Paleo Peach Crisp for One (or two!)

Living on my own, I don't always get to my produce when it's in the best shape for eating raw, so when I was faced with a giant peach that smelled delicious, but was slightly soft, I thought I could either cut it up and mix it into my yogurt, or I could make myself a delicious Sunday morning treat.  With no grains/gluten and no refined sugar in the house, this was pretty much a no-brainer.  I dug through my pantry and fridge, and came up with a recipe that I think will become a staple in my kitchen (I plan on replacing the peach with apples in the fall - yum!)

Paleo Peach Cobbler for One

Ingredients:

Peach mixture:

• 1 ripe peach, peeled and cut into small chunks
• 1/2 a vanilla bean 
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Crisp mixture:

• 3 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 2 tbsp shredded, unsweetened coconut
• 3 tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• dash of sea salt
• slivered almonds (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place peaches in a bowl.  Scrape vanilla beans on top of peaches, add cinnamon and combine.

Place the fruit mixture at the bottom of a small oven-proof dish (I used a 23cm dish) or individual ramekins & set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine flax, almond flour and coconut until blended.  Add the wet ingredients & spices, and mix until combined.  

Top the peaches with the crisp mixture.  Add slivered almonds if desired.  

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, or until the topping is a light golden brown.  

This makes an awesome breakfast when served warm... or throw some homemade vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt on the side for a quick and easy dessert.  

Grain-Free Chocolate-Coconut Kiss Cookies

As part of my Influenster #jadorevoxbox, I was given a family size bag of Hershey's Kisses to try and enjoy.  Let me repeat that: a FAMILY sized bag.  That's a lot of kisses for one girl - especially one girl who's trying to be conscious of her eating habits.  I prefer eating primal/paleo most of the time, but I don't mind the occasional splurge, so I came up with this recipe for chocolate cookies that use mostly primal friendly ingredients.  Of course, the Kisses aren't, but if you don't mind the splurge, go for it!

These cookies are rich, and sweet, and irresistible!

Ingredients:

• 2 oz chocolate (I used Kisses, you can experiment with other milk/dark/bittersweet chocolate)
• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 18 Hershey Kisses (or more/less depending on how many cookies you get out of your batch)

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350.
2. Melt 2 oz of chocolate either in the microwave or over a double-boiler.
3. To the base of a food processor add almond flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and coconut sugar.  Pulse together until well blended.
4. Add cubed butter.  Mix until dough is crumbly.
5. Add eggs, vanilla, and melted chocolate.  Mix until smooth and fully incorporated.
6. Pulse in coconut flakes.
7. Drop by tablespoon-full onto a parchment- or silpat-lined baking sheet (note: I ran out of parchment so I used foil that was greased with coconut oil).  They will spread quite a bit while baking, so make sure you leave enough space around each cookie.  I fit 9 on an oversized cookie sheet.  Press a Hershey Kiss into the top of each cookie.  
8. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set.  Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.  They'll still be soft, but will firm up out of the oven.

These were pretty darn delicious.  Everyone who tried one gave me lots of compliments, and didn't even realize that they were made with my "crazy" ingredients! Love when that happens.

** Note: I do have process photos of all the steps, so if you need them, feel free to leave a note in the comments.  I'm not sure that they add much to the recipe, because it's all pretty straight forward.  But let me know if you need help with any of the steps!

World Nutella Day 2014: Pinterest pin tested!

For World Nutella Day (that's today - February 5th!) - I decided to celebrate by testing out one of my easiest recipes on my Recipes To Remember Pinterest board - the 3-Ingredient Nutella Brownie.  Unfortunately, this does not in any way fall into the "paleo" or in any way healthy category... but if you're looking for an easy and delicious treat, this pin is definitely approved!

With only three ingredients involved (nutella, flour and eggs), this recipe had the potential to be either REALLY good, or REALLY bad.

Thankfully, it turned out to be really good!  The ingredients are all things I had on hand, so it was easy to just pull everything out and not have to worry about shopping for anything special.  If I'd had nuts or chocolate chips, I might have mixed them into the batter, or put a few on top.  But they tasted great without any additions at all!

The batter was a little bit sticky, but easy to work with.  And once they were in the oven, the entire house smelled divine within 15-20 minutes!

My brownies only needed about 25 minutes to bake (and even then, I could have probably taken them out a minute or two earlier to get that gooey centre!), but they were perfect with an afternoon cup of tea!

They puffed up nicely after being baked and they looked and tasted awesome!

Future serving options:
- with vanilla ice cream and maybe some raspberry coulis
- with fresh strawberries and whipped cream
- with nuts or chocolate chips mixed into the batter.

So many other ways to serve this!  How would you do it?

Happy World Nutella Day!

Primal Yumminess (Yogurt Chicken Recipe inside)

It took me a while to get back in the swing of things after returning from a lovely vacation with my fiance... but finally, last night, the cooking bug bit me!  I started with a flavourful Yogurt Chicken for dinner, then made some Cinnamon Bun Muffins for breakfast, and this morning, whipped up a quick honey mustard dressing for my lunch-time salad.

 Yogurt Chicken


(Note: I cook only for myself these days, so adjust your measurements as necessary for more people.  This was enough for a substantial amount for dinner, plus a little bit to go into my salad for lunch)

Ingredients:
4 tbsp Greek Yogurt
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chilli powder
Sea Salt to taste
1 chicken breast

Method:

• Clean/trim chicken and cut into bite-sized pieces and place in a small bowl/dish.
• Add all the ingredients (except for chicken) to a small bowl and mix well.  The sauce will take on a lovely yellow colour, thanks to the turmeric! Yum!
• Set aside half of the sauce.  Add the rest to the bowl with the chicken.  Coat well, and let the chicken marinate for at least 10 minutes (but closer to an hour if you're not starving!)
• Cook in a non stick pan (you may use your favourite cooking oil) until chicken is no longer pink.
• Serve with a side of veggies, and spoon your reserved sauce on top!

Other yummy goodness, in brief:

I tried these yummy Grainfree Cinnamon Bun Muffins via Joyful Abode / Elana's Pantry. I followed the Joyful Abode recipe to the tee and it was PERFECT.  I love the changes that she made to Elana's recipe, because all the ingredients (except cream cheese) were things I normally keep in the house.
I know cream cheese isn't really primal... but I've been having a major sugar craving lately, so this was way better than what I could have indulged in!



The muffins (though with the frosting, maybe they're more like cupcakes) were tender and perfectly delicious.  I had tried out a few different primal cinnamon bun subs, and none of them even came close.  This recipe was quick, easy, and delicious.  It will be a staple in my primal treat file, for sure!

And, the leftover frosting makes perfect dipping sauce for strawberries! Yumm!


This morning, I tried my hand at a quick honey mustard dressing, which was surprisingly quick and easy.  I blended up all the ingredients in my magic bullet in about 5 minutes, and now have a tasty dressing to look forward to for lunch!
There's plenty of leftovers for future salads, so I'll have to see how long it keeps in the fridge, and maybe adjust the recipe size to make a little less for future batches.

What have you been cooking lately?

Chocolate Fruit Bark

This is now my favorite recipe!! I used 2 dark chocolate bars, a mixture of tropical dried fruit, handful of raisins, slivered almonds, handful of cranberries and cinnamon. Below is the recipe, but I think this is the kind of recipe where you can alter it in any way. Add or remove any ingredients to suit your sweet tooth. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

12 oz high-quality dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa)
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dried tart cherries
1/2 cup dried mango, chopped
1/2 cup cashews, chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cayenne or chili powder (optional)
1/4 tsp ginger powder (optional)

Line a rimmed baking sheet with wax paper of lightly greased parchment paper.

Using a double boiler, melt chocolate until very smooth. Stir in half the dried fruit, cashews and spices.

Spread the chocolate mixture onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle with remaining dried fruit.

Chill in refrigerator until firm, about 30 minutes.

Break into pieces of desired size.

Spiced Rum Pecan Pie

1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 to 2 cups pecan halves
4 tablespoons good-quality spiced rum
1 (9-inch) deep-dish pie shell, unbaked

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar and melted butter. Add the corn syrup, eggs, pecans, and rum, and stir until all ingredients are combined. Pour mixture into an unbaked pie shell, and place on a heavy-duty cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, and continue to bake for an additional 25 minutes, or until pie is set. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

This is super easy to make, but when you are done it looks like you have put a lot of effort into something. A for sure impress anyone who you have at your table. Even if the rest of the meal is from a take out box. I may have added extra pecans but I don't recall - just make it your own. A Canadian treat is a butter tart - you can make it the same way but take out the pecans and add raisins.

Romance Yourself frosting

Sometimes I want traditional icing, sometimes I want buttercream and sometimes I want cream cheese or sour cream icing, and who knows what I will want tomorrow, because sometimes I just want something new. So something that makes a pretty glossy cake is whipped frosting. Not as easy as traditional icing but I am sure you can do it. After all if I can do it - you can. This was on a lemon cake with lemon custard and lemon jelly in the middle. Tart and sweet can't be beat. Other things that would be good - gooseberry, blueberry, cranberry, current, blackberry, lindonberry, etc.

Whipped Frosting:

3 large egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup water

1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract **I sometimes use almond or other clear colour extracts, the coloured ones if you use too much can tint the icing - even watch the vanilla one.**

In a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water, combine 3 large egg whites, 3/4 cup sugar, a pinch salt and 1/3 cup water. Cook over medium, stirring constantly, until sugar has dissolved 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on medium-high until glossy, stiff peaks form (do not overbeat), about 3 minutes; reduce speed to low, add 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, and beat just until combined. Use immediately.

Link Up: One/Two serving cupcake recipes!

Photo via How Sweet It Is

Sorry, long time no blog!  What can I say, I was out enjoying the world and having fun... more to come on that later, perhaps ;)  In the meantime, I wanted to direct you all to this awesome post that came across my RSS feed earlier today.  One Bowl Vanilla Cupcakes For Two!

Be sure to scroll through the comments for some tips, tricks and variations on the recipe.

Check them out here at How Sweet It Is.  I will definitely be trying this recipe out soon!!

Frozen Brownie Dream Cake

So, I've been moving some old photos of mine off my laptop and onto the external hard drive that I (finally) bought last night, and I came across photos from my 26th birthday (way back in '08).  I remembered how much I *loved* the cake I made for myself that year... so I decided I should share the recipe.  Here it is... the Frozen Brownie Dream Cake.

Brownie Layer:

1 cup + 2 tbsp sugar

3/4 cup softened butter

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup sifted cocoa

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3 eggs

Grease the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.  Place all the ingredients in mixing bowl and beat at low spread until blended.  Don’t overbeat them.  Spread in the pan.  Bake at 350 degrees, 25-30 minutes, but don’t overbake it.

Allow to cool on counter.

Spread 1/3 cup chocolate sauce on top.

Ice cream Layer:

1 8oz package of cream cheese (soft)

1/4 cup corn syrup

Beat them together.

Add 1 Litre of Vanilla Ice Cream.

Beat until smooth.

Pour over the brownie. 

Cover and freeze.

Remove from freezer 5-10 minutes before serving.