I've gotten into the habit (some may say bad habit) of pre-ordering too many Paleo cookbooks. This year has seen an absolute bumper crop of them! But when the Food Lovers (Hayley Mason and Bill Staley of the Primal Palate) announced Gather: The Art of Paleo Entertaining, I really just had to get it; I love to entertain.
So yes, it's been a few months since I've had my hands on this book, and besides the absolutely gorgeous photography, which they deservedly pride themselves on, it is chock full of *seasonal* menus. Perhaps you can see where I am going with this. Since the holidays of NeoPaganism revolve around the very essence of the seasons, many of the menus in the book would work fabulously with our Sabbats.
Take the Harvest Dinner menu as an example of a proper feast for Mabon, which is coming sooner than we think. How better to celebrate the Fall Equinox than with a meal like this?
Cherry Walnut Salad with Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette
Pumpkin Chicken Chili
Apple Glazed Pork Loin
Honeycrisp Applesauce
Baked Acorn Squash
Pumpkin Torte with Cream Cheese Frosting and Caramel
Now that is a meal worth bringing your friends over to enjoy, regardless of whether they're Paleo, Pagan, or otherwise.
There are plenty of other menus in the book that are not necessarily seasonal, but awesome nonetheless. I seriously need to make Takeout Fakeout because I no longer can go eat at Chinese restaurants anymore. My system just won't let me, though that's probably a very good problem to have. So far everything I've made from this book has been simply amazing, as the Food Lovers have a simply amazing eye for detail when it comes to recipes.
So one of the recipes I really like making has been the Cinnamon Maple Hot Cakes from the Casual Sunday Brunch menu. They are so easy to prepare, and obscenely delicious to boot. But my 5 year old is a chocolate fiend, and she asked me one day, could I make chocolate pancakes? I said, sure, why not? Thinking about this recipe, I decided that I would adapt it and make Mexican Chocolate Hot Cakes. The first version of the recipe ended up being a little dry, but this version is awesome. So without further ado, here you go.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cocoa powder (I like Equal Exchange's organic baking cocoa powder)
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons maple syrup
6 eggs (preferably pastured)
2 tablespoons water
Grass-fed butter for frying (I use Kerrygold)
Mix the dry ingredients together, and then the wet. Fry like you would any other pancakes in a cast iron skillet. Eat hot with butter and maple syrup!
While my pictures will never be as fabulous as the Food Lovers,the picture below shows what they looked like on my husband's plate with plenty of butter.
Be sure to try this recipe out and let me know what you think! And if you like seasonal feasts like I do, go get Gather! It may not be a Pagan book, but it'll still be a great asset to create the most memorable Sabbat feasts ever.
So yes, it's been a few months since I've had my hands on this book, and besides the absolutely gorgeous photography, which they deservedly pride themselves on, it is chock full of *seasonal* menus. Perhaps you can see where I am going with this. Since the holidays of NeoPaganism revolve around the very essence of the seasons, many of the menus in the book would work fabulously with our Sabbats.
Take the Harvest Dinner menu as an example of a proper feast for Mabon, which is coming sooner than we think. How better to celebrate the Fall Equinox than with a meal like this?
Cherry Walnut Salad with Fig Balsamic Vinaigrette
Pumpkin Chicken Chili
Apple Glazed Pork Loin
Honeycrisp Applesauce
Baked Acorn Squash
Pumpkin Torte with Cream Cheese Frosting and Caramel
Now that is a meal worth bringing your friends over to enjoy, regardless of whether they're Paleo, Pagan, or otherwise.
There are plenty of other menus in the book that are not necessarily seasonal, but awesome nonetheless. I seriously need to make Takeout Fakeout because I no longer can go eat at Chinese restaurants anymore. My system just won't let me, though that's probably a very good problem to have. So far everything I've made from this book has been simply amazing, as the Food Lovers have a simply amazing eye for detail when it comes to recipes.
So one of the recipes I really like making has been the Cinnamon Maple Hot Cakes from the Casual Sunday Brunch menu. They are so easy to prepare, and obscenely delicious to boot. But my 5 year old is a chocolate fiend, and she asked me one day, could I make chocolate pancakes? I said, sure, why not? Thinking about this recipe, I decided that I would adapt it and make Mexican Chocolate Hot Cakes. The first version of the recipe ended up being a little dry, but this version is awesome. So without further ado, here you go.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 cocoa powder (I like Equal Exchange's organic baking cocoa powder)
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons maple syrup
6 eggs (preferably pastured)
2 tablespoons water
Grass-fed butter for frying (I use Kerrygold)
Mix the dry ingredients together, and then the wet. Fry like you would any other pancakes in a cast iron skillet. Eat hot with butter and maple syrup!
While my pictures will never be as fabulous as the Food Lovers,the picture below shows what they looked like on my husband's plate with plenty of butter.
Be sure to try this recipe out and let me know what you think! And if you like seasonal feasts like I do, go get Gather! It may not be a Pagan book, but it'll still be a great asset to create the most memorable Sabbat feasts ever.