two ingredient magic chocolate shell

First up – some blog news – I’m migrating to a new website so there may be some hiccups.

In addition to a new website, I’m also embarking on painting my entire house, planning a major hiking trip, and have a new book, Sir John’s Table coming out!

 

Though I’ve been spending less time than usual in my kitchen, I have still been cooking and gardening. The arugula and lettuce are up in my garden, the zucchini and tomatoes are coming along, and the coriander I planted from seed is finally sprouting. Last night I made a wonderful, creamy, fragrant, vegan Thai green curry and I’ll post that recipe soon. In the meantime, I’ve been LOVING this two-ingredient magic chocolate shell and whipping it up for fast desserts with ice cream or frozen yogurt and fresh fruit.

It’s a bit scandalous to call this a recipe because you need two minutes (plus or minus 30 seconds) and two ingredients – chocolate chips and coconut oil. That’s it. The recipe is all over Pinterest in various forms. I used dark chocolate chips and organic coconut oil. Zap them on half-power in the microwave. Stir, pour over ice cream, and serve. The hot sauce hardens on contact with the cold ice cream. Le voila – dessert!

If you’re in Canada and haven’t already tried it – I recommend President’s Choice “Elk Crossing” ice cream. “Vanilla-flavoured ice cream with a thick fudge ripple and chocolate peanut butter cups.” Please note, I am not being paid to endorse this product nor supplied with ice cream. Though that would be nice … 😉

magic chocolate shell

• Time: 2 mins
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

• 1 cup of chocolate chips (dark, milk chocolate, or white)
• 2 tbsp solid, organic coconut oil

Microwave on medium power for 2 minutes, checking at 1 minute, 30 seconds and stirring, return to microwave for 30 seconds or as long as it takes to melt the chips and reach a smooth consistency.

Pour over ice cream. Refrigerate any remaining topping and microwave on medium power as needed.

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rhubarb sorbet

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simple, old-fashioned, rhubarb and strawberry jam

This rhubarb jam is beautiful in its simplicity. All you will need here is an equal quantity of fruit and sugar and a bit of fresh lemon juice. You can vary the quantity according to the amount of rhubarb you have. I had about 750 grams of washed, trimmed rhubarb – hence my version below. It will take you half an hour all up from start to finish. The jam is divine. It’s old fashioned, tart, and perfect with scones.

Rhubarb and Strawberry Jam

• Time: 2hr 30mins
• Print

• 750 grams of chopped, trimmed rhubarb
• 250 grams of washed, chopped ripe strawberries (adds colour and flavour to the jam)
• 1 kg of sugar (I think I actually used a little less than 1 kg – probably about 900 grams but if you are going to store your jam – you do need to use enough sugar to set the jam properly and thus prevent it from going bad – the standard ratio is equal quantities of fruit and sugar)
• juice of one fresh lemon

Begin by washing and sterilizing jam jars. I set these in the oven for about 10 minutes at 250 deg. F. In the meantime, bring the fruit and lemon juice to the boil in a large, heavy stainless saucepan. Cook over medium heat (hot enough to maintain a low boil) for about 10 minutes stirring frequently. Add the sugar and bring the jam back to the boil over med-high heat – taking care not to burn the jam, stirring constantly once the sugar is added. It will take about another ten minutes of cooking (20-25 minutes in total) for the jam to thicken and reach the jelly stage. For instructions on this check here.

Once the jam is sufficiently thickened, remove from the heat, stir for one minute, pour into sterilized jars, and seal immediately.

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When I have a really pressing task – especially if it’s also a HUGE, pressing task – I’m unbelievably industrious. Except that I’m not necessarily working on what I’m supposed to be working on. 

Schopenhauer’s porcupines and a root vegetable mash

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