I scream for Ice Cream!

Niki got me an ice cream maker for Christmas. I love ice cream, but what I love more is that now I can make whatever flavor I want. I typically do this on a Friday night (wild).  Since January, Ive experimented with four recipes.  The first, I decided, had to be simple and classic – Vanilla Cardamom. I’m obsessed with Cardamom, so I thought it sounded like a delightful combination with the classic vanilla.  The second, I went for the dynamic choc + PB combo when I whipped up a batch for our reunited Supper Clubs! – Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel.  The third was a bit of an experiment – Coconut Ginger Almond  (got rave reviews from this one.)  The most recent batch I made was to celebrate the 29th year of Meagan Metzger.  In honor of her love of coffee I tried out a Cappuccino Chunk.  I have to admit, this process of ice cream making will definitely take some work, but I was able to conjure up a helpful tip from Betty Wilson, Meggie’s southern-cookin grandma who lives in North Carolina….Put a dash of alcohol in the ice cream because it lowers the freezing temperature and make its smooth and creamy to serve.  We shall see! I have yet to try it out, but will do soon.  Recipes are below and all inspired from ‘The Vegan Scoop’ by Wheeler del Torro.  I know what you are thinking, I’m so wild and crazy these days. Well at least you got some ice cream recipes out of it!

Vanilla Cardamom

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, divided
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 2 cups soy creamer
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon ground cardamom

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup almond milk with arrowroot powder and set aside.

Mix the soy creamer, remaining almond milk and sugar in a saucepan and cook over low heat.  Once the mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and immediately add the arrowroot mixture.  This will cause the liquid to thinken fairly quickly.

Add vanilla extract and cardamom.

Refrigerate mixture until chilled, approximately 2-3 hours (This step is pretty important.  The mixture has to be very cold before putting it into the ice cream maker).

Place the mixture into your ice cream maker, and follow manufacturers instructions from there.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened (or chocolate) almond milk, divided
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 2 cups soy creamer
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter
• 1 cup chopped chocolate covered pretzels

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup almond milk with arrowroot powder and set aside.

Mix the soy creamer, remaining almond milk, sugar and cocoa powder in a saucepan and cook over low heat.  Once the mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and immediately add the arrowroot mixture.  This will cause the liquid to thinken fairly quickly.

Add vanilla extract.

Refrigerate mixture until chilled, approximately 2-3 hours.

Place the mixture into your ice cream maker, and follow manufacturers instructions from there.  Just in the last minutes of churning, swirl in the peanut butter and pretzels.

Coconut Ginger Almond

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups coconut milk, divided
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon coconut extract (optional)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup crystalized ginger pieces, chopped
• 1 cup slivered almonds

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup coconut milk with arrowroot powder and set aside.

Mix the remaining coconut milk and sugar in a saucepan and cook over low heat.  Once the mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and immediately add the arrowroot mixture.  This will cause the liquid to thinken fairly quickly.

Add vanilla and coconut extracts.

Refrigerate mixture until chilled, approximately 2-3 hours.

Place the mixture into your ice cream maker, and follow manufacturers instructions from there.  Just in the last minutes of churning, swirl in the ginger pieces, coconut and almonds.

Cappuccino Chunk

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, divided
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 2 cups soy creamer
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup espresso
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 cup chocolate chunks

Instructions

To make cappuccino:  Make espresso and then place into a saucepan with cinnamon and cocoa powder.  Stir until boiling and set aside.

To make ice cream: In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup almond milk with arrowroot powder and set aside.

Mix the soy creamer, cappuccino, remaining almond milk, and sugar in a saucepan and cook over low heat.  Once the mixture begins to boil, remove from heat and immediately add the arrowroot mixture.  This will cause the liquid to thinken fairly quickly.

Add vanilla extract.

Refrigerate mixture until chilled, approximately 2-3 hours.

Place the mixture into your ice cream maker, and follow manufacturers instructions from there.  Just in the last minutes of churning, swirl in the chocolate chunks.

mangia!

Chocolate Chocolate-Chunk Peanut Butter Cookies

YUM! There is really nothing like peanut butter + chocolate.  Ok maybe marshmallows + chocolate + graham crackers (if you happen to have a campfire nearby), but for now Im happy to settle for these little morsels of goodness and chunkiness.  I have to say chunk in a cookie is a top-notch quality.  I hate cookies that are flat and have no texture.  They just dont seem to have as much flavor and richness(unless they are those huge, round cookies we used to eat in middle school for lunch! who does that?)  So moral of the story is – go for the chunky and eat up.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 dark chocolate chunks (the big bar from TJs is great, just smash it up with a rolling pin)
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup spelt (or all-purpose) flour
• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 cup maple syrup or agave nectar or a mix of both (TJs has a great maple/agave blend)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl, combine the sugar, chocolate chunks, salt, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and stir together.  In a separate bowl, combine the maple syrup, agave nectar, vanilla and oil until blended.  Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir until blended.  Take a knife and swirl the peanut butter into the batter (do it just a little so it remains in clumps).  Then, line a baking sheet with a cookie mat (a great item to invest in) or lightly grease the baking sheet and form about tbsp-size clumps of dough on the sheet (dont form into perfect balls – keep them pretty asymmetrical and clumpy as it gives them that chunky look).  Bake for about 7-10 minutes and let cool on the pan before serving.

mangia! 

Summer Smoothies: Choc-Ban and Blue-Ban

Ingredients (Choc-Ban)

• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup chocolate non-dairy milk
• a handful of almonds or cashews
• a tsp of cacao nibs (optional, but adds a nice extra crunch)
• a scoop of peanut butter, if you want to go nuts
• crushed ice to top it off

Ingredients (Blue-Ban)

• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 2-3 cardamom pods, or 1 tsp ground
• 1/2 cup original non-dairy milk
• 1 tbsp of maple syrup or honey
• crushed ice to top it off

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a bullet or blender.  Blend until creamy and smooth and enjoy!

mangia!

Boston Creme Pie a la Vegan and Raw

I’ve wanted to try a vegan mousse for some time, but have been quite reluctant to take the plunge because Ive been weary as to how it would taste.  Like ketchup on pizza, tofu in mousse just does not seem to fit.  However, Matt loves mousse, so for him I thought I would try.  Inspired by the cashew cream at Pure Food and Wine, a raw restaurant I enjoyed while in NY a couple weekends ago, I decided to give my best effort at the whole sha-bam.  A Chocolate  Mousse Pie with cashew cream.  So there I went -food processing away.  First, the mousse, then the cream and finally the crust.  No baking required.  For all you vegan skeptics – Im telling you – this dessert was mind-blowing.  As for the tofu in mousse, you would never know.  Really. Please forgive my attempt at a visual of this dessert – the photo does not do it justice. Just make it and try for yourself.  Its actually that good.

serves 4-6

Ingredients

For the Mousse

• 1 12 oz package of silken tofu
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
• 1 tsp vanilla

For the Cashew Cream Topping

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup non-dairy milk
• agave sweetener, to taste

For the Crust

• 5-6 dates, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups walnuts
• cinnamon, to taste

Instructions

Mousse:  Melt the chocolate chips in a medium bowl in the microwave for about 1-2- minutes.  Stir until melted and blended.  In a food processor, blend the tofu until creamy and then add the chocolate, milk and vanilla.  Process for another 1-2 minutes until blended.  Set aside in bowl and refrigerate for about 10 minutes.

Cashew Cream: In the food processor, process the cashews and water until blended.  Add the oil, agave and vanilla.  Slowly add the milk until the mixture become creamy to your liking.  Set aside in a small bowl.

Crust:  In the food processor, blend dates and nuts and add cinnamon to taste.  Process for about 1-2 minutes, just until the nuts and dates form a crumbly consistency.

Put-it-all-together:  In a pie dish, press the crust onto the bottom.  Once the mousse is chilled and thick, spread over the crust.  Top with cashew cream and fresh berries when serving.

mangia!

Carob Cake with Fudgy Cocoa Frosting

Sometimes a tough day calls for a mid-week cake.  So as a means to release some unneeded stress from school, I decided baking was the answer.  Lately for me, cooking and baking have become a sort of therapy.  When Im in the kitchen, I get into this sense of flow which allows the more serious stuff in my DHES world dissipate.  Today, I had an urge to bake something with carob (the slightly sweet step-sister to cocoa), so I found a couple recipes that had been on my list and ended up merging them to come up with this. And although the stress was not completely gone once the cake was in the oven, at least we had this to enjoy!

Serves 12

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 cup carob powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 3/4 cup water

For the Frosting

• 3/4 cup cocoa or carob powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 4 1/2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• splash of soymilk or other nut milk (chocolate is best, but regular or vanilla works as well)
• a handful of chocolate chips (vegan)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and lightly grease and flour the cake pan(I used a bundt, but you can also use 2 9-inch round cake pans).

In a large bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, mix the wet ingredients for 3 to 5 minutes, until they are blended.  Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix until the dry ingredients have been moistened, just about 3 minutes.

Let the cake batter rest a few minutes and then pour the batter into the pans.

Bake the cake for 35 minutes or until a tester comes out with no batter.  Cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting:  In a small saucepan on low heat, combine all ingredients and stir slowly until blended.  Let the frosting cool before pouring over cake.

mangia!

Chocolate Peppermint Sandwich Cookies

A Cookie Day favorite.  A Christmas holiday favorite.  A birthday favorite (substitute the peppermint cream with Banana Ice Cream and freeze).  Whatever the case may be,  these sandwich cookies are decadent and delicious and they make a great ice-cream sandwich, if you opt for that version.  The layer-steps in the recipe and instructions make it look more daunting than it really is, so dont let that deter you.  If you’re tempted, try them out because its so worth it.  (Photo to come with next batch).

Ingredients

Makes 2-3 dozen

Sandwich Layer

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup margarine
• 1 1/4 cups chocolate chips (or carob chips)
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder (or carob powder)
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Peppermint Cream

• 1/2 cup margarine
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons peppermint extract
• 2 tablespoons soy milk, plus more if needed

Chocolate Layer

• 1 1/4 cups chocolate or carob chips
• 2 tablespoons shortening

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Sandwich Layer

Melt the chocolate chips either in the microwave or in a glass bowl placed in boiling water. Remove from heat and stir in the soy milk and the cocoa powder. Cream together margarine and sugar with a strong fork, then add in the chocolate/soy milk/cocoa mixture and stir until incorporated. Add the vanilla, then the flour and salt. No need to sift.  In cupcake tins, press out the dough into small round disks and place in tins. Bake for 14-18 minutes or until the center is firm and the edges are done, then cool.

Peppermint Cream

Meanwhile, cream together the margarine and powdered sugar. Add in the peppermint extract. Gradually add the soy milk until the mixture kind of resembles frosting. If it’s liquid, add more powdered sugar. If it’s stiff or dry, add more soy milk. Chill in the fridge until the bottom layer is cooled.

Chocolate Layer (Make this at the last minute)

Melt the chocolate chips and shortening in a glass bowl in boiling water, or over a double boiler.

Spread the bottom layer evenly with peppermint cream, then chill in the freezer for about 5 minutes. Remove, then spread the top with the chocolate, creating a swirl pattern if you like. The chocolate will not spread out evenly due to the peppermint layer, but if you want it to be smooth, do a second layer of chocolate, halving the chocolate layer ingredients.

mangia!

Real Peanut Butter Cups

I think we can all agree that peanut butter + chocolate = heaven.  Even Matt, who used to spit at the thought of peanut butter, has evolved into a peanut-butter loving being.   I personally have a deep love for peanut butter, so much that I will not-so-proudly admit, that you may find me eating peanut butter for dinner when there is no dinner.  We served these at our Real Food Party and they were a hit, so I thought it would be wise to share the love.

makes 4 PB cups

Ingredients

• 1 cup chocolate, bar or chips
• soy milk, to taste and consistency
• 4 tbsp natural peanut butter
• 1 tsp nutritional yeast (aka noosh)
• dash of salt, agave or vanilla if desired (optional)

Instructions

First, melt the chocolate in a small sauce pan over low heat.  Add just a little milk until chocolate is smooth and creamy.  Scoop a tbsp of the melted chocolate (enough to cover the bottom) into cupcake liners and place in fridge just for 5 minutes or so to semi-harden.  Meanwhile, blend peanut butter and noosh until a gritty texture forms.  Press a small dent into the somewhat hardened bottom chocolate layer to create a shallow bowl for the peanut butter.  Scoop about a 1/2 tsp of peanut butter mixture onto the chocolate layer, and cover with remaining melted chocolate. Place cups in fridge to harden for about 15 minutes or until ready to serve.

mangia!

Raw Cherry Chocolate Thumbprints

They literally taste like raw brownie-batter cookies (no pun intended). And so easy and quick! 15 minutes + a food processor is all you need.

Ingredients

makes about 12 cookies

• 1 cup of almonds
• 1/4 cup honey or agave
• dash of sea salt
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 20 plump, dried cherries, give or take

Instructions

Place almonds in food processor and process until fine. (about 1-2 minutes).  Add the honey and salt and continue to process until the batter starts to ball up. (about 6-8 minutes).  Add the cocoa powder and process until smooth.

Transfer the batter to a small bowl and mold into cookie shape and stick cherries in the middle and top with a cherry.

mangia!

Chocolate Sauces

Homemade Chocolate Sauces sounds harder than they really are.  And the great thing about making your own chocolate is that you have control over the sweetness.  Heres a few variations that I’ve found work well.

Chocolate-Chip based Sauce
Ingredients

• 1 package of semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips OR 1/2 of the large chocolate baking bar from TJs
• 2-3 tbsp of soymilk

Instructions

Melt chips in a saucepan on low heat and add milk until smooth and creamy.

Cocoa Powder Based Sauce (vegan)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup agave syrup
• 1-2 tbsp of olive oil and/or coconut oil, as needed

Instructions

Combine ingredients in a saucepan over low heat and blend until smooth.

Liquid Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup of coconut oil
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp agave

Ingredients

Combine ingredients in a saucepan over low heat and blend until smooth.

Use sauces as glazes, toppings or chill to thicken to use as a frosting.  Also great for chocolate-dipped fruit treats!  The Liquid Chocolate, in particular, is great for dipping or coating frozen treats, as the coconut oil instantly gets hard once its temperature drops.

mangia!

Raw Chocolate Mousse

This ‘raw’ version of a chocolate mousse is a healthy alternative to the very sugary, indulgent dessert. The avocado offers the creamy texture, but you would never know it was that! At first, I had a hard time understanding how avocado would work with chocolate, probably because we primarily associate avocado with guacamole.  However, I quickly realized that the avocado alone has a very mild flavor and its actually the salt and lime that transform it to the mexican dip.  Thus, I’ve learned that avocados become fantastic fruit to add creaminess to recipes.  I started with this recipe, but changed a few ingredients and it worked great.

Pictured here, served in small cups at our Real Food Party

serves 3-4, depending on your chocolate craving

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup of hazelnuts
• 2-3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 avocado
• 1/4 cup of soy or nut milk
• 1/4 cup of cocoa powder
• 3-4 tbsp agave nectar

Instructions

Blend the hazelnuts and olive oil in food processor until a paste or ball forms.  Add the avocado and milk and blend until creamy.  Add the cocoa powder and agave to taste.  Serve alone, with berries or use in a pie.

mangia!