Foodie weather

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing" - Benjamin Franklin 

Today is really winter. Some super sized cold-front hit the Cape this week and we finally got the hit today. This morning, despite getting up and dressing for running, we opted to bunk. Not so much due to the cold, although it did contribute, but I suddenly realised that it is the last Saturday that we can skip track or running without feeling guilty. From the 1st of July, training will be back in full, committed mode. Not that we did nothing this week, but it was quite pleasant to just go shopping and sort out a few things around the house. All that extra time this morning inspired me to spend some quality time in the kitchen. I thought perhaps, I can do something today that is worth writing about.

Mission: Banting friendly chocolate
Due to the issues I have with many products on the market that claims to be "low carb" or "banting" friendly. Very seldom does one find a product that is truly "real" food only and one can see from the list of ingredients that many product labels are quite misleading if you don't know your stuff. I've really been thinking hard about making chocolate and have held off because I thought it might be hard to get the chocolate "real" and tasty. However, today's weather inspired me to try.

My first attempt this morning was a massive success among my testers. Three of us tested the results and whilst Carl and I eat low-carb all the time, his daughter is a "normal". She however agreed that the chocolates were delightful.

Recipe/Method
Isabel's Banting Chocolates

100 g cocoa butter (or 50g cocoa butter + 50 g coconut oil)
5-6 tablespoons of good quality cocoa powder
3-4 tablespoons of erythritol
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
3 tablespoons of grated pecan nuts (optional, but nice)

Melt the cocoa butter in double boiler (or like me in a metal bowl over boiling water in a pot).
Once molten add the sweetener and stir a bit, then add the rest of the ingredients.
It thickens up a bit but keep it over the hot water until nicely mixed.
I used silicone moulds for my chocolates, but you could just pour it into a sheet out and let it set in the freezer. If you use the sheet principle try keep it about 3-5 mm thickness. It makes a nice rustic type of chocolate if broken. I just stuck in the freezer and then pop them out of the silicone moulds. Happy chomping.

If you used coconut oil, the melting temperature is lower than that of cocoa butter so be careful about leaving it outside the fridge. The 50:50 blend is still ok, but will melt when you hold it in your eager paw for too long. Cocoa butter and coconut oil are both healthy fats, although cocoa butter has the higher melting point, so the two together is a very nice "fat bomb" for runners. Both oils make good chocolate and I plan to keep experimenting with this, but I am pretty happy with the first batches. The desiccated coconut not only adds to the taste but also stretches the pretty expensive cocoa butter a bit. I also added a few drops of peppermint essence to the second batch and it's truly amazing how much it reminds me of peppermint crisp. The crunchiness of the coconut, chocolate and erythritol is magical.

Banting burgers for lunch! That was the next mission for today. 


Making our food from scratch is fun and I always feel like I am getting in touch with  my inner foodie and child when I attempt new things in the kitchen. Low-carbing also gives me a kick, there is some engineering in this way of cooking, but also a lot of creativity. It really focused my mind on cooking real food with fresh ingredients. Today for lunch we had our first burger in more than a year. I took the LC burger to the next level though. I made the patties from scratch (mince 500 g fresh mince, chopped onion, 4 eggs and 2 tablespoons of coconut flour). They tasted great and looked so good. I also made some Banting bread buns and we had the most lovely, luxury burger ever!




My final foodie act for the day was to roast some baby tomatoes in preparation for tomato soup for dinner. While baking the buns for the burgers, I also roasted the tomatoes until properly caramelized and squishy.


Creamy tomato soup recipe

1 can of chopped tomatoes or 2 large fresh ones chopped into chunks
250 g of baby tomatoes (roasted if you can)
1/2 a medium onion, chopped and cooked in butter until translucent
500 to 700 ml homemade broth (chicken broth is my preference)
250 ml cream
Salt, pepper (cayenne is best if you don't mind the bite)

The tomatoes, onion and broth mixture should cook nicely for at least 30 minutes. Add the cream and use a blitz stick to make it into the dreamy, creaminess. The roasted baby tomatoes add a delicious flavour. Sprinkle a bit of feta when serving for extra decadence.Creamy, dreamy tomato soup for dinner! I highly recommend this for a feel good meal. I make the broth from the chicken carcasses from Friday night dinner and store it in the fridge for soup. Packed with healthy minerals.




And thus I hope after all of that, that my "do" today was worth "writing".