i try making healthy, raw cherry ripe slice

I adapted this recipe from Live, Love, Eat Raw. I made a few changes (mainly with the topping) so I've re-written my version of  the recipe below. This is a really delicious recipe. The tartness of the cherries balances out the subtle sweetness of the base and top well. and, best of all, its healthy, vegan, raw and refined sugar free.

Ingredients

Base
10 mejool dates
1 cup almond meal
1.5 cups shredded coconut
2 tbs raw cacao powder
2 tbs rice malt syrup (a little more if you prefer it sweeter)
2 tbs chia seeds
pinch of sea salt

Filling
2 cups of frozen cherries, thawed and drained of excess liquid (can use fresh cherries if in season)
Juice of small lemon
1.5 tbs coconut oil
3 cups shredded coconut
1 tbs rice malt syrup
1 cup cashews (soaked for 4 hours)
1 tbs chia seeds
pinch of sea salt

Top
55g cacao butter
30g coconut oil
3 tbs agave nectar (more if your prefer it sweeter)
50g cacao powder, sifted
pinch of sea salt

Method

1. To make the base: combine all base ingredients into a high-powered blender/food processor. Process until mixture is well combined and comes together. 
2. Press into lined 24cm baking tin. Refrigerate.
3. To make filling: place all filling ingredients into a high-powered blender/food processor. Process until mixture is well combined and comes together. 
4. Press into tin on top of base mixture. Refrigerate.
5. To make top: Bring a small amount of water to a simmer in a small pot. 
6. Put cacao butter and coconut oil in a glass bowl and place a glass bowl on top of the pot of water (ensure the bottom of the glass bowl does not touch the water). Stir gently with a metal spoon until cacao butter is melted.
7. Whisk in agave nectar.
8. Remove from heat. whisk in cacao powder and salt. 
9. Pour over filling and base. Refrigerate until set. Slice and serve.

Note: I recommend keeping your slice in the freezer.

i try making vegan cheesecake

My sister rang me up and asked if I wanted to come over and help her make a cheesecake for our Ma's birthday dinner. There were two problems with this:
1. Pretty sure our mum doesn't like cheesecake.
2. Your vegan...

But she assured me that neither of these two issues where going to be a problem. She had a plan. And a recipe. She sourced the recipe from one of my favourite blogs: My New Roots. It is definitely worth a visit! My sister also highly recommends the happy crackers.

I must admit, I was sceptical at first. We sampled some of the filling before we scooped it into the pan. It was delicious, smooth and slightly zingy. I had no reason to doubt my sis.

The base is made up of almonds, dates and a wee bit of salt. The filling consists of soaked cashews, lemon juice, vanilla bean, coconut oil and honey. Half of the mixture is also whizzed up with fresh raspberries.

I was worried the mixture wouldn't solidify properly and we would end up with a goopy mess (a delicious goopy mess but still a goopy mess). However, when we took them out of the freezer several hours later they were perfectly formed.

This is a delicious recipe. Even our carnivore brothers went back for more. I love a desert that is delicious but doesn't clog your arteries or give you that I-really-didn't-need-that-chocolate-cake feeling. I highly recommend these cakes for any occasion! We did mini cakes because we were pressed for time but the original recipe is for one big cake. Both ways work equally well!

You can find this recipe at My New Roots.

Follow me on Instagram: @mirandamc

i try making raw granola

Raw Granola Recipe

I must confess I am addicted to the Samudra berry granola. It is very delicious. However, at $13.50 for a 250g bag ($15 at some places) it don't come cheap. So I decided to experiment with making my own raw granola. No offense Samudra but I like mine better :)

Ingredients

3/4 cup almond meal
1/2 cup vanilla protein powder
1/4 cup shredded coconut
2 tbs oats
1 generous tbs each of sunflower seeds, pepitas and chia seeds
2 fresh dates
1/4 cup cranberries
3 tbs goji berries
50ml agave syrup
Squeeze lemon juice

1. Put cranberries in a bowl with 50ml of boiling water and let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Place almond meal, protein powder, coconut, oats, seeds and dates in a food processor and blitz until desired texture is formed (i.e. if you like a more chunky granola just blitz it until it's combined.
3. Add remaining ingredients (including the water that the cranberries were soaking in). Blitz until just combined. Mixture should be slightly sticky, not runny and not dry.
4. Place on baking paper on the racks of a dehydrator and dehydrate at 45 degrees for 10 hours.

Notes: You can easily adjust this recipe to suit your taste. Add dried apricots or sultanas. Try using hazelnut meal instead of almond meal. You can use honey instead of agave syrup if you prefer it. You may need adjust the level of liquids in order to get the right texture.

i try making healthy biscuits

I like making sweet things. However, when it comes to eating them, any ounce of self-discipline I have is forgotten and the goods are polished off in a day or two. In the case of biscuits, at least a quarter of the mixture is already eaten before it even makes it to the oven. I have issues.

Imagine a biscuit where every single ingrediant is good for you. That's what I wanted to make. And, I think I have done it. These biscuits are delicious and, true to form, I ate them very quickly. I have put some info below the recipe on each of the ingredients and why they are good for you. These biscuits even got the tick from the person who tastes all my baked goods, and is never afraid to say what he thinks. Yes, my toughest critic, my younger brother, gave them the nod of approval.

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup wholemeal plain flour

1 cup almond meal (ground almonds)

1/2 cup shredded coconut

pinch salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup agave nectar/syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Sift flour and baking powder into bowl. Add all remaining dry ingredients and combine. In a separate bowl combine wet ingredients. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined.

Roll mixture into small balls and place on baking tray lined with baking paper. Ensure there are several centimeters between each ball. Flatten slightly with the back of a spoon or your fingers. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes. Allow to cool on baking tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

Why It's Good For You

Oats/Wholemeal Flour: Oats are an excellent source of B vitamins and minerals, as well as being higher in protein and essential fatty acids than other, more refined cereals. It is also believed they can help lower cholersterol and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Almonds: Almonds are a rich source of protein, potassium, manganese, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus. They are little bullets of goodness.

Coconut: Coconut is a good source of protein. It helps with tissue and muscle repair. It is rich in potassium, phosphorus and magnesium. It also aids digestion and improves bowel function.

Dried Apricots: Apricots are loaded with Vitamin A and are also a good source of calcium. They help to normalize blood pressure, body fluids and heart function.
Olive Oil: Research suggests that using olive oil as the main source of fat in your diet can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and some types of cancer. It has antioxidant properties and has been shown to lower blood pressure.
Agave nectar: Agave nectar (aka agave syrup) is a natural sweetner from agave plants. It has a much lower GI than other sweetners and sugars meaning you can avoid massive spikes in blood sugar levels. It's sweetness comes from fructose which is a sugar that naturally occurs in fruits. But, like all sugars, it should be consumed in moderation.

References
Crocker, P. (2007). The Vegetarian Cook's Bible. Toronto: Robert Rose

Oats So Good For You. (2007). Retrieved February 11, 2011, from http://www.scri.ac.uk/news/oats

Eight Facts About Agave Nectar. (2010). Retrieved February 10, 2011, from
http://www.fooducate.com/blog/2010/01/17/eight-facts-about-agave-nectar/

Olive Oil. (2010). Better Health Channel. Retrieved February 9, 2011, from
http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/olive_oil?open

i try making pomegranate and raspberry sorbet

So, I bought some pomegranates the other day...Not entirely sure why. I don't use them that often because they are fiddely and stain your clothes like no-one's business. They sat on my kitchen bench for a while and I wasn't really sure what to do about them. With the temperature hovering in the mid-thirties I decided on sorbet.

Ingredients

4 pomegranates

400g frozen raspberries

1 cup warm water

1/2 cup sugar
2 eggwhites, lightly whisked

Place sugar and water in a saucepan over a medium heat. Cook stirring for 5 minutes. Simmer gently, without stirring, for 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool completely.

Blend up the raspberries in a food processor until they are smooth. You can pass them through a sieve but I don't bother. Halve pomegranates and juice as you would a lemon. You only want the seeds and the juice. Pull out remaining seeds with your fingers. They will come away from the skin very easily. Push seeds and juice through a sieve (use a spoon or your fingers to ensure you get maximum juice off the seeds).

Combine raspberries, sugar water and pomegranate juice. Place in a 30cm x 20cm baking tray. Freeze for 1-2 hours till partially frozen.

Place mixture in a food processor with egg whites. Blend until slushy but not frozen. Put in a plastic container and freeze until set (2-3 hours or overnight).

i try making brown rice sushi

I've never made sushi before. I've eaten a lot of it. And I've heard many a myth of how tricky it can be to make your own. Until I discovered Peko Peko sushi in Doubleview, Western Australia, I didn't think brown rice sushi was possible. I was resigned to the fact that it was against the laws of sushi. Not so my friend. I have both seen and sampled brown rice sushi at Peko Peko. In a burst of inspiration I decided to try my own!

You can put whatever filling you want in sushi but here's what I did this time around. I also meant to add Japanese mayo but we didn't have any in the house.

3 roasted nori sheets
1 cup brown rice (preferably short-medium
grain)
1tbs seasoned rice vinegar
300g fresh sashimi grade salmon,
trimmed and cut into strips
1/2 continental cucumber, cut into batons
1 carrot, cut into batons and steamed (I just used the
microwave)
1/4 avocado, cut into strips
1 spring onion, diagonally
slicedSoy sauce, pickled ginger and wasabi, to serve
*You will also need a sushi mat and a bowl of water.

Cook rice according to packet instructions. Allow to cool. Combine rice vinegar and rice. Place one sheet of roasted nori, shiny side down, onto the sushi mat. Wet hands in bowl of water. Spread a handful of rice over the nori sheet, forming a layer about 1-1.5cm thick, and leaving 2cm of nori at the end furthest from you free. The rice doesn't need to be too dense. You should still be able to see some of the nori through the rice.

Working at the end closest to you, layer a strips of salmon, horizontally, starting about 3cm from the edge. Add a couple batons each of cucumber, carrot and avocado. Lift up the sushi mat at the end closest to you and begin to tightly roll the sushi up*. Just before you reach the end, wet the free edge with water to seal it. Remove sushi mat. Repeat with remaining nori sheets. Use a wet knife to slice sushi roll into 2cm slices. Serve with soy sauce, wasabi and pickled ginger.

*I don't mean to insult you intelligence, but, obviously the mat doesn't get rolled up. It is used as a guide and helps to get the sushi nice and tight without piercing the nori sheets.