Decadent Dairy-Free Chocolate Mousse

My brother-in-law is married to a wonderful girl from Switzerland who shared her Grandmother's chocolate mousse recipe with me years ago. It was a family favorite for many years, but hadn't been made for nearly 5 years since we went dairy free. I decided it was time to tackle this recipe and somehow find a way to convert it. It was the most challenging conversion of a recipe I have done....but the results were incredible! It was the most decadent of desserts, and I could hardly believe it was dairy free. Try it, you won't be dissapointed!

Special Notes:

• I'm dividing the ingredients up into three sub-groups as they are mixed into three separate bowls and then combined at the end.
• Place two cans of coconut milk in the fridge for 4 hours before making recipe. Be careful not to shake them before or after putting them in the fridge, as you will want to be able to scrape the coconut cream off of the top.

Decadent Chocolate Mousse
5 egg whites

1 egg yolk
200 grams sweetened dark chocolate
50 grams milk chocolate (dairy free, we use Enjoy Life brand which uses rice milk)
1 cup coconut milk
1 Tbsp. tapioca starch

2 cans coconut milk
6 oz. plain coconut milk yogurt

1. Beat egg whites separately until stiff.
2. Combine one cup coconut milk with 1 Tbsp. tapioca starch, mix well. Melt chocolate in the top of a double boiler with coconut milk/tapioca starch combination. As chocolate melts, add egg yolk.
3. Using the two cans of coconut milk, which have been refrigerated for 4 hours, carefully scrape off the thick cream from the top (use approximately the top half of each can). Discard the remaining bottom half of both cans of coconut milk, as this will just be the watery portion that remains. Beat coconut cream until stiff. Keep the plain coconut milk yogurt separate.
4. Fold together chocolate mixture, egg whites, whipped coconut cream and plain coconut milk yogurt in a large bowl. Stir just until mixed, being careful not to stir too much.
5. Pour into dessert bowls, chill for 8 hours. Serve & enjoy!

Corn & Bean Salsa

This is a fabulous dip recipe. It would go great at a sporting event or a book club, or a movie night at home. My 9 year old son loved it and couldn't keep his chips out of it!

Corn & Bean Salsa

1 can (1.5 cups) garbanzo beans

1 can (1.5 cups) red kidney beans

1 can (1.5 cups) black beans

1 cup frozen sweet corn

2 tomatoes, seeded & chopped

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 avocado, diced

Dressing:

1/4 cup olive oil

3 Tbsp. lemon juice

3 Tbsp. Bragg's Liquid Aminos

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. ground cumin

Drain & rinse all beans, add to a large bowl. Add frozen corn, tomatoes, cilantro, onion, garlic & avocado. Mix dressing in a small bowl. Drizzle over bean mixture & toss. Serve with tortilla chips.

Product Review: Coconut Almond Non-Dairy Dessert

I have recently discovered the most *amazing* diary free treat I've had since embarking on this journey 4+ years ago. The SO DELICIOUS Coconut Almond non-dairy frozen dessert bar is a delectable delight! Eating one is very satisfying and makes me feel like I am somehow cheating on my diet.....but the beauty of it is that I'm not! Try one today, you won't be dissapointed (and if you are I would be happy to finish off the other 3 bars in your box ;)

Rudolph The Red Nosed Cupcake

Here's a fun way to decorate cupcakes or cookies for the holidays. We used gluten-free pretzels for the antlers, a dried cranberry for the nose and dairy-free chocolate chips for the eyes. This also works great with cookies by shaping he cookies into a triangle and baking the pretzel antlers right into the cookies, add the chocolate chip & nose embellishments right as they come out of the oven. Happy baking & Merry Christmas!

GFCF Sugar Cookies

This recipe was converted from my mother's sugar cookie recipe which I ate all through my growing up years. It has a slight lemon flavor which I think adds a nice touch in a sugar cookie. Enjoy these during the holidays.

Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies

1 c. sugar
¾ c. shortening
2 eggs
¼ c. rice milk
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
3 c. gluten-free flour blend
1 ½ tsp. xanthan gum
½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon flavor
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Mix in rice milk, vanilla and lemon flavoring. Add salt, baking powder, xanthan gum and flour.

Refrigerate for 15 minutes and then rollout about ¼ inch thick. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut with cookie cutters.

Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes.

Watermelon Tomato Delights

We were served these at a wedding last summer, it was the only thing being served that was dairy & gluten free and they were absolutely divine. I have since made them a couple of times and had rave reviews each time. It is a strange combination of ingredients, but is very fresh and won't dissapoint.

Watermelon Tomato Delights

Watermelon, diced

Spinach leaves, washed

Grape Tomato, halved

Bacon, cooked

Balsamic Vinegar

Cut bacon into small square pieces. Layer one watermelon piece with folded spinach leaf, one square of bacon and a tomato half. Drizzle lightly with balsamic vinegar.

Spiced Pumpkin (Dairy-Free) Milkshake

I got the original recipe for this off of this blog. It sounded so good, so I converted it to dairy free and served it to my children. It was amazing!! It's been 4 years since I had a milkshake, and this one was a treat indeed. Serve one up today, you won't be disappointed.

Spiced Pumpkin Shake
Yield: 2 servings

1/3 c. pureed pumpkin
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/4 c. coconut milk
2 c. vanilla coconut milk ice cream or rice-based ice cream
½ c. gluten-free graham crackers or gluten-free ginger cookies, crushed

Place 2 glasses in freezer to chill.

Combine all ingredients excluding ¼ cup of the graham crackers or ginger cookies in blender and blend thoroughly. When completely blended, top each serving with remaining graham crackers or ginger cookies.