Friday, September 28, 2012

Delicious Angel Food Cake

Delicious Angel Food Cake
 
 
I can't tell you why I've never tried to make an angel food cake. I guess  making it was a challenge since I'm not the best at "folding" ingredients together, especially when egg whites are involved. Nonetheless, I went on towards reaching a goal and success! The first two angel food cakes I made were amazing. I also made some down right delicious gluten free cakes and they were also great. The GF ones fell a little but they tasted great regardless of the way they looked.

Today's recipe is for a regular wheat-based cake but I will be providing a GF cake recipe one day when I have enough time. This blogging thing really is a lot of work. It usually takes an hour or more for one blog post. (In case you didn't know.)
 
Any who, let's get to the recipe, shall we?
 
Ingredients:
2cups superfine sugar (granulated, fine sugar)
1 1/3cups sifted cake flour
1 1/2cups egg whites at room temperature (I used liquid egg whites)
3/4tsp salt
1 1/2tsp cream of tartar
3/4tsp vanilla extract
 
 
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Make sure your oven is ready to go or your cake will fall flat.
Combine 1/2cup sugar with the flour and sift together 4 times. This really does make for a light and airy cake so I highly recommend doing this.
Place the eggs whites, salt and cream of tartar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat with the whisk attachment on high speed until stiff peaks form, approximately 1 minute. With the mixer on medium speed, add the remaining 1 1/2cups of sugar by sprinkling it over the egg whites. Whisk until thick and shiny then add the vanilla extract and whisk until thick, about another minute. Sift the flour mixture into the liquid mixture 1/4 at a time and fold into the batter with a rubber spatula.
Pour the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, smooth the top and bake 35-40 minutes until it springs back to the touch. I baked mine 45-50 minutes so please watch your time carefully.
Remove the cake from the oven and invert on a cooling rack until completely cool.
 
 
Notes: The top of the cake is slightly crunchy while the remainder of the cake is light and airy. Cut any remaining pieces and wrap individually in plastic wrap and freeze up to 6 months. Remove from freezer and thaw on counter or microwave a few seconds until warm.

Eat this delicious treat and enjoy!

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Paleo and Holistic Cold Remedy

Paleo and Holistic Cold Remedy
 
"Let food be thy medicine, and thy medicine be food." - Hippocrates

 
My kids have been sick a lot this year with colds and ear infections. I'm not a fan of sickness (but who is?) and hate it when my kids get sick. I hate it even more when two of them are sick.. and I hate it even more if they get sick and then heal and then I get sick. HATE IT!

I was on a quest for finding a holistic and paleo cold remedy and luckily, I had the mixture right inside my pantry. Fresh, local honey and ground cinnamon. I usually find anything I want to make on pinterest. Everyone said it worked so I tried it early this year when the kids got sick. My throat started feeling scratchy and my lower back started to ache - which for me is the ultimate sign of sickness coming on.

I took the specified concoction and I was surprised that it worked. It warded off the cold and I only had a few aches the first day and I was more tired than usual on the second day and by the third day, I felt normal again. No cold! 
 
So, how does honey and cinnamon work to heal you? Well, let's take a look at the two elements.

First, honey is the only food in the world that will not spoil. Did you know that? I didn't until recently and thought, "wow.. those bees sure do know what they're doing!"
Second, honey is an antimicrobial, which means that it kills microorganisms that carry disease. In other words, it will feast on the germs and kill them before they spread into your body.

And how about the cinnamon? What does that do internally?

Cinnamon treats antiviral infections. Research has shown that it is an antiviral remedy which will kill the cold and flu virus internally.

We put the antiviral (cold fighter) and the antimicrobial (germ fighter) together and the most precious sickness fighter you can imagine has been created.
 
I've tried this twice this year and the benefits are amazing. I am proof that this does work and will continue reaching into my pantry instead of a medicine cabinet from now on. If you look for naturally safe solutions, you will find it. Just keep looking and digging and experimenting.

Cold Remedy Ingredients:
Makes 3 servings (take 3 times a day)
1Tbsp local, raw honey
3/4tsp ground cinnamon
 


Directions:
Stir the honey and cinnamon together in a small container and take 1tsp 3x's daily until all cold/flu symptoms are gone.
 
I mixed up several days worth of this mixture and gladly ate all of it.

I am not a medical professional. This is my own assessment and I will not be held for any misuse of this remedy.
 
Please let me know if you try this and how you like the results!

~Angela
 

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Homemade Gourmet Marshmallow's

Homemade Gourmet Marshmallow's
 
 
During my visits at being a vendor at my local market, I thought I'd give marshmallow making a try. The first recipe was a flop ... do not use pectin!
The second, third, fourth etc.. were awesome and spot on every time. This recipe is so simple but I must warn you, you need to have a stand up mixer. This will need to mix 15 minutes and I honestly don't know if you could do it with a hand-held. That's all you have? Give it a try and come back and let me know how it worked!
 
These pictures were from the marshmallow's I made for a beach-themed baby shower and the lucky lady was having a girl. Apparently when I left, the last few were fought over because they were so good.. and yes, they're so much better than store bought and taste amazing roasted! MMM!
 
 
Ingredients:
1.5cups water (3/4cup in sugar mixture, 3/4cup in gelatin mixture)
4 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
3cups granulated sugar
1 1/4cups light corn syrup
1/4tsp salt
2tsp vanilla extract
1cup (more or less) powdered sugar
 

Directions:Lightly spray a large jelly roll pan or 9x13 pan with any oil and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixter, combine 3/4cup water and the 4 gelatin packets.
Over medium-high heat, combine 3/4cup remaining water, granulated sugar, light corn syrup and salt and bring to a boil until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer.
With the whisk attachment on the mixter, carefully pour the hot mixture into the gelatin/water mixture on high speed for 15 minutes. The mixture will be light and fluffy and very stiff. After 15 minutes, add the 2tsp vanilla until completely incorporated.

 


 
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a lightly oiled spatula. Let rest 10-15 hours.

Sprinkle powdered sugar on top of marshmallow's and then flip out onto a cutting board (powdered sugar side down). Then sprinkle again on top. Cut into desired shapes and roll into remaining powdered sugar to prevent sticking.
 
I added about 10 drops red food coloring and swirled it in for a pink baby shower marshmallow.
I went a step further and dipped these halfway into chocolate and toasted coconut. I made some for the kids with mini chocolate chips on top of the dipped chocolate and also did a chocolate/white chocolate swirl.
*Note: If you dip these in chocolate, dust the excess powdered sugar off first or the chocolate won't stick.
These can be stored 2-3 weeks in an airtight container in the pantry or about 6 months in the freezer if tighly wrapped.
 
 
These also make excellet rice crispy treats as well as smores and can be placed on top of your coffee or hot chocolate. So good!

Eat and enjoy!



Friday, August 31, 2012

Paleo Mayo-Baked Chicken

Paleo Mayo Baked Chicken

 


I'm a big fan of baked chicken when it's cooked right and not dry; which has been what my past baked chicken dishes have been. It's so sad when a great piece of chicken turns out dry. You miserably eat it and regret all the time you put into prepping it.

Thankfully, I made my own concoction of a delicious and simple mixture to spoon on top of chicken then bake it off. It was honestly as simple as putting a few ingredients in a bowl, stirring to combine, spreading on top of the chicken and baking. That's my idea of cooking right there.


Check out my recipe here at The Girl Who Went Paleo: Paleo Chicken. MMM!



 

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Perfect Paleo Red Potatoes, Two Ways

Perfect Red Potatoes, Two Ways
Find this recipe at my Paleo blog: The Girl Who Went Paleo

 
 
There are a lot of people who don't eat white potatoes because it may be a problem for them with the starch and glucose and what-not. There's a long post about potatoes here that you can read if you'd like. It's from Mark's Daily Apple and I happen to like some of the stuff he's written. Although he's primal, it seems that he agrees that a large part of our population can not internally handle tubers (potatoes).

I love potatoes and we eat red potatoes about twice a week. I can handle it and it seems that my boys handle it well, too. Only time will tell for them as they're little ones but when they get older, they can decide to continue eating potatoes or eliminate them from their diet.

So, for any of you red-potato-eating-folks, here's a double whammy recipe for you:
1) Baked red potatoes
and
2) Skillet fried red potatoes
 
Paleo Baked Red Potatoes:
Printable Recipe

One small bag of red potatoes washed and cut into quarters
Salt and pepper to taste, approximately 1tsp salt and 1/2tsp pepper
2Tbsp olive oil, or oil of choice
1Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
1Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
 
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400degrees.
Wash and cut red potatoes into quarters and place on a baking sheet. Coat generously with oil of choice and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake approximately (according to the size of the cut pieces) 25-35 minutes flipping the potatoes once half-way through the baking process.
When finished, sprinkle with rosemary and parsley and eat these delicious potatoes.
 
Paleo Pan-Fried Red Potatoes
Printable Recipe
Use remaining ingredients from the above recipe, which are the cooked red potatoes. In a cast iron skillet, heat 2Tbsp olive oil (or bacon fat, or any fat of choice) until the pan starts steaming. When it's hot, place the potatoes in the skillet and cook 15-20 minutes until browned on all sides. Stir and flip potatoes every minute or so. Keep your eye on this as it could burn easily.


Sprinkle with fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme or parsley. Eat with whatever condiment of choice you'd like (we prefer ketchup!) or sprinkle with cheese and melt then add some chili or sour cream. Yummy in my tummy!


The first recipe is great for a lunch or dinner while the second recipe is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Please enjoy and let me know how you like these two recipes.

Eat and Enjoy!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Paleo Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies

Paleo Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies
 
On my new paleo blog, The Girl Who Went Paleo, I posted a paleo creation for pumpkin breakfast cookies. The texture is chewy and the cookie is hearty. It's great for a quick grab-n-go snack and wonderful for the kids.

Check out the recipe here, and let me know what you think!
 
 
 
Enjoy!