Salmon Stir Fry with ginger & lime - Paleo/Whole30

Earlier this year my diet drastically changed. You see, I was diagnosed with PCOS, which I knew nothing about, and had to pretty promptly research to make sense of this diagnosis. So it turns out PCOS is linked back to metabolic issues - probably inherited -  including insulin resistance, and 1 in 5-10 women with PCOS will develop diabetes.

That's scary to me, very scary. PCOS has a whole lot of other problems, which I won't go into here, but safe to say something had to change, especially for this sugar loving bake-a-holic.

So the last 9 months has seen me gradually cut out sugar, then grains, then dairy, until I am basically eating Paleo style for 80% of the time, and I have done one (and a half!) Whole30 nutritional resets.
(if you want to know more, check out  whole30.com, and I highly recommend reading the book 'It starts with food' by the people behind the Whole30 )

I am loving this new way of eating, which is lucky for me as it is not about to change given there is no 'cure' for PCOS, and I will have to be careful with my blood sugar levels for the rest of my life.

So this recipe today is in the spirit of my recent eating changes - good quality fats (coconut, omega 3 in the salmon), quality protein (Salmon and Cashews) and a rainbow of veges. Also, to be Whole30 compliant, it does not use Soy Sauce or any sugar, refined or unrefined.

And it's really delicious...I promise! You won't even miss the rice, but if you really had to, go ahead and serve it with Cauli Rice. We find Salmon much easier to eat this way, rather than being overwhelmed by it's richness if eating it as a whole piece.

Ginger & Lime Salmon Stirfry

Serves 2, with leftovers for lunch

275g packet Regal Salmon Stirfry (or cube some fresh salmon filet)
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1/2 head broccoli, cut into florets and stems thinly sliced
2 carrots, cut into matchsticks
1 capsicum, cut into sticks
1 onion or 4 banana shallots, cut into wedges
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
*Substitute any of the above vegetables for your favourites - asparagus, bok choy etc

2 T Coconut Aminos (Soy sauce substitute, you can use soy sauce if you prefer)
2 t Sesame Oil
2 T Umiboshi vinegar or fish sauce (Umiboshi is Japanese pickled plum vinegar, very salty)
Pepper and salt to taste
Coconut oil, for frying
Juice of 1 lime
Finely grated rind of 1 lime
2 T Sesame seeds
Chilli flakes, or fresh chilli finely sliced
1 thumb of ginger, finely juilienned
Fresh Coriander
Cashews, raw or roasted

Directions:
I stir fry the veges in batches, so I can control the cooking better, then also cook the Salmon seperately at the end, but this still uses only 1 pan

1. Stir fry Cauli, Carrots and onion on high heat in some coconut oil (don't be stingy, coconut oil is really good for you). When tender-crisp and nicely charred in spots, removed and keep aside in a covered bowl to stay warm
2. Stir fry broccoli, capsicum in a bit more coconut oil for a few minutes, then add garlic, fry together for another minute or two then add the Coconut Aminos, Sesame Oil. Umiboshi Vinegar and a good grind of pepper. toss to coat, then add the broccoli to the reserved Cauli and Carrots.
3. Add some more coconut oil to the pan, heat to a med-high sear, then add the cubed Salmon. Try and not move it too much, you want to get a nice caramelisation on the salmon. As it cooks, sprinkle over the chilli, sesame seeds, julienned ginger, juice and rind of the lime and some seat salt. Toss to coat, or using tongs carefully turn over the salmon pieces until cooked (just opaque, and golden brown).
4. Serve the salmon on top of the stir-fried veg, and top with fresh chopped coriander and cashews.

Little Lemon & Elderflower Cakes

This recipe came about due to a couple of key points of inspiration - the Raco mini Cake tin pan from Red Kitchen, and the March edition of Taste magazine, which I devoured recently on a flight home from Wellington. Luckily it was another workmate's birthday - our dear 'Mama Tech' Ann - and I didn't have long 'till I had the chance to whip these up for her birthday shout.

The original recipe was for a Gin & Lemon cake from Kim Evans of Little & Friday fame. I made a few adjustments, resulting in Elderflower Syrup making its way into the lemon syrup you drizzle over the freshly cooked cakes instead of Gin ( gotta keep it a family show at work!).

My oh my...these were as good as they looked...if not better. Syrup cakes are usually pretty dense, but this was light and had a melt-in-your mouth texture. The cream cheese frosting has a lot less sugar than usual cream-cheese icings, but this makes it velvety smooth and decadent. I added some homemade Lemon Curd (from the Bluebell's Cakery book) and some Fresh-As freeze dried raspberries for decoration.

Handy tip - if you don't have individual cake moulds, use an empty tomato tin or baked beans tin - as long as it's not lined with plastic or anything. Simply take off the top and bottom, wrap tin foil around the bottom and sit on a tray - and voila! It works really well.

Little Lemon & Elderflower cakes

Makes 1 x 20cm cake or 15 mini-cakes.
Adapted from Kim Evans (Little & Friday Celebrations)

For the Cakes:

250g unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
zest of 6 small or 4 large lemons
4 eggs
2 cups plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups ground almonds
1 cup buttermilk (or yoghurt, or sour cream)

Syrup:

1/4 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup lemon juice (pretty much the juice from your zested lemons)
6 Tbsp Elderflower Syrup

Cream Cheese Icing:

(you may wish to double these quantities if you are making a large cake to be iced on all sides)
80g unsalted butter, room temperature
250g Philadelphia cream cheese, fridge cold
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted.

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees. Grease a 20cm cake tin and line the bottom and sides OR grease 15 individual cake moulds (or a Raco loose bottom Mini Cake pan - you can get yours here)
2. Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and lemon zest until pale and fluffy (approx. 7 minutes at least). Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add ground almonds and mix to combine. Using a large metal spoon, fold half the dry ingredients, followed by half the buttermilk, into the creamed mixture, making sure not to overmix. Repeat with remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk.
4. Spread mixture into prepared tin or spoon into individual cake moulds. You want the individual cake moulds approx. 3/4ths fill.
5. Bake cakes in the centre of the oven - 1 hour 50 minutes for a single cake, or approx. 30 minutes for mini cakes, or until they bounced back when lightly pressed and a skewer comes out clean.
6. To make the syrup, heat sugar, water and lemon juice in a saucepan for approx. 4 minuted until sugar has dissolved. Stir in Elderflower syrup.
7. Remove cakes from oven and pour hot syrup over cake while still hot and in their pans. Leave for approx. 15 minutes, then remove from pans and allow to cool completely on a rack before icing with cream cheese icing.

To assemble:
1. To make cream cheese icing, using an electric mixer, beat butter and lemon zest on high speed until pale and creamy. Lower speed and add cream cheese in small chunks, then increase speed to high again and beat very well until completely combined, smooth and pale (approx. 5 minutes)
2. With mixer on low, add sifted icing sugar and then beat on high for another 5 minutes.
3. Using a piping bag if preferred, icing the tops of the cakes with a generous amount of cream cheese icing. Top with a spoonful of lemon curd and crushed freeze-dried raspberries.