My kids seemed quite happy with their Primal(ish) Easter baskets. Although, the natural cherry licorice was not received well. They didn't even ask why and when the Easter Bunny went Primal. I guess this means they have now accepted our new way of eating as normal. That's pretty cool!
We went to 11 o'clock Mass, and then headed to Tom's mother's house for lunch. We kept it primal with turkey, green beans, mashed sweet potatoes, olives, and cookies and cake for dessert.
The kids had a great time hunting for eggs. Grandma has been very supportive of our new lifestyle change, filled the eggs with objects the kids could trade in for dollar bills. No candy. Thank you!
We then headed to our friends' house for dinner. I had thought I'd cheat for Easter, but I ended up staying fairly true to GP. I had ham, chicken, asparagus, brussel sprouts and about 1/4 cup of green bean casserole. My friend Cathy made an almond crust, strawberry cream pie (what was it called, Cathy?) She said it did have some sugar, but was Primal-friendly in all other aspects, so I had some of this and it was awesome. I wish I had thought to take a photo, because it was just as pretty as it was delicious.
Oh, I also had half glass of red wine.
Overall, not too bad, I don't think.
Now, I made a chocolate cake and it looked (and smelled) fabulous until I transferred it to a cake stand, where it promptly cracked in ten different directions. I made a quick cream, but whipping heavy cream and vanilla, and served it with the cake. The cake was so dense, it needed something light and cool to balance it.
(I was going to include the recipe here, but given that it is from a cookbook, I don't know if this would take away sales from the author or what, so if you really think this cake is for you, go to Amazon and buy Paleo Comfort Foods.) My thoughts on it? It is way too rich. I love dark chocolate, but this was really something else. This recipe includes cayenne pepper.I hate spicy-hot things, so I only added about 1/2 tsp of the cayenne. It gave the cake a really nice warm flavor but without making it spicy. However, you can't properly enjoy it because you're reaching for your water to wash down the sticky, dense cake taste. I suppose if you are desperate for dessert and you would die for chocolate, this cake might be worth a try.
I also made the Coconut Cookies which seemed to be worthy of a potluck event. I've even made them for the kids when they have school functions, and while my kids feel funny about it, other people eat them and come back for me. So this might be a good thing to bake 'n' take to family/friends gatherings. Maybe?
Then, just to be safe, I made brownies. I just can't seem to get it right. Either the middle is under baked or it's fine and the outer edges are burned... argh.
I used:
1 cup Cashew butter
1/4 cup raw honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 egg
Mix well. Pour in a 8x8 glass cake pan. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees (or so say the directions) I sprinkled with dark chocolate chips since I believe brownies should include chocolate somehow.
Oh, I also made Tom a berry tart (simmered and reduced berries with 1tbls honey, poured onto a baked almond crust, and put in fridge to set for an hour). I topped with whipped cream. It didn't turn out so well. The berries were still pretty bitter/tart despite the honey I used to sweeten them. Maybe maple syrup would work better?
So a very busy weekend, but lots of fun. Now that Lent is over, I can go back to experimenting with baked goods. I'm hoping to have time for baking coconut bread tomorrow. I really want a ham sandwich.
Happy Easter!
