Schon Gegessen - Today's Lesson in German

Although I wouldn't say that I'm very fluent in German anymore, there are a few terms that I still use on a regular basis. There are just some words that need to be in German, for example "schon gegessen" to describe food that looks like it's already been half digested, ie "already eaten".

This morning's breakfast certainly fit the bill. The PB posse was polite as usual, but agreed that we have seen better-looking food before. My sister kindly offered another translation of the term: "vom", ie vomit. Lovely.

Lump of something eggy, served with decidedly sloppy leftover kraut salad from last night

In my defence it has to be said that I had to wip up something real fast out of leftovers, plus the below for our trip:

A lot prettier, but who knows what it'll taste of...

But let's face it, food doesn't always turn out Michelin-worthy. It's just that those "vom" dishes tend to stay off the blogs. ;-)

Portable Paleo Food

I have learned the hard way that suitable food is hard to come by when travelling. On a recent train journey, I had to resort to buying an egg mayonnaise sandwich and a pre-packaged, then microwaved burger. These finds were then raided for their content and the bread disposed of. Less than ideal, especially since I foolishly read about the meat content in the burger patty (less than 50%), but at least it meant that I survived all the way home.

Ahead of my flight to Sweden tomorrow, I have made some portable paleo friendly fare: bacon wrapped mini omelettes with leek and courgette.

Here's what I used for six:
4 eggs
2tbs creamed coconut (previously mixed with hot water to form a paste)
1/2 courgette, finely chopped
4 cm leek, finely chopped
7 pieces of streaky bacon
Salt and pepper
Ghee to grease the tin

Whisk eggs with creamed coconut, then mix in the leek and courgette. Add salt and pepper to taste. Grease the muffin tin and line with bacon. I used six pieces around the edges and cut up the seventh to go into the bottoms. Pour in the egg batter and bake in the oven for c. 20 minutes at 175 degrees.

This recipe can be varied endlessly, depending on what you have in the fridge. Sundried tomatoes and capers add extra flavour, fried mushrooms, onion and garlic is great too.

The Defrosted Blueberries

Simon accidentally (supposedly) left a 500g bag of frozen blueberries on top of the freezer last night. Only yesterday Simon was saying that he thought we should include some paleo treats on the blog. In other words, he was having sweet cravings. Anyway, I decided that it was best to use up the blueberries today and whipped up some blueberry muffins and some no-sugar blueberry jam.

The blueberry muffins were loosely based on a recipe in the "Primal Cravings" cookbook (also have a look at the Health-Bent website for some great paleo recipes).

Ingredients:
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp bicarb of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup coconut sugar
4 eggs
1 ripe banana (mashed)
1/2 tbs apple cider vinegar
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

Mix the dry ingredients in a big bowl (flours, bicarb, spices).
Melt coconut oil and whisk together with coconut sugar in another big bowl. Then add eggs, one at a time, whisking in between. Add mashed banana and apple cider vinegar. Whisk in the dry ingredients and fold in defrosted blueberries. Pour the mixture into a standard muffin tin lined with paper liners (12 muffins). Top off with chopped hazelnuts. Bake at 175 degrees C for 20 minutes.

As for the blueberry jam, I just boiled the blueberries with a few lingonberries and then stirred in some gelatine powder. Yum!