Instant Blackberry Ice Cream

Blackberry season is just drawing to an end and our freezer has several bags which will be the base for my excellent Red Wine Jelly, but I fear they will not last long now I've discovered this ...

You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream!

What you do is take a handful of blackberries per person and put them into a receptacle. So as not to shower the place in blackberry pieces, take a rolling pin and break up the berries, breaking them down a little, too.

Now, take your stick blender and gently blend as you pour in double cream. The cold from the berries will freeze the cream and the liquid from the cream will blend the berries - the result: Instant Ice Cream!

Serve immediately ...

No stirring every 30 minutes, no unwanted ice crystals, just instant ice cream.

Rice Pudding [Impromptu ... from leftovers]

Rice Pudding? Is it paleo? Is it primal? Is it ancestral?

Nah! But ...

You cook a great stew, cook up some starch to go with it - rice for me, mashed potato for Mrs and you end up with some rice left over.

Well, you could chill it, which I gather increases the resistant starch element ... best hop over to Free the Animal for the skinny on that one; or, you could make up a quick pudding.

You're supposed to use pudding rice for rice pudding, or you could use tapioca, but we're making this on the fly, remember ...

Simply pour in some double cream, a sprinkle of cinnamon and reduce to a thick, sticky pudding. If you really can't eat this without sweetener, add whatever it is you do - palm sugar ain't so bad.

Thoughts?

Eat More Gelatine!

Blimey! Dessert?

Yes, indeed! Dessert ... and jelly, at that!

I'm going to get shot down here, but jelly is a superb paleo dessert.

Like many, I've been reading some Ray Peat. I don't subscribe, but I refuse to leave empty-handed.

Two takeaways for me: First, maybe work more fruit in; Second, don't neglect gelatine.

Skin, cartilage and marrow are the most gelatinous parts of a cut and so, cuts straight through, containing the bones, connective tissue and skin are best. Lamb Shanks, anyone?

But, how to work in more gelatine otherwise?

Well, gelatine comes in a couple of easy to use forms: sheets and powder. I use sheets regularly since I absolutely adore Panna Cotta. Set cream.

Jelly is my compromise. I don't like fruit, but wild berries are fine by me in season and surplus stored in the freezer for use out of season. I'm okay with grape juice, too, so long as it's fermented and French.

We can fool ourselves all we like about the health benefits of red wine, because in the end, it's the grape itself which is the good bit ... and so, my jelly is simply red grape juice, set with gelatine.

Day 1

Make jelly, simply by setting red grape juice with gelatine*.

Chill.

Day 2

Make Panna Cotta**. Half and half cream is good, a touch of vanilla and sufficient gelatine* to set. Pour over, gently.

Chill.

Day 3

Eat and enjoy ...

Chill!

Omnomnomnomnomnom

* Let's just clarify this. Your gelatine will have a guide around what volume of liquid a given amount will set. You know the volumes (if not, just measure it) so just put in the relevant amount of gelatine, following the guidance, and you're done.

** More clarification. Simply take these ingredients and warm 'em up in a pan, pour out into glasses or ramekins and you're done. Need more help? Have a nose at this and this.

Mega-Cheesecake!

What's better than Cheesecake?

MEGA-CHEESECAKE!

Cheesecake is a perfect Paleo+ dessert made from single ingredient cream cheese and cream. Please please please check the ingredients - there is no need for gums, fillers or other ingredients.

Cream cheese is a cheese from cream ... nothing more. Cream is cream ... nothing more.

Made for our neighbourhood BBQ, yes, I could have taken round good meat, but our host had that covered with a superb array from a local farm shop.

I took a dessert ... I would have got a snap of the cake being served out, but it went ... in seconds ... literally, seconds. I'll do two next year.

So, Mega-Cheesecake ...

I have a 10" cake tin with a removable band - perfect for this.

You can make a base if you like - use what you will, gluten-free biscuits, coconut flour, whatever. I usually don't both with a base, since the cream cheese is the whole point of this but in this case, I did ... I used Digestive biscuits (not paleo, not even by a long stretch) and coconut oil.

Coconut oil is so much better than butter. It sets rock solid in only about half an hour, so mash up some biscuits, soften some coconut oil and pour into the biscuits. Spread out across the base of the tin and set in the fridge.

Once set, make the cake!

Two parts cream cheese and one part cream. To give you some hints, I used a 300ml carton of cream and 600g of cream cheese. Whisk together with some vanilla bean paste and a hint of honey - local Yorkshire honey from the Denholme Gate Apiary, for me, one tablespoon. Spoon over the base and pat down level.

Dress the cheesecake with strawberries, cut in half and laid out in circles, one large one as the prize in the middle.

Beautiful, eh?

Mega-Cheesecake was no match for a bunch of hungry Halifaxers ... we decimated this poor cake in seconds!

Very Berry Cheesecake

Returning to a really simple method, here's my no-fuss, no-frills cheesecake ...

2 parts Cream Cheese
1 part Cream
Splash of vanilla extract
Touch of honey

That's it - the ratio between cream cheese and cream is 2:1, whatever cream you end up using, be it cream, soured cream or even yoghurt as a substitute.

Whisk until firm, spoon into forming rings, push some berries into the top and settle in the fridge to set and chill.

That's it!

Blueberry Cheesecake

I've got simple tastes for dessert - Ice Cream, Panna Cotta and Cheesecake.

Anticipation ...

Recipe/Method

1/3 natural probiotic yoghurt
2/3 cream cheese - pure, not Philadelphia please

Whisk together with a touch of honey if you want the sweetness (I don't, so didn't) and don't use lemon - it unbalances the next ingredient and for sourness, we've got the yoghurt.

Scrape half a vanilla pod (if making for two) or a whole pod (if making for four).

Spoon out into Chef's rings.

Take half of your blueberries (the bigger ones in the bunch) and warm them through in a skillet until they soften. Crush 'em ... crush 'em well and re-introduce them to the rest of the berries. This is a sort of rough compote.

Spoon the berries over the top and settle in the fridge to set. Give it overnight ... because ...

As it sets, the whey will fall out of the mix. Drink it! It's good.

When you come to serve up, the ring will just slide off cheesecake.

Served ...

Good, eh?

Base? We don't need no stinking base! This is about the cheese!

If you must, some crushed hazels would be okay, but they'll be soggy with this method. Replace the natural yoghurt with Greek yoghurt and there should be no whey fallout. When removing the ring, you'll need to warm it. So, just give it a warming hug with your hands and it will slip off easily.

Other substitutions? Mascarpone in place of the cream cheese, soured cream in place of the yoghurt, crème fraîche, perhaps, you get the idea ...

Paleo Britain's Pumpkin Pie

Rarely do I look at a dessert, especially one labelled a "pie" or a "cake" and salivate, but Ellie over Primal Britain showed us this on G+ and I had to have a go ...

Time for some friendly one-upmanship :)

Ellie used a can of pumpkin flesh - I used a real pumpkin, which just wanted the insides scooping out, hard skin peeling off and then the flesh cut into chunks, steamed until soft but not slop and mashed.

Recipe?

Well, Ellie's is just fine, but I varied it just a little - I wanted less base and more pie, comparatively, so reduced the figure for the crust, and guessed on the weight of pumpkin since I don't know how much was in a can.

Almond Crust

200g Ground Almonds
60g Salted Butter

Melt the butter and mix into the ground almonds with a fork until fully combined and all the almond flour has touched some of the butter.

Pat into a cake tin, pressing down with a large spoon - I have one of those posh ones with a clip on the side so you can easily remove the ring leaving your cake on the base. I didn't bother going up the sides because of this.

You could blind bake this for maybe 10 minutes at 170C (350F) or just proceed - if you do, the base will be solid, but the inside will merge in with the pumpkin a little.

Pumpkin Filling

400g Pumpkin Flesh
250ml Coconut Milk
3 Eggs
Tablespoon of Local Natural Honey
Teaspoon Allspice
Slosh Vanilla Essence

Simply stir together with a fork.

The pumpkin flesh was still warm, so melted the honey really easily. Cooled with the coconut milk before adding in the eggs so that the eggs did not cook when meeting the warm pumpkin.

Pour into the cake tin and into the oven at 170C (350F) for 45 minutes.

Serve

Out of the oven, sides off, cut a segment and enjoy!

Wow! This is wonderful!

Ellie challenges us to serve with cream, if we dare!

Footnotes, Opinion and Rhetoric

There is an important note here about honey ...

Is it primal? Would something like agave nectar be better?

Well, I'll link to a few resources and you can make your own mind up:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-definitive-guide-to-sugar/

http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-foods/agave-nectar-worse-than-we-thought

http://jonnybowdenblog.com/the-truth-about-agave-nectar-it%E2%80%99s-all-hype/

... and so:

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/is-honey-a-safer-sweetener/ ... I tend to think so.

There is also an important note about cream ...

Many ancestral eaters are quite happy with fatty or fermented cream. If you are not tolerant or simply don't want to have dairy as part of your paleo template then don't - that can of coconut milk (400ml) didn't get fully used up, so whisk up the rest and optionally freeze it for a coconut ice cream on the side.

I'm going to take the cream challenge one step further and get some clotted cream today for another slice this evening.

Thanks to Ellie & Gary over Primal Britain - this is a fantastic dessert.

Oh ... are desserts paleo?

Absolutely! Paleo food is paleo food whether sweet or savoury.

I'm not one for emulation of neolithic foods or neolithic ways, but I really do not see an issue with this pie, afterall, it's not like any of our "paleo" food is actually paleo anyway. Our paleolithic ancestors did not eat domesticated meat and gently steamed cultivated vegetables. Just because the animals are left out in fields and on hillsides does not make them wild, nor does organic mean natural; they're all still farmed, which is in itself wholly neolithic.

Whoa! It's a long way down off this soap box and I've not got a head for heights. This guy does, though ...

Easy as Cheesecake

More primal than paleo, because it's practically all dairy, but even paleo purists seem to be warming to good dairy.

Seriously, this is so easy to make, even a fellow who'd just overindulged in sensible indulgences can put this together ... and I'm not talking eating too much chocolate :)

You need:

Some cream cheese - check the ingredients, coz Philadephia is NOT primal. Cream Cheese which lists the ingredients and milk is what you want.

Some soured cream - again, check the ingredients ... blah blah blah ... cream needs to be the ingredient. Soured cream adds the tang that cheesecake needs without spoiling the vanilla flavour with lemon juice.

Some honey - check your sources. Much honey is cut with HFCS nowadays, so get your honey from a local apiary that you know collects their honey from their hives. Honey is a superb sweetener, packed with all manner of complex health goodies - it's more than just a sweetener!

There is an important note here about honey. Is it primal? Would something like agave nectar be better?

Well, I'll link to a few resources and you can make your own mind up:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-definitive-guide-to-sugar/
http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-foods/agave-nectar-worse-than-we-thought
http://jonnybowdenblog.com/the-truth-about-agave-nectar-it%E2%80%99s-all-hype/

... and so:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/is-honey-a-safer-sweetener/ ... I tend to think so.

Vanilla essence - or, vanilla seeds extracted from a pod. I only had essence in, so that's what I used.

Gluten-free biscuit. Fauxfood, I know (after all the care I took over my sweetener), but I lacked the inspiration to whip up a nutty base at that time of night but reckon something like crushed hazelnuts, macadamia nuts and maybe a little butter would do the trick.

Hand whisk.

Get to it!

2/3 cream cheese, 1/3 soured cream, touch of honey, whisk like the clappers until it stands up. Get the bowl in a headlock to work the core and swap hands part way through to ensure an even workout. Yes, I mean a hand whisk, not an electric whisk you hold in your hand!

[I've done this a few times since (without any base) using Greek yoghurt, goat yoghurt and double cream ... that 2 parts cream cheese to 1 part something creamy works out perfect. When using soured products, like soured cream or yoghurt, the right bitterness is imparted. Using straight cream, some tartness can be imparted with some sour berries on top ... bilberries are perfect; for US readers, these are related to wild blueberries.]

Form your base in a Chef's ring and spoon the mixture over. Pop into the fridge to set.

When ready to eat, retrieve from the fridge, warm the metal ring with your body heat and allow the cake to slide out. The cheesecake will set in about an hour, so this is something that can be made and eaten the same evening.

Eat, enjoy, feel fantastic!

Chocolate Panna Cotta

Few desserts excite me, but Panna Cotta is one. Ice Cream and Cheesecake are the remainder of that very short list.

How do you make Panna Cotta even better? Add chocolate!

Cream, milk, cocoa and some berries on top. Perfection!

If you're not down with dairy as part of your paleo lifestyle, this really is not for you ... but I would encourage you to consider it - it is a great pack of fat, good dairy and an ideal dish with which to enjoy some berries.

Having primal tastes, the over sugared offerings in hermetically sealed packaging from the supermarket really does not cut it!

Here's how to keep it paleo ...

Use the ramekins that you will be pouring the dessert into as measures.

Warm up cream and milk, or buttermilk. I go for equal quantities of each since I love cream. If you're concerned about using milk, just go for all cream. Maybe experiment with yoghurt, mascarpone, raw milk ... do what you feel is right for you.

Warm up ... don't boil, don't get it frothy, don't get it excited ... just warm it up.

Add a good tablespoon of cocoa powder per ramekin of liquid. Stir this in well, whisking in if necessary to get all the lumps out. Keep stirring to ensure that the cocoa is really well combined.

Meanwhile, soften some gelatine.

Gelatine comes in many forms, but I like beef gelatine in sheets. The packet will tell you how much you need for the quantity of liquid, but do err just on the slight side - you want that classic wobble, not fully set.

Once softened, and with the cream blend warmed through, squeeze out the gelatine and drop it into the warm liquid.

Stir it through and then pour out into ramekins.

Back up ... you missed that, didn't you?

It's really that simple - soften the amount of gelatine required for the volume you've made and just stir it in. You could add sweetener in, but I don't like to - Panna Cotta done right is pure! Cream ... that's it.

Dress with a few berries - strawberries would be an obvious choice, perhaps with a little sprig of mint. I went with a few blueberries.

Sweeter berries will form a perfect counterpoint to the bitterness of the dark cocoa, which is initially offset by the fattiness of the cream, but an additional sweetness will really bring out the best in all the flavours.

Enjoy! I'm sure you will ...

Chocolate

Intermission: Chocolate

Chocolate?

Yes, I know ... you can buy it in bars from the corner shop, supermarket, hypermarket, vending machine, specialist chocolate shop and even online.

I don't much like commercial chocolate. In the UK we have a lot of milk chocolate, which is so sweet by paleo tastes and the purer chocolate often uses soy lecithin as a stabiliser. Urgh!

I found a really good source of 100% chocolate from Hotel Chocolate - it's from Ecuador, and expensive! I use it primarily in Chilli recipes.

Can I make my own from cocoa powder?

I won't pretend to have absorbed all the facts yet, but on my online travels I found that making chocolate (like bars of chocolate) from cocoa powder is near impossible - it will be too bitter and too brittle.

Great! That's what I'm after ...

There's a lot of talk and something to do with the Dutch, or processing, or something which went right over my head.

I'm primal; I have some cocoa powder and I want to use it!

I found some sense from someone or other who talked about combining it with coconut oil, sugar and so on ... sod the sugar! I'm trying to get that brittle, bitter chunk that I pay so much from at Hotel Chocolate.

Experimenting in my kitchen, I found the right formula ...

It's not a secret and I'm going to share it - this makes bitter, brittle chocolate, suitable for chucking a chunk of into a Chilli, or eating a chunk of, pulling an odd face and slugging down something to take the taste away. More on that later.

The ratio?

2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 teaspoon salted butter

Place the cocoa powder in a mixing bowl, warm up the coconut oil and measure into the mixing bowl, whisking together. Add in a knob of butter and continue to whisk while the bowl is held over a pan of boiling water.

The texture should go really slick and liquid. I gather this is where the cocoa is tempered and releases all sorts of goodness.

Pour out into a ramekin or onto a flat tray if you want a thin layer.

Push into the freezer somewhere between the meat and the ice cubes to set.

About an hour later, you should have a firm, brittle and very bitter chocolate.

Woo! Hoo! Expensive chocolate for literally nothing... and it tastes good! The coconut oil lends a kind of cool flavour which is more rounded than 100% but still has the bitterness.

I call this a success! This is exactly what I wanted ...

My tastes are quite primal - I like strong, honest flavours. This is exactly that. I can eat some of this chocolate and gain all the health benefits of the chocolate (go google ... seriously, go google ... chocolate is awesome!) and the coconut oil, but I do need a slug of something to take the bitterness away.

Tequila! It makes me happy ...

Take a slug of tequila afterwards and the sweetness of this beautiful spirit will make itself very known.

The chocolate enhanced by the sweetness, the tequila enhanced by the bitterness - a perfect marriage.

From here, I intend to experiment with sweetening this basic blend with perhaps coconut, perhaps cream, perhaps milk, perhaps even whey protein powder ... go ahead ... have fun ... if you come up with something great, please post up the ratio of ingredients.

Panna Cotta

Oooh! Dessert?

Yes, new territory!

I am not a huge fan of dessert, quite simply because I like savoury things and I am almost always fully satiated after a starter and main, or an amuse bouche and main course.

There are very few desserts that I have any time for, but my top three are:

Ice Cream
Cheesecake
Panna Cotta

I absolutely adore ice cream. I don't like it all the time, but if we're out for a meal out, socialising, or whatever, when it comes to dessert ... just some ice cream for me.

If I'm pushing the boat out, I'll have some cheesecake. This is one dish I need to make paleo. Served over a biscuit base, set not baked and with a little fruit on top - perfection! Drop the biscuit and we have a paleo cheesecake.

Few desserts excite me any further, but Panna Cotta is that one.

Cream, milk, vanilla and some fruit.

If you're not down with dairy as part of your paleo lifestyle, this really is not for you ... but I would encourage you to consider it - it is a great pack of fat, good dairy and an ideal dish with which to enjoy some berries.

Having primal tastes, the over sugared offerings in hermetically sealed packaging from the supermarket really does not cut it!

Here's how to keep it paleo ...

Warm up cream and milk, or buttermilk. I go for equal quantities of each since I love cream. If you're concerned about using milk, just go for all cream. Maybe experiment with yoghurt, mascarpone, raw milk ... do what you feel is right for you.

Warm up ... don't boil, don't get it frothy, don't get it excited ... just warm it up.

Drop in a dried vanilla stalk to soak, or scrape out the seeds from a fresh stalk and mix into the cream.

Meanwhile, soften some gelatine.

Gelatine comes in many forms, but I like beef gelatine in sheets. The packet will tell you how much you need for the quantity of liquid, but do err just on the slight side - you want that classic wobble, not fully set.

Once softened, and with the cream blend warmed through, squeeze out the gelatine and drop it into the warm liquid.

Stir it through and then pour out into ramekins.

Back up ... you missed that, didn't you?

It's really that simple - soften the amount of gelatine required for the volume you've made and just stir it in. You could add sweetener in, but I don't like to - Panna Cotta done right is pure! Cream ... that's it.

Cool in the fridge overnight and serve up ...

With what? Fruit!

Soften some fruit in some liquor with a little sugar.

Sugar!? Okay ... glucose. I use glucose syrup, or honey.

Honey is natural, but it's still a disaccharide and we can improve. Glucose is useful to the body, and a good sweetener. Just a little - this is a treat!


With regard to honey. Is it primal? Would something like agave nectar be better?

Well, I'll link to a few resources and you can make your own mind up:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-definitive-guide-to-sugar/
http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-foods/agave-nectar-worse-than-we-thought
http://jonnybowdenblog.com/the-truth-about-agave-nectar-it%E2%80%99s-all-hype/

... and so:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/is-honey-a-safer-sweetener/ ... I tend to think so, but pure glucose is fine.

Purists can leave out the glucose - most fruit is sweet enough anyway, and when combined with a little liquid (go on ... get some vodka, or gin in there) reduces really well. The glucose is really just for the sticky sheen.

With the sauce ready, loosen the Panna Cotta by placing the ramekins into a bowl of hot water.

Drop out onto a plate and spoon over the sweet fruit and accompany with a fine wine - Monbazillac?

Caveman Crumble!

Quick and easy!

Fruit ... you need some fruit or berries, so slip on your huaraches and get out there! Blackberries, bilberries, gooseberries, any kind of berries!

Let's build the dish ...

If necessary cook down the berries or fruit a little and spoon into an overproof dish. Add honey, if necessary for sweetness - yes, honey is perfectly paleo. How natural can you get? Ensure that it is pure, unadulterated and local. Okay honey has a glycemic load, just like sugar, but this is a treat!

We can cope with it ...

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-definitive-guide-to-sugar/
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/is-honey-a-safer-sweetener/ ... I tend to think so.

In another bowl, rub butter and almond flour together and then spoon the mixture over the berries or fruit.

Cook for 20 minutes, or so on 200C and then spoon out, enjoying with some coconut milk ice cream.

Caveman Crumble is about gathering - get out there! Get into the fields and gather some berries! Get home, wash them and turn them into a delicious dessert.