I've put these two recipes together for two reasons: they both came from the same blog, and they're both ridiculously easy. Besides, most people tend to pair breakfast and coffee, so why not throw the two together? Another thing linking them is the way they caught my eye. My mum remarked the other day that I haven't been cooking as much as I was, for example, last summer- aside from helping out with making dinner. I think the reason was that nothing had really excited me... I had no desire to bake a cake or a tart or a batch of cookies or a pie and have it haunt my fridge for days. I have never been hugely enticed by main dishes, and I was content to be doing the odd job with my mum in the evenings. I was conscious of the effect of what I would make, and also conscious of whether it was worth my time. However within a few days of each other, a few gorgeous photos popped up on my news feed; impeccably lit and temptingly laid out, a glass of iced coffee and a handful of cocoa cereal lured me in. I kept the two pages open for days... the iced coffee was so simple, but so different and I had never thought of it. The cocoa cereal was proclaimed to be no work at all, and for me anything that is a) chocolate b) breakfast c) cute d) an all-natural and super-healthy version of a chemical freak food e) all of the above, is a winner. But no matter how frequently or infrequently I cook, what never fails to please me is the relaxing nature of it. A few simple ingredients slowly mixed together, and as if by magic the colour turned into a rich and decadent chocolate brown. The best part was forming the balls: my dad had just finished having a frustrating phone conversation when he walked in to the kitchen and paused to watch what I was doing. "Want to roll some? It's therapeutic.", I said simply. With a sigh he said, "Yes, I would actually." With music playing, silently we pinched, squished rolled and placed, one by one, talking now and then about little things as the sun slowly said goodnight. The thing with both these recipes is that you have to forget any preconceptions. This iced coffee is nothing like your Indian iced coffee with ice cream and whipped cream and heaps of sugar and syrup. But you can by all means add some- especially as the ice melts and the mixture becomes more saturated with coffee, you may need something sweet. I was expecting the cocoa cereal to be crunchy and puffy, but I should have known better- there is no leavening agent whatsoever, so the cereal comes out as solid as it went in. What you have to keep in mind is what Marta wrote on the original blog post: it's like brownies floating in your bowl. These really are soft, chewy and chocolatey (except instead of associating that description with forbidden fudge, it's your filling breakfast with almonds, yoghurt, honey and cocoa... all good-for-you ingredients :) So end your day with some unwinding, mindless cooking, and start tomorrow with pick-me-up coffee and chocolate. They always put me in a good mood. Cocoa Cereal
Text adapted from What Should I Eat For Breakfast Today?
(I baked mine for slightly less time... watch out for the bottoms burning.) Iced Coffee Text adapted from What Should I Eat For Breakfast Today?
2 Comments
Radhika Shah
24/9/2013 11:56:04 pm
I LOVE this blog. Love the food, love the writing, love you :D
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Mira Manini Tiwari
2/10/2013 10:39:21 pm
Your comment turned my whole day around:) I became super productive, cheerful and motivated to cook, so thank you:*
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