Confessional | Comfort Food Solves Everything

...well, not everything, but you know, it helps.

It seems unfathomable, but it's true, we've moved apartments AGAIN. Two days ago we took count and realized that we've actually moved 7 times in 6 years, which seems ridiculous, we know. The best part of our recent move is two-fold, we met amazing people who moved and saved us from lugging our enormous mattress down 3 flights of stairs (plus we only moved 2 miles this time!) and we decided that comfort food solves everything...soreness, headache, stress, tension, claustrophobia, moving pains...you name it. The only tiny problem with that is we don't eat the typical comfort food anymore!

If you've been reading up on us you know that we've been eating Paleo for over a year now (Paleo Blueberry post if you missed it) and are continuously looking for ways to be even better Paleo eaters (minus the 1 day a week we eat out and treat ourselves to some new Seattle cuisine). The amazing thing is that there are more and more ways to eat comfort food minus the dairy & gluten and to even make it Paleo! In the midst of packing last week we made 2 delicious treats to keep us going with 2 of our favorite ingredients- bacon & chocolate.

We have to give a huge shout out to Diane Sanfilippo (one of our favorite Paleo cookbook authors) who wrote Practical Paleo (a must have if you're wanting to cook Paleo) and who's recipes we tried below.

bacon-wrapped pecan datesdried dates, pecan halves, baconPre-heat oven to 425. Cut dates in half and discard the pits. Place pecan halves where the pit had been. Slice bacon in half so you have approximately 4 inch long pieces. Wrap one piece of bacon around each pecan-stuffed date and secure with a toothpick. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes.flourless mocha-bacon brownies4 ounces dark chocolate, melted & cooled1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, melted & cooled1/2 cup pure maple syrup3 eggs1/2 cup + 2 T unsweetened cocoa powder2 T strong coffee2 T fine coffee grinds2 slices baked bacon, choppedPreheat oven to 375. Combine melted dark chocolate, melted butter or oil, syrup, and eggs. Sift in cocoa powder, whisking evenly. Add coffee and grinds and stir until well combined. Oil 9x9 pan (we used coconut oil) or use parchment paper and fill with brownie batter. Top batter with chopped bacon pieces and bake for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Dust with sifted cocoa powder.

On our wish list is another book called Paleo Comfort Foods, let us know if you've tried any recipes from it! If you're in Seattle a mouthwatering bakery you should try is called nuflours, found at local farmers markets. Seriously their stuff tastes just as good, if not better, than treats with gluten and dairy, it's crazy.

Have fun cooking and remember, when you're moving and strung-out maybe all you need is some chocolate or bacon.

~Erik & Marissa