Homemade Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

So it’s that time of the week again….Monday, Monday! You’re not a fun day!

At the very least, today was my “rest day” in my marathon training, so I enjoyed being a big lazy slob throughout the day.

I also did some more baking after work….like a crazy person. Who bakes when it’s 90 degrees outside? Does this seem like a remotely rational thing to do? Really. Who does this?

Besides me, of course.

Maybe the better question is why do I get the baking urge when it’s a bazillion degrees out? The ebbs and flows of my impulses perplex me at times.

This baking kick I’ve gone on over the past few days has meant an increased use of the oven, making my already toasty apartment even toastier. It’s almost like being in a sauna. If I just close my eyes, I can pretend I’m at a luxurious spa.

Only I’m in the Hood….and people are screaming at each other in Spanish across the street.

Same thing.

But in truth, sweating like a snowcone in the Sahara is all worth it if this is the end result…

This would be my latest nut butter creation- an attempt to recreate the magic of Nutella.

Some hazelnuts might have been involved in the process.

That’s right, kids….it’s chocolate hazelnut butter time!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup hazelnuts
• 1 T vegetable oil
• 1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1.5 T agave nectar
• 1/8 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Roast hazelnuts for 5-7 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 until nuts are golden brown. Toss nuts once to prevent burning.
2. After allowing hazelnuts to cool, process in food processor until smooth.
3. Once desired texture has been achieved, add vegetable oil, agave, salt, and cocoa powder. Pulse till combined.

What’s with me and the chocolate lately?

Although, now that I think about it, that’s the question of my life…It’s not so much a matter of me being obsessed with chocolate “lately.”

It’s been a lifetime love affair. You can take away all other sweets from me, but don’t you dare step within a ten foot radius of my chocolate stash. Bad things will happen to you…grrrrrr. Be afraid, very afraid.

Getting away from my strange inclination to protect chocolate like it was my child, let’s look at some of my non-chocolate food selections throughout the day.

I do, on occasion, eat stuff that doesn’t feature cocoa as its main ingredient.

Case in point: the overnights oats I enjoyed this morning.

I used my usual mixture of chia seeds, oats, Greek yogurt, soy milk, and cinnamon for the base.vFor the toppings, I added some fresh summer raspberries…

…and half a sliced banana + 2 tbsp almond slices.

Dinnertime Delight

Once I ventured back to my apartment after work, I whipped up a Buddha’s Delight tofu + vegetable stir-fry from a recipe in one of my cookbooks.

It looked like a dish you’d find in a quality Chinese restaurant, but it tasted a zillion times less oily. It also sat much lighter in my stomach than most Chinese dishes do. No complaints with that!

I live for stir-fried veggies. Come to me, red bell pepper, broccoli, carrots, and snow peas! Nomnomnom.

Buddha’s Delight=Lindsay’s Delight

If anyone would like the recipe for this stir-fry, just let me know. I’m feeling too lazy to type it out right now…but if I see that there’s great demand for it (or even one demand…I’m not too hard to break), I’ll relent and type it out for you guys.

Alright. I think I’m going to go swim in Chocolate Hazelnut Butter now.

Toodle-oo.

Question: What’s your favorite type of nut butter?