sweet miscellany

Being away from my apartment and regular day to day throws everything out of whack for me. Unfortunately, I always have to be ready for travel at work, and last week was no exception as I had to be in lovely Texarkana, TX all week. On top of being gone for that, I went home to visit family for Easter. Basically, I have no new recipes to share, but, I will be on top of that this weekend along with several other things on my ever-evoloving to-do list. I’m planning a trip to the farmer’s market this weekend in order to secure supplies for some jam-making for the shop, so keep on the lookout next week for something new! I’ve secured a nice camera I can freely borrow, so I’ve also been trying to update some photos in my shop (the one above is a test shot of my chai-spiced apple syrup). Instead of just leaving you with an up-date, I thought I would share some recipes I have been drooling over and recipes I have made recently, courtesy of my fellow food bloggers.

– I made this lovely vegan tomato, squash, and coconut milk bisque from honest fare for dinner last night

– I’ll be making this garnet pilaf from sprouted kitchen later this week

– These spring-y spring rolls with carrot ginger miso sauce from happyolks have me drooling and excited for a trip to the farmer’s market

– I’m thinking this farro salad with grilled endive from the first mess is the perfect way to use some of the dried cranberries beans I bought last week

– I bet this vegan chocolate snack cake from good things grow ought to satisfy my sweet tooth (for a little while at least…)

– For something really indulgent, these raspberry & white chocolate honey almond meal muffins from honey & jam look absolutely delicious

– If you love recipe videos, check out this beautiful one from the roost blog for some white chocolate vanilla bean cups with toasted coconut & pink salt

– And in between trying to make all these delicious recipes, I might try to squeeze in this handmade jewelry display from a beautiful mess

Hope the rest of your week is swell and full of spring-y sunshine!

It’s funny how sometimes the simplest things in life are the most enjoyable. I get excited over a perfectly ripe peach or strawberry (or really, any fruit). I also get excited about sweet treats that are not only delicious, but easy to make and pleasing to the eye. These little mendiants fit all of the criteria.

In case you don’t know the back-story of mendiants, they are a traditional French chocolate confection, simply composed of a disc of chocolate topped with nuts or dried fruit. Traditionally, they were topped with nuts and dried fruits representative of the four monastic (mendicant) orders, but mine are not so traditional. I simply combined some flavors I love, and voila! A perfect little treat for you to enjoy or share. Since these are really quick and easy to make (plus gluten free and vegan), you could whip some up for the Easter weekend in less than 30 minutes. The recipe below is for the two types I made (toasted almond with smoked fleur de sel, and toasted coconut with goji berries), but feel free to use whatever you have and like!

Dark Chocolate Mendiants – 2 Ways
notes: I used a 3 oz bar of vegan friendly dark (73%) chocolate and it made 15 mendiants (2-inch each in size)

3 oz bar of dark chocolate (make sure it is vegan friendly if you are making it vegan)
2 tbsp sliced almonds, toasted
smoked sea salt
2 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes, toasted
tbsp dried goji berries
about 1/4 tsp grapeseed oil (or other neutral tasting oil)

parchment or silpat for pan

In a double boiler, or a glass bowl set over a pot of simmering water, slowly melt your chocolate. Once it is smooth and melted, add the oil and stir it in. The oil will help keep the chocolate shiny once it hardens. Remove the chocolate from the double boiler and set it aside while you prep your work area. Line a baking sheet or tray with parchment paper. Using a spoon, carefully spoon and shape the chocolate into circular wafer shapes. I was able to get about 15 and mine were about 2 inches in diameter.

For the almond & smoked fleur de sel mendiants – I carefully placed the almonds down, then topped with a sprinkling of the smoked fleur de sel. If you want to get fancy, you can try to arrange the almonds in a pretty design.

For the toasted coconut & goji berry mendiants – I placed a few toasted coconut flakes down and then a few goji berries.

Once you have all of your mendiants decorated, place them in the fridge to set up for a couple of hours, and then enjoy!