Recipe: Scallop and Black Plum Ceviche



Pretty and delicious.



This is a tasty recipe (see video here) from Mark Bittman (The Minimalist).  Though it is not as low carb as my usual recipes, it was a nice, light, refreshing change. At about 5 grams of net carbs per gigantic serving, it fits within my carb budget.

I made it with tarragon.  Surprise!  I discovered that I dislike tarragon intensely, so next time I make it, I will add either mint or parsley for some green and a little flavor.

The recipe comes together in a snap, and sits for just about 20 minutes before eating.  Although I portioned it to make 4 servings, this recipe would be great to serve as an impressive (and super easy) appetizer at a dinner party.  It would probably make 8-12 servings.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh sea scallops, cut into 1/4 inch dice
• 2 plums, pitted and cut into 1/4 inch dice
• 1 to 2 teaspoons chopped fresh mint or parsley, or more to taste
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest
• Salt
• Pinch cayenne pepper

Directions:

1. In a bowl, toss together scallops, plums, tarragon, lime juice and zest. Season with salt and cayenne. Let mixture sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
2. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Kale Chips for Dinner

Check out this dinner: butter fried salmon, sauteed red cabbage and onions, and crispy kale chips with homemade horseradish sauce!  

Tasty Dinner!



Low carb and pretty primal, it was delicious! 

Here is how to make kale chips:

• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
  
   
• Tear your thoroughly dried kale into 2 inch square pieces (removing the ribs), and toss in olive oil.
  
• Lay kale pieces out on a large cookie sheet, making sure that the pieces are spread out and do not overlap.  To ensure extra crispiness, bake the kale atop an oven-safe cooling rack for better air circulation below the leaves (below).
  
• Bake for 7-10 minutes, checking the kale at 10 minutes to ensure that it does not burn (burned kale is horrible).  The kale should be crispy along the edges.
  
• Remove from the oven, and immediately sprinkle with fine sea salt and a little garlic powder (spice it up as you like with, e.g., cayenne, cumin, onion powder, etc). 

  
  
  Enjoy your crispy chips!

LCHF Sauteed Kale Recipe and Tips on Cooking Kale



Check out the ribs on that baby.

I am all about the kale, people.  

Check out these recipes that I found online for Kale (chips), Kale (salad), and More Kale (sauteed).  Last night I made sauteed kale - I just winged it.  It was a success! 

Here are a couple of pointers for cooking kale: 

This plant is tough.  The ribs of the leaves are just not going to break down with fast cooking methods like a sautee, so they have to go.  I bought a whole bunch of kale yesterday, and just used the top leaves of the bunch (essentially, giving it a 6" haircut or so).  I removed the ribs, rolled the kale and did a fine chiffonade.  This is a good technique for getting very thin kale ribbons.  I gave the ribbons a quick rinse with tap water, shook out the excess water, but left some drops clinging to the leaves.  The extra moisture helped the kale steam when they it was first added to the hot pan, softening the plant a bit.  When the water evaporated (pretty quickly), the kale fried up in the buttery goodness that was in the pan. Yummy.

Here's my quickie recipe:

Kate's Sauteed Kale

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp chili flakes
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 3 cups of kale, chopped into a fine chiffonade

  1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)

Directions:

1. Melt butter and olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.
2. Add chili flakes and garlic to the melted fat, and cook until garlic is softened but not brown.
3. Add kale to pan, and toss to coat in the melted fat. 
4. Add lemon zest and salt to kale, and toss to combine.
5. Sautee kale for 3-5 minutes.  The kale should be vibrant green, and slightly softened.  Serve!

I served this kale with garlic-y, parmesan crusted, butter fried, wild-caught haddock.  It was really delicious! 

Eating for Your Mitochondria?

I just watched the video of this amazing presentation by Dr. Terry Wahls.  She suffers from MS, and was able to reverse the progression of her symptoms through adherence to a diet that she created. 
You need to see this.

This diet is designed to provide your body with sufficient amounts of the micronutrients that it needs to fuel your neurological system and sustain the myelin sheath which protects your brain.  (MS deteriorates the myelin sheath). 

In short: its all about the brain.

In a nutshell, Dr. Wahls recommends the following diet for brain protection and preservation, and observes that it is essentially a model of what our hunter gatherer ancestors ate eons ago:

• 3 cups of dark greens daily, including kale and parsley;
• 3 cups of colorful fruits and vegetables daily, including berries, peppers, peaches;
• 3 cups of sulfurous vegetabls daily, including onions, broccoli, asparagus, and cabbage;
• 1 serving of organic, grass-fed beef daily;
• 1 serving of wild caught fish (not sure if its daily), including herring and salmon;
• 1 serving of organ meet, weekly, including liver, kidney, "hard tongue" (whatever that is)

The diet is a tall order.  I'm not sure that I can get in 9 cups of veggies every day.  I'm not sure that I've ever eaten kale, although I am going to grab some and play around with it.  Not sure whether you can eat kale in a salad, though, as it seems pretty fibrous and I've only ever seen it cooked.

Anyone have any good kale recipes?

Also, the video contains a number of cites to published literature that is available on pubmed.  I would like to write those down and print them out to review.