Brussels Sprouts, Apple & Bacon Salad with Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette

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My brain? Fried. The last two weeks have been a power-haul of finals and end of the year projects. But after finishing two tests on Wednesday, I could instantly breath better, sleep better and think clearer. (Funny how that works--I wish the clear thinking came along with the tests instead of after it, but there's just something about looming tests that make me want to hold my breath until it's over... and holding my breath really doesn't do much for brain function). 

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Going to the monthly Paleo Potluck Club dinner last Sunday was a bright spot between study sessions last weekend. The feast was exactly what my brain needed. This brussels sprout salad, with it's absurdly long name, was a winner: fresh crunch from the shredded brussels sprouts, a sweet kick from the apples, and a savory-salty bonus from bacon pieces. Pepitas give it a nutty crunch. 

I ended up recreating the salad twice during the week. It's variety of flavor and textures are just delicious! And while salad usually feels meh in the winter, this salad feels just right.

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If you're new to salad with brussels sprouts you're probably having a lot of doubts right now. I don't blame you. To be honest, I tasted my first brussels sprout less than 3 years ago (though I can't remember when...), so I'm no sprout veteran. What I can tell you, is that if you're a brussels sprout newbie, this salad is not a bad place to start. (Come on, it has bacon in it!) And, if you are an brussels sprout veteran, add this one to your arsenal--it will not fail you. 

Brussels Sprout, Apple, & Bacon Salad with Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette

Published November 22, 2014 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 2-4   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 3 cups shredded brussels sprouts, cut them with the mandolin attachment of your food processor or thinly with a knife 
• 1 cup shredded dino kale 
• 2 slices bacon
• 1/4 yellow onion 
• 1 gala apple, cored and diced (optional, save 1/4 of the apple and slice thinly to use as garnish)
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds 

For the Vinaigrette:
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat medium sized skillet over medium heat and cook bacon until crispy. Move to a plate, and once cool, crumble into small pieces. Then, slice onion into thin strips and sauté in bacon grease until golden. Set aside to cool.
2. Place shredded brussels sprouts and shredded dino kale in a salad bowl and toss until distributed.
3. Make vinaigrette in a small jar: place all ingredients for vinaigrette in a jar with a lid, and close. Shake until combined. Pour over greens, and toss until coated.
4. Add crumbled bacon, cooled onions, diced apple, and pumpkin seeds and toss. If desired, top with reserved apple slices for garnish.

Coconut Snowball Cookies with Cacao Nibs (No-bake & Paleo)

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I'm not really a cold-weather-loving person, but wearing a puffy coat in the snow makes me feel like a little kid again. With big snow flakes and fluffy drifts, this week's storm is the perfect excuse to stay at home and bake cookies. I might be jumping the gun on holiday season here, but... When the weather outside is frightful (and you have a batch of tasty paleo cookies in your hands)... Let it snow, let is snow, let it snow! 

A cross between Macaroons, these Coco-Roons, and my own artistic liberties, these cookies are no-bake. Round and sweet, they bring out my inner child even more than just the snow. It's been sub-freezing around here all week, so after mixing together the ingredients I stuck the pan outside and within minutes (literally, about 3) they were ready to eat. 

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Now, while I'm inside enjoying a bowl of soup and a plate of cookies, I can't help but wonder what the neighborhood bunnies think. This guy? 

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He looks like he could use a pair of down booties. And some earmuffs (but maybe not as badly as this guy). (Yea, I know, I'm ridiculous. But aren't his feet cold??) 

Based on how fast he bounded across the street right after I snapped this photo, he doesn't want anything to do with this earmuff business.

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Anyways, where were we? Right, Coconut Snowball Cookies. There babies call for 7 ingredients--that's it! They are pretty much the easiest cookies I've ever made (unless you count holiday slice-and-bake tubes from my pre-paleo days, and even still these might be easier as they require no slicing and no baking). Other than being festive, they are pretty damn delicious too. The sweet honey and coconut manna "glue" melts away as you eat them, while the cacao nibs and coconut shreds provide a satisfying crunch. 

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Coconut Snowball Cookies with Cacao Nibs

Published November 11, 2014 by Caitlin Sherwood

Little no-bake cookies that look like snowballs!

Serves: 15   |    Total Time: 25 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup desiccated coconut (finely shredded)
• 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons blanched almond flour (see note for AIP-friendly version)
• 1/2 cup coconut butter (manna) (Make this at home by blending 1 cup desiccated coconut on high in a high-power blender for 1 minute, or until buttery and smooth)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup cacao nibs (see note for AIP-friendly version)
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract (see note for AIP-friendly version)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Melt the coconut oil and the coconut manna (in the microwave, on the stove, what ever you prefer). In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, manna, and honey. Stir in the vanilla.
2. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the coconut, almond flour, and salt, mixing until evenly distributed. Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture, and use a spatula to stir until well incorporated. Add in cacao nibs, stirring to distributed.
3. The dough should be sticky and stay clumped together when pressed into a ball. Use a round tablespoon or small cookie scoop to form snowballs, packing the mixture into the spoon and then placing the snowballs onto a cookie sheet. (Tip: scrape your spoon of excess coconut mixture each time for best results) Once you have used all of the batter, place the cookie sheet in the fridge (or outside in cold weather) until the cookies have set. Serve with a cup of hot cocoa or store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
4. NOTE: For AIP-Friendly, sub out the almond flour with extra coconut and skip the vanilla and cacao nibs. Try sprinkling with cinnamon.

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Citrus & Thyme Glazed Root Vegetables

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I learned a new word this weekend: Hyggeligt.

Hyggeligt is a Danish word that lacks much of an English definition, but we all know the feeling. Google Translate attempts to sum the concept up with the word "cozy." Having not been to  Denmark, I really can’t speak for (or against) that definition but I'm told it's just not that simple. There must be candlelight. There must be people you love. If it's cold and dark, you do not feel hyggeligt. Watching a scary movie or visiting a haunted corn maze is pretty much the opposite of this feeling. Thanksgiving on the other hand, now that is hyggeligt (Hello best eating holiday if the year! Only 17 days from now!).

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You know that feeling you get when you think of sitting down to a table adorned with a Turkey, glasses of wine, and a candle or too? With sweet potato casserole, green beans, and your favorite people in the world? I imagine that is hyggeligt. (And if you're thinking right now, Oh Jeez, I am NOT looking forward to cleaning the house for our guests and I really hope Crazy Aunt Lou doesn't come or talk about her dead cats-- no, that is not hyggeligt).

I'll give the Google definition some credit: you are cozy, but it's an inside-out sort of cozy. You're holiday sweater may be warm and fuzzy but it is not really a part of your hyggeligt feelings. On Thanksgiving Day, you're warm and fuzzy because of where you are and who you're with and how that makes you feel. 

I'm just going to lay this out here: I think it also has something to do with what you eat (Maybe this just speaks to me thinking with my tongue... what's new?). It's eating Grandma's gravy (cooked with love) or using the family pie recipe (passed from one baker to the next). Even if it's a new recipe, it's food that makes you feel cozy (for lack of a better English word) with every bite.

This recipe, for Citrus & Thyme Glazed Root Vegetables, though certainly not a tradition for many people, is also hyggelit. It may not have been on your Thanksgiving menu ever before, but it communicates a feeling of warmth anyways. The familiar smell of roasted garlic. The sweetness of carrots and beets enhanced by grapefruit. Fresh herbs that really drive that rustic-recipe feeling home. 

Root veggies are perfect in winter because they “fit” with the season … and you still get to taste the rainbow!

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The veggies are cooked stove-top, so they’re done in about 20-30 minutes. The colors are so pretty! The golden tones of the roots contrast brightly with the fresh herbs. Red beets can be used in this recipe, but a word of caution: they will turn the entire dish red, instead of the yellow/orange array you see here. It wont change the flavor much (I find red beet are a bit “beetier” than golden ones, but that’s it), so if all you can find are red, don’t sweat it.

Citrus & Thyme Glazed Root Vegetables

Published November 9, 2014 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 2-4   |    Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil, divided

2 large carrots, peeled and diced

1 golden beet, peeled and diced (you can also use a red beet, but it may turn the whole dish red!)

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced

Zest and juice from 1/2 grapefruit

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon honey

2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only, plus more for garnish

Salt to taste

Optional: minced parsley for garnish

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, combine diced veggies, garlic, 1 teaspoon olive oil, grapefruit zest & juice, honey, and thyme, and stir to coat all veggies.
2. Place a 10-inch skillet with remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, spoon veggies into skillet (reserve any leftover sauce/juice in the mixing bowl, you will add it in step 4).
3. Turn heat down to medium-low and cook vegetables slowly, stirring only every few minutes.
4. After about 10 minutes, when veggies just begin to turn browned on the edges, add the reserved sauce to the pan, and stir. Continue to cook mixture slowly, stirring every few minutes, for ten more minutes. Veggies should be browned on edges and softened all the way through. Sauce should thicken into a glaze on the veggies.
5. Remove from heat, and season with salt to taste. Garnish with thyme and parsley as desired. Serve hot as a side dish or a breakfast hash.