Nordic Nut Bread (okay, mostly seeds...), gluten free

I have no idea if this actually is Nordic...some sources call it Viking Bread, which may be even harder to nail down.  I call it GOOD, and make it when I want a hearty, filling bread-like creature.  (No flour, no grain of any kind, no yeast.)

It's not inexpensive to make, but it is a special treat.

The original recipe calls for walnuts and almonds, but since I'm allergic, I tweak it!  It's quite versatile--the original recipe has no raisins or sweetener, but I added a little of both--sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.  It would be good as a savory herb bread as well.

Dense and rich, and full of nutrients!

So here's how:

Preheat oven to 320 degrees, and prepare a loaf pan by greasing and flouring, or lining with parchment paper.

Ingredients

dry ingredients

• 6 T pumpkin seeds
• 6 T sunflower seeds
• 6 T cashews (raw or roasted)
• 2 T sesame seeds
• 2 T poppy seeds (optional)
• 1 T hempseed (optional)
• 1-2 T  flaxseed meal
• handful of raisins (optional)
• 1 T coconut or maple sugar (optional)
• spices, if you like...cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves?  about a tsp (optional)
  
• 1 tsp salt

wet ingredients

• 5 eggs
• 1/4 cup olive oil (or other healthy oil)

I'm reasonably sure you can substitute any nuts or seeds you prefer, just end up with about the same amount.  I've made it without any sweetener and fruit and it's still delicious.

Bake for one hour or until knife inserted comes out clean.

Beat eggs, and add oil and dry ingredients, stirring well to mix.

Pour into greased or parchment lined loaf pan (can use two small ones for special treats or gifts!)

Nuts need not be chopped--I didn't--but you can.

Serve with butter, if you wish, but it sure doesn't need it.

Marinated Chicken and Mushrooms on Cabbage Steaks

MARINATED CHICKEN:

I made this recipe up many years ago, I think--30 at least, so I could have forgotten where I got it!--and LOVED it.  I used white Worcestershire sauce (then called Marinade for Chicken, then discontinued!), then, and we've stopped using the commercial stuff at all, but I decided to try my new recipe for AIP Worcestershire in its place, and it was LUSCIOUS.

Here's how:

2-3 large chicken breasts or 7-8 boneless thighs, cut in cubes
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white wine (I used chardonnay)
3-4 sliced garlic cloves
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce, home made* (or commercial if you don't mind the weird ingredients)

1 cup of sliced mushrooms, more or less

Mix liquids and add chicken and garlic, marinate at least 6 hours, then cook in the same sauce till chicken bites are done. Remove chicken and quickly saute' mushrooms in the same pan.

Serve it all over cabbage steaks*, as we did here, or rice or potatoes (if you can do grains and nightshades) or cauliflower rice. Or put in a bowl and go for it!

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HOME MADE WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE

*I used this recipe for the Worcestershire sauce, and it's as good as the traditional stuff I grew up on! https://www.instinctualwellbeing.com/paleo-aip-worcestershire-sauce/ 

I wonder if I can figure out how to make a white version!  Or maybe I'll just try this one I just found: https://www.spicealley.com/blogs/recipes/white-wine-worcestershire-sauce
(Of course, without cornstarch...I'll bet tapioca starch would work just as well.  I'll use honey or maple syrup instead of white sugar, too...)

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*CABBAGE STEAKS

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Slice cabbage from the head, about 1/2" thick slabs.  (If it's near the stem, core that out.) Place on a cookie sheet, coat well with olive oil on both sides, salt and pepper both sides, and roast for 15-17 minutes till edges are crispy.  (If you want more crisp, you can stir the steaks areound and put it back in the oven for a while.  YUM.)  We like this just as a simple side dish, as well...

Naan, again...AIP, gluten-free, dairy-free (OK, except the butter...)

We ended up preferring this recipe for naan to my cauliflower ones...give them a try too!  The arrowroot flour makes them stretchy inside, but that's what naan does, right? 

If you like a drier, less strectchy naan, (even crispy!) put them on a baking sheet at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  YUM.

Ingredients

• ½ cup cassava or garbanzo flour
• ½ cup tapioca flour or arrowroot flour
• 1 cup full fat coconut milk
• Salt, adjust to taste, optional
• Garlic powder to taste, because why not?  GARLIC! (optional, of course)
• Ghee or butter (if dairy's okay for you), optional

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Instructions

1. Preheat a your pan over medium heat--I use my favorite old cast iron skillet, oiled
2. Mix all the ingredients together well, and pour enough in the pan to make about a 5" circle, roughly.
3. Afterthe first side has set and the top has a few bubbles (like pancakes), flip over to cook the other side.  You'll see some very dark places, but that's fine.
4. Scarf them up now, or cool on a wire rack.  You can freeze them with a sheet of waxed paper between, but they're best fresh.  (My last batch got kind of stiff after a few days!) (No, NOT after freezing, silly, in the fridge!)

We've used these as wraps, and even as burrito-like critters.  GOOD.