Day Eight: Kale Chips and Shepherd's Pie

Hey Again!
So today I'm cooking in Ottawa up on the parents' farm at Piper Hill! I was given free license of the kitchen (and at Farm Boy beforehand...) so I decided to make a pan of delicious hors d'oeuvres, and top it off with a hearty farm-worthy meal!

Checking out the spice rack for inspiration!

Leafy greens ready for the oven!

First up was a pan of kale chips, which I had never made before! I was completely unsure of how to go about doing this, and utterly skeptical about how they would turn out, but I decided to sacrifice the whole head of kale and come what may!
I put about two tablespoons of olive oil and salt & pepper in a medium sized bowl, and then dropped in the destemmed kale pieces. I coated them thoroughly, bruising them a bit on purpose, and then spread them out on a pan.
With a little lemon juice, I spruced the pan up a tad, and popped it in a 300 degree oven for about 12 minutes, before flipping them once. Some pieces were a little brown (these are the best ones) but they turned out beautifully with just the right amount of satisfying crunch. I'd venture as far as to say they were akin to potatoe chips (GASP!). Even the dog Kiera was begging for them (among others in the group...)

Kiera begging for a kale chip

The Shepherd's Pie, which is traditionally made with a mashed potatoe topping, was in need of a little creative thinking. How to replace all that naughty starch with something that would satisfy and lend the same kind of  texture and look? Why, cauliflower of course! Keeping most of the dish simple, I began assembly.
First I shredded some cabbage, and cut up some mushrooms, which I tossed with canned tomatoes and set aside as my first layer. After mixing ground turkey, ground beef, garlic, fresh basil, chives, tomatoes and whatever spices I could find, I got the second layer working in a frying pan.

Meat mixture and Cabbage Mushroom base.

Layered Pie with delicious red wine!

Preheating the oven to 350 degrees, I steamed the cauliflower until it was soft when prodded with a knife. After draining, and adding a little of the fat from the ground meat for softness and to promote a smoother consistency, I simply mashed the veggies right in the same pot! Then I carefully ladled them up on top of the layered cabbage and protein and sprinkled some paprika on top. To get a bit of a crispy finish on top, the whole thing went in the oven for 30 minutes, before the serving began!

Plated and ready for the fork!

This was extremely messy to serve, but really delicious! I'm told by my non-paleo tasters that it was especially good with some tomatoe-chili sauce up on top, but I enjoyed mine just fine straight out of the dish!
All in all a very hearty, country-style dish, with plenty of good leftovers for on-the-go meals, or dinner in a pinch!