Citrus & Honey Braised Rhubarb (Paleo)

It has been a cold and grey spring, delivered with a dosed of rain and sleet and snow. This weather makes time for all sorts of time consuming activities. Board games. Turning the oven on for extended period of time. Brushing up on your old sketching habit. Curling up on the couch and watching the entire first season of Outlander. 

The grey chill has made me hungry for sun and time outside, even though I admit that sometimes it's nice to have an excuse to curl up on the couch and stay in. 

On sunny days, I lap up the heat and the rays almost as eagerly as I lapped up this rhubarb compote. This compote though, doesn't care how many clouds there are in the sky: its flavors are bright and light. It's blooming with flavor in a way that's akin to the flowers blooming outside.

This, my friends, is the spring dessert. Spoon it over vanilla ice cream while it's still warm. Pile it over yogurt the next morning. Top it with toasted almonds and eat it straight. Swirl it into tapioca pudding (recipe coming soon!). You really can't go wrong.  

Citrus & Honey Braised Rhubarb

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

Orange juice brightens the flavor of the rhubarb in this dish. Honey is used to bring sweetness, which is needed to counteract how tart rhubarb juice is naturally.

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 25 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound rhubarb (about 3 large stalks)
• Juice of 1 orange
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated on a microplane
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Chop the rhubarb into 1 to 2 inch pieces.
3. In a glass baking dish, toss the rhubarb in the honey, orange juice, salt, vanilla, and ginger until everything is well coated and combined. Then spread into an even layer.
4. Place in preheated oven and bake 18-20 minutes, until rhubarb is quite softened. Remove from oven, and allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving. Serve in small bowls, or with vanilla ice cream, yogurt, or pudding.

Coconut Macaroon & Lime Curd Pie

By the time you guys read this I will most likely be on a plane headed to Expo West! Expo West is the largest organic and natural products fair and I am suuuper excited to get to witness it first hand! I'll have my eyes peeled for new Paleo and grain-free products! If you want to follow along, head over to my Instagram! Now... on to this pie! 😍

I remember 3 things from the Florida Keys: Cats, chickens, and key lime pie.

It was a long drive-- down, down, down the coast, until there was no coast anymore. And then we kept driving, from one Key to the next, across the longest bridges I had ever seen. It was just my mom and I, in a rental car. To be honest, I think that was my only real road trip, ever. 

Most of it is a blur. There was more ocean than I could ever imagine; ocean on all sides. The air tasted like ocean, the breeze smelled like salt. 

At Hemingway's house, there were a lot of people, and among them there were cats. Cats everywhere. As a cat lover, I paid more attention to the cats than anything else there. 

Outside of Hemingway's retaining wall, there were chickens. There were as many chickens as there were people. Yet, all of those chickens, and the cats that had escaped from Hemingway's house got along perfectly, as if they were best friends. At least that's how I remember it. 

And then there was the pie. Bright. Bold. Sweet and tangy. Along the road there would be stands selling just pie, nothing else. And it wasn't just any pie, it was key lime pie. 

To this day a bite of key lime pie takes me there: the sunshine, the warmth, the ever-summer coast of the Florida Keys. 

Coconut Macaroon & Lime Curd Pie

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

Yields: 1 8-inch pie   |    Total Active Time: 45 minutes

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Ingredients:

For the crust:
• 2-1/2 cup dried shredded coconut
• 2 egg whites
• Salt
• 2/3 cup coconut cream
• 2 tablespoon honey
For the filling:
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• Zest of 2 limes
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1/2 cup honey
• 6 egg yolks
• 1/8 teaspoon gelatin
• 1/3 cup coconut cream, for topping
• 1 lime, sliced thin, for garnish
• 1/4 cup toasted coconut flakes, for garnish

Directions:

1. Fit a regular 8-inch pie pan with parchment paper, and pre-heat the oven to 350°F.
2. In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the coconut, coconut cream, salt and honey for the crust. Stir until blended. Then, in a separate bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric mixers until soft peaks form. Fold the coconut mixture gently into the white whites, until folly combined. Do not over stir.
3. Now, spread the mixture in an even layer in the pie pan. Use a spatula to ensure there are no holes in the crust, and to shape the edges. Crust should be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Place pan in oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, until coconut is golden brown on the edges and crust is set. Remove from oven, and set aside to cool.
4. To make the filling, melt the coconut oil in a thick-bottomed sauce pan on the stove. Once melted, add the salt and honey. Stir to combine (If your honey is thick, heat this mixture over the stove, stirring constantly, to get the honey to dissolve better. It make not dissolve entirely, which is fine). Remove from heat and allow to cool 5-10 minutes. While you wait, prepare bowl by placing a fine mesh sieve over top of it on the counter.
5. Now, add lime zest, lime juice, egg yolks, and gelatin to pan. Return to stove, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Curd should coat the back of a spoon, and an instant-read thermometer should read 165°F (if you have one). Remove from heat, and pour mixture through the prepared sieve and into the bowl. Use a spatula to help pass the mixture through the sieve, but stop any solid chunks from going through.
6. Finally, pour the curd into the prepared pie crust. Use a spatula to distribute the curd, and then shake the pie back and forth gently to release air bubbles and smooth the surface. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
7. To serve: top pie with a layer of coconut cream, and the sprinkle with toasted coconut and thinly sliced lime.

Chai-Spiced Chocolate Coconut Bark

Gosh, it has been way too long since we've had a chocolate recipe around here, hasn't it? Not to worry, it's not because I haven't been eating chocolate (oh -- that's not what you were worried about? Hmph.) I've been eating plenty of these melt-in-your mouth cookies, and eating my fair share of chocolate chips (Did half of the chips destined to become this bark end up being eaten straight from the bag? ... Maybe).

Anyways -- what you really care about: A chocolate recipe you can enjoy pretty much right now. Like not even kidding. All you have to do it melt some chocolate, top it with some extra goodies, and throw it in the fridge for a few minutes to set. Then all of this chocolatey goodness is yours. You don't even have to wait for the bark to set -- I almost guarantee there'll be a chocolatey spoon or spatula that needs licking. 

The bonus? This chocolate bark is a super cute Christmas present. One that's full of homemade thought and sweet with handcrafted love. Tuck some bark into a pretty bag, tie it with a bow, and every chocoholic will love you. I know I would. 

✅Last minute present success! 

Wishing everyone a happy holiday/solstice/winter break! 

Chai-Spiced Chocolate Coconut Bark

Published December 23, 2015 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 8   |    Active Time: 15 minutes

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Ingredients:

8 ounces chocolate

1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

2 tablespoons toasted coconut flakes

2 tablespoons crystallized ginger chips

Directions:

1. Fit a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. Melt chocolate in a double boiler, or in the microwave (for microwave: place chocolate in a bowl. heat for 30 seconds, stir. Heat for 30 more seconds, stir, and repeat until chocolate is smooth).
3. Stir ground ginger, cinnamon, and cardamom into chocolate. Spread chocolate in a thin layer on the parchment paper.
4. Sprinkle chocolate with crystallized ginger and toasted coconut. Place chocolate in fridge until set. Break into pieces. Store into airtight container.