Grain Free Maple Bacon Cookies with Thyme

These grain free lovelies are a palate pleasing combination of sweet and savory. The bacon marries the maple syrup and thyme into a wonderfully different cookie, in a very good way. Use dried thyme if you must, but try to find fresh if you can!  If you don’t have bacon fat, you can sub in a good quality lard, coconut oil or butter, but the bacon fat contributes to the uniqueness of the cookie!

Grain Free Maple Bacon Cookies with Thyme

1 cup almond flour

½ cup arrowroot flour

1 Tbsp coconut flour

½ tsp baking soda

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

Pinch of salt

¼ cup dark (grade b or c) maple syrup

¼ cup cooled bacon fat

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, woody stem and big peices removed, (sub ½ tsp dried thyme)

¼ cup + 2 Tbsp diced precooked bacon, separated.

Preheat oven to 350F

Whisk dry ingredients in medium mixing bowl. Add bacon fat and maple syrup,
 and mix with wooden spoon until well combined.

Fresh thyme has a bigger flavour profile than dried, try and find it if you can!
Luckily I still have some in the garden :)

 Add the fresh thyme and the  ¼ cup diced bacon and mix in well. Dough should be slightly sticky.

Using 2 spoons place approx 1 tbsp cookie dough on pan,

Top with a smidgen of the leftover bacon, pressing down slightly into the top of the dough to secure. 

Bake in preheated oven for 12-13 minutes or until the edges start to brown.
Remove to a wire rack to cool. 

Store any leftovers in the fridge for a few days or freezer for a few months,
if you can keep them that long!

Makes approx 16-18 cookies.

I keep bacon drippings in an empty jam or mason jar
in the fridge until I have enough to use

Roasted Carrot Soup with Leeks and Thyme

With this cooler weather upon us, thick hearty steaming bowls of homemade soup can warm your insides better than a cozy blanket by the fireplace. Soup is one of my favourite fall meals, its like a warm inside out hug.
This one takes a bit of time to prep, but you can always roast the veggies when you have your oven on for something else and refrigerate them until you were ready to make soup. Saving that roasting step would have this soup on the table in 20 minutes flat.

The carrots in my garden this year are lovely and this soup is a wonderful showcase for their delicious flavour. It is creamy and smooth without the need for dairy (although a swirl of sour cream would be lovely on top…!) I don't peel my

carrots for this recipe, but you may want to for store bought carrots.

As with most of my soups I prefer to use my homemade bone broth as the base. Nutrient dense and made from what would typically be waste; bone broth is both frugal and delicious! If you choose to use a store bought stock, be sure to read the ingredients first and avoid any with ingredients you cannot pronounce (and therefore should not eat!!)

this handy tool strips
the tender thyme leaves
 from the woody stem,
easy as pie!

Roasted Carrot Soup with Leeks and Thyme

Approx. 2 lbs of carrots, peeled if necessary and chopped

5 cups chopped leeks, (rinsed, white part only-see ***below)

2 Tbsp avocado oil (or coconut)

2 Tbsp fresh thyme, woody stems removed

1 tsp herbamare or sea salt of choice

5 stalks celery, chopped

2 Tbsp butter

8 cups bone broth or broth of choice.

Preheat oven to 400F.

On a large parchment lined baking sheet, toss chopped carrots and leeks with the avocado oil, thyme and herbamare.

Pictured without the thyme, I forgot to add it
before I took the picture :(

Roast in preheated oven for 30 minutes. Stir on the pan and roast for another 20 minutes.

When veggies are done, remove from oven and set aside.

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat until it starts to bubble. Add celery, and stir frequently until it starts to soften, approx 8-10 minutes. Add the roasted veggies and your broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, and puree til smooth with an immersion blender (or whiz in a blender, in batches if necessary, being careful as hot soup in a  blender can be dangerous!!)

Check for seasoning and serve hot!

***Prepping your Leeks!

Cut leeks where they just start to turn colour. Using a bit of the green is ok! Trim off the root ends.

Cut the trimmed leek pieces in half lengthwise. 

Rinse well under running water, leeks are often sandy in between their layers. 

Chop and use as directed :) 

Roasted Tomato Confit with Thyme

 A few weeks back, I wrote a note about the grain free zucchini pancakes that I made for a quick lunch one day, and waxed a little poetic on what else they would be good topped with. Well, I came up with a beautiful tomato confit, roasted with sprigs of thyme, that was AMAZING on the pancakes. So good that I am making another batch tonight, because I think it will be just as amazing with our with our bbq’d chicken thighs tonight!

The recipe is a bit shy on measurements, it is one of what I call my scoop and dump recipes, but it is pretty easy, and this gives you a general idea.

Fill your pan (whatever size you wish) with halved or quartered tomatoes in a single layer. Quarter a few cloves of garlic, and add them to the pan. Take some fresh thyme sprigs and nestle them in among the tomatoes, and give a few grinds of sea salt and black pepper. Follow this with a healthy drizzle of olive oil (I usually do not cook with olive oil, but the heat for these tomatoes is not crazy high, and the flavour really marries well with the tomatoes)

Place in a preheated 300 F oven, for about an hour. You will know they are done when the tomatoes have released a lot of their juices, and they are just starting to brown on the edges. 

Remove the thyme sprigs before serving, as the stems are woody.

Serve warm or cold. Enjoy!!