We recently had dinner with friends at Departure – one of our favorite Portland restaurants. They offer a fantastic vegan menu, and we ordered several plates to share as a table, family style. Everything was amazing, and I left with the intent of recreating the dessert we shared – a pistachio cardamom kulfi.
Kulfi is a dense and creamy Indian dessert, similar to an ice cream. It is a perfect dessert presentation wise, as it takes longer to melt due to its consistency. I used one of my fun ice cube molds to make small square shaped kulfi – and now I really want to serve this to a large group of people!
When several of us were sharing our suggestions for the final letters of Meatless Monday A-Z, I was hoping W week would be walnuts, because I had an idea for my own take on kulfi that would be a great Vegan Valentines dessert as well.
Walnuts have many benefits – they are a great source of Omega-3, and rich in many minerals and phyto-chemicals. My notes from a recent class include walnuts, listing them as a potentially lowering risk of cancers, inflammation, heart disease, high blood pressure. A small handful of walnuts each day seems to do much good.
Traditional flavors of kulfi seem to include pistachios, cardamom, and saffron. These are all flavors I love, and I look forward to making more kulfi soon. I also have a few more unconventional ideas, as you probably could have guessed.
My Google search brought up a blog I love – Vegan Richa. She has a couple recipes for kulfi and many ideas for flavors – I used her pistachio almond kulfi as a guide.
Can I say? this is amazing.
You have several more days to plan something for your Valentine – a sweet breakfast, a batch of pink cookies, a luxuriously decadent truffle.
You may know, Valentines Day is my all time favorite. I love to celebrate love, whether it be with Jason or my favorite friends!
You may know, giving gifts of food is another all time favorite. Each of these recipes is Valentine approved, vegan, gluten free, and deliciously good.
Baileys and black tea French toast
dark chocolate mint truffles
peanut butter cups – wasabi, ginger, or graham
homemade Twix – peanut butter or caramel filled
vibrant pistachio-lime truffles
raspberry lemon cheesecake cookies
saffron doughnuts with rosewater icing
salted caramel milkshake (with homemade Baileys)
strawberry lemon rice crispies
raspberry cheesecake oreo bars
salted toffee crunch truffles
pink thumbprint cookies with whiskey ganache
Valentines spicy hot shots
pomegranate cranberry hearts
sparkly spiked cran-raspberry granita
Meyer lemon mousse in chocolate cups
…and Portlanders can visit Blossoming Lotus for their prix-fixe Valentines Dinner!
Happy Valentines Day!
I had a conversation about tempering chocolate the other day.
Actually, the conversation was partly about how I am doing it wrong – this is my own declaration. I do not use a double boiler, I do not use glass bowls over water, I definitely do not use a microwave (okay, so I am not doing it completely wrong…)
If you have read any of my previous truffle recipes, you may already know this – all I do is chop chocolate, then melt it in a pan at the absolutely lowest setting my gas stove allows, stirring constantly and rapidly with a spatula. That’s it.
Works every time, and whether dipping truffles or painting chocolate into molds for filled truffles, it hardens into the shiny coating you find sparkling back at you from the chocolate counter at the candy store.
These truffles have a rich melty center with the perfect hint of mint. I am making them for my valentine, and for a few well deserving friends…
Today I am not only sharing with you my absolute favorite truffle recipe ever, but I have a giveaway as well – with four winners!
