Pink lentils & Salmon

This meal satisfies all the requirements for a good recipe these days. Fairly quick to prepare, nutrient dense, tastes good warm and cold, and nutrient dense. I've packed it up for several lunches this week, as the texture/flavor is similar to potato salad. Just call it salmon lentil salad, and everyone will tell you how amazing you are. If you serve it warm, call it casserole. No one will notice.

    2 heaping cups lentils
    3 cups dense flavorful broth (chicken or fish)
    1/4 cup lard
    1 lb salmon
    cheese - such as parmesan, dill garlic cheddar, romano, etc.
    1/3 c yogurt
    1 large or 2 small onions

    1/2 tsp salt
    pinch cayenne
    1/2 tsp mustard
   generous amount of dill
    1/2 tsp curry powder
    generous paprika

Soak lentils overnight in filtered water. The water should be double the height of the lentils, as they will triple in volume. Put salmon in the fridge to thaw overnight, if frozen. If you really plan ahead, you can sprout the lentils for a day or so. If you're running last minute, you can do a quick soak with the lentils, and thaw the fish in a bowl of warm water.

Next day, cook lentils in the chicken broth on high-simmer for about a half hour, stirring often. Once they have changed color, they are done. Add lard and salt, and turn off.

While lentils are cooking, mix yogurt with other spices and place salmon on a greased pan. I baked the salmon in the oven, but you could also cook it even faster in a skillet. Cover the salmon with the spiced yogurt, and cook gently. In the oven, 350º for about a half hour, on the stove, medium - low heat for about 5-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish. Either way, check the salmon regularly, fish should break apart with a fork, but should not be overcooked. It will continue to cook a little more after heat is turned off.

Cook onions in a separate pan, with plenty of grease, until cooked through and lightly browned. Add to lentils. If conserving dishes, cook them before the fish, and you can use the same pan to cook the fish in.

Break apart salmon and add yogurt salmon mixture to lentils, along with cheese. Add additional salt and seasonings to taste.

Quick, delicious, and loaded with nutrients!

Banana leather

Walked into the store and they were begging me to take away bags upon bags of spotted bananas. Bananas are one fruit I don't feel quite as bad about buying conventional, as the thick skins that absorb the chemicals and pesticides are peeled away, but if I could get everything organic, I would get organic bananas too, at least for the sake of the growers. Walking out of the store with two huge bags of spotty bananas was a treat I didn't want to pass up, even if I'm not making banana bread. So home they came.

My daughter helped mash them as I peeled and drop them into the bowl.

Then I spread them on a piece of parchment paper, laid on a pan, and put them in my 200 degree oven for several hours. I was drying several other things in the oven anyway.

At that point, they had browned some and looked lovely, but weren't dry enough. So down into the dehydrator at 135º overnight.


And in the morning I had this:

 

Chewy, densely sweet, and ready and waiting should I want to add to smoothies or baked treats (as a sweetener!) or just for a banana-y treat. 

GAPS Breakfast Cereal!

Nuts are not something to eat in tremendously large quantities, but if you want a GAPS legal, grain-look alike treat check out grain-free cold breakfast cereal!

Variations on a Theme (i.e. Eating the same thing all week and it not getting boring!)

Themed weeks are nice, because half the meal is already prepared, and I just add a little somethign to make it different. This week the theme was ham and mustard. Ham is not technically GAPS legal, unless you cure it yourself, but we are not being extremely strict at the moment. You could probably use any sausage or bacon or a pork roast...

So on the first day we had Ham, cubed, cooked, most set aside, and some mixed with eggs and cheese and mustard greens and my ruined BBQ sauce that is mostly mustard now. As a good foodie blogger, I should really share my failures more. Adding strong dijon mustard instead of dry mustard to almost perfect BBQ sauce is not a brilliant thing to do. That is, unless you have recipes that call for BBQ flavored mustard. So turn your tastebuds on : Ham, BBQ flavored mustard, melty cheddar cheese, eggs, and just a little greens that add some spice and otherwise soak up the other flavors. Yum...

Then this became a salad. All the same ingredients, but more kick of mustard greens (raw now, instead of cooked) and a lighter dish.

Now exceptionally mushy navy beans are added. Cooked in pork broth with lots of fat. Cubed ham, BBQ flavored mustard, greens tossed in and warmed a little, cheese.... Now it has become a casserole.

With grains, I could put this in a puff pastry, or a tortilla, or layer slices of ham and greens and cheese as a sandwhich.... You get the idea.


Do you ever eat the same thing all week?

Fermented Cod Liver Oil Giveaway!

If you aren't taking cod liver oil for it's fantastic vit. A, D, and essential fatty acids... Why aren't you?

Keeper of the Home is doing a giveaway so you can try it for free!

Green Pastures is the best brand around, and even if the regular flavor is something your turn up your nose at, they have lots of blends to make it easier to take every day.

Spanish Carrot Stew

4 c beef stock
1/2 lb gr. beef
1 lb navy beans
1 lb carrots (organic, preferrably)
2 gigantic onions
1/2 bulb garlic
2 tsp salt
juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp thyme
handful of crumbled cilantro
1 Tbsp hot sauce (give or take)
or some dried hot peppers, finely chopped


Would also appreciate the addition of:
bell peppers
tomato chunks
green onion
lettuce or bitter greens

Soak beans overnight with filtered water and a little baking soda. When ready to cook, drain beans of soaking water, and put in pot with stock. Cover with additional water so they have an additional inch of liquid, and turn fire on med-high so they can simmer for 3 hours. You will probably turn the fire down once they come to a hard simmer, you want it to be more gentle.

Peel and slice carrots, and add to beans. Then chop onions and garlic and stir in. The beans will need more frequent stirring at this point, as they will start to disintegrate and stick.

In a separate pan, cook the ground beef, and add, along with juice, to the stew. Then add the rest of your seasonings, and any other veggies that look appealing. Make it as hot or as mild as you like.

Top with some yummy yogurt, cheese, fresh avocado, and fermented salsa.

This is a great dish for picnics, too. It's a little different from the standard chili, taste great on a hot day, and stays warm for a long long time in the pot.

The more ideal Food pyramid

I do applaud the government for trying to give us some guidance on how to best feed our bodies... the only problem is, we've been trying to follow it and getting more sick.

How about trying this food pyramid on for size?

I know some of us GAPSters are ignoring the grains (and maybe the fruit as well!) in this pyramid for right now, but just think if you had always eaten this way and if your parents and their parents always ate this way?