Pumpkin Tilapia Curry

This dish was originally inspired by a Bon Appétit magazine recipe for pumpkin shrimp curry, but I used tilapia instead. I fried chopped garlic, ginger, and a yellow onion in olive oil and then added a can of pumpkin puree, five tilapia fillets, a head of cauliflower, a couple spoonfuls of Little India's curry powder, and about half a cup of water. Again, not 100% primal, but in these twilight November afternoons it's hard to resist the $.89 cans of pumpkin puree at Aldi... Anyway, I covered the pan and simmered it for about a twenty minutes to a half hour and then added half a can of coconut cream and cayenne pepper. I served it with scallions and lime wedges. I have to say, this was one of my tastiest creations to date; the fish, pumpkin, coconut cream, and curry flavors blend oh so well.

Tilapia & Salsa

It has been a couple years now that I have been making this salsa, originally inspired by the salsas I get on my Chipotle burrito. This round I diced up four medium sized tomatoes, two green peppers, about six jalapeños, a large yellow onion and mixed in a can of corn, a handful of chopped cilantro, the juice from two limes, and a can of pinto beans. Technically not primal, but I feel like pinto beans aren't the worst of splurges? This amount of ingredients fills up a one gallon ziplock tub to the brim; I'll be bringing this guy to food-related events for the next week or so. I then fried two tilapia fillets in butter, seasoning them with plenty of dill and a dash of salt, and then added a scoop of salsa. Probably more suited for a summer evening, this was the perfect meal combined with a simple salad (romaine with parmesan, scallions, and Carolyn's tahini tartar sauce).

Chicken "Pad Thai"

I wanted to make pad thai, but needed a substitute for the noodles so I thought why not broccoli? I cooked a chicken in the crock pot and used the breasts for this dish and the rest for a pretty standard (but tasty) curry. No fat wasted! I cut the breasts in small pieces and fried them in butter, garlic, and a little bit of sesame oil along with four eggs. Later on I added a mixture of water, tamarind paste, fish sauce, and peanut butter (so technically not primal, but the peanut butter was natural and free of sugar and vegetable oils?). I then added some thin-cut carrots, ginger, and broccoli and let it cook for about ten minutes before adding sprouts and the juice of a lime at the end. I went a little too crazy with the tamarind paste, so the end result was a little more tart than I would have liked. Still a great experiment! A little bit of cilantro would fit right in with this flavor combination. Give me another try and I'll have it down.