this is what's up

truffles.
equal parts:
-honey (or agave)
-almond/peanut butter
-cocoa powder

ok, a little extra cocoa powder.
put mix in fridge. then, after some time, roll.
in: coconut, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, walnuts, and cacao nibs

keep in fridge. devour.

restaurant review - cru

Back in LA.. I visited Juicy Ladies in Woodland Hills and got a piece of truffle cake that lasted me 4 days. Ok 3 days. Ok.. 2 1/2 days. All girls exaggerate.

This amazing treat made by Cru contains: organic raw cocoa powder, organic raw agave nectar, organic raw coconut butter, organic raw almonds, organic spices, and Celtic sea salt.

Sorry it's not a full restaurant review - I didn't actually get to go to the restaurant. Maybe next time I'm in LA.. I'll try anyway. Not much left to say... Was it as good as it looks? Yup.

it feels like fall buckwheat cookies

Perfectly sweet and soft.. and healthy.. and vegan, and gluten free and sugar free.. these cookies are easy to make and rock.
They just do.
This recipe was inspired by the Spunky Coconut's chocolate chip cookies.

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup grapeseed oil
3 tbsp ground flax meal
1/2 tsp xanthum gum
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 pinch stevia
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup almond flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup carob chips (or chocolate chips)
1/3 cup raisins

Oven! 350.
Mix all the wet ingredients with an electric mixer (I just used an immersion blender.)
Then add the wet ingredients into the premixed bowl of dry ingredients and whip!
Lastly, mix in the carob chips and the raisins.

Use wet fingers to roll the dough and flatten into a cookie shape on parchment covered baking sheets. I kept a little bowl of water on the counter and had to wet my hands after making each cookie. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

I'm not sure how many cookies this really makes.. because I ate so much of the cookie dough. It was so good!!

unholy doughnuts

These vegan, gluten free, and healthy (size and ingredient-wise) little doughnut bites are a combination of the Whole Life Nutrition's ginger cookies with Elana's Pantry's chocolate frosting. They really taste like little doughnuts! (not as fluffy as the regular bars as I recall, but more dense - like the old fashion ones)

The cookie/doughnut base. Oven! 350.

15 medjool dates, pitted (soaked for 15 minutes in boiling water)
1/4 cup date soaking water
6 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp maple syrup (or honey.. I used maple syrup this time)
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/4-1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
few pinches of salt

Place the dates into a bowl and pour boiling water over to cover. Soak for 15 minutes.
Drain (and save the water) and place soaked dates into a food processor and add the coconut oil, soaking water, syrup, and vanilla. Process until smooth.

Mix the dry ingredients in a different bowl and whisk together. Add the dry ingredients to the food processor and process until just combined.

Roll into small balls and place on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper (optional). It helps to have a small bowl of water to wet your hands with as you make the balls, because the batter is quite sticky! Then use your hands or a bottom of a cup to flatten each cookie.

Bake for 11-14 mintues. (Whole Life Nutrition said it makes 16 cookies, but I made small cookies, and I got 30 out of it.)


Ready for the frosting!? This is what really makes it a doughnut and not just a cookie.

1 cup dark chocolate chips (I used enjoy life's chocolate chips)
1/2 cup grape seed oil
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp vanilla
pinch of sea salt

In a small saucepan, over very low heat, melt chocolate and oil. Then stir in the honey vanilla and salt. Place frosting in freezer for 15 minutes to chill and thicken. Remove from freezer and whip frosting with a hand blender until it is thick and fluffy. Now.. frost things!

Enjoy! (and refrigerate) If you're like me - this will be your first doughnut in a long long time.

dinner tonight

1. Peach guacamole + rice chips, salmon burger + tomato and red onion, on arugula and other salad greens, and some perfectly ripe, you-can-smell-it-through-the-rind-cantaloupe.
-The Guac = 2 avocados, 1 tomato - seeded and diced, 1/2 yellow onion - diced, a few cloves of garlic - minced, fresh cilantro - chopped, lime and lemon juice, salt
-The Salmon burger (is store bought! AH! shoot me. It wasn't very good.. I learned my lesson.. I was just so curious!)

2. Mushrooms + olive oil + rosemary + garlic, all in some foil and put on the grill :) yummy

3. Local strawberries + dark dark chocolate.

cleveland cousins & calico balls

I wrote about this dessert before, but here it is again.. I've made it a lot since the last time I posted the trinity truffle recipe. Here's a photo of one about 1.5" in diameter, along with my two cousins enjoying them. I put them in the freezer instead of the fridge, because we wanted them to be ready to eat faster - but then they got too hard, and we had no patience to let them soften up a little before we started into them.

So! Here's the recipe again.. but a little different.. as usual.

1 cup honey (or agave)
1 cup cocoa powder
1.5 cup almond butter
1/4 cup shredded coconut
extra coconut in a bowl for covering the outside

Mix! You'll need to call upon those muscles for this. Then roll into the size that suits your taste, and roll in extra shredded coconut. I put each one in a paper muffin wrapper, then put them on a plate in the fridge. (if you're in a rush, put them in the freezer - but then leave a few minutes before serving them so they're not too hard!)

a main squeeze date

I met my friend Jeni at Main Squeeze for a date this morning :) It's probably my favorite place to eat in town. Outside of my apartment.. well.. maybe more - I don't have to do any dishes there...

We got:
a wheat grass shot.. why we don't plan wheat grass on our lawns, I don't understand.
a calico ball.. made of cocoa, peanut butter, and honey, and rolled in coconut shavings. the original trinity truffle.
a ginger tonic.. a juice made of apple, celery, lemon, and ginger
&
a berry berry good smoothie.. made from grape juice, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries

ta ta for now :)

passover in los angeles

The farmer's market in my hometown in southern California can't be compared to the farmer's market of my current address in Missouri.. beautiful artichokes, 6 different kinds of oranges at one stand and strawberries as big as my hand.. in March. Ah.. at least there's no traffic in Missouri. 1 point...

Here are the vegan macaroons I made for both Seders my family hosted.. they couldn't compete with all the other sugar-y, egg and gluten-full desserts people brought to share.. So I ate most of them :) I was ok with that. Especially when I dipped them in dark chocolate :)

You need:
bananas, dates, and shredded coconut.. you can also add cocoa powder and vanilla extract..
Taste as you go.. don't worry about adding too much coconut.. you can't :)

Blend all ingredients then put into a cake decorating bag, with a large star tip. Then squeeze and twist for the perfect macaroon shape :) Bake at 350 for 20 minutes to so they are dry to the touch and let them sit out to cool all the way through.
Dip in dark chocolate for an extra treat.

Happy Passover! May you all be reclining and enjoying the company of your family..

last minute dinner parties & vegan chocolate mousse

I invited a friend and she invited a friend and then he invited a friend.. and before I knew it there were 6 people coming! This is a big deal in my tiny attic apartment. We had such a healthy meal - totally put together at the last minute. (besides the vegan mousse.. mmmmm. which I will get to at the end). We roasted a couple spaghetti squash. One probably would've been enough, but I'm enjoying the leftovers. I made some couscous (for my guests.. just in case there wasn't enough food)! There was sauteed zucchini, onion, and red bell pepper with lemon pepper and salt, and another pan full of sauteed mushrooms, kale, and garlic. We also baked some ocean perch in olive oil and lemon juice.. Besides the couscous - it was a hunt + gather dinner party :) Which is getting to be easier and easier as I become more comfortable with the ingredients.
Now for dessert.. the only part I made in advance. This recipe is a take on the Spunky Coconut's pudding.

The Spunky Coconut says, "A word about this pudding: It is so healthy. I made this video about the ingredients in this pudding, which are full of essential fatty acids, omega 3 & 6, plus protein, iron, zinc, magnesium, and antioxidants. Raw-inspired & vegan to boot :-)"

Allergic Hedonist style:

1 can organic coconut milk (not "light")

1/2 cup water

3 tbsp chia seeds

3 tbsp hemp seeds

3 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 a banana (or a full one.. I only had 1/2 a banana left)
2 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

Puree.

Refrigerate about 8 hours (or more). The last two hours I moved it to the freezer.

Then puree it again.. (I added vegan chocolate chips to this part.. for a little extra chocolate and sweetness)

I need to make this again so I can take a nicer photo... or so I can eat it again :) Enjoy!

trinity truffles

I always get the "calico balls" for dessert at Main Squeeze.. a local health food cafe.. but it's still too cold for a fun walk downtown, so I decided to try to make them myself. These are super rich, simple, and disappear very very quickly.

Ingredients (makes only three 1.5" balls.. make more at your own risk!)
2 heaping tbsp of almond butter (Main Squeeze uses peanut butter, which is delicious also)
1 tbsp honey (I used a thick, raw honey)
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp shredded coconut
topping - I used cocoa powder.. but you can use anything you want here.. coconut shreds, ground flax seeds, sesame seeds.. I'm sure you're thinking of something.

Mix mix mix.. then form into balls. Here's what I should've done. PUT THEM IN THE FRIDGE! to harden up a bit. Otherwise, they're really soft and light, and GONE before you know it. A harder truffle would make for something a little more resistant for your teeth.

gluten free, vegan, chocolate chunk cookies!

Guess I wasn't done making things from scratch tonight.. It's almost time to go out salsa dancing, and I'm blogging about cookies! For all you gluten free, egg free, dairy free, sugar free people.. I hope you love these :) They are so yummy and easy.. and you probably already have everything you need.

Oven! 350.

1 cup almond flour (from scratch or store bought - I just put almonds into a coffee grinder)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
3 tbsp grape seed oil (or coconut oil)
1/4 cup honey (or agave, or something else..)
1 oz of chocolate of your choice, chopped into small chunks

Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet in the other, then combine.
Make 1/2" to 1" balls on a parchment covered baking sheet, then squish them down a little bit.
Bake for 8 minutes.
Let them cool. I like to do the dishes when they are baking and cooling.. then I'm not too tempted to just try one and probably burn myself.

Enjoy!

ÄNABAR II (jocalat version)

I just took this photo 3 minutes ago, and there are 3 left on the plate :( I went onto the LÄRABAR website and decided to create my own version of the German Chocolate Cake Jôcolat Bar. I've actually never had one.. but I thought it couldn't be so far off because they gave me the list of ingredients :) So here's my version:

4 big dates
1/3 cup walnuts
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
1 oz unsweetened chocolate (dagoba has organic 100% baking chocolate)
1 tbsp cocoa powder (I just got some serious stuff from Penzey's.. a super fun spice shop)

Blend in a food processor, or whatever you use. Blend some more.. until all the ingredients are sticking. Then mold onto some parchment paper into a 1/4"-1/2" slab.
For some reason I baked mine for 20 minutes at 200 degrees.. then realized that I put coconut oil in there.. duh. So I took it out and popped it in the freezer.. until I couldn't stand it any longer. They stayed together the colder they were.. but I have to say taking a taste when it was all melty was pretty awesome.

Serves: depends.. on your self control.

got fiber? a different kind of cupcake.

Oops! this blog looks just like the last - but - it's different. This cupcake is made out of ... drum roll.. .. .. beans! I made a huge batch of beans a while ago, and they were hanging out in the fridge, then I remembered a cupcake recipe from the Healthy Indulgences blog that called for beans (I changed it, of course).

Here we go. Oven! 350. Makes about 14 mini cupcakes.. I make cupcakes in VERY small batches. Just in case I don't get around to bringing them to my friends.. sorry guys! There are 7 left of this batch if you read this, NOW. Oh dear, that means I already ate 7. ug. But - it's OK! because they're made out of beans!

Take 2. Oven! 350.
1/2 cup cooked beans (I had black.. but I doubt it matters)
2 "eggs" - use eggs if your body wants you to, but I used: 3 tsp of egg replacer mixed with 1/4 cup of warm water, as well as 1 tsp of ground flax seed. But the flax seed was probably unnecessary.
2 tbsp coconut oil (melted)
1/4 cup brown rice syrup (use honey if you want it sweeter)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 tbsp packed coconut flour
1 heaping tbsp cocoa powder (it's all I had left in my house - don't be afraid to add more!)
1 pinch salt
1 pinch baking soda
1/4 heaping tsp baking powder

In your food processor, blend beans with the "eggs," vanilla and almond extract, brown rice syrup, and salt.
Then mix in the melted coconut oil
Add the coconut flour, baking soda, and baking powder..

Fill the mini cupcake molds with batter about 3/4 full. I don't recommend cupcake liners. I just got some because I was curious - but they are so unnecessary! (and these guys didn't stick to my un-greased pan one bit.) Rap the muffin pan to pop small air bubbles. Bake for 25 minutes, or until springy to the touch. The healthy indulgence girl then said to let them sit for 24 HOURS! (this is supposed to get rid of the bean flavor that is left.) I just smeared strawberry frosting on them and no bean flavor came through. Maybe it's because I used beans that I made from scratch and she might have used them from a can? Who knows. Be my guest and wait 24 hours before you eat these.. but, like I said. I already ate 7.

sugar and gluten free vegan cupcakes. try me.

I couldn't decide on the picture. It's 1 in the morning.. this is ridiculous.
So - I got the recipe that I majorly tweaked from the vegan cupcake cookbook.. and honestly, these taste more like cornbread than a cupcake.. even though there is no corn. Probably because of the quinoa powder. So I think a better topping than chocolate would be a fruit preserve.. and that would be even healthier. :)
I'll give you the recipe for these cupcakes, then you decide which frosting you'd desire.
If I were you, and could have grass-fed butter.. that would be my choice.
Here we go: (I'll just tell you what I used... don't be afraid to substitute things in this recipe for things you have instead.. I just used what I already had in the house... because it's 1 in the morning.)

Oven! 350.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup almond milk
1/6 cup :) sorry about that. I 1/2-ed the recipe.. enjoy my measurements and welcome to my brain. ok - anyway, so 1/6 cup coconut oil.
3/8 cup mix of maple syrup and brown rice syrup.
1 and some tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp tapioca flour
1 tbsp ground flax seeds
1/6 cup almond flour
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup quinoa flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt :)

1. Mix almond milk, coconut oil (melted), maple syrup/brown rice syrup, and vanilla extract.
2. Add tapioca flour and flax seed. Mix mix mix
3. Add the almond flour, rice flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix more! You can't over mix it - because there's no gluten!
4. Fill mini cupcakes 3/4 (it should make about 20 little guys)
5. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let them cool!!

Make up your own frosting. I'm going to bed.

blackberry almond cakes with chocolate raspberry frosting

I love when you convert a recipe so many times it turns into something delicious that's completely your own. I'm back tracking now - so my blog won't be so bare. My boyfriend and I made these after going to a local farm to pick our own blackberries and raspberries. The recipe still needs a little tweaking. . . They were a little dry. But that can be fixed with the addition of some apple sauce, or more honey . . or something. I'll get better at this blogging thing as the days continue.

Here it is: and it's real name is "Chocolate Raspberry Royal"

preheat oven to 350 (pretty much always with me)
the cake:
1 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup rice flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup honey
6 tbsp apple sauce
some blackberry juice!

Mix the dry ingredients, then mix the wet ones and add them together.
Pour batter into mini muffin pan and bake at 350 for 9 min.

Frosting:
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2.5 tbsp raw honey
6 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 handful of raspberries

Mix all the ingredients. Because of the coconut oil, this frosting will harden up at 75 degrees or cooler.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool. It's up to you whether you want the frosting to melt, or be something you can actually sink your teeth into. You can tell by the photo -that we just couldn't wait that long.

I use organic ingredients in all my recipes. . and I think you should do the same. It's a tough issue to commit to - but if you think about it, seriously. . we're all spending the same amount of money. Some people pay upfront for healthy ingredients and planet friendly practices, and others pay for it in medical bills and environmental clean up later.