Cinnamon Maple Syrup Dip

This is intended to go with the Homemade Crabby Sweets, but it's also just a good dip. I'd make it for carrots, maybe even celery, too. That's how Super A and I tested it while we were waiting for the fries to be done. I made a double batch and brought the leftovers to work this week for my carrots.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Mix all ingredients until well combined and serve! Note: don't make it in the container the yogurt came in, it will most likely overflow.

*** I will be trying this again with less maple syrup. Stay tuned!

Homemade Crabby Sweets

This summer, I was introduced to Crabby Sweets. Normally, I'm not a fan of sweet potato fries. I don't know what it was about these - maybe the Old Bay, maybe the maple-syrupy dipping sauce, maybe my tastebuds are changing that much - but they were delicious. Abbs, sweetheart that she is, made some a few weeks ago (sans maple syrup dip). She and our friend who was over for dinner passed after a few fries, so guess who ate most of the bowl? Yup. No regrets, they were fantastic.

Ingredients:

• 3 large sweet potatoes
• Old Bay seasoning
• coconut oil or other cooking fat, melted (don't use olive oil for this one!)
• salt, if desired

Heat the oven to 450 F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil (for much easier clean-up).

Peel the skins off your sweet potatoes. Despite what people think, the skins actually hold a lot of anti-nutrients, so you don't really want to eat them. Besides, this is easier than scrubbing them. Cut them up lengthwise, like fries. Or alternately you can make potato wedges, it's up to you. But stick to one or the other, and aim for similarly sized pieces or they won't cook through properly.

In a bowl, combine your potato sticks, melted cooking fat, and spices. Yes, this involves getting your hands dirty. When the oil and spices evenly coat each fry, put them on your baking sheet in a single layer and stick it in the oven. Let them cook for 15 minutes, then flip them over and cook for another 15 minutes. If you want crispier fries, I suggest (but haven't tried!) putting them on the top shelf and turn the oven to broil for the last few minutes.

Yumyumyum! We only cooked them for 20 minutes on one side, but Super A cut them really thinly so they were nice and soft, well cooked but still held their form. I have to say, they were pretty amazing (and cost less than $7.50 - what I'd normally pay on the boardwalk)!

Cauliflower Rice

Like any other college student, I don't have a food processor (yet). Unlike most of the college students I know, I have a cheese grater.

It's beautiful.

It also means I might be able to get away with making Paleo food I would normally need a food processor for, such as cauliflower rice. This turned out a little better than I expected and it certainly filled me up. You can use any veggies you like, I used what I had on hand.

Ingredients:

• 1 head of cauliflower
• 1 zucchini
• 1 lb of mushrooms
• 1 large onion
• 1 pineapple
• 2 eggs

Wash the cauliflower, cut off the florets, and grate. All of it. You probably want to squeeze it out too to get rid of some of the water. Wash and chop all other veggies and the pineapple.

In a pan/wok/large saucepot (you want a large surface area), melt butter or other cooking fat (I think I used coconut oil). Cook the onion and the zucchini first, then add the mushrooms and cauliflower after a while. 

Push all the veggies and "rice" to the edges of the pan. Crack your eggs, mix, and cook for a few more minutes. Add in the pineapple slices just before you're ready to serve. Toss everything so you have well mixed rice and serve!

NB: cauliflower gives off a lot of water when cooked. I suggest squeezing it out before adding it to the pan, but cooking it briefly in the microwave would probably help get more water out of it.