There has definitely been plenty of trial and error trying to get these right.  Many of the recipes I followed were simply too dense, heavy or salty, but I think I have found a pretty good balance, whilst keeping them healthy and not overly sweet (or salty) which is often something that occurs with Paleo Baked goods.

One of the joys of being in Quarantine (and you need to try and find some joy amidst the madness) is that you have plenty of time to "Test" the recipes out.

These are adapted from both Sweet Laurel's recipe and The Paleo Running Momma's.

MAKES 12 PERFECT MUFFINS
​
Ingredients:
2 cups super fine blanched Almond flour
⅓ cup Tapioca flour or Arrowroot flour
¾  tsp Baking Soda 
​¼ tsp Baking Powder
¼  tsp salt
4 large Eggs room temp
⅓  cup fresh Lemon juice
Grated zest of two med Lemons
1/3 cup (+ a little extra) of 100% Maple Syrup or Raw Honey (melted slightly if necessary to soften)
¼ cup Coconut oil refined (the liquid one preferably)
1 tsp pure Vanilla extract
1 Tbsp Poppy seeds

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF and either line a 12 cup muffin pan with parchment liners, or use a Silicone muffin tray (like the SILPAT one I have) which skips the pre-greasing step altogether!
2. In a medium bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, which include the almond flour, tapioca flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt, and then set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla extract until well combined. Then stir in the poppy seeds to evenly distribute. I use an electrical whisk for ease and evenness, (just makes life easier).
4. Divide the muffin batter evenly among the liners/muffin holes, filling them ¾ of the way up to allow for rising.
5. Place in your preheated oven for about 22-26 mins or until middles are set and domed -- insert a toothpick in the centre till it comes out clean.
6. Cool muffins on wire racks till you can't wait any more, cause you just need to take a bite!
7. Store leftovers, loosely covered at room temperature for the first day, and in the refrigerator thereafter (remember these contain eggs!). 

       Enjoy alone, with Coffee, Tea or whatever takes your fancy!
​

Let me know if you tried making these, and if so, what your thoughts are.
​Did you need to make any adjustments?

By Alexandra Black

Being in Quarantine has me cooking, preparing, making and baking all sorts of things I wouldn't usually do. My brother made a Banana loaf, and so did my Mother-In-Law so I naturally wanted to join in the fun. 
Because I mainly follow a Paleo style diet, I wanted to make sure this was a guilt-free banana loaf and I searched and tried many recipes before settling on this one, which is adapted from the Paleo Running Momma.

INGREDIENTS:
3 large over-ripe Bananas (mashed up)
4 large eggs (room temp)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut oil (liquid form is best)
1 3/4 cups fine blanched almond flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
1 tbsp Agave Nectar (or Paleo Sweetener of your choice)

METHOD:
1. Mix  all of the dry ingredients together and set aside for a moment.
2. Preheat your oven to 355 degrees ºF (180 ºC)  
3. Line a 9" loaf pan and coat it with a spritz of Avocado oil or Olive Oil.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together (electrically if you can) the eggs and mashed bananas,
then add the vanilla, agave syrup and coconut oil until well combined. I like to get mine as smooth as possible, making it all nice and bubbly.
5. Slowly stir the wet mixture into the dry (don’t use an electric mixer here as you will overmix the batter and prevent it from rising properly) just until moistened and no visible flour remains. You will end up with a fairly liquid-like consistency batter.
6. Transfer batter to the prepared loaf pan and bake in the preheated oven for 55-65 minutes until it is a lovely golden brown.  Use a toothpick to check that it is fully cooked by inserting into the centre of the loaf, if it is done it should come out clean.
7. Allow to cool completely in the loaf pan or resting on a wire rack. (I popped mine out on a Wax Paper that I then used to cover the remaining loaf).
Slice and Enjoy!

by Alexandra Black

We followed the instructions to make the Sourdough Leaven via Positively Probiotic which gave us great quality Leaven, with plenty of bubbles and a wonderful aroma. See instructions here or here.
They also offer instructions on how to make No Knead Bread, but I personally found a video was easier to follow.

So, we then watched the wonderful video provided by Food52 and Baker/Sourdough savant, Sarah Owens from Ritual Fine Foods. It is a charming video, and it explains everything in great detail.

INGREDIENTS:
60g Leaven (ripe and ready Sourdough starter)
300g Water (room temperature, not cold)

Stir and mix the two together, then add...

310g Stone Ground Organic Flour (or Flour of choice)
80g Whole Wheat Flour (add more water the more whole wheat as it will be more thirsty).

Get flour fully hydrated. Mix with hands.
Watch the Video to see how it is done!

We followed this to the Tee and made the wonderful loaf seen in the photos.
It rose perfectly, had plenty of bubbles/gluten structures when we cut it open. It was baked to perfection and tasted amazing and I think it was not only because we followed everything rigorously, we also had the perfect equipment.

I have a bad habit of having to buy all the equipment, gadgets or whatever it is that I need to start something new. And this occasion is no different. I did some research and it appeared that I needed a few things in order to make the perfect loaf of bread.  In our case, a San Fran Wharf Sourdough. I think preparing yourself with this stuff makes all the difference in the quality of what you make. 
​These are very exciting times my friends. I'm going to make home-made bread and I've never done that before!

So here is the list of what I purchased:

We purchased four starter kits, I know... don't ask!
1.  140yr Old San Francisco Sourdough Starter from MomsSanFranSourdough on Etsy.
2. San Fran "Wharf" from PositivelyProbiotic also on Etsy.
3. Gluten Free from PositivelyProbiotic also on Etsy.
4. Buckwheat GF from PositivelyProbiotic also on Etsy.

I purchased the 140 year old one first, as the old-time Sourdough sounded ideal to me. We haven't yet tried this one, as it sounds quite precious, but I am excited to do so. I'm sure it will be great!
Second, I purchased the other three from Positively Probiotic. Buckwheat is really the only one I'm allowed on my "Diet" but I have yet to try that one. I figured I'd start with the basic ones, so I could perfect the recipe and then go for the less conventional Sourdoughs, once I knew what I was doing. I purchased the Gluten Free for my Husband who I encourage to eat GF whenever possible.

Feeding and firing up the started isn't complicated, you just need to remember to feed it like a plant or any other living thing, daily. So we fed it to activate it for a total of sixteen (16) days. The reason we did this for so long, was that we were waiting for a bunch of bread-making equipment to arrive that was delayed due to  Covid-19. The items included a Proofing basket with linen liner, an Emile Henry Artisan Loaf baker and a couple of other bits and bobs that I'll cover in the bread making post. 

We followed the instructions that came with our Starter on the Positively Probiotic website.
Read the full instructions HERE, they are very easy to follow. 
It is basically a 1:1:1 (1 part starter, 1 part water, 1 part flour) ratio which is super easy to follow.
Once the sourdough levain is full of bubbles and starts smelling sweet and tangy after day 6, we were ready to go. However, we fed and waited another few days to make our bread.
We placed ours in a glass Weck container, to preserve its purity (don't want any nasty plastics around).

I later found a useful video by Amy Duska on how to make your own Sourdough Levain Starter from scratch. I didn't realise you could do this, til after I had already purchased all my starters. Great! It is just as simple as with a purchased starter kit. I feel that the starter kit is just a more mature version, which may be more beneficial health-wise.

Ingredients:
Small Bunch of Chives (super finely chopped)
3 Okra 
1 Handful of Pre-Washed Kelp Noodles
¼ Green Pepper 
Japanese Cabbage (super finely shredded)
Salt, Olive Oil & Rice Wine Vinegar
​5 Shiso Leaves 

YUMMY KALE MÉLAGE
#HEALTHYFASTFOOD

Another day rushing around, another quick salad. This time a Kale Mélange, full of goodness and nutrition. I can't stress how important it is, to remain somewhat healthy in the fast paced world we live in. Time limitations should not jeopardise food quality. With these easy recipes you won't have to compromise that. 

INGREDIENTS:
3 Handfuls of Kale Lettuce (Trader Joes Organic Kale bag)
10 Cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
Red Onion finely cut(as much as you like)
1 Small Avocado 
1 Green Apple (for some sweetness and crunch)

Dressing:
Olive Oil
½ Lemon (juice)
Squirt of Honey
Salt & Pepper

How to make it:
Place Kale, chopped apples and tomatoes  in a bowl, scoop avocado and add to salad, finally pour dressing and thoroughly mix. No one wants underdressed lettuce, especially Kale which can lean on the bitter side. Let it sit for 1 minute before you enjoy. Now dive in!

Photograph: Alexandra Black