Thursday, May 10, 2012

Rosemary Frosting!

It was my sister's birthday recently! and to celebrate, i made her claimed favorites of mine, and also completed one of my baking goals from back when i was in Ireland.
Perfecting my Strawberry Cupcakes with Rosemary Frosting!
I used a recipe from here for the cupcakes, because the ones i whipped up were more like gluten-free muffins. so i'll work a little more and create my own strawberry recipes, but this frosting is good!(the cupcakes were too!)


Rosemary Frosting

Ingredients (enough to frost 15 cupcakes)
  • 3 cups Vegan Cane Sugar
  • 1/4 + 1/8 cup Earth Balance Vegan Margarine
  • 2 T Almond Milk
  • 1 1/2 t Vanilla
  • 2 Sprigs of Rosemary
Instructions
  • Roughly chop rosemary and mix into cane sugar. Allow to sit overnight in refrigerator, covered.
  • Blend half the sugar and incorporated rosemary in a blender until it is very fine and has the texture of powdered sugar, then sift into another bowl. Repeat with other half, it should make just over 3 3/4 cups of powdered sugar after sifting.
  • Beat vegan maragerine until fluffy, then add about half the powdered sugar mixture and beat until well incorporated.
  • Add 1 T of Almond milk, and vanilla, and beat until smooth. then add remainder of powdered sugar, and the reserved T of almond milk if needed to reach the desired consistency.
  • Pipe over the strawberry cupcakes listed above, or any other cupcakes!

gluten-free muffins using buckwheat flour



perfection

so i'm sorry to say i haven't been as good at keeping raw as i hoped, but i did make these raw "healing roles" for my mom the other day! i just threw stuff together and made raw sushi, but it was so good!



my reading hasn't been too great, i've been very occupied with working and eating...:/ But i'm slowly making progress! i am going to work harder to eat more raw food the next few weeks - it's really what my body needs. 
wish me luck!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Hodge Podge Cookies

Hello! So i have two more days technically on my raw food cleanse, though i have already deviated and had some cooked food...when have i not cheated on a diet? (oh yeah, going vegan...haha) but anyway, i am definitely going to change my diet after this, probably 80-85% raw foods, and i have gotten so much more creative! 


I have two more recipes for you guys! One is a raw recipe that uses my newest addiction...raw coconut meat.


Oh yes. Although it is always a bit of a chore to crack into a coconut - literally, i usually just put mine in a plastic bag and smash it against the ground - it is well worth it!





my station

the fresher the better! it's juicier and creamier


Sun-dried Tomato "Tapenade"

i have despised the flavor of calamata olives for as long as i can remember. this is a raw recipe that has a similar texture to normal tapenade. It is awesome on anything really, salads, grains, tempeh, just yum. 
Ingredients (about 1 3/4 cups)
  • 12 Sun-dried Tomatoes in oil
  • 1/2 c Mixed Brazil and Cashew nuts
  • 1/2 c Coconut Meat
  • 1/4 c Raw Sunflower Seeds
  • 2 large sprigs of Rosemary
Instructions
  • Mix nuts, seeds, and coconut meat in a food processor, and blend until well chopped
  • Add rosemary and sun-dried tomatoes and blend until everything is finely chopped, nearly ground
  • Enjoy!




I also had a hankering for raw cookies, so i made these cookies as a meal basically! i ate them all!

at least they were raw huh?
i've found i am not really a fan of raw cookie dough. not unbaked cookie dough, but the raw versions. i enjoyed these little cookies though, but they were nothing compared to these other cookies i have made a DOZENS of times. 
and i have adapted it so much, and also made it gluten free, so that i can now post this recipe as my own! enjoy :) 

(note, the cookies were for someone, and i had to ship them out and forgot to get pictures...i will soon though!)

Hodge Podge Cookies
these are probably my favorite cookies to make, and eat. i'm in love with them, and they just feel like a yummy hodge podge of stuff
Ingredients (24 cookies)
    Dry Ingredients
    • 1 c Brown Rice Flour
    • 1 c Vegan Chocolate Chips
    • 1 c Macadamia Nuts, chopped and toasted
    • 3/4 c Rolled Oats
    • 1/2 c Garbanzo Bean Flour
    • 1/2 c Almond Flour
    • 1/2 c Shredded Coconut, toasted
    • 1 t Guar Gum (or Xanthan gum)
    • 3/4 c Baking Soda
    • 1/2 t Salt
    • 1/8 t Cinnamon
    Wet Ingredients
    • 2/3 c Maple Syrup
    • 2/3 c Safflower Oil
    • 3 T Water
    • 1 t Peppermint Extract
    • 1 pinch Nutmeg
    Instructions
    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Chop up macadamia nuts and lay out on a baking sheet, and allow to toast in oven for about 10 minutes, shaking nuts around halfway through.
    • Once mac nuts are toasted, place them somewhere to cool completely, and toast the shredded coconut next, only about 5 minutes.
    • While the nuts and coconut are toasting, mix all the remaining dry ingredients in a large bowl.
    • Once coconut and nuts are COMPLETELY cooled, add them to the dry ingredients and mix well.
    • Make a well in the dry ingredients, then add in the wet ingredients and mix well.
    • Allow dough to refrigerate for 15 minutes, then scoop dough onto lightly greased baking sheet and flatten.
    • Bake until golden brown approximately 10 minutes. Allow to cool.
    i think i am going to make another batch...and cheat on my raw diet a little on my day off of work :) we'll see. 

    enjoy the recipes! have a good one