tonight's meal was a colombian style "carne bistec" with potato salad. yes. meat and potatoes again. but omg, so good. ok.....first the potato salad. yukon potatoes boiled then diced and tossed with chopped scallion, celery, hard boiled egg and bacon. mmmmmmm bacon. then bound together with olive oil mayo, cider vinegar, salt, pepper and a healthy dose of ranch seasoning. this may be the best potato salad i've ever made. ever.
for the carne bistec, i flash fried thinly slices of sirloin in the rendered fat from the bacon used in the potato salad. waste not, want not! then i set the steak aside and browned sliced onions in the pan juices. after the onions were translucent i threw in a handful (about 4) of sliced fresh tomatoes and a liberal amount of seasonings (salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic power). i added the steak back in, reduced the heat to low, and let everything simmer for almost two hours. the house smelled AMAZING. and now i know what whole30 comfort food is. this meal. it will happen again. and often.
tonight was tricky, my first time eating out while on this plan. my sister and her husband are in town, and we wanted to treat them to a belated birthday dinner. we went to a local seafood restaurant, duke's, for a delicious meal. luckily finding something reasonable wasn't too tricky. they offer a blackened salmon cobb salad. remove the bleu cheese? and it's compliant! tasty too.
i found some lovely mahi mahi steaks at the store today. i marinated them with some minced ginger, garlic, salt, pepper, balsamic and olive oil. then pan seared them for just a few minutes on each side. the flavor was delicious! very asian inspired flavors. for sides i made some roasted tomatoes and mashed cauliflower, two low carb staples that are always welcome on the plate.
i was so pleased with the plantains last week, they had to make another appearance this week. served along side one of the easiest meals imaginable. slow cooker pulled chicken salsa verde. i wasn't ambitious enough to make my own salsa, this was store bought (yes i read the label carefully). and a bright salad of tomatoes, mangoes, avocados and cilantro. i've been relying heavily on meals inspired by central and latin american cuisine the last two weeks. the complex spices and flavors make up for the lost calories!
the star of tonight's dish was the spicy and smoky chipotle pepper. pan seared pork chops smothered in a thick and creamy chipotle sauce on a bed of mashed sweet potatoes (also flavored with chipotles and adobo). the sauce was pureed chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, lime juice, coconut milk, cilantro and just a bit of mayo. with the heat of this dish, the mango avocado salad left over from last night made for a perfect side to cool the heat of these peppers. these flavors married together wonderfully. and according to tony, this dish has received the highest marks of our whole30 venture yet!
tonight i took a break from the latin flavors, and crossed the culinary work to india! chicken tikka masala is typically slow cooked in a sauce made from tomatoes, spices and cream, but for tonight's variation i replaced the heavy cream with coconut milk. and instead of the usual rice as a side dish, i used riced cauliflower. and a beautiful side of grilled veggies.
an easy go-to lunch for this week was a chef's salad (sans cheese). a bed of fresh greens heavily laden with tomatoes, carrots and onion. topped with roasted turkey, a hard boiled egg and a drizzle of ranch dressing. i never thought i would say this, but i didn't miss the cheese!
if you've read any of my previous posts, you'll know i have a deep and abiding love for the fritter. as my search for new and interesting breakfasts continues, of course i must explore the fritter avenue! for a start to a leisurely weekend morning, i made some glorious fritters out of mashed sweet potato, bacon, scallion, beaten egg and a little almond flour. very filling. and extremely tasty! i'm thinking for a future dinner these would be the perfect vehicle for pulled pork.......
the autumn season is rapidly approaching, and with it, the coffee shops and stores are filling with all things "pumpkin spice". pumpkins are 100% kosher on this plan. so i had to get a little creative on how to utilize them for a morning treat. behold the whole30 pumpkin "muffin". now to be honest, this is really more of a "custard" or even a "mousse". just in a muffin cup. but still, an nice change way to stay out of the boring breakfast rut! they're made with pumpkin puree, beaten egg, almond flour, cinnamon and a little baking powder (for rise). i have no idea if baking powder is allowed or not. and i didn't want to check for fear of losing out on my pumpkin fix!
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