Individual Berry Crumble Cobblers

Happy Spring everyone! It is pouring like crazy in CT, but it is a good night. For the first time in 4 months (a.k.a ever), I am handing over the reigns in the kitchen and allowing a guest chef (Ryan). I am surprisingly calm which is pretty impressive given my OCD control-freak personality :)

It turns out that sometimes I do need a little help, and I am glad to have it! I have been prepping like crazy for my Kickstarter campaign to launch, and the official countdown is on. I was planning to launch early tomorrow morning, but the approval process is taking longer than expected. I will keep you posted, but it may be a Friday/Saturday launch instead. The Kickstarter campaign is for my first cookbook "Bowls of Love: Paleo Soups for the Seasons" and I could not be more excited! I have been writing recipes and working with an incredible photographer Erica (www.ericagannett.com). A lot more information is to come, so stay posted, and follow me on twitter @sooopaleo to get all the updates!

The blog has been resting for a while, so I figured it was only right to bring it back with a delicious dessert. You can easily adjust this recipe to make more or less depending on how many people you are cooking for. If you don't have ramekins, you can bake this all together in a bread pan or small square baking dish. If you are really feeling crazy, you can even make a single serving! Enjoy and stay tuned for more news on my cookbook Bowls of Love!

Individual Berry Crumbles: Serves 4, Prep time: 10 min, Cook time: 30 min

Ingredients:
- 2 cups berries (I used half blackberries, half blueberries)
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup cashew flour
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

- 1-2 tsp. cinnamon

- 1/8 tsp. salt

- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted

- 2 Tbsp. organic grade B maple syrup

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Mix all ingredients other than the berries in a bowl
3. Distribute the berries evenly among 4 ramekins
4. Top each ramekin with the crumble mixture
5. Bake for 30 minutes until berries bubble and crumble is lightly browned

  

  

Paleo Brownies

It is officially Thanksgiving round 2 today! Chris and I have had quite the afternoon tending to the turkey for our paleo potluck feast tonight. My first experience prepping a turkey was certainly an interesting one. I got some much-needed advice from Mom and Aunt Randi beforehand, but nothing could have truly prepared me. I will spare you the gory details, but let's just say I was mortified when I "discovered" the neck hanging out in the inside of the turkey. The only other disaster was when I dropped an entire glass bottle of olive oil on the floor and glass and oil went everywhere. Mom nicknamed me "Helpful Hannah" for a reason, and I have a feeling that will stick with me for a while. The good news is that the floor is cleaned, the house smells amazing, and in about an hour, my first attempt at a (paleo) turkey will be done! I will post the recipe later this week. You all may be detoxing from turkey recipes for now, but there is always next year!

In the meantime, you can check out this recipe inspired by The Wannabe Chef's almond flour brownies with some paleo tweaks. I made these for Thanksgiving with my family. They were definitely a hit, and my non-paleo family members recommended these warm brownies with a scoop of ice cream to pump up the sweetness that they are used to. These brownies are very rich and absolutely will satisfy your sugar/dairy/gluten-free chocolate cravings! 

Ingredients:

- 3/4 cup almond flour

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

- 1/2 tsp. baking powder

- 2/3 cup raw organic honey

- 3 eggs

- 1 tsp. vanilla

- 1/2 cup coconut oil

- 4 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate squares

- 1/2 - 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix almond flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking powder

3. In a separate bowl, melt the 4 ounces of baking chocolate with the coconut oil

4. While chocolate melts, beat eggs, honey, and vanilla in a separate bowl

5. Slowly add the melted chocolate mixture to the egg mixture. Whisk thoroughly, and make sure to add slowly so the eggs don't start to cook

6. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl as well, and mix completely

7. Fold in walnuts if using nuts

8. Pour the batter into a greased 8x8 pan

9. Bake for 30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely, and then slice and serve!

  

Butternut Squash Casserole

Happy (belated) Thanksgiving! There is a lot to catch up on - I am back in Boston after a few wonderful days with my family. It was so great to see everyone as always, and I feel very thankful to have such an incredible family. 

This was my first Paleo thanksgiving, so it was quite different from a food perspective this year. I had to pass on the stuffing, stuffed mushrooms, mac & cheese, cornbread, marshmallow sweet potatoes, and about 500 desserts, but I made some great paleo-friendly recipes and was able to focus more on the real meaning of thanksgiving. Recipes will be posted all week, and the first one is a quick and easy butternut squash casserole. I am cooking a mini round 2 paleo thanksgiving tomorrow, and I will be serving the leftovers of this along with my first attempt at a turkey. Details will follow... enjoy!

Ingredients:
- 5 lbs butternut squash, cubed
- 1-2 Tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (plus more for dusting)
- Sea salt, pepper, garlic, powder, & cinnamon
- 1 cup chopped walnuts

Ingredients:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Boil squash for 20-30 minutes until soft
3. Drain squash in a colander 
4. Add coconut oil to pot and let melt. 
5. Add squash and shredded coconut to the pot with the coconut oil, and mix with a hand blender
6. Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cinnamon to taste (I like a lot of cinnamon!)
7. Put pureed squash in a casserole pan, and then top with chopped walnuts and some extra shredded coconut and cinnamon
8. Bake for 40 minutes. If nuts start browning, you can cover the pan with foil for the last 10-15 minutes.

  

Paleo Pumpkin Carrot Walnut Muffins

I'm not going to lie to you. These are good. Really good. You can ask Chris - we ate them while we had a wonderful heart-to-heart around the kitchen island drinking tea yesterday. It doesn't get much better than that on a Sunday afternoon. I have to give credit to a new paleo meetup friend Anna for posting a picture of gorgeous pumpkin muffins on her facebook page Sunday morning. I tried to get her recipe, but clearly I am very impatient, so I created my own and added shredded carrots into the mix since I looove carrot muffins/bread/cake. I now love carrots even more after the nice man at the SOWA market got so amused from the way Chris and I were picking the "perfect" carrots. In other SOWA news, my favorite woman at the Westminster Meat table remembered me from last week and asked how my 5lb. chicken turned out! I was so excited to tell her that I was able to use the whole frozen chicken to make delicious soup, and it is great to see that I am becoming a regular at my neighborhood market. 

In breaking paleo news, I am hosting my first official paleo meetup in a couple of weeks. It is going to be a halloween potluck, and I have been brainstorming a few costume ideas (think grass-fed cow, hunter/gatherer, etc...). I already have a great group of people signed up, and I can't wait. It will be a wonderful thing to look forward to after I trek back up to Boston after the big Avon walk this upcoming weekend! There will be a ton of special treats at the potluck, and I'm sure my new paleo friends won't be disappointed. Stay tuned!

Ingredients:

- 1.5 cups almond flour

- 1/2 cup pumpkin (I used canned organic pumpkin from Trader Joes)

- 1 cup shredded carrots

- 3 eggs

- 1 tsp. baking soda

- 1 tsp. baking powder

- 2 tsp. cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1 Tbsp. - 1/4 cup raw honey (optional - I used 1 Tbsp.)

- 2 Tbsp. coconut oil

- Splash of vanilla

- 1/2 chopped walnuts + 12 big pieces 

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix all ingredients other than walnuts in a mixing bowl

3. Fold in chopped walnuts (reserve the 12 pieces for later)

4. Grease muffin tin (12-muffin size) with coconut oil or use silicon baking cups

5. Spoon batter evenly into muffin tin and top each muffin with a whole walnut

6. Bake for 25 minutes (fork or toothpick should come out clean)

7. Let sit for 5 minutes, and then remove to a wire rack

8. Eat with a friend, a cup of tea, or both ;)

     

  

Crispy Apple Crisp

No (good) party or cooking class would be complete without a paleo dessert. I know some paleo followers stay away from paleo-ized versions of baked goods, but I personally like to indulge every once in a while. I created this apple crisp recipe, and you will see there is no honey, maple syrup, or sweetener. You can use those if you like, but I found that the sweetness of the baked apples was enough. Next time I will definitely need to make a little homemade paleo ice cream on the side for the full experience.

I did give the leftovers to my gracious hosts, but it is key to note that they could be eaten for breakfast without a single ounce of guilt. Check out the ingredients - you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:

- 2 lbs. apples (about 6 small apples)

- 1 cup almond flour/meal

- 1/2 cup crushed pecans

- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

- 1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. cinnamon 

- 2 tsp vanilla

- 1/3 cup coconut oil

- 1/2 lemon

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Chop apples (I left the skin on) and put in a big ziploc bag. Add lemon and 1 tsp. of the cinnamon. 

3. Shake the bag, and when evenly coated, arrange the apples in a pie dish or 9x9 pan

4. In a mixing bowl, mix almond flour, pecans, walnuts, and 1 Tbsp. of cinnamon

5. Add vanilla and coconut oil

6. Use your hands to fully combine the ingredients - you are looking for a somewhat soft/crumbly mixture. If it is too try, you may need to add another dollop of coconut oil

7. Pour topping mixture evenly over the apples

8. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes

9. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes to make your apple crisp nice and crispy

10. Serve plain or with some paleo ice cream