Raw Chocolate Covered Strawberries

This recipe is for a coconut oil based chocolate sauce you can dip any fruit into that will harden to a chocolate shell. Use the leftover chocolate sauce to pour into ice cube molds and freeze to make chocolates. I use a heart shaped rubber ice cube mold that I can pop the candy right out. So cute, easy, and good for you!

I ate this for Breakfast today with strawberries and bananas....

Ingredients:
1/4 Cup of Coconut Oil Melted to a liquid state
4 Tablespoons of Raw Cocoa Poweder or Cocoa nibbs grounded
2 Tablespoons Agave Nectar
*Double the recipe to accommodate the amount of fruit you would like to dip.

Fruit: Strawberries, Mangoes, Bananas, etc.
Also try nuts, top pies, dip nut butter cookies, raw ice cream, etc.

Chocolate Sauce
Melt the coconut oil by putting the jar in a bowl of warm/hot water. Set aside and let the coconut oil liquefy. You can prepare your fruit while the oil melts. In a cup combine all the ingredients and stir until mixed. The consistency should be of a rich melted chocolate sauce. When you dip your spoon in it should evenly coat the spoon and drip slowly, not runny. If runny add more cocoa powder.

Strawberry Dipping
Dip the strawberries in the cup with the melted chocolate. Coat evenly and place on a plate. When done put the strawberries in the fridge to help the chocolate firm up more. If the room is cold the sauce will start to harden in the cup. A trick is to place the cup in a shallow bowl of hot water to keep it melted.

*I put the chocolate covered sliced bananas in the freezer instead of the fridge because they remind me of little bits of banana Klondike bars. I guess I could get real creative sometime and mold Klondike bars from raw ice cream. Let me know if you try this first, I could use some tips.

Thank You Maggie

I would like to thank Maggie's Mercantile for adding raw foods options to her already awesome vegan deli. This might be one small step for Maggie's Mercantile but one HUGE step for Pittsburgh. All I ask Maggie's is that you price your Raw Cocoa, and get back to me.

Maggie's Mercantile 320 Atwood Street Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4026	Phone: (724) 593-5056

Lunch Post

Hello,
Long time no see. Everyday I hope to squeeze in a lunch post about what I am eating lately. I have some staples I have been falling back on. They are simple, quick, and good.

<3's
Pea


Pad Thai
There are many wonderful complex recipes for raw pad thai. This is not one of them, but it is fresh and tangy. This is my lunch today.

Ingredients:
Noodle Salad
1 bag Mung Bean Sprouts
1 Cucumber, peeled, juliened, or spiralized into noodles (stop when you hit the seeds)
1 Carrot peeled, juliened, or spiralized into noodles
1 Handful of Cilantro
1 Sprinkling of chopped Nuts
Cut all the veggies into noodle like shapes. Toss these ingredients in a bowl.

Sauce
2 Tablespoons of Tamarind Paste
2 Tablespoons of Nut Butter
1 Soaked date or spoonful of sweetner
1 inch piece of peeled ginger
1 garlic
1 Teaspoon of Bragg's
1/4 cup of water or lime juice
Put all these ingredients in to a blender and blend. Add more water slowly if needed to reach desired sauce consistency. I like mine thicker. Pour the sauce over the veggie noodles and mix.

Who would have thought

Too busy to post! I promised myself and you that this blog would never be personal, and it won't. So I will I spare and not share the details of my busy artist life. But lets just say as the art is booming the blog is not. So I apologize and will get my ass in gear to report my raw recipe adventures. Lately with my uber busy schedule I have not been eating much at home or totally raw therefore. What I have manged to do is impact one of my friends to try a Raw Diva Detox. There is one starting this Saturday, and although I wasn't planning on doing it she convinced me to do it with her! Just what I needed, a friends support to keep me grounded and raw. So keep blogging because I will keep you posted on the culinary delights of the the detox.

Sincerely,

Pea

Moroccan Apple Milk

1 tart apple
1 cup of Almond or dairy free milk of choice
3 ice cubes
1 t of liquid sweetener (honey, agave, maple syrup etc.)
A few leaves of mint (as garnish or blended)

Chop the apple into small easy to blend pieces. Add all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth, frothy, but not as thick as a smoothie consistency. Pour and serve.

Banana Cardamon Lassi

Cardamon is my favorite spice of this month. This recipe is adapted from the Lord Krishna's The Art of Vegetarian Indian Cuisine. This is not a book, it is a volume and a must for those who LOVE Indian food.




2 Frozen Bananas or unfrozen bananas with 3 or 4 ice cubes
1 cup of Almond Milk or dairy free milk of choice.
1/4 t of ground cardamon or the seeds from 2 green cardamon pods

Blend all the ingredients in a blender. Pour into a glass and sprinkle with a pinch of nutmeg (optional). Serves and enjoy.

Jicama Fries

It seems that a lot of raw food cookbooks all have their own version of this fast comfort food like dish. This is my version. The sesame oil is what makes it nutty and reminiscent of Fried Fries. (Pic coming soon!)




Tools: Knife or Mandoline or French Fry cutting tool
Serves: 4

1 Jicama
1 Tablespoon of Sesame Oil
1/4-1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
Sprinkle of Paprika (optional)

Cut Jicama into French Fry Like sticks. Coat with sesame oil and toss with salt. Sprinkle with paprika serve and enjoy!