The Best Chocolate Mousse Tart

My entire life I have loved to dance. My Dad says that I used to kick my feet in time to one of the songs that his band played while I was still in the womb (my Mom was also in this band and I have never even thought to ask her about this, odd since it was her that would have noticed). I used to make up dances in my living room for hours and then subject my Mom's friends to "recitals" when they would come over. My even got my friends involved in dancing with me.

I took a few dance classes over the course of my life and have always had difficulty with them because they require that you perform movements that someone else feels go to the music and frequently I disagree. 

When I was in high school I took up going to monthly swing dancing at the Mission Mill in Salem, Oregon. This really fun Big Band would play and all these people who were in high school would take the floor next to a group of people who probably learned when flappers were a big thing. It was great. I danced with so many partners and ALWAYS had fun. 

My best friend Margaret and I used to dance together anytime the mood struck which pretty much meant whenever a swing song came on the radio. Which in the years between 1995 and 1999 was pretty often actually because the Cherry Poppin' Daddy's (Eugene based band) had gone national, as had a few other bands that made it onto mainstream radio channels like: The Brian Setzer Orchestra, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, and the Squirrel Nut Zippers.  

We painted some houses one summer for Margaret's father and played a lot of this music and took a few breaks to dance to the songs even though it was pretty sweltering. We did some swing dancing in Hawaii after attending a hula dancing show put on for the many many bands participating in the International Music Festival and Contest of Pacific High School bands. We most likely were made fun of by many high school students from around the world who viewed us as they were dispersing. We also danced at her wedding. Her in her wedding dress and me in my maid of honor dress.

Swing dancing with Margaret at her Wedding

I have been sad to see dancing slip from my life over the years. In college I did take some dance classes, three or four semesters of African dance which was a blast and three semesters of ballet which was good in its way. Unfortunately for me, my husband is completely resistant to dancing. I mean he did dance with my once at each of most weddings we have attended, but other than that nothing. 

I have found some other ways to fill my dancing need: going to 80s Video Dance Attack a few times, dancing with my kids, and of course dancing by myself in my living room when no one is looking. My husband started telling me I should just go swing dancing by myself and he was sure I would find someone willing to dance with me. Well I have started to think I might just take him up on that and then enter some new friends Brian and Megan. 

 Can't you tell my little guy enjoys dancing?

Brian and Megan also really enjoy dancing. Megan also used to make up dances for hours in her living room and disliked classes as a kid because the teachers were expressing their vision for the song and her's was ignored. They have started to break Tommy (my husband) down. He actually agreed to learn with us. To a video. In our living room. So a few weeks ago Brian and Megan came over with a video and we all learned the first eight beats of foot work for the Lindy Hop. Wow, it was harder than I thought! 

Tommy was really good, he picked it up really quickly and stuck with it for about 45 minutes. When we stopped he swore up and down that this was the last time (we'll see about that). 

Now getting to the point of the story (finally) Megan had brought Tommy some sweet treats as a reward for sticking with it. She is vegan and so she thought she would introduce Tommy to some things that he can still have (now that allergy testing shows he can't have wheat, dairy, or eggs). She brought a fantastic chocolate tart thing by Hail Mary which is a great product if you don't have the desire to make this totally check them out. They make this thing that is sort of chocolate mousse like but it is vegan and grain free and raw. It also happens to be AMAZING.

I tried it and thought this is really good and I bet I can make it. Well I did. Mine are not as cute because I don't have a pan that is right for it but they taste amazing, they are creamy, rich, crunchy, and oh so chocolatey. I have lots of ideas for flavoring this thing in the future. So if you like chocolate mousse or chocolate you will LOVE this. Really I think this is the most general public friendly, vegan and paleo, recipe I have come across. 

Chocolate Mousse Tart: Vegan and Paleo

Muffin Tin (I molded tin foil to the cups so I could just pull the tarts out at the end and then pull the tin foil off, you could probably use muffin tin liners for this)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees if you want a crispy but non-raw crust. 

For the Chocolate Cookie Crust:

 1 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon  almond flour/meal
4 tablespoons cocoa powder 
4 tablespoons maple syrup
4 tablespoons coconut oil
1/8 teaspoon salt

Mix all ingredients well. Divide evenly, about 2 tablespoons of the mix into the bottom of each muffin cup. Press it down to flatten it and cover the bottom evenly, if it seems too thick (more than 1/4 inch) press some of it up against the edges to create a small cookie bowl. 

For a crispy crust:
Bake these for about 11 minutes and then let cool for about 10 minutes.  

For a Raw Crust but not crispy:
Set aside do not bake.

While the cookie crust is baking (or not) make the filling:

The Mousse Filling:

2 cups coconut oil melted
2 cups cocoa powder
1 cup maple syrup (works best if room temp)
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (we use alcohol free)

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until well incorporated. This should be quite runny if you used the oil melted. 

Putting it together: 

Pour the mousse filling into the muffin tins over the cookies to fill them about another 1/2 inch. If there is mousse left feel free to add more to each tin. Refridgerate for about 10 minutes or until solid. Once they are totally solid you can remove the tinfoil from the tins and peel the foil from the mouse. Then you can serve them. I like to allow them to sit for just a few minutes so they are softer. These could be left in the tin foil and stored in the fridge for a few days before serving them. 

Also you could use a better pan like a tart pan to make this. I may try out my spring form pan next time and see if I can just make one large one to cut up.


For your listening enjoyment: 

Chocolate Chip Cookies: Dairy, Egg, Grain, and Sugar Free

About 3 weeks ago my husband and son got results to some allergy testing back. I was fully expecting the diary and wheat allergy but the egg allergy took me by surprise. My husband took all of the results very hard. We have taken all of these things out of our family's diet but my husband really wanted a few things to help him through the transistion. One was pizza and the other was cookies. I tried a califlower pizza crust and that failed horribly. So then I took on the cookies because I knew I had good results with some I had tried before.

I wanted to do a chocolate chip cookie and after finding a few recipes that were close to what I was looking for ended up with this:

Grain, Egg, Dairy, and Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Cookies (Super good and nice and chewy):

1 1/2 cups ground cashews (grind very finely in a food processor, they will start to almost become cashew butter)
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup melted virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup ground mejoul dates (I used six large ones, pit them, put in the food processor with the coconut oil)
1 tablespoon vanilla (alcohol free is our preferance)
1 tablespoon full fat canned coconut milk
chopped dark chocolate (check for diary free/gluten free)

Mix everything, except the chocolate, in the food processor until very smooth. Stir in the chocolate.

Place the dough in the fridge while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees and either line a cookie sheet with a non-stick mat or lightly grease (coconut oil works really well for this). Scoop out about a table spoon (or two for larger cookies) of the dough and place on the cookie sheet. Squish them down so they are flatened and look like a cookie, these do not melt down or expand much if at all while baking.

Bake for about 11-13 minutes.

I recently got a Nespresso machine and Aeroccino Milk frother/steamer. I have been really enjoying the quality of coffee that it makes, I am pretty picky about that. I am also amazed that with ALMOND MILK it can froth so well. The picture above is done with almond milk. Wow!
                                                                   

Double Chocolate Cookies (Grain Free, Vegan)

The other day I was taking a walk at our local lake while my kids were in school. It had been very cold (for the Portland area) so the lake was partly frozen over and it was snowing. It was beautiful and quiet walking around the lake. My checks were cold but I was staying warm. As I wandered I took the occasional photograph. This is one thing that I have been enjoying now that I have both of my children in school at the same time once a week. 

Here are some photos: 

When I got back to the car I went home and decided to have a hot cup of tea to warm up. I started browsing Pinterest and ran across a recipe for Healthy Double Chocolate Cookies. They looked great but for some reason I didn't repin them, which was much regretted for the next few days as I tried to find them again. 

I never did find them but I found a different recipe here. I did not have all of the ingredients and I needed a vegan recipe, so I changed the recipe a bit and came up with these: 

These are really intense dark chocolate cookies and they are not too sweet which in my book is wonderful. They are chewy which I love. I am not ashamed to say I have actually had them for breakfast two days in a row. :) 

They are great with my morning cup of English Breakfast tea and even better with my evening (decaf) cappuccino which I will have to tell you about another time because I have a new and wonderful espresso maker (Nespresso). 

These cookies are a lot like Lara Bars but taste and texture are way, way better. They could be shaped into bars and used in the same way a Lara Bar is (like a snack bar or quick pick me up).

On to what you have all been waiting for the recipe:

Double Chocolate Grain-Free, Vegan Cookies:

1/2 cup Almond Meal
1 cup ground cashews (place about 1 1/4 cup raw unsalted cashews in a food processor and grind until very fine, measure to make sure you have 1 cup)
1 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon flax seed in 1/4 cup boiled water (let sit until thick)
1 medium ripe avocado
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 1/4 cup chopped medjoul dates
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (we use a version with no alcohol) 

Extras: 
Handful of chopped dark chocolate or dark chocolate chips.

In a medium bowl mix the first 5 ingredients (almond, cashew, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt) with a fork or whisk. 

In a food processor add in the avocado, flax seed with the water, coconut oil, vanilla extract, and chopped dates. Process until very smooth. Add in the dry ingredients about 1/2 cup at a time and mix until just incorporated. (After two thirds of the dry ingredients my food processor was out of room due to its very small size so I switched to my mixer but I recommend sticking with the food processor) 

Add in a hand full of chocolate chips and any other extras you like. Suggestions are dried fruit like cranberries, dried coconut, or chopped nuts. 

Get a piece of parchment paper and move the dough onto the parchment paper and then roll into a log shape that is about 1 foot long. Roll the parchment paper around it and place in the refrigerator while you preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

I suggest lining a cookie sheet with parchment. Take the log of cookie dough from the fridge and cut 1/4 inch pieces so they are circles. Place this on the cookie sheet. The knife with get sticky so you could wash it or just be prepared to reshape the cookies by hand into evenly flat circles. These cookies do not change shape while baking. Continue cutting cookies from the log and place on the cookie sheet.

Bake for 9 minutes and remove from the oven. Move to a cooling rack very gently. Once cool make sure to store them in an airtight container. 

Great Gifts for Toddlers 2 to 3

At two kids start to enjoy roll play. Think dress up, acting like Mom/Dad, pretending to answer a phone with the beginning of a conversation (Hello), cooking, pretending play is really beginning to bloom. Conversation is also starting to take off and by the time they are three it is amazing how far they have come. Gross motor skills become more refined as so fine motor skills. Things like kicking a ball, playing basketball on a short hoop, riding a tricycle are great skills to hone in on. Art starts to be come really fun at this age, gluing, cutting with scissors, painting, writing with large crayons/markers, stringing things like beads are all great for developing fine motor skills. 

Many of the previous suggestions (1-2 year, 6-12 month) still work as wonderful toys with more refined ability, instruments like bells, balls, push toys, ride on, music, etc. 

Here are a few new things to add to the list: 

1. Games: There are some really great games that come in to play at two. We love this one by Haba, which I reviewed previously:

Haba has a great line of games and toys that are both fun and require brain power to play with. 
2. Art supplies:
Crayola has a line of art supplies just for this age group and they are okay but I actually find that my kids both enjoy more traditional crayons/markers/paints and usually can use them at least as well if not better than the ones crayola put out for this age group. That being said crayola does have great crayons, markers, and finger paints. 

These triangular crayons are really helpful in getting the right grip:

But I have to say that my favorite drawing medium for this age are these Colorix:

They are so easy to glide on and create bright, vibrant colors with. For those just learning it is a lot easier than crayons. 
3. Role Play items:
Think telephone, kitchen set, shopping cart, dolls, vacuum/broom and other things that your child sees on a daily basis being done by adults. Does Mom or Dad have a brief case, a brief case might be a good choice. A pretend lap top, a baby to take care of, all of these things that help the child to learn the roles they see going on around them every day.
We are lucky enough to have quite a few of these things, a few of the most used are: baby dolls, telephone, vacuum and brief case. 




4. Dress up to go along with role play getting items to dress up in is something that my kids love! If you have a Doctor kit at home this Doctor outfit might work well:


Melissa and Doug also has many other great costume sets, fire fighter, construction worker, and many others. 

 5. The song Let's Go to Work by Kira Willey, this is one of my favorite new songs. I might like it more than anyone else in my family, it is so so so cute. 


6. Playdoh and things to use with playdoh, of course there are tons of recipes that are really easy and cheap to make but here is a link to a set of playdoh must haves that are perfect for working with any playdoh you make.
                                       
7. A trike or balance bike with no peddles is great for learning the mechanics for riding a bike (hint the most important thing is confidence about balance)
                                     


8. Not forgetting bike safety training, a helmet

                                     
9. A night light. Towards the end of this year in particular is when toddlers start to get scared of being in the dark room. This turtle has a timer so if they fall asleep it does not stay on all night. 


There are also some cute ones that can be easily be taken off the plug unit and carried to another room. 

10. Sensory table, great for learning about new textures and how things scoop and pour. Change out the medium from sand or water, to noodles or rice sensory learning is always fun for a toddler.


I hope this is helpful. What are your favorites for this age? 

Also check out this list of great toys to get for 1-2 year olds. 

Emilia

Super Hero Birthday Party

My little five year old is now six! I can't believe it.

Before his party I asked him what kind of theme he wanted (to him this means what does he want on his cake). He decided on Superman and I went to work searching Pinterest and Google to find activities for a Super Hero party, cake ideas, and decoration ideas. I made a whole Pinterest board for AB's birthday (you can follow me on pinterest in the sidebar to the right if you want to see it). I showed him the options and he choose his cake.

Now let me say that finding a Superman figurine the day of the party is not a good idea for any of you that wait until the last minute to put the finishing touches on things (ummmmmmm, okay me). I ended up improvising. I bought Superhero League stickers at Michael's Craft Store about two hours before the party because they had a Superman sticker. I then stuck the sticker to a piece of paper and ran it through my scanner to enlarger said picture. I glued it to card stock, cut around it, added tin foil to the bottom of the enlargement, and stuck it in the cake as the "figurine". Also I am not actually a cake decorator, I just play one at home, so I use plastic bags to pipe frosting and pretty much make things up as I go.

I did make a flour-less chocolate cake again for this cake and made french butter cream frosting which is so much better that that sickly sweet other stuff.

I had decided on doing a Superhero training camp, target practice (bean bag toss), and building a super hero hide out or vehicle with legos as activities. It was wild, crazy, and I think fun.

Then we had super foods for super heroes, veggies and hummus, guacamole and sweet potato or corn chips, a variety of fruit, sparkling water and 100% juice, water flavored with orange slices, and cheese sticks.


Thanks to my Mom for taking photos :)

Great Gifts for 1-2 year olds

There are huge changes between your little baby who needed you to do everything and your one year old. A one year old is either walking for close to it, is eating solid foods, is beginning to say "words" or getting there. They are really starting to show their personality at this stage. They are much more involved in exploring and find toys a bit more interesting now. 

Some of the things from the previous stages are still excellent toys and will remain excellent toys for quite some time, for example: blocks, balls, toys where one thing disappears (think jack in the box). By one they are branching out a bit and start enjoying things that they can push or pull while they walk. Scooping and stirring are interesting for them. Water play and other sensory activities are beginning to be fun and between one and two they can start to use art supplies that are designed for their age (with some help of course). 


Here are few toys that we loved at this age:

1) Pop-up toys where you twist, push, buttons and then an animal pops up.


2) Duplo Legos, they have come out with some really fun sets a few that are particularly interesting for the 1 1/2 and up group. There are some sets that include trains, dinosaurs, and more. 

3) Simple puzzles, ones with nobs are much easier for toddlers to handle. There are some with added texture, great for sensory play, and learning about texture words.


4) Shape sorter


This one is multi functional because it is also a pull along toy:


5) Dr. Seuss board book set


6) Beginner games.  


7) A pretend phone, pretty much the bees knees in a youngsters eyes.


8) A walking toy, either to pull or push. The thing about the ones that a toddler pushes is it might go really fast and cause baby to fall, some have something to slow the pace down but most do not so keep an eye on them at first. 
We have ride on toy that can be pushed also and my 6 year old still uses it. 


9) This eating set is great for toddlers starting to feed themselves. It is really fun and they have it in a construction theme and garden theme. It even has a little pusher to help push food onto the spoon or fork.

Another good investment at this point is a zoo membership or children's museum membership. 

Enjoy!

Great Gifts for 6-12 Months

This is the age when kids start to get active. They are rolling over, sitting up, scooting, crawling, standing up, and beginning to walk. Sitting up is a big step in being able to enjoy toys more. They can use their hands a lot more to grab and manipulate things. Babies from six to twelve months are still putting things in their mouths like crazy and are starting to really eat solids.

I loved watching my little ones start to take their first steps and learning how to dance which they even do before they walk. This is a time when it is really important to talk about everything. I liked to use colorful toys to talk about colors, and when handing blocks to a baby I liked to count them as I was handing them out. This is a good time to start using sign language with simple words and phrases.

I love the baby stage it is so full of learning and everything is new and full of wonder.

1. Blocks. It is a major accomplishment when a baby develops the ability to stack blocks. Getting the point where stacking is possible takes practice. It is a great way to work on counting and depending on the blocks many other things too. Here are a variety of suggestions for blocks all with attractive qualities. 
 a) These are lovely colors, and include numbers with objects to count on each block. They are just heavy enough to make stacking not too difficult and are rubber so little hands can grab them more easily.


b) These are great because when you push a button on one it causes not only the object on it to move but also the object on the one stacked below it. There are only three of them but the stack together well and stay stacked more easily. 

c) Alphabet blocks by Fisher-Price are neat because they each have a letter and something that begins with that letter.


2. I love this set of stacking toys. I give it to almost every new baby I know because it has great potential to be a wonderful aide in learning and development. It is great for learning colors, sizes, stacking, object permanence (even if you can't see it is still there), and coordination.

3. Crawl along drum. Something to encourage crawling and makes noise! When my son was young he loved playing with one of these at my friends house and her baby loved it too.


4. I really like how this toy has a leg that each makes a different tone. The legs are full of air so they are pretty easy to squeeze. 


5. Eric Carle Board Books, beautiful art and learning combine in his books to make them a great addition to any kids library.


6. Bath toys begin to be a lot more fun at this age. Here are a couple my family enjoyed: 

d) Wind up toys

7. Spinner toys are great for this age

8. Jack in the Box

9. Sign language books to read with baby are good for encouraging enjoyment of books and learning signs to help strengthen communication skills. 

10. Music and shakers/bells
The wheels on the bus is a family favorite but there are tons of others. Try and encourage shaking to the beat, using hand signals and signs along with songs. 


Don't forget that a lot of the items from the 0-6 month post are still great toys for this age, such as a picture book of people baby knows, a mirror book or just a mirror, and as I am sure you know these little guys and gals are not going to really understand much about gifts and will benefit most from interaction with people and environment even with the simplest of things. It might be a good idea to give a gift of donating to a college fund instead of a toy.

Also check out the next age group too, here are some great toys for ages 1 to 2.