Valentines Day Recipe Ideas

Valentines Day is sneaking up on me, I had intended to do this post earlier but just didn't get to it until now.  Here are some fun ideas, some I've found on Pinterest, some are favorites or ours, and some just looked fun.  We will be making Chocolate Sun-Butter Cups in a heart shaped mold, along with some other truffle filled dark chocolate candies, we might also do some Chocolate Dipped Strawberries and for sure some Bacon Wrapped Dates, we all LOVE those.  Happy Valentines Day!

Here are some great breakfast ideas:

You could make these into heart shapes using a metal cookie cutter, and top with syrup, whipped coconut cream and strawberries.

Or these yummy Strawberry Paleo Crepes.

Paleo Custard Sauce (shown with blueberry sauce).

Paleo and GF Carrot Cake Waffles with Maple Spread

Fun Ideas:

http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/2011/01/valentines-day-i-wheelie-like-you/

I thought this was a fun alternative to candy, little boys can make and give these little cars, the top link has the free printable:

http://abrittwithoutboys.blogspot.com/2011/02/class-valentines-2011.html

Grain Free Garlic and Herb Crackers 
(made with almond meal)

 

Cute Idea from Primally Inspired

 Fruity Valentines Idea From: 
Hatter and Hare Event Blog

From Twig and Thistle on Etsy,
 you can order these labels, very creative.

Dessert Ideas:

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Devine Dark Chocolate and Strawberry Cake

Non Dairy Strawberry Ice Cream

We will be making these in a heart mold,
 Sun-butter Dessert Chocolates

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

Paleo Sugar cookies from Against All Grain

Double Chocolate Cupcakes from Urban Poser

Raw Cashew Dream Cheesecake (non-dairy and GF), Recipe from: My Roots, Photo from: Paleoliscious

My favorite Paleo Brownies from Elena's Pantry, I reduce the honey to 1 cup, and maybe use a heart cookie cutter to make them more special.

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Chocolate Pecan/Almond Nut Butter

I posted some pictures of this the other day on Facebook, and promised to get a recipe posted.  So... here it is!  I will preface this post by saying this, please do not expect this to taste like Nutella, funny thing is I really don't even know what Nutella tastes like!  I know funny, huh?  I've just never really eaten it, but this stuff is addicting and we LOVE it, I hope you will too!  And it's very simple to make and I have to confess, we have been eating it by the spoonful mostly (it's that good).

Still warm and fresh from the food processor.

Chocolate Pecan/Almond Butter

1 cup raw almonds
1 cup unroasted pecans
2 TBSP cocoa powder
1 TBSP honey (this can be adjusted up or down to your liking)
1 TBSP Extra Virgin Coconut oil (use a good one so you get that nice coconut flavor coming through)
2 tsp. real vanilla extract
Splash of almond extract (if desired, we really like it this way)
small pinch of sea salt if desired
pinch of ground cayenne pepper

Turn your oven on to 375 and allow to preheat.  Place almonds in a jelly roll pan and roast in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until nicely roasted.  You could roast your pecans also, but I didn't.  Remove the almonds from the oven and let cool just a few minutes, then add them to a food processor along with the other ingredients.  Let it run, stirring if necessary (a couple of times), until it is your desired consistency, it should look and sound runny, it'll thicken up a bit in the fridge.  That's it, really simple and easy.

This is the food processor I'm using if you're interested (Costco also sells it I believe):
Cuisinart 11-cup Food Processor

For the Roasted Almond Butter, here is the link to an earlier post on how to make your own nut butters, it's really fun to experiment with all the different nuts and seeds.http://budgetpaleo.blogspot.com/2012/06/how-to-make-your-own-almond-meal-and.html


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Divine Dark Chocolate and Strawberry Cake (Grain Free and Paleo Friendly)

My youngest had his 3rd birthday last weekend and to celebrate I made him this beautiful and tasty Paleo/ Grain Free cake!  The actually dark chocolate cake recipe is not mine so I will include a link to it along with the changes I made, we really enjoyed it and hope you do to!

DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE:  I used this recipe from The Food Lovers Kitchen, the only modifications that I made where the following;  I reduced the honey to 3/4 cup (we have a wonderful mild local honey) and added in 1/4 cup of coffee liquor (which is a simple sugar syrup with coffee and vodka essentially).

 Strawberry Syrup Filling: I made a "syrup" of 4 cups chopped strawberries and 1/2 cup raw honey.  I pureed them in the blender and then poured it into a saucepan.  Brought it to a boil, reduced the heat and simmered until it was my desired consistency. You will have extra you can use on pancakes or ice cream if you like.  I then set it aside and let it cool a bit while I made the Ganache.

Ganache: 12 ounces dark chocolate broken into pieces 

( I used 85% dark Lindt Chocolate)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1 TBSP coffee liquor (optional)

splash of vanilla (optional)

Break chocolate into a medium glass bowl.  Pour the whipping cream and coffee liquor into a small saucepan and bring to a boil stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate pieces stirring until melted and glossy.  Cool for a glaze or if you would like to use it more like a frosting or for piping, chill it in the fridge until desired consistency.  Pour over the cake or spread to frost and you are ready to go!

Whipped Cream Filling: You may use whipped coconut milk cream for the filling or real dairy whipped cream ( I used dairy whipped cream).  Here are a few resources for Whipped coconut milk/cream recipes if you don't have one of your own.  You may choose to sweeten it slightly with honey or maple syrup or leave it plain, it's entirely up to you and what you prefer.

http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2011/09/how-to-make-whipped-coconut-cream-from.html

http://www.healthylivinghowto.com/1/post/2012/03/being-dairy-free-part-two.html

Additional Thinly Sliced Strawberries:  I sliced up some strawberries to use in the filling, the amount will vary depending on your preference.

ASSEMBLY: First bake your cake and let it cool completely.  Then make the Strawberry Syrup and set it aside to let it cool. Make the Ganache and set it aside to cool also.  While they are both cooling make some stiff whipped cream and slice up some fresh organic strawberries.  Then using a cake leveler divide each cake round into two cakes, you will go from 2 to 4 cake layers. 

Small Wilton Cake Leveler I used.

Place your first cake layer on the plate and top with some whipped cream, then top with some fresh strawberries and finish that off with some strawberry syrup.  Then place another cake layer on and repeated the steps until you get to the 4th cake layer.  Pour the ganache over the cake or spread to frost and finish it off by decorating it with some fresh  strawberries (if desired).

We enjoyed this with homemade Non-dairy Strawberry Ice Cream topped with some leftover strawberry syrup.  It taste amazing, it looks rich but it's not it's nice and light and not to sweet.  The guys in my family enjoyed more than one piece because it wasn't super sweet, and they also gave it a hearty thumbs up.  Hope you enjoy it too!

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Flourless Chocolate Torte for Special Occasions Grain Free and Paleo friendly

I'm going to preface this by saying that this is only for special occasions and is most certainly a real treat.   One I think you will find those who are not Paleo enjoy too.  I made this for a very special dinner we had last night with dinner guests who are not Paleo, and they LOVED it, even called it restaurant quality, so I think it must be pretty good!  I know it's been a favorite of mine for about a year, especially when I have an event or gathering of people with varied diets.  It is a remake of a recipe from here:
http://masteringtheartofpaleocooking.com/2011/01/25/flourless-chocolate-cake/, please follow the link if you are interested in the original recipe.  I have reduced the maple syrup, changed the coconut oil to butter (better texture and I'm allergic to coconut), added some vanilla and dash of cayenne and the end product is crazy good and super quick and easy to make!

Grain Free/Paleo Flourless Chocolate Torte

18 ounces of bittersweet or dark chocolate chips (I used 1-10 ounce bag of Ghirardelli bitterest chocolate chips and 1 full cup of Guitards dark chocolate chips each contain just 6 grams of sugar per serving)

1 cup of butter (or 2 sticks)

2/3 cup pure maple syrup

2 TBSP water

6 eggs

1/2-3/4 tsp real vanilla extract 

large pinch of cayenne pepper

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees.  In a double boiler melt the chocolate and butter.  Remove from heat and beat into the chocolate mixture the water and maple syrup.  Then adding the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add in the vanilla and cayenne pepper and mix well.   Grease a 9" spring form pan, wrap the bottom of the pan with a sheet of foil and place the springform pan in a larger pan (square or rectangle, I use my roasting pan).  Pour the cake batter into the springform pan and then pour water into just the roasting pan, being sure not to spill into the cake.  You are going to cook the cake in a water bath so you want the water to go about 1/2 way up the side of the cake pan.  Put in the oven and bake for 1 hour or until done in the middle (my oven usually takes a bit longer than that suggested time), cool to room temperature or about 1 hour and then chill for a minimum of about 5 hours.  Serve with whipped cream, whipped coconut cream or some homemade vanilla ice cream and raspberries for a real treat!

Plated and ready to enjoy!

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Chocolate SunButter Cups

I also made these real quick today for a Christmas Treat...these are quicker and easier than baking cookies.  Dark Chocolate and Sunbutter...mmmm...yummy!

Chocolate Sunbutter Cups

3 pkgs of Lindt 70% dark chocolate (3.5 oz each) or dark chocolate of your choice

1 TBSP Coconut oil

1/4 cup sunflower seed butter (unsweetened)

1/2 TSBP raw honey (optional)

Melt your raw honey and stir into the sunflower seed butter and set aside.  Then in a double boiler, melt your chocolate and coconut oil.  Then remove from heat and line a mini muffin pan with mini muffin liners (foil works best).  Then pour your melted chocolate into a large ziploc bag and cut of the tiniest amount of the corner.  Using your bag, fill each of the cups about 1/4-1/3 full.  Once they are all partially filled, set aside and let it firm up a bit.  After the chocolate is mostly firm, place a small amount of the Sunbutter in each cup (I didn't measure but about 1/2 tsp I would guess).  Then take your bag of melted chocolate and fill the cups the rest of the way, set aside and let the chocolate harden.  And then you have some beautiful and delicious treats!

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Guest Recipes from Susan!

Happy Birthday Susan!!

Susan, has emailed me a couple of her favorite recipes and I have been saving them for today!  

I thought her Birthday would be the perfect day to share them with you all!

Susan's Heirloom Tomato Salad

Another quick yum yummy recipe. 

My own.. sorta made it up because I LOVE heirloom tomatoes.

3-4 heirloom tomatoes ( try for 4 different colors too)
Half red onion
fresh basil leaves ( small hand full)
olive oil
sea salt ( the really course pink seas salt is wonderful , Co-Op bulk section little goes a long way super nutritious too)
very course ground black or multi colored pepper corns ( I have a mill)
then you can go one of two ways.. you can use a dash of Cabernet, or balsamic vinegar...
optional - feta.. I use just a dash of feta it just adds the right amount of flavor variety to it all.

Slice tomatoes 1/4 inch thick.. lay in a pie place or flat pan.. , slice red onion in very thin rounds , tear basil in med sized pieces, arrange over tomato slices. drizzle with olive oil liberally, top with salt, pepper, and balsamic/wine.. and of course feta if you want. I sort of toss it all after I have it put together, then straighten it out to make it look pretty, and allow it to sit out while you make rest of your dinner.. it is very delicious. 

Note * I didn't have heirloom tomatoes, but had  a bunch of homegrown tomatoes, so I used those for the pictures, I also did not have the coarse ground pepper, but I think you all get the idea :-)

Her second recipe is for a making a mocha, you can use either decaf or regular, depending on your preference.  The first recipe is Susan's and the second is my adapted version of her idea.

Susan's Mocha Yuminess!

So for the Mocha Java people out there. I took a whole can of coconut milk, added 2 heaping tbsp of raw unsweetened cocoa powder and 2 packets of Stevia and blended it. Then poured into a jar and put it in the fridge .. basically chocolate mousse right? Well, instead of eating it like a desert, I make my decaf coffee in the morning in my french press then stir in a heaping spoonful of my chocolate mousse. instant mocha. It's like a rich dark chocolate Mocha add as little or much as you need. 

Chocolate mouse ready to put in your coffee.

 So...my variation on it is this, I melted 1 whole Lindt dark chocolate bar with coconut milk, combined it well, then chilled into mouse and added by the spoonful to  coffee.  Same idea just without the Stevia.  Or maybe substitute a little maple syrup for the stevia in her recipe.
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Chocolate Coconut Milk Ice Cream

This recipe is for one of those special occasions or your Friday night treat, it's taken from The Food Lovers Primal Palate.  I did make some adaptations, as I find most of their recipes to be to sweet..  

Here is the link to their original recipe: http://www.primal-palate.com/2010/12/chocolate-almond-butter-ice-cream.html  

 We made little sundaes topped with bananas and melted chocolate chips. 

Here are the substitutions I made, I used 2 cans of full fat coconut milk, 1/2 cup maple syrup (instead of 3/4 cup), 2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 cup creamy unsalted, Maranatha almond butter (since we don't have a Treader Joes).  The thing I love about this recipe is that the ingredients are all things I have in my pantry, and are fairly inexpensive.  The other Chocolate Ice Cream recipe I was using called for two whole dark chocolate bars, which can get a little spendy.  But best of all is this Ice Cream taste GREAT!!!  Definitely some awesome ice cream!  I was even able to freeze the extra and just let it sit out for a few minutes to soften and then scoop.  Yum!

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A summer treat for those warm days...or just for fun!

We made these a few weeks ago when we were having consecutive sunny days here (been cloudy or raining for a while now).  They are quick easy and so delicious.

Chocolate Dipped Frozen Bananas

Bananas

Dark chocolate of choice for dipping

a little coconut oil

toothpicks

Nuts or shredded coconut for rolling them in

This really isn't a recipe but more a suggestion.  Place a small amount of chocolate chips or chocolate bar broken into chunks along with some coconut oil in a small bowl and microwave for about 30-45 seconds depending on your microwave.  I used about 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips and 1/2 TBSP of coconut oil, you can just eyeball it.  Stir your chocolate mixture and if needed microwave for a bit longer, until it's all melted.  Peel and slice your bananas into chunks, place  toothpick in one end, dip in chocolate and roll in desired condiment.  Place on wax paper, or I use silicone mats, just something that it won't stick to and that you can peel off.  Place in the freezer and freeze for a couple of hours depending on how frozen you want them.  I left some in the freezer for a few days and then just let them warm on the counter for a bit before eating them. 

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Chocolate Dessert Revisited

Today I made a big batch of "pudding"  for the kids, I combined 6 mashed bananas, a couple huge spoonfuls of almonds butter (the more the better!), some vanilla and lot's of cocoa powder in my food processor.  Processed till nice and smooth and then microwaved for a couple of minutes stirring often, don't skip this step it's what gives it that  pudding consistency.  The kids love it, I made a huge batch so they can pack it in their lunches tomorrow, it's really good with a sprinkle of shredded coconut too!

Link to : Chocolate Dessert

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Chocolate Dessert

 CHOCOLATE DESSERT

1 very large, overripe, banana 

(mine are huge, so if yours are small use 1 1/2 or 2)

2-3 TBSP Creamy Almond Butter 

1 1/2-2 TBSP cocoa powder (to taste)

1/8 tsp vanilla (optional) 

Peel Banana and mash up real good in a cereal size bowl, add the almond butter and cocoa, mashing and stirring well.  Then put in the microwave for 30 seconds on high, maybe longer depending on your microwave.  Remove and stir in the vanilla.

I just eat it like that but for a smoother texture throw it in the blender and puree.

This is so yummy and hit my chocolate craving on the dot!

By the way, like anything, eat this within reason, don't eat this every night or 3 times a day.  It's a once in a while treat!  

With that said ENJOY! 

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