Brownies with Salted Honey Caramel Sauce

It's been over a year since I began the autoimmune protocol diet due to health issues. I know how tough it is to celebrate with food for those dealing with allergies, food sensitivities, and other health conditions. It’s not impossible though! Just because you are on a special diet, doesn’t mean you can’t find ways to incorporate some fun and festive foods for feast days every once in awhile.

Here is a delicious {sugar-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free} recipe that I made to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It would also be perfect for any of the other Carmelite saints, including the feast of St. Therese! Although I'm not sure I'll be able to wait until October to make them again... They are amazing! 

 

Brownies with Salted Honey Caramel Sauce

Brownies
(source: Eat Heal Trive)  

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup arrowroot flour
• 3 tbsp carob powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla (non-alcoholic) 
• 1 tbsp. gelatin plus 1/4 c water (for your gelatin egg)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 8x8 baking dish. (Note: After greasing the pan with coconut oil, I also lined it with some wax paper.) 

In a small bowl, sift together the coconut flour, arrowroot flour, carob powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Note: If you’re okay with cocoa (a Stage 2 AIP reintroduction), then replace the 3 tbsp. of carob powder for cocoa powder. 

In a large bowl combine the apple sauce, oil, honey, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla using an electric mixer.

In a small saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over the 1/4 c water and allow to soften for 2-3 minutes. While the gelatin blooms, mix the dry ingredients with the wet.

Turn the heat to medium low to melt the gelatin. This should only take about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Whist vigorously until the gelatin egg is very frothy. Then add this to the brownie mixture. Stir to combine.

Pour the mixture into your prepared baking pan and gently smooth and spread with the back of a wet spoon.

Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

 

Salted Honey Caramel Sauce

(adapted from freshtart.com) 

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups full-fat coconut milk
• 1 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (non-alcoholic, optional)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions: 

In a medium saucepan, combine coconut milk and honey. Bring to a low boil over medium heat. Continue to boil, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened to caramel sauce consistency.

Note: The time will vary depending on the size of pan you use, but plan on around 15 minutes of low boiling. (It took me about 25 minutes.) 

Remove from heat, stir in the vanilla and salt (adjust to taste). Serve warm or transfer to a jar to store in the fridge. Warm before serving. Makes 2 cups.

Serve over brownies and sprinkle with additional salt if desired. 

You can also create {AIP} Brown Scapular Treats with the brownies as well, decorating them with caramel ropes and mango crosses. 

You can see the rest of our Feast of Our Lady of Carmel celebration over at Shower of Roses. 

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us! 

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Easy No-Bake Brown Scapular Treats

Here is a fairly quick and easy no bake treat that I made for my children today, to celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, inspired by one of my brown scapulars.  These would be perfect for any of the Carmelite Saints and Blesseds as well. 

Supplies: 

Hershey's Milk Chocolate Candy Bars
Just Mango Slices
Cocomels Coconut Milk Caramels (or use regular caramels, these are what I had on hand) 

Directions: 

Break each Hershey's bar into 4 sections. Use 2 sections to make each scapular, placing them top down on a plate. Cut a cross out of the dried mango for each side of the scapular. Create the cord by cutting the caramel into sections, rolling it into a rope (2 per scapular), and placing it under each corner of the scapular. 

You can see the rest of our celebration over at Shower of Roses. 

Holy Virgin of Mount Carmel, Our Lady of the Scapular, pray for us!

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St. Kateri Care Package

A package arrived this afternoon, filled with all sorts of food items to celebrate St. Kateri! Hominy, wild caught salmon, bison meat, cornbread, and even some pasta shaped like "lilies" (which Mary blogged about here) for today's feast of the "Lily of the Mohawks!"  Thank you, Erica and family!

{Updated to add} The girls baked cornbread in a cast-iron skillet, while I made the pasta. I sautéd the hominy in coconut oil, with garlic and leeks, mixed in the al dente "lily" shaped pasta, and topped it with salt, pepper, and parmesan.

During dinner we read the short story about St. Kateri Tekakwitha found in More Saints: Lives and Illuminations by Ruth Sanderson.

You can find additional ideas for celebrating today's feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, including St. Kateri's Indian Corn Cookies, in the archives. 

St. Kateri, pray for us! 

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Campanelle "Little Bells" or Gigli "Lily" Pasta Ideas

Campanelle is a pasta shaped like a cone with a ruffled edge. It is Italian for "bellflowers” or "little bells" due to its shape like a bell or bell-shaped flower. This pasta shape is also referred to as gigli which means lily. Campanelle is intended to be served with heavier sauces or in a casserole.

It is part of tradition in Christian art to use lilies as a symbol of purity when portraying Our Lady or the Saints and even Angels.  The lily is an emblem of purity and chastity. It is the flower the medievals found to best symbolize the purity of Mary, and was admired as a flower of purity since the time of the Ancients. By the 14th century, it became common to find the lily in Annunciation paintings and illuminations, with either St. Gabriel holding it on in a vase between them.

There are numerous saints depicted with a lily or a bell which would be fitting for a campanelle pasta meal idea on feast days.  This week we happen to have a prominent lily associated saint - St. Kateri, the Lily of the Mohawks. But it is a good year round option due to the many saints associated and depicted with lilies or bells, as well as all the Marian feasts.  

St. Anthony the Hermit - January 17
St. Agnes - January 21
St. Agatha - February 5
St. Casimir - March 4
St. Joseph - March 19
Feast of the Annunciation - March 25
St. Agnes of Montepulciano - April 20
St. Catherine of Siena - April 29
St. Anthony of Padua - June 13
St. Aloysius Gonzaga - June 21
St. Maria Goretti - July 6
St. Kateri Tekakwitha - July 14
St. Dominic - August 8
St. Philomena - August 11
St. Gabriel the Archangel - September 29

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A Simple Treat for the Feast of Sts. Louis & Zélie Martin

Happy feast of Sts. Louis & Zélie Martin!  Today is the first time we celebrate their feast as canonized saints! I had hoped to have time to bake another French Vanilla Cake and Cupcakes in Honor of the Watchmaker and Lace Maker but our schedule was too full and I had to simplify. After searching through the pantry I decided to simply twist open some Oreo cookies, decorate each as a "watch face" using some melted chocolate, and then serve them on top of small rose covered lace paper doilies.

Tip: After twisting open the cookies, scrape off any cookie crumbs with the smooth side of a knife.

I just cut off the corner of a snack baggie and squeezed the melted chocolate through the small hole to decorate each cookie. Not perfect by any means, but my little ones loved them!  You can see the rest of our celebration over at Shower of Roses. 

Sts. Louis & Zélie Martin, pray for us! 

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Saint Germaine and the Sheep

Last week I baked a batch of twenty-four yellow cupcakes. I decorated the first eight for the feast of St. Columba, eight more for the feast of St. Anthony, and this afternoon I decided to decorate the last remaining eight as sheep to go along with the story Saint Germaine and the Sheep for today's feast of St. Germaine Cousin who was a shepherdess nearly from infancy. You can read more about St. Germaine here. 

Originally I thought I would use miniature marshmallows, similar to our Good Shepherd Cupcakes, but we're out and I didn't want to make a trip to the store so I improvised with the last of the frosting and a round decorating tip. They turned out so cute! 

Saint Germaine's Flock of Sheep Cupcakes

Supplies: 

Yellow Cupcakes

Fluffy White Whipped Frosting

Large Marshmallows

Pink Heart Sprinkles

Wilton Candy Eyeballs

Wilton Decorating Tip #12 

Unwrap each cupcake and frost top with Fluffy White Whipped Frosting. 

Cut the marshmallows to create face and ears for on top of each cupcakes. 

For the face: Cup marshmallow in half across the middle. Use one half for each cupcake. 

For the ears: Cut marshmallow diagonally from corner to corner. Cut one half of the marshmallow again, down the middle, to create two ears for each cupcake. 

Place the marshmallow face and ears on top of the frosted cupcake, sticky side up. 

Add two eyes and a heart shaped nose to each cupcake. 

Using a round decorating tip, pipe dots of frosting around the face and ears, covering the top of the cupcake to create a fluffy sheep. 

You can find additional ideas for celebrating the feast of St. Germaine, including the link to a lovely coloring page, over at Shower of Roses. 

Saint Germaine, pray for us! 

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Sacred Heart Quesadillas

The month of June is dedicated to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The following recipe for Sacred Heart Quesadillas was submitted by Tatiana. Thank you, Tatiana! 

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, I made these homemade organic flour tortillas, cut with a cookie cutter, and decorated with what I had on hand...tomatoes. It is much easier to cut pre-made tortillas if in a hurry.

Homemade Flour Tortillas

Directions: 

1. Mix 5 tablespoons of soft coconut oil or butter into to 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour until evenly distributed.  
2. Dissolve 3/4 teaspoon salt into 3/4 cup of warm water. 
3. Add water gradually flour until a dough ball is formed. Use your hands to knead. Add more flour or water as needed. 
4. Separate dough into 12 balls. Allow to rest for 30 minutes. 
5. Roll out as thin as possible. Use flour if needed. 
6. Cook on medium until it starts to bubble. Flip over and add cheese, cover with another tortilla that has one side already cooked, then flip over again as cheese starts to melt. 
7. Garnish with tomatoes in honor to recall the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity, have mercy on us!

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