Paleo Cinnamon Buns (dairy free, wheat free, sugar free)

I have to say this is the best thing I have eaten in a while.  I got the recipe from a blog I follow called The Urban Poser.  Eating these rolls made me feel like I was eating something I was not supposed to have but they were really good for you.  They were delicious!

The rolls are more like a roll that is made more like a biscuit consistency.

Paleo Cinnamon Buns (dairy free, wheat free, sugar free)
For the rolls:
3 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
2 tablespoons honey
2 large eggs at room temperature

For the filling:
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
1/2 cup raisins soaked in water to plump
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 340 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda.  In a separate bowl, gently beat together coconut oil, honey and eggs.  Add the egg mixture to the almond flour mixture.  Mix until a smooth dough is formed.  It will be sticky at first, continue to mix until it firms up some.  Let rest in refrigerator for about 10 minutes.  Lightly grease the outside of the ball of dough.  Roll the dough out between two sheets of parchment paper to keep it from sticking when you roll it up.  Roll to about a 9x13 size rectangle.  Drizzle the dough with honey, using your hand to carefully spread it around.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and pecans.  Drain and squeeze out the liquid from the raisins and spread over the dough.  From the small end of the dough, start to roll the edge up.  Try to start a tight roll from the beginning.  Continue rolling until you have a uniform log.  With a sharp knife, cut the roll into thick slices.  Place the rolls cut side down onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Bake for 10 to 15 minutes.  Let cool before removing them from cookie sheet.  Drizzle with icing just before serving.

Icing
1/4 cup softened coconut butter
2 teaspoon honey
1/4 cup coconut milk
Mix together coconut butter and honey to form a thick paste.  Add coconut milk a little at a time until you get the consistency you want.  Spread/drizzle over the cinnamon buns.

Ginger Dressing

I made this dressing the other night to go over a grilled salmon salad and it was fantastic.  I believe that I could eat this dressing on just about anything, of course though I love ginger.

Ginger Dressing
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Mix all ingredients into a jar and shake until well mixed.

The salmon was cooked on the grill using cedar (wood) wrappers.  The wrappers impart a nice flavor to the salmon.

Braised Lamb Shanks

I have to start this post as a confession, I have never made lamb shanks before in my life.  I decided to give it a try when I purchased them at the Farmer's Market yesterday.   Truth be told, I am not really afraid to make anything.  I love trying new things.  I decided a nice slow roasting of the shank was in order so that they would cook to fall right off the bone.  In case you don't know what a lamb shank is I put a couple of pictures prior to cooking.  Also, here is a definition.

I began to look at the fundamentals of this meal and realized that the majority of it either came from local farms or our own garden.  Mike planted a winter garden of several different things.  A winter garden is usually something that you have that comes up during the winter.  He planted kale and it was so happy it came right on up and we were lucky enough to be able to enjoy it now.

Braised Lamb Shanks
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 small onions, halved and thinly sliced
Kosher salt (add pepper if you want as well)
3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 - 28 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes and 1 - 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
2 lamb shanks
1/2 cup room temperature red wine (I used a Cabernet Franc)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a large oven proof dutch oven, heat oil over medium high heat.  Add onions and season with salt.  Cook, stirring occasionally to help separate the onions and cook them until softened about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook until fragrant.  Add tomatoes (using a spoon to break up the whole tomatoes) and cook until they break down.  Add lamb shanks and cover with the sauce.  Bring to a boil, cover and place pot into oven.  Cook for about 3 hours, or until lamb is fork tender.  With about the last 15 minutes of cook time, remove lid and add wine.  Cover again and let cook until done.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small pieces
Up to a 1/4 cup of coconut milk
salt
Place sweet potatoes into a large pan and cover with water.  Place pan over high heat and bring to a boil.  Continue to boil (don't let it boil over by adjusting the heat) and cook until fork tender.  Drain and then add sweet potatoes back into the pan and place on stove (no heat).  Using a potato masher, mash them while adding a little bit of coconut milk.  Continue to mash and add milk until you get the consistency you like.

Cooked Kale
1 large bunch of kale, washed and cut into small pieces
2 shallots, diced
extra virgin olive oil
1/4 white wine
In a large heavy bottom skillet heat olive oil over medium high heat.  Add shallots and cook until tender.  Add kale and stir.  Let cook constantly stirring to incorporate the shallots.  Add wine, cover and let cook for about 10 minutes.  Remove lid and let continue to cook to let liquid evaporate.  Serve.

In the pan after coming out of the oven

The meat fell right off the bone

Raw Lamb Shank

Raw Lamb Shank

Shrimp Scampi (Dairy Free, Paleo)

I love shrimp but Mike my husband is severely allergic, so I don't have shrimp in the house when he is here.  So since he is away for his annual fishing trip I am taking advantage of making shrimp.   I wanted to make it paleo and a healthy version.

Shrimp Scampi
1/2 pound shrimp
1 whole head of garlic, crushed  (I love garlic!)
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 cup white wine (I used a pinot grigio)
1 spaghetti squash
1/2 tomato, seeded and chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Cut the spaghetti squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Place on a cookie sheet and drizzle with a little but of olive oil and place in oven and cook for about 45 minutes until tender.  Remove from oven and flake with a fork to make it look like spaghetti.

Peel the shrimp and remove the vein that runs along the back part of the shrimp.  I use a knife and make a slit along the top and pull/wash it away.  It is like you are butterflying the shrimp.

In a skillet over medium high heat add coconut oil.  Once heated, add garlic and stir.  Add shrimp and toss around in the garlic.  Add wine, red pepper flakes and parsley.  Let cook until shrimp is cooked (shrimp will turn from an opaque color to white) and liquid has been cooked down.  Add some spaghetti squash to the pan and toss.   Add tomato and toss.  Serve.

Coconut Milk Blueberry Jam Ice Cream

After the last batch of coconut milk ice cream I made, I became a huge fan.  The texture of it is so creamy, very similar to gelato.  This summer we bought a bunch of organic blueberries that we froze. Well I just had to make ice cream with it.

Coconut Milk Blueberry Jam Ice Cream

For the Jam part:
2 cups frozen blueberries
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons almond extract
pinch of salt
Place all ingredients into a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir to incorporate the honey.  As the blueberries heat up they will begin to break open.  Continue to stir so that it doesn't burn.  The mixture will thicken to the consistency of jam.  Remove from stove and place in a glass container.  Place in refrigerator to cool.

For the Ice Cream part:
2 cans - 14 ounces coconut milk
2/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons almond extract
Place all ingredients into a blender and blend.  Place mixture into refrigerator for about 1 hour to cool.

Place ice cream part into a ice cream maker.  Process until just about done and then add the blueberry jam.  Let it continue to process and then remove to a container and freeze.

Pulled Pork Waffle Sliders (Gluten Free/Paleo)

There are a lot of blogs that I enjoy following and every once in a while a recipe will really stand out and I just have to make it.  This recipe was no exception.  The recipe come from PaleOMG.  

Of course I had to adjust it slightly for my food allergies but I will give you the recipe as is.  It was an absolutely delicious meal and to think it was gluten free/paleo.  It was super easy and the great part is that we now have leftovers for lunch!   Now if you are one to watch how much fat you eat, we are not, then you might want to skip over this recipe (you use bacon and bacon fat in the waffles).  

Pulled Pork Waffle Sliders

for the pulled pork

2 pounds pork butt (I didn't have small enough one that would fit into the crock pot so I used a fresh ham)

1 yellow onion, sliced

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

salt and pepper, to taste

for the mayo

2/3 cup avocado oil

1 egg

1 teaspoon lemon juice (I used vinegar due to my allergies)

1 teaspoon dijon mustard (made the mustard myself)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon maple syrup

for the waffles

2 cups almond flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper, to taste

3 eggs, whisked

1/2 cup canned coconut milk

2 tablespoons bacon fat

3 pieces of bacon, cooked and chopped

2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped (I used dried)

for the toppings

5-6 pieces of bacon, cooked

sliced pickles (I used our homemade pickles which added a really nice flavor)

Place pork in crockpot.  Add sliced onions around it and top with garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.  Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours until it falls apart.  Once pork is done cooking, shred it in the crockpot.  To shred pork just use two forks and pull the meat apart, you can also pull any fat out that you don't want to eat.

I made the mayo a little different than the recipe.  Pour egg, lemon juice, mustard, garlic powder and salt and pepper into a blender.  Once it is blended, with the motor running, slowly add the oil, a little at first and then a constant stream of oil.  Once blended add in the maple syrup and blend.  Place in a container and refrigerate. 

For the waffles, mix together almond flour, baking soda, garlic powder, and a bit of salt and pepper.  Add eggs, coconut milk, bacon far, chopped bacon and chives; mix well.   Add about 2 tablespoons of the mixture to the center of a hot waffle iron. You want small buns so the batter won't take up the whole space.   Cook until crispy.  To keep my waffles warm and crispy, I placed them on a cooking rack in the oven that was about 170 degrees Fahrenheit.  

Once waffles are done, begin layering: waffle bun, mayo, pork, pickles, bacon, mayo, bun.  ENJOY!

Pulled Pork in the Crock Pot

Waffle Slider

Serve with a salad

Chicken with Waffles and Gravy (Paleo/Gluten Free)

Okay I know what you are thinking...waffles with gravy?  I have actually heard people say "that is so weird" and "yuck" all my life.   If you are from Pennsylvania you will understand, at least I hope so, what this is about.  I have some Pennsylvania Dutch in my blood and that is where some of these recipes like this have come from.   It is the ultimate comfort food and a great way to use leftover gravy.

I found a recipe online for a paleo style waffle.  The waffles were very good but I found that they didn't get crispy like they did when I used regular old white flour.  So I have decided that I am going to take my old classic recipe and adapt it to a gluten free/paleo style waffle.

The chicken was actually leftover from last night.  We grilled chicken and put it on a salad.  The gravy is actually leftover from Thanksgiving.  I usually freeze my gravy in jars.

Waffles (Paleo/Gluten Free)
1 cup blanched almond flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted
Preheat your waffle iron.  Place dry ingredients into a bowl and whisk together.  Add wet ingredients and whisk to incorporate.  Place about 2/3 cup of the waffle mixture onto the waffle iron (it will depend on your maker).  Cook until browned.  Remove and serve with cut up chicken and gravy.