Grain-free [zucchini- carrot- walnut] muffins

Lately I've been getting more into grain-free baking. I love baked goods, it's really one of my biggest weaknesses. I love going to bakeries, trying muffins,cupcakes,croissants, you name it I am all over it! But I think the healthier way to still enjoy these types of foods is to make them yourself with out refined sugars and flours.

So here is a  [zucchini-carrot-walnut] muffin recipe!

Yield:
12 muffins

Ingredients:

1.5 cups almond flour
1/2 cup pecan meal
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 pastured organic eggs
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup ghee (or butter/coconut oil)
1 tbsp vanilla
1.5 tbsp raw local honey ( you can use more if you want them sweeter!)
2/3 c crushed walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a small bowl combine dry ingredients, (Almond flour, pecan, salt, baking soda)
3. In a later bowl mix your eggs, zucchini, carrots, ghee, vanilla, and honey
4. Pour dry ingredients to the larger bowl with your eggs
5. Combine all your ingredients (add your walnuts here as well) and mix well
6. Lightly brush your muffin pan with ghee, butter, or coconut oil to keep from burning or use muffin liners
7. Spoon your mixture into the muffin pan
8. Bake for 12-15 minutes on 350
9. Let cool for a few minutes and transfer muffin on a plate or cooling rack

For the love of coffee and culture

I remember the first time I tasted Turkish coffee. I was visiting Roland in Grand Rapids. He took me to the 'best' restaurant ever (even people from GR can't find anything that matches up), Marie Catrib's . This place has a cool story how the owner was banned from the family kitchen at one point in her life to a huge success in opening up her very own restaurant. This place has a Lebanese twist...with delicious flavorful healthy food. MMMmm...just talking about this place makes me miss Grand Rapids even more, there are so many other places worth mentioning but I will save those for later!

So back to tasting this Turkish coffee.... it was beautiful truly the best to this day I have ever had. It had the right amount of sugar and cardamom in it that your taste buds asked for more.
So today I craved this coffee-- and had to try to make it myself!

Usually you will need a ibrik which is a small stovetop pot that is used to make this coffee. I didn't have one so I just used a small sauce pan.

Yield:
2 small cups of coffee for two or 1 huge cup for one!

Ingrediants:

1 cup water
1.5 tbsp finely ground coffee beans (powder consistency)
1/4 tsp cardamom
Organic cane sugar ( I used about 1/2 a tbsp, I recommend using even less then adding it later if you need to )

Directions:

1. Add water, coffee, sugar, and cardamom to the pot.
2 .Bring to a slow simmer on medium heat about 3-4 minutes (stir for sugar to dissolve).
3.When the coffee begins to boil pour half of it to your cup/s.
4. Bring the remaining coffee to a slow simmer about another 1-2 minutes.
5. Pour the rest of the coffee to your cup/s.
[Make sure the coffee forms a foam on the top of your pan, do not stir once you have poured it into your cups. This allows the foam to remain.]
6. Let sit for a few minutes for the coffee grounds to sink to the bottom of your cup/s.

Enjoy!