Month: October 2014

Butternut Pizza Crusts

by bepaulin, posted in Magical Main Meals

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It is the littlest things in life that excite me. Seriously I am the easiest person to please. Today Jan came in with a ‘present’ for me. I turned around to find a butternut squash with a little face drawn on. I was literally giddy (see I told you it doesn’t take much). So many ideas crashing through my head. Later as we were chattering on in our foodie speak, I was thinking of the cauliflower pizza crust I was getting ready to make for my co-worker Julie. Hmm….what if instead I used butternut? Why not? I do not routine. I am constantly changing things. If something gets comfortable, I’m ready to try something new. I am always down for better. I have done cauliflower pizza crusts so many times, that frankly I’m over them. They’re cliche and trendy. I have this phobia of going with the crowd. So if something catches on, I’m ready to move on to bigger and better pastures. Plus its Fall and butternut (as I’ve exclaimed for weeks now) is my favorite fall flavor. I am branching out.

And here are the results of said experimentation’s. I have to say personally I was so pumped about this crust and pizza when I made it. There is something about conceptualizing something and then having it come to life. It’s the high that the creative process brings. The proudness that fills you up from making something with your own hands. It’s like having a dream come true.

Feel free to play with toppings, I was playing on some savory/sweet combinations. Continue reading “Butternut Pizza Crusts” →

Sweet Potato Balls

by bepaulin, posted in Lets Have a Party, Uncategorized

xijvEO0ks7KucW5Dut1exvfyE6agfn1jxMm3vhWMRPk=w788-h524-noI think by now it’s pretty evident that even for someone who spends a vast majority of my time in a kitchen, I am not immune from messing up.

Last week I got this monstrous, beautiful sweet potato from Heron Bay farms at the market. Ooh I’m going to make mashed sweet potatoes! In my head I was already 10 steps ahead, patting myself on the back for my tasty dish and for being such a good roomie, making some for Heather, who’s been wanting some.

As you can probably guess, my cockiness totally killed my dish. To my mashed cauliflower I generally add a tablespoon or two of cream cheese. And I’ve done the same thing to sweet potatoes in the past. But this time I ended up with this thick mass (okay it was a ball) of sweet potato. Sure I could have added coconut milk, but that would also mean I’d have to have some on hand. Hmm…

I put in the fridge, determined to resolve the issue in the morning. What to do?

Boom, inspiration hits! I have this tendency when my market baking goes awry or if something is not pretty, I just roll it into balls. Little popable things. Why not roll the sweet potato into balls then. While I’m at it, why not let them roll around in a little Continue reading “Sweet Potato Balls” →

Stir Fry

by bepaulin, posted in Magical Main Meals

010Stuff I would love to eat. That’s it. It’s Friday. Enjoy and have a great weekend!

Stir Fry
• Steak, thinly sliced
• Cabbage, shredded into long strips
• Carrots, shredded into long strips
• Celery, shredded into long strips
• Grass-Fed Butter
Let’s Make it Happen: Thinly slice meat. Shred the vegetables, this will make it easy to eat with chopsticks. Heat butter in a skillet on medium heat. Toss in the vegetables and toss. Lastly toss in the meat. Salt to taste. Serve, it is actually that easy and it was unbelievably good, can’t you just see the flavor oozing from this picture?

Chocolate Cake Truffles

by bepaulin, posted in Baking with Brittany

chocolate cake trufflesI’m all about honesty. So I have to say, even though I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, I still F up a lot. Things just don’t turn out how I envision. My conceptions don’t always make it into reality, so gracefully. When that happens, I usually try to salvage what I can. I recreate the dish into something tasty, if not tastier than the original. This s one of those times when the redo turned out better than the first go.

Chocolate Cake Truffles:
Cake:
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 4 pasture-raised eggs
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup almond oil (recommendation: coconut oil or ghee)
Let’s Make it Happen: mix dry ingredients (cocoa, flour, cinnamon, powder) in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine wet ingredients (egg, honey, vanilla, oil). Now blend the two together. Pour into a greased pan. Bake at 350 until a toothpick comes out cleanly (mine baked quickly as I put it in a smaller pan). It appeared dry. I didn’t like it. I begin throwing in ingredients, I believe this is all I added.
• 3 tbsp pumpkin Continue reading “Chocolate Cake Truffles” →

Bacon Truffles

by bepaulin, posted in Moantastic Desserts

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I am into savory sweet combinations, period. I’ve been racking my brains for sweet bacon dessert recipes. Bacon? Chocolate? Almond Butter? What is not to love? Why not put them together? Bring them together as one? Exactly! And so I have. Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

Bacon Truffles

• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1 1/2 tbsp coconut flour
• 2 pieces bacon
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
• vanilla, cinnamon, salt Continue reading “Bacon Truffles” →

Pumpkin Risotto

by bepaulin, posted in Magical Main Meals

2012-12-04-08_58_14I was maybe a little harsh on pumpkin Tuesday. So today I thought I’d make it up to pumpkin, with a different spin on risotto. Cauliflower used  to be somewhat of a savior for me when I first began converting recipes to gluten-free. I mashed it, made pizza crusts, made mac n’ cheese, I used it for rice and so much more (once I even used it in brownies). This recipe is a fun little experiment. And it turned out to be really good.

Pumpkin Risotto
• 1/2 cup broth (feel free to make your own)
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tbsp onion, diced
• 1/4 tsp rosemary
• 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup cauliflower rice Continue reading “Pumpkin Risotto” →