So our household has gone paleo!!!!
And just in time for the arrival of my new food processor. Which means this is my number 1 recipe at the moment.... a big winner from http://www.elanaspantry.com/gluten-free-apricot-power-bars/

Apricot Power Bar

• 1 cup dried apricots
• 2 cups pecans
• 2 eggs
• ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup chocolate chips of your choice, or none whatsoever

1. Place apricots and pecans in a food processor and pulse until the texture of coarse gravel
2. Pulse in eggs, salt and vanilla, until mixture forms a ball
3. Remove mixture from food processor and work in chocolate chips
4. Place mixture in a greased 8 x 8 inch baking dish
5. Bake for 25 minutes at 350°
6. Cool and serve

This is another one that I have been making for a while now from "The feed zone" cookbook, although it is not "technically" with the Marmalade I can make an exception when using these as bike snacks for long rides :)

Ingredients

¼ cup raw almonds
1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut*
¼ tsp vanilla
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp orange marmalade
¾ tsp to 1½ tsp apple sauce or additional honey
1 egg white

Directions
1. Preheat to 350F. Prepare a baking pan by lining it with parchment paper.
2. Process almonds till ground
3. Add coconut, vanilla, honey, marmalade and pulse.
4. Add applesauce or honey if desired until mixture forms a thick paste.
5. In separate bowl, beat egg white till stiff.
6. Combine eggs and the rest of the ingredients.
7. Scoop by tablespoons onto prepared pan.
8. Bake 10-15 minutes until tops are lightly golden brown.
9. Enjoy!

*I just blended the egg white right in with the rest of the mix because I like to reduce dishes and they still worked out great.

and now I am on the hunt for other power bar alternatives so keep posted for more in the future...

So it is a regular occurrence that I am found wandering around the kitchen wondering "what should I make today?". Despite the obvious my only concern regarding the kitchen is what to do with the products of my labour. Unfortunately being the there is only two of us in the house (and two fur kids) it is hard to find mouths to feed. Although maybe in future I should try sending something into the boyfriends office!?
Anyway, today i was inspired to make my first attempt at ice-cream or more specifically gelato, so I did my research and found a great recipe for banana rum ice-cream as follows.

The results were brilliant!

Ingredients

• 4 slightly overripe bananas
• 1 cup (250 mL) milk
• 1 cup (250 mL) whipping cream
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) rum

Preparation

Peel bananas; cut into thirds. In heavy-bottom saucepan, bring bananas, milk and whipping cream to boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer until bananas are very soft, about 5 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes.

In food processor, whirl banana mixture until smooth.

In large bowl, whisk egg yolks with sugar until pale yellow and frothy. Slowly whisk in banana mixture. Return to pan; cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until banana mixture is thick enough to coat back of spoon, about 5 minutes. Strain into bowl, pressing solids through sieve with spatula. Place plastic wrap directly on surface; refrigerate until cold, about 1-1/2 hours. Stir in rum.

Freeze banana mixture in ice-cream machine according to manufacturer's instructions. (Or pour into 9-inch/2.5 L square metal cake pan; freeze until almost solid, about 1-1/2 hours. Break into chunks; in food processor, purée until smooth. Scrape into airtight container; freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.) (Make-ahead: Freeze gelato for up to 1 week. Let soften in refrigerator until scoopable.)

Additional information :

Tip: If you love rum, you can add an additional 2 tbsp (25 mL); if you don't, replace the rum with 1 tbsp (15 mL) vanilla.

Wandering back from my massage appointment today I found myself in the not unfamiliar position of being drawn into a used bookshop. With the majority of books being priced at 2 for $5 how could anyone refuse, and $15 later I walked out with a new library. The book shop is on the corner of North Bridge Rd and Bain St in the Bras Basah Complex and has quite a selection. I walked out with a couple of decent parenting books, a book on the compassion of animals, a couple of marketing texts and an interesting fiction book which will obviously be added to the shelves upon shelves of books I have that are still "to be read".