~ Lavender ‘N Chocolate ~

Autumn brings so many gifts and teachings to help us along our path. Sometimes it just takes opening our eyes, hearts, minds and spirits to our surroundings. My mood seems to fluctuate more during this transitional Season of Autumn/Winter. I also seem to eat a lot more chocolate! My store of this delectable sweet treat is dwindling, and I am on the hunt for something special to satisfy my eternal cravings for chocolate. I have found that lavender is a great companion to chocolate and since I am in a festive mood for giving, I am going to get some Vegan Organic Lavender Dark Chocolate Heart Truffles.They come in an absolutely lovely gift box, so I am adding these lovelies to my list for my daughters and my sister as well.

Vegan Organic Lavender Dark Chocolate Heart Truffles

~ Beautiful Handmade Lavendar Gift Box
~ Lavender Dark Chocolate Truffle Hearts
~ Truffles are individually wrapped in purple foil
~ Certified Organic, Certified Vegan and Fair Trade Certified

A beautiful handmade box is filled with lucious creamy vegan dark chocolate lavender truffles. The truffles come in a heart shape wrapped in lavender foil. They are also a certified Fair Trade product which means by purchasing these products you are directly supporting a better life for farming families through fair trade prices, direct trade community development and enviromental stewardship. (www.fairtradecertified.org)

Well then, all I can say is yummmm! My mouth is watering just thinking about these delicious little truffles, so I think I had better get some, and seek out my secret chocolate stash whilst I am waiting for my Vegan Organic Lavender Dark Chocolate Heart Trufflesto arrive… Enjoy!

Yummm! I woke up this morning with a delightful craving for home made chocolate mousse! Chocolate is what gives me immeasurable pleasure from the tip of my tongue all the way to my toes… and I am so going to pass along a lovely recipe to my fellow chocolate lovers!

Chocolate Mousse

4-6 servings)
4-6 ounces organic dark baking chocolate
3 organic egg yolks
3/4 cup organic heavy whipping cream (see **note below)
1/3 cup pure 100% pure cane sugar
1 healthy pinch of sea salt
1 1/2 cups organic heavy whipping cream
3 tablespoons 100% pure cane sugar
*Extra Organic Whipped Cream (recipe below)
*Cacao Nib Pecan Cookies (recipe below)

In small glass bowl, microwave chocolate on high for one minute and stir. Continue to heat for 10 seconds at a time, stirring until chocolate is smooth. Do not heat above 120° F. Set aside.

In a small bowl whisk egg yolks until light and frothy. Set aside.

In medium saucepan, bring cream, sugar and salt to a soft boil. Reduce heat. Pour 1/3 of hot cream into bowl of egg yolks and whisk generously. Slowly pour egg mixture into remaining hot cream. Over medium heat, stir egg and cream mixture until well blended.

When mixture nicely coats the back of a spoon, remove from heat and pour into large mixing bowl. Slowly add chocolate to bowl and blend well to make mousse base. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat cold heavy whipping cream with sugar until peaks form. Fold whipped cream into mousse base a little bit at a time. When color is uniform, pour mousse into 4-6 parfait or custard dishes. Cool in refrigerator for 3 hours. Serve chilled with Extra Whipped Cream and garnish with a Cacao Nib Pecan Cookie.

Extra Whipped Cream

1 pint Organic Valley heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons 100% pure cane sugar

Beat ingredients until soft standing peaks appear.

**Note- You can use Soyatoo Organic Topping Cream (Heavy Cream Substitute) if you are not into dairy and wish to go totally natural with this recipe.

Cacao Nib Pecan Cookies

1/2 cup whole pecans
1/3 cup organic graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons pure cane brown sugar
2-3 tablespoons organic dark chocolate chips
3 tablespoons nut butter or cultured unsalted butter (melted)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Cover cookie sheet with foil.

Chop pecans, graham cracker crumbs, and brown sugar in food processor to a medium texture. Place mixture in medium bowl and add cacao nibs and butter. Toss until all dry ingredients are damp with butter.

Pour mixture onto cookie sheet and use fingers to press, spread and form one thin 8” x 11” rectangle. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Score lengthwise and then diagonally to create diamond shaped cookies. Let cookies cool in place completely.

Enjoy!

Yummm… I am making this for a special treat at our next Family gathering. I just love chocolate in it’s many delectable and delightful forms, and this recipe sounds absolutely mouth watering delicious! I can just see the look on my daughters face when she takes a bite out of one of these sweet and spicy little babies! Caution!! Consumption of these chocolate delights may cause an epidemic of satisfied women and a curious sense of wellbeing…

For the Brownies:

1 Stick (1/2 Cup) Butter, Melted
3/4 Cup Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla
2 Eggs
1/2 Cup Flour
1/3 Cup Dagoba Xocolatl Drinking Chocolate
1 Tbs Cocoa Powder
1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/2 Cup Pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 325° with rack in centre of oven.
Line a 9″x9″ pan with tinfoil.
Combine melted butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs in a bowl. Stir until
thoroughly blended.
In a separate container, combine flour, Xocolatl, cocoa, baking
powder and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and incorporate completely.
Do not over-mix!
Reserve 1/2 cup of this batter and pour the rest in the prepared pan.
Sprinkle pecans on top of the batter.

For the Cream Cheese Topping:

8 Ounces Cream Cheese
1/3 Cup Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla
1 Egg

Beat the cream cheese with the sugar.
Add the vanilla and the egg.
Blend thoroughly.
Pour this over the brownie batter (and nuts)
Place the reserved batter in small dollops on the top.
Use a knife or an spoon handle to swirl the two batters without
mixing them.

Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 mins or until the brownies start to
pull away from the sides of the pan and the edges of the brownies are
just beginning to brown.

Chill for at least two hours before cutting into squares.

**Credit for this delicious recipe goes to…

Huw Richardson
Buffalo, NY

Can you imagine the wonderful and subtle taste lavender can bring to your favourite desert? Lavender is an edible flower that adds a great flavour to ice cream and chocolates. If you are making truffles, you can flavour them by adding the lavender to the cream as it scalds. Strain the flowers out of the cream before adding the cream to the chocolate. Making home made ice cream is a breeze, and if you are like me, you love to experiment with new flavours.

In order to make lavender ice cream, you will need:

1 1/2 cups of milk
1 1/2 cups of cream
Half of a vanilla bean split length wise
1/3 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of lavender flowers chopped

~ Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean and add the seeds and pod to a saucepan with the milk, cream, and lavender flowers. Bring to a scald.

~ Remove the pan from the heat and let cool.

~ Using a Bain Marie, whisk the eggs and sugar together until the sugar dissolves.

~ Very slowly, add the milk to the eggs.

~ Cook the mixture until it begins to thicken.

~ Remove from the heat and let cool.

~ Strain the liquid.

~ Chill the mixture for one hour.

~ Add the mixture to your ice cream maker.

Simple and delicious! What a delightful way to enjoy my favourite herb. You can even add some dark chocolate to the recipe to make a great chocolate chip ice cream. I will be sure to share some more simple recipes soon. Meanwhile, enjoy!

Hmmm… let’s talk about Chocolate! Life on this planet would just not be the same if there was no chocolate. When they say chocolate is the food of the Goddess, I simply have to agree.

Did you know chocolate is good for you?

The flavonoids in chocolate that laboratory studies demonstrate to have powerful antioxidant effects are called flavanols and procyanidins. These two compounds come from the flavonoid “family” that includes resveratrol, found in grape juice, and EGCG, found in green tea. When people consume these substances in chocolate and cocoa, the antioxidant status of their blood increases.

This rise in antioxidant levels helps protect us from damage to the heart and blood vessels, while it also guards our DNA from damage that can lead to cancer.

In addition, the flavanols and procyanidins in chocolate improve the function and flow of blood vessels and help control inflammation.

The antioxidants in chocolate have generated a lot of interest because studies show that these compounds are more powerful antioxidants than EGCG in tea, which is a strong antioxidant.

A cup of hot or cold cocoa may sound like a health drink loaded with antioxidants, but almost all cocoa drink mixes contain cocoa treated with alkali (also called Dutch cocoa) to produce a darker, richer taste. Unfortunately, this process drastically reduces flavonoid content.

Unless you find a chocolate mix made with untreated cocoa, start with plain cocoa (not Dutch) and add your own sweetener and milk to make a flavonoid-rich cup.

Surprisingly, the fat content of chocolate is not a reason to avoid it. Technically, chocolate contains saturated fat, but the particular type of saturated fat – stearic acid – is unique because it does not raise blood cholesterol.

Studies show that neither dark or milk chocolate is a cholesterol concern in moderate amounts. But keep in mind that other ingredients added to some chocolate candies can change their nutrition impact.

Most importantly chocolate is absolutely delicious and it makes one feel oh, so good!

I am not even going to hesitate to satisfy my chocolate urges with that special chocolate treat. And remember, that a rich, dark chocolate is good for any occasion, or just because! Feel free to indulge to your hearts content! You might have to work out a bit more, yet it is totally worth it, from my point of view. So go right ahead and indulge… mmmmm.

Satisfy your chocolate urges with this valuable resource…

Visit Dan’s Chocolates.. and Flower’s too!