Valentine’s Day has always been my favorite holiday. When I was a little girl, I thought it was incredible that there was a whole day, centered on hearts, the colors pink and red, giving flowers and people saying I love you. It just doesn’t get better than that for me. I got made fun of a lot, because I made such a big deal about it. But I don’t care, I still love it. This is my new creation for this Valentine’s Day. Lavender pots of chocolate kefir creme. You can leave out the lavender and it is still delicious. I need the lavender, because after all it is Valentine’s Day. Gotta have some flowers in a dish on this day. The lavender is very mild with just a slight hint of taste. It does make the kefir take on an unusual flavor. Remember when you make things with kefir it continues to eat the sugar out of desserts if you don’t eat it right away. Bacteria does this by consuming the sugars in things so you get less of a sugar rush. The longer you leave it the more sour it becomes, but it is fine for a few days. A little kefir can go a long way in a recipe. It grows and multiple’s eating sugar all day long, so you don’ have too.

This is my personal Valentine to each and every one of you. Thanks for reading my blog and letting me find a way to release my creative energy about cultured foods. My husband is most grateful I can share this with you, so he doesn’t have to eat foods with flowers in it. Happy Valentine’s Day, and consider yourself hugged. ~Donna

Chocolate Lavender Pots of Kefir Creme

Makes 4 to 6 servings

7 ounces of 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate, chopped or broken into small pieces

6  eggs yolks

1 cup milk

½ cup cream

1 tbsp vanilla

Pinch of salt

8 packages of stevia (Truvia is what I use) or 7 tbsp of sucanat

½ cup lavender  2^nd fermented homemade kefir cheese (lavender part is optional. Here is how to make it lavender flavored.)

1/2 cup sliced almonds

Place the chopped up chocolate in a blender. Whisk the milk, cream, egg yolks, stevia or sugar and salt in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture is thick enough to coat the spatula and almost boiling, 5 to 6 minutes.

Immediately pour the milk mixture over the chocolate in the blender. Cover and hold the lid with a thick kitchen towel; blend until combined and smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides of the blender as needed. Then add the vanilla and kefir cheese and mix again. With blender off add 1/2 cup sliced almonds and stir by hand. Divide the chocolate mixture among ramekins or small cups and cover and refrigerate until set, about 2 hours.

Top with fresh whipped cream and lavender.

Super bowl is coming up and we are going to some friends house to watch the game. I am always trying to think of something new to make for the game. It is mostly for my husband Ron that I get extra creative. Many think that because we eat pretty healthy, that we have always eaten like this. We are not super strict, even though we do eat really well most of the time. When we got married 27 years ago, my husband casually told me that he didn’t eat anything green. Taken back a bit, I realized that he did this because he had a very limited diet and was only eating a few foods that he really liked. So I made it my mission to little by little incorporate new foods into his diet, and show him how delicious it could be. He is such a wonderful man that there is little I wouldn’t do for him. He has filled my life with love, and every fermenting jug you could ever want or find.

When I started fermenting things he was skeptical, and a little scared, but supportive. He has a way of finding things that I need without me ever telling him that I need them. Month by month he would come home with a new glass jug that I could use for fermenting. They were so unique it would make me squeal in delight. One year he went on eBay and found me milk jugs that had our last name on them. It is one of the reasons so many people contact me thinking that I have a dairy but it is really just a jug with my name on it.

Through the years Ron’s diet has change quite dramatically, eating greens and other wonderful foods. It is really fun to watch people start eating cultured foods. He started with kombucha and loved it and felt the difference it made in helping his eye sight. Kefir was something he started eating regularly as he began to notice that constipated was a thing of the past, if he had daily. Cultured veggies took me a little trial and era to find some he really enjoyed. He wouldn’t touch a pickle, or a cucumber of any kind. He would have terrible indigestion and burp it up all day. It was Shelley’s Cultured veggies, that he really liked (recipe in my book). He eats tons of these cultured veggies everyday. I can’t tell you how many times he will make a meal of these veggies with a bowl of sprouted corn chips. This was a huge step for him because I never coax him to eat them. He eats them because he likes them, and he realized how much they helped with feeling full, and satisfied and with boosting his immune system.

This onion dip is for my husband, because he has always loved onion dip. I couldn’t stand to buy the store-bought ones full of chemicals and preservatives. I made this dip today and asked him to tell me what he thought. He looked at me and said, “wow this one is a winner.” Then he wanted to eat the whole bowl, before I could get a picture of it. I am glad he is picky, it just made me more creative. It is fun to find things that he loves. He does this for me with every little glass jug he finds me, and a million other little things these last 27 years we have been together. Never under-estimate the power that food can have on a person. When you infuse it with love it is unbeatable.

Ron’s Kefir Onion Dip

I use both homemade kefir cheese and store-bought kefir cheese in this dip. The consistency of the store-bought cheese, helps this dish come together, and both are probiotic. You can mix and match what ever you like. If you can’t find Greek God’s kefir cheese  you can substitute sour cream and just add homemade kefir cheese. Remember the kefir cheese adds the probiotics that makes this a plus for snack food, and it’s delicious too.

1 medium or large onion

1 large leek (optional but gives it more flavor)

1 tbsp butter ( you can substitute olive oil)

8 ounces Kefir Cheese by Greek Gods or sour cream

5 ounces of homemade kefir cheese ( I used second ferment kefir with garlic. Optional but delicious)

1 small lemon juiced

1 tsp Celtic sea salt

1 tsp paprika

1. Finely chop the onions and leeks.

2. In a medium skillet melt butter over medium high heat. Add onion and leek and cook till softened, about 5 to 7 minutes. Let cool till warm and not hot.

3. Transfer onions to a food processor and add remaining ingredients. Pulse several times till onions and cheese are well combined and smooth. Cover and refrigerate till ready to serve. You can top with poppy seeds or sesame seeds or dehydrated onions, if you like.

You can serve this dip with homemade potato chips. I cut thinly sliced potatoes and fry them in peanut oil till brown and crispy.

Miso is a popular fermented food in Japan. It’s buttery salty texture will flavor these pickles in a wonderful way. Soy foods tend to be problematic and something that I have not done well on in the past. It affected my thyroid when it was not fermented, but once off soy my body went back to normal. That being said fermented soy is a completely different food, and has many benefits that my body seems to love.

Click below  if you want to learn why; Fermented Soy is The Only Soy Food Fit for Human Consumption. Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/025513.html#ixzz1kmFJ9p00

If you like blue cheese, chances are you will like the taste of miso pickles. Miso is made from fermented soybeans and has many benefits that make it a unique fermented food. Because miso is fermented with a B12-synthesizing bacteria, miso has been commonly recommended as a B12 source for vegans. A little miso goes a long way towards providing your daily needs for the trace minerals zinc, manganese, and copper. In addition, a single tablespoon of miso contains 2 grams of protein for just 25 calories.

These pickles are nothing like dill pickles. They are earthy and creamy and quite delicious all by themselves. You can substitute the daikons for sweet potatoes, turnips or carrots if you like. I found myself grabbing one between meals when I needed something to curb my appetite before dinner.

You can buy unpasteurized miso at health food store and Asian grocery stores. There are many variety’s and I made these with white miso.

Miso Pickles

2 tbsp mirin ( Japanese wine available in the Asian section of most grocery stores)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup unpasteurized miso ( red white or brown)

1/2 cup daikon,(you can substitute sweet potatoes, turnips, or carrots) peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch half inch moons.

In a bowl, mix together first 3 ingredients, stirring well to combine. Add the daikon and stir to coat each piece thoroughly using a wooden spoon.

Transfer the pickles to a wide mouth pint canning jar, pressing the pickles into the jar.

Leave to ferment on your counter for 24 hours, than transfer to fridge to ferment further for 4 days.

You can eat the pickles at day 4  of being in the fridge. Keep refrigerated, these pickles get better with age, for up to 3 months.

Learn to make live-cultured foods are loaded with probiotics  and enzymes that can transform your life.

GreenAcres Market
Welcomes back Donna Schwenk to learn how simple it is to make your own kefir, kombucha, and cultured vegetables.
Empower yourself with simple techniques for fermenting these
healthful foods in your own home.

Now is the time to improve our health and make good        
nutrition choices. Fermented foods improve digestion, help
us to better absorb the nutrients we are consuming and
restore the proper balance of bacteria in our system. They
are fun to eat and make and can be less expensive than
taking vitamins and enzymes from a supplement.

Donna Schwenk is the chapter leader for the Weston Price
Foundation, who are dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense
foods to the human diet through education, research and
activism.

This is a FREE class, and reservations are requested. Call
816-746-0010

*There will be starter cultures to purchase at the class for
$15, but reservation is required to reserve and purchase a
live culture.

February 23,2011 7:00 to 8:00 pm
Greenacres Market
4175 Mulberry Drive                                                                   
Kansas City, MO
816-746-0010

Some one of the best friends I have today are because of cultured foods. I meet people who are looking to be well and who either come to one of my classes or who find me through friends, to purchase kefir grains. Dionne is one of those people, who I immediately liked and felt connected too. She is not only a wonderful friend but her little girl Anna is one of my daughter’s best friends. It so happens that Anna raises chickens and used to be allergic to eggs but now can eat them a few times a week without major problems. They feed their chickens wonderful things  and this is where I get my eggs from every week.

Dionne has a dog; Christian that got very sick two years ago in February. He had bloody explosive stools and vomiting. They took him to the vet and ran tests and couldn’t find anything. They put him on three medications, that sort of helped, but he had to have a strict diet of chicken and rice. If they deviated from it, the bloody diarrhea would return, and the vomiting. This went on for seven months, and in September, Dionne came to my class and got kefir grains and started making kefir smoothies for her family. She thought if this was so good for her family, that it might help Christian. She mixed some kefir in his food because she  had run out of medication at that time. In three days of no medication and kefir everyday, the bloody stools and stomach upset stopped.  Now Christian has a cup of kefir a day and can eat anything. He is as happy as he can be. Many times when he sees Dionne with the blender making kefir smoothies, he follows her around begging for more. She told me of this story and how awful it had been when he was sick. She could not believe that in three days after months of being sick, kefir fixed him. They call him, “the dog that kefir saved”.

I have heard of so many stories of intestinal disorders that kefir has fixed.

I had a man who came to my class’s who had been on constipation medication for many years who got off of it quickly after consuming kefir for a few weeks.

I had another mom who had an infant with terrible ulcers that nothing seemed to help, but with in a month of consuming kefir the ulcers were gone.

I had another woman who came to my class whose husband had a rare disease where everything it ate had to be pureed or he would get very sick. After a few weeks on kefir he could eat solid food again with no problem.

Never underestimate how much the colon loves the bacterias in Kefir. It is these very bacteria  that do a myriad of functions everyday.

The main functions of the colon are absorption of water and minerals, and the formation and elimination of feces.The colon contains nearly 60 varieties of microflora or bacteria to aid digestion, promote vital nutrient production, to maintain pH balance, and to prevent growth  of harmful bacteria.

These bacteria provide important functions such as the synthesis of folic acid and valuable nutrients from foods, including vitamins ‘K’ and portions of the ‘B’ complex. Bacillus coli and acidophillus comprise the majority of healthy bacteria in the colon along with many other disease producing bacteria in lesser numbers.

The process of digestion, from ingestion of food to defecation, normally takes between 12 to 24 hours assuming that the colon is fully functional and non-toxic. Irregular or infrequent bowel movements can allow toxic residues, from the by-products of undigested foods, to remain in the colon.

Bottom line, your body needs these good bacteria to help them do their job. Give it to your kids, your dogs and other animals in your house and watch what happens. Kefir saved me too.

Me and Christian. Kefir lovers forever!

How to Make Kefir.

I was driving home from gymnastics in the car with my little Holli. She is really an old soul in a little body. There are times that she will cause me to think in such deep ways, that it will astonish me that she is only ten.

That particular day she looked at me in the car and said, ” Mom why do you think you had me so much later in life than Maci, (26-year-old sister) and DJ (24-year-old brother)?” Before I could answer she continued. ” I think I know. You wanted to learn things, and you learned a lot by having me. And you know what else mom? I think when you had me I needed you. So we just needed each other. Don’t you think?” I shook my head and grabbed her little hand. ” I really needed you Holli”, I said. “More than you will ever know.” Then she asked me if she could help me make cook something fun when we got home. She had a new apron and wanted to wear it because it had big pockets.

I did need this little one. I would have never found cultured foods or have the health and life I love so much without the hard road of having a premature infant, diabetes and a slew of other problems that surface when I had her at 41 years old. Turned my life upside down and the pain caused me to search in ways I could never have imagined. The sun was shining just down the road. I just had to keep moving.

I am so thankful for this journey that has brought me such joy. Even though it didn’t look like it in the beginning. Out of the mouth of babes.. sometimes great wisdom comes.

These little bites are super easy to make and something you can take to parties. People will never suspect that they were pro-biotic because they are so delicious. If you don’t have homemade fermented pickles in your fridge you can buy them. The brand Bubbies in the refrigerated section at most health food store and some grocery stores are a great easy way to make these and they are pro-biotic too.

Probiotic Pickle Poppers

5 – pickle spears ( Lacto fermented homemade pickles or, Bubbies is a store bought brand that you can also use.)

5 slices of pasture raised ham

5 tbsp of cream cheese

5 tsp of kefir cheese

Mix cream cheese, kefir cheese, together thoroughly. Spread 1 heaping tbsp of cheese mixture evenly onto 1 slice of ham. Roll ham around pickles. Slice pickle into several pieces and serve. Repeat until all pickles are used.

Kombucha had its own methods for training me. When I began drinking kombucha I noticed two things; first I was urinating like crazy and I smelled awful. Body odor that I could not seem to rid myself of for 3 or 4 days. You see kombucha is a huge liver detoxify-er and it pulls out plastics and heavy metals and eliminates them through the bowels and skin. It stopped after a couple of days and I also noticed it did this to my daughter and a friend. We were all needing some serious detoxing after years of eating rather poorly. There was one time when I stopped drinking kombucha for about a month, because I read somewhere that someone in the know didn’t recommend it. I remember that day quite vividly because I felt confused and concerned that I was doing the wrong thing. I had seem dramatic changes in my husband and family. I started researching the types of properties that kombucha made, and discover  a myriad of good yeast, B vitamins and beneficial bacteria that kombucha made and delivered to the body. It was late one night and I had been up researching it and I got a call from my sister Debbie. She is someone who struggles with chronic diarrhea and I had told her about the good yeast in kombucha that helps with this. Saccharomyces boulardii is the powerful good yeast, abundant in kombucha.  It is used as the number one pro biotic in hospitals, called  florastor. She called me that night to tell me that as long as she drank a half a bottle of kombucha a day her diarrhea was under control. Something even drugs couldn’t stop. Her husband is a medical doctor and even he was surprised. The longer I didn’t drink kombucha the more phone calls I got from friends, that kombucha had been helping them. I began drinking it again and once again and I felt so much better that I was convinced of its benefits. It literally can make you feel better in 20 minutes with the amount of B vitamins it delivers to you adrenals.

Cultured veggies are such powerful little scrub brushes to the colon and deliver powerful anti-virus abilities, that it astonishes me that everybody doesn’t know about them. Over and over again I have seen these veggies knock out colds and flu and even work magic on food poisoning. The thing that most surprised me was how well they help with my daughters chickenpox.

My 10-year-old Holli was in a theater play where someone had chickenpox, and so everybody in the play who had not had the virus got it. I was actually relieved to see that she was exposed so her body would build up immunity to it. The body is actually made stronger after a virus because of its ability to make its own immunities to it.  In the evening one night I started seeing spots on Holli. She is not one who gets sick, so she started to cry. She was afraid of what all this would mean. I checked her temperature and it was 101, so I knew she had chickenpox. I gave her a spoonful of cultured veggie juice and put her to bed. The next morning she had quite a few pox and kept getting more. I told her she wouldn’t have school for a while and so she thought having chickenpox was going to be ok. The funny thing was the only symptoms had been the fever that one night and the pox. The second day I called my husband into the living room to show him Holli doing hand stands in the living room. The 3rd day she asked me if she go out in the backyard for a little while. Looking out the window I see her twirling around in circles in her pajamas and jumping on the trampoline. I had given her cultured veggies about a spoonful every 6 hours but never expected this. I don’t know about you but when I had chickenpox I was sick as a dog that first week. Was it the veggies? I can not be entirely sure, but I have seen them do miraculous things; from curing food poisoning in an afternoon, to stopping severe vomiting, to killing candida, colds and flu.

These foods have guided me to living a healthier life. They  gently pointed the way for me as I followed the bread trail they left for me. These are just a few of the many many stories I have witnessed, and of their ability to heal and make well all who consume them. Counting my blessing everyday that these foods made their way to me. How can I not share  what has been so life changing for me and others? Don’t take my word for it, try them for yourself. Your own life experience is the best teacher. I wish you all a healthier and more joyful 2012.

These food speak for themselves I am just the messenger. ~ Donna

 

This is my favorite kefir soda. It is the mulling spices that make the taste something special. So much better for you than regular soda or holiday drinks. This has kefir cultures in it which gives your body probiotics, and consumes some of the sugar, so you get a delicious drink without tons of sugar. You don’t have to use cranberry peach juice. Pick any flavored juice you like; cranberry, apple, or pomegranate and just add the mulling spice tea bags, culture and water.

Kefir soda is so easy to make and gets super bubbly. Keep tabs on it, because it can get super carbonated. It calms down when you put it in the fridge. Open slowly and it is best to use clamp down bottles to let the carbonation escape naturally. Be careful pulling out the tea bag when ready. It can tear and go into the soda. It taste like the holidays with the mulling spices, but I will be drinking this soda all year-long. I bought 2 boxes of mulling spice tea bags to make sure I had enough to last me through out the year. This way I can make the holidays last all year-long.

Happy New Year Kefir Soda

Makes 1 liter

2 cups cranberry peach juice (I purchased this at whole foods)
2 cups water
1/2 cup fresh kefir whey or  1 kefir culture package
I tea bag with Mulling spices  or 1 tsp of Mulling spices sealed in a tea bag. (I purchased this at whole foods but have also seen it at my regular grocery store by the apple cider.)

Place kefir pack in water and mix well.
Add all ingredients into a 1-liter bottle with a clamp down lid. Add the tea bag last and it will float at the top so you can remove it when you are done fermenting. Be careful pulling the tea bag out. It can rip and tear open.
If you use the culture package let sit for 2 to 3 days or until bubbly and fizzy. If you use the kefir whey it can take longer 2 to 5 days to become fizzy. You should check it by opening the lid and you will hear and see the fizz. Then it is ready. It should also not be overly sweet but a little tart.
Then place in refrigerator.

You can take 1/3 cup of this fermented soda mixture and add some more peach juice, water and Mullen spices and ferment again. It will ferment faster, usually in a day and sometimes even faster. I have even let it ferment in the fridge. If you use the Kefir culture packages you can do this up to 10 or more times or until it stops becoming fizzy. Then you will need another culture package. If using kefir whey you will have to add more kefir whey (fresh) every couple of batches.

I do recommend a piece of good-quality dark chocolate as a healthy snack . . . It is a source of polyphenols, the same type of antioxidants found in red wine, and the fat it contains is stearic acid, which doesn’t affect cholesterol levels. The latest good news for chocolate lovers comes from a study indicating that flavonoids in chocolate are good for your heart. These compounds reduce the stickiness of platelets, cells that play an important role in blood clotting. By eating a 1.5-ounce of chocolate, you get the same amount of these protective compounds as in a 5-ounce glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. – Andrew Weil, M.D.

These wonderful waffles are my little Holli’s favorite recipe to help me make.  You have to start the night before to let the flour soak in the kefir and sourdough. They are so light and crisp you would never guess that they are made with whole wheat flour. I use stevia to cut the sugar but you can add sucanat if you like. Top them with whipped cream and strawberries or raspberries, but they are also delicious with maple syrup. You can save them in the refrigerator or freezer and crisp them up in the toaster the next day. When you soak your flour in kefir and sourdough you deactivate the enzyme inhibitors and sky-rocket the nutrients. These are a special treat around our house and the house is filled with the scent of chocolate all day. We have made them for dinner around the holidays. They are comfort food and also a special treat on a cold winter day. I love them so much, and when I eat them it feels like Christmas morning even when it is summer time. Food was meant to be enjoyed and I can’t think of a recipe that does it better than chocolate kefir waffles.

The superiority of chocolate, both for health and nourishment, will soon give it the same preference over tea and coffee in America which it has in Spain. – Thomas Jefferson

 Chocolate Kefir Sourdough Waffles

The night before you want the waffles you will make a levain and let it sit out overnight. In the morning it will be ready.

Levain

• 4 ounces of  sourdough starter
• 1 cup kefir  (8 ounces)
• 1 cup whole wheat flour

The next morning you will make this to add to the Levain.

Batter

• 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon salt
• pinch of  cinnamon
• 1/2  cup sucanat (I use stevia to cut the sugar about 4 packages of Truvia)
• 2 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons  butter, melted
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 to 3/4  cup dark chocolate chips,  mini chips work especially well

To make the Levain: The night before you want the waffles, or early in the morning if you are planning them for dinner, Weigh 4 ounces of sourdough starter into a glass jar or bowl. Stir in one cup of flour. Stir in one cup of kefir and mix thoroughly till combined. It will be pretty thick. Place cap or cover bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for at least 8 hours.

To make the batter: When you’re ready to make the waffles, stir the cocoa, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl.  In  a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with the melted butter, sugar and vanilla. Add the cocoa mixture and stir well; then add the cocoa egg mixture  to the sourdough mixture all at once. Stir thoroughly: you don’t want streaks of unmixed sourdough in your batter. The batter will start to swell from the baking soda acting with the kefir and sourdough. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Pre heat your waffle iron and cook according to your manufacturers instructions. About 3 to 5 minutes for my waffles. The waffles will feel soft coming out of the waffle iron but will crisp up again when you remove them.

I went to the Nutcracker Ballet a few weeks ago. My good friend Nancy, had a daughter who was playing Clara in the production. Nancy is not only a dear friend but the editor for my book. She  is so special to me for many reasons. First she is one the biggest givers I know. She is constantly doing things for me. When I went to see the Nutcracker she left a bunch of tickets at will call for me and refused to let me pay for them. This is a nice jester, except Nancy is always doing things like this for me and everyone else in her life. I am constantly thinking of ways to repay her for her kindness. Honestly, I come up with a bunch of recipes for cultured foods, because I am always trying to think of ways to repay her. She loves them too and nothing is more fun than showing up at her house with  new creations that will impress her. When I saw the ballet with her daughter Kayli, it totally inspired me. Such beauty in this ballet and the music creates inspiration in my soul.

These little cupcakes are for my friend Nancy and her family, because I know she loves brownies.

This brownie recipe I have made many times. I love that they are made out of walnuts ground into flour. The frosting is so delicious. Decadent brownies, full of a deep rich chocolate taste with a creamy pudding like frosting with a hint of peppermint. Gluten free and the frosting has a surprising ingredient.

Kefir Peppermint Brownie Cupcakes

Walnut Meal Brownies

Makes 12 cupcakes

1- ¾ cup of walnut meal (Walnuts that have been soaked if possible. You can grind them into meal in  a food processor pulsing a few times till ground.)

3/4 cup of cocoa powder

1- ½ baking powder

1- ½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

2 large eggs

1 cup coconut-kefir-eggnog or coconut milk full fat

½ cup honey

2 tsp vanilla

1/3 coconut oil

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 8X8 baking pan. In a small bowl, mix dry together ingredients until well blended. Set aside. In a small bowl whisk eggs for one minute, then add coconut milk, honey and vanilla and whisk again. Stir in melted coconut oil and whisk again until all ingredients are completely blended. Stir liquid into dry ingredients and mix well. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl so no pockets of dry ingredients remain. Batter will appear thinner than regular brownies. Scoop with ice cream scoop into muffin tin and fill cups 1/2 full. Bake in over for 25 to 30 minutes.

Peppermint Kefir Frosting

1/2 cup kefir cheese (If you don’t have any you can use Greek Gods Kefir cheese)

1 block cream cheese softened

1 ripe avocado, skins removed

3/4 cup coconut sugar or sucanat (grind into powder in blender before adding and it dissolves easier).

2/3 cup coconut cream or butter

1 tsp rum vanilla or regular vanilla

1 tsp peppermint extract

1 tsp celtic sea salt

In food processor or with hand mixer, mix first four ingredients until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and process again until smooth and well mixed. Spread or pipe on top of brownies.