Experimental Paleo Baking

I had no idea how addicted to Gluten I am, until we started trying to follow a Paleo Diet at the beginning of the year.  I craved toast, pizza, MONKEY BREAD...fortunately, some of those cravings have subsided.  However, I'm not sure that I will ever get over my love of pizza!  And I haven't gotten brave enough to try "Paleo Pizza Crust".  Somehow, I can't get my head around using mashed cauliflower for the crust - pretty sure that it would not emulate the crust from The La Pizza House!

So, I've decided to start experimenting with other baking using Paleo ingredients.  There are lots of resources out there - some are more paleo than others.  I'm not super fussy about that - after all, this blog is called "Almost Paleo".  I come from a long line of cooks, so it's fun to experiment and see how I can make a beloved, full-gluten recipe fit for a caveman.

Last week, I ran across a Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe on www.thepintsizebaker.com.  She cooks all kinds of good stuff, but decided to post this recipe of her trainer, Clark.  I'm now sharing it with you and including the changes I made:

Paleo Chocolate Chunk Cookies

3 1/4 C Almond Flour 

1 t salt 

1 t baking soda 

2  eggs, room temperature 

1 t pure vanilla 

1/2 C honey (maple syrup or agave will work) 

1/2 C coconut oil, melted 

1/2 bar special dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (I didn't have Carib)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. 

Combine dry ingredients in 1 bowl and mix well.  In another bowl, combine wet ingredients.  Gradually incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well combined.  Lastly add the chocolate chunks that have been pulsed in Food Processor to desired coarseness. 

Do will be fairly sticky - it can be refrigerated to firm it up if desired.  Spoon the batter onto the baking sheet and bake for 8 - 10 minutes.  Once they are completely cooled, you may want to store in the refrigerator as they tend to be soft and a little sticky.  

NOTE:  I've found that the Almond Flour I picked up in the Organic Section at the grocery was course and gritty.  I just bought some from Nuts.com and think it's consistency is much better!

A Paleo Valentine

When my newest issue of "Cooking Light" magazine arrived yesterday, I was elated...as I had been looking for inspiration for something to cook for our Valentine's meal.  My hope was that I wouldn't have to make a trip to the market and that I would be able to make my little Paleo alterations.  

SUCCESS!  Not many pages into the issue I stumbled upon the Pork Chops with Tangy Red Currant Sauce.  I actually had pork chops defrosting in the fridge (although I wish they had been the thick cut chops).  While I didn't have any Red Currant Jelly, I did have Blueberry Jalapeno Preserves and decided that would be a great substitution.  Pairing the Chops with Mashed Cauliflower - the inspiration was born. 

Ingredients: 

1/2 C White Onion, chopped 

2 cloves Garlic, minced 

1/3 C Chicken Stock 

2 T Agave Nectar (+ 1 T Honey) 

2 T Blueberry Jalapeno Preserves 

1/4 C Red Wine Vinegar 

1 1/2 T grated Lemon Zest 

4 Thick-cut Butterfly Pork Chops 

1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper 

1/4 tsp Sea Salt

NOTE:  I added 1 T Honey to the sauce mixture as it was boiling because I was afraid the sauce was too Vinegary. 

Place a saucepan over medium heat, coat pan with 1 T. Bacon Drippings.  Add onion and 1 T garlic; sweat onions and garlic about 4 minutes.  Add chicken stock and cook until the liquid is almost evaporated.  Add Agave, honey and preserves; bring to a boil.  Cook 1 minute.  Add vinegar and return to a boil cooking until mostly reduced. 

Heat a large skillet, melt 1 T bacon drippings.  Combine Garlic and Lemon Zest and apply evenly over Pork Chops.  Salt and Pepper to taste.  Cook Pork to desired degree of doneness.  Remove from pan and let stand - apply glaze over the pork prior to serving.  

Serve pork alongside mashed cauliflower. 

Who Can Resist a Brownie?

THANK YOU - "The Primal Blueprint Cookbook" for your 'Walnut Meal Brownies'...there is some decadence in the world of Paleo.  Well...my definition of decadence may be a little off, since I started eating healthier.  But these are WONDERFUL!

Again, it's "Almost Paleo" because of course I had to alter the recipe a little.  I had some butterscotch chips in the freezer just wanted to be used, so I threw in 1/2 a handful - the buttery flavor they lend to the brownies is fantastic.  It took me a while to figure it out when I first tasted them.  They melted down so much (and there were so few of them) that I kind of forgot they were there.  It wasn't until I went to bed last night that I finally figured it out.  Talk about mindless eating!  Wow - I made the darn things and couldn't remember that I snuck forbidden ingredients into them!

It's been about 5 weeks since I started eating this way and I can honestly say I feel so much better for it.  Last night was the community meal at church and we served Pizza.  For me, Pizza has always been my favorite "Perfect" food - so how could I not indulge?  Well let me just say, it was not a good experience - Pizza is no longer my friend.  My gut was not happy and I will continue on this Paleo journey and find some new friends.  Good bye evil pizza!

"Oohh" Goo Gai Pan

This was my first experiment with cooking a Paleo dinner - it resembles Moo Goo Gai Pan, but since it is not made of Chicken (I used butterfly pork chops) I decided on "Oohh" Goo Gai Pan.

It's a quick fix on a busy night and Ooohhh So Good!





"Oohh" Goo Gai Pan

1/4 onion, julienne cut
1/2 red bell pepper, julienne cut
1 C. snow peas
1 T. bacon drippings
1 T. soy sauce or Tamari
1/2 C. Moscato wine
1 clove garlic, minced
6 mushrooms, sliced
2 butterfly pork chops, thick cut
dash Sriracha hot sauce
1 tsp. cornstarch

In a cast iron skillet over medium heat, melt bacon drippings and add pork chops.  Searing meat until almost cooked through.

While the pork is cooking, julienne cut the onion and bell pepper.  Remove meat from the pan and set aside to keep warm.  Add Moscato wine, soy sauce and Sriracha to deglaze the pan.  Add onion and garlic and saute until caramelized.  Next add the remaining vegetables until cooked lightly.  To create a thicker sauce, add cornstarch to a bit of chicken broth until well combined.  Add the cornstarch mixture to the pan and incorporate through the vegetables and lastly add meat back to the pan to warm.

Serve immediately - nothing else is necessary to accompany this gorgeous meal!

Going Paleo?

It's been about a year and a half since a very good friend of mine started touting the benefits of the Paleo Diet.  When I first started hearing bits and pieces, I thought...well I guess I don't really know what I thought other than it would really mess up the way I cook, eat, live.

Instead of just letting the information come in one ear and go out the other, I recently started doing my own research.  Listening to Podcasts of Sean Croxton, reading recipes from the Civilized Caveman and ABSOLUTELY loving to listen to Able James speak (I'm a sucker for a deep, sexy voice) about this lifestyle.

At the onset of this new year, my husband Roger and I decided that we would give this a try and so far, it's pretty amazing.  Bacon and Eggs for breakfast - oh heck yeah!  So I must go back now and apologize to my good friend, whom I've made fun of and teased.  I think we are really on to something.

As part of my transition to this diet, I'm having a great time deconstructing recipes and making them more Paleo.   I call most of them "Almost Paleo" as I am sure that I am not always very pure about my approach.  So this blog will be dedicated to my attempts in the kitchen and realizations of a life changed by being more mindful and intentional with the food I put in my body.