Chocolate Ganache Pie

Chocolate Ganache Pie
(adapted from Driscoll's berries site)
1 & 1/2c pecans
1/2c walnuts
1/3c Splenda Brown Sugar Blend*
1tsp cinnamon
4T butter, cut into several chunks
6oz favorite 70% dark chocolate bar
1c heavy whipping cream
whipped cream
strawberries

For the crust: Heat oven to 350. Pulse pecans through butter in a food processor until resembling graham cracker crumbs. Press into lightly sprayed 8" pie pan, covering the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake 15mns. Take out to cool while preparing ganache filling.

For filling: Break chocolate bar into small chunks. Add to saucepan. Pour heavy whipping cream over and turn heat to medium-low. Whisk and heat until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth and just starts to bubble along edges of the pan. Remove from heat and pour into prepared pie crust. Place in refrigerator to cool and firm up for at least three hours (should firm up like a stiff cheesecake). Serve with whipped cream and a fresh berry on top.

*I have had this recipe bookmarked for quite some time with the idea to make it more carb friendly. While I didn't make it as low-carb as I could, it met my needs, as well as supplies. If you'd like to make it lower in carbs you can easily swap out the Splenda Brown Sugar Blend for your choice of sweetener, such as Xylitol. You could use an  85-90% dark chocolate bar. (But I will warn you that the original recipe calls for 60-72% and my version, with 70%, tastes very dark chocolatey.) Switch out the nut crust for your favorite recipe, though this version is great, especially with the increased cinnamon. Use whipped coconut cream and blackberries for your toppings, if you prefer. The flexibility in this recipe has earned it a place on my blog so I can refer back to it and make again and again. So decadent! 


I'm recommitting to doing a more stringent job of eating low-carb. While it is true that I have not gained weight by adding more fruits and treats, I haven't lost either. I still would like to lose 20-30lbs more. Fortunately a coworker informed me that she began eating lower-carb this past week. It's helpful to have others around you that support your way of eating. So I'm delighted that we can share this. She's pooed-pooed me in the past for eating this way. But her sister recently lost 20lbs doing it and that motivated her. Whatever it takes - yay! I am so proud of her for losing 3lbs in only her first four days!

Gardening Notes

6/7 - Our growing season is short here. So my first box was planted in May, shortly after the ground had thawed enough to move the first box from the garden and into the back yard. I have garlic, lettuces, spinach, a couple acorn squash and mixed perennial flowers planted. At the end of May we put together a second box. Just last night I put in 7 cabbage plants and 4 marigolds in there.
6/9 - I put in some gladiola bulbs that I'd dug up and saved from last year. You can see them sticking out in the back row of the second box. I gave my trumpet vine (growing on both sides of the metal arbor) a good look and it is greening nicely, though I think there is a lot that I can trim from near top that didn't transition well. That may spur it to grow more strongly. Because I am unsure of this I have been removing just tiny vines/stems at a time.