Fermented Sweet Vidalia Onion Dressing

what you need:

• 1 medium vidalia onion (mine weighed 9.25 ounces peeled)
• 3/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup kombucha
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 20 grinds black peppercorns
• 2 gloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon gelatin (I used Great Lakes)

what you do:

Place all ingredients in blender. I have an Omniblend but any blender will do. Blend until all ingredients are liquified and well blended. Let sit at room temperature for 5 to 6 hours then place in refrigerator. Sweet goodness without using honey or any kind of sweetener. You could use apple cider vinegar in place of Kombucha but you would need to move it to the fridge right away and it would not be fermented.

Use on salads or as a dip.

Guten Appetit!

Pork Cilantro Sliders

what you need:

• 20 oz ground pork (or any ground meat/poultry)
• 2 to 3 small scallions
• 1/2 to 1 bunch cilantro, stems removed
• 1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon Celtic sea salt (I love salt so you may want to start with 1/2 teaspoon)
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon Ancho chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 jalapeno pepper (optional)
• 2 egg yolks or 1 whole egg
• 1 tablespoon coconut flour (optional)

what you do:

Chop scallions, cilantro leaves, and jalapeno, if used, in a mini chopper to desired size.

Mix all ingredients really well. Form sliders (small burgers - roughly 2 oz each), fry in cast iron skillet or whatever you prefer, until cooked all the way through. That's it.

I ate them with some left over cabbage I had sauteed in tallow and homemade sauerkraut. However, I bet they would go great with with Cuban Style "Rice" or on Grain-Free Hamburger Buns. You could also make them smaller, stick a toothpick in them, and serve as an appetizer with some kind of sauce.

Guten Appetit!

This post is shared on Monday Mania.

Coconut-Lime Avocado Creme

I love avocados and usually buy a net of 5 or 6 of them at Costco. They are the best avocados I have eaten so far and they are usually less expensive than at other grocery stores. Since I can't eat all of them before they go bad, although I buy them almost green, I usually mash them with a little bit of lime juice and salt, divide into glass jars, and freeze them.

While I am not crazy about lime or lemon in general, I do love the taste of this avocado mash. Sometimes I just eat it as is (after defrosting), and other times I add salsa and/or cilantro to make something more like guacamole. Today as I was mashing my avocados I was thinking it would be nice to have a thicker, more firm consistency so I came up with this very simple recipe.

what you need:

• 5 oz avocado (peeled and deseeded - roughly 1 medium)
• 1/2 tablespoon lime juice or lemon juice (just enough to keep it from turning brown but you can use more if you like the taste of lime/lemon)
• salt to taste (I just sprinkled some Himalayan sea salt on it)
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted or very soft (I buy Nutiva)

what you do:

Place all ingredients in chopper and grind/puree until all ingredients are mixed well. I did not leave any chunks of avocado and the consistency was smooth and creamy although the coconut oil was starting to firm up with the cold avocado. 

Move to a bowl or storage container and refrigerate at least one hour. The consistency is now much firmer and it has a light coconutty taste to it which I love.

This post was shared on Freaky Friday, Sunday School Blog Carnival, Monday Mania, Fat Tuesday, and Whole New Mom.

Coconut Chicken Muffins

• 4 ounces zucchini, peeled
• 3 ounces onion
• 1 green onion
• 5 ounces chicken breast, cooked
• 2  eggs
• 3 tablespoons coconut flour
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt
• 10 grinds black pepper corns
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda (optional)
• a few sprinkles each rosemary, basil, paprika, and garlic powder

I used grilled chicken breast that we had marinated in our Latin Kisses marinate, but any cooked chicken would work. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Steam or boil veggies until slightly soft. Mix all ingredients in food processor until well blended.

Grease muffin tin or line with paper muffin cups. Divide batter evenly into 9 muffin cups.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown on top. Enjoy!

Posting this on Real Food Forager today.

Latin Kisses

We love these and make them frequently.

• 16 large shrimp , peeled and deveined
• ½  cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ginger, grated (or 1/4 tsp ginger powder)
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup cilantro leaves (loose)
• 1/4 teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon tumeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika powder
• 1 lime (1/2 medium or 1 large)
• 1 – 2 jalapenos
• 8 slices bacon, thick cut (slightly cooked)

Mix olive oil with spices and lime juice, puree in a food processor, and marinate shrimp in mixture for 3 to 4 hours, longer if desired. 

About 30 minutes prior to when you want to eat, slightly cook the bacon. I normally don't use the microwave, but for this recipe I arrange the bacon on a plate and put it in the microwave for 1 to 1 1/2 minutes.

Next slice the back of each shrimp, cut jalapenos in slices length-wise about 1/8th inch thick and place in back of shrimp, wrap 1/2 slice of bacon around shrimp and put on a skewer. 

 When all the shrimp has been skewered, grill until done basting with leftover marinade.

DH likes to dip them in creamy jalapeno dressing. I sometimes dip them in homemade mayonnaise, bacon fat, other animal fat, coconut oil, or nothing at all. Either way they are delicious.

Beef Liver Pate with Beef Heart (Dairy Free)

I love liverwurst but most store bought brands have ingredients I cannot yet tolerate. So I decided to make my own, or something like Pate, and use up some of the beef liver and heart Tracy Monday from Laurel Creek Meats in Knoxville gave me free. This is my second try - it's good IMO but I will probably experiment some more. I am using pork fat in this one since I can't have butter yet and it has a softer consistency than tallow. For people who do not like salt this recipe may be a bit salty.

Beef Liver Pate with Beef Heart (Dairy Free)

• 500 grams grass-fed beef liver
• 250 grams grass-fed beef heart
• 190 grams grass-fed ground beef
• 190 grams lard
• 2 tablespoons celtic sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper (15 grinds roughly)
• 1 teaspoon basil
• ¼ teaspoon ginger
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon thyme
• ½ teaspoon sage
• 1 cup beef broth (from boiled liver/heart/ground)

Bring heart to a boil, remove foam, then reduce heat and simmer for about 2 hours (or until tender). In a separate pot, bring liver/ground to a boil, remove foam, reduce heat then simmer about 20 minutes (or until tender). Save broth from both. Place meat, fat, broth, and spices in food processor and process until smooth (or desired consistency). Place in fridge. Enjoy!

You can freeze the rest of the broth to use in other recipes.