Bacon Caprese Salad and Fried Patty Pan Squash

Summer is quickly winding down, but tomatoes and squash are still plentiful.  This summer has been hard on my vegetable garden.  Extreme heat and humidity most of the summer stunted production.  At other times, drought lasted several weeks at a pop.  Only the hardy survived but even so, the fruit of the vines was sweet and far better than any store-bought varieties.


After a brief respite from the heat last week, we are back to temperatures in the 90s.  At least it is fairly dry - as dry as the mid-Atlantic area gets in August.  I ventured out to the garden this afternoon and picked basil, some nice little red tomatoes, and a couple of patty pan squash.  I had a pack of sugar-free bacon in the fridge, some mozzarella, and some balsamic vinegar - just the ingredients I needed to build a Caprese Salad.  Everything is better with bacon, so why not add that to the recipe?

Fry the sliced pattypan in the bacon grease, add a little salt and pepper, and voila!  It's easy to build the salad.  Make the bacon, slice the tomatoes and mozzarella, and chop the basil.  Reduce some balsamic vinegar in a saucepan to concentrate the flavor.  Stack the bacon, mozzarella, tomato, basil.  Place some squash on the side.  Drizzle with balsamic. Done!  Enjoy!

Sausage Cabbage Stirfry (80%) and Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Scones (the other 20%)

Followers of Mark Sisson's Primal Blueprint will recognize the 80/20 reference above. Mark says that if you can manage to stick to primal eating 80% of the time, you can afford an occasional foray into non-primal territory (the other 20%).  To celebrate this reality-based way of thinking, I've added two recipes to my blog this week.  The first is completely primal:  Sausage Cabbage Stirfry.  The other ventures into non-primal land just a little bit:  Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Scones.  The scone recipe is loosely based on one from Elana Amsterdam's "The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook", but I found that using different ingredients makes it much closer to primal and that the extra agave sweetener is not needed at all.   By the way, her cookbook is excellent for those that are starting a gluten-free lifestyle and her recipes are delicious!  Both recipes are on the recipe page and there are some pictures to whet your appetite below.  Enjoy!

Masitas de Puerco - Cuban Pork

In the suburbs of Washington, D.C. in a little town called Burtonsville, there exists a little Cuban restaurant called Cuba de Ayer.  It's located in a little strip shopping center, tucked behind a little liquor store, and you have to find your way to the little parking area out back.  But the flavors in the food are big, bold, and delicious and easily adapted to a paleo diet.  Meat, meat, and more meat!  Chicken, pork, beef, ham in a variety of Cuban dishes.  Yes, they all come with rice and beans, but I just ask to leave those off.  I do indulge in the tostones (fried plantains) which are lovely starchy rounds of crunchiness and perhaps a mojito.  But this post is not really about the restaurant.  It is about my latest meal there which is the title of this post - Masitas de Puerco - and my effort to reproduce that amazing dish at home.

The chunks of pork are marinated in garlic, onion, orange and lime juice (or sour orange), olive oil, cumin, oregano, and salt.  Marinate several hours or even overnight.  Then place the pork in some water and olive oil, until the water boils away. Brown the meat in the remaining oil until it becomes crispy brown on the outside (do not overcook).  Add onion slices, saute quickly.  Serve with plantains (tostones).  The recipe amounts are on the recipe page.

The meat is tender enough to break apart with a fork, tender and moist inside, crispy brown on the outside. What is not to love?  Masita means cookie or biscuit.  I have no idea why these are called cookies, except maybe the little portions of meat resemble them?  Not important really - they are just good and that's enough for me.  Want to see some pics?  Here they are!


The first picture is of the pork after marinating for several hours. 

Next up, the meat is simmered first, then fried until crispy.  Word of warning:  don't overdo this part or you will get dry chunks of meat.  This is a bit blurry from the steam...

Here's the final result with a little side salad of fresh greens, my own tomatoes, local cucumbers, and avocado.

Oh, and two more.  There was quite a bit of fat on this piece of pork and, while I love pork fat, it was a bit more than I wanted.  I fried up the bits of fat in a pan to make treats for the dog.  I have to admit I ate several and my husband came in from outside a bit later and ate a few more. The dog did get a few in the end.

Finally, what else to have with cuban pork than a mojito?  My daughter has become quite the bartender (if law school doesn't work out, I guess she has a backup).  Aren't these pretty?  She had to substitute tequila instead of rum because we don't keep a very well-stocked liquor cabinet, but these were good!

Recipe for pork on the recipe page!

Cafe on 26 - Vacation Eats at Bethany Beach

We spent a week at the beach last week in Bethany Beach and Fenwick Island, Delaware.  These are typical beach towns with tons of family eateries, most specializing in food designed for the masses.  Food is plentiful but if you are gluten-free or even worse, primal/paleo, then the pickings are slim and eating out can become a bit tortuous.  Most restaurants fix foods that appeal to the Standard American Diet  - foods coated in breading, fried in omega-6-laden vegetable oils, "fresh" from the freezer.  The waitstaff are usually young kids, working for the summer in a beach town, or imports from eastern Europe who may or may not have a good grasp of English.  Even if they do, it is a good bet that they have never heard of gluten or have any clue which ingredients contain it.

Even if I can't eat paleo, I ALWAYS eat gluten-free.  I can usually ferret out a good meal selection by a few careful questions, but this week on one occasion, we were told by a waitress who said she checked in the kitchen, that an item was GF.  Turned out it was not (as confirmed by a waiter at the same restaurant later in the week) and by the inflamed arthritis-like pains in my shoulder joints for two days after.  I will work with any restaurant to stay GF.  I don't expect them to make me special food, but I do expect them to be honest about the ingredients in the food I do order.

All of this is to preface the GF restaurant find of my life!  Cafe on 26 opened up this year in May.  They are located on Route 26 just a few miles outside Bethany.  My daughter and I stopped there one afternoon on our way to some local shopping because their sign advertised a coffee bistro and we can usually depend on coffee as being gluten-free.  Much to our amazement, when we got the menu, we found out the place offered gluten-free items on the menu.  And not just gluten-free, but homemade gluten-free!  And not just homemade, but delicious gluten-free bread, bakery items, sauces, and complete MEALS without the worry of gluten contamination!  It turns out one of the owners has celiac disease and wanted to have a restaurant where those of us who are GF can eat in total trust that we will not be contaminated.  I threw paleo out the window that day (and on subsequent visits) since my chances to eat excellent GF food in a restaurant are limited at best.  However, I could have easily eaten a paleo meal there as well.

For my lunch that day, I had a grilled cheese with bacon and tomato on GF bread.  Real moist delicious bread, not the frozen store variety.  It came with chips and a pickle and I got a nice cafe latte to go with it.  My daughter had a turkey sandwich on GF bread with the same sides.  The waiter assured us that almost all of the bakery items were GF (and clearly knew which few were not) so we shared a piece of cheesecake.  Heaven!

We went back for dinner the next night.  Oh bliss!  My husband had cool peach soup, duck with cherry reduction, a quinoa tabouli, and red potato salad.  My daughter had the same soup, salmon crusted with potato, and mashed yukon gold potatoes.  I had beef bourguignon, mashed yukons, and green beans and carrots.  We each had drinks (wine, mojito, vodka) and finished up with delicious coffees and desserts (Grand Marnier chocolate mousse, expresso chocolate mousse, and key lime pie).  Our entire meal was gluten-free and delicious.  If I had chosen different sides and foregone the dessert, I could have easily eaten primal as well.  But I don't often get to eat gloriously GF anywhere except home, so this was one meal to splurge.

On our final day at the beach, we stopped for a light breakfast on the way home.  The restaurant chefs make GF baked goods that are outstanding.  I had bacon (see, somewhat primal) and a cinnamon danish roll.  Oh my!  My daughter had french GF toast with bacon.  We had coffees all around.  There are omelets and other dishes to choose from, but it was a rare treat to get a real cinnamon roll.  Oh, and did I mention they make GF scrapple?  If you are from Maryland or PA, you love scrapple. It comes with the territory and since going GF, I have had to give it up since it is all made with flour.  These folks make their own gluten-free.  I missed it this visit but wait until next year!

The prices are extremely reasonable and the waitstaff is friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient.  They smile! The setting is gorgeous - a renovated older home with comfortable seating areas free of greasy placemats and screaming children (a rarity in this resort town).  I can say nothing bad about this restaurant, except for one thing:  It is 3 hours from my house.  Here's their website:  http://www.thecafeon26.com/ and their facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ocean-View-DE/The-Cafe-on-26/356764231562?ref=ts

I hope they are open in winter because we plan to make a winter trip this year.  The website doesn't do them justice.  This place is good, GF or not, and I encourage everyone who gets in the area to stop by and give them a try.  Of course, I would like to maintain that fine line between too popular that you have to wait 45 minutes to get in and not popular enough to stay in business until I can get down there again!

How Does My Garden Grow? Take a Look!

Crazy hectic week, but I did get a little time to spend harvesting a few items from the garden. The vegetables are small this year due to a month of drought in June and into July, but a few recent downpours have helped.  The tomatoes have grown at least two more feet of vines and promise many tomatoes in the next month or two.  The peppers love it hot so they are doing well.  However, the onions are barely bigger than the sets I planted and the tops are dried, so I pulled all of them today.  They will do for salads and additions to sauces.  Surprisingly, I have some nice lettuce and sorrel for greens this late into a very hot summer.  I also pulled the two potato plants and got a few purple skinned potatoes.  They are not paleo, but I don't think a potato once in a while is going to do anyone in.  Patty pan and zucchini squash are starting to come in and I have a feeling we will soon be overloaded with those.  And for the first time, I got a nice large eggplant.  It is an heirloom variety, apparently very resistant to flea beetles, and it has been doing very well compared to its non-heirloom cousin planted right next to it.  I will have to keep that one on my list for next year.  I have a lot of veggies in the nightshade family, but these have never bothered me, so they are not on my list to avoid.  Herbs are also doing well - anyone need some dill?

Hot Day Salmon Hash

Ewww!  Is she kidding?  Salmon hash?  It was a hot day once again in the Mid-Atlantic with temps close to 100 degrees for the fourth day.  Needless to say, this is not the time for slow-cooked short ribs or heavy sauces.  I'm hanging around by myself for a few days while various family members are off on adventures, so I have been subsisting on lettuce with various pieces of meat, and dressings.  (Sour cream makes a great dressing by the way, and Daisy Sour Cream has one ingredient:  cream).  If you do dairy, it's a good choice.  Full fat, of course.

After a couple of days of that, I wanted something hot but easy to make, preferably with minimal washing up afterwards.  As usual, some of the best recipes come from seeing what's on hand and making do.  Tonight, I had a can of wild salmon, a small light purple eggplant, and some spices.  Why not?  Here's the result:

Served on the fanciest of paper plates.  Just me and the dog around, so who cares?  He got a little in his bowl - I couldn't stand the staring.  And, it was delicious.  The trick is to let it get crusty on one side.  Oh my!  The recipe is on the recipe page.  It tastes a lot like corned beef hash, but is probably a little bit better for you.

High and Dry in Big Sky

We just got back from a week at Nature Conservancy's Pine Butte Guest Ranch on the Rocky Mountain Front in Montana. I've trekked around a bit in my area of PA in my Vibram FiveFingers but I wasn't sure how they would do on the rocky faces.  I was pleasantly surprised.  My daughter and I figured we were on the right track when the naturalists who guided us up the trails in the area also were wearing VFFs.  Our first hike was up Indianhead - a trail with lots of switchbacks through forest, then mountain meadows full of wildflowers, then onto a rocky, shale-y area at the top. In the pic below, we came up the back side of the mountain in the center and ended up on the edge overlooking miles of Montana.

Next, we did an all-day hike up to the top of Pine Butte, a butte that overlooks a swamp/fen area preserved by the Nature Conservancy.  Wildlife abounds there - moose, elk, black and grizzly bears, antelope, deer, and numerous birds including golden eagles, magpies, pelicans, and herons.  To hike up the Butte, you walk along the bottom next to the swamp, then up a series of rocky switchbacks to the top.  The top is amazing.  Fossils of clam and snail shells are everywhere.  We found evidence of bears and deer.  We saw a beautiful golden eagle harassed by magpies.  The VFFs easily gripped the trail.  What I noticed most is that while others in typical hike shoes slipped and rolled on loose stones, the VFFs allowed me to easily feel a loose rock and move my foot to a more secure location.  

Here we are at the top.  You can clearly see my daughter's VFF Sprints and one of my KSOs.  Here's a view of the Butte from another smaller butte overlooking the Preserve during a wildlife watch.  We saw "moose and squirrel."

The ultimate challenge of the VFFs was another all-day hike up to an area called Our Lake.  Our Lake is located over 7000 feet at the top of a tall mountain and up a very steep trail. I have to tell you that I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to certain height locations.  I am fine as long as there is something on the downhill side of me, even 3 inches of stone or grass, but the trail up to Our Lake contains my worst nightmare: a steep-slided slope with a 18 inch path dug into the side of it, with a sheer dropoff on one side.  It is pure scree - loose sharp rock.  The reward for crossing this 500 foot path across the face of the mountain is a beautiful waterfall falling from a hidden lake at the top.  I was very thankful for the VFFs.  I felt as if they were more stable than a hiking boot.  However, I was NOT comfortable at all with that path.  I got to the other side with a racing heart and opted to stay at the base of the waterfall rather than go up to the lake, which involved more of the same scree paths with the lovely addition of snow mounds across the path.  My daughter, who has no fear of heights, went on ahead scaling the heights like the mountain goats she found at the top.  I waited at the waterfall with a can of bear spray and my husband, who kindly hung around with me.  We did get a visit from a mule deer who casually grazed about 20 feet from us before moving on.  Here are pictures of the waterfall and a pic of the lake that my daughter took. It was truly beautiful but I don't regret missing the last part and using the time instead to screw up the courage to go back across that scree.

I think the only disadvantage of the VFFs during the week was the propensity of the toes to gather flower heads which was a source of amusement for other hikers.  My longest hike of the week in them was 8 miles (up to the Our Lake waterfall).  They are quiet, secure, protective, yet give you plenty of feel of the trail.  Later in the week it had rained a bit so I wore regular athletic shoes.  They were much less secure on the rocky trails and had a tendency to roll more to the side.  I much prefer the VFFs.

Finally, a word about the guest ranch.  The Pine Butte Guest Ranch is run by the Nature Conservancy.  They provide a wonderful range of adventures from horseback rides, which I also took advantage of, to hikes guided by knowledgeable naturalists.  The hikes and rides are quite challenging, though you can opt out and go for easier hikes if you want. Three meals a day are provided and they are quite good at catering to special requests.  I requested gluten-free for me and my daughter, instead of trying to explain paleo/primal, and the cooks and staff did a great job of asking questions and providing us with delicious meals.  We got lettuce wraps for hike sandwiches and sorbets instead of baked goods for desserts.  I didn't worry too much about other carbs - it was vacation and I didn't want to seem too much of a pain, but if I had asked, they would have provided anything I asked for.  Their meats and produce are local, grass and/or pasture fed and many of their fresh vegetables are grown in a solar-powered greenhouse.  It's an awesome place, very suited to a primal experience yet with all the amenities.  They do great work there (and they have a heated pool for swimming after those long hikes and rides).  Here's a link:  Pine Butte Guest Ranch