Peanut Butter Chocolate Mousse

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This is the perfect snack…… or perfect for dessert!

You absolutely cannot tell that there is avocado in this. It’s rich, chocolate velvet and is absolutely delicious.

It’s a dessert I made for my 3 year old every sometimes. As long as he doesn’t see the avocado go in, all is fine.

 

YOU NEED

1/2 a large avocado

1/4 cup of pure maple natural syrup

1 tablespoon of peanut butter (I use an organic peanut butter that contains only peanuts. No oil, salt and sugar)

1-2 teaspoons of dairy free cocoa (Just add this slowly until you get a lovely rich colour ..enough to forget that you are eating avocado)

 

YOU DO

Blend all the ingredients together until smooth.

Sieve some good quality cocoa over the top

 

Servings:  2 children or 1 adult

Time:  5 minutes

Freezing: Not suitable for freezing

Notes: Instead of sugar you can use pure maple syrup or agave

Giant Penne Pasta w/ Mushroom Sauce

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 YOU NEED

250 grams of large penne pasta (dry)

1 teaspoon salt for the pasta water

2 large cloves garlic

1/2 large brown onion, peeled and finely diced

4 cups of swiss brown mushrooms, sliced (stalks and all)

1/3 cup of dry white wine

1.5 cups of rice milk

1 teaspoon of porcini powder (optional but amazing)

1 teaspoon cornflour

1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary, chopped

2 cups asparagus, sliced (be sure to cut the woody ends off)

oil

salt/pepper to taste

 

YOU DO

Place a large pot of water and a teaspoon of salt on stove top and bring to the boil.

Heat some oil in a pan. Throw in the onion and garlic and cook till the onion is caramelised.

Add a little more oil to the pan and add the mushrooms. Sauté on a medium heat until soft and nicely browned. This is where a lot of your flavour is going to come from, so don’t get impatient and rush this part.

Add the white wine and deglaze the pan.

Add the rice milk and porcini powder to the mushroom mix and simmer gently.

In a small separate container mix the cornflour with enough water to combine to a watery consistency and stir till free of lumps. Add the cornflour mixture slowly to the mushroom mix, until you achieve required consistency. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon. Continue to gently simmer for another minute or so.

Add the asparagus and rosemary. Mix through and check the seasoning. If you need to, add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook pasta in boiling water till al dente. Strain the pasta once it is cooked and add it to the mushroom sauce and combine.

#Optional ~ If you want some “cheesiness”, add a tablespoon of nutritional yeast flakes and stir through before serving.

 

Yields: Serves 2

Dark Chocolate & Almond Petit Fours

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As an apprentice chef I had to make thousands of petit fours at the restaurant I trained in. I remember dreaming about petit fours, I made so many. We used ganache as a base for many of them but it was cream based, so I have been keen ever since to see if I can do a plant based version.

I’m really happy with the outcome of these. I will play with other quantities and flavours though and share the results as I do.

 

YOU NEED

80 ml of plant milk (I used Bonsoy because of its creamy texture but plan to use almond milk next time for these for the same reason and also to enrich the almond flavour)

200 grams of Whittaker’s “Dark Almond” (You can get Whittaker’s at Safeway and BIG W)

200 grams of Whittaker’s brand “Dark Ghana”(Also found at the supermarket. You often find it on special at 2 for $5 which is when I buy it)

dairy free cocoa for dusting

 

YOU DO

Roughly chop the Dark Ghana chocolate. Place it in a microwave safe bowl and melt in the microwave 30 secs at a time, stirring each time, until melted. Put bowl aside.

Roughly chop the Dark Almond chocolate into really small pieces.

Place the milk in a small pan or pot and bring to the boil. Turn off the flame.

Immediately add the Dark Almond chocolate pieces to the milk and stir till completely melted and combined. Once melted place into a bowl and put into the fridge and allow it to cool.

Once cooled take small spoonfuls of chocolate out of the bowl and roll in the palm of your hand into a ball until you have 15 balls the same size. Place balls on a plate and place back in the fridge to chill.

Once chilled, place a sheet of baking paper on a tray. Using a spoon dip each ball, 1 at a time into the melted chocolate. Using the spoon, turn the ball till covered and place carefully onto the baking paper.

Once all balls are coated in chocolate, place them in the fridge till set hard.

Once set, shake a sieve with cocoa over the chocolates and serve.

Enjoy.

 

Servings:  Makes 15 balls

Time:  Takes about 15 minutes to make and about 20 minutes of chilling time.

Freezing: I have never frozen these.

Notes:  Once they are ready, they are best to leave to get to room temperature. That way the inside is soft.

If you use different milk or chocolate you may get a different result.

Almond Milk

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YOU NEED

½ cup of raw almonds

water for soaking

1 cup of water

2 medjool dates

 

YOU DO

Put the almonds in a bowl and enough water to cover them. Pop in the fridge and leave them to soak overnight.

Discard the soaking water and rinse the almonds. Place the nuts, the 1 cup of water and the 2 medjool dates in a blender and blend well for a few minutes.

Pour the milk into a nut bag a strain out all the milk. Put the almond roughage aside. #See notes.

Chill the milk and serve over cereal, make a smoothie, flavour it with cacao or use however you would like.

EASY, raw, beautiful.

 

Yeilds: Just over a cup

Time: Less than 10 minutes, after soaking

Notes: Use more water if you wish, I started off with 1 part almonds to 3 parts water, but much prefer the creamier result I achieve from doing 1 part almonds to 2 parts water

If you don’t have a nut bag, you can use a chux or cheesecloth.

Don’t discard the almond roughage. You can make simple and delicious raw almond chocolates with it. I must post that recipe one day!

If you are not using it straight away, use it within a few days. Remember to also give it a stir before using, because it will separate.

Cauliflower & Chickpea Curry

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Cauliflowerandchickpeacurrywm

 

I had some cauliflower that needed using up and then I picked up some organic tomatoes and capsicum for 1/2 price and had an urge to make a curry. The following is what I came up with.

 

YOU NEED

1 head of cauliflower (approx 4 loose cups), cut into florets

1 can chickpeas, rinsed well

6 tomatoes, core removed and roughly chopped

1 medium brown onion, peeled and finely diced

1 teaspoon of fresh ginger, very finely diced

1 small red chilli, seeded and very finely diced

1 teaspoon ground cumin powder

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 heaped tablespoon of curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups vegetable stock

1/3 cup tomato puree

1 capsicum (also known as bell pepper)

1 bunch fresh washed coriander, roots removed, stems finely sliced and leaves roughly chopped

2-3 teaspoons besan flour (also known as chickpea or garbanzo flour)

 

YOU DO

Heat a small amount of water in a large non stick pan and sauté the onion on a low to medium heat until it softens. Add the ginger and chilli and cook for another minute or so.

Add a little more water and add the cumin, turmeric, curry powder, ground coriander and salt and continue to stir on a low to medium heat for a few minutes. Add a little extra water if you need to, in order to stop the spices from burning.

Add the tomatoes, stir all the ingredients together and let them gently simmer for another couple of minutes to allow the tomatoes to start breaking down.

Pour the vegetable stock and tomato puree into the pan. Add the cauliflower, capsicum and chickpeas. Cover the pan with a lid and simmer very gently for about 10 – 15 minutes until the cauliflower is cooked. I allowed mine to remain slightly firm.

Just before the cauliflower is cooked, place 2 teaspoons of besan flour in a small dish with enough water to make a loose paste and pour the mixture into the pan. Stir it through the other ingredients and allow the dish to simmer and the sauce to thicken. If you want the curry to be a little thicker, make a paste with the remaining teaspoon of besan flour and some water and repeat. Serve, once the cauliflower is tender.

Garnish with lots of fresh washed coriander. Serve with steamed basmati or brown rice and pappadams.

 

Servings: 4

Time: 30 minutes

Freezing: Not recommended.

Notes: Fresh whole spices are always more fragrant. You just grind them as you need them.

You can purchase besan flour in any well stocked health food store.

Guacamole

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Guacamolewm

Guacamole is so versatile. I use it as a sandwich spread, on nachos, on pizza, as a dip, with falafel, on baked potatoes and it goes beautifully with my Mexican Rice and Bean Soup.

I like mine chunky, with loads of garlic, fresh lime juice & plenty of fresh coriander. Just use my measurements as a guide and adjust for your own flavour preferences.

 

YOU NEED

2 medium avocados

1 large clove of garlic, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice

¼ teaspoon of salt

½ a small red onion, peeled and finely diced

1 handful of fresh coriander, washed

 

YOU DO

Peel the avocado and remove the core. Discard the skin and core. Place the avocado into a bowl and smash it roughly with the back of a fork.

Add the garlic, juice and salt and mix to combine.

Finley slice the coriander roots and roughly chop the leaves. Add the coriander and red onion to the bowl.

Mix all the ingredients. Check and adjust the seasoning if required.

Enjoy!

 

Yields:  Approximately 1.5 cups. Will depend on the size of your avocados.

Time: 10 minutes

Freezing:  Is ok after freezing, but it’s much better fresh

Banana, Date & Chia Smoothie

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YOU NEED

1 large banana

2 Medjool dates (pips removed)

1/2 cup of soy milk

1/2 cup of coconut milk

1 tablespoon of cacao powder

1 teaspoons of chia seeds

 

YOU DO

Blend all ingredients until well combined and smooth.

Serve immediately.

 

Servings:  Serves 1.

Time: 10 minutes.

Freezing:  Not suitable for freezing.

Coconut Curry Sauce

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This is why I don’t miss dairy because there are so many creamy plant based and cruelty free alternatives and the results are beautiful.

We had this with bean patties and cous cous last night but it would also be beautiful with a veg stirfry and rice, a tofu stir-fry, mixed through rice and veg and topped with bean shoots and peanuts, used as a sauce for spiral or penne pasta, as a sauce with brown rice balls and the list goes on.

 

YOU NEED

1 tablespoon of oil (I use coconut oil for this recipe)

1 brown onion, finely diced

3 cloves minced garlic (fresh is always best)

1 heaped tablespoon of curry powder

½  teaspoon of brown sugar

½  teaspoon of cayenne

1 cup of tomatoes (roughly chopped)

1 can of coconut milk (note I didn’t use light)

 

YOU DO

Heat the oil and brown the onions. Add the garlic and continue cooking a gentle heat for another minute or so.

Stir in the curry powder, brown sugar and cayenne. Then add the tomatoes and simmer until the tomatoes break up.

Reduce the heat and stir in the coconut milk.

Place the sauce into a blender and blend till smooth.

Return to the stove top and simmer gently till you get the consistency you want.

 

Servings:  Have not yet recorded

Time: Have not yet timed

Freezing: Freezes well

Notes: If you like heat just add extra cayenne or some chilli.

Pine Lime Granita

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YOU NEED

350ml of fresh pineapple juice

50ml of fresh lime juice

4 tablespoons of pure maple syrup

 

YOU DO

Whisk all ingredients together.

Pour the mixture into a chilled tray and place it into the freezer onto a flat surface

After an hour, use a fork to scrape the edges of the mixture that have started icing up and push it into the centre of the tray. Continue doing this every 20-30 minutes until all the mixture is completely flaked.

Serve in chilled glasses.

 

Serves: Serves 2

Time: Prep time is only about 10 minutes. Then simply allow for the freezing process.

Freeze: YUP

Notes: If you are not serving your granita straight away just place it into an air tight container in your freezer until you want to use it.

 

Mandarin Melon & Mint Granita

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YOU NEED

300ml of fresh mandarin juice

100ml of melon juice

1 loose cup of fresh washed mint leaves, leaves put through a juicepresso or alternatively blended into the mandarin and melon juice.

4 tablespoons of pure maple syrup

 

YOU DO

Whisk all ingredients together.

Pour the mixture into a chilled tray and place it into the freezer onto a flat surface

After an hour, use a fork to scrape the edges of the mixture that have started icing up and push it into the centre of the tray. Continue doing this every 20-30 minutes until all the mixture is completely flaked.

Serve in chilled glasses.

 

Serves: Serves 2

Time: Prep time is only about 10 minutes. Then simply allow for the freezing process.

Freeze: YUP

Notes: If you are not serving your granita straight away just place it into an air tight container in your freezer until you want to use it.