Pie crust

I'd previously posted this pumpkin pie recipe, but it was crustless because I wasn't happy with the crusts I'd tried, which were mostly based on almond flour and tended to be dry and not particularly pie-like.  Well that's changed - I made this crust this past weekend as part of my preparations for Canadian Thanksgiving, and it worked perfectly.  And, as a bonus, it's a "push crust", so you don't have to roll it out, just push it into the pan!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted (although butter would probably also work!)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp honey
• 3/4 cup coconut flour

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 400F.
2. In a medium bowl, combine everything but the coconut flour, and stir well with a fork until combined.
3. Stir in the coconut flour, and stir well until the dough is combined and holds together.
4. Gather the dough into a ball and push it into a 9" pie plate.  Prick it all over with a fork.
5. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until it starts to brown.  (You may want to use a pie crust shield, both now and when you fill and bake the pie, so the edges don't get overly scorched.)
6. Fill your pie with pumpkin pie filling and bake as appropriate.  (It may take somewhat longer than the original recipe, closer to 40-45 minutes rather than the 30 minutes in the original recipe.)

Paleo Sweet Potato Casserole

Today is Thanksgiving in Canada.  I took this recipe to my family's dinner yesterday - and, to be clear, my family does NOT have a history of eating sweet potatoes.  However, this recipe was a huge hit, and my mother even said I'd be welcome to bring it again for Christmas dinner, so I'd consider it a success!

Ingredients

• 4 medium sweet potatoes, whole
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup
• 1 large egg
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Prick the skins all over and roast the sweet potatoes in the oven about 45 minutes to an hour, until done.
3. Let the sweet potatoes cool.
4. Preheat the oven back to 350F.
5. Grease a 8" square (or similar) casserole dish with coconut oil.
6. Peel the sweet potatoes and mash them in a big bowl.
7. Add in the maple syrup, egg, spices, and salt.
8. Blend with a hand mixer until smooth.
9. Put the mixture into your greased baking dish and level out the top with a spatula or spoon.
10. Scatter the chopped nuts over top.
11. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until starting to look golden-brown around the edges.
12. Serve immediately, or you can refrigerate it overnight and reheat it the next day.
13. Dig in!

Credit where it's due, I found this originally at http://www.paleonewbie.com/paleo-sweet-potato-casserole/ 

Homemade cranberry sauce

I don't know why I've never done this before, but it tastes AMAZING.  I had a bit more than I needed for tomorrow's, so I just ate the extra out of a bowl after it cooled - and it's all I can do not to dig into the main batch that's currently gelling in the freezer.  Make it a day before for optimal results.

Ingredients

• 100 mL water
• 100 mL real maple syrup
• juice of one orange (I used a Valencia one, that's all the grocery store had)
• zest from the same orange (extract this BEFORE you juice it, of course)
• 1 x 12-ounce bag frozen cranberries (or use fresh - again, limited grocery store selection)

Instructions

1. Combine the water, maple syrup, and orange juice in a pot on the stove over medium heat, and bring it just to a simmer.
2. Add the cranberrries and zest and bring it back to a simmer.
3. Keep a close eye on it, stirring occasionally.  Soon the cranberries will start to "pop".
4. Once the cranberries are all done popping, simmer for a few more minutes, then remove from heat, place in an appropriate container, and refrigerate.