Tag Archives: autumn

Stuffed Mushrooms

It’s mushroom season! White or Crimini Mushrooms work great for this recipe. This is a great paleo snack. Make them with or without cheese!

Ingredients

6 oz white or crimini mushrooms
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 lb mild Italian sausage, casings removed
1 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup red bell peppers, finely chopped
2 Tbsp fresh oregano leaves, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 egg
3 tsps. fresh Italian parsley, minced (or 2 tsp dried parsley)
Salt/pepper to taste
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Directions

Oven to 350*
Clean mushrooms with a damp cloth and remove stems
Finely chop just the stems
Place cleaned mushrooms, caps down on baking sheet and set aside
Heat butter and saute onion for 4-5 minutes or until golden
Add sausage to skillet and cook until browned
Add celery, red bell pepper, and finely chopped mushroom stems and cook for another 5-7 minutes
Add oregano and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes
Place meat mixture in food processor with egg and parsley and pulse until mixture is finely chopped
Spoon meat mixture into each mushroom cap, top with cheese (optional and bake for ~20-30 minutes until mushrooms are tender and filling is starting to brown
Enjoy! 🙂

Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Toasted Cheese

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Root veggies are in season with an abundance to select from already. You can use sweet potatoes, yams or garnet yams for this recipe. You are dairy free? No problem. Bake them the same way as described below and omit cheese. They are super delicious either way! 🙂

Ingredients

4 small sweet potatoes, halved lengthwise
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper
3 oz Fontina cheese, grated (3/4 cup) – I could not find this in my local grocery store and used Comte cheese instead.. you can’t really go wrong with any cheese though, so use your favorite cheese or just Parmesan works great!
1 1/2 oz. Parmesan, grated (1/3 cup)

Directions

Heat oven to 425*
Rub potatoes with oil and season with salt and pepper
Bake, cut side down, on a baking sheet or glass pan until golden brown and tender, ~20 minutes (fork inserts very easily)
Turn over to broil
Combine cheeses and sprinkle on potatoes cut-side up
Broil until cheese is melted and golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes
Serve warm

Figs

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It’s fig season! My little fig tree has been working hard all summer and I didn’t think the thirty or so little green ‘figlets’ would ripen until a few days ago when they started getting purple and were ready to pick! Yum, they are delicious! The kids enjoyed picking these from the tree just as much as eating them!

You may know figs from the dried fruit category, usually available in abundance during winter season. The fresh version are equally delicious, but not as sweet. Figs are a nutrient dense food and are rich in vitamins, potassium and are also a great source of fiber. Enjoy diced with yogurt, oatmeal, chia seed pudding, or simply as a piece of juicy and sweet fresh fruit.

If they don’t all get harvested and consumed, I will dip some in dark chocolate and post to the blog in a few weeks! 🙂

Want to learn more about figs? I found some interesting reading here and some fun recipes here.

Baked Parmesan Zucchini

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Crisp, tender zucchini sticks are brushed with oil, topped with parmesan and herbs, and roasted to perfection. Totally yummy! I had to make a second batch just for the photos as the first batch disappeared pretty fast. 🙂

Ingredients

4 zucchini, quartered lengthwise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a cooling rack with nonstick spray and place on a baking sheet; set aside.
In a small bowl, combine Parmesan, thyme, oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt and pepper, to taste.
Place zucchini onto prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Parmesan mixture. Place into oven and bake until tender, about 15 minutes. Then broil for 2-3 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown.
Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.

Thanks http://damndelicious.net/2014/06/21/baked-parmesan-zucchini/

Peach or Nectarine Crisp

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Sweet succulent peaches and nectarines are sprinkled with an almond oat topping and baked till crisp and golden. Served with rich vanilla ice cream, this is wonderful and delicious summer dessert.

I modified this recipe from the original from PCC Natural Markets – but because the peaches were so ripe and sweet and I was planning to serve this with vanilla ice cream, I used a lot less sugar and also substituted tapioca flour instead of the corn starch. You can consult the original here, but here is my version of the recipe and the vote in my house was: this peach crisp is amazing!

Ingredients

2 pounds ripe peaches or nectarines, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 Tbsp coconut sugar, divided
2 teaspoons lemon juice
4 teaspoons tapioca flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (quick-cooking fine)
6 tablespoons cold salted butter, cut into small pieces
Vanilla yogurt or vanilla ice cream, for serving (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375° F.
Combine peaches or nectarines, 1 Tbsp coconut sugar, lemon juice and tapioca flour in a 9-inch shallow round baking dish or pie plate.
In a separate bowl, combine almond flour, oats and salt. Rub in butter with your fingertips until coarse crumbs form. Sprinkle oat topping over the fruit mixture. Place the dish or pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet.
Bake until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving. Top each serving with a dollop of yogurt

Thanks PCC Natural Markets

Savory Mushroom Quiche

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I can’t believe it’s September already, but it’s been a beautiful summer! There’s a late summer chill in the air here in Seattle and the days are getting noticeably shorter. We had our first big wind/rain storm of the season last weekend.. there were uprooted trees and felled branches all over and many people lost power for a day or more. It sure makes you appreciate having light and heat at the flip of a switch! It was a little hard to explain to my two year old why we couldn’t make toast or pancakes but my almost five year old thought it was very fun to eat frozen bread with butter and jam! Anyway, here’s a great fall dish – mushroom quiche! I took my classic Quick Quiche recipe added a step (I promise it’s worth it!) and voila – lovely seasonal fall quiche!

Ingredients

I buy gluten free crusts in packages of two, so usually make two quiches at a time. One for now and one to freeze! So this recipe is for two quiches.

2 pie crusts (wheat or there are many gluten free options out there)
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups milk (2%, whole, or half & half.. your choice)
dash of salt and white pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Filling

2 cups shredded swiss cheese (divided)
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup thinly sliced onion
1 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp thyme (dried) or 1 tsp fresh chopped thyme
1 Tbsp dry sherry

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
In a large pan, saute onion in butter over medium heat for 5 minutes
Add mushrooms and seasonings and saute for another 5 minutes (when done, onions should be transparent and golden brown, mushrooms tender and shrunken and liquid should be evaporated)
Stir in sherry and remove from heat
Make your quiche custard now by beating eggs until frothy, then adding seasoning and milk
Now you are ready to assemble and bake: first put 1/2 cup cheese in bottom of each crust, then add the mushroom/onion filling evenly, top this with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese, and then divide and pour the custard mixture into each filled crust
Bake for 40-45 minutes (crust should be golden brown, filling browned and firm to touch)
Cool a bit and serve!

Sweet Potato, Sausage and Kale Soup

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It’s been rainy and damp this past week, so this soup seemed like a great dish – the sweetness of the sausage and sweet potatoes balance out the kale in a delicious way. Hot steamy bowl anyone? This recipe makes a large batch and freezes very well!

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil
4 cups chopped onion (about 2 large)
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 lb sweet turkey or chicken Italian sausage
8 c. coarsely chopped peeled sweet potatoes (~2 lbs)
5 c. water
4 c. chicken broth
1 bunch kale, rinsed and chopped
1 cup coconut milk
Salt / pepper to taste

Directions

Heat oil in large pot, add onion and sauté for 5 minutes
Add garlic, salt & pepper (if desired) and sauté for a minute
Remove casings from sausage and add sausage to pan
Cook 5 minutes or until sausage is lightly browned, stirring to crumble
Add potato, water and broth and bring to a boil
Reduce heat and simmer for ~8 minutes
Gradually add kale, cook another 10 minutes or until tender
Season with salt/pepper as needed
Makes 10 servings

Mashed Potatoes

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What says comfort food like hot mashed potatoes with very simply some melted butter, salt and pepper..! Mashed potatoes are incredibly easy to make. And you can do so much with them. Mix in some fresh or roasted garlic, sour crème or milk, finely chopped chives or green onions, bacon bits and cheddar cheese. The combinations are endless! The secret to good mashed potatoes however is simple.. it lies in the quality and type of potatoes. I’ve found red potatoes and gold potatoes to be excellent options for mashed potatoes.

Ingredients

2 lbs potatoes
dash of salt
Butter and/or other favorite toppings

Directions

Peel potatoes (if desired), chop in 1″ pieces
Cover potatoes with water in pot and bring to boil
Cook until knife inserts in a potato easily
Pour off water and let cool a bit
Use an inversion blender to mix, adding butter and other toppings as desired

Paleo Apple Crisp

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I was inspired by Lauren’s recent Apple Pie post and wanted to make a gluten free and paleo version!

This is a delicious paleo version of a classic apple crisp. Instead of flour and oats, you use almond meal which pairs beautifully with the apples. So yummy topped with some cold coconut milk.

Ingredients

2 cups blanched almond flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup coconut oil or butter (melted)
¼ cup honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
6 large apples, peeled and diced (I like Granny Smith apples)

Instructions

In a large bowl, combine almond flour, cinnamon and nutmeg
In a smaller bowl, combine oil, honey and vanilla
Stir wet ingredients into dry
Place apples in a glass baking dish
Crumble topping over the apples
Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350° for 50 minutes on low rack
When apples are soft and their juices bubble, remove cover and bake 10 more minutes to turn golden brown
Serve warm with coconut milk

Inspired and modified: http://cavemanstrong.com/2010/09/apple-crisp/

Apple Tartlets

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It’s definitely apple season! Pick a favorite cooking apple (Granny Smith apples are wonderful), make this easy crust, and voila – easy paleo dessert. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream for some totally-non-paleo goodness! 🙂

The recipe calls for apple juice – this is the only sweetener. I thought the apples might be too tart – but they are perfect. Even without the ice cream, this is a yummy dessert!

These Upside Down Apple Tartlets are inspired from Elana’s Pantry (with some minor modifications).

Crust

2 cups blanched almond flour
dash sea salt
¼ cup coconut oil, at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Filling

6 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced, and cut into ¼-inch slices (I like Granny Smith Apples for baking)
1 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder (What’s arrowroot? That’s what I said! It’s a natural thickener – a starch extracted from arrowroot. Read more on Wikipedia.)
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° and place eight 1-cup wide mouth Mason jars on a large baking sheet (you could also make one large pie/tart if you prefer – just use an ~8″ round or square baking dish and crumble or lay the crust on top)
To make the crust, pulse together almond flour and salt in a food processor, then add coconut oil and vanilla and pulse until the mixture forms a ball
Transfer dough to a piece of parchment paper and place in freezer for 20 minutes
To make filling, toss apples, apple juice, lemon juice, arrowroot powder, and cinnamon in a large bowl to combine
Transfer apples to Mason jars so that each one is overfull and divide remaining juice from the bottom of the bowl between the jars
Remove dough from freezer, place between 2 pieces of parchment paper generously dusted with almond flour and roll out to about ¼-inch thick and remove top sheet of parchment
Use top of a wide-mouth Mason jar to cut out 8 circles of dough
Place one on top of each apple-filled Mason jar
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the juices are bubbling and the crust is golden brown
Serve the tartlets hot out of the oven with coconut whipped cream or ice cream 🙂

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