Paleo Pasta

Here’s what you do:

Take one of our pizza mixes (or two or three), mix it up according to the instructions. When it comes time for toppings:

No sauce for this one…leave it plain. Top with sliced pears, plenty of gorgonzola or blue cheese and throw back into the oven until the cheese is nice and melty. Take it out of the oven and quickly add a heaping mound of arugula, sprinkle on some walnuts, add some prosciutto and finish it off with a drizzle of olive oil & balsamic vinegar. Mmm, so good! Now my mouth is watering…I think it’s time for lunch!

(Also…beets would be awesome in place of the pears!)

Chef Rachel at the Healthy Cooking Coach is hosting a giveaway of Paleo Pasta! Head over there to enter for your chance to win a sample four pack!

Chef Rachel, who makes fantastic things on a regular basis, was kind enough to try out Paleo Pasta. We highly recommend checking out her site, as she has tons of experience, and tons of helpful stuff — books, menu plans, the works. And if you’re in Tempe or Phoenix, Arizona, she runs cooking classes too!

Yay! We are FINALLY available in Australia through the great guys over at Paleosnacks! So for all you Australian peeps who want to try Paleo Pasta, head on over to Paleosnacks and say hi.

More recipes to follow, guys…

Caveman Greg over at Paleo Diet and Living reviewed our Spinach Paleo Pasta! A little while ago we sent him some samples of our Paleo Pasta, and while he was ambivalent about the concept of a paleo pasta product, he’s an open-minded dude, and he agreed to try it. And he likes it!

Greg kinda touches on some of the reasons we decided to make Paleo Pasta in the first place - besides not being satisfied with available gluten free products, we wanted something easy, convenient, and nutritious. And we just missed pasta. It was hard to switch to the paleo diet, and when work and life got in the way of pre-planning and cooking fresh meals…well, we wanted a healthy alternative for those times. 

And sometimes, if you work out (or do totally gonzo 24 bike races like Greg), some good carbs with some good fats and some good protein and fiber…these are nice things.

Anyway, Greg’s got a lot of super helpful resources over at his place. One of my favorite posts of his is this really common sense, practical article about how to start the paleo diet. When I saw it I had one of those “duh” moments — it’s clearly something simple and necessary, and Greg’s is a pretty awesome step by step post. I think his site is incredibly helpful, and well worth a look.

 Yay!

I am pretty excited to be able to write this recipe. Actually, I am pretty excited to be able to eat kugel again. I was always pretty fond of noodles, generally, but for some reason, kugel…I enjoy kugel. 

Personally, I’m partial to the sweet, dairy kugel, which is what I’m gonna write up today (with possible dairy substitutes for people who don’t do dairy), but there’s also savory kugel! With onions. And stuff? That is for later in the week! Anyway, I actually think Paleo Pasta Gluten Free Sweet Kugel (TM! No not really) is better than kugel made with gluteny noodles, because the sweet nuttiness of the almond flour is actually a better flavor pairing. That sounds fancy, right? But it’s just good.

Also, apparently “kugel” is German for “ball?” Or “scoop?” I feel like that has to be an error. There is nothing ball-like about kugel. It’s noodles, dude. Essentially it’s a yummy conglomeration of anti-spheres. That said, I’m not sure what sort of results you’d get if you went into a deli and asked for a “yummy conglomeration of anti-spheres,” so maybe just stick with the “kugel” designation?

Finally, keep in mind that there are as many kugel recipes as there are kugel cooks. Definitely experiment, if so inclined, and do whatever you feel like with this recipe.

On to the kugel!

Seriously, kugel! (I am so excited.) 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 bag Original Paleo Pasta
• 1/4 lb cream cheese (if you hate dairy, you can just…not do this. And use walnut oil instead. We did this, and it was cool. I’d do about a 1/2 cup walnut oil in place of all cheese / cream / butter type stuff.)
• 1/4 lb ricotta cheese (um. Same caveat)
• 1 cup applesauce
• bunch ‘o honey (like a 1/2 cup? can do less, too)
• 3 eggs, beaten
• cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar if you’re feelin’ it
• instead of crushed cornflakes…I would do crushed nuts, maybe? Or coarse almond flour?
• some people like raisins, or plums. Or apricots. Variety is the spice of life, my friends. Cherries? Why not! I mean, if you happen to have, like, a cherry pit remover thing? Oh wait, this is possible true for plums, too. Um. Be creative? Or use dried ones? Knock yourselves out!

WHAT TO DO

• Boil some water. Cook your Original Paleo Pasta for, like, 2-2.5 minutes. REALLY don’t overcook it. Drain, and set aside.
• Mix, um, everything else in a bowl. Mix in your Paleo Pasta! You have like a giant mixture of yummy stuff at this point. Pour it into a greased baking dish thingy, 
• Sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg and whatever else you feel like (which, me being me, I would also include in the yummy mixture), and also, if you feel like it, top everything off with that almond flour or crushed nuts or whatever. For crunch! Cover the whole thing in aluminum foil.
• Bake, covered, in preheated oven for 30 min. Oh, um, you should have preheated your oven. Ha! Sorry about that. Preheated to 350 F. And then baked, covered, for 30 min.
• Uncover, and bake for another 20 min, to give some awesome golden browned awesomeness. 

Possibly important caveat: Paleo Pasta is not yet certified kosher. We are working on it! But not certified yet. Some people care, some people don’t, but we figure you wanna know, you know?

So, remember my future post? Black tea chicken? Well, I reported back below (hint: it was delicious, so I’m pretty proud of myself), and then I kind of pouted because I didn’t have any dessert related things around. You know how sometimes you just need…dessert? You just do. It is a universal fact. There is no point fighting it.

Anyway, I was not a happy camper, because I had neglected to maintain my dessert stock pile. But then I checked out Caveman Cookies, as I sometimes do (and as you should, too, because they are paleo, gluten free, and delicious), and went and ordered some over the internet from the comfort of my own home.

I love the future so much. I can order paleo-friendly GF cookies from my home. This is crazy progress.

Also? Flat rate shipping now, too, which is awesome!

The world is a happy place.

We keep getting these testimonials, and they are fantastic! I figure I should tell people about them? Two new fresh ones — thanks James, and thanks Erica! 

They are here. Yay!

(And you were absolutely supposed to imagine Cheri Oteri and Will Farrell when you read the headline. Sorry, I’m on an old school SNL kick? Who am I kidding, I’m not at all sorry. That was a great skit.)

Ok, I am trying something a little different this time, because I am like that: I like new things.

This is a FUTURE RECIPE.

That is fancy talk for “I haven’t made it yet, but I’m gonna make it tonight and let you know how it turns out.” I am actually really excited about this one, because I’ve been meaning to try the black tea and tomato combo ever since I saw it on a crazy food pairing blog. It’s everywhere now, but at the time I was like, whaaaat?

So while I am super confident about the black tea and tomato combo, because SCIENCE!, I haven’t really seen much about this combination with pesto. And definitely not with our kale paleo green nutso pesto. (That is not it’s official name. It’s here. I blogged it. It’s fantastic.)

Flying by the seat of our pants here! Wheee!

INGREDIENTS

• Tomato Paleo Pasta! Probably works with Original, too, just add more tomatoes.
• Paleo Pesto! Or another pesto. Something pesto-ish.
• Chicken breasts. You don’t want to deal with bones, dude.
• Some tomatoes. Just grab a bunch, however much “feels” right. We’re not big on rules.
• Black tea! At least two tea bags. It looks like I am using Yorkshire? Actually I’m pretty sure this isn’t available in the US, because it’s a gift from friends and relatives across the pond. Um. Black tea. (But Yorkshire, btw, as, just, like, a tea? Fabulous.)
• Garlic. You knew I was going to say this, right? Any excuse.
• Salt, pepper, whatever else floats your boat. I am considering adding ginger, but that’s because I’m a little nuts and I just bought some, and will look for any excuse to use it. Although the more I think about it, the more I like it.
• Hmm. I am now also considering more veggies, because I like veggies, and we still have some squash. This could get out of hand very quickly. If I can find okra, it’s all over. (Okra is the best vegetable ever. Ever. I will brook no argument on this point.) I will do a full recap after I make it to actually record what I made, because otherwise I will go way overboard.
• Some form of oil, for the cooking.

WHAT I PLAN TO DO

• So I’m thinking the only way to handle this one is with marination? Also it’s an excuse to write “marination” again. Double win! So I’m gonna brew some tea — I figure like a full pot? Pretty strong, since I’m not gonna have that long to marinate it? Then I’m gonna cut the chicken up into reasonable size bits and soak it in the black tea for a few hours. Also I will take my Paleo Pesto ice cubes out to thaw. (Remember how smart that was? I am still proud of that. I probably didn’t even come up with it, just remembered it, and thought I was genius. Whatever, I’ll take it.)
• Um, then I suppose it’s a few hours of peaceful relaxation? This is a lie, I will find some work to do, somewhere.
• But when I’m done with that, I’m gonna put some water on to boil for the Paleo Pasta. Also I will chop up whatever veggies strike my fancy, including the tomatoes.
• I’m gonna heat the oil, cook the garlic a bit (ooh — chop the garlic real quick!), then throw the chicken in, then after a bit throw the veggies in, then throw the spices in. Which ever ones I decide on. I like to save that till near the end, but YMMV.
• At some point I will throw the Paleo Pasta in the boiling water and cook it for 2:00-2:30. Then I’ll mix everything together, and BAM! Dinner!

I am pretty excited about this one. In fact, now I am very hungry. I did not think this through.

I will report back!

UPDATE: Yup. Yummy.

Ok, honestly? I know cream is not really a paleo thing, and I debated on this one, I did. Some people are like, omg relax, put cream in your coffee; other people think casein will kill you; and then there’s me, who’s like, whatever, once in a while Cajun Chicken is awesome.

But the deciding factor was that every time I looked at this recipe, I thought of Adam Sandler doing Cajun Man. So. Very scientific, this selection process. Extremely refined.

So, if you hate dairy: don’t use cream? I guess? I mean, you can also just mix up a bunch of chicken with Cajun spices and some yummy tasting oil and that will also be good. But the creamy, buttery one is the one I’m doing today.

Annnywho, this recipe is loosely adapted from every similar Cajun Chicken recipe on the internet, because I’ve used them all at some point.

INGREDIENTS

• Paleo Pasta, any flavor, pick a flavor! Probably Original, though.
• A couple (2-3?) tsp Cajun spice mix seasoning stuff. If you don’t have any of this, or if you don’t like any of the stuff at the store, you can always make your own. My understanding is that it’s mostly salt? With some onion, garlic, pepper of various colors, and cayenne? And maybe some paprika? I am told some people add celery, but I do not understand this, and am choosing to ignore it.
• Some butter. I mean, if we’re going with cream, why not add butter? 2-3 tblsp of this.
• 1-2 Bell peppers, whatever color you like! Chop ‘em up. Or slice ‘em julienne, if you’re into the whole Cajun-Napoleonic thing?
• Mushrooms! I enjoy mushrooms, so I tend to over-do this. I think a handful probably suffices for most people.
• 1 onion, chopped. Has anyone ever done anything else with an onion? Like is there a recipe out there that calls for grated onion? Do not tell me about it. I will be compelled to cook it, and I will cry the whole time.
• 1 cup heavy cream.
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese. I mean, if you’re doing dairy, DO DAIRY. Amiright?
• Chicken! However much you feel like. Probs 2-3 chicken breasts is good?
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• Whatever else you feel like putting in there: lemon zest! More garlic! (ALWAYS more garlic!) Cumin? Why not? A sense of adventure is important in life.
• Optional: Prosciutto. I do this because I tend to look for excuses to add prosciutto. YMMV.

WHAT TO DO

• Put some water on to boil. This, perhaps unsurprisingly, is for your Paleo Pasta. Cook the Paleo Pasta! You don’t want it to be overdone, because it’s gonna be in a sauce. I’d cook for 2:00-2:30 minutes, then drain and put aside.
• Cover that chicken with Cajun Seasoning. Go nuts. Then cook it (I believe the word is sautee? But I am not fancy) in a large skillet in butter for 5-7 minutes over medium heat. You’re gonna keep cooking it with other stuff, so it doesn’t have to be all the way cooked.
• This is the other stuff I was talking about! Add the bell pepper, mushrooms, and onion. Mix everything around, and continue to cook for another minutes. Then turn the heat down a tad.
• Add the cream, basil, and whatever other spices you have going on, and heat the whole thing through. You definitely want your chicken to be fully cooked by now, because you’re about to eat it.
• But not yet! Put your cooked (al dente! Really!) Paleo Pasta in the skillet, mix a little, then put the whole shebang on some plates. Put the Parmesan cheese on top.

Enjoy your decadent creamy Cajun Chicken Paleo Pasta!

Seriously, eat it.

Don’t let it sit there, eat!