Granola and Pierogi

So, while a lot of this blog will be about food, as that's my biggest change, I suppose I should keep you up to date on my weight, since that is one of the things bothering me. While I haven't really worried about it, I have yo-yo'd in the past week down 4, up 2, down 1...that sort of thing. It won't mean much for about a month and then I'll have a better grasp as to whether or not eating well (with lots of meat) is doing anything positive for me or not. I will keep you posted though!

Granola looks easy enough, right?! Well...it is, sort of. Took me a full 24 hours to make. The taste however, was fantastic!! I used a recipe from Make it Paleo (there's some great stuff in there!!)

I used pecans, walnuts, sliced almonds, pumkin seeds, chopped dates, raisins and coconut.

First, you need to soak the nuts in warm water for 10-12 hours (or overnight). Second, you need to drain them, and lay them out on a baking sheet and 'dry' on low at 103-106 degrees for an additional 10-12 hours (mine took 12 and I had to use the warming drawer as my convection oven's lowest setting is 170 degrees).

After you 'dry' the nuts, mix in the chopped dates, raisins and coconut. Use 1 cup of every ingredient listed in this recipe. Easy breezy!!

I can't just eat granola....so I made it into cereal!! I added strawberries, banana slices, almond milk and some ground flax seed. Really filled me up and tasted amazing :)

Halfway through the morning, I was craving pierogi like mad!! So, I decided to alter an existing recipe for the dough to make it gluten free, and invented my own filling. I chose a sweet potato, maple bacon and maple glazed shallots. The result was fantastic and I will labour over the dough in the future to make more. They were THAT good! I will not to make fresh homemade pierogi is a laborious and time-sucking task. I recommend you choose these for a day you are not working, and able to hang around the kitchen a bit. My husband liked them, although he's not a sweet potato fan. He loved the dough which was all I was truly concerned with.

Here are some basics with photos. Recipe to follow at the end :)

1. Blend Gluten free flour with xantham gum.

2. In a separate bowl, beat an egg with a fork.
3. Melt some coconut oil and add it to the egg.

4. Add cold water to the egg and coconut mixture, then add to the flour mixture.

5. Mix gently into a soft dough.

6. Knead dough on floured board and separate into 2 pieces. Cover with cloth for 10 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, cube 3 sweet potato and boil until soft.

8.When sweet potatoes are cooked, drain and mash. I added approximately 1 Tbsp of PURE Maple Syrup.

9. Add some maple glazed shallots and maple glazed bacon pieces to the mash.

11. Roll out dough (quite thin 1/8") and cut into 2" rounds. Set aside and cover, or fill right away. Form crescents and water the edges to stick.

12. Boil pierogi in water until they rise to top. Using slotted spoon, transfer directly to hot frying pan with coconut oil (1tsp per batch). Fry until lightly golden on both sides.

13. Hope you have some extra onions and bacon!! Put some on top of the pierogi and then bake for an additional 10 minutes

14. Serve!! I added nutmeg, cinnamon (just a pinch of each) and maple syrup to mine...devine :)

Sweet Potato Pierogi

Pierogi Dough

2 cups Gluten free All purpose flour

½ tsp Xantham gum

1 tsp Sea Salt

1 Egg

1 ½ cup Cold water

1 Tbsp Coconut oil (melted)

• · In a deep bowl, stir flour, xantham gum and sea salt together.
• · In a small bowl, beat egg with fork and stir in water and melted coconut oil
• · Add to flour mixture and stir gently to make soft dough.
• · Slightly knead dough on floured board
• · Divide dough in half, cover and let rest 10 minutes.
• · Roll dough very thin, cut with 2” round, fill and seal (I used water).
• · Cook in boiling, salted water until pierogies rise (1-2 minutes)

Sweet potato, bacon and shallot filling

3 Sweet potatoes, peeled, cubed and boiled. Mash with 2 Tbsp PURE maple syrup

3 Shallots, thinly sliced and then sautéed in 1 Tbsp of PURE maple syrup

5 slices Bacon (low salt, low nitrate), chopped and fried, add 1 Tbsp of Pure maple syrup near end of cooking

1 tsp Fresh Thyme, finely chopped (I happen to have some in my garden, but easy to purchase at grocery store)

• · Once filled and boiled, I like to quickly fry the pierogi, I used coconut oil, but you can us olive oil.
• · Finally, top with more Shallots, sautéed in maple syrup, and bacon.
• · Bake in oven for a few minutes at 350 degrees.
• · Once out of oven, sprinkle with a bit of coconut and a hint of cinnamon, or nutmeg, pour on a bit of PURE maple syrup and ENJOY!!

NOTE: If you can have dairy, adding a bit of swiss to this recipe would be delicious!! And a dollop of sour cream at your plate.

Enjoy!!! For snack, I am having a nice apple with almond butter tonight, yummy!!!