After having the most delectable rice pudding in NYC many years ago from Rice to Riches, I knew I had to try to replicate the recipe. They offer a multitude of flavours but every year I go back to NYC, I always go for classic chocolate.
I had opened a can of coconut cream for a satay recipe, so I had plenty left over, which meant some research for a healthy, vegan version of this pudding. This recipe for Coconut Brown Rice Pudding from Slow Cooker was my pick as it had the least amount of sugar added and I had all the ingredients on the list without leaving the house!
Yay or Nay: Yay
This was pretty easy to make, stick everything in the slow cooker and stir every now and then. I have to say, the timings were waaaaay off, the recipe said 2-3 hours on low but it was more like 5 hours on high in order to get all the liquid to go and for the rice to be tender. The taste was good, although I think the cardamon gives it a slightly chemical taste, so I would make this again without the spices and add depending on my mood.
I've been holding on to this recipe for Raw Cookie Dough Bars from A Modern Way To Cook for a while, mainly because of the end of the school year/birthdays/Father's Day meant that there were plenty of sweet treats to go around.
I love energy balls, so this seemed like a different version of the same healthy-ish indulgences. The ingredients seem simple enough, I haven't worked with Brazil nuts so I'm intrigued to how it might taste.
Yay or Nay: Nay
Thoroughly disappointed in this, I really had high expectations for this recipe. I figured this would be a new version of energy ball/bar that I could put into rotation but it failed massively. Sure, it was simple to make, but the measurements seemed off and I'm sure it affected the taste. It was waaaaay too coconut oily for me, greasy to the touch and taste, and I love anything coconut. I'm just upset I wasted chocolate for this!
I've always eaten banana bread but NEVER made it! My first foray into banana bread was in Maui, Hawaii. We were driving the Road to Hana and one of the pit stops was at a banana bread shack. There were a variety of types, each one I'm sure delicious - we were foolish to only buy one loaf! Since then, I've had it in staff rooms and given it to me by a student - who had added chocolate chips and it was to DIE for!
When I saw this recipe for Ultimate Pecan Banana Bread in Anna Jones' A Modern Way To Cook, I knew I wanted to make it - even if only to relive the relaxing sounds of the sea in Hawaii, with the added benefits of chocolate!
Yay or Nay: YAY!
These were delicious and moreish! I kept going back for more and knowing that they were a healthier alternative - I most definitely would make these again. As I was unsure of how much I would like them (plus not having enough ripe bananas) I made half the amount and baked this recipe in a muffin pan instead of a loaf pan - I mean, does it even matter when it was as yummy as it was?!
A quick post as I've been battling jet lag/allergies/tiredness/getting back in a routine! I had a need to bake yesterday and had a flash of wanting to make brownies. I had seen a recipe for Black Bean Brownies a while back and had always wanted to make them to see how brownie-like they could be!
I had a reminder of brownies from Deliciously Ella's latest cookbook called...Deliciously Ella - highly inventive! The book was a bit of a dud as it didn't feature anything new or exciting so I returned it to the library. Although, I did see her recipe for Gooey Black Bean Brownies and her recipes are easy enough to follow so I went with it!
Yay or Nay: Yay
No every tells you whether these taste of beans or not - well I can attest that they don't! Yay! Pretty easy, whack everything in the blender and then bake. She does stress to let them cool and I forgot so poked my finger in (you can see the indent in the pic) and it was true to word soft. But seeing as it was late at night I let them set and woke up to solid brownies! I didn't have honey so I subbed brown sugar and didn't have any raisins either but I don't think that makes too much of a difference!
This is going to be a quick post as the holiday weekend was pretty full and I'm writing this just before bed. As you know I've been on a sugar cut-back, I would like to say that I am going cold turkey but it's not always realistic!
I picked up some rhubarb at the public market and immediately I thought of stewed rhubarb mixed in with yogurt or crumble. Crumble won out so I immediately grabbed Deliciously Ella's cookbook as I remember seeing a crumble recipe in there. In the past I make my crumble with mainly flour, oats and butter so I was intrigued about Blackberry, Apple and Maple Crumble as it had less dairy/fat but a little more sugar than I was hoping for. It was worth a try however I knew I wouldn't make the same filling as rhubarb is one of my faves!
Yay or Nay: Yay
Deceptively, I managed to fool the Husband into thinking it was a similar recipe to my original. He had no idea there was no flour or butter in it, though I bet if I mentioned it he would say he could taste it! It was so yummy it barely lasted a couple of days! Result!
I stewed my rhubarb and added some honey as it can be really tart and although I was apprehensive about adding honey to the topping, I think it helped bind the ingredients together. I wonder what it would be like using just coconut oil instead as a binding ingredient. Also, I never usually add cinnamon to my topping as I'm not the greatest fan of it but it worked well with the rhubarb so I guess I'm a convert.
