Recently, I’ve been practicing my muffin making skills. For Thanksgiving, I plan on using a plain almond muffin as my bread for stuffing. The almond muffin recipe that I’m using is found at Elana’s Pantry. But I used my local creamed honey instead of agave. I tried grade b maple syrup but the muffins didn’t come out sweet enough. I was so happy with the way my muffin experiments were turning out, I decided to get her book The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.
I used frozen blueberries in this recipe because it’s what I had on hand, it’s cheaper, and blueberry season is over, but if you don’t want parts of your batter turning blue, stick with fresh blueberries.
I mixed the leftover gravy and vegetables that was in the slow cooker from my Slow Cooked Lamb Shank with Carrots and Leeks Served with a Cauliflower Pureerecipe with the last of the cauliflower puree. This puree, which is just mashed cauliflower with some sea salt and black pepper is what makes this soup look like it has cream even though it is vegan. The richness is from the rendered animal fat, not dairy. Since I have been trying to incorporate more fat into my diet, as I eliminate more sugar and grains, this makes an ideal healthy and satisfying meal. Plus, an economical one. All of the organic vegetables and grass-fed animal fat is being made into another healthy meal, instead of thrown away.
This dinner was surprisingly easy, even though it looks impressive. Slow cooking the meat made it literally fall off the bone when I tried to remove it from the slow cooker. Plus, I mixed the leftover gravy and vegetables that was in the slow cooker with the last of the cauliflower puree together, and ate it as a soup the next day.
Slow Cooked Lamb Shank with Carrots and Leeks Served with a Cauliflower Puree
Add sea salt and black pepper to top of lamb shanks
Rough chop leeks and carrots and add to slow cooker.
Finely chop garlic and pick off thyme leaves and then add both to slow cooker.
Cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours.
Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.
Rough chop cauliflower and add to pot with 1 cup of water.
Let water steam/boil cauliflower for 15 minutes or until knife slide in easily.
Transfer cauliflower to Vitamix, and add a small amount of the water to blend easily. You can also add more water so try to blend with as little as possible for a thick puree.
I used Italian flavored meatballs, since that was what I had cooked earlier, but you can easily add Asian flavors to make this meal more consistent with the Asian Beef Broth. I oftentimes add spices and scallions to my bone broth, when I’m in the mood for something other than my usual bone broth with fresh ground black pepper.
This is one of my favorite soups, partly because it’s so easy. I like to use all of the broccoli, including the stalk. You can also save your broccoli stalks that you might throw away, and use them to make this soup. The color won’t be as intense, but it’s a great way to save money and avoid waste. I also have a recipe for Vegan Mashed Broccoli, which is similar, just with less liquid. These recipes can be made paleo or vegan. For some added nutrition, I love using bone both in this recipe, but a vegetable stock or water works just as well. This recipe will be included in the ebook I’m working on called Easy Blended Vegetable Soups, which will be available for free to my monthly newsletter subscribers.
