Cilantro Lime Sweet Potatoes

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Sweet potatoes. There are so many ways to make them delicious -- close to a blank canvas, but so much better, due to their naturally sweet earth flavor. Puréed, waffled, caramelized or as a hash... it's all amazing.

Ever since I went to a potluck and someone brought a southwestern roasted potato salad from a local deli, I've been a bit obsessed with adding chili, paprika, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime to my sweet potatoes. It's good warm or cold, which means I can eat RIGHT NOW if I'm starving, or as a cool side dish the next day. The southwestern flavors also scream summer to me, and even though sweet potatoes aren't necessarily a summer crop, the added peppers and cilantro are.

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Between this and my recent paleo ice cream experiments, I'm set for hot days. It's supposed to be close to 90°F here for Independence Day, so you can bet I'll be eating ample amount of both of those things to cool off! I'll actually be spending the long weekend rock climbing in northern Wyoming, so in order to do that I need to spend the next few hours figuring out how to make both of those items out of our tent... (Mission Accepted!). 

Wishing everyone a happy 4th of July (if you celebrate it)! 

Cilantro Lime Sweet Potatoes

Published May 17, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 15-20 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1 medium sweet potatoe
• 1 red bell peppers
• 1/2 red onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• Juice from 1/2 a lime
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon ground paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon ground chile powder
• Dash of ground cayenne
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Optional, for serving: avocado and a fried egg

Directions:

1. Mince the garlic and slice the onion and wash and cube the potato. Dice the bell peppers and remove seeds.
2. In a 10-inch skillet, heat coconut oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic, onions, pepper and sweet potatoes. Stir and cover pan, reducing heat to medium-low.
3. After 5 minutes, stir the potatoes again. Add the spices and salt. Allow to cook for 10-12 more minutes, until sweet potatoes are cooked through and browned on the outside. Squeeze the lime juice into the pan. Toss the potatoes to coat. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro leaves.
4. Serve how with a fried egg and avocado or as a dinner side.

Za'atar Roasted Vegetables

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I've been day dreaming of Morocco for years now. Landscapes awash with sand, doorways painted bright turquoise, and dirty street markets flicker through my mind as I doze off. I want to see Morocco. I want to taste the flavors of North African cuisine on my tongue and I want to know what it smells like. While I don't always admit it, I'm a lot like my Dad: he taught me to wander, to see the world. He taught me to embrace "from scratch" recipes, and he showed me world cuisine (Thanks, Dad!). 

As you may have gathered in my recent tropical vacation post, when I can't hop a plane, I travel with my tastebuds. While I've been dreaming of Morocco for years (seriously, it's been on the top of my travel wish list for 6 or 7 years), I have yet to make the trip. 

In my day dreams I can be more creative than I might be if I knew what traditional Moroccan food actually entailed. It's liberating really--my minds is free to pair traditional spice blends with less traditional produce items. Case in point: Broccoli is actually a Mediterranean vegetable, but it works well (really well) with Za'atar, a toasted, nutty, herbaceous spice blend used in North Africa and Middle Eastern cooking. 

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You can used ground spices, as directed in the recipe below, or whole spices. If you opt for whole spices, toast the cumin seeds and coriander seeds in a skillet first, and then grind in a mortar and pestle. Finally, add herbs and sesame seeds.

You can buy Za'atar at some grocery stores, but it is actually pretty simple to make. To me, traveling is all about awakening your senses: what you see, what you feel, what you taste, and what you smell. Make your own Za'atar at home. Toasting the spices fills your kitchen with the sweet scent of toasted sesame seeds, sumac, and thyme. It smells like a Moroccan kitchen and, as my Dad might point out: homemade just tastes better.

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Za'atar Roasted Vegetables

Published April 5, 2015 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients:

Veggies:
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 medium eggplant
• 1/2 head cauliflower
• Generous amount of olive oil
• Note: you may also test out other veggies! Try broccoli, summer squash, winter squash, etc.

For the spice blend (Za’atar-inspired):
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon ground sumac
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Note: classic Za’atar does not include garlic, salt and pepper, but all three really help this recipe taste delicious!

For serving:
• 1/4 cup minced parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Dice the veggies into equal-sized pieces. Spread out on sheet pan, and drizzle with olive oil, tossing the veggies to coat.
2. Combine the spices in a small bowl, stirring to incorporate. Then, sprinkle over the vegetables generously.
3. Place vegetables in oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until all of the vegetables are cooked through, and the eggplant and cauliflower is beginning to brown.
4. Garnish with parsley and serve hot.

Paleo Chicken & Smoked Sausage Stew

Update - 1/8/2017: I've been working on my photography, and since this is one of my most popular recipes, I wanted to give the images a revamp! These pictures are new, but the recipe is the same as it's always been. 

When our plane landed in Denver, snow was falling on the tarmac. I could tell it was cold by the way the air loomed, thick and foggy. The back door of the plane opened, and what had been an overstuffed canister for hours was suddenly an icebox. Out on the street, I regretted packing my gloves in the bottom of my suitcase. The pair in the car went to use the minute I saw them. The car rolled to a start, and I waited for the thermometer to show the temperature. 

0 degrees Fahrenheit. For a moment. Only a few minutes passed before that number began to drop: -1. 

It didn't stop. -2. 

By the time I had made it home, my fingers were frozen straight through: fingersicles! The thermometer stopped at -3.

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The Instant Pot was made for cold days. From start to finish, the it made this Paleo Chicken & Smoked Sausage Stew a breeze from start to finish. And the kitchen, which had gone untouched for a week and a half, came alive with the smell of this warm, classic stew. 

This post was originally named “Paleo Instant Pot Gumbo,” but many readers commented that gumbo isn’t really gumbo with out a roux. Because roux is made with flour, it is not gluten-free and much less Paleo. I wanted to keep this recipe grain-free and gluten-free, so I changed the name. It’s still delicious in my book! And, if you are in the gumbo-must-have-roux camp, it’s totally fine to add one, or just go on calling this stew “Chicken & Smoked Sausage Stew.” You pick!

Adding hot sauce to this stew really cranks up the heat--exactly what you need when your fingers are ice cubes! 

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Paleo Chicken & Smoked Sausage Stew

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    

This stew is like Gumbo, but is not made with flour (as it is grain-free) or okra — so it’s “gumbo inspired”.

Serves: 6    |    Total Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 pound andouille pork sausage
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 6 cups chopped tomatoes
• 1 medium white onion
• 2 stalks celery
• 3 bell peppers
• 2 large carrots
• 2 cups bone broth or water
• 1/4 cup parsley
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 bay leaf
• Optional: hot sauce to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the coconut oil in the bottom of the Instant Pot (on the Sauté setting). Add the chicken and sausage to the pan and cook through (about 4-5 minutes on each side). While the meat cooks, slice the onion. Dice the bell peppers, and chop the carrots and celery. Remove the meat from the pot, and set aside for later use.
2. Sauté the vegetables in the bottom of the Instant Pot, stirring occasionally. Mince the garlic, and add it to the pan. Add the broth and chopped tomatoes. Bring the mixture to a simmer (the sauté function will do this automatically)
3. Once the chicken and sausage are cool enough to handle, slice them into bite-sized pieces. Return them to the pot, along with the spices. Mince the parsley now, and add that as well. Give the stew one stir and then lock the lid on. Turn the Instant Pot to the soup setting and cook for 5-10 minutes.
4. Serve warm with hot sauce to taste. Note: This recipe can be done in a regular soup pot, just increase the final cooking time in step 3 to 20 to 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the flavors have simmered together.