No, your eyes are not deceiving you. I’m writing a post that has nothing to do with Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving-related/leftover food recipes. Mainly it’s because I don’t have any. I’ve been a bit at a loss this year—I didn’t have to make anything for the two Thanksgiving meals we had except my Brussels sprouts—so the Tiny Kitchen has been a bit quiet.
I miss it, frankly. But there’s a lot going on in the Tiny Kitchen and surrounding house, and I apologize for not keeping up with the blog as stringently as I’d like to. That should all change in the new year, so all will be revealed.
In the meantime, please enjoy this anti-Thanksgiving recipe. You could make this recipe with ground turkey if you wanted, instead of pork, since it is so flavorful the turkey wouldn’t be bland at all. I’m sure some of my awesome vegan blogger friends could figure out a way to make these out of tempeh, but I’ve always had a hard time cooking tempeh. Hmmmm, I wonder if cooked mung beans would work….Somer? Annie? Shira? Any ideas?
But we’re fans of pork here in this household, and ground pork it was.
These are quite warming and a little addicting—The Husband could barely contain himself from finishing them all off (even though he did get to do so a few nights later for leftovers!). I also made a sunflower-seed-butter sauce from Well Fed, which wasn’t even necessary, but The Husband said would have made a good salad dressing for the spinach salad I had on the side.
I made some stir-fried cauliflower “rice” for these meatballs to go on, which turned out quite well for my first go. If you’re not grain-free like me, feel free to use regular or brown rice for your side.
I’d also like to thank Alice of Girl In a Food Frenzy for inspiring this dish. She made some awesome looking dumplings a few weeks ago, and since I’ve learned the hard way not to go off the reservation when it comes to my diet, I had to find a way around the wheat wrappers. And here we are. Thanks Alice!
Thai/Vietnamese-Inspired Pork Meatballs
1 lb. ground pork (or turkey)
3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 Tbs finely chopped lemongrass
1-inch finely grated fresh ginger
1 shiitake mushroom, finely chopped
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 spring onions, finely chopped
3 Tbs chopped cilantro
1 Tbs coconut aminos or tamari
1/2 tsp dried chili flakes (or more to taste)
2 Tbs ground flax seed
1 egg
Combine all ingredients and mix well. Use a small ice-cream scoop to make equally-sized meatballs about the size of a golf ball. Place on parchment paper-lined cookie sheet and put in a preheated 350°F oven for 15 minutes or cooked through. (If your meatballs are this size, they probably won’t need much more time.
Stir-Fried Paleo Rice
1 – 2 green onions
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
Pepper to taste
4 tablespoons sesame oil for stir-frying
Half a cauliflower, cut into florets and all stems removed
1 – 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
Wash and finely chop the green onion. Lightly beat the eggs with the salt and pepper. Pulse the cauliflower in a food processor carefully until it resembles rice. Set aside.
Heat a wok or frying pan and add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add the egg. Cook like an omelette until lightly cooked but not too dry. Remove the egg and clean out the pan.
Add another 2 tablespoons oil. Add the riced cauliflower. Stir-fry for a few minutes, then stir in the coconut aminos to taste.
When the rice is heated through, chop the egg and add to the pan. Mix thoroughly; stir in the green onion. Serve hot with meatballs or any other Thai, Vietnamese or Chinese recipe that calls for rice.
