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Iced Chai Snickerdoodle Snowflakes

Raw Vegan Iced Chai Snickerdoodle Snowflake Cookies

Merry Christmas Friends!

Iced Chai Snickerdoodle Snowflakes are SO darn incredible it's as though a Christmas angel flew in to my kitchen and took over my brain to bring these delectable (semi totally addictive) cookies to life. Yes, they're raw vegan… but don't bother telling anyone as they won't know the difference. Are they healthy – yes, of course they're totally amazing for you… but again, don't bother telling anyone that either as, again, they won't know the difference, they're so tasty. The insane cardamom icing is worth making alone, however, once spread atop these unbelievable Chai Snickerdoodle cut-outs, it's seriously all over – SO divine!

Iced Chai Snickerdoodles Snowflake Cookies are the stuff Holiday dreams are made of… heck these gorgeous little cookies are perfect all winter long. Come spring just switch up your cookie cutter to a tulip or a bunny and you're good to go. You'll never want to be without your stash. Trust.

Raw Vegan Chai Snickerdoodle Snowflake Cookies

Raw Vegan Chai Snickerdoodle Snowflake Cookie-Cake!

Recipe for Iced Chai Snickerdoodle Snowflake Cookies

Makes 3-4 dozen depending on the size of your cookie cutters & your ability to restrain yourself from eating all the dough & icing prior 🙂 Make the dough and icing 2 days in advance. Do your cutouts the day after. Dehydrate. Then ice the 3rd day.

INGREDIENTS

Raw Vegan Chai Snickerdoodle Snowflake Cookies

3 cups oat flour (made from 2 c oat groats processed in Vitamix)
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 1/2 cups medjool dates
1 t celtic salt
1 t Ceylon cinnamon
1/2 t ginger
1 1/4 t cardamom
1 T powdered stevia
1 T vanilla powder or 2 T vanilla extract
2/3 cup almond butter
1/3 cup coconut nectar
1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup + 2 T filtered water + extra as needed

Raw Vegan Cardamom Icing

1 t vanilla powder or 2 t vanilla extract
1/4 cup coconut butter
3/4 cup cashews soaked for 8 hours, rinsed & drained
1/2 cup extra virgin coconut oil
3 drops edible grade lemon essential oil (or sub fresh lemon juice)
fresh ground cardamom powder for sprinkling as the most-incredibly-delicious-do-not-skip-it garnish

METHOD

Raw Vegan Chai Snickerdoodle Snowflake Cookies

Place oat flour, coconut flour, dates, celtic salt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, stevia, vanilla and almond butter in a large capacity food processor and process, scraping the sides of the bowl many times until the mixture resembles wet sand.
Add coconut nectar, coconut oil and 1/4 cup filtered water and process until fully incorporated and the mixture comes together as a dough. Add more water by the Tbsp as needed. Taste to adjust seasonings & sweetness. It will have the texture of gingerbread dough.
Dump the dough out, halve it, and form it into two smooth discs. Tightly cover each disc in saran and place in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day remove one disc at a time, allow to come to room temp for 20 minutes, then roll out to 1/4" (1/4" is much easier to work with) or 1/16", just as you would standard gingerbread or sugar cookie dough. Rolling the dough on a piece of parchment paper placed on a large cutting board works well for no-slipping. Also, I use my french handle-free rolling pin and find it's much less effortful than a standard handle rolling pin.
As you cut each shape, press the cookie cutter into the chilled dough, then pull the edges away from the cutter on the sides that are un-usable, then pick up the cutter with dough still inside and tap it out onto a silpat lined dehydrator sheet. As you can see, I used about the most difficult intricate snowflake designs one could use- to make it easier, I gently pushed out the skinny parts using the end of a spatula or my finger tips. You should have no problems, especially if using a less intricate cutter.
Once you've cut out all your cookies, put them into your dehydrator on 135F for 1 1/2 hours, then turn down to 115F for another 1 hour or until they're firm enough to transfer from a silpat to a screen. Transfer is easy: simply place a dehdrator tray fitted w/ a screen over the cookies on their silpat lined tray, flip over with your hands keeping everything aligned. Next peel the silpat off the cookies and place them back into the dehdrator, now on their screens, for 2 – 4 more hours or until reach your desired crispness. I personally like the cookies just slightly chewy, however they're also delicious crispy! (Alternatively, if you don't yet have a dehydrator, put them in the oven on it's lowest setting with the door propped open with a wooden spoon until reach desired crispness. This method doesn't guarantee they'll stay raw.)
Let the cookies cool before icing.

Raw Vegan Icing

Add all the ingredients into a Vitamix and blend scraping the sides down with a spatula several times, til totally combined and creamy.
Scrape out into a bowl and place in the fridge for 2 hours. Before you go to bed, pull the icing back out & let it sit out on the counter overnight. When you awake it will be the perfect icing texture (if your house is about 68F). Otherwise, just leave it in the fridge overnight, come morning, take out the icing and place on your counter for an hour or until reaches icing consistency. If it warms up a bit too much while using, simply pop back into fridge for 10 minutes or until thickened, feeling free to whisk it back up to return it to perfect texture.
Next ice your cookies: this is easiest if you have a couple of large cookie sheets to place cookies on as you ice them. After each tray of cookies is complete, sprinkel with a pinch of fresh cardamom- don't be shy – I LOVE a generous pinch. If it's cold out as in 35F or lower, place your trays outside and the icing will harden almost instantly. Store your cookies in the fridge in airtight containers with layers of parchment separating them.
Snuggle up with a plate full of sweet, iced, caradamom dreams… high-vibe, guilt-free decadence that leaves us looking and feeling just as dreamy 🙂

Do you have a favorite "traditional" recipe you'd like upgraded into a beautiful Vegan & Raw version? Share it below for a chance to have me recreate it for you!

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All Love,

Juliane

Thank you for visiting 🙂

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Food, Health, Nutrition & Wellness, Style

Buttery No-Wheat Thin Crackers w Aged Treenut Cheese & Cranberry Compote

No-Wheat Thins with Aged Treenut Cheese & Cranberry Compote (Raw Vegan)

No Wheat Thins and Artisinal Aged Treenut Cheese

No-Wheat Thins & a jar of Cranberry Relish make a perfect hostess gift!

I know I've got a hit recipe on my hands when I simply can't stop eating it during the photo shoot! Every other snap I found myself rewarded with yet another irressistable assembly of a Buttery No-Wheat Thin Cracker topped with Aged Treenut Cheese & sweet-tart Cranberry Compote… SOOO GOOD! And perfect for holiday entertaining! This little trio is a complete rockstar combo, however, these No-Wheat Thins are delicious enough to eat all by themselves, like chips. They even smell amazing! Seriously, their delicious aroma was why my photo shoot took 3 times longer than normal cause I couldn't resist their tantalizing scent of pure yumminess. I had so much fun popping these little cracker, cheese and cranberry relish bites into my mouth, it's amazing I had any product left to photograph 🙂

Two more easy-peasy raw vegan recipes to impress and convert even the most die-hard of SAD (Standard American Diet) devotees :) Filled with the most amazing fresh, vibrant flavor, brimming with high-vibe life force and everything we need to feel and look as amazing as we are! I'm quite proud of both these concoctions as I've tried SO many raw vegan cracker recipes I just didn't care for at all. If you love buttery, salty crackers with an ever so slii-iiightly sweet background note, then these are for you! The sesame and almonds provide a luxurious richness that takes the flavor right over the top – and of course these babies are gluten/wheat/grain/dairy & sugar free! As for the Cranberry Compote… THE BEST. A perfect slightly jellified, firm textured relish with the most gorgeous flavor you've ever had since these cranberries are radiantly alive! This perfectly sweet compote is sweet as can be with that cranberry tang we love. Topped with a twist of orange zest over aged treenut cheese (recipe coming soon, meantime this Baby "Mozzarella" is absolutely devine) on my No-Wheat Thins… Pure Heaven!

Please enjoy!

This is my submission to Tinned Tomatoes for the Bookmarked Recipes Challenge and Ren Behan's Simple & in Season!

Recipe for Raw Vegan No-Wheat Thins

Ingredients

1/2 cup raw sesame seeds soaked overnight & drained
1/2 cup raw golden flax soaked overnight & drained
1 cup raw almonds soaked overnight & drained
1/4 cup coconut nectar
1 1/2 teaspoons celtic sea salt
fresh cracked pepper to taste

Method

Dump all ingredients into a food processor (the moisture from soaking/rinsing your seeds & nuts should be adequate especially since the flax holds on to quite a bit, however feel free to add a tablespoon or so extra if necessary) and pulse until well incorporated and a dough forms, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Spread the dough, using a spatula, across two teflex sheets (I spread mine about 1/8" thick, covering about 1 1/2 sheets) of your dehydrator or onto a silpat if you don't yet own a dehydrator. The thinner you spread the dough the faster your crackers will crisp.
Score the dough into cracker sized pieces with a knife. Dehydrate at 135 for the first hour, then turn down to 115 for another 3 hours.
After 3 hours, flip the dough onto a dehydrator screen and dehydrate another 1 or 2 hours until the crackers reach the level of crispness you prefer. Timing will vary depending on climate. Store wrapped in a bit of parchment in an air tight container in the fridge to keep crisp. If using an oven, set the temperature to the lowest possible setting. Please be aware that the crackers will probably not be raw using an oven due to their typically higher heat.

Recipe for Raw Vegan Cranberry Compote (best to make 2 days ahead as it continues to jellify during entire 48 hours reaching a perfect ever-so-slightly jellified relish consistency)

Ingredients

2 cups fresh cranberries
3 Tbsp black chia seed
3 Tbsp coconut water, orange juice, apple juice or filtered water
1 1/2 Tbsp powdered stevia (or sub coconut nectar, raw honey, maple syrup or coconut crystals reducing liquid above if using a liquid sweetener here)
1/8 tsp vanilla powder
1/4 tsp ceylon cinnamon OR a couple of drops of edible grade sweet orange essential oil
orange zest for garnish

Method

Stir together chia, coconut water (or juice depending on what using), vanilla powder and cinnamon (or sweet orange essential oil depending on what using). Allow to sit for 15 minutes to form a gel, stirring every 5 minutes.
Pulse the 2 cups cranberries and your sweetener in a food processor until only slightly broken down.
Dump the chia gel into the food processor slightly processed cranberries and continue to pulse until the mixture is incorporated and retains the texture of relish as pictured above. Be mindful not to overprocess.
Pour the mixture into a decorative jar and allow to set, ideally, for 48 hours. This isn't going to become cranberry jello or jelly- it's a relish style compote. However, the setting will enable the relish to stay firm in a small bundt pan shape for example and it will have a firm lightly jellified texture after 48 hours. Serve garnished with orange zest.

What raw food or vegan dishes have you made and loved lately?! Do you have any questions I might be able to address for you?

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All Love,

Juliane

Thank you for visiting 🙂

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Food

French Hazelnut Pumpkin Pie

I am in love with plant based Living Foods! SO fresh. So clean. So flavorful. Not to mention energizing, beautifying & healing… they taste better than traditional cooked fare! I really feel it's what nature intended for our nourishment.

French Hazelnut Pumpkin Pie with "whipped cream" is no exception – this coming from a girl who always disliked hated pumpkin pie – that is until 6 years ago, when I discovered an amazing French recipe for cooked Hazelnut Pumpkin Pie. Of course, now that I follow a primarily Raw Vegan foodstyle (because it tastes and makes me feel so amazing!) I had to figure out a way to upgrade that French recipe to a delicious, enzyme rich, Living Foods version.

Perfect for entertaining – or for just having as your own special, beautifying treat awaiting you in the freezer. Since it's frozen it remains beautifully fresh compared to a traditional pie.

This knockout has a candied cookie-like crust and a creamy cheesecake-esque pumpkin filling.

Oh, and shhh… don't tell anyone about the secret ingredient that makes this SO much creamier & delish than any pumpkin pie you've had before (carrot juice). Plus, as always, it's unbelievably simple to prepare.

Please enjoy!

Recipe for French Hazelnut Pumpkin Pie

Crust:  

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup raw pecans (or a combo of pecan, macadamia & walnuts, preferably soaked overnight & deydrated for 24 hours)
 1/2 cup raw hazelnuts (preferably soaked overnight & dehydrated for 24 hours)
2 tablespoons maple syrup
 1 tablespoon coconut oil 
1 1/2 tablespoons date paste (or use 2-3 dates mixed into 1st step of nut processing- just be careful not to turn the nuts into date-nut butter!)
1/2 tsp himalayan salt

Method:

Place nuts in food processor, pulse into small crumbs – be mindful not to overprocess into nut butter!
Combine the rest of ingredients by hand in a separate bowl.
Add this mixture to the crumbed nuts, mixing by hand until fully incorporated. Mixture should stick together when pinched between fingers.
Dump this into a 9 inch tart pan with removable bottom (or use saran if tart pan is one piece). If you don't have a tart pan, use a pie plate with saran.
Press mixture firmly into tart pan or pie plate. Depending on size of your pan, thickness of your crust, you may have extra crust left over (especially if using the shorter edged tart pan. No problem! Just make some mini tarts or cutout a few "cookies" with your favorite cookie cutter! Once dehydrated fill the extra tarts with any leftover filling you may have- or with a little cashew cream topped with fresh sliced fruit! Pretty & Yummy 🙂
Dehydrate 48 hours at 115. 
Chill crust in freezer for 1/2 hour before filling.

Filling

Ingredients:

 1 1/2 cups cashews
1/2 cup chopped pumpkin
1/2 cup maple syrup 
1/2 cup coconut oil 
1/2 cup carrot juice plus 1/4 cup reserved for blending assistance if needed (yes that's right, carrot juice!)
1/2 tablespoon vanilla
 1/4 teaspoon himalayan salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)

Method:

Blend all ingredients in Vitamix until super smooth. Add additional 1/4 cup carrot juice as needed to facilitate blending- tho try not to use more than 2 tablespoons. 
Pour into tart crust and chill in freezer overnight.
Store in freezer and slice it right out of the freezer.
Add a small dallop of whipped cream (click preceding link for recipe!) if desired.

**Disclaimer! The above recipe is my tweaked version which is SO amazing as I've already mentioned, I know:) However, I wasn't able to get pictures of it so the pics here are of the 1st version which looks a little different. The above tweaked recipe will have a more solid, finely ground crust and the filling is much smoother and creamier. Bottom line, your pie will have a less grainy texture in both the filling & crust. Although they look somewhat similar I wanted to point this out.

Let me know how you like this one! Did you make any tweaks to make it your own? How were your Holidays? Any New Year's Resolutions?

All Love,

Juliane

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Philosophy/Meditation/Spirituality, Style

Our Holiday WITH the Turkeys

& their Adorable Friends

I count Thanksgiving as the official kick-off to "The Holidays" and this year's start has been the best ever! We spent Thanksgiving WITH the Turkeys and all their sweet, adorable friends below. And, I also made a fully vegan celebration which I'm hoping to prepare again at Christmas to share with you all. So, I can attest that it is indeed possible to give thanks without having an animal on the table at dinner. In fact it was an absolutely fantastic celebration filled with love, gratitude, laughter and delicious food.

Here are a few snaps from our visit to Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary, an amazing rescue organization committed to ensuring all the animals who come to them will be safe, loved and protected for the rest of their lives.

This is Victor, a stunningly beautiful, happy fellow whose favorite girlfriend turkeys are Tilly and Cosette. He's always walking around with his feathers up, twirling around, and trying to impress them. Victor, and his girlfriends too, are exceptionally sociable, loving to be stroked and talked to just like any domestic dog or cat.

I had to tear myself away from Andy here, a tiny lamb rescued in November, who contracted serious joint infections shortly after birth that went untreated. His owners, who were planning to eat him at a barbecue, basically left him to die in a cardboard box when he became too weak to stand. He was taken home by a caring neighbor and brought to Poplar Springs Sanctuary with very swollen, stiff joints. Although xrays revealed that his joints have fused & he'll never be able to walk perfectly, they are working with their veterinarians to make him as comfortable as possible. He has been adopted by their blind sheep, Josie (below) whom he adoringly follows around the yard like a puppy.

Josie the blind sheep is best friends with Andy the tiny lamb above.

Cows are the sweetest animals too! My gorgeous friend here particularly loves having his head stroked, especially around his beautiful horns. Looking into those beautiful eyes is pure love.

Birds too, are very loving, snuggly little creatures. These sweet little chickens love being held and actually purred in our arms and made sweet conversational sounds as we talked to them, similar to a cat's conversational meows. Of course, each animal, like humans, has its own individual personality so some are more extroverted than others.

Honestly, I just wanted to put both my arms around this magestic creature and give him the hugest hug. It makes my heart so happy to connect with our fellow beings in this way… to know that this sweetheart is loved, gets to see the sun, feel the earth and breath fresh air. No living being, human or animal should ever go through this life tortured or unloved.

Last but not least of the more than 200 animals on the 400 acre farm, meet Edward the Peacock. Much like Victor the turkey, Edward is quite fond of showing off his beautiful tail feathers as Paul captured him doing above! (Big thanks to Paul for all your great cell phone snaps!) Edward can fly very well and he roams around the entire farm every day, but he always come into the barn at night, where it is safe.

We had so much fun with all the animals, including others such as pigs, piglets and horses too. At the end of our visit, we piled into our truck overlooking one of the pastures, turned on the heat (beacuase Brrrr, it was a cold day!) and ate vegan apple pie along with hot cider from a huge thermous we'd made for the windy, November day. As we sat enjoying our pie and hot cider, 25 or 30 sheep, lambs and goats were released from a barn right in front of us and we got to watch them, young and old, galloping with glee, single file into the pasture, all so carefree and full of happy innocence.

A perfect finale 🙂

How was your Thanksgiving?

Have you ever been to an animal sanctuary like Poplar Spring?

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Food

Shredded Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad

Shredded Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad

The minute I received my November edition of Bon Appetit, I knew I had to try several of the tempting Thanksgiving side dishes inside… including this delicious Kale and Brussels Sprout Salad. Bright and crisp, this shredded poupouri of greens enveloped in nutty Pecorino and a tangy mustard vinaigrette is the perfect, fresh accompaniment to rich Thanksgiving fare. A sprinkling of toasted, chopped almonds adds a bacony crunch to round out the flavors. We gobbled it up alongside roast chicken and Cranberry Hot Pepper Jelly, putting us right into the spirit of the holidays!

Recipe for Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad (Serves 10)

Ingredients

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon minced shallot

1 small garlic clove, finely grated

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt plus more for seasoning

Freshly ground black pepper

2 large bunches of Tuscan kale (about 1 1/2 lb. total), center stem discarded, leaves thinly sliced

12 ounces brussels sprouts, trimmed, finely grated or shredded with a knife

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1/3 cup almonds, toasted & coarsely chopped (Don't toast for Raw Vegan)

1 cup finely grated Pecorino (For Raw Vegan sub this amaze 'Parmigian Cheese'

Method

Combine lemon juice, Dijon mustard, shallot, garlic, 1/2 tsp. salt, and a pinch of pepper in a small bowl. Stir to blend; set aside to let flavors meld. Mix thinly sliced kale and shredded brussels sprouts in a large bowl.
Measure 1/2 cup oil into a cup. Spoon 1 Tbsp. oil from cup into a small skillet; heat oil over medium-high heat. Add almonds to skillet and stir frequently until golden brown in spots, about 2 minutes. Transfer nuts to a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle almonds lightly with salt.
Slowly whisk remaining olive oil in cup into lemon-juice mixture. Season dressing to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD Dressing, kale mixture, and toasted almonds can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Cover dressing and kale mixture separately and chill. Cover almonds and let stand at room temperature.
Add dressing and cheese to kale mixture; toss to coat. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Garnish with almonds. Enjoy!

Shredded Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad ~ Tested & Approved!

Food

Cranberry Hot-Pepper Jelly

Cranberry Hot-Pepper Jelly

Cranberry Hot-Pepper Jelly is a delicious recipe for those tart, red jewels so emblematic of the holiday season! It's also a wonderful way to use any of the five varieties of hot peppers my husband planted this year:-)

Easy peasy to prepare, this fiery sweet treat will put the ultimate finishing touch on anything and everything! Pair it with a creamy dairy free cheese atop crackers or serve with mashed root vegetables and hearty marinated mushrooms for a vegan holiday menu… the options are limited only by your imagination! A jar of Cranberry Hot-Pepper Jelly makes a beautiful hostess gift at Thanksgiving or Christmas, certain to be put to excellent use on delicious holiday leftovers!

Recipe for Cranberry Hot-Pepper Jelly (Makes about 3 cups)

Ingredients:

3 red bell peppers, diced
2 or 3 red chili peppers, diced (seeds left in, partially seeded or totally unseeded- depending on your heat preference!)
1 cup (or to taste as each sweetener varies) of your favorite healthy sweetener such as raw maple syrup, raw coconut nectar or Stevia (if using stevia you'll only need 1-2 Tbsp to taste!!)
1 teaspoon Himalayan salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vegan liquid pectin (or use 1 diced apple as I do now)
2, 10 ounce bags fresh or frozen cranberries

Combine diced bell peppers, chili peppers, water, lemon juice, pectin (or diced apple) and salt in a large, heavy pot over a medium heat. Gently simmer for 5-10 minutes.
Add cranberries and continue to gently simmer until the berries burst and the juices thicken, about 10 more minutes.
Add your choice of sweetener, stirring to incorporate.
Spoon the jelly into jars, cool and then cover. Enjoy!

Adapted from recipe by Andrew Knowlton

Cranberry Hot-Pepper Jelly in the making!

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