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Chia Mocha Recipe

One of the recipes in this month’s Degustabox was a Chia Mocha, to go with the chia seed samples from The Chia Co. Even though I’m not normally a fan of textured liquids – I don’t even like lumps in my soup – I was keen to try this recipe, because I have a whole pot of chia seeds I don’t really know what to do with! I bought them because I know chia seeds are supposed to be very good for you, then couldn’t figure out what to do with them as I’m not overly keen on either chia jam or chia porridge – too lumpy for me! This recipe was quite surprising though, and is perfect for lovers of coffee with chocolate, or chocolate with coffee – whichever you see a mocha as!

If you don’t give this a good whizz in a food processor, the end result is a lumpy sort of drink – like bubble tea, but really really small bubbles. It’s drinkable if you don’t dislike the texture. Chia Mocha

If you do mix it enough to break down the chia, you’ll end up with a thicker, smoother drink. 

This Chia Mocha is easily adaptable. I changed it to coffee for one, since I am drinking it alone. I just halved the original recipe’s ingredients. I also made it in the Thermomix®, but you can use any food processor. I think it would be simple enough to adjust to your tastes. For example if making it again, I’d probably use regular cows milk instead of coconut milk as I prefer a whiter, lighter coffee. If you’re used to black coffee or nut milks, this will be perfectly fine for you!

The chia seeds will cause the drink to thicken up a bit, making a comforting, but invigorating and filling drink.

Here’s the original recipe from Degustabox and below is my adapted to a single serving version.

Chia Mocha

 

 

Chia Mocha Recipe
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Drinks
Serves: 1 cup
Ingredients
  • 1 cup/250ml/250g prepared coffee (instant or filtered, as you prefer)
  • 80ml/80g coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon cacao powder or cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon chia seeds
  • 1 tsp coconut oil
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon honey or other sweetener (I used Natvia)
Instructions
  1. Add the all the ingredients to the Thermomix®
  2. Put the MC in place
  3. Mix 100C/Speed 5/ 4 Minutes
  4. Make sure the MC is still in place, then Speed 7/30 seconds
  5. Pour and enjoy

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Chia Mocha

 

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30+ Honey Based Sweet & Drinks Recipes

Over on my other blog, Diary of a First Child, we’re celebrating Winnie the Pooh at the moment, as it comes up for the 91st anniversary this year. We’ve made various honey-based recipes over the last few weeks, so I decided to do a round-up of honey, honey, honey for those who want to play along at home. Here are 30 food and drinks recipes based on or heavily featuring honey!

Sweets for a Bear Who Likes Honey

Sweets for a bear who likes honey

Healthier With Honey

Healthier with Honey

Cakes & Cookies

cakes and cookies

Ice Cream & Faux-Dairy

Drinks

 

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Candy Cane Vodka Recipe

A few days ago, on one of my myriad of Facebook groups for Thermomix® users, someone asked for a recipe for Candy Cane Vodka, and I thought “What a great idea!” I’ve already made strawberry vodka and Christmas Spiced Vodka for this Christmas, but I love the idea of a candy cane vodka too, so had to give it a go.

There are loads of recipes online for how to make Candy Cane Vodka, and one of the things to keep in mind is that no two candy cane brands are created equal, so the candy cane you use could affect the outcome and whether you need more or less. Also, if you use a more ‘organic’ or ‘healthy’ candy cane, the pink colour won’t show as well, and you’ll need to add some red food colouring.

Vodka
You don’t need the same infusing time as you might with a fruit based vodka, and recipes online suggest anything from a couple of hours to four days and beyond. I can’t see this going bad for months (if ever!) so make it in advance if you can and let it infuse as best you can – but try it after a few hours or days to see how it’s doing.

If you use a Thermomix® or a food processor you can pulverise the candy canes into a powder (10 seconds/speed 10), but if you’re not in a hurry to drink it, you can also just break the candy canes to size so that they will fit in a jar, and they will melt within a few hours anyway.Candy cane

I used a jam funnel (just pull the middle bit out) to pour the powder into a different bottle – this is a small 350ml sized vodka, and I used a 500ml bottle so that there’s room for shaking and mixing.

As for ratio, I decided on roughly 15g candy cane per 100ml Vodka, so 40 – 50g candy cane in a 350ml bottle of Vodka, or 85 – 105g in a 750ml bottle. It’s not an exact science though. If you have any undissolved you can filter it out through a coffee filter.

TIP: Pour the candy canes into a dry funnel, then pour the vodka through, otherwise it gets wet and clumps and blocks the funnel.candy crush

Place the bottle of Candy Cane Vodka somewhere you pass by frequently so you can give it a shake as often as you can.

You can serve within about 4 hours, but it’s best left for a few days or even weeks.

Make a cocktail with chocolate liquor, or spike your hot chocolate, or simply drink over ice. It’s been a long time since I was a neat Vodka drinker (Oh how that reminds me of my friend Luis, who’d know my mood by sniffing the contents of my glass whenever he found me sitting at the bar. He was the first to know my (then) boyfriend and I had split up because I was drinking neat Vodka. P.S. Don’t ever tell my children this story!), so I like adding lemonade or something else sweet. But that’s my preference.

Candy Cane Vodka Recipe
 
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This recipe makes enough for a 350ml bottle of Vodka, with a couple of 'tester' shots extra. You can easily multiply this recipe
Author:
Serves: 400ml
Ingredients
  • 40 - 50g Candy Canes (4 - 6 medium sized)
  • 350ml Vodka (good quality)
Instructions
  1. Crush the Candy Canes in a plastic bag. Use a mallet or rolling pin.
  2. (If using a Thermomix®: Add the Candy Canes to the Thermomix® and blitz 10 seconds/speed 10)
  3. Pour Candy Cane powder into a jar or bottle and top with the vodka
  4. Close and shake frequently, allowing flavours to combine for at least three days.
  5. Serve (or store in a sealed jar till ready for gifting)

A Very Thermie ChristmasA Very Thermie Christmas has a Christmas Spice Vodka and 50 other recipes for all your Thermomix® Christmas needs. With everything from snacks to meals, finger foods to festive drinks and DIY gifts A Very Thermie Christmas has your Christmas covered.  Just £8.99 (excl VAT in EU) this printable PDF can be yours in minutes.

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Cacao Nib Latte

It’s a dull and dreary morning here on the Isle of Wight. It’s raining and I can barely make out the line between the sky and the ocean. Job prospects for my husband are still thin on the ground and I am feeling the pressure of being sole breadwinner for the family.

I need a pick me up, but a true pick me up, not something that’s going to spike my blood sugar and crash me down further.

cacao nib latte

Well, this recipe might be a false economy, since dairy blocks the absorption of flavenoids (or something like that) meaning the full effect of the cacao nibs won’t be felt, but it tastes good and after drinking this, the whole family managed to get out of bed and we’ll be off for a stroll on the beach as soon as the rain stops.

There’s a lot of room for movement on this recipe. I will try it with almond milk, or coconut milk next, and maybe with rapadura or honey for sweetening. But for today, this was perfect. Delicious, smooth, And a real lift to the mood. cacoa nib latte

If I didn’t have to share it with the kids, I’d probably add a pinch of cayenne pepper too, like a Mexican hot chocolate, with it’s aphrodisiac qualities… hmmm… save that for a rainy day when the children have left home 😉

Cacao Nib Latte

For these Cacao Nib Lattes, I use the Suma brand here, but obviously you can use whatever works best for you. These are unroasted, and I don’t roast them, but you can.

Cacao Nib Latte
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Drink, TM31
Ingredients
  • 30g cacao nibs
  • ½ vanilla pod
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • seeds from 1 cardamom pod
  • cream to top (optional)
  • 500g milk
  • 5g sugar/rapadura
Instructions
  1. Add the cacao nibs and vanilla pod, cinnamon and cardamom seeds into a blender bowl and chop to a powder (Thermomix®: speed 6 for 20 seconds.
  2. Add milk and sugar and mix on speed 4/7 mins/80C
  3. Pour through a nut milk bag, or into a cafetiere to strain, then pour into cups.
  4. Top with cream, or not. It's delicious either way.
Notes
Tip: Use the strained remains in baking, or rinse them to get the milk off, and put them in your garden

 

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Cacao Nibs As A Crio Bru Substitute

I cant speak to its effectiveness in every recipe that calls for the much sought after Crio Bru, but I can say that when brewed as a coffee-style drink, cacao nibs are a perfectly suitable substitute for the hard-to-find and expensive Crio Bru variety.

Last weekend I was very lucky and thrilled to attend a workshop with Tenina Holder, who is quite possibly one of the people responsible for the rise in demand for this cacao by-product.

The thing is, its really hard to find in the UK. You can buy it on Amazon, but its pricey and import duties make it crazy expensive.

So whats a girl on a budget to do?

Experiment, of course.

I have bags and bags of organic cacao nibs at home, bought because of the health benefits, but not always used quite as often as I could.

DIY Crio BruI poured 25g of raw cacao nibs into the Thermomix® and ground it on speed 10 for one minute. I could vaguely smell the chocolate. I then brewed the powder as I would any coffee, and tentatively took a sip. Well. It tasted of nothing. And not a very good nothing. I added sugar and milk and it tasted of nothing, with sugar and milk. Fail.

The next day I decided that to replace Crio Bru with cacao nibs, it would need to be roasted. So I lay 50g of cacao nibs on a baking tray and put it in a hot oven – 180C – for 6 minutes. I dont know why six, but six, determining that it would be best to be guided by the smell as I didn’t want burnt beans either.

Well, after about 4 mins the kitchen was filled with a beautiful chocolatey aroma and after two more minutes, the cacao nibs were a dark crunchy brown. In the Thermomix® for 10 seconds at speed 10 and they were all powdered.

Two heaped teaspoons went into the Boden cafetiere, and the rest into a sealable jar. Like with any decent coffee I boiled the water, then gave it a few seconds to cool so it didn’t scald the powdered cacao nibs, poured in and left to brew for about two minutes before pouring.

Crio Bru2

The difference was amazing and immediately obvious.

I had a few sips as is, and it was fine, but then added milk and a small teaspoon of rapadura, and thoroughly enjoyed it! It does look a bit like a weak tea, but the flavour and smell are fantastic!

Crio Bru3

I know Tenina said that in time you can pick out just by taste which flavour of the Crio Bru you’re drinking, and perhaps if you’re used to drinking Crio Bru you wont like the home roasted cacao beans, but as someone without those specific beans to compare it to, I think its lovely! I’m also sure that you could subtly flavour it, perhaps with dried orange peel in the brew, or perhaps soaking the beans before roasting them (which would take longer to roast) but what I do know for sure is that raw organic cacao nibs are a perfect substitute when drinking Crio Bru.

*Tenina also recommends brewing it for 10 minutes in the Thermomix® with your milk for the best flavour. I haven’t tried that yet.

(If you’re interested, these are the Cacao Nibs I use.)

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DIY Homemade Chai Rooibos / Redbush Tea

A few weeks ago I made a spur of the moment decision to enter a competition in my local blogging network. The competition requires us to come up with a recipe in one of five categories, featuring Schwartz spices and blog them.

Redbush Chai TeaWell, I didn’t read the fine print, and as it turns out, not one of the five categories falls into a strong area for me: I don’t like beans, so don’t eat a lot of Mexican or Brazilian food, I don’t really drink tea, am not a big curry eater and for compact spaces problem of modern living? Well, I use a Thermomix®!

As a result I’ve had to dig deep and learn about a few spices and flavours that are completely new to me. So over the next few weeks, you’ll see a little something different from me.

I’m a huge coffee drinker, and not much into tea at all, but I do have a fair supply of Redbush tea – Rooibos, as we call it – in the cupboard, because it’s good for a number of things, including colic in babies, so the children have it too.

I have had chai in the past, but always bought, so when I looked at some of the spices I was sent, I thought I’d try a spiced tea, using some flavours I do love – cardamom, cinnamon and ginger. I added nutmeg and cloves, two more beautiful spices when used correctly, and hey presto! Beautiful aromatic, sweet chai that even my children enjoyed.

I hope you enjoy our foray into incorporating more spices into our cooking!

*This is not my official entry… that’s coming!

Spiced Redbush Chai Tea
 
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You can use any teabags, but I use Redbush for it's healing properties, and the lack of caffeine or tannins, which I don't enjoy. You can use whole spices or ground. You can also make up a larger amount, and keep them for making a cup or two of Chai Tea at a time. Keep them in an airtight container so they don't lose flavour though!
Author:
Recipe type: Drinks
Cuisine: Asian, South African
Serves: 4 cups
Ingredients
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon cardamom
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon cloves
  • ½ teaspoon ginger
  • Up to 170g honey (1/2 cup)
  • 500g boiling water (2 cups)
  • 500g cups milk (2 cups)
  • 2 Redbush tea bags (or your favourite)
Instructions
  1. Place the cardamom in the Thermomix® bowl reverse speed 8/3 seconds. Remove the shells.
  2. Add the rest of the spices in the Thermomix® bowl and whizz on speed 10/4 seconds
  3. Add honey, water and milk, and boil on reverse speed 2/2mins/Varoma
  4. Add tea bags boil for 5 minutes 100C/reverse speed 2.
  5. Pour through a sieve or into a caffetier and serve.
Without a Thermomix®
  1. Place the spices in a pot, add the honey, water and milk. Bring to the boil, add the teabags and simmer for 5 minutes.
  2. Strain and serve.

 

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Apple Strudel Smoothie with Maca Powder

Apple Strudel Maca SmoothieFor ages I kept hearing about the benefits of Maca powder and its superfood powers. I finally got around to getting some and was full of excitement and dumped a good heaped tablespoon of it into my smoothie…YUK! Lets just say Maca has a strong flavour. So when first starting out with it, less is more! I then cut down the amount I used and it still seemed to overpower most things. It does have a slight caramel taste to it so I paired it up with these ingredients and it makes for a really yummy, comforting, but super healthy smoothie. Enjoy!

Apple Strudel Smoothie with Maca Powder
 
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For ages I kept hearing about the benefits of Maca powder and its superfood powers. I finally got around to getting some and was full of excitement and dumped a good heaped tablespoon of it into my smoothie...YUK! Lets just say Maca has a strong flavour. So when first starting out with it, less is more! I then cut down the amount I used and it still seemed to overpower most things. It does have a slight caramel taste to it so paired it up with these ingredients and it makes for a really yummy, comforting, but super healthy smoothie. Enjoy!
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Serves: 1-2
Ingredients
  • 1 Granny smith apple, cored and quartered
  • 3 Dates
  • ¼ Cup Walnuts
  • ½ tsp -1tsp Raw, Organic Maca powder
  • ½ tsp Organic Mesquite powder
  • ¼ tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 Small banana
  • 1-2 Cups of Milk, I usually use almond milk.
Instructions
  1. Put everything into the Thermomix® or blender and blend until smooth.
  2. I start with one cup of milk and add more if it's too thick for my liking.
  3. Or add 2 cups and share.

 

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Festival of Food: Mint Cordial Recipe

Mint cordial What’s lovelier on a hot summers day than a refreshing mint cordial? Well, I don’t know, but a mint cordial definitely hits the spot. Mint is used to relieve normal pregnancy nausea, and abdominal pain. Chewing mint leaves will make your teeth whiter over the course of a couple of weeks, and eliminate toxins from the body. Some even claim mint can cure asthma, although I’ve not seen any research on that.

  • This easy recipe will make enough cordial for 3 – 5 litres of mint juice, depending on how strong you like it.

    • Welcome to the Festival of Food Carnival. This month, we celebrate Smoothies and Mocktails!  Hosted by Diary of a First Child and Hybrid Rasta Mama, you’re welcome to join us next time, or if you have a previously published recipe you’d like to share, add it to the linky below.

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Festival of Food: Mint Cordial Recipe
 
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A gorgeous summery mint infusion
Author:
Recipe type: Drink
Cuisine: Summer
Ingredients
  • 2 cups fresh mint leaves
  • 500g sugar or rapadura
  • 2 cups water
Instructions
  1. Lightly crush the mint leaves to release some of the flavours.
  2. Add sugar and water to a heavy bottomed pot and then add mint.
  3. Bring the mixture to boil for five minutes, then simmer lightly for 15 minutes.
  4. Cover and leave as is overnight
  5. Strain the mixture to remove all the leaves, then decant into a bottle and refrigerate.
  6. You can keep this in the fridge for 2 - 3 weeks.
  7. Just add to still or sparkling water to taste.
  8. Enjoy the refreshing yumminess.

Reprinted from Diary of a First Child

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Please take a moment to visit the blogs of our other Festival of Food participants. The links in this list will be live by the end of the day, as participants are all in different time zones.

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