Erin of All Trades

I've been trying to create a recipe for grain-free tortillas for some time now. My goal has been to  make a tasty tortilla/flatbread that is pliable enough to fold, strong enough to hold lots of fillings, and versatile enough to be used for both sweet and savory dishes.   My very good-natured family has endured many recipe failures along the journey, including  dry, brittle tortillas (matzo, anyone?) and some that felt like rubber. (There's nothing to compare these to. They were just weird and un-food-like. Mmmm...tasty  rubber.)  I finally found a combination of ingredients that work! And the secret ingredient is pumpkin. No, these do not taste at all like pumpkin. They have a great flavor that has met the approval of friends and family, including my teenagers! Besides adding fiber and vitamins A, C, and K, pumpkin adds moisture and binding properties. Almond flour is the protein that adds structure and stability. Tapioca starch (also called tapioca ...

I love dark chocolate. LOVE. My day is not complete without a handful of Ghirardelli Chocolate Chips . It is my ardent hope that my "mansion just over the hilltop" will include an eternal supply of chocolate, guacamole, chips, and salsa. Luckily, dark chocolate is loaded with antioxidants and is a great source of fiber, iron, magnesium, copper, and manganese.   I am always trying to find ways to incorporate chocolate into our paleo lifestyle, and hot chocolate is a quick and easy way to do that. Printable Recipe Paleo Hot Chocolate Yields 4-6 servings 3 Tablespoons honey or agave nectar 3 Tablespoons coconut sugar 1 can (1 1/3 cup) coconut milk   2 2/3 cups almond milk 6 Tablespoons cocoa powder ( Ghirardelli  is the best!) 1 Teaspoon vanilla extract Whisk together the honey, coconut sugar, coconut milk, and almond milk in a small saucepan.  Sift the cocoa powder into the mixture to remove any clumps. Place  over medi...

I'm excited to say that I finally perfected my pumpkin muffin recipe! My family and I are fans of all things pumpkin, so finding lots of paleo pumpkin recipes became a priority when we embarked on this new adventure. I found this recipe  from  The Gluten-free Homemaker , which was the closest to a traditional muffin that I had found among all of the paleo bloggers. I am grateful to Linda for posting this recipe! However, it wasn't as sweet or pumpkin-spicy as I like. The almond flour that I used was Bob's Red Mill, which isn't the finest almond flour on the market (I hear that Honeyville is better), so the texture of the muffin wasn't as smooth as I would like. I decided to eliminate the almond flour and use coconut and tapioca flours. I also added some coconut sugar and more pumpkin pie spice to make a sweeter, spicier muffin.  I mix the dry and wet ingredients separately. I found that I had to premix the coconut oil with the almond butter to prevent the co...

On New Year's Day 2014, m y husband decided to adopt the paleo lifestyle. This man always takes an "all or nothing" approach in all endeavors, so he went hardcore paleo overnight. For those of you who aren't well-versed in this alternative nutrition lifestyle, p aleo foods are essentially those foods that were readily available to the paleolithic (cave) man and  include fresh meats, fruits, vegetables (except for legumes and white potatoes), nuts, seeds, and natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup. Grains and dairy are not allowed in the paleo lifestyle (I will add that I began making kefir, a probiotic dairy superfood, during the summer, and it has become our sole source of dairy. The fact that it is lactose free and loaded with probiotics removed it from the paleo naughty list.)  Since I am the cook in the family, I had to get on the ball and learn to cook foods that met the paleo criteria. In my first year of paleo cooking, I tried so many recipes for pa...