Rubies & Radishes

The Best Carnitas Ever.

This is so so good! These carnitas are fork tender, with the perfect amount of crunch. My big Christmas present this year (thanks, husband!) was a classic round Le Crueset dutch oven. Honestly, I don't know how I've been cooking without one all of these years.  I love how I can brown something without grease spattering all over the stovetop (because I do have an issue with that). And if needed, I can easily transfer my dish to the oven. Another advantage is that food cooks really evenly in a dutch oven. It's so versatile and an all-around awesome addition to our kitchen. I use it almost daily to brown meat, braise meat, make stews and regularly make these carnitas.

Equipment: Dutch Oven

Ingredients
2.5 lbs. pork shoulder, cut into 2 inch cubes
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspon paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon peper
1 teaspoon salt
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
4 cups chicken stock (approx.)
Cilantro and avocado for garnish

1. Combine Cumin, Oregano, Paprika, Salt & Pepper. Place the pork in the dutch oven and toss with spices until well coated. 
2. Add garlic, orange juice and lime juice. Add enough chicken stock to cover the pork. It was about 4 cups for me. 
3. Bring pot to right before boiling, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer uncovered until all of the liquid is gone. It takes between 1.5 hours to 2 hours. If your liquid isn't evaoprating quick enough, increase the heat to medium.
4. Once your liquid has evaporated, you will be left  with the rendered pork fat. Cook pork until it is browned and crispy on the edges. 
5. Serve with cilantro & avocado.

Enjoy!

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SousVide Chimichurri Rubbed Sirloin

I am going to be completely honest here, when I first started experimenting with the SousVide a few weeks ago, I wasn't into it. I wasn't producing the deliciously juicy steaks that I had been looking at all over the intrawebs. But, I quickly learned that this was just user error. I wasn't cooking my meat long enough or low enough. Once I sorted this out, everything I made turned out incredible! I have now added the SousVide to my Sunday prep day. It works out perfect, I throw something in the slow cooker, I make carnitas in the LeCrueset & I make a pot roast in the SousVide. This pretty much covers us for the work week.

I am so glad that I had an opportunity to participate in this contest hosted by SousVide Supreme and TX Bar Organics. It was really fun learning a new cooking technique (even with the trial & error). Below is the recipe that I submitted for the contest. It was the bomb! Now head on over and VOTE for Rubies & Radishes, as the fan favorite & enter to win a $200 gift card to either SousVide Supreme or TX Bar Organics (there will be 2 winners selected!).

 

Chimichurri-Rubbed Sirloin with Leek & Cauliflower Mash

Ingredients
2 TX Organics Top Sirloins
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon grass-fed butter, divided
1 tablespoon ghee (for browning steaks)

Dry Rub: (*Note: this makes enough rub for 3-4 steaks)
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried coriander
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Directions:

1. Combine all dry rub ingredients in  a small bowl.
2. Rub steaks with crushed garlic.
3. Generously season steaks with dry rub. Save any leftover rub for later use with another recipe.
4. Place steaks in a vacuum sealable bag and place 1/2 tablespoon of butter on each steak. And seal.
5. Set SousVide at 130F. 
6. Once water bath is ready, place steaks in SousVide & cook for 28 hours.
7. Remove from bag, pat dry with a paper towel.
8. Heat ghee over medium heat in a skillet. Place steaks in skillet and cook a few minutes on each side (about 2 mins) to form a crust.
9. Transfer steaks to a plate.

 Leek & Cauliflower Mash

Ingredients
1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 cup chicken stock (homemade is best, but store-bought will work too!)
1 tablespoon ghee
1/4 cup leeks, diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 tablespoons grass-fed butter
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1. In a pot with a tight fitting lid, place cauliflower and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then simmer until cauliflower is tender and mashes easily.
2. While cauliflower is cooking, heat ghee in a small saute pan and saute leeks until soft, then add garlic and saute for a minute or two until fragrant. Set aside.
3. Once cauliflower is ready, mash down with a fork and add leek/garlic saute to pot. Mix together and transfer to a blender (or use immersion blender) and add butter. Blend to desired consistency.
4. Mix in chopped parsley with a fork.

Enjoy!

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{Slow Cooker Lamb Vindaloo w/ Guest Photographer Lindsey Eltinge}

Those of you that read my blog regularly, can clearly tell that I didn't take the above photo - it's well beyond my amateur photography skills. For this post, Rubies & Radishes teamed up with the lovely, Lindsey Eltinge. I developed & tested the recipe & once I was happy with the flavors, I sent it over to Lindsey who cooked it & shot it. I am thrilled with the results! Thank you, Lindsey!

Lindsey Eltinge is a professional food photographer. Her work was featured this week on HSN for a cookbook she photographed. Along with cookbook photography, Lindsey photographs food for magazines, restaurants and online food websites. When asked what Lindsey enjoyed most about photographing the Lamb Vindaloo recipe she said, "I love Indian food and am always cooking Indian dishes with whole spices. I have not yet made an Indian dish with a homemade paste from chili peppers and spices. Learning that technique was fun. I also enjoyed styling all of the prep shots. Might I add that the dish tasted amazing!"

Lindsey can be found on her website, facebook & twitter.

 

Ingredients

2 lbs. of lamb (lamb chop, rack of lamb, or lamb stew meat - anything you have on hand will work!) 

2 tablespoons of ghee

½ cup beef broth

 

Paste

6 dried chili peppers 

½ yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp. fresh ginger, grated

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground cloves

¼ tsp. ground turmeric

1 tablespoon coriander

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tsp. fenugreek

1 tsp. salt

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

 

1.       Soak chilies in warm water for 30 minutes.

2.       In a food processor, combine chilies and all other ingredients for the paste.

3.       Poor sauce over lamb and marinate for several hours to overnight.

4.       Brown lamb in 2 tablespoons of ghee. This may have to be done in batches.

5.       Place in slow cooker and add broth. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

 

Enjoy!

 

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{SousVide Paleo Showdown}

Have you heard of the SousVide Paleo Recipe Showdown? This is how it works, SousVide has selected 12 Paleo bloggers for the challenge, including Rubies & Radishes! We will each be mailed a SousVide Supreme (to borrow) and a vacuum sealer (to keep- yay!) + 8 steaks from TX Bar Organics. We have until January 17th to create an original Paleo recipe. The winner will win an awesome prize pack, including a SousVide Supreme!

I am not going to lie, I am totally nervous... I've never used a SousVide before. It seems a bit intimidating. It's a water oven. How does that even work? I am also really excited! You all know how much I adore my slow-cooker. I am hoping to learn how to use a new kitchen tool that will help me create easy, yet delicious Paleo recipes to share. 

I am so honored to be participating in this challenge, alongside such amazing bloggers! 

• Simply Paleo
• FreeRange Human
• Health Bent
• Paleo Comfort Foods
• Clothes That Make the Girl
• Food Lovers Kitchen
• Pure Fresh Daily
• Rubies & Radishes
• Clean Eats in the Zoo
• Cooking Caveman
• Paleo OMG
• Primal Smoke

To stay up to date on the contest, follow SousVide & TX Bar Organics:

• SousVide Supreme Facebook
• SousVide Supreme Twitter
• Tx Bar Organics Facebook
• TX Bar Organics Twitter

 

Happy Holidays!

 

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{vegetable & beef stuffed acorn squash}

I love walking into the market and seeing the loads of squash right now. Since the weather is so erratic lately, it's one of the few markers of fall to me. I also love how squash pretty much lasts forever (or at least for many weeks), so I am not in a fury to cook it before it goes bad. As usual, in an attempt to clear out my fridge and make room for the current week's CSA, I diced up tons of veggies and added it to this dish. It was such a great way to add a variety of veggies to our diets. This was the perfect squash to stuff with meat too, as it isn't as sweet as many of its counterparts.

Ingredients
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 zucchini, diced
2 lbs. grass-fed ground beef
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2-3 acorn squash
1 tablespoon ghee

1. Preheat oven to 375. I then place the whole squash (because it is so freakin difficult to cut through raw) in a oven-safe casserole dish. I add 1 cup of water to the dish. I cook for 30 minutes. I let it cool, I then cut it in half lengthwise (from stem to end) & remove the seeds.
2. While the squash is baking & cooling, I make the filling. 
   • Mix the ground beef with the tomato paste, salt, pepper, cumin and oregano.
   • Saute onions in 1 tablespoon of ghee until translucent. Then add the rest of the veggies to the pan and saute for an additional 5 minutes or so.
   • Then add the meat, and saute until the meat is browned and mixed with the veggies.
3. Now, fill the cavities of the squash with the meat mixture. Place the stuffed acorn squash back into the oven. Bake for another 30 minutes or until tender.

 

Enjoy!

 

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{slow-cooker smokey chili with roasted peppers}

  

By stepping outside, you wouldn't realize it is mid-October here, since it is actually hotter than a typical summer day in Santa Cruz. I'm totally back on the slow-cooker kick anyway... not because it is fall, but mostly because now that I am back at work, it is so helpful to cook in bulk. I have been doubling up some of my recipes and vacuum sealing half for later. Do you have a vacuum sealer? It is such a great investment! It's so nice to pull a home cooked paleo meal out of the freezer (my other new favorite investment- see below) instead of cooking one from scratch, after a long day of work!

The market was overflowing with peppers a few days ago, I grabbed a bunch just because they looked good, not knowing what I was going to do with them. After a quick scan of the deep freezer, I decided on chili with roasted peppers. It turned out to be a great decision!

Ingredients
2 lbs. grass-fed ground beef
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/2 teaspoon guajillo chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon cumin
1-2 jalapenos, roasted and chopped
2 anaheim peppers, roasted and chopped
3 bell peppers, roasted and chopped (I used red and yellow)
1 lb. of tomatillos, husked (2 cups cooked)
1 onion, chopped
5-6 garlic cloves, crushed
5 blanched tomatoes, peeled and chopped (directions below)
2 tablespoons tomato paste (preferably in a jar)
2 tablespoons chipotle cholula sauce (or hot sauce of your choice)
Cilantro and avocado for garnish
1 tablespoon ghee (or paleo cooking fat of choice) 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine the beef with the cumin, oregano, chili powder, salt and pepper. Brown in a large sauce pan and place in slow-cooker. This may have to be done in batches. Move beef and all meat juice into slow-cooker.
3. Broil jalapenos, bell-peppers, anaheim peppers and tomatillos for 5-7 minutes on each side. Allow peppers to cool, remove any skins that fall off easily. Chop peppers and remove seeds. Chop tomatillos. Place in slow-cooker.
4. If needed, add 1 tablespoon of paleo cooking fat, such as ghee and saute onions until translucent. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Move to slow-cooker.
5. Combine blanched tomatoes and tomato paste in a bowl. Transfer to slow-cooker.
6. Add hot sauce to slow-cooker.
7. Cook on low for 4 hours.
8. Garnish with cilantro and avocado and serve!

*Note: You can always use canned tomatoes, but we try to use canned food as little as possible. Plus, tomatoes are so good right now, why not use freshys?!?

How to blanch tomatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop tomatoes in for 2-3 minutes. Drain water and run under cold water to stop cooking. Let tomatoes cool. Then remove skins (they should fall right off), and chop tomatoes. 

 

And My most favorite investment of all!
{Indyanna hanging out under her favorite tree} 

 

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{slow-cooker tomatillo beef}

We haven't been using the slow-cooker much this summer, with the abundance of fresh produce between our CSA & the farmers market, we have been all about salads & the grill. With work being right around the corner, it's time again for cooking up quick & healthy meals in bulk! 

This salsa is great on it's own! You can also easily substitute chicken or pork, for the beef!


Ingredients
Tomatillo Salsa
1 lb. tomatillos, roasted
2 poblano peppers
2 anaheim peppers
2 jalapenos
5 cloves garlic, crushed
juice of half an orange
1/2 cup broth (I used beef, but chicken will work too)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
1/2 bunch cilantro

1. Remove husks from tomatillos and place under a broiler, with the rest of the peppers. Cook for 5-7 minutes, turning once.
2. Allow to cool and remove the skins from the peppers. Leave skins on tomatillos. 
3. Place in a blender with the rest of the ingredients.
4. Adjust salt and pepper, if needed.

Slow-cooker Beef
1 onion, sliced
2 lbs. cubed beef (any roast, like chuck roast, rump roast, etc. will work)
2 tablespoon ghee, divided

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of ghee in a medium sauce pan. Add onions and cook until transluscent. Move to slow-cooker. Add additional tablespoon of ghee to pan and add beef. Brown beef on all sides and place in slow-cooker.
2. Pour tomatillo salsa over meat and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Enjoy!

 

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{sage & beef stuffed zucchini}

Being busy with the baby had been the perfect excuse for me to eat an endless amount of paleo muffins and dried fruit (my favorite treat of all). I was really starting to feel it though - waking up groggy and feeling lethargic throughout the day. I figured it was really time to restart with a round of Whole30. I am on day 10 and I feel amazing. It really has not been difficult to kick the sugar and the treats. The one thing that has been hard is eliminating butter. I LOVE butter! I kind of ate it by the spoonful while I was pregnant. Did I just admit that on the internet? Oh well! I will definitely be reintroducing butter on day 31! Anyway, expect a lot more Whole30 friendly recipes here over the next couple of weeks (that is if I could find the time to get them up).

One of my dearest girlfriends dropped off some ginormous zucchinis from her garden for us last week. I figured the only proper way to eat zucchinis this big was to stuff the s*** out of them. I also had some delicious sage in the fridge that I wanted to use up, so here is what I came up with. By the way, have you ever had fried sage leaves? They are so good! See below, for the "recipe".

Ingredients
2 lbs. ground beef
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon coconut aminos
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
15 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped
1 egg beaten
1.5 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
4 large zucchinis (can also stuff peppers)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out the seeds. Chop and reserve about 1/2 of the seeds for the stuffing. In a medium bowl, mix together the ground beef, with the rest of the ingredients and the reserved zucchini seeds.
3. Place the meat mixture equally into all of the zucchini halves; mixture should be piled up over the top. Place the filled zucchini halves into a baking dish.
4. Bake for approximately 40 minutes.
5. Garnish with fried sage leaves and serve.

Fried sage leaves
15 fresh sage leaves, whole
1 tablespoon ghee

1. Heat ghee in a medium sized pan (I used cast iron).
2. Place sage leaves flat and cook until slightly crispy. Don't let them burn. This is very quick, maybe a minute or two.
   
   

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{pork chops with spiced-rhubarb chutney}

The local WAPF chapter in Santa Cruz recently organized a group order from Green Pastures. (Btw - so awesome for both the environment and the pocket book! Hope we do it regularly.) When we went to pick up our fermented cod liver oil, the lovely woman who was hosting the pickup, offered us some rhubarb from her garden. 

I came home and made this rhubarb chutney. I was really tempted to toss in some dried fruit, like cherries, but B really doesn't like his entrees sweet, so I went for more of a spiced flavor. 

Pork Chops w/ Spiced-Rhubarb Chutney

Ingredients
3 cups fresh chopped, rhubarb (1/2 inch chunks)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 cup chicken broth (you can sub water or white wine)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon, minced fresh ginger
1/2 cup chopped green garlic (you can sub leeks)
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
1 cinnamon stick
salt and pepper

4 pork chops
2 tablespoons coconut oil 
cumin
salt & pepper

1. Heat coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add green garlic and ginger and saute for a few minutes, until green garlic begins to brown.
2. Next add honey, cumin, coriander, cardamom and cinnamon stick, and apple cider vinegar. Saute until honey is dissolved.
3. Add rhubarb and chicken stock. 
4. I placed the lid on at this point for a few minutes (3-4 mins) to help the rhubarb cook through.
5. Remove the lid and saute until rhubarb is tender. It's best to prepare the chutney about 2 hours in advance, to help the flavors meld. 

For the pork-

1. Sprinkle pork with cumin, salt and pepper on both sides.
2. Heat a large frying pan on medium high heat and add coconut oil.
3. Add all 4 pork chops (if they fit) and cook until the first side is golden brown, then flip to cook the second side. 
4. Cooking time will vary depending on thickness, I check to see if it is cooked through to my liking, by just cutting a little piece off the side.

Enjoy!

 
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Ever since I have been pregnant, I've really been over chicken. I pretty much prefer to eat beef or salmon for every meal. My husband is starting to get sick of the limited protein choices though, so I decided to spice it up with some pork. I haven't been into pork either lately, (of course, with the exception of bacon, sausage & carnitas). I thought marinating it would help with this aversion. I have to say that it worked, it turned out pretty delicious & I ended up eating more than him! But, that is standard these days. ;)   

Pork Marinade
1 lb. boneless pork chops, cut into bite size chunks
1/4 cup gluten-free soy sauce (can substitute coconut aminos)
1/4 cup Mirin rice cooking wine (can substitute coconut vinegar)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon, crushed ginger
1/2 small onion, minced
4 - 1inch. pieces of lemon grass, put through the food processor
sea salt + pepper

Mix all ingredients and pour over pork. Marinate for 1 hour to overnight.

Stir-Fry
Marinated pork
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 white onion, sliced
1 head of broccoli, chopped into florets
2 carrots, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon, crushed ginger
1/4 cup gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos
Fresh parsley and sesame seeds for garnish.

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil in a large skillet or wok and saute pork until cooked through (no longer pink). Move pork to a bowl.
2. Add additional tablespoon of coconut oil, if needed.
3. Saute onions for a few minutes. Then add garlic and ginger and saute for an additional 1-2 minutes. Stir in the rest of the vegetable and saute until vegetables start to get tender, but still have some crispiness to them.
4. Add gluten-free soy sauce or coconut aminos, as well as cooked pork back in the mixture.
5. Mix all together and simmer for an additional 3-5 minutes. 
6. Garnish with sesame seeds & fresh parsley. 

Enjoy!

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