I always keep a todo list (or 2 or 3) around of ideas I have of treats to make or foods to try. Lately my lists have been multiplying, one reason being that I haven’t had enough time to make everything but also that I have had a lot of inspiration from blogs, the Yahoo groups and Twitter friends. I have also realized lately that there are many SCD staples that I haven’t even tried making and I feel like I should give them a fair shot. Here is my current list of SCD foods I want to make:

• Crackers – Whenever I make my liver pate, I eat it on slices of cheese. I really shouldn’t be eating that much cheese so it would be nice to have something else to put the pate on. Most SCD cracker recipes contain some cheese but at least it’s not as much as I’m having now. 

• Meatza – I made an SCD pizza but was overwhelmed by how heavy the dough was. I ate the tiniest piece and was stuffed to the point where I felt like I had to lie down. Too much almond flour! I also don’t like that pizzas have very little meat, just some as toppings. So a meatza, where the crust is made of meat, sounds much better. Then I can just throw on some pizza sauce and any veggies/cheese I want without worrying about not getting enough protein.

• Butternut Squash Fries – Sigh all that chopping makes me tired just thinking about it. So much easier to toss a squash in a slow cooker and leave it on for a few hours. But, I am determined to try these.

• Smoothie – 2 years 3 months on this diet and I have yet to make a smoothie. I own a blender. I make yogurt. I always have berries around. Time to put them together!

• Ketchup – To be honest, I have made ketchup twice and both were failures. I didn’t follow recipes. I think I should just find a recipe and do it properly.

• BBQ Sauce – Never made some because they always depend on ketchup as a major ingredient. I’d like to do one from scratch, so I’ll try ketchup first and then modify that into a BBQ sauce from scratch recipe.

• Stuffed Anything – Stuffed peppers, stuffed tomatoes, stuffed meat rolls..

• Bread – I have made muffins, brownies, pizza, and cakes but never bread.

• Hamburger Buns – Hoping I can use the bread for this instead of doing a separate recipe. I eat hamburger patties with condiments but it would be nice to have at least a half a bun.

• Caremelized Onions – I actually made these once in the slow cooker and forgot about it until they turned black. I had to throw them out. Oops.

• French Onion Soup – Once I have bread and caremelized onions, this should be as easy as taking out some beef stock, reheating and shredding some cheese.

• Pemmican – Shelf stable beef meat & fat. This would be the ultimate SCD travel food.

If anyone has a ‘favorite’ recipe for any of these foods let me know! It’s always nice to make a recipe that has already been taste-tested. Also if anyone has made anything like these recently, feel free to share your experiences.

I had gotten some pork back fat from a local farmer and left it in the freezer for a few months. It is good stuff from a pasture-raised heritage breed pig and I keep meaning to render it and try lard for the first time. Fats and organ meats have become the focus of my diet the past few months because they give me energy. I have been putting it off because I always end up getting plenty of beef tallow when I make beef broth, and use that or cultured butter in cooking. I finally decided to render the pork fat after visiting my boyfriend’s (Hong) family for dinner, including his mom, dad and cousin. (Someone remind me to post pictures of them all sometime, they are a great example of a WAPF family).

Hong’s cousin who has been living in China her whole life came to Canada for University about nine months ago. As many young woman are, she is always conscious of her weight and eats healthy. Last weekend at the dinner table, she brought up the topic and said she was staying away from meat for a while to lose weight. She is not overweight at all (she is actually very health, strong but lean, perfect build and size) but had gained 5 pounds since coming to Canada. The problem is that since she came to Canada for some reason she changed what she viewed as being good food. She cut down on meat and started having store-bought bread for breakfast every day. Back in China, breakfast was any of the following: rice wraps with beans, congee (porridge) rice with fish and vegetable, eggs, and fruit. When we pointed it out to her, that the biggest change in her diet was the bread, it was like a light bulb went off. She immediately realized that it was in fact the bread she ate every day. She swore from now on she would go back to the food she knows and trusts.

We have also talked about fats with them and how natural animal fats are actually good for you, especially if the animals are pastured. Back in China, Hong’s mom used to cook with lard or other animal fats but since coming here has mainly used vegetable oil. She still cooks everything traditionally Chinese but the oil seems to be the one ‘new’ thing she insists on using. It used to be canola oil and lately has changed to olive oil, for high-temperature stir-frying. I decided to render the fat I have in the freezer and give it to her for her to use as cooking oil. I’m happy with butter, coconut oil, and tallow I have on hand so I’m glad to find someone to share the other good fats with.

I took the back fat out of the freezer the night before and let it thaw out in the fridge. The next day I got home from work and was feeling lazy so I decided instead of looking up how to make lard that I would just ‘wing it’. My laziness is a bit strange in that I take shortcuts sometimes (i.e.: putting the butternut squash in the slow-cooker because I’m too lazy to cut it) yet other times I will make something extravagant and enjoy every moment of the process. Let me just say this time it didn’t go so well! If you are making lard, don’t be lazy, cut the fat into small cubes. I just cut it into huge chunks and figured oh well it might take a bit longer to render. I put the chunks in a big pot and kept the heat quite low, but hot enough to sizzle and melt the fat.

Well 4 hours later.. it looked like I was making some sort of puffed pastries. Each chunk was a solid square mass with a huge bubble in the middle.

It was getting late so I ended the experiment there even though a lot of fat had yet to render. I did end up with about 1 cup of rendered lard that was deep golden in color. I strained it through a paper towel into a jar and placed it in the fridge. By the next day it had solidified and turned a creamy color (see picture at the top of this post, it actually looks darker in person). Every picture, blog, how-to, and website I see about lard always shows it as almost pure white. So now I’m wondering, is this lard ok to eat? Did I mess it up by cooking too long? Why am I always so lazy when it comes to cutting up food? I’m glad I only used one pack of fat and still have 2 more to try out sometime.

This post is part of the Real Food Wednesday blog carnival hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

The following is a collection of recipes for fermented foods that I use regularly in addition to SCD yogurt. When following SCD, fermented vegetables are seen as more of an advanced food, while GAPS recommends starting them during the intro diet. I personally did not know about it until months into the SCD diet, so I never tried them early on. If you decide to start them on either diet, go slowly. Start with a teaspoon and work your way up. Consider having just the juices to start with.

See my post “SCD Yogurt” under Tips & Tricks section for yogurt-making instructions.

This post is part of a Lacto-Fermentation Blog Carnival which links up many other blogs with recipes for ferments.

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Fermented Salsa
This is my absolute favorite ferment. I love cilantro and get it often in my weekly vegetable basket along with tomatoes, onions and peppers. I tend to use lots of tomatoes and cilantro because that’s what I like. Don’t hesitate to change the amounts of any ingredients, this is a very forgiving recipe. This is pretty similar to Trying Traditiona’s salsa (click here to see it) which also has a step-by-step picture tutorial on how to make it.

3 large tomatoes
1/2 green pepper
1 medium yellow onion
2 jalapeno peppers
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup whey
1-2 tbsp sea salt

Coarsley chop tomatoes, pepper and onion in a food processor, then place in a bowl. Mince jalapeno peppers, garlic and cilantro by hand and add to the bowl. Sprinkle with sea salt and add whey. Mix well so that sea salt and whey are distributed well.

Spoon mixture into two 1-liter mason jars and seal. Leave at room temperature for 3-5 days. Place in refrigerator where it will keep for months.

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Sauerkraut
I prefer green cabbage but any cabbage at all will work great.

1 small head cabbage
2 tbsp sea salt
1/2 cup whey

Coarsley chop the cabbage either by hand or in a food processor. As you chop and add it to a big bowl, sprinkle with salt. When all of it is chopped, sprinkle with remaining salt. Grab handfuls of cabbage and break/rub the cabbage to soften it and get the juices out. Do this for a while until the cabbage feels softer and liquid has come out a bit. Grab handfuls of cabbage and push down into a wide-mouth mason jar. Every handful keep pressing the cabbage down firmly. Leave about 1 or 2 inches at the top. You should be able to fill two 1-liter jars. Pour 1/4 cup whey into each jar. Seal and leave out at room temperature.

Two or three times per day, open the jars and with clean hands, push down the cabbage to force it below the liquid level. Leave out at room temperature for 3-5 days then refrigerate.

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Pickled Jalapenos
I made these after finding some jalapenos at the farmer’s market in the summer. My boyfriend eventually tried one and was very impressed. Careful, they get very hot.

6-8 green jalapeno peppers
2 tbsp sea salt
3 cups filtered water

Clean peppers and place in a 1 liter mason jar. Mix salt with water and pour over peppers. Keep at room temperature until peppers change colour from deep green to a yellow-grey. Refrigerate.

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Ginger Carrots

1 large carrot
2 inch piece of ginger
1 clove garlic
2 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp whey

Using a cheese grater on a large setting, shred carrots, ginger and garlic into a bowl. Sprinkle with sea salt and whey. Mix to combine all ingredients well.

Spoon mixture into a 250ml wide-mouth mason jar and press down firmly. Two or three times per day open the jar and with clean hands, push down the mixture to try and keep it all wet. Keep at room temperature for 3-5 days and then refrigerate.

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Beet kvass
This is how I make it, on a smaller scale than what Sally Fallon describes in Nourishing Traditions.

2-3 small beets
2-3 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp whey

Chop beets into large chunks and place in a 2 cup jar with a lid. Pour salt and whey over them. Fill the jar with water but leave space at the top. Leave on the counter for 2 days then place in fridge. I drink about 1/4 cup at a time of this, it’s a great liver tonic.

I have been so amazed with the many real food bloggers trying liver recently. It is one of those things that is intimidating to make and try for the first time. I hope with more recipes and examples of how to prepare it that everyone gets inspired to try this wonderful energy food.

With spring coming and all the fresh produce starting to pop up I wanted to make a dish with organ meats that focused mainly on fresh produce. Lately I have been eating lots of liver pate on slices of cheese, which is tasty but more of a rich meal or snack. I have tried a stir-fried spicy liver recipe before “Chicken Liver Pepper Fry” which my boyfriend and roommate seem to love. I found it great to have now and then but I can’t handle much spiciness. My tongue was on fire with this one. So I found myself only eating a mouthful or two before I gave up because of the burning. For the record though, that recipe is probably THE best liver recipe and hides all the flavor, if you can handle the spice.

I realized last time I had the peppery livery that the real flavor I enjoyed in the dish was cilantro. So I made liver with no extra spices, just onion, garlic, tomato, and cilantro, and it was good! If you like cilantro, this is the one to try. See my full recipe here in the Liver & Other Organs recipe section.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

***Please note that each of these recipes contains an ingredient that is not SCD legal. Eat at your own risk! ***

At first I wasn’t going to post these but then realized people who are advanced on SCD and starting to incorporate a few illegals might benefit. Rather than have people starting to introduce chocolate or candies by buying stuff from the store, maybe they can try these homemade treats and have control over the ingredients.

A note on chocolate: I have started to have cocoa powder and am feeling fine with it BUT I seem to be extremely sensitive to the caffeine. If you’re just adding in cocoa and not sleeping well, chances are that you are being kept awake by the caffeine in it. Try eating cocoa goodies in the morning only. There is some debate as to why cocoa is not legal on SCD. Dr. Haas had told Elaine Gotschall not to include it in the diet. Elaine was adamant it should not be part of SCD, although did not fully analyze it.

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Coconut Chocolate Fudge
I made this fudge from Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking‘s recipe. I reduced the honey by half and I think most people on SCD would still find this sweet. I also make this with mint in place of vanilla for a minty chocolate. I plan to make this next time with cocoa butter (also SCD legal) in place of coconut oil, for more of a homemade chocolate bar type snack. Will post that if successful.

Use this chocolate fudge as a coating in the next two recipes. I made half of this recipe with vanilla and half with mint. That was enough to coat the Peppermint Patties and Cadbury Creme Eggs.

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Peppermint Patties
I got the idea for these from Elana’s Pantry and then I got some coconut spread for the first time. I decided the coconut spread would make a great center to peppermint patties. I wanted to make the chocolate coating without using hard chocolate so I used the chocolate fudge recipe from above but with mint extract. I quickly realized I’m not very good at forming patties, but I don’t think that affects the taste Note these are dense chewy peppermint patties, just the way I like them. If you like the center soft, I think coconut oil would work better as in Elana’s recipe.

Filling:
1/2 cup coconut spread/butter (not the same as coconut oil)
5 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
sprinkle sea salt

Coating:
Use the Coconut Chocolate Fudge recipe above with mint.

Method:
Mix filling ingredients by hand. If you want it completely smooth you can process it in a food processor. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes or until it’s hard enough to form into balls. Get a plate out and put parchment paper over it. Take about a spoonful of filling, roll it into a ball, and press it down to form a patty on the parchment paper. Do this will all the filling, it should make about 12 patties. Return it to the fridge.

Make the coating recipe and keep it at room temperature. Take the filling patties out of the fridge. Quickly dip each patty into the chocolate until covered. Place patties back on parchment paper. Return to the fridge. Leave for a few minutes for the chocolate to harden. Repeat process again. Instead of dipping the patties in chocolate, you can try pouring the chocolate over them with a spoon.

Keep patties in the fridge until ready to eat. Enjoy!

Note: For those not having cocoa, try the filling on its own as little mint chews.

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Raw Milk Ice Cream
Once I got my hands on some raw milk (that I could digest no problem) I set out to make some ice cream. Real ice cream, with cream and milk and egg yolks, not from yogurt. I was getting both raw sheep milk and raw cow’s milk so I used those ingredients, but you can make this from any cream and any milk really. The first time I made it I just used the amount of cream I got from 1 liter raw cow’s milk (which was about 1/2 cup). I added a couple yolks and some honey for flavour. Then I used about 3 cups of milk to bring the total volume to 1 liter. It was really good and quite honestly, any variation of cream/milk amounts would probably work. Just don’t use too much honey or it will actually be too sweet. I also made this with some added strawberries once and it was great, just substitute almond extract in place of vanilla for the best strawberry flavour.

2 egg yolks
1/2 cup raw cream
3 cups raw sheep milk
1/4-1/2 cup honey
1 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 cups whole strawberries, crushed (makes about 1/2 cup when crushed)

Mix all ingredients. Place in fridge for at least an hour. Process in an ice cream maker according to directions. Place in freezer to firm up if needed.

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Fudgesicles
I ended up just making the ice cream above, but with cocoa powder, less vanilla and only enough milk to make it enough to fill up the Popsicle molds. The second time I made this I ended up using more than 1/2 cup of cream and it was delicious. You can measure how much you need by filling each mold with water and pouring them into a measuring cup. These were a big hit, my first taste reminded me of the actual Fudgsicle brand ones from long ago.

In searching for a fudgesicle recipe online, I couldn’t find too many that used real ingredients. I don’t know how many I found using some kind of chocolate syrup, pudding mix, or powdered sugar. Kelly the Kitchen Kop has a great recipe up using yogurt which is very similar to what I ended up with and uses yogurt in place of fluid milk.

2 egg yolks
3/4 cup raw cream
4 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp sea salt

3/4 cup raw milk

Mix everything but the milk until well blended. An immersion blender or hand mixer works well, but a whisk can do the job too. Add enough milk to bring the volume of the mix up to what you need to fill your molds. Blend well. It’s ok if the texture appears grainy, we liked it like that best. Pour into molds and freeze.

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*This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop.

I felt like having some Indian style food today so I decided to make Tandoori chicken. Raman Prasad has a delicious recipe that I’ve made before, so I was going to again. I looked everywhere that I keep recipes (most jotted down on random scraps of paper) but it seems I never wrote it down. I don’t own any SCD recipe books so I turned to Google and searched for “SCD Tandoori”. And of course, my own blog comes up with my review of Raman Prasad’s version, no recipe. I checked a few others and they all use Garam Masala spice mix, which I didn’t have. So I just winged it.. and it turned out pretty good! I will definitely make it again and might change a few things. Looking at the one I made before, I think I used dripped yogurt and that’s why it looks less watery. I’ll update the recipe as I work through it. It’s pretty simple and if you’re missing any spices just add more of the ones you have. I think this is a recipe that is made differently in every kitchen.

Recipe in my Poultry section.

When I first started on SCD I didn’t actually eat that many vegetables. I found that if I had anything too fibrous it would cause stomach upset. I always tried to increase the amount I was eating but didn’t have any luck at all in the first year. If I could give anyone advice on SCD or GAPS it is to not worry too much about vegetables when just starting out. Eat as many as you can and choose organic only, but don’t force yourself to eat them if your digestive system can’t handle them. Focus on organ meats, broths and healthy fats to get your vitamins and minerals. That being said, vegetables are delicious and can add a lot of variety to your diet.

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Roasted Zucchini
This is my favorite vegetable dish. I usually roast this at the same time as potatoes for other family members.

2 large zucchini
rosemary
paprika
1 garlic clove, minced
sea salt and pepper
butter, at room temperature

Chop zucchini into 1″ chunks. Spread into a greased glass baking pan. Sprinkle with rosemary, paprika, garlic, salt and pepper. Dot with butter. Using hands, mix spices and butter into zucchini. Bake at 350F for 30-40 minutes or until soft in the center.

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Delicious Asparagus
This is so simple and yet so tasty. You have to get an unrefined coconut oil that has all the flavor in it. After trying asparagus with coconut oil, I’ll never cook it in any other oil again.

asparagus
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp sea salt

Sauté asparagus in coconut oil over medium heat. Cover while cooking to keep the moisture in and keep them from burning. Towards the end, add minced garlic and sea salt. Cook until asparagus is soft when pierced with a fork.

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Baked Squash
Any variety of squash can be baked. Butternut and buttercup squashes are sweeter. Pepper and acorn squashes are a bit less sweet and more fibrous texture. Spaghetti squash has less flavor and is more watery.

Cut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place cut-side down in a glass baking dish. Pour 1/2 “ of water into the dish. Bake at 400F for 50-60 minutes, until squash is soft. Spoon the squash into a dish and add butter and sea salt.

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Crockpot Butternut Squash
Place a whole butternut squash in a crockpot with about an inch of water in the bottom. Cook on low 4-6 hours, until you can easily pierce it with a fork.

Remove it from the crockpot carefully and let it cool enough to handle it. Cut in half and scoop out the seeds. Spoon the squash into a dish and add butter and sea salt.

It really is that simple!

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Sautéed Cherry Tomatoes
dozen or more cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp olive oil
1/t tsp each Italian spices (oregano, basil, sage, marjoram)
1/4 tsp sea salt

Sauté tomatoes in butter, vinegar and spices until they have softened. When done, drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Serve.

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Sautéed Greens
Any green leafy vegetable can be steamed or sautéed with garlic and butter. My favorites are fresh spinach and arugula. I also do beet greens, chard, and kale. If you aren’t doing butter, use coconut oil, ghee or any other fat for cooking and add olive oil only after cooking. Some greens like chard may seem bitter. Try adding a bit of lemon juice and even honey to flavor. Garlic can be added at any point but if added later will have a nice strong flavor.

Greens
1-2 tbsp Butter, ghee, coconut oil, lard or tallow
1 tbsp olive oil
garlic, chopped
½ tsp sea salt

Wash greens and roughly cut into large pieces (easiest way is to hold them as a bunch on a cutting board and slice through in a few spots). Chop up garlic and leave aside. Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Add wet chopped greens and sauté a couple minutes. Add garlic and finish cooking. Place in a dish, drizzle olive oil and sprinkle sea salt over top.

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Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
This is a common recipe for people following diets that don’t include potatoes. I was always skeptical of it until I finally tried it. It is delicious and so simple to make!

1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
¼ cup butter or ghee (use lots)
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp pepper

Steam the chopped cauliflower until soft, usually about 15-20 minutes. Place cauliflower into a pot, mixing bowl, or food processor, drained of water as well as you can. Add butter, salt and pepper. Blend using an immersion blender or food processor.

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Cauliflower Couscous
Cauliflower rice is another common recipe for grain-free diets that is meant to replace a staple. I found that if I thought of this more as a ‘couscous’ like dish then I was satisfied. It is definitely not like rice but is delicious anyway, and can be used just like leftover rice to do a ‘fried rice’ type of dish.

1 head cauliflower, grated
¼ cup butter, or more
1 tsp sea salt

Grate raw cauliflower or use a food processor. Basically the difference between this and the mashed potatoes is that you grate it first, and then cook it.

Melt butter in a pan over medium heat. Add cauliflower and stir/fold cauliflower while its cooking, for about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and serve.

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Pickled Beets
This is a good early stage SCD recipe that is useful to have on hand as a snack or to accompany a quick meal. I eat these cold and they keep quite well for at least 1 week in the fridge.

Beets
1 quart/liter Mason jar
Water
2 tbsp vinegar
2 tsp sea salt

Roughly chop beets and peel if preferred. Place in a pot and almost cover with water. Boil for 30 minutes or until soft. Let cool and transfer beets to a mason jar. Add all water you boiled them in. Add vinegar and sea salt. Add more water until beets are just covered in Mason jar. Cool in fridge.

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This post is a part of Real Food Wednesdays hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop. I have been participating in the Real Food Wednesdays, sharing recipes and seeing other bloggers’ recipes, hoping to get more inspiration for creating new dishes.

Ribs
Mmmm ribs. I always do ribs in the slow-cooker because they end up so tender.

1 rack of ribs
1 large onion
1 large carrot
2-3 large tomatoes, or can tomatoes or tomato paste + water
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 tbsp vinegar
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp honey

Chop onion and carrot and place in bottom of slow-cooker. Place rack of ribs in crockpot. Chop tomatoes and garlic and place on and around ribs. Pour vinegar and stock over ribs. Sprinkle all spices over ribs. Cook on low all day 9-10 hours. Drizzle honey just before serving.

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Honey Mustard Slow-cooked Chops
A good tomato-free recipe for pork.

2 lbs pork chops
1 large onion
8 oz baby bella mushrooms
1 stalk celery
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp white wine
1/2 cup broth
sea salt & pepper
honey to drizzle

Chop onion, mushrooms, celery and garlic and place in bottom of slow cooker. Place chops on top. Spread mustard over chops. Pour wine then broth over chops. Sprinkle to coat with salt & pepper. Cook on low all day or 9 hours. Serve each portion lightly drizzled with honey.

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Baked Tomato Pork Chops

My first attempt at cooking pork chops. Growing up we always had ham, so I really didn’t know what I was doing, but it turned out ok.

2 large pork chops
1/2 can tomatoes
1 tbsp vinegar
1/2 tbsp honey
sea salt

Place pork chops in a glass baking dish. Cover with tomatoes. Add vinegar and drizzle honey over top. Add sea salt if tomatoes didn’t have much salt. Bake at 375F for about 40 mins or until pork chops are done.

I didn’t always like lamb and in fact I still hate lamb from the grocery store. If you have ever tasted that ‘lamby’ taste, you know what I’m talking about. The first time I bought lamb from a local farmer at the farmer’s market I was surprised at how tender and delicious it was. I was also surprised at how easy it was on my stomach. This is definitely my choice of meat for anyone starting out SCD or dealing with flare-ups of symptoms. Just make sure you find the best source available. I hear that all New Zealand lamb sold in grocery stores is from pastured animals and probably tastes good too, but it is quite expensive.

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BBQ Lamb Chops
This is my favorite lamb recipe and can be used for BBQ Lamb Kebabs if you have kebab meat.

4-5 lamb chops
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 lemon juiced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp rosemary
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt

Combine all ingredients except meat in a bowl and mix together. Pour over meat and let marinate for 4-8 hours. Cook on the barbecue over low-medium heat.

Note: I do this often in the oven too especially during winter. Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes.

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Slow-cooker Tomato Lamb Stew
This one is my favorite go-to on a cold day. The tomato base just makes it such a wonderful comfort meal.

2 pounds lamb stew meat
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 onion
3-4 tomatoes or small bottle tomato paste
1 large zucchini, chopped into large chunks
2 carrots, chopped into large chunks
sprinkle rosemary
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp mustard powder
2 cloves garlic
salt & pepper

Place veggies in the bottom of slow-cooker. Place meat on top (no need to brown the meat). Sprinkle all spices evenly over meat. Add chicken stock or water. Cook on low all day (9-10 hours).

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Slow-cooker Basic Lamb Stew

1 pound lamb stew meat
1 cup mushrooms
1 cup carrots
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme

Cover the bottom of the slow-cooker with onion and garlic. Place carrots and mushrooms around edges. Place lamb in center. Pour chicken stock over. Cook on low all day (9-10 hours). In last 30 minutes add rosemary and thyme.

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Slow-cooker Lamb Curry
Oh this was good!

2 pounds lamb stew or kabobs
3/4 can tomatoes
1/3 cup SCD yogurt (I used half n’ half cream yogurt)
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger, grated
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp sea salt

Mix all ingredients in a slow-cooker. Cook on low all day (9-10 hours).

I really don’t like eating liver. I sit there just staring at it and working up the courage to take a bite. Then I have to wait until I forget how gross the last bite was before taking another. Sometimes I sit there all evening just to end up eating maybe 1/2 cup or so. Why do I torture myself eating it? Liver is the ONLY food that I can notice making a huge difference in my energy. If my muscles are sore or if I’m lacking energy, liver is almost an instant pick-me up. It also seems to help me sleep better.

From my hatred of liver has emerged an obsession with figuring out a recipe that I actually like. Well today’s attempt was not too bad and so I deem it good enough for the blog recipes . I made a pâté after reading many recipes online. Most recipes don’t include the onions in the actual pâté, but I love onions so they get thrown in. Anything to mask the liver flavor! Also I did not cook the onions very much, they ended up simmering for at most 5 minutes. Be generous with the onions and butter, and this recipe is quite good.

For this recipe, I did soak my liver for 6 hours in lemon juice. Then I rinsed/drained it before adding it to the saucepan. Still not sure if soaking makes a difference but it’s not hard to do. I also served it with cheese, because cheese makes everything better.

Liver Pâté with Cranberries

0.5 lbs (1 cup) liver
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
1 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 cup water

1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup dried cranberries, sweetened in apple juice or honey

Soak liver for 5+ hours in lemon juice. Rinse well.

Add liver, onion, bay leaf, white pepper and thyme to a saucepan with water. Cook at a simmer for a few minutes until liver is mostly cooked. Set aside and cool.

Add liver and onions to a blender or food processor. Add butter, salt and pepper and pulse until smooth. Mix in cranberries by hand.

Scoop into small dishes and cool in refrigerator. Serve on slices of cheese.

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If you’re interested in other “Real Food” ideas, check out Real Food Wednesdays this week hosted by Kelly the Kitchen Kop. Note that most of the participants do not follow SCD, but their ideas can really help inspire you to try creating new recipes.