Hey everyone,
sorry for not blogging lately, I had a stressful time at uni. It's all over for 2008 now, thank God.
I have moved my blog to http://hearmeraw.wordpress.com/
Please find me there :-)
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Just a quick note
Everyone enjoyed the baked goods :-). And no one missed the egg- and dairy-laden versions.
1:0 to madeleine and the animals :-)
1:0 to madeleine and the animals :-)
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Cupcakes Galore and Cheesecake Indulgence
I really wonder, why this blogspot thing is so inconvenient when uploading photos... never mind
Here are the blueberry cupcakes I made for work tomorrow to have a 'belated' celebration, since I didn't go to work on Friday when I had my actual birthday.
I haven't tried them yet but they smelled delicious :-)
Tonight's dinner was a yummy fruit platter, because my tummy was a bit upset so I opted for raw food :-)
Here the next batch of cupcakes/muffins:
banana muffins with walnut and crumble crunchyness
Haven't tried these yet either, but darling boyfriend said they were tasty, but that next time I should add extra walnuts to the batter.
Last night's dinner was a fruit platter, because I had raw foods Saturday :-)
And here comes the Double Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake.
I also made one small portion to sample before serving it at work because it is the first time I made a raw vegan cheesecake and my colleagues are quite fond of the egg and dairy-laden versions :-). But this will convince them.
I have to admit, I tweaked the recipe a bit, so it's not strictly raw. For example, I couldn't afford to pay NZ$ 26 for 250g of cacao nibs and opted for vegan dark chocolate instead. I also couldn't find cherry extract, so I added dried cherries (which are also bloody expensive).
The base of the cheesecake is very delicious and the filling also. Being raw doesn't make it healthy though hehe. Well, I mean it is healthier than a lot of normal cheesecakes, but 3 cups cashews, 1 3/4 cups almonds and 1 cup of coconut oil do eventually amount to a huge fat content. But that's okay. It's an experiment and I'm glad it went well, because this must be one of the most expensive cakes I have ever made :-).
I will report tomorrow how it was received.
My plan is: Feed my lovely colleagues, let them rave about it, then tell them: It's animal friendly, no butter, no eggs, no cream, no cheese. That'll teach even the most stubborn male :-)
Here are the blueberry cupcakes I made for work tomorrow to have a 'belated' celebration, since I didn't go to work on Friday when I had my actual birthday.
I haven't tried them yet but they smelled delicious :-)
Tonight's dinner was a yummy fruit platter, because my tummy was a bit upset so I opted for raw food :-)
Here the next batch of cupcakes/muffins:
banana muffins with walnut and crumble crunchyness
Haven't tried these yet either, but darling boyfriend said they were tasty, but that next time I should add extra walnuts to the batter.
Last night's dinner was a fruit platter, because I had raw foods Saturday :-)
And here comes the Double Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake.
I also made one small portion to sample before serving it at work because it is the first time I made a raw vegan cheesecake and my colleagues are quite fond of the egg and dairy-laden versions :-). But this will convince them.
I have to admit, I tweaked the recipe a bit, so it's not strictly raw. For example, I couldn't afford to pay NZ$ 26 for 250g of cacao nibs and opted for vegan dark chocolate instead. I also couldn't find cherry extract, so I added dried cherries (which are also bloody expensive).
The base of the cheesecake is very delicious and the filling also. Being raw doesn't make it healthy though hehe. Well, I mean it is healthier than a lot of normal cheesecakes, but 3 cups cashews, 1 3/4 cups almonds and 1 cup of coconut oil do eventually amount to a huge fat content. But that's okay. It's an experiment and I'm glad it went well, because this must be one of the most expensive cakes I have ever made :-).
I will report tomorrow how it was received.
My plan is: Feed my lovely colleagues, let them rave about it, then tell them: It's animal friendly, no butter, no eggs, no cream, no cheese. That'll teach even the most stubborn male :-)
so happy...
Hello to all my readers.
The last week has been frantically busy at uni and I also had to prepare for my 23rd bday which was on Friday. I am so super happy because in the last 3 weeks I made a real effort to loose a few kgs so I could buy a new dress for my bday :-). It all worked out and I feel fantastic now. I now weigh 121 lbs and I feel that's the real me. I haven't been that weight in god knows how many years (probably 10 or so) but now I am so content and happy with myself :-).
Just thought I should let you know. And the most important part I had to change about my eating was to skip the cake for a while. However, apart from that the vegan diet helps a lot with losing weight :-).
so I've gotta go now. Off to the markets. Will do some baking later for work tomorrow, i.e. belated bday cake.
Will show you a photo of the new me, though :-)
The last week has been frantically busy at uni and I also had to prepare for my 23rd bday which was on Friday. I am so super happy because in the last 3 weeks I made a real effort to loose a few kgs so I could buy a new dress for my bday :-). It all worked out and I feel fantastic now. I now weigh 121 lbs and I feel that's the real me. I haven't been that weight in god knows how many years (probably 10 or so) but now I am so content and happy with myself :-).
Just thought I should let you know. And the most important part I had to change about my eating was to skip the cake for a while. However, apart from that the vegan diet helps a lot with losing weight :-).
so I've gotta go now. Off to the markets. Will do some baking later for work tomorrow, i.e. belated bday cake.
Will show you a photo of the new me, though :-)
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Tex Mex Dinner
Tonight we had chilli con carne, well I had chilli with kidney beans while BF had his meat version. I also made the cornbread and queso from Vegan Explosion.
The bread with a bit too sweat for my liking. It was a nice contrast to the chilli and really yummy but just not as "bready" as I liked, rather "cakey" :-). The queso also needs a bit of tweaking but that's because I didn't have the exact ingredients and my NZ substitutes just didn't do the recipe justice. But I will keep trying. However, I usually use this cheese sauce which is real good!
Anyway, the tasty corn bread:
And the chilli topped with cheese sauce (as it turned out a bit spicy and needed dampening down hehe)
The bread with a bit too sweat for my liking. It was a nice contrast to the chilli and really yummy but just not as "bready" as I liked, rather "cakey" :-). The queso also needs a bit of tweaking but that's because I didn't have the exact ingredients and my NZ substitutes just didn't do the recipe justice. But I will keep trying. However, I usually use this cheese sauce which is real good!
Anyway, the tasty corn bread:
And the chilli topped with cheese sauce (as it turned out a bit spicy and needed dampening down hehe)
Chocolate-Mousse Heaven
Oh my god, I cannot tell you how excited I am to have found an amaaaaaazing recipe for a super-delicious, cholesterol-free, cruelty-free, vegan, gluten-free indulgent, creamy, rich and decadent-tasting CHOCOLATE MOUSSE!
I found it in the July issue of Shape (American issue) and oh my god I am just going crazy here - that's how good it is. The secret ingredient is Avocado and to be quite honest, I had my doubts at first but I thought I might as well try it. And thankfully I did. Unfortunately I haven't got a pretty picture because I just stored it in the fridge in a plastic container due to the lack of a nice piping bag to make little flowery-type dollops, but never mind, it's delicious anyway.
So here's the recipe:
It's very creamy and rich so it's probably enough for 6 people. If you're trying it, you might want to half it. However, it apparently keeps for a week in the fridge (well certainly not where I live hehehe) and 1 months in the freezer so I put 2 portions straight in the freezer (chocolate mousse ice cream anyone?) and 3 portions in the fridge. 1 was devoured straight away (OMG!!!)
- 2 large Avocados --> scoop teaspoon-fulls into a mixing bowl; add
- 155ml (1 cup 2 Tblsp) maple syrup
- 3 Tblsp agave nectar (the original recipe asks for organic evaporated cane juice but that's to complicated for me hehe)
- 2 Tblsp coconut oil (melted)
- 2 Tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tsp balsamic vinegar (no joke)
- 1/2 Tsp soy sauce (no joke either but I might omit this next time)
- 1 cup good cocoa powder (I only had 200mls left but that was enough as well. I bet more wouldn't do any harm though hehe)
Blend all the ingredients apart from the cocoa. Sift cocoa on top, stir in slowly (do avoid the cocoa 'dusting' everywhere), then blend in fully. That's it! It is quite creamy and dense, so next time I will try beating it with an electric whisker to get some more volume into it and make it a bit fluffier, but gosh, the taste is divine either way!
The magazine recipe had raspberries as a serving suggestion which looked very pretty. I could also imagine, piping the mousse onto a plate in some kind of pattern and then serving it with something like banana slices (banana split anyone???) or so. I'm not quite sure whether the berry combo would work for me, but do give it a try.
The recipe was from a women called Renée Loux.
Now I hope, you'll all run to get some avocados. If you don't, no you have to!!! :-)
All the best and enjoy the mousse!!!
8.30pm: I have just tried some of the frozen mousse. I can't quite make my mind up which is better, frozen or just chilled, it's both divine!
Here some pics of the bounty from the vege market this morning. I paid around NZ$35 for it, which is aroun 17 Euros or $24 US.
(Excuse the eggs, I don't eat them but my darling BF does, so at least by buying free range from a farmer, I feel a bit better about it hehe)
I found it in the July issue of Shape (American issue) and oh my god I am just going crazy here - that's how good it is. The secret ingredient is Avocado and to be quite honest, I had my doubts at first but I thought I might as well try it. And thankfully I did. Unfortunately I haven't got a pretty picture because I just stored it in the fridge in a plastic container due to the lack of a nice piping bag to make little flowery-type dollops, but never mind, it's delicious anyway.
So here's the recipe:
It's very creamy and rich so it's probably enough for 6 people. If you're trying it, you might want to half it. However, it apparently keeps for a week in the fridge (well certainly not where I live hehehe) and 1 months in the freezer so I put 2 portions straight in the freezer (chocolate mousse ice cream anyone?) and 3 portions in the fridge. 1 was devoured straight away (OMG!!!)
- 2 large Avocados --> scoop teaspoon-fulls into a mixing bowl; add
- 155ml (1 cup 2 Tblsp) maple syrup
- 3 Tblsp agave nectar (the original recipe asks for organic evaporated cane juice but that's to complicated for me hehe)
- 2 Tblsp coconut oil (melted)
- 2 Tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tsp balsamic vinegar (no joke)
- 1/2 Tsp soy sauce (no joke either but I might omit this next time)
- 1 cup good cocoa powder (I only had 200mls left but that was enough as well. I bet more wouldn't do any harm though hehe)
Blend all the ingredients apart from the cocoa. Sift cocoa on top, stir in slowly (do avoid the cocoa 'dusting' everywhere), then blend in fully. That's it! It is quite creamy and dense, so next time I will try beating it with an electric whisker to get some more volume into it and make it a bit fluffier, but gosh, the taste is divine either way!
The magazine recipe had raspberries as a serving suggestion which looked very pretty. I could also imagine, piping the mousse onto a plate in some kind of pattern and then serving it with something like banana slices (banana split anyone???) or so. I'm not quite sure whether the berry combo would work for me, but do give it a try.
The recipe was from a women called Renée Loux.
Now I hope, you'll all run to get some avocados. If you don't, no you have to!!! :-)
All the best and enjoy the mousse!!!
8.30pm: I have just tried some of the frozen mousse. I can't quite make my mind up which is better, frozen or just chilled, it's both divine!
Here some pics of the bounty from the vege market this morning. I paid around NZ$35 for it, which is aroun 17 Euros or $24 US.
(Excuse the eggs, I don't eat them but my darling BF does, so at least by buying free range from a farmer, I feel a bit better about it hehe)
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Sweet alternative
I just enjoyed a lovely dinner when a friend came over tonight. We had a variety of things, including seeded cruskits, white bean dip, salad, pickles and some stuff for the two (including BF) omnivores.
Unfortunately i forgot to take photos - woops.
Anyway I bought a cookbook today - haven't bought one in ages (vegan cookbooks in NZ normally come from the US which adds to the already high price of books, so I tend not to buy them).
But I found this book on sale called 'sweet alternative' - more than 100 recipes without gluten, dairy and soy. I'm okay with gluten and soy but have some gluten-free friends, so it would be great to find some yummy recipes.
Eggs are used in the recipes in this book but I have my trusted egg replacer which is gluten free, so I'm all set... :-)
And I am in cupcake mood anyway so I might whip up some yummyness sometime next week. With photos and all that...
Unfortunately i forgot to take photos - woops.
Anyway I bought a cookbook today - haven't bought one in ages (vegan cookbooks in NZ normally come from the US which adds to the already high price of books, so I tend not to buy them).
But I found this book on sale called 'sweet alternative' - more than 100 recipes without gluten, dairy and soy. I'm okay with gluten and soy but have some gluten-free friends, so it would be great to find some yummy recipes.
Eggs are used in the recipes in this book but I have my trusted egg replacer which is gluten free, so I'm all set... :-)
And I am in cupcake mood anyway so I might whip up some yummyness sometime next week. With photos and all that...
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