Raw Halloween2

Here is another simple, healthy, and raw way to celebrate Halloween. When I opened the fridge today, I noticed a bright orange pepper, so this is what I thought of making. This cute idea takes only a few minutes to create. Try to pick a pepper that looks pumpkin-like:)


Punkin Bowl

1 orange sweet bell pepper
1 sheet nori
1 cup creamy raw dip
cut veggies for dipping

1. Cut off top of pepper, remove ribs and seeds, reserve top.

2. Carefully cut features in pepper, just like a jack-o-lantern.

3. Fold nori sheet to fit inside pepper, covering cut-outs. This will highlight the features and prevent the dip from coming out, so make sure all cut-outs are covered.

4. Fill with favorite dip and replace top of pepper.

5. Arrange on plate with cut up veggies for dipping.



Hope this idea gets you into the spirit of Halloween:)

Check my earlier post on Healthy Raw Halloween Recipes

Healthy Raw Halloween Recipes

October has always been my favorite month. Fall is such a beautiful season. Crisp air, changing leaves against the bluest skies, and some of my favorite fruit, like honeycrisp apples and concord grapes!

It is also the month to celebrate harvest time and Halloween!

I would like to share some of the healthy raw treats I have created especially for Halloween. The first four treats were made last year. I am adding links at the bottom of this post for all the new creepy cuisine from this year:)* More than 10 new recipes and ideas for 2009!!!

Darlin Clementine Punkins

Ingredients are per 'pumpkin'

1 clementine
12x12 square cling wrap
1" clear tape
scraps of felt, cut for eyes , nose, mouth, or googly eyes:)
twist tie
silk ivy leaf
green floral tape
glue, if not using self stick felt or googly eyes

Preparation:
1. Wrap clementine in cling film and twist tightly.

2. Secure at top with clear tape.

3. Cover clear tape with green floral tape, snip to desired length.

4. Attach ivy leaf to twist tie with floral tape,cover entire length of tie with tape.

5. Twist leaf/tie around stem as desired.

6. Apply face as desired.

Note: choose self-stick felt for really little children. This is a great one to have the kids make with you...they create the cutest faces!

This is the perfect healthy nut-free handout treat for Halloween, and the little ones really seem to love them:)

This pic shows the different steps:

You can also use colored construction paper for features and leaf and masking tape as an alternative for the stem:


Here are some cute faced punkins:

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Boo~nanners!

Ingredients:

peeled banana, cut in half, each banana makes 2
orange juice
dried shredded coconut
currants or raisins
popsicle sticks
Preparation:

1. Sprinkle banana with orange juice

2. Roll in coconut...you may find it a little easier and neater to use a zip top bag for this step if the little ones are making these:)

3. Gently press in currant eyes

4. Place on popsicle stick

Can be frozen if the kiddies like them that way:)

I recently told someone in my HFS about the boo~nanners, and mentioned to just "Google" it for the recipe. I googled it myself to make sure it would come up and was very pleasantly surprised how many websites featured my lil boo~nanners:)
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Frightening Fruit Fiends

Servings: 4 per apple

Ingredients:

1 apple, cored and quartered
assorted nuts and seeds
nut butter
berries,grapes,or small fruit like kiwi berries
frilled toothpicks
orange juice
Preparation:

1. Carefully remove football shaped slice from apple quarter, reserve for tongue

2. Sprinkle all cut surfaces with orange juice

3. Fill with nut butter ,if desired

4. Add nuts or seeds as teeth, tongue is cut from removed apple piece(stick in with a bit of nut butter)

5. Add eyes with toothpicks using berries or grapes

These may be better for a little older boys and ghouls…I mean girls:)
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Fudgey the Friendly Bat


Ingredients:

2 cups unsoaked, pitted dates
¼ cup cocoa powder
sesame seeds, optional for "eyes"

Preparation:

1. Place dates in food processor fitted with “S” blade, and process until well chopped.

2. Add cocoa powder and process until a ball forms.

3. Roll to desired thickness, between cling wrap.

4. Chill until firm.

5. Cut as desired ..I used a small bat:)...also shown as a truffle in mini cupcake paper with holiday pick.

6. Decorate with sesame seeds for eyes and use the end of a straw at an angle to make a smile:)

Of course , you can use your favorite fudge or brownie recipe for this and make any additions like vanilla bean, or other flavorings:)

If you would like to individually wrap these, let them dry out a bit on the counter before slipping them into lollipop bags.

Store in fridge.
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Click here to see these and more healthy raw Halloween treats from Gone Raw.

Oh, and Happy World Vegetarian Day everyone!

I am very honored to be mentioned on Vegan Baking, Raw Halloween Treats From Around The Web by Mike, aka CanarsieBK. Check out his site, and the other awesome links in that post:)

Thanks to Raw Food Nation for including two of my recipes in this post!

Thanks to Recycle Your Day for choosing my Halloween Chocolate to be in the top 5 healthier Hallogreen treats for 2009:)

Thank you for all the love and links in the blogosphere too:)

*I will be adding new raw and healthy Halloween ideas here:
Punkin Bowl for dip








Sarma's Congo Bars dressed for the party!








Watermelon Brain!








Creepy Creature Finger Food








I Scream








The Grim Rimmer











Swamp-water Smoothie and 3 cute kid snacks!









Halloween Raw Chocolate Recipe








Savory Raw Halloween Ideas








Spooky S&M Salad








Smoky Bones











Creepy Caponata









Ghosts in the Gravy Yard









Vampiric Vermin:)









Spooky Sweets

Kreativ Blogger Award

I was pleasantly surprised while reading one of my favorite blogs this morning. I was nominated to receive the Kreativ Blogger Award by the lovely Joanna Stevens of Promoting the Raw Food Diet While Debunking the Myths.

Thank you so much Joanna, I am truly honored to be considered for this. I was shocked to see my name in such great company.

The award requires that I share seven things about me you may be surprised to know. I have not shared much personal info on my blog, so this is a little hard for me...but here goes:)

1. I met my husband at a punk night club, on his birthday, and we have been together 26 years:) We went to see The Ramones on our first date.

2. I adore children, and ran a home based daycare for 12 years. I worked at least 50 hours a week and loved every minute of it! I usually cared for 3-8 children at a time, and was also raising two of my own. I gave up my business when I thought we were moving several years ago, but the deal fell through.

3. I have a wicked sense of humor. I think I inherited this from my Dad, who told me he now has a website, as he pointed to the cobwebs on the ceiling:)

4. I have vivid memories of being in my high chair and playpen, and surprise my mom with details of the house at the time that she had almost forgotten.

5. My pets right now are an 8 year old chocolate lab, and a 34 year old blue front Amazon parrot.

6. I have 10 raw food books, but have only made recipes from 2 of them.

7. I love the number 12. I was born in August, on the 12th of course, at 12:12. The last two numbers of my birth year also add up to 12.

8. The last two numbers of my birth year are....whoops, I almost forgot we only needed 7 surprising facts:)

I am happy to pass this award on to seven of my favorite blogs, in random order:

1. Aimee from A Bitt of Raw
2. Snowdrop from Adirondack Raw Food Connection
3. Joyce from Beautiful Living Food
4. Berry Blue Toes from the blog Berry Blue Toes
5. Joanna from Promoting the Raw Food Diet While Debunking the Myths
6. Kara Maia Spencer from Raw Vortex
7. Susan Powers from Rawmazing

ETA~1/05/09
bonus fact~ I was recently asked if there was a secret to staying married so long, and part of the answer was right out my back door! I always see the rainbow through the clouds...I snapped this pic a few minutes ago!

Hugs and Hemp

Hugs first!....{{{Hugs}}}

As you may know, today is International Hug a Vegetarian Day! Of course every day should be HVD, but oh well!

And now, the hemp !
Creamy Hemp Basil Sauce from Gena at Choosing Raw.



The following recipe is from one of my favorite bloggers, Gena from Choosing Raw. It makes a generous amount, especially for one person, so I found quite a few ways to use it:)

Gena was kind enough to allow me to repost her recipe here. Please click here to view Gena's original post on this recipe.
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Creamy Hemp Basil Sauce (yields about 1 1/2 cups — possibly a bit less)

½ cup hemp butter
½ cup water
1 tsp lemon
1-2 dates (pitted)
1 tsp oregano, dry
½ tsp thyme, dry
¼ cup fresh basil, packed
¼-1/2 tsp salt (start with ¼ and then adjust to your taste)
1 tbsp olive oil

Procedure:

Blend all ingredients in a blender, food processor, magic bullet, or Vitamix until well mixed. Adjust water if you’d like it thinner—but keep in mind that it will thicken in the fridge.
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Gena used it as a sauce for spiralized carrot and zucchini pasta and suggested it would be good as a dressing for slaw...it was! I made the sauce a bit thicker by adding a little less water.

The Creamy Coleslaw is shredded carrot, green cabbage, purple cabbage, and a sprinkle of hemp seed mixed with the sauce.


I also used some as a dressing for a simple Creamy Kale Salad. It makes two servings. I loved it so much, I had one for lunch, and the other for dinner!!!!

Creamy Kale Salad

1 small bunch of kale, stems removed
1 cup tomato, 1/4 inch dice
3/4 cup Creamy Hemp Basil Sauce
2 Tablespoons hemp seed
sprinkle of salt
drizzle of olive oil

Makes 2 servings

1. Tear kale into bite sized pieces, and place into a medium sized bowl.

2. Sprinkle kale with salt and olive oil, and massage with hands to soften.

3. Add Creamy Basil Hemp Sauce and hemp seed and mix well.

4. Top with diced tomato and an extra sprinkle of hemp seed, if you like.

This creamy kale salad was so awesome. I love to find a new twist on an old favorite like kale salad:) I am definitely making this one again!

I absolutely love the sauce. You know it is good when you spend 10 minutes scraping out the blender!

It also made the perfect sandwich spread. This is a ezekiel tortilla spread with a little of the creamy hemp basil sauce, and topped with alfalfa sprouts, crisp maple jicama bacon, sliced tomato, and a sprinkle of hemp seeds. This was seriously good!

Since there was such a generous amount of sauce, there was still enough for today's lunch, sushi! It made a wonderful dipping sauce. If you like a spicy sauce, try mixing in a little powdered wasabi. I tried it in a little bit, but preferred the sauce sweet:)


Hemp is one of my favorite ingredients to use in raw recipes. It is really a powerhouse of nutrition.
If you enjoy adding hemp to your raw food diet, here is another wonderful way to enjoy it.

Thank you, Gena, for allowing me to share your wonderful recipe.{{{BIG HUG!}}}

Hemp Power Ball Truffles

Here is a quick and easy recipe for a yummy, healthy treat. It is a great way to use hemp seed butter. It is adapted from a recipe I found online.

Hemp Power Ball Truffles

For truffles:
¼ cup tahini
¼ cup hemp seed butter
2 tablespoons carob powder
2 tablespoons agave
2 tablespoons cacao nibs, ground fine
2 tablespoons goji berries, ground fine
1 teaspoon maca powder
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon cinnamon

For decoration:
About ¼ cup hemp seeds, to roll truffles in
Whole goji berries, for decoration if desired

Makes 16 one inch truffles

1. Combine all ingredients , except hemp seeds and whole goji berries, in a small bowl. Mixture should be shiny and smooth, pulling away from the sides of the bowl. You can add a little more carob if it seems sticky. You may chill the mixture to firm it up a little before shaping.

2. Roll into 16 one inch balls.

3. Roll each ball into shelled hemp seeds.

4. Press one goji berry into truffle, if desired.

5. May be stored covered in fridge for about 1 week or so, if you hide them!

Click here for more hemp recipes, many are raw:)

Veggie Expo and a recipe:)

On Saturday I went to the NY Capitol Region Vegetarian Expo in Saratoga.

I was happy to see some of exhibitors with products I was familiar with, like Artisana Coconut Butter:)

Here is a recipe featured at the Artisana booth as it appears on the hand-out. Thank you Artisana!
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Cole's Coconut Fruit Dip

8 oz. Artisana Coconut Butter
2 fresh ripe organic peaches or nectarines (feel free to experiment with other fruits!)
1 large organic lime
2 tablespoons raw and organic agave

Peel lime and remove seeds. Remove pits from fresh peaches. Place fruit and Artisana Coconut Butter into Vitamix or powerful blender and blend until smooth. Add agave for sweetening to taste.

This makes a super creamy and delicious fruit dip. Slice apples or prepare other fruit for dipping and enjoy. You can add even more agave for a Creamy Peachy Frosting that is super healthy!
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A little more about the Expo....
I had a chance to sample some of the Zukay Live Foods dressings. They are so good, and raw!
Here is a pic of Scott who was so nice and took a minute to briefly explain to every person who came up to the booth about the benefits of probiotic fermented foods. These are a great healthy alternative to your own dressings.

Another familiar product line exhibited was Navitas.

There were some lovely products at this booth from The Garden of One

Look at all the goodies from Cosmo's Vegan Shoppe:)

There were lots of compassionate books...

I got a sneak preview of the book I was fortunate enough to win from Gone Vegan. Thanks Gone Vegan! Here it is on the way home from picking it up at the post office today. What a beautiful day for a walk:)


There were some booths I could not get a picture of because they always had a large crowd of people around them and all you would have seen is the backs of all the people:) They were the ones selling fresh baked vegan goodies of some kind! There were lots of yummy samples.

I must say that the people I met here were all so awesome! Everyone I spoke to was so friendly and caring. Many showed a great interest in raw foods. There was one Raw Food specific booth, but sadly it was empty. I was sorry Gena from Choosing Raw was unable to make it:( I hope you are feeling better!

As noted in their website, the Expo is the first in the Capital Region area to bring together and promote the global health benefits of green sustainable living, environmental awareness, and compassion for animals and all beings while highlighting their relationship to a plant-based diet.

Many of the booths were there to educate people about the horrible reality of factory farming. There are links provided with the pics at the end of this post if you want to know more about the organizations dedicated helping animals. Happily, the vegan raw food diet does not contribute to such atrocities.

Here are a few pics of some of the wonderful organizations helping animals in need, and the beautiful people who love and care enough about our friends to dedicate a good portion of their time to saving them.
Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary(Hi Cassie!)

Catskill Animal Sanctuary


New England Anti-Vivisection Society

Maple Farm Sanctuary

Here are a pair of the sweetest greyhounds from Greyhound Rescue of N.Y.

If possible, please support some of the organizations here or in your area that provide such a haven for our amazing animal friends. They might not exist without contributions from other caring people, like us:)

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!
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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.