Chocolate Treats & Menu Planning

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS: I promised chocolate peanut butter cups for this weekend's brunch - so I threw a bunch of confectioner's sugar in the Kitchen Aid and then realized I should have measured -- I ended up adding nearly 2 cups (a whole jar!) of peanut butter and then scooped out 105 centers. Yikes. I ran out of chocolate (yes - really! I know! Isn't it shocking!).

This time, however, I modified my Peanut Butter Cup recipe a bit - instead of crushed graham crackers, I used ground raw flax seeds. It works quite well - it gives a little nutty crunch, blends in with the peanut butter and the chunks of pink Hawaiian salt and makes the candy gluten free and wheat free.

CHOCOLATE DIPPED CANDIED APRICOTS: I pulled out the candied apricot halves from the fridge. They rattled in the container. I let them warm up but they were still quite firm - a bit over candied but I thought they would soften up after being dipped in chocolate. The result were delicious, very chewy and possibly dangerous treats. Tonight I sliced up the chocolate dipped halves into strips and am redipping and melting the chocolate from them -- they are much more manageable as small strips and will definitely go farther for brunch on Saturday.

BRUNCH & RUMBA-POTLUCK: Yes. Food. I have planned some treats including:

• Chocolate dipped candied apricot spears
• Chocolate peanut butter cups
• Rhurbarb crisp
• Fig tart with semolina-lavender crust
• Breakfast potatoes
• Tomatoes "a la Provencale" (because it's easy and I have all the ingredients in my garden!)
  
• DIY waffles with "Joy of Vegan Baking" recipe
  
• Roederer champagne mimosas (if I can find fresh fruit at a farmer's market for juice)

If that isn't enough, I have also planned to host a rumba jam starting after 4pm. The foods for that will include several fillo based dishes because I am lazy:

• Onion-olive pie (with fillo instead of bread dough because it will be easier)
• Spanakopita with Spinach & Dill (sheet this time instead of hand pies)
• Zucchini & mushroom tart (more fillo!)
  
• Sliced fresh tomatoes
• Pasta salad with fresh tomatoes, arugula & basil pesto
  

RECIPES:
Onion-olive pie: I found some darling small yellow onions about the size of my Moscovich Extra Early tomatoes -- those will be sliced up into rings for the onion pie (all 5#) and caramelized in a dutch oven on the stove with olive oil, then tossed with fresh thyme, oregano and black olives and sealed up in fillo and baked until the fillo is crispy.

Spanakopita: basically the same recipe as "Vegan With A Vengeance"

Zucchini & Mushroom tart: I think tofu is going to be involved here, but haven't decided quite on the recipe yet.

POTLUCK: Everything is a potluck at my house. Bring food. Bring drinks. Bring napkins, plates, cups. Pitch in, eat up, enjoy. I have several RSVPs and some promises of delicious contributions. James' conga friends Sam and Richard are coming - Sam always brings two armfuls of pain d'epi from Acme Bakery - it's fresh, delicious and the epi style makes it easy to tear off a single serving piece without a knife. I imagine Richard will bring his popular Chinese Chicken Salad. Chef Eric tantalized me with the idea of some kind of tempeh enchilada, "but you never know what will happen."

I promise photos! Really!