Almond Vanilla Bars

I am always looking for a paleo low carb, low sugar snack after dinner, these do the trick,  have a cup of tea too.

They work  out to be about 4 grams of sugar per bar if you cut the tray into 16 squares. Can't even really feel guilty about that now can you?

This recipe is adapted from a recipe found on http://www.nourishingmeals.com/. Next time I am going to substitute the honey for apple sauce and see what happens. Stay tuned.


Almond Vanilla Bars


2 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 arrowroot flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp himalayan sea salt


1 organic banana
2 organic eggs
1/4 cup melted coconut oil or olive oil
meat scraped from 1 vanilla bean pod
1/4 cup of honey

Preheat oven to 325 convect bake. Mix dry ingredients together until there are no clumps. Melt coconut oil an set aside to cool. Lightly beat eggs and mash banana, combine and add the rest of the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry an mix until well combined. Pour into an 8x8 baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. To make these  super decadent try topping them with this.

Optional topping:

1 cup cashews soaked overnight

1 or 2  tbsp raw honey or maple cream

Blend until smooth and store in the fridge for up to a week. This topping can also be frozen an can be used in a variety or ways, on pancakes on fruit etc....

Enjoy!

Apple Teff Pancakes with Almond Yogurt

Every May we go up to a the cottage for a week and one of the things we focus on of course, (besides long walks on the beach) is cooking but more importantly, trying new things. 

This year one of the recipes was Apple Teff Pancakes with Almond Yogurt.

These pancakes are just beautiful in texture and we discovered that not only are they delicious for breakfast but they are great with everything and anything stuffed in them.

Apple Teff Pancakes

2 cups teff flour

½ cup arrowroot starch

2 tsp baking powder

¾ tsp baking soda

1 tbsp cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

2 cups almond milk

1/2 cup apple sauce

2 eggs

3 tbsp coconut oil melted

2 tbsp maple syrup

2 sliced and peeled granny smith apples

Whisk together dry ingredients. Whisk the wet ingredients (best if everything is at room temperature) in a separate bowl.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until incorporated.

In half cup measures pour batter into a medium hot non stick pan and cook for 1 minute on each side. Place in a warming oven until all the pancakes are cooked.

When you are ready to serve heat the apples with a bit of brown sugar until they are soft. Top the pancakes with a scoop of warm apples, a dollop of maple syrup and some homemade almond yogurt.

This recipe makes about 10 pancakes.

My husband and I froze the leftovers and filled them with whatever we wanted both for supper and for breakfast.

Almond yogurt

2 cups blanched almond flour

2 tbsp honey

1 package of yogurmet starter

Place all ingredients in a vita mix. Fill to the 4 cup measure line with water. Blend on high for 3 minutes. In a sealable bowl dehydrate covered at 115 degrees for 12 hours. Remove and stir. Chill for 2 hours. This makes to 1 litre jars and will keep for at least 10 days in the fridge.

Delish!!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are gluten and dairy free. They freeze well and also keep for a few weeks in the fridge if they are in a sealed container.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees if using a convection oven or 350 degrees if using a conventional oven.

Dry:

1 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup arrowroot powder
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp himalayan sea salt
1/2  cocoa powder dark unsweetened
1 cup organic brown sugar

Wet:

2/3 cup earth balance soy free
2 tbsp agave
1/2 cup almond milk, more if needed
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 organic eggs

Add in:

1/2 cup bittersweet cocoa camino chocolate chips

Variation:

1/2 chopped dried sour cherries

Mix dry ingredients well.  In a separate bowl mix wet, best if all the wet ingredients are at room temperature. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, this dough should be scoopable but not really dry. Add more almond milk here if too stiff.

Using a 1 or  2 tbsp scoop depending on how big you want your cookies, on a parchment lined cookie sheet press them down to about 1/2 an inch thick. (I play with this sometimes making them much thinner and round other times just they way they fall on the sheet as the ones in the picture).

Bake cookies for 15 to 20 minutes until they are just firm, the thinner they are the less time you will need. Cool a bit before transferring to a wire rack. Store in the fridge or freezer but honestly these never last very long in our house.


Sometimes you just need some chocolate!

Enjoy!

Roasted Beets with Truffle Salt

I first tasted truffles when I was vacationing in the hills of Tuscany, Italy. On our way home we spent the night in Florence and decided to eat at a Trattoria on the Arno.  Our waiter convinced me to try their signature dish.

It was so simple nothing but olive oil truffles, fresh grated parmigiano and the finest, thinest tagliatelle I have ever tasted.

Now 10 years later and gluten free, still as attached to the flavor of the truffle as the first time I tried them, this dish was born. Inspired by the memory of that first taste, simple, easy to prepare and delicious.

3 medium sized organic red beets

3 medium sized golden beets

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp truffle salt

Fresh parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Meanwhile, wash and peel beets and cut into wedges. Toss them in the olive oil and 1/2 tsp of the truffle salt. Bake in a covered dish for 1 hour or more depending on desired consistency. I like mine just a little crunchy. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 tsp of truffle salt and fresh chopped parsley.

Its as simple and delicious as that!

Serves 4.

ramen noodle bowl (gluten free) with chicken and vegetables

I am so happy to have discovered a new ramen that is gluten free and totally delicious. Here is what I tried for the first time just last night, no tweaks, it's so rare to nail a recipe the first time, so cool.

There is a dish at momofoku noodle bar in New York that I am dying to recreate with these noodles.

Stay tuned.


4 cups chicken stock (really good recipe on this blog)
1 pkg of king soba ramen (4 serving package)
1 organic carrot
1 cup broccolini or regular broccoli
4 cooked chicken thighs with the skin on
2 hard boiled eggs, quartered
4 green onions
2 tbsp braggs liquid aminos
2 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp dried chili flakes

beans sprouts to garnish (optional)

Bake chicken thighs for 25 minutes at 400 for crispy skin with a little chinese 5 spice and some braggs liquid amino acids. Cut from bone and set aside, keeping all the juices and skin.

Boil a large pot of water and cook the noodles for 4 to 7 minutes, rinsing them afterwards to remove the excess starch. Set aside.

Bring 4 cups of your stock to a boil and add the vegetables cooking them until just al dente. Carrots first for 3 minutes then broccoli for 4 minutes. Check these to make sure they are cooked how you like them. They will continue to cook in the soup.

Divide noodles into 4 separate bowls placing the chicken, eggs and onions on top. Pour the broth over the noodles and garnish with a teaspoon each of braggs, sesame oil and a sprinkle of chili flakes. Top with bean sprouts.



Serves 4

Rosemary Chicken with Lemon

Rosemary Chicken with Lemon

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, pressed

2 tbsp or 1 tbsp dried

1/4 tsp Himalayan sea salt

Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, rosemary salt and garlic and pour over chicken breast. Allow to sit at least an hour longer covered in the fridge.

Prepare a medium/hot grill and cook for 6 minutes per side, (you can cut into the breast, parallel along the side to make sure its done). I keep the lid down, it seems to retain moisture, giving you a really juicy breast. Let rest 5 minutes and serve with fresh lemon wedges.

This is a staple here at our house, we buy our meat from Fieldgate organics at Covent Garden Market in London when we can get there. It is a beautiful winter dish and one that hits all those home cookin savory buttons that are triggered this time of year. So excited about the change in our seasonal menu.

I serve this with roasted carrots and brussel sprouts or sometimes roasted baby reds.

In spring time this is really good on salad but lets not get ahead of ourselves. 

Enjoy!

shrimp with coconut milk and kaffir lime leaf

This recipe was in the works for a while and I tried many different versions but this is the best one and is fantastic served on brown jasmine rice or buckwheat soba noodles.

A note on coconut milk, Thai kitchen brand doesn't list any sulfites added, so I use that when I don't have time to make my own.

Kaffir lime leaf and galangal is available in most asian grocery stores.

1 lb fresh shelled de veined shrimp

10 small bok choy (outer leaves removed)
20 snow peas
1 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
5 kaffir lime leaves
1 sliced shallot
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger or galangal
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp cornstarch (or more if you like your sauce thicker)

Over medium high heat in coconut oil, saute onions, kaffir lime leaf, garlic and ginger until onions are soft and translucent.

Add shrimp and saute for 2 minutes.

Whisk together fish sauce, lime juice, coconut milk and set aside.

Add bok choy to pan and saute for 1 minute more.

Add the sauce to the pan cover and let simmer for 2 minutes then add the snow peas and toss for 1 minute.

Remove everything from pan with a slotted spoon on to a serving tray.

Bring sauce to a boil and reduce heat then add the cornstarch whisking as you go until desired consistency is reached.

Pour over shrimp and vegetables and serve immediately with fresh lime wedges, fresh cracked pepper and cilantro.

Dig in.