Monthly Archives: August 2017

Cranberry Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Posted on by


Cranberry Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • Servings: 3 dozen
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Source: adapted from the BakerbyNature
  • Print

When it's time to bring out the china you love and use it on yourself!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup coconut oil, solid (be sure it is not meled at all)
  • 2 – 1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed tight
  • 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup thickened coconut milk, skimmed from the top of a can of full fat coconut milk that has been refrigerated until firm. Do not discard liquid.
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 4-12/ cups all=purpose flour (be sure not to pack your flour)
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 bag vegan mini chocolate chips
  • 2 cups walnuts, chopped
  • 1-1/2 cups unsweetened dry cranberries

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper, set aside.
  2. In a large bowl whisk together the coconut oil, brown sugar, and vanilla, beating until well combined. Add in the coconut milk and applesauce and whisk until well combined; set aside. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; whisk well.
  3. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and blend until there are not traces of flour remaining.
  4. Fold in chocolate chips, walnuts and cranberries and mix until blended throughout.
  5. Using a medium size stainless steel ice cream scoop drop 8 mounds onto each tray and lightly moisten your fingers with the leftover liquid from the can of coconut milk, and flatten each cookie prior to baking.
  6. Bake one tray at a time for 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and completely cool before serving.

Today is my birthday! So I celebrated with cookies and tea by the pool before capturing this shot. Hope you enjoy!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Avocado Pudding

Posted on by


Chocolate Peanut Butter Avocado Pudding

  • Servings: 6
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Yummy little half pints to keep onhand in the refrigerator for snack time or a quick treat for unexpected company.

Chocolate Avocado Pudding

  • 2 very ripe Hass avocados
  • 1/8 cup fresh almond milk
  • 3 tablespoons raw cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
  • 1/8 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt
  • 2 ounces vegan bittersweet chocolate chips, melted
  • 1/8 cup agave
  • 3 tablespoons coconunt oil

Directions

  1. In a 2-cup glass measuring cup… add the almond milk and vegan chocloate chips and process in the micorowave for approximately 25 to 40 seconds, or until melted, depending on the temperature of your microwave. Do this in small increments, and only until chips are softened enough to blend.
  2. Cut avocados in half and remove the pit. Place avocados in the blender and process until smooth.
  3. Add cooled chocolate milk from step 2 along with, cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, agave and coconut oil to blender and blend until fully combined and smooth.
  4. Pour mixture into 4oz mason jars, leaving room for Peanut Butter Sauce and Whipped Topping, cap and chill completely.

Peanut Butter Sauce

  • 1/4 cup organic peanut butter
  • 1/2 tsp lucuma powder (may be ommited)
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
  • a bit of maple syrup, to slightly sweeten
  • a splash of almond milk, if needed to perfect consistency
  • So Delicious CocoWhip (

Directions

  1. Before serving, add a scoop of CocoWhip to chilled pudding.
  2. Drizzle Peanut Butter Sauce over CocoWhip and serve immediately.

Papaya Fruit Bowl

Posted on by


Papaya Fruit Bowl

  • Servings: 1-4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Use any assortment of colorful fruit. The brighter the better. Don't forget to add a touch of green. So beautiful and so delicious!

Ingredients

  • 1 small papaya, split in half
  • 1 dragonfruit, split in half
  • 5 strawberries, 3 chopped, 2 split in half
  • 1/2 fresh mango, sliced and chopped (reserved 2 slices not chopped)
  • raw coconut flakes, grated
  • 1/4 cup chocolate covered goji berries
  • 1 scoop “So Delicious” coconut whipped cream
  • 2 sprigs fresh spearmint
  • 1 sprig fresh chocolate mint
  • 2 slices fresh lime

Directions

  1. Place 1/2 papaya on serving platter to serve as a fruit bowl. Leave intact. Fill this half with 2 slices of dragonfruit and a mixture of chopped fruit (mango, strawberries, and additional papaya)
  2. Trim the bottom of one-half section dragonfruit so it fits flat on your serving platter.
  3. Randomly place remaining chopped fruit pieces throughout the platter.
  4. Sprinkle entire display with grated coconut throughout, but do not sprinkle on dragonfruit bowl. You want the color to shine through.
  5. Sporadically drop goji berries around the plate.
  6. Scoop coconut whipped cream onto platter or onto a serving vessel of your choice. I used fresh clean store-bought shells throughout the platter.
  7. Add lime slices anywhere you like, to fill the gaps.
  8. Top it all off with inserted sprigs of fresh spearmint and chocolate mint.
  9. Take some pictures to show your friends… and then devour!

If desired drizzle additional lime wedges over the fruit to preserve color.

My Favorite White Vegan Gravy

Posted on by

My Favorite White Vegan Gravy

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

I use this gravy to pour over vegan biscuits for a breakfast treat of biscuits and gravy. Something I hadn't enjoyed since being a small child. It is so yummy!


Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 small to medium onion, diced
  • 1/2 tsp poultry season
  • 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
  • 1/2 tsp white pepper
  • 1/2 black pepper
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1-1/2 cups almond milk
  • 2 T all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup pecan pieces
  • Gravy Master, see item 8 below
  • Worcestershire Sauce, see item 8 below

Directions

  1. Add coconut oil and onions to a large skillet and cook over medium heat until onions are tender.
  2. Whisk in seasonings and cook just until quickly blended.
  3. Add almond milk to the pan stirring constantly until well blended.
  4. Using a 1/2 cup measuring cup scoop out some hot liquid and blend the flour into the liquid to create a thick paste. Add the paste back into the gravy in stages, blending as you go.
  5. Watch for consistency after reheating and add additional almond milk if a thinner version is desired, or make an additional paste for a thicker consistency.
  6. Add the pecan pieces once the desired thickness has been achieved.
  7. Adjust the seasoning to suit your taste.
  8. Optional, a dribble of Gravy Master or Vegan Worcestershire Sauce may be added for additional color, if desire.

Pour this gravy over toast, waffles, pancakes or biscuits for a yummy breakfast treat!

 

Sriracha Tartar Sauce

Posted on by

Sriracha Tartar Sauce

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Serve over Artichoke Crab Cakes, or anything you enjoy with tartar sauce.


Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons Sriracha
  • 1 tablespoon juice from a jar of capers
  • 1 to 2 drops Lemon essential oil, or 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

Directions

Add all ingredients to blender and blend smooth.

 

My Peach Cobbler

Posted on by

My Peach Cobbler

  • Servings: 1
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

When you have a stash of vegan biscuits on hand and you need to figure out what to do with the leftover... get CREATIVE!

Ingredients

  • 1 vegan biscuit, sliced and heated [recipe pending]
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons vegan butter
  • 1 peach, unpeeled, sliced
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
  • 1 handful walnut pieces
  • 3 to 4 teaspoons maple syrup
  • 1 container coconut whipped cream

Directions

  1. Split and butter biscuit, then heat in toaster oven until desired crispness.
  2. In the meantime, using a small microwave safe plate, sprinkle peach slices with cinnamon and sugar and heat for 35 seconds.
  3. Re-plate biscuit and peaches to serving dish and cover with walnuts, maple syrup and sporadically placed whipped cream.

Oh yum!!!

Heart Shaped Cheese & Fruit

Posted on by


[recipe title=”Heart Shaped Cheese & Fruit” servings=”1″ time=”20 minutes” difficulty=”easy” description=”Breakfast for quiet morning in the Butterfly Garden.”]

Ingredients

  • 1 slice vegan Smoke Gouda Cheese, trimmed heart-shaped
  • 1 slice fresh organic mango, trimmed heart-shaped
  • 1 handful chopped walnuts
  • 4 organic strawberry, sliced
  • 16 fresh orgainc blueberries
  • 1 canister coconut whipped topping
  • cinnamon powder to sprinkle
  • maple syrup to drizzle

Directions

  1. Place the gouda cheese on the center of the platter
  2. Add 1 blueberry on the cheese to support the sliced mango
  3. Place fruit all around, drop walnuts sporadically, spray mounds of coconut whipped cream wherever you want it, sprinkle with cinnamon and drizzle the whole thing with maple syrup.

Bet you eat the whole dang thing!
[/recipe]

Raspberry Amaretto & Coconut Sauce

Posted on by


[recipe title=”Raspberry Amaretto & Coconut Sauce” servings=”4″ time=”20 minutes” difficulty=”easy” description=”Used with Raw Key Lime Cheesecake recipe.”]

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup frozen Raspberries
  • 1/4-1/2 cup Agave (sweeten to taste)
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla Paste
  • 1/4 cup sliced Almonds (raw)
  • 1/4 cup ground coconut flakes
  • 1/8 tsp. Himalayan Pink Salt
  • Juice of 1 whole lemon, or 2 drops lemon essential oil
  • 1 T. Vitacherry Powder (raw, purchased from nuts.com)
  • 1/2 cup Amaretto Liqueur

Directions

1/ Blend all ingredients until perfectly smooth. I used a Nutri-Bullet for this step, but any good blender would do. Because I did not blend & drain the raspberries separately you need to blend extra long to get the seeds to a nice consistency.

[/recipe]

Raspberry Black Sambuca Sauce

Posted on by


[recipe title=”Raspberry Black Sambuca Sauce” servings=”4″ time=”20 minutes” difficulty=”easy” description=”Used with Dragonfruit and Strawberry Cheesecake recipe.”]

Ingredients

  • 3/4 pint fresh organic raspberries
  • 1/4 cup agave, or to taste
  • 1/4 cup Black Sambuca

Directions

  1. Puree raspberries with agave, to taste
  2. Add Black Sambuca
  3. Strain sauce over plates to form a decorative layer, or use to serve in a dipping tray.

[/recipe]

Ranch Dipping Sauce

Posted on by

[recipe title=”Ranch Dipping Sauce” servings=”4-6″ time=”20 minutes” difficulty=”easy” description=”Use this yummy ranch dipping sauce for Buffalo Cauliflower Bites, Wrap Sandwiches, and to top off our Buffalo Cauliflower Sandwiches. No matter how you use it, it works!”]

Ingredients

  • 1/2 C vegan mayo
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp dill
  • 1 tbsp parsley
  • 1 tbsp chives
  • 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

  1. In a bowl whisk all the ingredients together.
  2. Refrigerate until ready for use.

[/recipe]

Spaghetti & Wheatballs

Posted on by

[recipe title=”Spaghetti & Wheatballs” servings=”4-6″ time=”40 minutes” difficulty=”easy” description=”Serve this dish with homemade parmesan cheese and sprinkled with pine nuts for a yummy, yummy Itanlian feast. Use ciabatta bread spread with a homemade blend of Earth Balance butter and fresh minced elephant garlic and toasted golden brown. Wow! The scent of success!”]Source: JazzyVegetarian.com

Ingredients

  • 1⅓ cups lightly packed, fresh, soft whole-grain bread crumbs (about 3 to 4 large slices – must be fresh!) (see note)
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts
  • 2 cups chopped mushrooms
  • ½ cup diced onion
  • ¾ pound organic spaghetti (see note)
  • 3 cups prepared vegan marinara sauce or your own homemade sauce

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Line a medium baking pan with unbleached parchment paper.
  3. Put the bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and salt in a large bowl.
  4. Put the walnuts in a blender, and pulse to process into coarse crumbs.
  5. Add the walnuts to the bread crumbs and stir gently to incorporate.
  6. Put the mushrooms and onion in a blender, and process to a chunky purée.
  7. Add the mushroom mixture to the walnut–bread crumb mixture and stir to incorporate.
  8. Spoon out about 1½ tablespoons of the mushroom mixture and roll it into a ball. Gently squeeze it together, to make sure it is compact and will hold together while baking. Continue in this way with the remaining mushroom mixture. Arrange the wheatballs on the lined baking pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Gently rotate each wheatball and bake for 12 to 20 minutes more, or until they are firm, crisp and golden.
  9. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but firm. Drain the spaghetti well.
  10. Meanwhile, pour the marinara sauce in a medium sauce pan. Bring the sauce to a simmer over medium-low heat. Gently add the wheatballs to the sauce, one at a time, cover, and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes.
  11. To serve, put one-quarter of the spaghetti into each of four pasta bowls, and top with three or four wheatballs. Ladle marinara sauce over the top and serve immediately.
    12. Chef’s Note: To make fresh bread crumbs, put 3 to 4 slices of wholegrain bread in a blender and process into coarse crumbs.

[/recipe]

Honey Shriacha Lime Dressing

Posted on by

2015-05-28 12.50.45[recipe title=”Honey Shriacha Lime Dressing” servings=”4″ time=”20 minutes” difficulty=”easy” description=”Wednesday’s, in Key West, was a girl’s day to talk essential oils, recipes, life lessons, health, work and anything else that crossed our minds. It was time spent baby-sitting the most precious little rabbit, Gable, while feeding him orchid flowers and colorful blooms from the bougainvillea tree. Mama Maggie believed it was carrots that Gable considered crack but let me tell you he enjoyed his orchid/bougainvillea petals as much as we did our salads, hibiscus tea and wonderful conversations.”]

Ingredients

  • 3 TBSP fresh lime juice [lemon works too!]
  • 4-5 TBSP white vinegar
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 TBSP honey
  • 1 TBSP sugar
  • 1 large clove garlic, pressed/smashed + minced
  • 1 tsp Sriracha chili sauce, plus extra to taste
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Directions

    1. If using lemons instead of lime, one extra large lemon should yield enough juice. When using limes, count on having two handy just in case, since they’re usually smaller and yield less juice. 2. As mentioned above, lemon juice is a delicious substitution if you don’t have a lime handy; I’ve made this dressing both ways and it’s simply glorious! You may also swap rice vinegar for the white vinegar if you have it! Though I used olive oil in my dressing, feel free to try it with avocado or grape seed oil for an equally healthy swap!
  1. Roll your lime [or lemon!] on the countertop to help release the juices, then slice and squeeze into a small bowl. Measure out 3 TBSP and set aside.
  2. Combine citrus juice with vinegar, oil, honey, sugar, garlic, Sriracha, and salt and whisk to incorporate.
  3. Enjoy!

[/recipe]

Roasted Red Peppers Stuffed with Pearled Couscous

Posted on by

[recipe title=”Roasted Red Peppers Stuffed with Pearled Coucous” servings=”4″ ” time=”45 minutes” difficulty=”easy” description=”A few years ago my friend E.j. and I celebrated my birthday at Latitudes in Key West. I asked our waiter if there was a Chef’s Choice on a vegan meal. What he brought was beyond expectation. This is a copy-cat version of a lunch never forgotten. I came about as close to perfecting his dish as humanly possible. This is OMGod insanely delicious!”]

Ingredients

  • Split 2 red peppers in half and scoop out the seeds and trim the white flesh. Lightly coat with olive oil. Roast in a toaster over/oven at 400 degrees for approx. 30 minutes… checking about 20 minutes in to make certain you are not overcooking.
  • In the meantime prepare the stuffing below and then fill the cooked peppers with the coucous blend and serve with wedges of fresh lemon, and sprigs of fresh basil on the side.
    • To make the Stuffing
  • 1 box Garlic & Olive Oil Pearled Coucous…cooked in the rice cooker with
  • 1-3/4 cup veggie broth
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • and the seasoning package that comes with the coucous.
  • While the coucous cooks dry cook 1 small container baby bella mushrooms (chopped) in a sautee pan with no oil.
  • In a separate pan sautee the following veggies in olive oil.
  • 1/2 onion (diced)
  • 1 clove elephant garlic (minced )
  • 1/2 zucchini (diced)
  • Add the dry cooked baby bellas to the onion/zucchini mix along with salt, pepper, and about 1 tsp cumin powder. Blend and keep warm.
  • Microwave 1 handful broccoli florets in a glass lid with a tad of water for 35 seconds to retain the dark green color and partially cook the broccoli.
  • Add the broccoli to the onion/zucchini mix, along with 2 campari tomatoes (diced) and keep heated.
  • De-stem 1 cup fresh spinach and add to the onion/zucchini mix and cook until wilted.
  • Add the cooked coucous to this blend.

[/recipe]

Chocolate Sambuca Cookies

Posted on by

[recipe title=”Chocolate Sambuca Cookies” servings=”30 cookies” time=”30 minutes” difficulty=”easy” description=”Back in the day I would bake a non-vegan version of these cookies and gift to friends at Christmas. Then it began to bother me knowing the impact animal fat and dairy was having on their health, so I stopped. Today I decided to create a vegan version… and it pushes all the right buttons for me!”]

Ingredients

  • 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup raw cocoa powder
  • 1 cup Black Sambuca
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup almond milk
  • 2 tsp ground golden flax seed
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp vanilla bean paste
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Add the first 5 ingredients to a large mixing bowl and blend to incorporate raw cocoa and flour.
  3. Put the next 6 ingredients into a Vita-Mix or heavy duty blender and blend until flax seeds are well broken down and everything is blended smooth. Let the liquid sit for a couple of minutes while you chop the walnuts.
  4. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry mix and blend before adding the chopped nuts.
  5. Drop cookie batter onto parchment lined cookie sheets and flatten slightly by dipping your fingertips into a very small amount of additional almond milk (just enough to wet your fingertips).
  6. Add additional chopped walnut pieces to decorate flattened cookies before baking, if desired.

[/recipe]