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| Truffles in the snow I always make some chocolate truffles for Brian on Valentine’s Day, but I was a bit worried because we are, for all intents and purposes, snowed in, and I had no semisweet chocolate chipsleft in the house, which is what I usually use to make them. Our long, uphill, windey driveway is knee-deep in snow. Our landlord’s son tried to clear it with his machine and managed to clear the bottom area up to the first big curve, but his blade was too wide for the next part. So, no driving to the general store. Brian managed to trudge up the slippery hill to the mailboxes on foot and get our mail and precious bags of Books by Mail from the wonderful Vancouver Island Regional Library (which I worked for for 37 years), but we’ll just have to make do with our (well-stocked) pantry, fridge and freezer for a few days. Fortunately, I did have 6 ounces of UN-sweetened baking chocolate in my pantry, and I thought this might actually be a good thing, since I eat a low-glycemic diet and use very little sugar. So, I forged ahead and made a version of my usual truffle recipe with what I had available and what would suit my diet. (To find an organic and fair trade unsweetened baking chocolate in your area, see this list. You’re sure to find at least one brand from this long list in a local natural food store or supermarket.) I normally use some nut butter in my truffles, but I only had peanut butter in the house. But I didn’t want the peanut taste in this particular batch, so I used the same amount of medium-firm tofu, well blended, instead. Instead of a liqueur, I used a little bit of Brian’s Glenlivet Scotch, and, for more flavor, some of our friend Harold’s delicious homemade orange marmalade. I used a small amount of maple syrup for the remaining sweetener, and decided to roll the truffle balls in ground walnuts (pecans would be excellent, as well). They are delicious, and I hope you will try them and enjoy them as much as we did.  BRYANNA’S MAPLE SYRUP-SWEETENED SCOTCH AND ORANGE MARMALADE CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES ©2019 Bryanna Clark Grogan. All Rights Reserved.
Makes 17 truffles Cut up the chocolate with a sharp knife into small pieces. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler over simmering water, OR (my favorite method) in a Pyrex pitcher or deep bowl in the microwave on High for 2 minutes, then stir and cook 2 minutes more. When the chocolate is fully melted, stir in the marmalade. In a blender or with a hand-held immersion blender, blend the maple syrup, tofu, non-dairy milk and Scotch until smooth. Stir into the chocolate mixture until full mixed. Refrigerate for several hours, or until the mixture is firm. Have ready the ground walnuts in a shallow bowl. (I ground them in a food processor in short bursts– you don’t want it too finely-ground.) Scoop out spoonfuls of the chocolate mix and roll into about 1″ balls. Roll in the ground nuts to lightly coat. Place the balls on a plate with a little space between them. Refrigerate for at least another hour. 
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