packing and packing and sorbet

I've been spending the better part of every day surrounded by boxes. Packing is overwhelming! It makes the home look very unorganized and i have a hard time functioning in a place that isn't organized.. so i find myself walking in circles a lot. I'm almost finished though! It's looking pretty empty, especially since we sold our couch, coffee table and dining table. Yay for craigslist.

We've been eating some pretty weird combinations of food as a result of trying to use up what food we have. But one thing I wish I had more of is this meyer lemon sorbet. I've been on a (refined) sugar fast since the beginning of the year and surprisingly i haven't had any terrible cravings for it. As i was trying to figure out what i wanted to do with a bag of meyer lemons, i came across this sorbet recipe. I gave it a shot and used agave in place of sugar. It was most delicious!! And I promise you there is no difference in taste and texture as far as the agave vs. white sugar. If you're trying to steer clear of refined sugar, give this a go.

Meyer lemon sorbet

3/4 cup agave (i highly highly highly recommend xagave, i've used other agave brands in sorbet and they were no good)
1 cup water
1 cup freshly squeezed juice from meyer lemons (it was about 5 lemons for me)
2 teaspoons fine lemon zest

Mix together all ingredients and chill in the refrigerator until cold.
Once cold, freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. If you don't have an ice cream maker, you can pour the mixture into a shallow pan and freeze in your freezer until semi-solid. Then take a fork and fluff it up, returning it the the freezer to freeze firm. Then put in a food-processor or blender to process until smooth.

Place sorbet in an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

triple chocolate cupcakes

When I first saw the recipe for these cupcakes I was very fascinated.. an entire cupcake.. with frosting.. using no sugar. That's right up my alley. And I have to say, they didn't let me down one bit. They taste like "real" cupcakes, with a bittersweet chocolate frosting. They are quite perfect for those days when you are needing sugar (or chocolate) extra bad, but don't want to spoil your no-sugar rule.

Well, for me, that rule is not in place in December. Too many things to indulge in!! But come January, these will be a close friend of mine. (these are also a better alternative for diabetics)

I used xagave in these. It's the best agave i've tried, very subtle in flavor which makes it a great substitute in baking and cooking. I love the stuff.

Triple chocolate AGAVE cupcakes
vegan

Filling:
5.5 ounces silken tofu, drained
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup agave

Melt the chocolate and agave over a double boiler until perfectly smooth. Set aside. Puree the tofu in a food processor, until perfectly smooth. You will need to scrape the sides down with a rubber spatula. Add the melted chocolate mixture to the tofu and process until smooth and thick. It will look like chocolate pudding. Set aside while you bake the cake.


Cake:
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1/4 cup cocoa, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup agave
1 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon rice vinegar

To bake the cupcakes:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line 12 muffin tins with papers.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Melt the chocolate and oil in a medium sized bowl over a double boiler until perfectly smooth. Whisk the agave into the chocolate mixture. In a third bowl whisk together the soy milk, vanilla, and vinegar, then stir it into the chocolate mixture. gently whisk the wet mixture into the dry. Divide the batter into the muffin cups and bake for about 18 minutes or until the tester comes out clean.

Using a paring knife cut out a portion of the cupcake, to make a space for the filling. Don’t cut too much away or the cupcake may not have enough structure and fall apart.
Use a pastry bag with a round tip to fill the cupcakes with the filling and spread it smooth.

Optional:

Ganache:
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons coconut milk

Melt the chocolate and milk over a double boiler until smooth

Spoon the ganache over the top of the cupcakes.

recipe source