Hot Chocolate Fig Sauce with Sea Salt

When I was developing this recipe I was looking for an easy way to make a creamy, vegan chocolate sauce without lots of ingredients.  Once I thought of using a vegan ice cream (I used a vanilla coconut milk based one) as the sauce base the rest of the recipe came together very fast.  I like it with the kiss of sea salt, but feel free to leave out if you'd like.

This sauce is good hot on your ice cream or other dessert, but it's amazing chilled eaten right out of the container or spread on toast or pancakes.  I didn't try this, but I think it would work.  Make sauce and chill until solid.  Dust hands with cocoa. Roll by the teaspoon or tablespoon in hands until rounded, roll in additional cocoa until covered.  Keep chilled until serving. Quick, chocolate-fig truffles!  (You could even get fancy and slice a dried fig almost in half, stuff with a truffle and serve like that.  You know I think I have to whip up another batch!)

Hot Chocolate Fig Sauce with Sea Salt

Makes 1 cup

1/4 cup fig preserves

1/2 cup non-dairy vanilla ice cream

4 oz. vegan semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1/4 tsp. finely ground sea salt

Put fig preserves in pot on low heat. Stir until syrupy. Add ice cream and chocolate. Stir until melted and smooth. Stir in salt.

Chocolate Fig Sundaes: For each serving, drizzle 2-3 Tbs. of warm sauce over 1/2 cup of non-dairy vanilla ice cream. Garnish with sliced fresh figs. 

I made this cake - Coconut Lemon Bundt

This wasn't my recipe, but I took full credit. When I brought this beauty to a party, everyone had a slice and then had two. They could not believe it that it was vegan.  After they found out, some had a third slice, saying it was "good" for them.  Well, it's not exactly health food, but it is tasty.
Thanks Veganomicon for the recipe and inspiration.

My changes? I used soy milk and added a little grated lemon zest to the confectioner's sugar sprinkled on top.

A dessert, a snack or a treat? Monkeying around with a banana dish.

A new complusion -- a ripe banana mashed in a bowl with fork.  Sprinkle on some finely shredded coconut if desired and sweetner if you like (I like maple syrup). Mash the additions in and pour in 2-3 Tbs. of almond milk. Stir and spoon up. Yum.

(Photo from MS Office Clip Art)

My first vegan cookies

I recently made my first vegan cookies.  I swapped margarine for butter in this peppermint cookie recipe.
I felt that the taste was a bit "off" but they tasted great frozen.  I think I'll try again using an Earth Balance product.  I did manage to finish them all off, though.

Roasted Apple Sauce with Warm Spices

Please go to Blog Appetit for this recipe of roasted apple sauce with "warm spices."
I really enjoyed it for snack topped with plain soy yogurt (as shown in the photo).  It also worked well as a side dish for my kale and bean saute.

Apple Cranberry Pie with Granola Streusel Topping

Click over to Blog Appetit to see the recipe for my Apple-Cranberry Pie with Granola Streusel.  I used granola that was made with agave syrup rather than honey and a vegan frozen deep dish pie shell (Safeway) as well as Earth Balance spread instead of the butter to make this vegan.