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.

 

Holiday Preview: Christmas Cake Pops

This year's DYI Christmas gift of choice: cake pops! I will post a full step-by-step blog entry of how to make these tasty treats once finals are over, but I just couldn't resist posting a few pictures in the mean time. They came out so well, and were a lot of fun to make. I can't wait to give them away :)

 

Whole Wheat Blueberry Bran Muffins

Serving Size: 1 muffin

Preparation time: 15 minutes 

Baking time: 15 minutes

These blueberry muffins are to die for; they are moist, fragrant, and full of wonderful flavors. The blueberries add great texture as well as antioxidants, so you can feel good about your health while eating them. These step-by-step instructions will help you get through the baking process smoothly and quickly, so you will be ready to enjoy your muffins in no time!

What you'll need:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup bran cereal
• ½ cup orange juice
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter/margarine blend, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces) buttermilk
• 1 cup dried blueberries

What to do:

Methods:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F

 2. In a medium bowl, combine the bran flakes and orange juice. Set aside and allow to soak.

3. In a separate medium bowl, mix the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Be sure to level-off your ingredients while measuring.

4. In an electric mixer, cream the butter/margarine blend. If you do not have a stand mixer, you may use a large bowl and a hand mixer. After creaming the butter, add in the granulated and brown sugars and mix. Once combined, add the egg and mix well. The mixture should appear creamy.

creamed butter/margarine

butter/margarine + sugars

butter/margarine + sugars + egg

5. Add the flour mixture to the butter/sugar mixture, beating well. Add the buttermilk and continue mixing. Add the hydrated bran flakes/orange juice mixture and blend until smooth.

6. Using a rubber spatula, stir the dried blueberries into the mixture.

7. Distribute the batter evenly into a non-greased non-stick muffin pan (using a #20 spoon if desired).

8. Bake the muffins on the middle oven rack for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.

9. While still in the pan, cool the muffins on a wire rack for 5 minutes.  Remove the muffins from the pan and allow to cool. Serve and enjoy.

Adobo Sweet Potato Hash with Toasted Walnuts and Craisins

I've had a sweet potato just chilling in the pantry for a few weeks now. And every time I open up the pantry, that sweet potato has been staring me in the face, begging for attention. Well, sweet potato, tonight you finally got your wish.

I had a craving for some type of hash, but wasn't quite sure what direction to go in: savory or sweet? But then I decided, why choose between the two? This hash has texture, flavor, beautiful color, with both salty and sweet notes: AKA the perfect side dish!  I'm very happy with how it came out.

What you'll need:

Serves 4-6
1 yellow onion, diced

2 medium sweet potatoes, diced to your size preference

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons Adobo seasoning (I used a wonderful blend from a local vendor, Mill Creek Spice Company)
1/3 cup water

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (may omit if your adobo seasoning already contains salt)
1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

1/3 cup craisins
2 teaspoons agave nectar, optional

What to do:

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the onion in 1/2 of the olive oil.

2. While your onions are sauteing, toss your diced sweet potatoes in a medium bowl with the remaining oil and the adobo seasoning. Add the potatoes to the skillet with the onions. Add the water. Cover the sweet potatoes with a lid, and let the sweet potatoes soften for a few minutes. This step makes sure that you don't end up eating crunchy, raw sweet potatoes, so don't skip it! 

 

3. After your potatoes have softened a bit (not too much!) remove the lid, and increase the heat to medium-high to let your potatoes crisp. Stir frequently until potatoes are crisp, about 5-10 minutes. Add the salt and combine.

 

4. Add the walnuts and cook for an additional minute or so, just to toast them. Remove from heat, and add the craisins. Drizzle with agave, if a sweeter note is desired. Serve and Enjoy!

 

Pumpkin Ale Cupcakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting

 

First off: I know these are far from grain free (or even vegan, like my usual posts) but hey, not everyone is perfect. Irregardless, these cupcakes are amazing and worth every bite. I have made cupcakes using Guinness and dark chocolate in the past, and they have always turned out wonderfully. Today when I found a plethora of pumpkin-flavored products at the grocery store, including the new seasonal pumpkin wheat Shock Top, I just had to figure out something to bake. So I created this recipe to keep the beer and cupcakes theme alive through fall!

What you'll need:

(You don't actually need the coffee... but how delicious does THAT sound?)

Makes 12 cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

• 6 oz Shock Top Pumpkin Wheat (or any other pumpkin ale)
• 1 stick butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 
  

For the icing:

• 1 (8 oz) packet of cream cheese, softened
• 1 stick of butter, softened 
• 3/4 to 1 cup confectioners sugar (you may adjust this based on your sweetness preferences)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 teaspoon caramel sauce (homemade or store bought), plus extra for drizzling 
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, for garnishing

**For the caramel, I made my own... but it burns very easily on the stove if you aren't extremely attentive when making it, so I would recommend a store bought version.

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F.  Line your cupcake pan with papers, or grease with oil. In a medium skillet or sauce pan, melt your butter cubes over medium heat. Add the pumpkin ale, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and set aside to cool.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. In a separate bowl with an electric mixer, beat the egg, greek yogurt, and pumpkin puree together until smooth. Add this to the butter-ale-mixture and stir.

3. Add the butter-ale mixture to the flour mixture, and beat until combined. Divide the batter evenly amongst a 12-cupcake tin. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a knife inserted into the cupcake comes out evenly.

4. While your cupcakes are baking, prepare your icing. With an electric mixer, whip the cream cheese and butter together. Add the vanilla and caramel, and mix until combined. Place in refrigerator to cool.

5. When your cupcakes are done baking, allow them to cool on a baking rack for about 20 minutes. Once your cupcakes and icing are cool, ice your cupcakes. Drizzle with caramel sauce and sprinkle with cinnamon. Enjoy!

Individual Cherry Pies- Grain Free and Vegan!

Lately I have been having way too much fun with grain-free flours. Today, I made individual cherry pies! These pies are grain free and vegan, and contain no processed added sugars. The best part is, I made this recipe myself (proud moment in a young chef's life)! The crust was my favorite part! I definitely recommend trying these if you've thrown grains out of your diet but still need something to soothe your sweet tooth :]

What you'll need:

The recipe can either make one regular 9.5 inch pie, or can be divided into 4 ramekins for individual pies.

For the crust:

• 1 c almond flour
• 1.2 c pecan flour
• 1/4 c coconut oil, melted
• 2 Tbsp agave nectar
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp salt

For the filling:

• 4 cups pitted tart cherries (I used fresh)
• 1/3 c agave nectar
• 1 Tbsp garfava flour, for thickening

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 325 deg F. In a medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients for the crust. In a small bowl, combine the wet ingredients. Mix the wet and dry together until they form a wet dough

2. Mold the dough into a 9.5 inch pie dish or divide amongst 4 ramekins. Press the pie crust onto the dishes, forming an even, thin layer. Bake the pie crusts for about 10 minutes, or until golden.

3. While your crust is baking, place the cherries and the agave for the filling in a small pot. Over medium low heat, cook the cherries until most of their juice secretes out. Add the garfava flour to thicken and immediately stir. Pour the mixture into your ramekins or pie dish.

4. Bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, keeping an eye on your crust to make sure it doesn't burn. Remove from oven and let cool before serving. Enjoy!!

Grain-free Tortillas with Almond Butter & Figs

I've been doing a grain-free diet for a while now, but I hadn't ventured into making any bread-like substitutes until today. And I've never been so happy! These tortilla/crepes are super easy to make, and use garfava flour (a mixture of garbanzo and fava beans) instead of any grain flours. They completely satisfy carb cravings, and hold up very well when folding or using them as wraps. I already can't wait to play with the recipe and make all sorts of creations!

What you'll need:

For 1 Tortilla:

• 1/4 c garfava flour
• 1/3 c water
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp almond butter
• 3 black mission figs, sliced
• oil for coating

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 400 deg F. Coat a 8 inch round pan with oil of your choice. Place the pan in the oven for a few minutes to heat the oil.

2. Combine the garfava flour, water, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk to combine.

3. Remove the pan from the oven, and pour the batter into the pan. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until the crepe has solidified completely.

4. Spread a thin layer of almond butter over the tortilla, and top with the fig slices.

Enjoy!

Walnut-Basil Pesto

My Mom's garden is absolutely loaded with fresh basil, so I figured for my afternoon de-stress session I'd put it to good use: a walnut-basil pesto. It is very fragrant and tasty, as well as very quick and easy to make. Absolutely perfect on a slice of toasted bread or to toss some pasta in!

What you'll need:

• 2 cloves garlic 
• 1 cup raw walnuts
• 3 cups fresh basil (loosely packed)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or omit for a dairy-free vegan option)
• 2/3 cup olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

What to do:

1. Place the garlic cloves in a food processor and pulse till minced. Add the walnuts and pulse until finely chopped, but not ground into a powder.

2. Add the basil and pulse. Add parmesan cheese and salt and pepper, to taste. Pulse again.

3. While the food processor is on, slowly drizzle in the olive oil. The pesto with thicken and become creamy.

Serve with your favorite grain or eat with a spoon :]

Summer Creations

Zinnias from my Mom's Garden

Hey guys! Sorry I haven't posted in a while... been having quite a lazy summer! To prove that I haven't stopped cooking (lord knows I haven't stopped eating), here's a few photos of things I've done lately. Recipes to follow, once I get myself back on track!

But first, here's a glimpse for you to see where my inspiration and ingredients have come from this summer: my mom's beautiful garden.

So many watermelons!

Zucchini flowers... absolutely delicious fried!

And now for the creations:

Spiked Blackberry Ginger Coolers

Alaskan Salmon Rolls

Classic Caprese

Vodka-spiked Strawberry Lemonade

Vegan Oatmeal Cookies

Homemade Pancakes with Fresh Blueberry Sauce

Homemade Peaches 'N Cream Waffles

Prosciutto Tomato & Basil Omelet

Vegan Walnut Brownies

Cucumber Rolls

Many, many more to come!