February Cooking By Color – White, Brown, and Black
Today we have a very exciting and delicious recipe from Dianne, who happens to be my amazing intern and quite a great cook! But first I want to let you know about an exciting project I participated in. Many chefs and food bloggers contributed to a vegan eBook of exotic and creative recipes, lead by Sarah Brown of Queer Vegan Food. All proceeds of this eBook go to benefit the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary! Run over to her site and grab you a copy. Such a good cause!
No onto a delicious treat made from sprouted black quinoa! Oh yeah baby!
Sprouted Black Quinoa Chocolate Treats by Dianne
I’ve always had a sweet tooth but these days I like my treats to be more than just a bunch of empty calories. I love to sneak a little quinoa into most of my sweets since it is a nutrition powerhouse. High in protein, it provides all essential amino acids, is a good source of fiber and high in iron, magnesium & phosphorus. There is no specific evidence that black quinoa has any more or less nutritional value than the more common white but I prefer to use it in my recipes because it retains a chewiness that the white does not. In this recipe I sprout the quinoa so that it is edible without cooking. Sprouting grains activates natural enzymes that help with digestion and multiply the vitamin content.
NOTE: This recipe needs 36 hours prep time.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup black quinoa soaked for 12 hrs and sprouted for 24 – yields 1 cup sprouted black quinoa
- 1 cup rolled oats (or other rolled grain such as kamut, amaranth, spelt or barley)
- 1/3 cup raw hulled sunflower seeds
- 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
- 2 tablespoons ground flax meal
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup almond butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Dash of cayenne pepper (optional - other flavorings can be used such as cinnamon, orange zest, ground ginger)
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips, melted
Preparation
Thoroughly wash the black quinoa and soak in a glass jar filled with filtered water for 12 hrs. (I like to use a mason jar and replace the lid with cheese cloth so you can easily rinse the quinoa and it will stay in the jar.) After soaking rinse and drain the quinoa well and leave to sprout for 24 hrs. Tilt the jar upside down and prop so that water can drain and air can circulate around the quinoa.
Makes sure the quinoa is close together rather than all around the jar so that they will retain some moisture. Rinse and drain the quinoa every 8 hrs. At the end of the 24 hrs the quinoa should have a little tail (for more information on sprouting http://sproutpeople.org/quinoa.html).
Mix quinoa, oats, sunflower seeds, coconut and flax in a bowl. Add maple syrup, almond butter, vanilla, salt and flavoring of your choice and mix well. Use your hands if you need to. Stir in melted chocolate and mix well. Form mixture into little balls (aprox 1 tablespoon).
Roll in topping of your choice – sesame seeds (black or white) poppy seeds, coconut, cinnamon, cocoa, round ginger, chopped nuts etc.
Place in freezer for 10 -15 min to set.
Notes
Storage: Keep refrigerated in an air tight container for up to a week.
Have you ever tried black quinoa before? Do you ever use it in treats? What is your favorite way to use it?
Dianne Slick is a health conscience chef. She is a graduate of The Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts and specializes in plant based cooking, including Vegan, Raw, Macrobiotic and Ayurvedic disciplines. She loves to share her knowledge about how food can be used in a healing way and how it can help improve your health and overall well being. Her goal is to help others lose weight with healthy delicious food rather than rely on the pre packaged, chemical laden diet “foods” on the market today. Check out her Facebook page here.
Thursday, February 21, 2013 - 8:41 am
Sounds really interesting, I’d love to give sprouting black quinoa a try. I totally agree with you — if I’m going to have a treat, I try and make it something that has more nutritional value than the stuff you would buy in shops. Great post!