By Alison Steele

When I peek into the pantry, I try to imagine ways to use the stockpiles of dried fruits, jams, chutneys, and other delicacies preserved from summer’s bounty. The dried fruits seem to disappear first as they need no enticing off the pantry shelves. These little works of art require no fork or plate and instantly satiate the afternoon sweet tooth. Combined with good fats and fiber to balance blood sugar levels, even the sweetest of fruit becomes a powerhouse of stable energy for adults and kids alike. This year we dried plums, figs, and persimmons. The apples went right into apple butter, and the pears we ate and ate and ate until I could not stare at a pear any longer. Those went to whomever we could send a bag home with.

For the lover’s month of chocolates and flowers I share a recipe I’ve made for over a decade. I began making these in my ‘raw food vegan era’ along with tofu tortes and sprouted nut “cheesecakes.”  It has evolved into a brain fuel like no other with the help of raw cacao, good fats, and fructose. I use a hint of Maple Walnut Syrup from Tonoloway Farm in West Virginia where they tap Walnut, Maple, and Hickory trees. I’m excited to pair it with some local Franquette walnuts from Glashoff Farms northeast of here. This recipe can be whirled in the Vitamix, poured, garnished, and popped in the frig to be savored in a matter of minutes or melted and mixed by hand, boxed up, and given as gifts to the special folks in your life. 

Dark Chocolate Canvases         

Makes 18 large or 36 small treats.

1 c virgin coconut oil

1 c organic grass-fed butter 

¼  c maple syrup 

½ c raw cacao powder

½ pod vanilla bean 

½ c nuts, chopped small

Homegrown fruit for showcasing

Large or small baking cups 

Line 18 muffin tins with large baking cups. Use a cookie sheet for the small cups. Chop dried fruit into halves or quarters. Blend the coconut oil, butter, and maple syrup in your blender moving to a high speed very quickly and tamping down until smooth. If you don’t have a high-speed blender, melt fats in a glass heatproof bowl placed over a simmering pot of water stirring until smooth. Remove from heat when most of the chunks are melted. Split the vanilla pod lengthwise and scrape the seeds out with a pointed knife into the melted fats. Add the maple syrup along with the raw cacao, blend on low or stir until uniform. If stirring by hand, sift the cacao to avoid lumps. The contents should be very smooth, liquid, and uniform at this point. If you have enough fruit, add a piece to the bottom of the cup before pouring the chocolate. Pour half of the mixture into baking cups just filling the bottoms, about ⅜ of an inch full. Add the nuts to the remaining liquid and blend on low for about 10 seconds to grind and incorporate, or fold in chopped nuts by hand. This way, if you don’t care for nuts, you’ll have options! At this point the chocolate will start to set up in a cold kitchen, so quickly and carefully pour the rest of the liquid into the cups. Showcase your fruit on top of these rich dark chocolate canvases and slide them into the fridge. A cool chocolate will easily peel out of the baking cup, but leave it by the fireplace you’ll be licking off every last bit!  

A native of Virginia, Alison Steele lives with her husband, two children, and cat in Boulder Creek where she raises quail, chickens, fruit trees, vegetables, and herbs. Alison plays banjo and sings in Sugar by the Pound.

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Featured photo: Dark Chocolate Canvases by Alison Steele