Toasted Coconut Walnut Delights

I was having friends over for dinner the other night and was looking for something quick and tasty to make for dessert, and I think I found it.  The interplay of the taste of the toasted coconut and the chocolate was wonderful!  Not only did this take under 15 minutes to make but they were super delicious.  This was a trial run so the recipe below is for 8 treats but could be doubled or tripled easily to make many more!
Ingredients:
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tbsp maple syrup 
• 1 tsp salt
Directions:
  Set oven to 300 and place coconut on a baking sheet, toast for 10 minutes or until the tips become golden, do not over toast the coconut no one likes burnt coconut.  Remove from oven and melt chocolate chips either in a double boiler or in the microwave, for 60 seconds.  Fold in the coconut into the melted chocolate and add the walnuts as well as the maple syrup.  Mix all ingredients well take tablespoon portions and drop onto wax paper, sprinkle with salt let set and enjoy!

Yum and done!

Vegan Pizza Fondue

This awesome recipe originally came from my best friend Anna, I am not sure if it was hers or she got it from somewhere else, but we used to make it for parties, and it was always a big hit.  It turend into a new years eve tradition with my husband and I.  You can substitute the vegan pepperoni with something else if you wish, it is pretty tasty with vegan sausage too! 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups water

• ½ cup nutritional yeast flakes

• 1/3 cup quick-cooking rolled oats

• 1/4 cup tahini

• 4 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch

• 4 tbsp lemon juice

• 4 tbsp unsalted tomato paste

• 1 tbsp onion granules

• 1 ½ tsp garlic granules

• 1 tsp salt

--------------------------------------------

• 3 tbsp water mixed with 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

• 4 cloves garlic, minced q

• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 ½ tsp dried oregano leaves

• ½ tsp dried basil leaves

• 1/4 tsp dried marjoram leaves

ground pepper to taste

Place first ten ingredients in a blender and process several minutes until sauce is completely smooth. Set aside.Heat water and vinegar in a large sauce pan and cook the garlic until barely golden. Add the pepper flakes and cook for 20 seconds longer.

Pour the blended mixture into the garlic. Stir in the oregano, basil, marjoram and pepper. Bring to boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook for a few more minutes, stirring constantly,

until thick and smooth. Transfer to fondue pot and keep warm over very low flame.  I served the fondue with baked pizza crust bits and vegan pepperoni, other types or bread or crackers are also great!

Yields 3 3/4 cups

Yum and done!

Holiday cookie time

These are some delicious sugar cookies that my Mother made! They were waiting for me when I got home to decorate! We went with a more modern twist this year.
Yum and done!

Raw vegan fudge

http://detoxinista.com/2012/11/easy-raw-fudge-vegan-paleo/

I saw this recipe if you weeks ago and was a bit skeptical, But boy was I ever wrong! This fudge is simple to make and incredibly delicious. I remember when I was a little girl my grandmother used to make refrigerator fudge but I don't think they have this much protein in it. It is from a website called Detoxinista, The woman that runs it is a holistic health coach, If you get a chance you should check it out. There are a lot of other great recipes on there that I might just have to try out and maybe write about!

–

Easy Raw Fudge
makes 16-20 pieces

Adapted from Raw Food, Real World

Ingredients:

1 cup raw cashew butter (or nut butter of choice)
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

In a medium bowl, mix together the nut butter and coconut oil until smooth. (This works best if the ingredients are slightly warm! Alternatively, you could blend them together using a food processor.) Add in the cocoa powder, maple syrup, sea salt and vanilla, and stir until smooth and creamy.

Transfer the mixture to a dish lined with plastic wrap, for easy removal.

Tofu Scramble

This is a delicious protein packed breakfast pretty simple being able to do it in under 15 minutes for all prep included and it's delicious. The secret is if there is a secret is to make sure the tofu is seasoned properly.
Ingredients:
1 brick of firm tofu
8 to 10 small cherry tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
2 scallions chopped fine
Half teaspoon peprica
Half teaspoon of Spike salt substitute
2 tablespoons olive oil
Directions:
Well you are preparing the vegetables let the tofu drain on a paper towel. Next crumble your tofu up into small chunks. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, Add the onions and the cherry tomatoes and garlic. Next add the tofu and the seasonings. Cook over medium heat for approximately minutes. Serve with your favorite breakfast sides!

Yum and done!

Snowman Cake

On weekends I teach children's cake decorating classes.  It is mostly young girls from ages 8 to 12 this past weekend we mad a snowman cake.  Below is the demo cake I made before class to show the girls what we were doing.  It is a vegan chocolate cake with vegan butter cream icing!

Yum and done!

Halloween Party Treats

This was our Halloween treat table this year.  In no particular order we had:

Not-dogs in a blanket
Vegan cream cheese and jalapeño rolls
Local apples
Spooky skull cake with bone sugar cookies
Mustache sugar cookies
A giant chocolate chip cookie in the shape of a pumpkin
Various spooky chocolate treats and chocolate covered pretzels
A chocolate life size rat with a cayenne peanut butter center
Sweet and salty kettle corn
Vegan french onion dip with a kick - a couple of jalapeños
Vegan cheese it's
Edamame hummus 
Along with a spooky rum punch that my husband made (not pictured)

Yum and done... time to party!