Paleo Cooking

After a month or so of "cheating" by eating gluten free cookies, brownies and muffins made with grains, sugar, and more sugar, I'm returning to clean paleo in time for Thanksgiving. I pulled out my Mama's Coconut Blend Flour, a whole bunch of eggs and my favorite canned pumpkin. So far today I've made Pumpkin Pancakes and Cranberry - Pumpkin muffins from my Practical paleo Cookbook. The kids gave the muffins four stars but were less thrilled by the pancakes (I burned them).  I've also made a wonderful Spiced Orange Cranberry sauce (see below) with  no added sugar. The last thing on my list today is to make Paleo Pumpkin Bars with Vanilla Frosting  http://www.paleocupboard.com/pumpkin-bars.html. My friend, Heather, made these for a school bake sale and they were amazing. Actually, everything that Heather makes is amazing so I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that my bars come out looking something like hers.It's fun to see how many creations can come out of a kitchen sweetened only with honey or maple syrup or dates, but those handy-dandy mixes just sneak up on me in the grocery store and jump into my cart when I'm over looking at the kale. I'll try to keep myself honest by posting some paleo adventures here. Enjoy your cooking and eating!

Spiced Orange Cranberry Sauce (Yoga Journal, November 2013) 
1 organic orange
1 c water
12 oz fresh cranberries
5 Medjool dates, pitted and diced
2 tsp fresh minced ginger

1. Zest about half the orange and reserve the zest. Cut the ends off the orange, then cut away the peel and outer membrane of fruit in wide strips. Holding the orange over a bowl to catch the juice, cut between the inner membranes and fruit to release the segments into the bowl.

2. In a medium saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Add the orange segments (including any juice), cranberries, dates, and ginger. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until sauce is thick. Stir in the orange zest and refrigerate until ready to serve.