For some reason, I’m intimidated by cooking fish. Maybe it is because there is such a slim margin for error – cook it a little too long, and it’s all dry and nasty. Maybe it’s because it’s usually expensive, and so it really sucks when you cook it too long, and it’s all dry and nasty. Maybe it’s because I grew up in Monticello, IA, 1000 miles from the ocean. Fish and me are not familiar creatures.
Well, fish is an important part of the primal diet, so I need to get over my fears (fear is the mind killer, you know). So I started with this recipe: Tilapia Puttanesca. (Thanks, Diane, for the recipe!). I made it for my hubby, Tim, and my friend, Michael. They both totally loved it, as did I. I used frozen fish from Target (Market Pantry brand), defrosted for 30 minutes in a bowl of water. The recipe is super simple, yet delicious. We ate it with a side of spinach salad. I will definitely be making this again.
Here are a few other recipes I’ve made over the past two weeks that have turned out good.
21 Day Sugar Detox Roasted Spaghetti Squash – You can get this, and many other sugar-free recipes, here. Not to steal the recipe, but basically you cut a spaghetti squash in half (which is no small feat), rub it down with coconut oil, splash on some salt and pepper, bake that baby at 375 FOREVER (at least 45 minutes depending on the size of the squash), and then shred the squash. Since this took so much longer to bake than I anticipated, we ended up eating the rest of supper and then using the squash over the next few days in breakfast scrambles. It smelled magnificent while cooking due to the coconut oil, and it held up really well in the scrambles. Once Tim feels up to tackling another slippery, wicked hard, oblong, rolly object, I’ll make this again. I know there is a dirty innuendo in there somewhere, but I just can’t quite put my finger on it…
Spaghetti Squash Primavera – This is what I was baking the spaghetti squash for. We ended up just eating the veggies with some sautéed ground pork. It was delicious, especially with the dressing called for in the recipe – very tart and delicious. I love leeks, so I used a whole leek.
Today I am cooking a turkey breast in the Nesco roaster. This is another new recipe, so hopefully all will turn out well! None of the bastard grocery stores are open today, so if the recipe bombs, we’ll be eating olives and capers and beer, which is pretty much all we have in the fridge at the moment.
For my next venture into unexplored territory, I think I am going to try making soap and/or lotion. A lot of the blogs I follow have been writing about using more natural products on your face and skin. We spend so much time and money on the food we put into our bodies; now the paleosphere has decided we should start to pay attention to the stuff we put ON our bodies (skin is the largest organ, you know). My cousin-in-law just gave me some soap which smells amazing and also shared some of her recipes with me, so I have a good foundation to start with. I just need to order some supplies from Amazon and take the plunge. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Hope you are having a great day with your families!