Best Ever Mushroom Soup - Nut and Thickener-Free Version

A few weeks ago, Pinterest 'suggested' to me that I might like the Best Ever Mushroom Soup recipe from Pancake Warriors.

I'm not sure how Pinterest does this, but by some technological voodoo, its suggestions are scarily good. It seems to know me very well, so I gave the recipe a go, and, you know what?

This really is excellent. Quite possibly the Best Ever Mushroom Soup. I kid you not. Furthermore, it's not even complicated.

As usual, I made quite a few changes to the recipe and nearly tripled the volume, so I'll put my version below, but please pop over to Pancake Warriors and show the love. This really is a hug-in-a-bowl.

Ingredients

• 3 large onions

• Mushrooms! I have made this soup twice now. The first time I used 20 button mushrooms and 10 Shitake. Tonight's version contains 40 smallish button 'shrooms 

• A large handful of fresh thyme on the stalk (or about a tbsp of fresh leaves)

• 1 Litre of stock

• 2 Tbsp of soy sauce

• tsp of salt

• Coconut milk. I used this instead of Pancake Warrior's Nut Milk and did not add it to the soup as it was cooking, but kept it as an optional stir-through.

Method

Cut your onions into slices and small chunks. 

I always wear my blue-blockers for onion cutting.  They work remarkably well for preventing the involuntary display of emotional tears.

Put a tbsp of water in the bottom of a saucepan, add the onions, lid the saucepan and let the onions sweat on a moderate heat for about 10 minutes.

Cut the mushrooms into various sizes and add them beside the onions. I added a little bit more water (say another Tbsp) to get things going.

Lid the pot and let them sweat on a moderate heat. I did my workout while this was happening, so that gave them 20 minutes. The 'shrooms will leak a lot of water. I believe that this step is essential to the great flavour of the soup.

Stir the mushrooms and onions together and add add the thyme leaves. They are easy enough to de-stalk by running your finger and thumb down the twiggy bit.

I used this much thyme but might have used more had my thyme bush been more abundant.

Let that all cook together for another 10 minutes or so, then add the soy sauce, salt and stock.

I used a stock cube today. This one. It's a chicken stock cube, but contains no animal products. I used one cube.

And then, you just let it simmer with the lid off for as long as you need. I left mine for an hour and the flavour intensified a lot.

Upon serving, I stirred through a tbsp of warmed coconut milk.

If you're a 'shroom fan like me, you will love this recipe. My adoration of mushrooms is profound. I can even remember the first time I ever tried them, fried in butter. I could hardly believe that something so delicious could be found for free growing on roadsides and the school athletics field. It was a life-affirming moment.

Mushrooms do seem to be something that you either love or hate though. My sister can't stand them, to the point of picking them off her pizza and making a pile on the side of her wild mushroom linguine. We are symbiotic eaters in this way. She gets my cheese and chips, I get her fungi. Well... that came out wrong :-/

What's your take on mushrooms? Are you a fan, or would you rather they just stay off your plate? I'm interested.

Vegan Applesauce Muffins

Click Here for the Recipe

I am having a chillout kind of a weekend, which feels ridiculous and wrong after the crazy of the last three months.  I have this vague 'I should be doing something' feeling and it's completely shocking to realise that.. actually, today I can do very little and there will be no consequences.

Last week I sat the final two exams of my Postgraduate Diploma, which also makes up the first year of the MSc. I've still got a whole heap of work in front of me (research and thesis), but the PGDip is important because it means I can start the process of becoming a Registered Nutritionist. In NZ, the body that registers degree qualified nutritionists is the Nutrition Society. 'Registered Nutritionist' is a protected term that denotes a Nutritionist with a university degree and a certain amount of experience plus interaction with a mentor (3 years experience for those with a bachelor degree, and 1 year for a postgrad). 

It's very nice to get to that point in my education, particularly since some issues with my research project meant that it took 1.5 years longer than it should have.  As they say, it's about the journey... yada, yada...

Anyway, while in recovery mode, I made a lot of apple sauce, then had to think of uses for it. I've been messing around with low-fat vegan muffins. Finally, I think I've cracked the code and come up with one that doesn't fall apart and isn't stuck together with coconut oil. It could be spruced up with berries, chocolate, a blob of jam in the middle... your imagination should be your guide.

Vegan Applesauce Muffins

Click Here for Printable Version

Ingredients: 

2 nicely ripe bananas 1 cup oatbran*
1 cup rice flour
1 cup applesauce
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
2-4 Tbsp sugar (depending on your sweet tooth)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
½ Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

Optional: 2 tbsp raisins:

* Oatbran is usually ok for people on gluten-free diets, however some people find they react to it, either because of wheat contamination or because they can’t handle avenin (the glutinous protein in oats). If you are concerned, contact the supplier to see if they have tested for gluten, or replace with whole psyllium husks (not husk powder!) or flour. Buckwheat or amaranth flours work quite well. If you are replacing with psyllium husks use half the amount.

Heat the oven to 180˚C

Mix the bananas, applesauce, vanilla and cider vinegar in a food processor

Add all dried ingredients and process until just mixed and batter-like. Don’t overdo it, or they won’t rise properly.

Let the batter sit for a minute or so. It will fizz up a bit.

Drop spoonfuls into a muffin tin. I used a bendy silicone one, but you could use muffin cups, or a greased regular pan.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes, or until they are springy to touch.

Crunchy, Munchy Roasted Chickpeas (Gluten-free, Vegan)

It's a whole new year! 

Let's eat!  How about something tasty and easy to start 2015?

I realise roasted chickpeas have had blog-time in the past, but it's time to remind you about them. Not only are they fibre-rich and a good source of copper, folate and manganese, but on these Southern Hemispheric sunny days, they add a perfect crunch to salads.  A gluten free crouton replacement.

You can use canned or boiled chickpeas (a.k.a. garbanzo beans) to make roasted ones. Having tried both, I'm convinced that starting 'from scratch' with dried chickpeas results in a superior flavour and texture. It's worth the effort.

To cook chickpeas from scratch, just soak them overnight, rinse them and then boil until tender. 

Whether using canned or home-processed chickpeas, be sure to drain them well before roasting. This speeds things up considerably.

To Roast Chickpeas:

Stir a little olive oil or coconut oil through your chickpeas (I use 1 tsp per 100g of chickpeas - cooked, drained weight). I find that coconut oil creates a crunchier result.

I like to season the chickpeas with a sprinkle of salt and something spicy (like chili powder - just a little please! You are not aiming to roast your tongue!). You can experiment.

Spread the chickpeas on a metal dish and bake them in the oven for 'as long as it takes' - sometimes up to an hour. Keep taste testing them and take them out when they are at your desired level of crispiness and have turned a darker brown.

Pinterest: Other ideas for roasted chickpeas

Vegan, Low-Fat, Black Bean Brownies (Sugar-Free Version)

Beans, eh?  Such a controversial little foodstuff. If it's not one side taking a swipe at their dreaded antinutrients, it's the other declaring them to be non-delicious hippie food. I'm rebelling.  I'm making some bean brownies.  Because they are chocolatey and chewy. Shuddup. 

Unless you have a compromised gut, FODMAPs issues* or otherwise can't handle starches, beans are great. I wouldn't recommend cooking the black ones from scratch if you're easily distracted though. I did that three years ago and permanently stained the ceiling. Bean pigment carries very well in steam. Therefore, we'll be using canned beans today. Canning greatly reduces the fart-inducing oligosaccharides too, in case this is of personal concern to you. 

These brownies are vegan and low fat.  That's because I have low-fat vegan friends to feed. I also have HCLF and paleo friends. They keep me versatile. I made these brownies sugar-free as well, but that's not compulsory.

Click Here for Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 can (425g net) of Black Beans (I used these ones)

Either: 3/4 cup erythritol and 1 flat tsp stevia
or
3/4 cup sugar
Note: if you use erythritol, you don't get the crust on top. For that, you definitely need sugar.

1/2 cup packed medjool dates
1 smallish banana
3/4 cup cocoa (or raw cacao powder)
2 tbsp of psyllium husks (or husk powder)
1 tbsp arrowroot powder
Handful of cacao nibs and raisins

1 tsp vanilla essence
1.5 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Optional:
1/2 tsp cardamom or other warming spice
1 shot of espresso (or tsp instant coffee)
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or chunks (vegan, if you're aiming for that)

Method:

If you are using the erythritol+stevia blend (or just erythritol for less sweet brownies), it is best to give it a whizz in the blender first. This mixes the sweetener properly and minimises the chance of erythritol grainy-ness.

Remove the erythritol from the processor.

Chop the dates and add to the processor slowly. Blend to smoothness.

Add the beans, vanilla and salt and blend until there are no visible bean chunks and you're pretty sure there are no invisible ones either.  Go hard on this phase, give it a few minutes.

Add the erythritol mix (or sugar), banana, cacao, espresso and spices. Process.

Taste test. Add more sweetener if it's not to your liking.

Lastly add the psyllium, arrowroot and baking soda. Process those in quickly (but thoroughly) then add your extras and either quickly process or stir through.  In the picture above, I used figs, but since then, I've preferred cacao nibs and raisins. This adds texture to what would otherwise be just a delicious, chewy experience.

The mix should be nice and thick.

Spoon it into a silicone (or baking paper lined) tray, smooth it and bake at a moderate heat (180C) for 25 minutes, or until a probe comes out relatively clean.

It will still be quite soft, but firms up as it cools.

These freeze very well, and can easily do time as a work snack or, with some creative pimping (think: chocolate sauce), a fancy dessert.

* I'm not 100% sure that black beans would create problems for those on a low FODMAPs diet. I can't find them specifically mentioned in any of my reference materials. Can anyone enlighten me?

Linkfest

My earlier brownie recipe (similar but different, still good)
Black beans on World's Healthiest Foods
Another great black bean brownie recipe (higher fat version, I've also made this and it was ultra yummy, probably a better version if you've got small people to feed).
And another one

Vegans: This is a great resource for how to do veganism healthfully

Spring Broccoli and Pomegranate Salad - Vegan, Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Paleo, SCD, Pegan

Just want the recipe?  Click here for the printable version.

Non-organic broccoli is a personal compromise that I live with, quite happily.  My lame excuse is not the price difference of $1.45 vs. $4.99 or that broccoli is particularly low in pesticide residues (it's average) but because bug patrol does my head in.

By the time I've extracted any carefully hidden, sleepy caterpillars from my pricey head of organic greens, I've lost half the florets, 20 minutes of my life and any appetite for broccoli. Oh, and the will to live.

Anyway, whether you sympathise with my plight or not, please absorb the most important fact about broccoli: it's very good for you. It's full of folate, calcium, phosphorous, potassium, choline, vitamin C and even has a tiny bit of Omega 3. It will make you gorgeous (disclaimer: results may vary).  It's also packed with vitamin yum when properly prepared, and not boiled to the traumatising mush that may have wrecked your childhood. 

Omigosh. I just realised something.....

Buzzword alert~!  this recipe is pegan = paleo / vegan. Yes, it is a thing.

get it?

Spring Broccoli and Pomegranate Salad

For the Salad

1 Pomegranate
3 heads of broccoli (or thereabouts)
Almonds - raw, roasted, salted, activated, lazy, your call. The amount is also up to you.
Strawberries (optional)

For the avocado dressing

1 avocado
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup extra light olive oil (approximately)
1/2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt

Method:

Cut up the broccoli into large florets and blanch them.

"How to Blanch Broccoli" from the Food Network .
Blanch the broccoli by throwing florets into boiling water for 30 seconds, then draining and pouring into ice water. When cool, drain and set aside. Keep in the fridge to keep cool.

I don't use 'ice water', just cold water.

Assemble everything in a salad bowl. If you have issues getting the seeds out of the pomegranate, lifehacker has you sorted with a pomegranate seed extraction video.  He does rant on a bit at the start, so I'd recommend skipping to 1.32 for the actual instructions.

Dressing:

Put the avocado flesh, cider vinegar, honey, salt and a little olive oil into the food processor.

Blend until smooth, then add more oil until the dressing is your desired consistency. Check the taste and adjust levels of vinegar, salt and honey until you really like it.

Stir the dressing through the salad. It is done.

This salad keeps for a few hours in the fridge, but is best when fresh.  Before adding the dressing to this one, I packed out some of the salad and sprinkled with lemon juice. That became part of the next day's lunch.

Any FODMAPs people out there that want to come up with a compliant dressing?

Raw, Vegan, Vanilla-Berry, Gluten-Free, Paleo 'Not-a-Cheesecake'

Click Here for Printable Recipe

This delicious uncheesecake was inspired by an equally gorgeous cake from the Fragrant Vanilla Cake blog. However... coconut butter? rosewater? young coconut meat?  pomegranates?.. none of these exist in my immediate world.

Actually I did find rosewater and coconut butter, and if I'd been willing to part with $40+ , they would have been mine. But I wasn't. Then I decided that buckwheat takes too long to sprout, let alone dehydrate.  And so, a different cake evolved, organically, like a force of nature that must have life.

Raw, Vegan, Not-Really-a-Cheesecake, Vanilla-Berry Cheesecake

Ingredients: For the Base: ¾ cup almond flour ¾ cup coconut flour ¾ cup of pitted, chopped medjool dates ¼ tsp salt ¾ tsp cardamom For the Topping: 3 cups of cashew nuts (soaked for 3 to 5 hours) ½ cup coconut oil ½ cup coconut milk or coconut cream ½ cup liquid sweetener (agave, coconut nectar (or sugar syrup if you are not concerned with raw and paleo)) ½ cup finely grated beetroot 1 Tbsp vanilla extract 1 tsp freeze-dried raspberry powder*

• ½ tsp salt

Instructions:

For the Base:

Mix the almond flour, coconut flour, salt and cardmom in a food processor. While it is running add the dates slowly, allowing each handful to be fully processed before adding another.

The base is ready when you squeeze it and it sticks together. Add more dates if not sticky enough.

Press the base firmly into the bottom of a springiform or silicone baking pan and set aside.

For the Topping:

Drain the cashews and blend them in the processor at a high speed until they are relatively smooth.

Add the coconut milk, vanilla and salt and continue to blend until the consistency is very smooth – like cream cheese.

While the processor is running, add the liquid sweetener and coconut oil. Taste test  ;)

Drop large dollops of the mix randomly on the base.Use half the mix. The other half is about to be berrified!

Add the grated beet (you don’t taste this at all, trust me!) and raspberry powder to the remaining mix and blend.

*If you can’t get raspberry powder (I used this one), use a berry essence (of course, this is probably not ‘raw’), some berry juice, a few crushed berries or rosewater (thanks Amy @ fragrantvanillacake.blogspot.com for the rosewater inspiration).

Drop the berry topping into the gaps left between the vanilla dollops, then swirl the topping exactly once with a knife. Freeze for at least two hours until solid, remove from the pan and let sit in the fridge for about an hour before eating.

I also made a cute cupcake version, and one without the 'vanilla' part. That one was decorated with blueberries and white chocolate (the chocolate was not vegan, but I'm sure you can find some). The lighter colour is because I was wary of all that beetroot!

Even with my eyes closed and full concentration empowered, I could not detect even a hint of beetrootyness. This gave me confidence to go the full monty with the swirl cake above.

The cupcakes. I made  these in a silicone muffin pan - very easy removal and they were ready in less than an hour, compared to the whole cake which took the full two hours to set.

The trial cake, less beetroot.

Packed lunch... ;)

This cake is really delicious. I think the little kick of cardmom in the base sends it over the edge in a very good way. Let me know how it works out for you. I'd love to see your pictures too, so link it up, link it up in the comments.

Fruit and Nut, Paleoish, Vegan Fudge

Sometimes, you just want to be bad. But not really bad, not trans-fats bad, just bad-ish.  That's when you need something paleo-ish, like this fudge.

Paleo-ish Vegan Fudge

Ingredients:

• 1.25 cups of coconut oil
• 3 tbsp cacao or cocoa powder (raw or regular, both are fine)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup or other sweetener
• tsp vanilla
• pinch of salt

• About a cup of 'other stuff' - the fruity and nutty bits!  Options include:
• * Dried fruit - apricots, dates, raisins, prunes, cranberries etc.
• * Nuts - brasil, walnuts, almonds 
• * Cacao nibs
• * Coconut flakes

It's also perfectly acceptable to stick to, say, just apricots. Whatever you want. It's your treat.

For the fudge above, I used this (below) 'primal cereal' from Pure Delish. The nuts are whole, so I chopped them up a bit before adding

Method:

Melt the coconut oil on a low heat

Whisk in the cacao powder, then add the vanilla and salt (you can also do this step in a food processor and the result is a bit smoother)

Add the mix-ins and.. mix them in

Pour the mix into a lined or silicone pan and chill in the fridge or freezer until solid.

I have found this fudge to travel quite well if you wrap individual servings in foil.  On summery days, you'll want to know there's a fridge at the other end though, as it quickly becomes soft and gooey at room temperature.

Not that there's anything wrong with indulging your inner 3 year old by getting all sticky fingered.. ;)

Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Truffles (egg free, dairy free, gluten free, can be vegan)

I'm having a strange relationship with chocolate right now: let's call it complicated.  

I've only just added back chocolate into my diet after the Autoimmune Paleo Diet trial and the effect is quite remarkable.  I'd practically forgotten what 2.30 a.m. feels like, but last night, I was there, staring at the ceiling and regretting the late night sampling session.

What can I say?  I'm a sensitive petunia when it comes to stimulants. Twitchy like a little mouse. Chocolate is my bad boyfriend that I can see but irregularly, even when he's just wingman to my good buddy, Pumpkin.

Paleo Pumpkin Chocolate Truffles

Click Here for Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
Makes 14

For the truffle:

1.5 cups (~320 grams) mashed pumpkin
5 dsp raw cacao powder (or just regular cocoa - this might be safer if you are insomniac like me)
5 dsp coconut flour
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tsp cinnamon
tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
10g gelatin (or agar agar if you are going for vegan)

optional: 1/2 tsp stevia (if you like the truffle sweeter)
1/2 cup 'other liquid' (I used kombucha, which created a deeply interesting flavour)

For the glaze:

3 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp cacao powder
1.5 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients for the truffle in the food processor. You want a sticky but slightly firm mix. If it seems 'crumbly' (which can happen with coconut flour), then add some extra liquid.

Form into balls, place on a baking tray (non-stick is best) and bake at 180C for about 20 minutes or until the balls are slightly firm on the outside. They won't really 'cook'.

Place in the fridge until fully cooled.

While the truffles are cooling, melt the glaze ingredients at low heat in a saucepan on the stovetop, then place that also in the fridge until it thickens slightly. If you leave it too long and it hardens, simply re-melt.  Nobody gets it right the first time.

Once the truffles are cool and the glaze is gooey, rather than runny, carefully remove the truffles from the tray and swoosh them in the glaze one by one.

I used a two step process - first coat, let it set in the fridge, second coat, chill again.

Sprinkles are always good.  Cacao powder, cacao nibs, a little sea-salt or sugar, all of these would be fine.

You will probably want to play with the sweetener levels until it suits your palate.  I've been off sugar for a while and prefer bitter chocolate to sweet.  Let me know if you come up with any particularly yummy combinations or additions.

Enjoy!

Tomorrow it's blood test day, and ... ethics day, again.  Good things take time and plans change, right?  ;)

Honey Week! Honey Fried Bananas.. Again

Do you know that it's honey week?  The Airborne Honey people have a few prizes up for grabs and I had serious plans to make something awesome and award winning. Buuuut, in spite of the overly complicated recipe and almost unbelievable kitchen mess, the pumpkin muffins were a big, fat, dry, chewy fail. 

Therefore I'm consoling myself with an old favourite. Honey Fried Bananas: Comfort food for grown ups.

Here's today's version.  I was too depressed about my muffin fail to do any dishes, so I present... the 'in-a-cup' edition.  Cute, yes?

Honey Fried Bananas

The process is very simple.

• Melt some coconut oil in a non-stick pan;
• Add banana slices (I used one medium sized banana);
• Drizzle honey over the bananas, or just add it to the oil if it's hard;
• Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the bananas;
• Wait until the bananas are browned, then flip them. This is a bit tricky, I found using a spoon or fork was better than the usual implement;

Serve with coconut yogurt or cream.

As they cool, the bananas become chewy and a little bit crunchy - a combination that causes the brain to float in a sea of happy juice for hours and hours.

Honey Fried Bananas, you complete me. AIP

Yesterday was just a good day.  The sun was shining, Fisher and Paykel sent me a new tablet PC (present for spending a gazillion dollars on a new tardis fridge) and then a friend from the anthroposophical reading group gifted me some home-grown honey in return for something I was supposed to do for him, but in the end didn't. He gave me the honey anyway. Some people are just nice.

I put that honey to the best possible use: fried bananas.  To anyone that thinks they could never do an Autoimmune Paleo (AIP) diet: try this and you'll realise there is nil deprivation involved.

Honey Fried Bananas

The process is very simple.

Melt some coconut oil in a non-stick pan;
Add banana slices (I used one medium sized banana);
Drizzle honey over the bananas, or just add it to the oil if it's hard;
Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the bananas;
Wait until the bananas are browned, then flip them. This is a bit tricky, I found using a spoon or fork was better than the usual implement;

Serve with coconut yogurt or cream.

As they cool, the bananas become chewy and a little bit crunchy.  My brain swooned.

I even packed some to take on a client visit. They were still warm when packed and melted the yogurt. Somehow this make it even better.

On the AIP, sweeteners like honey, maple and dried fruit are to be kept to a minimum, so this won't be an everyday thing. It's nice to know though, that should the need arise, I can indulge without messing up the protocol, and hopefully, the desired result.

Next Post: An AIP update. How's it going? How am I feeling? What have I changed? Do I still have my sanity and my friends? Have I lost weight? What about socialising?

All shall be revealed.

Parsnip Chips (AIP, FODMAPS) / Coconut Milk SOS / Terrifying

There are times when a deep search of the inner self reveals a longing for something salty and crunchy.

We could discuss the origins of such cravings, analyse a few childhood memories: birthday parties, trips to the dairy with mum, bag-of-chips-keeps-the-kids-quiet-for-ages bribery.  I'm sure it's all there waiting to be dredged up and expunged with some inner child therapy.

Or we could just integrate and get busy in the kitchen. Grown-up chips do not come in packets or from potatoes. They come from nutritious root veges lovingly crisped in the home oven - the one with no temperature markings left and a door handle that keeps detaching (individual ovens may differ).

Again, this is hardly a "recipe".

Ingredients:

1. Veges.
2. Olive Oil or Coconut Oil

The amount and type of veges are up to you. In the pic, I have used two large parsnips. Most veg will shrink a lot during cooking.  Other veges that work well are sweet potatoes, swedes, carrots, beet and you can even use courgette, or any other vege that looked at you sideways.

Kale Chips, also, are a firm favourite around here, with or without the parmesan.

Method:

Finely slice the vegetable. I would absolutely recommend using a slicer attachment for the food processor. The way the slices are uniform and will cook evenly.

It's ok to do it by hand if you are steady, but it does take a while.  You need to aim for approximately the thinness of a fat potato chip.

Drizzle oil over the vege slices then, using your impeccably, food hygiene safe hands, massage the oil into the veges.

Spread the veges evenly over a baking tray. A tray with holes (the sort the allows heat to also flow under the chips, makes the cooking process easier, but it's not 100% necessary.

Cook in a slow oven (say 150-170C) until they are at the desired level of crunchiness (about 20 minutes). Keep an eye on then and give them a stir every now and then - this is especially important on a metal tray, so that they don't burn on the underside.

Remove the chips as they become ready. The smaller ones will cook much faster. If the goal is to end up with a bowl of chippies, you'll have to discipline yourself not to immediately eat the ones that are done.

Once they are all done, season and eat.

If you are on the SCD, it's up for debate whether parsnips are ok or not. Some people do well with them, and some suffer.

Coconut Milk

I have taken your advice, consulted my AIP cookbook, and made some coconut milk. 

It looks pretty and tastes great, however, I have an issue.

1. No matter what I do, I can't get it to make yogurt or kefir. It does get slightly tangy, but doesn't thicken at all, even when I persistently shake the jar to recombine the cream and water.

Any ideas on that?

2. So.. at the end of the process, I have heaps of dessicated coconut left. As it takes a lot of coconut to make the milk, I can see a coconut pileup situation developing.  Yes, I could compost it (wasteful!), or go mad with baking (TBH, I'm a bit coconutted-out right now), but there's an awful lot of it. What do you do?  Freeze it? 

I also discovered that the 'Natural Value' brand of organic coconut milk has no additives, and no BPA in the can lining. Does anyone know if this can be found in NZ?

*******************************

Something to get excited about: Angela's Cookbook.  Can't wait.

Something terrifying: Miss J in halloween costume, with true witchy attitude. I should mention she is in theatre school and knows how to commit to the character. The cat toy narrowly escaped being painted black.

BTW, it's not the scary face that's terrifying. Do you see how tall she is? (my baby!).

Kumara and Banana Slice - Gluten-Free, Vegan, AIP, Sugar-free

Not much blogging going on around here, you say? That's because I'm currently on an autoimmune diet that occupies all my free time with food preparation.

I'm on day 15 now (half way!) and am getting the hang of it, but at first it felt a bit overwhelming. I'd say, when being as strict as this, you'd might as well forget about eating out. Finding a suitable lunch at the mall is impossible.

However, necessity often drives creativity, and sometimes, that even results in something edible. By that, I mean edible by other people, not just me. I can eat anything. Those long-ago days of bodybuilding diets rendered my tastebuds permanently tamed (or permanently confused, I'm not sure which).

Kumara (sweet potato) and Banana Slice

• The flesh of two large kumara, boiled to tenderness (this came to 400g boiled kumara.
• One medium sized banana
• 5 tbsp (~110g) coconut flour (or you can use dessicated coconut)
• 4 tbsp coconut oil (~70g)
• 1.5 cups water (use less if you are including dessicated coconut instead of coconut flour)
• 1 heaped tsp (~5g) of agar agar (or use gelatin if you're not worried about vegan-ness)
• Cinnamon and Ginger to taste (I used 2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon - that's a lot of spice)
• tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Blend everything to a thick paste in a food processor.

Bake at 180C for about 20 minutes or until it is slightly firm. It will firm up a lot as it cools and the oil and gelatin set.

Allow to cool completely before removing from the pan. Cut into slices or squares.

I have found this a useful breakfast with some coconut yogurt (exhibit 'A', to the left), and it's easy to wrap a bar or two in foil and cart around for hunger attacks.

The flavour is sweet enough for me, and I wanted to avoid any added sugar, even natural ones.  You could add honey or maple, or even drizzle some over it before eating, if your sweet tooth requires it.

The bars freeze nicely.  My freezer is packed with things labelled 'AIP' right now, which helps instil a feeling of 'relaxed and organised'.  Now, how to obtain that same feeling toward my filing my tax return. .... ?

Chocolate Avocado Mousse / Scale Scare / Fancy Loo

Vegan Chocolate Avocado Mousse

To skip the blog ramblings and go straight to the recipe, CLICK HERE

I'm back! Back in my own little kitchen, making stuff.  I think the red onion missed me a lot. You may also spot the bag of what I think is magnesium phosphate.  You'd be probably quite surprised what passes for normal in a nutritionist's kitchen.

The trip home was uneventful, except for the koru lounge loo.  That was really something.

Slightly more eventful was getting on the scales this morning and having a serious moment of wonder at my body's ability to stack on the lard when I'm not paying attention. I gained 3kg in 10 days.  I'd like to blame the avocadoes, but probably it was the awesome chocolate croissants, movenpick icecream, pasta, and the eat-fest at Moo Chow Chow. Oh, and the wine. Wine and wheat together are the duo of death when it comes to scale scare.

Luckily, dealing with such scale blips has become par-for-the-course in the ongoing saga of my long-term weightloss maintenance.  I even wrote an article about it, and it's one of the most popular links on the blog. It seems that I'm not the only one constantly balancing the urge to stuff my face with the desire to fit my skinny jeans.  It's a common first-world problem.  A very boring problem; let's talk about food.

So.  I made an avocado-based dinner.  The first course was bacon-wrapped avocadoes, and the dessert was a chocolate avocado mousse. You've seen this before, but I only took one pic.

Click here for printable recipe

(Makes 4)

Blend the Following in a Food Processor until smooth

·         The flesh of four medium avocadoes

·         150 grams (approx. 3/4  cup) coconut oil (melted on stovetop on a low heat)

·         150 grams  (1.25 cups) cocoa

·         About 200g of sweetener. I used maple syrup, but the amount necessary will vary depending on what you use and how sweet you like it.  Taste test regularly as you blend the sweetener  in.  You can use a liquid or powdered sweetener both work well.

·         Tablespoon vanilla essence

·         Pinch of salt

Once fully blended, divide the mix into four bowls or glasses and let it set in the refrigerator. This takes about an hour. If it becomes too firm, simply remove it from the fridge and let it stand on the bench until it’s how you want it to be.

This rich dessert is fine on its own, but is also great with fruit (berries, or bananas, as in the pic).  You can add a dollop of whipped coconut cream, or even real cream if you are unconcerned about the vegan-ness. You can make a less sweet one and then drizzle maple syrup or honey over it.  All of these are equally divine and will cause an avocado mousse addiction issue. That’s ok though. It happens to everyone. I will never judge you.

To finish up, I want to mention something that can happen if you don't blend the ingredients for long enough, or if you are using a stick blender or other device that isn't quite up to the task.

If the coconut oil settles around the edges, it's not a disaster.  Just catch it before it fully sets and stir it in with a fork.  That works just fine.

:D