Almond Flour Brownies

Imagine my delight when I discovered that Dr. Campbell-McBride had decreed that cocoa powder was OK for us advanced GAPSters. Then imagine my sadness when I discovered that there were zero decent almond flour brownie recipes out there on the internet. Of course I had to fill the void. Some things are worth a little trial and error! I believe I have finally got it right. These babies could definitely give the old gluten-laden variety a run for their money. I made these today, and there is one left (only because I don't think anyone else realizes it!).

These make a dense, moist, chewy, chocolaty brownie.

So here it is in all it's simple glory :)

Ingredients

2/3 cup honey
1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup cocoa (I used raw cacao)
1/4 tsp. baking soda (this can be omitted)
1/4 tsp. sea salt (omit if using salted butter)

Method

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix honey, butter, vanilla and eggs until smooth. (If omitting baking soda, beat eggs until foamy before adding in other wet ingredients.) Add almond flour, cocoa, baking soda and optional salt. Stir to blend. Pour into greased 8x8x2 inch pan. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until center no longer jiggles and top feels cakey.

Cool on a wire rack at least until sides pull away from the edge of the pan before cutting.

Crustless Quiche

If you have a crust recipe that you like, you could certainly use one, but I find this so easy without a crust.  This recipe is so simple and works for any meal of the day, is relatively portable, and can even be fancy enough to bring to a gathering or serve to guests. 

INGREDIENTS:

4 eggs
1 can (14-16 oz) of coconut milk without additives
1-2 T butter or fat for cooking
1/2 onion
1 cup diced meat (I prefer ham)
OR diced vegetables (bell pepper, asparagus, greens, or zucchini work especially well)
1 cup of cubed cheese
1/2 tsp salt
other herbs and spices, optional

METHOD:

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Crack the eggs into a mixing bowl and beat in the coconut milk.  Mix in the cubed cheese, salt, and any other herbs or spices that you are using.

3.  In a 10 inch skillet (ideally cast iron), melt the fat and saute the onions for several minutes.

4.  If you are using vegetables, add them now and saute several more minutes, allowing any moisture to come out (such as with mushrooms).

5.  Turn off the heat, add your meat and stir, and then pour the egg mixture over the top.

6. Bake for 45 minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

Peach Pomegranate Cranberry Sauce

This is a simple yet unusual twist on cranberry sauce that has become our favorite.  If you like cranberry sauce, you can have a lot of fun trying different combinations of fruit, juices, and vegetables.

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups cranberries (one 4 oz bag)
2 cups of peaches, cut into chunks (frozen work fine)
1/4 cup pure pomegranate juice
1/4 cup honey (or to taste)

METHOD:

Combine all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to medium heat.

Continue to heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture has simmered long enough for the cranberries to pop, about 20-30 minutes.  The mixture should thicken as it simmers- if it gets too thick, or begins to scorch, you can add more pomegranate juice. 

Lemon Cardamom Cashews

Not to toot my own horn, but these are unbelievably good!  I can't have many cashews because of the oxalate levels but these are worth suffering for :)

INGREDIENTS:

2 T butter or ghee
1/3 c honey
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 cups of cashews (preferably soaked and dehydrated)

METHOD:

Dry toast the cashews in an iron skillet or other heavy-bottomed pan on medium heat until they are slightyl browned and crunchy.

Add the butter, allow it to melt, then add the other ingredients.  Stir them to combine and cook until the liquid has bubbled for about 5 minutes.

Pour the mixture onto a cookie sheet lined with greased parchment paper and allow to cool.

Store in an airtight container preferably in the refrigerator.

Chili almonds

These are sweet and spicy and make a nice gift.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T butter or ghee
3 T honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chipotle powder (or cayenne powder)
2 cups almonds (preferably soaked and dried)

METHOD:

If the almonds are not crunchy, dry toast them in an iron skillet (or other heavy-bottomed pan) on medium heat until they reach desired level of crunchiness.

Add the butter to the nuts and allow it to melt, then add the other ingredients and thoroughly stir them together. 

Continue heating and stirring until the liquid bubbles for about 5 minutes, then pour the mixture out onto a cookie sheet lined with greased parchment paper and let it cool.

Store in an air-tight container, preferably in the refrigerator.

Chicken Liver Mousse

This is essentially a recipe from the Cheeseslave blog called Balthazar's Chicken Liver Mousse.  Amazingly chicken liver has become the favorite food of my 9-year-old son so I have been exploring different ways to cook it.  I am personally not a huge fan of it but this was pretty good, especially if you use the bourbon (I substituted bourbon for cognac).  I also followed her example and baked these without the water bath, and they were fine.

Blueberry Coconut French Toast

I have been making cake/bread out of coconut flour recently in order to make it low oxalate (the nut butter bread is high oxalate).  I added some blueberries to the batter to "liven it up", which does raise the oxalate content a bit, but not too much.  This was so delicious!  This would make a wonderful brunch for non-GAPS guests.

To make the batter, follow the recipe for Teri's Almond Cupcakes.  Substitute vanilla for the almond extract and add 1 or 2 handfuls of blueberries, depending on preference.  Bake in an 8 x 8 inch Pyrex dish (or in two loaf pans filled only halfway up).  The cooking time will be at least 10 minutes longer. 

To make the french toast, slice the bread into 3/4 inch thick slices.  If you used a square Pyrex dish, cut it into two 4 x 8 halves first, then cut each half into slices so the slices aren't too long to work with.  Soak in a mixture of 2 eggs with a little coconut milk, kefir, or yogurt, and vanilla extract.  Fry the slices in butter on both sides until golden brown.  Serve warm with jam, honey, or fresh fruit on top.

Hazelnut Cake with Coffee Buttercream Frosting

I just turned 40. I wanted to have a special cake to celebrate. This one was a hit with everyone. There was only one piece left over, and I had to hide it to keep it safe ;)

Ingredients for cake

2 2/3 cups hazelnuts
8 Tbs. honey
8 large eggs, separated
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

Method

Lightly toast hazelnuts in a 350 degree (F) oven. This takes about 15 minutes. They will just start to smell fragrant when ready. Allow to cool slightly. Place hazelnuts in a kitchen towel and rub vigorously to remove most of the skin. This does not have to be perfect. Discard skins. Finely grind skinned hazelnuts in a food processor. Use the pulse function to avoid over-processing (you don't want hazelnut butter).

Set oven to 300 degrees (F). Butter two nine inch cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Grease parchment paper as well.

Combine egg yolks, two tablespoons honey, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until thick and smooth, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in ground hazelnuts and set aside. Make sure this mixture stays at room temperature.

In a clean dry bowl, with clean dry beaters, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add 6 tablespoons honey. Continue beating until stiff peaks form and mixture is glossy.

Fold two tablespoons egg white mixture into hazelnut mixture. Continue gently folding in whites a tablespoon and a time.

Divide batter between prepared pans. Smooth tops. Bake until tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Slide knife around edge of pan and gently pry up parchment paper. Turn out first layer onto platter. Thinly frost with coffee buttercream. Top with second layer, and frost more thickly with additional buttercream.

Ingredients for Frosting

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2-4 Tbs. honey
1-2 Tbs. strong espresso, at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Method for Frosting

Cream butter and lesser amount of honey until light and fluffy. Taste. Add more honey, if desired. With mixer running, slowly beat in lesser amount of espresso. Taste. Add more espresso, if desired. Beat in vanilla. Must be used at room temperature, but may be stored in refrigerator.

Layered Popsicles

I'm always looking for a way to make food that is fun and interesting for my kids.  Sometimes it's about making things in fun shapes, other times it's about presentation, and other times it has to do with color.  Popsicles are fun, but they had lost their novelty for us, so I came up with this version.

You can make as many layers as you want in as many colors as you want.  Layers can be either fruit/veggie juice, like popsicles, or can be ice cream.  You can use coconut ice cream, peach ice cream (which can be made with other fruit such as pear or mango), or kefir cream ice cream. 

I found that layers work best with both a strong flavor as well as an ingredient to give it a bright color.  Here are some ideas for layers:

orange/carrot
lime/kale or other leafy green, or celery
raspberry or strawberry/beet
lemon/golden beet

If you want to sweeten the layers, heat the juice just enough to dissolve some honey in it (to taste).  If you put a layer of vanilla ice cream between two orange layers, it's like a creamsicle.

To make the popsicles, pour a layer of juice into the bottom of each mold and let it freeze.  Once the bottom layer is frozen (or nearly frozen), then pour another layer of juice or spoon a layer of ice cream in.  Continue this process until you have created all of your layers.  Inserting the stick or handle can be a bit tricky since you can't stick it into an already frozen layer.  The molds that I have have a handle with a small stick, so it just got frozen into the last layer.  If you do it this way, you have to be very careful when removing the popsicles from the molds or they can come apart at the layers.  It would work better to put long sticks in that go through each layer, and have some way of holding them up, such as covering the molds with plastic wrap or foil that will hold the sticks in place.

Amoreena's Peanut Butter Fudge

This simple and absolutely delicious recipe was given to me by my friend Amoreena, and has been a favorite snack for the past week.  It is also a great way to eat coconut oil for those who don't enjoy eating it straight.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c coconut oil
1/2 c peanut butter
honey to taste
dash of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD:

Melt the oil in a saucepan on very low heat. 

Pour the oil and remaining ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.

Pour this mixture into an 8 x 8 pyrex dish (or similar glass dish), and place in the freezer.

This fudge is best stored in the refrigerator or freezer. 

Carrot Cake

This cake is good. My non-GAPS friend said, "It tastes just like a store-bought carrot cake!" It tasted even better today than it did yesterday. I would prefer it with walnuts, but I didn't think the birthday boy would have, so I didn't include them. I will for Easter though!

Ingredients

1 cup honey
1 cup butter
12 eggs
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1 1/8 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda*
5 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 a whole nutmeg, grated
3 cups shredded carrots (about 6 medium)

Method

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 13x9x2 inch pan, and line bottom with greased parchment paper or a greased paper towel.

Melt honey and butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Cool. Lightly beat eggs. Add vanilla and blend. Add coconut flour, sea salt, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg, and beat until well blended, scraping down sides as necessary. Add shredded carrots, and stir lightly to incorporate.

Pour into prepared pan and bake 25-35 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool completely and invert onto a tray. Remove paper.

Top with cream cheese icing, if desired.

*Not allowed on GAPS, but is SCD legal.

The Creamiest Ice Cream Ever!

This ice cream is made from kefired heavy cream and is so incredibly luscious and creamy.  The richness out-does Hgen-Daaz but with the tangy flavor of frozen yogurt.  This has become one of our favorite ways to get good fats and probiotics into diet.

To make the ice cream, kefir pure heavy whipping cream for at least 24 hours and strain out the grains (I would use between 2 and 4 pints).  Mix honey and vanilla into the kefired cream to taste, several egg yolks if you want (I add at least 3), and pureed fruit if you want.  Then freeze in an ice cream maker.  This also makes creamy popsicles with the "feel" of a fudge-sicle. 

Celery Chestnut Stuffing

Chestnut stuffing has always been one of my favorite comfort foods and I have been experimenting with it for quite a while now.  This version is my favorite so far.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T butter or ghee
2 onions, chopped
1 T dried rubbed sage
2 tsp dried thyme
1 cup reduced turkey stock (or other meat stock)
1 large celery or 2 small ones
2 c chopped chestnuts
salt to taste
additional stock as needed

METHOD:

Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet.  Saute the onions until softened, about 5 minutes, then add the herbs.  Mix and add the stock, and bring to a simmer.  Add the celery and chestnuts and cook until they are soft, adding additional stock if needed.  Taste and add salt if desired.  This will depend on how salty the stock was.

VARIATIONS:

For "rice stuffing", add a grated cauliflower at the end.  You may need to add additional stock as well.

For bread stuffing, I used the nut butter bread recipe although coconut bread may work as well.  Cut about half of a loaf of bread into cubes.  If you feel that the bread is too soft, you can slice it and toast it first.  The cubes can then be added to the above recipe at the end and cooked until they are softened and have absorbed the liquid.  You may need to add extra stock or butter.

Baked Seed Crackers and Pizza Crust

I originally came up with this recipe as a pizza crust (which, by the way, I think is the best one so far), but quickly realized that it would also work well as crackers.  As a pizza crust, it's a little on the crispy side (which I like), and as crackers they are a little on the soft side.  If you like your crackers crispier, then simply leave them in the oven longer. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 c ground pumpkin seeds
1 c ground sunflower seeds
1 tsp salt
1 large or 2 small eggs
1-2 tsp olive oil
optional- crushed garlic, chopped parsley, dried Italian herbs, or any other ingredient for flavor

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ideally the seeds should be soaked in water overnight, then dried in the oven or dehydrator on a low setting.  Once dry, they can be stored in jars so they are ready when you want to cook.

Grind the seeds before measuring out 1 cup each.  I like to grind mine in a coffee grinder that I use only for seeds, nuts, and spices.  Blend all ingredients with an electric mixer in a medium bowl.  The dough will be very stiff.  Vary the amount of olive oil based on how dry the dough seems- if it is wet enough with one tsp, then omit the second one.  If you are adding herbs, garlic, or anything else for flavor, do it now.  For the batch in the photo, I added 2 cloves of garlic and a handfull of chopped parsley (additional flavors are good for both crackers and pizza crust).

Grease a cookie sheet and sprinkle it with coarsely ground pumpkin seeds.  Pat the dough into a ball shape and place it in the middle of the cookie sheet.  Beginning in the center and moving outwards, squish the dough flat with your hands.  I suppose you could also cover it with waxed paper and roll it out with a rolling pin.  I try to get it to about 1/4 of an inch.  For pizza crust, you may want to make the edges slightly raised, for crackers, make it flat.

 For pizza- bake for 20 minutes (or longer if it looks very wet).  Remove from oven, top with sauce and toppings, then return to oven for as long as it takes for the toppings to get hot and cheese to melt if you are using cheese.

For crackers-bake 25-30 minutes, depending on how crispy you like them.  Cut them into squares with a pizza cutter.  If you left them in a long time to get crispy, you should cut them quickly while they are still a little soft.  Top with hummus, yogurt or kefir cheese, or any other topping you like.  If you made them on the softer side, you could cut them with cookie cutters to make them look fancy.

Raw Egg Nog

I've never actually made real egg nogg before and it was much better than I expected.  It's also pretty easy, and very nutritious.  This is something I plan on enjoying throughout the year!

INGREDIENTS:

3 eggs (farm fresh if possible)
1 pint coconut milk or kefir or kefired cream
2 T - 1/4 cup honey, depending on taste
grated nutmeg
bourbon (optional)

METHOD:

Separate the eggs and beat egg whites until soft peaks form.  In another bowl, beat the yolks with the honey, just until frothy and well mixed.  I personally feel that egg nog needs very little sweetness to be delicious, so I use only a few T of honey.  If you are using kefir you may want to add more honey.

Gently fold the yolk mixture into the beaten whites.  Then fold in the coconut milk or kefir.  Fold in bourbon to taste if you are using it.  After you pour it into cups, sprinkle the top with nutmeg.

This recipe makes quite a bit and easily serves 4.

Bacon Cheddar Potted Cheese

When I was a kid, one of my favorite flavors of the holidays was those salty cheese spreads that came in the Christmas food packages.  I loved how they were so creamy and salty, and probably loved them partly because of the MSG.  A friend recently posted a recipe online for one of these spreads and when I saw it I knew I had to make it work for GAPS.  I think this is even better without the MSG.

INGREDIENTS:

2 T coconut oil
12 oz raw cheddar cheese
8 oz bacon (I used Organic Prairie brand)
2 shallots
1 T bourbon
1 cup kefir or homemade yogurt (you could probably use coconut milk if you don't have either)

METHOD:

Chop the bacon and cook in the coconut oil until crispy, remove and set aside.

Fry the shallots in 2 T of the fat left from cooking the bacon, until caramelized.

Chop the cheese into small cubes and put into the bowl of a food processor along with the bacon, and pulse until well blended.  Add the kefir, bourbon, and shallots and continue to blend until the mixture is creamy. 

At this point the mixture is a thick spread or dip, that would go well with veggie sticks, apple slices, crackers, or coconut bread or nut butter bread..  You can easily adjust the consistency by adding in more kefir, if you want a thinner dip.  For an extravagant salad dressing, or dressing for vegetables, you could thin this down a lot with oil and vinegar as well as more kefir.

Pecan-glazed butternut squash pudding

This is good. (My husband says that "good" is not an adequate description of this dish. He says, "I took one little bite, and it was phenomenal!") I am using it as a substitute for my usual sweet potato dish for Thanksgiving. I am also having butternut squash in my winter vegetable medley, so I'm skipping the pumpkin pie and opting for apple cobbler instead.

Ingredients

Filling

1 small butternut squash

1-2 Tbs. honey

2 Tbs. butter (I used salted pasture butter, if yours is unsalted, add a pinch of salt)

1 egg

2 tsp. bourbon (optional)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

Glaze

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

1/4 cup honey

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 cup chopped pecans

Method

Bake whole butternut squash in 350 degree (F) oven until fork-tender, about 40 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut in half and remove seeds, pulp and skin. Shred or mash the flesh into a bowl. Mix in remaining ingredients for filling. Spread in a greased 8 inch square baking dish.

For glaze: mix first three ingredients together in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture begins to carmelize (honey will turn slightly darker). Do not overcook, it will continue to carmelize in the oven. Add pecans, and spread glaze over filling. Bake at 325 degrees (F) for about 30 minutes or until glaze looks consistent and filling looks firm.

Chile Verde

 This was a delicious treat after being in a GAPS rut for awhile.  It was a time-consuming meal, especially since I started out by going into my garden and harvesting the tomatillos!  If you make a lot of the sauce ahead of time and freeze it, this would be an easy crock pot dinner. 

Amazingly, the recipe I used was the first one that came up in a google search.  The steps of the recipe are nicely pictured, which I appreciated.  The only modification I made was not to drain off the excess fat.  Here's the link:

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chile_verde/

Pie Crust II

This is my second take on pie crust, and I think it's better. It's crispier without the egg yolk, I think, and yummier with more butter! One of my non-GAPS friends says she likes this better than regular pie crust. I don't concur, but I still like it!

Ingredients

1/2 cup ground sunflower seeds
1/2 cup ground pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup ground pecans or walnuts
4 Tbs. butter
1/4 tsp. salt
2 egg whites

Method

Pulse all ingredients except egg whites in food processor until butter is blended through. Add egg whites a bit at a time and pulse through after each addition until mixture forms a ball. Chill for an hour or so.

Press dough into a 10 inch pie plate. Fill and bake according to directions for filling.

For a pre-cooked or raw filling, place in oven at 325 degrees Farenheit for 10-20 minutes until lightly browned. (The timing here is a ball-park estimate. I took it out when I smelled the pecans toasting.)

Honey Bourbon Cranberry Sauce

This is yummy. I hope some of you have a chance to try it for Thanksgiving.

Ingredients

8 oz. organic cranberries, washed and picked over
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup honey
zest of half an orange or whole lemon
1 Tbs. good quality bourbon

Method

Bring all ingredients except bourbon to a boil. Simmer until all of the cranberries pop. Allow to cool a bit in the pan. Add bourbon. Refrigerate. You can pass the sauce through a sieve of food mill, if you don't like whole cranberry sauce.