Food

This is what my shopping cart looked like when I checked out at YDFM on Saturday morning.  I'll let you guess what all that cost, but suffice it to say, I will not need to shop for groceries (or wine) for awhile thanks to all of this and my weekly CSA goodies.  I should mention that I pray my freezer doesn't go out, because it's storing an awful lot of meat.

I made six jars of cucumbers this weekend, and I STILL have cucumbers left!  Anyone want some?  I should be getting more today.  Here's my pickle recipe... I actually measured ingredients, so this should be pretty accurate.  Of course, you can just cut everything down if you don't have several pounds of cucumbers.

Kristin's Paleo Garlic Dill Pickles
(makes 6 Ball jars)

• 3-4 lbs cucumbers (organic)
• 3-1/2 c distilled white vinegar
• 3-1/2 c water
• 6 tbsp coarse kosher salt
• 1 tbsp agave nectar
• 1-1/2 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1/2 tbsp Chinese Szechuan peppercorns
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (or 1 tsp dried mustard)
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• lots of fresh dill (organic)
• 8(ish) small cloves of garlic, sliced
• ~1/3 vidalia onion, sliced thinly

In a non-reactive pot, bring vinegar, water and remaining ingredients through dill to a boil until the salt dissolves (the mixture will be a little cloudy from the salt and mustard... that is okay).  Remove from heat and let cool.  Divide the garlic and onion evenly in each jar.  Put 1-2 (or more) sprigs of dill in each jar.  Slice cucumbers to desired thickness (I did 1/4"-1/3", you can also use small pickling cucumbers left whole, but they will require more time to pickle) and pack each jar full.  Once pickling liquid is cool (or at least luke warm), pour into jars.  Seal jars and refrigerate.  You should be able to enjoy yummy pickles within 24 hours!

Notes: I like a vinegar-y pickle with lots of dill flavor and a little spice.  Experiment and adjust accordingly.  I've read something about letting your cucumbers "rest" with salt for a few hours to remove some of the liquid... sounds like a good idea but I didn't do that and my pickles were still crunchy.

We had some nice bell peppers from the CSA, so I decided to make stuffed peppers last night.  I've never made them before, so I checked out a few recipes online just to see how you cook them and then made up my own recipe.  It was tasty, if I do say so myself (and, I do)!

Kristin's Paleo Stuffed Peppers
(serves 4+)

• 4 bell peppers (organic)
• 1 lb ground beef (grass fed)
• ~2/3 vidalia onion, finely diced (I just used what I had left from my pickles... you can use a whole one)
• garlic (to taste, 4+ large cloves), minced
• 15 oz can tomato sauce (organic)
• herbs of choice (I used dried basil, bouquet garni and red pepper flakes)
• 1 large zucchini, coarsley grated
• fresh parsley, coarsley chopped (organic)
• freshly grated parmesan (optional)

In a pot big enough to fit the bell peppers standing up (but not so big they fall over), heat EVOO over medium and add half of the garlic and onion.  Saute until tender.  Add tomato sauce, salt, pepper and herbs to taste (you're just making a quick marinara).  Reduce hit to low and let simmer.

Preheat oven to 400.  Meanwhile, cut tops off bell peppers and remove ribs and seeds from inside pepper.  Remove stems from the tops and dice what's left.  Heat a saute pan with EVOO over medium heat and saute onions, diced bell pepper and garlic until tender.  Remove from pan and add ground beef.  Cook until done and drain fat.  Add the sauteed veggies, zucchini, parsley, about 1/4-1/2 cup marinara, and parmesan (optional), salt and pepper to taste to meat and mix well.  Fill bell peppers with meat mixture and place upright in the pot with the remaining marinara.  Cover and cook until peppers are tender, about 20-30 minutes.  Serve with the marinara.  (I also served this with a Greek style cucumber and tomato salad.)

Notes: This isn't a super quick meal, but it was maybe 30 minutes of hands on time and then 20-30 minutes in the oven.  You can obviously cook the peppers in a different pan if you don't have an oven proof pot, but I just like to use as few dishes as humanly possible to keep clean up at a minimum.
Enjoy!