little dollop

Welcome

Welcome to my little food blog. It's not for everybody, but could be just right for you. If you fit one of these categories, you might find this blog useful:

• Doing the Body Ecology Diet, GAPS Diet, or Paleo Diet 
• Interested in making their own cultured and fermented foods
• Avoiding grains, dairy and/or sugar
• My friends, since we all share recipes

Feel free to leave a comment -- I'd love to hear from you!

Blueberry Scones

I find that there is a huge lack of breakfast foods in the grain-free world, so when I stumbled upon this recipe, I got pretty excited. 

Ingredients

• 3 cups blanched almond flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 cup ground chia seeds (optional for texture)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup frozen blueberries (raspberries and raisins are also tasty)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Lay parchment paper over a large cookie sheet or baking tray.
3. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. 
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. 
5. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until thoroughly combined, then fold in the blueberries. 
6. Spoon the batter into "blobs" on your cookie sheet. They don't rise or grow much in the oven, so you can size your blobs accordingly. I like them about 2-3 inches wide and kind of flat. 
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the scones cool on the tray for 30 minutes (or eat immediately and burn your mouth like I like to do). 
8. Don't forget to slather them with butter!

 

Mashed Faux-tatoes

I'll be honest...I missed mashed potatoes...until I made this! I served it for Thanksgiving dinner this year and fooled even some of the pickiest eaters! (This makes about 4-6 small servings, so feel free to double the recipe if needed.)

Ingredients

• 1 head of cauliflower (about 4 cups)
• 4 tbsp butter or coconut oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• chives, chopped for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. Chop the cauliflower into roughly 2-3 inch pieces.
2. Steam the cauliflower until it is fork-tender, and place it in a food processor. 
3. Add the butter/oil, salt, and pepper. 
4. Puree until smooth and creamy. 

*This recipe is taken from Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo.

Grain-Free Pie Crust

This is the perfect basic grain-free recipe to complement nearly any pie. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 cup melted butter or coconut oil
• 2 tbsp Lakanto or honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 
2. In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. 
4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined. 
5. Press the resulting dough into a 9 1/2 inch pie dish. 
6. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown.
7. Remove from theh oven and let cool completely before filling. 

*This recipe is largely based on the Pie Crust from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook by Elana Amsterdam. 

Butternut Squash Pie

I first made this recipe as a pumpkin pie (which is equally delicious), but I thought it would be fun to mix things up a bit and make a butternut squash pie. Everyone who's tried it has loved it and doesn't seem to notice the fact that it's grain-free, dairy-free and sugar-free. Yay!

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Lakanto (or honey)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg or allspice
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cups cooked and pureed butternut squash 
• (Or you can use a 15 oz can of pumpkin puree)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 425 F. 
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl.
3. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. 
4. Beat in the dry ingredients, pumpkin and vanilla until smooth.
5. Fold in the coconut milk. 
6. Pour the filling into a grain-free pie crust and bake for 15 minutes.
7. Reduce the temperature to 350 F and continue to bake for 50 - 60 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean. It may be a bit wobbly stil, but it will firm up as it cools. 
8. Allow the pie to cool for 2 hours. It's important to be patient! Serve or refridgerate until ready to serve. 

Sauteed Celery and Onions

I'll sometimes create a recipe simply because I have a vegetable lying around that just isn't getting eaten. In this case, it was a head of celery. Hmmm, what can I do with celery...

Ingredients

• 1-2 tablespoon of ghee, butter or oil
• 3-4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
• 1 head of celery, sliced diagonally
• 1 large red onion, sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup scallions, sliced thinly (optional)
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• Salt, black pepper, and chili flakes to taste

Directions

1. Put ghee/oil in a large pan and warm. 
2. Add garlic slices and cook until they are golden brown. Don't let them burn, otherwise, they don't taste good.
3. Add onion and scallions. Saute until they start to turn soft. 
4. Add celery and saute to desired tenderness. I like it with a little bit of "snap" still in it.
5. Add almonds, and then add salt, black pepper, and chili flakes to taste. The chili flakes can get spicy fast, so don't add too much. 
6. Toss it around in the pan for about another minute and then serve.