Gluten-Free Jamaican Patties!

Hello! It's been what...two years since I've last posted on here? A lot has happened since I've last posted on here but I'll save that for another post. Today let's focus on a recipe! I have been making these Jamaican inspired patties whenever we get ground beef from our meat subscription. They're packed with flavor,  and because I'm kind of a weenie with super spicy things they're just the right amount of spiciness for me. However, if you dare you can swap the jalapenos for habaneros or if you can get a hold of them try scotch bonnet peppers which are more traditional in Jamaican cuisine. 

Jamaican patties hold a special place in my heart and belly. When I was a little girl living in Queens, there was a pizza shop around the corner that sold Jamaican patties and I would always order that over a slice of pizza. This is saying a lot for a girl who cannot resist a New York/New Jersey slice! The recipe for my Jamaican patties are not only delicious, they are gluten and dairy-free making them the perfect option for those with allergies or intolerant. The dough recipe is adapted from this paleo empanada recipe. The coconut flavor from the dough pairs rather beautifully with the curried beef. I hope you guys enjoy them as much as we do!

Gluten-Free Jamaican Patties

Makes 12 patties

 

Gluten-free dough:

·        1 cup almond flour

·        1 cup tapioca starch

·        ½ teaspoon sea salt

·        1-13.5 can full-fat coconut milk

Beef Filling:

·        2 tablespoons olive or avocado oil

·        1 small red onion, small dice

·        2 jalapenos, minced

·        3 garlic cloves, minced

·        1 ½ lbs. ground beef

·        Salt and pepper to taste

·        1 ½ tablespoon tamari

·        2 teaspoons curry powder

·        1 teaspoon garlic powder

·        1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

·        2 teaspoons smoked paprika

·        ¼ cup bone broth or stock

·        ¼ cup gluten-free flour

·        1 egg beaten

 

Instructions:

For the patty dough:

1.   Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large bowl, mix almond flour, tapioca starch, sea salt, curry powder and coconut milk. Consistency should be thick and silky.

2.   Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once heated, place a quarter cup of the batter into the pan. Allow it to cook until bottom of the disc is firm enough to move.

3.   Using a spatula, flip over and cook a few seconds longer. Remove from pan and set onto wire rack. Repeat with the rest of the discs. There should be 12 discs in total.

For the beef filling:

1.   In a large skillet over medium heat, add the oil. Sauté the onions and jalapenos until softened about 3 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant. Increase temperature to medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, season with salt and pepper. Season with tamari and al the seasonings. Using a wooden spoon, chop up the beef finely as it cooks. Once meat is cooked through, drain some of the liquid from the meat, leaving a couple tablespoons of fat in the skillet. Return the skillet onto the stove and add in the broth, allowing it come to a simmer. Add in gluten free flour and mix to incorporate. Beef should be nice and moist at this point, turn off heat and allow the beef filling to cool about 30 minutes.

2.   Add about a ¼ cup of beef filling to center of the patty disc, leaving enough room free around the edges. Fold over and pinch the disc into a half-moon. Repeat until you are finished with all the patties. Add patties onto a baking sheet with a reusable silicone baking mat or parchment paper, flatten them slightly and brush each patty with beaten egg and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crusts are nice and golden. 

Lydia Lately {7.12.2016}

"Though she be but little, she is fierce!” -William Shakespeare 

In a few short days Lydia will be sixteen months old. Her imagination is so big, her love for her family is strong, she's independent and she finds joy in the little things,  all traits that I truly admire! Through this journey of motherhood I am constantly learning how to prioritize my time, be more present and not sweat the small stuff. Motherhood is challenging and just when I think I got everything under control something new proves me wrong, and that my friends is humbling! I'm understanding that it's impossible to be in control of everything and that some days will be more exhausting than others. Though knowing that God's in control keeps me grounded and the encouragement from friends and family who remind me that I'm doing a good work as a wife and mommy does too.

But enough about me-- here's what Lydia's been up to lately:

-she is in the 2% for weight and 7% for height but the doctor isn't concerned because Michael and I are shorties! 

-she's talking on the phone with random objects like my old credit card!

-she's waving to people a lot more now

-she is blowing kisses and giving cuddles 

-she is saying words like "hi" and "mama" in context! she is still babbling but finds ways to communicate with us through body language. 

-she's eating with utensils 

-her favorite foods are blueberries and cheese, especially the free cheese samples at whole foods!

-she is playing with her dolls and "reading" books

-she's dancing every time she hears a beat! we went to a winery and they had a band playing classic rock music and she was dancing up a storm.

-she's growing another tooth on the bottom!

-she asks us for a cookie after she's finished dinner; she points to the jar and laughs like a maniac! 

-bath time is one of her favorite pass times

-she sleeps in her crib most of the night!!! *hallelujah chorus*  

-Zoe and her have a special kind of love/hate relationship; Lydia yells at her but wants to hug her all at the same time.

-she has a strong temper and had a breakdown the other day because we took away a pen from her. she was literally in rage for 10 minutes! 

-she makes us laugh and keeps our hearts full on a daily basis :)

I love you Chubski!! 

Lydia Lately 5.23.2016

Lydia is 14 months old.  I’m trying my best to cherish every moment, even the not so fun moments. If you’re a mom, you know exactly which moments I’m referring to! The demands from a little person who wants to be carried all day long even though they’re getting heavier, that creates tornado style messes every day, and constantly putting up a fight each and every diaper change. My patience, which I always thought was solid, gets tested every day and now I totally get what it means to be slow to anger. I try my hardest not to raise my voice because it almost always makes the situation worse. Instead of reacting negatively, I’ve been singing more and sometimes it helps calm us both us down. If God uses marriage to sanctify us, He absolutely uses parenthood too, and I’m learning more and more that I need to be slower to anger, more patient and calm even when I’m exhausted. But those moments quickly get better. I could go on and on about how much Lydia is a blessing and that she truly makes it all worth it!

She’s currently fluent in full-blown gibberish, no real words yet other than “no no” and mama, da-da. She has been trying to mimic our words and when she pets Zoe she goes “naaanaaa” which is in the same tone as us telling her to be “niiiice.” While we do encourage her to talk by telling her what things are and play narrative of what we’re doing, we’re not worried nor in any rush. I try not to compare her milestones with other kids because everyone learns things on their own time. She did learn how to walk at 10 ½ months so maybe she will talk a little later. Only time will tell!

Her favorite things to do are dancing, exploring outside (thank God the weather is finally warming up), playing with Zoe, and eating. She is especially fond of “If You’re happy and You Know It” and knows all the moves too! We recently stayed a week at my parent’s house and she got to spend lots of time with her cousin DJ. There were a few fights over toys/attention and Lydia discovered how to bite! I know I already covered the negative sides of raising a toddler, but Lydia sometimes bites us when she doesn’t get her way, please tell me this is just a phase?! 

Lydia is also at the age where she’s creating her own fun with her toys and stuffed animals. I am always so curious to know what’s going on in her little head and what she is gabbing about. It reminds me of how vivid my imagination was when I was little and how much fun I could have on my own. It makes me excited for her to have little siblings and watch them all interact. My sister and I are five years apart in age so we didn’t have many years of playing because she was too cool for playing pretend. This is kind of a side note but I remember the day Aria declared she was done taking baths together and the dreaded day she told me this was her last day playing pretend with me. I was devastated! I consider her one of my best friends now that we’re older but I think it would be better for Michael and I to have kids closer in age, and hopefully we’ll be able to expand our family soon. 

hardcore snacking!

I mentioned one of Lydia’s favorite things is to eat. Girlfriend is so passionate about food! She is so enthusiastic and literally sings when she eats. Her favorite foods are blueberries, yogurt, beans, tortilla chips and applesauce. She isn’t 100% weaned, she nurses at night and in the morning, I don’t really have a specific day when to stop. I am still giving her homemade chocolate milk and have been adding a little chia seeds, and spinach for a little heft which she loves. I’ll definitely have to do a separate post about toddler-friendly meals and snacks! 

To end this post, I want to say how much I'm looking forward to the weather warming up and starting summer traditions as a family. Possibly trips down the shore when visiting my parents in Jersey, going to the pool in town, watching the parades, going to Pittsburgh, and hosting a BBQ or two! Gotta love the summer:)

Lydia these days...

 Hey guys!

It’s been a while since I’ve taken the time to write about Lydia, motherhood and all that good stuff… I’m happy but at the same time think it’s bananas that my darling Lydia is now five months old! I am happy because her personality grows more each day and am still amazed by how quickly time is passing because it felt like the first few weeks leading up to her turning one month were an eternity. Anyway, I am going to try my best to take a minute to reflect and share what our little chub has been up to these days…

It’s surreal to me that I am a stay-at-home mom at only twenty-two years old. Yet it feels so natural for me to be home with her. I might not always be a stay-at-home mom but right now I’m appreciating it and taking full advantage of this time I get with Lydia. She’s only five months old and is already teaching me to appreciate the little things in life like morning cuddles, being flexible with time and not taking myself too seriously. Some days can be a little uneventful, while other days are all over the place but for the most part these days have been joyful!

I am still breastfeeding Lydia exclusively and don’t necessarily keep track of how many times a day I nurse her, she basically runs the show! I also want to say Lydia sleeps through the night but that’s not always the case. She doesn’t fuss but lets me know when she’s hungry. I am not bothered by this because we’re usually half asleep during these feeding sessions and we both pass out shortly after. As far as going out on dates, Lydia will happily take a bottle of expressed milk from her grandparents and that’s been good! Breastfeeding has so far been absolutely successful, and Lydia’s got the cankles and sweet dimples on her knees to prove it. She’s downright delicious!! It’s also been rewarding for me as we have created a special bond. I find it fascinating and wonderful that not only does nursing nourish my daughter but it also soothes her when she’s feeling overwhelmed. I love being there for her in that way.

We haven’t started solids just yet, but when we do we’re planning on going for a baby-led weaning/self-feeding approach. Hopefully this will teach her how to feed herself by giving her soft finger foods to explore, grab and eat! I am mostly excited because I don’t have to buy special baby food or puree anything. Yay more time for mama! Though, I am not against those squeeze-y tubes that they sell where you can add in your own smoothies and fresh fruit purees. I’m aware that baby-lead weaning is a recipe for future messes and testing my patience but I think it’ll be worth it. I am hoping she’ll enjoy the foods we eat an early age too!

Lydia is a sensitive little soul; we learned this at around two months old when we visited Michael’s family and she cried most of the visit. It was nothing we were prepared for and nothing we had ever dealt with before. Lydia never had an issue being at my in-laws house; let alone cried when anyone but her parents held her. She seems to get overstimulated when a lot of people are around her and paying attention to her. At first this was difficult to deal with because I felt bad for Lydia and I also didn’t want my in-laws to take it personally or to not want to be around her because she was fussy or something. They obviously didn’t take it personally and now my mother in law makes weekly visits in effort to make Lydia more comfortable around her. This has helped tremendously. And when we visit my family in New Jersey, we stay more than a day which gives Lydia plenty of time to warm up to the environment and of course her beloved grandparents!

These days Lydia finds happiness in playing with her doll, being tickled, rolling all over the place and loves it when we sing to her. She really is the happiest baby! I am not kidding when I say the girl wakes up in a good mood smiling ear to ear, and just about ready to start her day. She is getting strong too; almost able to sit up on her own for long periods and when she’s on her belly she tries so hard to crawl. This often times frustrates her because she obviously isn’t strong enough yet she manages to rotate herself by kicking legs and arms around. Almost always I put in her bassinet vertically and she wakes up horizontally!

Because Lydia’s usually a happy baby the hardest thing is to witness her teething! Last week she fussed, screamed in pain and needed something to chew on constantly. I froze a mesh feeder and she sucked on it like a popsicle. I even added some frozen pieces of mango and she loved that! It was a difficult few days for us but we all got through it! On Monday when she turned five months we took her to get her ears pierced. She sat on Michael's lap while she got both her ears pierced and it went by quicker than I thought. Fortunately she only cried a few seconds and was back to her smiling self again. That Lydia and her happiness truly bring joy into both mama and daddy’s lives!

That’s all for now, 

My Little List

I tend to create little mental lists in my head while showering or lying in bed. I know I should write these lists down but 99% of the time they never wind up on paper or in this case my blog. And now that I’m a new mama, the whole “mommy brain” phenomenon makes sense! It’s like my brain doesn't care how young I am, it just knows that I've become a mommy and now destined to forget what the heck I’m doing at any given time. Ever have a mission to do something and once you enter that room you forget what you’re doing? That’s become the story of my life. 

Anyway, let’s get back on topic… I need to write these little lists down. They are little thoughts that resonate in my brain and are quite important to me. So here’s my little list of the moment and perhaps by physically reading this it will help me accomplish rather than forget.

1. Read books, articles and short stories that impact, influence and inspire me!

I am so overdue for a good read…Got any suggestions?

2. Organize more day trips and dates.

Because we’re parents now, it’s been harder to go on spontaneous adventures together as a couple and that’s why I want us to organize dates for us to keep things fun and exciting.

3. Get business cards.

To help bring awareness to my private chef, catering and potentially fitness instructing business!

4. Challenge myself more in the kitchen!

I want to master baking a pie this summer… I don’t mean a semi homemade pie. I mean a real pie with scrumptiously flaky pastry made from scratch! I also want to make lobster and a vibrant paella with squid, mussels and clams… Deeelicious.

5. Host a party just ‘cause!

Michael and I will be living in our home for a year next month. Boy does time fly! I have this idea of us hosting our first get together by celebrating our home ownership with friends and family. It'll not only be a good time of fellowship but a valid reason for us to buy a grill, and an opportunity for me to make pretty food too!

6. Reestablish photography as a hobby. 

I miss this. A lot. I need to start making time for taking pictures, editing and sharing just like the good 'ole days!

7. And lastly, become certified as a fitness instructor (preferably Pilates and Barre!) and teach classes.

I can’t tell you how many times I've daydreamed of teaching a fitness class while I exercised. I suppose you could say fitness has been a hidden passion of mine for the past five years and much like cooking healthfully, I want to share this passion with others! I want to get certified for me, too. I think of myself as a strong woman on the inside but on the outside, I know I’m shy and one of those people who never puts herself out there enough. I guess I've struggled with social anxiety most of my teenage and now adult life. But you know what? I am genuinely tired of living up to that expectation and actually teaching classes would be out of character for me. I want to set an example to Lydia by not letting fear hinder my life.  I pray that she will be a little go-getter just like her daddy!

After overcoming avascular necrosis, getting my hips replaced and regaining strength, I feel this is my season to get certified in fitness. I hope to use it to glorify God, link it with my cooking business and of course help others become healthier!

And that’s my little list.