Christmas Recipe: Vegan Brandy Fudge Truffles

 This recipe doesn't need a massive introduction, it's just the joy of the Christmas rum ball, made healthy! I honestly think these are easier than the crushed biscuit variety and arguably more delicious. I used brandy flavoured essence because I prefer it to rum but the traditional flavour would work just as well, or you could use vanilla if the boozy flavour isn't your thing! The finished sweet is soft and fudgy and chocolatey and safe for all your vegan and gluten-free friends to chow down on.

sorry about the sad photo, they got eaten pretty quick!

2 cups pitted dates, soaked in water overnight, and drained
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoon melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon brandy flavoured essence
dessicated coconut for rolling

If you have a good quality blender, then this is easy - blitz all the ingredients until smooth.  If, like me, you aren't blessed with the disposable income a good blender requires, this recipe is still totally do-able. Chop the dates into four pieces each, place in a mixing bowl with the melted coconut oil and mash and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Add the cocoa powder gradually and keep mixing so there are no dry lumps. The more you stir the smoother it will get, I promise.
 Use a teaspoon to measure out each truffle then roll in dessicated coconut until it's able to hold its own shape.
Refrigerate for an hour before serving, and keep in the fridge if it's a warm day.

Gluten Free, Vegan Chocolatey Christmassy Tifle!!

December has arrived!  Sure, my Christmas tree has been up for three weeks already, and I've already had a Christmas party, but now we've hit that final month on the calendar, I feel like I can really let my Christmas Freak Flag fly! I don't know how I became such a Christmas geek, but if four consecutive holiday seasons working in retail can't jade me, I don't think anything ever will!
Being English-born, I have a complex idea of what the spirit of Christmas really is.  Yes, I think of barbecues, pavlovas and cold beers as essentials of the big day, but I still have fond, if distant, memories, of the English school Christmas lunch, in which we all sat around long tables in the dining hall and ate turkey and overcooked brussels sprouts inbetween snowman-building competitions. And while I don't know yet if a box of Scorched Almonds is more "Christmassy" than a Terry's Chocolate Orange, I do know that the magic of Christmas and the peace of a New Zealand summer are a pretty damn good fit!

At the "Friendmas" dinner I recently hosted, I asked everyone to bring along their must-have Christmas dish in the hopes of a bountiful Christmas-themed potluck, and to find out which foods bring out the most nostalgia. I was really excited to see what everyone would bring until I realised that I too would have to make a decision about what to make!  Ok, what Christmas dish can I not live without? From the title of this post, you'd assume the answer is "trifle" but it's not that simple!
After careful consideration, I decided the two things that make Christmas day different to every other are 1) socially acceptable day-drinking and 2) desserts all damn day.  And since I'm both unwilling to just serve up booze at a dinner party and personally living alcohol-free right now, I had to settle for dessert (poor me!).  At home, we've never had a "standby" or "must have" Christmas dessert. Instead we rotate between Christmas pudding (the brandy-soaked, ablaze kind), berry-filled pavlova or some kind of cake+cream/custard combo, if not a combination of all of the above.  It's worth mentioning that this is after eating pancakes for breakfast and a half-box each of Rose's chocolates for lunch! Well, if you can't on Christmas day, when can you?
Instead of trying to pick one dessert to serve, I found the answer in trifle - basically all the desserts you can think of, artfully piled on top of one another. It hits all the right flavour notes - chocolate, booze, berries, plus all those wintry-warm spices - while being gluten-free, (mostly) alcohol-free, and suitable for vegans. Winning!

Breakfast Rice Porridge

For various reasons, I've been experimenting lately with cutting down on my wheat, dairy and egg consumption which has left me in a bit of a pickle over breakfast. It's no secret that breakfast is my favourite meal of the day.  I'm an inconsistent eater and will often skate through a day on two big main meals (breakfast and an early dinner) and a few snacks and thanks to the gap between dinner and morning I often wake up hungry: a delicious and filling breakfast gives me something to get out of bed for and keeps me smiling well through the morning. Don't get me wrong, Marmite on toast has its place, but I'd much rather start the day with a stack of "paleo" banana pancakes or a classic bacon and egg combo and not  have to stop at 10 for morning tea to quiet a growling tum!
Enter porridge... now, I've personally never been a big fan of porridge but after talking to my mum about the ins and outs and alternatives to oats it dawned on me that I could turn one of my favourite desserts - hearty, creamy, old fashioned English rice pudding - into a wholesome and healthy breakfast that's both eggless and actually enjoyable.
Now, I know rice porridge is not news. I've encountered traditional rice porridge, or congee, in a few forms before, most notably in unfortunately bland airline-food form on a long-haul flight.  Traditionally, congee is made with white rice and slow cooked in water, served either sweet or savoury and as a side or main component to any meal, not just breakfast.  It's also just not for me, I guess a combination of its nutritional profile and texture just doesn't suit my increasingly fussy palette.  I wanted to try creating something closer to the rice pudding I grew up with, with the texture of wholegrains and a few nutritional additions to keep me satiated all morning.

Porridge ain't porridge without a square of chocolate :)

The resulting porridge is nutty and oaty in flavour, creamy and crunchy in texture and contains enough low GI carbs, healthy fats and proteins to keep you happy until lunch at the very least. It's also gluten free, dairy free and FODMAP friendly. This recipe serves 1 very hungry person, you can of course double, triple, or half the recipe as suits you.

Home Made Baked Beans!

As I wrote in my last post, I am so over prescriptivist diets (further rants to be had on this matter I'm sure!). My personal gastronomic belief system boils down to three core practices:

• read the science yourself 
• experiment with what works best for you 
• eat lots of vegetables in the mean time.   

So, today's recipe might not fit any of those fancy diets out there (oh god I sound out of touch) but I promise it is healthy, easy and inexpensive.  This is a simple recipe to ease me back into blogging but it beats regular old baked beans in both flavour and nutrition and is a great go-to for students. 

Ingredients
Half a chopped onion (50c)
1 can red kidney beans ($1.80)
1 can unflavoured chopped tomatoes (80c)
1 stock cube (20c) dissolved in two tablespoons of hot water
1 tsp paprika (20c)
1 tsp thyme (20c)
1/2 tsp mixed spice (10c)
1/2tsp dried coriander (10c)

Method
Preheat the oven to 180 celsius. 
Put all the ingredients in a small baking tray (a slice tin works well) and stir it up.
Bake for 30-40 minutes until thick and bubbly, stirring occasionally to stop the edges browning.
Makes 4 serves.
Serve with seasonal veggies or a jacket potato.
Cost works out to just under $1 per serve.

I would not recommend putting the oven on just to cook one thing as it's an expensive way to cook!  Now is the time to put in your loaf of bread or pop in a potato to bake.

I'm baa-aack

Hey guys,

A lot has changed for me since my last post.  I've moved to a new city, started studying for my Master's and read a LOT of food research that has led to many changes in my dietary habits.  Now that I'm back on a student budget and food is on my brain more than ever before, I want to start writing on the topic again.  I don't want to make any promises about content or frequency of posts but stay tuned if you are interested in non-prescriptivist diets, low carb recipes and interesting food science facts.

xx Aimee