Chia Hachiya Vegan Eggnog2014 Virtual Vegan PotluckRipen A Hichiya Persimmon Overnight!

No eggs, no dairy - just creamy eggnog goodness!

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Welcome to the 2014 Virtual Vegan Potluck!
Bloggers from all over the world are participating once again to bring you delicious vegan recipes - from appetizers to desserts. You will be able to click to through to their recipes later on but first, let me share my mine.

Hachiya Persimmons
This recipe starts with a funny story - well, maybe not-so-funny story. 

Four years ago I planted what I thought was a fuyu persimmon tree. It hasn't done very well. In fact I haven't gotten a single persimmon on it - until this year. I got ONE. Yes, after four long years I got one stinkin' persimmon. I didn't even notice it until every leaf fell off the tree and then, there it was. A big hachiya persimmon. I waited all this time only to discover that the nursery sold me the wrong persimmon tree!

My entire harvest!

Ripen a Hachiya Overnight!
The reason I didn't like hachiya persimmons that much was because they took so long to ripen and lose their astringency. But I recently discovered that they can easily ripen overnight if you put them in the freezer! Who knew? 

Freeze overnight or longer and defrost.
If you have the time, let them sit out an extra day
after defrosting to ripen even more.

Slice and scoop out ripened fruit. 

Friends with Persimmon Trees are the Best Kind
My friends Bill and Lauren have been supplying me with fuyu persimmons while I've been patiently waiting for my tree to produce. My friends Ray and Rory have lots of hachiyas that I have never been that interested in because I didn't know the freezer trick. But now I'm thrilled about getting hachiyas from them and they have generously given me several boxes of them. His tree gets almost 1,000 persimmons on a good year!

Thanks Ray and Rory!

The Best Recipes are Accidents
Now that I am mother to many hachiyas, I've been wondering what to do with them. One day I made a smoothie with almond milk, cinnamon, chia seeds, and a juicy persimmon and my husband said, "this tastes like eggnog!" It sure did. To be certain, I threw a shot of bourbon in it, sprinkled it with nutmeg and it was wonderful. I was so excited because I LOVE EGGNOG but can't have dairy. And, I HATE CALORIES. Even the vegan eggnogs in the store are crazy high in calories.

So I have been playing around with this recipe all week and I think I've finally perfected it. 

Chia Hachiya Eggnog Ingredients

By the way, this eggnog has only 185 calories and 3 grams of fat, even with a shot of Maker's Mark. Regular eggnog, with a shot of whiskey, has over 400 calories and 19 grams of fat! 

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Chia Hachiya Eggnog
Vegan, Gluten Free (if using a gluten-free alcohol or omitting alcohol)
[makes 6 (1-cup) servings]
Requires a good blender

Plan ahead one day to freeze persimmons and a few hours to defrost and soak chia seeds.

INGREDIENTS
2 large hachiya persimmons
4 cups Silk vanilla almond milk (or other non-dairy vanilla, sweetened milk)
2 tablespoons chia seeds
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg plus some to sprinkle
2 packets stevia, or to taste 
Tiny pinch of salt
6 ounces (3/4 cup) Maker's Mark whiskey (optional)*

* Maker's Mark does not claim to be gluten free because they use red winter wheat used as a flavoring grain that gives it its special taste. However, the bourbon is double-distilled which supposedly strips the gluten from the wheat. Use your own discretion given your particular sensitivity to gluten. For a gluten-free alcoholic eggnog, substitute rum, which is generally gluten free. If gluten is not a problem, I highly recommend adding Maker's Mark.

DIRECTIONS
The night before, or sooner, place the hachiya persimmons in the freezer. 

Take them out of the freezer to defrost. Meanwhile, sprinkle chia seeds into the vanilla almond milk and stir vigorously until they are well separated. Do this several times over the course of 10 minutes to make sure they don't clump together. Set aside for an hour or more while the persimmons are just defrosted enough to cut. 

Slice the top off the persimmons and then cut each vertically in four pieces, cutting away the inner, fibrous center vein that tends to be astringent.

Scoop out the flesh and place in the blender, discarding the skin. 

Stir up the milk and chia seeds and add them to the blender along with the cinnamon, 1/8th teaspoon of the nutmeg, stevia and salt. Blend until smooth.

Pour into glasses and stir an ounce (2 tablespoons) of Maker's Mark (or other bourbon) or rum into each glass (optional). Sprinkle with nutmeg and serve. 

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Per serving (without alcohol) 116 calories, 3 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 594 mg omega-3 and 219 mg omega-6 fatty acids**, 0 mg cholesterol, 2 g protein, 23 g carbohydrates, 3 g dietary fiber, and 108 mg sodium.


Per serving (with a shot of Maker's Mark) 185 calories, 3 g total fat, 0 g saturated fat, 594 mg omega-3 and 219 mg omega-6 fatty acids**, 0 mg cholesterol, 2 g protein, 23 g carbohydrates, 3 g dietary fiber, and 108 mg sodium.

** Omega fatty acids do not include contribution from almond milk since that information is not available.

OK, now for the rest of the Virtual Vegan Potluck Recipes!

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