A few years ago, I used to help coordinate a CSA in Manhattan. For those of you unfamiliar with CSA’s or farm share models, in brief, they are a way for farmers to sell directly to consumers without pesky middlemen or distributors. Standing for “Community-Supported Agriculture,” you generally agree to pay your local farmer a set fee up front for the season. This amount can vary between a couple hundred dollars to several hundred dollars. Known as a membership fee, your membership entitles you to “shares” of the harvest over the course of the season. These shares are usually picked up once a week from a designated location like a church or another community-friendly site.
If you can manage the up-front fee, a CSA is a win-win for both you and the farmer. The farmer gets more money to work with, and in exchange, you get a much better and better tasting product. The majority of CSA’s are either fruit or vegetable CSA’s, but of course my CSA was all about the meat: cows, pigs, chickens, sometimes lamb, sometimes duck. Basically anything cute with a face 😉
Running a meat CSA, you meet a lot of people: bankers, academics, writers, publishers, editors, lawyers, non-profit organization directors, retirees, beer distributors, you name them. It was also the first time that I ever encountered people on the Paleo diet, a modern diet that basically aims to mimic what our paleolithic ancestors ate.
I know.
At the time, I asked myself the same thing: is this a group of carrion-eaters that spends most of its time starving and the rest of its time fearfully living in caves?
Nope! Apparently, what “going Paleo” really means avoiding processed food, lowering the amount of carbohydrates you eat, increasing how many fresh fruits and vegetables you consume, hunting and gathering in the bulk foods section of the Park Slope Co-Op, and eating a lot meat.
A. Lot. Of. Meat.
Now in all honesty, avoiding processed foods and being more mindful of what we consume are things that we could all do. But a few of these members kind of scared me.
There was the guy who asked me multiple times on multiple occasions if it was okay to eat raw sausage — it’s not. I mean, you can. You won’t die, but I’m pretty sure that it tastes better cooked.
There was another guy who told me that he went through 8 dozen eggs a week because he had a twelve-egg-omelette-a-day habit.
There was the guy who called his personal trainer in a panic because I wasn’t sure if our CSA beef was just grass-fed, or grass-finished (it turned out that it was grass-finished).
A few outliers notwithstanding, for the most part, our Paleo members were a great bunch of super-enthusiastic home cooks who were really into being conscious about what they put in their bodies, and being strong advocates for local farming and agriculture. I loved hearing what they did with their shares and would eagerly trade tips and recipes with them at each pick-up.
Chocolate avocado pudding is one of those freaky Paleo food experiments that I was always curious about, but never tried out of skepticism. Then, one day over the summer, two things serendipitously coincided:
- Joel had a surfeit of overripe avocados that had to be eaten ASAP.
- I had an huge amount of fancy couverture chocolate, a leftover from a dear friend’s tasting event.
Given that my inner 50’s house-wife cannot abide by wasted food, I thought that now would be the time to see if whizzing avocado and melted chocolate together in a blender would indeed be the dairy-free pudding of feverish vegan dreams.
It was high summer too, so I had to freeze it 🙂
How was it?
If this is what it’s like to eat like a fringe-y food cult member who likes lifting kettle bells for fun, set my place at the table 🙂
This recipe is truly fantastic. The result is not overly sweet, and the intensity of the chocolate really shines. The avocado adds a vague fruitiness to the pudding, but it gives it a texture that is as smooth as silk. It’s great as a pudding, and even better as a pop. Be warned though: you can freeze it in a tub, but you will need to remove it a good amount of time before you serve it. Otherwise, it will be very hard to scoop.
Ingredients:
1 can of coconut milk
A pinch of salt
1/3 of a cup of honey
3.5 ounces of dark chocolate (discs or bars broken into pieces)
1/3 cup of Dutch process cocoa powder (I used Valrhona)
2 very ripe avocados, pitted, peeled, and cut into cubes.
Equipment:
A blender
Popsicle molds
How to prepare:
1. In a medium-sized sauce pan, gently heat the coconut milk until it just begins to boil. Turn off the heat and add the chocolate pieces or discs. Whisk everything together. Once the chocolate is completely melted, whisk in the cocoa powder, the honey, and the pinch of salt.
2. Pour the chocolate mixture into a blender (I used a blender bullet) and add the avocado. Whizz everything together until the mixture is soft and shiny. You should not be able to see any more avocado. The mixture should be smooth and even.
3. Carefully spoon the mixture into popsicle molds and freeze.
coolcookstyle 
It is deepest avocado season here in Antalya and I am so excited to try these! What a great way to trick my unsuspecting children into eating avocados (I know – what kind of person doesn’t love avocadoes??) and I won’t even add raw chicken livers :)))
You will go through so many avocados! Thank you for the lovely comment and can’t wait to hear/see how they turn out!
Ps. Pairing suggestions for raw chicken livers from Dr. Lecter: Chianti 😉
While visiting NYC a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of indulging in this wonderful dessert. Sooooo Y U M M Y. Thank you, Daisy for the delightful treat. Judy Sent from my iPad
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Thank you so much, Judy, for the comment and for the support! It was a real pleasure to cook for you and I look forward to next time!
Stay tuned for my attempt at a vegetarian Thanksgiving 🙂
As a longtime avocado smoothie-er, I am FEELING THIS POPSICLE. And how gorgeous does the final product look in your last picture?? Come to think of it, I rarely finish 6-packs of eggs without the last one or two expiring; 12-egg-omelette guy both amazes and terrifies me.
The next time you’re up here or I’m down there, I’ll make them for you!
And I love me some omelette, but a 12-egg one is a lot of omelette to love!
Been busy? Haven’t seen you in a while. Welcome back? or just teasing. 🙂
When you coming over? Sunsets and sand waiting for you (mai tais and kalua pork too). 🙂
Dearest Mouse! I’m so happy for the note! I have to be honest that I’m not very good at being realistic about my time; I love blogging, but working during the semester just drains me. I am always happy to see dispatches from Hawaii though. It makes me feel like the islands are not so far away!
I would love to visit sometime. Mai tai’s Kalua pork, poke, musubi, I would eat it all!
Speaking of poke, I did a lobster cook-off a about a month ago and came in second place making a cooked poke! Used the very last of the wonderful salt that you sent me. So this win is for you too! Are you in Instagram? You can see photos of my dish on my feed.
I totally need to try this. I know I’m going to love it. I can relate to the egg guy. That’s a lot of eggs but if there’s one meal I can easily pig out on its breakfast. Especially if someone else is making it. I could eat a six egg omelette I think. Not 12. Well, maybe one the right day…but not every day.
I think you would love it too, Poodle. It would also thrill me to make it for you the next time that you are in town. Popsicles means that there is a free hand to hold blotters 🙂
And I could probably put down twelve eggs too 🙂 I mean, if I sat down and ate a whole quiche, that’s about a dozen, no?
Darling Daisy,
Sorry I’m so late to the party, October?
Though I love you to the moon and back this popsicle sounds disgusting. You have me so intrigued though that I’m thinking of sending the recipe to Jin because he gets really excited and makes stuff when I send it. Even if it’s as god awful as I think it’s going to be it will get him happily mesSsSsy in the kitchen.
Thanks,
Portia xxx
Dearest Portia!
No apologies needed, my dear! I am even later in replying. Forgive me!
I am actually tickled that you think this sounds disgusting 🙂 The next time you are in town, I will make it for you and not remind you of this franken-dessert 🙂
Much love!
Daisy
I am up for the challenge.
Portia xx
Very creative. Who would have thought of avocado pops. Looks delicious. This is on my menu now.