Features Overview

OKRA gumbo

Just a quick note: this feeds 4 with ease and generally leaves enough for 4 the next day.

The best dish for okra! Plus it has other anti-inflammatory ingredients like garlic, onions, and celery. This dish does have spicy pork sausage in it but that can easily be omitted or substituted for organic chicken sausage. Traditionally, cajun food packs a punch so I opted to use the hot Italian sausage to give it a bite. Plus, I was feeding other people and I can sonmetimes be a bit of a purist when it comes to how I cook.

You can make and freeze this dish too! I find it perfect for those gray days when I’d prefer to hibernate.

Everything is always organic or wild-fyi

5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 stalks of celery, finely chopped

1 large white onion, finely chopped

1 pound of okra

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1 package of hot italian sausage-I try to find it loose but if you need to buy it in casing I remove the casing and crumbled it as best as possible so it is broken up in the recipe.

1 pound of fresh wild crawfish or shrimp

14 oz of chicken stock

1 14 oz can of diced tomato

3 bay leaves

1/8 cup of fresh oregano, finely chopped

1 tablespoon of cajun spices (msg free)

1 teaspoon of kelp flakes

3 tablespoons of avocado oil

So I have omitted the traditional roux of most cajun recipes as it is flour heavy. If you’d like to make a roux it is simple-1 cup of avocado oil and 1 cup of cassava flour that you stir on medium heat for approximately 30 minutes until the flour is a deep brown (don’t burn it so you have to keep stirring. When it’s done, most of the cassava flour will be on the bottom but you can use the part that isn’t to thicken the gumbo. Traditional recipes start with the roux but of course I don’t, I add it in at the end to thicken it up).

Slice your okra and then cook it with a bit of the avocado oil on a low/medium heat for roughly 30 min until there is less of a “slimy” texture. Set it aside.

While the okra is simmering, in a separate skillet add 3 tablespoon of avocado oil with the onion and celery and simmer until soft. Add your kelp flakes, garlic and red pepper. Continue to simmer until the garlic starts to brown. Add in the diced tomato, chicken stock, sausage, cajun spices, bay leaf, oregano and okra. I make sure to break the sausage up so you don’t have large clumps of sausage.

At this point, reduce heat and allow it to simmer for a good hour. Then, in my perfect world, I actually remove the heat, allow it to cool and refrigerate it overnight. The next day I slowly heat it, check the spices to see if it needs adjustments and add in my seafood. I have always found any cajun dish to taste so much better the next day, It will still taste amazing if you cook it all in one day!

You can of course serve this with the traditional rice or use cauliflower ride or konjac rice based on your dietary preference.

Venison Meatloaf

I was contacted to help a client with a very, very picky eater who literally only wants to eat meat and loves hot and spicy. This is a recipe I created to atleast get a few vegetables in. It freezes well and you can reheat and mash to create bolognese too.

2 pounds of ground venison

2 pounds of ground venison sausage

1 large onion

1 large zucchini

1 cup of grated carrots

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon of chimichurri seasoning

1 teaspoon kelp flakes

1/4 teaspoon pink himalayan sea salt

1 cup of cassava flour

2 eggs

Sauce: 1 can of chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped basil

1 clove of garlic minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine in a blender til smooth (should be on the thicker side)

Grate the vegetables and place in a glass bowl along with all the other ingredients and mix (I like to use my hands then a wooden spoon). Bake at 375* for approximately 1 hour. Then remove, top with the sauce and return to the oven at 350* for 15 minutes. You can also freeze this to enjoy later.

It’s super easy to substitute the venison for another meat. I prefer turkey as it’s lighter.