10 replies to this topic

[cjb]

Grain-free, sugar-free Christmas cookies

2 cups finely ground nuts*
4 T cold butter or coconut oil
~ 9 pieces of some combo of dried apricots, prunes, and/or dates
1 lightly beaten egg
1/8 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
~1/8-1/4 tsp powdered stevia (might be less if you use dates, add stevia a little at a time and taste to make sure it's sweet enough.)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8-1/4 tsp ea. ground cloves, nutmeg and ginger

Preheat oven to 325 F
Grind your nuts finely in the food processor and empty them from the processor.
Chop both the butter and the dried fruit into smallish pieces and add to processor. Process until mixed.
Add egg and process again until mixed.
Add the chopped nuts and remaining ingredients and process until it begins to form one big ball.
-the dough will be sticky, but workable.
Form into small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Gently press each cookie with the back of a spoon to flatten slightly. If the dough is too sticky to do this, wait until they've baked for 5 minutes and then press them down.
Bake ~ 10-15 minutes, until the tops are just starting to brown, otherwise you can burn the bottom.
Let them cool on a wire rack.

If you want to get fancy, you could frost with a nut butter, like almond or cashew, or any other "safe" frosting.


*at least 1 cup should be almonds, the 2nd cup could be more almonds or a mixture of other nuts like pecans, walnuts and/or cashews. The nuts should be unroasted and unsalted.


Almond pie crust

2 cups almond flour
4 T cold butter cut into pieces (or coconut oil)
3 chopped dates
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Grind almonds in food processor. Set aside
Add chopped butter and dates to processor and process til mixed
Add almond flour and all other ingredients and blend until a big ball forms.
Roll the ball out between two sheets of wax paper. Chill
Invert into a pie pan and press into place
Bake at 300F for 10 minutes.
Cool and fill.

[acnevy]

aye they look great and im hungry, but im just wondering

for those who refrain from eating dairy? wut you people say about butter? i myself try to avoid it, but i kinda go lenient on that.

[cjb]

Grain-free, sugar-free cheesecake Definitely not dairy free.

1 almond crust (from previous post) to which you've added a pinch of ground ginger. A pinch of stevia if desired. Can use a spring-form pan instead of a pie pan. Press the crust into the bottom of the buttered/oiled pan and about 1 inch up the sides. Bake as directed.

Cheesecake
2 8 oz pkgs of cream cheese (I use the Nancy's stuff because it has no added gums or other weirdness)
1/2-1 tsp stevia (add a bit at a time to desired sweetness) *
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
1-1.5 cups pureed fruit (pumpkin OR berries**)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp each nutmeg, cloves, and ginger

Preheat oven to 350F
Mix together cream cheese, ~ 1/4 tsp stevia and vanilla until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, blending well after each. Set aside one cup of this mixture. Add the pureed fruit and remaning stevia and other ingredients to the remaining batter. Taste both batters to be sure of sweetness, and add more stevia if needed.

Spread the "colored" batter in the baked almond crust. Drizzle the white batter in lines over the colored batter. Drag a knife back and forth across the cake perpendicular to the lines of the white batter to make a marbled effect.

Bake 45-55 minutes until filling is set. Allow to cool and then chill for at least 4 hours. Run a knife around the rim before removing it if you used a spring-form pan.


*You can also use xylitol. Omit the stevia and add a 1/2 cup of xylitol when mixing the cream cheese and vanilla. Once you've added the pumpkin or berries, taste that batter and if you want it sweeter, add just a pinch of stevia.
**For a berry cheesecake, puree frozen berries. Pressing them through a sieve will keep the seeds out, so you don't get a "seedy" cheesecake. You could also try using an unsweetened fruit jam.

aye they look great and im hungry, but im just wondering

for those who refrain from eating dairy? wut you people say about butter? i myself try to avoid it, but i kinda go lenient on that.

Use coconut oil

FRUIT-AND-NUT STUFFING (from paleofood.com ) We had this for Thanksgiving, and it was good.
Makes about 10 cups

18 whole pitted prunes
1/2 cup dried currants
1 cup dark raisins
24 dried apricot halves
1/4 cup orange juice or bourbon
3 tart cooking apples, unpeeled, cored, chopped
3 large onions, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
6 tablespoons olive oil
2/3 cup whole macadamia nuts, unsalted
2/3 cup whole brazil nuts - or cashews, almonds or pecans, or some combo
1 cup walnut pieces
2 cups whole raw cranberries
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon dried chervil leaves
1 teaspoon finely minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 eggs, slightly beaten

1. Put the prunes, currants, raisins, and apricot halves in a bowl, and
pour the orange juice/bourbon over the fruit. Cover bowl, and soak overnight.
2. Combine the apples, onions, and celery in a large skillet along with
four T olive oil. Cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring
occasionally, until the onions are soft and the celery is tender, about 10
minutes.
3. Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a skillet and add the nuts. Toast them,
stirring constantly, until golden.
4. Transfer the sautéed onion mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add the
macerated fruit, the toasted nuts, and all remaining ingredients. Gently
mix the stuffing with 2 large spoons or your hands until evenly blended.
Set the stuffing aside while you prepare the turkey for roasting.
5. After the turkey has been stuffed, any remaining stuffing can be cooked
separately. Place stuffing in an oiled baking dish, cover and bake at 350
degrees for about 45 minutes until heated through.

[R.S.]

Oh man cjb... I was just thinking today... hmmm, I like pie but I could do without that pesky white flour crust... thanks for those two recipes, I'm definitely making those almond cookies come Christmas time.

[AlliE_CaT]

Mini Salmon Cheesecakes
Makes 24 - Better when made a day ahead.

4 Wasa Crackers (I use these coz they are low carb. You can use anything you like.)
2 Tbsp. Melted Butter

2 - 3oz. packages of cream cheese softened
1/2 Cup shredded swiss cheese
1 Tbsp. Minced Onion
1 - 14 & 3/4 oz. can of salmon, drained.
2 Eggs
1 Tbsp. dry sherry
1 Tsp. Dill Weed
salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 350.
Spray muffin tins with pam.
Crush crackers and mix with melted butter.
Divide evenly in muffin tins and press into the bottom.
Beat together balance of ingredients until almost smooth.
Fill each muffin cavity to brim.
Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until just set.
Cool on wire racks and then store in the refrigerator.

Yummy

[cjb]

Flourless, sugarless chocolate cake

14 oz baker's chocolate (bitter chocolate with no sugar added)*
3/4 cup + 2 TB butter (could use coconut oil)
10 egg yolks
1 tsp stevia
1 Tbs vanillla
1 tsp lemon juice
10 egg whites
1/3 cup + 1/4 cup xylitol (optional, but will make it sweeter) OR just add a little more stevia to taste.
2 cups heavy cream, whipped with a pinch of stevia and vanilla extract added.

Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler (or in the microwave, if you must). Set aside to cool slightly . Beat yolks and 1 tsp. stevia until smooth; stir in vanilla and lemon juice. Blend in chocolate mixture.

Beat eggs whites in a large mixer bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add the optional xylitol (or stevia) beating until stiff peaks form. Stir 1 cup of egg whites into chocolate mixture, then fold in remaining whites. Pour batter into a cake pan (a spring-form is good, but not mandatory) that has been greased, floured, and lined with wax paper. Bake in a preheated 250 degree oven for ~ 1 hr, until it looks set. Cool completely on a rack before removing from the pan. Serve with whip cream.


*Be aware that this is not super sweet. It tastes like very dark chocolate. I think it's good, esp with whip cream. My bf thought it should be sweeter. You could use semi-sweet chocolate instead, but that would add sugar. Other options are to add a drizzle of maple syrup or some xylitol.

EDIT I made this again. This time in addition to the stevia, I added 1/3 cup + 1/4 cup xylitol to make it sweeter. I added it a little at a time to the egg whites while I was beating them. I also added some orange zest and orange juice and made a raspberry sauce to put on top. To make the raspberry sauce, I pureed frozen raspberries, pressed them through my sieve and added some stevia and orange juice.






Okay, I haven't tested out this recipe yet, but it looks pretty interesting. If you try it let me know how it works.

Chestnut Cake

3 cups chestnut flour
1 1/2 cups water
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup pinenuts
1/4 tsp stevia
6 TB olive oil
fresh rosemary, chopped small, or dried rosemary (optional)
pinch sea salt

Preheat oven to 450 F
Heat the water and soak the raisins until soft and water has cooled. Drain the water and reserve.
Combine flour, water, 2 Tb of the oil, stevia, and sea sat in a mixing bowl and blend to form a creamy dough.
Blend the raisins, pinenuts and rosemary into the batter
Pour 2 TB oil into an 11 inch shallow baking pan. Pour in batter and add the remaining 2 TB oil on top.
Bake 20 min or until the surface begins to crack. Pour off excess oil. Remvoe from pan and serve hot.

[Jen121]

Flourless, sugarless chocolate cake

14 oz baker's chocolate (bitter chocolate with no sugar added)*
3/4 cup + 2 TB butter (could use coconut oil)
10 egg yolks
1 tsp stevia
1 Tbs vanillla
1 tsp lemon juice
10 egg whites
1/2 tsp stevia
2 cups heavy cream, whipped with a pinch of stevia and vanilla extract added.

Holy cow, thats like 10 eggs!! is that good for you?? anyhow it says 10 egg yolks and then 10 egg whites, so can you just say 10 eggs instead or am I missing something???

Thanks

[cjb]

Holy cow, thats like 10 eggs!! is that good for you?? anyhow it says 10 egg yolks and then 10 egg whites, so can you just say 10 eggs instead or am I missing something???

Thanks

I say 10 yolks and 10 whites because you need to separate them, but yes, it is just 10 eggs.

There's 10 eggs in the WHOLE CAKE. It's pretty decadent, so 1 slice is probably less than 1/10 of the cake, so if my math is correct, that's about ONE EGG-or less. It's a dessert - you don't eat it every day. It's probably not the best because you do have to seriously beat up those eggs which may damage the proteins. However, for me, I'd rather eat this that a flour-based cake because this one won't break me out.

[cjb]

Just putting in another plug to make and bring your own dessert to Christmas dinner, so you can have your cake and eat it too.
(ie. have your cake and not break out)

If sugar breaks you out and you don't know about xylitol, check it out. The stuff is amazing - tastes like sugar, looks like sugar, but doesn't act at all like sugar in your body. You can simply replace the sugar in any recipe with it. Be aware that copious amounts have a laxative effect, but up to 3/4 cup or so should be okay. It's not like aspartame. They make it from birchwood. I still use stevia as my main sweetener, but xylitol makes baking a lot easier.

I amended some of the recipes above with xylitol options.

[meat_pirate86]

Duck Breasts in Green Pepper Sauce (Eat Yourself Slin by Michel Montignac)
serves 4

4 duck breasts
1/2 lb. mushrooms
1 lemon
1/2 cup wine
1 onion
1 bay leaf
30 green peppercorns
1 tablespoon olive oil

Slice the onions and soften in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add red wine. Leave on high heat until the liquid has almost completely evaporated.
Add 1 glass of water, the bay leaf, and green pepper and cook for 15 minutes.
Trim and wash the mushrooms and cook whole in water with the lemon juice for 5 minutes. Blend to a purée, season with salt and add the butter. Strain the sauce through a sieve and return to a low heat to reduce. Add the mushroom purée.
Cook the duck breasts in a non-stick frying pan with no added fat or oil. Allow 4 minutes each side on a medium heat.
The duck breasts can be sliced into long, thin strips. Serve covered with the sauce.

[meat_pirate86]

Sweet Potato Scones

Delicious and delicate, these scones are great for breakfast on-the-go or perfect with afternoon tea.

1 cup pureed sweet potato (about 1 large)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup ground pecans
2 Tbsp lightly packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold, cubed butter
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 Tbsp coarse sugar
12 pecan halves

Pre-heat over to 425 F (225 C). ROast one large sweet potato for about 45 minutes or until tender. Set aside and let cool. (Alternatively, prick sweet potato in several places with fork. Microwave on HIGH for sic minutes until fork-tender. Cool.) Peel off skin and place flesh of potato in a blender and pulse until smooth. Or use a ricer or potato masher to create the puree.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, pecans, brown sugar, baking powder, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda and salt. Using pastry blender, or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a bowl, whisk sweet potato puree with buttermilk. Pour into flour mixture and stir together to form ragged dough. Turn out onto a gently floured work surface. With lightly floured hands, knead gently until well combined and smooth, about 10 times. Do not overwork dough or scones will be tough and chewy.

Gently pat into a 1/2 inch (1cm) thick round. Using a 2-inch (5cm) round cutter, cut out rounds. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Gather up any scraps and press into remaining biscuits. Brush with milk and sprinkle tops with coarse sugar. Top each with a pecan half and bake in centre of over for 12-15 minutes, or until golden. Let cool on pan on cooling rack.

Makes 12 scones