cleveland cousins & calico balls

I wrote about this dessert before, but here it is again.. I've made it a lot since the last time I posted the trinity truffle recipe. Here's a photo of one about 1.5" in diameter, along with my two cousins enjoying them. I put them in the freezer instead of the fridge, because we wanted them to be ready to eat faster - but then they got too hard, and we had no patience to let them soften up a little before we started into them.

So! Here's the recipe again.. but a little different.. as usual.

1 cup honey (or agave)
1 cup cocoa powder
1.5 cup almond butter
1/4 cup shredded coconut
extra coconut in a bowl for covering the outside

Mix! You'll need to call upon those muscles for this. Then roll into the size that suits your taste, and roll in extra shredded coconut. I put each one in a paper muffin wrapper, then put them on a plate in the fridge. (if you're in a rush, put them in the freezer - but then leave a few minutes before serving them so they're not too hard!)

carrot and apple charoset

I know Passover's been over for a while.. but I'm not done with charoset. Here's my mom's regular charoset recipe plus a large addition of shredded carrots. Why carrots? Why not? Oh! and if you don't know what charoset is.. here's the answer thanks to wikipedia:

"Charoset, haroset, or charoses (Hebrew: חֲרֽוֹסֶת [ḥărōset]) is a sweet, dark-colored, chunky paste made of fruits and nuts served primarily during the Passover Seder. Its color and texture are meant to recall the mortar with which the Israelites bonded bricks when they were enslaved in Ancient Egypt. The word "charoset" comes from the Hebrew word cheres — חרס — "clay.""

The amounts of each ingredient are totally changeable depending on your individual taste buds.
You can't really go wrong. Here's what I did:

4 red delicious apples, peeled, and shredded (what did people do before food processors?)
4 big carrots, peeled, and shredded
1-2 cups of walnuts, chopped
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/4 cup lemon juice (add a little at a time.. and stop when you think it taste perfect)
1/2 - 1 cup sweet red wine (Manischewitz, if you want play kosher)

Mix all ingredients together. Make enough to have leftovers. Enjoy!

passover in los angeles

The farmer's market in my hometown in southern California can't be compared to the farmer's market of my current address in Missouri.. beautiful artichokes, 6 different kinds of oranges at one stand and strawberries as big as my hand.. in March. Ah.. at least there's no traffic in Missouri. 1 point...

Here are the vegan macaroons I made for both Seders my family hosted.. they couldn't compete with all the other sugar-y, egg and gluten-full desserts people brought to share.. So I ate most of them :) I was ok with that. Especially when I dipped them in dark chocolate :)

You need:
bananas, dates, and shredded coconut.. you can also add cocoa powder and vanilla extract..
Taste as you go.. don't worry about adding too much coconut.. you can't :)

Blend all ingredients then put into a cake decorating bag, with a large star tip. Then squeeze and twist for the perfect macaroon shape :) Bake at 350 for 20 minutes to so they are dry to the touch and let them sit out to cool all the way through.
Dip in dark chocolate for an extra treat.

Happy Passover! May you all be reclining and enjoying the company of your family..