Almond Butter and Honey Cookies -- gluten free, delicious, grain free, and YUMMY

Well, true to form, my taste for nut-butters and honey together continues. Truthfully, this sort of cookies is just super fast, and I was short on time. Luckily, this sort of cookie is delicious. Enjoy.

ingredients:

1 cup almond butter (organic smooth)

1/2 cup unpasteurized honey

2 eggs

1 tsp ground vanilla

1 tsp ceylon cinnamon

3/4  tsp sea salt

1/4 cup ground chia

3 cups almond flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

directions:

1. combine the almond butter and honey

2. mix in the eggs

3. add the vanilla and sea salt

4. mix in the chia

5. add the baking soda and almond flour, and mix well

6. scoop by spoonful onto a lined baking sheet, and flatten with a wet fork

7. bake at 345 for 13-14 minutes

8. store in an airtight container when fully cool

makes 4 dozen cookies (2 full trays)

Dinner on February 26th

Despite running around like a chicken with its head cut off, I made a birthday dinner for my little sister. Happy birthday, Sha Sha.


1. vegetable salad with black olives
2. thinly sliced garlic toast
3. stuffed pasta
4. chocolate babycakes

Fabulous Chocolate Baby Cakes

It's a good idea to have a really good chocolate cupcake recipe in your arsenal. This one invokes the sacred marriage of butter and excellent chocolate, but also relies on such wholesome ingredients as almond flour and chia seeds instead of white flour and sugar. The resulting cake has a delicate, spongey, perfect cupcake texture, and is as choco-licious as you could want. It's also gluten free, high in protein, grain free, and will be able to keep your blood sugar stable despite the generous quantity of really high quality european chocolate. 

ingredients:

1/4 cup agave

1/2 cup callebaut chocolate morsels (or any other very high quality bitter sweet chocolate morsel you prefer)

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/2 cup organic butter

1 cup boiling water

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

 2 tbsp ground chia seeds

1 tbsp ground vanilla bean

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ceylon cinnamon

pinch chili pepper

a little black pepper

1/2 cup raw cacao

1/2 tsp baking soda

4 eggs

3 cups almond flour 

directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. pour boiling water over room temperature butter and chocolate morsels to melt them

2. when they are melted, add the agave and coconut sugar, followed by the apple cider vinegar

3. add the chia seeds, vanilla, sea salt, cinnamon, chili pepper, and black pepper

4. add the raw cacao

5. add the eggs and mix well

6. add the almond flour, and combine fully

7. add the baking soda

8. scoop the batter into prepared muffin cups

9. bake for approx 25 minutes, until the cakes feel firm and springy to the touch

10. remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool before removing from the pan

you can frost if you want!!

makes 24 baby cakes

Stuffed pasta for Sandra

ingredients:

150 grams frozen spinach, defrosted. (I suppose you could use fresh spinach if you like, but I always just keep a few bags of organic spinach in the freezer for convenience. You'll have to be careful about the quantity of flour added if you use fresh)

1 egg

1/2 cup almond flour

1 tsp sea salt

dash nutmeg

dash black pepper

1 1/2 to 2 cups kamut pastry flour (whole grain)

directions:

1. pulse the spinach in the food processor until it is a green gooey mass of puree

2. add the egg, almond flour, sea salt, and black pepper, and whirl until  combined

3. add the first 1 1/2 cups of flour and pulse until combine. add the remaining flour a little at a time and pulse until the dough forms a firm ball. once the ball forms, don't add any more flour.

4.  wrap in parchment followed by a plastic bag, and set it aside to rest.

filling:

500 g pressed cottage cheese (because that is what I had on hand)

1 shallot

1 onion

50 g parmesan, grated

2 eggs

sea salt 

pepper

directions:

1. saute the onion and shallot in coconut oil with salt and pepper

2. when cool, mix into the pressed cottage cheese (or use ricotta)

3. mix in the egg

4. spoon a little onto each rolled out circle of pasta

Making the stuffed pasta:

directions:

1. divide your dough into 15 gram balls using a kitchen scale. Or, if you are not as ocd as I am, you can just make smallish balls of dough. A little less than an inch in diameter is good.

2. keeping the balls covered by parchment topped by a damp cloth as you work so they don't dry out, roll them out and fill them, one by one. I guess they roll out to about 2 1/2 or 3 inches in diameter

3. the dough is a little sticky, but I wouldn't add extra flour. Just work quickly so your rolling pin doesn't get dry and crusty.

4. Put some filling near the center of the circle of dough. A little spoonful will do it.

5. fold the dough over itself in half, and press the edges tight. I actually find this easiest to do by picking it up and pinching the edges together

6. Avoid over-filling the dough, or you won't get a good seal, and there will be hell to pay when you boil  the pasta.

7. I do a quick press on both sides with the times of a fork. Who knows if this does anything. But it looks cute.

8. As I work, I line up the finished pasta on a lined baking sheet. You don't want them to stack, because they will stick to each other. They freeze really well, and can be boiled from frozen in about 15 minutes. To freeze, put the filled baking sheet in the freezer until the pasta is frozen through. It can then be bagged and tagged appropriately.

9. you can also use them the same day. To store for a few hours, put them in layers separated by parchment (including underneath them) in an airtight container in the fridge. 

10. To cook from fresh, bring a largish pot of water to a boil (put a little olive oil in the water). When the water has reached a boil, add the pasta. Once the water returns to the boil, cook for 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. You can either toss them in a pan with a little tomato sauce, or simply top them with our favourite tomato sauce (or top them with a little olive oil (or coconut oil) and parmesan). 

Vegetable Salad With Black Olives

As much as I loved cooked greens -- rapini, broccoli, chinese broccoli, cabbage, kholrabi, mustard greens, bok choy etc -- since being pregnant with my soon-to-be four year old, I haven't been overly enthusiastic about salad greens. Not sure why. Anyway, I found myself making a veggie salad instead of a leafy salad. Go figure. Colourful, and really yummy.

ingredients:

grape tomatoes, halved
parsley, coarsely chopped
carrots, thinly sliced
celery, thinly sliced
sun-dried black olives, pitted and halved

sea salt
black pepper
apple cider vinegar


directions:

combine and season to taste


Now, some people will wish there was olive oil in it. I happen to enjoy salads that are very lightly 'sauced', so I'll sometimes do a nod to salt and pepper and a dash of apple cider vinegar and leave it at a very light very delicate flavour. However, if you are someone who needs a little more dressing, by all means go for the olive oil, my friend.

Adzuki Bean and Vegetable Soup

Sometimes, regardless of what you do, soup happens. Thank goodness, this is one of those times. YUMMY!

ingredients:

2 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup dried adzuki beans

3 cups chopped celery

2 cups chopped carrot

1 cup chopped parsnip

1/2 cup almond butter

2 cups chopped sweet potato

3 cups chopped green cabbage

1 tbps sea salt

1 tbsp dried marjoram

some chili powder

6 cups water

3 cups broccoli florets

directions:

turn your crockpot on 

1. layer the ingredients in the order listed, reserving the broccoli florets until the soup is fully cooked

2. add the broccoli florets once the soup is fully cooked, and stir, shutting off the heat. But that's just me. I prefer really lightly cooked broccoli.

I cooked this on high in the crockpot for three hours. Pretty fast for slow food ...

Almond butter and honey ice cream

I seem to think sandwich ingredients work great as icecream: peanut butter, almond butter, etc. Truth be told, not having any cream, I'm using milk, and I like the idea of having ingredients that add thickness and body to the concoction. To that end, smooth nut butters such as almond or peanut, and syrups like maple or honey are an obvious choice. Plus I'm such a sucker for the taste. Hope you like it as much as we do .... Which is a lot. Really, a shocking large amount. The kind of like where you grunt and moan with every bite because it's so damn good. TMI.

ingredients:

2 cups milk
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup unpasteurized honey

1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp ground vanilla
1 tsp ceylon cinnamon


directions:

1. combine with a hand blender
2. freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturers directions.

Peanut Butter and Raisin Muffins -- no sweetener, no grain, no gluten, no foolin'

I make these simple, sweetner-free muffins that include such things as nuts and some dried fruit because they make a great breakfast for my son. He likes them split in half with butter on them. They are also a great snack on the go. The lack of grain and lack of sugar prevent any insulin spikes, and give plenty of blood sugar stabilizing protein and fat. Remember kids: fat burns as fuel, and sugar stores as fat. And sugar makes you hungrier because it destabilizes your blood-sugar.

ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cup water

4 eggs

1 tbsp saigon cinnamon
1 tsp ground vanilla
3/4 tsp sea salt

1/2 cup flax meal
2 cups almond flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup raisins


directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. combine in order listed
2. scoop into prepared muffin cups and bake at 345 for 20 minutes

Carrot and Raisin muffins -- another gluten free baked good

ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1 1/2 cups water (warm to melt the coconut oil)
2 eggs
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

3/4 tsp sea salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup flax meal
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup hemp flour
1 cup pecan meal
1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup organic raisins


directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1.  combine the ingredients in the order listed
2. scoop the batter into prepared muffin cups
3. bake at 345 for 25-30 minutes

Zephyr's fave chocolate energy bars

ingredients:

1 cup raw almonds
1 cup raw cacao powder
1 tsp ground vanilla bean
1 tsp ceylon cinnamon
3/4 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp green leaf stevia
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup pitted honey dates

1/2 cup coconut butter
1/2 cup coconut oil


directions:

1. combine the first set of ingredients (up to not including the dates) and process until fully powdered
2. add the pitted honey dates (check for pits) and pulse until completely chopped
3. add the coconut butter and pulse until combined
4. add the coconut oil and pulse until combined
5. press into a silicone pan (I use 2 square ones), and score into pieces
6. chill or freeze until set
7. break along score marks and store in airtight containers in the fridge

Chocolate, peanut butter, and honey cookies -- the evil twin

Yet another gluten free, grain free extravaganza. I'm on a honey kick these days -- I like the way it sweetens especially in conjunction with peanut butter, and it seems to be well tolerated. These cookies are loaded with blood-sugar stabilizers, and they taste like they are really bad for you.

ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter (organic crunchy this time)

1/2 cup unpasteurized honey

2 eggs

1 tbps apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup coconut oil

2 tsp ground vanilla

2 tsp ceylon cinnamon

3/4  tsp sea salt

1/4 cup raw cacao

1 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup chia

1 1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

directions:

1. combine the peanut butter, coconut oil, and honey

2. mix in the eggs and the apple cider vinegar

3. add the vanilla, cinnamon, and sea salt

4. mix in the chia, cacao, and coconut

5. add the baking soda and almond flour, and mix well

6. scoop by spoonful onto a lined baking sheet, and flatten with a wet fork

7. bake at 345 for 12 minutes

8. store in an airtight container when fully cool

makes 4 dozen cookies (2 very full trays)

Muffins -- The kind with lots of pecans and dates

The thing about muffins is they are kind of like a snack and kind of like a meal. So, if you are as lazy as I am, it's nice to have a batch in the house. I like to make 'em so they are not too sweet, and therefore can do double duty as breakfast or as a top up. Generally, if it comes to cakes or brownies, I'll go sweeter and probably more delicate.

So we've established these are not delicate and not sweet. But they taste great, and are great for you. My son likes these for breakfast with plenty of butter. Then again, he likes everything with plenty of butter.

And, like I've said in the past, pecan and date do something together that ... is special. Sorry, I know that word is ... a little too special. But, pecan and date together rock the house.


ingredients:

2 cups warm water
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
2 eggs

1/2 cup flax meal
1/4 cup hemp hearts
1/4 cup ground chia seeds

1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp ground vanilla bean
2 tsp ceylon cinnamon

1 cup pecan meal
1 cup almond flour
1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup chopped dates
1 cup chopped pecans


directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. combine the warm water and coconut oil
2. add the ground chia seeds, hemp hearts, and flax meal
3. add the eggs and the sea salt, vanilla, and cinnamon
4. mix in the pecan meal, almond flour, and baking soda
5. stir in the chopped dates and pecans
6. scoop into prepared muffin cups
7. bake at 345 for 30 minutes
8. allow to cool a little before removing from muffin cups
9. makes 24 muffins


Store in an airtight container and don't be afraid to eat them for breakfast.