I love weddings.
I love to see the bride’s dress and the look on the groom’s face as the woman who will be his wife floats down the aisle.
It’s fun to see how each couple personalizes the ceremony to make it reflect who they are and what is important to them as a couple. I love when the bride and groom say their vows. I cry every time.
So it’s no surprise that I loved my cousin Chris’ wedding ceremony. It was fun and pretty and special and full of love and sweetness and happiness.
So lovely! Thanks to one of the couple’s friends for sharing this photo on Facebook.
I’ve also adored spending time with my extended family. We’ve had some great meals, including one spontaneous potluck at the house we stayed at for the weekend.
The rental house was comfortable and the kitchen was way nicer than what I’ve got at home. My favorite part was stove top on the island in the middle of the kitchen. My brother-in-law’s favorite part was the exhaust fan that pops up behind the stove at the push of a button. He announced on the first night that he would deploy the exhaust fan at any time if requested. It’s pretty neat.
The house also has a convection oven, which is supposed to be a treat to cook with. However we have been too intimidated to use it. Before we arrived, the homeowner cautioned us not to line the bottom of the oven with aluminum foil. (She actually forgot to tell my sister how to access the house – but she mentioned the no-foil-in-the-oven rule twice.)
Then we arrived, we found several notes in ALL CAPS reminding us about the destruction that could result from lining the oven with aluminum foil. “Foil will melt to bottom and is a very costly repair!!” We were all too alarmed to even turn on the oven. We grilled all our meat.
It’s definitely been vacation-style paleo for me the past few days — which means I’ve eaten good paleo meals supplemented with a lot of sweets. My sister showed up with some homemade paleo banana bread. We picked up several bars of dark chocolate at Whole Foods. I had wedding cake last night and dark chocolate covered espresso beans after breakfast today. Yes, I get a little crazy with the sweets on vacation.
Since I have sweets on the mind, here is a super paleo cookie recipe that my friend L.B. created. She developed this recipe over time through trial and error. I was lucky enough to help taste test every batch! It was a happy time for me.
The cookies are egg-less, which is a nice treat for people who have egg allergies. I used honey as a sweetener in this version — but L.B. pointed out that if you substitute maple syrup in place of honey, the cookies would be fully vegan. (Good to know if you run with a vegan crowd.)
Paleo though they may be, these cookies are definitely sweet and definitely treats. If you have a sweet problem, you may want to share with friends or family. I was thinking I may make a batch for my next family get together.
Chocolate Coconut Chia Cookies (Also known as The 4C Cookies)
Chia seed, 1/3 cup
Water, 1 cup
Coconut flour, 1 cup
Cocao powder, 1 cup (Use unprocessed cocao, not cocoa powder.)
Tapicoa starch (or arrowroot powder), ½ cup
Baking soda, 1 teaspoon
Honey, 1/2 cup
Vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
Coconut oil, 1/2 cup
Unsweetened applesauce, 1 cup
Coconut flakes, 1/4 cup
Dark chocolate, 3 oz or so (Not totally paleo, but really good. Chose one without soy or other additives.)
- Mix chia seeds into water. Let soak for about 15 minutes or so until mixture is gelatinous.
- In a large bowl, stir together coconut flour, cacao, tapioca or arrowroot and baking soda. Set aside.
- Using blender or food processor, combine honey, vanilla, coconut oil, applesauce and chia/water mixture.
- Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients and stir together until mixed fully.
- Chop up chocolate bar into small bits. Stir chocolate and coconut flakes into cookie batter.
- Form dough into ball, about 3/4″ or so in diameter and place on ungreased baking sheet. If you make them this size, you can expect to get about 70 cookies from this recipe. The cookies won’t spread so you can pack them on the baking sheet.
- Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. You can tell when done as they will be less gooey and should pick up cleanly off baking sheet. When not yet done, they will squish and pull apart if you try to pick up.