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Pressure Cooker Ropa Vieja (Slow Cooker, too!)

December 12, 2016 By Becky 91 Comments

Pressure cooker ropa vieja is a time-saving Instant Pot version of the traditional Cuban beef dish, and is naturally gluten and dairy free. There’s also a slow cooker version! This post is sponsored by Pomí.

Have you tried ropa vieja? Don’t worry about the fact that the name is Spanish for “old clothes”–this is supremely delicious comfort food, with nothing old or ragged about it. To make this pressure cooker ropa vieja, beef is quickly seared, then cooked until tender in an addictive sauce made with Pomí tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, garlic, smoked paprika, and other spices.

Next, capers, raisins, and pimiento peppers are added for pops of color, sweetness, and tart, briny flavor. The result is a dish so soothing and satisfying that Ben and I aren’t even close to being tired of it, despite having eaten three giant batches over the past two weeks.

No pressure cooker? Don’t fret (but I do highly recommend the Instant Pot*<–this and all others marked with * are affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases). This ropa vieja is just as delicious made in a slow cooker*. I was surprised to find the two versions indistinguishable in taste and texture, so it’s really just a question of how much time you have and which appliance you want to use.

I used Pomí Organic Strained Tomatoes* for this recipe. They’re similar to crushed tomatoes and provide all the great umami-packed flavor of fresh tomatoes grown in the Italian sunshine. (By the way, I also tested this recipe with Pomí’s chopped tomatoes and they worked great, too!) I love that they’re organic and non-GMO certified.

Pomegranate Roasted Jerk Chicken

December 7, 2016 By Becky 29 Comments

This paleo pomegranate roasted jerk chicken is ideal for those who want a festive holiday main with a bit of a kick. Served with baby potatoes, it’s a complete, one-pot meal. This post is sponsored by Frontier Co-op.

I especially enjoy spicy foods in the winter–I’ll take all the warmth I can get when it’s cold outside. This pomegranate roast chicken is perfect for warming up both your kitchen as it roasts and you when you eat it. If you’re spice-averse, though, don’t worry. You can customize the heat level by adding fewer habanero peppers.

The peppers aren’t the only thing bringing heat to this chicken. Spices like cinnamon, allspice, and smoked paprika also have a warming effect. Peppers and spices are combined with a hint of tart sweetness from pomegranate juice, grassy freshness from the scallions, and the savory fragrance of fresh thyme. All of those flavors come together to create a perfect Jamaican jerk paste that’s equally delicious on chicken and potatoes. Roasting the chicken at high heat for the first few minutes and then reducing the heat for the remainder of the cooking time ensures crispy skin and juicy meat.

I created this recipe in partnership with Frontier Co-op, my favorite source for spices and seasonings. Frontier is encouraging everyone to #CookWithPurpose this holiday season and all year long. I care a lot about where my food comes from and how it’s grown, which is why I get most of my produce and meat from local farms that use sustainable practices. It’s important to me to think just as carefully about where our ingredients come from as we do about which delicious dishes to cook up for our families. With spices, though, it can be trickier to know what goes on to get these essential flavorings from farm to table. It’s impossible for me to source things like cinnamon and allspice locally, so I love being able to turn to Frontier Co-op to be assured that I’m getting spices that were grown sustainably and sourced with fair trade practices.

Grain-free Spiced Chocolate Torte

November 30, 2016 By Becky 40 Comments

This grain-free spiced chocolate torte is a great to end a festive dinner. It will satisfy any chocolate lover, but also has a delectable hint of spice.

Thanksgiving is over, and I’m planning to top everything with pomegranate arils from now until the end of the year. This grain-free spiced chocolate torte, of course, is no exception.

I love using warming spices like cinnamon and cardamom to make desserts smell and taste extra festive during the holiday season. However, I’m also a huge lover of chocolate. I didn’t want to choose between my love of chocolate and my love of a little seasonal spice, so I decided to combine the two into a spiced chocolate torte.

This torte has a perfect texture and crumb thanks to a combination of almond flour and tapioca flour from Bob’s Red Mill. Those two flours are my go-to for grain-free baking year round. The almond flour, which is made of whole, blanched sweet almonds, provides the tenderness and richness that every torte needs. And since Bob’s Red Mill almond flour is super finely ground, there’s no need to sift it before using! As an extra bonus, almonds are packed with healthy monounsaturated fats and protein, but are low in carbohydrates (and are naturally gluten free).

Baked Pumpkin Custards with Maple Mascarpone Whipped Cream

October 1, 2016 By Becky 28 Comments

This post is sponsored by Cost Plus World Market.

These gluten-free baked pumpkin custards with maple mascarpone take just ten minutes to prepare, and are the perfect way to end a fall dinner.

Fall is finally here, and it’s no longer taboo to eat pumpkin spice everything! The first thing I like to whip up when the weather turns is these baked pumpkin custards with maple mascarpone whipped cream. The pumpkin custards are scrumptious, perfectly spiced, and super smooth—like pumpkin pie without the tedious process of making a crust. And the maple mascarpone whipped cream is rich and lightly sweetened, with just enough maple flavor in each bite to remind you that you’re eating something autumnal.

These custards are perfect for Halloween, Thanksgiving, or any special fall occasion, especially when baked in these adorable ceramic pumpkin bakers. To make this treat extra fun, I like to pick up a few different toppings to add even more texture and flavor and let each person mix and match to their heart’s content. Here I used crumbled gluten-free gingersnap cookies (leave them out if you’re avoiding rice flour), crystallized ginger chips, and pumpkin pie almonds, but any seasonal candy or cookie is a great bet. Shaved dark chocolate or chopped pecans would be delicious, too!

Maple Balsamic Chicken and Bacon Skewers

June 10, 2016 By Becky 26 Comments

Chicken and bacon skewers are sure to become your next grilling obsession! These easy skewers feature chicken with a maple balsamic glaze, zucchini, summer squash, and peppers woven together with bacon. This post is sponsored by Santa Rita.

Food on a stick is just more fun, right? Especially when there’s bacon involved. These skewers will be the star of your next cookout. Maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, and spices add flavor to the chicken, and the chicken and vegetables are super succulent because they’re nestled in between waves of bacon while they cook. The end result is a skewer with a perfect balance of sweet and salty, with plenty of protein and colorful pops of veggies.

Together with a glass of chilled white wine, these skewers just scream summer, and I recommend Santa Rita 120 Sauvignon Blanc. I absolutely love a good wine that doesn’t break the bank, and this one is perfect. All its citrusy notes make it super refreshing, the perfect counterpoint to a smoky skewer of grilled goodness. I also feel good about this wine because of Santa Rita’s commitment to sustainability–they’re working hard to measure and reduce their carbon footprint and implement technologies that reduce pollution and wasted water. Cheers to that!

Easy Texas Sheet Cake

June 6, 2016 By Becky 20 Comments

When you need grain-free, dairy-free cake for a crowd, this easy Texas sheet cake is here for you! It’s simple to make (no mixed needed!) and impossibly delicious. This post is sponsored by Dream in partnership with Honest Cooking.

This easy Texas sheet cake is perfect for times when you need a cake that serves a lot of people, but is simple and straightforward to make. It’s ideal for feeding folks with dietary restrictions since it’s paleo-friendly and free of gluten, grains, and dairy. And it’s also just the thing for when you suddenly need chocolate cake on a random afternoon and don’t want to wait too long to get your fix. With a chocolate sheet cake, you don’t have to worry about un-molding, stacking, or leveling multiple layers of cake. And since sheet cakes are thin, they cool quickly so you don’t have to wait long to frost them. You can make this whole thing, start to finish, in less than an hour. It’s also just really fun to look at such a vast expanse of cake!

This cake also has the best texture of any paleo-friendly chocolate cake I’ve ever made–it really tastes just like a regular cake! But, like a really good, homemade regular cake–not a store-bought one, of course. I looked to classic, gluten-laden Texas sheet cake recipes for guidance in developing this recipe, and discovered that they are usually made with buttermilk. Buttermilk works together with baking soda to help cakes rise, and also helps create a tender crumb. For this recipe, I made a super simple dairy-free buttermilk replacement using Dream Ultimate Almond Unsweetened Almond Beverage and a little bit of apple cider vinegar.

Samosa Bites with Paleo Raita

January 27, 2016 By Becky 2 Comments

This post is sponsored by the U.S. Potato Board in collaboration with Honest Cooking.

These samosa bites showcase the best part of the classic Indian appetizer—the perfectly spiced potato filling! They’re baked, not fried, and are served with a cooling cucumber raita.

I love Indian food, and am a huge fan of going to Indian buffets for lunch. I actually find it pretty easy to follow a primal diet there–I avoid the breads, of course, but many of the curries, chutneys, and tandoori meats are fine. Indian food uses so many great spices and flavor-packed vegetables like ginger, garlic, and chiles that I never feel like I’m missing out on anything.

Samosas, though, have always been a sticking point. The potato filling is so delicious, especially with some raita on top, but I’ve never been a fan of the heavy, gluten-laden, deep-fried wrappers. Since it’s a little bit uncouth and definitely not in the spirit of paleo to go to a buffet and unwrap a samosa and eat only the insides, I decided to take matters into my own kitchen.

Potatoes are a nutrient-dense food and a great source of healthy carbohydrates since they’re naturally gluten free. They have more potassium than bananas, and a serving of potatoes also gives you almost half of the Vitamin C you need for the day (for more info, check out the Potato Board’s nutritional facts page here). Most people now consider potatoes an integral part of a paleo diet, and as of July of 2014, they’re even Whole30 compliant! (You should have seen how happy I was the day that change was announced. There may or may not have been some dancing involved.)

Roasted Rack of Lamb with Blueberry Sauce

November 11, 2015 By Becky 6 Comments

This post is sponsored by the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council in collaboration with Honest Cooking.

I’m a total berry fanatic, and I especially love blueberries. Whenever I go grocery shopping, I troll the produce section to see if fresh blueberries are on sale, and often end up buying them even when they’re not. I’m a fan of frozen blueberries, too, but until recently, I’d only used them in smoothies and desserts (this blueberry buttermilk ice cream being my all-time favorite).

When the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council asked me to create a savory recipe featuring frozen blueberries, I was almost instantly inspired to create this very dish: a simple roasted rack of lamb with an easy but vibrant sauce made with blueberries and crème fraîche. Blueberries pair really well with tart ingredients like lemon juice, buttermilk, and crème fraîche, and with my recently discovered love of lamb, putting blueberries, crème fraîche, and lamb together seemed like a no-brainer.

Tiger Nut Brownies

July 17, 2015 By Becky 44 Comments

This post is sponsored by Tiger Nuts USA.

Tiger Nut Brownies (Paleo) | acalculatedwhisk.com

Tiger nut flour is the secret ingredient in these super fudgy paleo tiger nut brownies! And since tiger nuts are actually tubers, they’re great for people with nut allergies.

Have you heard of tiger nuts? They’re a new-to-me ingredient that I’m really excited to share with you. Here are three fun facts about tiger nuts:

1. They are not nuts! Tiger nuts are actually tubers, which means they’re a great snack option for anyone, even people with nut allergies.

2. Tiger nuts are a truly paleo food–scientists believe that they formed a large part of the diet of hominims and other early humans. They’ve also been found in Egyptian tombs from over 6,000 years ago. (I found this info on Wikipedia.)

3. Tiger nut flour makes delicious brownies!

Tiger Nuts (Paleo) | acalculatedwhisk.com

Bonus fact: tiger nuts are widely cultivated in Spain, where they’re used to make a special kind of horchata. Grab the recipe here!

The folks at Tiger Nuts USA sell peeled and unpeeled tiger nuts as well as tiger nut flour. I haven’t used the unpeeled tiger nuts yet, but I’m planning to use them to make tiger nut milk. (That has to be the coolest name for a kind of dairy-free milk, right? Why drink almond milk when you could drink TIGER NUT MILK??) Read More…

Creamy Whipped Feta

June 2, 2015 By Becky 14 Comments

This post is sponsored by Nikos Feta.

Creamy Whipped Feta made with Nikos | Get more feta recipes & enter to win a trip to Hawaii here: https://ooh.li/1cd7e02 #sp

Have you ever whipped feta cheese?

If the answer is no, buckle your seat belt and get out your food processor. You are in for quite a ride (or at least, your food processor is in for a quite a workout).

This recipe is super simple, but totally changes the character of feta. The rich and tangy flavor that’s usually packaged in chewy little crumbles infuses this smooth, creamy, and versatile dip. I enjoyed this whipped feta with fresh asparagus spears, carrot sticks, and my favorite gluten-free crackers, but the possibilities are limitless. (It MAY have crossed my mind to use this instead of tomato sauce on a pizza, maybe with roasted red peppers and fresh mozzarella balls, too. Doesn’t that sound amazing?)

Nikos Feta works beautifully in this dip. It’s not as overwhelmingly salty as some fetas are, but still has the wonderfully sharp and distinctive flavor that feta is famous for. It’s sold in a block or in a tub of crumbles, and either one will work for this recipe! I used their traditional feta, but I bet this would also be great with one of their other flavors (tomato basil, perhaps?). You can see all the different flavors here.

Parrilla Mixta Italiana

May 19, 2015 By Becky 8 Comments

This Italian summer grilling post is sponsored by Colavita.

To me, a mixed grill is the epitome of summer eating. When I spent a semester in Buenos Aires during college, I loved to go out with friends and order a parrilla mixta, which usually consisted of grilled steak, chicken, chorizo, and often organ meats as well, with a big bowl of herby chimichurri sauce and an even bigger bowl of french fries on the side. Add a bottle of wine and you have yourself one happy evening!

I don’t know why it took me so long to recreate a parrilla mixta at home, but when Colavita asked me to write a post on the theme of Italian summer grilling, this was the first thing that came to mind.

Here I’ve given the Argentine parrilla an Italian twist, marinating the steak and chicken with Italian seasonings and adding capers to the chimichurri. Argentine cuisine is heavily influenced by the food of Italy to begin with–even the Spanish spoken in Buenos Aires sounds uniquely reminiscent of Italian–so Colavita’s oils and vinegars work really well with all the components of this South American meal.

Slow-Cooker Pulled Pork with Peach Barbecue Sauce

April 17, 2015 By Becky 49 Comments

I’m not sure where to start: there are so many exciting things going on here! We’ve got a tangy, sweet, paleo peach barbecue sauce, spice-rubbed, slow-cooked pork that’s perfect on its own or drenched in the aforementioned sauce, and a pair of hard-core, handy-dandy meat claws.

Was that too many adjectives? Is it possible for a tool to be both hard core and handy dandy? I apologize–there’s just something about pulled pork that makes me a bit verbose. It’s so tender, so easy, so versatile, and so GOOD.

For this recipe, a pork shoulder is coated in a simple spicy-sweet mix and popped in the slow cooker with an onion and a bit of olive oil. While the pork is cooking, you can put your feet up and enjoy the wonderful aroma permeating your house.

Or, you can make some peach barbecue sauce to go with it.