Summer!

For some people, the start of summer is Memorial Weekend.  Here in Northern Michigan, freezing temperatures are not out of the question on Memorial Weekend, so the real start to my summer is picking my own strawberries.

Last week I read an excellent post on Surprised by Joy.  Caroline Clunk (who doesn't write nearly often enough - everything she writes is excellent!) put summer goals so eloquently:

Well, I’ve decided to take hold of this summer and cram as many wonderful memories into it as I possibly can. June has barely begun and already, I have handfuls of wonderful times that give me a good, wiggly feeling in my stomach that this is going to be one epic summer.

Take hold of summer.  What a wonderful perspective on life.  Push and pull and eke every last drop of sunshine out of these golden days.  Pick strawberries and have campfires with friends and go sailing.

 I've been counting my campfires.  I'm up to five so far this year.  Also, we've gone sailing twice.

This summer is mine!  And it all starts with strawberries...

Somehow I recruited Kyle as help, with the promise that we could go sailing afterwards :)

Gorgeous, red, juicy berries...taste-test approved!  We picked 11 lbs, which seemed like a lot at the time, but now it doesn't seem like enough!  Thankfully, the season is just beginning.

You can't beat fresh, local berries.  My favorite berry use?  Sliced over granola and yogurt.  However, a Swedish cloudberry parfait is another outlet for an excess of strawberries!

Made with homemade chocolate syrup and garnished with some homegrown mint leaves.  Recipe coming up...next post!

Budget-Friendly Tuna Burgers

In my pre-Paleo days, one of my favorite meals was Taste of Home's veggie tuna burgers.  However, the thought of adding two cups of bread crumbs to burgers that I was going to put between two bread buns never sounded good to me at all.  It's getting too close to just putting a slice of bread between bun halves.  Carb overload!

Truth be told, the Paleo versions of these burgers didn't thrill me either.  So many of them called for either almond flour or coconut flour.  Though I've used both, I don't really like the idea of trying to use new foods to mimic foods that aren't really a part of my diet anymore.  Incidentally, Kyle was the one that found the recipe below.  So while I would love to give credit where credit is due, I have not been able to find it back.  Also, I'm sure he somewhat altered it.

We tried these a couple months ago and they are a great budget-friendly Paleo meal.  I know canned tuna does not really fit the Paleo model, but when cooking on a budget, it can't all be grass-fed and wild-raised.

Ingredient #1:  either one 12 oz. can of tuna or two 5 oz. cans of tuna.

Add around a cup of grated carrot (about three carrots).

For extra healthiness, I sneak in 1/2 a cup of ground flax seed.

Unceremoniously dump in 1/2 a cup of chopped pepper (your choice - add serranos or jalapenos for a little kick), 1/2+ cup of diced onion, two eggs and the flax seed.

Stir stir stir it up!  Mix with a spoon or mix with your hands.  Add in spices to taste - I used chili, garlic powder, and a pinch of cayenne in addition to the standard salt and pepper.  (Kyle is reading this over my shoulder..."That was NOT a pinch of cayenne."  "I know, but that's how real people are going to make this dish...normal people don't eat as much cayenne as I do!"  I like it spicy.  If you like it spicy, liberal use of cayenne is the way to go.)

Form into six patties.

Heat up some (grass-fed, free range) butter over medium to high heat.  When melted, add patties.

Heat through, until browned on both sides (4-6 minutes).

There are so many ways to eat this burger!  You can add cheese and eat it straight.  Kyle put it on a bun with some pepperjack, caramelized red onions and took some photos in natural light.  My personal favorite was on a bed of spinach, topped with a sprinkling of feta.

But no matter how you eat it, you really can't go wrong!

Paleo Veggie Tuna Burgers (make six burgers)

Ingredients:

• 12oz. tuna (drained)
• 3 grated carrots (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup ground flax seed
• 1 jalapeno + 1/4 green bell pepper (1/2 cup total)
• small onion (1/2 to 3/4 cup)
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• S&P
• 2 tbs butter

Directions:

1. Drain the tuna.  Grate the carrots, chop the onions and peppers, then add to tuna.  Add the ground flax, eggs and spices.  Mix thoroughly.
2. Form mixture into six patties.
3. Heat butter in a skillet on the stove.  When melted, add patties.  Cook for 4-6 minutes per side until browned.
4. Serve plain or with cheese or on a bed of spinach or on hamburger buns!

 Yum!  If you try these out, let me know what you think!

Easy A...aka Easy Asparagus

This recipe has it all.  Everything!  The meat, the veggies, the good flavors...

 

Not to mention the fact that you can make it in ten minutes - including broil time - and if you're really desperate, it makes a fine meal.  Not that I would do that.  Or feed it to my significant other as such.  But since asparagus is in season, you really can't go wrong here.  Remember the Easter appetizers?  This is exactly what we did with the leftovers.  And it was so good, I made it again.

Start out with about half a pound of asparagus.  Wrap each spear in deli-sized salami, and lay them out on a baking sheet.  I sprayed a little EVOO on the ends and sprinkled everything with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Pop that pan under the broiler for four minutes, then flip all the spears and give it another four minutes.

Kyle's olfactory senses kicked in when I pulled these out of the oven:  "It smells like you're grilling something!"  If you have a grill, I'd recommend trying to grill these, but it looks (and smells and tastes) like the broiler is a great runner-up!

And to put the icing on the cake...I put slices of pepperjack all over these bad boys.

FULL of flavor.  So delicious.  They make the perfect side...or a small meal when you've had a long day.  Tender, perfectly cooked spears with a little high-quality salami and some spicy pepperjack cheese...

If you're doing cheese, then this meal is Paleo.  And if you're not doing cheese, then just skip the cheese and it's STILL flavorful and delicious.

Pumpkin Seed Chili Sauce

This sauce!  THIS SAUCE!  Just when you thought your taste buds couldn't take any more, this sauce takes them on a dance to the wild side and back.  It's like a salsa verde that gets a surprise flavor boost from roasted pumpkin seeds.  Phenomenal. 

Well, okay.  not the most appetizing to look at.  But I promise you, the taste far exceeds the visual appeal.

Start with 8 tomatillos.  This recipe is pretty casual like that.  I got mixed sizes because I had no idea how much tomatillo it actually wanted.  De-husk, wash, and coarsely chopped.  Throw them in a pan with some coconut oil, a (coarsely chopped) medium onion, and a couple minced garlic cloves.  Add 1 tsp of ground coriander and 1 tsp of ground cumin.

While things on the stove heat up, roast a bell pepper, and a jalapeno pepper for 7 minutes at 450*F.  Take them out, add 1/2 a cup of unsalted pumpkin seeds and roast for another 8 minutes.

Mmmmmm, the seeds smell so good.  And of course, my honeymoon with roasted veggies is far from over!

By now, the tomatillos should be nice and soft.

So now they are ready for the food processor!  You heard that right - I got a food processor!  At a garage sale, no less.  $30 for a food processor / blender.  The jury is still out, because it did make a bit of a mess, but it processed everything great!

So process the tomatillo mixture with the peppers, all but a tablespoon of the pumpkin seeds (save some for garnish) and half a cup of water.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

The resulting mixture is the sauce you've been subconsciously dreaming about.  The flavor is out of this world!  Great for tortilla chips, a pile of nachos, adding some great flavor to tacos, or my choice: enchiladas.

Because I was serving this at a dinner party, I wanted to spruce it up just a little bit more so that everyone had some options.  Half mole and half pumpkin seed chili sauce.  Start by layering the bottom of the pan with sauces.

Then add your wraps, filled with whatever you like - meat, beans, sauce, cheese, etc.  Top with more sauce, and a sprinkling of cheese.

Bake at 350*F for 25 minutes - the top should be lightly toasted, and the smells wafting through your house will inspire even the most unhungry stomach to growl.

And I chose to garnish not with pumpkin seeds, but with green onions.

The best part of this recipe (this is the best part of ANY recipe) is that it makes a HUGE batch of sauce, so you can use or freeze the leftovers!

Recipe recap, adapted from the Global Gourmet:

• 1 green bell pepper and 1 or 2 jalapeno peppers, roasted at 450*F for 15 minutes
• 2 tbs coconut oil
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 8 tomatillos, husked and chopped
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 c. hulled, unsalted pumpkin seeds, toasted 6 to 8 minutes at 450*F
• 1/2 c. water
• Salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 450*F.  Coarsely chop up the tomatillos, the onion and the garlic.  Put them in a pan over medium heat with the coconut oil.  Add the coriander and cumin.

Cover a baking sheet with foil and cut the peppers into quarters.  Put the peppers on the baking sheet and roast for 7 minutes.  At 7 minutes, take them out and add the pumpkin seeds.  Roast for another 6-8 minutes.

Put the tomatillo mixture and the peppers/pumpkin seeds (save 1 tbs pumpkin seeds for garnish) in a food processor with half a cup of water.  Process until smooth.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Sauce works great for enchiladas.  Freeze leftover sauce for up to 2 months.

Hiking the Knobstone

Not the entire Knobstone trail, of course.  Actually, we just did an out-and-back that was under seven miles (one way).  Before you judge, I'd like to see you walk 7 miles with a 35lb pack on a 92 degree day.  Uphill both ways.

We had a really great group of people - including two new friends (that's right, I'm counting the dog as a new friend...she was so shy, but I think by the end of the weekend she had warmed up to me a little bit).

I didn't get a ton of photos, because it's a pain to dig my camera out while we're hiking, and even if I do, we all looked sweaty and gross.  Okay, I looked sweaty and gross.  Everyone else looked fresh as daisies. I don't know how they did it.

We actually ended up at a campground Sunday night, which was really great.  I'm not just saying that because there were showers and a place to swim.  But maybe a little bit.

But 90+ degree weather isn't too hot to cuddle with an adorable husky, right?!  Especially one with a big grin on her face. 

But, despite the heat and aches and pains, it was still a fantastic weekend.  I love camping!  So camping is definitely on the docket for the rest of summer.  Like every weekend (I wish).  There will at least be a few more camping sessions.  Top of my list is Sleeping Bear Dunes and Torch Lake.  I am really hoping to bring the sailboat along to Torch!

Just to forewarn anyone, however...this is what I look like after a few days of camping.  No, this is not the monster that lives in the closet, this is just what lurks in the woods at night...

A Week on the Equator

So, I went to Ecuador for a week!  Quito is located high up in the mountains (although it's in a valley).  What does this mean?  It means that even though Quito is right on the equator, it's only about 60 to 70 degrees (F) all the time, and on your first day there, you shouldn't run or exert yourself too hard.

The city is huge and sprawling!  It was truly lovely, and it was just the getaway I needed.  And a big THANKS to Ally, who made this whole trip possible by hosting me for the week!

We went to the beach for a couple nights, and that was a fantastic experience.  As it turns out, the sun is SO strong on the equator that on a cloudy day, it can burn you right through the 30 spf you put on three times.  Go figure.  We also had an AWESOME hostel proprietress who hand-made us some chocolate from roasted cacao beans - WHOA!

We did a city tour, which turned into spending some lovely time up on a roof at an educational building (after wandering through the student art show, which was pretty great).

I also made some new friends, including the family that has basically adopted Allison for her stay down there.  But also Beth, who arrived mid-week to start an internship.  She saved my butt on Friday when Allison had to work - Beth and I went ziplining through the rainforest!

We went up the side of a mountain on a cable car (4000 meters up!), where we froze and got rained on, but they gave us free cake later!

And of course, everyone who goes to Quito must see the Mitad del Mundo...where I balanced an egg on the head of a nail!  This was my first trip to the southern hemisphere, and it was even the first time I've seen the Pacific ocean!

 

It was such a great trip!  I had a wonderful time and met some pretty awesome people.  And it's always fun to check out the culinary practices of foreign countries - Allison's "host" family cooked me a meal, and later in the week I cooked for them!