Paleo Pesach

I know I said I would be coming out with a breakfast post, and I'm going to make that happen soon, but it was beautiful yesterday and the mountain bike called my name. In the meantime, here's a more time-sensitive topic for my Jewish audience. It will hopefully be relevant to the 90+% of my readership that comprises my mom and her friends. And I know for a fact that some of her friends are paleo, so I'm performing a real mitzvah here.

A side note: I had the idea for this post because I've recently ventured into the world of organ meats, which are an excellent and inexpensive source of protein and nutrients. Some of these nutrients, like copper, aren't the easiest to attain without grains. I've never eaten offal besides pate and chopped liver, so it was a pretty big leap. I read a great post by Mark Sisson on the subject, and decided to give it a try. 

I was surprised at how few grocery stores carry organ meats, and how few butchers there are in Albuquerque. But I finally discovered that Alpine Sausage, on Girard and Indian School, sold beef liver. I highly recommend Alpine -- it's a family-owned German artisan deli, and their stuff is cheaper than grocery stores. Awesome andouille for when I'm in a gumbo mood. Using this recipe, I made some smothered liver and onions. I can't say I loved it, but after the first night of leftovers I'm starting to acquire a taste. It's definitely an adjustment, so I'm wading in slowly. Maybe I'll do kidney next time. Or heart...

It tastes better than it looks. Not really.

Anyway. I wanted to continue my liver foray for passover and started looking at recipes for chopped liver online. This one, in particular, can be done paleo easily by swapping the Manischewitz for red wine, and the vegetable oil for canola oil if you're not using schmaltz.

My go-to Jewish recipe is for my "famous" coconut almond macaroons, which I stole from Martha Stewart. (It's easy to impress when you're a 25 year old male dating a shiksah). Swap out the sugar for honey and you're in business.

Gluten: The 11th plague

What about kugel? I might give this one a shot if I'm feeling ambitious. (Scroll down a bit in the link). Gefilte fish? Matzo ball soup? The Elana's Pantry blog is a great resource.

Now I'm not planning on making this Passover completely paleo. Heck, I don't usually get through a single day paleo. But making Passover a bit healthier, and being able to make paleo Jewish soul food whenever I want, is dayenu for me. (just in case all the earlier puns didn't make you roll your eyes).