fall Archives - Page 3 of 5 - A Calculated Whisk

Simple Roast Chicken with Carrot Top-Kale Pesto

November 20, 2015 By Becky 12 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This simple roast chicken with carrot top-kale pesto is paleo, gluten free, Whole 30 compliant, and just the thing for chilly weekends.

Meet my new favorite weekend tradition: simple roast chicken with carrot top-kale pesto.

The routine goes like this: buy a local, free-range chicken and some fresh produce on Friday, roast the chicken with root vegetables and blend the greens into a pesto on Saturday, and make homemade chicken stock on Sunday. (Of course, you can start the routine any day of the week–that’s just what works best for me since I’m at work all day Monday through Thursday.)

I’ve been carrying out this roast chicken tradition pretty much every other weekend. I love every part of the process: buying what I need at the farmers market, roasting the chicken and vegetables, preparing the pesto, making the broth, and of course, eating what I’ve made (and sometimes even sharing it).

Since moving down to Tennessee and joining a winter CSA from Big Sycamore Farm, I’ve become even more obsessed with cooking with local ingredients and trying all different kinds of vegetables. So when I got a gorgeous bunch of carrots with all their vibrant greens still attached, I was determined to use the tops. I knew I’d read about carrot top pesto somewhere, and a quick search reminded me that the recipe is from Diane Morgan’s cookbook Roots (and is also available online via Culinate).

Pumpkin Crème Brûlée Pie Bars

October 31, 2015 By Becky 32 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

These grain-free pumpkin crème brûlée pie bars combine the best elements of crème brûlée and pumpkin pie, and are made with an easy press-in cocoa crust.

Guess what? I finally got a kitchen torch. I say finally because–as I tend to do lately when considering buying new kitchen gadgets–I went back and forth about it for several months.

My friend Andrea is a great baker and a fabulous cake decorator, and she’s had a kitchen torch for a long time. After interrogating her about where she got it, how much it cost, how hard it was to use, and how often she used it (yes, my friends ARE extremely patient–why do you ask? 😉 ), my friend Lucy and I went over to her place and tried it. Andrea had custards all ready to go, and we each torched our own right before we ate them.

You probably guessed this already, but they were outstanding.

The kitchen torch was much easier to use and much more fun than I had expected. Of course you need to be careful, but it’s not scary at all to torch desserts, and the actual fire-blasting part takes less than two minutes. (In case you’re wondering about all the questions I mentioned above, Andrea found her torch at a yard sale a couple years ago and got it for about ten bucks. I got mine on Amazon for $28, but it’s on sale for $25 right now.) Read More…

Paleo Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

October 23, 2015 By Becky 13 Comments

Today is an exciting day–it’s the first time I’ve ever had a guest author here on my site. Lauren Lester, one of my very favorite paleo bloggers, created this recipe for paleo chocolate pumpkin muffins. Read a little more about Lauren at the bottom of this post, and check out her blog Wicked Spatula for more delectable paleo recipes and gorgeous photographs! Take it away, Lauren…

I’m so excited to be guest posting today on A Calculated Whisk! I’ve been a fan of Becky’s recipes for a while so when we started chatting about swapping guest posts I was thrilled. I’ve got a great fall recipe for you today and if you’d like to check out Becky’s Chicken Apple Sausage that she’s sharing on my site Wicked Spatula you can head on over there as well!

Alright, is there anything better than a warm muffin early in the morning? I personally don’t think so, especially when they’re filled with dark chocolate. These Paleo Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins take one step further into fall heaven with the addition of pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice. Before going Paleo last year muffins were a breakfast staple. I would pick up a few mixes for the week and with only 30 minutes of effort I’d have breakfast ready for the entire week. We all know Paleo baking baking isn’t that simple though. Usually there are precise measurements, speciality ingredients, and one too many bowls if you were to ask my husband. Read More…

Chicken Apple Sausage with Kale and Roasted Grapes

October 23, 2015 By Becky 4 Comments

Today I’m sharing a quick and delicious fall recipe for chicken apple sausage with kale, spring onions, and roasted grapes right here on my friend Lauren’s site, Wicked Spatula. It’s a quick but gourmet paleo meal that hits all the right notes with sweet and savory sausage, juicy grapes roasted with shallots, hearty kale, and lightly charred spring onions on top. I like this just as much for breakfast as for lunch or dinner, and as a bonus it’s dairy free and Whole30-compliant.

We’re doing a guest post swap, so be sure to check out her paleo chocolate pumpkins muffins here on my site, too! Get the recipe for chicken apple sausage with kale, spring onions, and roasted grapes–>

Parsnip and Pumpkin Soup

October 19, 2015 By Becky 15 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Parsnip and Pumpkin Soup | acalculatedwhisk.com

This comforting soup combines parsnip and pumpkin in a healthy and beautiful bowl of fall goodness.

Did you miss me? I’m finally back from the longest posting hiatus of my three-and-a-half-year blogging career. I really missed sharing recipes, but have been spending a ton of time behind the scenes getting ready for the transition to WordPress. Between that, my full-time day job, trying to unpack from our move, and my efforts to get a little shut-eye, there just hasn’t been any time left. I’ll be around more now that some of the chaos has died down, though (and if you’re ever looking for me when it’s quiet over here, I’m probably still posting all of my breakfasts on Instagram).

So, what do you think of the new site? I still have a lot of work to do fixing little formatting issues in older posts and adding back in some of my sidebar content, but I’m really happy with the change so far. If you happen to notice broken links, have any other issues, or just want to give me some feedback, feel free to send me an email. One thing I’m really excited about is the recipe formatting plugin I’m using in this post, which allows you to get a printer-friendly version of the recipe with a single click. As soon as I find time I’ll be updating older posts so that they’re easy to print, too.

In other news, my cookbook comes out in just over two weeks on November 3rd! It’s been upgraded to release day delivery on Amazon, so if you pre-order, you can get it right on release day without any extra delay for shipping!

Apple Honey Upside-Down Cake

September 18, 2015 By Becky 22 Comments

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Apple Honey Upside-Down Cake (Dairy free, Paleo) | acalculatedwhisk.com

Dairy free, paleo apple honey upside-down cake is perfect for cool fall days. Subtly spiced and not too sweet, it’s great for breakfast or dessert!

The tradition of dipping apples in honey to celebrate Rosh Hashanah inspired me to bake this apple honey upside-down cake. Apples and honey represent the double dose of sweetness that’s hoped for in the year ahead. I didn’t get this post ready in time to share before the holiday, but this cake is an ideal dessert for anytime in the fall. Whether or not you celebrate Rosh Hashanah, everyone can use a little extra hint of sweetness as the air turns crisp and the nights begin to fall sooner.

I based this recipe on my lemon olive oil cake, which is a dessert I’ve made again and again for all sorts of occasions. This apple honey upside-down cake is the perfect fall twist on my go-to cake.

To make this cake, I poured copious amounts of honey into the bottom of a parchment-lined pan, and then arranged apple slices on top. Since the apples and honey are so sweet, I only used a tiny bit of sweetener in the cake batter itself, and included a few hints of savory flavors to balance things out. Using extra virgin olive oil instead of butter makes the cake dairy free and provides a complexity that keeps the cake from being pure, unadulterated sweetness. And ginger and cardamom, spices that play on both the sweet and savory teams, are a welcome change from the usual cinnamon.

Ginger Thyme Tea

November 30, 2014 By Becky 15 Comments

This caffeine-free ginger thyme tea is easy to make at home
and perfect for when you’re feeling under the weather.

I woke up Thanksgiving morning with the beginnings of a cold. Black Friday was even worse, with the irrepressible urge to nap setting in a mere three hours after I woke up. Yesterday, after getting over ten hours of sleep the night before, I spent the hours between six and eight pm dozing off on the couch with a purring cat on my stomach and a scarf wrapped around my head. I’ve gone through two pocket packs of tissues and finally had to cave and buy a full-size box.

Since I know a lot of people get sick around the holidays, I thought I’d share my favorite homemade remedy: a simple ginger thyme tea.

Grain-free Cranberry Orange Bread

November 21, 2014 By Becky 10 Comments

My family doesn’t have a well-defined set of Thanksgiving traditions. Growing up with divorced parents, I often divided my time between two Thanksgiving dinners, having the main meal at one house and dessert at another. Things always felt briefly desolate as I was shuttled between the two under the cover of early nightfall, but a slice of pie (or three) put an end to that pretty fast. And I wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on spending time with either of my families.

My mom and I usually had dinner at a friends’ house, and didn’t have to do much of the cooking. (I don’t think either of us has ever roasted a whole turkey, unless she did a bunch of turkey-roasting before I was born and neglected to tell me about it.)

Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes

November 17, 2014 By Becky 15 Comments

I’m a little late to the pumpkin party this year. I bought a couple of cartons of pumpkin puree over a month ago because I knew the pumpkin cravings would eventually hit, but wasn’t sure when.

I made it through all of October and the first half of November without making a batch of my paleo pumpkin spice ice cream, a pumpkin and pecorino soufflé, or a pumpkin caramel cheesecake pie. I didn’t just not make any of those things–I didn’t even want them. It was like I was over pumpkin.

Kratiem Prik Thai Short Ribs with Quick-Pickled Carrots

November 10, 2014 By Becky 8 Comments

Wintry weather has already made an appearance in Boston; we had our first snow, albeit a small one, last weekend. I hate being cold outside and abhor feeling cold indoors even more, but I also, like a true New Englander, am always reluctant to turn on the heat.

My best solution for cold days at home is to have something in the oven pretty much at all times. And since I can’t always be making and eating desserts, my favorite thing to do is braise meat or chicken. The cooking time is nice and long, so it will really warm up your house (or at least your kitchen). The bonus effect of this heating strategy is that you will also be really well fed.

Maple Apple Spice Cake

October 20, 2014 By Becky 16 Comments

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.

Butternut Squash Soup with Fried Garlic and Chili Oil

October 14, 2014 By Becky 14 Comments

A little over a week ago, my laptop gave me the prohibitory sign when I tried to turn it on. Now that’s all it will do–show a gray screen with a circle with a slash through it, and one of those little timers that never stops turning.

I’m in the process of mourning the photos I lost and trying to scrape together money to buy a new computer. Luckily, my school lent me a laptop to use in the interim–a giant, clunky monster of a PC, but so much better than nothing. I’ve been comforting myself with this soup.