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Constance
9th December 2015, 21:49
These looked so pretty and delectable, I just couldn't resist making them.

It then occurred to me that plant-based recipes that taste so so good are something to share with everyone here. :Party:

No-Bake Vegan Red Velvet Snowball Cookies

http://rawmazing.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/snowball.jpg


Sometimes you come across a recipe that just screams, “You need to make a healthy version of me because I am so cool!” That is exactly what happened when I laid my eyes on a picture of red-velvet snowball cookies, from Donna Hay magazine. I was struck by how beautiful and festive they are. But the originals were made with traditional cake ingredients which included white flour and a lot of sugar.


This lovely raw recipe version is made from almonds, coconut, raw cacao butter (for the white chocolate covering) and beets! Wait…beets? Yes, beets. You are going to have to trust me on this one. You do not taste beets in the final cookie. I put them through taste testing with beet haters (my daughter being one) and they all loved them. The crazy thing is that the texture of the cookies is similar to a cake ball.

A traditional red velvet cake has cocoa in it. I substituted cacao powder which inspired me to add mint. So now you have a chocolatey minty snowball covered in white chocolate and coconut. It worked.

http://www.rawmazing.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Snowball-Method.jpg




This recipe requires a little set-up time so plan accordingly. It takes a bit of time to melt the cacao butter in the dehydrator if you want to keep these as raw as possible. I think they are worth the time spent. After all, it is the holidays and holiday baking can be a fun project for the family.

http://www.rawmazing.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/DSC_6866.jpg


Recipe Notes
There are quite a few steps to this one so read the recipe carefully before starting.
Make sure you set aside time to melt the cacao butter. This can take more than an hour.
You will be making the shell first, then the cookies, and while they are cooling (to make the cacao butter thicken faster) you will be cooling down the cacao butter mixture. It is important that it thickens up a bit before you dip. If you over-chill it, just re-soften it in the dehydrator.
If you aren’t worried about the raw status, you can melt the cacao butter and coconut butter in a double boiler on the stove top.
Chop the cacao butter into fine pieces to speed up the melting.
These are over the top sweet. If you want them sweeter, just add coconut sugar.


No-Bake Vegan Red Velvet Snowballs
MAKES 40 COOKIES

White Chocolate Coating

1 cup melted raw cacao butter1/2 cup coconut butter, melted3 tablespoons maple syrup, room temperature10 drops food grade peppermint essential oil OR 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
Melt the cacao butter and coconut butter in the dehydrator at 118 degrees. This can take an hour so plan accordingly.Stir in maple syrup, peppermint essential oil OR peppermint extract.Set aside while you are making the cookie balls.
Cookie

1 medium beet, peeled and quartered2 cups almonds2 cups dried, unsweetened coconut2 tablespoons chia seeds1/4 cup cacao powder1/4 to 1/2 cup pure maple syrup15 drops food grade peppermint essential oil or 1 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
Place almonds in food processor and process until finely ground. You should have a very fine almond meal. Be careful not to go too far or you will start to make almond butter! Place in bowl and set aside. Place dried coconut in high-speed blender or food processor. Blend or process until a fine powder is achieved. Add to almond flour in bowl and stir to combine.Add chia seeds and cacao powder. Stir to combine. Place beets in food processor and pulse until very finely chopped. Add beets, maple syrup and peppermint to the dry mixture. Stir to combine.Form into 1- inch balls. Roll well to compact the dough.Place balls in freezer for about 15 minutes to chill. While the balls are in the freezer, you can put the cacao butter mixture in the refrigerator for 1-10 minutes to start to thicken it up. Make sure you keep a close eye on it and whisk often. If it gets too cold, soften it in the dehydrator.

To Make Cookies

1 1/2 cup dried, unsweetened coconut flakes
cacao butter mixture
cookie balls
Insert a toothpick into the cookie ball. Dip in cacao butter mixture 2-3 times to get the thickness of coating that you want.Sprinkle with coconut.Remove to cookie sheet to set. You can use the tine of the fork to cover over the little hole.
These should be refrigerated because of the beets. But can easily served at room temperature. They will hold their shape.
http://rawmazing.com/recipe/no-bake-vegan-red-velvet-snowball-cookies-raw/

Bon Appetite!

with much love,
Breal

p.s Beetroot is also another name for "beets". In Aussieland we call them beetroots...

Bingo
9th December 2015, 22:34
Brilliant Breal!! A perfect treat for the holidays...thank you.

Constance
10th December 2015, 05:44
This is the perfect comfort food for autumn/winter

This is my own recipe but I don't have a photo of it because summer is now upon us and I haven't made this for a while. The sweet potato adds a subtle sweetness to this dish.

Cumin, sweet potato and tomato curry


3 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp chilli flakes or fresh chilli
1 tablespoon of coconut oil to fry the cumin seeds, chilli and cabbage in
4 medium sized potatoes
1/2 medium sized sweet potato
1/4 of a cabbage - shredded
2 vegetable stock cubes - or salt to taste
spinach - 2 large handfuls
1 cup cashews
5 medium sized tomatoes
water

Method

Dice potatoes and sweet potato

set aside

Heat coconut oil in a deep based pot
Add the cumin seeds and chilli flakes and cook until fragrant.
Add the chopped cabbage. Allow to stir-fry for about 5 minutes.
Add the chopped potatoes and sweet potato
Chop the tomatoes and blend until they reach a smoothie type consistency. Add this mixture to the curry. Add enough water to cover all and add a splash more here and there if the curry looks like it is getting too thick whilst it is cooking. The sweet potato does tend to thicken a curry dish so stir frequently. Cook on a very low setting.

Cook until the potatoes are soft.

Blend the cashews with a small amount of water - just enough to make it liquid but not too runny. Add this to the dish. Allow the dish to thicken.
Add spinach about 10 minutes before serving and serve with rice

For variety or for added richness, you can add coconut milk instead of water...

Constance
10th December 2015, 06:41
Breal's Black gold ice cream

I've posted this on another thread but because I love it so much, I thought I would post it here too...

Ingredients:

125mls or half a cup of coconut nectar (you can replace this with any other liquid sweetener available to you ie rice syrup, agave nectar, maple syrup)

2 tablespoons of black sesame seed paste (black tahini)

1 cup of coconut milk (I make my own but if canned works for you, go for it)

1 tsp. vanilla powder (Or essence will do - for those who don't want alcohol in their vanilla, you can buy vanilla essence without alcohol)

Method:

For the coconut milk:

Make your coconut milk really thick - I used a ratio of 2 cups of shredded coconut to 3 cups of water and this comes out really creamy...
I use a high-speed blender so if you don't have one of those, the best option is to buy canned coconut milk.

Here is a recipe for making coconut milk

http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2013...dded-cocoonut/

Once you have the coconut milk ready, in a blender mix all the ingredients together. Pour ingredients into a container and freeze, remembering to mix every two hours

We make these into icy poles too for convenient eating.

http://www.justonecookbook.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Black-Sesame-Ice-Cream.jpg

Constance
10th December 2015, 06:48
For those who like their soups raw...and instant.

Cucumber, dill, avocado and black salt soup by Breal

2 cucumbers - chopped into small pieces
1 cup of finely chopped dill
1 avocado
black salt - to taste
1/2 cup chopped chives


Method

In a high-speed blender, add two cucumbers.
Blend on the highest speed.

When these are well blended, add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy

Pour into bowls and garnish with finely chopped chives

I'm starting to feel very hungry!

Constance
10th December 2015, 07:26
Breal's sour cream

This sour cream is so easy to make and goes well with everything. I put it on top of soups, sweet fruit and curries as a garnish. It took me quite a few months to perfect this so follow the instructions. It reaches its peak maturity in sourness after being about three days in the fridge and will keep for a couple of weeks. (If you can wait that long)

2 cups cashews soaked for at least four hours
1 cup water
5 probiotic capsules (vegetarian) or 2 teaspoons of vegetarian probiotic powder. The powder is not usually as concentrated as the capsules.

Method

Place water in the blender. Add the cashews.

Blend until smooth and then take out immediately and place in a stainless steel or glass bowl. Break open the capsules (or add the powder) and add to the mixture and mix well with a spoon.

Now cover the bowl with a tea towel and place in a warm, sheltered part of the house. In the warmer weather, leave it out overnight and then place it in a container that has an airtight lid and place in the fridge, in cooler weather, you can leave this mixture out for at least 24 hours before you refrigerate it.

32260

Constance
16th December 2015, 21:35
In honour of Meggings post here http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?30405-Here-and-Now...What-s-Happening&p=1030122&viewfull=1#post1030122

I am cross-posting and offer you my own version of home-made chocolate

It is a popular request amongst friends and I like a bit of it every now and then myself. ;)

200gm raw cacao powder
240g raw cacao butter
300ml of coconut sugar
handfuls of hazelnuts and almonds (don't ask me to get technical here, I just use a couple of handfuls of almonds and a couple of handfuls of hazelnuts)

optional extras: pistachios, goji berries, spirulina (don't get carried away with the spirulina - just a teaspoon if you like), berry powder

Smash into smaller pieces, hazelnuts and almonds. I use a meat tenderizer in a tea towel but I also have been known to use a mortar and pestle to do this. If you want smaller pieces, a food processor will also do.

Melt the raw cacao butter in a double boiler.

Whilst that is melting, sift your raw cacao powder and the coconut sugar. (you can skip this part if you like). Once the cacao butter has completely melted, add the raw coconut sugar whilst still on the cooktop and mix well.

I prefer to let the coconut sugar dissolve as much as possible but if you are too impatient, you don't have to. :evil:

Lastly, add the raw cacao powder into the mix and mix well.

Pour chocolate mixture into a warm bowl (I use the kitchens hot water and a stainless steel bowl to keep the bowl warm) and add the nut mixture. Mix well. At this stage, if you really like pistachios or other dried fruits, add these too. Grease with some coconut oil, a large baking dish or lasagna dish and pour the mixture into the dish. Flatten well and then place in the freezer for a couple of minutes to set slightly.
IMPORTANT! Do not forget about this stage or you will not be able to score the chocolate up into individual pieces.
I just had an idea. You could also spoon the mixture into large chocolate moulds or paper cupcake holders.

The finished product will look something like this

http://mnb.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/MNB-CHOC-SLICE2.jpg