Moist Zucchini Bread, Gluten and Dairy Free

After a lifetime of being heavy and trying different diets, I think, I hope, I have my fingers crossed I think I found one that works for my body type. Everybody is different, but I have been eating a paleo diet for a little over a month, with an emphasis on local organic vegetables, and I feel great. I haven't lost a ton of weight, only seven pounds, but I feel amazing. My runs are the best they have ever been, my energy level is way high, and I sleep without sleeping pills. It is kind of mind blowing, #mindblown. So, I haven't really been blogging because to be honest, I am still getting the hang of this new way of cooking. But I tried this zucchini bread, and it is pretty awesome. So, here you go... 

What you need: 

1/2 cup coconut flour 
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon  salt
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
4 eggs 
3 Tablespoon maple syrup
1 small to medium zucchini, shredded finely
1 ripe banana, smashed
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 cup pecans or hazelnuts

What you do: 

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees 

2. Grease a loaf pan with coconut oil

3. Mix together all the dry ingredients, and set aside

4. In a standing mixer or another bowl mix together all the wet ingredients including the shredded zucchini and banana. 

5. Mix the dry into the wet ingredients, and stir to combine. 

6. Fold in the nuts

7. Pour into your prepared loaf pan

8. Bake for about 45 minutes, but test it with a toothpick

9. Let cool 

10. Enjoy with outside with coffee for breakfast taking in the last few inhales of sweet Indian Summer 

As always, much love, many blessings, and happy baking!

Fennel, Apple, Celery Salad

I know veggies in the winter can be a depressing endeavor... but I have a easy, crisp, citrus salad that will put the zip back into your winter menu. This salad is brought to you by the fantastic kitchen gadget the mandolin, if you don' t have one, a knife can do the work, but the mandolin does make it very easy, just be careful and use the guard to protect your finger tips. 

What you need: 

1 small fennel bulb

3 celery stalks

1 small apple

2 Tablespoons of regular olive oil

1 Tablespoon of citrus olive oil (or lemon juice)

1 Tablespoon of tarragon vinegar (apple cider vinegar and some fresh tarragon chopped)

salt and pepper

What you do: 

1. Thinly slice your fennel and celery and lay on a large platter. 

2. Flip the cutter on your mandolin and finely julian the apple and add to the platter. 

3. In a small jar add the oils, vinegar, salt and pepper. Shake vigoursly, and pour over your salad. Toss with your hands. 

4. Enjoy with gusto and crunch. 

As always, many blessings, much love and happy winter!  

15 minute Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

I made these last night, and I am practically evangelical about them. They are only 2 ingredients, fat free, vegan, easy, fast, a great use of bananas past their prime, and they are delicious. They taste like an oatmeal banana cookie. I am sure you could mold them into any shape and add peanut butter, raisins, or chocolate chips if you wanted...

What you need: 

2 brown bananas

1 cup oats 

What you do: 

1. Preheat the oven 350. 

2. Mash the bananas and mix the oats in. 

3. Scoop on to a parchment lined baking sheet. 

4. Bake 15 minutes. 

5. Enjoy anytime with milk... viola breakfast cookies. 

Hope you try them... they are awesome.

All the best, many blessings, much love, and happy baking. 

PaddyCake's Strawberry Chocolate Cupcakes

Strawberry Chocolate Cupcakes are made with organic strawberries, premium dutch chocolate, these lovely little white and dark chocolate pebbles as decorations. These chocolate cupcakes are the classic vegan chocolate recipe, but the frosting is super special. 

Cream Cheese Strawberry Frosting

1/2 cup of unsalted butter
1/2 cup of cream cheese
1/2 cup of pureed strawberries
2 1/4 cups of powdered sugar\

Using a standing mixer whip together until desired consistency, pipe with a 1/2 inch tube pipette... enjoy with milk.

As always, much love, many blessings, and happy cupcake baking!

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes for Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! I must admit that I never really celebrated Halloween, we would make chili, and carve a pumpkin but it was just another weeknight. Now with a little one the week has become super fun! And by super fun I mean Super Freddy

But, Super Freddy's best friend Dalmatian Isla can't have milk or eggs, and so for her we made special chocolate cupcakes for Halloween. These cupcakes are fantastic... I found the same recipe from multiple sources on the internet and I amended it some to make it more... um, me... but it is wonderful. I am not sure I will make regular chocolate cake again. 

Vegan Chocolate Cake Ingredients


1 1/4 cups organic flour
1 cup organic sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup warm water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tsp of strong coffee
1 tsp organic apple cider vinegar


Vegan Frosting 
4 cup confectioners sugar
8 tbsp margarine
1 tbsp coconut milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Orange Dye to tint the icing for Halloween 

What you do... 

1. Preheat your over to 350 degrees F

2. Take out your trusty muffin tins, this will make about 18 cupcakes so you will need two tins, and cupcake liners 

3. I blitzed all the ingredients in my food processor, but you can use a bowl and a wooden spoon, or whatever you have handy. 

4. Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full and bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean 

5. While the cupcakes are cooling make the frosting... 

6. With a standing mixer or a whisk and strong arm slowly mix together the sugar and margarine. Once you have a good whipped consistency add the other ingredients, slowly adding the orange tint until you reach your desired color. I went for a bright neon orange for the festivities. 

7. Once the cupcakes are cool you can decorate the cupcakes anyway you like. I simply used a star-tipped pastry bag and some cupcake toppers I made for the occasion. 

Happy Halloween, much love, many blessings, and happy baking! 

Crock Pot Apple Butter

A few weekends back we took Freddy apple picking. It started last year with my best friends birthday and thus the tradition continues. It was much fun, we had coffee and apple cider donuts at the barn before we took the hay ride out to the orchard. Then with Freddy in back pack with my sweater around him we picked apples for a while at our CSA Farm "Great Country Farms" and it is great country. But unfortunately, the weeks have passed and I still have too many apples, and needing a way to preserve lots of apples I found a use for 10 pounds of apples and also a way to use the 8 apples we have in the fridge with a Freddy sized bite taken out of them. He is like a little apple vampire, doesn't eat just like to suck out the juice. I digress... here is the recipe for Crock Pot Apple Butter, I adapted it from a number of blogs...

Here is what you need:

10 pounds of apples or so, how ever much fits in your crock pot
2 tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice
2 large cinnamon sticks (to be fished out later)
1 tablespoon of salt
1/2 a cup of brown sugar (more to taste, taste after the apples are cooked down)

Here is what I did:

1. Peel, core, and quarter the apples.
2. Blitz in a food processor to make a sort of raw apple sauce.
3. Pour into the crock pot, add the rest of the ingredients
4. Cook on low over night, stir occasionally, when you remember and when and if you are awake.
5. Taste and add more salt or sugar to your liking
6. Store in sterilized containers, I used old mason jars and kept them in the fridge and gave them away as gifts.

Enjoy with pork chops, biscuits, scones, and anything else you can think of... ohhhh, apple butter cupcakes... a thought.

As always, much love, many blessings, and happy cooking!