Chocolate Balls

I've often tried these at Christmas parties and never liked them much.  They were always too sweet and sickly tasting.  So here's a more enjoyable version...

1 x 250g packet Choc Ripple Biscuits (Arnotts), or similar plain chocolate biscuit
100g dark chocolate
120g raw almonds
about 2/3 of a 395g tin of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup coconut

Process Choc Ripple biscuits in a food processor until fine.  Empty into a seperate bowl.

Process dark chocolate into small pieces.  Add to ground Choc Ripple biscuits in bowl.

Process almonds into small pieces.  Add to other ingredients in bowl and mix well.

Add sweetened condensed milk gradually, stirring well until mixture is just combined and sticky.  Don't use more than necessary to create the right texture, as this ingredient is what will make the balls too sweet.

Spread coconut out on a plate.  Form mixture into small balls and roll in coconut.

Place in refrigerator for a few hours to become firm (overnight is okay).

Another yummy addition would be pieces of glace cherries....

Choc Ripple Tim Tam Cake

I created this awesome, rich, Tim Tam cake, Choc Ripple style, for Gunnar's birthday on the weekend.  Here's how it goes:

300ml cream (add an extra 100ml if you want to cover the edges as well and completely incase the cake)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon icing suger/caster sugar
1 x 250g packet Choc Ripple biscuits
1 pkt Tim Tams, original or dark chocolate, + 1 Tim Tam more

Fresh strawberries, to serve.

Beat cream, sugar and vanilla essence together until firm peaks form.

Spread a little cream on some baking paper or cake plate as the base, making a circle shape.  Place seven choc ripple biscuits on the base, close together.  Crumble one Choc Ripple biscuit on the side and use crumbs to fill in the gaps between each biscuit.

Spread a thin layer of cream on top of the Choc Ripple biscuits.

Crumble your Tim Tams, the size is up to you.  The larger the chunks, the more crunchy the cake will be (and harder to cut neatly).  Fill in the gaps with smaller pieces.

Spread over another layer of cream, and repeat the Choc Ripple and Tim Tam layers again, with cream in between.

Finish with a layer of cream. 

Refrigerate for 6 hours, or overnight.

Before serving, wash and hull strawberries (remove tops).  Halve them and place on top in whatever pattern you like. 

Enjoy!

If you don't have access to Choc Ripple biscuits, you can use any plain baked chocolate biscuits.  The idea is that the Choc Ripple biscuits and the biscuit part of theTim Tams absorb moisture from the cream, making them soft like cake.

Almond Butter

 A friend of mine told me how to make almond butter - or almond spread - a while ago and I've been making it ever since.  This batch used 3 kgs of almonds, roasted in a 180deg oven for 30min, then processed in a food processor with extra virgin olive oil and macrobiotic sea salt (has tonnes of original minerals from the sea in it).  No sugar added!!  Just add the oil slowly into the ground almonds whilst in the processor.  After about a minute it will turn into a paste.  Don't add too much oil too soon, as you can't take it out again!  Store in the fridge... ours lasts only as long as takes us to consume it, and so far that has been a few months, which has been fine.

Falafels / Chickpea Patties

This one's not my own creation; I got it from the internet and altered it a bit according to what I had in the cupboard. I made these for a BBQ as I can't eat meat (sausages for example!) and the meat-eaters quite enjoyed these as well!

2 x 400g cans Chickpeas, drained
1 onion, chopped
fresh parsley, chopped (1/2 cup is ideal, but whatever you have is okay)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 egg
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tspn ground coriander
1 tspn salt
1/4 tspn lemon pepper (you could use lemon juice and ground black pepper instead)
1 tspn baking powder
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup dry breadcrumbs
oil for frying

Makes 8 large or 16 small patties

Mash chickpeas until thick and pasty - don't use a blender as it will make them too runny.

In a blender, blend together onion, parsley and garlic until smooth. Add a few drops of water to it if it's not blending well.

In a small bowl mix together egg, cumin, coriander, salt, lemon pepper and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mash together with the olive oil. Slowly add breadcrumbs until mixture is not too sticky but will hold together. Add more or less breadcrumbs as needed.

Form balls (according to desired size) and then flatten into patties. Heat 2cm of oil in a large frypan over medium-high heat. Fry patties until brown on both sides. Stack on a plate covered with absorbent paper.

Vegetarian Enchilades

I found this on the International Vegetarian Union website (see right) and is so good that I have to share it here!

Serves 6-8

Sauce
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon dried oregano (or 3 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped)
2 tablespoons flour
170g tomato paste
3 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vinegar

Saute garlic in oil on low heat, about 3 minutes. Add oregano and cook 1 minute. Add flour and stir constantly until oil is absorbed. Gradually add tomato paste and water, stirring constantly. Cook on low-medium heat until thick. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 175 C.

Filling
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon oil
2 to 3 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tin '3 bean mix' or other beans as desired
1 to 2 cups of mixed vegetables of your choice, chopped small and lightly steamed or boiled (use whatever you have in the fridge or garden, but I used green zuchini, yellow zuchini, and green beans - tinned corn would be great in this)
8 or more tortillas

Saute onion and garlic until soft. Add cumin, coriander, beans and vegetables, and stir through. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes.

Assembly

Lightly grease a deep baking tray. Spoon about 1/2 cup of filling into each tortilla. Roll up and place in tray. Repeat for each tortilla. Pour some sauce over tortillas, about a cup or so. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until bubbling.

Notes: You can heat the remaining sauce and serve with the enchiladas, or you can freeze it for next time (which is what I did because it was so much). You should have enough sauce over to do another tray of tortillas.

I found that I could only barely fill 9 tortillas, and I could only fit that many into my baking tray! The original recipe was for 12 tortillas!