Kitchen Essentials

I like to think of myself as an eclectic man. I think it is essential to be different in this world. I love playing guitar, I also knit. I love to cook, and experiment with different kinds of flavors, but I also love going to Warped tour. I can NOT cook without listening to some form of metal. Diversity is essential in life.

Now, on to the essentials of my kitchen (prepare yourself, it's kinda weird). Bananas. Cocoa powder. Eggs. Mixed nuts. Penzey's spices. On Paleo, your kind of limited when it comes to a quick breakfast. Sure, you can make some labor intensive Paleo muffins, but those take time. We're talking about equal parts ease and deliciousness. So, a typical breakfast is eggs and fruit. Penzey's spices take "Ew, eggs..." to "Oh, eggs!" (although I must admit, after eating primarily eggs for breakfast for three weeks, little can be done to make them and more interesting or delicious).

Mixed nuts. Perfect snack, and quick. To make them MORE interesting, put mixed nuts onto a cookie sheet, and put them in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. While they're roasting, mix your favorite spices in a bowl (personal preference is a LOT of garlic powder, oregano, salt, and a little chili pepper). Once the nuts are done, mix 1-2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil (or whatever looks right, depending on how big your batch is) into your spice mix. Then add nuts, and stir like mad. Allow to sit for 10 minutes, and enjoy.

Bananas and Cocoa powder. These 2 ingredients can make an amazing ice cream (almost gelato) like substance. Don't believe me? Try it! Freeze your bananas (as few, or as many as you want). Just throw them in the freezer over night (peel and slice them BEFORE they go in the freezer, personal experience). Take them out the next day, and put them in a food processor with cocoa powder (I'll leave the quantities up to you, depending on how chocolatey you like your "gelato"), and blend until smooth (works better if banana is sliced into smaller pieces, about 4 pieces a banana). In the beginning, it'll look like it isn't working. It is, just keep letting it run! Before long, it will take on a lovely, gelato like texture. At this point, it should be "soft serve", and you can enjoy it right then and there, or put into the freezer for storage. I know it sounds weird, but try it! It's really good, and a heck of a lot better for you than ice cream! Feel free to mix in chocolate chips, omit cocoa powder, add berries for color, whatever! It's up to you.

So those are my kitchen essentials. Have a great, healthy, enjoyable day!


- Clark

Delicious Paleo Sunday Brunch

After returning from church, a trip to the grocery store, and a stop at REI this morning, I was hungry. Almost to the point of being intolerant of everything. After being tempted by the wall of Oreos at King Soopers, I was seriously considering cheating on my Paleo diet. But after pushing the thought of chocolatey, creamy, sin out of my mind, it came to me. I want waffles for my Sunday brunch. "Normal" waffles have a number of things wrong with them. White flour, sugar, and dairy, not to mention the toppings (whipped cream, chocolate chips, copious amounts of syrup, etc) are not the best things to fuel your body with. So after a quick google search, I found this Paleo legit waffle recipe from tastyplanner.com, which will definitely cure your waffle needs:

Ingredients
2 Large Eggs
1/4 Cup Water
1.5 Cups Almond Flour (or meal)
1 tsp. Sea Salt
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tbs Chives

1. Preheat Waffle Iron
2. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and water until frothy.
3. Add remaining ingredients, and mix until smooth.
4.Scoop 1/4 of mixture (or whatever looks right) into waffle iron.
5. Cook until golden brown (about 1-2 minutes)

I omitted the chives mainly because I don't like them, and wanted more of a breakfast item. I added about 2 tablespoons of cinnamon, and a teaspoon of ginger to really capitalize on flavor. I doubled the recipe, and that ended up making 6, medium size waffles.


Now, I highly recommend a topping for this. This fruity, delicious, spread compliments these waffles nicely:

3 very ripe bananas
1 Cored. segmented, pink lady apple
6 ripe raspberries (mainly for the nice, pink color)

Put all ingredients into a food processor, and blend until smooth. Spread onto waffles as desired.

This combination is quite delicious, and very filling. I know this will cure your waffle-itis!