It is odd that a spicey hot southeast asian fish preparation can be so soothing in the heart of a cold fall day, but in fact it does. The Balinese curry style of preparing cod, or any firm white fish, creates a beautiful chowder style dish with a bright yellow intensity from the fresh turmeric.
Other than creating the spice paste, the dish is dead simple and ready in 10 minutes or less.
Popularity: 27% [?]
The past few winters in south western Ontario have been brutally cold, and the current fall has been chilly as well. Many climatologist predict a global cooling for the next 30 years or so. The next few entries are going to focus on comfort dishes that will keep us warm and humoured.
And what better to keep us more than a fish curry/chowder from sunny Bali? We broke this recipe up into 2 recipes. First, the curry paste, a mixture of garlic, ginger, turmeric, galangal, lime leaves and hot peppers, can be used as the basis for many Indonesian and Thai based curries.
Secondly, we fry the paste in some coconut milk as the basis for balinese cod chowder.
Popularity: 23% [?]
The eastern seaboard is experiencing a colder than usual fall. The climate is accelerating our consumption of big, bold, filling comfort foods. The province of Quebec, Canada is probably the world leader in developing comfort dishes. Hearty meat pies, pork offal, seafood terrines and coveted foie gras are provincial culinary treasures.
Which brings us to Pate Chinois, another Quebecois gift to the world. Literally translated, pate chinois is chinese pate. I don’t know how it got it’s name, but it is remarkably similar to shepherds pie.
It warms us up, and it should warm you as well. It is cheap, heartwarming, filling and best of all, our version is completely paleo friendly.
Popularity: 25% [?]
We here in Canada celebrate Thanksgiving a full month ahead of the US holiday. Here is a great revelation we discovered this year. Instead of the traditional roast, fried or smoked turkey, try a beef tenderloin roast.
There are many virtues to the substitution of the main thanksgiving protein. First and foremost is time. With a nice tenderloin, you can reclaim your Thanksgiving sports viewing time. You go from 0 to 60 in about 3 hours, all in: prep time, cooking, resting and carving time!
Tenderloin has a great beefy texture, but other than that, it lacks substantial flavour. So, to make this a paleo delicacy, we wrapped it in herbs, and slices of bacon. Count on about 1/3 to 1/2 pound of tenderloin per person.
This Thanksgiving, give some thanks and drink some red wine. The tenderloin matches pinot noirs, cabs, pretty much any red wine.
Popularity: 23% [?]
In keeping with the changing of the seasons, we want to consume, and write about, more robust, filling and comforting fall dishes. And, what can be more comforting the chicken pot pie.
Generally, a pot pie is made with a pastry dough, or puff pastry crust. We have re-engineered the crust to make a chicken pot pie more paleo friendly. In fact, we enjoy it more than the original. Cheers to innovation.
Popularity: 32% [?]
After eating 2 weeks of great Sicilian and Romano food in Italy, we were pining for something North American upon our return, like a Big Mac. Of course, we wouldn’t really run off to the golden arches. Instead we contrived this skirt steak salad.
It is sacrosanct to compare any gastronomic creation to a Big Mac. However, when everyone tried this steak salad, the popular feedback was, “It tastes like a Big Mac”.
I think the comparison stems from the homemade Catalina style dressing. Instead of resisting the notion, we rolled with it.
(more)
Popularity: 26% [?]
Despite the abundance and fanatical devotion to high carb foods, Rome suits the lifestyle of the average paleogastronomer. Rome is best viewed by foot. It is surprising how compact the historic center is once you learn the basic layout of the city.
Where to Stay
In terms of places to stay, we highly recommend leasing an apartment for a few days or so from Friendly Rentals.
http://www.friendlyrentals.com
This agency has apartments of all shapes and sizes located all over the the city. If you are really struggling with your paleodiet, you can always cook your own food in the apartment.
Where to Eat
As we have maintained during our whole trip, it is nearly impossible to find a meat and vegetable centric restos. However, if you order painstakingly, you can put together a meal that is virtually pasta and bread free. Avoiding cheeses may be another challenge altogether. Here are our pics. If you hit them all you will have a nice general tour of Rome.
Popularity: 30% [?]
In our original post, Quest for Fire: BBQ Beef Brisket, we outlined our approach to prepare a brisket for smoking.
After dry-rubbing our brisket, and letting it rest over night, the brisket is in shape to Q. We now refer you to our handy guide to setting up a BBQ for smoking.
Take your pick of strategy based on your BBQ type and smoke the brisket for 5 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 195F.
Once complete, let the brisket rest for about 30 minutes before carving. When ready to serve, carve paper thin pieces along the grain of the brisket. Serve with our favourite BBQ sauce, Hot Pimenton BBQ Sauce. Recipe follows.
Popularity: 24% [?]
Whilst traveling through Italy, we were Internet impaired, making the usual weekly hunting-gathering of paleo-related links virtually impossible. So, here is our 3 week compendium of interesting links.
Wisdom abounds in the most unlikely places. That is pretty wise unto itself. From one of our Sicilian cookbooks, a quote, “cu mancia sulu, s’affuca!”, or “he who eats alone chokes himself!”. However, sometimes it is inevitable. Here is some help on dining for one.
In keeping with our Italian theme these past few weeks, here is Roman preparation for pork cutlets.
French adobo? Possibly. We haven’t put this through the paleo-test kitchen, but we will shortly.
Fall is in the air, and Italy, a distant memory. We are half a month from October, so now is an excellent time to brush up on Sausages and Sauerkraut.
We picked this up in the airport lounge on the way back. Quirky, but useful if you, like I, dont like your apples oxidized.
Finally some food for thought. Two new books for the avid food reader. First, “Just Food”, a book to challenge the notion of “local”, “organic” and other food movements. Secondly, “The End of Overeating”, which preaches the blindingly obvious.
Until next week.
Popularity: 20% [?]
