Chocolate sunflower seeds

The Big Island of Hawaii lured me away for the past few weeks. It was my escape from the winter cold where I could be free of heavy coats and gloves, and sit by the ocean eating a papaya. The temperatures in the 80s made me sweat but I loved every minute of it. Unfortunately, the trip ended all too soon.

I brought back an idea for a recipe I wanted to try and share. There was a little snack shop in Hilo called Wilson's by the Bay. They made chocolate-covered sunflower seeds which I hoped I could eat. I had to pass because the chocolate coating contained sugar. I promised I would try making the treat without sugar when I returned.

They were a snap to make. But beware. They are quite addictive. I made just a small batch to lessen the temptation. I also diluted the chocolate with sunbutter to reduce the amount of saturated fat which can be a problem for me. You can make it with straight chocolate if you prefer.

Here's my recipe for Chocolate-covered Sunflower Seeds (and a few pumpkin seeds too).

Ingredients:
1 small square 100 percent cacoa

1 T. sunbutter without sugar

3 T. raw sunflower seeds

1 T. raw pumpkin seeds

Directions:

Melt the cacoa and sunbutter in a microwave-safe container. Stir in the seeds to coat with the cacoa-sunbutter mixture. Spread the chocolate-covered seeds out on a pan and place in the freezer to harden the coating. When ready, munch on a few and store the rest in a covered container in the freezer.

Gluten-free Chocolate-Carob Scones

I know I promised not to eat as much chocolate but I succumbed to the invisible force field of chocolate that grows stronger around Valentine's Day. At least, I used baking cocoa rather than hard chocolate, and I substituted carob for half the chocolate.

Have a great Valentine's Day!

Gluten-free Chocolate-Carob Scones

(makes 10 medium-sized scones)

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups garbanzo bean flour

1 T. SweetLeaf powdered stevia

1/4 cup baking cocoa, 1/4 cup carob powder

2 1/2 tsps. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 T. olive oil

2 T. tahini

2/3 cup hemp milk

Optional: add almonds, mini-chocolate chips or dried cherries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine all the dry ingredients in a food processor. Pulse to mix. Then add olive oil, tahini and hemp milk. Continue pulsing to mix.

Drop batter by generous spoonfuls onto a sprayed cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes, depending on your oven.

Gluten-free Sweet Potato Biscuits

It's been almost a year since I ate biscuits because of the anti-candida diet. I couldn't resist trying these fairly ACD-friendly Gluten-free Sweet Potato Biscuits made with garbanzo bean flour. They would make a special breakfast treat for Valentine's Day for someone who must avoid gluten. Or you can eat them anytime. They also make a tasty topping for a veggie potpie, shown below.
Gluten-free Sweet Potato Biscuits

(makes 8 biscuits)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup mashed sweet potato

1 3/4 cup garbanzo bean flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 T. olive oil

1/3 cup hemp milk (or other dairy beverage)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and bake a sweet potato until tender, about 45 minutes. Peel and mash the sweet potato. Set aside 3/4 cup of mashed potato for the biscuits and let cool completely. Reserve the rest for another use. Raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees.

In a food processor, pulse the flour, baking powder and soda, salt and olive oil. Add the hemp milk and sweet potato and continue blending.

Drop the dough by large spoonfuls onto a sprayed baking sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes, until golden brown. Eat them all right away or freeze the extras.

Strawberry garbanzo bean flour cupcakes

Just mention Valentine's Day to me and I become ravenous for chocolate. I'm not sure why because some of my experiences with chocolate have been anything but positive. The saturated fat content in hard chocolate is too hard on my innards but yet it keeps calling my name.

This February I've been trying to treat myself with low glycemic desserts without chocolate. I made the two desserts, pictured here, from a batch of strawberry cupcakes I baked with mixture of garbanzo bean flour, brown rice flour and flax. The top one I call a berry trifle and the other is a strawberry shortcake. And I still have 10 cupcakes left to experiment with.Strawberry Garbanzo Bean Cupcakes

(makes 12 small cupcakes)

Ingredients:

3/4 cup garbanzo bean flour

1/4 cup brown rice flour

1/4 cup ground flax

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1 T. SweetLeaf powdered stevia

1 T. olive oil

2 T. tahini

1/2 cup unsweetened hempmilk or other dairy beverage

2 cups thawed frozen or fresh strawberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 415 degrees. Line muffin pan with cupcake papers. Put strawberries in a food processor and puree slightly. Reserve strawberries.

Put all the other ingredients in a food processor and blend. Fill each cupcake paper with batter. Spoon one tablespoon of pureed strawberries on top of the cupcakes before placing in the oven. Bake for approximately 15 minutes. Remove from the oven to cool.

To assemble the trifle, layer berries, cupcake pieces (slightly frozen) and strawberry sorbet into dessert dishes. Make your own sorbet by whirling frozen strawberries in a food processor.

For strawberry shortcakes, top a cupcake with pureed berries and sorbet.

Note: Both desserts are better if placed in the freezer for a half hour or so prior to serving.