz17)

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Almond Flour Banana Bread

KristenM — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:15:06 +0000

Ah, bananas. When you’ve got too many of them, you either start making a lot of smoothies, or you make banana bread (or maybe banana bread muffins, yum!). But how to do it grain-free? Enter almond flour, the hero of the grain-free/gluten-free/primal baking community.

This morning, I decided to experiment. I wanted to make almond flour banana bread. I’ve not baked with almond flour before, and I’ve certainly never made almond flour banana bread before. I decided to adapt my old banana bread recipe, and boy was I surprised! I made the most incredibly moist, perfectly crumbed, tasty banana bread I’ve ever eaten. That’s why I’m sharing this recipe for almond flour banana bread with you!

Almond Flour Banana Bread

The Players

4 C. almond flour
2 C. coconut flour
1 C. dark chocolate chips
1 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder
1/4 C. honey
1/2 C. coconut oil
6 eggs (from pastured hens)
2 tbs. vanilla
2 1/2 C. mashed bananas (approximately 5 small bananas)

The How-To

1. In a mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients — almond flour, coconut flour, chocolate chips, salt, baking soda, & baking powder.

2. In a separate mixing blow, combine all wet ingredients — honey, coconut oil, eggs, vanilla, & bananas.

3. Combine wet and dry ingredients thoroughly with a spoon. Transfer into two loaf pans or one bundt cake pan or 24 muffin tins. Cook at 350F. If using two loaf pans, cook for about 40 minutes. If using a bundt cake pan, cook for about 45-50 minutes. If using muffin tins, cook for about 25 minutes.

4. Remove cooking tins from oven, and let cool completely before removing from cooking tins and serving up this delicious almond flour banana bread to your family and friends. Freeze whatever you don’t think you’ll eat within a couple of days!

P.S. I used coconut flour because I didn’t have enough almond flour on hand. So, you decide! If you don’t have coconut flour, perhaps you want to experiment with all almond flour, or subbing in one of your other favorite gluten-free flours.

This post is participating in Real Food Wednesdays, hosted by Kelly The Kitchen Kop!

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Yummy Real Food Recipes for July 4th

KristenM — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:15:42 +0000

Tired of hot dogs full of additives, nitrates, or MSG? GMO-corn chips served with Velveeta dips? Want to eat or serve something you can actually be proud of this Independence Day? All you orthorexics out there know just what I’m talking about.

In the hopes of inspiring you to realize that you can eat FRUGAL, nutrient-dense foods that feed AND please a crowd, I’m offering you my July 4th menu, complete with recipes. This menu also happens to be grain-free for all you going low-carb, gluten-free, or primal.

Finger Foods

Make Ahead Frozen Meatballs, served with Better Barbeque Sauce and Creamy Mexican Queso as dips.
Mouthwatering Sweet Potato Latkes

Main Dishes

Choice of:

Taco Bowls (taco meat made with Homemade Taco Seasoning, plus all the taco fixin’s, served inside bowls), OR
Caveman Chili

Sides

Farmer’s Market Salad Bar (i.e. whatever I pick up at this afternoon’s farmer’s market, chopped up and set out in individual bowls) served w/Hot Bacon Dressing and Pecan Garlic Salad Dressing.

Dessert

Easy Chocolate Pudding!

Drinks

What are YOU serving up this 4th of July? I’d love to see your recipes, too!

(photo by hryckowian)

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Chinese Tomato and Eggs

KristenM — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:00:45 +0000

Chinese Tomato and Eggs have long been one of my favorite, simple, hearty dishes. I grew up in the China Town of Houston, in and out of my friends’ kitchens, watching hunched over Chinese mothers and grandmothers make everything from simple stir fries to egg rolls to steamed biscuits. Chinese Tomato and Eggs have always struck me as humble, almost peasant fare. But boy are they tasty!

Not only do Chinese Tomato and Eggs cook up in less than 10 minutes, but they taste like summer. Kids love them. I love them. I think you will, too. As with any ethnic dish, there are as many versions for preparing this as there are people making it. This is my way. Do with it what you will.

Chinese Tomato and Eggs

The Players

6 eggs from pastured hens
1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil (less if the flavor of your oil is particularly potent)
salt & pepper (preferably white pepper) to taste
2 small tomatoes, quartered (with a larger tomato, cut the quarters in halves or thirds)
water
1 green onion, chopped
butter

The How-To

1. Heat butter in a skillet or wok over medium heat. Mix eggs, sesame oil, salt & pepper in a bowl, then pour into hot skillet. Spread the eggs well with a spatula. Cook as you would scrambled eggs, then remove the eggs into a bowl.

2. Add more butter to the wok or skillet. When melted, stir in tomatoes and green onion. If the tomatoes are juicy, just cover them and cook for about 30 seconds. If they’re not a particularly juicy variety, sprinkle a tablespoon or so of water on the tomatoes before covering and cooking for about 30 seconds. Remove the cover, add the scrambled eggs, and cook for an additional 30 seconds or a minute until the tomatoes are hot and tender but not overly cooked.

3. Serve your Chinese Tomato and Eggs immediately. Enjoy!

(photo by laurelfan)

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Homemade Breakfast Sausage Patties

KristenM — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:19:22 +0000

I love breakfast sausage patties. But I hate MSG. And sodium nitrate. And high fructose corn syrup. And the myriad of other strange ingredients that make their way into store-bought breakfast sausage patties.

That’s why I set out to create a recipe for homemade breakfast sausage patties that would not only taste great and be made from nutrient-dense ingredients, but also that would be as convenient as store-bought breakfast sausage patties. Convenient? YES! I make several pounds at once, freeze individual breakfast sausage patties, store them, and then whip them out later to fry up with eggs for a convenient, protein-rich breakfast.

Homemade Breakfast Sausage Patties

The Players

2 tbsp of dried sage
1 tbsp + 1 tsp of salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 pinches ground cloves
1 tbsp molasses (optional)
4 lbs of ground, grass-fed beef or pastured pork

The How-To

1. In a bowl, mix the first 6 ingredients (all the dry spices).

2. Place the ground meat in a large bowl. Add molasses and dry ingredients. Mix with hands until spices are evenly distributed. Then, make patties. (I get about 36 out of the 4 lbs of meat.)

3. Line a cookie sheet with foil or wax paper. Line up your individual patties on the paper so that they’re not touching. When the bottom layer is full, add an additional layer of wax paper or foil and keep adding patties. When all the patties are lying flat on the cookie sheet, put the cookie sheet in your freezer. When patties are fully frozen, remove from the cookie sheet and place in a large freezer bag to store for later use.

4. To cook, saute the frozen patties over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes per side. Enjoy!

How awesome is this? I love making freeze-ahead meals or menu items. It takes a LOT of the stress out of being a busy mom! And in this case, it makes a nourishing, wholesome breakfast just that much quicker to come by. I’ve used these homemade breakfast sausage patties served along side eggs, as the base for a down-home Southern gravy, and inside sourdough English muffins to make breakfast sandwiches.

My favorite collection of freeze-ahead recipes is in the book Don’t Panic! Dinner’s in the Freezer, one of my top-5 recommended cookbooks.

(photo by lollar)

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Versatile Broccoli Casserole

KristenM — Fri, 21 May 2010 02:09:52 +0000

One of my family’s favorite comfort foods is a steamy plate of cheesy, broccoli casserole. Of course, the version I grew up eating was made with Cheese Whiz (seriously). As an adult, I adapted it into a main course by adding cut up chunks of sausage. Then, as a Real Foodie, I adapted it further by creating my own easy cheese sauce. Lately, as a low-carber, I’ve been adapting it even further by cutting out the rice and using grated cauliflower.

I’m going to let you guys in on how to make it — with any meat or no meat, rice or cauliflower. After all, it’s the cheesy broccoli part that truly makes the dish. AND, I’m going to let you in on how to make it in a single skillet, no hot oven necessary.

Versatile Broccoli Casserole

The Players

4 cups of cooked brown rice (or grated cauliflower)
1 head of broccoli, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 tbsp. butter
1 lb of cooked meat (nitrate-free sausage is my favorite, or you could go meatless)
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
1 cup of milk (from grass fed cows)
8 oz. grated cheese (experiment! I love a sharp cheddar in this, but I’ve done it with a smoked gouda, too.)
1/2 cup of sour cream
salt & pepper to taste

The How-To

1. In a large (12-in), deep skillet, melt 2 tbsp. of butter and add the broccoli, onions, and optional cauliflower (if not using rice). Cook over medium heat, occasionally stirring, until veggies are tender. Add cooked meat (if using meat) and cooked rice (if using rice).

2. Scoot the cooked vegetable medley off to the edges of the skillet, creating a well in the middle, just over the burner. Reduce heat to medium low. Melt 2 more tbsp of butter in the well, then quickly stir in flour to make a hot roux. When the roux is mixed & bubbly, pour in cold milk and continue stirring, raising heat to medium. As the mixture thickens, begin stirring the vegetables into the sauce.

3. Evenly distribute the cheese over the whole skillet, and continue stirring the contents. Once cheese is melted, remove the casserole from heat. Stir in sour cream, and add salt & pepper to taste.

4. Enjoy!

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Pecan Garlic Salad Dressing Recipe

KristenM — Thu, 13 May 2010 23:31:12 +0000

Today at the Farmer’s Market I got a great deal on pecan meal. Because it’s basically the toss-asides created during the shelling process, pecan meal cost half as much as the already shelled pecans. When I tweeted about my find, several people asked what I do with pecan meal.

A host of ideas leaped to mind: pecan crusted meat dishes, a couple of salad dressings I love, even pecan waffles! I made one of the salad dressings tonight for dinner — a pecan garlic salad dressing. Now you can enjoy it too!

Pecan Garlic Salad Dressing Recipe

The Players

1/2 c. olive oil (cold pressed & UV-protected)
1/4 c. raw apple cider vinegar
1/2 c. pecan meal (finely chopped pecans)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. raw honey

The How-To

Mix all the ingredients together. Serve. For a smoother dressing, you can blend in a food processor.

How easy is that?

(top photo by anushruti)

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Real Food Recipe Corner

KristenM — Wed, 05 May 2010 01:27:02 +0000

For the past few weeks, I’ve been sharing recipes I’ve adapted from my favorite cookbooks, including a recipe for Pickle Relish, Easy Chocolate Pudding, and a Better Barbeque Sauce.

This week, I thought I’d share some of the recipes that really caught my attention over the past month online. After all, if I love them, surely you’ll think they look delicious, too!

First up is a recipe for Queso Flameado from Ren at Edible Aria. “A decidedly Tex-Mex affair, queso flameado (flaming cheese) is a mixture of assorted white cheeses with chilies, onions, garlic and homemade chorizo served bubbling hot from the oven with warm tortillas.” YUM.

Next, I *loved* this new take on coleslaw from Smitten Kitchen. It’s a Cabbage & Lime Salad with Roasted Peanuts.

Kimi at The Nourishing Gourmet posted a recipe for Sweet Roasted Tomato Bruschetta that made me so thankful that Tomato Season (otherwise known as Summer) is just around the corner.

Mark’s Daily Apple also posted a great salad idea: Hawaiian Poke Salad with avocados, snow peas, and lightly cooked asparagus.

And finally, Jenny at Nourished Kitchen posted 10 Healthy School Lunch Ideas with links to all the recipes. Many of these caught my eye even though I’m not sending any kids to school or packing any lunches.

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Pickle Relish Recipe

KristenM — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 01:53:10 +0000

Nothing says love like a homemade dill pickle relish recipe. Okay, so maybe some things do — like chocolate, or an Australian Shiraz wine, or a foot massage. Oh, and then there are those adorable squeezy hugs that my boys are so keen on giving. I’m getting sidetracked.

I love pickle relish, particularly dill pickle relish. And when I became a label Nazi, I realized I needed to create a dill pickle relish recipe that could keep my family in fresh, old-fashioned, pro-biotic, lacto-fermented pickle relish until kingdom come. That’s because store bought pickle relish (even dill pickle relish!) not only contains nasties like high fructose corn syrup or sugar, but it’s also made with a vinegar brine and industrial canning. In other words, the dill pickle relish you buy at the store is dead — nothing at all like the sour, fizzy, old-fashioned pickle relish recipes our great-grandmothers were famous for.

So, I did what I always do when I want a recipe. I looked online. Nothing. I searched for lacto-fermented pickle relish recipes and found nada, zip, zilch, zero.

Then I did what I always do after I check online. I scoured my cookbooks. I found a recipe for Pickled Cucumbers in Nourishing Traditions (one of my Top 5 recommended cookbooks), and set about adapting it into a good pickle relish recipe.

This is the result.

Pickle Relish Recipe

The Players

4-5 pickling cucumbers
2 tbsp. fresh dill (or 2 tsp. dried dill)
1 tbsp. sea salt
4 tbsp. whey (drained from yogurt, if not available, use an extra 1 tbsp. salt)

The How-To

1. Wash cucumbers well & grate them in a food processor or by hand. Stir in remaining ingredients.

2. Place mixture in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar. Using a kitchen mallet or wooden spoon, squeeze the grated cucumbers down and allow liquid to cover them. If there’s not enough liquid to cover, add filtered water to get the job done. The top of the liquid should be at least one inch below the top of the jar (that’s to make room for all that glorious fermentation).

3. Cover tightly and keep at room temperature for about 2 days before transferring to cold storage.

4. Open and enjoy! This dill pickle relish recipe produces an old-fashioned, fresh, dill pickle relish that will last up to a couple of months in the refrigerator, although most of the pro-biotic benefit from the lactic acid fermenetation will be lost by then. (In other words, the sooner you eat it, the more healthful it is for you!)

P.S. If you’re intimidated by the idea of fermenting your own condiments at home, there are folks who are in the business of doing it for you. Why not check out the listings on my Resources Page to see what’s available in your area?

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Easy Chocolate Pudding Recipe

KristenM — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 00:12:45 +0000

Sometimes, you need to eat chocolate. In those moments, I almost always make a batch of easy chocolate pudding. I eat it while it’s hot, and it makes the most amazing dessert.

I’ll never understand why people pay to buy pudding mixes with ingredients labels that require a chemistry class to decipher. Even when I wasn’t into Real Food, I still couldn’t bring myself to use boxed pudding mixes — not when such easy chocolate pudding recipes are out there.

This easy chocolate pudding recipe is adapted from the Quick Chocolate Pudding found in More With Less (one of my top 5 recommended cookbooks). I’ve even sometimes adapted it so it’s dairy-free, and included that option in the recipe below.

Easy Chocolate Pudding Recipe

The Players

1/3 c. honey
4 tbsp. arrowroot powder (or organic corn starch)
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 c. milk (or coconut milk)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. butter (if using coconut milk, omit this)

The How-To

1. In a glass measuring cup, whisk together arrowroot powder, cocoa, and milk until relatively smooth. In a small saucepan, combine the honey and the milk mixture over medium heat. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.

2. Once thickened, remove from heat, stir in vanilla and butter until evenly distributed.

3. Serves 4-6. Enjoy your tasty, warm, gooey, relatively healthy, and definitely easy chocolate pudding!

One Year Ago This Week:

(photo by llsimon53)

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