Lisa on March 4th, 2010

I don’t know about you, but when I find an exciting new (to me) ingredient, I like to drop it into as many culinary settings as I can to see what happens.  Some ideas, like my “let’s make hot chocolate with red wine instead of milk!” notion, though, are rather ill-fated.  Random combinations are not [...]

Continue reading about Going Nuts with Cupcakes

Lisa on February 3rd, 2010

Who doesn’t like a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup?  Peanut butter and chocolate just go together.  But I guarantee that once you make your own PB&C in solid form or smoothie/shake form, you won’t ever want to go back to the prepackaged kind.  The homemade variety tastes better, it’s a whole lot better for your health, [...]

Continue reading about Homemade Reese’s

Lisa on January 11th, 2010

What started out as a basic chocolate cake became much more fragrant and flavorful with the simple switcheroo of unrefined peanut oil for butter.   Using maple syrup instead of sugar intensifies both the chocolate and the peanut, and you can add your choice of spice to provide a different dimension of flavor.  In the end, [...]

Continue reading about Unrefined Bliss

Lisa on August 5th, 2009

Whether you’re gluten-intolerant or just want to try something new, you’ll love these very-dark chocolate cupcakes.  The coconut flour is the perfect backdrop to the chocolate — it provides just enough creaminess to accent cocoa’s rich tones without getting in its way.  And the teff and brown rice flours give the cakes a bit of [...]

Continue reading about Chocolate Heaven…Without the Wheat

Lisa on April 13th, 2009

As part of my continuing quest to find more flavorful (and healthier) alternatives to white sugar–especially when I want to bake something tasty for breakfast–I decided to try my hand at maple syrup creations. (See Sweeteners for more information on natural sweeteners.) The result? A lightly-sweetened bread with the warm undertones of [...]

Continue reading about Maple Magic

Lisa on December 28th, 2008

Warning:  these are not for the faint of heart–i.e., those who prefer milk chocolate to dark.  These brownies have such a high cocoa content, in fact, that the batter doesn’t flow into the pan, but rather behaves more like a semi-malleable chocolate bar that you have to spatula in one clump at a time.  Don’t [...]

Continue reading about Ultra-Chocolate Brownies

Lisa on December 10th, 2008

Here’s a healthy way to enjoy holiday treats like flavored hot chocolate: make your own! Pre-packaged drink mixes almost always contain artificial flavorings, excessive sugar, and non-dairy creamer. (Which contains mostly hydrogenated oil and corn syrup, neither of which is going to bring you holiday cheer.) Rather than reach for the Swiss [...]

Continue reading about Organic Raspberry Hot Chocolate

Lisa on October 19th, 2008

A new tradition begins! Every week, I’ll take on a much-loved-but-unhealthy recipe and tweak it to make it more nutritious. (By “nutritious,” I mean using better-quality fats and a wider variety of ingredients. More diversity in your diet = more vitamins, proteins, fiber…all the good stuff. Besides, it’s fun to try [...]

Continue reading about Tweak of the Week: Chocolate Chip Cookies