Tomato Salsa

Tomato Salsa

We were eating out the other night, and Paleovirtus Jr. decided to venture off-piste, so to speak, and order nachos. According to the menu, they came with guacamole and a tomato salsa.

The chef was, by all accounts, tremendously proud of the salsa, due to the fact that it was “home made”, that is to say it wasn’t a store-bought, out-of-a-jar job.

Curious orange that I am, I had to have a taste. Oh dear.

Paleo Pork Schnitzels

Paleo Pork Schnitzels

Yet another experiment that came about during a bout of Zen-like idle daydreaming.

I was half contemplating the relative natures of coconut and almond flours over a cup of Pu-Erh tea, as you do, when it occurred to me that it might be possible to dust a slice of meat with coconut flour, egg it, and then give it a good old coating of almond flour prior to frying it.

The result, if everything went according to plan, would be a wonderfully Paleo friendly version of that classic quick-fried meat dish, the Schnitzel.

Paleo Coconut Tandoori Chicken

Paleo Coconut Tandoori Chicken

Traditionally this dish is prepared by marinating the chicken in a yoghurt based mixture, and then roasting it in a clay oven known as a tandoor, hence the name.

Sadly our humble abode cannot accommodate a tandoor, and if you’re being somewhat strict about dairy in your Paleo regime that rules yoghurt out, too. You can kind of replicate the heat of a tandoor with a hot oven, but the yoghurt presented a real stumbling block.

Bangers and Mash, Paleo Style

Bangers and Mash, Paleo Style

I don’t know about you, but when the days start to get shorter, darker, colder, and wetter, I begin to drift away from the idea of “salad as a main course”.

Where once I longed for summery salads, my thoughts now turn towards comforting stews, casseroles, and pies.

Sausages are one of the great comfort foods, with the added bonus of being quick and easy to cook. Add in a generous helping of mash, and you have the makings of a Great British Classic.

Brussels Sprouts with Smoked Bacon, Onion, and Sesame Seed

Brussels Sprouts with Smoked Bacon, Onion, and Sesame Seed

We used to live in Brussels – Paleovirtus Jr. was born there.

As a city it quite simply defies concise, neat descriptions. No guidebook produced could ever do it justice. It may sound like a hippy-esque cliché, but it’s still true – this city has to be experienced to be believed.  Even the simple act of buying a piece of fruit could easily and rapidly become a surreal encounter that would still have you scratching your head in disbelief over 15 years later.

Prosciutto Rolls With Smoked Salmon and Hot Prawn Parcels

Prosciutto rolls with smoked salmon and hot prawn parcels

I was on the back-end of a bout of one of those annoying 24 hour long lasting flu-type illnesses that are so prevalent at this time of year.

They sneak up on you, and club you from behind, as unexpected as a shocking circle of mushrooms popping up overnight and unannounced on a previously perfectly pristine lawn.

Luscious Leftovers – S.O.S. (Sort of “Soupe Au Pistou”)

Curried butternut squash and apple soup with walnut and parsley pesto

Yesterday I felt well rough.

I knew I was in trouble when I got out of bed and didn’t want to go out on my early morning bike ride. “You’re ill, aren’t you…?”, commented Mrs. Paleovirtus as I limped back to bed.

Tux only knows what hit me. Some lurgy or other. Whatever it was, it never quite managed to put me completely out of action, but it did mean that I wasn’t exactly overkeen on cooking, which, given the fact that my digestive tubules were dancing to the “What Goes Down Just Might Come Up Again” Calypso, was probably a good idea.

Jalfrezi – an Indian Stir-fry

Jalfrezi

Yet another Indian dish with its origins in the time of the Raj, when the sub-continent was considered “The Jewel In The Crown” of the British Empire.

Even in the 1970s in Northern England we lived in the long shadow of the empire on which the sun never set – our classroom wall was adorned with a “pink bits” British Empire Map of the World, an artefact as oddly out of time and place as a child chimney sweep, or a horse-drawn omnibus.

Zucchini Spaghetti with Walnut and Parsley Pesto

Zucchini spaghetti with walnut and parsley pesto

Regular readers of this blog might have come to the conclusion that over at Château Paleovirtus we quite like Indian food. Bit of an understatement, actually, that.

We flipping well adore Indian food!

We also firmly believe that you can have too much of a good thing. Chalk one up for being brought up Lutheran / Methodist.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

I stumbled across this recipe for a quick and easy chocolate avocado pudding in this video, made by Evita Ochel of Healthytarian.com…

It was one of those recipes that seemed almost too good to be true. However, I am more than pleased to report that it lived up to all of our expectations!