It's December. Yup, just like that--December. Most of the time I get to a new month and think "Wow, I can't believe it's ______ already!" but this month, I'm ready. Bring on the winter wonderland. I'll just cuddle up in this little house baking all weekend.

First up: pie! Pie is an essential to any bakers repertoire, no matter how you slice it (ha!). Making the perfect pie crust is the bane of many baker's kitchen life, and making a pie crust that's also paleo is even rougher. I can still hear my dad scoffing as I pull out a food processor to make pie crust. "The butter gets all warm!" he would say, pulling out the pastry cutter and a chilled bowl. Hmph.

Well, paleo bakers, I'm here to say: "Rejoice! The food processor is in!" and this crust will go from start to finish in 20 minutes flat. It comes out of a pie dish beautifully and while you might not expect a nut-based crust to stick together, this one holds solid. You could eat a slice of this buttery crust sans-plate, if you were really desperate.

Almond Flour Pie Crust

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free | Caitlin Sherwood

A simple, easy pie crust for any type of pie.

Serves: N/A | Total Active Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups almond flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
pinch salt
2 tablespoons coconut oil, cold + more for greasing the pie pan
1 egg

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350°F. In your food processor, pulse the almond flour, coconut flour and salt together until well distributed and no coconut flour clumps remain. (Do not over-process, it will turn into nut butter!)
Add the coconut oil and egg. Pulse the food processor for several more minutes, until all of the oil and egg are incorporated and the dough turns into a loose crumb (depending on the temperature of your kitchen, it may also form a ball).
Grease a 9-inch pie pan with coconut oil. Press the dough into the pan, to form a 1/8 inch thin layer, working the dough up the sides of the pan. (Tip: use a smooth water glass or jar to roll out the dough in the bottom of the pan. Use your fingers to shape the scallops around the edge of the pie). Tip: alternatively, roll the dough out between 2 pieces of parchement paper until it's a 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch thick. Place in fridge for 5 minutes. Then, peel off top piece of parchment and transfer dough into pie pan, fitting to pan. For top crust, repeat the same process but shape top crust as desired after removing from fridge (cut strips for lattice, use a cookie cutter, etc).
Place the crust in the middle wrack of your oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, or until just golden.

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Salmon with Shiitake Mushrooms and Swiss Chard in Parchment, served with Sriracha Mayo

When life hands you a bag full of organic locally-grown shiitake mushrooms, you don't just throw them into any old dish. Oh no.

First, you brainstorm all of the ways you could use the mushrooms. Surely you've filed away something with potential in that brain of yours.

When the brainstorming slows down, you whip out your tablet or computer (whichever is closer) and you search all of your previous pins for the words "shiitake," and "mushroom". You open every potential recipe in a separate tab to read later. Then you expand your search: you browse everyone else's pins for the words "shiitake," and "mushroom". You open more tabs.

Salmon in Parchment with Shiitake Mushrooms, Swiss Chard, & Sriracha Aioli

Once you've exhausted Pinterest, you make your way around the web. Foodgawker. Tastespotting. Stalkerville. Google image searches. The word Shiitake can now be found in the last 500 pages of your browser history. That's when you start pinning like a lunatic. All of your followers probably know now that your fridge is full of shiitake mushrooms.

It's okay. They understand, because that's how everyone does it, right? ;)

At some point, something just feels good. All of that pinning and you've got one shot. Finally you get to cook.

Salmon and Shiitake Mushrooms with Greens in Parchment, topped with Sriracha Aioli. A paleo-friendly dish

This recipe is part of the Real Food Fat Tuesday round up. Find more real food recipes on the Real Food Forager's round up post!

Salmon, Shiitakes & Chard in Parchment with Sriracha Aioli

Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free | Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4 | Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients:

1 pound organic shiitake mushrooms
1/4 white onion
2 tablespoon avocado oil
2 tablespoon organic wheat-free tamari, traditional fermented soy sauce, or coconut aminos
1 bunch swiss chard (or about 5 large leaves)
2 pound wild caught Alaskan salmon filet
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
3 small thai or vietnamese chili peppers, minced (NOTE: use less or completely eliminate this ingredient if you are spice-sensative, use more if you are a spice lover)
Salt
Cilantro, minced, for garnish
Parchment paper
1 egg
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons Sriracha hot sauce (You caught me: Sriracha is not paleo).
Pinch salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Wash and slice the mushrooms and onion. Cut the stems off of the chard leaves, setting the leaves aside for later use. Chop the stems into 1/2-inch pieces. Toss the mushrooms, onion, and chard stems in a bowl with the avocado oil and tamari, mixing until all of the vegetables are coated. Chop the chard leaves into thin ribbons, and set them aside as well.
Then cut your salmon filet into 8 equally sized portions. Then, prepare the parchment: cut out 8 circles with a 1-foot diameter each. Rub each piece of paper with avocado oil. A thin layer is fine, but be thorough--spread the oil all the way to the edges.
Working with one parchment circle at a time, place a handful of the chopped chard leaves on the paper. (TIP: You want to place the food just off from the center--not in the center. Think of the paper as the crust of a calazone. One half of it will fold over top of the food.). Add a handful of the mushroom mixture over the chard, and place one salmon filet over that, and sprinkle with salt. Top with a pinch of garlic, ginger, and a few pieces of chili pepper. Fold the parchment over the salmon. The two opposite edges of your parchment paper should now touch. Working from one side, fold the edge of the parchment paper over, creating a seem that closes the salmon into a parchment pocket. Work around the circle, folding a small amount of the edge over, until you have reached the other side of the pocket. Place on a baking pan. Repeat with the 7 other parchment circles and salmon filets.
Bake for 15-20 minutes (15 for very thin filets of fish, 20 for thicker filets). While the fish bakes, prepare the aioli. Put all of the ingredients in a blender and turn it on. The mixture should become thick, opaque, and a light pinkish color. Add more hot sauce if you like things spicier (we do).
When the salmon is done baking, place each parchment packet on a plate to serve. Cut open the center of the paper pocket, revealing the salmon. Top each filet with a dollop of mayo, and sprinkle with cilantro.