Updateius the best way to shell a hazelnutius

With the rice crispy slice almost gone I decided it was time to bake something else. When I went on my initial quest for ingredients I had three recipes in mind; cookies, rice crispies and brownies. So most of the ingredients I already had. However the brownies used mostly almond flour, at 4€/100g I decided we'd check out actual almonds at the markets instead. Tancredi and I were being lazy on Saturday so I asked Sara to pick some up for me when she went. She came back with a half kilo bag of fresh flour, apparently it was cheaper than the while nuts. So now I'm all set for most of the things I could wish to cook. I've even started a little pantry of my own next to the microwave and behind the fruit bowl.

Yesterday afternoon I popped to the shops to pick up some chocolate and margine (also conditioner since I managed to get two shampoos the last time) and set out cooking. I started quite late, about 6.30 and anticipated having another stressful baking session once everyone else arrived home. Fortunately however it was just 10mins before baking was complete that everyone arrived. Perfect timing.

Now the original recipe called for crushed walnuts but Sara had a bowl of hazelnuts sitting around and they go just as well, I'd not better, with chocolate so I decided to use them instead I grabbed a couple handfuls and set about shelling them. The first few were catastrophic; completely smashed with bits if shell everywhere. I tried a couple applying less pressure but to the apex and base, it worked perfectly, the shell would split longitudinally, leaving the nut intact. After discovering this is was much quicker but still tedious work. I admire our ancestors for having the patience to acquire sustenance this way. I personally wouldn't want to crack nuts with my jaw, even if I /had/ wisdom teeth...

The rest went off without a hitch. Only problem with me baking delicious vegan things is that I get these stupid sugar/carb cravings and will happily eat the whole mix before its cooled! It's delicious though, raw and cooked. Selene even gave it her tick of approval. She still askes if my baking adventure is vegan but it's lost its sceptical tone. She seems to be content that things can be absolutely delicious and still with out eggs, butter, milk or flour. She even provides great feedback; the brownies are less crunchy and without the specific gooey layer you get in normal ones but over all more squishy. I'm glad to have converted her. It's great proof these things can be comparably delicious.

The recipe is once again from ohsheglows.com

Next up are GF vegan crackers and a thermomix dip relish to go with them. I'm having trouble finding many plausible thermomix recipes, most require fancy/strange/out of season ingredients, but I'll get there, I promise!

I promise I scraped more of this into the pan! I didn't eat it aaaaaaaaall

I've never made brownies in a round tin before; it makes and abundance of delectable pieces just asking to be snacked on!