Paleo Red Curry Prawns

Easy dinner I just threw together:

BBQ prawns (i marinated them in lime juice and olive oil)
a bunch of broccoli in small florets
1/4 red capsicum chopped in chunks
Red curry paste (1 tsp)
1/2 tin coconut milk
a bunch of kelp noodles, rinsed in hot water

I stirfried the veggies quickly, then added the red curry paste, and coconut milk.
At the very end i threw in the kelp noodles - they don't need cooking but just to soak up some curry.
Mixed through the BBQ prawns and it was delicious!

Paleo Key Lime Pie

Okay, this is mostly an American thing: I'm not sure Aussies eat this...but it's like a cheesecake in a way. I love it:

Crust:
1.5 cups whole almonds
4 pitted dates
1 Tbsp coconut oil

Stick all of this into the food processor and whizz it up for ages until it is slightly sticky -don't go too far and make butter though!
I lined a cake tin with parchment paper.
Put it all in a cake tin and smush it all down with your hands until quite firm. You can have a crust up the sides but not too high - it can burn easily in the oven.
The more you smush it, the less it will fall apart later (kind of like putting decomposed granite in a driveway and rolling it with the big roller...but that's another story).
Preheat oven to 180C and bake it for 8-10mins.

Filling:
4 tsp lime zest
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
3 Tbsp agave syrup or honey
2 Tbsp coconut flour
3 eggs
1 cup coconut milk

Whisk it all together, then pour into pie tin over the crust.
Bake for 25-30mins and the filling should be set and not too jiggly.

Now, don't do what I did, get excited, and not let it cool properly. I tried to lift it out carefully to place on a plate...and it kind of fell apart all over the place. but, when i tried it, it was delicious, tart, creamy, and i managed to salvage one awesome slice for this photo :)

Paleo Almond Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/2 cups almond flour/ground almonds
1 tsp gluten free baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup cooked mashed pumpkin
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 mashed banana
2 Tbsp honey
3 tsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 Tbsp almond butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1. Heat oven to 180C
2. Whisk eggs in a bowl and add other wet ingredients
3. In separate bowl, mix almond flour, baking soda and baking powder
4. Mix wet and dry ingredients together
5. Add chopped walnuts
6. Pour into muffin tin (use cupcake papers)
7. If any empty muffin spaces left, half fill with water
8. Bake for 20mins. Cool and eat!

Paleo Banana Bread

No photo today, the banana bread doesn't last long enough for that!

3 eggs, separated
4 Tbsp honey
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 small bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla
130g almond flour

Preheat oven to 200C.
Cream egg yolks and honey.
Add oil, vanilla, banana, almond flour
Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
Fold egg whites into mixture.
Pour into a lined loaf tin.
Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Paleo Sesame Crackers

3 cups almond meal
1 cup sesame seeds
2 eggs, whisked until frothy
2 tablespoons coconut oil

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together almond flour, sesame seeds, eggs and oil until well blended
2. Separate dough into two halves
3. Line two large (12 x 16) stainless steel baking sheets with parchment paper
4. Place one half of the dough in the center of each lined sheet
5. Cut another piece of parchment paper and place it over one of the balls of dough
6. Roll dough out between the two pieces of parchment paper, until it is ⅛ inch thick and covers the entire baking sheet; remove top paper and repeat process with the other piece of dough
7. Cut the dough with a knife or pizza cutter into 2 inch squares
8. Bake at 180C° for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown
9. Cool and serve

My verdict: i think i rolled these a bit thick, but my baking sheets are quite small and it was hard to do. They taste crunchy and delicious. Next time I will try to roll thinner. They also baked a little unevenly: dark brown on the outside and light in the middle. Definitely will try to make these again. Next I need to make up a dip for them...hmmmm....pumpkin, walnuts and chilli?? I'll get back to you later....

Flaxseed Bread

This is my first attempt at this kind of bread. It tastes pretty good actually, a bit nutty. Nice with butter! I am hoping to freeze in slices, and then toast one or 2 pieces to have with eggs & bacon occasionally.

2/3 cup flaxseed meal
1/3 cup almond meal
1-1.5 tsp gluten free baking powder
Organic sea salt to taste
3 Tbsp coconut oil
2 eggs
Water

Mix dry ingredients well.
Whisk eggs separately and add with oil
Add enough water to make a dough that will pour into a pan, not liquid though!
I put this in a loaf tin with parchment paper
Bake at 180C for about half an hour
Cool and slice.

Don't freak out because i scattered fresh birdseye chillies from my garden around the plate in the picture. It was just to add colour....although....I am wondering what kind of dip i can make using ground chillies....harissa maybe?

Paleo-friendly chocolate brownies

6tbsp oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup arrowroot

Bung it all in a bowl and mix it up, preheat oven to 180C, pour it into a cake tin with baking paper and bake for about 15-20mins. Delicious!

Sunday Prep

The weather is absolutely horrendous, massive rain, thunder. It's just as well I had some prep to do for the week. I spiralised a couple of zucchini and carrots. These 'noodles' will for a good base for most meals. I either steam them lightly in the microwave, or saute them for a stirfry.

I am roasting pork and vegetables at the moment (they smell great!). I am roasting the pumpkin, sweet potato and regular potato (for Mark) in bacon fat. Yummy!

I whipped up a bolognaise sauce: turkey mince, finely diced onion, fresh basil from my garden, crushed garlic cloves, tinned organic sugar-free tomatoes, organic tomato paste, pepper and parley. This works great with the spiralised veggies, it's just like eating spaghetti!

I have some coconut and red curry chicken i made the other night to eat as well. Then I made some mini-hamburgers using chicken and beef mince, onion, fresh herbs, a little dijon mustard, one egg and some almond meal. I form them into 100g portions (a small handful) and then divide those up into 5 mini patties. The reason I make them small is that it's easier and quicker to defrost and fry up, say for lunches at home. I haven't used chicken mince and beef mince together before, so I hope they're good.

Fresh vegetable prices have gone through the roof, due to all the massive flooding and crops ruined all over Queensland at the moment. The other day a smallish Kent pumpkin cost me $11!! I bought a package of frozen veggies to try them out. Most frozen veggies have corn and peas in them (which are not paleo) so I opted for the version with carrot, broccoli and cauliflower.