Spring Foraging: Dandelion-Scallion Fritters with Dilled Sour Cream and Bacon Bits

Spring is heeeeeeere!! That means there are tons of wild edibles all over the place...yes, even in the city! Our backyard is teeming with lots of wild greens (some might call them "weeds" but not us!), including dandelions. The greens from the dandelion plant are wonderful sauteed with coconut oil and spices, or tossed in with eggs for a nice breakfast scramble. But some might not know that the pretty yellow tops are edible, too! They are great in salads, or in this case, in a fritter...because pretty much anything is good in a fritter!

I combined the light, slightly sweet dandelion flowers with fresh scallions to create a spring super fritter. Plus they are grain-free, which is a double bonus! These are a nice appetizer or even main dish topped with dilled sour cream and crispy bacon pieces. I love love love the combination of scallions and bacon. It's just perfect! I hope these help you celebrate spring and all the wild bounty around you!

Grain-Free Dandelion-Scallion Fritters 

(makes 6-8 fritters)

1/2 cup coconut flour

2 Tbs tapioca flour--or use almond for GAPS diet

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 Tbs dried dill (or 2 Tbs fresh, chopped)

1/4 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

4 eggs, pasture-raised!

40 yellow dandelion heads, roughly chopped

1 bunch fresh scallions, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)

 1/4 cup coconut oil or fat of choice for frying--I used beef tallow

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs until scrambled. Add in the flours and spices and stir to combine.

 Fold in the scallions and dandelion heads and incorporate. 

Heat  2 Tbs fat over medium-high heat. Pour fritter batter, 1/4 cup at a time into the heated oil. Start with 3-4 fritters for the first batch, then repeat with a second batch so you don't overcrowd your pan and end up with soggy fritters...no one wants a soggy fritter! :)

Cook 5-7 minutes on the first side, until beginning to become firm and easy to flip. Turn over the fritters and cook another 5 or so minutes on the second side. You can flip and cook on each side one more time, 2-3 minutes per side to get them extra golden brown and crispy on the outisde. 

Remove from pan and repeat with the second 2 Tbs of fat and the other half of the batter. 

Keep warm until ready to serve. 

Serve topped with Dill Sour Cream and Crispy Bacon Bits (below)! And, of course, eat these outside if it's sunny!!!

Dilled Sour Cream

(makes 1 cup)

1 cup full fat sour cream--look for organic! 

1 Tbs dried dill or 2 Tbs chopped fresh dill

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Whisk ingredients together in a small bowl. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

 

Crispy Bacon Bits

(serves 6-8)

6 strips bacon, cut into small pieces--I use kitchen shears to cut them

Preheat oven to 350F. Place bacon pieces on a sheet pan. Bake for about 12 minutes, until the pieces are browned and crispy. If your bacon is a little thicker, you might have to go to 15 minutes. Just don't burn it!!

Grain-Free Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes

Lemon poppyseed is the quintessential springtime flavor combination. It is sweet and tart and sunny and makes everyone happy. Especially when you put those flavors into pancake form. And without grains or processed sugars. So much happiness!!

I am absolutely in love with these pancakes. They literally taste cheerful. It's crazy, I know. But trust me! Eat these sitting on your porch with the sun on your face, drinking coffee and chatting with loved ones, and you will know what I'm talking about! The boyf went crazy for these, too...we bot, h kept saying we didn't want them to end! It was hilarious. Alas, that batch did end...but I forsee making these many, many, many times during the spring and summer. I'm sure he'll ask every day! Ha!

We topped ours with homemade creme fraiche and raw honey....you could go butter and syrup, coconut butter, or even sunflower seed butter. Go nuts! But the creme fraiche added a tang and slight sweetness that went perfectly with the lemony cakes. Just. Wow.

Grain-Free Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes

(serves 4)

1 cup coconut flour

1 cup blanched almond flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

Pinch nutmeg

1/4 cup poppyseeds

Zest of 1 lemon

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 Tbs butter or coconut oil, melted

6 eggs (look for pastured!)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp lemon extract

1 Tbs maple syrup (optional)

1 cup whole milk or coconut milk--may have to add a little more liquid as you go, since coconut flour tends to suck up moisture...I sometimes add 2-4 Tbs water if it gets a little too thick

Butter or coconut oil for frying

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients together.

Add in the wet ingredients and stir well to combine. Add a little extra water if it gets too thick to pour.

Heat skillet over medium-high heat and add butter to the pan to melt. 

Pour batter, 1/4 cup at a time to the hot pan...make sure it is hot! This should make about 12 pancakes.

Cook 3-5 minutes  per side. I usually cook mine about 5 minutes on the first side, and flip after it gets bubbly. Then I cook it for about 3 more minutes on the second side. Be careful not to overcook them, or they won't be as tender and fluffy!

Serve hot with your favorite toppings...with a side of bacon and eggs, of course!

Lacto-Fermented Horseradish Mustard

This mustard is not for the faint of heart....or taste buds. The horseradish and mustard seeds combine to give your tongue a kick in the pants, and it is amazingly delicious! 

Perfect as a condiment for sausage and sauerkraut, your favorite burger, or paleo chicken strips...I have even combined it with mayonnaise to make a tasty dressing for coleslaw and a dip for sweet potato fries! 

This humble little mustard has tons of health benefits to offer, too! Turmeric is a wonderful anti-inflammation spice, as you've probably heard. Mustard seeds are beneficial for digestion and are packed with ant-oxidants, including lutein and zeaxanthin--both great for your eyes. These tiny seeds are a member of the brassica family, which are helpful with cellular detoxification, including helping the body get rid of xenoestrogens. Then, there's the horseradish root...this root will burn your nose, but it's all worth the pain for the big dose of glucisionlates you get, an antioxidant that protects you against cancer. Horseradish is also great for sinus problems, urinary tract infections and detoxing. PLUS this is fermented...so you get a nice helping of gut-beneficial bacteria. Now you have to make this!!

If the horseradish heat is too much for you, feel free to use half the recommended amount, or omit it all together. You will still get a nice yellow mustard perfect for any dipping need you'll have. 
And if you are non-dairy, substitute 2 Tbs apple cider vinegar or lemon juice for the whey, and let it sit at room temperature an extra day or two to ferment. Enjoy!

Lacto-Fermented Horseradish Mustard

(makes about 1 1/2 quarts)

1/4 cup brown mustard seeds

1/4 cup yellow mustard seeds

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup shredded horseradish root (about 4" piece)

1/3 cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup filtered water

2 Tbs liquid whey--drained from yogurt or kefir works great

1/2 Tbs sea salt

2 tsp turmeric powder

Pulse mustard seeds in blender or food processor until roughly ground. Add the remaining ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth. Feel free to adjust texture if you like a thicker, grainy-er mustard. 

Pour into glass jar and cover. Let sit at room temperature 3-4 days to ferment.

Refrigerate until ready to use--this will keep in the fridge for several weeks, maybe longer if you don't use it up!

Braised Cabbage with Bacon

I cannot overstate how I feel about cabbage. It is inexpensive, even organic, almost always in season, and is amazing cooked, raw or fermented. PLUS it's so so good for you! I've raved about the health benefits of brassicas many times before, so I'll spare you now, but I'll reiterate that it's a cancer-preventing powerhouse and is a great source of fiber and vitamin C in the paleo diet. 

I love cabbage as a cooked veggie side dish, and this Braised Cabbage goes great alongside sausage, BBQ or any tasty meat main dish. This is packed with flavor, as well as vitamins, minerals and healthy, tasty animal fats...aaaaaand it is a breeze to make! I have been making this a lot lately, and I have a feeling you will do the same after you make it once!

Braised Cabbage with Bacon

(serves 4-6)

4 strips bacon

4 cups shredded green cabbage (about 1/2 large head)

1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 medium carrot, sliced into half moons

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 Tbs dried thyme

1 Tbs dried sage

1 cup bone broth (or water if you prefer)

1 Tbs apple cider vinegar

Place skillet over medium high heat. 

While pan heats, cut bacon into small pieces--I use kitchen scissors, it makes cutting raw bacon so easy!

Add bacon to the pan and cook 5-8 minutes until beginning to brown and release its fat. 

Add onion and carrot to the pan. Cook 5 minutes until the onions begin to caramelize and brown lightly. 

Add cabbage and garlic to the pan. Cook 5 more minutes until cabbage softens. Add spices and cook 1-2 more minutes. 

Pour broth into the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover pan and let simmer 10-12 minutes until the liquid reduces and the cabbage browns slightly. Add apple cider vinegar and cook 2-3 more minutes  until reduced. 

Salt and pepper to taste; serve hot with your favorite meaty main dish!

Raw Hazelnut-Coconut Cream Pie

My partner is pretty lucky, if I do say so myself....I made him this lovely grain-free, refined sweetner free raw pie for his birthday "cake" this weekend. Plus he got my Bacon-Pecan Waffles for breakfast on his bday! Of course, I got to share in the eating of all these treats, and be his partner....so I guess I'm lucky as well. 

This is super easy to make, and is really delicious. I love that paleo and raw folks can kind of meet in the middle at desserts...it's nice to have things in common :)

I soaked the nuts a few days for this recipe to help make them more digestible and get rid of some of the anti-nutrients found in nuts. It also makes the nuts easier to blend and become smooth when blending. Double win!

You can also make this a few days ahead of time and just keep in the freezer, then thaw and store in the fridge the day you'll be serving it; if you do that, like I did, add the hazelnut caramel sauce after thawing. 

Raw Hazelnut Coconut Cream Pie 

with Hazelnut Caramel Sauce

(serves 8)

Crust:

1/2 cup almonds, soaked 1-2 days

1/2 cup hazelnuts, soaked 1-2 days

16 pitted dates, soaked in warm water 20 min and drained

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1 tsp cinnamon

Pinch sea salt

Filling:

1 cup cashews, soaked 1-2 days

2 Tbs lemon juice

1/4 cup raw honey

1 cup hazelnuts, soaked 1-2 days

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup coconut oil, softened to room temperature

1 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup coconut milk--or water or raw milk

 Optional: 3 Tbs raw cacao powder

Caramel:

4 pitted dates, soaked in 1/4 cup warm water 20 min

1/2 cup hazelnut butter

1/2 tsp vanilla

Pinch sea salt

For the crust: Place all crust ingredients in a food processor. Pulse several times until large pieces are broken up. Puree until the mixture begins to become smooth and firm, forming a soft dough consistency.

 Press into a pie pan or springform pan (for more of a cheesecake look). Set in freezer while you prepare the filling. 

For the filling: Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend about 5 minutes, until very smooth. Pour into the prepared crust and smooth out the top to create an even layer. Place in freezer or fridge while you prepare the caramel sauce. 

For the sauce: Place all ingredients, including the soaking water for the dates, in a blender or food processor. Blend 2-3 minutes until very smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 

Before serving, either spread the caramel sauce in an even layer over the top of the whole pie or drizzle on each piece--this way you can use more or less caramel sauce per each person's taste...I like more, of course!

Grain-Free Bacon Pecan Waffles

 Thank goodness for these waffles. They were the perfect breakfast for the boyf's birthday this past weekend, and they basically made my week. They are light, crispy, just sweet enough and just salty enough...and they are a wonderful vehicle for our household's favorite condiment: BUTTER. 

I used to LOVE pecan waffles from Waffle House when I was younger...heck, I'm sure I'd still love the taste, just not the ingredients...so these grain-free waffles studded with pecans AND bacon brought me back to the days of breakfasts at diners with my family and friends. They are just perfect. 

I used chestnut and tapioca flours, which are more starchy than almond flour, so they are light and not as dense as almond flour-based gluten free treats. The outside gets nice and crispy while the inside is chewy, and of course a little crunchy when you find the treasures inside. 

These do have dairy, but if you are dairy-free, you could substitute coconut milk or almond milk for the dairy milk in the recipe. And you could top with your favorite nut butter or just syrup instead of slathering on the butter like we did. Either way, you'll be doing yourself--and whomever you share these with--a favor by firing up the old waffle iron and serving them up with some breakfast sausage and eggs. Don't forget the coffee!!

Also, if you aren't into bacon (come on!!) and pecans, you could throw in chocolate chips, raisins, blueberries, or any mix-in you'd like...or just leave them plain. You can't lose! 

Grain-Free Bacon Pecan Waffles 

(makes 5 Belgian waffles, or about 8 smaller waffles)

1/2 cup chestnut flour--can use almond flour instead if you want

1/2 cup tapioca flour

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

4 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 cup whole milk

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

6 strips bacon

1 cup toasted pecans, chopped

In a skillet over medium heat, cook bacon about 5 minutes per side until crispy. Let cool slightly and chop into small pieces and set aside; save the bacon grease as well. 

Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add in the liquid ingredients and stir well to combine and smooth out any lumps. Fold in the bacon and its grease, and the pecans and stir to incorporate well. 

Preheat waffle maker according to manufacturer's directions and pour batter, 3/4 cup per Belgian waffle, into the wafle iron. Cook according to your machine...I like mine pretty crispy and browned, personally. 

Repeat until all the batter is used up; should make 5 large waffles.

 

Serve hot with plenty of butter and syrup!

**If you don't have a waffle maker you can use this batter to make pancakes, too. Just pour batter, 1/4 cup per pancake onto a hot, buttered skillet and cook 3-5 minutes per side!*

Paleo Fried Chicken Gizzards with Lacto-Fermented Ranch

If you've ever spent time in the South or the Midwest, and you have eaten at some greasy spoon joints, you have probably eaten or least heard of fried chicken gizzards. Found in diners, bars and the like, these crispy, chewy little bites are often eaten as an appetizer or snack and served with ranch or other creamy dipping sauce. 

The gizzard is the part of a bird that is like a special, especially strong and muscular stomach, that is used for grinding up food and rocks ingested by the bird. In most dives in the South, you'd likely be getting factory-farmed chicken, but for my recipe, I used gizzards from local, free-range chickens. While this might seem like just fried junk food, gizzards are actually good for you! Organ meats of all types are regaining their glory in the nutrition world, and gizzards are no exception. They are full of iron and zinc, which can be hard for some people to get enough of in their diet. Gizzards are quite chewy, almost like calamari in texture, so don't go into making these expecting the softness of liver or other organ. 

These are crispy, from being coated in coconut flour, and perfect for dipping...you'll feel like you are visiting the South no matter where you are! I like these fried gizzards dunked in plenty of ranch dressing, specifically my lacto-fermented ranch dressing (recipe below). Not only does this dressing taste great, but it is fermeted, so it has lots of great bacteria for your gut and immune system, too! This sauce is great for dipping anything into it, or on salads, or just drinking it--I caught the boyf doing that yesterday! Ha! 

These are worth a try, even just to say you've had gizzards before! You could of course substitute chicken livers if you can't find gizzards (try your local butcher or even larger health food store for a special order), just use the same battering and frying technique!

Make sure to use a good cooking fat for this recipe--not canola or vegetable oil. Most health food stores or butcher shops will be able to provide some good quality animal fat, which I think is ideal for frying. If you aren't into frying, you could bake these, too. Just place the battered gizzards onto a greased baking sheet and bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes, until they get crispy and brown. 

Paleo Fried Chicken Gizzards

Serves 4-6

2 lbs chicken gizzards--free-range!

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup coconut flour

2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

2 Tbs dried thyme

1/4 tsp cayenne, or to taste

1 cup fat for frying--I use grass-fed tallow or pastured lard

In a medium bowl, combine the eggs and gizzards and stir to coat with the egg.

Mix together the coconut flour and spices in a medium bowl and set aside. 

Heat fat in a deep skillet or pan, getting it to about 265 F. If you don't have a thermometer, just put it on medium-high heat. 

Dredge each gizzard in the coconut flour mixture and shake off the excess. Drop the gizzards into the hot fat, being careful not to splatter. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the breading starts to crisp and brown, then turn each one over and cook 2-3 more minutes on the other side. These don't take very long to cook, as they are quite small. 

You don't want to overcrowd your pan or else these will steam and not fry, so they'll be soggy; you will likely need to cook these in a few batches. 

Remove cooked gizzards from the pan and set on a paper towel to remove excess cooking fat and sprinkle with a little extra salt if desired. 

Serve hot with Lacto-Fermented Ranch or your favorite dipping sauce!

For this cool and tangy ranch dressing, I use whey that I drain off of plain yogurt to do the lacto-fermenting. If you are non-dairy you can use 1 Tbs apple cider vinegar and leave the sauce unrefrigerated an extra day to let it ferment longer. Or, if you want to gobble it up the same day you make it, omit the whey and just use the rest of the ingredients...it is still so creamy and delicious! 

Lacto-Fermented Ranch 

(makes about 1 1/4 cup)

1 cup organic sour cream--alternately, you could use homemade mayo if you want dairy-free. It will be thicker, but it works great too!

2 Tbs red wine vinegar

1 Tbs dried dill

1/2 Tbs dried parsley

1 tsp garlic powder 

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 Tbs whey

Whisk together ingredients until smooth and well combined. Pour into a glass jar and let sit at room temperature for 2-3 days to ferment. Transfer to the refrigerator and serve cold. 

Will keep for several weeks in the fridge.