Chocolate cake with Chocolate Avocado Mousse

Louis: "We're seriously low on chocolate"
Me: this cake...enough said.

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Mousse
taken from this recipe from My New Roots - no adaptations needed. It was perfect. Thanks Sarah.

2 cups light spelt flour 

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt
1 cup pure maple syrup

1 ¼ cup quinoa milk or milk of your choice
6 Tbsp. melted coconut oil

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar



Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Line 2 mini loaf pans with parchment paper.
3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flours, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.

4. In a separate bowl combine the maple syrup, milk, coconut oil, vanilla and vinegar. Whisk to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk to remove any lumps. 

5. Pour batter into cake pans and smooth the top. Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (approx. 50 minutes).



Chocolate Avocado Mousse
2 oz. dark unsweetened chocolate
1 avocado
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla

1. Melt chocolate
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.
3. Refrigerate and enjoy as a mousse, or top this yummy cake with it.

RazApple Crumble

In Nova Scotia, we get a lot of rainy weather in the Spring interspersed with some beautiful sunny days. I love the pops of bright colors that you see on people's lawns on those dreary grey days - the tulips, daffodils and those brilliant yellow trees. I'm not sure what they are called, but they are a really bright yellow. Louis pointed them out to me the other day, and with a grey background and dark house, they look almost fluorescent. I find color very interesting. I'm not really into art. I can go through an art exhibit and recognize the complexity of works or the talented visions, but I really don't get anything out of looking at a piece of artwork. I'd much rather be reading about something historical in a different kind of museum. That being said, I still go to art museums and enjoy them. They just don't take hold of me like other things do. But I love colors. Bright, brilliant colors. I could look at a combination of my fiestaware dishes every day for minutes (and I do), or stare at a beautifully plated dish in a resaturant with brilliant green brocolli or peas. Raspberries are one of my favorite colors. The brilliant red with a touch of pink is stunning to my eyes. The apples in this recipe pick up the rasberry coloring, and I think they would be so pretty if they were made in a clear glass baking dish to show it off. 



RazApple Crumble
adapted from the Eat-Clean DIet Cookbook by Tosca Reno 2007

2 regular sized apples

1 C fresh or frozen raspberries

1/4 C whole wheat or spelt flour

1/4 C rolled oats

2 Tbsp canola oil or butter flavored olive oil

1/4 C pitted dates, finely chopped

1/4 C unsalted sunflower seeds

1. Preheat oven to 400F

2. Core and slice apples. Place in medium saucepan with berries. Cook over medium-low heat and bring to a siummer. Simmer for 5 minutes. Pour cooked fruit into a ceramic pie plate or 4 ramekins

3. Mix the flour and oats in a bowl and add the oil. Mix with hands until it resembles crumbs. Stir in the dates and seeds. Sprinkle mixture over fruit and bake for 25 minutes. 

4. Serve warm topped with whipped cream or yogurt and a drizzle of honey. 

Salmon Burgers and Oven Roasted Vegetables

Although these aren't burgers for the BBQ, I made them because it's BBQ season. I love cooking outdoors in the nice weather whether it's over a campfire or on a BBQ. I know that traditionally everyone thinks about meat on the BBQ, but there are lots of great vegetable options out there as well. I guess those will be for a future post. Today I'm going to share Salmon burgers and another variation of roasted vegetables which is really more of a winter meal, but I wanted to make something with beets and whatever else I had in my fridge, and this is what happened.

The salmon burgers were pretty basic. I ate them on a burger plain with some lettuce, but I think they would probably be served best on top of a salad.



Salmon Burgers
adapted from Teresa Cutter, the Healthy Chef

450 g wild salmon fillet, chopped
2 Tbsp diced onion
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
3 Tbsp water
1/2 C bread crumbs
freshly squeezed lemon juice


1. Combine flax seed and water and let sit while preparing the rest of the ingredients
2. Combine salmon, onion, parsley, flax/water mix, and salt and pepper to taste in food processor.
3. Process until just combined. Remove and shape into 4 burgers
4. Coat lightly in bread crumbs and set them in the fridge for at least 5 minutes.
5. Cook in a frying pan with a small amount of oil until golden and crisp over medium low heat ( 5-10 minutes per side depending on thickness of burger). I covered the pan to ensure the inside of the burger cooked well.
6. Serve over greens or on a bun and drizzle with fresh lemon juice.

Oven Roasted Vegetables

adapted from the Eat Clean Diet cookbook by Tosca Reno 2007

1 large onion, cut into chunks

2 large carrots, cut into sticks

2 parsnips, cut into sticks

1/2 lb brussel sprouts

3 beets, peeled and cut into chunks

3 yukon gold potatoes, cut into slices

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

4 minced cloves garlic

1 Tbsp dried marjoram

salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Toss all vegetables in the mixture of oil, vinegar and spices. Place in a large roasting pan and cover with tin foil.

3. Bake for 35 minutes. 

4. Uncover and stir vegetables. Roast at 425 for another 20-30 minutes or until carrots and potatoes are cooked