The not so good

When I set out on this blogging journey I promised you the good, bad and ugly.  Well Tuesday night's dinner was really ugly.  It was rather disappointing because the recipe title seemed promising...Dutch Tomato Soup with Meatballs.  The soup itself lacked any real flavor.  It called for 6 medium ripe tomatoes, 2 carrots, 1 celery stalk, 3 cups of water, 1 bay leaf , olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.  I'm not sure what it was about it, it just didn't provide the depth expected from a tomato soup.  Now, for those of you who know me well know I have a slightly odd affinity to meatballs.  I think they're just the greatest.  Little rounds of tastiness.  If a restaurant has meatballs on their menu it's my duty to order them.  I tend to base my overall opinion on a restaurant based on their meatballs.  Last night's meatballs were a huge flop.  They called for normal meatball ingredients: ground beef, onion, garlic, 2 beat eggs and then...flax meal.  That ruined them for me.  When I bit into the meatball all I tasted was the flax.  It over powered the meat and seasoning and left the meatballs almost mealy.  I am sad to say this recipe is not worth trying.  If I ever discover excess time I may try to recreate this recipe...until then...

Biscuit Perfection recipe review via The Kitchensmith

If this picture made you stop, like and drool...it had the very same affect on me.  These beautiful golden mounds were easy to make on a Sunday when I had absolutely nothing in the house.  I gathered up 3/4C of almond flour, 3T of coconut flour, 1T arrowroot, 1/2t baking soda, 1/5 t sea salt, 2 eggs and 1/2 C of melted coconut oil (*I melted at 15 second intervals in the microwave.  You can sub bacon grease it you had it on hand.) 1T maple syrup (*I was all out so I subbed raw honey.) 1T finely chopped green onions or chives.  1/2 C sweet potato, roasted and mashed.  Cooked sausage crumbles or sub cooked diced bacon.  

In typical Sunday fashion I eased into making this recipe :) I wrapped the sweet potato in tin foil and popped it into the oven for about 45 minutes at 350...I then climbed back into bed :)  Keep the oven set at 350.

Mix all dry ingredients in medium sized bowl (*I used to think this type detail didn't matter but it's actually quite helpful.  When a recipe tells you a bowl size it usually means you're going to be adding something to it.  In this case the wet ingredients :) Combine the eggs, melted oil and maple syrup (*or raw honey) whisking the eggs well.  (If you microwaved your coconut oil to melt it, stink it in the fridge for a few seconds to cool it so it doesn't scramble your eggs) Pour wet ingredients into the dry (see, what did I tell ya?) and mix to make the biscuit dough.  Fold in the sweet potato first until your dough is a lovely, light orange color.  Finally add the sausage crumbles (or diced bacon).  Dough will be thick.  Use an ice cream scoop.  Serve warm with some Kerry Gold butter if that suits you :)

Eat warm.  The reheat really well.  I used my small convection oven for ease.  If you microwave them do so for 10-15 seconds as you don't want to dry them out.

ENJOY every darn bite and crumb :)

THE chocolate cake that will change your life

Try as I might, I am just not a good baker.  I never enjoy the process as much as I do cooking (it probably has a little something to do with my impatience.)  I came across this cake a few weeks ago when it appeared on the book.  Two things caught my eye...a.) the caption read something along the lines of how this cake was going to "change my life" and b.) the picture made me drool.  Thankfully my husband and I decided to have some friends over so I had an excuse to make it...for others, of course ;) Without further adieu I give you my review (<---yup, that just happened.)

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM recipe review Via Deliciously Organic
Ingredients
For the cake batter:

8 ounces dark chocolate (I used Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips because they are soy-free)

8 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup maple syrup
6 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 cups almond flour
2 teaspoons coconut flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoon baking powder

For the buttercream:

4 large eggs

1/3 cup maple syrup or honey

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt

1 pound unsalted butter, softened, each stick cut into tablespoons
 *I only had 2 sticks of butter remaining so I took a chance and used what I had without modifying any of the other ingredient measurements.  I know, I know...a big NO NO in baking...but in this instance it worked in my favor :) 
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled (I used Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 ºF and adjust rack to middle position. Place the chocolate and butter in the bowl of a double boiler. Melt, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool (the mixture needs to cool for at least 10 minutes before adding the the egg mixture below). 

Place the maple syrup and eggs in the bowl of a standing mixer with whisk attachment. Whisk for 5-6 minutes until pale yellow and billowy. Slowly whisk in cooled chocolate and vanilla extract.
Sift almond flour, coconut flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder over egg mixture. Gently fold to incorporate. Divide batter between two buttered 9-inch cake pans (I prefer to line my cake pans with a round piece of unbleached parchment paper to ensure the cake will come out properly). Bake cakes for 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool cakes for 10 minutes, run a knife around the edges and then remove the cakes from the pans. Cool completely.

For the Frosting:

In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine eggs, maple syrup or honey, vanilla and pinch of salt. Set the bowl over a pot of simmering water. Whisk constantly until the mixture reaches 160 degrees, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Beat egg mixture on medium-high with whisk attachment for 8 minutes until light and billowy. Reduce the speed to medium and add butter one tablespoon at a time. When all of the butter is added, turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl (at this point the buttercream might look curdled, but don’t worry, it will turn creamy). Whisk the entire mixture for 1 minute on high until light and fluffy. Slowly pour in the chocolate and mix until incorporated.
To assemble:
Place one cake layer on a cake stand and top with one third of the frosting. Spread frosting evenly on the cake. Place second cake layer on top and use remaining frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake.

Notes: First things first, I loved how well laid out this recipe was.  Everything was very well explained.  The only adjustment I had to make was on me...I grossly misjudged "dividing" the batter in half and ended up not having enough batter to make a second layer.  Her tip about lining the cake pan in parchment was genius.  Just trace the outline of your pan with a pen (it will leave an indent for you to cut around, don't worry about perfection.)  This cake was worth every step! Super delicious!

B.o.a.r.s. chicken review oh my!

A month or so ago the Civilized Caveman did the civilized caveman thing and released an app.  Up until last night I'd only used it to make his delightful Caveman Crunch "granola." After emerging from my studying coma I was perusing all my paleo resources for inspiration.  I stumbled on Civilized Caveman's B.o.a.r.s. stuffed chicken.  It sounded delicious and better yet I have most of the ingredients.  Recipe calls for:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I had 2)

4 slices of bacon, sliced into lardons, just long strips (check)

1 red onion, diced (I had white)

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, diced (I had dried)

1 large red apple, diced with skin on (I had a ripe peach)

1 large handful of baby spinach (I had arugula)

1/2 up lemon juice (I had on hand and then I forgot to use it...oops.) 

salt and pepper (check, check!)

First step.  Preheat oven to 350.  Next, make the "stuffing." 

I fried up the bacon in my cast iron.  Letting it get about 90% cooked.  I then added the onion, cooking until they were translucent.  Added the peaches and about 1t of dried rosemary (which I ground some with my mortal and pestle) and arugula or spinach.  This would also be where you add your lemon juice, had you not forgotten about it.  Cook only until the arugula starts to wilt down.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Next, take your chicken breasts and butterfly open.  I need to work on my butterflying skills as mine looked less than pretty.  Add some of the stuffing to your butterflied chicken.  You can create more of a chicken "book" or a roll depending on your preference.  The roll version was a little messy (I'm not the best stuffer) since you most likely cut the breast vertically, you roll horizontally.  Place back in pan with the folded side down (if you chose the roll method.) Extra filling? No problem, add it to the top of your chicken rolls or books.  Pop in the oven for 8-10 minutes (until chicken is cooked through.) ENJOY!

Easy as pulled pork!

It's been quite a week!  I have been up to my eyeballs in real estate terminology and financial equations...headed back for my affiliate real estate license :) Anyway it feels wonderful to be back blogging again :). Hope you stayed in touch on the book and saw some of the easy lunches I managed to pack

 amid studying. 

Sundays are made so much better by quick and easy dinners.  My wonderful husband made a delicious dinner of pulled pork! It was out of this world! We used Boston lettuce leaves as crisp vessels for the moist yumminess. Topped it off with a crunchy, tangy paleo coleslaw of 1/2 a head red cabbage (shredded,) 1/2 green cabbage (shredded,) 2 large carrots (shredded,) 1T of celery seeds, salt and pepper to preference. He made an emulsion out of apple cider vinegar and Dijon mustard. He did it to taste. Rough measurements were about 1 cup of apple cider vinegar and a generous squeeze of Dijon. 

Pork shoulder was medium in size. 3 cloves of crushed garlic. 1/2 an onion, finely chopped. 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup of favorite bourbon (he used Jim Bean Black) 1T cracked black pepper and 2-3 T of your favorite pork seasoning. He used leftover Adobe seasoning from our last pulled pork dinner. Cook in slow cooker on high for 8 hours and absolutely destroy it. 

Paleo done in the crock pot

I'll be honest before going paleo I didn't use my crock pot all that much.  Due to it's sheer size it spent most of it's time tucked away in one of my cabinets-out of sight, out of mind.  Confession: I didn't actually remember I had one until I was packing to move (shocking I'm sure to dedicated crock pot users everywhere!) When I came across the crock pot I vowed that I cook more often in it.  It took finding just the right recipe to motivate me but I'm proud to report I did finally started using my crock pot(And of course it was one of Nom Nom Paleo's recipes!)

The recipe that ended my avoidance of the crock pot-

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN CACCIATORE

 Ms. Nom Nom offers some wonderful advice on cooking chicken in the slow cooker as it can too often be overcooked resulting in a crock pot fail.

Cook chicken ONLY 4-6 hours on LOW.

Choose meaty thighs for flavor.

Trim the fat and remove skin so your braising liquid doesn't become an oil slick.

Position a whole chicken breast side down (and cook a whole chicken on LOW for ONLY 4-6 hours).

Brown only when necessary for flavor.

What you'll need:2 onions, minced in my food processor
1/4 cup tomato paste (*I use Muir Glen)
2 tablespoons of butter (*Kerry Gold)
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons of dried oregano
1/2 ounce of dried mixed wild mushrooms, rinsed and minced (use all dried porcini mushrooms if you have it) (*I omitted the dried mushrooms and opted to use all fresh due to price and availability.  I subbed sliced white, baby bellas and the below mentioned cremini)  
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1.5 pounds cremini mushrooms, trimmed and halved if small or quartered if large (*I eyeballed it, probably used closer to 1/2 lb vs 1.5)
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained (*Muir Glen)
1/2 cup organic chicken broth
1/2 cup dry red wine (*rule still applies here-good enough to drink)
3 pounds of boneless and skinless chicken thighs (the original recipe called for 12 skinless, bone-on thighs) (*I did breasts.)
1/4 chopped fresh basil

Here's how Nom Nom made it: 

Take onions, tomato paste, butter, garlic, oregano, wild mushrooms, and red pepper flakes in a microwave safe bowl and nuke for about 5 minutes or so until the onions are soft (*super easy, right? I wondered why I hadn't thought of cooking aromatics like that.)


Put the cooked aromatics in the slow cooker and stir in your assortment of mushrooms, tomatoes, broth, and wine.


Season the chicken with salt and pepper and nestle them into the slow cooker, mixing everything well.


Put the lid and cooked the dish for 4-6 hours on low.

*This dish is super yummy! Leftovers heat up well too (always a plus.) Enjoy and let me know how you like it!

HG SUPLY CO. Part II

Those of you who know me well, know that I have an odd obsession with beets (I love the earthy flavor they deliver) so when I saw HG's ROASTED BEET SALAD I was committed (that and the green goddess dressing, oh and the szechuan pecans.)  I added chicken and called it a day.  Once we got back to the hotel I had worked up an appetite from all my excitement and dived into my salad, which might I add was packaged wonderfully.

Salad in one, chicken in the other, dressing on the side.  Salads can get a bad rep, some think in order for them to be good you have to add a lot of stuff.  This (and all of HG's salads) are examples of how that doesn't have to be the case. My first bite was delightful.  The butter lettuce was the perfect base.  The beets were roasted to perfection\, fully debuting their earthy flavors and the subtle heat of the szechuan pecans perfectly balanced the creaminess of the green goddess dressing.  There were three components from this salad that really stood out to me.  The first was the szechuan pecans. They were absolutely delicious, perfect balance of heat with a slight hint of sweetness and added wonderful texture.  The second was the chicken.  It had something to do with the seasoning, I couldn't put my finger on it but I think it may have been the pepper they used.  It was perfect.  More to come on this, as I have emailed them to ask :) The third was the green goddess dressing.  I was hesitant as I'm not the biggest fan of creamy dressings but since discovering paleo mayo I've become more open minded.  It was perfection.  Perfectly complementing the slight heat of the pecans and the sweetness of the roasted beets.  As I shoved the last bite into my mouth I knew I had to learn how to recreate this recipe and that's what I did.  As soon as my plane touched done in Nashville we were off to Whole Foods to gather up the ingredients to make this delightful salad.  It wasn't as perfect as HG's but it was pretty darn close.  

Hacked HG SUPLY CO. Roasted Beet Salad

1 head of butter lettuce, washed, dried and then torn 

3 beets (I got two red and one yellow) 

Handful of whole pecans

1t of siracha chili sauce

2t of organic, coconut palm sugar

1lb of chicken breast or tenders

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Rinse beets well under water.  Place eat beet on a square of tin foil with a dollop of coconut oil, twist tin foil ends closed and place beets on a cookie sheet lined with tin foil so they don't leak in your oven like mine did :) Place beets in oven for 45-60 mins.  If you're impatient or in a time crunch at the 45 minute mark if they're soft enough you can take them out.  Let cool and then use tin foil to wipe away the skin of the beet.  Slice beets and let chill in fridge.  

While beets are roasting, pan fry some bacon, chop and put to side.  

I used a handful of pecans-all I had on hand were the chopped variety (HG used whole.) Toss them in a dry pan and add about 1-2t of organic palm sugar.  Once that starts to melt down add the 1t of siracha, mixing to coat the pecans evenly.  Once the sugar starts to break down it's just a matter of how caramelized you want them.  Let cool on a plate until you start to build your salad.  

When you make your dressing verses your chicken will depend on if you want a cold or warm salad.  I opted for a cold salad, making my chicken after the pecans.  Be sure to salt and pepper chicken, add just a little dab of coconut oil and cook until done.  Take chicken from pan, let stand for a few minutes so the chicken is cool enough for you to slice into pieces.  

Place torn lettuce pieces in vessel of your choice.  Add beets, a few pecans, bacon and chicken pieces.  

Paleo Goddess Dressing review (AKA the best dressing ever) recipe via Preppy Paleo 

2 tbs. sesame oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
3 tbs. toasted sesame seeds *Didn't have any on hand, omitted 
3 tbs. chopped green onions *Didn't have any on hand, omitted
small handful parsley *Didn't have, subbed fresh cilantro 
juice of 1/2 lemon (about 2 tbs.) *Used organic lemon juice not fresh 
1 tsp. coconut aminos or gluten-free tamari
2 minced garlic cloves
salt & pepper, to taste
Blend all ingredients well, either in a blender (for a smooth texture) or with a whisk. *I used my mini food processor and it worked well.  

I cannot say enough things about this recipe! It's full of flavor and could easily be used to compliment steak or used in a chicken salad..I will have to play with the proportions and let you know!   It does yield a good amount so just be sure to store in an air tight container.  It's our new obsession! 

Enjoy!

HG SPLY CO. Nutriment & Spirits Part 1.

I thought their name said it all...the "HG" standing for "Hunt and Gather," one of the primary principals behind the paleo diet.  But it's really their slogan that says it even better "AFTER THE HUNT, WE GATHER."  There was a friendly buzz the moment we walked in the door from good conversation and laughter.  The décor itself was rustic and friendly, inviting you to sit and stay a while.  We moseyed on over to the bar so we could order a drink while we waited for our to-go order.  We had had a late lunch of monstrous proportions and weren't hungry enough to eat then, so we had called in a to-go order to take back to the hotel.  Upon drink menus being put into our hands and a glance at their drink specials board I was fairly certain I had died and gone to paleo heaven.  Let me pause briefly in my tale to say I know a lot of you have reached out to me with questions of how on earth do I (or you) eat out paleo? Now, if you're lucky enough to live in Dallas or another city with a restaurant such as this, I hate you...if not remember my previous post you about how you should do the best you can.  It's easier than you'd think and I shall share some of my tips and tricks in tomorrow's post. With that being said, back to HG SPLY CO.  The drink menu itself was enough to make my heart skip a beat as it had concoctions so named "KETTLE BELL" and "DOUBLE UNDER" (my Crossfit friends will appreciate this.) Their infusions are made FRESH AND ALL NATURAL in house.  Again, let me pause here...no, alcohol is not paleo but when I do drink I want choices like these! I want a restaurant that actually takes the time to make their own infusions.  Because chances are if they're doing it with their drinks, guess where else they are? Yup, that's right...their food.  Makes sense, right?  OK, back to the bar.  Some of the infusions on hand were Pineapple cinnamon thyme.  Then there was a beet tequila, which they were making into a yummy inspired skinny margarita of sorts...oh and not to mention the Habanero syrup.

Allow me just a moment to point out that this simple "back to the basic's" concept is the standard that we should be expecting from our food, restaurants and grocery stores.  You should be able to recognize the ingredients in the food you choose to buy, if you need to Google them then you probably shouldn't be putting it into your body.  It's that simple...back to the bar. I sat in complete and utter happiness as I watched (and yes, drooled) as plates came out of the kitchen: BLOOD ORANGE GLAZED PORK BELLY to my left, SLIDER DUO of duck confit & foie gras and chopped brisket with horseradish pickles and HG BBQ Sauce to my right.  I was thankful we had phoned our order in ahead of time, how on earth would I have ever picked?

...I'm going to leave you hanging here.  Stay tuned for tomorrow's post about what we actually ordered-I had to set the stage for ya, you'll thank me later :) I also successfully recreated the recipe in it's glory at home, I'll share that too. Until then... :)

Summers are for salads & hot dogs

There's just something about salads in the summer...they just taste better! 

Last night I made a mixed green salad of baby arugula and spinach. The mix we bought also have cilantro sprigs mixed in and let me tell you they totally make it that much better (going forward I will always add cilantro to my salads!) To the greens I added chopped cucumbers, mushrooms, walnuts, sliced strawberries and fennel. Had every intention of making a wonderful balsamic dressing, that was until the shelf that was holding the balsamic (and coconut oil) fell. Yes, fell. It was messy and sad, mostly messy thou. After mourning the brand new bottles of balsamic and coconut oil we adjusted and made an olive oil, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinaigrette. It was all the more

rewarding because it was by mistake :)  

Paired it with organic, nitrate free "naked" hot dogs. Totally satisfied my hot dog craving! 

MIA

Sorry about my recent inactivity. My best friend and I road tripped from Clarksville, Tennessee to Bryan, Texas last Sunday. She will be attending The George Bush School of Government in the fall for her masters degree. I've been helping to get her settled into her new home and town :) 

Shortly after getting to town we went straight to the HEB (grocery store for you non Texans) as we were both craving fresh and healthy food. Imagine our surprise when we got back to the house she's renting and the stove won't light. Dinner plans quickly changed from shrimp sautéed in a pan to shrimp baked in the oven...after about 30 minutes we realized the oven (while warm) was definitely not performing its baking duties. So we again changed plans and opted for a fresh salad of baby arugula and spinach with sliced fennel, chopped tomato, mushrooms, a few halved grapes and chopped cucumber topped with some nitrate free turkey and dressed with a Dijon mustard, local Texan honey, and balsamic vinegar dressing. 

The aforementioned shrimp (after baking for an hour and a half) while not used the night of was used in this morning's breakfast of scrambled eggs. Another one for you to file away under fast and delicious.