Our cucumber plants are producing like crazy this year. We’re slicing and dipping, making Korean cucumber salad, giving them away, and, my favorite, pickling them.

I love this recipe because you don’t need any special canning equipment. It’s super easy and makes crunchy pickles. Everyone tells me they are the best pickles they’ve ever had.

[bctt tweet=”I love this recipe because you don’t need any special canning equipment. It’s super easy and makes crunchy pickles. #recipe” username=”corkboardblog”]

The Cucumbers

Ideally, you’d use pickling cucumbers. We just picked up seedlings this year from our local farm stand with no idea what variety we planted. The bad news is that they are not picklers. The good news is that if you pick them when they’re smaller, they still work like a charm.

If you don’t have a garden, hit up a local farmer’s market for some pickling or smaller cucumbers. I think the English or Japanese cucumbers would also work because of their smaller seeds.

Before you start pickling, the cucumbers need to be SUPER cold. This is actually one of the secrets to super crunchy pickles. If they’re not already refrigerated, you can stick them in an ice bath in a big cooler for at least an hour. The ice bath will actually make them colder than your refrigerator and possibly more crunchy in the end.

[bctt tweet=”Before you start pickling, the cucumbers need to be SUPER cold. This is actually one of the secrets to super crunchy pickles.” username=”corkboardblog”]

The Ingredients

8 pounds of cucumbers

4 cups white vinegar

12 cups water

2/3 cup pickling salt (has no iodine)

16 cloves of garlic (peeled and halved)

8 sprigs of fresh dill (the feathery part)

8 heads of fresh dill (the flower)

If you don’t have dill heads (I only see sprigs at the store), you can sub a drop of Dill Essential Oil or extra sprigs.

The Equipment

8 wide-mouth, quart-size canning jar
(Although, any glass jar with a lid will do in a pinch)

Large pot

Ladle

The How

1. Get your cucumbers nice and cold (see above).
2. Sterilize jars and lids by running through the dishwasher.
3. Drop 2 halves of garlic and a dill head (or a couple sprigs) into the bottom of each jar.
4. Pack each jar with cucumber spears or slices. Leave at least a half inch headroom at the top of the jar.
5. Top each jar with 2 more halves of garlic and dill sprigs.
6. In a large pot, combine vinegar, water, and salt. Bring to a rolling boil.
7. Fill the jars with hot brine using a ladle.
8. Seal jars with lid. (Optional: vacuum seal the jars with a Food Saver jar attachment.)
9. Refrigerate.
10. Wait at least 2 weeks and enjoy.

That was easy!

Not that they ever last this long, but they’ll stay fresh for about 5 months in the fridge.

The absence of sealing the jars with a hot water bath keeps the pickles crunchy and fresh, but shortens the shelf life.

The other downside is that they need to be refrigerated, so you need some dedicated fridge space or to give them away if you have a lot!

What is your favorite type of pickle?

[bctt tweet=”Focus on what you CAN eat rather on finding substitutes for what you can’t. #paleo” username=”corkboardblog”]

But sometimes you just need a solid bread substitute. In the past, we’ve found that Paleo breads were either too dense or were more like dessert breads rather than sandwich breads.

Then I found this recipe that used cashews and whipped egg whites. It calls for probiotic to “sour” it. What I really wanted was to be able to use my grain-free sourdough starter, so I experimented and am here to report back so you can have awesome, healthy, grain-free, sourdough bread.

What you’ll need:

20 oz. raw cashews
(I get mine through Thrive Market, but then I also found these if you’re an Amazon person.)

1 cup water

1/2 cup active grain-free sourdough starter

4 large eggs, separated

2 TBS. water

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt (use something unprocessed with all the extra trace minerals still in it).
Real Salt or Pink Himalayan Salt are solid choices

Loaf pan

Butter

Tapioca or Arrowroot Starch

Parchment paper

The Night Before

1. In a food processor or powerful blender, blend the cashews, water, and starter together until very smooth. Use a rubber scraper if necessary to scrape the sides and incorporate all the cashews.
   (We have a Ninja blender).
2. Transfer to a large glass bowl. Cover and leave in a warm place overnight. The dough needs to be at at least 85 degrees but not more than 110. I either sit mine next to my crockpot (if I’m cooking something) or in my oven with just the oven light on.
   

On Baking Day

1. Preheat the over to 325 degrees F.
2. Grease the loaf pan. Dust with starch. Line with parchment paper. I usually use a piece that lines just the bottom and long sides of the pan with an inch that hangs over on each side. (I still hadn’t trimmed the paper in this picture.)
   
3. Beat the yolks with the 2 tablespoons of water. Reserve about a tablespoon in a small bowl for brushing the top of the loaf later.
4. Add the yolks, baking soda, and salt to the dough.
5. With clean beaters, beat/whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form.
6. Gently fold the egg whites into the dough.
7. Transfer the dough to the loaf pan.
8. Brush gently with the reserved egg yolk mixture. (Parchment still not trimmed. I promise that I did that before I put it in my hot oven and burned my house down ;))
   
9. Bake at 325 for about 50 minutes. The interior of the bread should read at least 200 degrees F.
10. If the top needs more browning, turn up the oven to 375 and bake another 5 to 10 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and turn onto a cooling rack. Wait at least 10 minutes to cut.
    
    

This bread is the closest thing to a white bread substitute that we’ve ever had. It’s not too dense and doesn’t have a strong flavor. It’s perfect for sandwiches, almond butter toast, and even french toast.

What would you put on a Paleo sandwich?

If you subscribe to the theory that bread and cheese are the hardest things on our digestive systems because of the gluten, lactose, and casein, then pizza is absolute worst invention E.V.E.R…except that it’s so much fun to eat!

In my book, there is no acceptable cheese substitute, so we just take a digestive enzyme to break down the lactose and move on. However, after a lot of experimenting and Pinterest-ing, we did find a crust substitute that’s worth making.

Don’t even start about that cauliflower crust thing :/ I love me some roasted cauliflower and even caul-rice, but it was not meant to be crust!

My go-to crust uses this recipe as inspiration.

Ingredients 

1 cup tapioca or arrowroot starch/powder/flour (it may be called different things depending on the brand, but it’s all the same)

1 cup cassava flour

1/2 coconut flour

1 tsp Real Salt or some other unrefined salt

1 can full fat coconut milk

1/2 cup coconut oil (use refined if you don’t like the taste/smell of coconut oil)

2 eggs (you can sub this for a gelatin egg if necessary)

1 tsp each of onion and garlic powder

Directions:

1. Mix dry ingredients first. Then add wet ingredients. Combine thoroughly.
2. Divide dough into 2 balls. This freezes well as dough or after baking so you can mix once and bake twice!
3. Roll out a ball of dough between two pieces of parchment paper. No thicker than 1/4″.
4. Transfer the dough/parchment sandwich to a baking sheet (I prefer stones) and remove the top layer of parchment.
5. Bake at 450 degrees Fahrenheit until desired doneness.

For Pizza:

I like crispy crust, so I pre-bake the dough a little longer for pizza so it’s already on the crispy side. Top the crust with your desired toppings. We used pesto in lieu of sauce for this one. If you prefer tomato sauce try a heavily salted tomato paste with fresh herbs instead of canned sauces. The lack of moisture in tomato paste keeps the crust crispier. We’ve also done cheese-less versions which are just as tasty in my opinion but would never pass muster for the cheese-lovers in our family.

For crazy bread:

Bread sticks should be soft and chewy in my humble opinion, so we pre-bake the dough for this iteration a little less. Top the bread with grass-fed salted butter, fresh minced garlic, and grated Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven until everything is melty and bubbly. Cut into strips with a pizza cutter and enjoy.

The Sourdough Starter

If you have a typical, wheat starter, you can split a small amount off and start feeding it with cassava. Your sensitivity to wheat/gluten will dictate how many times you want to split it and feed it grain-free before you feel comfortable using it. You can also purchase a gluten-free starter. I’ve started seeing them in higher end grocery stores, or you can order one here. Once it’s established, feed it until you have 1/2 cup plus some to feed for next time.

Ingredients

1/2 cup Grain-free Sourdough Starter

1 cup Cassava Flour

1/2 cup Tiger Nut Flour

1 teaspoon Xanthum Gum

1 teaspoon Salt
I suggest Real Salt or a Himalayan Pink Salt for the added mineral benefits.

1 cup Coconut Milk

2 tablespoons baking soda (for water wash)

2 tablespoons melted grass-fed butter

Kosher Salt for sprinkling

Procedure

1. Mix starter, flours, xanthum gum, salt, and coconut milk in glass bowl. It will make a stiff dough.
   
2. Cover and set in warm place for 4-12 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 425F.
4. Roll out pretzels on a cassava-floured board. I made a traditional shape, but feel free to get creative. We used to make our initials when we were kids!
   
5. Bring a large pot of water with the baking soda to a rolling boil. Line a baking sheet with parchment and sprinkled with cassava.
6. Use a slotted spatula to gently lower a pretzel or two into the boiling water. Boil for one minute. They should float after about 30 seconds. If the pretzels fall apart, try freezing the formed shapes first for an hour.
   
7. Lift the pretzel from the water and allow to drain for a couple seconds. Place on baking sheet. Repeat for all pretzels.
8. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with Kosher salt.
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes until cooked through and golden brown.

You can also experiment with sweeter pretzels with cinnamon and such. I’m more of a savory gal myself.

Do you have other go-to grain-free sourdough recipes? Please share!

Enter fried cauli-rice.

You will need:

A head of fresh cauliflower
Variety of fresh or frozen Asian veggies
An egg
Soy Vay Teriyaki sauce
Sesame oil

I kinda made this up and don’t have exact quantities. It’s a pretty forgiving recipe though. Basically make it so you like it.

What to do:

Shred the cauliflower using a box shredder on the medium side. At medium-high, heat a couple tablespoons of sesame oil in a wok or skillet. Add veggies. Just before the veggies are actually finished to your liking, add the shredded cauliflower. Create a well in the middle, add some more oil, and crack an egg into the well. Stir the contents of the wok until the egg is well scrambled and cooked through and the cauliflower is hot. Don’t over cook the cauliflower. Remove from heat. Add teriyaki sauce to taste. Enjoy.

If you’re weaning your family off of grains like me, you can reduce the amount of cauliflower and add some cooked jasmine rice.

1. Shred or chop veggie of choice. (I used a spaghetti squash for these photos which kind of self-shreds).
   
2. Mix in enough egg to wet all of the veggie. You can also add in flax meal if you so feel incline.
3. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You can also experiment with fresh herbs and other spices.
4. Pan fry on medium-high heat until egg sets.
   
5. Serve plain or with fresh salsa.

For one of my kids, this is one of the only ways he gets veggies into his system. If I make these, he even does it without complaining!

Variations:

• Add curry spices and serve with plain yogurt.
• Add Italian spices and serve with tomato sauce

What will you try?

“… convenient, completely vegan-friendly, and delicious weight management shake mix that provides essential nutrients and only 47 calories per serving. Blended with nonfat dairy; almond, rice or soy milk, or water, [it] can be used as part of a weight-loss strategy of reducing daily calorie intake and burning fat stores through exercise. [This shake] includes a patented weight-loss ingredient that has been clinically demonstrated to help manage cortisol—a stress hormone associated with fat storage in the abdomen, hips, and thighs. [It] blends well with water or rice or almond milk and provides 8 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber per serving.”

We’re not doing it for the weight loss benefit but for the high-protein content and its ability to reduce the body’s cortisol (stress hormone) levels. I’ve been impressed by the non-gritty texture and the taste.

Here are our favorite ways to use it.

1. Chocolate nut butter shake. Toss 1 cup crushed ice, 2 scoops protein powder*, 1 Tbsp maca powder, 1 Tbsp cocoa powder, 1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt, 1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1/4 cup your favorite nut butter, and 1 tsp. cinnamon into a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Chocolate yogurt. Mix 1 cup vanilla Greek yogurt, 1 Tbsp protein powder*, and 1 Tbsp unsweetened vanilla almond milk.
3. High protein oatmeal. Prepare one (1) package organic oatmeal (we prefer maple and spice). Mix in 1 Tbsp protein powder* and a splash of vanilla.

*We’ve chosen a specific brand of protein shake because of the company’s commitment to safety, sustainability, quality, and support. We believe life (including essential oils) is best done in community and this company has a similar mindset. Unfortunately, to protect myself from scrutiny from the FDA, I’ve chosen to not disclose the brand on my website. It’s crazy world we live in! If you want to learn more about who we chose and why, send me a message here. You can also sign up for my newsletter where I send out wellness tips, event invites, and ways to get FREE oils and products.

One of the foods we miss the most since going grain-free is pizza. We did find a quinoa crust recipe that we indulge in, but Grace came up with a completely grain-free alternative recently…the pizza egg.
Basically you make an omelet and top it with sauce and cheese.

We’ve found the key to having it not stick is greasing the pan well and giving it plenty of time to heat without overheating it. We use a low-medium heat.

Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.

What will you put on top of your pizza egg?

Ground beef + leafy greens = lettuce wraps!

The meat is easy. Just brown and add your favorite teriyaki sauce. Ours is Soy Vay.

The rest is pretty easy, too. Wrap your meat in your favorite edible leaf. We had a plethora of bok choy last summer.

You can also use the smaller leaves and seasonal veggies to make a stir fry side.