Tag Archives: Paleo

Crab Cakes!

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Craving crab cakes – not something I typically crave, and especially not my preferred seafood. You know, like the good crab cakes made with quality crab that you find at say, a restaurant in the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. I will never forget the vacation Seth and I took to Baltimore shortly after moving to Virginia. I think it was one of our first East Coast trips. Talk about good seafood. I can’t remember the exact name of the place we ate, but between the two of us, we literally had a table full to ourselves, of all sorts of awesome local seafood yumminess. GET IN MAH BELLY.

Anyway, mixed up some crab cakes a couple weeks ago to satisfy the craving, and boy did it. We followed the recipe from Primal Palate, in large part, because it’s super easy and just what we were looking for (soy/dairy/gluten/grain free). I modified it slightly, but let’s just say, we devoured them and now we must make again.

The only modifications I made included: adding 1 additional TBSP of mayo, juice of 1 lemon, double the amount of parsley and about 1 TBSP fresh minced garlic.

Highly recommend!! Even my Dad liked them, and he does not like a lot of seafood taste and/or textures.

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Shrimp Orange Salad

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Had the luxury of time while staying with my parents for a couple weeks as I transition to a remote employee as we move from San Diego to Minneapolis. No commute = so much time! I was really craving seafood a couple weeks ago, so I got creative in the kitchen, and this week on the blog will now be dubbed, seafood week! Hope you enjoy as much as we did 🙂

Shrimp Orange Salad

  • Wild caught cooked shrimp – cut (depending on size)
  • 2 diced avocados
  • 2 handfuls cilantro, cut
  • 1/3 cup finely diced shallots
  • Flesh of 2 navel oranges, cut
  • Juice of 1 navel orange
  • Himalayan pink salt/black pepper
  • Drizzle olive oil

Toss everything in a bowl and enjoy! You could make ahead and chill if preferred. I don’t typically measure (I know, sorry!), I just go by taste and quantity, or if I prefer more of something than not. In this case, we had quite a few large shrimp that we’d thawed, so we used it all. I love cilantro and my rule of thumb is to always add more than you’d think you’d want – it never disappoints. The oranges/fresh squeezed juice came from oranges that I’d zested for another recipe, and needed to be used!!

[Someday I’ll get to food photography – I realize my pics leave a lot to be desired]

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Black Truffle Coconut Sugar Grilled Garlic

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I posted a photo of a foil boat full of grilled garlic on my Instagram (@the3LLLs) a couple of weeks ago – but now that I’ve used it nearly 5 million different ways, I thought I’d write a quick post about it.

I don’t know why I don’t grill/bake/roast garlic more, it’s so versatile. The flavor is that of a sweet garlicky roasted flavor, but much more mild that firmer or less cooked garlic. It can take on tastes of additional seasonings or oils, not to mention it has a lot of health benefits. Some can’t tolerate a lot of garlic, (most likely because its high FODMAP), but if you can, get it!

I happened to have the rest of a large bag of peeled garlic in my fridge that I knew I wouldn’t be able to use up before it spoiled, so I threw it on the grill.

Black Truffle Coconut Sugar Grilled Garlic

  • Peeled garlic cloves (not trimmed on the ends)
  • Drizzle black truffle oil
  • Fresh cracked black pepper
  • Raw coconut sugar

Create a foil boat and dump the garlic in, drizzle with the oil, generous fresh ground black pepper and top with raw coconut sugar. I did not mix – thought I’d see what would happen with the heat from the bottom caramelizing the sugar, it was YUMMO. I ate a substantial portion by itself right off the grill, have tossed it into a veggie/egg scramble, smashed it on a burger, tossed it cold into a salad, used it as a [paleo] pizza topping, and smeared it on a baked [paleo] pizza crust.

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Sesame Green Beans with Water Chestnuts

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I’m really trying to get back to blogging regularly again. Not only do I miss it, I cook everyday, and a lot of the time it’s a random concoction of real food and ingredients that’s pretty damn tasty! Therefore, I feel the obligation to share since 99% of the time said concoction is super easy. Eating healthy doesn’t need to be difficult or lack flavor.

Water Chestnuts – like them? I love them. Something about that crispy crunch and that they maintain it after being cooked. I also know several people who hate them. Seems to be a love/hate thing. This recipe was inspired by green beans in the fridge and water chestnuts in the pantry (and maybe a recent trip to my favorite gluten free Chinese food restaurant here in San Diego), and rocked!

Sesame Green Beans with Water Chestnuts

  • Green beans
  • 1 can water chestnuts, whole
  • Sesame oil
  • Chili garlic sauce
  • Garlic salt

Place green beans and water chestnuts on baking sheet (I line mine with foil – easy cleaning), add a light drizzle of sesame oil over vegetables, sprinkle with garlic salt and spoonfuls of chili garlic sauce – I was generous for the spice factor. Toss to coat, and roast at 400 degrees until done to your liking. It doesn’t take long at high heat, but I prefer my green beans a little more charred. I took out and tossed in the middle just to stir things up.

Great spicy sesame flavor, and I had the leftovers for dinner last night! Would make a great side dish, but I bet it’d be good as a cold salad too with maybe a fresh drizzle of sesame oil.

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Baked Scallops in Garlic Herb Butter with Smoked Paprika

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That sounds kind of like a fancy name, it’s not a fancy recipe. I think many assume that seafood is difficult to cook, but it really isn’t. I’m not sure where this thought or stereotype was founded, but it’s a giant lie. In fact, cooking seafood is about the easiest meal idea I’ve found, unless it’s leftovers from the weekend. Honestly meat is just as “difficult” as seafood. Seriously, so little time required.

I bought some wild caught Mexican baby scallops a couple weeks ago, thawed them, and baked them. Took about 5 minutes!

Baked Scallops in Garlic Herb Butter with Smoked Paprika

  • 16 oz scallops (baby is preferred)
  • 1/2 stick garlic herb butter (I used Kerrygold)
  • Smoked paprika
  • Garlic salt
  • Pepper
  • Onion powder
  • Sea salt
  • Herbs de Provence

Pour the bag of scallops into a colander, rinse, then pat dry. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Once warm, take an 8×8 glass baking dish with half the stick of garlic herb butter and place it in the oven to warm the dish and melt the butter. Once melted, take the dish out, add scallops, and sprinkle with all seasonings moderately, except for the smoked paprika. Place back in the oven and bake for about 5 minutes – tossing once at about the 3 minute mark. You’ll know if the scallops are over done, as they’re like chewy rubber. Feel free to taste test if you’re fearful, and if they melt in your mouth, they’re done.

I paired the scallops with some roasted vegetables (mushrooms/purple cabbage/red onion/white onion) tossed in black truffle oil and Costoc’s organic salt free 21 seasoning (LOVE THAT STUFF).IMG_9779[1] IMG_9783[1] IMG_9784[1] IMG_9786[1] IMG_9777[1]