Strawberry Blueberry Cobbler (Raw, Vegan, Gluten-Free)

I made this for a workshop this past Saturday, and while technically, it should have served about 14 - 16 people, 6 of us devoured it. The workshop was a mix of people including vegetarians and omnis - I plan to make this again for an upcoming omni event.

Ingredients:

Crust:

2 cups pumpkin seeds

2 cups pecans

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

1 vanilla bean

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup pitted dates

Pudding Center:

2 cups blueberries

1 cup pitted dates

1/2 cup water

Fruit topping:

3 cups strawberries, sliced

Directions

1. To make the crust, place seeds, nuts, salt and vanilla bean in food processor fitted with an "S" Blade until the mixture becomes crumby.
2. Add olive oil and process again until the mix becomes dough like
3. Add dates slowly through top while processing
4. Cover the bottom of a 9"x13" pan allowing some of the dough to come up about 1/4" on the sides
5. To make the pudding center, blend berries, dates and enough water to make a thick syrupy mix. The pectin in the berries will make this gel like after it sets
6. Pour the blueberry pudding on top of the crust and spread evenly
7. Evenly distribute the strawberries on top of the pudding

"Deveining" Garlic

Most of us have read about all the benefits of garlic, and for me, I just love the taste. But sometimes raw garlic can have a bitter burn to it that no one in my family enjoys, including myself. I read this tip in a cookbook a while ago (can't remember which one) but the author stated if you pull the "vein" out of the garlic, yo get a milder flavor without that bitter bite. Some people also have a hard time with the digestion part of garlic - seems that without the vein you don't end up, umm... re-tasting your garlic all night, or at least in our house, none of us had that issue. Could it really be this little vein causing so much trouble?

So how to devein - it is really easy. Cut your clove in half, lengthwise (the picture above is so you can see the dark center where the vein is, but you cut it lengthwise to remove the vein), then just use the tip of a knife to pull the vein out. Typically it is a little darker in color than the rest of the clove, otherwise it is just that very center sprout. Use your garlic just like you would in the rest of the recipe, and maybe it will be a little more enjoyable, especially in raw dishes.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Chocolate Ganache (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

I was craving peanut butter and chocolate so whipped up this ice cream (and topped it with chocolate ganache) - it comes together very quickly and you can start enjoying it within about a half hour as long as you have the ice cream maker in the freezer.

ICE CREAM

Ingredients:

3 Cups Coconut Milk (either canned, or taking the water and meat of a young coconut to make your own coconut milk is fine)

1 Cup Peanut Butter

1 Cup Dates, pitted

2 tsp Vanilla extract (alcohol-free so the ice cream will freeze)

1/8 tsp Almond extract (alcohol-free)

Blend all ingredients together until smooth, then place in an ice cream freezer and follow the manufacturers directions.

GANACHE

Ingredients

1 Cup Coconut Milk

1 Cup Bittersweet Chocolate, chopped (or as chocolate chips)

2 tsp Vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place chocolate in a heat safe bowl.
2. Bring coconut milk to a boil, then remove from heat.
3. Pour the hot milk over the chocolate and let it stand for a moment to allow the chocolate to soften.
4. Whisk chocolate and coconut milk together until smooth.
5. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
6. Warm and use like hot fudge over ice cream.

Chocolate Coconut Brownies (Raw, Vegan, Gluten-Free)

I have made these brownies for the last few potlucks I have gone to - and even omnivores love them. I have yet to bring home any leftovers.

Makes 24 brownies (depending on how you cut them)

Ingredients:

1 cup raw walnuts

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup raw pecans

1 vanilla bean

1 tsp sea salt

1 cup raw cacao powder

1 cup dehydrated coconut flake

3 cups fresh dates, pitted

2 Tbs coconut oil

Directions:

1. Process nuts, vanilla bean and salt in a food processor fitted with the "S" blade until nuts are powder.
2. Add cacao powder and pulse to incorporate
3. Add coconut flake and pulse to incorporate.
4. Add dates and coconut oil and pulse until mixture starts to form a dough ball.
5. Press into a 9"x13" pan and let set in the refrigerator for about an hour.
6. Cut into squares and enjoy!

Tie Dye

My camera battery needed charging so I didn't get any pictures of our process, (just the final product) but as a fun homeschool project we recently did a single color tie-dye. I also learned that there are a lot of people out there who have never experimented with coloring fabric on their own.

My son picked the color - purple, lavender and pink are currently his favorites so we went for purple. We picked a onesie for his sibling we will meet this summer, and a shirt for him so we could make them matching shirts. Of course, with tie-dye, there is no such thing as tie dye.

1. To make a circular, almost web pattern, I took the center of the t-shirt, poked my finger through so there was a bit of fabric to twist, then wrapped a rubber band around that area. I did the same thing to the onesie.
2. Anywhere we want the white of the shirt to show is where we added rubber bands. This is a great exercise for finger dexterity and prepping for other fine motor skills.
3. Continue wrapping rubber bands around the shirts until you get a "tube" of shirt - keeping in mind that all the white areas you see will be colored with the dye.
4. We used Rit dye and the washing machine method.
5. Submerse all the material to be dyed in very hot water so it is completely wet.
6. We took a packet of dye, added it to the machine, then added all the clothing to be colored to the machine and let it sit for the recommended 30 minutes for more vibrant colors.
7. Once the color process is complete, you can then either hang the clothing to dry or put it in the dryer.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake (Gluten Free, Vegan)

I have been craving Pineapple Upside down cake for the last few days, so finally decided I needed to take a stab at it. I did got he easy way here and bought a Pamela's Vanilla Cake Mix - I just didn't have the various GF flours to make a good cake batter, so here is my alteration to make this cake mix into an awesome cake!

Ingredients:

Cake

1/4 cup coconut oil

Egg replacer for 3 eggs

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 bag Pamela's Classic Vanilla Cake Mix

2/3 cup pineapple juice (reserved from pineapple rings)

Topping

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup coconut oil

1 can pineapple slices in water (10 slices)

10 cherries without stems (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°.
2. Melt coconut oil (if solid) in a 9-inch x 13-inch pan in preheated oven.
3. When melted, remove pan and sprinkle brown sugar over oil.
4. Place pineapple slices side by side in top.
5. Place cherries in the centers of the pineapple rings.
6. Whisk egg replacer in a large bowl until frothy.
7. Add coconut oil and whisk until incorporated.
8. Add almond extract.
9. Mix cake mix into the oil/egg replacer mixture.
10. Add pineapple juice and mix until incorporated - in a mixer, turn on med for about 60 seconds.
11. Spoon cake mix evenly over pineapple rings and cherries - do not pour or you will likely make the rings move around in the pan.
12. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
13. Let stand for 5 minutes then invert cake onto plate.
14. Spoon any remaining syrup from pan over cake.

Of course, after I made this, I realized as a kid, my mom used to put pecans in the topping as well because my dad loves pecans. I was going to do this too and completely forgot until I had already put the batter over the pineapple, so maybe next time there will be a few pecans in our topping.

Vegan GF Monster Cookies

This is a revamped recipe from this cookie recipe. The differences make for a coconutty, chewy cookie that is not too sweet.

Ingredients:

4 Tbls flax seed

2/3 cup water

1/2 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1 cup peanut butter

2 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup rice flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups oatmeal

1 cup chocolate chips

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Grind the flax seed in a spice grinder
3. In a large bowl, combine the flax seed meal and water and beat until frothy
4. Add oils, peanut butter and vanilla. Add sugar and brown sugar.
5. In a separate bowl, combine flours, baking soda and salt. (No need to sift)
6. Combine with oil mixture.
7. Stir in the oatmeal and chocolate chips until well combined.
8. Drop by spoonfuls onto a baking sheet.
9. Bake for 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.