Little Bunny in my Tummy!

It's been a little while since I've written last. I've been doing ok on my Auto-immune protocol, albeit with a good sized slip-up. It apparently never occurred to me that in cutting out seeds from my diet that I'd have to cut out seed based spices as well.  Aka, cumin, coriander and fennel.... Spices that I've been using in almost every recipe I've made over the past two weeks. This basically means that I get so start the protocol over again... No big deal. I can handle it (as I make a grimacing face...)

Anyways, this past weekend I found myself searching through Palmer's market trying to find something interesting to make for dinner. I needed to try a new meat to try to cheer myself up. I aimlessly wandered until I stumbled across a rare find indeed: RABBIT. Yup... Rabbit. Little bunny Foo Foo, hoppin' through the forrest... and right into my large dutch oven!

Rabbit and Beef Stew

(I used this recipe, from Paleo Periodical, as the basis for my stew)

Ingredients:

• a few slices of bacon
• 1 rabbit, cut into pieces
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups precooked beef (I used the meat leftover from cooking neck bones for my broth. Feel free to omit this or use some other stew beef/meat)
• salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• several medium bunches bok choy, separated by leaves
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 2 tsp dry rubbed sage
• 1 bay leaf
• 3-4 cups broth (just to cover rabbit)
• lemon

Method:

• Add bacon to large pot over medium-high heat and cook until crisp. Remove bacon to a plate, crumble into small pieces and set aside. 
• Add the rabbit pieces, and brown them in the rendered bacon grease for about 4-5 minutes per side. Remove from pot and set aside on plate with bacon.
• Add the carrots and onion to pot and sauté until onions are translucent, 5-7 minutes. 
• Add garlic, thyme and sage, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute. 
• Add the bok choy and cook until wilted.
• Return rabbit and bacon to pot, add bay leaf, cooked beef and broth, just to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cover the pot. Stew for 1 hour. 
• Remove the rabbit pieces and pull off all of the meat. Return to the pot and heat until everything is warm.
• Adjust salt/pepper/seasonings, if necessary. Serve in big bowls with a spritz of lemon juice and enjoy!

I'll admit that I was a bit apprehensive about what to expect taste-wise. I never thought that I would ever see the day when I'd cook up one of these little furry guys (whose meat, by the way, is really affordable... $2.99/lb). Upon tasting of the stew, I was pleasantly surprised. Rabbit tastes great! It's not too gamey and really tastes more like chicken. The sage and thyme lend themselves very well to the flavor profile.

I can now officially say I've eaten rabbit... and enjoyed it! You can too... so don't be afraid and try some yummy bunny today!