The Sunday Recipe: Non-Traditional Irish Soda Bread Muffins

March 21, 2021 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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This is definitely not what you would call a “traditional” Irish soda bread.

I started out with a muffin recipe from A Spicy Perspective, which can be found here – ttps://www.aspicyperspective.com/irish-soda-bread-muffins/ – if you want a recipe that uses regular flour.

Then I started making my substitutions to create something gluten free and a little more friendly for me. Here’s what I came up with. It’s similar, in some ways, but also different. However, my husband and I agreed that it was delicious – buttery, sweet, and tender. (I actually think he liked it better than regular Irish soda bread.)

If you give it a try, let me know how you like it.

Paleo Irish Soda Bread Muffins

Ingredients

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, gently melted
  • 1 egg plus 1 egg white
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • ½ cup tapioca flour
  • ¾ teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 cup coconut flour, sifted to break up clumps
  • 1 cup raisins, plumped in hot water and drained (I used golden raisins.)

Directions

  1. Plump your raisins in hot water for 20 minutes then drain.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350.
  3. Prep 18 muffin wells with cooking spray or paper liners. (I have a 12 cup and two 6 cup tins so I used one large and one small.)
  4. Cut up the butter and warm it gently in the microwave, stirring to melt every minute or so. Set aside.
  5. Whisk the egg with the maple syrup.
  6. Add in the buttermilk.
  7. Add the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
  8. Stir in the melted butter.
  9. Add the coconut flour and raisins last, folding to combine quickly but gently. (Coconut flour has a tendency to stiffen dough quickly.)
  10. You will have a fluffy dough. Spoon gently into the prepared tins. (This won’t puff a lot when baking so you don’t want to deflate the air you have in there.)
  11. Bake for 20 minutes.
  12. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving.
  13. Enjoy!

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The Sunday Recipe: Pumpkin Butter

November 1, 2020 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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I decided I wanted to make pumpkin macarons one day and the best recipe I found recommended making pumpkin butter to go inside them. Since we have several pie pumpkins, this seemed like a perfect use of some. I wanted a slow cooker recipe. This recipe was adapted from a recipe on Allrecipes by Allyk. I used maple syrup, added cider, and changed up the spices. The original is at https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/215317/slow-cooker-pumpkin-butter/

Pumpkin Butter

Ingredients

  • 2 – 2 pound pie pumpkins, peeled, seeded, and diced. (Or similar, this is what we had.)
  • ¾ cup maple syrup
  • ¼ cup apple cider
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon cloves
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions

  1. Place the pumpkin in the crockpot with the cider.
  2. Pour maple syrup over pumpkin.
  3. Combine spices and sprinkle over pumpkin.
  4. Put lid on and set slow cooker for low.
  5. Allow to cook for 9 hours, overnight is a good time.
  6. Stir, and prop the lid open.
  7. Allow to cook until excess moisture is removed,  about 3 hours.
  8. Cool and enjoy or freeze.

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The Sunday Recipe: Green Tomato Mincemeat

October 11, 2020 at 6:00 am (Recipes)
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My husband grew a bumper crop of Roma tomatoes this year. I’ve made several batches of marinara sauce, chili sauce, and one HUGE batch of salsa. Some of the tomatoes didn’t quite have time to ripen though so I’ve used an old favorite recipe to preserve them — Green Tomato Mincemeat. I’ve adapted this recipe for a more paleo version from the Fannie Farmer Boston Cooking School Cookbook of 1937. It’s simple but amazingly delicious.

In the past I’ve used either olive oil or butter, and either vinegar or lemon juice. This time I replaced the sugar with maple syrup, which allows me to use ¾ of the sugar content and still retain the tangy sweetness.

I prefer Granny Smith apples, but I’m sure any good cooking apple would work. I made a double batch the first time with vinegar, instead of lemon juice, and it tasted great. Today I made a triple batch and used lemon juice.

Green Tomato Mincemeat

Ingredients

  • 2 cups peeled, cored, and chopped apples
  • 2 cups chopped green tomatoes
  • 1 cup maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1 cup dark raisins
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon mace (nutmeg is an acceptable substitute)
  • ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
  • ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
  • ½ tablespoon tapioca flour or cornstarch (optional)
  • ¼ cup butter

Directions

  1. Mix all ingredients together in a large pot, except butter and tapioca (or corn) starch.
  2. Bring to a boil gradually over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
  3. Simmer about 1 ½ to 2 hours.
  4. Stir together tapioca flour or cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water and stir into the sauce.
  5. Simmer another 15 minutes.
  6. Remove from heat and stir in butter.
  7. Cool and use, or pour into freezer containers to store in the freezer.

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The Sunday Recipe: Coconut Custard with Berries

July 5, 2020 at 5:00 am (Recipes)
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Coconut Custard with Berries

I’ve made this with peaches, blueberries, raspberries, and even rhubarb. (Warning: Even though I LOVE rhubarb, the flavor just didn’t go with the coconut for me. Try that at your own risk.) Pictured above are raspberries in the top two and blueberries in the bottom two. It can be made, at the same time and temp, in a deep-dish pie plate instead of individual ramekins by simply doubling the recipe. I made a double batch because it uses a full can of coconut milk then just refrigerated half overnight and made the other half the next day. That way I could bake it in my toaster oven on the front porch to keep from heating the kitchen up. I highly recommend the blueberries, preferably fresh but frozen works too.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 can of coconut milk (cans are usually 13.33 to 15 ounce)
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup (sugar will work)
  • 2 tablespoons coconut flour (Almond flour, tapioca flour, and even cocoa powder have worked. If using cocoa powder, add a half tablespoon of tapioca starch or a teaspoon of cornstarch.)
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup berries, fresh or frozen.

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Place the four ramekins in a square baking dish, metal or glass work.
  3. Put one layer of berries in the bottom of the dishes.
  4. Heat 1 ½ cups of water for a water bath.
  5. Place the rest of the ingredients in a blender or bowl and mix thoroughly. (I used a stick blender.)
  6. Pour batter slowly over fruit.
  7. Pour hot water into pan around ramekins. (Be careful, the pan can now become quite hot.)
  8. Bake for 40 minutes.
  9. Remove from oven and drain water. I do this by either removing the removing the ramekins to a towel using rubber covered tongs, or by using a turkey baster to suction the water out of the pan.
  10. Allow to cool then refrigerate for several hours.
  11. Serve as is or with whipped cream, or whipped coconut cream.
  12. Enjoy!

*Last Edited 7/8/2020

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