Over Christmas I got a lovely food processor which I have been using constantly. Let me just say that they really are great! You can chop onions in like 5 seconds! And your eye-makeup stays intact! :) (I always cry chopping onions)
But anyways, so I have been scouring blogs all over the web for recipes and I happened upon this delightful blog, Chocolate Covered Katie, who is a lover of all things sweet and healthy. A kindred spirit! She has some wonderful recipes and since I share a similar love for coconut as she- I decided to make some homemade coconut butter since literally ALL you have to do is process raw coconut shreds in the blender. I had some in my possession so I tried it. Unfortunately, mine was dessicated which means totally dried out (You need normal, undried coconut for this!) So it never really quite got creamy enough for my liking. Well, in fact, it never got creamy at all. However all was not lost! I decided to experiment and realized I had some silken tofu in the fridge, so I popped that in there along with a banana, a few tablespoons of cocoa powder, and a few tablespoons agave nectar and about 2 tbs. vanilla extract and PRESTO! Homemade Vegan ChocoNanaNut pudding! :P It is creamy, and after letting it set in the fridge for a while, it has a similar consistency to that "whipped" pudding snack. It's quite good if I say so myself. Rich, even. And it's alot healthier than Jell-O pudding snacks which I have been guiltily eating. But not anymore, since I can create my own pudding easily and I'm going to experiment to find some recreations of other flavors as well. (Strawberry cheesecake, anyone?)
It's really amazing the kind of things you can make with tofu. For those of you that are turning your nose up at this tofu pudding- when you whip it up in the processor, tofu doesn't retain the consistency many come to associate with it. It's creamy and when you add other things like cocoa powder, sugars, etc. its truly yummilicious! I promise! :)
