Monthly Archives: November 2014

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

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Homemade Hot Chocolate
Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

So I was all ready to take a picture of some of my homemade hot chocolate outside in the fresh new fallen snow, but alas, before I could get around to it,  all luscious 12 inches melted overnight!!  Crazy weather my friends,  skiing out my door one day and walking in mud puddles the next!!!

That’s why we must seize every moment or before we know it,  it melts away!!

This is an easy storable hot chocolate mix with just a few ingredients.  My girls, who happen to be my biggest food critics, love this mix.  I hardly ever use sugar a.k.a. white death, but I figure the kids will burn the sugar right off as they are trying to keep warm in the up and coming frigid months, which we happen to have a lot of in Montana!

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix

3/4 Cup Chopped Chocolate, bittersweet, semisweet, milk whatever your fancy, (milk chocolate will make it sweeter)

2/3 Cup Good Quality Cocoa Powder

3/4 Cup Organic Powdered Sugar

1 Cup Dry Coconut milk or Regular Dry milk (or omit this if you plan on using milk instead of water as your liquid)

1 Pinch of salt

Directions:

Place the chocolate into a food processor and blend until it is a fine grainy texture.

Add the rest of the ingredients and blend some more until it makes a nice fine powder.

Brew up some hot water or milk of your choice and add a tablespoon or two of the mix and stir…..stir some more so the chocolate melts and Enjoy!

Store in an airtight container !

Primal Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart or Tartlets or Cupcakes

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Primal Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart
Primal Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart or Tartlets or Cupcakes

So I have a bit of a problem,  when I experiment with these baked goods recipes, even if they turn out bad, I feel it is my duty to eat them because it is not in my DNA or my environmental programming to waste food.

Thinking back to the root of this problem, I remember as a young kid I would be sitting in front of a plate of food not wanting to eat it,  my mom would say, “Eat your food people are starving in China”.  So okay, I thought,  if I eat this food it will help those starving people, but how?  If I eat it and get fat and plump, how will that help the starving people??  Or if I eat it get fat and plump maybe the starving people can eat me??

Anyway I now know,  it was meant as,  be thankful you have food because other people (especially in China) don’t.  I do love food and am grateful everyday for the bounty that sits on my table and passes my lips. So with thankfulness and gratitude for all the blessings in my life (especially good food), I give you a pumpkin cheesecake tart.   And yes I have said some version of “Eat your food people are starving” to my kids, usually with a little more explanation, but I wonder if they get it!!  I have faith they will sooner or later.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart or Tartlets or Cupcakes

You can make this as a 9 inch tart, as small tartlets or as cupcakes.  This recipe was adopted from Elana’s Pantry Gluten-Free Cupcakes Cookbook check it out HERE

Crust:

8-12 Medjool Dates pitted (depends on how sweet your tooth is !)

1/1/2 Cups Pecans

1&1/2 TBL Coconut Oil or butter

Place the ingredients in a food processor and blend until a fine crumb forms.  Press into a 9 inch tart pan or mini tart pans or cupcake liners in a muffin tin.  (For the 9 inch tart pre-bake the crust until it is slightly golden about 8 minutes at 350 degrees)

Filling:

1 Cup Goat Cheese

1 Cup Pumpkin (preferably from one you roasted, canned works fine too)

1 TBL Vanilla

1/4 Cup Maple Syrup

3 Eggs

2 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice ( I use a blend I make up from this RECIPE tasty recipe too)

Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.  Pour into the crust and bake at 350 degrees until the center is set.  Let cool and serve with whipped cream or coconut whipped cream. Enjoy!  These freeze very well too!!!

Paleo Primal Gluten-Free Nut Free Moroccan Brownies

Desserts

Morocco Brownies (Gluten free and nut free)

 

Paleo Morocco Brownies

I was visiting a dear friend in a small remote village in Morocco this past spring. During my visit I had a craving for something chocolate, and hence using the ingredients we had on hand, Morocco brownies were born.

You know what they say necessity is the mother of all inventions, and yes chocolate is a necessity for this girl!!!

These babies are super easy to make, very fudgy, rich, AND taste even better the next day!  If there is a next day (hard to stop eating them once you start).

On a side note check out my friend’s project in Morocco HERE super cool!

Morocco Brownies

8 Medjool Dates ( pitted and pureed with a bit of water until smooth)

3 Eggs

1/3 cup Butter or coconut oil or a combo

1/2 cup High quality Cocao powder

1 Tbl. Vanilla

¼ tsp Salt

¼ tsp Baking Soda

½ cup Dark Chocolate chips or Chopped chocolate

Mix all the ingredients together until the batter is uniform. Pour batter into a greased 8×8 inch pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for around 8 minutes until the top springs back!  Do not over cook these.  Let cool completely before cutting and eating.  Feel free to add nuts, coconut, dried fruit or coconut.