Category Archives: Desserts

Jan 22 2012
6 Comments
Desserts, Snacks, Thoughts

Adventures in fruit, a portrait of durian today.

Durian is from Southeast Asia and is formidable in all of it’s aspects. It’s big (about the size of a soccer ball), has a thorny outer skin (ouch!) and distinctive odor.

Some people find the smell off-putting. I’m not one of those. I suspect it’s partly genetic. I find they smell like almonds though I’ve heard them described as smelling like turpentine, gym socks, and rotting onions. I suppose any one of those odors would keep me from eating fruit.

In terms of nutrition it’s certainly a treat. It’s rich in unsaturated fats, fiber, iron, vitamin C, potassium and the tryptophan – the amino acid required for the synthesis of serotonin. Tryptophan is necessary for the synthesis of serotonin – an important neurotransmitter. Tryptophan is an essential amino acid. That means your body can’t make it (like how it can make fat or carbon dioxide from sugar) and you have to include it in your diet.

The edible part of the fruit looks and tastes like creamy vanilla almond custard. I like to scoop out the flesh, separate the seeds and discard them, and put the good stuff into a container. I put it in the freezer and treat it like a pint of ice cream: having 2 or 3 bites whenever I get a bill or see bad news on TV.

Durian isn’t for the faint of heart. It can be expensive, difficult to find and to some, offensively smelly. However, if you’re one of the lucky souls who finds this fruit delectable, you might grow up to be a convert, like me.

This is Christie, signing off.

Tagged , , , , , , ,
Jan 17 2012
2 Comments
Cooking, Desserts

Macaroons… funny name, serious snack.

I love macaroons and have found that raw cookies resembling macaroons are a staple in vegan cuisine. Still, I’ve been craving the real thing. Shredded coconut is high in fiber and saturated fat. You might think, “this chick is terrified of fat… what’s she doing with coconut?” The saturated fat in coconut is largely composed of fatty acids like lauric acid, capric acid, caprylic acid, myristic acid and palmitic acids. Maybe now you’re thinking, “speak English, woman!”

Fun fact: your brain is the fattiest organ in your body – almost 2/3 of it is fat. Your brain is kind of like a huge incredibly intricate ball of electrical wiring, except instead of using rubber and plastic to insulate the wiring, it uses fat. Fatty acids like those found in coconut and other tree nuts, avocado, olives, and certain grains like flax make excellent building blocks for your brain. The fiber in these foods also makes it easier for your body to absorb these important nutrients.

Okay, now my brain hurts from thinking too hard and I must replenish it with macaroons. You’re going to need the following ingredients.

1.5 teaspoons EnerG egg replacer or starch
4 tablespoons almond or soy milk
2 tbsp syrup (agave nectar, maple, whatever kind you like)
pinch of salt
1/4 cup almond meal
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1 tbsp almond or cashew nut butter (peanut butter works in a pinch but has it’s own distinct flavor, cashew and almond are more neutral)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (omit the 2 tbsp of sugar if you get sweetened shredded coconut)
1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder (optional, if you want chocolate macaroons!)
Preheat oven to 325F/160C degrees. Line a metal baking sheet with parchment and grease it lightly with olive oil or cooking spray. In a medium bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Combine the wet ingredients in another bowl, stirring and perhaps microwaving to get them to blend well. When everything is uniformly mixed, combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix well. It should form a semi-dry dough.
Place rounded teaspoonfuls onto the baking sheet you prepared earlier. I ended up mooshing them into appropriate shapes with my hands and then making an indentation in the middle with the bottom of the spoon.
Bake for 15 minutes. For an additional 5 minutes, watch the macaroons closely and take them out of the oven if the edges start to get too brown. Pick up the edges of the parchment carefully and place the parchment on a clean dry towel on a cool surface to cool. Makes 8 or so cookies. I drizzled mine with some cocoa that I melted with coconut sugar and cocoa butter.
This is Christie, signing off. OMNOM!
Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Dec 26 2011
1 Comment
Desserts, Recipes

Raw Cheesecake Experiment #2: OH YES

Remember Raw Cheesecake Experiment #1? I finally found the time and motivation to try making another raw cheesecake. Having learned a lot from my first attempt at making the cheesecake, I made adjustments to both the recipe and technique for my second attempt.

Raw ‘Cheese’cake: Part Deux

Crust
8 dates, pits removed
3/4 cup pecans
unsweetened coconut flakes (optional)
pinch of salt

Filling
3 cups raw cashews, soaked for 3 hours
1/3 cup lemon juice
2/3 cup agave nectar — I used raw organic agave nectar this time
2/3 cup coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup water
unsweetened coconut flakes (optional but highly recommended, OH MY GOODNESS)
chocolate chips (optional)

On the day you are making the cheesecake, measure out your cashews and soak them in a big bowl. Rinse the nuts: I filled the bowl with water, let it sit for a minute, poured the water out and repeated that 3 times until the water was a little cleaner. I did this a couple more times over the three hours I had them soaking.

A little before the three hour mark, I measured out my pecans and then dropped my jar of coconut oil in a bowl with hot water. I popped the dates in the microwave for about 10 seconds so that I could easily get the pits out with my hands. I don’t think it’s necessary to soften them at all since that probably makes them more sticky and more difficult to deal with in the food processor.

To make the crust, stick all the pecans in the food processor and chop up those suckers. This is important. Once you add your dates, you’re basically screwed out of getting good-sized pecan bits. Once the pecans are in tiny little pieces, go ahead and process the dates. When you’re *almost* close to having it to desired texture, add a pinch of salt.  When your crust mixture is done, get your cheesecake pan and sprinkle some coconut flakes evenly on the bottom of it. Then, smash your mixture in there. One thing to note — I will probably use a cup of pecans next time.

Now, the fun part. I used a blender for the filling again. I think I’ll try using a food processor for my next attempt. Anyway, drain the cashews. The blending method this time was to add a cup of cashews, add a liquid, add a cup of cashews, add a liquid, etc. It’s odd… I got frustrated because the cashews were just not breaking down into a creamy consistency, but (like the last time I made this) things seemed to magically get to a point where all the chunks were gone and I had my creamy nut filling. Mix about 1/4 cup of coconut flakes into the mixture if you desire.

Once your filling is ready, pour it into the pan. I poured it in about halfway and then decided to add some chocolate chips midway through. I found these mini chips at Whole Foods: they are dairy, nut, & soy free and are very delicious. Highly recommend! I also highly recommend that you be much more generous with the chocolate chips than I was. Next time, I’m seriously going to make it a layer of chocolate chips instead of this sorry sprinkle. Where was I now? Oh, yes. Pour the rest of the mixture into the pan and then even out the top.

‘Tis the season, so I thought it would be cute to decorate the top with chocolate chips in the shape of a snowflake. I clearly failed in my attempt. I stuck the cheesecake in the freezer to set for about 2 hours after which I placed it in the fridge.

Yummmm… this version turned out great! I think using pecans for the crust, adding the coconut flakes, and decreasing the lemon juice amount really made a difference. I cannot wait to try this out with some fruit or with a ton more chocolate chips. And I love that I can still brag that this is vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free!

Hope you’re enjoying the holidays. Don’t forget to eat lots of veggies! –Melissa

Tagged , , , , , , ,
Dec 12 2011
4 Comments
Desserts

Strawberry crisp: delicious, easy, healthy… what’s not to like?

I went strawberry picking with some friends Sunday. You might ask, “it’s the middle of December and you’re doing WHAT!?” It’s Florida, our weather is so good it’s criminal.
I’m going to make a quick note about sugar before we start. You might notice that I haven’t listed granulated sugar in any of the recipes I’ve submitted to this forum. It’s always molasses, agave nectar, etc. The granulated sugar that you buy at the supermarket isn’t vegan. It’s bleached using the charred bones of animals. If that wasn’t icky enough, brown sugar is granulated white sugar mixed with molasses. WTF?
Anyways, other available sweeteners have unique flavors and nutrients that are removed from granulated sugar during processing. For example, I use molasses for most of my sugar needs. I like that it comes from plants and has iron in it. Girls need a little extra iron, right? Ounce for ounce, molasses has almost 3 times the iron of beef and none of the cholesterol. Black strap molasses has a unique earthy flavor robust enough to eat drizzled over plain tofu. I also like maple syrup because it’s delicious and promotes preservation of old growth forests. It has a light woody flavor that’s great for cookies and cakes. Sometimes I get granulated coconut sugar at my farmer’s market. It’s lightly fragrant and creamy in flavor. I’m a big fan of agave and rice nectar: both have low glycemic indexes and a light mellow honey-like flavor but it’s beginning to sound like all unrefined sugars are my favorite. Let’s talk strawberry crisp. In this recipe I used turbinado sugar (which is actually semi-refined sugar) but granulated coconut or maple sugar work fine.
You can use any kind of sweet non-citrus fruit for this recipe as far as I’m concerned. Frozen or fresh – it doesn’t matter, just as long as it’s ripe. I’ve done this with peaches, apples, blueberries, and today I’m using strawberries.
5 cups fresh fruit, pitted and sliced (I like to leave the peel on but you can take it off)
2 tbsp turbinado sugar
2 tbsp corn starch, tapioca flour or arrowroot starch
juice of 1/2 lemon (about 2 tsp)
I just mixed them directly in a glass baking dish
For the topping,
1 cup quinoa flakes or rolled oats
1/2 cup turbinado sugar (granulated maple or coconut sugar are fine too but harder to find)
1/2 cup flour (I used rice but whatever kind you like)
almond milk to texture
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp olive oil
cinnamon or pumpkin spice to taste
In a medium sized bowl, stir the dry ingredients together.
Work the olive oil in, and then the almond milk. Stop adding when it starts to get crumbly. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit and bake 375F/190C, for 30 to 35 minutes, until the fruit is tender and the topping starts to brown.
Serve hot and enjoy! Soy or coconut milk ice cream is an excellent compliment.
Tagged , , , , , , , , ,
Dec 04 2011
5 Comments
Desserts, Recipes

Raw Cheesecake Experiment #1

Confession: I think I am a failure when it comes to baking. I burn cookies. I don’t keep cakes in the oven long enough. Pastries fall apart. Things that are supposed to be firm are simply goop. So I was pretty excited when I heard about raw cheesecake – not necessarily because it’s vegan, but because it is a no-bake dessert. I first had raw cheesecake when I went to the Chicago Diner while Christie was in town. I was blown away by how creamy and tasty it was and then even more blown away knowing that it was a raw food. I always thought, “hmm, I should try making some raw cheesecake,” but it wasn’t until I started this blog that I had the motivation to do so.

I visited what seems like several web sites to come up with my own raw cheesecake recipe. Here are the ingredients I used for Raw Cheesecake Experiment #1. Make sure you read this entire post as there are certain things I will definitely change about the ingredients/measurements the next time I make this.

For the crust:
1 cup almonds
12 dates, softened

For the filling:
3 cups raw cashews, soaked
2/3 cup lemon juice
2/3 cup agave nectar
2/3 cup coconut oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup water

Before you do anything, measure out the cashews and soak them in water. I soaked them for one hour. Longer than that is probably much better. Some sites say to do it overnight, others didn’t mention soaking them at all. When I make raw cheesecake #2, I think I will try to soak them for 3-4 hours. Another to-do before you begin is to take your jar of coconut oil and stick it in a bowl of hot water so that it’s melted by the time you need it.

Start by making the crust. Soften the dates first by steaming them for a few minutes, and then remove the seeds if needed. Then, combine the almonds and dates using a food processor. Now, I adore my mini food processor. It has never let me down. Then again, I have never jammed almonds and sticky dates into it. I’m still not sure what the most efficient method is for combining these without wanting to give up, but I eventually ended up with a good result. More confession time: I used almonds because I saw one recipe that used them and I already had them. Next time, I’m going with pecans or walnuts.

The mixture should be tasty and a bit sticky. Get your favorite cheesecake pan (8″ is ideal, the pan I used was too big). Take the crust mixture and press it down into the pan. Try to make it as smooth and uniform in height as possible. I like using the bottom of a measuring cup to help with that sort of thing.

Now, grab the rest of your ingredients and mix them together in a blender, using the water as needed. A lot of the recipes I saw called for a 1:1:1 ratio for the lemon juice, coconut oil, and agave nectar. Next time, I am cutting down on the lemon juice as my cheesecake came out a bit tart for my taste (my brother said it was more like ‘key lime pie’ instead of ‘cheese’cake). You should end up with a thick mixture that you can easily pour and smooth into the pan over your crust. Put the cheesecake in the fridge or freezer to set for at least one hour.

This cheesecake was kid-approved! It tasted great plain, but I also tried it with some chocolate syrup and topped with pomegranate seeds. I imagine it would be great with the cherry topping that Christie made for her ‘cheese’cake.

I wish I had pictures of the other steps in the process, but my hands were really sticky from the dates and I was cursing in the kitchen from how challenging this recipe ended up being, so I wasn’t exactly in the picture-taking mood. At any rate, this was a great learning experience for me, and I’m eager to try again and make it more interesting: add cinnamon, fruit, cocoa to the filling… if you have ramekins, you can easily make individual cheesecakes if you’re having a dinner party or just want to be fancy.

Raw cheesecake is a great dessert. It’s healthy, and no animals had to die in order for me to make it. Plus, it’s soy- and gluten-free in addition to being vegan. If you’re in Chicago and not up for making your own, definitely check it out at The Chicago Diner.

Tagged , , ,
Newer posts →