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Macadamia Hot Cocoa with Lavender & Mint (vegan/gf recipe) | seasonal plant-based recipes via The Sweet Miscellany Blog

Lavender and mint lend their soothing and calming properties to this mug of vegan macadamia hot cocoa. The cacao powder acts a natural mood booster while offering iron, magnesium, and calcium. The dates add fiber and sweetness.

I’ve always found questions like “what is your dream job?”or “how would you describe yourself?” to be difficult to answer. The reason is that there is no “right” answer. I can’t find it in a book. I can’t do hours of research for it in a library. And no one will be able to give me the answer. My Capricorn brain is logical and structured, thus it balks at questions like these. And then it cuts and runs the other way.

But this is where intuition comes in. The lunar and feminine energy. Or as we like to call it, our “gut feeling”. I’ve felt somewhat out of touch with my intuition over the past year so I’m trying to remedy that moving forward. It has involved a shift in structure and more opportunities to sit and listen. And, it has me practicing more self care than I have in a very long time.

The New Moon & Solar Eclipse this past Saturday called for an opportunity to sit and ask myself what I wanted to manifest. At the advice of my acupuncturist, I went deeper than intentions and goals and re-examined my dreams. I pulled out a journal I’d been saving for something special, and wrote them down. It might seem like a simple step, but it’s the first in the process of manifestation. I pulled these dreams out of the ether and made them mine. And I’m hoping to breathe life into them over the course of the year.

If you find yourself in the same boat trying to figure out what you’d like to create this year, I offer you this mug of hot (or cold cocoa). The cacao powder acts a natural mood booster while offering iron, magnesium, and calcium. The dates add fiber and sweetness. And the lavender and mint help soothe the nerves while imparting a lovely and comforting herbal flavor.

Macadamia Hot Cocoa with Lavender & Mint

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Author: Courtney West
Total Time: 7-10 minutes
Yield: 1 serving 1x
Diet: Vegan

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Description

Ingredients

Units Scale

1 cup macadamia milk
1–2 pitted medjool dates (I used 2)
1 tbsp cacao powder
tiny pinch of sea salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
tiny pinch of dried lavender
hefty pinch of dried mint leaves (I used chocolate mint from my garden!)

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Instructions

Add all of the ingredients to a blender. Blend on high until smooth. If you’re serving it up cold, strain the mixture into a glass and add ice. If you’re serving it up hot, strain the mixture into a pan. Heat the cocoa over medium heat until it just comes to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat, whisk it several times, then pour it into your mug. Add any garnish you like then enjoy!

Makes 1 serving.

Notes

I used macadamia milk here but feel free to use your favorite in its place!
I recommend straining the blended mixture through a sieve before drinking in order to remove any larger bits of date. This is completely optional but you’ll find it reflected in the recipe.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 2-5 minutes
Category: drink

Cranberry Marmalade + a Handmade Gift Guide | plant based magic via the sweet miscellany blog

This vegan cranberry marmalade has the loveliest ruby hue and it tastes and smells like the holidays! You can either can your marmalade for long term storage (instructions included in the recipe) or park it in the fridge if you plan to enjoy it within a month.

Every now and then I reminisce about the days when Sweet Miscellany wasn’t just this blog but also a small business selling vegan/gluten free baked goods and local fruit jams at a farmers market. I did everything myself. EVERYTHING. The good, the bad, and the ugly. The only reason I ended up making jams to begin with was the fact that my signature cookie was a thumbprint and I wanted to be able to make my own jams to fill it. I also wanted to be able to take advantage of local fruit when it was in season so canning made sense logically.

I went about canning like I do most new things: I read as much as I can and take copious notes. The first jam I made was a blood orange marmalade to be used exclusively for my thumbprint cookies. It’s the MOST labor intensive of any of the jams I’ve made because it’s a tedious process that spans two days. But the result is SO WORTH IT. It has the most brilliant burnt orange hue and the perfect balance of tart, bitter, and sweet.

Over my time at the market I created nearly 30 different jam, marmalade, and fruit butter recipes. My absolute favorite ended up being the cranberry marmalade I’m sharing with you today. It tastes and smells like the holidays. Since it’s been formulated to be shelf stable once canned, it’s made with cane sugar instead of the usual maple syrup that I reach for these days. You can use any orange you like here. For this batch I used cara cara oranges but originally I would make it with navel oranges.

Once canned, the marmalade is shelf stable for up to a year. This makes it perfect for gifting because it doesn’t require refrigeration! Since I’m a fan of handmade gifts (and baked goods), I’ve included a list below of my favorite gift-able items from the blog archives. And, I’ve paired them with suggestions for packaging and gifting!

Homemade Gift Guide

+ b a k e d g o o d s +

For a waste-free option, package cookies in wide-mouthed jars that can be used for storage once the cookies are gone. You can use simple mason jars or opt for pricier Weck jars. Feel free to tie a bit of yarn or twine around the top for a simple, but festive touch. Or, go the route I took with the marmalade, affixing a square of fabric under the lid ring.

These are my favorites for gifting: cocoa oat biscuits with rosemary & flaky sea salt, fresh mint & toasted coconut chocolate chip cookies, vanilla spice sugar cookies, & candied ginger snowballs

+ o t h e r e d i b l e g o o d s +

Canned jams and preserves already come in the perfect gifting vessel, just add a little fabric or yarn and you’re golden! If you want to go a step further and actually “gift wrap” them, try placing them in canvas or linen reusable produce bags. For items like tea, use jars, small tins, or compostable cello bags. You could also go a step further and buy a mug or teapot to accompany the tea.

These are my favorites for gifting: this cranberry marmalade (recipe below), homemade applesauce (this is a good one if you’ve got access to an abundance of local apples!), preserved lemons (citrus is in season in Texas right now so you might be able to find a tree and snag some!), digestive tisane (multiply the recipe times 10 or so and gift the tea with steeping instructions), & winter season sip (to make a larger amount, mix up equal parts tulsi & chamomile and print the meditation to go along with the tea)

Happy Holidays friends!! <3

Cranberry Marmalade

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Author: Courtney West
Total Time: 55-70 minutes
Yield: 4–5 half pint jars 1x
Diet: Vegan

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Description

Ingredients

Units Scale

6 cups (about 2 standard bags) of fresh or frozen cranberries
2 oranges (I used cara cara but navels are a good standard)
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
3 cups organic raw cane sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
5 half-pint (8 oz) mason jars with 2-piece lids

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Instructions

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a clean rimmed baking sheet with a clean kitchen towel. Take your 6 jars and unscrew the lids/rings. Set the jars and lids/rings on the kitchen towel on the baking sheet. When the oven is at 250, place the baking sheet in the oven. Leave the jars in the oven for at least 30 minutes to sterilize. This gives you time to make the marmalade.

If the cranberries are fresh, rinse them well and set them aside to drain. If you bought them frozen, they are already washed and ready to go. Prep your oranges by rinsing them well. Slice off the top and bottom of each orange, then cut them into long wedges. Remove any seeds you see and discard them. Take each wedge and slice it width-wise into small triangles. Add the cut oranges to a large stock pot along with the cranberries, orange juice, sugar, and spices. Stir to combine.

Bring the marmalade mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium. Continue to cook the marmalade, stirring regularly, until most of the cranberries have burst, the oranges are tender, and the mixture has thickened to a jammy consistency. This will take between 15 and 25 minutes. Once it is done, remove the marmalade from the heat.

Remove the tray with your sterilized jars from the oven. Leave the jars on the baking sheet to make the process easier. Carefully fill each jar with marmalade leaving at least a quarter inch of headspace at the top (in other words, leave at least a quarter inch free between the top of the jar and the marmalade). The marmalade will fill 4 or 5 jars. Once you have your jars filled, use a clean knife to stir the marmalade in each jar a bit to help remove excess air bubbles. If the rims of the jars have any jam on them, clean it off with a damp towel. Screw the lids onto each jar until they are just finger tight (no need to put any muscle into it). Place the baking sheet with the filled jars back in the pre-heated oven for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes remove the tray and set it aside so that the jars can begin to cool.

Let the jars sit undisturbed for one hour. You’ll hear the popping sound of the lids depressing as the jars cool and they seal themselves. After one hour check to make sure that the lids are sealed (the center “button” will be depressed). If any jars have not sealed, put them in the fridge and consume within a few weeks. Allow the sealed jars to cool overnight or for at least 12 hours. Un-opened sealed jars can be stored at room temperature in your pantry for up to one year.

Makes 4-5 half pint jars.

Notes

If you want to can these to be shelf stable, you’ll need to use mason jars with 2-piece lids made by Ball or Kerr. Make sure you’re using lids that have never been used/sealed before.
If you don’t want to can your marmalade, skip the canning steps and simply put your marmalade in a container in your fridge. Enjoy it within a month.
I’m using the oven method here instead of the water bath method because it’s much easier and doesn’t require the purchase of a canning pot!

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45-60 minutes
Category: jam