chocolate caramel tart with orange & sea salt

This turned out exactly as I had hoped. Score! The other day I got the image of this dark chocolate, decadent, sinful-looking tart with a hidden layer of caramel in my head and couldn't get rid of it. So I made it for you. I decided to add some orange juice and zest for the holiday season (oranges are christmas-y, right?) and also sprinkled on some sea salt because frankly it makes everything better. Then I realized it looked like it was snowing on my tart! Totally intentional. 

I cannot BELIEVE it is Christmas Eve today. I don't usually pay a lot of attention to reality but this year I've been away in my mind more than normal because I hardly even realized it was December. Woah, when did that happen? This evening we are going to a have nice dinner with family and other loved ones, as is the conventional custom I suppose. Tomorrow we're getting up early to systematically (yes, the von Euws have a system) unwrap our gifts to and from one another.

I am excited of course, but mostly just looking forward to spending the holiday with my boyfriend. My gift for him is below - a mug I drew all over, which I will fill with my poems. I don't really want any other presents except him! Having said that, I AM running low on virgin coconut oil... and I'm always down for some books on philosophy.

This tart is going to be dessert tonight and I can tell you right now - it's a keeper. Who doesn't like chocolate and caramel, especially when you don't have to feel guilty about eating it? Only crazy people. But don't judge them - they have lost their sanity. You can't trust anyone who doesn't like caramel.

I wish you the merriest holiday with whoever you spend it with. I hope you are able to surround yourself with positive energy, good will, love and raw vegan tarts. That is what I will be doing. Merry Christmas, my beloved and cherished readers! You are precious to me. (But don't worry, I won't go Golem on you). 

chocolate caramel tart with orange & sea salt:

Crust:

2 cups almonds

1 1/2 cups dates

Caramel:

1 cup dates

1 cup water, use as much or little as needed to get a thin caramel consistency

2 tablespoons chia seeds 

1 tablespoon agave nectar

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Chocolate:

3/4 cup cacao

2/3 cup maple syrup

2/3 cup melted coconut oil

juice and zest from 2 oranges

1 teaspoon vanilla (optional) 

To make the crust: pulse the nuts in your food processor until crumb-sized, then add the dates and pulse until everything sticks together. Press into the bottom of a tart tin and put in the freezer. 

To make the caramel: blend all ingredients (you can do this in the food processor) until smooth, adjusting to your desires. Spoon into the bottom on the crust and put back in the freezer. 

To make the chocolate: blend all ingredients in your food processor until smooth. When the caramel in your crust is solid, spread the chocolate on top and put back in the freezer. Let it stay in there overnight, then garnish with sea salt and orange zest and serve.

banana bread

This is a family recipe and I remember many good times in the kitchen as a little kid, with my mom whipping this up in the Kitchen-Aid. I wasn't tall enough to see over the counter in the big, whirling metal bowl but I knew that it's contents were always delicious, and if I was lucky that day - I'd get a spoonful of the batter =) Banana bread was my favourite, topping cookie dough!

The secret is to use overly ripe bananas: I'm talkin' brown, slimy bananas. They have the most flavour. My mom usually would wait til they were pretty brown then stick them in the freezer until she had time to make the bread. Yesterday, we just had some really ripe nanners kickin' around so I used those.

Obviously, I also veganized the recipe... Earth Balance wasn't around 50 years ago.
The WORD "vegan" wasn't even in existence until 1944!
Anyways, this bread is truly delicious, it's crispy on the top and over-loaded with nuts and cinnamon, while the bread itself is SUPER moist and flavourful. MMM! You can make it fairly healthy too!

Moist Banana Bread: makes one loaf 

1 cup mashed bananas

1/2 cup vegetable "shortening"

1 cup brown sugar/raw sugar or other sweetener 

1 t cinnamon and nutmeg mix

1/2 t salt

1 t baking soda

1 1/4 cups flour 

2 Tb ground flax mixed with 1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients together until you have a pretty smooth batter. Try it! Yummaaayy. Pour it into a loaf pan.

Now if you want to totally step up the whole game: roughly mix together 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 t cinnamon, 1 Tb olive oil and 1/3 cup chopped pecans. Sprinkle this on top of the batter in the loaf pan. Bake for about 40 minutes, doing the tooth pick test to make sure it's ready. Let it cool for around 20 minutes and then slice and enjoy with loved ones!

pecan bars

So. I know this blog is supposed to be centered around RAW vegan foods, but I cannot resist my addiction to baking. I've always loved baking. Now I just love vegan baking! =)
Plus, with the holidays and all, there's really no way I'm not gonna be making all sorts of delicious and semi-healthy baked goods for family and friends.

Who doesn't want a vegan pecan bar made with love and coconut oil? I have yet to meet such a person.

As you may have guessed, today I'm sharing a pecan bar recipe. I made them yesterday and everyone says they're amazing! As a bonus, they're pretty good for ya too! 

They're all whole wheat, and there's not a lot of sugar at all, but they taste as good as (or better!) than any old cream-, egg- and sugar-loaded bar.
They can EASILY be sugar-free, but I currently don't have any honey, agave or maple syrup.

Decadent Disappearing Pecan Bars: makes 9-16 bars

2 cups whole wheat flour

3 Tb raw sugar (or other less refined sugar/sweetener)

1/4 cup melted coconut oil/olive oil or both

Pinch of salt

Water, as needed

1/4 - 1/3 raw sugar (or other)

1/4 cup coconut oil/olive oil

1-2 t vanilla extract

2 Tb ground flax seeds

1 t arrowroot powder

3 Tb nut milk

1 1/2 - 2 cups roughly chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix all ingredients from first list until it's like shortbread dough. Press into bottom of 9X9 baking pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, until it's brown around edges. 

While it's cooling, heat sugar and oil together over medium heat for 5 minutes or so, stirring often. Let it cool down a bit.

In another bowl, mix flaxseed, vanilla, arrowroot powder and nut milk together. Add to sugar/oil mixture. Stir together and add chopped pecans. Pour this onto the bottom shortbread layer and refrigerate for an hour or so, til the caramel hardens a bit. 

Cut into squares and enjoy!

3-Day Apple Fast: Complete

Well... that was easy!

I was contemplating going a few more days this morning, but I decided against it for family reasons. My parents worry. I understand why, but I know myself better than anyone else does so I know what's best for me!

I would say yesterday was my best day. I was very uplifted, spiritually speaking; and experienced several personal insights. Physically, I had tons of energy and hardly needed any sleep. When you aren't concentrated on food, it frees up a lot of time and energy that you can focus on other things. For me, I focus it on inner knowledge, personal development, spirituality, and I do this through meditation and dreaming.

Speaking of dreams... during the fast I had pretty unusual dreams (for me) and not in a good way! They were all fairly dark and negative. I don't view this as a bad thing. Balance is always needed and 99% of the time I have great dreams, so as well as with other detox symptoms, strange dreams is one I experienced. I look at it as repressed emotions unveiling themselves and being eliminated.

The only thing I really did not like about the past 3 days was my body temperature. I was cold! I used to always be slightly cold. It got worse when I went raw for the first time. That was a year ago. Now I'm always slightly WARM! It was a great transformation. I was basically never cold, no matter my environment or clothing. Raw vegan super powers? =)
But after beginning my fast, I got cold again! I know it's just my blood going away from my skin towards my internal organs, to do some serious house-cleaning. Now that I'm eating other foods again however, I am back to normal. So nothing lost, a lot gained!
 
As gar as food goes: I began the day slowly with a grapefruit a few hours after waking (after a bunch of water of course), then some more fruit later. I know I should've stayed totally raw and quite light all day buuuuuuut  things don't always go according to plan =S 
I went over to my friends house later and ate some couscous sushi. Delicious and mostly raw so I don't feel bad. But still, my body probably would've preferred nothing. Ah well. No biggie.


I'm not sure when I'll begin my grapefruit fast, but it will most likely be soon.
As much as I'd LOVE to say "I'm gonna stay totally raw through the holidays" - I know I'd just let myself down, ha ha.
I love baking so I'll be making all sorts of delicious wholesome goodies, plus I'm sure my mom will make a bunch of vegan dishes for Christmas. I can't resist! So some serious cleansing before and after will be perfect. And at the end of the day, some whole wheat cookies and steamed veggies aren't bad for me, they allow me to share those moments with my family.

I don't think Christmas would be quite the same if at Christmas morning, my family is all sitting at the table eating our traditional cinnamon buns while I crouch in the corner, sipping my green smoothie...

It's situations like that that keep me eating a percentage of cooked food =) And it's NOT A BAD THING. I need to keep remembering that, because sometimes I get carried away with raw foodism. It's not a religion. I won't die if I eat cooked food! >.<