So I'm crazy enough to think that I will have a shred of time this month to officially participate in VeganMoFo. A few years ago I unofficially participated with my 'Hemp Foods' theme, and was amazed at myself for being so dedicated. But this year, the commitment-phobe I am, I decided to take the plunge and sign up my rarely-updated blog, fully expecting to rely on my Twitter handle to provide quick 140-character answers.
But today's challenge, of recreating a favourite childhood food, forced me to write something with a bit more detail. When thinking of the challenge last night, I had such a brain fart that it seemed as though my memories of being a child were long-lost. So I texted my mom, who wrote a pile of ideas (thanks mom! although you never read my blog so you won't take note of my appreciation...). But the first one she wrote stuck out. I forgot about Nutella! The delicious hazelnut-palm oil concoction that is marketed to be healthy with its nuts and skim milk powder.
I actually blogged about one recreation I already made (Hempella), but I wanted to try something different that might be less like a chocolate version of Map-O-Spread, and something like Nutella that had a texture similar to chocolate magic mud (colloidal suspension, anyone?). I haven't read my Hempella post for awhile, but I probably wrote that I ate so much of this stuff as a teen that I earned us a whole set of like 12 drinking glasses from eating the stuff.
As you know, seeing as though you are a loyal reader of this blog and know ALL about our food challenges, we are nut-free. So that eliminated many of the recipes that featured hazelnuts that look so delicious and authentic - as much as Nutella can be considered 'authentic'.
Enter this version with one of my newest fave versatile foods - pumpkin seeds. Not the ones that you scoop out of a pumpkin at Halloween, but the raw, shelled pepitas. So without further adieu, here's what I did and some basic photos since my toddler was having a tantrum at the time.
Nut-Free-Tella
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp coconut sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp coconut sugar
2 tbsp maple syrup
Pinch of salt
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a piece of parchment on a cookie sheet and spread out pumpkin seeds evenly on top. Roast for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
2. Pour seeds in a high speed blender. Add remaining ingredients and blend for about one minute, plunging where necessary.
3. Pour into a jar and keep in the fridge. I'll guess it will keep one month, but it only makes one cup or so, so it won't last that long - especially if it was in my house.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place a piece of parchment on a cookie sheet and spread out pumpkin seeds evenly on top. Roast for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
2. Pour seeds in a high speed blender. Add remaining ingredients and blend for about one minute, plunging where necessary.
3. Pour into a jar and keep in the fridge. I'll guess it will keep one month, but it only makes one cup or so, so it won't last that long - especially if it was in my house.
This is my fave childhood food - tell me yours!
2 comments:
Yum, this looks great! We rarely got nutella as a child but chocolate spread seemed like such a treat :)
Thanks! It's delicious! Your parents were smart... my mother was an enabler as she picked up jars of the stuff from weekly grocery shopping excursions :/
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