Will Run For Melted Dark Chocolate & Crunchy Peanut Butter Dip

love in a bowl

Valentine's day ended much better than it began. 

glorified paper cut

It started with me smashing a glass/cutting my hand before 7 a.m.  (doesn't matter how many dishes I break I just can't seem to get out of dish duty).


In between there were some arguments with seven year olds about whether the day is called ValentiNe's or ValentiMe's day.  Some of them still aren't entirely convinced that it's called ValentiNe's day.  There were Justin Beiber cards, candy and lots of giggling girls.


Valentine's day (or Valentimes day depending on who you ask) ended with a kitchen party for Ms. Jenny, Farmer & I and pumpkin ricotta tarts with peanut butter crust  for the boys.  We've been put on notice.  They are moving to Jenny's.  Apparently the food is better there.  We'll send their troughs.

a different kind of love in a different kind of bowl

Enjoy your tarts I'll be eating chocolate and peanut butter.

Melted Dark Chocolate & Crunchy Peanut Butter Dip

(serves 3-4)

ingredients 

1/2 C peanut butter (or your favourite nut butter)

1/3 C camino dark chocolate (71 %)

1/4 C buckwheat honey

3 T coconut oil or coconut earth balance

1/4  tsp cinnamon

Place all ingredients in a small heavy bottomed saucepan.  Warm until all ingredients are melted.  Stir until well combined.  Serve with fresh fruit (apples, strawberries, bananas, etc.).

Will Run For Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

party for one

I am a lucky girl.  This is what Farmer tells me.  She's right.  Kind of.  Unfortunately, Farmer thinks that I'm lucky because she's made 17 cups of green lentil dip ( if anyone is up to an all night lentil buffet with journaling till 9 please let me know.  I'm sure that Farmer would be more than happy to share her lentil dip with you).

all night lentil buffet

I was thinking something more like Mama Pea's chocolate chip cookie dough dip or Chocolate Covered Katie's cookie dough dip or better yet a combination of the two.  


I have report cards to write.  Lentil dip just won't do.  Even if there is journaling. 

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip (say that three times fast)

(1 large serving.  I can't imagine wanting to share)

ingredients

1/2 C raw cashews

*1/2 C canned chick peas (skins removed)

1/4 C (5) dates + 1/4 water to soak dates in

2 T soy milk

2 T peanut butter

1 tsp maple syrup (more or less to taste)

1/2 -1 tsp vanilla

2 T-1/4 C chocolate chips (or a combination of cocoa nibs and chocolate chips)

*1T raisins (optional)

*1T oats (optional)

Soak dates in water.  Heat until water comes to a boil and dates are soft.  Puree (or stir vigorously).  You can do this in a pot on the stove or in the microwave.

Grind cashews in coffee grinder.  Empty cashews in a medium sized bowl. 

 Peel the skins of the chickpeas.  Grind chickpeas in the coffee grinder.  It's really important that there aren't any big chunks of chickpeas! 

 In a medium sized bowl or your blender add date puree, peanut butter, vanilla and soy milk and blend/mix until well combined.  Add chocolate chips and/or cocoa nibs, raisins & oats.

Eat it with a spoon out of the blender/bowl or spread on various kinds of fruit.

Sunday run celebration!

* roast remaining chickpeas in the oven with olive oil, smoked paprika, chipotle & salt at 350 F for approximately a 1/2 hour.  Stir every 15 minutes or so.

I can't get enough of these!

Will Run for Apple Cinnamon Dip

Summer vacation is almost over (gag!).  I've spent the summer filling up the sarcasm tank and mentally preparing for another ten months of 7 & 8 year olds (if anyone can really prepare for that). 

  The end of summer vacation means the beginning of cake club and staff room treats.  Sometimes you need a slice of coconut cream cake after you've just spend the last 40 minutes teaching two dimensional shapes to an opera singing ballerina chicken.  

While I'm not really one to pass up cake I love to share healthy treats with my students and my co-workers (who I am pretty sure think that I come from another planet most of the time.  It could be the homemade deodorant, my bright green shorty running shorts, my funky metal lunchpail or  101 other things).

On that note you'll find a delicious recipe for cinnamon dip below to go with the deliciously imperfect apples that are sitting on my counter.  Apples that have lumps and bumps and are not the size of a small child's head.

deliciously imperfect

While apples are delicious on their own dip makes everything better especially cinnamon dip!

Apple Cinnamon Dip

(makes 2 cups with some extra for taste testing)

ingredients

*Silken Tofu Extra Firm (for grilling, stir frying & sauteing)12 oz/349g

1/3 C apple juice

2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp vanilla bean paste

2 Tbsp maple syrup

Place all items in a blender and blend until desired consistency is reached (1-2 minutes).

* Be sure to use extra firm silken tofu otherwise the texture of your dip will either be gritty or too runny.

This makes a great dip but it can also be used in place on yogurt in parfaits or as a topping for crumbles or cobblers.  Yum!  For a nuttier taste add 1-2 tsp of unrefined sunflower oil.