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Friday, October 16, 2015

Foodie Fridays - Paleo Caldo



Fall is on the air with our crisp cool mornings of late - which means it is soup season!

Caldo de Res is a soup common to Hispanic cultures, especially Mexico. My grandmother made it for us often when we'd visit, and it was my favorite of her soups. Caldo de Res is a great "kitchen sink" or "stone soup" type recipe with a beefy bone broth base and a wide variety of cold hearty veggies thrown in. The traditional version is a bit different than this paleo-friendly adaptation using lots of green veggies, but the result is just as satisfying.

I make a large batch of this soup then divide it up into freezer safe glassware to keep until needed. Then I take it for lunches and such. The nutrients from the bone broth, meat and marrow and all those green veggies make this a super food soup.



Ingredients

  • 2 quarts water
  • Beef short ribs, bone in (Beef shank will work as well)
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 head cabbage, chopped
  • 1 zucchini, chopped
  • 2 red potatoes, chopped (optional)
  • 1 hatch or poblano green chili, de-seeded and chopped 
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 bunch cilantro (optional)
  • Salt to taste (I use about 3 tbsp. of full-spectrum real sea salt)


Instructions

Pour water into a large stock pot, dutch oven or slow cooker on low heat. Add short ribs to water along with salt to begin broth. Allow this to cook for at least an hour before adding your veggies.


Chop your cabbage, onion, zucchini, and other vegetables into spoon-able sized bites. Then add to your broth pot. Add more salt to taste. Cook for another hour, stirring occasionally, then serve. Yields 8-10 servings.




I love to have this soup with a quesadilla or a couple tacos (the real kind, made with non-GMO corn tortillas pan fried in lard and filled with pulled chicken or pork). Corn tortillas are obviously not strictly paleo, but just the soup by itself is paleo friendly and can be modified for special diets such as GAPS or autoimmune paleo.

Enjoy!!

Friday, October 2, 2015

Foodie Fridays - First Freeze Chili and Cider

Since moving to Colorado my family's tradition has been to make chili the evening after the first hard freeze, usually some time in October. I like to add a cup of warm spiced cider to go along with my chili.



Quick and Dirty Chunky Beef Chili

1 lb. beef stew meat
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed minced (1 tsp. if from a can)
Chili powder, paprika, cumin, seasoned salt and pepper to taste (I use a LOT of chili powder)
Lime juice to taste

Add ingredients to a sauce pan on medium heat until it starts to boil, then put down to simmer and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. I find that the onion, tomato and stew meat have enough moisture for the texture I prefer in my chili, but if you like yours a little more soupy, adding a cube or two of frozen beef bone broth is a good addition. Serves 2-3. To stretch into more servings I suggest serving with quesadillas, made with gluten free corn tortillas of course.


Fall Spiced Cider

1 gallon apple juice or cider
2 tbsp. maple syrup or raw honey
1 cup pomegranate or cranberry juice
Mulling spices
Cheese cloth or tea strainer

Pour liquid ingredients into a large sauce pan. Simmer on low to medium-low heat (higher heat destroys all the great vitamin C in the juices). Put 1 tbsp. of mulling spices into a cheese cloth bag or tea strainer and add to the pot. (Technically you can put them in loose, but then you have to be careful not to pour them into the drink, and you also can't take them out and reuse them for a fragrance simmer pot). This recipe freezes well, so you can make ice cubes out of the left overs, then pop them into a mug to reheat any time the urge for a cup of spiced cider strikes.