Chocolate Orgy

     The other night I decided to throw together some crackers for the D, but about midway through the recipe I realized I didn't have any flax, which acts as a binding agent.  Luckily,  I practice substitution wizardry, as I often start recipes before determining if I do indeed have the called for ingredients.  I decided to use chia seeds to replace flax and the result was pretty tasty.  Here's what I did.

In the FP, I chopped up:

• 2 cups zucchini
• 2 cups squash 
• 1/2 yellow onion
• 1/2 cup soaked sun-dried tomatoes

I moved that mixture out of the way in order to grind:

•  4 3/4 cups of soaked walnuts 

In a large bowl, I mixed all of the above with:

• 1/2 cup water
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 cup nooch
• a dash of ACV
• 3/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 T Himalayan sea salt
• 2 T Costco no salt seasoning

I spread the batter on D Teflex sheets and left it in the D overnight at 105, turning if off in the a.m.   I forgot about it until the next evening, when I removed the Teflex, flipped the mixture and left it in the D at 105 for another 3 hours.   I then cut the sheets into crackers and pizza crust slices.  I snacked on crackers topped with avocado slices today and quite enjoyed it.  

I made pizza for TH this evening, topping the chia crust with pasta sauce from Delightfully Raw (so simple and delicious!), Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce from yesterday, spinach and mushrooms marinated in a little EVOO, Bragg's and garlic.  I hesitate to tell you that TH covered his pizza with moose meat (left over from his tacos the other night) when my back was turned.

For dessert I had a little bit of a chocolate incident.  I filled a crust (almonds, coconut, dates) with a chocolate ganache that I found in the back of the freezer.  Unfortunately I have no idea how or when I made that ganache as it is redunkulous.  I decided that wasn't enough chocolate, so next came some of the raw ice cream from last night, and then chocolate cinnamon sauce swirled on top.  Oh, what was I thinking?  TG I couldn't eat the whole thing.  Believe me, I tried.  Chocolate. Coma.  

Question:  Do you have a food you get greedy with?  It seems like this week I've been all about the chocolate.  (Oh, who am I kidding, I'm always all about the chocolate.) 

Zucchini + Cacao = !!!

Even though we are deep into winter up here in Alaska, my smoothies are still tasting like fall.  I miss the stone fruits and berries of summer, but pears, apples and oranges blended with chard taste pretty good as well.

TH named these little cuties "Hippie Bites".  Sunflower spread nestled between veggies.  I think they would make nice Christmas party appetizers. 

I have bucco zucchini and I've been trying to use it creatively.  Tonight I decided to add it to standard raw avocado chocolate mousse.  The result was delicious!

For the crust, mix the following (until crumbly and sticky) in a food processor:

1 cup pecans 

5 pitted dates

pinch sea salt 

I mixed a little more after snapping this pic. 

For the mousse, blend the following until smooth and creamy:

2 avocados

1 largish zucchini, peeled

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons raw cacao

1/2 cup agave or maple syrup

1/4 cup melted coconut butter

dash vanilla

pinch sea salt

Navitas cacao, my fave.  

Bonus Yumminess!  Put a little water in the blender after scooping out the goods.  Blend the water on high for quite a while.  Your blender will clean itself and make you "hot chocolate"!  

I added a little coconut whipped cream, then TH and I made quick work of a tart a piece.

Double Danger

Today temps above 32 degrees and freezing rain created a dangerous situation on our roof.

Every time I went outside I was at risk of an avalanche falling on my head.  All day long huge piles of ice/snow slid off the roof and landed with a boom on the porch.  It made me jump every time. 

Then, we had an earthquake!  It felt like a pretty good one- I watched the ceiling fan and the hanging light fixtures shake as the floor rumbled under my feet.  I was just trying to figure out what to do when it stopped.  

Since I started eating a lot of raw food I've made a quickie version of almond milk by blending raw almond butter with water and a little raw honey, sea salt and vanilla.  Today I decided to start my milk with soaked almonds.  Nightmare!  I don't know if it was the fact that I tried to strain the milk after adding the honey, salt and vanilla (probably), but it was messy and time consuming.  It took about four hours just to strain it once- no way I was considering doing it twice like some raw food ninjas do.  

Peekabo, Vivian!  

Lunch:  

Alaska grown carrots and broccoli with spicy tomato dip.

These figs from Full Circle Farm were out of control!

Post P90X Kenpo workout snack:  

Buckwheat crispies (Raw Food Real World) and Drama almond milk

Dinner:

If I am reincarnated as a veggie, I hope it's cabbage!  

As a salad topping I tried out a delectable hemp dressing from Sunny Raw Kitchen's newest recipe book.  Yummm!



Dessert:

These turned out soooooo good.  First I blended equal parts raw cacao, melted coconut butter and agave, with a dash of vanilla. For the filling I mixed a lump of raw almond butter with a little agave and sea salt.  Ecstasy.