Meatballs and Summer Squash…and an Update!

Hey folks,

A little update on my upcoming book: I just worked through publishers edits on Wired To Eat. I THINK that’s it for the editing on my side and we are still looking at a March/April 2017 release. It’s a BIG book, and even as large as it is I had to cut a lot of material to make the thing manageable. You will see that work on the blog and a few other venues as we motor towards book release.

Now for the the lazy lobo ranch: We just wrapped up a remodel which was a kick to the jimmy, but hey First World Problems, right? We are planning on running sheep next year on our property so we can start implementing the Savory Institute Holistic Management practices to reverse desertification, improve the soil and build resiliency on our land (it’s not huge, 3 acres, but you can do a lot with that much dirt). I’ll keep y’all updated on how that rolls out. In addition to the sheep we also have a few decent sized garden plots where we are working on our permaculture skills. Growing food in a high-desert area like Reno is not the easiest thing in the world. 50-60* temperature shifts from day to night is not uncommon and in addition to the temperature fluctuations the sun is intense. We’ve been in a testing phase where we are looking at what grows in this area with the least infrastructure and inputs possible. One of the big winners has been squash, and Nicki has been cooking up a ton of squash based meals. Here is a Meatball and Summer Squash recipe that the whole Wolf Pack has been devouring about as fast as Nicki can make it:

Meatballs and Summer Squash

Ingredients:

2 lbs grass fed ground beef*

¼ cup finely chopped green onion

¼ cup finely chopped mushrooms (button or cremini)

1 large clove garlic, crushed

2 eggs

Salt

Pepper

4 medium sized squash (can be zucchini, yellow crookneck, delicata, etc.

1 25oz jar of tomato basil sauce**

4 tablespoons olive oil

Grated parmesan cheese (optional for those who tolerate dairy)

 

Preheat oven to 400F.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or foil and set aside (you’ll need one for the meatballs and one for the squash).

 

1. Prepare the meatballs

• • Mix the ground beef, green onion, garlic, mushrooms, eggs and salt and pepper together in a large bowl.
  • Form the beef mixture into balls about 1.5 inches in diameter and place on the lined baking sheet.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes until brown. (Optionally you can use lamb and even add liver to the meatballs).

2. Prepare the squash

Depending on the squash varieties you use you’ll want to slice in half and scoop out the seeds.

• Toss the sliced squash in a bowl and drizzle with olive oil. Use two spoons or your hands to toss until all squash are well coated.

Place on a foil lined baking sheet and broil for 7 minutes. Then, using tongs, flip the squash and return to the oven to broil an additional 7 minutes. If you are using parmesan cheese sprinkle a little over the squash before broiling the second 7 minutes.

3. Put it all together

• Remove squash from foil lined pans and place in a baking dish or casserole dish. Place the meatballs on top of the squash and top with tomato sauce or marinara sauce.

• Put the oven back to bake at 400F and put the entire dish back in for 10-15 minutes or until the tomato sauce is bubbling.

 

Serve and enjoy!

Robb Wolf

Robb Wolf, author of The Paleo Solution and Wired to Eat, is a former research biochemist and one of the world’s leading experts in Paleolithic nutrition. Wolf has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of people around the world via his top ranked iTunes podcast and wildly popular seminar series.