Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies with Horchata Ice Cream

Last week I posted a favorite brownie recipe I've made now a few times and decided to include it in a family dinner but with a twist.  I have been experimenting this week with nut and rice milks and one of my dinner guests had been over earlier in the week and really liked my horchata, a mexican rice milk.   So I thought I;d try giving the horchata a whirl in my vintage ice cream maker.  It was a success!  For the brownies I changed my original recipe only slightly, substituting half the chocolate with mexican chocolate, reducing the sugar and slightly increasing the flour.  In San Diego it is very easy to find the mexican chocolate used to make a traditional hot chocolate drink.  This chocolate usually comes in round bars and has sugar and spices such as cinnamon.  I purchased mine at trader joes.  Common brands are Ibarra and Abuelita.  For the horchata ice cream I simply ran one batch of my horchata in my ice cream maker.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Brownies

2 ounces of dark chocolate
2 ounces of mexican chocolate
1 stick of butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour

Het over to 350' and prepare 8x8 baking pan by greasing and flouring or lining with parchment paper (I love parchment paper).  In double boiler (a smaller pot in a larger pot of warm water) melt chocolate and butter, stirring occasioanlly until smooth.  Do not overheat.  Once smooth, cool slightly and then beat together with sugar, eggs and vanilla.  Gently stir in flour.  Pour your batter in to prepared baking tin and bake for 10-20 minutes until you can insert a butter knife and no batter remains when you remove the knife.

Horchata Ice Cream

1 cup of rinsed basmati rice
4 cups of water
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Soak rice in water for 12-24 hours.  Blend on high for several minutes and then strain, discarding the pule.  Blend again adding the sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt.  Place this in your ice cream maker.  The resulting treat will be more similar to a water based gelato or sorbet.

Brownies...a great way to eat Chocolate!

I have used this recipe a bunch of times now.  The brownies are chewy and delicious!

3 ounces dark chocolate
1 stick of butter
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup flour

Melt the chocolate and butter together.  I use a very small pot placed in a larger pot of warm water.  Beat together melted chocolate and sugar then add in eggs one at a time and vanilla.  Combine flour and salt and add this to the batter.  Pour into a greased 8"x8" pan, I line mine with parchment paper.  Bake at 350 for 20-30 minute.  Try not to eat them all at once!

Waffles are Easy!

I've been having so much fun with my Pizzelle Cookie Iron that I have become inspired to dust off my Waffle Iron.  I have the thinner, round form.  It's one of the many kitchen items that I have inherited in my husband's well-established kitchen.  I looked on-line for a recipe but made some substitutions and cut the quantities in half for a breakfast for two.

1 egg
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup horchata (rice milk)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Whisk together egg, sugar, and milks.  Mix together flour, baking powder and salt and whisk together the flour mixture and the egg mixture.  Bake in your waffle iron until golden brown and top with butter, jam, maple syrup, fresh fruit or even whip cream!

A New Name

I changed the name of my blog.  I just wasn't feeling the name "Yogini Robin" anymore.  I started this blog quite a few years ago, but never wrote much.  When I changed my focus from yoga to food, health, gardening and travel the writing began pouring out of me!  So I've changed the name to reflect the true theme.  But I'm open to other suggestions if you have a great idea, but many names are taken so you've got to be creative!

A Visit to Oleta

My blessed, fantasy life continues to evolve with fabulous adventures.  This summer had its share of adventures including three weeks in Europe.  I travelled to London where my husband had an art show!  Then we went to northern Spain for two weeks, driving along the coast from Biarritz to Santander.  There is a remnant of a town in this region, a few of my family members have visited in the past decade.  My father was originally told about the town by a mexican man he was doing investments for.  It is in the Basque Country, a state on the northeast corner of spain.  The Basques have their own culture independent of Spain.  They have a language, Euskadi, commonly spoken today.  The names of most towns and cities in this region are Basque names.  Or if it has a predominant Spanish name, like San Sebastian, it is also known popularly by its basque name, Donostia.  The Basque have also there own traditions, sports, history.  Oleta is the name of the town in Basque, Olaeta is the name of the town in Spanish, and the family story is that our lineage comes from that name, changed over time to a current spelling of Oleata.  As it was located almost directly south of the world-famous super wave, Mundaka, in beautiful countryside, I found it quite simple to feel from this land.  As I got to know the people, see their faces and experience the quirks of their personalities, I kept feeling, Yes!  I am Basque!

The rode to Oleta consisited of meandering through the coastal forests and then travelling deeper inland into the mountain peaks.  We summited a big peak and stopped at a lookout for a picnic lunch.

Oleta was located just a short distance from the summit.  We dropped down about 15 minutes to find the town.  It was a cluster of big stone and brick houses weaving along the road for a few minutes.  They were spaced with big plots of land, grass cut for the fall, horses grazing.  A stream ran across the town at the church and there was a beautiful stone cross.  The town had a restaurant and one sign for cheese for sale.  That was about it.

The view back at the peak from Oleta

The church was closed but it had a very old keyhole, big enough to look inside, that's the view above.  Next to the church was the farmhouse with a small sign out front for cheese for sale.  As we walked around the church, peeking through the gate of the cemetary to read the names inside, I saw a big farmer lady washing big metal canisters for storing milk.  I asked her if she was selling the cheese and told her I'd like some.  She walked us around the property to the front, walking through her garden towards the front of her house.  First we passed a barn and I spied a bunch of chickens.  I asked if I could take a look, but had to be careful as there were about 8 wild hunting dog tied up inside as well.

She left us in the front room of her house while she went deeper inside.  I snapped a couple quick photos of the interesting farm tools on the wall and her little altar/repository of emergency supplies!  I spied a classic photo of a joyful olympian biting down on her medal.  When she returned with the cheese I asked her about it, it was her sister who won bronze at the London Olympics last summer!  I took a photo of the newspaper cover on the wall at the restaurant.  She sold me a half round of her milder sheep's cheese and then I let her get back to work!

At the local bar/restaurant they were cleaning away the dishes from a large family just completing a leisurely lunch.  We got some cold beers at the bar which featured prominently two large jars of honey for sale.  I was beginning to laugh at all my hobbies displayed for me in Oleta, chickens, cheese, gardens, and honey!  I started conversation with the young bartender, asking him if he was form the area.  He laughed and said this was his house and his family owned the restaurant.  I told him why I was visiting and he told me about a Mexican doctor who had passed through the area a few years before for the same reason.  They pulled a topographical map of the area off the wall and showed me another Oleta just north of us on the ocean, just across the river from Mundaka.  Later on our trip we tried to find this town too.  We got very close but couldn't quite find our way.

Lemon Zucchini Cake

2 mini cakes fresh from the oven

A friend of ours has recently begun a new venture as a farmer!  He has cultivated some land here in San Diego county and has begun to offer weekly delivers of organic produce.  It's a great price, only $15 a week.  Today was our third delivery and I continue to see fresh and vibrant produce, lettuce, kale, green onions, radishes, and summer squash have been consistent and some other items I have received once or twice include carrots, beets, figs and a small bouquet of flowers!  So these ingredients have pushed my culinary creativity lately, finding ways to use all the summer squash and my husband's sweet tooth had me searching the internet for zucchini cakes and breads.  Here's a link to a recipe I followed, or you can take my variations for a yummy coconut flavor!

Preheat oven to 350' and grease and flour your baking dish.  One day I made one large loaf and baked for 40 minutes.  The next week I made two small loafs and baked for ...minutes

Whisk together:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar (or 2/3 cup brown sugar and 1/3 cup powder sugar if you ran out of sugar!)
1 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon of grated lemon rind

Mix together:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Add flour mixture to egg mixture and then add 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini to this mixture.

Spoon this batter into your prepared baking dish and make 25-45 minutes.

Cool and enjoy!

The Cakes and the beautiful Squash they came from!

Creamy Drinks for Dreamy Chicks!

In a constant consumption evolution I have found myself upon this path:

mother's milk->cow's milk(by the gallon from costco)->organic milk->soy milk (in a tetra carton)->rice milk (in a tetra carton)->canned coconut milk->abstinence->home made nut and rice milk

...basically I'm trying to say that there are times you just want to reach for something cool and creamy, maybe to start your day, maybe to calm you in the evening.  But the traditional choices just don't work for me anymore.  After giving up milk years ago I have been purchasing Trader Joe's Organic Rice Milk and Organic Chocolate Soy to use in smoothies and most often to be drunk in the evening as a midnight snack of choice.  But these cartons have become unacceptable to me now, just another processed food creating lots of trash in my trash can.  I've pretty much gone without for awhile, reaching for organic canned coconut milk when a splash of milk is needed in oatmeal or in a baking recipe.  But that occasional evening craving or smoothy base was still missing in my life!  At a charity event I attended this weekend I was able to try several flavors of a new juice brand, Suja, they were sponsors of the event.  The almond coconut milk was delicious, I especially liked the spices.  If they can make a great bottled alternative milk, so can I!  I've made two varieties so far this week, a coconut and nut milk similar to Suja's and a traditional horchata, or rice milk.

Nutty Coconut Milk
1/4 cup of raw almonds
1/4 cup of raw cashews
1/2 cup coconut milk
8 ounces coconut yogurt
1 mango
teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
1-2 cups water

Soak the nuts over night then strain.  Remove the skins from the almonds by pinching or rubbing them between your fingers.  In a blender combine all the ingredients starting with just one cup of the water.  Blend on high until well combined and then taste.  Adjust the ingredients to your own liking, adding water, sweetener, other fruit, ice...Store in the fridge in a glass container, mixing up well before drinking!

Horchata
1 cup of rice, I used basmati
4 cups of water
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt

Soak the rice for a few hours, strain, and then soak again in 4 cups of water over night.  Pulverize in a blender on high for 5 minutes then strain, discarding the rice pulp.  Return the milk to the blender and blend again with the remaining ingredients.  Store in the fridge in a glass container and miw up again before serving.

Horchata Berry Smoothy
1 cup of Horchata
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
handfull of beet greens
1 tablespoon organic hemp protein powder
1 teaspoon bee pollen

Blend all the ingredients together on high and enjoy!

Horchata and Horchata Berry Smoothy

A Swim Competition

The Lead-Up
In the summer I find myself swimming out to the buoys placed at different intervals from La Jolla Cove towards the Marine Room Restaurant.  It's something I mostly do in the warmer months, when the ocean is calm and there hasn't been surf in awhile.  My body will be bored, yearning for some surf, instead I give it a swim.  It can be equally magical.  I usually swim alone and it is the quietest time in my life, just the voices in my head and the slush of ocean and air around me.  I don't go with any regularity, and have no particular course, I let myself be free to swim however far and however often just feels right.  This is much the same as my surf routine, except with surfing I have the motivation of a very enthusiastic surf partner!  Often I'll ride my bike to the Cove, I think of it as my personal triathlon:  I walk my dogs first, then ride to the cove, swim, and ride back.  It's quite a morning!  I'll often swim to a tall yellow buoy that is farthest to the northwest, or you might call it the deepest buoy.  Other times I'll swim towards the white buoys that line up towards the Marine Room, occasionally making it all the way to the sandy beach and back.  When you get to the shallows over there it is not uncommon to see big schools of small sharks hanging out in the warm water, getting to know each other!  Along the way I'll often see sharks as well, dark shadows cruising through the kelp caught in a glimpse as it heads deeper under water.  When I tell others about my swims they often ask if I'm afraid, but really I'm not.  I know that there is risk swimming in the open ocean, but I feel it is no greater risk than walking my dogs along the bike path, driving my car on the 8 or locking myself alone in a room with a stranger to give them a 75 minute massage!  The ocean is my friend, a sometimes angry and cold friend, but if you try to understand her each day, even at different times throughout the day, she will share with you some of her wisdom, and you will feel more safe inside of her!

There are different events and organizations related to this beautiful activity, swimming at the Cove.  One such venue is the La Jolla Rough Water Swim, a competition held every year at the start of September.  For a while now I tell myself, This Year I'm going to Do IT!  But I chicken out due to cost, my perceived fitness, anti-social attitudes, who knows?  But this year I did it!  I had been swimming a lot recently, due to crumby surf and warm tranquil oceans both at home and recently in Spain.  So about ten days before I become definitive and took a few extra swims that week.  I am fortunate to have a neighbor who is a world famous open ocean swimmer and she graciously accompanied me a few times and offered up a few suggestions and strategies.  The days leading up to the race I got very excited and visualized the race many times in my mind.  The day before I signed up for the race and got my number, wristband and anklet with computer chip to record my time, I was ready to go!

The Swim
It was a beautiful day, blue skies, calm and warm waters.  The swim was exciting.  I felt nervous waiting on the staircase for our time to step on to the beach.  I was swimming one mile with women from the ages of 19-39.  There were many college and university swim teams there gathered together in groups and I was impressed at the idea of swimming with them all!  At the start of the race I was excited to be amongst so many fast swimmers and I found myself swimming faster than I was planning on and needing to breath at a much faster rate with my strokes.  It felt like being in a school of tuna, so much splashing all around.  And I could get a sense of my space in the pack by the view of the splashing of the group extending in front of me.  The first buoy was much farther away than I expected and I was glad I had swam all the way to Marine Room the week before, that gave me confidence over the distance.  I did the best I could to keep up and keep going!   I finished the race in 32:26, finishing 7th in my age group and 102 out of 280 women who competed in the mile race.

The Vision
The race was exciting and only a positive experience.  I'd like to swim again next year and I would like to improve!  If I could get a little faster I might place in the top five and get a trophy!  I'll use this blog to record some of my swims.  Maybe you'd like to join me?