(Paleo) Apple Pie In A Jar

The world of pie making abounds in legend, myth, tradition, and even cautionary tales.
Cracking the code on how to make the perfect pie crust is almost as complicated as solving the Sphinx's riddle or untie the Gordian knot.
Pie scientists will tell you that it’s all about the crust. Sure there’s the gooey sweet fruit that fills the cavern of your pie, but the best filling in the world won’t save a poor crust, turning an otherwise tasty pie into dishonorable failure.
It has to substantial enough that it doesn't sog-out from a juicy filling, but tender enough that it flakes in your mouth into buttery shards.

Spicy Honey-Garlic Roasted Cauliflower

Another day, another side dish.
This one’s epic.
So epic I will go as far as saying that this might be one of my favorite ways to enjoy cauliflower.
Which is kind of a big deal to me.
Because as you might know I eat a lot of cauliflower, like a LOT — to the point where I crave it like an addiction.

Honey Glazed Roasted Carrots

In the grand scheme of food blogging things, a recipe for standard roasted carrots may honestly be not that relevant.
Boring, mushy cooked carrots that you can find alongside every winter roast. Ho-hum.
But wait a sec!
These are anything but. And they certainly deserve better than to be passive-aggressively labeled as mundane, dull roasted carrots.

California Chicken Avocado and Red Quinoa Bowls

In the never-ending cross-country rivalry, the West Coast wins hands down when it comes to the weather — because you know of all the sunshine and low humidity.
And though I love me a good old cold snowy winter, whenever I see on social media a “friend” grilling outdoors wearing shorts, a tee, and a pair of flip-flops in February/March, I realize that The Mamas & Papas were right all along when they were singing: “I'd be safe and warm If I was in L.A.”
Seriously people, I feel the desperate need to flee the rain, the cold, the darkness. I want some sun-induced warmth. I want to be outdoors. I want to barbecue something. Anything really.

TIY's 15 Most Popular Recipes

The Internet is a strange (but awesome) place.
I’ve been at this blogging thing now for over four years and I still don’t understand many things that happen on TheIronYou (i.e., my blog).
I feel like I’m starting to know you guys better and that I’m able to predict the kind of recipes you’d like to see on here.
So I really don’t understand why one recipe goes viral while another one — that I believe is just as awesome — doesn’t.
It’s a mystery that I won’t ever really comprehend. I just have to accept it for what it is: some recipes become popular, others don’t. That’s just the way it is.
Still, when the Internet speaks, my job is to listen.
So without further ado, here, in order, are TheIronYou’s 15 most popular recipes of all time.
Not surprisingly there’s a lot of cauliflower crust, some curries, a couple of casserole, and even a pudding.
From 1 to 15, here they are!

Almond Flour Coconut Sugar Cookies

I guess I consider myself not a cookie kind of guy.
Since I was a kid, while my sisters would all line up for the first batch of fresh cookies out of the oven, I couldn’t have cared less.
Sure, I would put up a pretty good fight for a second serving of vanilla ice-cream; but cookies? Nah.
Don’t get me wrong I appreciate an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie just as much as the next guy but I’m not one of those people that goes crazy over cookies.
Still, for someone who’s not a cookie-holic I have to admit that I have a fair amount of cookie recipes on my blog.
Nothing crazy, but still you would need more than one hand to add it all up: Chocolate chunk, almond butter, gingerbread, thumbprint, stick, hazelnut, and shortbread, just to name a few.

Garlicky Potato and Spinach Patties

Happy Friday guys!
Does anyone else need a can (or a 12-pack) of beer?
I definitely do. I dunno about you, but I did a lot of dumb things this week.
Starting from losing my debit card.
This was a new card, my second in a year.
Every time I lose a card (anything important really) I’m like "This is it! This is the last time! I will be responsible and awesome from this day forward."
And, well, you know how that story ends...

(Vegan) Easy Chickpea Tikka Masala

I had a group of friends over for dinner on Saturday night. One of the guests was vegan, which I actually love because it’s always a bit of a challenge.
As I was planning the menu, I knew right away I wanted to make my super delicious Easy Pumpkin Masala that wins rave reviews and sometimes even a standing ovation (seriously, I am not kidding!)
I also wanted to make some tikka masala. But I couldn’t make my award-winning chicken tikka masala. Because, you know, chicken and THEN the gravy (made with yogurt or cream) - so yeah, not vegan at all.
But then I thought that it’s such a shame that vegans miss out on something delicious like tikka masala.
So I got down to it and made this delicious and vegan Easy Chickpea Tikka Masala.
Chicken is replaced with chickpeas (the meatiest legume ever) and coconut milk is used instead of heavy cream.

Grilled Vegetable Quesadillas with Kale Pesto

You guys probably don’t need a recipe for quesadillas.
A quesadilla — just like a grilled cheese — requires few ingredients and basic cooking technique.
Chances are, you probably already know how to make it without measuring out any ingredients.
Step one: Tortilla + cheese + stuff you like + a bit more of cheese + another tortilla.
Step two: griddle in butter.
Step three: wait, there’s no step three.
The only tricky part is flipping the quesadilla without it falling apart.
How many times have you tried to flip it over to cook on the other side and all the filling came out?
A hundred times? A thousand times? A million times?
Hold on a sec: how many quesadillas have you cooked in your life?

Vietnamese Pan-Grilled Sesame Beef

A couple of weeks ago, when the polar vortex — something that ought to be the name of a new breath mint, but is unfortunately anything but — descended upon us with its mighty fury, I made a Vietnamese dish for the first time in my life.
I know that the two events are totally unrelated and that anyone smarter than myself would bake something bubbly when the cold temperatures hit.
But that’s just not the way my brain works.
My thought process is so erratic and fragmented when it comes to cooking. It's a miracle that I can run an (almost successful) food blog.