Soft Chocolate Almond Quinoa Biscotti

Another fabulous recipe altered a wee bit from my new cookbook Quinoa. I'm always tempted by Biscotti...however they are not a favourite of Jay's...until about five minutes ago when he tried the first one! "These are great"...with a bit of a shocking tone to his voice...were the exact words I do believe! What makes Jay a fan of them is that they are a bit on the soft side and not rock hard like most...and that he dipped his in whip cream:)!!!

We are enjoying these in this very moment, with a lovely Americano coffee...and the boys are both in the toy room building towers together...I love this moment:)

I couldn't help but think how pretty these would look wrapped in a cello bag, tied with a ribbon...would make a lovely, neighbourly, wholesome Christmas gift!

ENJOY!

Soft Chocolate Almond Quinoa Biscotti

1 1/2 cups slivered almonds, lightly toasted
1 1/2 cups quinoa flour
1/2 cup flour (I used spelt)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional...I used a chopped up dark chocolate bar we had laying around)
1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup cane sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract (I didn't use)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toast the almonds on a baking sheet on the top rack for 6-8 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Combine the quinoa and spelt flours, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Gently stir in the cooled almonds and chocolate chips.

Cream together the butter and sugar in a medium bowl. Add the eggs, vanilla and almond extract and blend both mixtures together well.

Lightly spray a baking sheet (or line with parchment...that's what I do). Divide the dough in half and roll it into long logs that are the same length as the baking sheet. Dampen your hands and lightly pat the dough to flatten it to 3/4 inch thickness. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Place both pieces of dough on the baking sheet and bake on the center oven rack for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let sit until cool enough to touch. Slice each log into 1 inch pieces. Place the slices on the same baking sheet and bake an additional 5 minutes on each side. Remove from the oven and cool. Store in a sealed bag or container for up to 8 weeks.

***Remember that blissful moment about 5 minutes ago that I described with my boys playing nicely on their own???!! Ya...far gone...just found them both in the powder room brushing their hair with the toilet brush...yuck yuck yuck...time to hit the tub!

Leek and Potato Soup

AHHHHHH-mazing!! Another new recipe this week from my beautiful new cookbook. It's hard to believe that this yummy and flavourful soup only has 5 ingredients! (Six if you make it the way the recipe calls for.) Another bonus is that you can make this soup in under 30 minutes!

Made this for lunch yesterday, and it was a hit with all four of us! I was thankful I had made a double batch! Levi (13mths) had already had his lunch...and then saw us having our soup...so I decided to give him a taste and he cried when I didn't give him more! Needless to say he ate an entire bowl of this filling soup, AFTER he already had eaten lunch! Those of you who have met Levi...or have tried to pick him up...are not surprised by that:)

Why didn't I add the milk at the very end? We were so hungry and excited to try the soup that I just full on forgot! I realized half way through eating mine what I had done. Jay and I both agreed it doesn't need the milk added at the end, but possibly a bit extra broth...this soup thickens a lot as it sits. Like most things we eat in our home, we sprinkled the soup with fresh parmesean right before eating...and a little pepper too:)

ENJOY!

Leek and Potato Soup

3 Tbsp butter
2 cups sliced leeks, white parts only
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2 1/2 cups peeled and diced Yukon gold potatoes
1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 cup milk of choice (we skipped this step)
salt to taste (we didn't add any)

Melt the butter in a large pot and saute the leeks until tender, about 8 minutes. Add the broth, potatoes and quinoa to the pot, bring to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes and quinoa are tender, about 15 minutes. Puree the cooked mixture with a hand blender or cool slightly and puree in 2 batches in a blender or food processor. Return the puree to the pot and stir in the milk. Heat on medium but do not boil. Remove and serve!