Jake opened the sliding door and stepped out onto the hotel room balcony. The sun had just set, and purple clouds were hovering over the horizon, bordered on both sides by the bay’s looming cliffs. He leaned against the railing and looked down at the tiki-lit esplanade four stories below, at waiters in white jackets…
Chestnut Brownies (paleo, vegan)
Mr. Chipmunk shivered to himself in the brisk autumn air. The Meeting had been a harried affair, the shouts and cries of angry colony chipmunks still ringing in his ears, proclaiming doom and gloom, a never-ending battle over division of this year’s chestnut supply and the Great Human Problem. Mr. Chipmunk had had enough. He…
Rum Sunbutter Cups (paleo, vegan)
“Boom ba da boom boom!” Ernest looked up from his drum over to where the other gorillas were packing up their mallets and drumsticks. “That’s it for tonight, guys,” yelled Bert, the bandleader. “Practice tomorrow, same time.” “Hey Ernie, you joining us at the Jungle Room for drinks? It’s mojito night,” said Phil. Ernest shook his…
Norbert’s Dragonfruit Sorbet (paleo, AIP, vegan)
Norbert was sad. The other dragons had been making fun of him again. It wasn’t his fault he was born purple, with black polka dots, instead of a deep, intimidating green, like all the other dragons in his clan. This genetic fluke, a one in a hundred thousand likelihood, should have made him feel special….
Cassava Bread (paleo, AIP, vegan)
“Man, it’s a long way to Mordor,” complained Frodo. “Can I have a piggyback ride?” “No,” snapped Sam. “No more piggyback rides.” Sam had had enough. He was drawing the line. All Frodo had done for the past week was complain and ask for piggyback rides, and frankly Sam was sick of it. Who made Frodo master, anyway?…
Key Lime Pie Tartlets (paleo, AIP, vegan)
All was chaos over in KeyLime-dia (yes that’s a place). Unlike Mangoland, KeyLime-dia was a disorganized mess in the run up to the annual Kingdom Bakeoff. Instead of practicing their maneuvers and organizing themselves into squeezing units, key limes were bouncing off the walls of the castle and playing squash with themselves in the castle…
Mango Tartlets (paleo, AIP, vegan)
“ATTEN-HUT!” The line of mango tarts snapped to attention, orange arms at their side, crusts newly minted from the oven, boots sticky with mango sheen. “Listen up!” shouted the sergeant, as he marched down the line of tartlets, poking his troops in the chest and engaging in one last visual inspection. “Last year was the…
Brownie-morphosis (paleo, vegan)
Herbert woke up one morning and stretched his arms above his head only to discover that his arms were tiny sticks and his body was in fact the corpuscular shell of a giant, repulsive beetle. “Oh, gross,” he said, his voice all crackly from the compression of his vocal chords and inner self-loathing. He had…
Pichi Pichi (paleo, AIP, vegan)
At night, after the girl has gone to sleep, the empty kitchen is filled with the pattering of pichi pichi, small, feathered creatures who follow a trail of cake crumbs to the counter where the girl’s messes awaits them. There they stand around with their hands on their hips (to the extent that an amorphous…
Fijian Cassava Cake (paleo, AIP, vegan)
Semi crossed and uncrossed his legs under the small desk. It was last period, which meant math class with Mr. Taliga. Semi liked geometry, but today he couldn’t focus on anything, much less trigonometric functions – today was rugby try-outs. In their backyard next to Grandma’s outdoor kitchen, he and his older brother had trained for…
Belle, the Beast, & Blueberry Muffins (paleo, AIP, vegan)
Belle Trudeau lived in a small town in the north of France with her widower father. She was a simple girl who liked to read and write and dreamed of traveling the world. One day she was walking in the woods near her house when she encountered an angry rabbit. “Hello,” said the rabbit. “You’re stepping on…
Tamarind-Coconut-Date Balls (paleo, AIP, vegan)
As the west winds shifted and the November monsoons dripped their last drop, the King and Queen of Tamarindia decided it was time for their annual banquet. “Who should we invite this year?” asked the King. “Usual suspects?” “Meh,” replied the Queen, scrunching up her nose. “I’m tired of the old crew. Let’s spice things up.” “If…
Hoppy’s Chocolate Bark (paleo, vegan)
Hoppy looked around with satisfaction. The Island was nice…very nice indeed. It had taken some getting used to, the heat and humidity and buzzing insects that delighted in his exotic northern blood. The locals had welcomed him with a lei of purple orchids when his coconut igloo sailing vessel had first arrived on their shores…
