Getting some use out of my ramekins

It was one of those days.

I walked into the kitchen with good ideas and good intent and I walked out with a firm kick in my pride.

Ouch.
I hate that.

I'll be honest and say that sometimes I can be rather melodramatic. You know... the cake didn't turn out so it must mean I'm a terrible baker, and oh my gosh now I'm rethinking my career decisions, and my life is over now I might as well just quit while I'm ahead.

Um. Hello! Drama queen, please exit stage left. Thank you.

So today I got right back into the water. Let's just say that my pride is regained so I guess my life can continue. I'm satisfied.

I realized a few things today. Let me share them with you:

1) Raw desserts always turn out for me. I just can't seem to screw them up. I like this;
2) Baked goods are having less and less appeal to me. More often than not I am now turning to raw food for both meals and for snacks (read: I bought a big bag of cacao so lots of chocolate-y things). And probably most importantly;
3) It's ok for things not to go perfectly all the time. I will have bad days. I just have to make the best of them.

I might edit the post later and post the recipe.

That is, I will if I can remember it.

Cheers!

P.S. You can totally see where my finger slipped onto one of the cakes in that last picture. Oops! I'll just eat that one, too...

I definitely deserve a slice of cheesecake

I'm still on this raw kick, and I'm not sorry.

I don't have a good reason for making this cheesecake. I've been feeling down lately, so maybe that's why I did it. Last weekend went unfavourably at work and to be honest I'm still running the events through my mind.

But... it certainly won't help me lose weight and I don't think I really want to share it either. So it's just going to chill in my freezer. And when I'm a good girl—I mean a really, really good girl—then maybe I'll have a piece.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Raw Blueberry Cheesecake
Adapted from The Purple Carrot's adaptation.

Crust:
1 cup raw almonds (mine were soaked and dehydrated)
1 cup pitted dates
a generous pinch of sea salt

Filling:
3 cups cashews, soaked
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Juice of 3 lemons
1/2 cup virgin coconut oil (this will give it a coconut-y taste; use refined if you don't want that), melted
1/2 cup raw agave nectar
1 generous cup fresh blueberries, rinsed and patted dry, plus more for garnish

For the crust: combine all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and blend until everything is finely chopped and sticks together when pressed. Press the crust evenly into the bottom of a 9-in. springform pan bottom-lined with wax paper.

For the filling: Combine all ingredients, except for the berries, in the food processor and blend until smooth. Pour roughly two-thirds of the mixture over the crust.

Add the berries to the remaining mixture in the food processor and blend once again until smooth; pour over top to create three layers.

// Another idea I had is to pour all of the filling into the pan, blend the berries separately, and then swirl the pureed berries into the filling. Totally up to you. //

Place cheesecake into the freezer until firm, about an hour or two. Store in the freezer, and allow a couple minutes to thaw before slicing and serving. garnish with fresh blueberries, if desired.

Yield: one 9-in cheesecake

Just Experimenting

My original idea was to make raw 'butter' tarts.

I used to gobble those sweet, gooey pastries like no one's business when I was a kid which is probably why I was overweight. They were always at family picnics and get-together's, and I made a bee-line for them every time. My parents used to buy these big trays of them from the gorcery store and I always grabbed one or two after dinner. Saying I love them is a bit of an understatement, I hope you understand.

I actually haven't even touched one for years, probably because I made myself sick of them. Also, ya know, the whole butter and egg ordeal that kinda makes them not vegan. Shucks.

Now these are just something I made to try to indulge my mom (will report on that later), who is a lover of all things pecan. I personally don't even care for sandwich cookies. Anyway, I'm calling them Raw Maple-Cacao Pecan Sandwich Cookies (it's a mouthful, I know).

I realize maple syrup is not raw. I've seen it used in some raw food cookbooks, though, so I thought I'd be ok here. Besides, I only used a little bit—maybe a tablespoon in the entire recipe—because a little goes a long way with maple syrup, I find.

I wish I had a tea party or some event I could bring these to. I would love to host a vegan tea party! Bite-sized goodies are the best because they're just so cute and irresistible. Perfect with a cup of tea or almond milk—whatever you fancy.

Curiously, I end up eating more this way. Oops!

Unfortunately, I Haven't Been on Vacation

I've been neglecting this blog as I have been working a lot and haven't had much inspiration with food lately. Let me update you on what has been happening with me since my last post (in the form of bullet points, because I love bullet points):

• Work, work, work = money, money, and very little time for play;
• I have been incorporating a larger amount of raw food in my diet, mostly because I got a dehydrator for Christmas and I want to get lots of use out of it, and;
• I realized I've gained a bit too much weight since the summer and I've decided to cut down on the sweets!

Well, I was trying to cut out the sweets. I have good intentions. For awhile, I just ate fruits to get my sweet fix, but let's just say that's now over. Hah! I'm so weak.

Now that I finally have some time off work I have time to muck about in the kitchen, snack a lot while I work, make a mess of my kitchen floor, and break my spice grinder. I'm a little confused on how that last one happened.

I'm calling this a Mini Raw Apple Cheesecake Pie. It started out as any ordinary raw apple pie but then I ended up with a cheesecake-like filling. Bye, traditional apple pie.

I just threw things into the food processor so there is no recipe. I remember what I put into it, just not the quantities, so here you go:

Crust: oats, apple, cinnamon, ginger, raisins
Filling: cashews, dates + some soaking water, apple, cinnamon, raisins

Possible Future Advocate for Raw Food

I have a fascination with raw food. I just think it's super awesome and convenient. Cookies in 10 minutes? No problem. Brownies without waiting for them to bake and then cool? Your wish is granted. Raw food is really neat—and delicious, which is the most important thing, in my opinion.

The recipe is from Oh She Glows, and I must say that I am a big fan. I did not use medjool dates, though. I know everyone says they are better, and I'm not doubting that, but they are expensive and I just happened to have Tunisian dates on hand so I subbed those in double for the gigantic-o medjools. If I had to pick one negative thing, it's that I found the base a little too salty, so next time (and there will be a next time) I would cut it down a bit. Then again, I don't like anything salty, so I could just be picky.

Now, I would like to take a moment to just say how much I love coconut oil. I have been using it in a lot lately, like in these squares and the gluten-free, vegan cake I mentioned yesterday. I have a feeling it is going to end up a staple in my kitchen. Anyone have a favourite recipe they use their coconut oil in? I will probably start hoarding them... as if I haven't already started.

If you are wondering if I am ever going to get around to actually posting a recipe the answer is yes. I will get right on that as soon as things slow down a bit. And then I'll be posting so many recipes you won't know what to do. Except to become a recipe-hoarder like me. Hah!