a treat and some mishmash

I gave up cane sugar and honey as the fasting part of my Lenten discipline, and it's been good, but boy I miss chocolate. Last night I COULD NOT TAKE IT ANYMORE and I made this - now, Tony said it was cheating, and maybe he's right in a way, but it has no cane sugar or honey, as per my commitment, and it's only been once outside of Sundays that I've indulged in any kind of gray area food, and it was with very deep gratitude, and well, it was so good, I have no regrets. Plus I feel like the extra effort that goes into concocting one's own chocolate bar, by the sweat of one's brow, also trains the spiritual muscles, no? Okay, so I didn't resist the chocolate urge, ultimately, but neither did I crumble and impulsively buy a corn-syrup-filled, wastefully-packaged garbage imitation chocolate bar: I took the time to make a wholesome version. I made it last night and let it set in the fridge until today, further delaying my gratification. Experiencing the true labour cost of the process of making yummy things we normally buy ready-made is good for the moral-spiritual muscles in the same way that choosing to exercise those muscles through the abstinence of those yummy things, good in themselves, is, I think... right?

So without further ado...

Get a small small dish (you could use silicone muffin cups for a very small batch). Put in a handful or two of toasted nuts  to cover the bottom, with a density that is pleasing to you in a chocolate bar (I used soaked & dried almonds a la WAPF/phytic acid protocols). In a microwavable mug, heat coconut oil - the quantity should be about half the volume of your dish minus the nuts. Once melted, mix in an equal quantity-ish of cocoa powder. Stir gently (otherwise the cocoa powder will all float into the air) until well-combined. Now pour in just a nice dollop of date syrup and a pinch of salt and stir to combine. Pour the chocolate mixture over the nuts. Let set in the fridge - how long it takes depends on how large your dish is. Simple! You could stir in some mint extract, or some shredded coconut, some dried fruit, oh! the possibilities are endless!

In general food news... lately I've been into...

Fenugreek and fennel tea
Cajun spice mix, on everything
So much yogurt and kefir
Popcorn
Trying to eat through freezer stuff (we have plans to buy a half animal in the spring, so we want to fit all our present freezer stuff in just the upstairs freezer)
Trying to figure out what to do with creamed coconut (at least half the google search results are "I bought this stuff at the store, what does one do with it??") - I've been using bits of it in the place of coconut milk in curry, which eliminates the BPA concerns with coconut milk in cans, so that's nice, plus it's cheap!
Coffee flavouring dessert instead of filling my cup (I love the taste of coffee but I find its effects a little harsh when I drink it)

Also, I have a lentil cracker 2.0 post in the making! Stay tuned! ;)

Finally, do note that SPRING IS THIS MONTH! So ladies, take pictures and send them to me and we'll maybe vote on what to use for the spring layout via email! If nobody ends up having time, I'll use one I have saved from last year, but I think some fresh material could be fun!

Happy weekending!