Category Archives: foodstuff

The first Saturday of autumn must mean this: chocolate chip pumpkin muffins

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Hello, hello! I realize my space here has been mighty quiet, but now that the first fall Saturday is here, I’m feeling all nostalgic and can’t resist popping by to share again my family’s tradition for fall Saturdays: chocolate chip pumpkin muffins. I’ve written about these numerous times over the years and have posted my boys’ favorite recipe multiple times, too, but I can’t resist sharing again. My boys are 13 years old now (13!! How?!), and they still insist that Saturdays in the fall must start with these muffins. The only difference is that now, one of my sons will sometimes make them himself. But the first Saturday of the season, it is my job and I treasure it.

It’s been three years since I wrote about these little gems, and I thought I’d share that original post again. This post includes not only the vegan version that my boys have loved for the past decade, but also a paleo version I sometimes make as well.

How about you? Do you have any favorite fall traditions?

from November 2014:

I inadvertently started a tradition in my household some years ago. I made chocolate chip pumpkin muffins one fall Saturday morning, and suddenly my kids declared it a thing to be done every Saturday of fall. When my kids love something I’ve done for them, it’s very hard for me to say “no” to doing it again. Maybe I’m a pushover, but I do it because I realize that a day will come when they are not asking me to make pumpkin muffins for them anymore, and I’m sure I’ll miss it. So for now, pumpkin muffins they shall have.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

I think I’ve probably posted about these before. It’s a recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance : Over 150 Delicious, Cheap, Animal-Free Recipes That Rock*. I’ve always loved this book. It no longer jibes with my paleo ways, but it’s my kids’ favorite pumpkin muffin recipe, so I oblige. I adapted it to exclude soy milk (which we do not drink), to lower the amount of sugar, and to include chocolate chips.

  • 1 3/4 C all-purpose flour
  • 1 C sugar
  • 1 T baking powder
  • 1/4 t salt
  • 1 t ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 t ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 t ground ginger
  • 1/4 t ground allspice
  • 1 C pureed pumpkin
  • 1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/2 C canola oil
  • 2 T blackstrap molasses
  • 1 C ghiradelli semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease a 12-muffin tin. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, almond milk, oil, and molasses. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix. Fold in the chocolate chips. Fill the muffin cups 2/3-full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not try to bake bacon in the oven at the same time, or you risk burning the muffins. Trust me on this. Maybe you never try to bake bacon at the same time as anything else, but I do! Let cool for about 5 minutes. Enjoy!

I love pumpkin muffins, too, but my husband and I prefer not to eat all that flour (and sugar and canola oil). So I’ve begun making paleo pumpkin muffins from one of my favorite paleo cookbooks, Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well & Feel Great*. Here’s my adaptation of her recipe:

  • 2 C blanched almond flour
  • 3 T coconut flour
  • 1 t baking soda
  • 2 t cinnamon
  • 3/4 t ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 t ground ginger
  • 1/4 t ground cloves
  • 1/4 t sea salt
  • 3/4 C pumpkin puree
  • 1/3 C pure maple syrup
  • 2 large eggs at room temperature
  • 2 T coconut oil, melted
  • 1 t pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 C ghiradelli chocolate chips
  • 1/2 C chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with baking cups. Sift together almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, spice, and salt in a small bowl and mix to combine. Place the remaining wet ingredients in a large bowl and beat on high with a hand mixer. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix till smooth. Gently mix in the dark chocolate chips and chopped pecans. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup 2/3-full. Bake for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Danielle Walker doesn’t mention anything about sifting the almond and coconut flour, but I have found it absolutely essential to creating a better muffin. Otherwise they seem to turn out a bit grainy. However, I’m getting ready to order a superfine almond flour (this one:Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour Super Fine Grind Gluten Free Cholesterol Free albs)* and I’ll see if it makes a sifter unnecessary.

Paleo Pumpkin Muffins

Paleo Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

These aren’t as pretty as non-paleo muffins, but they are moist and delicious. I serve them with a pat of grass-fed butter and a cup of hot spiced tea. Perfect for fall.

So, that’s our Saturday breakfast tradition. And it is our Sunday breakfast tradition, too – the recipes make enough that there are plenty of muffins to heat up before church on Sunday (and I put a tray of bacon into the oven to bake while we get ready, because baked bacon – that’s how I roll!). How about you? Do you have any favorite paleo muffin recipes? It will soon be winter, and when that happens, my boys will no longer expect pumpkin muffins every weekend. So I’m looking for some wintry ideas!

*affiliate links

Gadget Girl Goes Gaga (yes, it’s a post about the Instant Pot) (and also about my other obsession: homemade Greek yogurt)

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For someone who loves old-fashioned, slow things like knitting and spinning and weaving, I sure do love gadgets. So I guess it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that I would fall in love with a kitchen gadget. I just really wasn’t prepared for how very hard I would fall.

I had read about the Instant Pot on NomNomPaleo’s blog for months before I finally couldn’t take it anymore – I had to try this thing. I gave my husband some pretty blatant hints (things like sending him a link and saying, “Hey, I would love one of these for Mother’s Day!”), and – what a nice surprise! – I received one for Mother’s Day: the Instant Pot IP-DUO60 7-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker 6Qt/1000W, Stainless Steel Cooking Pot and Exterior

Twenty years ago, I dated a guy who loved to cook and specifically loved cooking in a stovetop pressure cooker. He persuaded me to get one, and I did. But I was always so scared of that thing that I probably used it less than a dozen times over the years. But the electric pressure cooker takes away that fear for me, because it takes away the risk. It also takes away the guesswork. I was attracted to this particular electric pressure cooker because it’s a 7-in-1 gadget- it works as a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, food warmer, yogurt maker, and it sautés and steams.

But here is my confession. For the first six months of owning this beautiful baby, I only ever used it to make yogurt.

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There were two reasons for that. One: I was intimidated by all the functions and options on the machine. Two: the yogurt is amazing.

I started eating yogurt again (after years of reducing and occasionally eliminating all dairy) last winter, after a really nasty stomach bug. When I was getting back on solid foods, there wasn’t much that appealed to me. Then I suddenly had a deep, undeniable craving for Greek yogurt – thick, plain, whole milk yogurt (I believe in eating fat). I had some raw, local honey from my stepson and his fiancé (they raise bees) that I stirred in, along with some raw nuts. It was total bliss, and I was hooked.

In May, after receiving my Instant Pot, I started making my own plain, whole milk yogurt. I used to make yogurt years ago, when the boys were toddlers. I have a dedicated yogurt maker for just that purpose. But this was even easier than that:

  1. pour in the milk, lock the lid, hit the Yogurt button, and the pot brings the milk to boil. It beeps when it’s ready.
  2. Take off the lid, turn off the machine, let the milk cool to 115F or below (this is the hardest part of the whole process).
  3. Stir in yogurt starter (I use Fage Total yogurt or some of my previous batch of yogurt). It needs a lot less starter than you might think. I stir in 1 Tbsp per quart (and I usually start with half a gallon of milk and so stir in 2 T yogurt).
  4. Put the lid back on, hit the Yogurt button again, and adjust the time (I usually do about 10 hours, but it can be as few as 8 or closer to 12 – I just set it depending on what else is going on with me that day). When the timer goes off again, you have yogurt. It can go straight into containers in the fridge to chill at that point.
  5. But since I like Greek-style yogurt, I always strain mine first. I pour it into a strainer lined with a clean cotton tea towel, set over a large bowl. I then set the whole thing in the fridge for 2-4 hours, which makes for a very thick, very creamy yogurt (and a good amount of whey, which can be used for many other purposes).

I know that food bloggers always take pictures and show you each step. But I’m not a food blogger and my kitchen is poorly set-up for capturing those moments anyway. So I’m just going to assume that you can visualize the pushing of buttons, the closing of lids, and the straining of yogurt, and skip right to the goods:

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It is SO GOOD, y’all.

And so thick:

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And since it’s plain, everyone in the family can stir in whatever they like (or leave it as is). I like mine with honey, almonds, and fresh berries.

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As delicious as this yogurt is, and as unbelievably easy as it is to make, I decided over the holidays that it was high time I started using the Instant Pot for over things, too. So I joined this amazing Facebook group dedicated to the Instant Pot, and it has been really educational and inspiring. My gal Heather and I text about our Instant Pots all the time, and she’s been encouraging and helpful, too.

So I finally took the plunge and went beyond making yogurt. And I have been ALL IN. In the last 11 days, I’ve made Buffalo Wings, Kalua Pig, Chili, Vanilla Custard, Mocha-Rubbed Pot Roast (a dish I usually make in the slow cooker but was even better in the Instant Pot; actually the same could be said about the Kalua Pig), Mexican Beef ( AMAZING), Crispy Chicken Breasts with Lemon and Capers, Potato Soup, and absolutely perfect easy-peel boiled eggs (twice). (I will try to come back and add links to all of those when I have a minute – this post is already getting out of control!).And of course, I’ve also made more yogurt.

My mind is hopping all the time now with Instant Pot ideas, so I figured I might as well subject all of you to it, too. I’m probably going to need to write up some of my ideas and experiments, too, so consider this fair warning – you may have to see many more I Love My Instant Pot posts.

But in case you came by for crafts and not for yogurt, here’s a thing I made with all the time my Instant Pot has saved me:

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Hello Yarn “Blossom” on Finn – my first spin of 2016 – 3.5oz, 252yds 2-ply DK. Love this bright, happy yarn on these cold, grey days!

Disclaimer: Yes, that is an Amazon affiliate link up there. I was not paid anything for gabbing about my Instant Pot. But if you are thinking about getting one and you use my link, I will get a tiny commission to support my blog habit. No pressure. HAHA SEE WHAT I DID THERE? #imsopunny

 

 

For the Holidays :: Vegan Cranberry-Orange Muffins

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One of the most popular posts on my blog is my recipe for Vegan Cranberry-Orange bread, my own extra-orangey adaptation of a Vegan with a Vengeance recipe, which itself was an adaptation of an old Fannie Farmer recipe. In that post, I mention that the recipe can be made as muffins as well. But I’d never made it as muffins myself until this past weekend, and I have to admit, it will be mighty tempting to make it this way from now on – muffins bake up so much more quickly than bread, meaning these babies go from “Hey, let’s make muffins!” to “Hey, I have muffins in my belly!” in a flash.

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One of these days, I’m going to figure out what I need to do in order to make a recipe into a pdf that you can print off if you’d like. But for now, I’m just putting it here like this, old-school.

Vegan Cranberry-Orange Muffins

3/4 C orange juice
1/4 C canola oil
1 C sugar
1 t vanilla extract
2 C all-purpose flour
1 1/4 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground allspice
1 T grated orange zest
1 1/2 C fresh cranberries

  1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly grease a muffin tin.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the orange juice, canola oil, sugar, and vanilla.
  3. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and allspice. Mix until smooth – batter will be quite thick.
  4. Fold in orange zest and cranberries. (Also, if you’d like to add walnuts or another add-in, now would be the time to do that.)
  5. Scoop batter into muffin tin, filling the muffin cups 2/3-full. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Let muffins cool in tin for about 5 minutes (that’s the hard part). Release onto cooling rack. Enjoy!

These are sooo good, and such a quick and easy way to use up leftover cranberries. Pretty soon, I’m going to try making a paleo version, and if those go well, I’ll be posting that recipe here too.

Cranberries are so festive and delicious, I like to use them as much as possible during this season. How about you? Do you have a favorite way of using cranberries, other than in cranberry sauce?

for summer :: Paleo Peach-Berry Crisp (it’s vegan, too)

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Last night I made this for dessert. Then I had it again for breakfast. I feel like a fruit crisp can swing both ways like that, and there was no one around to contradict me. It was delicious both times.

Paleo Peach-Berry Crisp

Paleo Peach-Berry Crisp

I did add a piece of bacon this morning to make it more breakfast-y.

I adapted this recipe from an Against All Grain recipe for Pear-Berry Crisp, a great dessert/breakfast for fall/winter. My summery adaptation was to sub different fruits, different nuts, lime juice for lemon juice, and omit one of the spices that didn’t really go with my fruit choices.

I’m frequently disappointed by desserts that get called paleo but have a high amount of sugar in them. Palm sugar, coconut sugar, maple syrup – it’s still sugar. Even honey is sugar, though I’m a little more open to having raw local honey in a dessert than, say, palm sugar. One thing I love about this particular dessert/breakfast is that its sweetness comes entirely from fruit.

It is SO good y’all. The crunch of the nuts combined with the sweetness of the fruit with that little bit of tanginess you get from the berries – YUM.

Paleo Peach-Berry Crisp with Coconut Cream

Paleo Peach-Berry Crisp with Coconut Cream

I always serve it with a big dollop of coconut cream. I don’t do anything fancy to get coconut cream. I don’t even whip it. I just open up a can of Thai coconut cream (full fat) and scoop off a chunk of the cream at the top. I’ll say it again: YUM.

Paleo Peach-Berry Crisp

Filling:

  • 3C peaches, fresh or frozen (thawed)
  • 2C blueberries, fresh or frozen
  • 1C raspberries, fresh or frozen
  • 1T lime juice
  • 2t coconut flour
  • 1/4t sea salt
  • 1/4t cinnamon

Topping:

  • 2T coconut oil
  • 1 1/3C raw nuts (I used an equal amount of pecans, almonds, and walnuts)
  • 4 Medjool dates, pitted
  • 2T stredded, unsweetened coconut
  • 1 1/2t cinnamon
  • 1/4t sea salt
  1. Preaheat oven to 375. Grease a 9×13 casserole dish however you prefer (coconut oil, grass-fed butter)
  2. Combine all filling ingredients in a bowl and stir.
  3. Place all the topping ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the mixture resembles oats.
  4. Pour the filling into the casserole and spread the topping over it.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes or until the juices are bubbling and the top is brown and crunchy.
  6. Open a can of coconut milk and scoop a dollop of cream off the top. Put cream on top of each serving of crisp. If serving for breakfast, add a side of bacon for maximum yumminess.

Happy Thanksgiving! (and a trifle) (and a sweater)

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Just a quick note to say Happy Thanksgiving to you, dear readers. I’m grateful for you!

I’m also grateful to report that, after blocking, my sweater fits perfectly! Full modeled shots soon, but here’s a peek:

Reis + Trifle

Reis + Trifle

I’m beyond thrilled with it!

And I’m super-excited to be digging into this trifle later today. This is the second year I’ve made it. It’s the Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle from the Browneyed Baker. Trust me: it is very, very worth it to make everything from scratch. The gingerbread is so dark and rich and molasses-y. And of course real whipped cream is the only thing that should ever go into a trifle, in my ever-so-humble opinion. (This isn’t Paleo, obviously!)

To my American friends, I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving! To my friends elsewhere, I hope you have a great Thursday!

Saturday Morning Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins, Two Ways (vegan and paleo)

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I inadvertently started a tradition in my household some years ago. I made chocolate chip pumpkin muffins one fall Saturday morning, and suddenly my kids declared it a thing to be done every Saturday of fall. When my kids love something I’ve done for them, it’s very hard for me to say “no” to doing it again. Maybe I’m a pushover, but I do it because I realize that a day will come when they are not asking me to make pumpkin muffins for them anymore, and I’m sure I’ll miss it. So for now, pumpkin muffins they shall have.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

I think I’ve probably posted about these before. It’s a recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance : Over 150 Delicious, Cheap, Animal-Free Recipes That Rock*. I’ve always loved this book. It no longer jibes with my paleo ways, but it’s my kids’ favorite pumpkin muffin recipe, so I oblige. I adapted it to exclude soy milk (which we do not drink), to lower the amount of sugar, and to include chocolate chips.

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour

1 C sugar

1 T baking powder

1/4 t salt

1 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t ground nutmeg

1/2 t ground ginger

1/4 t ground allspice

1 C pureed pumpkin

1/2 C unsweetened almond milk

1/2 C canola oil

2 T blackstrap molasses

1 C ghiradelli semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease a 12-muffin tin. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, almond milk, oil, and molasses. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix. Fold in the chocolate chips. Fill the muffin cups 2/3-full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Do not try to bake bacon in the oven at the same time, or you risk burning the muffins. Trust me on this. Maybe you never try to bake bacon at the same time as anything else, but I do! Let cool for about 5 minutes. Enjoy!

I love pumpkin muffins, too, but my husband and I prefer not to eat all that flour (and sugar and canola oil). So I’ve begun making paleo pumpkin muffins from one of my favorite paleo cookbooks, Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well & Feel Great*. Here’s my adaptation of her recipe:

2 C blanched almond flour

3 T coconut flour

1 t baking soda

2 t cinnamon

3/4 t ground nutmeg

1/4 t ground ginger

1/4 t ground cloves

1/4 t sea salt

3/4 C pumpkin puree

1/3 C pure maple syrup

2 large eggs at room temperature

2 T coconut oil, melted

1 t pure vanilla extract

1/2 C ghiradelli chocolate chips

1/2 C chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with baking cups. Sift together almond flour, coconut flour, baking soda, spice, and salt in a small bowl and mix to combine. Place the remaining wet ingredients in a large bowl and beat on high with a hand mixer. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix till smooth. Gently mix in the dark chocolate chips and chopped pecans. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin, filling each cup 2/3-full. Bake for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Danielle Walker doesn’t mention anything about sifting the almond and coconut flour, but I have found it absolutely essential to creating a better muffin. Otherwise they seem to turn out a bit grainy. However, I’m getting ready to order a superfine almond flour (this one:Honeyville Blanched Almond Flour Super Fine Grind Gluten Free Cholesterol Free albs)* and I’ll see if it makes a sifter unnecessary.

Paleo Pumpkin Muffins

Paleo Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

These aren’t as pretty as non-paleo muffins, but they are moist and delicious. I serve them with a pat of grass-fed butter and a cup of hot spiced tea. Perfect for fall.

So, that’s our Saturday breakfast tradition. And it is our Sunday breakfast tradition, too – the recipes make enough that there are plenty of muffins to heat up before church on Sunday (and I put a tray of bacon into the oven to bake while we get ready, because baked bacon – that’s how I roll!). How about you? Do you have any favorite paleo muffin recipes? It will soon be winter, and when that happens, my boys will no longer expect pumpkin muffins every weekend. So I’m looking for some wintry ideas!

*affiliate links

Paleo Banana Bread and Other Late Night Shenanigans

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Late night shenanigan #1: I did in fact finish knitting my Autumn Reis last night. And y’all, IT FITS. Like, perfectly. I’d been a little concerned that it might not, because I altered the yoke in a somewhat intuitive way. I had a hunch it was going well, but I couldn’t be totally sure until I was done. I was repaired to rip it back if need be, but I was so thrilled to discover that that won’t be necessary. I still have to weave in the ends, graft the underarms, and block it. I can’t wait to show it to you!

Late night shenanigan #2: I looked out the window just now and there is snow on the ground. While others have been complaining about the sudden cold, I’ve apparently been in a state of denial. I simply refused to believe that winter weather was already here. Alas, with tonight’s snow, which is actually sticking, I can no longer deny the truth.

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Late night shenanigan #3: I was cleaning up the kitchen tonight and noticed three bananas were past their prime. That was all the nudge I needed to do a little quick baking.

Paleo Banana Bread

Paleo Banana Bread

(Not a great photo, but trust me, it’s delicious). I love this paleo Banana Bread recipe from Against All Grain. I subbed maple syrup for the honey (I was out of honey) and added pecans and dark chocolate chips.

It’s cooling now – so excuse me while I go have a bit and get back to my knitting.

Slow-Cooked Paleo White Chicken Chili – a recipe in progress

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It’s November 1, which means National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) is once again upon us, and I’m in. It also means Halloween was last night, and in my house we have a number of family traditions around the celebration, the most relevant of which for this post is that I always make a pot of something hot for us to have after trick-or-treating.

Last night was particularly cold – it was literally freezing, with a wind chill below freezing and actual snow coming down – and I will confess that I did not go trick-or-treating with my gang to even one house. I can’t even say that it was because I needed to see about dinner, because I had put that in the slow cooker hours earlier. Basically, I was just a wimp.

So I said good-bye to Death:

Tiny Dancer as "Death"

Tiny Dancer as “Death”

And I said good-bye to the Decapitated Dude:

Little Buddha as a Decapitated Dude

Little Buddha as a Decapitated Dude

 

And I wished all three of my fellas good luck.

Decapitated Dude, Horseman, and Death

Decapitated Dude, Horseman, and Death

 

And I stayed home and handed out candy.

I also used the time to take selfies:

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And take pictures of the cat:

"I am not amused"

“I am not amused”

And roast pumpkin seeds:

(whoops! no picture, because they are all in our bellies)

So it’s not like I was wasting time while my kids and husband froze out there begging for candy, amiright?

I usually make regular chili for Halloween, but this time I decided to do White Chicken Chili. I took a recipe I’d never made before and paleo-fied it. It was good, but I think it could be better next time. I’ll share it here, and if you have any suggestions, I’m interested!

Slow-Cooked Paleo White Chicken Chili

Slow-Cooked Paleo White Chicken Chili

Slow-Cooked Paleo White Chicken Chili

  • 8 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 medium-sized yellow onion, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons, coconut oil, divided
  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half
  • 1 medium-sized jalapeño, seeded and minced
  • 2 4oz. cans chopped roasted green chiles
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 1 zucchini, chopped
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
  1. Heat 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; sauté onion until tender.
  2. Add the chicken, jalapeño, and remaining tablespoon of oil and cook until the chicken is no longer pink on the outside, 5-6 minutes; transfer everything to the slow cooker.
  3. Add the roasted chiles, oregano, cumin, cloves, cayenne, and 8 cups of chicken broth to the slow cooker; stir to combine.
  4. Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 6 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. During the last hour, add the coconut milk, chopped zucchini, and salt.
  5. Remove the chicken from the cooker, shred with a fork, and return to the cooker.

recipe heavily adapted from Not Your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook (NYM Series) (affiliate link) – I LOVE this cookbook.

The original recipe called for 3 chicken breasts, which is what I used last night. I realized afterwards that I should’ve doubled that to make up for the fact that I wasn’t using beans (as called for in the original recipe). So I’ve doubled the chicken above, though I haven’t yet made it that way. I just know that the soup as I made it needed more protein (and generally more substance).

This was really good, but it wasn’t as thick as traditional white chicken chili, which has beans in it. I added coconut milk to it to make it a little creamier, but I still would’ve loved it to be a bit thicker. Paleo people, what would you do? Add arrowroot? Pureed pumpkin? Some other thickening trick?

This is a recipe I’m interested in refining, so I will definitely keep working at it, and will share my results.

Baked :: Paleo Blueberry-Espresso Brownies

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Paleo Blueberry-Espresso Muffins

Paleo Blueberry-Espresso Muffins

I made these for a potluck last night, and I thought they turned out outrageously good. I’m sort of obsessed with them now. They aren’t Whole30-compliant (thanks to 1/2 cup raw honey in the batch), but if you aren’t doing Whole30 and you are able to eat both eggs and nuts then you need to make these right now!

Get the recipe.

(note: the “coconut cream concentrate” the recipe calls for is also known as coconut butter; if you can’t find it in the store, you can very easily make your own)

baked :: Paleo Vegan Pear-Berry Crisp

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I’m also thrilled to find a recipe that is both paleo and vegan, so I can serve it to my whole family (my stepson has been vegan for over a decade). Last weekend, when I was hosting extended family, I was looking for a dessert that I could serve to all ten of us, and I pulled out a recipe I’d been salivating over for awhile, from Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well & Feel Great:

Pear-Berry Crisp

Pear-Berry Crisp

I didn’t manage to get a great picture of it because I was too busy shoveling it into my mouth. I LOVE this recipe, y’all! I served it for dessert, along with homemade vanilla ice cream (neither vegan nor paleo!), but it would also be great with whipped coconut cream. I also had it plain for breakfast a couple of times, along with some sausage. I’m super-sad it’s all gone now, because I would love to have some this morning. Fortunately for me, I’ve got some paleo Banana Bread (also from Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well & Feel Great) in the oven right now!

Pear-Berry Crisp
adapted from Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well & Feel Great
(serves 8)
ingredients:
3 lbs. red pears, cored, peeled, sliced
3 C berries (whichever you like – I used blackberries and blueberries, as per the original recipe)
1 T lemon juice
2 t coconut flour
1/2 t sea salt
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t allspice
for topping:
2 T coconut oil
1 1/3 C raw nuts (whichever you like – I used almonds and pecans, as per the original recipe)
4 medjool dates, pitted
2 T shredded, unsweetened coconut
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t sea salt

directions:
1 – Preheat the oven to 375. Grease a 9×13 casserole
2 – In a large bowl, stir together pears, berries, lemon juice, coconut flour, salt, cinnamon, and allspice.
3 – Put all topping ingredients in a food processor and pulse until it resembles oats.
4 – Pour fruit into casserole and spread topping evenly over it.
5 – Bake for 35 minutes.

Oh mercy, y’all, this was SO good. I bought more pears last night so I can make it again very, very soon. I love that it requires no added sweetener and yet tastes perfectly delicious. I’m mulling over how to make a similar crisp but filled with strawberries and rhubarb, for spring – but that seems like it would be too tart not to require some sort of sweetener in the filling, doesn’t it?

At any rate, I continue to highly recommend this book. I got it for Christmas and have loved every recipe I’ve tried in it. There are lots of things in it that you can’t make if you’re on Whole30 (paleofied baked goods), but there are plenty of Whole30-approved yummies in there, too. (This particular recipe only includes Whole30 approved ingredients, but I waited till after Whole30 to try it since it does seem to be a paleofied baked good). Do you have the book? If so, what are your favorite dishes?
Against All Grain: Delectable Paleo Recipes to Eat Well & Feel Great (affiliate link)