peel | The Paleo Mom

Paleo Cinnamon Buns

When I was a teenager, my Uncle Bill taught me how to make real cinnamon buns. You know, the kind with yeast-based bread? It was a revelation and became one of my favorite treats to make. One batch would make a whole delicious pan, full of thousands of gluten-filled calories. And last about an hour.
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Grug’s Barbecued Stuffed Bananas—A Recipe Inspired by The Croods

Who is Grug? He is the overprotective yet loving dad (voiced by Nicolas Cage) in the new DreamWorks Animation film, The Croods. The Croods is about a family of cavemen forced to embrace change. This movie looks like a whole lot of fun and I can’t wait to take my girls to see it (you
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Puerto Rican Plantain Lasagna (Pastelon)

Plantain lasagna? Really? Yes! And what a delicious and comforting meal! Perfect for this time of year! This is another recipe modified from one that Gloria sent me (thank you Gloria!). I made this for my mother-in-law’s birthday while she was visiting and it was a hit! My mother-in-law was amazed—mostly at how you don’t
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Perfect Paleo Pancakes

These hotcake-style pancakes were a serendipitous accident. I was working on a crepe recipe (which I will be posting soon!) and my first attempt was not crepe-like at all, but a light fluffy and delicious, if maybe a little too thin, pancake. Once my crepe recipe was perfected, my next priority became to take a
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Grug’s Barbecued Stuffed Bananas—A Recipe Inspired by The Croods

February 27, 2013 in Decadent Desserts, Featured Recipes, Treats

When I talk to my children about the way we eat, I like to phrase how we eat in a positive way (as you know, I like to approach every aspect of our diet and lifestyle in a positive manner). I like to explain that we only eat the most nutritious foods so we can be healthy and happy. But, my daughter is a language nerd (at the ripe old age of 6 years) and when she asks what the word “paleo” means, we do talk about cavemen living a long time ago, how they lived and how they ate. The idea of cavemen is fascinating to my daughter, so I think when you combine cavemen with a family-friendly animated movie (about the importance of family no less!), it feels a little like striking gold! So, of course when I was asked if I wanted to create a thematic recipe to support the movie, I couldn’t possibly say no! I knew instantly that I wanted to create a recipe that used fire (okay, the barbecue but you could make this recipe over a campfire too). I also knew I wanted to use an ingredient from the movie itself. Enter the banana.

In the movie, The Croods meet the Punch Monkeys (aptly named monkeys who punch). Grug discovers that the secret to not getting punched by the Punch Monkeys is to give them bananas.

And there is the inspiration for this recipe! Fire + Banana!

These barbecued stuffed bananas are so delicious and very easy to make. The secret is to use quite ripe bananas (they are sweeter but also their flavor works better once cooked). I’ve included alternate directions for baking them in the oven, but I really do think they are better on the barbecue (isn’t everything?). My husband and girls love these!

The stuffing is simply made from some chopped nuts and spices. I used dried, ground spices, but you could use whole fresh spices and grind yourself if you prefer.

To stuff the bananas, cut lengthwise but be careful not to cut through the peel on the bottom. You can get away with cutting about three quarters of the way through and the bananas will still open up easily.

Once sliced, open the banana to create a groove for the stuffing.

Sprinkle the nut and spice mixture in the banana (you can get quite a lot in there-about 3 Tbsp of filling for a medium banana and about 4 Tbsp for a large banana).

Repeat until all of your bananas are stuffed.

Now, place those bananas directly onto the barbecue after you’ve cooked the rest of your dinner and the coals aren’t super hot anymore. In about fifteen minutes, you’ll have a very delicious treat. The warm banana tastes very sweet and takes on a slightly lemony flavor from being cooked in the peel. The nut and spice mix is reminiscent of a crumble topping. It’s kindof like eating a warm and soft banana coffee cake. I know The Croods couldn’t make ice cream, but you can, so feel free to serve these with a scoop of The Best Ever Paleo Vanilla Ice “Cream” to make it an extra special dessert.

This recipe makes 2 large or 3 medium bananas—2-4 servings. This recipe doubles and triples well, so feel free to make a bunch! We all like them warm, but they are still very good as leftovers. Prep time: 5-10 minutes. Cook time: 12-18 minutes.

Ingredients:

2 large or 3 medium very ripe bananas

¼ cup chopped raw pecans

¼ cup chopped raw walnuts

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp ginger

¼ tsp allspice

1/8 tsp cloves

1/8 tsp cardamom

Dash salt

1. Chop nuts fairly finely (it’s okay if they aren’t completely evenly chopped). Combine chopped nuts with spices and mix to evenly coat.

2. Slice bananas lengthwise about three quarters of the way through the banana (careful not to cut the peel underneath). Spread the banana open and fill the groove with the nut and spice mixture.

3. Barbecue on a medium to moderately hot grill for 14-18 minutes (time will vary based on the size of your bananas and how hot your grill is). The peel will darken (and maybe turn completely black) which is normal. You know they’re done when the peels are dark, the banana is bubbling away and they smell fantastic!

4. Alternatively, place stuffed bananas on a cookie sheet (line with parchment paper, tin foil or a silicone liner to make clean-up easier) and bake at 425F in the middle of the oven for 12-14 minutes.

5. Remove from the grill (or oven) and enjoy warm! Eat with a spoon scooping right out of the peel! A scoop of The Best Ever Paleo Vanilla Ice “Cream” is optional.

No one wanted to wait until I was done photographing the bananas to dig in–which made for some fun extra photos. Yes, these are that good!

And a big thank you to The Croods for the inspiration! The film hits theaters on March 22, check out the official website here and don’t forget to like The Croods on Facebook too.

Tags: allspice, bake, baked, Banana, barbecue, barbecued, bbq, cake, cardamom, cinnamon, coal, coals, coffee, cream, crumble, Dairy-free, delicious, dessert, filling, ginger, Gluten-Free, Grain-free, Grill, Grug, ice, monkey, nutmeg, nuts, oven, pecan, peel, pie, punch, Recipe, salt, season, spices, spring, stuffed, stuffing, summer, tasty, The Croods, treat, walnut, whole
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Beef Tongue with Rosemary Mustard Reduction

November 5, 2012 in Organ Meat

If you haven’t tried beef tongue, you are missing out. It is the most tender and delicious meat and can be prepared in a variety of ways (tongue tacos being especially popular). Although it is a muscle, it is more nutrient dense than other muscles, and like the heart, is really considered an organ meat. It’s also typically quite inexpensive. I buy 2.5-3lb grass-fed beef tongues for $6 each from my local farmer. You can also buy them from US Wellness Meats (although, they are considerably more expensive).

It can be a little strange cooking something that looks so much like exactly what it is (and I think we’re all a little used to being very dissociated from the animal our meat comes from). But, if you can come to terms with handling a giant tongue, then this recipe is absolutely exquisite. (Note: the whole tongue appearance thing doesn’t bother me at all. But if it does bother you, you could slice the tongue very thin, cube it, or even shred it before eating.)

Tongue is delicious but this sauce is crazy awesome. My only big mistake the first night we had this meal was that I didn’t make a side dish that could absorb all that extra sauce. I highly recommend serving with something like mashed cauliflower or cauliflower rice or even paleo biscuits just to mop up all that tasty goodness.

Variation: If you’re lucky enough to get lamb tongue, you can use several in place of the cow tongue. They only needs to be boiled for about 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients (Beef Tongue):

2.5-3 lbs beef tongue
1 large sprig fresh rosemary (about 1½ Tbsp dried rosemary)
5-6 sprigs fresh thyme (about 2 tsp dried thyme)
8 whole garlic cloves
2 carrots, roughly chopped
3 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, quartered
1 tsp salt
Water to cover, about 6 cups

Ingredients (Rosemary Mustard Reduction):

Cooking liquid from beef tongue
2 Tbsp brown or Dijon-style mustard (something grainy is especially good)
2 tsp lemon juice (wine could be substituted)
1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
4 Tbsp unsalted butter

Place the whole beef tongue in a large stock pot. Place vegetables and herbs around the tongue (ideally, it should be a pretty tight fit in your pot). You don’t even need to bother peeling the garlic or onions here. They are just in the pot to give flavor to the broth. Pour water over the top, just enough to cover the tongue.
Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and simmer uncovered for 3-3½ hours. Check the level of the water every half hour or so and top up as required.
Remove the tongue from the pot and let cool. Pour the broth through a fine mesh sieve (or a few layers of cheesecloth) into a smaller pot and discard all of the vegetables and any other bits.
Bring broth to a boil and maintain a rolling boil until it has reduced to 1½ cups or less (about 10-15 minutes, depending on how much liquid you started with).
Add rosemary to broth and boil another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat. Add butter, mustard and lemon juice. Wisk to combine.
Meanwhile, as soon as beef tongue is cool enough to touch, peel off the white leathery skin on the outside (you might need a knife to get it started, but then it should come off very easily) and discard. Slice as you like it (if your reduction is still going to be a few minutes, cover with tin foil to keep warm).
Pour rosemary mustard reduction over the tongue and serve!