Chocolate Fondue

Hubby and me used to love going for fondue before we had kids. Lets face the fact that a long and messy dinner is just not an option when you have two kids:) Well instead I from time to time will make a super easy and fast fondue for date night dinners at home. We love to dip marshmallows, different fruits and cakes. I think when it comes to fondue and what to dip in you should let your imagination run wild. 

1 1/2 cups cream ( I used mimic unsweetened cream)
1 Ib dark chocolate chips

Heat cream and melt the chocolate in the cream. Stir until it has all melted and you have very smooth and creamy fondue. Serve the fondue in a fondue pot or any nice bowl will do too.

Vanilla Frozen Yogurt

It's so hot and I'm miserable. I liked it better in Sweden with "normal" temperatures. To cool of I made frozen yogurt for snack and served it with raspberries. It's was very refreshing and cooling, just what we needed.

2 cups plain yogurt

1/4 cup milk

1/2 vanilla bean, seeds used

1/4 cup agave nectar

2 tbs coconut oil

Place everything in a blender except the coconut oil. While blender is running slowly add the coconut oil. Blend for another 2 minutes. Run mix in an ice cream machine until solid ( about 40-50 minutes). If you wish to have more solid ice cream place it in the freezer for a few hours first.

Homemade popsicles

In two days we're leaving Sweden to go home to San Diego again. It's been great to be here and I sad to go. The bummer is that I'm been feeling sick that last couple of days so I've not had too much of an appetite. When I feel sick popsicles is what I crave so I usually make my own from this recipe. I love trying new flavors with new fruits. The kids love them too:)

Peanut Banana Ice Cream

Whenever I have some bananas that are too brown for my liking I peel them and freeze them in smaller pieces. This way I always have access to frozen bananas for smoothies or the best and healthiest ice cream ever. The base for this ice cream is frozen banana that is mixed in a food processor until beautifully fluffy and smooth and resembles soft served ice cream. You can add any flavoring but this time I made my kids favorite flavor combination; peanut and bananas.

4 frozen bananas, in small pieces

1-2 tbsp peanut butter

Place everything in food processor and mix until completely smooth. Hold a good grip of the food processor because it can start jumping around. Enjoy immediately!

Warm Nectarine salad

Like I said in a previous post I’ve been enjoying eating local nectarines. Last night I made a fun dessert with warm honey nectarines served with vanilla coconut ice cream. It was a perfect combination of warm and cold.

1 cup sliced nectarines, peel off

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. honey

1 pinch of ground cinnamon

Vanilla ice cream of you choice

Granola (optional)

Melt butter I a frying pan on medium heat. Sauté nectarines for 2 minutes. Add honey, cinnamon and stir. Let it simmer for 1 minute. Serve in a glass or bowl on top of ice cream and sprinkle some granola on top. Yum!!!!!

Swedish Sugar Sponge Cake

This is a cake everyone have their own version of in Sweden we’re I’m from. The cake is very simple and fast to whip up so when you have an unexpected visitor in Sweden this is probably what you would make and serve with coffee off course. My Friend Amanda loves when my Swedish friend Jess makes this cake or I and wants to make it for her dad on Sunday. So here Amanda is the recipe.

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

½ vanilla bean
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 cups white spelt flour or all-purpose flour

2 tsp. margarine or butter

1/2 cup milk (I use almond milk)

Preheat oven to F350.

Melt the margarine or butter and let cool. Beat the eggs and sugar until white and thick. Stir in melted and cooled butter. Split vanilla bean in half and use a knife to scrape out seeds. Add it and the flour and baking powder. Add milk, a little at a time. Mix well to a smooth batter. Pour into a 1 2/3 quart buttered cake pan. Bake for about 45 minutes or until an inserted toothpick in the middle of the cake comes out dry

Plum galettes

I get so excited this time of the year when I go to the farmers market. Because after a long winter with mostly apples, oranges and rot vegetables a more fun variety of veggies and fruits are now available. When I found plums on Saturday I knew already what I was going to make with them; a galette. Nothing taste like summer like a galette or pie.  Galettes are the perfect picnic dessert in my opinion and I love eating mine with whipped topping. For the galette dough I used this recipe.

Dough:

2 cups white spelt flour or all-purpose flour

½ tsp. salt

1 tbsp. sugar

12 tbsp. cold butter (if it’s salted just omitted the ½ tsp. salt form the recipe)

1/3-1/2 cups ice water as needed

Filling:

2 cups plums, peeled, pitted and chopped

Juice and Zest from one lemon

¼ cups sugar

½ vanilla bean, split open and seeds are used

Mix the flour, salt, and sugar together in a food processor. Cut in the butter by hand. Sprinkle the ice water over the top by the tablespoon and keep pulsing the flour mixture until you can bring the dough together into a ball. Press into a disk and refrigerate if the butter feels soft at all.

Let the dough rest in fridge while you make the filling.

Combine plums, sugar and vanilla bean in a small bowl and mix well. Let it sit and develop flavors while you roll out the dough.

To form a galette, roll it out on a lightly floured counter into a 14-inch irregular circle about 1/8 inch thick. Fold it into quarters and transfer it to the back of a sheet pan or a cookie sheet without sides, then unfold it - it should be larger than the pan (as you'll be folding it in on itself once it's filled).

Add the plum filling leaving a border 2-4 inches wide. Fold the edges of the dough over the filling, overlapping them as you go. Depending on how much of the edge you have left, the galette will be partially or completely covered, almost like a two-crust pie.

Brush the top with some almond milk or non-dairy cream. sprinkle the top with sugar 

Rice pudding

Rice pudding is something we eat a lot of in Sweden for Christmas but I like making it as a special treat too. I like raisins in my rice pudding and I like it made with a hint of whipped cream to make it specially fluffy and rich.

¼ cup raisins

½ cup white basmati rice

2 cups almond milk

2 tbsp. agave nectar

½ tsp. salt

½ vanilla beans, seeds scraped

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

½ cup Mimic whipped topping

Combine rice, almond milk, agave nectar, salt, vanilla bean seeds, cinnamon, and cardamom in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring often. Rice is done when it’s soft. Let it cool for 5 minutes and then fold in whipped topping and raisins. 

Raw Cashew Whipped Cream

Warm evenings like these screams strawberries and cream. Lucky me not only are our strawberries ripening but also I bought strawberries at the farmers market. For the cream I made raw cashew whipped cream which pair really well with the sweet berries. 

1 cup cashews

Filtered water for soaking the nuts

½ tbs coconut oil

1/2 cup water

2 tbs maple syrup

½ vanilla bean, seeds used

Put nuts in a container filled with enough water to cover and let them soak for at least 2 hours. Drain nuts and in a blender combine the water maple syrup and vanilla beans.

Blend, using a rubber scraper, scrape the sides to help the cream turn over. Slowly add coconut oil. Stop and check for sweetness and consistency, add more water if the cream is still too stiff.

Continue blending until fluffy and smooth. Use immediately.

Minty fresh fruit salad

My favorite dessert or even a snack is a perfect fruit salad. Nothing taste better than a fresh combination of juice and fresh fruit and some added kick of mint from my garden. You can use whatever fruit is available for your season and let the fantasy flow. If you want a more sweet dessert you can add vanilla yogurt, ice cream and chopped nuts

10 strawberries

1 orange

2 apples

2 peaches

1 tbsp. fresh mint, minced

Chop all the fruit and mix well with mint. Let the salad rest for 5-10 minutes to develop flavor before serving.

Strawberry ice cream

For me strawberries represent summer and my mom. She absolutely loved strawberries and when they were in season we would eat them with breakfast and as snacks and dessert. Usually we’ll just eat them sliced in milk. So I’m now exited to see it’s strawberry season here in San Diego.

We picked up super sweet and flavorful strawberries at the farmers market and I used some of them for a dessert. I made strawberry ice cream and served it with meringue cookies and sliced strawberries. It was a very fresh and addictive combination.

1 package Mimic whipped topping, kept cold in the fridge

½ vanilla bean, seeds used

1 tbsp. coconut oil

1 tbsp. coconut manna (optional)

½ cup strawberries, chopped

1 tbsp. agave nectar

Place everything in a high-speed blender or food processor and mix until smooth. Place in ice cream machine until solid. 

Strawberry shake

Sorry about the late post but we have had a super busy but fun day. Finally after a long and hot day nothing is better than to relax on the sofa with a good movie and a yummy strawberry milk shake.

2 milk shakes

2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced and hulled

½ vanilla bean, sliced open and seeds used

1 cup almond milk

1 cup vanilla ice cream (I used So Delicious Coconut ice cream)

Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth and fluffy. Serve ice cold with a straw and strawberry decorating the glass. 

Soft Chocolate & Hazelnut caramels

Bella and me were stuck at home yesterday because Noah took a late nap. After playing with play dough, in the garden etc. we were bored. Baking or making candy is a fun this I enjoy doing with Bella so we made a very nice dark caramel.

½ cup muscavado sugar

50g butter

¼ cup light syrup

1 tbsp. all-purpose flour or white spelt flour

4 tbsp. unsweetened cacao powder

½ vanilla bean, seeds used

½ cup hazelnuts, chopped

Combine sugar, butter, syrup, flour, cacao powder and vanilla bean seeds in a saucepan.  Bring to boil and cook for about 5 minutes or until a caramel thermometer reaches about F238  Stir in the hazelnuts and spread on a parchment paper and place to harden in fridge for at least one hour. Use a sharp knife to cut into bite size pieces. I poured mine into silicon candy molds for show. 

Pineapple filled sandwich cookies

Happy Earth Day Everyone! I hope all are taking this opportunity to do something to celebrate our beautiful planet. On Green Mom you can read what we and our staff are doing to celebrate.

We had a date with our neighbors for Mexican traditional enchilada making. Kristen makes the best enchiladas so I finally got her to teach me. They were amazing and soon as I get the OK from Kristen I will post the recipe here. As a thank you and for a sweet ending I baked pineapple sandwich cookies. The pineapple fried quinoa I made yesterday inspired me to make these cookies. 

½ cup almond meal

1 ½ cup white spelt flour or all-purpose flour

½ cup sugar

½ tsp. baking soda

110g butter

Pineapples preserve

Combine almond meal, flour, sugar, baking soda and butter in a food processor and mix until it’s a firm dough ball. Wrap in plastic and place in fridge for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to F400.  Roll dough into just larger than a quarter size ball and place on a cookie sheet. Use back of a fork to press balls slightly flat. Bake for 7-10 minutes, until golden brown. Let cookies cool completely. Spread pineapple preserve on flat side and pair up two cookies to make a sandwich. 

Cardamom and Hazelnut Biscotti

I’ve had a crazy work week and on top of that a very over tired five year old. As you can imagine this spells trouble and a very tired mama at the end of the day. Luckily Noah has been super happy little guy who takes a long naps in the afternoon giving me some much needed work time but also a chance to enjoy a cup of tea in the garden. Today I made biscotti to enjoy with the tea. I love biscotti but never attempted to my own and I was pleastlly surprised how easy it was.

1 ¾ cups white spelt flour

¾ cup sugar

¾ tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cardamom

1 ½ tbsp. egg-replacer

2/3 cup water

½ vanilla bean, split open and seeds used

1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts

• Preheat oven to F350.
• Combine flour, sugar, baking soda and cardamom in a large bowl and blend well. 
• In small bowl whisk together water, egg replacement and vanilla bean seeds until there are no lumps left. Add to the large bowl and begin to mix until it’s all combined. 
• I used my hands but next time I think I will just use my food processor or kitchen aid instead. 
• Divide dough I half and with slightly wet hands roll and shape each piece into a log. 
• Place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. 
• Bake for 30 minutes. 
• Remove from oven and let them cool for 10 minutes and carefully slice diagonally bake the slices cut side down for 8 minutes and flip and bake another 8 minutes. 
• I drizzled some melted chocolate chips over mine to make them pretty but it's optional.
• Yummy!!!!

Frozen banana pops

I seen recipe for cake pops everywhere but so far I’ve not had any celebrations to make it for but Bella and me made a healthier version of frozen banana pops instead. It’s super easy for a five year old to help out with a fast so they don’t lose their interest.  

½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips

½ tbsp. coconut butter

1 medium banana peeled and cut into smaller pieces

Some sort of stick to place pop on (I used lollipop sticks from Michael’s store)

Sprinkles or chopped nuts

Combine chocolate chips and coconut butter and melt either in microwave or over a pot with hot water. Stir until all is melted and creamy. Spear a banana piece not all the way. Dip it into the chocolate and twirl it a couple of times until it stops dripping. Dip into sprinkles or chopped nuts and place on a parchment paper. Place in freezer for 10 minutes before serving. Yum yum!!!

Berry Chia Pudding Dessert

With everyone super sick in my family and off course we moms don’t have time to be sick I’m working on overtime to stay healthy myself and get my loved ones on the path to recovery. In this case it means eating super healthy so last nights dessert I made a berry chia pudding loaded with antioxidants and pure goodness. It was so refreshing and I think it would be a great snack or breakfast as well. Chia puddings are so easy to make in my opinion.

For one pudding

1 cup almond milk

¼ cup raspberries or blueberries, mashed the back of a spoon

½ tbsp. agave nectar

¼ tsp. vanilla extract or ¼ tsp. real vanilla bean seeds

2 tsp. super green powder such as spirulina or green super food (can be omitted)

1 ½ tbsp. chia seeds

½ cup sliced strawberries

1 tbsp. hemp seeds

1 tbsp. bee pollen (optional)

Combine milk, raspberries, agave, vanilla and super green powder in a small bowl and blend really well until the powder greens have dissolved. Add chia seeds and whisk for at least a few minutes.  Pour into a serving bowl and place in fridge to stiffen for at least two hours.  Serve with sliced strawberries and sprinkled bee pollen and hemp seeds on top. 

Popcorn brittle

We had a birthday party to attend and in the last minute we realized we did not have a birthday present. So instead we made popcorn brittle because who does not like homemade sweets? When handling hot caramel make sure to keep little people's hands and fingers away because it's burning hot and I actually burned myself today and wow it really hurts. You do need a thermometer for this dish to know when the caramel is done. This brittle has a little of that sweet and salty going on, very yummy!

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup dark corn syrup

1/2 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out and used

4 cups popcorn

1/2 cup raw cashews, chopped

2 tbs nutritional yeast

Combine butter, sugar and corn syrup in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil until the temperature reaches F320 and make sure to stir very often to prevent caramel from burning. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, popcorn, nutritional yeast and nuts. Spread caramel on a parchment paper and place in fridge for at least one hour before attempting to break brittle.

Almond and raspberry crumble

I was craving raspberries after dinner last night so when James was gave the kids a bath I made a quick crumble that is gluten free and absolutely delicious. Serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

3 tbs butter

1/2 cup almond flour

1/2 cup buckwheat cereal

2 tbs honey

2 cups raspberries, frozen or fresh

Preheat oven to F400.
Combine butter, almond flour, buckwheat cereal and honey in a food processor and blend for a just a few seconds. Place raspberries in 4 individual baking dishes and crumble some of the dough on top. Bake for 10 minutes, until top is slightly brown.

Nut and oatmeal cookies

Yesterday I had one of those days when a lot of things went wrong and lots of stress. So what do I do to relax? I bake or cook. I know it sounds weird but it's when I know I can control things and keeps my hands and head busy and it's not about eating either. Hubby off course was thrilled about the goodie surprise that was waiting for him when he go home from work. 

200g butter
1 cup sugar
2 tbs cocoa powder
1 cup chopped salted and roasted cashews
1 cup oats
1 tsp baking powder
1 vanilla bean seeds 
3 cups white spelt flour or all-purpose flour


1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to F350
Combine butter and sugar in a bowl and whip until fluffy and white. Stir in remaining ingredients except the chocolate chips and blend well. Roll little balls and place in a parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let cookies cool on a wire rack. Melt chocolate and drizzle over cold cookies.