No-Bake Mondays: Sweet Avocado Soup

 Avocados the way my grandma used to make 'em.

Today I'm sharing a secret heirloom recipe from my grandmother.

...except that it's not really a secret, as every Filipino in the world probably knows how to make this (what's up, Manila!) Let me start by saying I had the best grandmother in the world. My lola Liling ("lola" is grandma in Tagalog) was a great cook and she served a mean chocolate cake, but more than that she was really good at spoiling her kids and grandkids rotten. She was the kind of grandma who made sure everybody had their favorite food for dinner while she painstakingly slaved away in the kitchen. She had a nice laugh, my grandma. And a very big heart. 

So anyway (before I completely tear up), this is how we eat avocados in the Philippines. We don't usually put them in salads and sandwiches like people do over here—we eat them with cold milk and sugar. This, to me, is comfort food. Don't knock it til you try it because if you haven't had avocados this way before, well, I kind of feel bad for you.

No-Bake Mondays: Sweet Avocado Soup
Makes: One bowl
In Minutes: 10

Ingredients
1 small avocado
1/2 cup skim milk
2 packets of Splenda
walnuts

Procedure
1. Using a spoon, scoop out avocado into chunks.
2. Add milk, sugar, and walnuts.
3. Serve chilled and enjoy!

Tip
You can mash the chunks up for a creamier finish. You can also pour the mashed up mixture over ice trays, freeze 'em, and serve them as ice cream pops.

Do you know how good avocados are for you? Insanely. Click here to read about the avocado advantage.

There's no week like this week to enjoy a green dessert. Happy St. Patrick's Day to you!


- Kris Alcantara

PS
To those who missed No-Bake Mondays last week, I'm super sorry!You know I'll make it up to you.

No-Bake Mondays: Bananas Foster

Sizzling hot dessert: No-Bake Bananas Foster

Today, we make things hot.

My brother-in-law and ex-Spago chef, Craig, made us a little treat for No-Bake Mondays. It's a cold winter day this side of the world and this should warm you up real nice (and if you're in somewhere tropical don't worry, it has ice cream). This rockstar dessert was made famous by New Orleans restaurant Brennan's some 50 years ago and now it's a flavor for ice cream, bread, cake, even coffee! Why it's so badass—bananas are flambeed with rum and served warm with vanilla ice cream. You're not afraid of a little fire, are you? 

 

 

No-Bake Bananas Foster  
Makes 4 to 6
In minutes: 15

Ingredients
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 bananas. sliced
1 tsp banana liqueur
4 tsp rum
pinch of salt

Procedure
1. Combine butter and brown sugar in a skillet over low heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
2. Stir in banana liqueur, add bananas and pinch of salt.
3. When bananas soften and brown, carefully add rum. Cook until rum is hot.
4. Here's the fun part: tip the pan a little to ignite the rum. Be careful!
5. When flames subside, scoop out bananas into a bowl and top with ice cream. Enjoy, immediately.

yes, it was that good.

Scared you might burn down the kitchen? Check out this How to Flambe video on Videojug. 

I told you I'll make it up to you.

- Kris Alcantara

No-Bake Mondays: Fudge Brandy Brownies

 

Brownies with bite. Rowr.

This special little guy is made with Oreo crumbs, semi-sweet chocolate morsels, walnuts, condensed milk, and an extra-special guest: brandy. Let me tell you that it's the brandy that makes this treat kickass. If you're like me and you like chocolate bold and even slightly bitter, it takes care of that nicely. Gives it a little sexy kick at the end. Ooh-la-la.

You'll love the smell of crushed Oreos and condensed milk while making this. And I gotta say, this is one recipe where I probably ate too much of the batter.. Whoops.

No-Bake Fudge Brandy Brownies

In minutes 20 (+ 2 hours refrigeration)
Makes 12

Ingredients
1/2 pack semi-sweet chocolate morsels (6 oz)
1 1/4 cup oreo crumbs (about 14 cookies)
3/4 cup walnuts
1/2 can 14 oz condensed milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 tbsp brandy

Procedure
1. In a pan, melt chocolate morsels and butter on low heat for about a minute or until completely melted. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat.
2. In a large bowl, mix Oreo crumbs (set aside a tablespoon or two) and walnuts. Add condensed milk, vanilla extract, and chocolate mixture. Add brandy and mix well. If you're feeling a little gutsy, add another half a tablespoon of brandy for a solid kick!
3. Line whatever container you want to put it in with foil or grease it with butter and sugar.Press the mixture firmly onto bottom of container. Garnish with Oreo crumbs on top.
4. Refrigerate for about two hours and enjoy!

 Happy no-baking today!

- Kris Alcantara

No-Bake Mondays: Peanut Butter and Cranberry Bites

Don't throw leftover cranberry sauce away!

So Thanksgiving's over and you're stuck with a whole tub of cranberry sauce.. what to do?

Make snacks! Jazz up your peanut butter sandwich with cranberry sauce for an extra special PB & J. Sweet, sour, and nutty, the cranberries make an extra refreshing finish. I made it with potato bread because they're on the sweet side and it counters the acidity of the cranberry sauce nicely.

Peanut Butter and Cranberry Bites 

In Minutes: 5 

Ingredients
leftover cranberry sauce
walnuts
peanut butter
potato bread


Procedure
1. Spread creamy peanut butter on potato bread. Top with left over cranberry sauce.
2. Throw in some walnuts. Cut into bite-size pieces and enjoy.

Here's another idea you might want to try: mix cranberry sauce with vanilla yogurt for a healthy indulgence. Top it walnuts and you're all set.

Monday after a long holiday weekend is always a bitch.. Treat yourself to something sweet today.

- Kris Alcantara

No-Bake Mondays: Caveman Cookies

No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Walnut Cookies aka Caveman Cookies

I imagine this is how cavemen made cookies back in the day.

All you really need to do is put the ingredients in a pot, bring it to a boil, add quick cooking oats, and voila--rich, earthy chocolate oatmeal cookies in 10 minutes flat. Be prepared for a delicately fudgy, extra chewy, almost gelatinous consistency; it won't have the cake-like texture that comes from flour. Instead, it will charm you with primitive homemade flavors that uses the most basic ingredients--and rocks them.

Some tips.
1. If you want a more wholesome taste, add more oats to the mix (this recipe is BIG on chocolate flavor).
2. Dip it in vanilla yogurt! It will take this cookie experience to whole new levels of AWESOME.

 

No-Bake Chocolate Oatmeal Walnut Cookies
Makes about 15
In Minutes: 10

Ingredients
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 stick butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup milk
2 cups quick cooking oats
walnuts

Procedure
1. Boil sugar, butter, vanilla, cocoa powder, and milk in a pot for two minutes. Stir ocassionally.

2. Add quick cooking oats. Mix well.

3. Scoop out with spoon onto wax paper and top with walnuts. Let it cool. Then, attack!

Ta-dah. Two-bite goodness.

You'll want to lick the batter for this one. Enjoy!

- Kris Alcantara

Today's Sugarhigh: Fuji Persimmons
Score: B+

No-Bake Mondays: Snickers and Vanilla Walnut Pie

No-Bake Snickers and Vanilla Walnut Pie

So Halloween's over and you have a basket-full of chocolates staring at you.

What to do? Eat them, yes. What else? Make pie! Some weeks ago, at the height of my vanilla yogurt obsession, I put brownie chunks in a bowl of yogurt and loved it. This No-Bake Snickers and Vanilla Walnut Pie recipe was inspired by that delicious discovery.

No-Bake Snickers and Vanilla Walnut Pie
Serves 2

Inredients
3 tbsp vanilla yogurt
1 tbsp vanilla pudding
2 mini ready-made Graham cracker pie crusts
1/8 cup walnuts (or to your liking)
2 fun-size Snickers bars, chunked

Procedure

1. Mix yogurt, vanilla pudding, walnuts, Snickers chunks in a bowl.
2. Pour over pie crusts and refrigerate for at least an hour.
3. ENJOY!

TIP: On a sidenote, I made vanilla pudding from scratch and ended up with so much leftover. I recommend getting the ready-made kind.

Find more leftover Halloween candy recipes here. They're pure genius!

UPDATE 11/04/09
I had an extra long day at work today so I made a beeline for this pie when I got home. To my surprise, it tasted even better after three days! By now all the caramel has melted off the Snickers bar and has lost itself in a creamy swirl of vanilla awesome-ness. Mmmmm three-day-old pie.

- Kris Alcantara

Today's Sugarhigh: Gummy Vampire Fangs
Score: B

No-Bake Mondays: Pineapple Cream Pie

No-Bake Pineapple Cream Pie

Today, we fancy it up a bit.

This No-Bake Pineapple Cream Pie begs to be made on days I miss the taste of summer. Or just about any day I need a refreshing break from cake or chocolate, which, yes, are few and far between.

Feeling extra-festive (on this pretty fall day), I layered the pie in a wine glass and served it over Sunday lunch. It was a hit!

No-Bake Pineapple Cream Pie
Serves 3
In minutes: 20

Ingredients
1 can pineapple chunks, drained
1 8 oz cream cheese
3 pcs graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup walnuts (or more)
whipped cream

Procedure
1. Beat cream cheese and sugar. Add pineapple chunks, walnuts, and cover with whipped cream (I say about 10 seconds worth). Mix until smooth.
2. In a Ziploc bag, crush graham crackers until reduced to crumbs. Tip: You can also use ready-made Graham cracker pie crusts (or Oreo crusts! YUM). Another tip: sprinkle some of the drained pineapple juice on the crust.
3. In a bowl or glass, layer cream and Graham cracker crumbs. Garnish with pineapple chunks, walnuts, and whipped cream. Refrigerate for at least two hours. Ta-dah! Chocolate chips optional but recommended.

- Kris Alcantara

Today's Sugarhigh: Emerald's Cocoa Roast Almonds (new find!)
Score: B+ at first, A- on second thought

No-Bake Mondays: Strawberry Cheesecake Squares

No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Squares 

It's cheesecake for the lazy.

Okay so it's not a real cheesecake but this wannabe comes close. Four things I love about no-bake strawberry cheesecake squares:

1. I found the recipe in the kid section so that should tell you how insanely easy it is to make. Think last-minute potluck parties, midnight snacks, instant party nibblers, or just everyday desserts you can make with kids.
2. It's quick and individually-portioned so you can make it only when you want it. Two and a half bites and you're done!
3. Seriously, cream cheese, strawberry jelly, and Graham crackers make an awesome threesome. The cream cheese blends with the strawberry jelly like they were made for each other.
   
4. Low-fat version available! Make with low-fat cream cheese, low fat Graham crackers, and sugar-free strawberry preserves.
   

Sound good? Try it. Big chance you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much it tastes like the real thing.

No-Bake Strawberry Cheesecake Squares
Serves 1

Ingredients
1 tbsp whipped cream cheese
1 tsp strawberry jelly
1 Graham cracker
fresh strawberries to garnish

Procedure
1. Spread cream cheese on Graham cracker. Tip: You may want to add a pinch of sugar to the cream cheese (I recommend Splenda) to make it sweeter but that's completely optional.
2. Spread jelly on top then finish with another cracker. Garnish with a slice of fresh strawberry.

Four ingredients, five minutes. Get to it.

- Kris Alcantara

Today's Sugarhigh: Milk Duds
Score: B+

Married to Chocolate Launches No-Bake Mondays

Something sweet for the worst day of the week. Cool photo credit bodybuilding.com

Out of all the days in the week, Mondays suck the most. Nobody knows why; it was just built that way. Maybe we can't change that. BUT, we can make Mondays a whole lot sweeter.

Here's the plan. Starting tomorrow, Married to Chocolate will launch a new No-Bake series. I will post a recipe every Monday that's ridiculously easy to make, you can make it even when your strapped for time or cash. Usually it involves ingredients already in your cupboard, and maybe one or two you might have to get. AND, here's a promise you can count on: No ovens necessary.

Quick, cheap and easy. That's what No-bake Mondays is about.

Stay tuned.

- Kris Alcantara

Today's Sugarhigh: Cinnamon-Mongo Hopia from H-Mart Bakery
Score: eh. B-

Y-E-S to NO-BAKE (fantastic fridge cakes)

I have a soft spot for no-bake cake recipes.

I have an even softer spot for desserts that can be ready in minutes (some call it impatience). Last night, I bastardized a Nigella recipe in a desperate attempt to make a mango refrigerator cake--without cream, condensed milk, or mangoes. Tita Mimi, my chef du jour aunt (and Julia Child of my heart) insisted I could still make it with whipped cream, vanilla yogurt, and leftover dried mangoes. And so I dared.

Voila--a healthier version of the fridge cake recipe--ready in 10 minutes! The yogurt lends itself nicely to the graham cracker crust and bits of dried mango make a chewy surprise. Sooo good you'll lick the bowl (I did). I am the No-Bake Queen.

Want the recipe? Leave a comment and I'll think about it.

Other refrigerator cakes you might want to try: Strawberry Refrigerator Cake or Old-Fashioned Chocolate Refrigerator Cake.

Show Me: See how simple it is from this Kraft youtube video.

Nigella, don't hate me.

- Kris Alcantara
(remember me?)

Today's Sugarhigh: Vanilla Yogurt and Bananas
Score: B+