Dark chocolate date sauce/mousse
Here we go again, another short on a sweet. There are plenty of apt, descriptive words for this quick recipe, but all you really need (outside of love) are dates (plump, tempting, Medjool), dark chocolate (melted),and coconut milk (full fat). A little vanilla and if you're feeling daring, a pinch of cinnamon is nice, too. Blend until smooth, and bask in the splendid sophistication... (Day 1 ) smooth, delicious, simple but not sinful sauce...
(Day 2) creamy, supremely rich --and still not sinful-- mousse. ..or, more sauce again, warmed up. It stretches a good while, so you get to be free and invent for Day 3+.
What's even lovelier than the silky rich deceptive decadence of this is the fact that a unique elegance is achieved in almost no time at all. Blend with a toddler as assistant or climber on your leg. Either way, you won't miss a beat. And one thing we all know increasingly intimately, time is precious.
Even as a little girl, I felt a strong and occupying sense of time as the greatest commodity. I've nearly always chosen it over money, when the choice was present. These days though, I'm struggling a little with painful awareness of how fleeting time is, no matter how much we relish each moment or try to slow it down.
I've had baby fever like crazy. It's hard not to, with strings of beautiful friends birthing irresistibly cuddly babies. Obviously too, Little Monkey's exciting leaps and bounds carry a bittersweet acknowledgement of baby days behind. But the most honest, complete truth is, no matter how rough a certain day is, there are these many, shining moments.
I still drown in bliss when baby --still my baby-- falls asleep in my arms. Inhaling the delicious scent of his soft curls, listening to his restful breath, feeling the tight, trusting grip of his little fist. Meeting his crinkle-nosed, beaming grin with faces so close our cheeks radiate with each others' warmth. Chasing his sturdy, sweetly comical run, belly out, tippy toes, round and around. These are pure happiness. They bring unimaginable peace, and I'm terrified of losing that.
It's going to be a job, working on relaxing into living with faith that new moments will also bring their contentment and joy. Embracing that they will sometimes be solitary, too. It would be unfair to impose the weight of my/our happiness on his innocence. It isn't easy, that kind of trust and acceptance. Another thing about time is, as elusive and coveted as it is, we always seem to be able to carve out more than ample for worry and fretting, despite knowing the worry and fretfulness are most often time wasters, not action plans.
I'm practicing telling myself if there is time for worrying about the unknown, and bemoaning future losses, there is time to choose not to. It'll be an experiment. A grand one, guided by our little helper, reminding us each day, choose play.
Dark chocolate date sauce/mousse (adapted slightly from Oh She Glows vegan banana split chocolate date sauce)
- 1/2 cup packed, pitted Medjool dates (about 10)
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 1/2 to 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips, mlted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use. Heat on low in a saucepan for sauce, or serve cold as mousse (it will firm up in fridge).