Author Archives: ebchr

Zucchini Crust Pizza

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There are many excellent gluten free pizza doughs out there, but what if you want to go grain-free and/or paleo? Veggie pizzas are a great alternative. Think zucchini, eggplant or cauliflower for your crust. Top with sauce, meats and veggies, and cheese (optional) of course! I made this one with zucchini and topped it with tomato sauce, cheese and fresh pesto! Yum! Blog zucchini paleo pizza-2 Blog zucchini paleo pizza-1 Ingredients

  • 2 c. zucchini, finely grated, lightly packed (use grater blade on your food processor for easy prep)
  • ½-3/4 c. almond meal
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 T. coconut oil
  • ½ t. oregano
  • ¼ t. garlic powder
  • ⅛ t. salt (you don’t need much because the zucchini will retain some)
  • Toppings: fresh herbs, vegetables, meats, cheese, pesto
Instructions
  1. Place the grated zucchini in a strainer and sprinkle with a little salt, tossing to mix it in a bit
  2. Place the strainer over a large bowl, and let the zucchini drain for about 30 minutes.
  3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  4. Place the grated zucchini into a dry dish towel and squeeze, or press out as much as you can in the strainer
  5. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.
  6. Add almond meal as needed to make a dough (not too wet, not too dry).
  7. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, spread the zucchini mix out into an oval shape. I use a fork to do this, and I press it down to compact it as well.
  8. Place the pan on the bottom rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
  9. Then place the pan on the top rack of the oven for ~8 minutes, until browned.
  10. Remove the pan and flip the crust, bake for another ~5 minutes. Then remove and turn oven up to 500.
  11. Top the pizza with sauce, pesto, and whatever your favorite toppings are
  12. Place the pizza back into the oven and bake for ~5 minutes more

Thanks Oatmeal with a Fork blogger for this tasty recipe!

dit-elle-Esther

Summer Fruit & Coconut Milk Popsicles

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It’s summer! And nothing says summer like sweet refreshing popsicles! This is a GREAT kitchen project to involve kids in – Ava LOVES to help make these. I chop the fruit, she adds it to the cup and pours the coconut milk in. Together we use the blender to mix it all up and then we fill the popsicle forms. And it is SO exciting to take them out of the freezer later. So easy, fun and these make a great summer snack.

Blog fruit coconut popsicles (2)

Ingredients

  • Note that quantities will depend on how many popsicles you are making – this batch made 8 for us. Also – you can throw in whatever fruit or berries you have. Strawberries make a beautiful pink color, blueberries will turn everything purple. Enjoy! 🙂
  • 1 peach or nectarine
  • 1 orange
  • 1 large slice of cantaloupe
  • 2/3 cup coconut milk

Directions

  • Peel, chop and blend everything till smooth
  • Pour in your popsicle molds
  • Freeze and serve

dit-elle-Esther

Lemon Granita

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Well, it’s pushing 90 in Seattle this week which really is not bad given the damp chilly weather we had this winter. OK, 90 does start to feel a little hot, but that’s when you make awesome Lemon Granita! 🙂

Blog lemon honey granita

Ingredients

  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar (or 2/3 cups honey)
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons chopped fresh basil, mint, lemon balm or rosemary (optional)
  • 1 1/4 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest

Preparation

  • Combine water and sugar in a saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves.
  • Remove from heat and stir in optional fresh herbs. Cool to room temperature; strain.
  • Stir together herbed simple syrup, lemon juice and zest. Transfer to a non-reactive baking dish and freeze for 30 minutes. Thoroughly scrape the entire pan with a fork, breaking up ice crystals. Repeat this freezing and scraping process every 30 minutes, until granita is firm but not frozen solid, 2 to 4 hours.
  • Spoon into small glasses and serve.

Thanks and inspired by the PCC Granita de Limone recipe!

dit-elle-Esther

Five Ingredient Baked Chicken Curry

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OK, this recipe was inspired because my cupboards were (almost) bare one day and I did not have many ingredients available. This turned out DELISH! The sweet raisins balance with the heat of the curry, creaminess of the coconut milk and tomatoes. Yum!

Blog five ingredient curry chicken

Ingredients

  • 4 Chicken breasts or 6 thighs
  • 2 Tbsp curry powder
  • 1 can coconut milk (full fat)
  • Handful of raisins
  • 1 can diced or crushed tomatoes

Directions

  • Heat tomatoes, coconut milk and curry powder in a saucepan over medium heat.
  • When warm and combined pour over chicken and raisins in glass baking dish
  • Bake (covered in tinfoil) for ~45-60 minutes or until chicken registers done on your cooking thermometer
  • Serve with shredded carrot or other salad and fresh cut cucumbers. Voila!

dit-elle-Esther

Greek Salad with Roasted Chicken

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Love greens, veggies and chicken! This is really a variation on the classic Greek Salad but adding chicken makes it a wonderful meal in and of itself! And paleo!

Blog greek chicken salad

Dressing

  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 tsps. tahini (sesame-seed paste)
  • 1 tsp minced garlic (fresh or bottled)
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Salad

  • 1 lb chicken breast, roasted & cubed
  • 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
  • 1 cup peeled chopped English cucumber
  • 1 cup chopped tomatoes (grape tomatoes halved work well)
  • 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
  • 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (minus the cheese for dairy free and paleo)

dit-elle-Esther

Blueberry Paleo Muffins

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Yum yum yum. I love that these are dairy free, gluten free, and nut free! Oh, and delicious!

Blog blueberrypaleomuffins2 Blog blueberrypaleomuffins1

Ingredients

  • ½ cup coconut flour, sifted
  • small dash of sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 6 eggs
  • ⅓ cup agave nectar
  • ⅓ cup grapeseed oil (I used coconut oil, butter is great as well)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, combine coconut flour, salt and baking soda
  2. In a large bowl, combine eggs, agave, grapeseed oil and vanilla and blend well with a hand blender
  3. Mix dry ingredients into wet, blending with a hand mixer
  4. Gently fold in blueberries
  5. Place batter into a paper lined muffin pan
  6. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes
  7. Cool and serve

Thanks Elana’s Pantry!

dit-elle-Esther

Tunisian Pesto

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A delicious pesto made with cilantro, parsley, almonds and olive oil. Excellent with tortilla chips, vegetable sticks or grilled shrimp.

blog pesto genovese 2 Blog pesto genovese 1

Ingredients

  • 2 cups packed fresh cilantro
  • 1 cup packed fresh parsley
  • 1/4  c almonds
  • 1 or 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

  • Combine cilantro, parsley, almonds, garlic and salt in food processor and blend
  • Add oil in a stream while the above is blending until smooth

Note: This freezes very well if you have leftovers – fill airtight container and add some more olive oil on top

dit-elle-Esther

Deer Tacos

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Adam brought back some deer last hunting season – and had some of it ground up with hamburger fat (deer is VERY lean) to make burgers or tacos. It’s a little gamey so the seasoning in this recipe helps.. but talk about grass fed, all natural and paleo!

Blog deertacos1

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground meat (deer, beef, buffalo)
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1-2 tsps ground cumin
  • 1 Tbsp chili powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, adds heat)
  • 8 corn tortillas
  • 1 chopped tomato
  • 1 cup lettuce, finely chopped
  • 1 cup cheese, shredded (Mexican blend works well)
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1 lime, cut in wedges

Directions

  • Heat oil and add onion and buffalo
  • Cook for a few minutes, then add garlic, and continue to cook – stirring to crumble
  • Add seasoning and stir well to combine
  • Warm tortillas and assemble by spooning meat mixture and layering the veggies, cheese and sour cream
  • Serve with lime wedges and cilantro as garnish

dit-elle-Esther

Frozen Raspberry Cashew Cream Cake

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It reached 90 degrees last week and the forecast is for 80+ all week. Yay!!!! This is when Seattle seems the most gorgeous place to live – snow capped mountains in the east and west, lake Washington on one side, the sound (ocean) on the other, green and lush and blue sky covering it all. Anyway, who wants to bake or cook when it’s 90 degrees out? Not me! We’re a little helpless here when it gets above 90 as most houses do not have A/C. Need a cool dessert? This is a no bake, super easy, frosty treat! Oh, and paleo(ish)! 🙂

Blog frozen raspberry paleo tart Blog frozen raspberry paleo tart 3 Blog frozen raspberry paleo tart 4 Blog frozenraspberrypaleotart2 Blog frozen raspberry paleo tart 5

Ingredients

Directions

  • Place dates, walnuts, coconut and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is fairly fine and uniform. When a small amount of the mixture is pinched between the fingers and sticks together, it is ready to form the crust. Press the crust mixture firmly and evenly into the bottom of a 9-inch springform or pie pan, making sure the edges are well packed. Rinse the food processor well.
  • Place cashews, coconut oil, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla and lemon zest in the food processor. Blend until very smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to help with the blending process.
  • Pour about 2/3 of the cashew mixture on top of the crust and smooth the surface. Add raspberries to the remaining filling and blend until smooth. Pour the raspberry mixture on top of the first layer.
  • Freeze cake until firm, 2 to 4 hours. Allow to warm up for 30 minutes before slicing. Garnish with fresh raspberries and serve.

Thanks PCC

dit-elle-Esther

Rhubarb Clafouti

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Tart rhubarb pairs so well with this sweet custardy Clafouti. What’s Clafouti?  It’s a baked French dessert of fruit (traditionally black cherries) covered in batter and baked! In other words, yummy not-quite-cake, not-quite-pudding goodness. It would be delicious with fresh peaches or cherries, but given that it’s rhubarb season.. well enough said! I added some raspberries as well and it turned out great!

blog rhubarb clafouti 2 Blog rhubarb clafouti 1

Ingredients

  • 1.5 c. chopped rhubarb
  • 1/2 c. raspberries or strawberries
  • 4 Tbsps agave syrup (less if you are using another type of fruit, as rhubarb is so tart.. it needs a little extra sweetener)
  • 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/4 cup coconut flour
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)

Directions

  • Put all ingredients except for rhubarb in blender and process for 1-2 minutes until frothy
  • Put chopped rhubarb (and optionally berries) in baking dish and cover with batter
  • Bake at 375* for ~45 minutes or until golden and fork comes out clean
  • Serve with cinnamon, a splash of heavy cream or ice cream (the French dish is served with a dusting of powdered sugar as well :-))

dit-elle-Esther