Arugula, Pear & Walnut Salad w/ Honey Vinaigrette

Craving a lighter fare and some crisp, fresh greens after the Thanksgiving festivities?

Cool weather crops like arugula and spinach are at their peak now, as are pears and walnuts. Use this recipe as a starting point to mix and match your favorites in this satisfying salad of bitter, sweet, and savory ingredients.

My Paleo Marin Rating: 3.5 Persimmons

Ingredients and Directions

See Leite's Culinaria recipe here for ingredients and directions. 

#paleo #glutenfree #arugula #spinach #watercress #healthyeating #salad #sides #veggies #walnuts #medjool #dates 

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.

DIY Orange Cranberry & Honey Sauce

Do It Yourself, or... Delegate It Yourself!

If last minute preparations for Thanksgiving are starting to stress you out, here's a delicious solution for the cranberry sauce. 

Ten minutes tops to make. Vibrant taste. Beautiful color. 

Prepare a day ahead, cross it off your checklist, and then just wait for the compliments from your guests. Goes great with leftovers, too.

My Paleo Marin Rating 5 Persimmons

Ingredients:

1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons orange zest
1 12-ounce package fresh cranberries

Directions:

1. Over medium heat, dissolve the honey in the orange juice and water, about 1-2 minutes.

2. Add the orange zest and cranberries. Cook, uncovered, until most of the berries have burst and the sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally during the cooking process.

3. Taste for sweetness and zest. Cool before serving. 

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. 

#paleo #cranberries #honey #Thanksgiving #glutenfree #dairyfree #lowsugar

Recipe adapted from the Texanerin.com website here.

My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.

Thanksgiving Desserts That Are Not Pie: Apple Almond Cake

David Liebovitz wrote about this cake: 

"It’s a rich almond-scented cake with loads of apple flavor, which I think is understandable to anyone." 

Take some time to go to the Farmers' Market, or talk to your green grocer about the very best apples to buy now. Enjoy the holiday aromas in your kitchen as the cake is baking. And offer this cake as a gluten free, low sugar, and dairy free (except for grass-fed butter) option on your Thanksgiving dessert table. 

My Paleo Marin: 4 Persimmons

Ingredients and Instructions:

See David Liebovitz's excellent post for "German Apple-Almond Cake" here.

Paleo substitutions in the recipe are: 1/2 cup Blonde coconut sugar; Cup4Cup Gluten Free Flour; grass-fed butter; and Arrowroot Starch (for cornstarch).

#paleo #apple #cake #glutenfree #almondpaste #dessert #davidliebovitz #Thanksgivingdessertsthatarenotpie*

(Partial) Title of this post from the New York Times' Cooking section on Facebook.

My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.

Potimarron Squash Soup w/ Saffron, Orange Zest and Caramelized Seeds

Serving soup over the holidays? Here's an elegant recipe to delight your guests.

Potimarron is a cross between a pumpkin and a butternut squash with chestnut undertones. It is sold in the US at this time of year as "Red Kuri" squash.

The recipe is adapted from a pumpkin soup online post by Yokam Ottolenghi. A woman in the 'Comment Section' wrote that she substituted Potimarron for pumpkin, and worried that her traditional French neighbors wouldn't be pleased.

"However," she wrote, "the soup was a massive success, and the crunchy but sweet seeds were superb and lifted the soup to another level!"

As an added bonus, prepare everything a day ahead, then reheat and assemble to serve!

My Paleo Marin Rating: 4 Persimmons

Ingredients & Directions:

Potimarron photo from Google Images

See recipe here for Yotam Ottolenghi's post "Pumpkin, Saffron & Orange Soup with Carmamelized Pumpkin Seeds."

Substitute Potimarron squash for the pumpkin, olive oil for sunflower oil for baking the seeds, and Kite Hill Artisan Almond Milk Yogurt (or other non-diary yogurt) for the crème fraîche. Bake the seeds for about 30 minutes rather than 12-15.

For a short video on how to peel the squash, see YouTube here. 

#paleo #glutenfree #dairyfree #soup #yotamottolenghi #Thanksgiving #potimarron #squash 

*My Paleo Marin Rating between 1-5 Persimmons

I try out these recipes so you don't have to (and modify them for Paleo where possible). The rating will reflect my opinion of the final result in terms of taste, ease of preparation, nutrition, and sometimes, cost.