Strawberry Shortcake, Deep Chocolate Cookies & Tahini Zuke Wraps

Eat me!

Oh my! Haha Just watched Wizard of Oz. No. Really. I've also been meaning to post about my new ~Yoga Room~ !! So, while I don't post daily, I do make food and run (pretty much daily). Let's start out with my morph of Ani Phyos Strawberry Shortcake and Strawberry Kream Pie (out of the new Ani's Raw Food Essentials). I try to stay away from raw desserts that are so heavy on nuts/seeds. But I needed to use some almond pulp, and I already have more raw bread than I need right now.
I used to love, love, crave, obsess over raw strawberry parfaits that were made with cashew cream. Then I realized the poison-ivy-on-my-lips reaction wasn't a look doing me any favors and I dropped a favorite dairy free dessert. Since then, I've used macadamia's, a delicious but pricey alternative. Now I use hazelnuts! If you'd never made raw 'cream.' I recommend using macadamia's or cashews so you get the absolute "OMG this is so good I'm gonna die" flavor.

Filling:
1 Cup Frozen/thawed Strawberries
Crust:
1 cup Medjool Dates
1 cup Almond Pulp (or meal)
 Pinch of salt
Cream:

1/2 cup Hazelnuts (soaked/drained)
1-3 Tbs Yacon Syrup (or substitute)

1 Tsp Coconut Oil
1 inch Vanilla Bean scraped (or 1 tsp extract)

1st,  the filling: I thawed some frozen strawberries purchased in town, but brought here from WA. It's not often I get really good organic 'big' strawberries, so I froze some. And, I'm out of those tiny cuties from the beach here. So, thaw, then slice.. frozen then thawed works great because you get this 'cooked' consistency and a natural 'sauce.'  Mash up 1/8 cup. Set aside.

2nd, the crust: I took 1 cup of leftover almond pulp from making milk and processed it with 1 cup of pitted soft medjool dates (mmmmm). Almost a cup. I ate two dates while processing. Whoops

3rd, I made Hazelnut Cream... blend soaked hazelnuts, 1 inch vanilla bean (scraped-or 1 tsp extract), 1 tsp coconut oil and 1 good squirt of Yacon syrup. If you wish to omit the oil, that's okay. I did it because it helps give a creamy consistency and when chilled, it's a firmer 'cream.'  Fun Fact: The pattern of amino acids present in hazels makes them a source of high quality protein (about 13 grams in every 100 gram serving).

Strawberry Madness!

Assembly:  press crust into tart dishes, small pie pan, or plate or individual serving dish. Spread mashed strawberries on top, then place sliced strawberries onto crust, then spoon the cream over the top. I garnished with sliced pear and a dusting of cocao powder.

Ani's recipe(s) calls for sweetener in the strawberries, 2 additional Tbs of sweetener on top, and chocolate fudge sauce. Also, for assembly, she puts the cream in first, and the strawberries on top.. which I do think would be pretty. I just looked at the individual recipes and modified them to my liking and threw it together. It actually tastes similar to cheesecake. So good! I might even save some for my sweetheart! I had to post two photos.. don't you want to make it now!?

Easy lil' Almond Pulp Chocolate Cookies

Next up, I needed to use the rest of that almond pulp! I took 1 cup of it, processed with 1/4 cup of dates (about 4) and 2 heaping tsp raw cocao and pressed the dough into little cookies on a dehydrator sheet. Dehydrated about 2 hours on mesh. Delicious, easy and nutritious!

And lastly, Ani Phyo's Apple Crepes. Basically, 1 cup chopped apple, 1/2 cup flax meal, 1 1/2 (she calls for 2) Tbs agave, 1/2 cup water or as needed. Blend until super smooth.
I used these wraps to try for an alternative to my old favorite coconut/banana/flax wraps, since I'm trying my dang hardest not to buy banana's here and coconuts are impossible to get unless I'm in Juneau and even then, um.. just how far did that coconut travel? Anything in Alaska usually comes a long way, period. How I love you state of Washington! 

So, I made Ani Phyos Tahini-Zucchini Wraps and of course, tweaked it 'cause I'm too cool for school. Ani's Lemon Tahini dressing is so good. I only had Santa Cruz Lime, so:
a squirt of lime, a squirt of braggs, a tsp of tahini and stir.

Tahini Zucchini Wraps

Now, I spread some dressing onto an apple crepe, added a few leaves of bebe spinach, julienned zuke, & ribboned red pepper. Rolled it up, and drizzled hot pepper oil (that I posted the recipe for somewhere on this blog). Yum! SO, good.

A Room of Her Own (get it Woolf Fans?)

And here is my Yoga Room. I've been meaning to go get fully into Crane pose (knees are higher, this is Crow-bakasana) and get the hubs to take a better photo, but it's way to cold to use the room. I've only used it twice. Once the stone flooring is in (we are scavenging for!), that should help regulate the temperature. It is downright blazin' in here during summer. Makes a great place to harden off seedlings. So excited to have a room for this! Before the wood flooring I had chairs and a mini library and plants... ahh.. and I love reading in here so much, I may put some of that back.. hmmmm so hard to decide. I can do both! By the way.. can you see those kick ass yoga socks I'm wearing? This talented artist Tinque, made them for me and I bet if you contact her, she'll make you a pair too! Amazing fiber artist!

Blah, Blah, Blah, what a long post! Running update; I post it all on daily mile sooo....this may turn into a strictly food blog? Nah...

Happy Lil' Carb Loader bars

Nummy

Mmmm.. oats craving. Still. So I made up these baked oat bars. I've messed with getting them right on and off for maybe a year.. And I found the secret! I think. It's grinding half the oats to a flour. Got the idea from the blueberry oats recipe!

Happy Lil' Carb Loader Bars

3 cups Old Fashioned Oats

1/2 cup melted Coconut oil

1/8 cup Honey

1/2 cup Apple juice

3-4 Dates

1/4 cup Pumpkin Seeds

1/4 cup Cranberries dried

1/8 cup Almonds

1/8 cup Raisins

2 tbs Ground flaxseed

1/8 cup chocolate chips (optional)

and a pinch of salt

Put da Lime in Da Coconut...

You can play around with the sugar for personal taste, i.e. yacon syrup, brown rice syrup, agave nectar, stevia, brown sugar, maple syrup etc. or just add more honey. I use fresh apple juice from a juicer, but I'm guessing but bottled will work. Or you could try apple sauce/pulp. You can also sub in almond butter/ peanut butter for the fruit and nuts. It's easy to play with. The only thing I've found is no matter what I sub in for the oil, it never works. So, *sigh* stuck with the oil.  But, if I have to have some fat, coconut oil is at the top of the list (personally). Besides, it's not much for 3 cups of oats!

How to:

Combine apple juice and flax, set aside. Take 1 1/2 cups of the oats, process until still coarse, but almost fine, not quite flour. In a food processor, combine all ingredients except oats, honey and oil. Pulse until uniform in size. In small pan, heat coconut oil and honey to melt into pouring consistency. In large mixing bowl, combine all 3 cups of oats, nut/fruit mixture and flax/juice mixture, stir. Then pour oil over the top and stir well. You should be able to press it together with your hands and it sticks like dry cookie dough. Press into lightly greased baking sheet (with rim). Press well. I used an 11 inch long pan and it doesn't quite fill it. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes until golden. It takes about 12 for me. Score lightly with pizza cutter once removed from the oven. Once cooled completely, cut the rest of the way through. Store airtight. Yummy!

Flax Cakes with Fruity Syrup

Raw Flax Cakes Berry Sauce & Gojis

Mmm.mmmmm MM! One of my favorite things to eat for breakfast. These are inspired by Ani Phyo's first recipe on Flax Pancakes. But, as I often do, I fit this recipe to fit my needs.

    1/2 cup golden flax (any will do, but golden tastes lighter in this)
    1 apple/1/2 avocado OR (1 banana-under ripe for mildest flavor)
    1 teaspoon Yacon (or Agave etc)
    1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
    1 tablespoon water, as needed

Just process it all and spoon into thick patties on a dehydrator tray. Dehydrate at 104 for 1 hour/ flip, 10-20 more minutes.

You can add cocao, other fruit, vanilla... get creative! Awesome way to get fiber and omegas. A really satisfying meal!

For the syrup: Process berries, maple syrup (or yacon etc.) until the consistency you desire. Add soaked goji's or sliced berries... etc. An alternative is just 'syrup' and vanilla. Get creative! Nutritious and Delicious!

Sundried Tomato Squares (raw 'bread')

It smells so good walking into my pantry in the morning when these are ready. They make fabulous slices of bread for open or closed faced sandwiches, or raw bruschetta or cut into small squares and pop them in the dehydrator for another couple hours and use as crackers.

Sundried Tomato Squares 
    1 cup sundried tomatoes, soaked and squeezed
    2 cups sprouted buckwheat (I sometimes sub part oat groats)
    1 cup sunflower seeds, soaked and drained
    1-2 cloves garlic
    3-4 tablespoons flax seeds, soaked to make a gel
    1 tomato or 3/4 cup grape tomatoes
    1-2 tablespoons olive oil
    1 teaspoon salt, optional
    1 teaspoon Herbs De provence


 Directions:
1. Blend it all in a blender or food processor until a thick paste.

2. Spread evenly onto dehydrator trays.

3. Dehydrate at 105-110 degrees F for 3 hours or so, then flip carefully, and leave them in another 5 hours (or lower temperature to 100 degrees F and finish overnight).

Store in airtight container. Although these will be eaten up quickly, they do last a long time, we're talkin' 2 months or more!

Makes: 10 servings, Preparation time: 10-15 minutes, Cooking time: 3-8 hours dehydrate