Tropical mango strawberry cheesecake

Here's the recipe for the tropical cheesecake I mentioned in my previous post! Sorry about the photo, it really doesn't do this recipe justice. The mango layer actually has a gorgeous, deep yellow color. I just whipped this cake up 2 hours before the guests arrived and once it was all set and glazed, the guests were already there and I didn't feel right abandoning them just to get a perfect pic :)

The crust:
2 C almonds
1C sun-dried bananas
pinch of salt

Grind the nuts and dates in a food processor fitted with an S-blade. You may add water if the mixture doesn't stick together. Press onto a large tart pan or smaller individual tart molds.

Filling:

1 cups dried mango, soaked

0,5C fresh or canned organic mango (I could only find organic mango canned..)

1,5C macadamia nuts

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1-2 tbs fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup cacao butter
raw, unfiltered honey to taste (exact amount depends on the sweetness of your fruit)

Puree everything smooth except the cocoa butter, grate it in and blend to combine. Spread on top of the crust. I made two batches to get a higher cake (as opposed to a filled pie).

Strawberry glaze:

1C frozen strawberries, thawed

5 tbsp chia

Blend until the chia is gelatinized. I did not measure these out at all, I just took a container of frozen strawberries, thawed them and blended in as much chia as it took to get it to form a gel. There was plenty of left over glaze. Once the chia has set, spread evenly on top of the mango layer. If you have fresh strawberries at hand don't bother with this, just garnish the cake with the chopped berries!

I think most of my guests were used to a white flour+ sugar cake with tons of whipped cream. They all said this certainly was new to them, but then asked for seconds and raved about how delicious it was. I was a bit worried about the perhaps unusual flavor combination (at least to most Finns), but since I am such a mango fan I decided to go ahead with it.. after all, this was my graduation cake! :)

Spicy summer curry

The sunshine is back and that calls for something light, colorful, refreshing and flavorful! This recipe definitely delivers that.

Raw parsnip rice:
3 parsnips
1/2C of dry coconut flakes (preferably sun-dried)
3 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp raw honey
1 tsp ume plum vinegar (or anything acidic)
Himalayan salt, freshly ground black pepper

Pulse the pine nuts and parsnips until they resemble white rice. Stir in the rest of the ingredients.

Mango curry sauce:
1 large mango
1/8 of a sweet onion or more to taste
Himalayan salt, pepper
Garam masala, ground coriander, cumin
Fresh coriander leaves

Puree mango and onion, add spices. Pour in a serving bowl, stir in roughly chopped fresh coriander. The onion can either be omitted entirely or replaced by spring onions. 

Veggies:
Pea shoots or just peas
Finely chopped raw broccoli
Carrot (we had yellow and red carrot)
Tomatoes

Sweet peppers would have been delicious, but they are not in season yet. Likewise we had to substitute frozen peas for pea shoots, but looking forward to trying this with those later! Alfalfa or mung sprouts would be excellent, unfortunately I didn't have those at hand either. I did serve this curry with a side of curried nut balls, yum!

To serve, top parsnip rice with veggies and curry sauce. It will look something like this:

I had so much fun making this, since my daughter (18 months) got on her tippy toes to snatch my broccoli off the kitchen table. She got such a kick out of munching on it, so cute! As a mom, something inside me lights up every time she enjoys eating something raw and green. She even likes to snack on sunflower sprouts.

Enjoy the summer guys!

Raw Pasha

Pasha is a traditional, originally Russian Easter dessert. It is typically made with curd, cream, raw yolks, sugar and dried fruit. Growing up, my mother made this faithfully every Easter. I didn't love it that much as a child, but began enjoying it more each year. This year I was slightly sad I can't have it anymore (diagnosed with casein allergy + lactose intolerance, it has gotten a lot worse and I can't tolerate ANY milk anymore). I thought I'd try to make a raw version, but wasn't expecting any success. But whoa, this tasted authentic! Just have to share the recipe, even if it sounds strange to some of my  foreign readers.

RAW PASHA:
 Prep time: 12h soaking + 2 days

The curd:
1 C cashews + 0,5C almonds, soaked
1 C water (or more/less)
2-3 tbsp raw honey or agave
insides of 1 vanilla bean (use less for milder vanilla flavor)
3 tsp acidophilus powder (I used this one)

Add-ins:
Dried dates, figs, apricots etc
Raisins
Ground almonds
lemon zest

Soak nuts for 12 hours, peel almonds if they have the peel on them. Boil water and allow cool (to eliminate unwanted micro-organisms). Blend nuts until perfectly smooth with enough water to make a rather thick cream. Blend in honey, vanilla seeds and acidophilus. Set in a clean, sealed glass container in a warm place. A pleasant sour aroma should develop within a couple hours. Finns may notice the scent of "vanilja rahka". It should also thicken significantly (almost stiff!). Once this is accomplished, place in the fridge overnight.

Next day mix with dried fruit, ground nuts of choice and lemon zest. You may add honey/agave if you feel it needs more sweetness. Then fetch a cheese cloth or another similar device for draining the mixture. I used a cloth over a colander and an empty bowl. Place in the fridge to firm up, mine was ready a day after. Although mine didn't leak out any liquid, it firmed up enough so I could turn it over and it held its shape when we cut into it. It will probably continue to sour, so make only what you can eat within 1-2 days.

Tiramisu

It was my husbands birthday two weeks ago, so of course I wanted to surprise him with something scrumptious. My mind went back and forth with what kind of a cake I would make (nice rhyme!), but at the end it came down to what my husband loves most - coffee, nuts and chocolate. He no longer drinks coffee daily, only on special occasions. These days he has also switched to organic coffee infused with medicinal mushrooms (etc Reishi, Cordyceps). Iherb sells and ships these even to Finland with an affordable price, and their flavor is as good as any other regular coffee brand.

Of course, since coffee is used in this recipe it is not entirely raw. What it is, is my own take on a healthier tiramisu. It is my best attempt to recreate this delicious Italian dessert without cream, sugar and amaretto liquor. I do think that once these key flavor ingredients are omitted, the coffee is necessary to keep it resembling the original. If you don't care for it, just omit it. In this case I would add some almond extract to bring out some amaretto flavor in the cream.

Base:
Raw, organic almonds
Raw cacao powder
Honey, coconut oil
dash salt and organic vanilla/almond extract

Process almonds into a powder, mix with rest of the ingredients in a bowl. The mixture should be firm enough to shaped on a serving dish with your hands. Taste it to make sure the flavors are balanced, you don't want the base too sweet. Set in the fridge to chill.

Tiramisu cream layer:
3/4 C Reishi Coffee (I use Longreen, better tasting and cheaper than MadreLabs)
2 handfuls of cashews + 1 handful of peeled almonds
Honey/agave, to taste
Lucuma powder (for nutritional value and sweetness)
Almond extract

Soak almonds overnight and cashews for a couple hours. Make the coffee, allow it to cool down to room temperature. Blend everything until smooth, thick creamy consistency. Spread on the base with a spatula/knife. Set in the fridge. This is best when served the day after making, because the flavors continue to intensify and develop. Sprinkle with grated raw chocolate or cacao powder. Enjoy!

This recipe does not specify amounts, because it all depends on how thick a base you want or whether you like your tiramisu in several layers. The precise amounts of the ingredients are best determined by tasting. With this nut-coffee ratio the cream takes on a rich but not overpowering coffee taste. It is however a good idea to add the coffee slowly to make sure you get the right taste and texture. 

A tiramisu like this makes for a nice introduction to raw desserts. It is easy to prepare and it resembles a well-known "regular" dessert in both texture and flavor. I am already planning to serve this for my coffee-loving in-laws next time they come to visit.

Amazing raw sour cream!

Just a brief note to let you guys now I am alive and thinking of what to make for my husbands birthday tomorrow. Hopefully it will turn out successful and make its way into this blog! 

Last night we enjoyed blinis. Well, I have yet to figure out a decent way to recreate the actual blinis in a raw way. The toppings however, have been raw for a long time now. Every time we make them, I try to think of a way to improve the raw sour cream we love to dab on the blinis. Usually I have added acidophilus, and allowed it to sour up in the fridge for a couple days. This time I felt the urge to make blinis ex tempore, so I had to come up with something faster. Here it is (sorry, no pic!):

Quick raw sour cream:
2 handfuls of soaked cashews
1 small handful of your favorite raw sauerkraut, or to taste
dash lemon juice, Himalayan salt, pepper, fresh or dried dill

Blend all until smooth. You can add the dill after blending, so that it won't turn out completely green :)
Check seasoning.

The Blinis:
handful of cashews + water (should equal 5dl or 2 C after blending into cashew milk)
organic buckwheat groats ground into flour or whole-grain buckwheat flour (didn't measure this, you want somewhat of a thick pancake batter consistency)
1 organic egg
Himalayan salt

Beat until there are no lumps, let sit for a while for the flour to "swell up". Add more, if it seems too thin.

Heat the skillet. Makes about 35 small blinis.

Traditionally blini recipes use carbonated beverages and yeast or baking powder, but for health reasons I settle for this recipe. 

Serving suggestion: tuna or salmon ceviche, dehydrator-marinated shiitake mushrooms, marinated veggies and of course heapings of raw sour cream!

Orange fudge brownies with date frosting

My in-laws came for a visit today. It is always a bit scary to cook for your mom-in-law, especially when you don't bake the traditional coffee table "treats" she is used to. I can bake, quite well even, but I just don't care for it anymore. Raw desserts are so much better than dairy and gluten free baking. Like many of you, I would also like to see my family and friends eat better and I try to teach them about healthy eating (subtle hints) when they visit. I gave up the preaching a long time ago, now I just attempt to wow them with how good real food can be.

To my suprise, my mother-in-law RAVED about these brownies, had seconds and thirds and also requested the recipe. Big hit! When we told her, that they are no-bake, she was even more amazed. Mission accomplished.

Orange fudge layer:
1,5 C almonds
200g or little less than 0,5lb dried figs, soaked
1/3-1/2C carob powder
4 tbsp coconut oil + some fig soak water
1-2 tbsp honey, or to taste (feel free to omit)
Dehydrated organic orange peel, to taste (I put 1 tbsp)
2 tbsp lucuma and 2 tbsp maca powder, optional
Pinch salt

Blend until a smooth "ball" of dough. Chop a handful or two of walnuts, and fold in. Shape into a large square on a pretty serving dish, place in the fridge. This should be a rather stiff dough, so only a brief chill in the fridge is sufficient.

Date frosting
10 dates + handful of raisins, soaked
Soak water
2 tbsp lucuma powder, optional but adds great flavor
1/4C carob powder
(pinch salt)
(vanilla)

Blend until smooth, spread on top of brownie layer. Chill & Enjoy.

If I were making these for just us two, I would add some ginger to the brownie mix. For this occasion, I thought ginger with "mock chocolate" may have been just little too exotic.. :)

Creamed sesame tahini dessert

Contrary to my recent posting pattern, here I am already back with recipes. My life, as I probably have mentioned more than once, is a hectic one. Just recently, I was working two positions. Last week I made the decision to give the corporate one up, so that I can concentrate on the interesting research I am doing at the University. This will be my Master's thesis. On top of this I have a load of interesting courses, but also a wonderful family. As much as I enjoy blogging, it comes after my family and work on my list of priorities. It looks like at the moment I finally have some spare time to create and post, so your patience will hopefully be rewarded =)

Raw tahini:
Sprouted sesame seeds
Raw and unfiltered honey, to taste
Cold-pressed coconut oil and sesame oil
Himalayan salt
(water)

Soak sesame seeds for 8 hours. Drain water, rinse thoroughly and sprout for another 8 hours. The seeds won't actually grow, the idea is to get rid of the enzyme inhibitors, so that the calcium and other nutrients are better absorbed. Once this is done, place the seeds in a food processor or blender, add honey. Then blend in 50:50 coconut and sesame oil. Add salt. Taste and adjust. I like my tahini with a nice balance of savory and sweet. If you find that cold-pressed sesame oil is too strong in flavor, substitute for more coconut oil.

Tahini cream:
3 tbsp raw tahini
4 oz/120g raw brazil nuts, soaked for 4-6 hours
Raw honey, to taste
water

Blend tahini, nuts and honey. Add water until desired consistency. With little water this makes for a flavorful raw cream, while more water will yield a more yoghurt like texture and slightly milder flavor.

Serving suggestion:
Banana, blueberries, chopped pecans, fresh lemon balm leaves

You could also blend some lemon balm in with the tahini cream.This is a versatile, quick and easy raw treat. Enjoy as breakfast, snack, dessert or dress it up for a fancier occasion.

Creamy pomegranate-lingonberry hearts

Wondering how to surprise your valentine this year? Perhaps not quite yet, but I just got carried away with my gorgeous red pomegranate and cute heart-shaped cupcake molds. I had a hard time figuring out what to call them - the "cream" resembles white chocolate, but also distantly a cheesecake. It has layers of flavors, and it depends on the taster, which is most prominent. To me this was white chocolate, to my husband it was cheesecake, and most likely someone not quite as accustomed to the taste of coconut would find it to be the dominant flavor. Well, try it our for yourself and let me know what you think!

Honey-almond crust
Almond flour (or dehydrated almond pulp leftover from making raw almond milk)
Coconut oil
Raw, organic honey
pinch Himalayan salt, touch of pure vanilla

Mix together and pat down thinly on the bottom of cupcake molds. Chill to firm up.

Cream layer (for 6 cupcakes + leftovers)
125g cashews
400ml coconut cream (about 1,75C)
2 tsp mesquite + 2tsp lucuma (optional, but very good)
0,5-1,5 tsp dehydrated orange peel
70g raw cocoa butter
vanilla agave, to taste
pinch salt


Blend everything until smooth. Spread on crust, chill until they are hard enough to remove from the mold.


Pomegranate-lingonberry glaze
1 pomegranate
0,5 C lingonberries
vanilla agave, to taste

Blend. Layer on top of the cupcakes prior to serving.

We made 6 and I had leftover cream+glaze, so I froze the cream to make raw ice cream and served it with the pomegranate-lingonberry sauce. All three layers of the cupcakes go really well together, and make a really scrumptious treat. Without the glaze, they keep well frozen. If you like, you could also serve them just lightly thawed as ice cream cakes. We opted to allow them to thaw a bit further, which brings out more flavor. Altogether this is a versatile recipe, you could just use the cream in any other raw dessert that calls for it.

Zander with lime sweet potatoes & persimmon chutney + my lab results

In finnish: Kuhaa limebataatilla ja persimmon-chutneyllä

Zander is a highly valued fish in Finland known for it's soft, unique flavor. It consequently happens to be one of the most expensive fishes in stores. I love fish, but I am picky when it comes to selecting it. We always buy wild-caught fish, usually species which come from relatively clean waters. This zander has been caught by a family member from a lake not too far away. Next year, we talked about going to fish ourselves.

Clearly, I am not a vegan. To me, eating fish and meat from the nature is natural (in moderation). Since childhood I have disliked red meat, and I doubt I'd ever touch beef or pork. However, though I haven't yet, if the opportunity presented itself I might be interested in trying some organic lamb or wild game. Currently, we eat fish 2-4 times a week and organic chicken maybe once in a blue moon. I serve my 13-month-old daughter organic turkey/chicken 1-2 times a week and fish 2-4 times. This is because I feel strongly that growing children need a lot of vitamin B12 in their diets. She has not had any red meat yet, and we probably won't give her any unless for some reason we were having some organic or wild meat.

Speaking of B12, I had some blood tests done as a part of starting my new job. Here are a few highlights:

B12 = 228 pmol/l (normal range 180-700)

Cholesterol = 3.1 mmol/l (<5)

HDL-Cholesterol (good) = 1.42 mmol/l (>1)

LDL-Choleserol = 1.4 (<3)

GT (indicator of liver health) = 6 (10-45)

TSH (thyroid hormone) = 2.3 (0.3-4.5)

So, even though I am eating fish several times every week and usually eat 1-2 organic eggs a week as well, I still have B12 count on the lower end of normal. I do not supplement, and according to the doctor there is no need to start doing either. But clearly this shows that, if you are a vegan or eat only little meat you should definitely have your values tested. A B12 deficiency can cause permanent brain damage. Other than this, my cholesterol levels, liver tests and hormone tests were to quote the doctor "perfect". The fact that my GT-value is below the normal margin is only good, the higher it is the more likely you are to suffer from a liver condition such as cirrhosis later in life. The thyroid test is also almost exactly in the middle of the range, indicating an optimal level. Maybe it is the coconut oil!

Well, now on to the recipe. I was planning on serving the zander with the sweet potatoes and a persimmon salsa inspired by Yaelian's marinated persimmon salad (in finnish). Unfortunately I discovered that my persimmons were too mushy to be diced in any way, so I decided to make a chutney-type sauce to go with the fish and yams.

Zander fillets:

2 zander fillets

Himalayan salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp dried lemon zest or a little more fresh

organic cold-pressed coconut oil

Warm up the coconut oil in a pan and add lemon zest. Then on medium heat saute the salted and peppered fish fillets until just done, don't overcook. Always keep heat low to avoid destroying the healthy fats in the fish.

Spicy lime sweet potatoes:

2 large sweet potatoes

juice of 2 large limes

1-2 tbsp honey

organic chili powder

Himalayan salt

freshly ground black pepper

organic olive oil

Cut the sweet potatoes into around 1/3 inch thick and wide sticks, squeeze lime juice on top. Add honey, olive oil and other spices. Mix until the seasoning is evenly spread. Bake in a 375F/200C until they have softened but still have a bite to them.

Raw persimmon chutney

3 ripe, mushy persimmons

2 small red onions

2 tbsp fresh parsley

0,5 tsp balsamic vinegar (or raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar)

Himalayan salt

Black pepper

Finely dice the red onions and chop the fresh parsley. Blend persimmons until smooth. Mix in a serving dish with minced onion, vinegar and spices.

I had intended the chutney more for the sweet potatoes, but we were both surprised how well it complemented the fish as well. They all worked well together, but especially the yams and the chutney turned out to be a match made in heaven. Try it out, easy to make and the ingredients are in season!

Hope you all have a nice weekend and like my new blog layout :) I will be posting some recipes that have come out of my dehydrator experiments once I get them all polished and perfected.

Exciting New Year 2010

A special thank you to all my readers for hanging along and following my new blog. Geek gone raw has not been around too long, and it is really in an experimental stage trying to find its own niche in the vast world of online blogs - any feedback is therefore greatly appreciated. I'd like to wish you all a wonderful, exciting New Year 2010 full of challenges!

Here are some snap shots of our party spread:

Indian-spiced rudabaga wedges (first pic)

Curried split pea burgers

Guacamole

Amazing Hummus (with fresh parsley, sprouted sesame seeds and turmeric)

Faux Ketchup (organic tomato puree, braggs raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar, dark agave, spices)

Marinated garbanzo beans (olive oil, coconut oil, pepper, Himalayan salt, lemon juice)

Seasonal organic vegetables for dipping

We also made some raw pomegranate chocolate, which we will enjoy with a glass of real Champagne. Of course champagne isn't really health food, but there is something to be said about all things in moderation. One glass a year won't certainly do any harm.

Enjoy your evening! Eat well :)

1st birthday party and double-chocolate apricot cake heaven

Apricot double-chocolate bliss

Dark chocolate cake layer:

2 C almonds

1 C raw pumpkin seeds

1/3 C raw cacao powder (or less)

1/3 C coconut oil (or less)

1 C soaked raisins (or dried sweet fruit of choice)

some dried dates

raisin soak water

vanilla

dash of Himalayan/Celtic sea salt

Process the nuts and seeds into a powder, but avoid separating the oils into a paste. Add the dried fruit, cocoa powder and as much liquid oil+water as necessary to get a uniform ball of dough you can shape in your hands. Add vanilla and pinch of salt. Taste and add more sweetener if desired.

White chocolate layer:

150 g raw cacao butter

70g ground almonds

70g cashews

1 large ripe banana or 2 smaller

Water

Agave syrup, to taste

Vanilla

touch of fine-ground dried orange/lemon peel

(pinch salt)

Melt cacao butter in a warm water bath (105F or 40C). Grind nuts, add banana and liquid cacao butter. Then pour in agave, vanilla and citrus peel. I did not measure ingredients exactly and you don't have to either. You want the consistency of a pudding and a wonderful, sweet rich nutty chocolate flavor.

Apricot preserves:

soaked organic dried unsulfured apricots (not the poisonous yellow ones!)

Agave

little lemon juice

Blend until jam consistency, or use a ready-made organic apricot preserve.

Constructing the cake:

Mold dark chocolate cake layer into 3 separate cake layers, mine were round and about 7-8 inches in diameter. Chill them first until they are firm, and once they are firmed up make the white chocolate filling. I made the dark cake layer the night before and the white chocolate layer first thing in the morning. Then place the first dark layer on a serving plate, layer with apricot preserves and a layer of white chocolate. Add another dark layer, the jam and the white chocolate. The last layer is one with white chocolate, then decorate it with grated mint chocolate and dried pink cranberries. The mint and the cranberries really enhance the experience. Chill in a fridge until ready to serve. Our party lasted for a few hours, and it still kept well in room temp.

Making the food for the party was really a series of unfortunate events. I had ordered the cacao butter well in advance, but due to some problems it did not arrive in time. We figured we could get some from Tampere once we got there, but then there was an accident where a bus caught fire and we were stuck in traffic for 1,5 hours. First we went to Ruohonjuuri, and they had none. Called Punnitse & Säästä, they didn't have it either. We thought Runsaudensarvi was closed, but thankfully they had special Xmas time hours and were still open. And they had it! So cake was still on the menu.. until the night before when our current food processor broke beyond repair. I had to use my mothers small electronic hand-mixer, which somehow got stuck and cut deep into my left index finger. For a moment I thought it was actually cut off, but the cut is "only" down to the bone. Still hurts.

Regardless, everything turned out great and all 12 guests enjoyed themselves. Everyone besides me and my husband were strangers to raw cuisine, but they still loved the cake. The complete menu was:

The Birthday cake

Raw lingonberry brownies

Raw Tzatziki dip with dipping size pieces of celery, yellow carrot, zucchini and broccoli

Organic yeast-free 100% rye bread with all natural butter (which we didn't eat, but others enjoyed)

Green shrimp garbanzo bean salad (shrimp stir-fried in garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil, with fresh cucumber, dill, mixture of green salads, boiled garbanzo beans, dressing: olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper)

Everyone ate and people were intrigued. Mission accomplished :) Unfortunately we had so much fun and our hands full with a certain little toddler that there are only a few pics. We might get some more later from friends.

Blueberry tartlets

Blueberry pie in my mind is associated with numerous happy memories of my childhood. After discovering what gluten does to me and gradually finding out more and more about nutrition, I've been looking for a raw substitute for this comforting pie. There are some out there I've tried and tested, but none of them matched my idea of blueberry pie. Somehow the filling has always been either too tart, too liquid, too banana-flavored or a combination of these. I finally just sat down to think how I would make raw blueberry pie without the influence of any other recipes. This is what went into by food processor:

Blueberry crumble tartlets:

6 large tartlets

Crust:

1/2 C sprouted buckwheat groats

1/2 C dry almonds (ideally sprouted and dehydrated)

10 dried dates

4 tbsp coconut oil

0,5-1 tsp cinnamon

vanilla

Grind almonds and buckwheat, add other ingredients. Process until a uniform, thick mixture. Press into the edges of 6 non-stick cupcake molds/tartlet shells. You could make more smaller ones, the six are kind of big. Allow to chill in the fridge for about an hour, to firm up the crust.

Blueberry filling:

1 C blueberries (mine were frozen & thawed)

6-10 dried figs

small handful of pecans

vanilla agave, to taste (or vanilla + sweetener of choice)

2 tsp lucuma

Process in a food processor until a thick paste. I left mine a bit chunky, because I liked the little bits of fig in the filling. Once the pie crusts have set, take them out of the molds and scoop in the filling.

Crumble topping:

Almonds

Shredded, unsulfured coconut flakes

Touch honey

Cinnamon

(pinch himalayan salt)

Grind coconut and almonds until crumbly, mix with spices and sprinkle on the tartlets. Place back in the fridge until it's time to eat. Enjoy with someone special.

Sadly our old faithful Bosch food processor has seen better days. Some blades are broken and especially the broken grater blade is a pain. I love grated sweet potato and carrot salads, and now having to do all the work by hand kind of kills the buzz.. Luckily an elf tipped me off and hinted that Santa may be bringing a 950W food processor our way. Thumbs crossed!

Speaking of new amazing kitchen appliances, I have yet to receive our new Stöckli dehydrator. Man am I looking forward to it's arrival. There are so many ideas I have been playing with that I could finally execute with these gadgets... well, we'll just have to wait and see. As you can see from the pic, the new camera (Canon EOS 500d) is here, so once those missing appliances arrive nothing can limit my creativity :)

Meanwhile, stay tuned for my daughter's 1st b-day post. There will be a raw cake and some tips for planning a party with guests who eat (un-)normal food. This will be the first I am hosting, so I'm sure I'll learn a lot from the feedback. Have a great weekend!

Chocolate banana scallops

This is a very simple recipe, probably many of you have eaten similar treats. But there is something so fundamentally delicious about it, I just had to share. I swear, I'll never touch a factory-made piece of chocolate again.

The name originates from the inspiration from the banana scallops Richard Blais made on Top Chef Season 4. This is not about exact measurements, but rather the combination of premium ingredients in a perfect ratio.

The recipe:

Chocolate:

Few tablespoons liquid cold pressed coconut oil

3-5 tbsp raw organic cacao powder

1/4 tsp honey (to taste, I sometimes don't put any)

1-2 tsp raw organic bee pollen (crunch!)

1-2 tbsp maca powder

1-3 tbsp lucuma powder

dash Himalayan salt

2 sliced organic bananas

Mix chocolate ingredients in a small bowl with a spoon. Taste and throw in however much of anything you feel like. Cut up banana into "scallop" slices, dip and coat in chocolate. Place on a dish and allow to set in the fridge until firm, it won't require too much patience.

Enjoy with your favorite tea or other beverage :) Seriously, the sweetness of the banana with the lucuma-maca flavored chocolate combined with the hint of saltiness.. raw chocolate heaven.

Btw, I just ordered a Stöckli Dörrex dehydrator, which will be arriving in a week. So looking forward to that, I'll certainly post more of my recipes once I finally can execute my ideas properly! My husband also upgraded to a Canon EOS pro cam, so the pictures will also improve drastically. Stay tuned.

Schwartzwalder Cherry torte

It's been a while, but I just got an amazing job opportunity. That along with my university studies, 11-month-old daughter and my husband doesn't really leave time for blogging. I still have to write my post on baby food and in future hopefully do more educating rather than "just" recipes. Or what do you think, would you be interested in reading about nutrition and a healthy lifestyle? How to teach your child to enjoy pure food? Maybe I should just stick to making desserts ;) 

Cherry Chocolate cake:

140g ground almonds and 1/2 C soaked pumpkin seeds

raisins and dates to desired sweetness and texture

1/2 C cacao or carob powder

hazelnut/vanilla agave

coconut oil

pinch salt and cinnamon

Process until a uniform, thick ball of dough. Shape into three about 1/2 inch 
thick round layers (on separate dishes), chill to firm up in the fridge. 

Cashew-coconut cream:

about 50-50 cashews and thick, pure coconut cream

lucuma, raw honey, vanilla, pinch cinnamon

Filling:

Organic, sugar-free (no artificial sweeteners!!!!) black cherry preserve OR
Fresh cherries pureed with sweetener of choice

Once the cake mixture is set, blend smooth in a blender. Spread first cake 

layer with cherry jam, dollop some cream and spread evenly. Add another

layer of cake, cherry jam and cream. Decorate with a layer of cream and

grated (raw) mint-chocolate. The mint really makes the difference. Put back

in the fridge until served, at least for an hour.

Lingonberry lucuma brownies

A friend of mine came for a visit today. She has quite a few allergies, so I couldn't use any nuts. I thought of making chocolate brownies without nuts. As if that wasn't a challenge already, right when I was about to add the raw cacao powder into the food processor I realized she is allergic to chocolate. I asked her, if she knew whether she is allergic to pure raw cacao or just the industrial, processed chocolate. She doesn't know, and since I didn't want to risk poisoning her, I opted for carob. Raw cacao, although (falsely) touted a superfood, should always be consumed in moderation due to high caffeine content and other health risks.

Brownies:

1 C pumpkin seeds

1 C raisins

12 dates

1/2C carob or raw cacao powder

5-6 tbsp coconut oil

0,5-1,5tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp lucuma

dash Himalayan salt

1/3 C lingonberries

Process seeds, fruit, carob and spices into a firm ball. Fold in whole lingonberries by hand.

Shape into a square and allow to firm up further in the fridge.

Frosting

Carob (or cacao) powder, coconut oil, vanilla or hazelnut agave

Stir with a spoon to combine. Coat the brownie squares with the forsting and serve.

These were a huge hit. The tartness of the lingonberries really works great with the richness of the brownies. The pumpkin seeds actually worked great, none of us missed the traditional walnuts. If you have a cup of them on hand though, feel free to substitute the walnuts for the seeds. If you want, you could also substitute part of the carob for cacao.

Isn't that red rose beautiful? I was so happy to come home from university today, my husband and daughter had had the best time together, the house was clean spot-free and there was a huge bouquet of red roses on the table. It's fathers' day this Sunday, I better make sure I show him just how lucky I am to have him as my husband and as a father to our daughter.

Pumpkin pie with lucuma fudge sauce

It's in season: Everybody's making it and some of us are even blogging about it. There are a billion recipes for making it, some healthier than others. Pumpkin pie was one of my favorite treats in my childhood, it still reminds me of years of special holidays - Christmas days, Thanksgivings, Halloween parties. It is one of the traditions I want to follow now that I have my own family. This recipe is a lot healthier than the traditional pie recipe, but not completely raw. I'm looking forward to trying all-raw pumpkin pie as soon as I get a more powerful blender. Ours has 700W and it is excellent for many things, but it would lose the battle against raw pumpkin hands down.

The crust:

About 2 cups almond pulp (left over from making almond milk)

1/2 C pumpkin seeds

6-8 dried dates and raw organic honey

Raw organic honey

Organic, cold pressed coconut oil

Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg to taste

dash Himalayan Salt

In a food processor blend almond pulp, seeds and dates into a batter. Spice up, and enough honey and coconut oil for right texture and flavor. The crust should not be overly sweet, consistency should be thick and just enough moist to work with by hand. Shape into a pie tin, dehydrate until firm.

Filling:

4 C pumpkin meat (I used 1/4 of a large, traditional orange Halloween pumpkin)

roughly 10 dried dates

1 C thick, creamed coconut

0,5-1 tbsp psyllium powder

cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, dash cayenne

Steam cubed pumpkin and puree smooth with a food processor. I only steamed the pumpkin for a couple minutes, just to soften up the surface of the cubes a touch. You should have about 4 C of pureed pumpkin. Allow to cool. Stir in creamed coconut. I use Biona creamed coconut which I mix with pure water to make my own coconut cream. If you can't find a similar product, try to buy a thick coconut cream that has as little additives as possible. Mix in spices, taste and adjust seasoning. Add psyllium, start with 0,5 tbsp and let it set for 10min. It should make the filling thicker and goo-like, if this doesn't happen you need to add some more. Be careful, adding too much will compromise flavor and texture (you don't want a slimy pie filling). Dollop the filling into the pie shell, chill until filling firms up and you can easily slice into the pie.

Many raw pies use lecithin as a thickener, but I like to avoid soy products when it's possible. If you can get non-GMO, organic lecithin somewhere, you could substitute it for the psyllium.

Lucuma fudge sauce

Almond milk

Dried dates

Cashews

Lucuma powder

Blend everything until smooth. I didn't measure exact quantities, but I think it was about 1/2 C almond milk, 5 dates, handful of cashews and heaping tablespoon of lucuma.

I was especially pleased with the crust and the sauce, which turned out to be a wonderful substitute for the whipped cream/vanilla ice cream I used to enjoy with pumpkin pie in the past.

The filling tastes exactly like the traditional, without being baked for hours. Yaelian gave me the idea of using slightly dehydrated butternut squash for the filling, so next time I'll definitely use grated, dehydrated squash.

Mini carrot cupcakes with a pecan lucuma glaze

Mini carrot cupcakes:

2/3 C sunflower seeds, soaked and drained well

1/3 C pumpkin seeds

7 dates (to taste)

2 medium carrots, grated

4 tbsp organic cold pressed vegetable oil

( dried, unsweetened & unsulfured shredded coconut)

2-3 tbsp pure maple syrup (to taste) or raw honey

cinnamon, ground ginger, nutmeg to taste

Process the sunflower seeds and dates into a paste (slightly chunky). Add grated carrots (organic carrots don't have to be peeled), maple syrup and oil. Add in coconut flakes, about half a cup until consistency is thick enough to roll into balls in your hands. Taste and adjust spices. Roll into tiny balls (1 inch wide or so) and place in mini cupcake molds. Dehydrate for an hour or so, you want them to firm up a notch but not dry out.

After you've dehydrated the cupcakes, it's time to make the glaze.

Pecan lucuma glaze:

handful of chopped pecans

1-2tsp lucuma, cinnamon to taste

agave nectar (or honey), coconut oil

Chop nuts and mix with lucuma and cinnamon by hand. Stir in agave and coconut oil (a spoon is a good tool), until you have a thick chunky syrup. Make sure you taste it each time you add sweetener or oil to make sure it doesn't get too sweet. The cupcakes themselves are not that sweet, so the glaze can be a bit more on the sweet side.

Coat the cupcakes with the glaze and place in the fridge for as long as you can control yourself. Right before you are ready to serve, sprinkle some coconut flakes on top for garnish. We tasted some right away, they were good, but sticky to eat because the frosting was runny.

After they had spent the night in the fridge, the glaze firmed up and you could eat them just like regular cupcakes. These were a hit with my bro and husband and I enjoyed them too. If you don't like the flavor of sunflower seeds, you could substitute (part of) them for your favorite nuts. Their flavor however is far milder if you have the patience to allow them to cool and set properly.

I like sunflower seeds, for many reasons. They are an excellent source of calcium and other nutrients, they are cheap and the taste is nice. This recipe was improvised on the spot when I had my brother come over to visit us and wanted to have something nice for the coffee table. I soon discovered that we were out of almost everything, the only nuts we had were a handful of pecans and we were completely out of honey. So I kind of just got the idea of using our last 2 carrots for something but doubted it would mount to anything good. This recipe really surprised me, especially considering I had no idea what I was doing when I started throwing things in the food processor :)

Chocolate hazelnut swiss roll with raspberry mint mousse

Swiss roll "dough"

2 C almond pulp (from soaking and making almond milk out of 1,25 C almonds)

(1-2 tbsp finely ground hemp seeds)

3-4 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 C raw cacao powder

organic hazelnut-flavored agave (or agave+natural hazelnut extract)

4-6 dried dates, soaked for 30min

dash Himalayan salt

Blend in a food processor, taste and adjust flavor to your liking. Add enough coconut oil to make a uniform dough, it shouldn't be too wet but rather have the consistency of thick chocolate mousse. The almond pulp should be rather dry. Spread into a rectangular shape on a non-stick surface, dehydrate for a couple hours on one side and about an hour on the other. Keep an eye on it, don't let it dry and crack.

Raspberry-mint mousse:

1 C raspberries (frozen and thawed)

3/4 C cashews, soaked, rinsed and drained

juice of 1/2 lemon (I even added some lemon pulp)

coconut oil

3-6 dried dates, soaked

good fresh mint leaves, to taste

(agave if you want it sweeter)

Blend first nuts, add thawed raspberries.Then add rest of the ingredients and blend until creamy. Add only enough coconut oil to get the right texture, make sure it doesn't get too runny. If it does, add psyllium husks.

Hazelnut chocolate frosting (best frosting recipe EVER!)

1/2 C raw cacao powder

few tbsp coconut oil

hazelnut agave

couple soaked dates

Blend dates and cacao powder, then alternate adding coconut oil and agave little bit at a time until taste and texture are perfect. Right consistency is that of a chocolate syrup/sauce.

After you've dehydrated the swiss roll, spread the mousse on top and roll up. If it doens't look too pretty, covering it with delicious frosting will fix it. Decorate with crushed almonds/hazelnuts. Refrigerate before serving (couple hours for a firmer and easily sliceable texture).

I've been practically living in labs lately, so excuse me for not posting for a while. I hope this recipe helps me gain some forgiveness :)

Raw "korvapuusti"

The finnish famous baked cinnamon bun, the korvapuusti is an ear-shaped bun bursting of flavors of cinnamon, cardamom and sometimes even saffron and raisins. The dough is traditionally a yeast dough, laden with sugar, butter, milk and bleached wheat flour. This dough is then rolled out, spread with butter, cinnamon and more sugar, rolled up and cut and shaped.

It is often sprinkled with almond slices and/or sugar before going in the oven.

Although I'm not accustomed and not usually enjoy traditional finnish foods, the korvapuusti is one exception. For years I've been making my own version, which I thought was healthier, with whole wheat flour, raw cane sugar/fructose, vegetable oil. Well, now I know better:

Raw "Korvapuusti" (13 pcs):

The dough:

Roughly two cups almond pulp (left over from making almond milk)

1C flax meal (buy ground or grind yourself)

1C soft, dried, pitted dates

1/8C (filtered) water

1/4C coconut oil

Cardamom, garam masala, salt, cinnamon to taste

I used a food processor fitted with an S-blade. First I blended the dates with water separately, then added other ingredients. Use common sense with the consistency, if it seems too dry add water/coconut oil, if it is too wet add nuts/flax meal. Roll out on a non-stick surface. I was able to do this with a regular, wet wooden rolling pin. You might want to put another non-stick or teflex sheet on top to get it uniformly thick. I dehydrated my dough for less than an hour before spreading the filling at around 100 F, it might not be necessary.

Filling:

1C dates

1/2 C raisins

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/4C water

1/2 brazil nuts (if you have time, soak and dehydrate)

Blend until consistency is suitable for spreading on the "dough". Then simply spread evenly and roll up.

Cut into 13 (or so) pieces, and flatten them with a knife from the center (on top).

Fix the shape if necessarily, sprinkle with coconut. Store for a day or two in the fridge, if you want them to keep longer freeze.

I guess these are mostly meant for Christmas, but if you enjoy the aromatic spices cinnamon and cardamom, these make a wonderful addition to a healthier "coffee table".

Edit: These taste even better after staying overnight in the fridge! I had the hardest time limiting myself to just one.