Leprechaun Pudding

I'm so sorry I didn't get this recipe up before St. Patty's Day!  I made these for my husband and kids the day before I had to drive to Sarasota to run in the Sarasota Half Marathon, so there was no time to blog!


Leprechaun Pudding
Makes 4,  1 cup servings

4 large Haas Avocados
8-10 large Medjool dates soaked and drained (soaked for 2+ hours)
3/4 cup soaked and rinsed cashews (soaked for 2+ hours)
1 tsp Vanilla extract or Vanilla Bean paste
2 tbsp cocoa powder (I used raw cocoa)
2 tbsp raw cocoa nibs (optional for garnish)
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds (optional for garnish)

Put everything except the cocoa powder in a high powered blender and blend on high until smooth.  Add water as needed to keep from overworking your blender.  This is really thick pudding! 

Scoop out half of the pudding and put into glass canning jars (or whatever containers you want to use).  Now add the cocoa powder into the blender with the remaining avocado pudding.  Blend until combined and scoop over the top of the "green pudding".  Garnish with raw cocoa and pumpkin seeds.

Enjoy!  I hope everyone had a fab St. Patty's day :)
 

Super Simple Raw: Banana and Nut Butter "Milkshake"

Sometimes when I'm taking photos, my kids will run over and pop their heads right into my photo :)  This is one of her favorite raw milkshakes, and it really hits the spot when you are craving a thick and creamy shake.  I don't always make it 100% raw, sometimes I use Almond Breeze for the nut milk but using the raw nut milk definitely delivers more of a "wow factor" to the tastebuds.

This shake comes from my Uncooking 101 Jump Start, with some adaptations. I use less nut butter than the original recipe and I use cocao nibs to make it like a chocolate chip shake. You can find raw cocao nibs at your local health food store.  Check the bulk section for the best prices.  If you live in the Orlando area, you can get them at Hoover's Market in Apopka.

Banana and Nut-Butter "Milkshake"
Makes 1 large Nut Milkshake

Ingredients
2 Frozen organic bananas (use frozen for an extra thick shake)
2 tbsp of raw nut butter (I use Woodstock brand Raw Unsalted Almond Butter)
1 cup nut milk (DIY Cashew Milk, Almond Milk or store bought Almond Breeze)
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp Cocao nibs


Instructions
Blend until smooth, then top with cinnamon.

A tip on storing raw nut butters and nuts- they will last a lot longer if you keep them all in the refrigerator!  If you find they are getting too hard to scoop out, you are keeping your refrigerator set a too cold of a setting.  I also like to drain the oil off the top of my nut butters.  There's plenty of fat in the butter, no need to keep the extra oil :)
 

Vegan Valentine's Day Dinner at Infusion Tea

 

I've been asking my husband to take me to the Very Vegan Valentine's Day Dinner at Infusion Tea ever since they started offering it.  He has had an excuse every year, including the popular "I only like YOUR vegan food" excuse.  Well, last week while he was in San Diego I finally decided to just go.  I took my mom and my younger daughter as my "dates" and we enjoyed a 5 course dinner with a room full of couples.  Kind of awkward, but whatever!  I think we had more fun :-)

The lights were dimmed and the added touch of a soloist singing soft romantic songs was really nice. It was enough that we could still have a conversation without being overpowered by singing or the music.

Wine or tea was offered as soon as we sat down.  Of course, I must have wine on Valentine's Day so I opted for the Pinot Grigio.  My daughter had a red herbal tea!

First course was a sort of Borscht soup with the name "Apricot, Beet and Cumin Soup" and was very flavorful with a nice texture.  I could have had two bowls of it, I enjoyed it that much.  The bread served with it didn't really compliment it that well. I think a small side salad with citrus would have paired better.
 

The second course was a "Cedar Roasted Carrot Salad with Tofu and Carrot Pesto" and it was so nicely presented I dove in and started eating without thinking about taking a photo until my plate was almost empty...sorry, it really was that good!

So here we have the third course, a "Vegetable Wellington with Compari Tomato Coulis".  The vegetables were well seasoned but the pastry itself tasted a bit dry.   Maybe a "Vegetable Galette" would have kept a moist pastry crust...just a thought.


The final course was a "Cocoa Rose Mini Cake".  This paired well with a Merlot wine, but the cake was more like a chocolate rose infused cupcake with too much frosting.  I liked better the mini chocolate and berries served along side it as a garnish...I could have eaten two or three of those :-)

All in all, I think the Very Vegan Valentine's Dinner is a great place to take a Valentine's date, whether they are vegan or not.  The atmosphere is casual yet elegant, and the service is excellent.  A big thanks to the owners Brad and Christina for fitting us in at the 7pm seating with only 8 hours notice.  I know how hard it is to work a kitchen when you have a restaurant full of people being seated all at the same time and I felt that the owner, the wait staff and chef handled this beautifully.  I look forward to Infusion Tea's next 5 course dinner, the Vegan Fall Harvest Dinner...with my husband or not!

Raw Food Swap!

A friend of mine started a "Raw Food Swap" last summer and we've been swapping on and off...well mostly off.  When life gets hectic, this is the first thing everybody drops!  So, we swap when we can and we are always glad that we did even though it can be stressful to try to prepare everything in time on a busy weekday.  We put everything in these mason jars and bring them in a cooler to a local health food store for the swap.  One of the friends has a truck, so we usually meet at the back of her truck!

The food gets prepared the day of the swap, or at least I prepare it the day of the swap...maybe others do the day before if they are using a dehydrator.  It's so super fresh and everything looks so vibrant and delicious that it all gets eaten when I bring it home.  Not by me, but by my KIDS and my HUBBY!  Yeah, I have to pry it out of their hands.  This is a good thing.  I'm not complaining, but I am sort of because I'd actually like to have more than a taste of each jar I receive!   Especially on the desserts :-)