Experiments in Paleo: Cauliflower Curry Soup

A couple of weeks ago I was the sickest I've been with stomach issues since moving to India, and I've found that I feel better when I cut out certain foods. For the last few months I was a little lax sticking to paleo (read: too lazy to cook something separate for myself); however, I still managed to follow the gist of it, mostly. I was never on the hardcore paleo bandwagon, I just can't bring myself to cut out dairy, and I really don't understand why I should as long as the products I'm eating are not overly processed. Did our ancestors not have cows to milk? I'm pretty sure Indians have had yogurt since the beginning of time. Also, cheese. The main takeaway on dairy for me is that I'm choosing fresh cheeses rather than mass produced, processed cheeses that seem to stay "fresh" regardless of how long they sit in the fridge. I continue to steer clear of sugars (pretty easy for me considering how sickly sweet I find most Indian desserts), but I did allow some of the grains I so love back in my life. I even ate pasta one day and it was glorious. However, instead of slipping back into old habits, I maintained a healthier relationship with them, and instead of having the ever-present Basmati rice on a daily basis, I chose gluten-free parathas or rotis instead. I did allow myself some toast or crackers with tea or a sandwich on occasion, but bread is no longer part of my daily diet. In an effort to get back on the paleo wagon properly, I am kicking February off with another cauliflower creation.

I found this recipe for "Easy Curried Cauliflower Soup" on the All Recipes app last month when my friend was in town visiting. We gave it a shot with a few modifications and it turned out delicious. As winter is ending, but there's still a bit of chill in the air, I thought I'd make this for dinner tonight before it gets too hot to properly enjoy.

Cauliflower Curry Soup

1 tbsp ghee
1 red or yellow capsicum/bell pepper
1 red onion
3 carrots
garlic cloves (to taste)
1 head of cauliflower
32 fl. oz. vegetable broth or chicken stock
~2 tbsp yellow curry powder (or to taste)
~1 tsp cayenne pepper (to taste)
Salt and ground black pepper (to taste)
Cream/sour cream/yogurt (to taste)
Parsley/cilantro (to garnish)

Experiments in Paleo meets Tex Mex

It has a long way to go but at least it finally sprouted!

If you know me, you know that I heart Tex Mex. Fortunately a lot of the ingredients found here in India lend themselves to the Tex Mex cuisine. Confusingly though, avocados are not as popular here and are insanely expensive. They went from being about 25 cents apiece in Kenya to 5 dollars a pop here. It's a travesty; I'm attempting to grow my own avocado tree in rebellion. 

Despite the ridiculous prices, I occasionally splurge and indulge on my favorite fruit. This was one of those days. Since I'm off bread, my favorite avocado toast was out so I decided to make a chicken avocado tortilla soup sans the tortillas. I adapted a few recipes to suit my tastes and pantry; original recipes found here, here, and here.

1 1/2 tbsp ghee
1 red onion
8 cloves of garlic
1 kg chicken mince  
6 c chicken broth
1 tsp Tabasco® sauce
4 jalapeño peppers 
1 tomato, seeded
1/4 c fresh coriander (cilantro) 
1 avocado
1 large lemon/lime
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt and black pepper (to taste)

Experiments in Paleo: Cauliflower Omelet

This is another recipe I found in the cookbook I mentioned in my last post. You can find the original recipe online here. Whole Foods also has a cheesy alternative here. 

Photo credit (Mine did not look this perfect)

Ijjit Qarnabit

4-5 eggs
1 tbsp ghee 
3/4 c coconut milk
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 cups raw cauliflower, grated
1/3 c onion, chopped
1/2 c parsley, chopped
salt and black pepper (to taste)

Experiments in Paleo: Zucchini Hummus

In my ongoing experiment with the fad of eating like our ancestors (only healthier) I found a great online resource with Chris Kresser. Now, I'm not granola-y and am more than a bit wary about health claims that link every disease or mental illness solely to nutrition, but eating healthier can't hurt and if you sign up on his site you can download his recipe e-book for free. This is where I discovered paleo hummus. I LOVE hummus so I had to try this recipe sans my beloved chickpeas. It's tweaked a bit to suit my tastes (e.g. extra garlic & lemon).

Before you can make "hummus" you need tahini. Here's how I make my fresh tahini.

Experiments in Paleo

As part of my foodie adventure, I am always up for trying something new (and weight loss friendly!). When a friend mentioned to me that she recently switched to a paleo-inspired diet and was able to re-adjust to life without carbs fairly quickly I figured why not give it a try for a couple of weeks and see how it goes. After quite a bit of googling and reading, it sounds like a pretty simple diet for us since we already don't eat packaged food and have access to inexpensive farm fresh vegetables and meat. From what I can tell, we need to switch to more healthy fats and up our protein and vegetable intake. Fortunately, we live in the land of ghee so cooking with clarified butter is not a problem and olive oil isn't blacklisted. Reducing fruits might be more of challenge, but substituting antioxidant-rich berries and low-fat nuts should help with the transition. The main challenge, I think, will be cutting out the grains and legumes. Since we eat a lot of bread, pasta, rotis, rice, and daals, the first order of business was to find some satisfactory alternatives. Fortunately, I found quite a few rice and flour substitutes.

Tonight I'm trying out a recipe for cauliflower rice and pairing it with grilled chicken.

Southern Delights: Hungry Expat's Yellow Potato Salad

Photo credit

I love Indian food (probably because I don't have to cook it), but I was craving something different for dinner and decided to make some potato salad. This is a conglomeration (like most of my recipes) of several different versions of this dish. Hard boiled eggs are a staple in most southern recipes, but if you aren't feelin' them they are definitely not required. I'm used to my mom's recipe which uses more mustard than most so you can also cut back on that, depending on your tastes. 

Savoury Samplers: Hungry Expat's Egg Salad

My favorite egg salad is a spin on the traditional and combines ingredients from a few different recipes.

Egg salad sandwich

Ingredients:

8 eggs 

2 medium red onion

1/4 c prepared mustard or 1 1/2 tbsp whole-grain mustard

1/2 c mayonnaise*

1 1/2 tbsp dill

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp paprika 

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 stalk of celery (optional)

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Izu Authentic Japanese Restaurant

After a morning of pampering at a coffee spa day morning at Levo spalon, the girls and I headed next door to run a few errands at South Point. While there we decided to grab a bite from somewhere different and headed over to a little Japanese place we'd seen hiding in plain sight on the 2^nd floor. It’s definitely an unassuming hole in the wall, but, like its name claims, it’s authentic from the seating to the food. There’s not much in the way of ambiance, it actually reminded me of quite a few hidden Ethiopian gems from Nairobi with its mounted flat screen showing terrible soap operas.

Photo credit

Beat the Heat: Hungry Expat's G&T

It is a curious fact, and one to which no one knows quite how much importance to attach, that something like 85% of all known worlds in the Galaxy, be they primitive or highly advanced, have invented a drink called jynnan tonyx, or gee-N'N-T'N-ix, or jinond-o-nicks, or any one of a thousand or more variations on the same phonetic theme. The drinks themselves are not the same, and vary between the Sivolvian ‘chinanto/mnigs’ which is ordinary water served at slightly above room temperature, and the Gagrakackan 'tzjin-anthony-ks’ which kills cows at a hundred paces; and in fact the one common factor between all of them, beyond the fact that their names sound the same, is that they were all invented and named before the worlds concerned made contact with any other worlds. –Douglas Adams, Restaurant at the End of the Universe

Fat Lulu's Cafe and Bar

Ending up at Fat Lulu’s for lunch was a fluke; we fully intended to gorge ourselves at the well-known boulangerie, Di Ghent, only to be reminded it was closed on Tuesdays. Swallowing our disappointment, we dutifully checked Zomato to see what other options happened to be in the vicinity and decided to meet at Fat Lulu’s Crosspoint Mall location instead. 

Ladies who lunch