This past Monday, there was nothing in the world that I needed more than a chocolate chip cookie. You know what I mean? So, after daydreaming about cookies all afternoon, I did a search for "Paleo chocolate chip cookies" in the old Google machine and found a recipe, which looked awesome.

They really looked amazing, and I couldn't wait to make them. I followed the recipe and was rewarded with what looked and felt like chocolate chip sand. Is there really no liquid in this recipe? I wondered as a cloud of coconut flour dust floated through the air. The "batter" wouldn't stick together when I rolled it, but I was fully committed, so I finally just threw some almond milk in the bowl, gave it a stir, and hoped for the best. That helped.

In the oven, they smelled like cookies. That was a good sign. I have to say that in the kitchen, I'm pretty damn good. So by this time I was frustrated. It's not hard to follow a recipe, and it's annoying when you do and it doesn't work. I started to wonder if the blogger behind the recipe I had found just made a batch of cookies from one of those sausage-looking rolls of pre-made batter and then told us all that they were Paleo. Probably.

They finished baking and I tasted one to decide that I think they're pretty good. My mom, however, hates them. I proclaimed excitedly (because I'm always excited when I discover something new that's Paleo--you should have seen me when I realized what the hell a Larabar was), "I'm going to call them shortbread!" (because they're not cookies),  to which she very quickly responded, "Ew--no--I wish they were shortbread. They're more like crab cakes."

I don't know what she's talking about, because at least a crab cake is moist. I guess they kind of look like crab cakes. They are a little on the thick side, if that's what it really takes to be a crab cake. They're pretty decent dipped in coffee, though.

I understand that there are some things that coconut flour and honey just can't do. I get it. Paleo people don't get to eat cookies anytime like normal people. I'm okay with it, but some days I'm going to need a cookie.

So yeah, they look a little like crab cakes. But they taste a little like chocolate chip cookies.

And the search continues.

At the risk of seeming like a self-proclaimed food expert who, in reality, only knows how to wrap things in bacon (see here and here), I'm going to share another recipe with you in which I wrap something else in bacon.

Our garden at the lake yielded an insane number of jalapenos, and they're still coming. Do you know how wonderful that is? I decided that I wanted to make a Paleo rendition of a jalapeno popper, and instead of filling the pepper with cream cheese, I'd use goat cheese, which, although not entirely Paleo, is a bit more Paleo-friendly and one of my favorite foods. 

After filling them with the goat cheese, I was going to bread them in almond flour, but I started to feel disturbed about the breading, because let's face it, almond flour just doesn't always cut it. It tends to get soggy and not brown enough, and these jalapenos were beautiful and perfect and I wanted them to be wonderful in every way. So I filled them with goat cheese and then wrapped them in bacon instead.

Ingredients:

12 large, fresh jalapenos

One 4 ounce package of soft, plain goat cheese

One package of bacon

1. Take goat cheese out of fridge and let it get soft.

I like to take it out of the package and put it in a bowl so you can stir it around.

2. Wash the jalapenos, cut in half, and then cut each half in half again (as shown above).

3. Use a little spoon to scrape the seeds out of the peppers.

4. Wash your little spoon and use it to spread goat cheese into each pepper.

5. Wrap those babies in bacon! I used about half a piece for each popper.

6. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. 

When the bacon looks about done, turn oven to the "broil" setting and keep an eye on them until they're crispy.

We recently got an ice cream maker, but here are some shots from before that--our first attempt at homemade almond milk ice cream. We kept it old school with a jar and a bag of ice. The recipe still needs work, but it tastes good and you can't really beat a cold treat on a hot day that isn't going to make you sick. Almond, dates, honey, and vanilla--frozen! Hallelujah.