Apple Cookies

Here is a mildly sweet "cookie", said lightly as these are not for those who have a sweet tooth.  They will do, in a pinch, as a healthy alternative that offers no guilt.  There are many alterations to the recipe, as I try them I will update you.  I am bringing these to my Holistic Moms Network meeting tonight, where most of the mamas are on restricted diets or have food allergies.  Enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 cup Sunflower seeds, toasted
1 cup Dried Apples
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/2 cup Coconut Flakes
1 Tb. Coconut Oil
2 Eggs

 In Cuisinart, chop Apples add Cinnamon.  Add Sunflower seeds and Coconut, chop.

Add Oil and Eggs, puree until a nice dough is formed.  

 Place around 1 heaping Tablespoon of dough to form each cookie.  Shape into desired form.  Bake in oven at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

GAPS Meatloaf

Ingredients:

2 lbs Grass-fed Ground Beef (Can use lamb or chicken too)
1 lb. Ground Pork
2 Eggs from Pasture-fed Hens (I used 4 whites because I had them leftover in the fridge)
½ Yellow Onion
1 Bulb Garlic
3 Carrots
2 Celery Stalks
5 Mushrooms
2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
1/2 Cup Fresh Parsley
Tomato Paste
2 Tablespoons Honey
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Directions: 

Mix the ground meat and eggs together until thoroughly blended.

In the Cuisinart, mix onions, garlic and parsley until well mixed.  Add the vegetables, tomato paste, mustard, salt and pepper to the cuisinart and blend well.  Remove and mix by hand thoroughly into the meat mixture. Bake at 375 º F for about 45 minutes to an hour until the juices run clear and the meatloaf’s center is  cooked through.

Top with tomato paste and honey mixture.  Bake for another 5 minutes.
I served mine with Cauliflower Mash and Garlic Spinach.  

Chicken & Chickpea Tagine

• I am normally not one to follow "recipes" with measurements (unless I am baking), but this one has some seasonings in it that are not in my normal repertoire.  My family gobbled it up.  I am not certain garbanzo beans are GAPS friendly, but we needed to challenge a food allergy.  So far so good.  Note:  Can also be cooked without a pressure cooker.  You can use canned beans, a crockpot, or slow cook on the stove.  
• 2 Tbs. animal fat (I used duck)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 cup dried chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ tsp. paprika
• 2 tsp. honey
• 5 cups chicken bone broth
  
• 3 bone in chicken thighs
• 3 Tbs. finely chopped parsley
• 3 medium carrots, sliced into thin rounds

DIRECTIONS

Heat fat in large pressure cooker over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 2 to 3 minutes, or until onion slices are soft. Stir in spices, honey, and 5 cups broth. Add chicken.  Cover and bring to pressure for 35 minutes, let pressure release naturally. Remove chicken and shred and remove bones.  Add chicken back to tagine.  Add carrots and parsley, simmer for 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.

Lemon, Cranberry & White Chocolate Tart

I was inspired by my friend Bree, but her recipe called for all kinds of things I am not supposed to cook with.  So, I adapted it to suit my own dietary needs.  It was really delicious, super tart and refreshing.  I made it over several days because I knew that Christmas day would be hectic.

Cranberry Topping:

1 bag of cranberries, 1/2 cup of honey (or more or less to your liking), 1 cup of cranberry juice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer until thickened.  Let cool in fridge.  Can be made several days in advance.

Lemon Curd:
6 egg yolks, 1/4 cup honey, grated zest of one lemon, 1/2 c. lemon juice, 6 Tb. coconut oil.  Blend all ingredients until smooth.  Add to sauce pan.  Cook on low heat, stirring constantly until thick.  Remove from heat.  Let cool in fridge.  Can be made several days in advance.

White Chocolate:
1 cup cacao butter, 1/2 cup honey, 1 Tb. coconut butter, 1 Tb. vanilla.
Heat slowly, stirring constantly.  Blend to emulsify.  Place in candy molds, freeze.  Can be made several days in advance.  (As long as you don't eat it all up!)

Almond Flour Crust:
1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 Tb. honey
1 Tb. vanilla extract

Mix dry ingredients in Cuisinart.  Add honey, oil and vanilla and blend until thick.  Pat mixture with wet hands into spring form pan or silicone baking dish.  Bake at 325* for 15 minutes, until golden.

Now the fun begins.  Reheat the white chocolate and pour into the crust. Freeze until chocolate is hard.

Remove from the baking dish and place on a nice plate.  Add the lemon curd.

Add the cranberry. Shred chocolate on the top or serve as is.

Sausage & Artichoke Soup

Was inspired by Sunset Magazine's recipe this month.  Adapted to be GAPS friendly.  

1 onion, diced

1 Tb. duck fat or other animal fat

3 Tb. Masala or white wine

5 cups chicken bone broth

1 lb. ground turkey (or pork)

3 Tb. parsley

2 tsp. rosemary

3 Tb. fennel seeds (smashed)

5 leaves of basil

3 cloves garlic

2 bulbs of fresh fennel, thinly sliced

2 large handfuls of baby spinach

1 can of artichokes, sliced into quarters

Saute onion and duck fat until onion is translucent.  Add masala or wine until thickened.  Add broth.  Bring to a boil.  

In food processor mix parsley, rosemary, fennel seeds, basil, and garlic.  Add ground turkey, mix until processed well.  Another dash of wine would be nice too.  

Add drops of mixture to boiling broth.  Add fresh fennel, baby spinach and artichokes to broth.  Let simmer for 10 minutes.  Serve.  

Clam Chowder

Made this recipe for my Solstice party tonight.  No time for a decent photo.  Proof of how delicious it was is at the end of the pot.

Recipe:

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

5 carrots, cut into small pieces

5 celery spears, chopped

2 leeks, halved and sliced (whites only)

4-8 cups of bone broth (I used beef, fish would be good too).

2 heads of cauliflower, 1 1/2 whole, 1/2 in florets

2 cans of minced clams with juice

2 tsp. dill

Bay leaf

Salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion, garlic.  Add carrot, celery and cook for a few minutes.  Add broth, whole cauliflower and cauliflower florets.  Add both cans of clams, dill, and bay leaf.  Let simmer until veggies are soft (30 minutes).  Remove whole pieces of cauliflower and puree in the blender with some bone broth.  Add back into chowder for creamy effect.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy.

Chicken "Noodle" Soup

As the weather changes soup begins to become a nightly ritual for us.  Here is a quick easy way for chicken soup that will remind you  of the ol' stuff too.

Bar-b-que the chicken, it will add a different dimension to the flavors.  If not, you could cut them up in pieces and add them to the hot broth.  I use chicken thighs because I like the flavor better.

While you are waiting for the BBQ, saute some onions, garlic, carrots and celery.  Add fresh thyme and salt when the veggies become more translucent.

Add the broth, chicken, and cut up tomatoes (or a spoonful of tomato paste) and the butternut squash cut with a spiralizer to make into wavy "noodles".
Eat and enjoy.  This soup went so fast I couldn't even catch a photo.