Paleo Mini - Pancakes

Since I went on a Paleo diet I've been trying different recipes for baked goods. I experimented with flowers to find the perfect combination for grain-free pancakes which my kids actually will eat. I made some with sweet potatoes but they didn't like them . So  finally this one worked and is suitable for high altitude. 

I call this recipe Mini Pancakes because my kids want me to make them tiny. But you can make them any size you like. 

You will need a non-stick skillet or a non-stick smooth griddle. I used some homemade ghee but you can use any type of oil you prefer. 

As a reminder I cook only with organic ingredients 

So , here is the recipe 

Ingredients

3 large eggs 

2 cups of water 

1 cup almond flower

1/2 cup &2 Tbsp. coconut flower 

1/2 cup tapioca starch 

1 Tsp. aluminum free baking powder 

1 Tbsp. raw honey 

1 Tsp. sea salt. 

1 Tsp. vanilla extract 

some ghee or coconut oil

Combine in a bowl all dry ingredients : almond flower, coconut flower , tapioca starch, baking powder and see salt. Mix thoroughly. In a different bowl beat eggs with water, honey and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and stir until homogeneous. The thickness should be the same as when you make pancakes with a regular flower. 

Preheat a griddle or a non-stick skillet , add some ghee or coconut oil and poor the desired amount to form a pancake. After a couple of minutes flip over and fry until done. 

Serve either with maple syrup or jelly . I like coconut syrup because it's low- glycemic. It's all up to you!

Paleo Smoked Salmon Spread /Dip

Being on a paleo diet could be not so easy. The biggest challenge for me is giving up dairy , in particular :cheese . I've seen before different seafood dips , available at the grocery store but most of them are not very fresh, contain a lot of preservatives, wheat or starch . So I decided that I can make my own paleo spread.
I only buy Spence & CO., LTD Smoked wild sockeye salmon. Most of the smoked fish contain sugar ( I suspect to enhance flavor and as a preservative ) and nitrates. Spence & CO., LTD  brand other than the fish has 2 more ingredients : salt and hardwood smoke.
You will also need a Paleo legal mayonnaise . It s simple and fast to prepare and great on paleo bread or use as a dip with veggies .


Ingredients :

4 oz smoked wild caught sockeye salmon (approx. 2/3 cups)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. coconut cream ( the part that's on top of a can when you open a coconut milk)
1 Tsp. wild capers
5-6 green pitted olives
1/3 cup copped onions
very little lemon juice
pepper to taste.


Chop up salmon and put in  a blender or a food processor . Add mayonnaise, coconut cream and lemon juice . Blend for 1 min or until it becomes a smooth paste. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend for another 2 min or until smooth . Move to a clean jar and refrigerate for an hour before serving. It yields 1 cup approx.

Aspen's Pecan Dip

A year ago a lady from my MOPS group brought this dip . In my opinion it's paleo legal but not AIP since it contains nightshade vegetable . Since I can't tolerate dairy so: no cheese, no yoghurt or cheesy spreads I thought that this dip can be used as a spread as well. I somehow lost the recipe so I had to improvise with what I remember but at the end turned out almost as good as hers.






Ingredients :

1 cup pecans
4 red roasted and peeled red peppers
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove
1-2 Tsp lemon juice
Sea salt to taste .


Soak pecans in water overnight . On the next day drain and rinse . Put in a blender and puree with olive oil  until smooth. Add peppers, garlic, lemon juice and salt and blend until it becomes a very smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for an hour or so. It can be served with veggies as deep or use as a spread .

Paleo Bread

I decided to go on a Paleo diet since I am facing some health challenges. So far so good  but I certainly like to have a BLT for example and here is the trick...How do you substitute the bread?1 I've been gluten- free for quite a long time and making gluten-free bread is not anymore such  big deal. But how do you make grain-free bread?! Of course there is a Paleo bread available at the health food store but honestly, it did not win me. So I started to search for recipes , experimenting etc. This is by far the best recipe in my opinion for a Paleo bread. The recipe is by Rebecca Bohl fom Paleo Grubs .
What I loved mostly was the simplicity of it and the no -need of doing any changes to adapt it to the high altitude in Colorado.


Ingredients :

3/4 cup almond butter
5 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup ground flaxseed meal
3 tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. In a large bowl, blend the almond butter, eggs, coconut oil, honey, and apple cider vinegar together with a hand blender.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flaxseed meal, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Pour the dough into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes until browned and completely set. Remove from the oven and allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for one week.
You can also freeze it. 

German Potato Salad

When I went to college in Germany I was working part-time at a nursing home . I met some very nice old folks there . One day a lady and I started to talk about cooking and she shared with me her potato salad recipe. I wish I remembered her name but I don't. She was from Kiel, the capital of the state of Schleswig-Holstein.  
Some of you may say it's not authentic anymore since I slightly changed a few things but I don't think they are significant. The changes are: I don't put the egg-whites because I dislike them, but if you don't mind them you can add them to the salad. I also don't use canned Dill Pickles, I prefer fermented dill pickles and their juice which I make myself and it's rich in probiotics.  I make my mayonnaise too which slightly differs from the store-bought. I put a can of anchovies which is approx. 2 oz but you can add more. Other than that I didn't change anything and I still consider it to be an authentic German potato salad. 

Ingredients :

3 medium russet potatoes 
3 eggs
1 celery stalk
1/4 cup dill/fermented  pickles, chopped finely  
1/4 cup leeks chopped finely
1/2 onion chopped finely
2 oz flat anchovies
1 cup mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 
1-2 Tbsp. parsley chopped finely
Some pickle juice 
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Peel and cut potatoes in small cubes and either boil or steam. Boil eggs. When they are done, remove yolks and here you can either chop up the whites and put them in the salad or opt out. You will need the yolks later for the dressing. Cut celery and anchovies into small pieces.  In a bowl combine steamed/boiled potatoes with celery, pickles, leeks, onions and anchovies and mix well. 
In a separate bowl mash egg yolks. Add mustard and approx. 1/4 cup of  pickle juice. Mix well and pour over salad. Add mayonnaise, parsley and black pepper. Stir well. Add more pickle juice if necessary.  Refrigerate for an hour before serving.
 


   

Liutenitsa - Bulgarian traditional vegetable spread (vegan)

I wasn't going to post this recipe here because it's a specialty for one particular country. A few people asked me to post it in this blog though, and who knows, maybe one of you will find it interesting . It is a vegetable spread very common in Bulgaria. It is served for breakfast on a slice of bread and if desired it can be sprinkled with some crumbled feta cheese. It is also used as a condiment for Bulgarian meatballs. I ate it with crackers too and it tasted great.
Here in Denver we have a store for Bulgarian specialties and I can get me a jar of Liutenitsa. All brands use mostly tomatoes and wheat flower or modified corn starch as a thickener though, not to mention the preservatives . Besides, the original recipe is pepper based not tomato based and I just love this chunky consistency.
Bulgarians use  Sunflower oil in general, but I made it with Olive oil and I didn't detect any difference in the flavor, so you can choose whichever oil you like.
I went to the farmer's market to buy pickles for canning but I saw these long red peppers which were called ancient red bell peppers. I thought I could give it a try and see if they would work for Liutenitsa. And surprise !!! It worked.
This spread can be canned. Thats what Bulgarians actually do. To can, just fill jars with Liutenitsa. Tighten the lid and boil the jars for 15 min. Start the timer after there is an active rolling of the water . For high altitude you need to increase the time by 10 min because water starts to boil at a lower temperature.

Ingredients :

6 lbs (3 kg) red ancient bell peppers
2 lbs (1kg ) tomatoes
2 lbs (1 kg) carrots
1 cup Olive oil
2 Tsp. Ground all spice
2 Tsp. Garlic powder
Sea salt to taste


Roast peppers. Peel skin and remove stems and seeds. Chop up finely in such a way that it looks almost like a puree. Set aside . Boil carrots until soft like for mashed carrots. While boiling carrots in a bowl, grate tomatoes. Set aside. When carrots are done, mash them with a potato masher.
In a big pot combine oil with peppers, tomato puree and mashed carrots. Start to cook on medium and later change to low heat. Stir every 5 minutes until liquid evaporates and the constancy is paste like . Add seasoning .  

Injera I

I recently discovered this awesome Ethiopian grain called Teff. Teff comes in two varieties: ivory and dark. The dark teff is better if you like this hearty taste. Teff is gluten free and is great for gluten free baking of any kind. 
Injera is an Ethiopian flat bread made out of sour dough with a slightly spongy texture. In Ethiopia , Injera is served with stews and salads. Small pieces of Injera are torn and used to grasp the stew and salads for eating.
The recipe I will share is for the instant version and courtesy of Vegan Richa. I am working on the sour dough version and when done, I'll post a second recipe.  The authentic bread is made with naturally fermented dough and the fermentation process takes several days. Though sometimes we don't think of this stuff and that's why here we have a recipe which would allows us to prepare this great flat bread whenever we want to.
I really like to combine Injera with my Grabanzo-Lentil soup. The only thing I change about the soup is, I make it thicker more like stew . I also like my salads and veggie wraps with Injera.  It's great for any kind of spicy food and I can't wait to try it with my Tacos.


Ingredients:

1 cup teff flour
1 1/2 cup warm water
2 Tsp. organic yeast
2 Tsp.organic raw sugar
1 Tsp. sea salt
1/2 Tsp. baking powder

Whisk  teff flour with 1 cup of water , yeast and sugar. Cover and let sit for 45 min to an hour . Add 1/2 cup water , salt and baking powder. Whisk and start making the Injera.
In a non-stick skillet put some coconut oil and heat on medium-high. Pour some of the batter. Notice it should be a little more than what you put for crepes but less than what you use for pancakes . In other words it should be like a thick crepe.
Once spread wait for bubbles to appear and cover with lid to steam the injera. Steam for about a minute. Remove lid and keep cooking until the center is set and not wet. Remove and let cool . The flavor and texture show off best when served cold .