Homemade Dark Chocolate Nutella. Yum!

Mmmm nutella... That's about all that I can say.

Before going dairy-free, I really only ever ate Nutella when we would make crêpes.  Which was maybe only twice a year.  But now that I can't actually have Nutella, there is something that makes it that much more exciting to have found a Nutella that I can eat.  Belgian hazelnut chocolates have always been my favourite, and this is as close as you can get without flying to Belgium.

This recipe was sent to me by a dear friend of mine in France.  I basically sat back and let her do all of the work, testing multiple variations of homemade Nutella until she found one that she felt was up to par.  That's where I stepped in and decided to make some myself.  The original recipe can be found here.

Jérôme took the kids outside this weekend to splash in the water on the street as he emptied the pool.

Superman rocking a bathing suit
and rain boots

 

And to dig for endless worms:

 
And play some street hockey:
 

And ball:

Just like two years ago, it was warm enough to be out in short sleeves and much too nice to be cleaning up the leaves. 

The kids had a blast and stayed outside for hours.  Leaving me all alone inside for a short while to whip up some delicious Nutella.  Poor Chloé loves this so much that she pretty much has a temper tantrum every time that I put it away.  But if I just let her go at it, I think she'd eat the entire jar in one sitting.  Right off of the spoon!  It truly is that good.

150g whole hazelnuts
100g dark chocolate
1/2 C icing sugar (or a bit less if you find Nutella too sweet)
1 tbsp. cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. hazelnut oil (or other flavourless oil - I used canola)

1.  Roast the hazelnuts in the oven at 400 degrees Farenheit for 8 minutes or until they are fragrant.  Alternatively, you can roast them for a couple of minutes in a pan. 

2.  Peel the skin off of the hazelnuts.  (The original blogger, Lucie, said she got blisters on her fingers doing this, but the skins slipped right off of mine). Don't fret if some of the skins stay on ;)

 
3.  In a food processor, mix the hazelnuts until you obtain a purée with a texture similar to peanut butter.

 
Lucie mentioned that this took a lot of patience.  She processed her hazelnuts in the food processor for approximately 20 minutes and then used a mortar and pestle to finish the job off.  I used my brand new VITAMIX!!!! and mine was like peanut butter within a few short minutes.

4.  Melt the chocolate mixed with a bit of soy milk on the stove, stirring constantly.  We used some of that delicious dark chocolate we brought home from France for this :)))
 

 

 

5.  Add the remaining ingredients and process in the food processor.  Add more soy milk, if desired, until you have reached the consistency you want.

Enjoy!!  Keep in the fridge, due to the added milk and just take out a few minutes before you want to eat it so that it is easier to spread.  That is, if you don't just eat it right off the spoon ;)  

Homemade Dairy-Free Strawberry Ice Cream

My kids are obsessed with ice cream these days.  Which is kind of funny, given that they can't actually eat real ice cream, due to their dairy sensitivities.  It all started a few weeks back, when I found these gluten-free ice cream cones (note: although we all like the sugar cones, none of us much cared for the gf cups, which just had an odd cardboard-like texture...).  I picked up a box of these cones alongside a carton of coconut ice cream as a treat for the kids when I discovered the cones.  A few weeks prior, Logan had been on the verge of tears, telling me about how all of the kids in daycare had gotten an ice cream cone while he had had a popsicle instead.

Little did I know that this was going to start a mad obsession with ice cream...  So we have been making various sorts of homemade "ice creams" lately.  Hopefully, I will get a chance to post a few more before summer is out.  Esspecially the particularly delicious mango version we made last week.

Our latest creation was based on an ice cream that Jérôme's grandmother used to make for him as a child.  She would crush fresh-picked strawberries with a fork, then add some crême fraîche and sugar and then freeze until ready.  Simple.as.that.

Since we are dairy-free, we used a soy cream substitute:

And I puréed the strawberries in the KitchenAid, since my kids are so particular with textures.  

 

This recipe only takes minutes to make and is delicious.  The kids have enjoyed it several times this week.  As have I.  Our neighbour's one year old son also got to enjoy a cone with us.     

 

 

 

  
3 pints fresh picked strawberries
1 carton Belsoy cooking cream or equivalent amount of crême fraîche or cream
1/2 C sugar, or to taste

1.  Mix all ingredients in the food processor.  For a more textured ice cream, crush strawberries with a fork and then mix in remaining ingredients.

 2.  Place ingredients in an ice cream maker, or freeze until ready to serve.

Difficulty level: easy

Slow Cooker Banana and Coconut Milk Steel-Cut Oatmeal

We've been eating a lot of oatmeal over here.  For a long time, it was one of the only things Logan would eat for breakfast.  We've seen some massive changes in our kids' feeding since I returned from my S.O.S. Feeding Conference.  Probably not only attributable to the conference, but also, I strongly suspect, to our having eliminated gluten and dairy from their diets.  

We had them tested for food sensitivities over the holidays.  Food sensitivities are different from food allergies, in that they do not cause a direct allergic reaction, such as hives, difficulty breathing, etc.  Rather, they cause more subtle reactions, as they tend to be more related to the body's difficulty in breaking down certain foods.  

The testing showed that Logan was extremely sensitive to gluten, dairy and, of all things, oranges.  And Chloé tested extremely sensitive to dairy and oranges.  Yay to the return of gluten in my diet, I thought.  Since I am still breastfeeding Chloé, I have to follow the same diet as her.  However, I am sad to report that within 3 days of me having eating one portion of gluten a day (with Chloé not yet having any), she began waking up between 1 - 3 am for the entire day and would scream and howl in pain for hours on end.  Cut out the gluten and she's back to "normal".   

The nutritionist who tested Chloé suggested that although she's not actually sensitive to gluten, she may just be having a hard time digesting it now, because her system is upset and damaged from her other intolerances.  So we're back off of gluten yet again.  But I did enjoy those three date muffins I got to eat ;)

Ok... so as I was saying... until recently, my kids would only (mostly) eat oatmeal for breakfast.  And I was getting sick of the same old oatmeal every day.  So I thought I would change it up a bit and stumbled upon this recipe here for coconut milk banana oatmeal.  Um... **heaven**  Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I have a thing for coconut milk.

Now, my kids didn't actually eat any of this.  Heaven forbid - there were chunks in it from the bananas.  But whatever.  More for me ;)

Whip this together quickly one evening and you will wake up to a delicious-smelling house.

I tried making this with old-fashioned oats when I was at my sister's place, as they were out of steel-cut oats.  I wouldn't recommend it.  Did not work out.

I typically don't put sugar and butter in my oatmeal, but I do when I make this for a treat.  I've never tried it without, so I can't compare.  But it's darned delicious with! 
 
2 medium bananas, sliced (approximately 2 C)
2 (14 oz.) cans light coconut milk
1/2 C water
1 C steel cut oats
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. butter, cut into 5-6 pieces, optional (I used coconut butter) 
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. ground flax seed
2 tbsp. hemp seed
1/4 tsp. salt

optional garnishes: additional sliced bananas, chopped macadamia nuts or walnuts, toasted coconut, maple syrup, additional brown sugar, additional coconut milk or butter   

1.  Coat inside of a 3 1/2 quart (or larger) slow cooker with cooking spray.  Add all ingredients (except optional toppings) to slow cooker.  Stir, cover, and cook on low for 7 hours.  Alternatively, place all ingredients into a bowl that fits inside your slow cooker and mix.  Fill the slow cooker up to 1/2 - 2/3 the height of the slow cooker with hot water.  Cover and cook on low for 7 hours.

 

 

2.  Spoon into oatmeal bowls; add additional topping, if desired.  Store leftovers in refrigerator.  Freezes well.

To reheat single servings:  Put 1-cup cooked oatmeal in microwave proof bowl.  Add 1/3 C milk or water.  Microwave on high for 1 minute; Continue cooking for another minute, or until hot.

Recipe can be doubled in 6-quart or larger slow cooker.  Increase cooking time one hour.

For a gluten-free version, use gluten-free oats.  
For a dairy-free version, use Earth balance or coconut butter  

Makes 7 servings. 

Difficulty level: easy

Taken from: http://www.theyummylife.com/Slow_Cooker_Banana_Coconut_Milk_Oatmeal

Chocolate Truffles

A quick post tonight as I still have a million and one things to get done.  But I wanted to share this recipe while there is still time (as if!) to make these.  Trust me - they're worth finding the time to make.  Though I didn't find the time to make any myself this year.  This is another post that I never actually posted last year ;)

Back in my old life when I actually had some time, we used to make these for friends and family over the holidays every year.  And I have had many, many friends request a batch of these well in advance.  That's how good they are.  And they're amazingly simple to make. 

The most important thing to have excellent results is to use quality chocolate.  We always use dark, dark chocolate (probably at least 70%).  We typically use chocolate that we bring home from France, so I can't share a specific brand with you.  But we have, on occasion, bought some of the dark chocolate bars at Costco and had good results with that.

Believe it or not, these are actually freezer-friendly.  I wouldn't necessarily freeze them before giving them out as gifts, but we have often frozen post-Christmas left-overs and eaten them over the following months (in other words, a frozen one every time I opened the freezer!). 

The recipe below is for plain ol' chocolate truffles.  We have, however, been known to spike them with some Baileys or Amarula from time to time ;) 

1 C 35% cream
8 oz. (approximately 240g) chopped dark chocolate
1/3 C butter at room temperature
cocoa powder

1.  In a saucepan, gently heat the cream (without bringing it to a boil) and incorporate the chopped chocolate.  Stir until melted, taking care to not let the chocolate burn.

2.  Add the butter and mix well until the butter is melted.

3.  Cover and refrigerate for approximately 4 hours or until the consistency of the mixture is firm enough to be able to form truffles - if not, just eat it directly out of the saucepan with a spoon ;).  

4.  Dust your hands with cocoa powder and scoop a teaspoon sized amount of the mixture into your hands.  Roll until you have formed a ball.  Continue to do same until you have used all of the chocolate mixture.  Keep coating your hands with cocoa, as needed, along the way.  

5.  Roll the truffles in cocoa until fully coated.

6.  Eat.  Stop eating before you get sick.

Options for garnish:

• grilled coconut flakes with five spice powder
• cocoa and five spice powder
• cocoa and ground cardamom
• chopped pistachios
• ground hazelnuts 
• etc, etc, etc...  

Variation:  For mint chocolate truffles, add 1/2 C of chopped fresh mint to the cream.  Bring to a boil and let infuse for approximately one hour at room temperature.  Bring to a boil again and pass through a strainer to remove the mint.  Wait until the cream has cooled somewhat and continue with the rest of the recipe.

Difficulty level: easy to moderate

For a soy and/or nut-free version, just be sure to read the label on your chocolate (use a brand such as Enjoy Life).

Peanut Butter Frosting

I needed to send Logan to daycare with a gluten-free cupcake a couple of weeks back, as they were celebrating our daycare provider's son's birthday.  What better excuse than to make ourselves some cupcakes???  

I cheated and made one of the Betty Crocker gluten-free cake mixes that is new to Canada.  I am definitely not the "make a cake from a box" type.  But I'm cutting what corners I can these days, and this is one of them.  I didn't want to be wasting my time testing gf cakes that ended up not working.  And, as it turns out, these were actually pretty good.

I whipped up some of this delicious frosting to go on top of them.  I've made this with both peanut butter and sunbutter.  And since I'm a bit of a pb-aholic, I have to say that I preferred the peanut butter version.  But the sunbutter ones weren't too shabby either ;)

1 C creamy peanut butter
1/2 C margarine
2 C powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 tbsp. milk

Whisk or blend together all ingredients until smooth and creamy, adding more or less milk to achieve the desired consistency.  

This is super quick to make.  I whipped it up, dug out a bit of the cupcake with an apple corer,

and stuffed it full of this frosting.

Then I just piped some on top.  For instructions on how to pipe the icing, check out my lemon cupcakes here.

Difficulty level:  easy to make the icing, moderate to pipe it

For a dairy-free/vegan version, use Earth balance instead of the margarine and coconut or almond milk for milk.

For a nut-free version, use soy butter or sunbutter instead of the peanut butter.