teacher by day - chef by night
To sum up these chocolate cups with peanut butter mousse: my dad (my most honest and pickiest critc) said [mumbled] “you can make these whenever you want” through his full mouth, to which my mom responded with just a really extreme head nod since her mouth was full and she’s a lady! So what are you waiting for!?! Get off the computer and start making these (or pencil these in for the next event on your calendar where you want to impress)
Stuffed Shells and Manicotti were not and Italian food that I grew up with (or had ever made before this year), probably because they are not as easy as most other pastas. With just a little bit of time (assemble the night before – the way you would lasagna) you can have the awesome flavors you want with the beautiful presentation you crave!
There is just something about starting the day with a nice cup of tea. Many people think of this as a winter activity, but these people must be the ones who do not enjoy the nice crisp mornings of Summer (and Spring and Fall).
Wake up and smell the roses (and a warm cup of a tasty beverage). I love coffee, but when I have time to make a good cup of tea – I love it more than anything. I have recently gotten into chai and whenever I have a bag of chai it leaves something to be desired! After doing some searching I came across a great starter chai mix (which I can pre-mix in larger portions and having sitting around) at All Recipes and then I found another make & drink 2 big cups recipe at Chat & Chew.
I currently can not wait to use the Groupon Gift Certificate I bought for myself to Milford Spice Company to get some whole spices to use for Chai – and other stuff as well! So – anyone have any good recommendations for spices that I should get!!?
CHAI (from All Recipes)
Place water, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg and cloves in pot and bring to a boil. Add soymilk and return to boil. Add tea bags (or equivalent leaves), remove from heat and cover. Let steep for 5 minutes and strain. Add Stevia Extract In The Raw and stir to mix. Serve hot or chilled over ice.
Chai Tea – Chat & Chew style
In a medium saucepan, combine 4 cups water with the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon,and ginger and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn the heat off and add the tea, letting it steep for about 3 minutes. Add the brown sugar and milk, and simmer on low heat for 2 to 3 minutes (do not boil), stirring to dissolve the sugar. Strain the liquid into a container with a spout, and pour into teacups. Serve hot.
Yet another Birthday Celebration this month (and we wonder why I have trouble not keeping a consistant weight!). My Grandmother (Hi Grandma!) loves to read my blog and always whines that she doesn’t get to taste more of what I make, so I wanted to …
Everyone is OK…. Smoke, School evacuation, cancelled fire calls, no snack – but everyone is ok!! Lets set the scene… I finished my lunch but wanted a snack to reached into my drawer to get a snack-sized popcorn. Headed to the microwave & started it …
“Hal-e-vah”OR “hawl-vah” … now that you know how to say it – you can try to enjoy it! But, how to spell it!? Halvah, Halva, Halava – no one ever said I was good at spelling (or that spelling makes sense, so lets just skip that part and enjoy eating)!!
I have loved Halvah since I was a little kid (its a sweet from Isreal, Turkey, Greece, India… you know, that area of the world. If you are interested in learning more about it: check out the Wikipedia article, even though it isn’t the most accurate source – come good background info, or visit Dictionary.com for quick info). The flavor tastes a lot like the tahini that you use, so make sure you are using one that you like (and that you like that flavor). I really thought that this was going to be a lot harder to make than it was – but besides making sure you have these ingredients (which I did) it is really pretty easy!
GUESS WHAT – this is [pretty] HEALTHY [in my opinion at least]… made with just cashews, sesame paste, & agave. Yes, there are about 15 grams of fat & 175 calories if you base this on 10 servings – but all of those are natural fats! So it really isn’t that bad of a tasty sweet (rich) treat for you. All of the fats or calories in this are the “good” kind, just don’t eat the whole thing at once!!
From Diet Dessert n Dogs who adapted it from the book: Sweet Freedom: Desserts You’ll Love without Wheat, Eggs, Dairy or Refined Sugar
Halvah Base
Chocolate Swirl
Base: In the bowl of a food processor process the cashews until they resemble a coarse cornmeal, no pieces left bigger than a sesame seed. Add remaining (base) ingredients and blend until the mixture comes together in a ball (scraping the sides down once helped). It should have the consistency of a thick dough (do not add liquid; you want it fairly dry, just moist enough to hold together). Break up the ball with your fingers or spatula and crumble it evenly around the processor bowl. Set aside.
Chocolate Swirl: Prepare to melt your chocolate in a double boiler (small pot of a little water with a bowl on top to put your chocolate in the top bowl). Stir constantly until the chocolate melts, a couple of minutes. Remove the bowl from the pot and then stir in the [glycerin or] agave [and stevia]. The mixture should remain smooth and pourable.
Finish: Drizzle the chocolate mixture directly over the halvah in the processor bowl. Don’t worry if it’s not even around the whole mixture. Pulse once or twice ONLY to just barely incorporate the chocolate in ribbons through the mixture (any more than this and you will end up with chocolate halvah). You want the chocolate to be distributed between the halvah, but not blended into it.
Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap on your counter and turn the mixture onto it. Folding the plastic over the halvah mixture, press the mixture into place to form a compact rectangle (make sure its not too thick, but is compact). Cover with plastic and refrigerate until firm, at least overnight. Once firm, cut into small squares for serving. Store, covered, in the refrigerator up to one week. Makes 20-30 small squares.