Do you have any kitchen quirks? What about your partner or roommates?
Maybe you are wondering what I mean by a kitchen quirk. Basically it’s anything that drives your significant other batshit crazy.
I’ll offer some examples:
– Always sticking produce stickers on the counter despite your husband’s pleas not to (my long-time readers will get this, if you don’t, see Part 1 and Part 2)
– Loading the dishwasher in a very specific way (spoiler alert)
– Only wanting the cutlery drawer to be perfectly stacked with everything facing the same direction
– Organizing the fridge or pantry in a certain way and insisting that it’s kept in this precise order
– Debating with your partner/roommate about whether certain foods should be refrigerated or not
– Turning cans so that the label always faces the same way, are arranged by alphabet/colour/etc
I like to think of myself as a recipe creating tornado and I frequently drive Eric nuts because he is so much more organized than I am. When you are with someone for almost 15 years you learn every one of their little (and big) quirks. Day by day….by day.
Want to know what Eric’s biggest kitchen quirk is?
Aside from me, it’s the dishwasher.
The guy has a thing for dishwasher organization. It’s his pride and joy. And it’s actually impressive, the dedication that he puts into carefully loading and stacking the dishwasher every day. He has refined his technique over the years too, always improving. Impressive. At first glance, you might think that he’s just a normal guy unloading or loading the dishwasher, but you’d be wrong, very wrong. He is not normal. Eric has been trying to enlighten me with his genius dishwasher short-cuts ever since we got together. I stubbornly refused for years until I recently discovered how amusing it is to see him so proud when I use his “tricks”. He beams with pride.
My sister was over yesterday and after dinner we got talking about how her husband/my brother-in-law insists that the dishwasher is loaded in a certain way. Hmm sounds familiar. So began a hilarious conversation with us and the guys talking about how a dishwasher should be loaded. She said, “Steve will actually UNLOAD the dishes that I have loaded and then reload the machine!” Well, that rings a bell. I hear Eric tinkering away with unloading and reloading my dishes every night. He also has a system of loading my measuring spoons (because I typically use about 20+ on any given day of recipe testing). We have a dishwasher with a narrow top tray for cutlery and he has created this whole system of how to load the measuring spoons and other utensils so that they don’t collect/pool any water…right down to which direction they face for optimum drying. Like I said, not normal…but impressive.
I should also mention that we had a 10+ year ongoing debate about whether ketchup should be refrigerated or not. I said that, yes, ketchup should be refrigerated and he always said it shouldn’t (just a personal preference on his part). One day I pointed out the label which reads “Keep refrigerated” and it’s been in the fridge ever since! Case closed. Mystery solved. He finally gave in (even if it’s perfectly fine at room temperature).
Of course, this story wouldn’t be complete without Eric weighing in on my biggest kitchen quirk.
Without even blinking an eye he said, “chaos.”
Nailed it. Martha would so not approve of my kitchen ways.
Ok, it’s your turn to spill the beans. What are your kitchen quirks? What about your partner or roommates’ quirks?
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Crazy Good Coconut Oil "Chocolate" Bark
Yield
20 pieces
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
15 minutes
Total time
This homemade chocolate is made with just a few essential ingredients - virgin coconut oil, cocoa or cacao powder, and pure maple syrup. (Feel free to use whichever liquid sweetener you prefer). The virgin coconut oil replaces the cocoa butter found in traditional chocolate so while it needs to be kept in the freezer, it’s a great way to sneak some coconut oil into your day. You can also use any toppings you'd like - dried fruit, nuts, + seeds all work lovely. It melts much faster than regular chocolate, so be sure to keep it chilled until ready to enjoy. I prefer it straight from the freezer.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup raw hazelnuts
- 1/4 cup raw almonds
- 1/3 cup large flake dried coconut
- 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil
- 1/2 cup cocoa or cacao powder, sifted if necessary
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon smooth almond butter, optional
- pinch fine sea salt
Directions
- Preheat oven to 300F. Line a 9" square pan or a small baking sheet with two pieces of parchment paper, one going each way. Set aside.
- Add hazelnuts and almonds on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove baking sheet and add the coconut flakes and spread out. Continue roasting the nuts and coconut flakes for another 3-4 minutes, or until the coconut is lightly golden. Watch closely to avoid burning - coconut burns fast!
- Place hazelnuts on several sheets of damp paper towel. Wrap the hazelnuts and rub them vigorously with the paper towel until the skins fall off. It’s ok if some skins don’t come off. Discard the skins and roughly chop the hazelnuts and almonds.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the coconut oil over low heat. Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa (or cacao) powder, maple syrup, and almond butter (if using) until smooth. Add a pinch of sea salt to taste. Stir in half of the almonds and hazelnuts.
- With a spatula, spoon the chocolate mixture onto the prepared parchment-lined pan or sheet and smooth out until it's about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. Sprinkle on the remaining nuts and all of the coconut flakes. Place into freezer on a flat surface for about 15 minutes, until frozen solid.
- Once frozen, break apart into bark. Store in the freezer until ready to eat. I don't recommend keeping it out on the counter long because it melts fast.
Tip:
Tip: To make this nut-free, simply omit the almond butter, hazelnuts, and almonds. It will still turn out just fine! You can try adding toasted sunflower seeds on top for a little crunch.
Enjoy!
My biggest kitchen quirk is that I need to clean as I go. A messy kitchen give me scatter brain. So I am always stopping to wash a dish or put stuff away. We just moved across country and are currently staying in a very small apartment where I only have about 3 fee by 2 feet of total kitchen workspace! I have been very scatter brained!
I am a little obsessed with fridge organization while my husband has to have everything in the grocery cart positioned in just the right spot until we check out lol. He is constantly adjusting the cart contents until we check out and is always re-positioning what I add to the cart. I understand though and do not say anything as I am that way with our fridge :)
Thank you for sharing this recipe – I am really looking forward to trying it! As far as kitchen quirks, I must admit that I also have to arrange the dishwasher my way. It bothers me when my roommate stacks her dishes inefficiently. I actually enjoy organizing the dishwasher, haha!
In my home, I’m the one who always reloaded dished loaded by my husband. I guess there is dishes-re-loader in every home :) lol!
Angela, these coconut bars look amazingly delicious. I often make bars with store bought chocolate. This time, will sure try it with coconut oil and cocoa at home. thanks for sharing!
Lol, I looked at this and my mouth watered instantly! Thank you for sharing, I will need to try these soon!! Perfect treat when guests visit (:
I have made and consumed two batches of this chocolate bark since it was posted! So delicious. The second batch I added dried cranberries and left off the coconut.
I have to say that I laughed at the dishwasher quirk only because I am the same way! My husband of ten+ years still gets irritated with me when I “rearrange” the dishes he loaded lol. He says, “what’s the point of me even doing the dishes?”
His quirk would have to be using every dish we have when he cooks! Never fail, on a day he cooks, I have two loads of dishes to do.
My boyfriend thinks I am the messiest cook! I always throw my empty packages, baggies and cut off ends into one side of the sink – it makes it easier to throw it all away at once! Funny part is my adult daughter does the same thing and drives her boyfriend crazy too! I spread out and probably use more utensils than necessary but what comes out tastes great and I am a cheap dishwasher!
This post made me laugh!
Made this last night and it is delish! Will be making it again and again. Thank you for the amazing recipes. Your book has been my guide as I dive into plant based eating. Can’t wait for your new book. :)
In my house my husband is also super organized but I am still the one who insists on the dishwasher filled a certain way (he also tends to run it only half full which drives me nuts. As for the recipe, this looks so good! I have made a similar chocolate bark recipe which was very tasty but yours beats it hands down! Thank you for sharing.
I am so glad I found this blog! Your recipes are just great! Thanks for being awesome!
i wonder how i would be able to make this sans sugar… im doing this whole no sugar added thing and it includes natural sweetener. any ideas?
So I just made this except I swapped out honey for maple syrup. It did not work out well. :(
A large portion of the honey just sank to the bottom of the pan and didn’t incorporate into the bark so the bottom of the bark was way too sticky when I went to take it out of the pan. I guess it is a result of the thicker consistency of the honey, but another commenter said he used honey just fine? I will try to make this again but will try to find another less stronger sweetener to use than maple syrup. Any suggestions?
Oh dear god I am definitely super messy in the kitchen, especially as I always seem to have so much going on at once it can start looking like a war zone!
Hahaha I definitely think it’s a guy think, my partner is the same with our dishwasher and has many a time unloaded what I’ve done and re-loaded to get it right!
X
Hi Angela
I just wanted to say that I bought your cookbook a couple of days ago and just love it. I have always felt exactly the same as you did about tempeh, so I’m in the process of baking your recipe – the marinade is delicious and I’ll use it for other things. I made the burgers yesterday: amazing! I added some chopped walnuts, liquid smoke, and wild garlic leaves. These are the only really yummy veggie burgers I’ve ever eaten. It’s lovely to have a vegan cookbook which is neither incredibly refined (and mostly based on young green coconut meat, which seems to be unavailable – even online – ion the UK) nor beige and worthy. Just really lovely fresh, attractive and delicious food, which I want to make every day. You’re a star!
I would be beyond ecstatic if you could do some ‘dessert’ recipes which have no sweetener of any sort, for us diabetics, and which also don’t have dried fruit, dates, etc., as these are forbidden fruit, quite literally.
Very best wishes to you.
This is currently sitting in my freezer and I am counting down the seconds until I can dig in!! I am so impressed by how easy this recipe was to follow :)
Okay just got around to making the bark as part of my Oh She Glows 30 day challenge! This was very tasty, although I had issues with it setting. Did anyone else experience this? Some of the maple syrup separated and dripped out from when I took it out of the pan. It was a tasty clean up though ;) I also liked the addition of nuts in it, to add some crunch. Toasted coconut on top was divine! I rate this a solid 4 stars out of 5!
I rarely ever comment on recipe blogs (despite spending SO much time looking at them), but I had to for this one. I’m not vegan or vegetarian, but I do love trying new foods and incorporating healthy variety into my diet so I’ve been spending a lot of time on OSG. Chocolate in particular is my soft spot, so I’m always excited when I see a recipe that looks like it can curb my sweet tooth without making me feel too guilty about what I’m putting in my body. This treat is DELICIOUS.
I omitted the almond butter and coconut because I didn’t have any, but even still this turned out fantastic. You still get a coconut flavor from the oil itself. The texture is great – the chocolate part is very smooth and not gritty at all, and it literally melts in your mouth. If you’ve ever had that chocolate shell sauce you pour on ice cream and then it hardens, this bark actually reminds me of that. Also, the pinch of salt helps balance out the sweetness – sooo good!
Tried this recipe over the weekend and absolutely loved it! Definitely needs to remain in freezer as it is quick to melt. I subbed pecans for hazlenuts and it came out great! If you’re into sea salt and dark choco, add more sea salt. It really brings out the nutty flavors!