Snuffling for Christmas Truffles: 9 Days til Christmas

My solution this year to getting presents for friends and family
that I'm generally unsure about, is cooking. I'm tired of getting
things that people don't really give a waddle about and spending
way too much money. So I'm bouncing back from being way way
sick and kicking the kitchen witchery into overdrive.

I bought cute little gift/boxes at the craft store to fill with different
goodies. I'm starting with truffles, then I'm gonna go on to jams,
cookies and candy. Seems at first like I'm spending a bundle on
supplies, but when you spread out the cost its a real break

So, with my first batch of truffles I hit Christmas on the mark.
You get cranberries, chocolate and of course peppermint.
I always seem to get stuck with a load of uneaten candy canes,
so this is a great way to use them up!

We were trying to think of a good names
for these little treats and the best thing
we could come up with were frosty balls...
or Frosty's Balls...

I will be posting some different variations
of these as Christmas nears and our cooking
hits high on the burner, so keep your mouse
poised and your eyes peeled!

Vegan Chocolate Peppermint Truffles
"Frosty's Balls"

12 oz vegan chocolate chips
be sure to get a decent brand as the quality
of the chocolate will reflect directly in the
quality of your truffles
2/3 cup nondairy milk, preferably vanilla soy
1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped
1/2 tsp flavoured extract (opt)
about 12 candy canes, pulverized

Over low-medium heat combine nondairy milk and chocolate
chips. Melt while stirring constantly to avoid burning. This
can be done in a double boiler to be safe, but its not entirely
necessary. Once chocolate is completely melted, add cranberries
and extract if using.

Chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 1/2 hours. Remove and scoop
out by rounded tsp-tablespoons. Trying to keep your hands clean
of too much chocolate, roll in powdered candy canes.

Try to keep chilled until serving or gifting!

Vegan Cucumber Raita

Raita is a cooling salty yogurt dish or condiment served with spicy

Indian food. Traditionally it would only contain a few spices, mainly

coriander/cilantro. I cannot tell specifically if the cucumber raita is

traditional or not, but often fresh minced vegetable dapple this

creamy dish.

As far as yogurt goes, many dairy yogurts contain gelatin.

I actually created an entire podcast on gelatin, but never got around

to publishing it. Briefly, if you didn't know gelatin is the boiled tendons

and collagen of animal bones (or boiled skins) and is used a thickener.

I know that stonyfield, nancys, and wallaby(?) do not use gelatin,

but they are dairy products. So go the whole way I say. I used to use

stonyfield or the wallaby one when I still consumed dairy products.

Yet they always seemed runy or too wet. I now use (and rave about)

Wholesoy & Co., a diary-free soygurt. It contains live active cultures

and soymilk and tastes better than dairy yogurt if you ask me.

AND! Quite often it is cheaper than diary yogurt. I believe the organic

dairy yogurts range from 3.99-4.99 at my local health food store

and the soy-based yogurt is usually 3.39 when it is not on sale.

So! On to the freakin food already. The other night I made a big feast

of falafel, curried couscous, and raita. Man, falafel is one of my favorites

and right up there with curry. I will post a whole entry on my tricks

to making a better, healthier falafel. But right now... Raita.

I use a combination of two recipes from Madhur Jaffrey's World of the

East: Vegetarian Cooking. This is really a bang up book and I highly

suggest trying to find it. I think the original publication is from '81 or

something though.

If there are no kids partaking I throw in a little cayenne to add a

little kick.

Cucumber Raita

2 cups of soygurt

1 cucumber, diced (you can peel it if you wish, but I do not)

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, minced

3/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cumin powder

1/4 cup raisins (preferably golden)

3 tablespoons of chopped walnuts

a little black pepper

Place soygurt in a bowl and beat until creamy.

Add all the remaining ingredients and serve!

I serve it in pita pockets with falafel, but I love eating it alone.

I swear this is one of the things that got me through my last

year of undergrad. But it is better to not let it sit to long

before eating. The earliest I could make it was late late the

night before I'd go to school. The raisins tend to get mushy

from the moisture and the cucumbers release water that

may cause separation.