Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad

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I wrapped up my final semester of grad school last week and have been day dreaming ever since (Yippee!! Recipe for a celebration treat to come! Here's a hint: It involves frosting and chocolate). I have Northern Italy on the mind! My browser's history is rich with images of Misurina Lake, old Castles with winding roads backdropped by and jagged mountains, and Tiramisu. Don't forget about the glass lakes, or storybook farm scenes either. 

In the fall, I'll be traveling to Iceland, Germany, Austria, and Italy for two weeks! My mom and step-dad, who have been using Bavaria as a home base for the last year and a half, will join Oliver and I for the adventure. The trip is still months away, but a girl can day dream, right? I'll also be using my day dreams as recipe inspiration until I can taste the real deal. 

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This salad is not Italian, but it has tomatoes, basil, and balsamic vinegar, which is most of the way there, right? ;) It's also a fantastic summery break from the surprise spring snow storm we just got (Ugh!). 

Italian or not, what makes this salad so good? The answer is easy: the tomatoes are marinaded in a bold dressing that is tart and sweet until their natural flavors are amplified. To turn this into a proper salad, you can spoon the marinaded tomato mixture over a bed of lettuce (my favorite these days is butter head or buttercup).

From the spoon or from a plate, Salude! Here's to the near future, and all of the fun it holds. 

Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad

Published May 11, 2015 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 4   |    Active Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

1 lemon, zest and juice

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

6 large leaves of lettuce (my favorite variety is butter head, but anything will work)

1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half (cherry tomatoes in various colors make this salad gorgeous, but it’s not necessary)

1 cucumber, sliced thin

1/4 cup minced red onion

2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

Optional: freshly cracker pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium-sized bowl, combine lemon juice and zest, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, honey, and minced garlic. Whisk to combine.
2. Add sliced cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and red onion to vinegar mixture and stir. Set aside for at least 15 minutes so that flavors can intermingle.
3. To serve: Spread lettuce leaves out in the bottom of a serving bowl or platter. Add fresh basil and parsley to tomato mixture, stirring to incorporate. Use a slotted spoon to transfer tomato mixture to the serving dish, and then drizzle any remaining vinegar mixture over the top of the salad. Top with freshly cracker pepper to taste and serve.

Paleo Carrot Cake Coconut Smoothie

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What do you do when you need a "reset"? 

Last week, we had a really grey day. It wasn't just cloudy--it actually hailed and snowed before the clouds gave way! It left a heavy feeling on everything: spring's first daffodils sagged to the ground, people moved slowly, and my pep, which often correlates with sunny weather, settled at ho-hum levels. 

Often my "reset" button is going for a run. When I'm in a rut, running is like mediation for me. The practice of mediation usually emphasizes not thinking at all, but I struggle with that. The meditative state I find while on a run is different. It's quiet so that I can reflect, but I can't think too hard. Instead my mind just wanders in an unconstrained stream of consciousness. 

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I love the freedom that comes with running, so when I awoke to that grey, grey day last week, I was sort of bummed. Not only was the cloud cover leaving me feeling "blah," it was keeping me from enjoying springtime on the trail. I needed something to make the morning brighter. The answer: a Paleo Carrot Cake Coconut Smoothie.

The color of this smoothie was enough to get me excited. And then I took a sip, and left that grey-mood on the floor. It was creamy and luscious (thank you, coconut milk!), and bright and fresh (an you too, fresh ginger and pineapple!). I used coconut water, which is great for hydration--this smoothie probably would makes a great post run gulp, but hey--sometimes you wake up to hail and you just have to take life as it comes. Packed with Vitamins A and C, this smoothie is a powerhouse in a glass and totally brightened my week. I hope it can do the same for you! 

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Paleo Carrot Cake Coconut Smoothie

Published March 15, 2015 by Caitlin Sherwood

Serves: 2   |    Total Time: 10 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2 medium-sized carrots, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut water
• 1/2 cup milk of choice (dairy, nut milk, coconut milk, etc)
• 1/2 cup pineapple, fresh, frozen or canned
• 1/2 cup pineapple juice
• 1 banana, frozen
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch teaspoon cloves
• Pinch teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 cup crushed ice
• 1 tablespoon toasted coconut, for garnish

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients aside from toasted coconut to blender and puree until smooth.
2. Pour into two glasses, and garnish with toasted coconut. Serve cold.

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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