{"id":44741,"date":"2024-07-12T01:32:21","date_gmt":"2024-07-12T08:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=44741"},"modified":"2024-07-10T11:02:33","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T18:02:33","slug":"mousse-and-toasties-yum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2024\/07\/12\/mousse-and-toasties-yum\/","title":{"rendered":"Mousse and toasties, yum!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Easy-peasy Vegan Chocolate Mousse served up in a teacup. (photo by Shelley Civkin)<\/em><\/p>\n

I have to admit, I have a soft spot for Donna Reed-type recipes from the 1960s. Aside from being comfort food, they usually boast the honour of containing highly processed foods that are, well, a little short on nutrition. But do they taste good!<\/p>\n

One such recipe comes from my cousin Heather. The name says it all: Artichoke Toasties. It appeals to the lazy cook in me because it only has seven ingredients, five of which I always have in my kitchen. But it\u2019s also a surprisingly creamy, crunchy and satisfying appetizer. And, it\u2019s pretty filling too, so you can get away with serving a lighter dinner. Always looking for shortcuts.<\/p>\n

ARTICHOKE TOASTIES<\/b><\/p>\n

12 slices white bread
\n<\/b>butter
\n<\/b>1 14-oz can artichoke hearts, drained and finely chopped
\n<\/b>approx. 1\/4 cup\u00a0grated parmesan cheese
\n<\/b>3 heaping tbsp mayonnaise
\n<\/b>pinch of salt and pepper
\n<\/b>1 clove crushed garlic<\/b><\/p>\n

Preheat oven to 425\u00b0F. Use a drinking glass (2\u201d diameter) to cut circles of bread out of each slice. Butter one side and press the buttered side down into a greased muffin pan, flattening the entire surface. Mix the remaining ingredients together and place a spoonful of the mixture into each bread \u201cbowl.\u201d Bake 12-15 minutes, until golden and crisp.\u00a0Cool briefly before removing them from the pan.<\/p>\n

Not only is it a fun presentation, but it satisfies that salty, cheesy craving we all get now and then. I never promised anyone a low-calorie, highly nutritious, gourmet meal, but I always hope to deliver something yummy.<\/p>\n

My next recipe is a no-brainer dessert that will have your partner or guests convinced you went to French culinary school. It\u2019s called Vegan Chocolate Mousse, and it\u00a0tastes like a fancy-restaurant dessert made with the finest Belgian chocolate \u2026 the kind you\u2019d eat while wearing high heels and diamond earrings. Best part is that it\u2019s ridiculously simple to make. As in, it take five minutes. Seven, if you really go nuts with the blending. I never thought a recipe that starts with the word vegan would draw me in, but, hey, first time for everything. You\u2019re welcome.<\/p>\n

EASY-PEASY VEGAN CHOCOLATE MOUSSE<\/b><\/p>\n

1\u00a0can (13.6 oz) full-fat coconut milk (or coconut cream) chilled overnight
\n<\/b>1\/4 cup + 1 tbsp cocoa powder
\n<\/b>3-4 tbsp powdered sugar
\n<\/b>1 tsp vanilla extract
\n<\/b>2-3\u00a0tbsp liquid from the can of coconut milk
\n<\/b>1\/2 tsp instant coffee or 1\/2 banana (optional)
\n<\/b>fresh berries for topping (optional)<\/b><\/p>\n

Refrigerate the can of coconut milk (or coconut cream) overnight. Be sure to use full-fat\u00a0canned\u00a0coconut milk for this recipe \u2013 and do not shake the can, because you want the cream separate from the liquid underneath.<\/p>\n

Once cold, open the can of coconut milk and transfer only the thick cream part to a bowl. Keep 3 tablespoons of the watery part and discard the rest (or freeze it for later use).<\/p>\n

Whip the coconut milk (or coconut cream) until smooth.\u00a0Add remaining ingredients and whip until it forms a mousse-like texture. Spoon into ramekins or small bowls and chill for a few hours or up to overnight. For a unique and kitschy presentation, I served the mousse in old-fashioned teacups.<\/p>\n

Top with whipped cream and raspberries or blueberries, if you\u2019d like.<\/p>\n

There is a pronounced but not overwhelming coconut flavour to this mousse, however the cocoa powder dominates the palate. I made this recipe recently and, as I dragged my spatula towards the finish line, I had a strong feeling this was going to be a top contender in my dessert repertoire. Sure enough, it was a huge hit with my guests. As for my hubby, after the first bite, his eyes glazed over and he went into a trance-like state. Then, he came to and hoovered up the rest of the mousse in 30 seconds flat.<\/p>\n

Be aware that this recipe only produces three good-sized portions or four scant ones. Given how popular it was, I would likely double or even triple the recipe next time. This was hands-down the easiest, fastest and least expensive dessert I\u2019ve ever made.<\/p>\n

One another note … along the way on my culinary adventures, I\u2019ve stumbled upon a few new-to-me kitchen hacks. These tricks eliminate mess, rescue flavours and are just kind of cool, so I thought I\u2019d share.<\/p>\n

Dental floss<\/b><\/p>\n

When you\u2019re slicing certain creamy foods like cheesecake or goat cheese, give plain dental floss a try. It\u2019s thin, so it doesn\u2019t create drag, like the blade of a knife does, and the slices come out clean with just a simple pull of the floss.\u00a0Caveat: don\u2019t use flavoured dental floss or your cheesecake or goat cheese may come out tasting like mint. Regular, thin, waxed floss will do the trick.<\/p>\n

Stop pot from boiling over<\/b><\/p>\n

When you\u2019re boiling anything on the stove, the quickest way to stop it from boiling over is to put a wooden spoon across the top of the pot. Don\u2019t ask me why this works, it just does. Every time. I think the wood absorbs the steam. But don\u2019t try this with a silicone spoon.<\/p>\n

Rescue a salty soup<\/b><\/p>\n

Next time you mistakenly oversalt a soup, toss in a few pieces of raw apple or potato. Simmer for 10 minutes then discard the pieces. The apple or potato absorb the salt like little sponges.<\/p>\n

My best hack<\/b><\/p>\n

My favourite kitchen hack by far though is this: eat out! Or, stay home and stuff your piehole with artichoke toasties and vegan chocolate mousse.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Shelley Civkin<\/b>, aka the Accidental Balabusta, is a happily retired librarian and communications officer. For 17 years, she wrote a weekly book review column for the <\/i>Richmond Review. She\u2019s currently a freelance writer and volunteer.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Easy-peasy Vegan Chocolate Mousse served up in a teacup. (photo by Shelley Civkin) I have to admit, I have a soft spot for Donna Reed-type recipes from the 1960s. Aside from being comfort food, they usually boast the honour of containing highly processed foods that are, well, a little short on nutrition. But do they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44744,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[8729,3584,23401,3456],"class_list":["post-44741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-life","tag-accidental-balabusta","tag-cooking","tag-kitchen-hacks","tag-recipes"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}