Last summer, I told Farmer Chuck — the king of everything delicious at our CSA Sunrise Farm — that the onions we'd been getting in our basket were...
Read MoreWhole30 Grill-Out: Story in Photos
One of my foodie daydreams is to have a dinner party with a table like this…
Or like this…
But with friends like this…
… the setting doesn’t much matter. (That’s Bonita, Melissa, Dallas, Catherine, Georgia, and Erika. Missing from the photo because we were all too distracted by the food to remember photo opps: Anna, Matti, and Blake.)
Last Friday, we arranged the 100% dino-chow, 100% delicious, 100% lovingly-made food in my kitchen, then smushed ourselves around a small-ish round table in the backyard, under the soft glow of the backyard lights. It’s one of my favorite things to do, and I was ridiculously pleased.
Take a look at our food! From the back, we had fresh jicama and cucumbers… a platter of grilled chicken sausage and lamb chops… Brussels sprouts with bacon (hiding inside the pretty crock on the left)… a roasted beet salad with pistachios… perfectly garlicky guacamole… kale chips… grilled boneless, skinless chicken thighs… and Moroccan Grilled Salmon.
Not a grain of grain or drop of dairy to be seen, and no. one. suffered. We reveled!
Here are some close-ups…
Beets with pistachios, a little orange juice, and spicy zing (hello, cumin and coriander!). Recipe for this tomorrow; you definitely want this one!
Brussels sprouts + pig = delicious
Green tomatoes from Blake’s garden, made into Southern indulgence with coconut flour and flax meal. (Blake! Cough up the recipe! Update: Blake gave us her recipe; see below.)
Finally, nothing is tastier or higher quality than our guests of honor: Melissa Urban and Dallas Hartwig of Whole9Life.
Take a look at what Melissa and Dallas had to say about our grill-out and be sure to snag the chimichurri recipe from their blog; it’s heavenly.
Dino-Chow Green Tomatoes
(From the fabulous Blake)
1. Pick four firm, green, unripe tomatoes (usually only found in a home garden, not often in stores). Slice thin.
2. Get two small bowls. Fill the first with an egg and a tablespoon of water. Fill the second with coconut flour, flax meal, and spices. Amounts will vary, but a good rule of thumb is to start with about 1/2 cup coconut flour, 1 tbsp flax meal, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp garlic powder & fresh cracked pepper. You can add whatever spices your little heart desires and add more coconut flour and flax meal if you start to run low.
3. Dredge each tomato slice in egg, then dredge in flour mixture.
4. If you’re pan-frying, heat a skillet with 1 tbsp coconut oil over medium. When hot, add seasoned tomato slices and fry until brown on one side, then flip and brown on the other side. Voila! If you’re baking, preheat the oven to 400. Spread the tomato slices on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes. For extra browning, run under the broiler for 1 minute.
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I am SO looking forward to your beet and pistachio recipe. I love both of those!
Actually, I love all of the above you posted. Can't wait to try them!
~Melisa –> I've been whining for weeks that my Farmhouse Delivery keeps bringing me beets, and the oven makes the whole house hot, but they really only taste good if you roast them and wah wah wah wah.
I'm not whining anymore. This is the ONLY way I'll eat my beets now, and it's super delish.
What a fun night! What always gets me at these dinners are all the beautiful colors on the table. With all these fresh foods, we've got a veritable rainbow! Ok, so I'm good with food, bad with recipes, but here goes:
Pick 4 firm, green, unripe tomatoes (usually only found in a home garden, not often in stores). Slice thin.
Get 2 small bowls. Fill 1 with 1 egg and a tablespoon of water. Fill 1 with coconut flour, flax meal, and spices. Amounts will vary, but a good rule of thumb is to start with about 1/2 cup coconut flour, 1 tbsp flax meal, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp garlic powder & fresh cracked pepper. You can add whatever spices your little heart desires and add more coconut flour and flax meal if you start to run low.
Then dredge each tomato slice in egg, then dredge in flour mixture.
If you're pan-frying, heat a skillet with 1 tbsp coconut oil over medium. When hot, add seasoned tomato slices and fry until brown on one side, then flip and brown on the other side. Voila.
If you're baking, preheat the oven to 400. Spread the tomato slices on a baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes. For extra browning, run under the broiler for 1 minute.
Thank you, Blake! Awesome.
I'm going to add this into the post, too, so no one misses it!
OOOOOO…can we PLEASE have an awesome dino-chow celebration on the beach with that gorgeous table?!? That would be HEAVENLY!!
We can wear grass skirts and go spear fishing! And the no-booze rule be damned: we can drink pina coladas!
Totally bummed I didn't get to try your famous salmon. Next time!
Ummm…YUM!!! I am so jealous!!! I'm a good potlucker…and I've always wanted to visit Austin, so…I'm just saying…
Jen, consider yourself pre-invited to the next one!
Nice! I am so there!