C is for Cacao, and Cruising back home, AND D is for Date

I spent a week at home in New Zealand relaxing for a week, hanging with family. Sometimes the best holidays are the ones when you do a whole lot of not much - this was definitely one of those. J and I spent the better part of a week hanging out in Levin, which is a tiny town in the south of the North Island, population of about 20,000, and not a whole lot going on, so we just hung out with my Nana, weeded her garden, cooked and baked - including a VERY indulgent Banana Cake (from my newly inherited old school Edmonds cookbook, with the quantities in pounds and ounces <3<3<3) with Chocolate Buttercream frosting and whipped cream filling. We also a couple of day trips, as well as having a few nights in the capital city Wellington to complete our week away.

One highlight was definitely the trip over the hill to Martinborough for the day. I was in wine and cheese heaven! If I was to go back I would stay at least a night here and adventure round a little more - you can hire bikes in the town to get around the vineyards and the town centre is so cute. We had lunch at Alana Estate, visited a couple of other wineries, then had some more local wine and cheese at Village Cafe in Martinborough, before visiting my favorite winery of the day - Loop Line in Opaki, small vineyard that produces a delicious drop.

But now, back in Melbourne, reality, the 12WBT (which has been a bit of a fail this round), and this blog... I am only up to 'C' and its already April, I figured I better get cooking and writing, so have also combined 'D' in this post...

Cacao (raw chocolate - YUM) is high in antioxidants (around 4 times the amount of cocoa powder!), has many cardiovascular benefits, AND its an aphrodisiac! There are some great cacao recipes you can try here.

Fresh dates are available in most supermarkets in the produce section. Medijool dates are a good source of fiber and contain high levels of the essential minerals potassium, magnesium, copper, and manganese.

Check out the recipe below, which produces delicious little brownie bites, a combination of these 2 super foods to have with your cup of green tea.



Raw Cacao Fudge Bites
(adapted from Melissa Ambrosini)

1/2 cup walnut
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup dates
1 1/4 cups fresh dates, pitted
1/2 cup cacao powder

Whizz all the ingredients together in a food processor (Thermomix 1 minute speed 9) unitil it is in small crumbs. Press into balls or a small mould and freeze for 1 hour before serving. Store extras in the fridge to enjoy with a cup of green tea as an after dinner treat.