Candied Cacao Nibs

One of the benefits of doing my grocery shopping on Saturdays is that the local Farmer's Market is held Saturday mornings downtown. I figured buying from the Farmer's Market is a good way to keep in check where my food is coming from (see previous post), and also eat locally and organically.

I was drawn to a stand that was selling fresh roasted cocoa beans! They had chocolate covered whole cocoa beans as well as sugared cacao nibs. Since I have not had refined sugar in over a month (I'll blog some time about my month-long experiment with low carbohydrate diet and my recent decision to NOT do it anymore), I decided for the sake of my health and blood sugar levels, I should stick to the plain cocao nibs. The lady looked at me a little strangely when I asked if these cocao nibs were for munching on. No wonder, because it turns out that plain cocao nibs are just BITTER! Still, I did not want to waste these nibs, so I decided to try to candy them with honey.

 I spooned some pure honey into a small saucepan, squeezed a small orange into it, and added a splash of water. I heated the mixture until it was thick, and threw in the cocao nibs, coating the nibs evenly. I then poured the mixture into a baking pan and used a spatula to spread the nibs out.

I sprinkled the nibs with cinnamon, then baked them at 350 degrees in the oven for about 8 minutes. When they came out, I sprinkled the nibs again with cinnamon and also some Stevia (in lieu of powdered sugar). I let the mixture harden and now have delicious homemade candied cocao nibs!


*edit* I realize this is a novice mistake, but aluminum foil is a TERRIBLE idea when it comes to candying items. Never using it again!

My First CSA

I am proud to announce that I joined my first CSA! Many things led up to this decision:

1. I realize despite not eating a lot of meat, I do not eat nearly enough produce (most of my diet consists of starches, grains, and dairy/soy).
2. When I do eat produce, I do not eat enough of a variety of them.
3. I watched the movie Food, Inc. which really convicted me to eat organic and buy local to support local farms.

So I joined a local CSA that has a pickup site about a quarter mile from my apartment. I'm giving it a two month trial period to see how I like it, and I'm only buying a vegetable box every other week due to the sheer amount that they give me. Here is what I got this week:

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Carrots
• Beets (which I traded in for tomatoes)
• Salad Turnips
• Mustard Greens
• Cabbage
• Dill
• Swiss Chard
• Kohrobi
• Green Onions
• Sweet Potatoes

Yum!!!