Some kids wake up in the morning to alarm clocks or the smell of French Toast wafting in to their rooms. When I was a kid I experienced, well shall we say, more colorful awakenings….One morning out of a foggy slumber I was startled by my mom skreaking and running around the house saying, ” The dog ate the pot, the dog at the pot.”

Now she wasn’t referring to a lovely wicker pot that held the hydrangeas plant. She meant POT as in weed, grass, ganja or as its known for the recent legal medical variety marijuana! My mom was a drug dealer. Not typical in the era of stay at home moms that is true. She preferred to deal speed, uppers because that was her drug of choice. But on this occasion  she was rolling in the green grass so to speak. She was “working” in the kitchen with the stuff layed out getting ready to portion into bags and then got up to go to the bathroom. When she was away, our family dog got ahold of it and went to town and ate the whole bag! I don’t know who was more wacked out my mom or the dog! They were both running around.

Thinking of what to do when the buyers called she came up with a great story. She told them that she had baked some brownies with the pot inside and the brownies burnt in the oven. That way, she wouldn’t have looked irresponsible for leaving the pot unattended and the dog was able to save face too (though the look on his face would have give him away for sure!)

So in light of the brownies that never got made here is a recipe that has a  secret ingredient of its own, and its legal! Not to mention that is is gluten free, dairy free and sugar free. That way when you eat it you’ll have loads of energy to run around the house, just hopefully not screaming ” The dog ate the pot.”

Ingredients:

Sweet potatoes (600g) Peeled, cut into pieces and steamed until soft

1/2/ of a cup of cashew butter (or any kind of nut butter)

1/2 a cup of  rice flour (100g)

7 oz  mission dried  figs  (cut off tip stems and softened in a bowl of hot water)

4 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Green and Black Organic)

3 tablespoons of pure maple syrup

1 Tbsp coconut oiil

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

a pinch of salt

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F.  Prepare an 8 x 8 baking dish by lining it with parchment paper. In a small bowl combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt and set aside. Then puree the sweet potatoes in a food processor with the figs.  Put the pureed mixture in a large bowl and add in the coconut oil, maple syrup, cashew butter  and vanilla and give a good stir. Then add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients until well combined. Place into the lined baking dish. Bake for approx 20 mins until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Once done remove from the oven and cool on a rack. Let  them rest before cutting them. As an option before cutting them you can also top the brownies with a melted dark chocolate drizzle and a sprinkling of cocoa nibs.

Peace Out,

YDP