Teatime Today: heladito de platanito y lucuma

Today for snack Little Brother added one frozen banana and about 1/4 teaspoon of lucuma powder to the TM bowl.  He then turned the dial to speed 4 for a few seconds.  We then scraped down the sides and he turned the dial to speed 3 for a second or two. 2 ingredient ice cream to be enjoyed outside on the patio before doing some weeding.  He wants to plant watermelons this weekend.

Teatime Today: loquats

gift from my friend :)

Little Brother rediscovering his love for loquats, or as we call them at home-nísperos

Scrumptious Saturdays

Animal Farm's perfect loose broccoli

Little Brother enjoying cashew based vanilla ice cream today at Farmers Market

                                                                                         

Back to enjoying weekly boxes of our favorite popsicles-goat milk and vegan 

squealing over my favorite flavor: avocado-just look at those slices!

some of today's provisions

tomato surprise

counting how many strawberries fit in our container

fresh market kale, daikon and Blue Heron's Green Goddess goat cheese-small salad no cheese

watching the dry ice from popsicles evaporate in the sink

Teatime Today: Date fudge

We are invited to a seder tonight for the first night of Passover.  We are bringing this simple to make date fudge.  This fudge has just a few ingredients and is free of dairy, gluten and egg.  If you cannot eat almonds, perhaps try with some sunflower seed butter.  If you have a Thermomix, nut and seed butters can be made prior to the fudge and then you wouldn't have to clean up as the residue would just be part of fudge.  *The next time I make I will weigh out with the Thermomix scale so that I don't have to measure. Original recipe found here

What you need:
1 cup pitted Medjool dates, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes to softnen
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 cup roasted almond butter (I use half TJ's roasted almond butter which is free of peanut contamination)
1/4 cup unsweetened raw cacao powder.
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of pink salt
*a bit of honey or maple syrup if you want sweeter

What to do:
melt coconut oil if needed in Thermomix, 37 degrees for about 1 minute

add in soaked dates and blend on speed 4-6 for about a minute until softened into a paste

add in the almond butter, vanilla extract, cacao and salt

press mixture in brownie pan lined with parchment paper

top with nuts and/or Enjoy Life chocolate chips 

place in freezer for at least an hour

cut and serve

leftovers must be stored in freezer as it gets gooey at room temperature

Laughng Giraffe vegan Snakaroons and our date fudge along with our friend's most delicious and moist flourless chocolate cake

Our Version of Idli

Below is a step-by-step process for how I prepare my version of idli batter.  A huge thank you to my friend for teaching me several years ago.  Idli have become a staple in our kitchen. 

Step one: at noon
Soak one cup of organic red lentils in pure water in glass bowl
Soak two cups of organic brown rice in pure water in glass bowl

step two: 8:00 pm
wash and strain the lentils and rice

step 3:
   after washing and rinsing, cover with a tea towel
and leave out until morning

step 4:

the following morning, rinse and strain the soaked lentils and rice

sprouted red lentils 

step 5:
add the soaked and sprouted rice and lentils to Thermomix bowl, blend
with about a cup of water

step 6:
cover the mixture with a tea towel
until evening

step 7:
enjoy the fermented poof

store mixture in mason jar in fridge

add some pink salt and fry up in cast iron pan with a little coconut oil

Yummy Soft-Baked Spiced Molasses Cookies

fresh from the oven

We were all in the mood for some warm cookies on a cold afternoon.  Little Brother and I decided to make these for snack and surprise Big Brother.  Little Brother and I enjoyed with some homemade coconut milk, while Big Brother enjoyed with some fresh Mill King milk. Next time, we will flatten them a bit more.  Three cheers for vitamin and mineral power-house: blackstrap molasses! original recipe found here. 

What you need:

130 g almond butter (Trader Joe's has smooth raw almond butter free of peanut cross-contamination)
130 g unsweetened applesauce
50 g coconut sugar
80 g blackstrap molasses
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp all spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp pink salt
60 g coconut flour
60 g arrowroot starch
optional: sugar for sprinkling on top for added sparkle

What you need:

preheat oven to 350 degrees

combine and blend  in TM bowl, almond butter, applesauce, coconut sugar and molasses.  

add and blend the lemon juice, spices, vanilla, baking soda an salt

add the coconut flour and arrowroot

blend to form thick dough.  Dough should be sticky, but manageable.  If too thin, add 1-2 tbsp more of coconut flour

break off large sections of dough and roll into balls

arrange on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.

you can do 6 large cookies or 10 medium ones

sprinkle with sugar if using

press to flatten

bake for aproximately 12 minutes

let cool and enjoy

Cooking With Friends: Tembleque

Tembleque is a coconut dessert pudding from Puerto Rico.  We had the fortune of making it with our friend from Puerto Rico. We love the texture and flavor of tembleque.  Free of egg, dairy and gluten and a great choice to make for friends and family with dietary/allergy restrictions. We made this on a hot August afternoon after serving a batch of not-so-perfect idli for lunch.  This is my first post in too many months away from the blog.