Feeling "Desserty"

I fear this is a little late, but I had a wonderful Italian 4th of July. Just take a look at these fireworks. I could see them from the balcony in my room and they were set off right on the edge of the lake.

Pretty awesome, right?

I promise I've been eating lots of tomatoes and arugula and rucola, but I can't help but taking pictures of my desserts. I've had the opportunity to go out nearly every weekend, so some of these desserts were shared and some were all for my little self, haha.

This was called "salame cioccolata" or chocolate salami. It's basically biscotti cookies set in a semi-hard chocolate base. For reference, they were about the size of an index finger. I have to say they were delicious, but I passed on the whipped cream, per my non-dairy pledge (but hey, we're excepting gelato in that deal, haha).

This was called "torta melone" or melon cake. I had a different idea of what it was going to be. It turned out more like a whipped cream filling with a melon topping. I'm not a fan of whipped cream to begin with, so I couldn't finish this. And I'm the type of person that hardly ever finishes her dessert. Oh well...

This tiramisu was the best I've ever had. The cream part was really thick, and the coffee had really infused the lady fingers, so it was kind of a soggy mess of deliciousness. My non-dairy thing was pardoned for this tiramisu. It makes me really want to work on making a raw one.

A chocolate and pear torte. It had a crust, layer of raspberry jam, chocolate, pears, and finally a thin layer of pastry on top. It was one of those desserts that's just perfectly put together. I would totally eat this again in a heartbeat.

So, while I've been enjoying all these desserts, I've also been working it off with INSANITY. Want to know my thoughts?

It ain't that bad.

Yes, it's tough, and yes, I have to take a lot of breaks, but for anyone out there who's on the fence, it's definitely doable. Like I said, I normally don't swear, but sometimes I think INSANITY is going to drive me to it. Shaun T., you're a tough one.

If anyone's got any questions about it or my experience with it, feel free to comment or email me!

Questions: How's your experience with INSANITY been?

Do you prefer a more traditional 4th or are you down with doing something different? I think I'd prefer something different every time, but I also like having something to look forward to that's the same every time.

New Year, New Post

Hi everyone! Sorry for the quite long delay in posts. Though it's a bit late for this, I want to post the Christmas cookies I made. I actually haven't been doing much dessert making at home because I'm trying to cut back on nuts. Without further ado, my first cookie:

The Samoraw

Delicious, isn't it? I used a modified recipe from this one, with more almond pulp and some walnuts instead of the cashews and oats, and I used half of the coconut shreds called for. After dehydrating the base, I wished I'd made the cookies a bit thicker, as they were very fragile! But I was in a hurry to get them done before Christmas Eve, when my family usually partakes of the cookies for dessert.


I put all the filling into a plastic bag and piped it onto the cookies, instead of spreading it, when probably would have been a nightmare with those fragile cookies! I ground up some cacao and added it to the VitaMix with some maple syrup (not raw), coconut oil, and a few dates to make the chocolate syrup. I put this into another plastic bag and piped on the stripes of frosting. Yum.


They were a little messy, but for my first try, I thought they were terrific!


Stay tuned for my other Christmas cookies and my failed attempts at making a non-nut based pudding... ;-)

Mint Banana Ice Cream?

I have good news and bad news.

First off, the bad news: I don't have any pictures of Thanksgiving food, which consisted of baked sweet potatoes, baked acorn squash, a relish tray, raw cranberry sauce, and applesauce. It was delicious.

Now for the second piece of bad news: I won't be posting any more dessert recipes for a couple of weeks, as I am trying to clear out my system from excess sugar. I'm not sure how interesting I can make veggies and nuts, but I'll try!

And now for the good news: I have one more dessert recipe that I hadn't posted! With the last of my frozen naners, I decided to see how it would taste if I put my Amazing Grass superfoods in it. I threw a scoopful into the whipped bananas (no sweetener),

and it turned a disgusting lovely shade of green. I took a bite and...

Surprisingly, it tasted just like mint chip ice cream! I was amazed. The next time I'll add some cacao nibs or carob to make it really taste like mint chocolate chip ice cream; yum!

Stay tuned tomorrow for my improvisation of a lunch...

P.S. Be sure to enter Katie's fantastic giveaway for coconut oil!

Operation: Raw Cheesecake

So, I had this crazy idea when I got my mail order nuts to make cheesecake. At home, I make it all the time in various flavors, but I'm still trying to perfect the recipe. As a challenge, I decided it was time for cheesecake. (And I can't lie, I wanted a tasty dessert too...)


I soaked probably a cup and a half of raw cashews for six or so hours in a bowl near my window, til they were soft. I drained them and plopped them in the mini food processor, for lack of a VitaMix. I added the juice of one lemon, a tablespoon or so of coconut oil, and a teensy bit of agave, then attempted to blend it to a smooth texture. It did get smooth...kind of. It wasn't chunky or anything, but it could have been a tad bit smoother. I spooned the mixture into a little dish and stuck it in my freezer/fridge. Then I waited. And waited. Finally I attempted to unmold it and slice it up. Eagerly anticipating a delicious lemon cheesecake, I cut myself a baby sliver and took a bite. 

It tasted...interesting. The texture was a tad bit icy, but overall pretty firm! If I were living in the lap of luxury instead of in a dorm, I think the flavor would have been greatly improved by some extra lemon juice, vanilla, and himalayan sea salt. And maybe some raspberries, too. Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?


I ate the whole thing. I couldn't bear to waste precious cashews. But, I learned that it is possible to make raw cheesecake in a dorm. Cool, huh?

Banana Granita

I've decided that bananas are one of the most versatile fruits when it comes to roughing it raw. Not only are they delicious right out of hand, but they can be made into lots of desserts. Just thinking about it now, you can make puddings, ice cream, frozen pies, and little banana and nut butter sandwiches...but I'm sure there are many more things out there.


Last week when I made the banana butter cup pie, I also threw some bananas in the food processor with some agave and blended until they were liquid. I poured the mixture into a container and froze it to see how the texture would turn out. Well, my freezer doesn't freeze items rock-hard, which was great because then I probably wouldn't be able to get any of the ice cream out! The texture of the frozen bananas was like a granita; kind of icy but a little more smooth than a granita. It was scoop-able and made pretty little scoops in the bowl.


Here's a picture of the finished product:

Yum! Delicious bananas!


At home, using the VitaMix, I would make delicious banana ice cream using previously frozen and peeled bananas, a bit of raw honey or agave, Himalayan sea salt, vanilla, and maybe some carob or cacao powder. In the VitaMix, the bananas do get the consistency of real ice cream, not the kind of slimy mix you can get if you make it in the food processor.


I'm thinking that my next project will be pudding...but as for upcoming posts, a little hint: think cashews.

Banana Butter Cup Pie

Yum! This post is all about my foray into dessert making with my mini food processor. My mother sent me a raw recipe for Banana Butter Pie, which called for some ingredients that I didn't have. So, I improvised! I changed the recipe a little bit, as well. I added a chocolate layer and a garnish of banana slices. 


I wanted to add the chocolate flavor to channel the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup idea, so I spooned a little coconut oil into the food processor and threw in some cacao nibs and a drizzle of agave. The food processor doesn't do as great of a job as a coffee grinder does to grind the cacao nibs into powder, so the final result was a little grainier than I would have liked, but still delicious. The riper the bananas, the sweeter the banana butter layer. If your bananas aren't sweet enough, you can add a little agave or dates to sweeten additionally.


This is a perfect recipe for the dorm, since bananas are plentiful at the dining hall. The taste is terrific; creamy like a peanut butter cup. The chocolate layer is a bit firmer than the banana butter layer, but it's a nice textural contrast. The banana butter layer is so smooth and creamy; it has the texture of rich ice cream. You could really change the amounts of ingredients in the recipe to make a larger or smaller batch.


I hope you enjoy!

Banana Butter Cup Pie
Serves: 4 (or 2 very generously)


Ingredients:
3 ripe medium bananas
1/3 cup raw almond butter ( I used homemade)
1.5 TBL coconut oil (liquid)
3 TBL raw cacao nibs
2 TBL raw agave nectar
0.5 banana, sliced


Method:
1. Break up the 3 bananas into chunks and process them in the food processor until liquidy. Add the almond butter and process until incorporated.
2. Pour banana-almond butter mixture into container. I used a quart sized plastic container.
3. Combine the coconut oil, cacao nibs, and agave in the food processor and process until incorporated. If you have a coffee grinder, it's helpful to grind up the cacao beforehand.
4. Pour the cacao mixture on top of the banana-almond butter mixture and swirl with a knife. 
5. Arrange the banana slices attractively on top of the mixture.
6. Freeze for at least 3 hours or until firm.
7. Slice and enjoy!


Enjoy the deluge of pictures!