Paleo Thai Food - World Eating Challenge

 Here comes... another World Eating Challenge post!!! One of the non- World Cup countries I really wanted to try to make food for was Thai food. I love Thai food and for the most part, the things I like are pretty Paleo with a little adjustment. However, it's still hard to know exactly what you're getting in restaurants. Another thing I like about Thai food is there are base flavors with a wide variety of ingredients. I picked two Thai dishes that really show this variety - red curry and spring rolls. Red curry is just so delicious with so much flavor but I've seen such a wide variety of veggies in it, making it really customizable. For spring rolls - you can choose from many fillings but they always seem to skimp on the protein and stuff them with lettuce. I also wanted to try to do it with out the one non-paleo ingredient - the rice wrapper. So let's see how I did it!

Shrimp and Duck Spring Rolls

Let's start with the spring rolls. I wanted mine to be shrimp and duck. I felt it would be easier to work with frozen cooked shrimp. Since spring rolls are cold, it saves the step of cooking and then cooling the shrimp.

All you have to do is toss them in some water and let them thaw out.

For the wrap, I used these Paleo Wraps. I'd been hesitant to try them because I wasn't sure how the wrapper would taste or what the texture would be. They ended up being really pliable and there wasn't a strong flavor. I would compare them a lot to a crepe. 

Since spring rolls are a lot of lettuce, I wanted fresh, high quality stuff. I used these cute little gems from my CSA. It also meant a little less cutting since the leaves were the size of my rolls. 

I took a Paleo Wrap and cut it in half. I laid them out and piled on way more filling than what you get from a store or restaurant. Honestly, it was probably a little too much because they were tough to wrap...

The best part of spring rolls is the spicy sweet dipping sauce. I figured that sauce is mostly sugar and a check of a grocery label confirmed that. I decided to make my own with chili paste and honey. Let me just say.... chili paste is really hot. I was going to do a 1:1 ratio but I had to double on the honey and then add a little avocado oil to make it bearable. 

I really loved how these turned out. Since there was no cooking, these were really quick and easy. I think this might be my go to snack from now on! I definitely want to work on perfecting the dipping sauce too. I also might just put some on the inside of the wrap. Because I stuffed them so much they were tough to dip and having an even flavor through out would be nice.

Chicken & Shrimp Red Curry

Next it was curry time! I used this recipe as a basis but did some customizing. I wanted to do a mix of chicken and shrimp because, frankly, I wasn't bound by what I was capable of ordering at a restaurant. This time I used raw frozen shrimp with the plan to let them cook in the curry. I also used organic chicken thighs.

A note on chicken - the one thing I find hardest about being strict paleo is the whole organic/ grass fed thing. I know it's much healthier but it's definitely a financial burden. However, with all of the news about Foster Farms and other low quality chicken, I've really been making a stretch for higher quality meats. 

The first step was to cook the chicken. I normally pan cook chicken for the most flavor but I knew I was going to be preoccupied with the rest of the cooking so I just tossed them in the oven at 375 for 30 min (20 min of baking and then 5 min each side on the broiler for some browning).

Next up was veggies! The recipe had red bell peppers and mushrooms. I decided to also get some mung bean sprouts. Really there is so much flexibility. I've seen red curries with bamboo shoots, pineapple, tomatoes, squash, and everything in between. Put in whatever you like!!

These I just cut up and sauteed.

Next was the curry! Luckily, just about everything in curry (coconut milk, red curry paste, fish sauce) is Paleo already! The only exception was the brown sugar so I just left this out. The fish sauce and curry paste I used were also gluten free - I linked above to brands that are gluten free. It's definitely something worth checking because they're not always. 

The coconut milk, fish sauce, curry paste and lemongrass were all mixed together and brought to a simmer. After that, you can just take out the lemongrass.

Once the curry was ready, I mixed in the veggies, shrimp, and chicken. I let it simmer a little bit more (while I was finishing the spring rolls) which let the flavor permeate all the ingredients. 

Altogether it was an amazing dinner! It seems like I did a lot but really this was all super simple. I paired it with a Chardonnay from Krutz Family Cellars which was a nice balance to the spiciness and just the generally summer heat in our apartment. 

This really turned out great! The changes I would make - I forgot the basil. It said it was a garnish but I think simmering a bunch of it and removing it with the lemongrass would have helped the flavor a lot. I also think it did need some sweetness. I still wouldn't add sugar but some pineapple chunks and cherry tomatoes would have done a lot to help. 

Wine Wednesday - David Girard and Miraflores (El Dorado)

Dan and I have taken a lot of little weekend trips this summer. One of the most amazing things about living in California is that it's hard to take a road trip and not pass through some wine country. A few weeks ago, we passed through Anderson Valley on the way back from camping. A couple of weeks ago, we went to Tahoe for a wedding and I knew it was finally time to stop at some El Dorado Hills wineries. (You can basically consider this to be Part 2 of my lesser-known-wine-country series. At the moment, there are at least 4 parts but I know of many of wine countries that will be on the list in the future as well. )

I had wanted to make it to 3-4 wineries but we ended up getting a later start than I intended. However, we still were able to stop at two amazing wineries so here they are! I'm also sorry for missing a couple Wine Wednesdays. You know you've been slacking when your boyfriend who doesn't drink wine asks where your wine posts are. Sorry!!

David Girard

 David Girard came with really high praise from a friend. She basically told me I'd want to get married here. The winery is gorgeous and I'm kind of kicking myself for not getting any pictures of the estate. I was also excited because David Girard is a Rhone Ranger (the Rhone Rangers are a group that promote grape varietals primarily found in the Rhone region of France - Grenache, Syrah, Viognier, Marsanne, Rousanne, etc) and I was using that as a way to discover wineries that would have varietals I know I like.

 Admittedly, when we got to David Girard, we were all still in wake up mode from the weekend's festivities. It was a long drive from Tahoe to the winery and we probably should have gotten lunch first. You'll have to excuse my sparse pictures and notes but I do at least remember my favorites from the winery. The 2011 Coda Blanc, a white blend of primarily Roussanne and Marsanne, was very light and delicious. I was also a big fan or the 2009 Syrah. I took home a bottle of each and can't wait to have them again soon. Following me on Instagram is a great way to see when and how I enjoy these wines! 

Miraflores

Miraflores, on the other hand, was not one of the Rhone Ranger wineries and I wouldn't have heard about it at all if a friend didn't say they were wine club members and were stopping in to pick up a case of wine. I'm so happy they mentioned it because we absolutely loved the winery. They had a very long list of wines and complimentary tasting so we ended up just staying until closing and enjoying the wines and the property.

Miraflores also participates in a Futures program. Since they have to pay taxes on all of their wine before they can sell it, selling bottles at a discount before they are released helps them manage their costs. For that reason, they let visitors do barrel tastings complete with explanations on how the tastes will develop and mature as the wine ages. It was a really fun experience. My favorite barrel wine was the Tintoretto - a special wine made from dried out grapes. This means they need to use three times as many grapes to produce enough juice, making it one of their priciest wines. However, the method of production creates a vibrant and unique flavor. It definitely showed a lot of promise and I would recommend buying futures of it - the only way to snag this interesting wine.

Always make sure to match your wine!

If you like receiving a bottle when you pay for it, I was also a big fan of the Barbera and took some home. Miraflores has a big portfolio and gorgeous winery, so mostly I just recommend making a visit and discovering what your favorite wine is.

It's nice to just add that it was a really fun day with friends. We were on our way back from a wedding that was just an amazing weekend spending time with college friends that have scattered all over the country. Getting an extra afternoon with a handful of those people was just a great way to come off an incredible weekend.

Sweet Potato Waffle Bacon Jalapeno Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Yes - they were as good as they sounded! Even though there was nothing crazy about this recipe (which I was just kind of winging), I knew it would make a fun post. I ended up going a little crazy with my pictures so I'm going to let them mostly tell the story. There may be some excessive gratuitous pictures of bacon...

First off, it was time to dust off the old waffle maker. I thought I'd only use this once but I have made waffles TWICE now and then, of course, last night for our hash brown waffles. 

Before getting to waffles though, I decided to throw the bacon on in the background. I really just adore this thick cut, high quality bacon from Costco. I mean, look at it. I'ts gorgeous. 

Mmmm bacon...

So now for the rest of the mis en place. The sweet potatoes were also going to need some prep. 

While they can be shredded with the skin on, I find that it ends up messing up the grates and just gets in the way so I always peel mine first. 

The best way to get hash browns from fresh potatoes is to just grate them in a cheese grater. I do have to say, this is much harder than grating cheese and will take a while. I'm not sure if a mandolin with a grate die would be better. My grater has more surface area than my mandolin so I feel like it would be more efficient.

So I'm not going to lie - steps like grating often get passed off to my boyfriend sous chef. It allows me to focus more on cooking and more complicated cuts. If you have a roommate or significant other who eats your food, I think it's totally fair to recruit them to help out with easy tasks in the kitchen. 

While he grated, I was able to take on the awful task of cutting jalapenos. One of my readers offered to send me gloves, but I haven't taken her up on that yet so I'm stuck trying to cut them using a paper towel to keep from touching them. 

But the risk of jalapeno hands and burning my eyes when I take out my contacts is totally worth it. 

So now that prep is done - let's make some waffles. I knew I'd have to grease my iron for these and also have some sort of fat to help bind the potato a bit. I used grass fed butter for this...

And then just brushed it on! 

Then I just threw my grated sweet potato into the waffle maker. It was actually pretty tough to determine how much to put in. I found the best results came from filling the waffle maker to the waffle to the point where it closed, but barely. 

The steam coming from the maker was a little concerning, but it worked out alright.

And in case you were wondering about the cheese, my skilled grater was also taking care of that in the background while I was tending waffles. 

The first waffle I made turned out the best for sure. However, they were bound very well and were very difficult to get out. My best solution was to flip the waffle maker upside and shake it to get them out. This isn't ideal and probably isn't safe. I would actually recommend tossing an egg into the sweet potato gratings to act as a binder. 

Next up was dressing the waffle! Since it would be a sandwich, I only put cheese, bacon, and jalapeno on one side and just folded it over...

...as such. However, this wouldn't melt the cheese. 

So I tossed them back into the pan where the bacon was cooked. This melted the cheese and also imparted a little more bacon flavor. Basically, win win. 

And this was the result!!! The waffles I made for Dan turned out way better than my own. However, he went jalapeno free so I feel like while the pictures of his sandwiches were prettier, mine were more complete. Frankly though, pretty plates are nice but I want something that tastes awesome.

We are definitely making these again though! It was just awesome to make some (if I'm honest here) total junk food dinner made completely out of whole, non-processed, paleo & primal (aka the cheese and butter) ingredients. Sweet potatoes, bacon, and jalapeno are obviously paleo. For the dairy, everything I used was organic and grass fed so I really aimed to pick the best options. It's just further proof that you can eat delicious foods that don't appear traditionally "healthy" but frankly, are way better for you than any store-bought, processed items filled with chemicals.