I was talking to my friend Felicia at the box the other day and for some reason we got on about oxtail and who may or may not make the best. Now, I will give her that she may have some heritage to draw on, while I can only go by what I have read and been taught about island cooking from loads of people I have worked with in kitchens Through my career as a chef. Not that we’ve had a taste test, but I’m pretty sure that they are both equally great in their own right.

Felicia’s big thing during this convo was a side dish called Cou Cou.  And in both our minds, this really makes or breaks the whole oxtail experience. Cou Cou is basically polenta  (corn meal porridge) cooked with okra and sometimes onions, thyme and chili peppers. It is allowed to cool slightly and “set”.

OK, before I get on with this post, I want to say something… This recipe is, in my opinion, not to be had on an every day basis… or even once a week… or even once a fucking month!!

There is so much sugar in this that it takes it way outside of the Paleo Zone… If you are on a “21 Day Detox” or a “whole30″ or a “paleo Challenge”, stay away… Stay very far away from this recipe –>> Extreme Crack!!

But if you do venture into this dark territory then what you’ll hear coming out of your mouth as the ice cream is going in is, “OMFG! This is delicious!!!”

Cue Mouthgasim…

Every year on St. Patrick’s day, for as long as I can remember  we have always had Irish Stew. And guess what? It is PALEO!! (to a point)

Traditional Irish Stew uses potatoes and a wee bit o flour, but we can sub in white fleshed firm sweet potatoes and there is realy no need for any offending flour to thicken this paleo stew anyways. The breaking down sweet potato will be all that’s needed to accomplish this.

This is a very straight forward and easy recipe that is remarkable big on flavour. I hope you enjoy it as much as i do…

Apple butter is something I just fell into one day. I was living in a small village outside of Kingston, Ontario, called Harrowsmith. With 2 very small children my wife at the time and decided to go apple picking. As those of you who have done this before may know, the first time apple picking you can go a little overboard on how many you actually pick…

I have no idea where the notion to make this “sauce” came from… Having researched after the fact, there are one hell of a lot of recipes out there on making something like this, but I really didn’t know about it. It’s really not hard to make and requires only a little amount of unpasteurized honey per serving. And let me tell you, it is F@#king fantastic!!

I love the slight Asian touch the hint of ginger gives to my paleo version of this “jam”. I served it as a condiment with a pan seared Steelhead trout filet , mixed baby greens and slivered green onions… Bliss!!

It would go equally well with any fowl, lamb or roasted pork.