I’ve arrived in Zipangu, seemingly worlds away from my home in England. I followed that thieving swine, Edward, in hopes of getting my guardian spirit back, but I’ve only found destruction. The clans here are warring for control of the land while the demons feast on the chaos. Sometimes it feels like the land itself wants to crush me beneath its tormented cries, hoping for an end to the bloodshed. Fortunately, not all is doom and gloom, for I’ve found a few trustworthy allies along the way. They’ve offered help in tracking down Edward in return for some assistance in their war for unification. I have no business getting involved in their bloodshed, but I need all the help, earthly or otherwise, that I can get.
During the last week of December, my husband had some vacation time to kill. Him and a friend spent a week playing video games from start to finish while I worked on a large kitchen project. I didn’t play much but was able to enjoy their playthroughs from the kitchen. One of those games they finished was Nioh. My husband wanted to play Nioh when it came out but couldn’t make time for it. Amazingly, they got through Nioh in three days. Considering their clear time was around 40 hours, you know it was a grueling experience. But as my husband put it, about halfway through day two, he figured he spent enough time with the game that he was determined to power through the challenge and see it to its completion. It’s a very good yet difficult game with a lot of room for mastery and every game mechanic you can think of thrown into it.
One of the consumables found in the game is an elixir, the base healing item that sustains you through each battlefield. The elixir’s description mentions that the Kodama make these items from nuts and seeds and that it has a bitter flavor. My first thought when I saw this item was an energy ball packed with ingredients to boost a person’s stamina. To keep the previously mentioned bitterness, I decided to use dark chocolate and dried cherries. I then included a few different nuts and seeds to bring it all together into an earthy, yet sweet, delight.
Ingredients:
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup walnuts
⅔ cup almond butter
1 tbsp honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup ground flax seeds
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp cocoa powder
¼ cup dark chocolate chips
2 tbsp sesame seeds
Place the walnuts in a food processor. Pulse until the walnuts are completely crumbled. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until completely combined.
Transfer the mixture into a bowl to make sure you don’t cut yourself with the blade of the food processor. Take about a tablespoon of the mixture and form a ball in your hand. Place on a tray with parchment paper. Repeat this with the rest of the mixture. Chill for one hour.
Transfer the balls into a airtight container. Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Chocolate Elixir Balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried cherries
- 1 cup walnuts
- 2/3 cup almond butter
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup ground flax seeds
- 1 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
Instructions
- Place the walnuts in a food processor. Pulse until the walnuts are completely crumbled. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until completely combined.
- Transfer the mixture into a bowl to make sure you don’t cut yourself with the blade of the food processor.
- Take about a tablespoon of the mixture and form a ball in your hand. Place on a tray with parchment paper. Repeat this with the rest of the mixture.
- Chill for one hour.
- Transfer the balls into a airtight container. Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.