Eats

Chocolate coconut tartlets

My love for baking began when I was young, I enjoyed spending time with my mother in the kitchen cooking. I think that’s how I developed the passion that I have for cooking today. Well, I must admit that my style has changed, I try to alter recipes to create healthy treats that my family and I can enjoy, while ultimately feeling good about what I’m putting in my body. My Vitamix E310 Explorian Series blender makes creating healthy and delicious recipes, easy! So if you’re looking for the perfect gift for mom, look no further!

I can’t wait for Rania to be my little helper. It will be a nice activity to do together and who knows, she might develop the same love for cooking that I have!

I made some chocolate tartlets, but these aren’t your traditional tarts, as these do not require the use of an oven. I used a 75% dark chocolate but if you or your children don’t enjoy the taste of dark chocolate, feel free to adapt the recipe by using chocolate with a lower concentration.

Here is what you need for this recipe. I hope you enjoy!

Crust
1 cup of nut mix of your choice: walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, etc.
¼ Medjool dates (they are easy to mix).
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
Pinch of salt.

Filling
1 cup of coconut cream (I only used the part at the top of the can, Brand used: Cha’s organics),
½ cup of soft dates,
3 ounces of melted dark chocolate,
¼ of melted coconut oil,
2 tsp of vanilla extract.

Steps
1. To make the crust, pour all the ingredients into your Vitamix (dates, nuts, cinnamon and salt) and blend until you get a soft texture.
2. Transfer the mixture to a mold and spread the mixture at the bottom and all around the sides. I used small pie dishes.
3. Rinse your blender.
4. In a small saucepan, heat the coconut cream over low heat.
5. In a blender, mix the coconut cream, dates, chocolate, coconut oil and vanilla extract until the mixture becomes homogeneous.
6. Pour the result on the crust.
7. Cool on the counter.

For serving, add nuts as decoration, a scoop of ice cream or coconut cream.

15 April 2018 0 comment

Giant cookies

Craving cookies? No problem.

I have the recipe you need: simple, fast and good! As usual…

To make two huge cookies, you will need:

4 tsp ground flaxseed + 2 Tbsp of water (let the mixture sit for 3 minutes)
4 tbsp coconut sugar,
2 tbsp walnut butter (no matter which one you have),
2 tbsp of oil (coconut, avocado, tournersol) I used coconut,
½ tsp vanilla,
½ cup of oatmeal,
5 tbsp of flour (I used whole flour, you can use flour without gluten),
¼ tsp baking soda,
Pinch of salt,
2 tbsp of dark chocolate chips (I use 85% cocoa).

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Mix the flax seeds meal with water and let stand for 3 minutes.
In a bowl, mix the coconut sugar, nut butter of choice, oil of choice and vanilla extract until the mixture is homogeneous. Add the flax seeds and mix again.
Add the oatmeal, flour, baking soda and a pinch of salt until the mixture is homogeneous. Add the chocolate and mix again.
Form your cookie directly on the baking plate.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the outline of the biscuit turns golden.
Once you remove the biscuit from the oven, wait at least 10 minutes before serving.

8 March 2018 0 comment

Peanut sauce tofu with cauliflower rice

A lot of people tell me that they would like to consume less meat and be able to substitute it with something else like tofu. Most of the time, when those people buy tofu, they do not know what to do with it and ask for recipe ideas. Here is a complete meal idea that you could achieve with tofu.

You will need a block of firm tofu. I cut mine into cubes and let it drain between paper towels. In the meantime, I preheated the oven at 400F in which I will bake the tofu for 20 to 25min. We want the cubes to come out golden.
While the tofu is in the oven, I cut the vegetables I wanted to use (broccoli, green pepper and green zucchini) and sautéed them with sesame oil and a touch of soy sauce. I like to leave my vegetables crunchy.
Then I prepared the sauce that will wrap my tofu:
– Peanut butter,
– Soy sauce,
– Crushed garlic clove,
– Fresh ginger minced very finely,
– Sambalolek or any hot sauce (to taste),
– Sesame oil,
– Coconut sugar or honey,
– Sesame seeds (optional).

I made enough to be able to coat my tofu but also to keep a little and to serve it on every plate.
Once your tofu is ready, take it out of the oven and let it cool before wrapping it with a few spoons of this creamy sauce. Let the mixture rest for at least 10 minutes to allow the tofu to soak up the sauce.
During that time, I used a cauliflower to make a kind of rice / couscous by rapping cabbage or easier, by putting chopped cabbage heads in a low intensity blender until obtaining a texture similar to rice. Once it’s done, heat a large pan with sesame oil and I sautée the cauliflower rice as if it was fried rice (we are looking for the brownish color).
Last step: I also sautée the tofu that I left marinated for a few minutes to get the beautiful golden color.
I served it all on a plate by adding a little sauce to be able to have a beautiful marriage of flavors.
We really like this peanut marinade and we really liked the cauliflower rice.

That’s it, I hope it will allow you to dare new recipes too and perhaps adopt them.

28 December 2017 0 comment

Chicken bread with Olives from Spain

I wonder if it’s because of my origins that I love olives from Spain or if it’s because of my father who loves having some with each meal or if it’s a bit of both. The Mediterranean olives are among the most popular and I am lucky to have been able to grow in this climate in order to enjoy it but also to have less harsh winters (ah, the good time!).
When Olives of Spain challenged me to reinvent a recipe using the olives they offer, I imagined so many dishes (healthy, of course) that it was difficult to select one. I ended up opting for a chicken bread with Spanish olives, dried fruits and nuts. Yes! So good, so rich and so festive.
You can adjust the recipe according to the ingredients you have. This is also the beauty of cooking. This recipe is perfect for your weekdays but also if you are hosting I also think it’s the perfect timing to publish this recipe for this holiday season.

You will need:

1 kg of chicken (you can use another meat instead like turkey, it’s lighter than red meat),
½ cup of breadcrumbs (you can use gluten-free bread),
2 beaten eggs,
1 onion, finely chopped,
3 tsp coriander ground (not fresh, use the spice),
1 tsp cinnamon,
1 tsp of nutmeg,
3 tbsp of honey,
2 tsp of piri piri spice (from @aspiceaffair).
Dried apricots, pistachios, Spanish olives (Manzanilla variety, stuffed with pimientos), dried cranberries.

Since I had chicken breasts, I chopped them in the blender.
Add the spices, the breadcrumbs, the eggs and the onion and mix everything.
Take some of the nuts, dried fruits and stuffed Manzanilla olives from Spain and incorporate them into the mix.
Put everything in a mold (cake mold) and decorate with other apricots, cranberries, pistachios and olives from Spain.
Put in the oven for about 45min at 350F. The cooking time depends on the meat you have chosen to use. Whatever your choice, I advise you to check the cooking from time to time, otherwise the result will be too dry.
Serve it all in slices with a caramelized tomato sauce (salt, oil, piri piri, cardamom, honey and fresh ginger, cook until caramelization).

Trust me, the result is not only beautiful but delicious. The Spanish olives stuffed with red pepper are the perfect choice for this bread because the chicken goes well with grilled peppers.

The good news is that you can prepare it in advance and freeze it (without cooking it) and put it in the oven when you host or when you need it.

For more information on Spanish olives and the different options available to you, visit their website: www.olivesfromspain.ca

You’re welcome

7 December 2017 1 comment