Smoky Chocolate Bison Stew

I made this up more than a week ago so the amounts are approximate. I'll do it again soon and refine it a bit, but it was really good.

1 1/2 lbs bison stew meat
1 bottle Phillip's Double Chocolate Porter
1/2 onion
2-3 carrots
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
salt
pepper
flour
3-4 strips bacon
1 tsp honey

Season flour. Dice bacon & onions and cook gently until browned in a stew pot. Remove bacon & onions from pot but leave all the fat. Toss the meat in the seasoned flour and brown meat. Add carrots & stir around, add the bacon & onions back in, then pour in the beer until the meat & veg are covered. Add paprika and honey, stir around a bit, cover and simmer 2-3 hours.

Everyone needs another ground beef recipe

I can't take credit for this one - it was posted on MDC following a request for ground beef recipes. It's pretty awesome, but if you're making it for your toddler, go WAY easy on the curry paste. (oops)

Thai-style Lettuce Wraps

1 T coconut oil
1 c thinly sliced shallots
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 t to 1 T red curry paste
1 c tomato sauce
1/2 c coconut milk
2 T lime juice
1 T sucanat/rapadura/brown sugar
2 T fish sauce
hot cooked rice (brown jasmine or basmati)
2 thinly sliced scallions
1 c roughly chopped cilantro
pliable lettuce leaves for serving

Heat oil in pan till melted, add shallots and saute about 5 minutes. Add garlic, and saute for 1 minute. Add beef and cook until browned and crumbled.Stir in curry paste, tomato sauce, coconut milk, lime juice, sucanat/rapadura, and fish sauce. Cook for another 4-5 minutes until thickened. Scoop meat mixture and rice into a lettuce leaf and sprinkle with scallions and cilantro. Fold in short edges of lettuce and roll up in a neat bundle.

Time to resurrect the BLOG!!!!

Well, sorry I took such a long hiatus from the blog. I was taking a hiatus from a real interest in food. I was eating too much of it, but not that interested in it. If that makes any sense. Anyhow, I have been doing some reading and getting back my interest in nutrition and whatnot, and I have discovered (rediscovered) a bunch of stuff, which I will muse on in later posts when I don't have an actual recipe. But today I have a recipe, which I will preface by saying is the BEST way to get a nutritious breakfast every day with hardly any effort at all. You make this on the weekend, and you can cut a slice for breakfast, nuke it and eat it with cream, or just have it cold in the car on the way to work. It's good either way.

Baked Oatmeal (It turns out like an oatmeal cake.)

1/2 cup oil or butter (I use coconut oil because it adds a nice flavour and it's so good for you)
1/4 - 1/2 cup honey
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cup oatmeal (Scottish Oatmeal or steelcut oats work best)
1/2 cup rye flour or whole wheat flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins or chopped dates
2 tbsp brown sugar or sucanat (unrefined evaporated cane juice)

Combine all the ingredients more or less in the order they're listed except the brown sugar/sucanat. If you're using a solid oil like butter or coconut oil, it's best to have all your ingredients at room temperature, otherwise it's hard to mix. Pour into a greased cake tin, cover with plastic wrap and leave in the fridge overnight. Next morning, sprinkle the brown sugar/sucanat over the top and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. It'll be crumbly when it first comes out, but if you let it cool and keep it in the fridge, it's easy to slice pieces.

The rye or wheat flour is technically optional. You could use another 1/2 cup of oats instead, but oatmeal needs another grain to soak with to break down the phytates in it so you can absorb more of the minerals. (I'll blather on about that in another post, don't worry.)