Ever since turning to a mostly paleo lifestyle, I have found myself constantly learning new ways to cook with common foods, which has forced me to expand my culinary horizons, so-to-speak.

Today’s post is dedicated to a common food that has many, many uses: coconut. A coconut is often classified as a drupe, as well as both a nut and a fruit. It’s a good source of fiber, and it aids in hydration (hence why so many marathons and other races will give out coconut water).

But coconut doesn’t stop at water – coconut is a good substitution for grains, dairy, and even soy sauce. Here are some of its many forms and uses:

1.) In place of flour. Shredded coconut can be used on its own as a substitution or combined with almond meal to create paleo-friendly cupcakes, among other baked goods. Check out this recipe from Elana’s Pantry.

2.) In place of milk. I have used full fat and light coconut milk as a base in soups, such as homemade pumpkin soup, and as a base for homemade curry. Check out this pumpkin soup recipe from Fast Paleo, and this shrimp curry recipe from Tiffany Lee Gaston.

3.) As coffee creamer. Just a smidge of full fat coconut milk (or you could try the light version) can sweeten and lighten coffee and give it a cappuccino-like effect. My boyfriend tried it once and liked it so much, he now prefers it to regular milk and sugar!

4.) As soy sauce or dipping sauce. This discovery is the most exciting to me because it was the most unexpected. I had no idea coconut aminos existed until recently and I had no idea it could be used in place of soy sauce or as a general dipping sauce.

In Los Angeles, coconut aminos are available at Erewhon, a health food store near the Grove, and you can also purchase bottles online. Also, according to the Internet, some Whole Foods carry coconut aminos as well.

5.) Using coconut aminos to replace oyster sauce in a marinade. Start by making your own oyster sauce and replacing soy sauce with coconut aminos. Then add 5 cloves minced garlic, cracked pepper, the juice from four limes and four lemons. Add the whole mixture to a large ziplock bag. Add your chicken or other meat. Let sit over night; then cook. The result should be a tasty sweet and salty marinade.

So, there you have it, the many faces of coconut! What are some of your favorite uses for coconut?

How can you go wrong with a dish wrapped in bacon?  Face it.  You can’t.  This recipe is no exception. This spinach stuffed chicken breast is worth all the raw-meat-hands and greasy cooking dishes.  This recipe, as with others that require the extensive touching of raw meat, is best accomplished as a team effort so that someone can handle the meat and someone can handle the seasoning and filling.  That being said, I was able to accomplish it solo with a fair amount of hand rinsing.

This is a fairly straightforward and simple recipe, excepting the challenge of the raw-meat-hands, but even that is well worth this savory meal.  I came across this recipe over on Love and Primal and it strikes a good balance between Cajun spiciness and the cooling effect of the yogurt. Also you don’t have to marinate the chicken, and yet it still ends up flavorful and juicy!

For some reason I also think it is fun to put my oven all the way up to 500 degrees, using its full power which is one of the options for the last phase of the recipe to crisp up the bacon. I  would recommend rotating the chicken halfway through the broiling process so that the underside of the bacon also gets nice and crispy.

What are you favorite easy chicken recipes?

Since we made our own pumpkin puree a couple weeks ago, I’ve been itching to make another fall treat. Ironically, it was a buzzfeed article mocking the internet’s obsession with mason jars that inspired this recipe. Sorry, buzzfeed. I just couldn’t resist the charm of mini-pumpkin breads inside a mason jar. Who could?

Some of you may know that I typically leave the baking projects to Jennie, as I am not as naturally gifted as she is. So, you can take me at my word that this recipe was a breeze.

I used our homemade pumpkin puree, which was fairly liquid. Canned pumpkin tends to be thicker, so you might need to add a little water or milk to thin out your batter if you go with the canned stuff. It should be thick, but easily pourable.

The breads are done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Be careful, because the jars will be hot!

Let the cool for at least 10 minutes before sprinkling them with powdered sugar or chopped walnuts. You can then seal them up and give them away as gifts! If serving these right away, let them cool even longer so the jars can be handled with bare hands.

Of course, if you’re me, you won’t wait long enough for the jars to cool. I’m not going to say that I held my jar with a potholder and ate the warm bread right out of it, but I’m also not going to promise that I didn’t…

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Yields: 4 breads

Ingredients:

1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
2/3  cup applesauce
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground cardamom
¼ cup chopped walnuts, optional
¼ cup semisweet chocolate chips, optional
1 tbsp powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or spray 4 mason jars.
2. Mix white sugar and applesauce together in a large bowl; stir pumpkin puree and eggs into sugar mixture until smooth. Mix baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cardamom, and cloves into pumpkin mixture. Stir flour into pumpkin mixture until fully incorporated. Fold in walnuts and chocolate chips, if desired.
3. Fill mason jars (I used pint sized ones) about halfway and place jars on baking sheet.
4. Bake for about 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let jars cool and top with powdered sugar for serving.

Corelyn and I headed to the Farmer’s Market to get some final summer bounty, and we were not disappointed. Along with the most beautiful tomatoes you’ve ever seen, there were the last of the stone fruits, peanuts purple okra, beautiful lettuce, pepper trees, and a newer area called Spice Alley that was filled with delicious salts, cumin, curries, and any other spice you could imagine.

We were accompanied by Corelyn’s mother, which meant we took our time, stopped to touch, smell, see, and taste more than our normal frantic days at the farmer’s market, a place that’s become another checkmark on our list rather than being a Sunday morning experience. It was a good reminder of how lucky we are to live in SoCal, and just how wonderful the produce world is here. We hope you enjoy looking at the food as much as we did! 

Happy Autumn, everyone! Here’s to a wonderful harvest season.

We went to the Italian Feast last weekend, and there was no baked ziti anywhere to be found. This made us sad, and so I agreed to make it for Sunday dinner this past weekend! Of course, Trader Joe’s didn’t have ziti, and Jeff thought it’d be delicious if we tried vodka sauce, and so, that’s what we did.

This came together in about ten minutes, and then baked for about twenty, so I’m including it in our 30 in 30, because I think it’s a great dinner option that’ll last a few days and is vegetarian friendly.

Oven Temperature: 375
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

1 jar red sauce (I recommend Newman’s Own Marinara, or make your own)
1 cup vodka
1 cup heavy cream
1 pound penne
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, fresh preferred
16 ounces ricotta cheese
2-3 ounces parmesan cheese
1 egg
1 bunch basil, chopped
oregano
parsley
s/p

Directions:

1. Heat sauce over medium heat. Add vodka and allow to burn off.
2. Meanwhile, heat water for pasta, and cook al dente.
3. Heat oven to 375. Add cup of cream to sauce, and let simmer.
4. Mix ricotta and your egg in a bowl. Add salt, pepper, dried oregano, parsley, and half of your fresh basil.
5. Add your pasta to your ricotta mixture and mix well. Pour half of it into a 9 by 13 dish.
6. Top with half of your mozzarella cheese, and then add a third of the sauce. Layer on the remaining pasta, then mozzarella, and then a third of sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan and baked 20 minutes until cheese is melted and pasta is bubbling.
7. Top with remaining basil, and serve warm. Put out sauce to top pasta, if desired.

Voila, dinner is ready! Now you also have lunch for a few days, too, unless you have a crowd over for dinner!