Dairy Free Raw Chocolate

Dairy free, soy free, gluten free, naturally sweetened CHOCOLATE!!

You may have noticed I'm a bit of a chocolate addict - good chocolate, that is, not the cheap 'chocolate-flavoured' stuff - I love REAL chocolate, with cacao butter and 70% organic cocoa and natural sweeteners.  As I mentioned in my first post about making my own chocolate, I really try and avoid refined sugar, dairy and soy, and they are in most chocolates, even a lot of the 'healthy' ones.  So I started making my own.  They were okay, but not quite the right texture.

Then I found this gluten-free, dairy-free recipe for Raw Chocolate made with cacao butter and raw cacao. I played around with the recipe, and this is what I came up with. It's very simple, and you can add in whatever additions you like to make all sorts of delicious variations! You can use more or less sweetener and cacao to taste. I like mine really dark, so just reduce the cacao if you don't want quite so much of a dark taste.

Make sure your bowl, blades, lid and lid seal are REALLY dry before you begin - water and chocolate don't mix!!!   

Basic Dark Chocolate

200g raw cacao butter (I use Loving Earth Cacao Butter)

50-60g raw cacao powder (or to taste)

100g raw honey or pure maple syrup or rice malt syrup

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or natural extract

1/8 tsp fine sea salt

Chop cacao butter roughly with a knife on a chopping board, to approx. 1-2cm cubes. Place cacao butter into mixing bowl. Mill 20 sec/speed 8. 

Melt cacao butter for 10 mins/37°/speed 2, scraping down sides of bowl with spatula towards end of cooking time to ensure all the cacao butter is melted.

Add remaining ingredients to mixing bowl and continue cooking 10 mins/37°/speed 1.

Mix chocolate 10 sec/speed 5 to blend honey or syrup in, then pour immediately into lined dish or chocolate molds or onto a tray for a thin chocolate bark.

You can use other sweeteners, whatever you prefer, to your own taste. Just be aware that if you use a 'sugar' like Rapadura or coconut sugar, you may find that it separates. If this happens, blend it up for 1 min/speed 9, and it will mix in. Pour into molds or onto trays immediately, as it will separate a little as it sits.

Additions:

If you'd like nuts or fruit in your chocolate, sprinkle them over the lined tray or in the chocolate molds, then pour chocolate over the top.  Place in the freezer to set. 

Here's some ideas for additions -

- activated nuts (soaked then dehydrated), or roasted: hazelnuts, almonds, cashews, macadamia nuts

- raw cacao nibs 

- sprouted, dehydrated buckwheat, made into little chocolate buckwheat 'cakes'

- dried fruit: cherries, blueberries, apricots, ginger, cranberries

- pretzels (chocolate drizzled over salty gf pretzels is delish!)

- a mixture of above fillings!

You can also stir into the chocolate:

- shredded coconut

- spices: cinnamon, chilli, cardamom, ginger...

- edible essential oils: peppermint, orange, lemon, cinnamon... just a few drops

Swirl through the chocolate:

- nut butter (or pour a little chocolate into a mold, let it set, add a dab of nut butter, then pour chocolate over to fill molds; or fill with chocolate hazelnut spread ) 

- sunflower seed butter

- dulce de leche

Tips:

If you try to set the chocolate at room temp it will take a very long time and often separates, so is best set in the freezer, or at least the fridge if you don’t have room in the freezer.

You can replace half the cacao butter with cold pressed coconut oil if you want to make a cheaper chocolate - but just be aware that it will melt really easily and needs to be kept in the freezer.

Raw cacao butter

Ice Magic

Here's one more thing you can make with your fresh batch of chocolate. 

Mix 100g of the chocolate with 50g of coconut oil, add a little more pure maple syrup if you think it needs it, and melt 2 mins/37C/speed 2, or until melted and mixed together. Pour into a jar and keep it in the cupboard, and you have instant 'Ice Magic' for whenever you want it! 

It hardens immediately when you pour it over ice cream or sorbet, and the kids love it. Ok, so do the adults. ;)

(If it's cold weather and it hardens in the cupboard, just set the jar into a bowl of boiling water to melt it before using.)

Homemade 'Ice Magic'

Menu Plan Monday - 15th November

Last week I was so busy, I didn't get any recipes posted!  I've got a real line up waiting to be added to the blog - 'Almost Raw' Chocolate, Chicken & Cashews with Coconut Cream Sauce, Spicy Chicken & Vege Sausage Rolls, Christmas Waldorf Salad, How to Make Three Meals from One Chicken, Calzone, Spelt Fruit Bread, Dairy Free Cheesy Seasoning... Phew, better get typing!  If you see one in this list that you really want the recipe for, let me know, and I'll put it at the top of the list. (Most of you are probably saying, "the chocolate!!!")

Our camping trip didn't go quite as planned, as one of the kids was coughing too much, so we didn't stay the night :(  But we still had a lovely day at the lake, and pretended we were camping - we had potatoes baked in foil in the ashes for lunch, and camp-fire stew for dinner, cooked in the camp oven.  Yum!

Campfire Stew

Keeping the stew hot 'til dinner time!

The highlight of the week was the big Thermomix day in Cairns!  It was so lovely to meet other consultants from North Queensland, and especially to meet Grace again (the director of Thermomix Australia), and Uwe and Roswetta (Uwe is in charge of Thermomix sales, worldwide)...  We cooked and talked and were inspired and encouraged, then we held a cooking class to inspire and encourage others :)  Then we went out for dinner and stayed up half the night chatting :D  This has got to be the best job ever!

Me & Felicity (consultant from Townsville)

Consultants Bronwyn (Townsville), Felicity (Townsville) & Leeandra (Herberton)

Did anyone see the Thermomix on Iron Chef again last Tuesday night?  I missed it - had to go out - but I heard it was good...  It's great to see the Thermomix getting more media attention these days - as it should!

So what's on your menu this week?  I've mostly got old favourites, but I'm trying a few more gluten free versions this week, as my son has had to go gluten and dairy free because of allergies (at least for a while).  I really wanted to try gluten free rough puff pastry today, but just didn't get time.  Hoping to try gf pizza dough for the calzone later in the week - we'll see how that goes.

If you'd like some ideas for your menu, or help with menu planning, check out these links:

Menu Plan Monday at "I'm an Organizing Junkie" 

My menu planning tips

The Thermomix Forum (for recipes & to see what other people are cooking for dinner)

And here's some tips for converting your family's favourite recipes for the Thermomix!

Here's my plan... ('tmx' = prepared and/or cooked in the Thermomix)

Monday:

(lunch) Chicken & asparagus fried rice (tmx)

(dinner) Leftover roast & gravy on mashed potatoes (tmx) with steamed veges (tmx)

Tuesday:

(lunch) Crockpot potatoes, bacon & green beans and waldorf salad (tmx)

(dinner) leftover fried rice and/or tuna salad (tmx)

Wednesday:

(lunch) Beef fajitas (tmx) with spelt tortillas (tmx) & gf wraps (for some of us who are gf at the moment)

(dinner) Chelsea's curried pumpkin & lentil soup (tmx)

Thursday:

(lunch) Baked potatoes with tuna-mushroom sauce (tmx) & salad

(dinner) Meatballs in bolognese sauce (tmx) on gf pasta with salad

Friday:

(lunch) Salmon fishcakes (tmx) & salad

(dinner) Calzone made with gf pizza dough (tmx) & tuna or mince fillings (tmx)

Saturday:

(not home for lunch)

(dinner) Lentil bolognese (tmx) on gf pasta with salad

Sunday:

(lunch) Meatloaf & baked veges (slowcooked in oven)

(dinner) leftovers

Menu planning for a busy week!

If I don't plan ahead this week, I will probably go crazy!! (Okay, crazier!)

Monday and Tuesday - camping at the lake (cooking over a campfire, no Thermy - I hope I survive! but I will cook some things beforehand); Tuesday night - a baby shower (need to cook for that); Wednesday - homeschooling, dentist, and cooking for a birthday party (getting paid to make the cake); Thursday - all day in Cairns (70kms away) for Thermomix training, meeting, cooking class and dinner with Grace and Witek of Thermomix, Australia (and some special Thermomix visitors from Germany!) and spending the night at a resort; Friday - dashing back home to homeschool, clean house and prepare for Saturday, and helping run Youth Club; Saturday - more cleaning and preparing, as I'm running an "Allergy Alternatives Cooking Class" here that evening; then Sunday - church and hopefully have a break!!  Phew.  So it's going to be a bit of a juggle to organize meals this week - thankfully I'll have Grandma's help for some of them (as well as with the homeschooling!).  I've cooked some things ahead to take to our lunch in Cairns, but there's still so much to do...

I decided to add in my breakfast plan, as I've gotten a bit slack with breakfast lately, and need to hold myself accountable!! (And I thought some of you might like some new breakfast ideas - I've included photos for some.)  Here's the plan...

For more menu planning ideas, go to "Menu Plan Monday" at "I'm an Orgnanizing Junkie", or see my article here on "How I menu plan".


[tmx = prepared and/or cooked in my Thermomix]

Monday:
Breakfast: Blender Batter Blueberry Muffins (tmx)
Lunch: Sandwiches with cold meat & salad (on spelt bread)
Dinner: Campfire stew & spelt damper

Tuesday:
Breakfast: Fruit, toast (pan-fried damper) & fried eggs
Lunch: Potatoes baked in ashes, df sour cream (tmx-ed ahead of time!), raw vege sticks, fruit
Dinner: Spaghetti bolognaise with lots of veges in it (tmx) on spelt noodles (making double batch)

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Pink fruit cereal (tmx)
Lunch: leftover spaghetti & salad
Dinner: Baked beans (tmx)

Thursday:
Family fending for themselves (with the help of leftovers and Grandma!)

Friday:
Breakfast at Grandma's
Lunch:  Chicken pot pie with spelt rough puff pastry (made ahead in tmx, in freezer)
Dinner:  Leftovers & sandwiches

Saturday:
Breakfast:  Blender Batter Brown Rice Pancakes (tmx)
Lunch: Fish (cornmeal coating, shallow fried), mashed potatoes (tmx) & steamed veges (tmx)
Dinner:  Allergy Alternatives Demo - lots of yummy dairy free, gluten free, naturally sweetened, organic food!  (All in tmx, of course)

Sunday:
Breakfast:  Fruit, toast, eggs (poached in tmx)
Lunch:  Roast dinner (gravy in tmx)
Dinner:  Leftovers/sandwiches

Steamed Chocolate Mudcakes with Orange Sabayon

Steamed Chocolate Mudcakes with Sabayon - decadent and dairy free!

We enjoyed these little cakes for afternoon tea the other day.  I've been wanting to try steaming chocolate mudcakes in the Thermomix Varoma, and they worked really well, turning out lovely and moist, although they cracked open a bit - I just turned them upside down.  ;)  I think they could've done with a little more chocolate though (being the chocoholic that I am!!), so next time I think I'd put in some chunks of 70% cocoa chocolate.  I had some egg yolks in the fridge that needed using up, so I made sabayon too, and they tasted delightful together!  I use fresh orange juice in my sabayon instead of rum, and I use Rapadura instead of sugar, which gives it a lovely, rich flavour.  The cakes were still hot when we drizzled the sabayon over, so it kind of soaked in, but it still tasted delicious.

I got the idea for this mudcake recipe from the 'Budget Busters' Thermomix cookbook, but I've added a few of my own tweaks (of course!).  I also halved the recipe so it would fit in my Varoma in silicon cupcake cups, making fourteen to sixteen cupcakes, depending on the size of your silicon cups.

Steamed Chocolate Mudcakes

1.  Place all the ingredients into the Thermomix bowl in the order listed and beat for 30 seconds on speed 6; scrape down sides of bowl and beat for a further 10 seconds on speed 6.

- 40g extra virgin macadamia oil (or grapeseed oil)

- 200g cool water

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 20g balsamic vinegar

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 100g Rapadura

- 25g honey

- 260g spelt flour or gluten free plain flour

- 30g cacao powder (or cocoa)

- pinch sea salt

Stir in some dark chocolate chunks or chips if you like.

2.  Pour into ungreased silicon cupcake cups (only fill a little over half way!) and place in the two layers of the Varoma.  Pour water into the Thermomix bowl to just above the blades (not hot water), place lid and Varoma on top, and cook on Varoma temperature, 20 minutes, speed 2.  (Mine were filled a bit too full, as you can see below!)  Remove lid and set aside while you make the sabayon.  (Or you could make a chocolate sauce or vanilla custard to drizzle over instead.)

*          *          *

Sabayon

1.  Make sure the Thermomix bowl is clean and dry.  Place nutmeg in bowl and grind for 10 seconds on speed 9.  Remove from bowl and set aside.

- 1 whole nutmeg

(Of course, you can use pre-ground nutmeg, but you'll get more flavour if you grind your own!)

2.  Mill the Rapadura for 20 seconds on speed 9, until fine:

- 80g Rapadura

3.  Add remaining ingredients to Thermomix bowl and cook for 8 minutes at 80 degrees, speed 4.  (You can use the butterfly if you like - it makes it lighter and fluffier.)

- 1 tsp ground nutmeg

- 5 egg yolks

- 5 tblspns fresh orange juice

- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

*          *          *

Now turn the cupcakes out of their cups, place them upside down on a plate, and drizzle over some sabayon... Enjoy!

Be Creative!

Ever feel stressed out, over-worked, and under-appreciated?

It can get like that when you've got mouths to feed, 

jobs to do, and everyone wanting a piece of you.  

Here's my advice...

Put on a pretty apron (girls!), turn on your favourite music, 

turn it up loud and sing along at the top of your voice, 

while you cook something creative... 

... or something comforting, like bread ...

... or create some amazing artwork ... 

(and don't worry if no one else thinks it's amazing - 

as long as you do, that's all that counts!)...

There's something about being creative that is magically soothing.  

So make something beautiful.

Okay, that' my bit of advice for the day :)

Have a great day!

Just wearing this apron makes me feel creative! :D

Do you know what you're eating??

This eleven year old, homeschooled boy knows more about what's going on in the food industry than most adults I know, and he wants to help bring change.  (Go Birke!)  And what he says is so right!  What big food corporations are doing to our food is downright creepy!!!  It's time we stopped letting advertisers and corporations tell our kids (and us) what to eat.  Watch this video clip with your kids - you'll be glad you did.

And if your kids are still saying, "But I want some chicken nuggets..." show them what they're made of - it'll REALLY gross them out!!

Mechanically Separated Poulty - eewww!

Banana Nut-Butter Protein Shake

  
This protein shake is a great pick-me-up when you're finding it hard to get going in the morning; or a quick breakfast when you're too rushed to have a sit-down meal.  I don't actually have too many sit-down breakfasts, except on holidays... I always seem to be eating on the run.  The other day I even had breakfast in the shower!  :D  (There's a very handy shelf right next to the shower - perfect for a breakfast-in-a-glass...) So obviously smoothies and protein shakes are a great brekkie for me!

Next time you make your own Nut Butter, try this protein shake. Leave a few tablespoons of the nut butter in the Thermomix bowl, add the almonds and grind them up. Then add the remaining ingredients and blend. Saves trying to scrape all the nut butter out. :)

This makes enough for 3-5 people, depending how big your glasses are.

1. Grind up your almonds (or other nuts) on speed 9 for 10 seconds:
- 100g raw almonds (or macadamias or cashews)

2. Add remaining ingredients and mix on speed 9 for 1-2 minutes, until smooth:
- 3 heaped Tbspns of nut butter (I don't really measure)
- 2 Tbspns or so of pure maple syrup (or preferred sweetener)
- 2 fresh bananas, broken in half
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (opt.)
- 1 raw egg (preferably free-range, organic)
- 200g ice cubes
- 500g filtered water

Yum!

Note: You can use pre-made almond milk instead of the nuts and water if you like.

The kids love this protein shake!

(And our bird thinks she would like it too...)