RECIPE: Paleo Baked Acorn Squash, Steak and Salad

The other day I was at the market and I saw a large assortment of winter squash including acorn squash, butternut squash and spaghetti squash. I decided to purchase an acorn squash and give it a try. I hate to admit it, but it's been years since I've eaten one! I had a couple of small steaks in the freezer that need to be eaten, along with a lot of lettuce, tomatoes, and a cucumber. (I'm trying to get my refrigerator ready for a big grocery run in preparation for the start of my 21 day challenge. Oh, I've not written about that yet, have I? I will do that shortly!
WHAT I USED:

an acorn squash

pure maple syrup

coconut oil

chinese five spice

a dash of salt

a dash of cinnamon

two 5.25" Karhai woks

WHAT I DID:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Wash acorn squash, cut it in half from stem to base.

3. Spoon out seeds and stringy stuff, then rinse well.

4. Melt coconut oil in microwave for 20+ seconds. Add syrup and chinese five spice. After tasting it I decided to spice it up a little by adding a dash of salt and cinnamon.

5. Score the meat of the squash with a sharp knife, but be careful not to cut through the skin. 

6. Spoon 1/2 coconut oil mixture into each half of the squash, drizzling some over the score marks.

7. Bake for 1:10 at 400 degrees. After 30 minutes or so I opened the oven door to check on them and ended up spooning some of the liquid along the top edges to keep it from getting dry or burned.

WHAT ELSE WAS ON THE PLATE?

Along with the acorn squash I pan seared, then baked a couple of small steaks. I had a little bacon fat left from breakfast, so I melted it in the 9.75" karhai wok. I sprinkled sea salt and fresh ground pepper on the steak, placing seasoned side down in the wok, then seasoned the top. I seared them for five minutes each side, then put the wok in the oven the last ten minutes. I let the steak and the squash rest for five minutes before plating them. 

This image is after the steaks have been seared, but before baked for ten minutes.

AND?

While the steaks were in the oven along side the squash, I quickly threw a salad together of spring greens, cucumber, and tomato. 

Dinner is plated!

(I added a few crumbles of bleu cheese and made a dressing of basil pesto, a little mayo, and some coconut milk. Very light and refreshing!)

RECIPE: Savory Almond Meal and Honey Muffins

Happy New Year, everyone! May 2012 be filled with happiness, good health, love, and good fortune for all! We're having an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day here in Northern California! So pretty, in fact, it's a shame to be inside! So, I will make this brief so I can get outside, play and enjoy the sunshine! After all, aren't play and sunshine important to being healthy? I sure think so!

This morning I was craving muffins so I decided to make some! My kitchen is currently well stocked with nuts, berries, seeds, honey, and agave, so I'll be trying new recipes using some of these ingredients this week. 
SAVORY ALMOND MEAL & HONEY MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups almond meal*
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup olive oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoon raw honey
*Let me begin by saying I searched high and low for Almond flour and was pleasantly surprised to find Trader Joe's had "Just Almond Meal" and at a wonderfully low price of $3.99 per pound! I just love that store! If you don't have one in your area, here's a link to their website:  Trader Joe's

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Arrange 9 silicone muffin cups on a baking sheet.
3. In a medium sized bowl, combine almond meal, sea salt, and baking soda. Mix well.
4. In another bowl, combine eggs, olive oil, and honey. Beat with a spoon until well mixed.
5. Add egg mixture to almond meal mixture, stirring until combined.
6. Spoon batter evenly in the muffin cups.
7. Bake for roughly 20 minutes (depending on your oven) until a toothpick inserted in the center muffin comes out clean.
8. Serve warm. Great at room temperature, too!
Before baking:

After baking:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

***UPDATE***
March 6, 2012. I made these again this morning. We just had to know if they are really as good as we remembered. The answer is: YES!!! Heck, they might even be better than we remembered, although Conrad said they are the best muffins he has ever eaten. Here are some photos from this batch ...
Before baking ...

 After baking ... 

 Ready to be eaten!

 Going ... Going ... Gone! (They don't last long!)

RECIPE: Cool Whip Cookies ... So NOT Paleo!!

Okay, so it's the Christmas Eve eve and I thought I'd share a recipe that's NOT Paleo ... In the least! As I mentioned before, it's just not possible to be 100% 24/7/365, so here's a splurge. I made these in multiple flavors for gifts to my friends this year and everyone seems to love them.
They are called Cool Whip Cookies. They are light and fluffy and down right delicious! I found the recipe on Allrecipes.com. Here's the link: Cool Whip Cookies
Try them for yourself!
INGREDIENTS:
1 - 8 ounce container of Cool Whip topping
2 large eggs
1 box cake mix (I chose Spice Cake)
1 cup powdered confectioners sugar
3 tsp ground ginger (separated)
DIRECTIONS:
Break eggs into a medium to large sized mixing bowl and beat well. 
Add Cool Whip topping and beat again. 
Add 1/2 cake mix and 2 tsp ground ginger, blending well. Then add remaining cake mix and blend well. Batter will be quite sticky and that is normal. 
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Put powdered sugar in a bowl and mix in 1+ tsp ground ginger to taste. (Only for ginger cookies, not other flavors!)
Lightly grease cookie sheet.
Drop batter by teaspoonfuls into a bowl of powdered sugar and roll to coat.
Place cookies on the greased cookie sheet and bake for 9 - 11 minutes. 
Cool cookies on racks.
I usually get 5 dozen cookies from one batch.

Mixing Cool Whip and eggs

 Adding cake mix and extra ginger

 Adding ginger to powdered sugar

 The batter and sugar

 Ready to go into the oven

 9 minutes later

Here are some photos of different batches I've made. From upper left: Ginger, Triple Chocolate Fudge, Lemon, Red Velvet

Lemon

 Triple Chocolate Fudge

Ginger 

  Red Velvet (I added a little extra Hershey's cocoa powder to add more chocolate flavor!)

RECIPE: Roasted Chicken & Barley Soup

I have been a big fan of Gavan Murphy for a while now. I will be posting several of his recipes ... Some as he posted them, some with my modifications. 
We have been invited to attend a Christmas Eve "Soup Potluck" and I was at a loss as to what to take. I checked Gavan's recipes and found this one. Since my neighbor sells Wildtree Products I wanted to incorporate at least two of their products into the recipe. I used their Chicken Bouillon Soup Base and their Garlic Galore Seasoning Blend. Here's a link to her Wildtree page for more information about their wonderful products: Wildtree
So, here's the recipe!
INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons olive oil (I substituted Wildtree Grapeseed Oil)
½ cup white onion – fine dice
½ cup celery – thinly sliced
1 large garlic clove – minced (I used 1 tsp. Wildtree Garlic Galore Seasoning Blend)
6 ounce baby portabella mushrooms – chopped
1 medium roasted chicken – meat shredded
1/3 cup barley
2 bay leaves
1 14 ½ ounce can chopped tomatoes
6 cups of low-sodium chicken broth (I used 6 cups of water and 4 tablespoons Wildtree Chicken Bouillon Soup Base)
3 tablespoons. fresh parsley – chopped


½ lemon – zested (I didn't have a lemon, so I omitted this)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Begin by preheating soup pot on medium heat for 1 minute.
2. Add olive oil and sauté the onions and celery for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not brown.
3. Add garlic, mushrooms and bay leaves and continue sautéing for additional 3 minutes.
4. Add broth and tomatoes. Stir and bring to a boil.
5. Once boiling reduce to a simmer and partially cover with lid.
6. Cook for 15 minutes.
7. Add barley and cook for 20 minutes.
8. Add shredded chicken and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.
9. Finish by adding fresh chopped parsley and lemon zest.
10. Taste and season.
And now for some photos ... 

 Soup's ready ... Just added the fresh parsley and a little fresh ground pepper!
Could this possibly look any more festive?

 We each had a HUGE mug of soup and this is what was left over. 

 These are the Wildtree products I used ... Well, and their Grapeseed Oil. 

RECIPE: Paleo Almond Cranberry Cookies

Since Christmas is right around the corner I thought it would be a good time to post a new recipe I found online. I love almonds. I love walnuts. I love cranberries. And, I love honey, so this recipe seemed to be right up my alley. I made them the other day and I was correct ... I LOVE them! They are little energy bombs and are great for any time of the day. Try them out and see for yourself!
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups almond flour
¼ cup ghee or butter (melted)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
1/4 cup cranberries (whole or chopped)
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon almond butter (optional)
1/2 cup walnuts (chopped)
DIRECTIONS:
1. Mix all ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.
2. Roll dough in plastic wrap.
3. Refrigerate 1 hour.
4. Slice.
5. Cook on parchment covered cookie sheet about 10 - 12 minutes until light brown.
325 degrees
Makes 36 cookies