Truffles...mmmmmmmm (baby cheat)

Amaretto/Almond Truffles

Coconut Truffles

MMMMMmmmmm! It's that time of year that the holiday treats begin. Now, for me a HUGE part of Christmas has always been about the time spent baking special treats for loved ones. Well, since grains no longer exist in my eating, I was dreading starting the baking this year. I've been keeping my eyes open for things I could make that are only little cheats instead of big, gut ache cheats. Today is my first treat. I've always made some candy, but this year will probably be mostly candy and not so many cookies.

Peppermint Truffles

So, Truffles. Made with dark chocolate and cream, I figure these are pretty paleo/primal.  I am ok with a small amount of dairy in my diet.  And of course I won't be eating these all for myself... really!  Some will be going in treat boxes for gifts.  

I adapted this recipe from the cookingforengineers.com blog. Using a 2:1 ration of chocolate to cream I made pure deliciousness this afternoon. 3 variations, almond, coconut and peppermint.

Corey's favorite is the Almond.  I like the peppermint.  You could do them with hazelnut (using a hazelnut liqueur and rolling in chopped hazelnuts), or really any flavor you can find a pure extract or liquor for.  Pick your favorite!

Truffle Recipe

8 oz dark chocolate (best you can find, I used Ghiardelli's bittersweet chocolate chips since Meijer carries them)

1/2 C. Cream (again, the best you can find. I used some Country Fresh and some Horizon Organic)

Flavoring (1 Tbsp of Amaretto in one batch, 1 tsp peppermint extract in another)

Stuff to roll the truffles in

You're probably going to want to chop up your chocolate relatively finely. Or you can partially melt it like I did in the microwave. Careful though, you don't need it to be completely melted. And over heating chocolate creates a mess.

Heat the cream in a saucepan on the stove top. Bring it just barely to a boil.

Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir. And stir. And stir. At first it will look like the pic on the left.


Then it will come together and look like this. Stir until it's smooth and shiny. It should not look grainy at all. If it does, add a little cold cream and stir until it does.

At this point, stick it in the fridge for an hour or two, until it's firm.
Toast some nuts or coconut while you wait. Make sure this cools COMPLETELY.



Once it's firm, take a spoon or a tiny scooper and scrap the chocolate. Use your fingers to shape it into a ball. Drop it into a bowl with your topping of choice (nuts, coconut, powdered sugar, cocoa) and roll it around to cover. Press a little into the truffle to make sure it sticks. I placed the finished truffles in mini muffin like papers to keep them neat.

Cooking Weekend

Corey and I've been trying to cut back on eating out so much, so we've been doing a fair amount of cooking at home the last couple weekends. This weekend I tried 2 recipes from other bloggers.

First off was yesterday morning's Paleo Pancakes... from Hivelogic (and really from an Everyday Paleo reader).  They were pretty damn good.  They do burn fairly easy and are tricky to flip.  So keep the skillet a little lower than you would for normal pancakes, and be patient.  They are definitely worth it.  To top the pancakes I sauteed a chopped apple up with a teaspoon or so of cinnamon and a few tablespoons of maple syrup.  Adding this stuff on top tipped these pancakes over the edge from being good substitutes for the real thing to being sublime.

Sometime in the last week or so I ran across a blog post from Gluten Free Girl and the Chef on kale chips.  I've been having a hard time eating as much veggies as I should, so I figured I'd try them.  Glad I did.  They were delicious!  My only deviation from the written recipe was to sprinkle the salt mixture on before I baked the kale.  Much more even distribution of the salt, and it stayed stuck better.

Bright and early this morning (ok, not actually bright and early, but still morning) we started smoking a pork butt (one of Montello Meats HAB free cuts) that I split in two.  I grabbed a rub and mop recipe from a fantastic cookbook I have called Smoke & Spice.  I used the Renowned Mr. Brown recipe with the mop.  Smells delicious.  Tastes divine.  Not quite falling apart, but still delicious.

For some reason earlier this week I picked up brussels sprouts.  I've never cooked them before... but in the path of trying to eat more veggies, I was on the lookout for something new.  I found a couple recipes online to roast them until they're crispy on the outside, lots of great reviews on the recipes.  So I tried it.  Tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roasted in the oven for 40 minutes at 400F.  OMG!  I think I found my new favorite veggie.

Get Local

Fall is upon us and that means... APPLES! We took a trip out to Crane's U-Pick and Crane's Pie Pantry.   Such delicious apples. We picked Johnagolds and Empires.  Now we'll have apples coming out of our ears for a while. :)

On the way back I noticed a sign for a cheese and creamery place... fast stop to turn! We discovered Evergreen Lane Farm. OMG! This couple has a small farm. They raise their own goats for milk, and then transform that milk into some delicious Goat Cheese. We ended up bringing home the herb variety as well as some of the garlic and sun-dried tomato. Spread on some apples, and you've got a perfect snack!

Crossfit 616 and Apple Muffins

Corey and I've been super busy this summer.  Aside from a massive patio project at my house earlier in the summer, he and his friend Brian have been working on starting up a CrossFit gym.  And they're almost there!  Check it out www.crossfit616.com.  








Oy!  cooking.  Remember that comment earlier about being busy?  Yeah, I haven't been doing much cooking lately.  But with the onset of cooler, rainy weather, I had the urge to today.  After a dinner of the most delicious roasted organic chicken (the chicken from a local farmer, and neighbor of my friend Allison) and roasted apple stuffed carnival acorn squash, I was hankerign for some baked goodness a few hours later.  Sorry no pics of the chicken or squash.  But it was mighty delicious, and had an almost perfectly crispy skin.  Mmmmm....   Such good chicken... It actually tasted like CHICKEN!  And juicy.  Anyway, back to the baked goods.

I've tried an apple muffin recipe before from Sarah Fragoso's Everyday Paleo blog (http://everydaypaleo.com/2010/07/07/server-problem-solved-and-paleo-apple-muffins/), but the texture wasn't quite close enough to a "normal"muffin to satisfy me.  Very very tastey, and great limited ingredient recipe.  But they're pretty dense muffins.  So I decided to try to come up with a slightly different version that was a little bit of a lighter texture.  I got closer, just not quite there though.  That said, I've already eaten 3 of these (within a half hour of making them).

Apple Muffins

1 3/4 C Almond Meal
1/2 C Coconut Flour
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
5 eggs
1/4 C coconut oil
2 small to medium apples, finely chopped
1/3 C + 1 Tbsp Coconut Milk (like the kind you'd drink, in a box)

Preheat oven to 350F
Combine dry ingredients and stir together.  Add liquid ingredients and stir until everything is well incorporated. The batter will be thick.  Divide batter between 12 muffin cups.  Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.


So the texture of these is better.  Closer to what I'd expect when I bite into a muffin.  But I'd like it a little bit lighter still (and moister).  I think next time I'll add another 1/4 tsp cream of tartar and up the coconut milk to 1/2 C.

Blueberry Peach Salmon

Dinner tonight was a delicious paelo success!  Grilled wild Alaskan Salmon with blueberry peach salsa, caesar salads with a paleo version of the dressing (Corey found that over at this blog http://paleoperfectly.blogspot.com/2010/11/all-hail-caesar-paleo-caesar.htm), grilled zucchini and some non-alcoholic mojitos.  Yum!

 
Blueberry Peach Salsa

2 peaches or nectarines, diced
Big handful of blueberries
1 3" sprig of basil, chopped
3-4 3" sprigs of mint, chopped
1-2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
1Tbsp (ish) lemon juice

This is a tough recipe.  Once you've chopped everything up (pretty small, like the size of a pencil eraser for everything except the onions which should be lots smaller),  combine ingredients.  Let it sit for a few minutes and spoon over your favorite meat.  This serves about 3 people.

Non Alcoholic Blueberry Mojitos

Combine a handful of slightly mashed blueberries, handful of crushed mint leaves, juice of half a lime and club soda over ice.  Enjoy!

Grain-less Granola

Grain-Less Granola Recipe:

Found a variation of this recipe over at CrossFit Invictus:

I absolutely love this version of the recipe, the first batch I followed the recipe from the Crossfit site and it turned out a little crumbly.

I tweaked it with a bit more honey a small amount out organic maple syrup and for baking instead of adding it to a greased pan I used parchment paper.

2 Tbsp Vanilla

1/2 cup honey

1/3 maple syrup

1/3 cup coconut oil

pinch of salt

3 cups raw chipped almonds

1/2 cup chia seed

1/2 sesame seeds

1/2 pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup flax seed

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup white raisins

1 cup unsweetened coconut

In a small pot on the stove combine vanilla, honey, coconut oil, syrup and salt and bring to a boil.

When a boil is reached remove from heat and combine over the rest of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Mix all ingredients until coated evenly and spread mixture on two cooking sheets with parchment paper.

Bake for 30 minutes @300 and then let cool before cutting or breaking.

Paleo-esque Brownies

So I've been totally craving chocolate. Brownies or cake in particular. So this afternoon I set off on a hunt for a "paleo" brownie recipe. The one I decided to try came from The Foodee blog 
called Damn Near Paleo Brownies. I had to do a couple tweaks. First off I didn't have any almond butter. But I did have almonds. So I hauled out my food processor and ground up an equivalent weight of almonds. I tried to get it to turn buttery, but no such luck. It just sort of clumped a little. Ah well. I didn't quite have a whole cup of honey either. And I didn't put a full tablespoon of vanilla in, who the hell uses that much vanilla in a pan of brownies??? Besides, I used the Penzy's double strength stuff. And I ended up adding a couple tablespoons of coconut milk. The batter just seemed way too thick (probably because I didn't have enough honey). And I used my 9x9 pan instead of the 9x13, I like TALL brownies! Ok, so more than a few tweaks. Whatever, they are YUMMY and definitely have worked to fill my chocolate craving!

The original reciped noted that this was NEAR paleo, but I'm not really sure which ingredient isn't paleo, honey? Or the baking soda?

Paleo-esque Brownies

16oz almonds, gound
2 eggs
3/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp coconut milk
1/2 tbsp double strength pure vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease a 9x9 pan with coconut oil.

Grind up the almonds in a food processor until they are fine and a little clumpy. Add eggs, honey, coconut milk and vanilla. Blend in cocoa, salt, and baking soda. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Cool before cutting. If you're impatient like me, and cut them when they're still hot they'll be a little goopy and fall apart. Ugly, but still tastey!

Mexican Frittata

Mmmmmmm! This was super yummy. Made a frittata this morning, sort of a mexicanish conglomeration of flavors. The sausage is an Italian blend from Delski's in Wyoming, MI.

Mexican Frittata and Guacamole

2-3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Cumin (not a clue how much I used)
Salt
1 avocado
1 poblano pepper, finely chopped
3 mushrooms, sliced
Handful of Cilantro
4 eggs, lightly beaten
Splash of coconut milk (I used the boxed So Delicious unsweetened stuff)

Preheat the broiler.  Heat a skillet over medium low heat with the coconut oil. Make sure the handle is ovenproof. I used my stainless steel skillet, 10".

Slice onions very thin, set aside a few tablespoons and mince up for the guacamole. Add the onions to the pan and start to sweat them, sprinkle a little salt on them. I had intended to caramelize them, but ended up getting impatient. Mince the garlic and add 2 of the 3 cloves worth to the pan of onions. Set the other one aside for the guacamole. Cook this stuff until it starts to brown, but keep it over medium low heat for a while. Once they start to brown I increased the heat to medium and added 3/4 of the peppers and the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms lose that pasty white raw look.

Lightly beat the eggs with the coconut milk and add to the skillet.  While that's cooking, mash up the avocado with the pepper, garlic and onions you set aside. Corey got to use his molcajete that I got him for Christmas.  Worked awesome.  Mix in a tablespoon or so of chopped cilantro. Cook the frittata until the edges start to look firm.  Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and fresh pepper and transfer to the broiler.  Cook under the broiler until the eggs finish setting and get slightly browned and bubble on top.  Pull out of the oven and serve with the guacamole,  Enjoy!

Going Paleo and Coconut Shrimp

Ok, so Corey talked me into trying to eat "Paleo" at the beginning of this year.  I agreed, but was dubious.  So far though, so good.  My issues with indigestion/heartburn have disappeared, except for at "cheat" meals.  My desperate need for a nap mid afternoon, has turned into just a slight dip in energy. Cool.  Right?  Right, the gut rot after a 4" sweet potato pancake convinced me that cheating with gluten laden foods isn't so much fun.  Of course I had to validate that testing, so a week later I had rice and naan with dinner.  Gut rot again, and a case of the blah's the next day.

So, here comes the recipes.  There's a few sites with stuff I've found online, but not too much, so I figure I might as well blog recipes.

Tonight I made an adaptation of coconut shrimp.  Yummy, but a pain in the butt to make.  I had forgotten how much fun it isn't to dredge meats, especially meats small as shrimp.  The coconut didn't really stick all that well, If I make this again I'll need to make some tweaks.

Coconut Shrimp

12 oz bag frozen medium shrimp
1/3 cup almond flour (this wasn't enough)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 1/2 cups shredded coconut (I used sweetened, just 'cause that's what I had.  Should probably use unsweetened to keep it more paleo)
3 egg whites, beaten until foamy (make sure you do this, I didn't quite beat mine enough and ended up with egg snot rockets dripping into the coconut, messy)

Preheat over to 400F.    Either use parchment on a baking sheet, or grease with coconut oil.  Thaw, peel and pop the tails off the shrimp.  Dry them off too.

Mix almond flour, salt, and cayenne pepper together in a smalish bowl.  Dump the coconut in a shallow bowl/dish.

Dip the shrimp in the flour mix, then egg, then cover it with the coconut.  This is a little tricky, but you want as much coconut coating the shrimp as possible.  Repeat with all the shrimp.  Pop the baking sheet of shrimp into the oven, and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and the coating is toasty brown.  I didn't turn them and used parchment, so they stuck a little.  Next time I'd probably use a sheet greased with coconut oil, and turn them halfway through baking.