Author Archives: ebchr

Paleo Lady Finger Cookies

Tiramisu is one of my all time favorite desserts. Light crunchy Lady Finger cookies are soaked in coffee and rum and then layered with whipped cream, rich golden custard, and dusted with cocoa powder. Yum! Only one issue.. I’ve not been able to find gluten free lady fingers. I’m sure there are some good cookie alternates out there that would work (and I’d love to hear from you if so!) but here’s a recipe from scratch that is an option. While these cookies turned out a little denser and heavier that what I expected, they totally worked for the Tiramisu I was making (recipe coming Thursday! :)).

Lady Finger Cookies

6 Tablespoons of Coconut Flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
3 Tablespoons of Palm Shortening or Butter
2 Tablespoons of Raw Honey
2 Tablespoons of Coconut Sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper
Blend all the cookie layer ingredients together
Transfer the cookie dough to a piping bag and make three inch logs with the dough (about 1 inch thick).
Bake at 350F for 8-10 minutes
Let cool completely (leave on the sheet), at least 30 minutes before assembly

Looking for some true paleo inspiration? Check out this Paleo Tiramisu! I’ve not had the time to try to make this one yet.. but it sure looks amazing!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Does anything say comfort food like Oatmeal Chocolate Chip (or Raisin) Cookies? It’s fall, the days are cooler, and warm cookies make the house smell amazing, not to mention tummies feeling happy! Here’s a classic recipe for this staple cookie! 🙂 Not paleo – but yes, I included the gluten free option below.

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup coconut flour (or 1 cup all-purpose flour), or 1 cup almond meal)
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp cinnamon
dash of salt
3 cups rolled oats
1/2-1 cup raisins or chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts, broken up in pieces (optional)

Directions

Cream butter and sugar
Beat in eggs and vanilla
Add coconut flour/baking soda/cinnamon/salt and mix well
Then add oats and raisins or chocolate chips
Place spoonfuls of batter on baking sheet
Bake @ 350 for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown

Super Mom Tip: a fun cooking project for tots – they can measure and help mix! 🙂 Also these cookies freeze really well in a sealed bag or container.. if you can part with them! (Oh and they are excellent to eat frozen!)

Paleo Chocolate Pudding

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Awesome paleo chocolate pudding that can also be used for Chocolate Fudgesicles (more on that later! :-))

Whipped avocado, coconut milk, dates, honey and cocoa – make a velvety chocolately yummy dessert.

Ingredients

8 soft medjool dates, pitted
1/2 cup water
3 medium avocados, pitted
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup honey
5 to 7 tablespoons raw cacao powder
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions

Place the dates into your blender and cover with the 1/2 cup warm water. Pack the dates down if needed so they are covered, for the most part, in the water. Let soak for about 30 minutes.
Add in the remaining ingredients and blend until very smooth and creamy. Add extra liquid (coconut milk or water) if needed.
Chill and serve with fresh berries

Thanks nourishingmeals.com!

Rice Crispy Treats

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Happy Friday! My Great Grandmother used to make us Rice Crispy Treats every summer when we visited her. She cut them in perfect squares, wrapped them in wax paper, and placed them in small white boxes for us. And what a treat it was – to open a box and find these gooey, chewy, yummy, delicious, sweet – rice crispy treats! This is the classic recipe (from the back of the Marshmallow bag). These are extremely easy to make, and extremely easy to eat – beware! 🙂 (I might or might not have eaten these for breakfast this week!)

Ingredients

3 Tbsp butter
40 marshmallows
6 cups Rice Crispies

Directions

Melt butter in large microwave safe bowl
Toss butter with marshmallows to coat, and put back in microwave for another ~1 minute or until melted
Mix well and add Rice Crispies immediately
Pat into large dish (8×11 or 8×13) and let cool
Cut into squares and store in an airtight container with wax paper to separate the pieces

Super Mom Tip: Even though this recipe requires dealing with very hot liquid marshmallow and butter – there are definitely some steps that your tots can help with. Ava helped me by counting marshmallows and sampling some 🙂 and by pouring in the rice cereal.

Bouillabaisse

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We were in lovely Walla Walla this summer and thanks to the Grandparents, Adam and I got a rare night out while on a trip! We had dinner at Brasserie Four, a fabulous little French restaurant on main street.. Everything on the menu looked excellent and everything we sampled was excellent! I had Bouillabaisse for dinner – fresh seafood in golden saffron, orange, fennel and wine broth – amazing! After some searching and testing I found a recipe from Steamy Kitchen that was a close match. And here it is! Enjoy! 🙂

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 leek, white part only, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
peel of 1 orange, orange part only (use vegetable peeler)
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/3 cup chopped fennel fronds
fresh herbs (in any combination): thyme, parsley, oregano (I used 1 tsp each of dry herbs, as I did not have fresh ones at hand)
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed
3-4 pounds of fish trimmings (heads, bones, tail), shrimp shells (I skipped this as did not have – worked out fine, but the broth was probably less ‘seafoody’ than it could have been)
10 cups water
1 cup dry white wine
sea salt to taste
3 pounds of assorted fish and shellfish (clams and mussels should be scrubbed clean)

Directions

In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil on medium heat. When hot, add in the leek, onion and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes until softened but not brown.
Add in the orange peel, tomatoes, fennel, fresh herbs, saffron, fish trimmings, water, wine, salt turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Then turn the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the soup into another large pot.
Bring the strained soup to a boil over medium high heat. Taste and adjust with additional salt if needed. The soup should be slightly salty (remember we still have unseasoned seafood to add into the soup). Now we’ll cook the seafood, adding in the items that require the most cooking time first. If you have whole lobster tails or large crab claws, add them in first and give them a 2-minute head start. Clams next, then the mussels and extra-large shrimp, lastly the fish, scallops and any smaller shrimp. You want to be careful not to overcook the seafood, so 4-5 minutes max then turn off the heat.
Ladle bouillabaisse into each bowl with the seafood and garnish with fresh fennel fronds.

Thanks Steamy Kitchen!

Papusas

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My sister was in Peru recently and brought back this fabulous recipe – Salvadoran Papusas. So easy, so fun! Basically mix finely ground corn meal (called masa harina or masa de maiz) with water, add whatever toppings/stuffings you want (like cheese, herbs, cooked meat, veggies) and fry in a dry pan (no oil). I topped with Cilantro Lime Crema and these were delicious!

Ingredients

Finely ground corn meal
Water
Toppings/stuffings: cheese, spices, veggies, cooked meat. I did these simply with some cheddar jalapeno cheese.

Directions

Put corn meal in a bowl and add water stirring until a soft dough forms
Shape and stuff with toppings
Fry 1-2 minutes per side or until golden

More info on these delightful papusas or ‘stuffed pockets’ http://www.whats4eats.com/breads/pupusas-recipe or on Wikipedia.

Super Mom Tip: fun recipe for kids to help make. Have them do the stirring and shaping and you do the cooking! 🙂

Paleo Peach Crisp

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Have an abundance of sweet juicy peaches? This is a wonderful paleo peach crisp – the combination of peaches and a toasted almondy crust is… as my daughter Ava says… “de – de – de – de – delicious”! We added some wild blueberries – any berry would be a fabulous addition! Vanilla ice cream on the side or a drizzle of chilled coconut milk for paleo fans – is amazing too!

Sweet juicy peaches with a toasty almond crust – mmm perfection!

Ingredients

2 pounds peaches, sliced
1¼ cups blanched almond flour
⅛ teaspoon celtic sea salt
2 tablespoons butter or palm shortening
1 tablespoon maple syrup
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Place peaches in an 8×8 or round pie baking dish
In a food processor, combine almond flour and salt
Pulse in butter, maple syrup, and vanilla
Sprinkle topping over fruit
Bake at 350º for 35-45 minutes
Remove from oven, then cool and serve

Serves 4

Place fruit in pan and sprinkle the topping on

Blueberries, raspberries or blackberries would make a fabulous addition

Thanks Elana’s Pantry!

Rhubarb Cake with Toasted Sugar & Cinnamon Top

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The rhubarb in my yard keeps growing, and so I’ve been trying some new recipes. This rhubarb cake is another wonderful dessert. Serve with coconut milk or vanilla ice cream! 🙂

Ingredients

1/2 c butter
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
1 c buttermilk
2 c of flour (you can use white flour, I used a blend of coconut and almond flour and added some more liquid to the recipe)
2 c rhubarb, finely cut (remember to remove leaves which are very poisonous, and clean/wash stems)

Topping

1/2 c sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions

Cream butter and sugar, add egg
Mix other dry ingredients (flour, baking soda)
Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture with buttermilk and vanilla
Add rhubarb, mix gently
Spread in baking dish
Top with sugar/cinnamon
Bake for ~45 minutes at 350*

Rhubarb Sauce

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Rhubarb sauce is probably the easiest rhubarb dessert recipe to make! Rhubarb + something sweet + top with coconut milk, cream and optionally crushed almonds or something crunchy = totally yummy goodness!

Ingredients

Rhubarb – select hard crisp stems, remove leaves (very poisonous) and chop up in bite size pieces
Water
Some sweetener – honey, agave, maple syrup, cooked and pureed dates, or good old white sugar
Splash of vanilla
Coconut milk or cream (optional)
Toasted nuts or seeds (optional)

Directions

Put rhubarb and water in a pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until the pieces are starting to come apart and are soft
Add sweetener and stir until well blended
Remove from heat and add vanilla
Serve warm or cold with cream and any toppings you fancy
Enjoy!

Super mom tip: raw rhubarb pieces and rhubarb sauce both freeze very well! Make a batch of sauce and freeze in small or large containers for easy re-heating later! 🙂

Strawberry, Mint and Goat Cheese Salad

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Strawberry season is in full swing – ripe, sweet, juicy strawberries. Love strawberry salads? We do too! Add some roasted chicken to make it a meal!

Ingredients

3 cups quartered strawberries (about 1 lb)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt/pepper to taste
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese (tip: chill goat cheese in freezer for five minutes to make crumbling easier!) (omit cheese for dairy free and paleo)
4 cups mixed greens or spinach
1 cup cooked chicken (optional)

Directions

Combine quartered strawberries, mint, vinegar, salt & pepper and toss gently to combine
Cover and chill for an hour
Divide mixed greens on to four plates with strawberry mixture and sprinkled with crumbled goat cheese
Serve immediately
Enjoy! 🙂

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