Category: Glimpses of Life

This Roasted Parsnip Pear Soup has two of my favorite ingredients. Can you guess what they are?  (laughing)  You’d be right if you guessed parsnips and pears.

Although I love pears, they don’t like me very much. It’s not the pear really — it’s the pesticide they use on the pear. I can scrub the pear well, peel it and still have a tingly feeling on my tongue.

This time what I experienced was a tad different.  I actually had bumps that came out on my hand from handling the pear. Isn’t that odd? Here’s what it looked like:

You’re probably wondering why I’m making a recipe with pears if I’m allergic to the pesticide they put on them, right? Well, I have found that when the pear is cooked it doesn’t bother me. Another odd thing, no?

This soup was a surprise in some ways and not so much in another.  First, my husband did NOT like it. He’s not a fan of creamy type soups anyway and this one looks like Farina/Cream of Wheat. It also has the same texture and came out very very thick. I added some light coconut milk to make it creamier and that seemed to work well.

So — here’s what you’ll be needing (olive oil, salt, pepper and coconut milk not shown):

You’ll be preparing your vegetables …

After chopping the onions you’ll be putting them in a pot with a little bit of olive oil and cooking them until they are clear.

After preparing the pears and parsnips, you’ll be adding them, along with everything else, into your large pot.

You’ll also need to caramalize your nuts — I used pecans.

Let’s get started on this, shall we?

Ingredients

• 1 lb. parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 4 ripe pears, peeled, cored and chopped
• Olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups vegetable bouillon
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon sage
• Cinnamon
• Salt
• Pepper

Ingredients for the caramelized pecans

• 3/4 cup pecans, chopped
• 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit.
2. Place the prepared parsnips and pears in an oven-proof baking dish.
3. Drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and toss well to evenly coat.
4. Place the baking dish in the oven15 minutes to roast the parsnips and pears.
5. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large soup pot and add the onion.
6. Sauté the onion until its soft and clear.
7. Add the vegetable bouillon and stir to mix.
8. When the pears and parsnips have roasted, add them to the vegetable bouillon in the soup pot.
9. Add the rosemary, sage and cinnamon to the soup.
10. Allow everything to cook together until the parsnips are soft.
11. When the parsnips are soft, puree the soup in a blender to a creamy mixture.
12. Prepare the caramelized/candied pecans. Click here for instructions on how to do that (very simple).
13. Season with salt and pepper.
14. Serve the soup with some caramelized pecans on top — a nice touch!.

The soup was not bad — not scrumptious but not bad. It was “heavy” in the belly. Next time I would strain the soup to make it more liquid-y and I wouldn’t serve it as the main dish but as a side to another dish.

If you decide to try it, let me know if you make any adaptations. I did adapt the original recipe, i.e. didn’t use white wine, used pecans instead of walnuts and added a wee bit of coconut milk.

And this is the final product … (I took the picture late in the evening so the natural light was all gone — thus the strange lighting.)

Served with a salad, this would make a nice light lunch or dinner.

I bought a large container of tomatoes because they were on sale and then got home and thought “What do I do with a bunch of tomatoes?”

Some of my options were –

• Slice them and eat them raw
• Slice them and add them to a salad
• Make a stir fry and include them in it
• Make homemade salsa
• Make homemade spaghetti sauce

All of those options were good but instead, I decided to bake them as a side dish. And, they came out pretty good.

The recipe calls for aged grated parmesan cheese which is not really paleo but more primal (the primal diet allows cheese). It’s quite interesting reading about the difference between the paleolithic diet and the primal diet. There are so many opinions and variations on these diets — it’s enough to make your head spin.

Despite this, I’m putting this recipe under the paleo category and you can choose whether to add the cheese or not —

First, you’ll need a few ingredients …

Next, you’ll be combining the oregano, cheese, salt and pepper. It will look like this …

You can use basil (dried or freshly chopped) or any other herb you like.

Next, you’ll be slicing your tomatoes lengthwise and putting some of your herb mixture on top of each tomato. Then you’ll be pouring a little bit of olive oil over the tomato halves.

Next they’ll go in the oven … Are you ready to try it?

Ingredients

• 4 large oblong-shaped tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
• 1 teaspoon oregano (I used dried)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated aged parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Ground pepper
• 4 teaspoons extra virgen olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450° Fahrenheit
2. Place tomatoes cut-side up on a baking sheet
3. In a small bowl, combine the oregano, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper
4. Top the tomatoes with the herb/cheese mixture
5. Drizzle the olive oil on top of the herb/cheese mixture
6. Bake the tomatoes until they are tender, about 15 minutes (but set your timer for 5 minutes earlier in case they get done sooner)

And that is pretty much it. They are juicy and great tasting!

This recipe was adapted a tad from Food.com.

I just had to share this paleo Avocado Ranch Dressing with you as it’s so easy to make and goes with any salad.

Here are the ingredients. I used dill seed instead of the fresh dill that the original recipe calls for, however, next time I’ll use fresh dill as I believe it will give it a stronger flavor.  (Olive Oil not shown)

Ingredients

• 1 ripe avocado
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dill seed or 2 Tablespoons fresh dill
• 2 Tablespoons fresh chives
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. In a blender or food processor, pulse the avocados.
2. Add the remaining ingredients then pulse to combine it all.
3. Puree everything until its smooth.
4. Store it in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to 2 weeks.

The dressing came out quite thick so I adapted it by adding 2 tablespoons olive oil and then it was “pourable.”

This recipe will work on top of any salad and I also found that I can use it when making tuna salad, chicken salad, etc.

Special thanks to tgipaleo for this recipe!

For the new year I’m planning on making more salads.  Why, you ask?

Because I really enjoy them! This Red Cabbage Salad with Pears and Walnuts was simply scrumptious.  I know, I know — red cabbage!! It’s true though. The salad tasted great without the usual salad fare such as lettuce or spinach.

In addition to not being disappointed with this salad, you’ll probably be one of the first on your block who makes something out of the ordinary. Hey! That means you’ll be just like me!  (laughing)

Seriously though — I really did like this salad.

So — here are the key ingredients …

The original recipe called for grape seed oil. You won’t see that in the picture above because I decided to substitute the grape seed oil with a Basil and Sun Dried Tomato Olive Oil — it’s what I had in the cupboard and I thought it would work fine (and it did).

I also decided to make my own pomegranate syrup which was easy peasy.  (I know, I know, there is no such word as peasy but it always rhymes well …)

Anyway — let’s get to making this salad which is also paleo, shall we?

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil (or Basil & Sun Dried Tomato Oil if you can find it)
• 2 teaspoons pomegranate syrup (see directions below to make this)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 head red cabbage, cut in half, cored, and very thinly sliced (4 cups)
• 1 pear, cored and sliced
• 1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion

Ingredients for Pomegranate Syrup

• 1 cup (8 ounces) pomegranate juice
• 2 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup
• 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Directions

1. Whisk the vinegar, oil, pomegranate syrup, and mustard in a small bowl then set this aside.
2. Toss the cabbage, pear slices, walnuts, and red onion in a serving bowl.
3. Serve the dressing on the side or (if you’re sure all of this salad will be eaten at once) toss the salad with the dressing.

To make the pomegranate syrup:

1. Simmer 1 cup of pomegranate juice with 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and 1 Tablespoon lemon juice over medium heat for approximately 1 hour until it becomes thick.

That’s it!  Enjoy!