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This is a go-to dinner in our home. When we are in a hurry and we have no plan for dinner, we almost always have the ingredients for Bobotie available. Bobotie is a South African dish, part of the Cape Malay cuisine that I fell in love while in South Africa.

A little aside for my Dad, the golfer: Bobotie was selected by 2008 Masters golf champion and South African native Trevor Immelman as the featured menu item for Augusta National's annual "Champions Dinner" in April 2009.

Ingredients:
Coconut oil (any kind of fat will work)
1 onion thinly sliced
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp crushed garlic (I add a little more)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 lb ground beef (or lamb)
3 eggs (pastured please)
Juice of one lemon
1 TB apricot jam
A handful of raisins
4 bay leaves
3/4 cup milk (pastured please!)
Chutney

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in a ovenproof skillet and fry the onion until soft and golden. Add cloves, garlic, salt, curry and turmeric and simmer for 5 minutes. Add ground meat 2 eggs, lemon juice, jam and raisins mix to combine. Put skillet into the oven and cook for about 40 minutes or until  it is golden brown. Remove from oven. Sprinkle a few more raisins on top. Beat the remaining 1 egg with the milk and pour on top of the Bobotie. Add bay leaves and bake for another 5-10 minutes.

Serve with Chutney and enjoy!

This was taken several weeks ago. I meant to get it posted a while back...but then with the fella's broken arm and everything else it just kept getting pushed back. As I was going through some archives I found it. I am thinking that it is about time that Charlie get back into his chacaturie. This was an amazing duck prosciutto that he made (and practically devoured in one sitting). Perhaps seeing the beautiful end product of his efforts will inspire him to get back to the chopping block. For my tummy's sake, I hope so. 

Thank you Marin Sun Farm's for the amazing duck breast!

No, this is certainly not something that I should make every day. But, on special occasions it is nice to have a treat that will not make me double over in pain (in my case). I made lemon meringue, but this crust would go great with just about any filling

Crust:
1 cup macadamia nuts
1 cup walnuts
1 cup dates
a pinch of salt
a dash of vanilla

Toss everything into a food processor and combine until just before it turns into a nut butter. I have a super small food processor so I didn't chop mine quite as finely as I could have. Spread the crust into a greased pie pan and bake for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees or until the crust starts to turn golden. There is your pie crust.

For the fillings I replace the refined sugar with honey or maple syrup and if you need a thickener use arrowroot.

Also, the fella found an article in the Wall Street Journal on gluten sensitivity that might be of interest. It turns out that I really am not crazy after all.
 

This is by far one of our favorite Saturday morning breakfasts. Love love love. Over a year ago upon finding out that gluten was a big no-no for me I shed a little tear for the loss of pancakes. The funny thing  is that my favorite pancakes were the ones I made with banana mashed up into the batter. I was thrilled when I realized that I could still have my pancakes and not have the tummy problems. I just needed a little ingredient adjustment.

Ingredients (serves two):
3 Old bananas mashed up
3 Heaped spoons of almond butter
4 eggs
Add-in of choice (we used blueberries for this one)
A splash of vanilla
A pinch of salt
A sprinkle of cinnamon

How ever much bacon you would like, we usually have 5 pieces between the two of us.

Add in options:
Berries
Nuts
Chocolate chips

Method:

Note: I usually Keep a freezer bag in the freezer full of over-ripe bananas. Whenever we have a banana that has gone a little to long for eating fresh, I peel it and stick it in the freezer bag. This way I always have those super sweet bananas ready to bake with. Whenever I am ready to use them I pop them in the microwave and they are ready to go.

Mix all the ingredients (except bacon and blueberries) in a bowl until the batter has a fairly smooth consistency. fold in the blueberries. Heat up your skillet and cook your bacon, You will be using the grease from the bacon to cook your pancakes. Put a platter in a oven on low with a paper towel on one side to soak up the bacon grease as the bacon sits. When the bacon is done cooking put it on the paper towel.  Now you are ready to cook your pancakes.

Pour off any excess oil (save for later use). Put your skillet on medium (may vary on your stove). Pour about half a ladle full of batter on the skillet. The key is to not make the pancakes too big or they will be hard to flip. When your pancake has little air holes in the top it is ready to flip. Cook the other side until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. When it is done, put it in the oven to keep warm while you make the rest of your pancakes.

Serve pancakes with bacon. Enjoy!