Almond Flour Biscuits

    These biscuits came about when I ran across an old recipe that I had for a spicy chicken thigh on a biscuit (you will be able to find that recipe in a link below).  I keep telling myself that I need to lay off the almond flour in my recipes but then I turn around and find a way or a need to keep it coming.  I actually went out and bought a handy dandy coffee grinder and made my own almond flour for the first time this past week.  Sadly, I was shocked when I saw it takes about 90 almonds to make 1 cup of flour. Experts recommend that we eat somewhere between 7 - 10 raw almonds a day.  My friends and family all know that I am no where near a mathematician, but even I know that the math just doesn't work out in our favor for this one.
   Since I am a weight loss journey as well as an all around "get your whole self healthy" journey I will have to use this new found information and cut out the baking for a few months.  What a horribly sad realization to come to right?  I've already dealt with the realization that gluten-containing grains, legumes, sugar and laboratory-concocted junk foods cause systemic inflammation which wreck our guts and derails our natural metabolic process.  I can deal with the fact that eating almond flour everyday, while it won't cause havoc to my guts, will not allow me to lose weight as quickly as I would like.
     With all of that being said (now that you are probably turned off before I ever get to the recipe), these Almond Flour Biscuits have a very similar texture and taste to cornbread.  To most of us from the South, that is a very welcoming notion!  I enjoyed these biscuits the first morning with a little honey butter to sweeten things up.  As I mentioned before, the following day I made a Sweet and Spicy Chicken Biscuit with them.  However you enjoy them, keep in mind that they should only be consumed in very small doses!

Almond Flour Biscuits
From Kelly Smith of The Nourishing Home
makes about 1 dozen biscuits


Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups Almond Flour
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
• 3 TBSP Grass-Fed Butter; melted
• 1 TBSP Honey
• 2 TBSP Coconut Milk
• 2 Eggs
• 1/4 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Here's what ya do:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cover a cookie sheet with either parchment paper or foil.
3. Combine all of the ingredients, except the vinegar, in a medium bowl.
4. Once your oven has fully heated to 350, stir in the vinegar.  Just like in the kids volcano science experiment, the vinegar will react with the baking soda to create tiny foaming bubbles.  These foaming bubbles with give you the lift and a fluffy texture in your biscuits.  As you know from the science experiments, these bubbles don't last forever so you need to move fast to get those suckers in the oven as quick as possible!
5. Drop about 2 tablespoons of dough per biscuit on lined cookie sheet.  These biscuits will rise just a bit but not too much.  Form the biscuits to just about the size you are looking for.
6. Cook biscuits for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Enjoy

Louisiana Crab Cakes

After trying plenty of different recipes over the years I have finally figured out crab cakes!  Thanks to the traditional Cajun spices, these guys have a fantastic spicy punch that will have you yelling "aayyeee".  Personally, I prefer my veggies chopped so finely that I can barley tell they are there.  If you prefer the larger bits or just don't want to take the time to pulverize your veggies you can just do a regular dice at the chopping block. (I am finally learning to embrace quirky things that make me happy and tiny bits of veggies in my crab cakes is one of them.)

Louisiana Crab Cakes
Written by Rebecca Lane
Makes 10

Ingredients:

• 1 TBSP Grass fed Butter or ghee
• 1 TBSP Coconut Oil
• 1/2 Shallot; finely diced
• 1/2 cup Green Bell Pepper; finely diced
• 1/2 cup Red Bell Pepper; finely diced
• 2 cloves Garlic; finely minced
• 1/4 cup fresh Parsley; minced
• 1/4 tsp Hot Sauce (I use Louisiana Hot Sauce)
• 1/2 tsp Gluten Free Soy Sauce (I use Tamari)
• 1 1/2 tsp Crab Boil Seasoning (I use Zatarain's Shrimp & Crab Boil)
• 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp White Pepper
• 1 6 oz can White Crabmeat
• 1 6oz can Lump Crabmeat
• 1/2 c Grain-free Bread Crumbs ( click here for my favorite paleo recipe)
• 1/2 cup Mayo
• 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
• 2 Eggs; lightly beaten
• 4 TBSP Coconut Oil

Here's what ya do:

1. Melt butter and coconut oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.
2. Add shallots, bell peppers, garlic, parsley, hot sauce, soy sauce, crab boil, salt and black and white pepper. Sautee until veggies are very tender; about 15 minutes. 
3. Meanwhile, mix crab meat, bread crumbs, mayo, Dijon mustard and eggs in a medium sized bowl. 
4. Let veggie mixture cool for about 10 minutes and then add it to the crab meat mixture.  If you skip the cooling process you will end up with scrambled egg bits in your mixture.  That texture would just be nasty!
5. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
6. Melt 4 TBSP Coconut Oil in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. (The heavier the material of your cookware, the crispier the crust will be.)
7. Remove from fridge and get ready to get your hands dirty! (i.e. wash your hands please!)
8. Toss mixture with your hands to redistribute the liquids evenly.
9. Form cakes about the size of your palm pushing in the sides and top so that it is firm.
10. Carefully place cakes into hot oil and fry for 3 minutes per side or until you get a lovely golden brown crust.
11. Enjoy hot or room temperature!