Eat Me Pie

Enough is enough.  It's time for chocolate, people.  I love to eat cacao in the form of springform creations and TH worships me when I feed him a sweet layered dessert, so it was time to give Vivian a workout.  Here's what happened the other night after a glass of sangria.

I greased a 6-inch springform with coconut oil and then patted in the crust recipe linked below.  (I really like this recipe because it is yummy and fairly light.

Pure 2 Raw's Chocolate Coconut Crust

On top of the crust I added a layer of sliced strawberries,

followed by a luscious:

Rich Chocolate Ganache

1 cup cacao

1 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup melted coconut oil
Blend above ingredients until smooth, then pour on top of the strawberries and freeze.

The next layer was a whipped topping posted on Sunny Raw Kitchen mixed with caramel sauce.  

For the linked whipped topping recipe I substituted:

• macadamia nuts for cashews
• coconut nectar for agave
• sunflower lecithin for soy lecithin

(I forgot to take a picture of this layer). I let this topping sit overnight in the fridge, and then spread a thick layer of it on top of the ganache. The next layer was:   

Yum Caramel Sauce

5 dates, soaked + soak water (place dates in a one cup measuring cup and add water to brim)

1 cup raw almond butter

1/4 cup coconut nectar (or sweetener of choice)

1 tablespoon vanilla

pinch of salt

1/8 cup melted coconut oil (added after everything else has blended)

After that came Chocolate Buckwheat Crunchies from Sweetly Raw's Ulimate Ice Cream Cake e-book.  

To top everything off I added another layer of strawberries, and another layer of cream swirled with a bit of caramel.  I froze the pie overnight, and learned that you should let it thaw quite a while before serving so the whipped topping regains its creamy consistency.

We had friends from Switzerland (of Swiss chocolate fame) staying with us and they loved it! It actually didn't last very long. 

I hope you are having a lovely August!  I have been quite busy with school preparations, guests, hiking, etc, and expect more of the same in the future.  I think my blogging will be set aside until we slide into our normal winter routine.

Enjoy the end of summer!  

Viv Goes to Town, Part 2

As I was saying, my kitchen was mayhem over the weekend.  I love experimenting with new recipes, and I was intrigued by Russell James's Tomato and Macadamia Mozzarella Linguine because:

a.  I relish every opportunity to say "mozzarella" in a thick, Italian accent (you know you want to...)
b.  It involved making veggie noodles (hello, Cook Help!)
c.  I could make a pasta tower!
d.  One must drink wine while eating (and making?) pasta.

This recipe was enjoyably creamy, but maybe a little bland.  I added a lot of red pepper flakes to compensate.  I also didn't have any fresh basil, which probably would have helped.  

The next thing I made was Cafe Gratitude's Coconut Curry Soup.  This recipe is a keeper.  It had that perfect Thai restaurant curry flavor, even though I had to substitute coconut flakes blended with water for the young coconut the recipe called for.   I had it again for lunch today over veggie noodles and it was really yummy.

For a dinner party dessert I knew I needed to make something fabulous and appealing to a mainstream group of eaters.  Here's how I got busy with the springform.

Layer 1:  Chocolate coconut crust from Pure 2 Raw's Grasshopper Pie

Layer 2:  Caramel sauce #2 from Sweetly Raw's Just Desserts 

Layer 3:  Nutless Chocolate Creme from Sweetly Raw's Just Desserts

Layer 4:  Whipped Cream from Sunny Raw Kitchen's Banana Chocolate Cream Cake

Layer 5:  Chocolate caramel candy bits: 

• Spread a layer of chocolate (1/2 cup raw cacao, 1/2 cup maple syrup, 1/2 cup melted coco oil, dash of vanilla and sea salt) on wax paper and freeze
• Layer Caramel Sauce #2 on top and allow to freeze
• Add another chocolate layer, freeze, and chop to bits.

This pie, which I am calling "Are You Kidding Me?!", was devoured after a blissful sauna.  I barely escaped the raving fork-wielding mob with a piece intact.   Seriously fabulous.  

Question: Do you have a recipe that you rely on consistently as a crowd pleaser?  

"Helps your cooking fast, joyfully with wonderfully edged strings!"

When I ordered my ice cream maker I also threw a Japanese Benriner Cook Help into my shopping cart.  It arrived today!

I had read that this tool makes fantastic raw veggie noodles and had been scoping it out for a while.  I was tired of using a veggie peeler, or slicing my fingers on my cheap mandolin.  

I am soooo glad the instructions came illustrated because they were full of useful tips like:

• "Also, cut it in tiney (sic) pieces with kitchin (sic) knife and use for Hamburg steak, frizzled rice, etc."
• "Sliced onion can be obtained with ease. Very much popular as stamina food."
• "Just a little bit different Tastes of a regular cook."

Okay, I'm rude, but I had a nice laugh at Benriner's expense, but then did feel truly joyful (as the instructions stated I would) when I figured the thing out.  It is super cool!  

After playing around with lots of veggies (should have taken pics!), I made green pepper and carrot "noodles" and topped them with Cauliflower Curry from Delightfully Raw.  Heavenly.  

One of our Full Circle Farm boxes this week was packed with kale.  I did the ordering for this box when I was in Mexico, under extreme leafy green deprivation.  I wonder if FCF thinks I learned how to make meth with kale.  

Only one thing to do with bucco kale:  KALE CHIPS!!

Oil and vinegar, Kristen Suzanne's Cheezy Hemp and Carmella's Curry Kale Chips.  

I decided to do something productive with that mysterious freezer chocolate ganache, so I don't continue to spoon it mindlessly into my mouth while reading blogs.  

I set it on the wood stove to soften it up, then spooned a little layer into a candy mold.  I froze it for a bit, then spooned in a layer of Caramel Sauce #2 from Sweetly Raw's Just Desserts recipe book.  (BTW:  that caramel sauce is outstanding.  Tastes better than the real deal.)  I froze it again, and topped the candies with another layer of ganache.  

Wow.  This is better.  I can eat one or two of these and feel totally satisfied.  

Question:  What's your favorite kitchen tool?  

Want Me to Make You Some Raw Noodles?

This morning I hopped out of bed to play with my Cook Help.  I made a whole mess of noodles to top with various sauces for lunches this week.

green pepper, carrots, zucchini, squash 

I also mixed Cauliflower Curry from Delightfully Raw with kelp, squash, and carrot noodles.  I didn't think it was saucy enough to soften the kelp noodles, so I dumped some Cheezy Hemp Nacho Sauce on top and gave everything a good mix.  I left the dish in the D at 105 for a few hours while we went on our ski. 

When we came up we were able to warm up with what I am calling Spicy Cheezy Mac, because it reminded me a bit of mac'n'cheese, with a kick.  TH enjoyed it as well, but did not agree that it tasted like mac'n'cheese.  Whatevs. 

I had just made another batch of Caramel Sauce #2 from Sweetly Raw's Just Desserts, so I added a little water to Viv, let her run on high for a bit, and then went all gaga over the resulting warm frothy caramel "milk".  Yummm!  

Hope everyone had a gorgeous weekend!  

our silly woodpecker

It's not dark until after 4pm!  Yay!!

Question:  Have you ever spiralized any unique veggies to make raw noodles?  I need ideas for what to try next!  

Apple Caramel Pie

I had a bunch of red delicious apples that weren't looking so delicious.  My sweet tooth, Dolores, convinced me to try to make a raw apple pie.  *Note*:  this pie is not technically raw as I've used agave and coconut palm crystals as sweeteners.  It's also very rich and sweet; TH and I happily shared one serving.

Quick and Easy Pie Crust 

2 cups pecans

1/2 cup chopped dates 

1/4 cup coconut

pinch of salt

Pulse above ingredients in a food processor until well mixed.  

Lightly grease custard cups (or small tart pans) with coconut oil before pressing in the crust dough.  

Apple Pie Filling 

5 small apples, peeled and sliced into chunks

1 lemon, squeezed

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup coconut palm crystals, or sweetener of choice

dash of salt

Mix above ingredients together gently in a bowl.  

Coconut Whipped Cream

adapted from this Sunny Raw Kitchen recipe 

(I used macadamia nuts and let the cream harden in the fridge for a while)

Yum Caramel Sauce

5 dates, soaked (place dates in a one cup measuring cup and add water to brim)

1/2 cup raw almond butter

1/4 cup agave

1 tablespoon vanilla

pinch of salt  

1/8 cup melted coconut oil (added after everything else has blended)

Blend all of the above ingredients, including the water the dates soaked in.  I like to store my sauce in a squeeze bottle.  

End result:

Great idea, Dolores!

(Random) Question:  What is special about the place you live?  

Saving Water

What some people might call lazy, I call saving water.  When you live in a dry cabin you quickly learn how to make the most of every drop of H2O.

• When I have a big raw food production day I plan out my recipes in order of sweet to savory, so that I don't have to wash Viv or the FP in between.  Soups and dressings come last, so they can absorb a bit of all the day's goodies. 
• I don't wash my fruits and veggies.  We eat organic produce, so I'm not worried about pesticides. This may gross out some people, but I think it's beneficial (B12) to eat a little dirt.  (I do look for bugs and worms and try to avoid ingesting those fellows.)   
• I serve TH's dinner in a Pyrex, which then holds his leftovers for lunch the next day, no washing in between. I thought I was brilliant the day I  figured this out!  Huge dirty dish savings, as he washes the Pyrex at work. 
• I buy undies every time they are on sale.  I must have about a hundered pairs now (why do we say "pairs" when talking about underwear?), which allows me to avoid laundry for loooooong periods of time.
• I've already mentioned this, but I drink the water leftover from rinsing sweets out of Viv, and TH or our plants enjoy the savory water leftovers.
• TH thinks we should get a dog to wash (i.e. lick clean) our dishes.  I know dogs are supposed to have super antibacterial tongues, but I think that's taking the whole hippie cabin dwelling thing a bit too far.  

Now that nobody will ever eat at my house again....on to food talk!  I finished up Russell James's Spinach and Wild Mushroom Quiches, in spite of mishaps that might have derailed me in earlier raw food prep days.  (I swear, after a day battling middle school hormones, my brain is so beleaguered it's all I can do to uncork a bottle of wine....) 

I'm not sure if I made my crusts too thick, but I had way too much filling for my three tart pans.  To use the remainder of the filling, I made more crust dough, realizing in the process that I had forgotten the flax in the first batch (that's why my first crusts were a little cracky and volatile!)  In the second batch I filled the crusts and put them in the D overnight, forgetting that I was supposed to dehydrate just the crusts for 8 hours first.  Ay carumba. 

No worries, it turns out this recipe was quite forgiving.  The end result is delicious, but very dense and rich due to the high nut content. I think it tastes rather gourmet, but I will report back after serving them to some non raw foodies.

After Lisa from Raw on $10 a Day (or Less!) posted her Stuffed Truffle recipe, I had to try my own.   I didn't have palm sugar, so I made my own chocolate coating:

3/4 cup raw cacao

3/4 cup melted coconut oil

3/4 cup maple syrup

dash of vanilla

pinch of salt

(I have no idea if these proportions would be considered acceptable to a real chef, but it makes an almost milk chocolate type coating and the 1-1-1 ratio is easy for me to remember.)

I used Lisa's recipe for the almond butter filling, substituting maple syrup for the palm sugar.  I put a layer of chocolate sauce in a paper cupcake liner, let it harden, then placed a flattened spoonful of almond butter mixture on top, followed by more chocolate around the edges and on top.

I had extra chocolate coating and Heathy's Caramel Sauce #2, so I made more chocolates.

Question:  Do you wash your produce?  How do you feel about eating a little dirt from time to time?  

Learning to Layer

One of my weekend projects:  

After a year of blogstalking Sweetly Raw, I decided to buck up and buy Heathy's dessert recipe books.  She had a great sale going on in December (not that I needed an excuse to buy myself another Christmas present).  Heathy's books are a feast for the eyes:  full of beautiful pictures and creative, droolworthy recipes.  I  decided that I was going to make a layered cake, using a concoction of recipes from her books. 

Layer 1:  Double Chocolate Maca Cake from Just Desserts
Layer 2:  leftover Chocolate Ice Cream from The Ultimate Raw Ice Cream Cake
Layer 3:  mysterious Chocolate ganache from back of freezer
Layer 4:  Caramel Sauce #2 from Just Desserts
Layer 5:  Coconut Whipped Cream (delish and low nut!) from Sweetly Raw with chocolate sauce swirls

This was a learning experience.  Here are a few things I vow never to repeat.

1.  Making a middle ganache layer that freezes hard as steel.  Way too difficult to cut a clean slice!
2.  Getting excited and removing the springform before all the layers were frozen solid.
3.  Trying to cut a piece after removing the springform from the less than frozen cake.
4.  Trying to squish the springform back on a quickly drooping cake.
5.  Offering to split a piece with TH and letting him eat the first half (he encroached on my halvsies!).


This was really fun to make, even though it took all weekend.  It wasn't super cold outside so I'd put a new layer on and have to leave the springform outside for quite a while before it was ready for the next layer.  (Can you blame me for  hastily yanking off that springform?)

I'm going to post a messy slice pic, even though I'm so sad that my experiment didn't turn out as pretty as  the recipe book pictures.  It's all good though, because it tastes like supreme, rich, creamy, chocolatey delightfullness.

Question:  Have you ever made a layered ice cream cake?  What's the secret to beautiful layers?  Do I just have to be more patient with the freezing process?  

Operation Spring Clean my Bod

After a wild and crazy week at SXSW in Austin, my body felt in need of good clean eats.  Maybe it's psychological (probably not), but my pants are feeling a bit snug.  A while ago I read Crazy Sexy Diet and for the most part agreed with the info presented.  (More about that this weekend.)  The book ends with a "21 Day Cleanse" that is not too different from my normal way of eating- except for ixnay on the occasional glass of wine and/or nightly dessert.  I decided to give it a whirl.  Here are my eats from Day 1 of Operation Spring Clean my Bod:

Breakfast

Spinach/Kale/Strawberry/Banana Smoothie

Lunch

Palak Paneer (from Crazy Sexy Diet-almost followed the recipe)

a few olives

an apple 

Pre-Workout Snack

Raw Food Real World corn chips

avocado

Making Dinner Snack (I was starving, darn it!)

Spicy Almond Butter Kale Chips (I will share the recipe when I decide if I love them or not)

Kombucha (picture taken with sunset at 8pm!!)

Dinner

Giant salad with sauerkraut and hemp seeds

Sweet Dijon Dressing from Crazy Sexy Diet 

Dessert (because I don't really like following rules)

Frozen banana (whipped up in FP)

 a little caramel sauce 

So, my food intake today was not that different than pre-Austin eats.  Normally I might snack a bit more after my workout because I get crazy hungry but today I just had a few kale chips and ate an early dinner.  I also usually have a more aggressive dessert.  The other change I made is to try to finish eating by 7pm (as opposed to eating at 9pm). 

Question:  What do you do when your body feels in need of a spring cleaning?  

Viv Goes to Town, Part 1

Sometimes I wonder if Viv ever gets tired.  I made her earn her keep today!  (TH wants to buy me earmuffs,  to protect my ears.  I made him happy by wearing my earplugs.)

We had lovely smoothies this morning, chock full of chard, frozen bananas, mango, mandarins, spirulina, protein powder, and coconut oil.

Then Viv and I did our thang, getting yummies ready for the workweek and for dinner at a friend's this  evening.

I have good news to report.  The bread that I was so worried about yesterday tastes a lot better with toppings.  

Russell James's Nut Free Bread

Delightfully Raw's Tomato Sauce 

Russell James's Macadamia Mozzarella

Olive Tapenade from Raw Food Real World

Shrooms marinated in Bragg's, garlic, and EVOO

I also made two new-to-me kale chip recipes.  BBQ (yummmm) from Raw Candy and Wasabi  from Affairs of Living.  I was looking for something nut free and delicious and these two recipes delivered the goods.  I think I will use more wasabi powder for the second recipe next time.  (I know liquid smoke and wasabi are probably not totally raw, but neither am I!) 

Of course I took full advantage of the opportunity to make dessert for raw curious friends.  I went with the springform mode once again, layering a chocolate crust with caramel, avocado chocolate mousse, whipped cream, and chocolate caramel candies.  I think it's too soon to remove the springform, so I will return with a full bite by bite report tomorrow. 

I need to head out the door, so Vivian's escapades will be continued at another date.  Have a lovely evening!  

Question:  Have you ever accidentally started your lidless blender (full of liquid) with your husband sitting in exactly the wrong place?