Naked Momos

I'm amazed that the smell and taste of a simple dumpling can so quickly transport me to my favorite part of the world. Lounging and people watching from a rooftop cafe in Thamel, having a late lunch after the long walk up to Swayambhunath, the monkey temple. Crowded into a tiny restaurant in Shigatse, unable to avoid the generous servings of yak butter tea. Warming up with a tall glass on chhaang on a cool evening along the Annapurna circuit.

Momos are little meat and veg dumplings found in abundance at restaurants in Nepal and Tibet. They are made with a variety of minced meat spiced up onion, garlic, ginger, and cilantro. They can be steamed or fried and usually contain a little cabbage and yak cheese. And they are always served with the most tasty of dipping sauces ranging from tomato based to soy based to super spicy chile based!

The first time I made momos, nearly fifteen years ago, I had just returned home from my first adventure to the Himalayas and I was excited to show off my new cuisine ideas to friends. Total disaster! Don't get me wrong. I made a great filling, but the homemade dumpling skins sucked (I never did cook well with flour... perhaps it was a sign). Over the years and especially after subsequent trips there, my cravings returned and I tried again and again. But always stumbling over those #$%& wrappers... until now!

Serves 4

Momo Ingredients:

• 1-2 green chilies, finely diced
• 2-3-inch piece ginger, grated
• 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 4 green onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 T coconut aminos
• 2 T oil (I prefer sesame or coconut)
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 1/2-2 pounds ground pork or turkey

Dipping Sauce Ingredients:

• 1 tsp green chilies, finely diced
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp fresh garlic, finely chopped
• 1 green onion, finely chopped
• 1 T cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup coconut aminos
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 T lemon juice

Directions:

1. Mix all dipping sauce ingredients in a glass bowl and let sit while you prepare the momos.
2. Mix all momo ingredients.
3. Form meat mixture into small discs or larger patties.
4. Heat some cooking oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
5. Fry momos in batches, cooking 3-5 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.
6. Serve over shredded cabbage, carrots, and cucumbers with dipping sauce.

Note: Frying an entire batch of small disc shaped momos seems to take forever. This is my favorite way to prepare momos, but since I'm usually short of time, I often opt for larger "momo patties" (fewer = quicker). A couple nights ago, I was in a particularly lazy mood when my momo craving occurred. The resulting "lazy mom momo" was received by my family just as well as any other form of momo and took about half the time! Instead of forming any shapes at all, I dumped the entire mixture into the pan and fried it up like I would taco meat. I normally prefer ground pork, but this was just as delicious with turkey!

Crunchy Radish Salad

This salad is so stinking easy and delicious, I can hardly believe it. Unfortunately, I can't take credit for this delicious creation as my nine-year old was in charge of salad the night this hit landed on our plates. We had just received some uber-fresh Alaskan radishes in our CSA produce box and both my girls were crinkling their noses up when I said the "R" word. I have to admit, I'm not a big fan of radishes either. The normally no-so-fresh ones available at our grocery store tend to be dry and bitter and not something I buy without a specific purpose. So when I opened up the box and saw a bunch of them staring up at me, I figured I better use them right away or they'd get pushed to the back of the fridge only to be discovered in a few weeks, when I could gladly call them bad and have an excuse to toss them. I washed them and tasted one... and had to call each member of my family into the kitchen and make them taste how good these were! Delicious!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch radishes, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 granny smith apple, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2-3 T olive oil
• 1-2 T balsamic vinegar
• 1-2 T spicy coarse mustard (we used Tabasco brand)

Directions:

1. Mix olive oil, vinegar, and mustard in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Taste and adjust, if necessary.
2. Add radishes and apple to salad bowl. Pour dressing over top and mix well.

Tip: You probably won't need all the dressing.

Cool Tahini "Pasta"

Once upon a time, long long ago...(Like, mid-90's!) I copied two recipes onto a legal pad from one of Angie's cookbooks... Recipe # 2 I have never made, but the first one, "Cool Tahini Pasta" is a different story! Its been awhile since I've made it... pasta-schmasta... but while visiting with Angie recently she was telling me about coconut aminos and kelp noodles. Coconut aminos are a great substitute for soy sauce, and kelp noodles sounded like a cross between glass noodles and mung bean sprouts. I get back to Perth excited to try them both... and nada! Add 2 more things to the list of "Items you can't find in Western Australia." So I ordered some, and they came today. Lots of ideas came to mind, but this recipe allowed me to try both, and it turned out so good it was almost gone before it got photographed.

Cool Tahini Pasta

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons water

3 T coconut aminos

1 Tablespoon tahini

1 cloved garlic, pressed or diced beyond teeny-tiny

1 & 1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

Mix all the above ingredients well. Add a 12oz bag of rinsed and drained kelp noodles.

Add:

2-3 small green onions, sliced thin

3 T fresh cilantro leaves

Stir and serve immediately. Serves 3 (If you let it set, the noodles loose their "pop." Which I personally like, but it still tastes good.)

Polish Sałatka (Polish Potato Salad - Paleo Style)

Another day another cook-out. I used to love potato salad, so imagine my delight when searching polish food recipes to stumble across "sałatka." Its potato salad, and so much more...so of course to make it paleo I made it so much less (-potatoes, sugar, and non-paleo dressings) and a new fav was born!

Polish Sałatka (the "ł" is like our "w." - but you can just call it yummy!)

1 large rutabega or a few small ones

1 parsnip

1 celery root

1 turnip

2 carrots

2-3 celery stalks

2-3 polish dill pickles

(any other veggie you have on hand and like(d) in potato salad - green or red peppers?)

2 hard boiled eggs, cut into bite-sized pieces

Mayo - probably homemade or any that is actually paleo

mustard

S&P

What to do??

Peel and cut all veggies to bite size. (I diced the non-boiled veggies smaller - my personal preference.) The ones in the first group (rutabegas, parsnips, celery root) you want to boil until tender.

The veggies in the second group (carrot, turnip) you could boil, but I hate mushy turnips, so I quickly blanched these.

The veggies in the last group (celery, pickles) leave raw.

Dump it all in a big bowl, and dress with as much paleo mayo you like. Add a little mustard and S&P to taste, and voila! A paleo potato salad everyone will love!