I have lost count of how many hot chocolate recipes I had made, but tonight I add another one to that list of goodness knows how many. This hot chocolate was definitely needed. I've had a busy week and today was my unwind day. Nothing better to wind down with on a winters night than a nice hot cup of cocoa. There were two separate recipes on the website Knitted Bliss for Banana Hot Chocolate and Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate, but I decided to combine the two flavours into one. I really love the banana-peanut butter flavour combination so this was great. I've made a chocolate banana and peanut butter smoothie before, but I've never tried it as a hot drink. Tastes good both hot or cold if you ask me. On a side note, my brother and I were watching some episodes of the TV show Friends today, and we watched the episode "The One With All The Resolutions". In this episode, Ross made a New Year's resolution to do something new each day. For the first time ever, I felt like my life was like a tv show because I'm doing something new just like Ross. One of Ross' new things was to wear a pair of leather pants. He got too hot wearing them and took them off in the bathroom of the girl he was on a date with. When he tried to get them back on, they wouldn't go up because either they shrunk or his "legs expanded" from the heat. It's a funny episode, as is every other episode of Friends.
Maybe my something new one day can be to wear a pair of leather pants. At least because it's winter, I won't get too sweaty in them :) Vegan Banana and Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate Serves 1
Ingredients
1 cup soy milk (I used vanilla soy milk)
1 tablespoon dutch processed cocoa powder
1/2 ripe banana
1 tablespoon peanut butter (crunch or smooth, and add more if you prefer)
Note: if you're using unsweetened soy (or other non-dairy) milk, then add 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence and 2 teaspoons of any sweetener. Directions
Blend the peanut butter and banana together with about 1/4 of the milk in a food processor.
Heat the remaining milk and the cocoa in a saucepan until hot.
Add the peanut butter and banana mixture and stir well to combine.
Pour into mug.
I suggest using a big mug just in case the hot chocolate is too thick for you. That way you can just add extra milk and not get any over flow. We must not waste any of the hot chocolate!!
I've been busy studying for my nursing exam which is in exactly 14 hours. I was studying with a group of friends in the library late this afternoon when it occurred to me that I hadn't done my something new for the day. Normally if it's late in the day and I haven't decided on a new thing to do then I will honestly have a mini panic attack. Today however, I was already having a panic attack about the exam and so the problem of not having done my something new didn't quite have as much of an impact on my anxiety levels. Luckily, I have a few new things to do which are quick and easy already up my sleeve for days like today. I decided to try yet another hot chocolate recipe. I found a recipe for Strawberry White Hot Chocolate from the site Knitted Bliss. I have just recently found the Sweet Williams brand of vegan white chocolate so there wasn't much stopping me from veganising this recipe. The original recipe uses 1/2 cup of strawberry jam, but I didn't like the idea of having all that unhealthy refined sugar from both the white chocolate and the jam so I used strawberry flavouring instead. It's much the same as vanilla essence, so you'll probably find it on the same shelf in your local super markets. White chocolate and strawberry is by far one of the best flavour combinations. This recipe is a must for people who have a sweet tooth. Absolutely delicious. It's not all that healthy, but sometimes you need a good YOLO drink...especially during exam time.
Vegan Strawberry White Hot Chocolate Serves 1 Ingredients
1/2 vanilla soy milk
1/2 unsweetened soy milk (If you don't want your drink very sweet, then use 1 cup of unsweetened soy milk)
1 teaspoon strawberry essence/flavouring (or add more according to your taste)
30g vegan white chocolate (I used the Sweet William brand)
* if you're not using vanilla soy milk, then add 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
Directions
Place a heatproof bowl over a small saucepan of water and heat water until it's boiling. Lower heat to a simmer.
Place soy milk into bowl until hot but not boiling
Add white chocolate to soy milk and stir until dissolved
Add strawberry essence and vanilla essence (if using) and stir
Sometimes cooking takes such a long time. It's definitely one of the downsides. All the chopping and the measuring. But the end result is always worth all the prep. That was definitely the case for my dinner tonight. I decided to make a winter dish that Ruth had made a few weeks back. I found the recipe on Post Punk Kitchen. There was lots of prep involved because I decided to do things a bit differently from the recipe. The recipe was Rustic Winter Stew Over Polenta. There's just nothing better than that for a winter night. I loved how hearty this meal was and it definitely left me feeling all warm, happy and healthy. I stirred my stew a bit too much, so it all kind of ended up mushing together. Maybe don't do what I did if you plan on serving it to people and you want it to look as good as the photo on the Post Punk Kitchen website :)
Vegan Rustic Winter Stew and Polenta (Adapted from Post Punk Kitchen)
Serves 8
Ingredients For the stew:
Olive oil (from 1 teaspoon to 2
tablespoons, depending how much you feel like using)
1 small onion, diced medium
4 cloves garlic, minced ( I love
garlic so I used heaps)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
Several dashes fresh black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
14oz (400g) can cooked lentils,
drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups baby carrots (I sliced
up 3 medium sized carrots)
1lb chopped tomatoes
14oz can diced tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth
1 lb orange sweet potato, cut into
bite sized cubes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 bay leaves
3 leeks, white & light green
parts only, in 1 inch chunks (and washed well)
Fresh rosemary or thyme, to serve
(realistically, only if you’re taking food photos)
For the polenta:
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup dry polenta
Directions To make the stew: Preheat a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onion in olive oil, for about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme,
celery seed, pepper and salt and saute a minute more. Add the baby carrots, tomatoes, tomato paste and vegetable broth. Cover
pot and bring to a boil. Stir occasionally for about 20 minutes (now is a good time to start the polenta.) Add sweet potatoes, leeks, lentils and bay leaves. Lower heat to simmer. Cover and cook for
about 20 to 30 more minutes, until sweet potatoes are fork tender. Let sit for 10 minutes or so to allow the flavors to meld.
Serve over polenta, garnished with fresh herbs, if you like.
To make the polenta: Bring vegetable broth and salt to a boil in a 2 quart pot. Add oil.
Lower heat to simmer. Add the polenta in a slow steady stream, stirring
constantly with a whisk. Whisk for about 5 minutes, until polenta is
thickened. Keeping heat low, cover and let cook for 20 more minutes or
so, stirring occasionally.
