Nom, Nom, Nom…

I recently bought the book Nom Nom Paleo – by Michelle Tam & Henry Fong. I love her blog and have made several of her recipes that have been met with great success. I don’t follow a paleo diet per se, but because paleo recipes are also gluten free and use unprocessed foods, it is a great search term to enter into Google or Pinterest. If you’ve seen her stuff, you know that it is highly graphic, has a sense of humor and is extremely accessible. So much so, that my 11 year old daughter picked up the book and spent an hour pouring through it and sticky-noting the recipes she wanted me to make.

After about a week of sticky-noting she declared that she wanted to “go paleo.” I discussed what this entailed and we arrived at the acceptable terms. For example:

• follow it when you want and don’t feel pressure to be perfect at it
• don’t make extra work or mess for mom
• don’t announce it to the whole world until it has been a full week
• only do it if you feel good, energized and happy, and most importantly,
• don’t make any more work or mess for mom – did I say that already?

Her tenacity amazed me.  We went to the grocery store and she picked out a ton of food that was recommended in the book, many of which she had never eaten before, and as soon as we got home she made an entire recipe with very little help from me. I wish I could bottle the beams coming out of her face as she had the whole family taste her “egg fu young-ish” (We didn’t have ham on hand, so we used pancetta).

We have spent the week preparing “Nom Nom” meals and have really enjoyed our new found common love for cooking. As always, I’m in awe of all of my children, but it doesn’t usually cross over into my kitchen.  Her excitement has been contagious.  We tried some new foods (even me!) this week and hope to share some in the near future with you.

As a reward for her enthusiasm and focus I decided to make a gluten free, dairy free, processed sugar free, #paleo, treat.

This is quite honestly the perfect dessert.  Its light, refreshing, sweet and satisfying. It feels like you are eating a Piña Colada (without the hangover or the pool boy).

You have to plan ahead a little bit here.  Place a can of full-fat coconut milk upside-down in the fridge the night before.  Not all coconut milk cans are created equal (sometimes even within the same brand). I’ve had very good luck with Thai Kitchen and Trader Joe’s Coconut Cream (but not the organic coconut milk). I sometimes place two in just to be safe. The other bit of planning is to place your beaters (or whisk) and bowl in the freezer or fridge for about 30 minutes before you are ready to use them.  You want everything cold here.

When you open the can, scoop out the coconut cream that is on the top and leave the coconut water behind (save for smoothies, or if you are like my kids, just drink it). Place it in your chilled bowl and beat until it is the consistency of whipped cream.  Sprinkle coconut sugar slowly as you are beating. I use about 1/4 of a cup, but sweeten it to your taste. You can flavor it with vanilla or almond extract if you’d like, but I’ve found that it doesn’t even really need it.

Once you marry the mellow, smokey, grilled pineapple with the refreshing, smooth, coconut whipped cream you will understand why this is exactly what has been missing from your dessert eating life. You won’t even miss the pool boy!

Grilled Pineapple with Whipped Coconut Cream

Prep time: 10 min.
Cook time: 5-10 min.
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 Fresh Pineapple (Peeled, Cored & Sliced)

1 can of full fat coconut milk (try Thai Kitchen brand)

1/4 cup coconut sugar (or regular sugar)

Sprinkle of Cinnamon or fresh mint for garnish

Instructions

1. Place beaters and bowl in the freezer for about 30 minutes before you begin.
2. Preheat grill to medium high.
3. Grill pineapple until it has char-lines, is warmed through, but still keeps it shape. Flip halfway though.
4. Remove the coconut cream from the can (leaving behind the coconut water) and place it in your chilled bowl.
5. Beat the cream until it begins to resemble whipped cream.
6. Sprinkle with sugar and beat a little bit more until peaks form.
7. Place pineapple on a dish and cover with the coconut whipped cream.
8. Garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon or chopped fresh mint – or just dig in!

Notes

I understand that this will keep in the fridge for a few days, but this is a theory that hasn’t been tested in my house.