Guest Post at Sweet Anne Designs

Just wanted to drop a quick note about a guest post I did for the lovely Kayla of Sweet Anne Designs--a great site you'll be hearing more about in the near future! The picture above was created by Kayla and gives a preview of what we talked about on her weekly "Who I want to Be Wednesday". Check out her other posts there, as they are all amazing. You can find my guest post here or by clicking the image above. It feels liberating to share some personal stories and get a little more candid like I did here, inspired by Kayla's Wednesday posts.

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

The Perfect Paleo Chocolate Cake (Grain-free, Sugar-free)

This past weekend, we moved into our lovely new condo. It seems like a much needed fresh new start, and I couldn't be happier about the location--a 5 minute commute to work with minimal traffic. There's been some big and wonderful changes in my work life as well, which I can talk more about later. I knew I had to whip up something to celebrate the newness of it all. I embarked on taking the kitchen for a test run, which was slightly intimidating due to a little less counter space. But what came out of the oven more than made up for the loss.

I must've known somehow subconsiously that a celebratory cake was even more necessary yesterday. As we sat down to taste it, two of our friends/family announced their engagement to us. We were ecstatic to hear the news and immediately paired the cake with a more than appropriate toast of champagne. We send our happy wishes and congratulations to the lovely couple! May you always find happiness in each other.

I also wanted to note here that I'm attempting to cut back on my grain and sugar intake lately. So I decided to opt for an almond flour alternative for the base of this cake with xylitol to sweeten it. I have to admit I was skeptical about what I was throwing together in the mixing bowl at first, but it turned out being one of the easiest from scratch recipes I've concocted so far. I never knew paleo could taste so rich and elegant. This is hands down my absolute favorite sweet chocolate cake I've ever made, grain-free or not. It has an amazingly moist and fudgy type quality about it that can often be missing from other basic almond flour cakes. Even after indulging in it last evening, I promptly dove into it again for breakfast this morning. The best part is you can indulge guilt free--it's quite a healthy cake and loaded with protein. This is also the perfect dessert for those on a candida diet or low carb diet.

The Perfect Paleo Chocolate Cake

Grain-free, Gluten-free, Soy-free, Dairy-free, Peanut-free, Legume-free, Yeast-free, Sugar-free,  & Low Carb.

• 2 cups almond flour/meal. I used Bob's Red Mill Almond flour/meal.
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 raw cacao powder. I love Navitas Naturals brand for this.
• 1 cup "granulated" xylitol or alternative sweetener of choice. (If it's a liquid sweetener reduce the other liquids accordingly).
• Dash of salt
• Optional: Zest of one orange.
• 4 eggs (I use soy-free fed eggs).
• 3/4 cup coconut milk (unsweetened or pre-sweetened with safe alternative sweetener). I use SO Delicious Unsweetened Coconut Milk.
• 1/4 cup olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use butter or coconut spread to grease a 8 or 9 inch round cake pan.
2. Mix the dry ingredients and combine well. Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl and add them to the dry, whisking with a fork. Stir until well combined. There's no need for an electric mixer here.
3. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 30-35 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center to ensure it's cooked through. It should be a nice fudgy consistency. Let it cool and top it with orange zest or mixed berries. I didn't think it needed any frosting at all. It's delicious on it's own.

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

Cajun Coconut Popcorn

I have a lot of memories that involve the movies and going to the theater. From my first Disney movie experience to Batman in Imax, one thing had been a constant; sweet buttered popcorn. Since going gluten-free, I've always been hesitant to try popcorn at the cinemas. What do they put in that buttery slather anyway? (I'm pretty sure it's not real butter in most cases). I've thought about opting for unbuttered popcorn, but with my soy allergies I really don't want to risk cross contamination. Solution? My genius sister getting us this at home popcorn air-popper, which makes the perfect natural popcorn. This is best enjoyed fresh (and smuggled into the theater in a small bag!)

Though it's the perfect on-the-go gluten-free snack, I've never really been a fan of "regular" popcorn. That is, without salt and additional butter or spices. I called on my dad's lessons on spice layering and Cajun style with this homemade spice rub which I then combined with the most versitle item in my fridge; Olivio Coconut Spread. It's a perfect non-dairy, gluten-free, soy-free replacement for good old butter. Stirring this spicy concoction up in the kitchen while the popcorn maker buzzed and popped, the only thing I could think of was Emeril's signature line..."BAM!"

Cajun Coconut Popcorn Drizzle:

(This recipe depends on how much popcorn you're popping, but I based it off of one recommended popping size from my Poplite Air Popper. Use more or less to taste and serving size).

• 2 tablespoons melted Olivio Coconut Spread, or butter replacement of choice.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon White Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• Dash of Salt
• Dash of Cayenne Pepper
• Dash of Onion powder
• (Optional for more heat): Dash of Red pepper flakes

Melt the Coconut Spread and combine spices together. Stir all ingredients well and drizzle slowly over a bowl of freshly air-popped popcorn. Best enjoyed fresh.

Thoughtful note: Most, if not all Emeril seasonings are gluten-free, as well as Simply Organic. I tend to use mostly Simply Organic, but I also go for McCormick spices now and again.

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

The Best Place for Gluten-Free Food

The absolute best place for fresh gluten free or allergen free food is not the grocery store. We're blessed to have three abundant spaces of land to fill with organically grown produce thanks to Yan's amazing mom. Shes's been lending her green thumb all summer long to a plot of land at a family member's place just outside the city. I swear this produce is even more crisp and fresh than the clean air out here. How a processed gluten free snack could ever measure up to this organic feast is beyond me. Going back to the roots of nutrition is really what being gluten free and food allergic should be all about.

Y's mother taught us the ins and outs of planting and harvesting as we caked our gloves with dark fertile mud and yielded vibrant veggies and greens to boot. Everything in this garden is on my good list; no gluten, soy, legumes, and obviously no peanuts. For once I'm surrounded by food that I can eat instead of the other way around. All winter long, we'll still be indulging in this feast as we plan to freeze what we can't eat quickly enough right now.

Fresh summer squash, green bell peppers, the mighty Kale, red potatoes, yellow onions, rainbow carrots, rainbow chard, firey red tomatoes, fresh dill, round heads of cabbage, and spicy chiles are just a fraction of the goods we harvested this weekend and I can't wait to gather more next weekend.

We immediately retured from the country garden and slowly simmered a curried cabbage soup over the stove, which was a warming treat after helping with the family move earlier in the day. All our warms thanks to Jim and Sveta for the extra garden space again this summer.

Y, his cousin and I loved all the green goodness!

With all this harvest, gluten free and more is easy as can be.

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

Berry Pear Pie with Cinnamon Almond Crumble (Grain Free)

Some of my most serene memories involve wild blackberry picking with family or friends. I was quite young during the first trek into the woods with my aunt and uncle in beautiful northern Michigan. Having short stubby legs and arms at that age was actually an advantage in blackberry picking, as I was able to easily avoid being jabbed by a plethora of pickers and get into the heart of the bush with ease. Even now that I'm grown, I tend to get overly excited while harvesting them which usually ends in a few sharp jabs and an ouch. But it's all worth it once I dip my hands into a basket full of fresh picked organic berries and pop them into my mouth. Nothings better than straight from natures source.

Pairing my favorite fruits in the first pie I've baked in literally years seemed more than appropriate. But it couldn't be just any ordinary fruit pie. Lately I've been relying a little too heavily on alternative grains in my diet, namely brown rice. While it's great for health, I'd been eating it upwards of twice a days some days--probably not so healthy. I can't deny my love and draw to all foods starchy, carbohydrate laden, and comforting. Enter the quick fix: Almond Flour.

I went for an entirely grain-free pie by using Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal/Flour, which yielded a wonderfully rustic almond crust and cinnamon almond crumble topping with lots of texture. To be honest, the slices came out slightly crumbly too, but it really didn't detract at all from the end product. Since I'm also limiting my overall sugar intake, the natural sugars of the fruits are the star sweetener in this pie which is surprisingly sufficient, minus a small drizzle of agave nectar in the crust and the crumble topping. This is best enjoyed slightly warmed. We shamelessly devoured half the pie in one sitting straight out of the oven.

Berry Pear Pie with Cinnamon Almond Crumble (grain free)

(This recipe is free of gluten, grains, soy, peanuts, dairy, eggs, legumes, yeast, and processed sugar).

For the Almond Flour Pie Crust:

• 1 and 1/2 cups Almond Flour
• 3 tablespoons melted Olivio Coconut Spread (or butter replacement of choice)
• 3/4 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon, or to taste
• Drizzle of agave nectar, or up to 2 tablespoons sweetener of choice.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients together and add melted butter, vanilla, and sweetener if using. Mix with hands or a fork until well incorporated, then press into a 9 inch pie pan with hands.


For the Berry Pear filling:

• 1 ripe Pear, peeled and thinly sliced into bite sized pieces
• 1 container Blackberries (if using wild picked berries, about 25-30 good sized berries)
• 1 container Rapsberries (if using wild picked berries, about 25-30 good sized berries)
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract, or 1 tsp scraped fresh vanilla pod
• Optional: Add a small amount of very fine almond flour, coconut flour or if not needed to be grain free, a small amount of brown rice flour to help soak up the juices that will run out of the fruits while baking.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Pour into pie shell and make sure fruit is evenly distributed.

For the Cinnamon Almond Crumble Top:

Follow the recipe for the Almond Flour Pie Crust above. Dust a hard clean surface and rolling pin with ground cinnamon (or if not needed to be grain free, some brown rice flour). The dough will not roll out in one piece easily, but that's the whole "crumble" idea. Roll out small sections of dough and gently lay them over the top of the pie, leaving a small amount of mixture left to drop in crumbles over the top. When it bakes, the top of the pie bakes up more like a sweet cobbler topping.

After assembling the pie, bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Be careful to check often after 20 minutes to make sure the almond flour isn't getting overly brown or burned, as it can get overcooked pretty quickly. Cool for 10 minutes before enjoying.

Y has gone Gluten-Free for the month of August! We'll be periodically updating on his gluten-free experience throughout the month here and on the facebook page. I've been trying to blow his mind with all the wonderful gluten-free options there are out there and this recipe was thankfully a big hit! He wished to be quoted as saying "This pie is impressively super delicious." And that's from a usually gluten-eating perspective!

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

Roasted Sunflower Honey Butter

A few years ago, I spent a somewhat awkward year living in Dearborn, Michigan while attending university there. I loved attending classes, seeing the diversity, bustling through the city, and going on impromptu adventures to Detroit. This doesn't sound awkward in the least, but my failing health due to undiagnosed gluten issues complicated everyday activities to the max.

Life in Dearborn became amazing almost overnight after I was finally diagnosed and began my gluten-free journey. One of the first things I learned to love during this time was Sunflower Seed Butter. Granted, I was purchasing it pre-made back then due to being a time starved student. But that didn't remove any of the tasty magical quality of it for me. I remember staring out the kitchen window and childishly dipping my silver spoon time and time again into the sweet seed butter; something I used to do with peanut butter back in my early youth.

Nowadays, I opt for making my own Sunflower Seed buttter for several reasons. I find that many kinds of these butters are produced on shared equipment with soy. After contacting many of these companies, I've been advised that they can't rule out the potential for cross contamination--red flag! Another reason is I love to control how much salt and sugar goes into the butter myself. I am a food purest, and I think most foods contain enough natural taste and sweetness to ward off the addition of processed sugars. While I added honey to my homemade version, it was only a slight drizzle for taste and complemented the warm roasted flavor of the sunflower seeds. To me, food tastes better when I put in the extra effort to make it myself.

Roasted Sunflower Honey Butter

(Naturally free of Gluten, Soy, Peanuts, Dairy, Processed Sugar, & Legumes)

• 2 cups Raw Sunflower Seeds
• 4-5 tablespoons Virgin Coconut Oil (I use Artisana brand)
• 1 tsp Salt, or to taste
• 1/2 tsp  Vanilla bean paste or Pure Vanilla Extract (McCormick brand is gluten free)
• A drizzle of Raw Local Honey (to taste, more or less)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread raw sunflower seeds evenly over a baking sheet and roast for 10 minutes. Toss them around about halfway through to ensure even roasting.

Place the roasted seeds in a food processor with the salt, vanilla bean paste (scraped from the inside of a vanilla bean) or vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. Process the mixture for about a minute, then continue to add the rest of the coconut oil while the processor is running. Adding more or less oil to reach the desired consistency might be needed. Add in the drizzle of honey last. Scrape down the sides of the processor a few times to make sure all the seeds are ground down to a creamy butter.

Enjoy with a childish air, and a silver spoon.

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