No Oat Chocolate Granola

OK, I just have to share this one with everyone.  Once again, not my recipe, but it’s so good that I have to share it here. From www.paleoplan.com

It’s definitely gluten-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, and paleo friendly.  I believe even vegan. 

While I was making this, the entire house started to smell of chocolate.  It was out of this world. I made it in the evening, so I had no trouble falling asleep to the seductive aroma of warm chocolate.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup walnuts
• 1 cup almonds
• 1/3 cup raw unpasteurized honey
• 3 Tbsp. Camino Cocoa Powder
• 3 Tbsp. Earth Balance Vegan Butter
• pinch of pink Himalayan Salt
• 1 Tbsp. 100% organic Vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Here is what you do:

1. Preheat your oven to 225F. 
2. Take walnuts and almonds and pulse in the food processor until it gets a coarse consistency.  You don’t want to end up with a fine nut flour consistency. Leave in the food processor for now.
3. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt the honey with Earth Balance Butter.  When melted together, add raw fair trade cocoa powder, a pinch of salt and Vanilla extract.  Whisk together until it becomes the consistency of chocolate sauce.
4. Add the chocolate mixture to the nuts in the food processor and pulse so that everything is well incorporated.
5. Now add coconut and pulse again for a few seconds.
6. Spread the entire mixture evenly over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
7. Place in oven for 3 1/2 hours. 
8. Allow to cool and then break apart into smaller pieces.  I used a large chefs knife to roughly chop it up.

This recipe will make a large container full.  Don’t leave on your countertop unless you want to be tempted to snack on the granola every time you walk past it.  It’s hard not to, so tasty

Spicy Turkey Stoup

Paleo-friendly, in other words, Gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, high protein goodness.

I’m calling this one a “stoup” because it’s a combination of a soup and stew.  The recipe makes enough for 2 people to enjoy, and even some leftovers for the next day.  Bonus!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb turkey breast, diced
• 2 Tbsp. Coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp. Pink Himalayan Sea Salt
• pinch of fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp. chilli powder
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 8-10 button mushrooms, sliced
• 2 red bell peppers
• 1 Tbsp. red Thai curry paste

• 1 tsp. Bragg soy sauce

• 1 can (400mL) reduced fat coconut milk

Directions:

1. Marinate the turnkey in 1 Tbsp. coconut oil, salt, pepper, chilli and garlic for about 1 hour, in the fridge.
2. Heat a wok to medium-high heat.  When the pan is hot, add the rest of the coconut oil and sauté the onions until translucent.  Add the chicken and marinade to the onions.  Continue to cook for about 10 minutes.
3. Once the turkey is browned, add the mushrooms, red peppers, soy sauce and red curry paste and continue to cook until the peppers are al dente.
4. Add the coconut milk and stir.  Cook for another 5 – 10 minutes, or until the turkey is completely tender. 
5. Enjoy over rice or pasta (if not following a Paleo lifestyle). 

Paleo-friendly Pumpkin cocoa muffins

The recipe is courtesy of www.paleoplan.com.  I did make some changes (in red) to customise it because that’s how I roll.  I also added an ingredient.  Makes 12 small muffins.

 

• 1½ cups almond meal/flour
• 3/4 cup canned pumpkin (or cook and puree pumpkin yourself)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp baking powder I used 2 tsp GF baking powder instead of 1 tsp. each of baking powder/soda
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon I used 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1½ tsp pumpkin pie spice  I used 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ginger, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg 
• 1/8 tsp sea salt Pink Himalayan Sea salt
• 1/4 cup raw honey (optional) I did
• 2 tsp almond butter   MaraNatha Dark Chocolate Almond Spread
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1 Tbsp. raw, unsweetened, fair-trade cocoa powder
• 1 Tbs sliced almonds I omitted this

1. Preheat oven to 350℉.
2. Coat muffin tins with coconut oil (or use paper muffin cups and add 1/2 tsp melted coconut oil to batter).
3. Mix all ingredients in a stand mixer and pour evenly into tins.
4. Bake for 25 minutes on the middle rack.
5. Sprinkle almonds on top immediately after taking them out of the oven. (I didn’t do this)

These muffins are actually pretty good, and even easier to make. They weren’t at all sweet, and you can really taste the pumpkin and the pumpkin spices.   The coconut adds a nice flavour too.  I will definitely be making these again very soon, but I found so many other paleo friendly cookies and muffins that I want to try out too.  I think next time I am going to make the muffins a little larger, so maybe only 6 muffins. 

Nutritional analysis….per serving….

153 calories

12 grams of carbs

11 grams of fat

5 grams of protein

Garlic and Herb Chicken Hot Pot Chowder

A quick and easy hot pot chowder to prepare on a busy night that also happens to be  Gluten and Dairy-Free!  Bonus!

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. avocado oil
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 sprigs of fresh dill, chopped
• 2 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 3 small fresh oregano leaves, chopped
• 1 small sprig of thyme, chopped
• 1 can of corn kernels
• 8oz can of chopped tomatoes
• dash of Worcestershire sauce
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into small pieces
• 3 Tbsp. sorghum flour
• 5 cups organic free-range sodium reduced chicken stock
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups of GF noodles, should be small, such as the kinds you may find in chicken noodle soup

Directions

1. In a large pot heat avocado oil and add chicken pieces.  Cook until golden brown, then add onions, garlic and fresh herbs, cooking until onions are translucent in color.
2. Deglaze pan by adding the red wine, making sure you scrape all of the good bits off the bottom of the pan. 
3. Add the flour and stir vigorously to mix well.  Almost immediately add the chicken stock a little at a time, making sure to continue stirring so that you don’t get any clumps of flour in your chowder. 
4. Add the corn, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.  Let come to a boil.
5. Add your noodles of choice.  I used small round thin GF noodles as well as some GF orzo I had.
6. Cook until the noodles are al dente and enjoy.

Brought to you by the letter “A”

I hope everyone is having a great weekend.  Do anything interesting?

Well since it’s been raining all day again, I had to come up with a creative way to spend my day.  I took a peek through my fridge to find ways to use up the rest of my produce before my grocery shop tomorrow and came across a very lonely avocado.  Lately I’ve been eating a lot of avocados in my smoothies, but wanted to use it up differently. 

A little while back I tried out one of Angela’s recipes that looked oh so temping…her Chocolate Torte.  She uses avocados as her base for the filling and like I said before, you’d never taste it.  So I thought why not recreate something of that sort.  So instead of making an entire torte, I decided to make a simple Silken Chocolate Pudding.  (pictures taken on my Blackberry until I get a new camera – sorry for the low quality)

Ingredients and directions for 4 large servings

Place the following ingredients into you Vitamix or Food processor….

• 2 ripe avocados
• 1/4 cup organic raw cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup raw agave nectar
• 2 Teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 Teaspoons of Navita’s Naturals Protein Twister Blend
• 1 Teaspoon Olive Oil (or coconut oil)

Turn on the mixer and gradually add ….. 1/4 cup So Delicious Vanilla Coconut Beverage (or almond milk if you so desire) until you get the consistency that you desire. 

For all those sceptics, believe you me when I say that the avocados cannot be tasted at all.  The cocoa masks their taste.  I’m not a big fan of guacamole because I’m not a huge fan of avocados.  Just make sure you buy ripe avocados.

But if you really want to taste some decadent, rich, chocolaty goodness that’s good for you, you must try this.  Yes, it does have 250 calories per serving (an the servings are fairly large, so feel free to have less), but it’s a healthy fat and definitely satisfies anybody’s chocolate craving.

Even better…it’s raw, vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, and dairy-free!

Back again soon.

Bea

xoxo

Creamy Dill with Salmon and Orzo

Here’s a great recipe that’s a breeze to put together in a snap.  It’s relatively low in fat and Dairy-Free.  You can make this one Gluten-Free if you sub the orzo for a GF pasta or even some good brown and wild rice. 

So I kept aside some of the fresh sockeye salmon that I was smoking, enough to make this great dish.  I didn’t take pictures in the process either.

Ingredients: 

• olive oil
• 1 minced garlic
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 3 mushrooms, sliced
• handful of fresh spinach, chopped
• as much or as little Dill as you like ( I added about a handful)
• some fresh salmon
• splash of skim milk (maybe 1/2 cup or so) – sub for a dairy-free milk variety
• 2 tsp of GF flour, such as sorghum or rice
• pinch of salt and pepper
• splash of Worstershire Sauce
• 1/2 cup cooked orzo

Procedure:

Over medium heat, heat oil and sauté the mushrooms and pepper until translucent.  Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir until slightly browned.  Add the milk and mix so avoid clumps.  As it boils, the sauce will thicken.  I can’t exactly remember how much I added, but if the 1/2 cup is too little, add more.

Next add the minced garlic and spinach, as well as the salmon.  I sliced my salmon into strips and this will cook very fast.  Also add your dill, salt and pepper and worstershire sauce.  Cook for about 5 minutes or until your salmon is cooked through.

Drain your orzo and serve the sauce over the orzo.  And ladies and gentlemen, here is the Creamy Dill with Salmon and Orzo.

Bon Appetite !

Have a great weekend everyone.

Bea

xoxo

Baby it’s cold outside

Brrrr…How cold is it in your neck of the woods?  My area is in a deep freeze…we had temperatures of –8C when I woke up at 9am, but the wind-chill made it feel more like –15C.  Now I know it’s probably much colder where some of you live, but we are not used to these temperatures.  At least it was a sunny day today.  They are calling for some more snow tomorrow night and into Saturday before the rain hits and the temperatures go back up. 

So my day was more or less productive.  In my school district we get paid days off to work at home on report cards or to do other teacher prep, such as visiting other colleagues in their classrooms.  I got my reports started, but then had an appointment with the Bank for RRSP’s and also a doctor’s appointment this afternoon.  I was not looking forward to the doctor’s visit as it was time for a physical, but it went well, so no complaints.  (I was anxious since it was a male doctor, but he was great about it).  After my appointment I had to go to the school to prepare for tomorrow, so it was well after 5pm by the time I came home.

And what was for dinner you ask?  Rosemary Vanilla Chicken with a Medley of Rice

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ROSEMARY VANILLA CHICKEN WITH A MEDLEY OF RICE

How to make

This one is an easy creation.  And come to think of it…another GF and Dairy-Free meal…..First you will want to prepare your ingredients. 

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 450g chicken, boneless, skinless and chopped (you can use thighs or breasts..your choice)
• 3 cups of spinach, chopped
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 1 cup low sodium free-range chicken broth
• 2 Tbsp  Sorghum flour and some broth to make a thickening agent
• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 tsp  fresh rosemary

Chop the onions and garlic.  Cut up your chicken into smaller pieces.  Heat up some oil in a wok and add your chicken.  Cook until chicken gets brown.  Then add your onions and garlic. 

Continue to cook until most of the liquid is cooked up.  Then add your broth and wine and bring to a boil.  While boiling, prepare your vanilla bean and the rosemary.

 

Slice your vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the paste. Also chop up your vanilla bean into small pieces.   Add this to your chicken.  Also chop up your fresh rosemary and add to your chicken. 

 

Now chop up your spinach and add it to the pot as well.  Stir well and continue to cook for about 5 minutes.  Then reduce heat on low and keep warm until ready to serve.

I served mine over a bed of rice.  I love my rice….. it looks like this in the package, but turns all purple after cooking.

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Now that I’m finished with dinner, it’s back to report cards.  Oh how I love this time of year. 

I’m glad tomorrow is Friday.  My student teacher visits for the first time tomorrow as well, so here’s to hoping the kids cooperate and are on their best behaviour. 

Not sure how much time I’ll have for blogging this weekend…. we have a school function to attend Friday night…I’m at the pool all day Saturday to recertify for my lifeguarding (I hope I pass)…then back to the rec center Saturday night for a hockey game.  I’m going to be one tired cookie by the end of the weekend, that’s for sure. 

Anybody have exciting weekend plans? 

Have a great night….

Bea

xoxo

Gluten-free, Dairy-free and Vegan Chocolate Cake

Ok guys…this cake is absolutely divine.  You will fall madly in love and you will feel like you are floating into another dimension.  If you are a chocolate lover, addict and want to cheat… I dare you to make this.  And it’s so simple to make too. 

INGREDIENTS

• 10 oz  Dairy-free 72% dark chocolate, chopped or broken into small pieces.
• 7 oz  Earth Balance Butter, diced
• 5 large eggs (Flax substitute for Vegan version) – room temperature
• 1 cup  brown sugar (sucanat)
• 1/4 cup  cocoa powder, for dusting pan

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a 9-in spring form pan and dust with cocoa powder, tapping out any excess.  If your spring form pan isn't’ 100% water-tight, wrap the outside with aluminum foil, making sure it goes all the way up to the outer rim.

First I melted the chocolate and the butter over low heat in a medium saucepan.  Continue to stir until you get a smooth mixture. 

So this is what happens when I ask the boyfriend to help me in the kitchen.  Hehe…he had a little bit of fun taking pictures, wouldn’t you say?

While Trevor was melting the chocolate and butter for me, I prepared the egg and sugar mixture. Using an electric hand mixer, beat until nice and frothy.  Then when the chocolate was nice and smooth, I added it to the sugar/egg mixture.  Continue to beat until well mixed.

 

Make sure you also tap your pan a couple of times on the counter to remove possible air bubbles and to level out the batter.

Cover the top of the pan snugly with a sheet of foil and place into a larger baking dish, such as a roasting pan.  Then I added enough hot water to baking pan to come halfway up outside of the cake pan. 

I baked it for 75 minutes.  The cake is done when it feels just set, like chocolate pudding.  If you touch center gently with your finger, it should come away clean.  Lift cake pan from water bath and remove the foil.  Let the cake cool completely on a cooling rack before serving. 

Braised Pork Roast

This is a tasty, juicy and flavourful pot roast.  The trick to keeping it moist is by braising it in the broth mixture.  Keep in mind that you need to have a really large roasting pan to be able to hold all of the liquid.  You can use the reserved liquid to make a soup or freeze it for future use. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Lbs  Fresh Boneless Pork Shoulder Roast
• 1 Tbsp  olive oil
• 8 cups (2L)  apple juice
• 4 cups (1L)  white wine
• 8 cups (2L)  chicken stock
• 3 carrots, diced
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 head  celery, diced
• 1 cup  brown sugar
• 5 bay leaves
• pinch of salt
• 1 bunch fresh thyme

DIRECTIONS

Preheat your oven to 275F. 

Prepare the liquid and pour everything into your roasting pan.  Make sure you leave enough room so that it doesn’t overflow when you add the vegetables and the roast later.  I used fresh apple juice that I got this weekend from the wine shop.  They were pressing about 300L of apples this weekend and were selling fresh juice for 2$/L.  Sweet deal and perfect for the roast.  I ended up only using 1 bottle of the white wine.  We drank the rest

VERY IMPORTANT:  Reserve about 2 cups of the broth for deglazing the frying pan after browning your roast. 

In a large frying pan, add oil and heat over medium high heat.  Sauté the carrots, celery and onions until translucent.  Add to the broth mixture in roasting pan. 

Now comes the best part.  Take your pork shoulder and brown from all sides in a hot frying pan.  I used the same pan as with the vegetables.  Don’t forget to brown the outer edges too.

When nice and golden from all sides, deglaze the pan with the reserved broth.  Cook for about 1 minute, then add the brown sugar and continue to cook for 2 to 3 minutes.  Then add this liquid mixture to the roast and broth in roasting pan. 

Now before putting the roasting pan into the oven, don’t forget to insert a cooking thermometer.  Since my roast was boneless, it was easy to shove into the middle of the roast.  Cover with lid and place in the oven.  You will then cook the roast until it reaches an internal temperature of 160F. 

The roast took about 3 hours to cook.  When done, remove it from the broth and slice on a cutting board.  The roast is done when the juices run clear upon cutting.  Serve immediately with some of the vegetables in broth. 

Breakfast for dinner.. why not?

It’s going to be a busy weekend on this side of the Pacific.  But let’s start with last night:

I went to bed early last night because I was dead tired, only to be woken up around 1am to a loud BOOM and a flash of light.

OK, well it didn’t look quite like this, but things really do go Bump in the Night.

It was pouring out and the sound on my skylight outside my master bedroom was so loud and a good indicator of how hard it was raining.  The storm went on for a couple of hours.  Buster was not impressed.  He cowered under my covers… he hates storms.  I don’t blame him.  The thunder was so powerful it made my windows shake.  Anytime we get storms, the dog panics…he hides under my covers and it’s almost impossible to get him to stop shaking, drooling and panting.  Poor guy.  So needless to say, I was pretty tired when the alarm went off this morning.  I had planned on getting up early to go for a morning run, but I needed that extra sleep.  Sometimes things just don’t go the way you plan.

On to other things…

It’s Superbowl Weekend. 

I’m not going to pretend to know anything about Football or that I’m a fan, but I do like to watch the half-time shows.  So we’re either going to have friends over or we’ll go to the pub.  To be determined later. 

Saturday night Trevor and I are hosting a dinner party/games night with another couple. The kids are with their mom this weekend, so it’s a perfect weekend for some good quality adult fun.  We wanted to have the dinner at my place, but our friends have an 8 year old daughter and are unable to get a sitter, and so we decided to have it over there so that Ashlee can go to bed and then it’s just adult time. 

So I’m going to hit the grocery store tonight before hockey and tomorrow I’ll be spending my day making yummy eats..our theme is Italian.  Will be making my world famous Lasagne from scratch (noodles and all) and some Tiramisu for dessert.  Come back Sunday night for a possible pics. 

And tonight I have another hockey game.  Hoping to score another goal or two.   

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Breakfast for dinner…I think so

I still had an egg in the fridge and thawed out some wheat-free bread I bought at my favourite bakery down island in the summer.  So I decided to make some French Toast….Cinnamon French Toast that is…

To make:

Take 1 egg and beat in a bowl.  Add a pinch of sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and a splash of vanilla extract. Also add some milk.

Soak your bread in the egg/milk mixture and cook in frying pan over medium heat until brown.  Then flip and brown on other side.  Drizzle with pure maple syrup and maybe some yogurt?

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Well have a great Friday night and a safe weekend..will try to be back Sunday night and for sure Monday.

Anybody have big Superbowl plans this weekend? Any other plans?

With love,

Bea

xoxo