Food is politics. More than ever. So, imagine my surprise when I found this comment the other day, right here on my little ol’ blog saying:
“I love your recipe blog, but really don’t agree with your political views or comments. Try to stay more focused on the food instead of politics. You may keep more friends that way.”
I’d never thought of being less than genuine and hiding my views as way to gain friends. Call me naive, that’s one strategy I haven’t tried. In terms of what I write on this site, I share my personal (which are of course political) philosophies and also enjoy hearing other people’s views, whether they agree with me or not.
So everyone, I want to thank you for your comments and all of the diverse perspectives. I appreciate hearing your views, even if we don’t always exactly see eye to eye.
In terms of my opinions, I hope you all enjoy what I write and totally understand if you don’t. Of course, if you are a big fan of Sara Palin then this site might not be the most comfortable place for you to hang out, given that I am pretty much a bleeding heart liberal. And then some. That’s not something I ever have or ever will try to hide.
Here’s yet another delicious gluten-free kosher for Passover recipe; it is based on a recipe I found on epicurean.com. My husband was very enthusiastic about this dessert, eating the crumbs off of the serving plate. Just a word of caution, this moist tart can be a bit crumbly this is normal and does not mean you’ve done anything wrong.
Chocolate Walnut Torte
Ingredients
- 5 large eggs, separated
- ½ cup agave nectar or honey
- ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 2 cups walnuts
Instructions
- In a food processor, pulse the chocolate until it becomes a coarse mixture, the consistency of gravel
- Pulse in the walnuts, briefly, until they are coarsely chopped -bigger chunks than the chocolate
- In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks until pale in color, then gradually beat in the agave
- In a separate large bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks, then beat in the salt
- Fold the chocolate-walnut mixture into the egg yolk mixture
- Then fold the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture
- Place in a well greased 9 inch springform pan
- Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave in for 10 more minutes, until firm to the touch and golden around the edges
- Cool in the pan, then serve
This gluten-free flourless torte is another less expensive way to make higher-protein, lower glycemic desserts, without the expense of almond flour. Not that I don’t love almond flour, it’s still my favorite ingredient!
I’m not sure if this torte would work with yacon, though it might be a worthy experiment. It might also be worthwhile to experiment with other nuts, if walnuts aren’t your thing.
M says
In reference to the comment that someone left about keeping your political views to yourself and sticking to the recipes.
Thank you Elana for being genuine. It is important to maintain who you are and naturally that will flow into what you enjoy. I appreciate having friends with different opinions than myself. What a drab world this would be if we ran edit all the time just to please and appease others.
Thank you for speaking up and for being yourself. The world needs originals.
emma says
can you leave out the walnuts
Elana says
Emma, I haven’t tried that so not sure. If you do please let us know how it goes!
Lisa Gibson says
I made this today. It was delicious but the bottom was eggy. What did I do wrong? I followed the recipe using honey. I also used milk chocolate. Could that be why?
Elana says
Lisa, although changing ingredients can add some great flavors to our recipes, it is worth noting that the consistency will usually turn out differently than expected. We would suggest making the torte with the recommended chocolate for best results.
Jenny margewich says
Could be your eggs were X large ?
Ann Conquergood says
I love this torte. Is it possible to get the nutritional informatiom?
Nettie says
You can be as liberal as you want, just stay healthy, enjoy life, and keep the wonderful recipes coming.
Deborah Chrystal says
wow..really..someone felt the need to suggest you should moderate your beliefs to “have more friends”? Just wow…while I am also a bleeding heart liberal, I come to your site for good recipes…not to tell you how to think or waht to say! Carry on!!
Jacqueline says
Elana,
Love your blog and your recipes!
Keep up the good work.
BTW this torte recipe is Paleo too.
Thank you!!
Kennis says
Thank you for this recipe!! I’ve always been scared of tortes…pound cakes are my thing. I eat clean for most meals but I usually cheat with really dirty (sugar, gluten and diary) desserts. I was determined to find a dessert that would satisfy my sweet tooth and not wreak havoc on my stomach (and new way of eating). And here comes this wonderful walnut chocolate torte. I used less of the chocolate (3/4cup) and agave nectar (about 1/4 cup) than called for and this still turned out amazing. Satisfied my craving to the max. Ate it with banana “ice cream” and thought I was eating a hot brownie sundae. And the torte is super easy to make. 5 ingredients and it took me a total a maybe 15 minutes to assemble! Thank you Elena…I look forward to trying so many more of your recipes!
Tara says
One of the saddest states of affairs is that we can no longer have intelligent debates on ideas without another becoming offended. Why do we have to agree to be friends? My husband and I have different points if views on many political topics, but I still like him. ;) I understand his perspective even if I don’t agree with it.
Not being able to tolerate differing opinions is it’s own kind of subtle hate mongering.
Dana says
I can understand where the conservatives are coming from. The problem is that political views are NOT “just opinions”. They are foundational beliefs about how you see the world and how you want to live in it, and they–or actions taken based upon them–often have effects on other people. The trouble with conservatives is I’m not really seeing the negative effects of centrist (“liberal”) views that they claim to be seeing. On the other hand, I’m from the South and have seen lots of bad outcomes from conservatives being in charge of things.
I have some friends who are conservative but they’re kind of grandfathered in and I find myself biting my tongue a lot if they talk politics. Needless to say, I am not set to follow the posts of the ones on my Facebook account. At this point I kind of don’t want to closely befriend any right-wingers anymore. Be casual, polite acquaintances, sure. We can talk TV shows or whatever. But trust them with the important stuff? Maybe not. Like, say something happened to me and someone else would have to raise my child. I would not want a right-winger doing that. Again, I’ve seen the bad results. I want none of that. Oh sure, they learned rote manners, they can behave themselves in polite company, but the minute they get the chance to really mess you up, they’re no better than anyone else in that department–and they’re the ones who most often brag about having gotten spanked and turning out “just fine”. Meanwhile I don’t spank my daughter and everyone keeps stopping me and telling me what an awesome kid she is. So you can see my dilemma.
No, I can tolerate differing opinions just fine, but to me “differing opinions” is “what’s your favorite color” or “what food do you hate the most” or “what’s the best part of Doctor Who series three”. Nice, inconsequential, harmless things that won’t come back and bite me in the butt later. As opposed to, say, wanting abortion outlawed, which would actually kill people.
It’s foolish to pretend otherwise.
That said, this is Elena’s blog and she can write what she likes. If these… well… I’ll be nice… If these people want to see different opinions expressed, they can read a different blog. They can even, shockingly enough, start their own blogs and write out their own opinions. It’s an excellent intellectual exercise and I highly recommend it. You don’t even have to turn on your comments feature, if that’s a concern.
Teresa Dunivent says
I took the time to read your reply,and remembered something someone said in a great speech about insults. You are lumping all conservatives in one group and basically saying they can’t raise children right. Wow! This is out of control. This is a recipe blog and while I really don’t care what Elana’s political views are or anyone else’s, as this is a free country, I surely have some wonderful friends who are conservative and have raised wonderful children allowing them their own political views which are different from their parents. Please don’t insult or lump people together is such a narrow minded fashion. Once again, thank you Elana for sharing your wonderful recipes with people from all walks of life. You are an inspiration to those who suffer from auto immune and want to be in control of their health as much as possible.
Cheryl H says
Elana, just want to say thank you so much for your wonderful blog and recipes, many of which I have found to be really wonderful and helpful for my own and family’s dietary issues. Can’t wait to try this one with hazelnuts (I’m allergic to walnuts), and just sorry I haven’t done so already before posting this comment.
I usually prefer to wait until I’ve tried a recipe, so I can have something really useful to comment in exchange for your generosity; but today I am making an exception so that I can also thank Aaron, who left you a comment here on December 18, 2009. To Aaron, I want to also extend a heartfelt thank you for taking the time to post that beautiful and fascinating excerpt by Krishnamurti on political and religious debate. How generous of you, Aaron! May it please you to know that I also found it fascinating, wise, and enlightening.
Many blessings to you both!