This is a big year for cookbooks. Many I am looking forward to cooking from here this spring and a good handful to anticipate for fall. One of these, which coincidentally comes out the same day as ours, is the plant-based My New Roots from Sarah Britton. Sarah is seriously about clean eating. Not just a "I love salad" kind of plant-based, but the "ice cream made with cashews" sort of commitment. If you've read her blog, it's inspiring to get a glimpse of how she views food as medicine. She writes her recipes with not only flavor in mind, but packs in maximum nutritional value. As a holistic nutritionist, she saves her prose for educating readers about the benefits of the foods she uses and I have learned so much from her. Sarah's cookbook is beautiful and encompasses her sweet enthusiasm for the work she does. I will say there are a number of ingredients featured you wouldn't find at a regular super market, but if you frequent a health food store or buy things online, lucuma and maca powder will find their way into your pantry. I have bookmarked a beautiful looking strawberry frozen yogurt, kale, onion and olive spelt calzones and must try her Life Changing Loaf of Bread that made it's way from the blog to book pages. It's one to add to your list for sure.
This brittle reminds me of a Kind bar, those sweetened nut bars for on the go, but better and fresh tasting. Lots of seeds and snappy sesame strewn throughout. Mine turned out more chewy than crunchy which is not necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps more cooking time or a little less brown rice syrup next time if I want more crackle. These would be perfect for traveling or kids school snacks. Portable, a mellowed sweetness and lots of seedy crunch. I think you could play around with the nuts and seeds, change the dried fruit and make them yours. Either way, these will for sure be made again and on my list for edible gifts.
1/2 cup dried cranberries, raisins or cherries, roughly chopped
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
scant 1/2 cup brown rice syrup
Sunflower Seeded Brittle . Sprouted Kitchen
Sunflower Seeded Brittle . Sprouted Kitchen
Sunflower Seeded Brittle . Sprouted Kitchen
Sunflower Seeded Brittle . Sprouted Kitchen
Preheat the oven to 325'. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine the sunflower seeds, coconut, sesame seeds, dried fruit, salt and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl and stir well.
In a small saucepan, melt the coconut oil over low heat. Add the syrup and whisk until uniform. Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and fold\ quickly to incorporate it before the mixture becomes too sticky. Spoon the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and smooth out the top with the back of an oil-greased spatula.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Let cool cool completely on the baking sheet.
Crack the brittle into pieces and store them in a sealed container at room temperature for up to two weeks.
This post is dense. So many links but all for good reason. Before we scroll down for a hearty dose of self promotion, I need to say thank you. Because you read this blog, or because you come to look at the pretty pictures, we have been given the opportunity to create cookbooks. Two of them! I appreciate that I have this space and that you visit it and perhaps own our first cookbook and even use it. That is so incredibly strange and flattering for me. Our second cookbook, Sprouted Kitchen: Bowl + Spoon, will be available March 31st and I would be so excited if you would preorder it on Amazon, B&N, IndieBound, Google Books, or iBooks. I'm anxious that it will finally be "out there" but ready for all that comes with that chapter as well. I started the manuscript well before I was even pregnant so it seems this has been a part of me, our life, for some time now. Much like a band who puts out a second record, it is tough to create something when there is an expectation. In design and style Bowl+Spoon mimics the first book and this blog, but like I mentioned a few posts back, there is something that feels more casual, more everyday, about this one. I like that. It feels so true to what is happening at our table.
Included here is a promo video shot by our talented friend Phillip Lopez. It's a peek into our home combined with a decent amount of unscripted (clearly) babbling on my own part. Also, Ten Speed Press created a little excerpt so I could share a few of the recipes in the book with you. It makes it all feel so real! Lastly, I'm including a few dates we have events set up. If you live in these areas, please please come! If anything, it'll be worth the trip to see how excessively I talk with my hands when I'm nervous. Kind of like a mime show. These events will be updated on our BOOK tab as new things come up. We are trying to rally something together on the east coast and perhaps a local pop-up dinner but stay tuned. I'll mention things on social media as well if you're into that sort of thing. Really truly I hope to meet some of you.
Launch party! Books available for purchase. I am partnering with New Belgium Brewery, Seven Daughters Wine, and our local Whole Foods to celebrate with a few bites and a beverage. If you live nearby, come say hi, give hugs and buy a book. It's an awesome space doing great things.
Ashley Rodriguez of Not Without Salt and I will have a little chat about the book and talk bowls, inspiration, work and such. Would love for you to join. This event is $5 or free with purchase of a cookbook. There will be snacks!
I rarely get overly descriptive about the recipes here but because I appreciate a bit of detail when I read other sites, I'm getting chatty. I tinkered with this recipe from Green Kitchen Travels as David and Luise are a go-to for more wholesome desserts. In the treat department, I like to know if I'm getting dense, super sweet, a healthier take, light and airy, or wherever it lies in the spectrum. There is a time and place for each of those sorts of desserts on different occasions. A flourless chocolate cake, classically speaking, is not really cake-like in texture at all. It is dense and rich and more similar to a brownie or fudge than cake and I am perfectly happy with that. This version is more wholesome - the refined sugar being replaced by a thick date paste that contributes a nice caramely sweetness. I thought the dates would throw off the fudge factor, or maybe not make it as decadent and I was wrong. This cake is rich and chocolatey. The date paste actually makes it even more fudgy while not being sickeningly so. Rich but not heavy and even better the second day as it all sank into itself. I appreciate some cream and berries with my chocolate for flavor contrast and also for the color they add. It's so pretty all piled high with hues of red and purple. I'll maybe even double the quantity next time.
I'm hoping to have some book details to share with you next week. It comes out THIS month. Eep!
The original recipe uses ground hazelnuts which I am sure lend a fabulous flavor but almond meal was on hand. I also chose to use buttermilk instead of the orange juice and zest because I have an aversion to citrus and chocolate together. If you are not crazy like me, it sounds really different and surely lovely. The original recipe calls for an 8" springform pan and I only own a 10" and used it anyway. If you have an 8", give it a little more cooking time to make up for the depth of the cake.
1 1/2 cups almond meal
1/2 tsp. salt
About 25 (2 cups) soft dates, pitted and roughly chopped
1/3 cup buttermilk
5 eggs, seperated
3 Tbsp. natural cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
7 ounces dark chocolate
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
// for topping //
whipping cream (8 ounces whipping cream whisked with 3 T. powdered sugar and a dash of vanilla)
OR coconut cream (chill a can of full fat coconut milk overnight, scoop off the firm top and beat it with 2 T. powdered sugar or maple syrup)
1 1/2 cups mixed berries, chopped small (I used pom seeds, blackberries and strawberries)
Flourless Chocolate Date Cake . Sprouted Kitchen
Flourless Chocolate Date Cake . Sprouted Kitchen
Flourless Chocolate Date Cake . Sprouted Kitchen
Preheat the oven to 350'. Line a springform pan with parchment paper and grease the bottom and sides.
Put the almond meal and salt in large mixing bowl. Into a food processor, combine the dates, buttermilk, egg yolks, cocoa powder and baking soda and blend until smooth and sticky.
Over a pot of barely boiling water, into a glass bowl combine the chocolate and butter. The bottom of the bowl should not touch the water line. Stir occasionally until melted and smooth. Add the date mixture and the chocolate mixture into the almond meal bowl and stir to mix.
Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture (it will be thick) and transfer it into the prepared pan. Bake for 50-65 minutes until the cake is firm but not dry. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool completely (just trust me, it's better cooled).
Spread the whipping cream on top and top with the berries. Serve immediately. The cake will keep for 3 days in the fridge.
