Those four words are bad news to a zero-carber who is baking desserty treats!
I had decided to fast til dinnertime, since the
pizza-fest last night was certainly doing a great job at keeping my appetite at bay. I had a productive morning of wrapping gifts, but when I couldn't bear to tear off another tab of sticky tape, I turned to my other favourite holidays activity - cooking!
Examining the contents of my pantry, I saw nuts, cacao, eggs, and not much else. Assuming I didn't have enough supplies on hand to try anything exciting, I got busy making the beau another batch of
grain-free granola.
As I stirred the half-toasted nuts & coconut midway through the process, I had a sudden brainwave - couldn't I use the chunky texture of the granola as the base for some sort of pie? My
Choc-Cherry Tart worked very well with the fine delicateness of an almond flour crust, but how about playing with something a bit bulkier?
I checked the freezer - lots of small, sweet berries... How about a layer or those on top of the nuts, topped with the choc mix from the Choc-Cherry Tarts since I had promised readers that I would play with cutting the amount of cacao and butter required, as well as trying a bit of cacao powder rather than just the pricier solids.
The result?
Primal Choc-Berry Pie!
Ohhh yes... I think I've found my contribution to the family Christmas party lunch!
And how is it that I am so confident?
Well, I served up a slice of pie to the beau, my devoted taste-tester... He took a bite, chewed thoughtfully...
"It's good..."
"And?"
"It's not very sweet. The fruit is sweet. The crust is very nice. The chocolate is a bit strong, but the fruit works with it..."
"So it's sweet enough?"
"I don't know."
"Is it nice?"
"Yeah... It's hard to describe."
ARGH!
So I did what any good chef would have done - I ate a slice.
Oh my Gawd.
Amazing.
I held back on the sweeteners (erythritol, stevia and xylitol), so the fruit held all the power and the darkness of the chocolate thrilled my accustomed palate, combining with the berrries and nuts in an orgasmic frenzy of decadence! Seriously. I'm amazed I was able to put the rest of the pie into the fridge. Huzzah for will-power! And it helps that just one small slice filled up my fasted self more than adequately! Wow, fluffy yet filling, exploding with rich flavours...
After dancing around the house with joy, I settled back into my gift-wrapping for another couple of hours. My hopes for a warm patch of sunlight hitting the hammock late-arvo were dashed by the cool breeze persisting even once the clouds had passed. Tomorrow promises to be warmer... Much warmer! Ah, gotta love 10-degree jumps in average temperatures from one day to the next...
Dinner:What did I have in the fridge? Chicken, bacon, salami, and some leftover mozzarella from the pizzas last night...
Enter
Pizza Chicken!
Two chicken breasts, cut to lie flat and open, are grilled alongside some bacon. The bacon is removed from the grill and finely chopped, as is some salami and mozzarella. Herbs are added to the chopped goodness - basil was the herb of choice here.
Chicken breasts are removed from the grill, covered with piza toppings, then placed under the broiler until cheese is melted.
The flavour danced the barrier between the good KFC and the really good pizza. Wow. I'll be trying the three meat products in combination again soon, so hopefully the success of Pizza Chicken doesn't rely too much on the cheese... Maybe I could just stuff the chicken with salami, wrap it in chicken, and grill... Mmmmmm....
