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 Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes

Today I made little cupcakes...luscious lemony goodness:)



I almost forgot how delicious, quick, and easy this recipe is!

Just thought you might want to know...haha!

ETA!!! Links to the original recipe are no longer working. Due to so many requests for this lovely cake recipe, I am posting the recipe exactly as it appeared on Raw Freedom Community.
Cake
1 1/2 c grated Jicama *** if it's too 'juicy' squeeze the liquid out by hands*
1 Granny Smith Apple pealed & ground
2 c. Almonds soaked/dehydrated ground fine
4 T golden flax ground fine
1/4 c agave
1 tsp vanilla
lemon juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/2 c poppy seeds.

Mix all Ingredients and form in any shape you want; I made a 5 1/2 inch round dish lined with saran wrap.

Then top the first layer with Frosting

Then top the 2nd layer/round. Flip out and place on a plate and frost the whole cake (top & sides)


Frosting: ****THIS IS SO LIKE 'Costco' white frosting!

1 c OMEGA NUTRITION coconut oil (it does not smell/taste coconuty) The one I used is just like Crisco !

Beat/Whip this with beaters! from my SAD baking days!

Add 1/4 c agave

Juice of 1/2 lemon IF YOU LIKE MORE LEMON DO juice of 1 and or zest. whip again.

Spread quickly as it starts to melt a little.

Sprinkle Poppy Seeds on sides or designs if you make a different shape.

Top with Lemon zest curls or slices.

Place in Ref for an hour or so. Serve at room temperature!

Lemon-Caper Pasta and...

...A surprise road trip!!!!

My hubby knows I have been missing my family in Florida. Yesterday, he said we could visit them, and we are leaving tomorrow!!! It should be a 'long weekend' trip.

I do love surprises, and this was a major surprise:) To prepare for the trip, I made a checklist of things to bring, and printed out some online recipes, since I will not have internet access there.

The list helped a lot when it came time to pack. Here is a pic of my tiffins and other stainless containers. Some already had some goodies in them:) I will also be making some goodies to enjoy during the 20-something hours we will be driving.


There is a slight chance I will stay for a longer visit, so I also packed some appliances and things like my knife set, nutmilk bag, and of course my favorite gadgets.

Here is one of my favorite recipes I plan on making while I am away.

ETA~I have switched out the original old pic for a heart shaped* pasta for Valentine's Day:) You can still see the original pic on gone raw.

Lemon Caper Pasta

Ingredients:

1 yellow summer squash, organic, or other veggie pasta
1 lemon, organic
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon capers, organic but not raw, drained
1 medium tomato, 1/4 inch dice

gremolata topping:
1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley
1 clove garlic
Preparation:

1. Process squash as desired for 'pasta', squeeze dry.

2. Zest lemon(reserve zest) and juice it, should be about 2 tablespoons juice.

3. Combine oil with lemon juice, capers, and only 1/2 of the lemon zest.

4. Pour over squash and mix well.

5. Top with tomato.

* For the heart shape, I used a small heart shaped pan. I placed the tomato in first, topped it with the lemon-caper pasta, put the plate on top and flipped it over. After removing the heart pan, I sprinkled it with the gremolata:)

6. For gremolata, chop remaining zest with parsley and garlic and sprinkle over pasta.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I will see you soon!!!

Raw Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

I recently signed up to receive a weekly raw newsletter, and this luscious raw lemon poppy seed cake recipe was in last weeks letter. I hope it is O.K. to post the link to the recipe, since it is also found online:)

ETA!!!
The links to this recipe are no longer working. Due to so many requests for the recipe for this lovely cake, I am now posting the recipe, copied and pasted, as it originally appeared on Raw Freedom Community.

Cake
1 1/2 c grated Jicama *** if it's too 'juicy' squeeze the liquid out by hands*
1 Granny Smith Apple pealed & ground
2 c. Almonds soaked/dehydrated ground fine
4 T golden flax ground fine
1/4 c agave
1 tsp vanilla
lemon juice and zest of 1 lemon
1/2 c poppy seeds.

Mix all Ingredients and form in any shape you want; I made a 5 1/2 inch round dish lined with saran wrap.

Then top the first layer with Frosting

Then top the 2nd layer/round. Flip out and place on a plate and frost the whole cake (top & sides)


Frosting: ****THIS IS SO LIKE 'Costco' white frosting!

1 c OMEGA NUTRITION coconut oil (it does not smell/taste coconuty) The one I used is just like Crisco !

Beat/Whip this with beaters! from my SAD baking days!

Add 1/4 c agave

Juice of 1/2 lemon IF YOU LIKE MORE LEMON DO juice of 1 and or zest. whip again.

Spread quickly as it starts to melt a little.

Sprinkle Poppy Seeds on sides or designs if you make a different shape.

Top with Lemon zest curls or slices.

Place in Ref for an hour or so. Serve at room temperature!

 Thank you to wyjoz for this wonderful recipe!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^
This is a gorgeous lemon cake that is incredibly fast and easy to make. I did not measure everything exactly, and it still turned out so good!

I added a few drops of lemon extract to the cake and icing to enhance the lemon flavor that I love so much, and shaped the cake in a small bundt pan. I spooned on the creamy lemon icing and garnished with lemon peel rosebuds and a few fresh mint leaves.

If you love lemon like I do:) this is a fantastic recipe.