Decadent Creamy Rum Balls

I sit here with a large glass of green smoothie. It's chlorophyll packed, vitamin packaged and nutritious, to counteract a week of indulgent eating in Melbourne. Alright, one smoothie isn't going to cut it, but these drinks are becoming a regular, and I feel good! I'll tell you what else feels really good-belly laughs. Yes, I had a really good one the other night. It concerned coming home to my little family after my "annual leave" to hear my 5 year old son talk repeatedly of these great "chocolate energy balls" that daddy put in his lunchbox. There was talk of how there were a few left over for other lunches. Chocolate energy balls this, chocolate energy balls that.
Thinking Dad must have bought some new fandangled treat when he went shopping, I thought little more of it-until I saw a few remaining energy balls in the refrigerator on a late night raid.
Chocolate energy balls.
Laced with good, and I mean, very good, lashings of Mount Gay Rum. Not chocolate energy balls, but adult only style rum balls.
All of a sudden I envisioned my son at school writing his letters a little less than precise, reeking of Mount Gay Rum. Fumes on the breath. Teacher's eyes bulging a little at the recognition of the scent of liquor surrounding a kiddo in her class.
No wonder they were so good.
Before I left for Melbourne I made my hubby some of these delicious adult treats, but I fear the Tupperware slice container made them look rather child friendly and fooled him. I mean, there's not so much rum in them to affect a kid, but still, it make me cackle wildly in the dead of night.
Next time he requests those "chocolate energy balls" for his lunchbox, I'll be holding off on the booze!
I took a container of these "energy balls" on the plane with me to Melbourne to give to my mum as a gift. I got stranded for a good few hours at a train station in the city and, not having eaten for about 8 hours, retrieved them from my bag and started on my lunch of decadent creamy rum balls. While I indulged, I watched a man scrounge through a garbage bin and thought about offering him a few. Then I was distracted in that moment by a woman sitting in a cafe. She started vomiting all over the cafe table-violent vomiting. The man ran away from the bin in a screaming rage at an invisible person.
Eventful and random morning. I continued eating through the box of rum balls-feeling very fortunate all of a sudden. Sorry Mum.
This recipe comes from my good friend Ursula, and they are her specialty. She made me a lovely gift box full of them for me at Christmas, and I knew I had to get her to share the recipe with me. They are so delicious-definitely not your average rum balls. The Secret I think is in the addition of butter. They are creamy! Decadently creamy, chocolatey and rummy. Moorish.

URSULA'S DECADENT CREAMY RUM BALLS

2 cups icing sugar
1 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder
2-3 tbsp good quality rum
2 tbsp vanilla extract/essence
125g melted butter

Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Add the rum, vanilla and melted butter to the dry mixture. Combine thoroughly. Roll into bite sized balls and refrigerate until ready to consume.

NOTE: if the mixture is a little too dry and the balls do not hold together well, add a tiny little bit of water or rum until the texture is corrected.

Chocolate Rum Hearts

Lovers-it's that time of the year again. I've crawled out from my hiding place to bring you a very quick, easy and yummy recipe that is perfect for Valentine's Day, especially if you don't buy gifts but just do something thoughtful for your significant other. The only problem is life caught up with me and I wasn't able to post it on time, but never the less, it's a good recipe for just surprising your lover, regardless what day it is. Who needs a particular day to express their love anyway?
Just in case you've been wondering what rock I've crawled out from under, I am pregnant! That's one big boulder on the front of me. I haven't been up to doing much cooking or baking, and would rather be laying down and catching as many zzz's as I can muster with three toddlers under my care. Just kidding- toddlers 1, mummy 0.
But that's okay, because over the weekend, hubby and I and the kids are heading off on holidays to the Sunshine Coast. I cannot wait to get my grubby mits on that little beach house and really relax! Anyway, these heart shaped rum bites are delicious and you don't need to use an oven. If you're in one of those hot climates like I am, you will not want to pass this up. It's too hot to have that thing on.
If you're curious as to what you'll be creating, I can tell you what will be passing your beloved's lips-dense, chocolatey hearts with a nice dash of rum, rolled in red coconut. You will need a silicone heart mold. I suspect mine is supposed to be used for ice making but it's always been more handy for other non liquid creations like this...yum!

 CHOCOLATE RUM HEARTS (A Lick the Spoon Original)

350g biscuits (I used a bunch of different ones like Marie bisuits, plain sweet ones)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup (300g) sweetened condensed milk
2-3 tbsp. rum
1/4 cup dessicated coconut
1 tbsp red food colouring

Crush the biscuits into fine crumbs in a food processor. Pour into a medium sized bowl.
Add the cocoa, sweetened condensed milk and rum. Mix until well combined.
In a zip lock bag, place the coconut and the food colouring. Mix around until the coconut begins to change colour. Sprinkle a little of this mixture into the bottom of each heart shaped silicone old.
Press the chocolate biscuit mixture into the silicone heart molds and firmly press the tops smooth. Refrigerate for 15-30 minutes, then pop them out. Refrigerate in a airtight container until ready to serve.

If He Doesnt Cook, Train Him

Too often have I heard women talking about how much they hate cooking. Imagine having to cook everyday without fail for 30 years of your life. Often when you have to do something without much choice, often part of the joy is taken out of it. It becomes a tedious, boring task.Then you fall into a cooking rut and find it difficult to feel any joy in providing the food three times a day (or more if you have toddlers-they ask for foo every 20 minutes).

I think if at all possible, a woman should find a life partner who can cook. What man isn't interested in food? I can't name even one. They make some of the finest cooks. If they're only interested in the eating and not the creating, it's time to get them into the kitchen! What if they don't want to be involved? You could urge them in the right direction by getting their input with things like meal planning for the week. Buy a few foodie magazines and get them drooling. They might just be inspired to get cooking.And if not, get them to light up the BBQ every so often, I'm pretty sure most men think it's their duty to cook the meat on the BBQ.

I think I get so much pleasure out of being in the kitchen because I don't have to be, I want to be. My husband has an interest in food and is happy to make the dinner if I am too tired or just don't feel like it. He recently created an amazing curry which I will put up on the blog soon. In the meantime, here's another creation of his to get you all through this warm summer. Happy New Year!

CITRUS MULE

350ml Gingerbeer mixer 

2L lemonade

1/5 cup lemon juice

250lm coconut liqueur

150lm white rum

Combine all ingredients together in a large jug. Serve chilled with lemon wedges.

NOTES: Gingerbeer Mixer can be found in your local Coles or Woolworth stores. It is a cordial/syrup made by Buderim Ginger. Alternately, use Gingerbeer and less lemonade.