Vegella - spreadble chocolate and hazelnut cream

Who doesn't love midnight snacks? When I was a teen-ager I used to drown my heartbreaks in the sweet sea of Nutella;  obviously I still do nowdays, but it is so full of saturated fat that I decided to make it by myself, using better ingredients and, above all, switching it to vegan. My "vegella" tastes deeper like chocolate and has a slightly crunchy consistency, due to the fact that I've chosen  real dark chocolate and chopped, not creamy, hazelnuts.

3.5 oz (100g) dark chocolate
1 cup (250g) canned canellini beans rinsed and drained well (actually a big can)
2 tbs (30g) organic rice oil 
2tbs (30g) chopped organic hazelnuts
1/3 cup (70g) soy milk, (already sweetened with agave)
1 tbs (15g) cocoa powder 
2 tbs (25g) sugar 
A pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg, to your taste

Blend the canellini beans with oil, milk and toasted ground hazelnuts. Melt the chocolate in a pan to low heat and add it to creamy canellini with sugar, cocoa powder and eventually, spices. Stir energetically to get a soft and smoot custard.

Store in the refrigerator, for maximum two weeks. 

I hope you liked it, let me konw if you try it!

Pasta with creamy artichokes

Soy milk is actually in my best friend in the kitchen.

I've never really loved sour cream, I find it fatty, with a doughy taste, and I've recently discovered a slightly intolerance to it. 

It's really practical and fast to use while cooking, but I've found that  soy milk made recipes are  lighter, and I like them  the most!! Every ingredient immediately "cream", indeed I usally made mushrooms creamy pasta this way. On the other hand, I'm happy when I can replace dairy products. This evening I've tried with artichokes, and a very pleasant dish came out!

Ingredients for two people
180g/6.4 oz short pasta (I chose this kind, called "farfalle". Don't they do look like real butterflies?)
2 artichokes
2 cups soy milk (without sugar!)
2 garlic cloves
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Half cup warm water
Half tsp home made flavouring (if you don't have any, use vegetable broth instead of water)
Salt, pepper, dill

First of all, clean the artichokes. After cleansing them, eliminate outer leavest and cut transversally the remaining bud to eliminate the chewy ends. Cut each one in halves and then in four. Remove the inner fuzzy centers, and we've done!

Now, let's prepare the sauce: Sligthly fry them in olive oil with the crushed garlic clover. After a few minutes add the warm water and the flavouring (or broth). Cook at high heat with lid for 10 minutes, i. e. until they will become tender. Finally add the soy milk and let thicken the cream without lid at medium heat. Mean while, prepare pasta: put on high heat a capacious eot full of water and  let it reaching boiling point. Now we can add pasta and a tbsp of salt. Do not add this two ingredients earlier. In the first case, pasta will be overcooked, while in the second, water will boil slower. Let pasta cook for a few minutes, regulate  with the instructions on the package. It's ready when it's cooked within too, but  still "resist" under teeth. I's called "al dente" cooking. Pasta should be always served like this. Now we are ready to drain it and add to the cream. Add pepper and dill to your own taste.

It's a really fast to prepare recipe, with a few ingredients we can make a delicious and snappy plate.

Hope you enjoyed it!