Super Fudgy Paleo-ish Brownies (and raspberry sauce!)

It has been way too long since I've added something to this blog.  With the wedding, honeymoon, work and the holidays, there really just hasn't been enough hours in the day.  That doesn't mean I haven't been cooking or thinking about paleoodie.  Finding the time has just been difficult.

Well, I'm happy to share this recipe for a super fudgy brownie (and raspberry sauce) that I made for Christmas Eve dinner with my in-laws.  They seemed to really enjoy it so I think you will too.

Super Fudgy Brownies

Ingredients
1 cup of chocolate chips (I like to use Chocolate Dream from Whole Foods)
1/4 cup of vegan shortening

4 eggs
1/4 tsp of salt
1 cup of coconut palm sugar
1 Tbsp of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of almond flour
2 Tbsps of coconut flour

Making the brownies:
Preheat oven to 350F
1.  Slowly melt the chocolate and shortening together in a medium sauce pan.  Remove from heat.

2.  In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, salt, sugar, and vanilla.  Add to the chocolate mixture.

3.  Incorporate the almond and coconut flour.  Blend all the ingredients together well.

4.  Pour the brownie batter into a greased 8x8 brownie pan.

5.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.

6.  Cool and server with raspberry sauce (optional, see recipe below).

You may also see from my photo that I sprinkled some powdered sugar on top of the brownies.  That is certainly not paleo...but it looked so nice with the raspberry and mint garnish, I had to do it.  Besides, it was Christmas!

Raspberry sauce
Ingredients
2 cups of fresh raspberries
3/4 cup of coconut palm sugar
2 Tbsp of coconut flour (optional)
Almost forgot about the lemon zest (about half a lemon's worth) and 1Tbsp of lemon juice.

Heat raspberries in medium saucepan over medium low heat.  As the raspberries begin to breakdown, stir in the sugar.  Add lemon zest and juice.  Continue to stir until the raspberries release all their juices.  Optional, add the coconut flour and stir well to mix in.

Pour the sauce through a strainer and serve on the side of the brownies, or drizzled on top.

Note:  I decided to add the coconut flour to try to thicken the sauce a bit.  Traditional recipes call for a cornstarch water mixture, which I wanted to avoid.  Unfortunately, the coconut flour did not break down all the way so I was afraid the sauce was a bit grainy.  I served the sauce on the side to let everyone choose whether to use it.  They all thought the sauce was  fine so I decided to add the recipe for the sauce.

A Giant Meatball Stuffed with an Egg! (or, Scotch Eggs)

"Oh my god- is that a giant meatball stuffed with an egg?!?!"  That is what Andrew excitedly asked me when he saw me making these.

They are actually called Scotch Eggs and I found the recipe in a new cookbook - Well Fed by Melissa Joulwan.  The great thing about the cookbook, besides all the awesome paleo recipes, is that she filled the pages with great looking photos.  When I saw the Scotch Eggs, I knew immediately I had to make them.  The process is easy to follow and you end up with a great tasting, protein packed meal or snack.  I didn't have all the spices Melissa recommended on hand, such as nutmeg and dried tarragon leaves, so I made some substitutions which I put in my version below.

Scotch Eggs

2lbs of ground pork

1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of allspice or nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves
1Tbsp of dried chives (I omitted this, but it still tasted great!)
1tsp of dried tarragon leaves  (I substituted with 1/2 tsp of fennel seeds)
1 Tbsp of minced parsley (from about 1/4 cup of fresh parsley)
2 cloves of garlic, minced

8 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled

Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Place a piece of parchment paper on a large baking sheet.

Mix all the spices and dried herbs together in a small bowl.

Place the ground pork in a large mixing bowl, add the spice-herb mixture, parsley and garlic.  Mix everything together until well incorporated.

Stuffed Zucchini with Turkey Bolognese

This turkey bolognese sauce has been my go to pasta sauce for a long time.  Since pasta is one of the items I have cut back on recently, I decided to substitute it with zucchini which I hollowed out to make "shells" for the bolognese.  The baked zucchini had an al dente texture and it offered a clean and fresh compliment to the flavorful sauce.  I think I might make zucchini ribbons or slice it into thin strips for a paleo spaghetti night in the near future.  Will post photos when I do.   :)

Stuffed Zucchini with Turkey Bolognese


1 1/4lbs of ground turkey
3 slices of bacon, chopped
8 zucchinis
1/2 cup of finely chopped onion
1/2 cup of finely chopped carrots
2 stalks of celery, finely chopped
2 cups of sliced white mushrooms
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup of chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp of fresh thyme, plus 2 tsp of thyme (separated)
1/2 Tbsp of fresh oregano, plus 2 tsp of oregano (separated)
1 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 28oz can of plum whole tomatoes or diced tomatoes.

2 Tbsp of coconut oil (separated)
1 Tbsp of olive oil, with extra for brushing on the zucchini
Salt and pepper for taste

My Chocolate Dream Dream...

The nearest Whole Foods from where I live is over 17 miles away so sadly, I do not go there as often as I would like (which is probably a good thing for my wallet).

When I am able to make the trip I love walking up and down every aisle perusing the produce section and all the shelves of foodie goodies that I do not find at the usual grocery stores in my area.  Last weekend I was there, walking aimlessly and happily through the aisles when I came across these bags of dairy-free and gluten-free chocolate chips called Chocolate Dream.

I bought two bags immediately and popped one open as soon as I got into the car.  I put a few chips in my mouth and tasted the chocolatey gooeyness as the chips slowly melted.  They were delicious and I knew I had to make paleo chocolate chip cookies with these.  In fact, I made two batches and they tasted great!     

Tuna, Heirloom Tomato, Avocado and Black Olives

This is a picture of my lunch- a simple tuna, tomato, avocado and olive salad.  It was a super simple and super delicious dish that took me less than 5 minutes to assemble.


I'm not the first to say this but it is absolutely true- the fewer the ingredients, the better quality the ingredients ought to be.  For this dish, I used an heirloom tomato that was juicy and sweet, good quality canned tuna, and fresh lemon juice to bring it all together.

After I assembled my plate with the chopped tomatoes, avocado, tuna, and black olives, I sprinkled everything with freshly ground black pepper and squeezed lemon juice all over.

Savory Herb Lamb Patties with Pepper, Cilantro and Walnut Sauce

Lamb burgers are awesome and for some reason, I've been craving one for a while.  I finally had time today so I set out to make one worthy of a paleoodie paleo meal.  I made these lamb patties with lots of fresh herbs and spices, then topped it with a roasted red pepper, cilantro and walnut sauce.  For my meal tonight, I also added thick slices of heirloom tomato and ribbons of baked sweet potato.

Savory Herb Lamb Patties 

Serves 2

Ingredients

1/4 cup of finely chopped onion

1 Tbsp of finely chopped parsley

1 Tbsp of finely chopped cilantro

1 Tbsp of finely chopped jalapeno pepper

1 large clove of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp of paprika

1/2 tsp of cumin

1/2 tsp of coriander

1/4 tsp of black pepper

1/2 tsp of salt

zest of half of a lemon 

juice of half a lemon (approximately 1-2 Tbsp)

1lb of ground lamb

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

After making the delicious grain free chocolate chip cookies from PaleoPlan.com, I decided to tweak the recipe a bit and try to create a cookie that was more dense and chewy.  After some experimenting, I put together the recipe below.  If you used to love peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, this may be a good one for you!

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

*makes about 18-22 cookies

Ingredients

1 cup of chocolate chips

1/2 cup walnut oil

Dry Ingredients:

3 cups almond flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

Wet Ingredients

1/2 cup raw honey

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup of creamy, unsalted almond butter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375℉.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, mix the wet ingredients well with a hand mixer or use a stand mixer.  
5. Add the dry ingredients slowly into the wet mixture and beat until well combined.
6. Stir in the walnut oil and blend.  
7. With a spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.
8. Drop spoonfuls of cookie dough onto prepared baking sheet, making sure the give the dough enough room the spread out during baking.
9. Bake for approximately 12-15 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and let cookies cool on the baking sheets for another 3-4 minutes.
11. Remove cookies and cool completely on cooking racks.

Hint

Whenever I bake cookies, I always rotate the baking sheets and switch the racks they were on about half way through the cooking time.  This helps with even heat distribution.