Extraordinary Chocolate

The Chocolate F'Easter was really great thanks to Vanessa, Anna, Cathi, Annie, Andrea, Angela and Janelle - what a fab mob you are  It was the first of what I'm sure will be MANY MORE 

RAW CHOCOLATE WORKSHOPS.

this was a sample box I put together - from left - ginger caramel crunch, goji cointreau heart, 'bounteous' coconut, apricot orange truffle with almond, 'sheep's eye' with watermelon candy  - The big one bottom left is my most excellent 'failure' so far - and leading favourite of most who've tried it - it's ginger crunch with dried banana and agave caramel.  Then there's an orange/apricot truffle again, 4 squares of minty crunch, a gianduja centre, goji heart and another crunchy caramel banana.

The Raw Chocolatiers

We started by trapping a Chocolate Monster, locating the ink sac and removing it immediately...

at low temperature of course

work it, fridge!

lucuma truffle

dipping gianduja

  Focussing, creating, experimenting, delighting - this is tasty teamwork.

Cathi and Annie                                                                                       and I promised it would get silly.
Cathi went home and made these:

GORGEOUS!

next RAW CHOCOLATE workshop coming soon...

Chocolate f'Easter

This Sunday I'll be doing a Chocolate f'Easter workshop, details below.

yep, just the thing I've been working up to.
The minted buckwheat is ready, the ginger caramel is awaiting, the watermelon candy's on its way and the chocolate, OH! the chocolate!! (of course there's more)

*Yes! I mean cacao - raw, delicious, nutrient dense, amazing, delicious, criollo, organic, powerfood of the gods, Theobroma Cacao yes!*

I really ought to make myself a Willy Wonka inspired top hat and velvet suit (later!)

So I've been experimenting with different sources of chocolate, powders, beans, nibs, sweeteners, fillings and things, and I've put together a ridiciously delicious and fun 3 hours of chocolate making.  There are only a couple of places remaining this time, but register your interest as they'll be running again.

(The Coolbellup Library has a waiting list for Ukelele lessons - I recommend getting on that one too via facebook - http://www.facebook.com/notes/cockburn-public-libraries/join-the-ukulele-revolution-not-just-yet-though/10150148488687172  oops, another digression!)

The Chocolate f'Easter on Sunday April 17th will include:

White

Medium

Dark chocolate

Superfood balls

Temper raw chocolate

Hazelnut praline to gnutella

Truffles and textured chocolates

Moulded, filled and dipped chocolates

Knockout cacao and young coconut smoothie

And a simple melt and mix raw choc for when you need it now!

 2 – 5 pm You will take home a box of beautiful hand-crafted gourmet raw  chocolates made by you and a booklet of recipes so you can do it again and again      $120.00      Small classes – Hamilton Hill

Call 0433 600 655 or email heremeraw@gmail.com to grab the last spots or register for the waiting list.

OK now I have to go and test the banana/caramel invention, and I'll let you know how it goes!

Martine  - PS I'm also on facebook as Here Me Raw / Martine Rousset  - -photos with next post.

"LIKE A COW" - say it like that,

 and stand up!

CACAO that's its real name - not the bastardised Cocoa version - that's for the Englishmen of old who couldn't speak properly while retaining their upper lips stiffened then kindly left us with a confused legacy of cocoa/coco.  It's cuckoo - and it still gets me too.  Coco is for coconut, Cacao is for chocolate (Cocoa is cooked and refined and yes it still has antioxidants and health benefits, providing you select quality) - but!

CACAO IS ALWAYS BETTER - so if I say chocolate - this is what I mean.

 Check out those  fruits growing straight off the trunk!

Cut them in half to reveal the cacao bean inside.  David Wolfe recommends growing Cacao as an indoor plant in Perth - does anyone have any viable seed?

And it's raw - heated under 43* Celsius to retain the nutrients.

There's bucket-loads of info on raw cacao online - I'm about MAKING STUFF - so go googling for info.

All right - I admit, I'm also known to be pedantic with a penchant for pronunciation,  spelling and punctuation but that's completely irrelevant here,

although tangents are fun.

SO

I have a chocolate/raw cacao workshop coming up on April 3rd

and I've been playing a lot in preparation for it

and making silly, impractical things like 

white chocolate zombie skulls with mango jam and walnut brains

and easy and delicious things like cacao mousse, berry pie, brownies, superfood balls and smoothies.

So if you're coming to the Cacao class and have novelty silicone ice trays - bring them!

we'll fill them with things like:

*goji/coconut (better than cherry ripe)

*mango jam

*activated nuts

*crunchy minted buckwheat

*any other delights that pop in between now and then - any requests?

Remember these are all gluten, dairy, cane-sugar and additive free

so you can indulge virtuously,

Naturally!

Pizza and cake - mini class

This was a mini workshop done on request

there were just a few of us and we had a great time.

One of the girls has an almond allergy so we worked around it, and made Pizza, superfood balls (I'm sorry I forgot the photos AGAIN!) and a 'German Chocolate Cake' from "Sweet Gratitude" - what a great book.

Live Pizza

I'm really happy with the base - it's nut-free, flax free and mightily tasty with an oregano/tomato sauce.

It's topped with mushroom, avocado, black olives, baby spinach, fresh basil, sliced tomato and 2 types of nut cheese - one a fermented "cheddar cheeze" - a strong booty flavoured cheese coloured one you can see - and the orange wormy topping is a red capsicum macadamia cheeze.

 (OK I confess, I LOVE pineapple on pizza, the secret's out, some have told me "that's disgusting and shameful" but so what! I have a penchant for pineapple on pizza and I'm proud of it, if that makes me a food bogan, so be it! Some oxymorons are delicious, and this is one of them - especially as it's an acidic, sweet and juicy contrast of flavour and texture, I like that).

  The photo of this  little wedge of German Chocolate Cake doesn't begin to encapsulate the experience of having it and eating it too   - On the right the lovely Cinque is holding a slice of White Chocolate and Berry Pie (because I forgot to photograph the Superfood Balls before they all disappeared!) - but look at that lovely creamy pie with oozy berries on top, mentally steal the berries and put them between the chocolate and coconut cream layers of the cake on the left and - OK you get it - it's the only improvement the German Choc Cake needs - and cut really small pieces - it's impossible to stop eating it once you've started and it's really rich!!

PS every time I say 'chocolate' - i mean 'raw cacao' - the real stuff..  .

Workshops and playtimes

It was so exciting to kick off last month with a few workshops - thank you so much to everyone who came along and made it so much fun see here's Junee enjoying making fresh pasta from Zucchini:

  "Intro to Raw" which includes juicing and smoothies,  is about making the transition to raw food easy and delicious with lots of dips, sauces, salads, snacks, zucchini pasta, apple pie and a few variations and extras.

Cauliflower 'popcorn' snack 

with thanks to Philip McCluskey, an inspiration!

I was too busy being excited about doing my first workshop to get many pictures,

but here it's all being eaten!

and what a fantastic mess we made,

HOORAY!

Sweet Delights

APPLE PIE

I love this - apple pie with rose cashew cream, so easy, so delicate, so delicious and

SO GOOD FOR YOU!

I'd hoped to make a video presentation of the recipe, we'll see!

(cross your fingers for me)

I was lucky enough to try Hannah Sforcina's (of A Foodly Affair) watermelon sorbet on a sweltering Saturday night - it was wonderful, and this isn't it - it's :

WATERMELON CANDY

in preparation in the dehydrator.

slice, dehydrate (for an eternity) then be amazed by the results, but don't do it on the mesh like I did, it sticks!

(use baking paper or teflex)

 The strangely floral pink thing in the middle is a watermelon candy rose, flanked by luscious lemon biscuits and little black dahlia apricot balls.

That's all for today - I'm afraid my sweat might drip onto the keyboard and destroy the internet, so stay cool everyone and see you at dog beach when the sun's going down. phew!

Superfoods New Year's Party

A long time ago up a hill and far away, there was a 2011 New Year's Superfoods party at Damian and Karri's place, and it was a blast!  Lovely people, delicious food, buzzing energy and a fantastic atmosphere in which to start the new year.  Thanks guys!

Clint lining up the party shots.

 

I like the swirls on the left when I decided the lucuma/cacao ice cream needed more cacao.

The shot on the right is the eventual platter of little ice cream sandwiches.

Jazz made a delicious plate of nachos - it was a sensational blend of flavours and colours and quite frankly Jazz I want some more!

 

Juanita's wondrous raw sushi.

Superfood chocolates

and smiles.

Welcome 2011