Raw meyer lemon and Raspberry "cheesecake" with raspberry-chambord sauce

Today is my boyfriend's birthday, and I wanted to make him something special. Since he is gluten, dairy, egg, and soy free, baking was not really an option. But I was determined to have a birthday cake! This cake is raw, with the exception of the vanilla extract and raspberry liquor I added for flavor. If you are really concerned with having a 100% raw cake, you can easily substitute vanilla bean for the vanilla extract and omit the Chambord, but I highly recommend both for the added flavors they lend to the cake. Definitely give this cake a try! You won't regret it, and you won't feel guilty while eating it. You can easily half the recipe for a smaller cake. This made quite a large cake.

What you'll need:

Recipe adapted from My New Roots

Yield: 1 9-inch cheesecake; serves 8-12

For the Crust:

• 1 cup soft Medjool dates
• 1 cup raw walnuts
• 1/3 cup raw pecan meal 
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

For the Cheese Layer:

• 3 cups raw cashews, soaked overnight
• 2/3 cup raw coconut oil, melted
• 2/3 cup raw honey
• Juice and zest of 4 Meyer lemons
• 2 tsp vanilla extract (use vanilla bean if going 100% raw)
• 2 cups raspberries
• 2 tsp Chambord or raspberry extract (omit if going 100% raw)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 

For the Raspberry Sauce

• 1 cup raspberries
• 1/3 cup raw honey or agave
• 2 tsp Chambord (omit if going 100% raw)

What to do:

 1. Soak the cashews overnight or for at least 8 hours!! If you skip this step, say goodbye to your cheesecake. 

2.  Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Place all crust ingredients (pecan meal, walnuts, dates, and salt) in food processor and pulse until a dough forms. Spread the crust dough evenly across the bottom of the pan.

3. In a small saucepan on low, heat the coconut oil and honey. Whisk until the two liquids come together.

4. Place all of the cheese filling layer ingredients (EXCEPT the raspberries and chambord) in a food processor. Process until a smooth cream forms, about 3 minutes or so depending on the strength of your food processor. Pour about 3/4 of the mixture into the cheesecake pan and spread evenly. Leave the remainder of the mixture in the food processor.

**If you'd like to pipe some icing on the cake, reserve some of the white layer before adding raspberries. Place in a piping bag, and then place icing in the refrigerator until thick enough to pipe. 

4. To the remaining ingredients, add the raspberries and 2 teaspoons Chambord. Process until smooth. Pour the mixture over the white layer in the cheesecake pan, and spread evenly with a rubber spatula. Place cake in freezer overnight or until frozen. Pipe icing once the cake is frozen, and place back in the freezer.

5. To make the sauce, combine one cup raspberries, 1/3 cup honey and 2 teaspoons of Chambord in the food processor. Process until smooth. Transfer to a squeeze bottle for easy decorating.

6. Remove  cake from freezer 1 hour prior to serving so it can soften a bit. Serve with raspberry sauce and enjoy! 

Blueberry-lemon muffins with turbinado crumb topping

It's such a beautiful day outside today, which motivated me to make a breakfast that my family and I could sit down and enjoy on our back porch. Besides just looking beautiful, these muffins are moist, fragrant, and fluffy. Try them out!

What you'll need:

Yield: 12 muffins
Adapted from: Classy Cooking

For the Muffins:

• 1 + 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup buttermilk  
• 1/3 cup + 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbsp sour cream
• 1 + 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (if using frozen, rinse the berries first)
• 1 Tbsp lemon zest

For the Crumb Topping:

• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 + 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 2 + 1/2 Tbsp chilled butter, diced
• 1 + 1/2 Tbsp turbinado sugar

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with papers

2. For the crumb topping: In a food processor, combine the butter, flour, and granulated sugar. Pulse until combined, about 4 times. Transfer the mixture to a small bowl, and stir in the turbinado sugar. Set aside.

3. For the muffins: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, buttermilk, sour cream, canola oil, egg, and lemon zest. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, stirring only until incorporated. Overstirring will result in tough muffins! 

4.  Fold in the blueberries. Evenly distribute the muffin batter amongst the lined muffin pan. Allow the batter to rest for ten minutes (don't skip this, or your muffins will not rise!)

5. After the batter has rested, evenly distribute the crumb topping on top of the muffins (about 1 Tbsp per muffin). Bake the muffins for about 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool in the muffin pan for about 5-10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire rack.

Enjoy!!  

Valentine's Day: Like a Boss

As you can see from the above menu, last night was Valentine's Day and my boyfriend and I celebrated with culinary style! However, the menu lies a tad bit. I could not find fresh parsnips, so I used a combination of rutabaga+turnip root+sweet potato+russet potato. This was such a lovely meal! Easily one of my favorites of all time. Right now, I am just going to post pictures of each course, I will follow up with separate blog entries for each recipe. I recommend everything about this meal, the flavor combinations were wonderful!

Citrus Salad with Mint Gremolata
(Blood Orange, Cocktail Grapefruit, and Valencia Orange)

Slow Cooked Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
with Autumn Root Vegetable Puree
and Fresh Sauteed Asparagus

Raw Vegan Raspberry Coconut Mousse

And of course... what's Valentine's Day without flowers??

Chocolate Covered Bacon w/ Almonds & Sea Salt

Right off the bat, I want to  severely apologize for two things:

1.  For not posting since before the holidays (unexcusable!)

2. For this post. It in no way belongs on a food and nutrition blog. Warning: the following recipe is NOT heart healthy. It does not belong alongside your breakfast bowl of honey nut cheerios. Eat with caution.

Having said that, I will also say that this recipe is delicious. With Valentine's Day right around the corner, and a boyfriend who adores bacon more than long walks on the beach, I thought I'd try my hand at making something I've only heard rumors about before: chocolate covered bacon.

Surprisingly, it's not nearly as bad as it sounds. The balance of sweet and salty is really pleasing, and they are fun and easy to make. Give them a try, I promise you won't regret it! Just don't eat the entire batch... for God's sake, distribute these amongst your loved ones.

What you'll need:

Makes 12 skewers

• 1 package thick cut bacon (at least stay away from the nitrites)
• 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used dairy-free Ghirardelli ones)
• 12 wooden skewers
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds
• kosher or sea salt

If you want to wrap these for gifts, you can find plastic bags and twist ties at craft stores like Hobby Lobby

*Modification: Instead of chopped almonds + sea salt, you can also use chopped crystallized ginger. It adds a nice spicy note to the bacon!

What to do:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 deg F. Thread a slice of bacon onto each skewer, and place the skewers on a drainable roasting pan so the fat doesn't accumulate as they cook. Bake the bacon skewers for about 15 minutes, or until bacon is crispy. Remove bacon from the oven, and place the skewers on paper towels to drain and cool.

2. Once the bacon is completely cool, melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler. Using a rubber baster (I promise it works), "paint" the bacon skewers with the chocolate, being careful to cover all areas of the bacon. Lay the bacon on parchment or wax paper to dry.

3. After covering all of the bacon skewers with chocolate, sprinkle chopped almonds and sea salt over them.  Place the skewers in the fridge so they solidify completely.

4. Once the chocolate has hardened, you are either ready to eat your chocolate covered bacon or package them for gifts. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.