Sometimes you just gotta make dessert

I love how this dessert makes it looks like I went all out and put in a heap of effort...but really it was a simple process of blending some stuff together and sticking it in the fridge.

I saw the recipe on Chococlate Covered Katie's blog and decided to make it then and there.

I made a basic sweet shortcrust pastry and blind baked it for about 20 minutes before pouring in the filling.

In the filling I used 2x100g blocks of Lindt 85% dark choclate, and 1 pkg and a bit of silken firm tofu. I also used about 1 tbsp maple syrup to sweeten just a tad as the choclate is quite bitter. Strawberries are still cheap (amazing this year!) so I cut a bunch in half and pressed them into the filling before I put it in the fridge. I left it the fridge all day and we ate it after dinner :) It was set perfectly - it still amazes me that I didn't have to bake it or use coconut oil or anything. I guess when the chocolate goes hard again...

This pie is so fine I have to force myself not to just go to the fridge and eat the lot. And it's good for you too! I think it'll be a great post-workout snack when you aren't quite ready for a meal yet. I might try that theory tomorrow ;)

Fruit of the Month: Pineapple

I figured it was about time to do another fruit of the month, since it's been, well, months! The last one I did was the humble avocado. This month  I shall showcase the pineapple! Who doesn't love pineapple?

I noticed the other day that my little pineapple that I took from work had turned yellow all of a sudden! So I decided to cut it off and eat it that afternoon.

Here is a size comparison: a normal mug next to it, and a gigantic pineapple we had bought the same day we went strawberry picking!

We enjoyed it simply stuck on toothpicks with some of the straberry haul. It was quite sweet, if a bit pale.

----

A pineapple is actually a bromeliad, taking around 2-3 years to flower and fruit from planting. To grow a pineapple all you have to do is twist off the top and whack in the ground. Mine grew quite happily in a tiny 200mm pot.

I'm sure I took a picture of the flowers but I can't find it! Oh well, this will have to do.

1 cup of raw pineapple provides 2% RDI of vitamin A and Calcium, 131% of vitamin C and 3% iron (source).

We are still going through the giant pineapple from the strawberry farm, and I've been enjoying it at work in a fruit salad with orange, strawberries and kiwifruit. It's my sister's favourite fruit and she's been known to eat a whole one in a day! It hurts my mouth after a little bit so I haven't quite managed that yet :)

There are heaps of things you can do with pineapples. I prefer them as is, but you can always stick it on pizzas, on a kebab stick, in cakes, ice creams, salads, etc. Any ideas?

Basic necessities

Chocolate coated strawberries and cream.

Cream: 2 parts vegan cream cheese, 2 parts vegan marg (beat until smooth), 1 capful of vanilla essence (beat) and 1 part rice syrup (beat until fluffy). Add more rice syrup to taste. Amazing. I ate too much of it and now I feel ill. Of course.

We went to a strawberry farm and picked our own. They are divine.

Before our strawberry farm adventure we went walking in the Glass house mountains. It was a perfect day for it. We started with a mountain view lookout...(and my mug).

Then went on a circuit walk around Mt. Tibrogargan.

For ages I've been saying 'we should go up north more often and do bushwalks and stuff' and the months tick by, so this weekend we got in the car and went. It was so nice. We didn't see any koalas though :( Nadine was very disappointed.

I did see these pretty flowers though (and a stupid woman who was trampling the bush and picking every single flower she saw - she took pretty much the whole bush of a little purple pea-style flower...the exact kind of flower I wanted to see blooming!) Does anyone know what it is? The leaves are very sharp/spiny.

Sometimes simple is best



Dipped in lindt 85%

Nothing like a simple dessert and two cuddly kitties at the end of the day :)



They are touching without squabbling!





Roasted Beetroot Risotto with Strawberry Cashew Thingee

I made a roasted beetroot risotto for dinner from Vegan Italiano. It was really quite good! You gotta love beetroot though, good thing I do :)

For dessert I made a strawberry cashew thing...I was intending to make a raw cheesecake type thing but I didn't put a base on it so I hesitate to call it that :P

Strawberry Cashew Thingee

Makes 2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raw unsalted cashew nuts, soaked in warm water all day or overnight

About 5 large strawberries, washed trimmed and chopped up

3 tbsp coconut oil

Method:

Put it all in a blender and whiz whiz whiz until it's as smooth as it will go! This took a little while in my blender. Pour it into mini tart pans (I bought some little tart pans with removeable bottoms as a present for myself a little while ago to make this delicious looking dessert. Which I did and it was divine!) The ones with removeable bottoms are best as it may stick...It shouldn't though. I lined mine with baking paper but I don't think it was really necessary. Put the pans in the coldest part of your fridge and leave to set - mine didn't take long, but I didnt count...I made them a few hours before dinner.

I served it with a strawberry sauce - just chopped up some strawberries and cooked them down until they were mushy. :)

I used very very overripe strawberries - Nadine brought some home cheap from work. They were a little too ripe to eat plain so I decided this would do them justice. I am going to freeze the leftover strawberry sauce to use another time.

Cashew based desserts are so rich and filling, you feel like you are being quite unhhealthy while eating them :) They are quite fattening so eat in moderation...these will be putting me well on my way to a bit of weight gain haha. It's probabaly a good thing I can't afford nuts too often!