Chocolate Mousse

• Place the dates, agave and vanilla in a food processor and process until smooth. 

• Add the mashed avocado and cacao powder and process until creamy. You may need to stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula a few times. 

• Add the water and process until smooth. Serve at room temperature or chilled. 

• Stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator, it will keep up to five days, and two weeks in the freezer.

Fudgesicles: Freeze it in ice cube trays. Thaw for 5 minutes before serving.

Sauce or fondue: Increase water to 1 cup. Serve with fresh strawberries, bananas or tangerines.

MORE FROM THE AUTHOR: 

Vegan meals don't get any easier, or tastier, than this spaghetti and chocolate mousse combo.

While walking through a specialty grocery store last fall, I saw a magazine that caught my eye — PlantBased — on the shelf.

The cover said 67 recipes that are totally vegan. So I thought, why not? I’m ready for new vegan dishes. I have not been disappointed with a single recipe from that magazine, so it was well worth $12.99.

The recipes range from breakfast to dessert, and the bonus is that they are easy to make. A large number of them are dishes that I love to eat anyway.

But one of those recipes is so tasty that I consider it gourmet — One Pot Spaghetti Puttanesca. I’m a believer in easy recipes, so for me vegan food does not have to be complicated to taste great.

Want dessert, too? The chocolate pudding recipe is easy and filling. It came from a cooking class I took with a vegan friend a few years ago. The instructor, Jessica LaFayette, uses raw foods only and runs her own raw/vegan restaurant in Cedar Rapids called Rawlicious. The avocados make the pudding extremely creamy. Fire up the food processor and enjoy this Chocolate Mousse. I’ve included the instructor’s variations for additional options you can enjoy.