A Short, Sweet Post:)

Hey everyone! Hope you are all doing well. First, allow me to apologize for being MIA the last few weeks. I really thought it was only about a week, but realized today it's been a bit longer. I hope to catch up with all my favorite blogging buddies ASAP:)

Most of my time lately has been spent packing! We are moving. It is a move that was planned...sort of. We did know we would be moving sometime, just not so soon. Needless to say, the last few weeks have been a whirlwind. We will be starting our move this week! Yikes!!!

Meals have been very simple salads, smoothies, juices, and my favorite fall fruits like honeycrisp apples, concord grapes and figs...YUM!!! This smoothie had all three:)

Luckily there was still time to whip up a few raw goodies.

Hmmm, they all seem to have a little chocolate in them:)

Chocolate Macaroons: posted by Pam

Vegan "Thin Mint" Fudge as truffles and also pictured in the heart above, posted by Averie:

Raspberry Belgian Chocolates by Bees Knees Kitchen:

The filling is awesome!
***recipe link no longer working for raspberry Belgium chocolate, reprinted below from goneraw.com Raspberry Cream Filling: *1/3 c soft Date + 3-4 tbls Filtered water *3/4 c Raspberries *1 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice *1/4 c Coconut Oil *1/4 Cashew *1 tsp Vanilla extract *1 Vanilla Bean *Pinch of Celtic Sea Salt Blend the dates and water until completely incorporated and resemble a paste. If it is still too stiff add more water 1 tbls at a time. Remove from the blender and set aside. Blend the raspberries and lemon juice briefly and pour into a mesh sieve over a glass bowl in order to filter out the seeds. Use a spatula to move and push the raspberry pulp around in order to separate the juice from the seeds. The raspberry juice should yield 1/2 c of juice. Blend all the ingredients until completely smooth. Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let set in the freezer for 20 min or until solid but not frozen, or leave overnight in the fridge. To shape into balls, use a 1/2 tbls size measuring and scoop out the cream onto a wax paper surface. Roll into balls using the palm of your hands. The Raspberry Cream is a very soft cream so it starts to get too soft, then return to the freezer for 10 minutes or until solid. Once all the balls are rolled, return to the fridge until just before they are ready to dip into the Belgium Chocolate. Belgium Chocolate: *1/3 c Cacao Butter *1/3 c Cacao Powder *3 tbls Agave Nectar *1/2 tsp Vanilla Powder *Pinch of Celtic Sea Salt *Pinch of Chili Powder Bring 2 cups of water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Place the cacao butter in a medium size glass bowl and place the bowl over the top of the saucepan. Stir with a wooden spoon until the cacao butter is completely melted. Stir in the agave, vanilla, salt and chili powder. Turn off the stove and while continuing to stir, shift in the cacao powder. To dip each ball in the chocolate, place a toothpick in each of the Raspberry Cream ball. Dip it in the melted chocolate and continue to turn the ball until all the excess chocolate drips off. Holding the chocolate covered ball upright, slide just the tip of a fork off under the ball, very carefully slide the ball onto a non-stick sheet. Repeat until all the balls are covered.
Thanks ladies, for posting all these recipes that have made my hectic life a little sweeter:)

We are moving ourselves to Florida, and it is going to take a few trips back and forth. I will be away from the computer during the next few weeks, and may stay in Florida while the hubs makes a solo trip.

The big red trailer is all loaded and ready to roll.


While I am away, feel free to browse the happy raw kitchen blog recipe index for over 150 yummy raw food recipes I have enjoyed.

And since Halloween is just around the corner, make sure to check out all the fun I had last year making healthy Halloween goodies, like my sweet and simple boo~nanners:)

I still have a few things to do before the trip. Hope to see you soon!

Hugs and Love,
Angela

Saratoga Springs and Something Sweet:)

Hi everyone! Today I would love to take you on a little trip to Saratoga Springs.

It's one of the places we usually visit each weekend when we do our shopping and necessary 'running around':)

Saratoga Springs is a beautiful historic city in upstate N.Y. known for it's many quaint shops, museums, art district, spas baths, and of course their world famous mineral springs.

I love to visit the natural springs, which flow even in the middle of winter. Many of them are protected by some kind of pavilion.

Trust me, that water is ice cold in December!

Some are even naturally carbonated, like Hathorn Spring:

Cold and very carbonated! And yes, I bring my trusty mason jars to fill while we are there:) I must tell you that the actual taste of the water can be quite...ummmm...earthy. They are mineral springs, and you can taste the minerals:)


Click here for a guide to all 17 springs of Saratoga.

If you are interested, here is a link to find a spring in your area.


But, there are lots of other things to do in Saratoga, like window shop:)
Hidden Gardens is a great little florist and antique store...

Such a pretty horse fountain:

I adore this greenhouse...

Gargoyles, anyone?


I also love to find and admire some of the beautiful Horses of Saratoga that were part of a public art project. The project featured 34 life-sized fiberglass horses that have been embellished by artists from New York, Vermont, and Massachusetts. They are now sprinkled all around the city....


One of my favorite horses, pic from last winter:

My Dad would have loved this one, he was a tile setter by trade:)



But, my favorite place in Saratoga Springs is peaceful Congress Park...







Several of the mineral springs are located right in the park.

Saratoga Spring:

Deer Park Spring:

The park is also home to a beautifully restored antique carousel from 1910:

The carousel has it's own enclosure, and is open for several winter events, too:)

And, there just happens to be a great little health food store within a block of the park:) Here is a peek inside Four Seasons Natural Foods:

Fresh organic produce

Bulk items

Here is the Happy Cow link for veg friendly eating in Saratoga, but we usually end up at Ruby Tuesday's hehe!

Oh yeah, I promised you something sweet! Can't have a post at the happy raw kitchen without something yummy...

Raw Vegan Cheesecake:)

These luscious little lemon cheesecakes are courtesy of lovely fellow blogger, Averie.

I noticed the recipe yesterday, and whipped them up in a matter of minutes. I added a spoon of coconut oil to make sure they set up in the little bite-sized molds and added the zest of the lemon to accent the lovely lemon flavor. Thanks so much Averie...love you and this awesome recipe!

Hope you all enjoyed this little trip to Saratoga, and a taste of something sweet!

Looks Can Be Deceiving

Happy September! Like many of you, I still cannot believe how fast the time has been going lately. Hope you are all well and happy:)

Today I wanted to share a few pictures of my delicious meals from this week:

Caprese Salad with 'Fresh Mozzarella Cheese'

Greek Salad with 'Feta'

BLT on 'Fluffy White Bread'


And yes, they are all raw and vegan! Allow me to introduce you to a 'secret ingredient' in all of these yummy meals.

A few years ago, I walked out in my backyard to pick up a softball that the kids left out. Don't worry, the secret ingredient isn't a softball:)

As I got a bit closer to the ball, I noticed it was not a ball at all, but a mushroom! Well it was sort of both...it's called a Puffball mushroom:)

The one mushroom started to multiply over the years, and now there are about a dozen in the yard.

This year, I finally got brave enough to eat one. After some online research I realized they were a great first wild mushroom for beginners to forage. Yay!...and right in my own backyard.

The texture totally surprised me. It was quite light and fluffy, with a creaminess very much like fresh buffalo mozzarella! It was solid white, and very mild in taste.

With a quick marinade of olive oil, and a sprinkle of pink salt, it made the perfect raw vegan mozzarella cheese! Of course to complete the look for my caprese salad, I cut it into thin rounds with a small circle cutter. And when cut into cubes, the mozzarella became the feta in my Greek salad:) It was quite convincing as soft fresh cheese, especially in the caprese salad of ripe plum tomato, fresh basil, and balsamic drizzle.

The shape and color of the sliced mushroom reminded me of white bread, so it became the bread in a BLT:)

It did not have the same taste as white bread of course, but it did make a tasty mushroom BLT sandwich anyway...haha! Naturally the bacon was raw vegan eggplant bacon.


I was also happy to discover it makes a great substitute for tofu! I tried out some in Averie's yummy mango ginger maple tofu recipe. It was actually quite good raw:

But really awesome when baked...Thanks so much, Averie!


Here is a little more about the puffball mushroom:

I read that a good size for eating is about the same as your fist.


They can get quite a bit larger, but become inedible at a certain point.

Please check out the links below to find out more about this amazing mushroom:

Purple-spored puffball

Mushroom Expert.com

Finding puffball mushrooms

Edible and Medicinal Mushrooms of New England and Eastern Canada (book preview)

Wild man Steve Brill

American Mushrooms.com This link has a warning first to alert you to read the information carefully on the site, just for your safety when foraging for wild edibles.

Check out a couple of fun guys with these fungi:)

I hope some of you might be able to find this mushroom in your neck of the woods, or maybe in your own backyard, too. It is a short growing season for them, so enjoy it while it lasts!

Have any of you ever tried a puffball mushroom?