Extra Day

Pupil free days are like a breath of relief and give me time to do random stuff I'm too busy to do during the week. Since we haven't got any impending assessments coming up, I decided to spend a few hours in the kitchen making stuff - mostly just because I can.

I started off with a batch of shortbread cookies to take down to half star, where s'mores aren't only a tradition, but a NECESSITY. So I needed a graham cracker to put my future chocolate (coconut oil and cocoa) and marshmallows on. I found a fantastic recipe over at Paleo Spirit and whizzed it up. Only problem was, she said it would be super crumbly, but mine was a pretty wetish dough. So I had to keep sprinkling coconut flour and arrowroot on until it became a little drier. It was still a dough when I sliced it up, but it did start crumbling a teeny bit when I tried to put it on the baking tray. And the batter tasted good. And you know what that means...

After cooling, they turned out FANTASTIC. Ok, so I burnt them a wee bit, but I always burn shortbread. But like I said, they were uber tasty and shortbready. Guess who's ready for some arrowroot cookies made with actual arrowroot???

Then I transformed half-eggs into a half-jar of mayonnaise (this emulsion baffles me every time I make it). I'd bought some mustard powder so I wanted to try it out, because it's what people seem to be putting in their mayos. And I added three yolks and less oil because... why not? Yolks are probably better than oil, and I didn't want to use up all the olive oil (which probably would've happened if I was allowed to keep going). The mustard added a bit of a chilli kick. You'd take a lick of the stick blender and then wonder if your tongue is burning slightly from the mustard or the blade. But you'd continue licking it anyway.

Experiments - or Lots of Posts I've Put Off

For some reason I just don't get around to blogging about some things. I think I'm just a little overwhelmed with study. I've tried a few new things, so I thought instead of writing separate posts for them all, I could just put it all under one post and call it a day.

1. I tried brushing my teeth with charcoal. Activated charcoal, not wood from a fire, silly. I read up and found that it adsorbs all the tannins in your teeth, so I decided to give it a go. I took a 'during' photo to show you how pretty I look:
                                        
but the result was next to nothing. My theories are that my teeth are stained with something that isn't tannins, or I didn't do it right. After I read up on it a bit more or something, I'll try it again, because I really hate normal toothpaste.

2. I dragged dad out to Harris farm markets and make him buy a $12 spaghetti squash. I've idolised it ever since I saw it on the internet, but I'd never been able to get it. So when I found it I battered my puppy dog eyes and got what I wanted :)
                                           

Lightning Speed Chocolate Fixes

You know what tastes good with a few tablespoons of the ol' cocoa powder and a drizzle of honey (or maple syrup or some coconut sugar)?

- Coconut oil. Make a thick liquid and pop it in the fridge for ten minutes and you get hard fudgey chocolate square stuff. Or dip frozen fruit into it and you've got yourself a magic shell!
- Avocado. Purée and stir it all up and people call it a mousse but I'd say you could probably use it as a cake icing or something like that. But don't be fooled. I will allow you to eat a large serving of it straight from a bowl.
- Tahini. I try to stop thinking of tahini as 'hummus' and start thinking of it as 'sesame seed butter'. I made a tahini-based sauce the other day and mum said it tasted like a satay, so that opened my eyes a bit more about tahini. So this morning I mixed one part tahini, one part cocoa and probably one and a half parts carob syrup (which is naturally high in sugar). And it was just like a thickish chocolate paste! It was awesome. It would make a really nice icing or chocolate spread for something. Oh and I added cinnamon to it.

I'd also love to try coconut butter and cocoa powder and honey. I'll let you guys know the turnout once I try it!

You know what else is good with chocolate? Cinnamon and cayenne. I added it to my avocado mousse and oh ma gawd it's amazing. I love chilli, and adding it to chocolate kinda brings out the flavour but gives it it's own spice too. And the cinnamon grounds the cayenne and makes it more homely. Cinnamon makes everything homely. I mean, what's less homely than smelling cinnamon stewing away in an apple pie scented home?