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!

Raw Chocolate Lava Cake :)

Hi everyone! Just a real quick post today, to tell you about an idea for a raw chocolate lava cake. For some reason, I came across several SAD versions of this cake today, so it made me wonder if there was a raw version.

A quick search for a raw chocolate lava cake recipe came up empty, so off to the happy raw kitchie I went:)

I don't have an exact recipe, but don't worry, you really don't need one! Just use your favorite raw brownie/cake/date-nut ball recipe! The filling pictured is the old stand-by, chocolate avocado pudding, but a raw chocolate sauce would be more authentic:) You will also need a small 1 cup bowl, and some cling film to shape the cake.

Here is how to assemble the cake:

1. Make your favorite raw brownie or cake recipe in the food processor. I made a basic recipe like my raw caramel brownie bites, using 2 cups of nuts, and one cup of dates with some cacao powder, vanilla and salt. This made more than enough for 2 small cakes, each in a 1 cup bowl.

2. Take a small handful of the brownie mixture, and press it out onto some parchment, about 1/2 inch thick, and cut out a circle using the small bowl as a cutter. Cut another circle if you are making two cakes.

3. Line the small bowls with cling film, and press the remaining brownie mixture evenly into the entire bowl, about 1/2 inch thick. There was a little left over mix, enough for about seven little brownie bite truffle balls:)

4. Fill with your favorite raw pudding, or chocolate sauce(equal parts cacao powder and liquid sweetener like agave, maple, or coconut syrup, and a pinch of salt).

I used the ingredients shown, plus a little water to loosen the pudding a bit. I had some filling leftover, too:)

5. Top with the cut-out cake circle, and press around the perimeter to seal in the filling. I found it helpful to pull the cling film in a little while pressing gently on the top of the cake edge.

That's it! All done:) They were chilled for a short time because I wasn't ready to eat them yet, but I bet they are real good warmed in the "D" for an hour. To un-mold, hold the bowl in a clean cloth wrung out in very hot water for a minute, and pull it out by the wrap. As you can imagine, they are quite rich...almost half was enough for me:)

I had some caramel sauce to squeeze onto the plate, too:) It was similar to this recipe, if you would like exact measurements:)

Love ya!

~ETA~ the extra filling made an awesome fudgesicle:

Cinnamon Roll Soft-Serve:)

Inspired by yesterday's Cinnamon Roll Smoothie:)

Cinnamon Roll Soft-Serve:)


For the banana soft-serve:
3 frozen bananas
6 Brazil nuts, finely ground
1"(inch) vanilla bean, finely ground
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, more or less, to taste
grab a few pecans, too:)

For topping:
1 tablespoon yacon syrup, or liquid sweetener like agave, date, or maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
chopped pecans
currants, or raisins
extra cinnamon to sprinkle

1. Pulse frozen bananas in food processor fitted with the "S" blade until chopped.
Process until the consistency of soft ice cream, stopping and scraping sides several times. Click here for some scary:) pictures of making banana soft serve.

2. Add ground Brazil nuts, ground vanilla bean, pecans, and ground cinnamon, and pulse until mixed.

3. Shape into a cinnamon roll...lol! I just used the back of a spoon and possibly a clean finger(around the edge) to create a round shape with a deep swirl on top. If making for guests, I would pipe it out using a pastry bag with a large plain tip. You may freeze the shapes firm, if desired.

4. For topping, mix cinnamon into yacon syrup. Drizzle into swirl of cinnamon roll, and sprinkle with chopped pecans and currants, and extra cinnamon if desired.


~ETA~If you would like a chance to win an awesome ice cream maker, click this link to enter the giveaway at HiHoRosie's Place!

I will try to catch up with my lovely blogging friends very soon. Our electric had been out most of today due to the weather, and I may have to turn off the computer if the power starts blinking:)

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope to see you all soon!

Chocolate Banana Pudding Cake

I found myself with a few too many ripe avocados today...hmmm, what's a raw, chocolate lovin' girl to do:)

Chocolate-Banana Pudding Cake


Crust:
1 cup raw pecans
1/2 cup dates, I used medjool
1 cup coconut flakes, I used fine shred
2 tablespoons raw cacao nibs
pinch of cinnamon, optional

Filling:
4 medium avocados, soft and ripe
1 banana, spotty:)
1 cup raw cacao powder
¼-½ cup agave, to taste
¼ cup maple syrup, I used grade B
¼ cup coconut oil, softened, increase amount to 1/2 cup or sub cacao butter for firmer filling
½ whole vanilla bean, ground

1. Process all crust ingredients in food processor fitted with the "S" blade until crumbly and sticky. Press into 7" spring-form pan, or pan of choice. Chill while preparing filling.

2. Process all filling ingredients in food processor fitted with the "S" blade until thick and smooth. Pour into chilled crust.The filling is a variation of one of the most surprising recipes(IMHO) in the raw food world.

When I first tried this recipe on Gone Raw, I could not believe that avocado, sweetener, and cacao could turn into chocolate pudding (or mousse), but it did! There are countless variations of this avocado pudding:)

3. Top with large coconut flakes and cacao nibs as desired. I also added some raw choccie hearts from v-day:)

Click here to see my raw chocolate recipe, suitable for molding:)

This page has the chocolate heart mold I used, #VO24

4. Chill until firm, at least 3 hours before serving, small pies or tarts will take less time.

This recipe is adapted from one posted in the current edition of Better Nutrition. Thanks for the inspiration BN!

Anyone wanna piece?

Raw Carrot Cake:)

Today, as I caught up on some reading, I came across this awesome post from Pam of the wonderful blog, A Love For New Recipes.

Pam is celebrating her 1 year "blogiversary" and made a yummy looking spice cake. Happy blogiversary, Pam!!!

Most times there is a raw alternative to a cooked recipe, and I remembered that one of my favorite raw chefs, Russell James, had a lovely looking Carrot & Orange Cake recipe:)
eta link is broken here are the ingredients:
 

A short while later, I was eating this yummy cake!

It was dense, moist, and delicious!

I even made a few bite-sized muffins

I made only half the recipe, just for me:) I subbed currants for the raisins, and mixed a little frosting into the cake to help it set up a bit since I did not dehydrate it.

~ETA...I just noticed the directions say to mix it in a bowl. I just pulsed it all in the processor:) I really have to learn to follow directions:)!!

The carrot decoration is thin slices of carrot, cut to look like a tiny carrot or flower with a mint leaf top:) If your carrots have the tops on them, you can use a little for the green, or even a tiny parsley leaf.

Thank you to raw Chef Russell James for another awesome recipe:)

Thanks to Pam for the inspiration!
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