weekend update, October 6, 2013

All gods are carnivorous

Margaret Atwood

As some of you may remember, I spent a quantity of very entertaining hours last week digging into the philosophies and recipes of the paleo diet, and somewhere around the 7th website the words of this fantastic line from Atwood's  "The Blind Assassin"  and the phrase "religious fervor" crossed my mind at high speed, ignoring all rules of mental traffic.

There was a bit of a mental mash-up. As the mental debris settled, I noticed a something.

A few of these food trends feel a little like a religion. 

See what I mean?

If, that is, we can (very loosely) define religion as the thing you consume that in its turn consumes you. By that definition, the world, far from being secular, is packed with religion 

more tightly than a family car on it's way to a 5 day camp out.

Food, the cooks and the cooking of food, the eating of or abstaining from food, chefs, stores, photos, books that assure you that if you do everything just the right way (and it's always the author's right way) you yourself can achieve a state of deity:

really, who wants to be divine anyway?
Such an exhausting load of responsibility.

   The modern approach to food and its intriguing similarities to the religious experience. 
 Having been once thought, it couldn't be unthought. 
(which is a great trouble with thinking, isn't it.)

 Before long, I was amusing myself by arranging Paleo recipes into denominations that were prettier-than-thou, healthier-than-thou, cooler-than-thou, harder-than-thou....

And in the end, I choose nine or so recipes that fit nicely into the does-everything-really-have-to-be-so-hard sect of the more-relaxed-than-thous.

And here's how they worked:

The Chicken with 40 cloves of garlic was....surprisingly not garlicy- at least not in any overpowering way. Kroger obliged by marking down a tray or two of peeled garlic cloves, and the pan juices, together with a speedy roux, made a very nice gravy- here it is with the garlic rosemary sweet potatoes:

 Saturday, the wind blew in a real autumn day- and any of you with friends in Texas heard all about it as we all snuggled happily up with gigantic cups of coffee or cocoa and chortled about it on Facebook. 
It was a perfect day for the chicken, bacon and poblano chowder. 
I made it as the recipe directed, with one change: I substituted a white potato for the turnips. Absolutely not Paleo compliant. But turnips, parsnips, rutabagas and broccoli, while terrific tasting and nutritious on their own, sort of divabully their way through a pot of soup. They just want everything to be about them, and throw the weight of their flavors around til everything else is quiet. 
There were too many yummy things going on in this soup to let them get away with it.
And besides, I'm not afraid of a little potato.

Ok. Maybe I'm afraid of  that.

okay, now I'm officially creeped out.

If you really are trying to stay away from dairy though, this recipe's way of blending the cooked cauliflower into the broth of the soup is a great trick that I'll be using again. Boosts nutrition, reduces fat, and keeps a creamy look and texture.
 A super win.
And in other news, the cauliflower pilaf was pretty okay- mostly, it's a really interesting way to eliminate a few hundred carbs while amping up the old vitamin count. Here it is:

Sorta looks like granola in this pic, doesn't it.
It did not taste like granola.

We happened to have some almond meal in the freezer, so I was able to try the Paleo Chicken tenders just as written, and they were yummy, though a little overcooked and dry after a 16 minute baking time. That little problem was solved by a quick hunt for the recipe for Cane's dipping sauce- the chicken chain restaurant sauce that has legions of devout devotees. Here's a batch of chicken fingers rolled in almond meal mixture, alongside tenders that were rolled in the same spice mix, but with coconut instead of almond meal, and the sauce:

I think the coconut was maybe a little yummier.

That sauce. Try a batch using this recipe, but make it a double batch. And if you don't want to use mayo, use plain greek yogurt instead. It works as salad dressing, dipping sauce, sandwich sauce- but watch out- it's a little addictive, and you may become a convert.

guys, I hope that this week,

as you give your self away

and the things and people

that you give yourself to,

you're able to feel

what you love loving you back.

And maybe just for a little while, 

the needs around you won't

make you wonder if you're being eaten alive.

So that maybe, all week, (I hope) 

peas will be with you.