Raw Cheesecake

I made this for my mom's birthday and she has been raving aout it ever since. Ha ha, I love how I can get out of stressing over what to buy someone as a gift by simply baking - or in this case freezing - a cake.



She even bought the ingredients to make it herself next time. After the birthday brunch I was left with three notes of her friends asking for the recipe. I used this one.



On Thursday I'll finally have my written exam. Oh the weight that's gonna fall off my shoulders...

A Crispy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie that deserves its praise!

Celine, you are the best!

For the first time last night I tried a cookie recipe that resulted in a crispy, not chewy, cookie.
I LIVE FOR CRISPY COOKIES =D
Chewy ones are nice, but I remember having my first American chocolate chip cookie and thinking "Are they kidding me? The cookie is almost raw!" German cookies are rock hard, so I was really surprised, ha ha!
Come to think of it, maybe this cookie was supposed to turn out chewy and I simply used too little maple syrup!?



Ruby's picture totally caught my attention and I had been eyeing Celine's cookie recipes for a while now, I just couldn't decide which one to try.
But after I read what Ruby had to say, I knew I had to make it.

[...] the peanut butter cookie from the Chicago Diner. It's one of the most astoundingly tasty cookies/desserts I've ever had, and Celine's cookies taste just like them. Only Celine's version has chocolate chips, which translates to an even better cookie.

Sadly the bottom was burned. I tried scraping it off at first, but then thought screw it and happily gobbled it up. And the recipe results in 2 big cookies which is just perfect - the other one's waiting at home to comfort me after work!

I also had some of my mom's nut muesli and pimped it with chunks of mango, nectarine, kiwi (all covered up sadly) and banana slices. Then I added a few Tbsp. soy yogurt, mixed it with a squirt of agave syrup and topped it off with unsweetened apple sauce, a few raisins, almonds and flaxmeal. Delicious!!!



Work is crazy today, I can't wait to get home, relax and comment on your posts.
Have a nice day everyone!

PBJ Banana Goodness and an "Asian" Veggie & Rice Stir-Fry

A few days ago I had the grilled Peanut Butter Jelly Banana Sandwich people seem to eat all the time. It was so good! I just couldn't decide how to cut the banana =p



Last night I made a simple, light and satisfying dinner after being inspired by the take-out chinese food I had this weekend that was way too oily in my opinion.
Seriously, why do people think it's neccessary to drown tiny vegetable pieces in cups of oil? Not only am I pretty sure that most people would appreciate low-fat versions (I don't demand them to be no or low fat, but get the amount right damnit), the restaurant itself would probably save quite some money in the long run if they used 4 Tbsp. less oil for each dish.

Oh well, in that case I'll rely on myself and recreate the dish the way I want it to be. And that would be it:



Ingredients
2 bell peppers, chopped (I used 1/2 yellow, 1 red & 1/2 green)
3 cups chinese cabbage, chopped
1/3 bamboo shoots
2 carrots, shredded
3 scallions, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced
soy sauce
salt, a dash pepper

First sautee the bell pepper & celery for 10 minutes, then add the bamboo shoots, carrot and chinese cabbage and under stirring cook for 5 more minutes.

Completely fat free and again, boyfriend and father approved!

I had rice left over and craved something dessert-like, but didn't have anything on hand really so I came up with this. Rice, 3 Tbsp. apple sauce, a squirt agave and a few dashes of cinnamon. And not to forget cashews.

It's Waffle Time!

I made VwaV's Lemon Corn Waffles with blueberry sauce yesterday for breakfast and I can only reccomend them to anyone who likes lemon and corn meal. They were lemoney, crunchy and overall delicious! I didn't take a picture though because my batteries were empty.



This morning I made Vegan Dad's waffles and Jennas Banana-Walnut Waffles.
Since I made the regular waffle batch first I was left with 1/4 cup too little flour, added some corn meal but the mixture was still runny. Anyway, I had to scratch it out of my waffle iron, but the taste was still wonderful! Thanks so much for providing the recipe Jenna, I'll definitely give them another try once I have flour in the house again =)



My messy breakfast table after breakfast(as you can see I made too many regular waffles, there were more left over than the picture shows): green tea, some pear slices, berries, waffles, blueberry sauce, powdered sugar...

I'm on my way to meet some friends now, but I'll definitely comment on your blogs tomorrow. I've been checking out your new posts, but haven't had the time to comment yet. But as always I gotta say: your dishes are awesome!!!

The Plan, Raspberry Oatmeal, Chocolate Temptation Challenge and finally... Mozzarella!

The plan:

Three days each week I will consume vegetables only. Every dish I eat will have to consist of vegetables. As in soups, stir-fries, roasted veggies, mashed veggies... anything really. As long as it's vegetables only! No bread, pasta, rice, whatever.
That way I hope to try out more veggies I have never had yet. And to be honest, I love all-veggie meals!

I will starting next week, because I plan on making pizza, lasagna and black bean burgers this weekend. After that it's veggies-only time!
Anyone joining? =)

And the reason why I'm so eager to make pizza and lasagna this weekend is that last night I finally found vegan cheese!!!
You guys can't imagine how excited I was! Now I can have pizza and Lasagna with 'cheese'!



Besides having this veggie idea and drooling over my Mozzarella find I craved oatmeal last night.
Remember: never judge an oatmeal by its color!



It was delicious, but I have to admit that it didn't look very appealing.
I used the same recipe as in this one, used 2/3 cups raspberries, maple syrup instead of brown sugar & agave syrup, didn't put in any nutmeg and topped it with cashews.

The fair trade chocolate I bought last night for Cookie Mouses Chocolate Temptation Challenge! I decided to buy an Espresso chocolate. Can't wait for Easter Sunday now ;)



Still in my bag (for now)!

Apple Cinnamon Almond Oatmeal

Oh my, this tasted like Christmas morning!

Apple Cinnamon Almond Oatmeal



Ingredients
1/2 cup oats
1 cup soy milk
1 heaped tsp. brown sugar
1-2 Tbsp. agave syrup
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 apple, chopped
1-2 tsp. sliced almonds

1. put all the ingredients in a saucepan (cut 3/4 of the apple in small chunks, keep 1/4 of the apple & almonds for decorating)
2. bring to a boil, turn the heat to low and under stirring let simmer for 5-10 minutes
3. sprinkle with sliced almonds and apple slices

I will try Veganomicons Black Bean Quinoa Mango salad later, I can't wait!!!

Crunchy Cinnamony Vegan Granola

Last night I finally got around to make Granola, something I have never had before, but always wanted to try, and it turned out so good! I had it for breakfast with vanilla soy yogurt and applesauce. In combination it was a tad bit too sweet, although the yogurt isn't very sweet itself and the applesauce is unsweetend.
So I guess next time I will add only a Tbsp. brown sugar or none at all. And no Pecans next time, they became kind of salty.

But apart from that I'm very much in love with this! And I will make these next, I just didn't have any peanut butter. Who knew the thought of making my own granola bars would excite me this much?



Vegan Granola
an adaption of this homemade granola

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup coconut flakes
3 tablespoons flax seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (or pumpkin, I just didn't have any)
1/2 - 1 cup mixed nuts, chopped (I used almonds, cashews and Pecans)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup brown sugar (make that less if you don't want it too sweet)
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons agave syrup
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups mixed dried fruit (I used cranberries, didn't have anything else)

1. Preheat the oven to 375
2. line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
3. combine all the ingredients (except the dried fruit) and stir well
4. spread the mixture out into an even layer on the prepared baking sheet
5. bake for 20 to 30 minutes (depending on the depth of goldenness you’re looking for), stirring every 10 minutes
6. remove the granola from the oven and and cool completely
7. once it's cool, mix in the dried fruit



Oh man, I found so many new incredible recipes I want to try. So much to cook and bake and so little time...