food: peach blueberry paleo crisp
26 Apr 2012 1 Comment
in food & cooking, paleo Tags: coconut, paleo, recipes
whats a girl to do when she has a late night sweet craving and seemingly nothing in the house?
scour the cupboards and invent something.
so i saw a bag of okanagan peaches and some local blueberries from last summer in my freezer and thought to myself, gee, you should probably use those before they’re totally useless.
but since they’re already getting a bit of a freezer burn, maybe you should cook them…
but paleo = no pie…
but i thought i could macgyver myself a crisp/crumble of sorts.
and hooray, i did it!
essentially, i basically just put stuff together that i thought would work in the same way as the usual crisp would…
for the filling, because i didn’t use flour or cornstarch it was a bit runny. but still delicious.
peaches, blueberries, a little cinnamon and coconut sugar was all it needed…
the topping was made with some dried coconut, coconut flour, almond flour, coconut sugar (it’s basically like brown sugar but from coconut sap instead – tastes like a maple syrup/brown sugar love child – delightful) and some butter. oh, and a sprinkle of cinnamon and a little vanilla extract.
baked it for about half an hour at 375 until the smell was killing me and then we chowed down.
it was a great sweet snack and definitely satisfied my “junk food” craving.
food: chicken & fennel stew
07 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
in food & cooking, paleo, wheat free Tags: beer, chicken, coconut, gluten free, paleo, recipes, whats for dinner, wheat free
i’m getting great mileage out of the primal blueprint cookbook.
i must say, their recipes are really good.
when i initially bought it and flipped through, this chicken & fennel stew jumped out at me.
it’s not that different from dishes we usually make… chicken thigh in some sort of vegetable heavy sauce is a pretty normal meal for my husband & me, so this was definitely nothing out of our comfort zone…
nope, it was just pure comfort food. (see what i did there? i know, mad writing skills)
anyways, as usual… this recipe met all my criteria for making it.
ingredients i liked, pretty healthy… and stuff that i had on hand. mostly.
it was also filled with green loveliness.
so here’s the ingredients:
- 8 chicken thighs
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 small fennel bulb, chopped (i used 1/2 a large)
- 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed (called for 2, but i like garlic)
- 1 tsp fennel seed, crushed
- 1/2 tsp saffron
- 2 cups beer or chicken broth (i used beer – harp)
- 1/2 cup coconut milk or heavy cream (i used coconut milk)
- 2 cups kale, chopped
- 1/2 cup flat leaf parsley chopped
additions – i added some chili flake and a pinch of salt, since i used beer instead of chicken stock. and black pepper. also i had a leek end, so i threw that in too with the vegetables.
first off, brown the chicken thighs on both sides and remove from pan.
then saute the fennel, onion & mushrooms in the chicken fat. add a little oil if needed (i use coconut oil).
when they’re getting soft, add beer to pan and bring to a boil.
add saffron and spices.
add the chicken thighs back into the pan, put the lid on and left cook for 25 minutes or so.
when the chicken is cooked through, remove from pan.
at this point, i put mine on a rack in the oven for a few minutes to crisp the skin back up.
this totally optional but lets face it, no one likes soggy skin.
remove the pan from the heat.
stir in kale, parsley and coconut milk or cream.
and serve…
once again, can i mention how much i love my ipad for cooking?
the cover that doubles as a stand is the best idea ever.
food: dark chocolate pumpkin muffins
04 Mar 2012 2 Comments
in food & cooking, paleo, wheat free Tags: coconut, gluten free, paleo, recipes, sweet treats, wheat free
this one definitely gets a solid gold star under paleo baking.
i downloaded another paleo cookbook for my ipad, this one was The Primal Blueprint Cookbook
and can i just veer off for a minute to mention how very much i love having cookbooks on my ipad. it’s awesome and takes us far less space in my bookshelves than regular cookbooks. i’m not sure i can ever go back to hard copy books.
anyways. i saw this recipe for Pumpkin Nut Muffins and i thought to myself, yes, i would like to eat that.
the biggest thing about paleo baking is that it takes a lot of eggs. not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s weird to wrap your head around cooking with 1/2 cup of flour and 6 eggs. but, it makes for a delicious protein packed muffin that tastes like dessert, but satisfies you like a meal.
so without further ado, here’s the recipe as i made it… and since i doubled the chocolate chips, they make the title now.
Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
- 1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup cooked pureed pumpkin
- 6 eggs
- 4 tbsp of coconut oil or melted butter
- 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey (i used honey)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup good quality dark chocolate chips
Makes 12 muffins
- preheat oven to 400. grease muffin tins well. i used a circle of parchment at the bottom to help them remove easier as well. it worked excellently.
- sift to combine dry ingredients; flour, baking soda spices & salt in a separate bowl
- beat pumpkin puree and add eggs one at a time until well blended. add vanilla, honey and melted butter/coconut oil. mix thoroughly.
- add dry ingredients to wet and stir until no lumps remain. add nuts & chocolate chips
- spoon into muffin tins and made for 18 minutes or so (mine were done at 15 mins)
the end result was far less pumpkin-y than i imagined, but really really good. not crumbly like my paleo brownies were, but a perfect balance of dense and fluffy. great texture overall.
they were best right out of the oven (what isn’t?) but i just microwaved a leftover one for a snack and it was still great.
even my super skeptical, pumpkin heating husband scarfed one down in short time and declared them tasty.
this made for a nice weekend treat and will make a great breakfast for work over the next few days or afternoon snack.
now that i know the recipe is a winner, i’ll make a double batch next time and freeze some for quick reheats later.
food: paleo pancakes
20 Feb 2012 3 Comments
in food & cooking, paleo, wheat free Tags: breakfast, coconut, comfort food, gluten free, paleo, wheat free
monday is my sunday this week.
meaning its all about pajamas and couch love and a big breakfast.
and today, i had a hankering for pancakes.
i’ve been getting more brave about the coconut flour cooking. and i came across a recipe that had great reviews for some coconut flour pancakes and figured i may as well give it a shot.
like all my recipes, qualification number one was that i had everything on hand in my pantry or fridge.
check.
so here’s the recipe… i’m not going to type out how to make a pancake. if you can’t figure out how to make that go, then i’m not sure a recipe will help you in life.
Paleo Pancakes for 2 people
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1 tbsp coconut syrup (i used agave syrup)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 cup coconut flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- beat together eggs, milk, vanilla & syrup until frothy.
- add dry ingredients
- beat/mix until well combined with no lumps
- make pancakes
i served mine with sausages with blueberries & maple syrup inside. (they came from costco and are a delight)
the pancakes turned out quite lovely. great texture and light coconut taste to them… myself & the husband really enjoyed them.
they’re definitely not an everyday food, but as a special treat every now and then, i give this recipe a gold star.
food: fudgy coconut flour brownies
13 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in paleo, wheat free Tags: chocolate, coconut, comfort food, dessert, gluten free, wheat free
well, i took the plunge tonight and attempted my very first paleo baking experiment.
it went much better than expected.
first off, i managed to find a recipe for something i actually wanted to eat… and one that actually had ingredients that i owned in my house already.
and that, my friends, is the only way i’ll bake.
i stumbled upon the recipe from this blog.
and of course, i changed a few things to suit what i had on hand.
below is my version, based on her version.
Fudgy Coconut Flour Brownies
1 cup coconut flour
2/3 cup good cocoa powder
2 squares of unsweetened baking chocolate
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
¾ cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
3 extra large eggs
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 tablespoons regular rum
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ cup agave syrup
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
1.) In a large bowl, sift together the coconut flour, salt, cocoa, and baking powder. Set aside.
2.) Cut butter into chunks and place in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until melted then add the chocolate chips and mix just until they soften. Quickly remove from heat and continue stirring until everything is combined. Let cool.
3.) In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and agave syrup. Add the oil, rum, and vanilla. Followed by the cooled chocolate butter mixture.
4.) Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry. The coconut flour tends to suck moisture quickly so don’t worry if the batter clumps. Use the lukewarm water to loosen it up by drizzling a little bit at a time until it is all absorbed but the batter is still wet. If you need to, add up to ¼ cup more water.
5.) Pour the batter into a 9” square baking pan lined with parchment paper.
6.) Bake for 30 minutes until the top is dry to the touch and the batter is firm.
7.) Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before lifting the parchment paper to remove the brownies from the pan. Slice and eat right away for a warm, cakey brownie or let sit over night for a firmer fugier one (or have it both ways!)
the brownies turned out pretty much exactly as described. fudgy and dense and very crumbly. but good. nice subtle coconut undertone and I liked the texture quite a bit.
definitely not health food, but a great lesson that there can indeed be treats!
