This week's surprise culinary win

 

Yes, I know. It looks like instant coffee. I clearly need to work on the presentation.

So we had this huge container of mixed raw nuts, and as the container got emptier and emptier, I noticed that the remaining nuts were mostly hazelnuts. It hadn't occurred to me that I don't like hazelnuts, but there you are. I guess I don't.

I separated the hazelnuts out, roasted them, and then blended them with cacao powder and salt and maple syrup.* And . . . voila! Vegan Nutella! (I happen to know I like Nutella.)

VERY tasty. The texture was a bit more like a crumbly Lara bar or moist brownie crumbs, but it was really good.

*If I had to write up the recipe, it would probably be 1 c hazelnuts, 1 T cacao powder, a pinch of salt, and 1T -2 T maple syrup. Not sure how to fix the texture—probably with oil or butter?