Flags are out for Memorial Day.
Recipe: Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
I have always liked Nutella, but I’m not a fan of milk chocolate and wish it were more dark and bittersweet. While I like Nutella, I know I’d love dark chocolate Nutella. So I set out to make a darker version myself. And after reading the amusing news reports of the woman who sued the company because commercials for Nutella implied that it was a healthy breakfast food for her kids, I wondered if I could make a version that is a bit healthier. I wanted to make my dark chocolate hazelnut spread without adding sugar or oil, but I didn’t have much luck finding a recipe online that looked right for me. So here’s my concoction, made simply with nuts, honey, unsweetened cocoa powder, almond milk, vanilla, and salt.
Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Spread
1 cup raw, unsalted hazelnuts
2 1/2 tsp. raw honey
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/8 tsp. salt
Roast hazelnuts on a cookie sheet in the oven at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes (check after 5 minutes and shake them on the sheet for even roasting).
Remove from oven and let cool enough to handle, then remove skin from the nuts with your fingers (or shake the nuts in a covered bowl).
In a food processor, puree the hazelnuts until shiny and smooth, resembling the texture of natural peanut butter.
Add the cocoa powder, salt, honey, and 1/4 cup of the almond milk and puree until smooth. If it needs more moisture, use the remaining almond milk.
Enjoy.
Note: I brought a batch to a dinner party at the home of friends and we spread it on croissants for dessert. They told me they aren’t the biggest fans of Nutella, but they loved this spread.
Beastie Boys on the Wall
Tribute to the Beastie Boys on the Venice Beach graffiti wall.
No Fun Zone
Photo taken in Venice, CA.
Recipe: Chicken Soup with Rice
Maurice Sendak gave me joy when I was a child. I loved the adventures on the pages of those magical books. I’m not alone in wanting to escape with Max in “Where the Wild Things Are” and make some noise with those bakers from “In The Night Kitchen.” Just last month, I attended a baby shower for which guests were asked to bring a beloved children’s book for the baby-to-be and I gave “In The Night Kitchen.” What tremendous gifts Sendak gave us with his books.
After I heard of his passing this morning, I knew we had to make chicken soup with rice for dinner — Â a nod to his delightful “Chicken Soup With Rice.” When it came to making the soup, I knew it had to be made with wild rice. (Let the wild rumpus begin!)Â While we chopped veggies, I played the Carole King song version of the story.
Chicken Soup with Wild Rice
4 cups chicken stock
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
4 carrots
1 fennel bulb
1 onion
4 heads of bok choy
1 tsp. Herbs de Provence
Salt
Pepper
Lemon
Roughly chop the carrots, fennel, and onion and set aside. (This recipe replaces the traditional celery in the mirepoix with fennel, simply because we didn’t have any celery on hand… and we love fennel.)
Chop bok choy, keeping it separate from the mirepoix.
Prepare wild rice with vegetable stock in a large pot. When rice is a few minutes from being done, add 1 quart of chicken stock and bring to a rolling boil.
Add the mirepoix and simmer until vegetables are tender but firm.
Season with Herbs de Provence and salt and pepper (we used black salt and white pepper — wild!).
Add pulled pieces of meat from a roasted chicken (except for the pieces you eat while preparing the soup…) and reduce heat to low.
Stir in the bok choy a few minutes before serving.
Top each bowl of soup with a squirt or two of fresh squeezed lemon juice.
Enjoy.
Bike, Beach Yoga, Sunday Serenity
For National Bike Month, here’s my rusty beach cruiser in Santa Monica, after beach yoga.
Peace, Love, Ice Cream
Good message. Photo from the local Ben & Jerry’s in Santa Monica, CA.
Killer Accessory
I pull out the skull when I need to feel fierce. It works.
May Day: Honoring Flora
I love flowers popping out of fences and between bricks. Here are some allysum flowers poking out of a brick path in the back yard. Beauty that cannot be stopped! I saw a post online about how Flora, the Roman goddess of flowers and Spring, was once celebrated on May Day. Well, then, here’s to flora.
Pretzel Day Delights
Treats from 3 Square Cafe and Bakery in Venice for National Pretzel Day. Yum.
Scarecrow Mannequin
Stern scarecrow mannequin at the community garden on Main Street in Santa Monica.
Go This Way
Arrow on the trail at Will Rogers State Park.
Happy Easter: Peep in a Plant
Bodice on the Beach
Palm bark spotted on the beach in Santa Monica. I did a double-take, thinking it was a bodice in the sand.
Better Together: Pink Lips
It’s Spring! My girlie-girl way to embrace the season is with a pick-me-up pink from combining two Jane Iredale lip products: LipColour in Sabrina and PureGloss in Sugar Plum (just a dab of gloss for an extra punch and hint of shine). Bonus: the brand is trusted for creating non-toxic beauty products and the lipstick is made with SPF 18.
PB&J Day Treat: Peanut Butter and Apple Jelly Sandwich
It’s National Peanut Butter & Jelly Day and I was compelled to celebrate by making a twist on one of my favorite sandwiches. I love spreading peanut butter on apple slices, so I tried to duplicate that flavor with a sandwich made with organic whole wheat toast, plain chunky peanut butter (just peanuts and salt), and homemade apple “jelly.”
The jelly I made is more of a compote, concocted by blending a peeled and chopped apple, the juice of half a tangerine, zest from the same tangerine, a pinch of cinnamon, and a teaspoon of honey. On low heat, I cooked the apple and juice for several minutes until the apple pieces became slightly softened, then I added the honey and let it cool. I used a hand blender to give the apple mixture a slightly smooth, slightly chunky consistency (a few pulses away from apple sauce). Peanut butter on one side, apple compote on the other, sliced in half, devoured. Yum.
Ooh La Lilacs
It’s Spring — and time for lilacs.
Strawberry Time
First of the season, almost ripe.
Daisies After the Rain
Nothing sweeter after the rain than raindrops on daisies in the yard.
Lemon Risotto with Shrimp and Pea Sprouts
I adapted the Alice Waters recipe for risotto bianco from “The Art of Simple Food” for this, by using olive oil instead of butter and homemade vegetable stock instead of chicken stock (the red cabbage from this batch of vegetable stock gave it a light pink color). While I stirred the risotto, Mr. MVP squeezed the juice from half a lemon on 1/2 pound of shrimp and seasoned them with salt, pepper, and paprika. Then he tossed the shrimp in a saute pan with 1/4 cup of vegetable stock and one tablespoon of olive oil until liquid was reduced and the shrimp were cooked. Final step: I added the zest from one lemon to the risotto before serving with the shrimp and pea sprouts on top. Â Yum.
Stef McDonald 