Garbanzo bean brownies

Brownies from beans, again? YES! And I think I like these better than the black bean avocado version I posted not long ago. The texture is cakier, which is a mystery to me because they are wheat-free. I like the chocolate flavor a bit more in this recipe, too. Using chocolate chips (an allergen-free version from Enjoy Life) instead of cocoa powder is no doubt responsible for that. They are sweeter than the black bean recipe, probably also from the chocolate chips, even though they don't call for more than one type of sweetener.

Chickpea Brownies

from Delicious Wisdom

1 1/2 cups dairy-free, grain-sweetened chocolate chips

4 large eggs

15 oz chickpeas, drained and rinsed

3/4 cup agave nectar or 1/2 cup real maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler (improvise with a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water). Keep an eye on them--I was surprised how quickly they melted down!

3. Process beans and eggs in blender or food processor until smooth. Add melted chocolate, agave, and baking powder. Blend until smooth.

4. Pour batter into lightly greased 8x8 pan and bake 35-40 minutes.

I had too much batter to feel comfortable leaving it all in the 8x8 pan, so I took out 6 cupcakes' worth, and placed both on a large baking sheet just in case.

The cupcakes/brownie bites took about 30 minutes to cook, and I continued baking the rest of the brownies at least 15 minutes longer.

Perfect with a cup of coffee at my 10:00 snack break! Next time I will add nuts and/or more chocolate chips to the mixed batter, as I prefer my brownies with little extras like that.

Homemade pecan turtles

Let me just state for the record that I am not a confectioner. The idea of stirring molten sugar until it reaches just the right temperature, then catching it at the precise moment before "soft ball" becomes "hard ball" makes my lips numb. So when I saw this recipe for homemade raw pecan turtles that didn't involve any extra putzing around the kitchen, I was sold. Alas. They did not turn as well as I had hoped.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Turtles

from Love Veggies and Yoga

makes 4 pieces - I doubled the recipe, but original quantities are listed below

1/3 cup pecans (or walnuts)

1/2 cup melted chocolate (or two Baker's Chocolate squares, or chocolate chips, or a cocoa/agave/coconut oil combination)

1/8 to 1/4 cup agave nectar + pinch of salt (freeze this to make your raw vegan caramel)

1. Melt half of the chocolate.

2. Divide the pecans into four equal piles on a wax paper-lined baking sheet.

3. Pour the melted chocolate over the nuts. Distribute as evenly as possible.

4. Pour the caramel sauce over the chocolate-drizzled nuts.

5. Melt the other half of the chocolate, and pour over the top of each pile.

6. Freeze or refrigerate to harden.

Looking at the photos now, I see that they don't actually look as terrible as I remember. I made these on the night The H and I were both struck with food poisoning (unrelated to this recipe!) so perhaps that is clouding my memory a bit.

My major upsets with this recipe:

-- The vegan "caramel" only ever tasted of salty agave syrup

-- Pouring cold "caramel" over warm chocolate and then MORE warm chocolate over the top led to the massive spread-out seen above (the photo following Step 4)

-- My turtles don't have any chocolate underneath

-- The one I taste-tested completely fell apart--perhaps due in part to the lack of a chocolate bottom

Once they hardened enough to remove from the wax paper and *not* crumble instantaneously, I threw them all into a plastic leftovers box and crammed it into the freezer. There they lie, mocking me every time I shuffle things around. Perhaps one day I will try them again. If I do, I will be sure to put the pecans onto circles of melted chocolate, then chill between each subsequent layering step to reduce the chance of spread.

Or I could just leave perfection to the masters, and order some Awesome Chocolates next time the co-op ordering window opens.

I jumped on the bean-wagon

Similar to the Green Monster craze, there is a phenomenon sweeping across the interwebz (ok, at least some message boards I frequent) that involves hiding awesome vegetables in an unlikely recipe, one that ultimately masks the veggies' flavors (or lack thereof) and makes the eater incredulous that s/he could possibly be eating THAT, in THIS. Confused? I'm talking about black bean brownies, folks. Seriously. With avocado. Awww, yeah.

I first came across this recipe on branny's blog, but missed the fact that Cara was the mastermind behind this version until today. I think this is one of the very few recipes I made (almost) as written, with no ad-libbing apart from my sugar switch.

I used a bag of black beans that I'd frozen the last time I made a big batch in the slow cooker. If you want to prepare beans this way, 1 2/3 cup beans (no liquid) is equivalent to a 15.5 oz can. I rinsed and drained, as I would have with a can, once they were thawed.

Both bloggers list the weight of the avocado, which I found helpful since Branny's recipe calls for one small avocado, and Cara's recipe states "1/2 of a ripe avocado." Half of mine more than met the weight requirement, so I left it at that.

The one substitution I made was to use Sucanat in place of the white sugar called for--again, I went by weight, just as I did for the cocoa powder and avocado.

I love my food scale!

Here is the batter, ready to go in the oven. I am not very good at parchment-lining.

And, done!

I pulled these out of the pan and cut off the cracked edges for us to eat tonight, frosted with a little homemade (not clean) buttercream, and will save the rest for tomorrow. I hear these are even better the next day, if they last that long, and I would love to know just *how* that is going to be possible.

Small, but a rich and satisfying end to a midweek meal. The H tasted a piece before they were frosted, told me it was good, then asked where the other half of the avocado (he saw the pit-half sitting on the counter) had gone. I asked if he really wanted to know. His reply? "Is it in the brownies? You can tell me. I already said I liked them." I appreciated his enthusiasm and lack of shock.

Black Bean Brownies with Avocado

from Cara's Cravings via Branny Boils Over

serves 12

1 can (15.5 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

3/4 cup egg whites or egg substitute

1/4 cup agave nectar

1/2 of a ripe avocado (60gm)

6 Tbsp cocoa powder (30gm)

Pinch of salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 Tbsp white sugar (75gm) (I used Sucanat)

2 teaspoons instant espresso (omitted because I didn't have any)

1. Preheat oven to 350* and line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper.

2. Combine beans, egg whites, agave, and avocado in food processor and blend until completely smooth. Add remaining ingredients and continue blending. Scrape down the sides of the processor once or twice.

3. Spread batter into parchment-lined pan and bake in preheated oven 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Nutrition information:

Calories: 98

Total fat: 1.2g

Cholesterol: 0mg

Sodium: 134.6mg

Total carbs: 19.5g

Fiber: 2.7g

Protein: 4.2g

Really good oatmeal!

Since my toddler-baby was still sleeping when I got up this morning, I took advantage of the extra time to make myself a bowl of oatmeal--the perfect start to a drizzly gray day. I've been getting bored with my typical clean breakfast (sprouted grain toast, natural peanut butter, honey, and a small banana) and needed to change it up a bit. My oatmeal was so good! haven't had it in so long and I'd forgotten how much I liked steel oats.

Really Good Oatmeal

1/4 cup dry steel-cut oats, quick-cooking variety

3/4 cup water

1/4-1/2 cup blueberries (frozen are fine; just thaw a bit first)

Shake of cinnamon, to taste

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (or other nut if you prefer)

2 teaspoons brown sugar (or sweetener of choice)

1. Boil the water in a medium saucepan (leave room for those oats to expand!) with a tiny shake of sea salt if desired. Stir in the 1/4 cup oats and cover. Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes stirring often.

2. Meanwhile, put berries, nuts, cinnamon, and sugar in a bowl. Thaw berries in microwave if frozen (about 30 seconds for me).

3. Stir cooked oats into berry mixture. Top with milk of you want.

The oatmeal came out nice and creamy, and just a touch too sweet. I haven't had brown sugar outside of baked goods in a very long time, and I think the 2 teaspoons combined with the blueberries was a tad much. I'll cut that back next time. Agave nectar would be a good substitute, but be careful with the quantity as it's sweeter than sugar. The walnuts were an excellent hearty addition, keeping the whole thing from being too mushy. Combined with my small cup of (half-and-half whitened) coffee, this was an excellent breakfast. My toast just got demoted to "AM snack." Well, at least until my stash of frozen blueberries is gone.