Kat eats local in Toronto

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Tag "chocolate"

When I spotted this homemade fudgesicle recipe on Smitten Kitchen, I had to have it, especially since I’d recently received some awesome rocket-shaped popsicle molds from President’s Choice. But… I’m currently on an elimination diet that means no dairy. I put on my thinking cap and decided I could veganize them easily with my favourite friend, coconut milk.

They taste amazing, probably better than with just dairy milk. I did find them hard to get out – maybe I was in a hurry, maybe it’s the molds, maybe the mixture is stickier with coconut – but hot water and squeezing did the trick. (Pulling resulted in a popsicle-free stick, which is just sad.) The unfrozen mixture also makes an amazing pudding – I had the leftovers from my pot on top of sliced banana.

As I’m not actually vegan, I wasn’t picky about the vegan-ness of some ingredients. These are more dairy-free, I guess. The level of detail is up to you.

Homemade vegan fudgesicles
(Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

21 g chopped dark chocolate (I used Denman Island Simply Dark, which may or may not be vegan, actually)
1/3 cup sugar (I used raw sugar and you could probably cut this amount back a bit.)
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder (I used Navitas raw cacao powder)
1 1/4 cups coconut milk (the kind from a can. If it’s almost solid like mine was, thin it out with a bit of water)
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil

Gently melt the chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, stirring. Stir in sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, coconut milk and salt and increase heat to medium, whisking mixture until smooth. Continuing to whisk frequently, cook until mixture is thick, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and coconut oil. Let cool slightly, stirring occasionally, then pour into molds. Use spatula to lick pot clean.

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I was chatting with Michael from Chocosol yesterday and he informed me that a) they’re now making fresh tortillas and b) they make chocolate and cheese quesadillas at some (all?) of their market stalls. Not wanting to wait until my next market trip – and with a stash of Chocosol chocolate he’d given me – I tried to recreate them at home. Chocosol chili chocolate, Fifth Town/Black River goat cheddar, and not-local tortillas from frozen.

The verdict? Decent first attempt – the chocolate melted really nicely – but I can do better. My tortilla was a little stale and the goat cheddar doesn’t melt much, so it didn’t mix in with the chocolate very well. I think next time I’ll try spreading a soft cheese like chevre on the tortilla before adding the chocolate for a better blend.

Have you made chocolate quesadillas? Any tips?

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I have a major sweet tooth, so I like to make desserts that are healthy and portable to satisfy my midafternoon cravings at the office. Sweet potatoes are a natural choice and help me satisfy my rule to eat something green and something orange every day.

Take a bag of sweet potatoes. (Mine were organic from Fiesta Farms, but not local. Fiesta, can we have local and organic, pretty please?) Wash, pierce with a fork and put on a tray lined with parchment paper.

Roast at 375F for a good hour or more. I like to err on the side of overcooked. The juices escape and burn and caramelize. Delicious. (This part can be done ahead of time.)

Sweet potato pudding #1: chocolate variety

This one was inspired by Choosing Raw. It’s more or less Gena’s recipe, except I did it from memory and modified slightly.

1 small roasted sweet potato
1 avocado
6 or so soft, mushy dates (if you have hard ones, soak them first)
a couple tablespoons of cocoa or raw cacao powder
a tablespoon of coconut oil (I like to add this to my puddings for better mouthfeel)
some vanilla

Process in the food processor until creamy, adding water and scraping bowl as necessary and adjusting flavours to taste.

Put in a jar and see how long you can make it last.

Sweet potato pudding #2: basic variety

This one was inspired by one I bought at Noah’s by Jinny Lok, who makes healthy and tasty desserts under the brand name (I think) Joyful Living.

Measurements are approximate because it depends on how many sweet potatoes you use. Remember that sweet potatoes are already sweet, so don’t go overboard on sweeteners.

a few roasted sweet potatoes
some dates
a swish of maple syrup
a tablespoon of coconut oil
some spices (I used cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger)

Add to food processor and process until smooth, adding water and scraping bowl as needed. Adjust flavours to taste.

I put mine in a few small jars and topped them with Greek yogurt and pecans. But honestly, to make it truly vegan, a coconut or cashew cream would be just as good if not better.

Note: for both puddings, I left the skins on (but removed the tough stem ends). There’s a lot of nutrition in the skin that it’s worth keeping, and they process up pretty smooth. But if you want a super-creamy pudding, you might want to remove the skins.

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I love “traditional” granola, but I don’t love that it has to be super high in sugar and fat in order to clump and get crunchy. (Go ahead – read the label of your favourite boxed granola.) So I was thrilled when I discovered raw granolas, which are typically based around buckwheat and clump due to their time in the dehydrator.

Buckwheat, despite its name (and here I feel like I’m repeating a million other articles, sorry if you know this already) isn’t related to wheat and isn’t technically a grain at all – it’s a seed. (Although I have to say, I’m no biologist, but the line between grain and seed seems odd. I mean, you can plant both of them to get another plant.) In any case, it’s gluten free so safe for those with celiac or other gluten-related problems, and it’s very nutritious and high in protein. Toasted whole buckwheat is common in Eastern Europe but the buckwheat we’re talking about today is untoasted. You can tell them apart in the store by their colour – toasted buckwheat is a lot darker.

Your basic raw granola recipe involved soaking buckwheat overnight and then rinsing well (it gets a slimy texture naturally – don’t worry about this, just rinse it off) and combining with other ingredients, including a liquid sweetener, so that a sticky almost-dough (which will be crumbly) is created. Then it’s dehydrated until dry and crunchy.

This time, I reproduced a recipe from Live – if you live in Toronto, you might have seen their packaged granolas for sale at places like Fiesta Farms and The Big Carrot. I recently downloaded their recipe e-book so I could make things like this and save a bit of money. (Although fairly priced due to quality ingredients and a lot of effort, packaged raw foods aren’t cheap.) It’s a chocolate granola (yum!) with tons of raw cacao powder and cinnamon, dried (but soaked before using) apricots and cherries (my sub for their raisins) and pecans (my sub for their walnuts). As a sweetener I used maple syrup.

Ready to dehydrate:

And ready to eat! I serve with homemade hemp milk.

Now I’m ready for the week month.

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