As I enter week two of Paleo, there is one recipe that I made earlier this year that is lingering in my mind as containing pretty much all the sins of Paleo but all the glories of delicious food. Funny, the things I thought I would be craving – coffee, chocolate, hummus…not so much…but if you put one of these in front of my right now, I would step on you to get one.
I found this recipe in the same folder I found the recipe for the Smoked Trout Empanadas.I’ve changed it a bit to include the chili and the original chopped the salami and mozzarella and mixed them together.
I’m not sure if the lure here is:
The gooey, melty cheese
The crispy breadcrumbs
The spicy salami
The silky sauteed eggplant
The slighty sweet tomato sauce
The little hit of chilli
Or all of the above
But believe me, the sirens are singing this song loud and strong. And you will be too if you make them. So crispy, so cheesy, so gooooood….
I’m not going to say much this time (because I might cry). I’m just going to let the pictures speak for themselves.
Eggplant Salami Sandwiches 2
Eggplant and Salami Sandwiches 3
Eggplant Salami Sandwich 4
Eggplant Salami Sandwich 5Eggplant and Salami Sandwiches 6
As a group we decided that our December book club option would be “healthy”. We had three options to choose from – a gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free dessert book – yeah I know…why bother right? The second was tempting. It was a book espousing the benefits of the alkaline diet. I was utterly sold on the health benefits then I read that the book was endorsed by Victoria Beckham. I refuse to take recipe endorsements from someone who looks like they haven’t eaten in the last 15 years, so, the only choice for me this time round was Paleo
Plus, I have a teeny tiny secret crush on Pete…just try take a deep look into those baby blue eyes and tell me I’m wrong. Bad move. You would have had a much better chance to point out that the mouthwateringly super delicious kebab he’s holding is made from beef heart. Yecchhh…
Come back Posh Spice, all is forgiven.
Then again, he has lovely white teeth too.
So, via a process of reasoning that was basically…I’d rather eat the pages of the book..posh spice…you’re hot…I’m going paleo. And in the words of those modern-day philosophers George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley
If you’re gonna do it, do it right”
I’m doing this all the way. Two weeks of paleo meals should be enough for me to judge the book and the diet. And you know paleo should be easy, it’s meat and veggies right?. Which is pretty much what I already eat. This is going to be great!!!! I can’t wait…
One Week Ago
Dear Paleo Diary,
You don’t mind of I call you Pete do you? It makes feel like I’m actually talking to you. Ok, now I don’t want to sound like some whiny little bitch right from the start but I thought this was supposed to be meat and veggies.
So how come I have just spent a small fortune buy a ton of stuff, some of which I had never ever heard of?
Buckwheat
Linseeds
Slippery Elm Powder
Chia Seeds
Maca Powder
Pau D’arco Capsules
Goji Berries
Cacao Powder
They refused to sell me the magnesium chloride I needed for the cashew turmeric spread. They said they sell it as bath salts and they could not condone me eating it.
WTF Pete? Seriously. What? The? Fuck?
And for the love of hopscotching Jesus:
Macadamia Nuts
Almonds
Cashews
Pine Nuts
Pepitas
Sunflower Seeds
Do you have any idea how much all that is going to cost? And that’s just for the muesli.
If I turn over the next page and you tell me I also need to buy quinoa, I’m going to find you and punch you right in your pearlywhite teeth.
Twice.
Once for the quinoa. Once for calling your daughter Chilli. Can we all just get over the foodie people naming their children after ingredients? They’re children. Not recipe inspirations.
Bastard.
Saturday.
Dear Pete,
My shopping bill for the week is DOUBLE what is normally is. But my seeds and nuts are soaking for my muesli and crackers.
Paleo Seed Cracker Mixture Post Soaking
I’m on top of this.
I did buy another book on Paleo because I found your breakfast and work lunch options a little limited. Also, I looked into making some of your cultured or fermented vegetables. They take a minimum of two weeks to ferment so that’s not happening. I have some kimchi in my fridge. That will have to do.
Getting worried. How will I survive without my basic food groups – cheese, chocolate and chickpeas? What about booze? Is that Paleo? Surely those cavemen were fermenting something? And now we come to one of the problems I am having with this Paleo diet thing. Everyone seems to have their own idea of what is and isn’t allowed.
A couple of sites I looked at were kind of ambivalent about alcohol. They were a little bit like…well, you really shouldn’t but if you feel you must then some choices are more Paleo than others. Other sites? Absolutely forbid it.
Same with bacon.
Really, annoyingly same with the buckwheat which is now soaking for my crackers and muesli….
Bastard.
Sunday
Pete, you gobshite,
I already hate this. And it’s only Day One. Woke up dying for a cup of coffee.
Coffee is another one of those yes / no / maybe items on Paleo.
I had bought almond milk for my muesli so I was good for the dairy.
Turns out coffee with almond milk and no sugar sucks. Bye bye coffee, it was fun knowing you.
I put my crackers in the oven, where they needed to cook for 6-8 hours and tootled off to Body Balance class. BTW – they looked disgusting. Overnight they had gone all gelatinous and gloopy. See the photo above.
Back from Body Balance and quite hungry. However, my crackers still have another seven hours to cook and don’t get me started on the muesli.
Breakfast
A slice of ham
Half an avocado
A peach.
The muesli is a hot mess. Pete, you say to dry the soaked nuts and seeds with paper towel or a dish cloth. Problem is, the chia has gone all to jelly and sticks to everything Eventually I decide to put the nuts in the oven with the crackers to dry them out,
Lunch
A slice of ham
Half an avocado
A handful of almonds.
3:00pm
The crackers are done and they are awesome. The muesli ingredients are still wet. Decision time. I can cook some Paleo muffins from the other book so I will have something for breakfast tomorrow.
Paleo Seed Crackers2
But then the nuts will need to come out of the oven because they need to cook at 50º. And the muffins need to cook at a normal temperature.
4:00pm
Nuts out, muffins in. If sounds like some vague sexual innuendo so be it. I’m too hungry to care.
5:00pm.
The muffins are good. Well they would have been, if I could have tasted them. I ate the first one so quickly I burnt all my taste buds off.
Breakfast Muffins
5:30pm
Have started making the Lamb Harira which will be my lunch for the next few days. Quelle surprise the buckwheat needs to soak overnight and the soup needs to cook for four hours.
NOT. FUCKING. HAPPENING.
The buckwheat is going to soak for considerably less than that. At which time it will be added to the soup. According to some websites I shouldn’t even be eating it anyway. The only reason I’m even bothering with it is that I had to buy it specially so there is no way I’m not using it.
10:00pm
The harira is ready. It’s a bit more like a stew than a soup, I think the buckwheat sucked up some of the liquid. Tastes pretty damn good though. Mind you, a wet paper bag would taste good about now.
11:00pm
The m****er f***king muesli is still not dry.
I’m fed up and I’m going to bed.
Best thing I’ve eaten all day was the muffins. And they came from the other book.
Breakfast Muffins 3
Bastard. I hate you. And your baby blue eyes.
PS. They say one the side effects of the Paleo diet is a certain crankiness. Thank goodness I haven’t experienced anything like that and I am still my sweet and sunny self.
Have a fabulous week. And eat some cheese and hummus for me!!!
A few weeks ago Jenny at Silver Screen Suppers invited her readers to celebrate the launch of her book of Joan Crawford recipes by taking part in a cookalong. I was so excited to be a part of this and I set Melbourne Cup Day as the day because strangely enough, I was going to be at the races on the actual day.
Jenny very kindly provided us with three of Joan’s recipes. One was for Crepes Suzette. Having recently had Crepes Suzette expertly cooked for me at the Lotus Blanc in Cambodia, I thought I might give this a miss. I wasn’t sure my attempts at flipping and flaming would compare. However, I was well and truly up for the other two, starting with
Joan’s Crawford’s Danti-Chips
Joan Crawford’s Danti-Chips
I was so excited about these. I was even more excited when the jars of devilled ham were two for one at the local supermarket.
And then, dear readers, I made a newbie, amateur, doofus mistake. Because logic should tell you that when you are confronted with a jar of pink paste called Devilled Ham, you just need to accept that all it contains is ham and…other….stuff. Don’t ever go wondering what that other stuff might be. For the love of all that’s good in the world….
DO NOT EVER READ THE LABEL ON THE BACK OF THE JAR OF DEVILLED HAM.
And yes, I am shouting at you. Because it was over a week ago and I still feel sick thinking about it. And you know, Deviled Ham was one of my pleasures in life. Admittedly not high on the list but it was there. And now it has gone. Forever. Just like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
I’m not going to tell you what was in it. Just don’t read the label. Even though now you really want to. I know you do. do not give into the temptation. Imagine that jar of Peck’s Paste is local Nazi Colonel and you are an oversexed French Cafe owner hiding some English airmen and a priceless painting of The Fallen Madonna with The Big Boobies and resist!
(And if you had absolutely no idea what that last bit was about, your parents obviously didn’t watch enough British sit coms during your formative years….
You can find out more about that particular tangent here:
So anyway, I chose the vegetarian option. I used a mushroom and spinach tapenade for my chips. He had the devilled ham, Far be it from me to spoil anyone’s enjoyment of life the way mine has been destroyed. Plus, we have two jars of it to get through. Ignorance? Bliss.
These do look really pretty though don’t they? And they tasted really delicious. I added some chopped up pickled chillies to my pickle garnish and they went really well with the other flavours as well as adding a little colour.
Danti-Chips2
We ate these mid’-afternoon whilst watching the races. And believe me, it took no time at all for that plate to become this…
Where have all the Danti-Chips gone?
STEAK WITH ROQUEFORT
Later on in the evening it was time for the second of Joan’s recipes and….it’s making my mouth water even as I think about it.
Ooooohhhhh yeah…Steak with Roquefort come on down. (Although technically mine was Steak with Stilton as the local supermarket does not stock Roquefort).
Joan Crawford’s Steak with Roquefort
We had this with some kale and beans I also doubled up with a book club recipe and made the Turmeric and Cumin Potatoes from Persiana. Which were also super!
Steak with Roquefort
Persiana Turmeric and Cumin Potatoes
Meal to remember!!!!!
Steak and any sort of blue cheese is amazing. And Joan’s little twist with the….not telling…you need to buy the book to find out….is awesome!
Oh, and if, like me you happen to have some leftover corn chips from the Danti-Chips and some leftover roquefort mixture from the steak you can combine these with any leftover kale and some very finely chopped red onions to create a delicious spin on Nachos the night after!
Hopefully Joan would approve!!!
Thanks Jenny for the wonderful opportunity to be a part of this!!!! I loved the recipes and can’t wait to see the rest of the book!
I think it’s only fair this week to have the sign off to come from the lady herself. Have a fabulous week – maybe think about how you can add some old Hollywood glamour into your life. And buy Jenny’s book! If the recipes I tried are any reflection it will be awesome!!!
Let’s step back in time to a few years ago and a completely imaginary pub quiz. Let’s suppose I am poised on the brink of winning the meat tray. Believe it or not, a meat tray is a valid prize in Australian pubs. I won one once. It was awesome.
Cha Ca
it was a whole tray of steaks and chops and sausages and, if I recall correctly, some very nice bacon. You may scoff, but it’s actually a pretty good prize. As long as you’re not a vegetarian.
And here comes the question.
And for the tray of meat “What is a Cha Ca La Vong?”
“Oh……:A Latin American Dance?”
“No, wait a moment…isn’t it the name of the slutty girl from Grease? The one stole the dance competition from Sandy?”
Ba-Bow.
No, Cha Ca La Vong is not the name of the best dancer from St Bernadette’s (with the worst reputation) or the type of dancing she may engage in.
It is a super delicious Vietnamese dish of fried fish with turmeric, dill and tomatoes.
I first came across this dish last year when I did the awesome Hanoi Street Food Tour with Mark Lowerson from Stickyrice. You can read about that here.
Cha Ca
When I had Cha Ca with Mark it was a soupy style. And it was super, very fragrant and possibly my favourite dish (apart from the a-may-zing coffee with yogurt) of the whole tour.
This year however, I discovered a new way to have Cha Ca. We read about a restaurant called The Gourmet Corner. And being cautious, we dropped in one afternoon for a cocktail. I like to call it scoping out a restaurant before commiting myself. You can call it afternoon boozing if you wish.
Well, one meal later this became our favourite place to eat in Hanoi. I think we pretty much ate there every night after that. Fabulous food, great cocktails, and 360 degree views of the city. And all as cheap as chips!!!!
Cha Ca La Vong – Gourmet Corner Hanoi
Their Cha Ca? O. M. G. One of the best things I have ever eaten. In. My Life.
First up, the combination of fish and dill and onion took me right back to my first ever time in Hanoi, my first ever full day in Hanoi and the tour with Mark. Kind of like Proust’s madeleines. But fishy. And second -So, so tasty. Perfectly cooked fish, perfectly spiced, the most amazing flavour of the dill and the tomato and the turmeric….I ate this EVERY night for pretty much a week. And I had such a craving for it the other night, I decided to make my own!
Two disclaimers. One. My version, whilst being pretty damn good, is not a patch on either version I had in Hanoi. There really is something about eating in situ that can make any meal super special. But, that being said…it doesn’t totally suck either. It’s actually pretty tasty. And so fun to eat! Particularly if you have a group of people. Set it all out and people can wrap and roll what they want. It would be best served outside on a tiny chair and table as at a Bia Hoi Bar and washed down with some icy cold beer but failing that, your own home or garden would also be fine. But do have that ice cold beer!
Cha Ca
Which leads me to my second disclaimer. It’s an absolute bastard to cook. Not difficult but there are a lot of moving parts. Don’t even try to do what I did and make it all in the same day. Do the pickles at least one day ahead. I would also try to do the tomato and dill mixture the day before too and just heat it up when you need it.
I couldn’t find the right sort of rice paper rolls and the ones I had turned into a hot mess so I I wrapped my Cha Ca in lettuce leaves. They added a nice crunch. You could also use tortillas to make it into a kind of Vietnamese Fish Taco.
Alternatively, ditch these all together and make a noodle bowl – I had one of these with the leftovers the following day and it was super.
Cha Ca Noodle Bowl
I’ve added a few photo’s from Hanoi. I’m really starting to love that city! And I think even possibly more that Saigon is a great food city. Food is everywhere and in such fresh abundance. I hope you get a feel of the city from these…looking at them and eating the Cha Ca really took me back to our holiday. And got me thinking about the next….
Hanoi Street Sellers
Hanoi Street Food – Suckling Pig and DuckHanoi Coffee Shop
Hanoi – Freshly Made Tofu
Hanoi – Street Market…and a fabulous rose dress
Hanoi – Banana Shop
Hanoi Chickens dressed with roses for a festival day
Hanoi Cooking School – So Proud!
Tanned and Happy At The Gourmet CornerHanoi – Street Scene from a Bia Hoi bar.
To make your week fabulous why not cook something from a place you love? And don’t forget to tell me all about it!
If there’s one food Australians love, it is pumpkin.
Ethiopian Pumpkin Soup
But unlike our American pals who like to eat their pumpkins for dessert, for us it is sadly almost always served savoury as a vegetable. Just incidentally though, Australia, why don’t we have pumpkin pie? We get all the trashy American stuff – the Kardashians and ice bucket challenges to name but a few. Why can’t we get some of the yummy delicious pumpkin pie action too?
According to this, you don;t even have to cook it. It’s MAGIC…
Pumpkin Dream Pie
Sadly for us, Pumpkin Dream Pie remains just that…
We eat pumpkin as a side for a roast, in lasagné’s risottos, salads and scones. But more than eating pumpkin, we love to drink it.
How much do we love to drink it? Pumpkin soup is a, no probably the Australian ubiquitous menu item – just about every cafe, restaurant, pub bistro and hole in the wall has their own version prominently displayed on the menu – I go to a cafe where it has been the soup du jour for at least five years.
Out of curiosity I had a little look on taste.com.au for pumpkin soup recipes. There are 79 of them. Ok, so it’s not the 765 recipes they have for chocolate cake but 79 variations on a theme of pumpkin is still quite a number. There are recipes for Classic Pumpkin Soup, Creamy Pumpkin Soup, Perfect Pumpkin Soup and Smashing Pumpkin Soup (I guess that’s the soup that despite all it’s rage is still just a rat in a cage).
I did start to notice a trend though -not only do we love our pumpkin soup but we like it to be a bit of a international bright young thing. There are recipes for:
Thai, Moroccan, non – specific Asian, Tortellini (Italian), Japanese, Thai again, Thai again again, Curry x 3, South Indian, Australian (whatever that maybe…I didn’t look, possibly flavoured with beer and vegemite), two more Thai’s. The Americas are represented by one paltry entry for Maine Pumpkin soup.
Africa too is sadly missing from that list. Ok, yes, Morocco is there but…jeez…(eyeroll), if you must be pedantic, sub-Saharan Africa is completely missing. Hopefully not for much longer…because it’s time this delicious Ethiopian Pumpkin Soup adapted from Diana Henry’s Plenty took the stage!
This is gorgeous to look at, the inclusion of tomato paste and the Berbere spices gives it a real 1970’s burnt orange colour. It’s really tasty too – slightly sweet from the pumpkin, slightly smoky from the spices, slightly spicy from the chilli and cinnamon and ginger. If you leave out the yoghurt garnish it is also vegan.
Ethiopian Pumpkin Soup 2
And, whilst I don’t want to blow my own trump….actually, no, wait, it’s my blog, I can blow whatever I damn well want! The Berbere pepitas and pinenuts which were my own invention were amazing! They add some additional spice and salt and crunch. The only problem with these is that they are so good you will be hard pressed to save any for the soup. I had to make about three or four batches of them because we kept eating them before they could be used as the soup garnish. They are seriously good!
Berbere Roasted Pepitas and Pinenuts
The key to this soup is the Berbere spice mix. I bought mine but you can make your own. There are about a thousand of these on the interwebs, each of which is slightly different. I have included a recipe for Berbere here
Berbere Spice Mix
Either way you’re going to end up with a lot more Berbere than you need to make this one recipe. Of course you could make the soup more than once and you will surely make the Berbere Pepitas and Pinenuts more than once but if you want to experiment a bit more with this spice blend you can also try these:
