Decadent German Chocolate Cheesecake- Raw, Gluten-Free and Vegan!!

     My boyfriend told me he was craving cheesecake just a few days before his birthday. Hmm... I started tossing out all these ideas (do you want strawberry, cherry, chocolate, chocolate chip?) I was imagining all kinds of tasty ideas. He was just like, "Stop! You're making me hungry." Well, he's no help. :-p So anyway, he mentioned cheesecake and I love raw, vegan cheesecake and have been wanting to experiment making my own. I also love this amazingly decadent vegan german chocolate cake that my sister has been making for everyone's birthday for the past year or so. It's full of bad things like sugar and processed flour but it's vegan and so delicious.

     I have been thinking that I could probably quite successfully make a raw version of this incredible cake. Of course it would have to be a cheesecake type cake because I don't have a clue how I would make a delicious chocolate cake that was spongy, moist, still raw and doesn't taste healthy. So, a silky cheesecake kind of texture would have to work. It turned out great! I would only change one thing. I made a tasty crust for it however, I think I would prefer a dark chocolate coating where the crust would be, just to make it more true to the delicious cake my sister makes as well I believe it would better compliment the texture of this cake. So, I will be adding the chocolate coating recipe to this one later. I have an idea of how I want to make it but want to test it first before I post. Anyway, this recipe has lots of healthy fats and is free from the most common allergens: milk, dairy, eggs, soy

Crust:

1 C raw oat groats (if you can't find these, you can use whole oats)
1/2 C raw coconut oil (I like Artisana brand from Whole Foods)

Pour oat groats into blender or food processor and blend a minute or so until it has more of a floury consistency. It will be a bit grainer than flour then mix together with the oil in in a bowl. Sometimes I need to add a little extra coconut oil. Once the dough is mixed, press into the bottom of your pie pan and refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

Filling:
1 C coconut oil
1 C shredded coconut
2/3 C raw cashew or macadamia nut butter ( you can make this by soaking nuts overnight and blending in a vitamix or food processor)
1 C raw cacao or cocoa powder
1 C raw agave syrup
1/4 tsp sea salt

Blend the shredded coconut and oil in the blender or food processor until smooth then blend the rest of the ingredients together. You can also melt the ingredients together with a spoon over heat no higher than 98 degrees. Blend until smooth. Spread mixture over crust and place in fridge again.

Topping:

1 C honey dates or medjool work well too
1/2 Tbsp raw whipped honey* (optional)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract**
2/3 C raw pecan pieces
1/3 C shredded coconut

Soak pecans and dates separately overnight. I actually skipped this step but it does usually make a difference. Place dates, honey, and vanilla in the blender and blend until smooth then stir in coconut and pecans. Spread this mixture over the top and serve right away or refrigerate until you're ready to serve it.

*Honey comes from bees so is not vegan
**Vanilla extract is not raw but is tasty so I use it you can leave it out if you eat strictly raw foods

Vegan, Gluten-Free, Healthy (and Easy) Gravy Recipe

     Since it's almost Thanksgiving, I imagine people will be searching for great vegan and gluten-free gravy recipes. I created this recipe last Thanksgiving based on my mom's vegan gravy recipe. This is really simple and can be made with or without mushrooms. I love mushrooms but sometimes I just want plain gravy.

Anyway, if you're making it with mushrooms, thinly slice some baby bella or crimini mushrooms and saute them in olive oil with a good splash of Bragg liquid aminos (or soy sauce) and set aside.

Ingredients:
1/2 C olive oil
1/2 C nutritional yeast flakes
2-4 tsp corn starch or arrowroot powder
1/4 C Bragg liquid aminos (if you don't have this ingredient, use a soy sauce)
2-3 C vegetable broth (I like Imagine brand or make your own)
freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Over medium heat, brown the yeast flakes in the olive oil. It will make somewhat of a paste then add the Bragg liquid aminos and the cornstarch or arrowroot powder. Once you have everything mixed, add in the mushrooms if you're using them, then gradually stir in the vegetable broth. Add more arrowroot or cornstarch if it doesn't thicken to the desired consistency. If you like it to be saltier, add more Bragg liquid aminos. Once it's finished, reduce heat and grind a little black pepper on top if you like and serve. It's great with mashed potatoes.

If you're not worried about gluten, you can replace the nutritional yeast flakes with whole wheat flour and leave out the cornstarch.

Chocolate Chip Hummus

     I am such a nice daughter, I made a delicious (No Sugar) Cookie Dough Dip for mom's potluck, knowing I wouldn't be attending. As I said previously, me, mom and my sis are all scare performers and though we work at the same place, our scare areas are far apart. :( Anyway, this is not my own recipe. It is from my new favorite blog, Chocolate Covered Katie. Since starting my blog, I have been reading other great blogs to get inspiration and ideas and Katie's is my favorite so far. I don't want to steal so of course I must give credit where it is deserved. This dip was amazing! We served it with apple slices and graham crackers and I am told it was the talk of the terror tram. Mom even met another family of scare performers at the potluck. The mother was so happy because her daughter has an autoimmune disease and is allergic to nearly everything. So, she was very excited her daughter had an option to eat something that was both healthy and delicious.

      This recipe is mainly made with garbanzos, which is why I like to call it chocolate chip hummus, but you would never know it has garbanzos by the taste. The oats and vanilla disguise any bean flavor or texture it might otherwise have. Best part is, you can have your protein and your sweets at the same time and not feel guilty. I actually made mine with raw agave rather than dates (had no time to soak the dates) so mine did have sugar technically I also added a little extra vanilla because I love it. Personally I could have it as a meal but I'd probably eat it after a nice little salad since I like to have some raw veggies with every meal. Although dipping raw apple slices could be sufficient raw food intake. ;-) So anyway, now you're probably salivating so check out the blog: (No Sugar) Cookie Dough Dip

Btw- This is how I made it. It's a little different than her's.
Chocolate Chip Hummus
• 1 ½ cups chickpeas (1 can, drained) (250g)
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup peanut butter 
• ¼ cup nondairy milk 
• ½ C raw agave or brown sugar
• ¼ C oats
• ½ cup chocolate chips

Add all ingredients (except for chocolate chips) to a blender or food processor, and blend until very smooth. Then stir in the chocolate chips and serve.

Trader Joe's Vegan 7 Layer Dip Recipe

I call this Trader Joe's Vegan 7 Layer Dip because everything came from TJ's and for the most part did not require a whole lot of effort. Here is the recipe:

1 can Trader Joe's fat-free Refried Beans
2 cloves garlic thinly sliced
olive oil

1 package TJ's soy chorizo

1 box/2 containers of Avocado's Number 1 Guacamole

1 container of TJ's Pico de Gallo Salsa

1 tub of TJ's "This Is Not A Tub of Cream Cheese, This Is a Tub of Non-Dairy Spread"
1-2 TBS lime Juice

Calamata Olives

1 chopped organic red pepper

First pour some olive oil into a pan large enough to cook your beans, add the garlic and saute until browned. Remove from heat and add the beans along with 1/2- 1cup filtered water and mix. Return to heat and cook until you reach your desired temp/consistency. Pour beans into a serving bowl. It will look pretty in a glass bowl.

Rinse pan and cook soy chorizo with a cup of water heat until water mostly boils out. Pour into bowl on top of the beans.

Next add the guacamole on top of the chorizo.

Then add the salsa.

Now mix the lemon juice together with the cream cheese. You may need to thin a little more with some water to reach a sour cream consistency then add on top of the salsa.

Take as many calamata olives as you like and slice in half. Toss in on top of the sour cream. You may also use black olives but calamata are my favorite so that's what I used. I didn't measure. I probably used about half the jar but I was eating them too. Just use as many as you think you will like.

The final layer is red pepper. You can saute them if you like but I prefer them raw. Just chop it up and toss them in and enjoy. I made this twice. Once after work at 4am which mom, sisters and I devoured quickly and once for my boyfriend. He's a meat eater and he loved it. Sorry there's no pic of the finished product. We were so tired and hungry, we just dove into the food. I'll update with a pic next time I make this. By the way, it tastes great served over a bed of lettuce or on top of TJ's organic white or blue corn tortilla chips.

Vegan Gluten-Free Mini Tiramisu (no baking required)

     I made lots of delicious food this weekend and I am so excited to share it with you. My mom, sis and I are working as performers for a very fun, scary theme park event for Halloween. We're apparently a scary family. It's so much fun to scare people, though it is very exhausting (I sound a bit evil but I promise these people getting scared seem to enjoy it so I feel good about it). We get through the long 12 hour nights by having potlucks and fun theme events. For example, this past weekend was 80s night in my group so I searched the web looking for a great idea for food to bring. I am an overachiever so I like to impress and amaze everyone at the potluck. I noticed the most often mentioned potluck idea was 7 layer dip so I considered bringing that but decided to go with a dessert as at our last potluck I made my delicious mac and cheese and several people mentioned they wished we had a decadent desert like cheesecake. So, I  ended up making the 7 layer dip for a snack at 4am after we all got home from work. It was really easy to throw together and mom, sis and I scarfed it down. Scaring works up quite an appetite!

     For my potluck, I chose to make vegan, gluten free mini tiramisu. I have made regular tiramisu before but I thought for convenience, mini tiramisu would easy for people to just grab and eat. Plus, I read that in the 80s there was a trend of making mini versions of various foods and that tiramisu was also trendy in the 80s due to mascarpone cheese being rather trendy. Anyway, here's the recipe. It's very simple and requires no baking which was important for this last weekend. By the way, I got all the ingredients from Trader Joe's and these went really fast at the potluck.

Vegan, Gluten-Free Mini Tiramisu

serves 24

2 8oz. tubs of Trader Joe's "This Is Not a Tub of Cream Cheese It Is a Tub of Non-Dairy Spread"
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 C vanilla non-dairy milk- I used Trader Joe's Vanilla Coconut milk beverage
1/2 C of raw turbinado sugar
1 tsp lemon or lime





2 boxes of gluten free Snickerdoodles
cupcake liners


1 C brewed coffee or espresso

1 TBS marsala wine or rum- I used marsala wine which is only about $3 from Trader Joes

First powder the raw turbinado sugar in the blender for about 1 minute.
Then pour non-dairy spread, vanilla extract, vanilla non-dairy milk, powdered, raw turbinado sugar and lemon or lime juice into a bowl, mix with a spatula and place in the refrigerator.

Brew the coffee or espresso and mix in the rum or wine. Immerse each snickerdoodle in the coffee/wine mixture and place cookie in cupcake liners. I recommend the foil cupcake liners as after a while the paper was becoming soggy and though it was still tasty I think it would be less of a struggle with the foil liners.

Next take your semi-sweet chocolate bar and grate it into a bowl. Set aside.

It's ok to eat a few squares, I did. :-)

Now place a couple spoonfuls of the non-dairy spread mixture on top of each cookie. I would guess it was roughly two tablespoons/cookie but I didn't measure. Then take the grated chocolate and sprinkle on top of your tiramisu and you're finished. Easy, right?

Delicious No-Sugar Raw Vegan Pecan Pie

     Thanksgiving is right around the corner and my favorite food to bake, now un-bake, is pecan pie. I have made many tasty vegan pecan pies because I love pecan pie and have always been trying to perfect my recipe but this is my favorite and just happens to be the easiest too!
   
        I had the idea for this recipe when I went through the farmer's market and tried some tasty honey dates. They tasted like delicious caramel or like the gooey part of pecan pie filling plus I was kinda on a raw food kick and just discovering many amazing things that could be done with coconut oil, like make a delicious buttery-tasting crust. The best thing about this pie is it's easier to make than regular pecan pie and equally, if not more, delicious.

Crust:
2 Cups raw oat groats (if you can't find these, you can use whole oats)
1 Cup raw coconut oil (I like Artisana brand from Whole Foods)

Pour oat groats into blender or food processor and blend a minute or so until it has more of a floury consistency. It will be a bit grainer than flour then mix together with the oil in in a bowl. Sometimes I need to add a little extra coconut oil. Once the dough is mixed, press into your pie tin (it works best in a disposable pie tin) and place in refrigerator while you make the filling.

Filling:
2 C honey dates or medjool work well too
1 Tbsp raw whipped honey* (optional)
1 Tbsp vanilla extract**
1 1/2 C raw pecan pieces

Soak the pecans and dates separately overnight or for at least an hour or two. This step can be skipped if there are time constraints but it does make a tiny difference in taste.

Mix the dates, honey and vanilla in a blender or food processor. You may need to add a little water if using a blender to get everything to blend. Then stir in the pecans. Once the filling is mixed to your liking,

You can also make it a chocolate pecan pie by mixing a cup of raw cacao nibs in the food processor with your dates, honey and vanilla. It has a very dark chocolate flavor.

*honey is not considered vegan to some people so if this is you, omit it
**If you're strict about being all raw, vanilla extract is not raw so you may want to omit this.

Dairy and Gluten-Free Macaroni and Smoked Cheese

Ok so the first recipe is simple but delicious. I made this for a work potluck the other day and it was so good. No one realized it was non-dairy or healthy at all! I'll have to make it again so I can add pics. I probably make some version of this recipe weekly. My family loves it!

Vegan Macaroni (penne) and Smoked Cheese

1 16oz brick of firm tofu
1/4 C olive oil
2 Tbsps nutritional yeast flakes
1-2 Tbsps garlic powder
1-2 Tbsps onion powder
1 Tbsp salt (some people will want more, I'm usually sensitive to too much salt)
1 tsp of paprika
2 Tbsp Ener-g egg replacer- if you don't have Ener-g you can use cornstarch instead
approx 2-3 tsps liquid mesquite smoke flavor or my favorite, Trader Joe's African Smoke
grind in black pepper as needed

Boil water  as instructed for Trader Joe's Brown Rice Penne or other gluten free pasta while you prepare the cheese. For the cheese, crumble the tofu into a blender or food processor with all above ingredients (minus the pasta)  and blend until smooth. Once the pasta is cooked and drained, pour cheese mixture over it and blend. Sometimes I will add 1/4 C earth balance to the cooked noodles and cheese mixture. Also it's great with sauteed mushroom and garlic tossed in along with some raw spinach or kale mixed in for color. Enjoy and let me know what you think!!

Party Every Day!!

     I love food and cooking and even more than that I love making delicious food for others. Since I can't have a party every day, this blog is a great way for me to share my delicious food with you! I have a few food allergies and sensitivities and foods I just don't eat (meat and seafood). So for all you allergy sufferers, hopefully I can help you guys out!! I also will be posting a few treats for all the raw foodists out there. I love eating and preparing raw foods but I can't eat 100% raw. I am not a vegan. I do eat eggs and honey but most of my recipes are vegan. I want to open a restaurant or catering business one day so this is a good place to put some recipes out there and get feedback.
Hope you all enjoy!!