10th Anniversary - Chocolate with Avocado Pudding from Essie Lang #Bookgiveaway + Tote Bag

I was delighted when my good friend Mary Jane Maffini, aka Victoria Abbott, first invited me, as Linda Wiken, to guest, and then join the wonderful bloggers at Mystery Lovers Kitchen. She made that announcement on April 4, 2016. Although I can't remember my first recipe, I decided to go with one that I featured fairly early on. It contains two of my favorite food ingredients -- chocolate and avocado. To me it tastes like a good way to celebrate a 10th Anniversary!

And, here it is:

  
You may have guessed by now from my various posts, that I love recipes that are easy and fast. My other confession is that I don't often make desserts. It's just not what I'm used to in our family. But I do love chocolate. So, you can imagine my delight when I came across a recipe in our newspaper that combined the fast and easy along with the chocolate, and allowed me to shine in the dessert department. 

Avocado may not have been your first choice of a pairing with chocolate but it grabbed my attention. I love them both and besides, how healthy is that! When combined in the food processor, the creamy texture of the avocado translated into a smooth and luxurious dessert. 

I chose to add some chili flakes because I like some zing in my chocolate. I also added pomegranate seeds because I had some juicy fresh ones, with a hint of tartness, and that created some crunch along with some zing. My advice is to take the basic recipe and play with it, adding what you enjoy in a dessert. My final addition was a couple of slices of a pear I'd used earlier in the day, as a topping. I would have preferred a few fresh basil leaves, mainly for the contrast in color, but I'm currently out of them. Whipped cream would have looked terrific, but alas, one on hand.

Finally, the recipe said you could eat it right away or, even better, let it chill in the fridge for a couple of hours. I ate some right away and later, finished what had been put in the fridge. Purely as a taste test, you understand. Both ways were delicious, in fact, addictive. Beware!

The quantities in this recipe are for one dish although, I could easily have shared it!  

What you'll need:

1 avocado -- halve it, remove the pit, and scoop out the flesh
3 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
      -- (as an aside, my health food consultant told me cocoa powder in  bulk is strictly cocoa, no    sweeteners added; if you buy hot chocolate powder, that's where the sweetness resides)
2 1/2 tbsp. maple syrup (feel free to add more if you want it sweeter)
1/2 c. milk (I used almond milk-- you can add more if the pudding is too thick)
1/4 tsp. chili flakes
pomegranate seeds to suit
 a pinch of fine grain sea salt (I used Himalayan because I like it!)

What to do:

Combine everything in a food processor bowl and set on low until everything is smooth.

I like to think that even though Linda Wiken made this recipe originally, and probably it was something someone in her Dinner Club Mysteries enjoyed...it's definitely a dessert that Shelby Cox, from the Castle Bookshop Mysteries would love. Chocolate and avocado -- what can beat that!

ENTER OUR 10th ANNIVERSARY

10-BOOK (+ TOTE BAG) GIVEAWAY!

And you can carry your books in this clever

tote bag with a special crossword puzzle 

featuring Mystery Lovers' Kitchen authors!

To enter our giveaway,
you must first use

the form below.

Then be sure to leave a
blog post comment.

You must do both
to be entered.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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2-WEEKS OF FAVORITE, RETRO POSTS!

We're throwing a two-week party to celebrate a decade of blogging at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen. Every day (through July 13), one of the authors of MLK will post a retro "anniversary" recipe from our blogging past. Stop back each day to see what we post. Each time you leave a comment on a post, you'll earn an extra entry in our drawing and increase your chances of winning our grand prize package. Be sure to use the entry form above to register with our contest *and* be sure to leave a blog post comment. (You must do both to be entered.)

GOOD LUCK and...

HAPPY 10th ANNIVERSARY,

MYSTERY LOVERS' KITCHEN!