Creative paleo and gluten-free recipes
When I was a kid, my parents once let me put frosting on pancakes. I think it was a special occasion, with frosting left over from someone’s birthday cake, and it was definitely a one-time thing. But after that breakfast, I was ruined. Nothing else could ever compare.
In case you haven’t had the pleasure, let me just tell you right now: pancakes with frosting are the epitome of the good life, the breakfast of hedonists, the ultimate “treat yo’self” meal (Parks & Rec style).
My boyfriend doesn’t like things made with apples, pumpkin, or squash, so fall is kind of a hard time for us. I’m all like, “It’s time to apple-pumpkin-squashify all the things!” and he’s all like, “Oh, it looks like there’s some bread over there for toast.” Literally, he had toast for lunch the other day. I could not even get him to try a bite of this butternut squash soup with fried garlic and chili oil.
I’ve been a paleo food blogger for long enough that I feel like a little bit of a failure when my boyfriend has toast for lunch.
Things are going a little bit better on the apple front, though, because Ben really liked this cake. Unless you’re the one to stir the grated apple into the batter, which would be a pretty major tipoff, you probably won’t know that there’s any apple in it. It does help make the batter extra moist, though, kind of like the zucchini in zucchini bread, and also adds a little more sweetness.
I love to read. It’s actually somewhat of a problem.
Whenever I read fiction or a memoir, one of two things happens. I either put the book down because I can’t get into it, or I’m so into it that I can’t think about anything else, and end up reading the whole thing within a day or two. The latter happens much more frequently than the former, and everything else I’m supposed to be doing falls by the wayside. I fall into reading rabbit holes so easily that I usually don’t allow myself to read anything other than my school textbooks during the semester itself. (Of course, I’m very interested in speech and language pathology, but books with titles like Understanding Voice Problems and Preclinical Speech Science never really end up being page-turners. Instead of keeping me up all night like a suspenseful novel, they’re uniquely capable of sending me into a sudden nap if I read them anytime after the sun sets.)
Summer has finally (and suddenly) arrived in Boston, so it’s probably time to have a party. Here are ten paleo recipes I recommend for meeting all manner of summer celebration needs, from “What can I do with all these flag toothpicks from my mother?” to “How can I sneak coffee and/or balsamic vinegar into recipes that don’t normally call for them?”
Those are the kinds of dilemmas you’re grappling with, right?
I am always on the lookout for more ideas, and hearing from you makes my day. Share what you’re planning to make (or just eat) in the comments, or let me know what kinds of recipes you’d like to see on A Calculated Whisk in July and August!
If you’re looking a show-stopping drink that’s delicious with or without alcohol, you will love the Blackberry Smash.
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| photos via Instagram |
I have a new morning routine. It begins at 5:30, and goes like this. First, I stumble to the sink, get a glass of water, and drink it on the couch, usually while staring blankly at my Instagram feed. After a minute, I’ve built up the energy necessary to take steps to obtain coffee, which then fuels the rest of my activities. If there is coffee in the machine from the day before, I drop in three ice cubes and congratulate myself on making iced coffee. If the machine is empty, I grumble a lot, make a new pot, and settle for hot coffee.
When the coffee hits, it’s time to make a smoothie. The smoothie is the highlight of my morning, and it’s all because of the humble avocado.
A friend gave me an incredulous look recently when I mentioned putting avocado in my smoothies. I only started adding them in April, but they’ve already become such a smoothie essential for me that I was totally flabbergasted by her response. I am writing this blog post on the off chance that you, like my friend, have not tried putting avocado in your smoothies yet.
Here are five quick reasons you should do it:
It was my birthday on Saturday, and I had an amazing day. I started the morning by opening the present Ben got for me, which was a Kitchen Aid stand mixer! I’ve wanted one for years, and finally feel like I count as a real food blogger now that I own one. I haven’t used it yet because I have need to clear a special spot for it in the kitchen, but I’ve been peering into the box every few hours and just kind of smiling at it. After opening my mixer, I met up with a friend to go for a run, and then went home and moved a bunch of furniture and hung pictures with Ben. (Our landlords have been renovating our apartment, so we have a lot of rearranging to do. One secret about me is that I love organizing things around the house, even though I put it off like crazy and almost never do it. I am not at all sure why I dread it so much, because once I get started I really enjoy it. So, oddly enough, moving furniture and hanging pictures was one of my favorite parts of the day.)
My mom, Ben, and I went to dbar for dinner, which is within walking distance of our apartment and is one of my favorite restaurants ever. Pro tip: it starts gradually turning into a nightclub around 10 pm on Friday and Saturday. I’ve never been able to convince anyone to stay with me for that phase, but we got to witness the beginning of the transformation last night: one of the waiters walked by, casually pushed a button on his bracelet, and made a screen drop from the ceiling. No big deal.
It’s probably obvious by now that I love to cook a lot of my own food, but I also LOVE restaurants. I mean, a lot of people love restaurants, but I really love them…like, I’ve finished-my-meal-but-I-want-to-stay-here-all-day kind of love them. When I’m at a restaurant I like, a cozy one with delicious food that’s just the right mix of comforting and interesting, I pretty much want to move in.
The Haven in Jamaica Plain (Boston, MA) is like that. All the seats are classroom chairs, but somehow it just works (even though, as a former teacher, I’m dying to get in there after hours and put a tennis ball on the bottom of each leg so they won’t be as loud when you scoot them). It’s a Scottish gastropub, and everything I’ve ordered has been delicious, perfectly striking that balance between familiar and unfamiliar that I’m always looking for when I eat out. The Haven serves lunch and dinner all week and brunch on the weekends, and they also have a full bar. I’ve been several times for brunch and twice for dinner, and think I’ll try lunch next. (Check out the giveaway at the end of this post for a chance to win one of two gift cards so you can try The Haven yourself!)
This cake is delicious: moist, tender, and perfectly lemony. I couldn’t taste the olive oil, but I think it adds some hard-to-pinpoint depth to the overall flavor of the cake, and it’s nice to know you’re baking with a healthy, dairy-free cooking fat.
The glaze is cashew-based, but I worked hard to make honey and lemon the prominent flavors, so I think people who don’t know cashews are the main ingredient won’t be able to figure it out.
I’ve made this lemon olive oil cake countless times for dinner parties, birthdays, and all manner of holidays, and it never fails to please. No one can tell that it’s gluten free, grain free, dairy free, and paleo friendly, and everyone is surprised to hear it’s made from extra virgin olive oil. I hope you’ll give it a try!
Chag sameach and happy Easter, if you’re celebrating one of those holidays, and happy (finally) spring if you’re not.
This grain-free lemon olive oil cake is easy to whip up and is perfect for feeding a crowd. It's my go-to paleo cake recipe!
*I got enough juice and zest for both the cake and the glaze from two lemons, but I'd recommend having a third lemon on hand just in case.
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The nutrition label provided is an estimate for informational purposes only and may not be accurate. I am not a nutritionist or medical professional.
