Good Snacks: Raw Organic Fudge

30 Nov

Here’s a recipe for raw organic fudge that we love to make when we’re home.  I really miss being able to make this fudge while we’re away in Stockholm — these make great power snacks and helps satisfy a sweet craving.  I don’t have a food processor in our Stockholm apartment, nor have I found Stevia… but I am hopeful that I might find a way to make this fudge.  In the mean time, I will share the recipe here.

RAW ORGANIC FUDGE

BASE (Cashew Butter)

  • 4 cups organic raw whole cashews, no salt
  • 1/4 cup organic extra virgin coconut oil
  • 1/4 cup organic creamed coconut

Place cashews in a food processor and process for about 3 minutes minutes. Add the coconut oil and creamed coconut and continue to process until you have a nice shiny cashew butter. (You may want to add about 1/8 cup each more of coconut oil and creamed coconut if the consistency is not quite creamy and buttery.)  This will make about 2 cups of cashew butter.

Divide the base into two bowls, evenly (about 1 cup cashew butter each).

Two flavors we like (per about 1 cup cashew butter base) are peppermint and salted/cinnamon/vanilla.

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FOR PEPPERMINT FUDGE

  • 1 cup organic cashew butter (recipe as above)- 1/2 cup organic cocoa powder, unsweetened
  • Stevia (liquid), about 5 drops (or to taste)
  • 1 tsp organic peppermint extract

In a bowl with about 1 cup cashew butter base, stir in above ingredients — a spatula works well. Spread mixture in a pan and refrigerate for 2 1/2 hours, or until hardened. Cut, serve (chilled) and enjoy.

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FOR SALTED CINAMMON/VANILLA FUDGE

  • 1 cup organic cashew butter (recipe as above)
  • 1/2 cup organic cocoa powder, unsweetened
  • Stevia (liquid), about 5 drops (or to taste)
  • 1 tsp organic vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp organic cinammon
  • 1/2 tsp salt

In a bowl with about 1 cup cashew butter base, stir in above ingredients — a spatula works well. Spread mixture in a pan and refrigerate for 2 1/2 hours, or until hardened. Cut, serve (chilled) and enjoy.

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Simple Veg: Roasted Cauliflower with Capers

30 Nov

Roasted cauliflower is one of our favorite vegetable accompaniments to many meals.  I like to roast cauliflower with thinly sliced garlic and a drizzle of olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper. Recently, I add about a tablespoon of capers after the cauliflower comes out of the oven — the capers add a nice salty and slightly tangy flavor.

For the cauliflower, preheat the oven to 375F.  Break down the cauliflower into about 1 in. florets and put them in a bowl.  Add sliced garlic (about 3 cloves), season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with some olive oil and mix well.  Lay out the cauliflower in a baking dish and roast for about 25 minutes, or until tender.  I like to move the cauliflower around occasionally so that they brown evenly.

When the cauliflower is cooked, take the baking dish out of the oven.  Rinse about a tablespoon of capers and add to the cauliflower — I like the small type of capers (non-pereil), jarred in water.  Gently mix in the capers.

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I ♥: fresh purple Italian garlic

29 Nov

I am loving the quality of fresh garlic in Stockholm.  These fresh, purple Italian garlic are in many supermarkets, and they are delicious!  I hardly ever see excellent fresh garlic back in New York — when I buy garlic, they are usually of the dried variety.  The fresh garlic have a soft outer layer that are easy to peel; I find the cloves juicier and slightly spicier than dried garlic, although still pleasant and not overpoweringly “garlicky.”  These garlic are great with sauteed as well as roasted vegetables.

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Pot du Coco(nut) with Sherry

27 Nov

For dessert for our non-traditional Thanksgiving in Stockholm, I made a “duo of dark chocolate” — a caradamon and orange flour-less sugar-free chocolate cake and “Pot du Coco(nut).”

When I make flourless chocolate cakes, I use a recipe I found on Food52 by ChezUs.  Normally, I use Stevia to sweeten the cake, instead of regular sugar.  On this occasion, I skipped any kind of sweetener because (1)  we haven’t found Stevia in Stockholm and (2) I thought that a less-sweet, almost bitter cake might pair better with the “Pot du Coco(nut),” which is creamy and decadent.  I will post the recipe for the cake later.

The “Pot du Coco(nut)” recipe was inspired by our desire for an easy, home-made paleo dessert and a too-sweet sherry.  Recently, David and I discussed over dinner how, occasionally, it would be nice to have a little dessert.  In New York, we sometimes buy sugar-free coconut ice cream, which we love.  We wondered if we might look for something similar in Stockholm.  Also recently, we bought a Pedro Ximenez sherry, hoping it’d make a nice digestiv.  Unfortunately, the sherry is much too sweet and almost honey-like.  I hate to waste things… and then it occurred to me that I should make my own coconut milk based dessert utilizing the too sweet sherry: How about a Pot du Coco(nut)?

Here’s how I make my “Pot du Coco(nut)”:

Melt 2 bars of dark chocolate in a double boiler (about 7 o., or 200g — I use 81% cacao).  If you don’t have a double boiler (I don’t) you can use two pots, one small pot to heat water, and a small sauce pan (smaller than the pot) in which to melt chocolate over the hot water.

When the chocolate melts, add a can of coconut milk (400 ml).  Keep mixing and heating the mixture until the it is completely smooth and silky in texture.  (It’s important to heat the coconut milk with the chocolate and make sure to mix well to achieve smooth creamy texture.  I use a spatula to keep mixing and scraping the sides, until the chocolate runs smooth.)  Add about 1/4 cup of sweet sherry (or another sweet wine) into the mixture.  The sweetness from the dark chocolate and the sweetness from the wine will act as the sweeteners for the pot du coco(nut).

Pour into small glasses — I will make about 8 small portions (or 4 large portions in mugs).

Chill overnight.  This simple dessert tastes amazingly decadent, and will surely impress your guests.  The sweet sherry complements the bitter chocolate, and the coconut milk gives the Pot du Coco(nut) a beautifully velvety texture.  Our non-paleo dinner guests loved the Pot du Coco(nut), and thought it paired very nicely with the minimally sweet flour-less cake.  Since I don’t have many small glasses, I chilled the rest of the chocolate mixture in a mug, which works nicely as well.

Simple, delicious, paleo dessert that will surely impress your dinner guests — paleo or non-paleo!

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Deviled Eggs with Caviar

27 Nov

As hors d’oeuvres for our “Swedish-inpspired” non-traditional Thanksgiving, I made deviled eggs with caviar.  Recently, deviled eggs seem to have made a comeback as a trendy bar food around New York.  One of our favorite Brooklyn bars called  Henry Public has deviled eggs on its menu, which we love to order when we enjoy a late-afternoon cocktail at the bar.  Deviled eggs make good hors d’oeuvres because they are easy to make, an appropriate size for finger-food, and look pretty.  I decided my “Swedish”-inspired deviled eggs would be topped with caviar (2 types) and chives.

The best egg boiling instruction I received came from an episode of Ina Garten’s cooking show.  She instructs that you put the eggs in the pot from the start —  add cold water just enough to cover the eggs, and bring to a boil.  Once the water comes to a boil, take the pot off the heat and leave the eggs in the hot water for 15 minutes.  This method of egg boiling keeps the egg yolks from turning a gray color around the edges.  I boiled the eggs the night before, so that they were ready to peel when I got home from work.

Peel the eggs carefully, and cut the eggs in half vertically (long-side).  Gently take out the egg yolks and put them in a bowl.  Finely mince half a small red onion and some chives, and add them to the yolks.  Add a table spoon of Dijon mustard, and about a tablespoon of good olive oil, until the consistency of the yolk mixture is creamy.  Season with salt.  It’s imprtant to taste and adjust the seasoning/flavor as you see fit.

Spoon the yolk mixture into the egg whites.

Top with caviar and sprinkle some chopped chives.  Serve on a platter.  Enjoy!

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Paleo Pumpkin Pie

24 Nov

I can’t bake a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving this year, but I thought I’d share with you my paleo pumpkin pie recipe in honor of Thanksgiving.  I adapted this recipe from a Bobby Flay pumpkin pie recipe, and we love it.  The filling is velvety but the pie itself is very light.  I think it’s a very elegant pie.  Non-paleo friends who don’t normally like pumpkin pies have asked for seconds of this paleo version.

Happy Thanksgiving!

PALEO PUMPKIN PIE (with coconut crust)

Crust:

  • 1 1/2 cups organic coconut flour
  • 6 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly warm
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 2 packets of Stevia

Pumpkin filling:

  • 2 whole eggs
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 10 packets of Stevia (equal to about 1/2 cups sugar) **I tend to decrease sugar content from original recipes as we prefer to keep sweets not too sweet — the original, non-paleo recipe calls for 1/4 cup granualted sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
  • 1 1/2 cups organic pumpkin puree
  • 1 1/2 cups organic coconut cream
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped and reserved

For the crust:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Add all the ingredients for the crust to a food processor and pulse until combined; it should feel like wet sand, and just come together. Spread the mixture evenly into a 9-inch pie pan, using your finger tips or the flat bottom of a glass. Firmly press the mixture over the bottom and sides of the pan. Put the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until the crust is light brown and firm to the touch, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.

For the filling:

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Whisk together the eggs, yolks and Stevia in a large bowl. Add the butter, pumpkin, coconut cream, spices, salt and vanilla seeds and whisk to combine. Strain the mixture into a bowl.

Pour the strained mixture into the baked pie crust and bake until almost set, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove and let come to room temperature. Refrigerate until chilled.

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Thoughts on: Thanksgiving in Stockholm

23 Nov

Being in Stockholm, David and I will miss Thanksgiving this year.  Because we don’t have the day off from rehearsals, it’s also difficult to make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner of our own (i.e. I don’t have any time to roast a whole turkey — truthfully, I doubt our tiny oven couldn’t handle it anyway).  Thanksgiving is one of our favorite (food) holidays, though, and we’d hate to do *nothing* for the occasion.  And so I have come up with a slightly nontraditional and simplified (i.e. manageable with work) Thanksgiving menu, with what I think might be some fitting “Swedish” inspirations/substitutions.

Here’s what it looks like for now:

HORS D’OEUVRES

  • Deviled eggs with chives, topped with caviar
  • Thinly sliced chorizo on sliced cucmbers

VEGETABLES

  • Roasted beets with pistachios and basil
  • Roasted Jerusalem artichokes
  • Mashed potatoes (perhaps with wasabi, if I can find it… or maybe caramelized onions, still mulling this one over)
  • Grilled asparagus

MAIN

  • Roasted mustard-coated salmon (– since I can’t roast a turkey, salmon seems a good substitute, since we are in Sweden after all)
  • Lingonberry (or some other berry) chutney

DESSERT

  • Duo of dark chocolate: flourless cardamom/orange chocolate cake + “pot o’ coco(nut)”

I love making paleo pumpkin pie, but I can’t find any pureed pumpkin here in Stockholm — as I don’t have time to puree pumpkin myself, I am going to opt for a decadent dark chocolate dessert with high percent cocoa chocolate.  As usual, I will photograph the dishes and upload them here.

It will be a cozy little Thanksgiving for us this year, but I’m happy about at least trying to do something memorable with our nontraditional Thanksgiving Day in Stockholm.

Wishing everyone a very happy Thanksgiving!!! x x x x

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Simple Veg: Garlicky Mustard Roasted Brussels Sprouts

22 Nov

Roasted Brussels sprouts are easy to make and also delicious.  I love garlic in most everything, and garlicky Brussels sprouts are awesome!  Recently, I also added some wholegrain mustard, which turned out great.

Here’s how I make my Brussels sprouts:

Preheat the oven to 400 F.

Cut the Brussels sprouts in half, taking off any stem bits that are brown, as well as any shriveled or brown outer leaves.  Thinly slice about 4 garlic cloves.  Mix them in a bowl with olive oil (about a tablespoon), whole grain mustard (about a tablespoon), and a generous amount of salt.

Put the sprouts in a roasting dish, preferably in one layer (a sheet pan would work well, too — but I don’t have one in our apartment in Stockholm).  Roast for 30-35 minutes, until crisp on the outside and tender on the inside.  Be careful not to overcook the sprouts,as they will get mushy — I like to take a fork and test them (if it goes through easily, they’re done).  While roasting, I like to move around the sprouts from time to time to make sure they brown evenly.

Yum!

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Paleo Lamb Meatballs + Garlic Tomato Sauce

20 Nov

When we first arrived in Stockholm, I came across several online discussion forums in which British, American and Canadian expats lamented about the difficulty of finding organic produce in Stockholm.  Quite a few people complained about the quality of meats relative to pricing.  One British person even shared that s/he brings back lamb every time s/he visits the UK, because s/he can’t stand the taste of lamb available in Stockholm!  (I am not sure how this transportation of lamb meat was achieved…)  Initially, these discussions scared and worried me; thankfully, however, I find our grocery-shopping experience in Stockholm to be just fine so far.  I don’t know how much the quality of  produce varies from one neighborhood to another, but we quite love our local Daglivs.  We can find most everything there.  Although we sometimes opt to indulge in fancier meats from the butcher in the Östermalmsaluhall (we LOVE M Seger Eftr. Kött & Ost) or Taylors & Jones, we are happy with our local supermarket, where we can even find Krav (organic) ground lamb.

Back in New York, I never buy ground lamb — in great part because, when I do see ground lamb, I know it’s not grass-fed or organic.  We opt to roast grass-fed lamb shoulders than to buy ground lamb.  When I found Krav ground lamb at our local supermarket, I knew what we’d have for dinner: lamb meatballs.  I make my paleo-version of meatballs a lot at home, but with ground turkey or, occasionally, veal — never lamb.  For my first lamb meatball attempt, I was inclined to also purchase this jar of marinated tomatoes — it seemed it would go well with lamb.

Normally, I put carrots, onions, and mushrooms in my meatballs.  When we got home, I realized I only had 1 carrot in the fridge — but I had a lot of asparagus, so I decided to add them in the meatballs, too.  The result was fantastic!   The asparagus pairs nicely with lamb, and gives it a fresh vegetable crunch.  I will definitely make this again and again while in Stockholm.

PALEO LAMB MEATBALLS

For lamb meatballs:

  • Ground lamb (about 2 lbs.)
  • Asparagus (1 bunch), chopped
  • 2 onions, minced
  • 1 carrot, minced
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 stalks scallions, finely chopped
  • 10 cremini mushrooms (approx.), finely diced
  • 7 slices of marinated tomatoes
  • 3 eggs

For the tomato sauce:

  • About a pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 3 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 can of plain tomato sauce (chunky, no sugar)

Preheat the oven to 375F.

First, to make the meatballs: mince, chop, and dice all the vegetables as indicated above, as well as the marinated tomatoes.  Put them in a large bowl.

Add ground lamb into the bowl.  Mix the lamb and all the vegetables (I use my hands) evenly.  Crack 3 eggs into the bowl (I have David crack them for me, so I don’t have to wash my hands), and mix well.  Season with salt and pepper.

Drizzle some olive oil in a large baking dish.  Roll the lamb/veg mixture into a ball — I make them a little smaller than the size of a tennis ball.  Place them in the baking dish.  Put them in the oven for about 25 minutes.

While the meatballs bake in the oven, you can make the tomato sauce.  Heat a saute pan with some olive oil in it.  When the pan is hot, add the sliced garlic.  Let the garlic sizzle for about a minute or two, and then add the cherry tomatoes.  Bring the heat down to a simmer.

The cherry tomatoes will release a lot of juice.  When the tomatoes have softened, add the can of tomatoes, season with salt and pepper.

After baking for about 25 minutes, the meatballs should be cooked through.  A lot of fat will have rendered out.  Let it rest for about 5 minutes.

When rested, put the meatballs in a bowl and top with the tomato sauce.  Enjoy!

P.S. I served the meatballs with a side of roasted beets, a combination that proved a major hit with David! x

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Good Snacks: Coconut Sweet Potato Mash

19 Nov

During rehearsal periods, when his work is physically demanding, David requires more calories than usual.  For a healthy,  energizing “power snack,” I make him “coconut sweet potato mash” — mashed sweet potatoes made with coconut oil.  It’s easy, tasty, and satisfying, and David loves it.  I make a big batch of it, and he just snacks on it for the next couple of days.  The mash keeps well refrigerated, and David eats it cold.

To make the mash, bring a large pot of water to boil.  Dice up a 4-5 sweet potatoes (peeled); when the water begins to bubble, put the diced sweet potatoes in the pot.

Bring the heat down to about medium, and cook the potatoes until they are tender and a fork will go through easily.  When cooked, strain the potatoes and put them back in the pot.

Add about 3 table spoons of coconut oil to the sweet potatoes.  With a wooden spatula, mash the potatoes and coconut oil together.  Season with some salt.

The sweetness of the sweet potatoes and the coconut oil pair very well together.  For Thanksgiving (Stockholm version for us this year), I am thinking of making this and maybe adding bourbon to it, maybe some cinnamon.  Coconut sweet potato mash makes a great power snack that is paleo-friendly!

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