CINNAMON ROLLS with COCONUT FROSTING & CARAMEL RAISIN FILLING

Yeah, baby - I WENT there and made raw vegan cinnamon rolls - you know you love me. And even if you don't love me, you will love this recipe; so in a non-direct way I am receiving some love and I will take what I can get. It's a hard-knock life... NOT.

Okay who am I kidding?
Am I even funny.
No. I apologize.
Onto food.

These guys are freaking awesome. They are low fat-ish, nut-free and gluten-free so eat as many as your heart desires. Oh and duh - they're also raw and vegan which means no processed or refined ingredients; no dairy, eggs or other weird substances from animals that I don't desire! Hmm... what if when a recipe doesn't have eggs in it, we call it fetus-free? That makes sense, doesn't it? I crack myself up... JUST myself, most likely. You're probably sitting at your computer like "who IS this girl... she is crazy."

Well, I won't disagree. I probably am nuts; but I can still appreciate a good cinnamon roll!

I ate three of these in mere minutes - it's part of my duty as a food blogger, alright - while moaning "oh my god... better than cinnamon buns... mmmm... what is happening..." And I meant it! Somehow these really do taste better than the baked version, though they don't taste exactly the same. Maybe it's because I know that they are super good for me, and nobody had to get hurt to make them. Maybe not. Maybe they just taste damn good for other reason than that. Either way, I am very pleased with how these turned out and I DEMAND you make them as soon as possible.

Obviously they aren't all puffy like the original thing because there's no baking involved, but they make up for this with their flavour and density. Have these for breakfast with some fresh juice and you will be hopping around the like the energizer bunny (who's a herbivore, by the way) all day! I feel like I could take on the world right now! Put that in real terms and I am actually going to do homework now. Ah well.

If you think these look or taste too good to be healthy - think again. (I love you! Why would I give you unhealthy recipes? DON'T YOU TRUST ME.) The main ingredients in these cinnamon rolls are oats and buckwheat groats, raisins and dates, coconut, and cinnamon; let's see what these fabulous foods do for us, shall we? 

Buckwheat groats regulate blood sugar and cholesterol, are rich in fibre, disease-fighting flavonoids and magnesium, fight against heart disease and have an enormous amount of phytonutrients like phenolics which are now being found to prevent disease. Raisins and dates are excellent for oral and eye health, alkalizing in the stomach, rich in bone-strengthening calcium, blood-building iron and copper and cancer-preventing antioxidants. Coconut is finally being recognized as the super food that it is: toting antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and antiparasitic properties that keep your immunity strong; they are rich in fibre, calcium, potassium, amino acids, magnesium and electrolytes. Coconut is almost identical to human blood plasma and can actually be used for blood transfusions (best when mixed with green juice which has almost the exact same make up as human hemoglobin)!

Here's to health! 

cinnamon rolls with coconut frosting and caramel raisin filling: makes 6-7 servings

dough:
3/4 cup gluten-free oats
3/4 cup buckwheat groats
3/4 cup raisins 
3/4 cup dates
Pinch of salt (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon water
Dash of cinnamon 

coconut frosting:
1 heaping cup young coconut meat
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
4 tablespoons agave syrup (or other preferred sweetener) 
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Water, as needed

caramel raisin filling:
1 cup dates
1/4-1/2 cup coconut water 
Cinnamon powder, to taste
1/4 cup raisins

To make the dough: pulse the oats and buckwheat groats in your food processor until they become a rough flour. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until it all begins to stick together. Roll the dough into a square about 1/4-1/2 cm thick. Put this in the fridge for 1-2 hours. 

To make the frosting: blend all the ingredients together until it's smooth and drizzly. Set aside.

To make the cinnamon caramel filling: blend all the ingredients together - except the raisins - until smooth and thick like a paste. Set aside.

Cut the dough (which should now be a little more pliable) into strips and spread the filling evenly on each one, then sprinkle on the raisins and gently roll the strips up. Cover with the frosting and freak out at the awesomeness of the planet.

sushi with sprouts & tahini miso ginger sauce

Oh my goodness gracious garbanzo beans. Make this NOW. You can taste the energy in this recipe, especially because of the sprouts. The sauce brings everything together deliciously with a savoury, sweet and salty flavour; the avocado adds a rich creaminess, the bell pepper gives you that juicy crunch and finally; the cucumber makes it all taste hella fresh. 

I made this as soon as I got up, to take pictures while the light was good, because I wasn't going to have another opportunity all day (it was a VERY busy day). I didn't want to eat it for breakfast so I have been craving it all day, until the moment I stepped back in the door a couple hours ago and was able to eat it. It's fun and easy to make, no special equipment necessary, and not much mess either. 

Let's roll, baby. 

raw sushi with bean sprouts & tahini miso ginger sauce: makes 2 rolls or more

Sushi rolls:
1/2 avocado 
1/3 cucumber
1/3 bell pepper
2 cups mung bean sprouts (or other fresh sprouts)
Seaweed sheets, like nori

Tahini sauce:
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon miso
2 tablespoons peeled ginger root
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1/8 cup water (more or less)

To make the sauce: blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy, adding liquid as needed.

To make the sushi: slice the cucumber, avocado and bell pepper very thin, and add anything else you want to. Now spread some sprouts evenly over a sheet of seaweed, but leave a bit of space at one end and drip a tiny bit of sauce all over the sheet. Place in your veggies and roll up like a pro! Keep doing this until you use all your stuff. Then with a sharp knife, slice carefully present your beautiful sushi to the lucky folks you're sharing this with. If that's just you - pretend to surprise yourself and get really excited. 

Vegan sushi just magically appeared from nowhere.

triple cinnamon rolls

these are a baked food worth eating. 

my friend amanda was at my house the other day and suggested we bake something. we decided on cinnamon rolls. i put cinnamon in every layer - the dough, filling and icing - and they turned out divine. literally, these guys are holy saints. angels sing when you eat them.

i love tons of stuff in everything (really trying to work on appreciating simple recipes... failing) so i put walnuts and raisins in the filling. the dough is totally whole grain and the icing has coconut yogurt and ginger in it!

they don't need too long to bake, and the dough is gonna be a little tough to roll out just because of the whole wheat flour. but be patient and you will be rewarded! cinnamon rolls bring back all kinds of memories for me - special birthday breakfasts, christmas morning after opening presents, holidays, etc. so with all the delicious flavour and texture comes nostalgia. it makes for an amazing experience.

having said that - i've eaten way more cooked food than normal this weekend (it was all totally worth it though) and now my system is in a mess. back to raw! =)

okay... maybe after one more cinnamon roll....

triple cinnamon rolls: makes 14 or so
(adapted from smitten kitchen)

Dough:
1 cup coconut milk
3 tablespoons earth balance
3 1/2 cups whole grain flour
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 tb flax seed mixed with 2 tb water (egg!)
2 tb yeast
1 teaspoon salt
Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Filling:
3/4 cup raw sugar
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup raisins
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup melted earth balance

Glaze:
2 ounces coconut yogurt, at room temperature
1/4 raw sugar
1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tb cinnamon
1/2 t ginger power
1/4 cup honey/maple syrup/agave syrup 
1/4 cashew butter

For dough: Combine coconut milk and earth balance and melt together. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, "egg", yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add additional 2 1/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. (You may also use a KitchenAid’s dough hook for this process.) Form into ball.
Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

For filling: mix dry ingredients together, set aside.
Press down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15×11-inch rectangle. Spread melted earth balance over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle dry mixture evenly over earth balance. Starting at the longer side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, slice with floss into into equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).
Divide rolls between baking dishes lined with paper, arranging cut side up. Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 45 minutes or so. Don’t skimp on the double-rising time!
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and flip onto rack. Cool 10 minutes.

For glaze: blend all ingredients until smooth, it should be a little more liquid than desired because the coconut oil will harden up again in a few moments. yumm!!!