The Paleo life isn't so very hard...as long as there is chocolate almond cake-in-a-mug with coconut milk whip cream and fresh-picked blackberries. Oh, and a sunny spot to eat it...

This week...

...was Sunday afternoon drives and getting caught out in the rain, sunny hillsides covered in Beebalm and fingers stained purple by late season blackberries, chocolate chip pancakes after dark and the Rock County Fair, snow cones and sprinting through sudden, summer downpours...

Spoon and Level

This morning E and I whipped up a batch of adorable Paleo sandwich cookies. (Pictured below...) The weather being so delightfully cool we figured we simply had to take advantage of it and fire up the oven. (Truth be told we had planned on making these cookies during the very height of the heat spell but fate intervened and a random power outage knocked out our stove and oven. Enter Josh, an ignitor module, over night shipping, 5 phone calls, 2 days of work and to borrow E’s new favorite word, Voila, we were in business. Plus the weather had changed.)

I used the recipe, in the link at the bottom of the page, from DollyandOatmeal. Which is actually a recipe for Icebox cake borrowed from Ina of Barefoot Contessa fame. E just loves her cooking shows. So I figured we couldn’t go wrong. I did a late-night, small scale trial version first. And I decided sandwich cookies would make the whole thing a little simpler and more 5-year-old-helping-out-in-the-kitchen compatible and fun. I also omitted the espresso powder when we made the sandwich cookies. Personally I feel that the unsweetened cocoa powder, almond meal, real maple syrup and coconut milk add enough of a sophisticated depth of flavor. But what you feel...? Well that’s up to you. 

Enjoy!

P.S. The cookies you don't immediately gobble up are best stored in the freezer...

http://www.dollyandoatmeal.com

This week...

...was poppies the color of ballet tutus and catching fireflies, re-reading G.K. Chesterton and late night star gazing, Bridal showers complete with homemade scones and pastel paper lanterns and gauzy flower girl dresses arriving in the mail...

This week...

...was coffee with friends and morning garden walks, birthday parties and blonde ponytails bleached by the sun, afternoons spent swimming and early evening walks, wildflowers and purple-blue hydrangeas...

This week...

...was berries and cream and plenty of Tennis, 4th of July picnics and starlight on the beach, s'mores and watermelon, spontaneous hotel stays and lots of old black and white movies...

July 1st

This week...

...was open house parties and rainy mornings at the pool, spectacular storms and daylight late, late, late into the evening, fireworks and hot pink lilies, fresh beets and sugar snap peas...