recap post, kind of

i got a new phone recently. i had an iphone 4s and it was great, but i was eligible for an upgrade and the trade in value for the iphone 4s was more than what i would pay to get the iphone 5. heck yes, sign me up. basically, i upgraded my phone and pocketed $15. don't mind if i do. unfortunately, i lost most of the pictures from it... here is what's left from disneyland, visiting with our visitors, and recent eats (including some non-paleo food, like the orange chicken and fried rice my husband made for me. and some unexpectedly paleo food, like the "french bread" i served with soup!)

grain free, gluten free, totally delicious coconut macaroons

i'm still working on a major catchup post, to include many disneyland eats and various other things my guests, husband, and i stuffed our faces with. in the meantime, one of my husband's coworkers ordered some date candies and coconut macaroons for the office. the coconut macaroons came out delicious, and here is the recipe!

grain free, gluten free coconut macaroons

1 14-ounce bag of sweetened, flaked coconut (i love this one)

1 14-ounce can of sweetened condensed milk

1.5 tbls coconut flour

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp sea salt

combine all ingredients thoroughly (i used my stand mixer for this sticky mixture). chill mixture for at least two hours in the icebox, then preheat oven to 350 degrees. line your baking sheet with a silpat or parchment paper sprayed/greased with coconut oil or vegetable oil. (the mixture is really sticky, so don't take any chances here!) now you simply take roughly two teaspoons of the mixture, and roll it lightly in your hands before placing your cookies in rows on your baking sheet. flatten them very slightly. you can put a lot on your baking sheet, because they spread very, very little while baking. bake for 10-12 minutes but watch them very closely. they are finished with the bottom is browned and the top is lightly golden. allow to cool on baking sheet for ten minutes before removing to a cooling rack.

these were delicious as is, and you can see that i drizzled some in dark chocolate. you could also choose to dip just the top or bottom of the cookies in chocolate if you don't feel like drizzling, and they will still be beautiful and tasty!

getting behind and brand dropping

it's been awhile, but i missed you. i really did. now, i didn't miss you enough to stop what i was doing for the last...several...days. (by several days, i obviously mean nearly two weeks or so.) one of my besties was here with her husband and their two big dogs. we had fun. we went to disneyland, fiesta island with the dogs (off-leash dog beach on mission bay in san diego), went to a local dairy, shopped, ate, went to the farmer's market, played board games, watched movies, watched game of thrones...you get the idea.

i have a recap post with some fun pictures of stuff and food and puppies and tiaras to come, but i didn't feel like a monster post. instead, i'm ready for some brand name dropping. you see, there aren't a huge number of things i feel should be brand name. i like bargains and i'm all for costco or store brand things. however, sometimes a brand name means you pay for quality. i know you know what i mean. we've all tried the off brand toilet paper, and promptly gone scurrying back to the good stuff. your rear end and various other places appreciate the good stuff. there are precious other things that i really insist need to be the good stuff. coca cola needs to be name brand. televisions and radios do not. in the kitchen is where this preference comes into big time play. i've had lots of off-brand things in the kitchen...and have trashed most of them. your stand mixer needs to be high quality, whether you prefer cuisineart or kitchenaid (i hugely prefer kitchenaid.). your knives need to be high quality (wusthof, zwilling, and shun are very high quality. but buy them from a good place, not in big box store sets...mmmkay?).

lastly, cookware. you know those big sets of nonstick pans from walmart or target? walk away. it's garbage and when the teflon flakes off, it could give you cancer. for real, it's bad stuff. i live on the wild side and tend to keep a nonstick pan in my cabinet for things like eggs, but i trash it the moment it starts showing signs of being worn. so what to use instead? well, a lot of people like stainless steel cookware. i don't, i can't figure the stuff out. everything sticks forever and stays there forever and then i cuss and throw things. i prefer enameled cast iron. this is where the brand name comes into play. Le Creuset. i have a few baking dishes from le creuset, and they are amazing. easy to clean, sturdy, and heavy (good heat distribution!). and my enameled cast iron skillet and i have a love affair. it'll last forever with some love and i use it every.single.day.

Source, i have this one. i love it.

Source, and this one.

Source, and this one.

i use each of these items often. the covered dish a bit less than the others right now, but it gets it fair share of cook time too. since we always try to watch our pennies, i don't purchase new cookware very often. le creuset items aren't cheap, but you pay for quality with these things. the warranty is good and these are heirloom quality items. ya dig? i have a wishlist of items to add to my beautiful and useful collection, check them out.

Source

Source

Source

Source

Source

Source

Source

Source

Source

Source

there are a few items i would hope to collect multiples of (the large multipurpose mixing bowl and loaf pans, for example.) hey, a girl can dream, right?!

spinach salad with warm bacon dressing, blueberries, and shrimp recipe

somewhere toward the beginning of my cold-turkey transition from gluten-loving baker to gluten-free forever, i traveled to texas. in nowhere, texas dining options are limited for those with gluten problems. i did find a spinach and bacon salad on one outing with my mother and aunties and it was terrible. the dressing was sickeningly sweet, the hard-boiled eggs were sulfurous, and the spinach was wilted before the warm dressing ever hit it. fast-forward to today, when i got a big beautiful bundle of spinach in my CSA. you've seen piles and piles of southern style cooked greens on my blog, but i can't stand sauteed spinach. raw is great though, so i figured a salad was in my future. a typical spinach and bacon salad has hard-boiled eggs, button mushrooms, and red onions - plus of course the bacon and the warm, slightly sweet, dressing. i did not have mushrooms or onions, and did not want more eggs today (i had them for breakfast). sometimes they have strawberries. i also didn't have those, but i had blueberries.

this salad is so delicious, i'm still licking my chops and planning on making it again very soon.

spinach salad with warm bacon dressing, blueberries, and shrimp

what you need for two meal-sized salads (or one salad for someone very hungry!):

~five-six cups fresh spinach

4 slices bacon

8-10 shrimp, cooked (i tossed mine with lemon juice, olive oil, salt/pepper and tossed them on the grill til they were cooked through)

3/4 cup blueberries

3 tbls honey

1 tbls dijon mustard

1 tsp apple cider vinegar or white balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

thoroughly wash and dry your greens and set them aside. chop your bacon and cook it over medium heat til just crisp. remove the bacon from the grease and drain, reserving the grease in the pan. whisk honey, dijon mustard, and vinegar together in the pan, and add salt and pepper to taste. toss this simple, warm dressing with the greens. top with shrimp (i chopped my shrimp into bite-sized pieces), reserved bacon, and blueberries. that is all!

typical spinach and bacon salad has a pretty sweet dressing, and this is moderately sweet. it's a good starting place, and you can always add a touch more honey if you choose. if you hate sweet dressings, decrease honey and increase the vinegar a bit. you could always use strawberries, change up the protein (chicken? roasted shrimp?), or even add some parmesan cheese (mmmm!).

skyler's lunch was pretty tasty looking again today! (sorry for the crazy angle though - that's a weird one. i promise, the food isn't sliding off the counter.)

clockwise from grilled veggies: leftover fajita veggies and fajita steak with avocado dip; whole wheat fig bar; salsa; plain yogurt with lingonberry jam; toasted coconut date rolls; carrots, sugar snap peas, and radishes.

toasted coconut date rolls

my new found love of dates is not slowing. i like them stuffed with nuts, with goat cheese, wrapped in bacon, and stuffed in my face. in any combination or order, thank you. i realized i needed a new way to eat them. i eat plenty of bacon with my sweet potatoes to eat it with dates all the time too. so i searched. and came across Natural Delights and their date rolls. i hear you can purchase them in many place, and maybe i've seen them before...but i can't remember it. so i made my own.

look, i know dates looks ugly like texas sized cockroaches. and as you roll your candies, they will like something unappetizing. it's worth it, okay?

toasted coconut date roll recipe

10-12 dates, pitted

2 oz toasted coconut flakes (you won't use them all for this sized batch)

special equipment: food processor (or blender masquerading as a food processor - anything with a pulse function.)

it's alright if you don't have the same coconut flakes i used. i used them because i love them and i have them on hand. they're very crispy, so they added a nice texture. you could use crushed nuts of any kind instead (i think pistachios would be really good here) or coconut flakes that have been pulsed a couple of time to make them finely chopped. 

i simply took these and pulsed them a couple of times. i had enough for two to three batches, though i only made one batch tonight.

once you've pulsed your coconut flakes, toss your pitted dates into your food processor and pulse them a few times. six to eight pulses should do you just fine.

take about a teaspoon of the dates in your dampened palms and roll them around into little balls or logs, then roll them thoroughly in your coating.

i used ten medjool dates for this and made thirteen candies. (it would have been fourteen, but i dropped one. mushi loved it.)

i apologize for the atrocious nighttime-iphone photos, but these are fabulous. it's one of those foods where the sum of the whole is much better than even the individual components. this is a very common dessert and snack in the middle east, and for good reason. these date rolls are so simple to make that i can't wait to make up a bunch of the date paste and just roll it in all sorts of things. sesame seeds, various nuts, etc. they're chewy, sweet, and very good! they also will be a perfect, filling snack to take to places like the beach or disneyland. they are high energy, easy to make and transport, and safe to have at room temperature. (plus also they won't melt.)

speaking of disneyland, this girl and her husband are coming soon for a week or so of good time, including a two-day trip to disneyland!

my bestie is adorable. she doesn't know i'm posting this awesome photo for the world to see. (and by world, i mean the maybe six people that read this blog.)

skyler's lunch clockwise from radishes: radishes and carrots; smashed sweet potatoes, leftover southern style greens, leftover fajita grilled chicken; whole wheat fig bar; avocado dip; salsa; plain greek yogurt with raspberry jam

and the new knowledge that i'm graduating with my bachelor's degree in psychology...with honors! magna cum laude right here, baby!

(this is the honors cords i will wear at commencement with my regalia. i keep being told it looks purple in this photo, but they are crimson and gold and the cats keep trying to eat the tassels.)