Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Raspberry-Orange Swirl Coffee Cake



Raspberry-Orange Swirl Coffee Cake
1 C Almond Flour
1/2 C Arrowroot Flour
1/2 C Coconut Flour
1/2 C Flax Seed Meal
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 C Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
1/2 C Coconut Milk
3 Eggs
1/4 C Raw Honey
2 Tsp Vanilla

Swirl:
6 oz Frozen Thawed Raspberries
1/4 C Expeller Pressed Coconut Oil

Preheat oven to 350.
 In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl combine remaining ingredients except swirl ingredients.
 Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir to combine.
 In a 9 inch round melt coconut oil in the heating oven. (This will grease the dish while melting the oil for the swirl.)
 Pour coconut oil out of the baking dish into a measuring dish. Pour cake batter into greased baking dish.
 Add 1/4 C melted coconut oil into the thawed raspberries and combine.  Pour swirl on top in lines.
Using a butter knife, swirl raspberry through the batter.
Place in preheated oven and bake for 35-40 minutes.
Remove and eat warm or allow it to cool. Enjoy!

Friday, February 24, 2012

Sesame-Orange Wings

This was a delicious twist on the traditional chicken wing. We enjoyed this tonight along side sauteed red chard and mushrooms. I hope you enjoy!

Sesame-Orange Wings
3 Tbsp Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
3 Tbsp Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
1 Tbsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
1 Dozen Chicken Wings
2 Tsp Sesame Seeds

Preheat oven to 375. Place wings on raised edge baking sheet.
Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes. While  they are in the oven, mix remaining ingredients except sesame seeds together in a bowl.
  Remove wings from oven and dip into sauce.
Return wings to oven and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and heat the broiler to low.
 Dip wings into the sauce a second time and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place wings under the broiler. Broil for 2-3 minutes and remove.
 Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Maple-Orange Carrot Cake

This cake came out incredibly moist and delicious! It didn't even need a frosting, but I threw a GF Butter one on to add a little extra fat and another splash of orange. I hope you enjoy as much as we did!

Maple-Orange Carrot Cake
1/2 C Coconut Flour
1/4 C Arrowroot Flour
1/2 C Almond Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
2 C Shredded Carrot
1 C Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice
2 Eggs
2 Tbsp Pure Maple Syrup (could use a bit more if you want a sweeter product)
1/3 C Melted Coconut Oil

Preheat oven to 325. Melt a couple tsp of coconut oil in a medium size Pyrex style baking dish.
 Peel and Shred 2C of fresh Carrots.

Juice 1C of fresh Orange Juice.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients.
Add in shredded carrot to the dry ingredients and mix well.  (I know you won't have the cutest little helper in the world like I do, but do your best ;-)
In a separate bowl, combine orange juice, eggs and maple syrup. (Reserve a couple Tbsp of Orange juice if you plan to make the frosting.)
Pour the wet into the dry and stir to combine.
Melt the coconut oil and add it into the prepared batter.
Pour batter into coconut oil greased dish.
 Place in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until baked through.
Allow cake to cool completely in the refrigerator before cutting and serving.

I prepared a simple frosting of 4 Tbsp GF Butter (allowed to soften completely on the counter), 2 Tbsp Orange Juice and 1 Tbsp Maple Syrup. Whip ingredients in a stand mixer for about 5 minutes till it comes together and becomes nice and creamy.
Enjoy!

Friday, February 10, 2012

Red (less) Velvet Cake Cookies

While I have never been a chocolate person at all, I have always loved Red Velvet Cake. I think it is the slightly sour/sweet plus all that Cream Cheese Frosting... mmmmm! 
I have been messing around with Red Velvet Cake recipes for a while trying to get something together that I really like. I think I may finally have it! These turned out really yummy... not super sweet, but still yummy! This is a very cakey cookie, and has the sour of the traditional red velvet cake, without using dairy (traditionally it would be buttermilk). I hope you all enjoy! I hope to have a Dairy Free frosting coming up soon that could be paired with them!

*Also, if you want to buy the natural red food coloring that are available you could. I just chose not to because the flavor doesn't change, and I am not into adding unnecessary ingredients. If it were for a party or something it might be a nice addition.

Red (less) Velvet Cake Cookies
1 1/2 C Almond Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/8 C Honey (could be increased if you wanted a sweeter product)
2 Eggs
1/2 C Coconut Milk
1 Tbsp White Vinegar

Preheat oven to 325. 
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine wet ingredients. Stir wet ingredients into dry and combine. 
Using a small ice cream style scoop, scoop cookies onto silpat mat (or parchment paper) lined baking sheets. 
This made 16 decent sized cookies. Place in preheated oven and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through. Once removed, transfer to wire cooling racks and enjoy!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Part 1: Grocery Store Free


Here we go!

To start off with, I am just as excited, if not more, about the response I have had to this challenge than I am about actually doing it. I have already had 4 people tell me they signed up for a local CSA in their area, and a couple more say they were looking into it! Think of the impact on local farmers if more of us started buying local, sustainable! 

We are off and running on our No Grocery Store Challenge for the month of February. I am already amazed at some of the options that existed right under my nose that I never realized. So I will start with this week, what I have purchased and what I still plan to purchase.


1)     Eggs- I found a source for local, soy-free eggs for $3/dozen. It is a local family who has a small working farm and is selling the extra eggs they get. They are located a couple miles from my church, so I have set up with them to pick up on Sundays after service on my way home. Additionally, I found another source, a little further from me (still within 10 miles) for $3/dozen as well that I can use if I don’t get enough from my first source.
Look at Craigslist or other local selling sites to find small, local sources for eggs. You may be surprised what you find!


2)    Milk-  Blackjack Valley Farms, Fresh Breeze Organic
a)      Raw- I use raw milk for making yogurt and ricotta. I had a bad experience with a close friend of my family using raw milk. It resulted in a 3 year old girl ending up in the hospital and the entire family very very sick. Because of this I do not give my kids raw milk products that I do not bring to temperature on my own. I do use it for making homemade yogurt and cheese.

b)      Pasteurized- My kids drink a glass of milk a day, so I purchase organic Pasteurized milk through my CSA provider, Full Circle Farms.
3)     Produce- Full Circle Farms. I like that I can choose what produce I want each week, and have the option of using their ‘Green Grocer’ to get additional local organic things. This includes the milk I mentioned earlier, and much more. During the summer, when farmers markets are open, I can cut my box down smaller. During the winter I can purchase a larger box for our produce needs.


4)     Beef- Purchased 100lbs locally a couple months back. Check out Craigslist for local, small farmers who are selling in your area. I looked today and was amazed at the number of GF Beef available around me, for very decent prices!


5)     Bison- Purchased 48lbs from Tropical Traditions last month that will last.  You can hear more about their bison here. You can purchase your own HERE.



6)      Coconut Oil- Tropical Traditions. I am pretty stocked from sales the past couple months, so I don’t foresee needing more anytime soon. But if I do, it will be from them. Hands down, they have the best coconut products!


7)      Honey- my husband eats some raw honey every day. I know a lot of Paleo purists would frown on this, but here is the deal. By doing this, my husband has completely removed the at one time daily, high dose allergy medication. He no longer wakes up with a headache and congestion, or walks around in a allergy med daze (yes, even Claritin had that effect). For us it is a no brainer! 
     I purchased a large container from a local source at the farmers market, and now that I am out and between Farmers Market Season I have purchased some from Tropical Traditions. This stuff has the best flavor, according to him. You can check it out HERE. I found 2 local options (again on Craigslist) that I will be checking into when I run out of the stuff I have. 


8)     Maple Syrup- My parents still live in Western NY, where I grew up. They have access to the best pure maple syrup at a great price. My mom is gracious enough to send it to us when we need it! (Love those ‘if it fits, it ships’ boxes)!


So all in all, things are going well. I am excited to have found new sources, and more to look more into over the next week.

My next challenge: I will need to find Chicken soon as I am down to my last bag in the freezer. Anyone have experience with purchasing quality chicken meat locally, or have suggestions or leads?

Here is a bit on my spending so far and some planned expenses:
Prior:
Local GF Beef (purchased 100lbs at $5/lb)

Prior:
GF Bison from Tropical Traditions (Purchased 48lb @$6/lb)

1/30/12
Full Circle Farms- Produce
$36.19
2/1/12
BlackJack Farms- Raw Milk ($7/Gallon)
$7
2/5/12
Eggs ($3/dozen)
$9









Chicken Wing Jerky

Go Giants!!
This is a revision of my Bison Jerky, just in time for the Superbowl!


Chicken Wing Jerky
2 lb Ground Chicken (not breast, you want the fattier one)
3 Tbsp Butter-melted 
3 Tbsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 C Franks Red Hot

Combine all ingredients in the food processor.

Turn it on and let it go till everything is evenly distributed and broken down.

 Place in the refrigerator for several hours to allow the flavors to meld.  When ready to begin, preheat oven to 170.  Spread about 1/3 of the mixture on a full size, raised edge baking sheet.

With the back of a spatula, spread mixture as thin as you can 1/4-1/8in.
 The 2 pounds is enough for 2-3 baking sheets full. Place in the oven for about 2 hours. Flip jerky over and return to oven for an additional 2 hours or until the consistency you want is achieved


Remove from oven and allow it to cool. Use kitchen sheers to cut into strips.