Soul Asylum ~ So Close
Styx ~ Babe
The Pretenders ~ Spiritual High
The Pretty Reckless ~ Heaven Knows
VAST ~ Thrown Away
Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band ~ Get It Together
The Fratellis ~ Tell Me A Lie
Doris Day ~ Bewitched
Melissa Etheridge ~ All The Way To Heaven
James Morrison ~ How Come
Joan Jett ~ Jezebel
Alter Bridge ft Christina Scabbia ~ Watch Over You
Thunder ~ A Million Faces
Beth Hart ~ Sky Is Falling
Hello folks...I'm back from my Scottish Road Trip. 1509 miles later and we are back home with a car that limped into the garage for repairs. lol. Ooops. I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the Highlands and everyone we met was so welcoming. I will always look back with great fondness at my time lost in the Scottish Highlands, Isle of Skye and John O'Groats. Once I have sorted through all my photos I took along the way I shall share some of them with you. But that is a job I haven't had time for as yet.
Yesterday I managed to get some serious time in the kitchen which as some of you will know has been scarce for the last few months. I cooked a Moroccan Lablabi Soup and a Marrakesh Vegetable Tagine that is served with a lovely homemade Turkish Harissa for a meal we are hosting tonight. Yes I am exhausted now but I had my iPod cranked high and I got through the three recipes with much smiling and some gentle dancing. lol. And then I had a slight mishap and managed to cover myself and half of the walls of the kitchen/breakfast room with freshly made Blackberry Soya Milk Shake. Yes I remembered to put the lid on the blender...the shake was actually in an airtight (HA!) storage cup. I simply shook it up before I was going to drink it...and BOOM...shake everywhere. Bright purple shake...in every crevice. Urgh! lol. Anyway....
Today's recipe was a successful attempt at making a sweet rice based dessert that wasn't overloaded with sugar, heavy and rich due to the creamy element but still remained a comforting autumnal dessert. During the first couple of days in Scotland I found a berry that I had never heard of before. Aronia berries are quite common up there and are a robust tart berry that needs to be cooked before consuming. And as I was buying them I already had this recipe planned out. Thankfully I have a great memory because I had to wait until I got home until I gave it a try. lol.
Since I sourced short grain brown rice I have been addicted to it, so use it at every opportunity. I have also been enjoying almond milk of late and the odd very small amounts of coconut blossom sugar. (Very small amounts of the latter) So the sweet rice part of the dessert was very easy. I left the rice to soak in a bath of almond milk, filtered water and coconut sugar whilst I made the Aronia berry sauce. Then I placed the mix into my trusty rice cooker although I am sure you could place it in the oven and leave to bake until the rice is soft and sweet. I was busy that day so I opted for the convenience of the rice cooker. The sauce was a very simple idea too. I cleaned them, added them to a saucepan with coconut sugar and barely covered them with filtered water. And then left them to simmer although I did have to resort to mashing them with a potato masher as the little suckers really do keep their shape. lol. When they had broken down into a thickened juice I then blitzed them until smooth.
The results were everything I hoped they would be. The rice was slightly sweet with a good texture and combined with the berry sauce was a delight to eat. It still had a richness that wasn't heavy on the tum. The berry sauce wasn't as sweet as most berry sauces and the Aronias natural tartness really lifted the sauce to a new flavour experience. I loved this dish...another good reason to go back to Scotland..to harvest more berries. lol. It is also delicious served cold...
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| Rocket & Roses Sweet Brown Rice and Aronia Berry Dessert |
Rocket & Roses Sweet Brown Rice and Aronia Berry Dessert Serves 6-8
(Original recipe from the Rocket & Roses Vegan Kitchen)
8 oz aronia berries, rinsed and drained well
2 tbsp coconut sugar
filtered water, enough to just cover the berries in the pan
12 oz short grain brown rice
2 tbsp coconut sugar
940 ml almond milk
235 ml filtered water
Add the rice, coconut sugar, milk and water into a bowl and stir well. Leave to soak for 30 minutes. Then transfer to a rice cooker/oven and cook until the liquids have been absorbed and the rice is plump and soft.
Add the berries, coconut sugar and water to a saucepan and bring them to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Using a potato mash, gently mash the berries whilst they simmer. Stir and leave to simmer until the pulp has blended with the cooking water. Approx a further 10 minutes. Then pour into a blender and blitz until you have a smooth sauce. Leave to cool.
To assemble: Spoon the sweet brown rice into a warmed serving dish and then spoon/drizzle the sauce over the top.
If you want the added creaminess that I don't lol. Try warming some almond milk to drizzle over before the berry sauce. Then serve...
Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by and loyally coming back during this hiatus. I hope your weekend is a splendid one...
~Red~
NB: This is my creation and I am very happy for you to use the recipe and share it. I only ask that you give credit where it's due as I always try to. Many thanks...Namaste ~R~
