Chocolate Torte-tastic

So, there are many ways to take this basic recipe and make all kinds of tasty goodness! My favorite lately though has been chocolate.


Crust:
1 Cup Almond Meal
1 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes (Bob's Redmill makes this the cheapest)
1 Cup Dates, chopped, then blended with 2 Tbsp water
1/2 Cup Earth Balance, melted


Filling:
1 Package Silken Tofu (it really does have to be silken)
1 Cup Chocolate Unsweetened Almond Milk
1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
1 Cup Dates, chopped, then blended with 1/2 Cup water
1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

For Crust, mix all ingredients then press into the bottom of a Springform pan, and bake on 350 until light brown, about 20 minutes.

For Filling, blend all ingredients in blender until smooth. Pour into crust and bake on 350 until knife comes out clean- about 30 minutes.

Cool completely in fridge about 2 hours, overnight is best. Slice and serve!

You can substitute many things in this recipe- I like making "Mango Cheesecake" by adding fresh mango instead of cocoa, and using vanilla unsweetened almond milk instead.

Popeyes' Monkey

Yep, it's quinoa pudding. Like rice pudding, but without refined sugar and the insulin bomb from white rice. Instead, it's an ancient grain of the gods- it's like a protein dessert. So you can high-five yourself while you eat it, or just show yer musckles!

1/2 C. pureed banana
1 C. cooked quinoa
1 C. whole milk (or coconut milk which I prefer)
1/2 C. heavy cream (once again, coconut cream is awesome!)
1/4 tsp. (if you're like me, a heavy one) ground cardamom
1/3 C. chopped, unsalted pistachios

In a large nonstick pan over medium heat, combine cooked rice and milk. Heat until the mixture begins to boil. Decrease the heat to low and cook at simmer, until the mixture begins to thicken, stirring frequently. Approximately 5 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium, add heavy cream, coconut milk, bananas and cardamom and continue to cook until the mixture just begins to thicken again- approx. 5-10 minutes. Use whisk to help prevent the cardamom from clumping. Once the mixture begins to thicken, remove from heat and add pistachios. Transfer mixture to a glass bowl, place plastic wrap directly on the surface (to keep that eery skin/film thing from forming). Cool in refrigerator for an hour. Serve in cutesy little ramekins by a cozy fire (for smokier flavor). Or, on a picnic blanket by the sea (the salt really adds dimension).

cheesecake aux fraises et à la mangue

That shit worked! It was awesome. And tasty. I was honestly a little bit surprised, but I guess cheesecakes aren't that sweet anyways.

Here goes:

Crust
1 1/4 C. almond meal
1 1/4 C. hazelnut meal
1/2 C. unsweetened  grated coconut
1 C. (2 Sticks) COLD butter (like, cut into cubes and tossed into the freezer for 15 minutes cold)
1 tsp.salt
1 tsp. maple syrup

Filling
2 Pkgs. cream cheese
1 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon peel, grated
1 C. sour cream
4 eggs
1 C. fresh organic strawberries
2 T. maple syrup
2 fresh mangoes, peeled, cubed and pureed; or 1 C. frozen mango cubes; or 1 pkg. frozen mango puree.

Topping
1 Pkg. frozen organic strawberries, thawed.

1 T. corn starch
1 tsp. maple syrup
Mango puree to drizzle

Preheat oven to 350'.
For Crust: Mix nut meals and coconut with salt in a bowl. Add to a food processor, followed by the cold butter. Mix on medium until it creates a gritty paste. Add maple syrup, mix again. Pat crust down with fingers on bottom of a spring-form pan. Set aside in refrigerator.

For Filling: Beat cream cheese, lemon juice, and lemon peel on medium until blended. Add sour cream and mix well. Add fresh strawberries and mango just until blended. Then, one at a time, beat and add eggs, just until blended. Pour into crust, bake for 50 minutes, or until top is settled. Set spring-form pan on wire rack until cool.

For Topping: Drain thawed frozen strawberries, reserving the liquid. In a medium saucepan, add enough water to reserved liquid to equal 1/2 C. Mix in cornstarch, blending well. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, boil 1 minute. Cool, then add strawberries and spoon and spread over cooled cheesecake. Drizzle with mango puree. Refrigerate for 4 hours. Remove edging from spring form pan and serve.