Red Velvet Chocolate Squares

Oh man, are these good...

You wouldn't think they're good for you. They're sugar free and have no dyes. Sweetness is provided by agave nectar, which doesn't spike your blood sugar. And they're made with with beets, which gives the red hue to these confections.

Don't let that scare you though. The beet flavor is a subtle earthiness. The squares are smooth, dense, and rich. And really, really good. Try it, you'll like it.

Red Velvet Chocolate Squares
adapted from Costco Connection Magazine

1/2 c. Beets - I used roasted fresh, but the recipe calls for canned
1 c. Canned red beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 c. Unsweetened cocoa powder
2 eggs, but the recipe calls for 3/4 c. liquid egg substitute
3 Tbsp. Whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 c. Agave nectar
1 Tbsp. Unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. Vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. Almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray an 8x8x2-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Combine the beets, beans, cocoa powder, eggs, and flour in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth, 1-2 minutes, scraping the bowl as necessary.

Add the agave nectar, butter, vanilla, and almond extract. Process until combined, about another minute.

Pour the batter into the baking dish and smooth with a spatula. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn down the temperature to 300F and bake another 5 to 8 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center should come ot with a little soft batter clinging to it, not clean or it's overfilled.

Let the cake cool completely in the baking dish on a wire rack. Then refrigerate for at least 3 hours, it gets better with time. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Food & Fun

Its been a while since I posted about what I've been up to in the kitchen. Saturday I had a concert with the Pleasanton Community Concert Band at the local farmers market. Between sets I wandered around and picked up a big handful of fava beans:


Known in the UK as broadbeans, these puppies are huge! Each bean is as long as or longer than my hand.

Aren't they cute? Kind of like little caterpillars.

Fave beans are more labor intensive than other types of beans, but their buttery, slightly nutty, just a tad bitter taste is worth the effort. Plus the repetitive work of shucking them is relaxing.
The first shucking reveals the woody, cottony inside of the pod within which each bean in nestled.

The beans need to be blanched in very salty boiling water for about a minute, then put in ice water to stop the cooking (no mushy beans). When they are cool enough to handle you peel off the outer shells, leaving you with tender, bright green beans to eat alone or in another dish.

I recently came across this recipe for Red Beet Risotto over at Not Without Salt and have been thinking about it since. I just can't get over the color, so I also picked up these two homely beets and set forth. The recipe was actually quite easy to boot.


When slicing beets keep in mind the the color can stain. My cutting board looked like a massacre had taken place on it, and my hands were red. I washed up right away and had no problems.



I topped the finished risotto with a yogurt-dill sauce I had prepared a day or two prior, quickly sauteed the fava beans with butter and plenty of garlic, and baked a chicken breast with a lemon herb crust for Chris. This was a fresh and very delicious meal.

* * * * *

After all of the work over the weekend we were able to really enjoy our patio last Wednesday, my birthday. We grilled veggie/hot dogs, had baked beans and macaroni salad - its a bit of a tradition for my birthday. It was gorgeous weather and very enjoyable. A few weeks prior I had picked up a dog/kiddie pool at the pet store since the dogs like water and I figured it would be a good way to cool Mac down in the warm weather. We filled it up and Mac had a blast playing in it, trying to get the giant tennis ball out (too big for his mouth), splashing around and making us laugh. Even Ayla put her front feet in the pool and daintily plucked the toys out.

Its gearing up to be a nice summer!