Happy New Year!!!

This year has been amazing for me thus far. Recipe Challenge for March!

Raw Desserts!

As my knowledge and love for Raw and Vegan Cuisine has grown, i have alot of recipe testing these past 2 months. My focus now is RAW desserts. So below i have tried a few concoctions that turned out REALLY good. The final product is still in the adjustment phase, but none the less delicious.

Strawberry Shortcake

Recipe

CRUST: 

6oz Raw Almonds (soaked overnight)

6oz Pitted Dates (medjool) at room temperature

1tsp cinnamon

** Rinse soaked almonds throughly. Add Soaked Almonds, dates and cinnamon to food processor. Process until a  well combine and a crumb/smooth consistence is archived.

***yield 4in round or 5 small 2in rounds

WHIPPED "CREAM"

1 cup RAW cashews (soaked overnight)

2 pitted dates (medjool) at room temp

1tsp vanilla extract

** Rinse soaked cashews throughly. Add cashews, dates and vanilla to a blender or process in food processor until a fluffy creamy consistence is achieved.

ASSEMBLY

Using a dish of choice.  I chose to do individual serving portions.

This dessert can be assemble in layers, ie. (refrigerating in between layers of crust and then cream)if being served as a tart, or assemble all components and enjoy right away, like i did.

1. Press crust mixture into serving dish to form base

2. spoon in or pipe cashew "cream on top crust to make second layer

3. Finish with fresh strawberries.

This dessert was way simple and a delight.

{Featured desserts: Strawberry Shortcake and Carrot cake. Carrot Cake was made using the same crust recipes, with the addition of carrot pulp from juiced carrots and a little more cinnamon. the frosting layer is the exact whipped cashew "cream" as well. I love the fact that these dessert recipes are very simple and interchangeable.

  Pharrell Williams - Happy!

I am an avid shopper at my local 99c only store, I highly recommend you visit one. You will be amazed at the selection of great items that rest on the shelves. My favorite 99c store, located on Sherman Way, here in North Hollywood, CA; keeps the shelves and freezers stocked with a variety of items that appeal to my gourmet taste...lol

So on my last trip to the 99c store, I picked up a few things, and decided to brush up on my baking skills.

---

99 cent Store finds:

1. Gluten Free Pie Crust
2. Frozen Berries
( Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, and Strawberries)

Granted, I was a little hesitant about the GF pie crust, but then again, i was only spending a dollar.

{ two days later shopping at whole foods for veg. shortening to make the pie crust and what did I find, the same GF pie crust mix for 5 bucks!!!!... I laughed out loud and saying. "yeah, i'm glad i paid a dollar for mine!!!!".}

With all my ingredients ready, i whipped up the dough with ease.

pondering the idea of what to make... i settled on cleaning out my freezer, which was jammed packed with frozen fruit, for make smoothies Oh well...{insert kanye shrug}.

Aha, a mixed berry pie...

***PIE DOUGH // LEMON CURD /and/ DATE PASTE

were all made a day in advance,
these items can also be made the day of.***

Lemon Curd = 1.5 cups 1/4 cup unsalted butter 3/4 cup white sugar 1/3-2/3 cup lemon juice 3 eggs 1 small saucepan 1 med saucepan bowl 1. Fill med. saucepan 1/3 of the way with water, bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. 2. Whisk eggs together in a bowl until fluffy. 3. In small saucepan; combine, first three ingredients and heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. stirring occasionally, bring to a slight boil. Then remove from heat 4. Slowly stream hot juice mixture into egg, whisking as to not let eggs scrambled  Once all juice is mixed into eggs, place bowl over med. saucepan with simmering water. 5. Stirring mixture continuously, making sure to scrape all sides of bowl and bottom. Curd is ready when temperature reaches 170 degrees using a candy thermometer or coats your spatula. **At this point remove bowl from bain marie and strain mixture in storage container to cool.

Date Paste = 1/4 cup 12 pitted dates 1/4 cup water Food Processor or Blender 1. Process pitted dates for about 2 mins, until slightly broken down. add water gradually until desired consistency is achieved. 2. Scrape bowl periodically to ensure a smooth consistency. Store in air tight container until ready to use, this paste should be refrigerated.

With all my ingredients and additios ready...Lets make a pie!

Rolling out gluten free pie dough can be a little challenging. I would suggest working with very cold dough and using cornstarch to keep the dough from sticking to your work surface.... 

*Pie Dough is rolled and ready to fill* *This boxed pie dough makes enough for 4-8" rounds, so you will have some dough to freeze for later use.

1. spread about 1/3 cup lemon curd on dough 2. Arrange frozen berries 3. smear date paste around perimeter of berries 4. fold dough around berries 5. brush folded dough with egg/egg wash or more date paste 6. bake in 375 degree oven for 30 mins or until filling is bubbly and bottom crust is golden brown

More Pics coming soon...

Very pleased with this pie...the dough has a nice crisp, sugar cookie like texture.

Thanks for visiting!!

  Calvin Harris ft. Florence - Sweet Nothing

---

So I live in SoCal, more specifically. North Hollywood  AKA "The Valley".

The weather in the valley is mostly between 5-10 degrees warmer than the surrounding LA neighborhoods. Of course that can be nice on occasion.

So on an unexpected surge in temperature, you need something to calm and cool your bod, right?

What better than watermelon!!!!

I've experimented with two juicing concoctions that include watermelon, that are quite tasty...

---

WATERMELON
PINEAPPLE/RADISH/GINGER

( The Following images contain one or more of the listed ingredients above, the juice color result was the same.)

#JOTD #WATERMELON

---

---

GREEN LEMONADE

What's in it?
Fennel, Celery, Cucumber, Lemon, Ginger and Green Apple.

  Chris Brown - Fine China

---

Dandelion Greens:  More Calcium than KALE!!!, Ultimate Detox * Cleansing Green, LOTS of Minerals. Low in Saturated Fat, and very low in Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Folate, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron, Potassium and Mangane

http://www.flaglerorganics.com/ayurvedic-perspectives-dandelion-greens

---

As the quest for better hydration continues. I have finally purchased dandelion greens to juice. Because of the potency of this green. It is best to consume it small quantities. Thus only juice a small hand full or about 7-10 leaves. Warning:This juice is extremely sharp and bitter in taste.

Taste as you go, to adjust bitterness. For the next juice with Dandelion Greens, I will add some pineapple or more apple.

TheJUICE 

---

2 Green Apples
7-10 dandelion leaves
1 med. bunch of spinach
1 grapefruit
radishes
2-3 celery stalks
1 kiwi
1 cucumber
1/2 bunch parsley

After juice was complete, i topped it off with juice of half a lime, to cut the bitterness. ENJOY!!

  Jay-Z - DeathOfAutotune(DOA)

Since buying an Omega juicer, a few months back as a way to get my hydration issues under control.
I slacked off for a short time, So to get back on track.....


Beginning a challenge to juice once or two a day.

Today's juice: (Juiced in this order) 

1in piece of Ginger

1 Red Grapefruit

1 Fuji Apple

2 Celery Stalks

4 carrots

 **** This combination produce about 16oz of juice


The Grapefruit was definitely the star in this, I would recommend increasing the number of apples and/or carrots, to balance the grapefruit.

All in all, this combination was not too bad, on to the next...


 --------------------------------------------------
 

 

------------------ Soundtrak of the Day ------------- 

Beyonce- National Anthem
{Inauguration 2013}
--------------------------------------------------

My Christmas Wishlist, Santa Approved.

1. 42" TV
2. Opi Skyfall Colletion
3. Trip to Paris
4. 2013 Kia Optima

------------------ Soundtrak of the Day ------------- 

Ertha Kit- Santa Baby

The 2nd Annual Food Bloggers Cookie Swap!!!!

2nd year participating, How excited I still am from this experience, how can you not enjoy the sense of community; being apart of such a fun activity in cyberspace and the great cookies you send and recieve makes it all worth it.

Thank You so Much Ladies:
( Left: S'more Cookies @failsweetly ; failsweetly.wordpress.com

Center: White Chocolate dipped Pistachio and Key Lime Biscotti @fatgirlhedonist; FatGirlHedonist.com

Right: White Chocolate, Pecan & Cranberry chip cookies @duchessoffork ; duchessoffork.com)

This year, I really pushed myself to create a great cookie, Here, I present to you world and #fbcookieswap particpants.

 

Cashew Choco-Nut Cookies 

Yield = 4 dozen cookies

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup granulated sugar 

3/4 cup brown sugar

 1 cup butter or margarine, softened 

 1egg

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tspn baking soda

1/2 tspn smoked salt 

 1 Tbspn ground ginger 

1 cup coarsely chopped cashews

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

 2 cups white chocolate chips, or coarsely chopped 

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

INSTRUCTIONS:

Step 1:  Cream butter and sugars, add egg
Step 2:  Sift together the dry ingredients; flour, salt, baking soda, ground ginger
Step 3:  Add chopped cashews, shredded coconut and chocolate
Step 4:  Scoop cookies and place on an ungreased cookie sheet approx. 2 inches apart.

Bake cookies for 6 minutes or until lightly golden brown. (centers of cookies will be should be soft).





The Great Cookie Swap Recipe Round Up ~ part 2

------------------ Soundtrak of the Day ------------- 

Nate King Cole - Christmas Song

Glad you asked...

 

Pear Applesauce

I used a sweet pear (Bosc) and a tart, crisp apple ( brauburn)
The best way to eat bruised or forgotten about fruit, make applesauce.
This recipe was very easy, I tested with one arm tied behind my back so easy.

Using 2.5 pounds fruit, cut to a uniform size; large diced or slice. This is will make the cooking process a breeze. To the fruit add a cup of apple juice and 2 T med. brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon, cover and let boil over med/low heat. for about 40 mins, or until fruit is fork tender. stirring occasionally. Once fruit has cooked down to the desired consistency; taste and adjust sweet and spice. At this point your pear/applesauce is complete. The final step is to blend mixture to desired texture. You can let mixture cool or proceed with caution, and ladle fruit mixture into food processor and pulse to smooth or slightly chunky texture. 
yield = 4cups

----------------------------

Simple Strawberry Preserves

2 # strawberries cleaned and quartered
3T Orange Juice
1 c white sugar

Combine washed, stemmed and quartered strawberries and sugar in to 4 qt pot, stir until sugar is incorporated. cook mixture over med/low heat. stirring every 10 mins. for about 40mins. Until strawberries have no shape. Careful pulse mixture with an emersion blender. until desired texture is reached, I chose to have a slight chucky texture. Taste preserves to adjust sweetness, stir in orange juice. let cool completely before storing.
Storage options: Canning, or airtight jars in fridge for about a week, or freeze.
yield 4 cups

------------------ Soundtrak of the Day ------------- 

Bill Withers- Use Me

As we say Goodbye September and Hello October; I achieved some awesome eats in the meantime...

(Top image: Pear - Applesauce, Bottom Left image: Beef & Broccoli Lo Mein, Tomato soup  and Grilled cheese, Turkey Hash Scramble)

(Top image: Apple Chicken Salad, Bottom Left image: Spicy Spaghetti, Skillet Kale and Rotini, and Quinoa Herb Chicken Caesar Salad)

------------------ Soundtrak of the Day ------------- 

Rihanna - Diamonds

Hassleback Potato

2 Russet baking potatoes
Olive Oil
butter
Black pepper
thinly sliced garlic

After washing potatoes, rub potatoes with  olive oil, just to moisten skin. Take a sharp knife, and very carefully cut thin slices about 1/8" thick, along the tops of the potatoes, about two thirds to three quarters of the way down. Be careful not to slice all the way to the bottom. Slide a garlic slice or two into a couple of the slits of each potato. Season potato with pepper, smear potato with butter.
Bake in 350 oven until fork tender.

I really love these potatoes. So easy and toppings are endless.

Decisions, decisions....

Early in the week, after a melt-down over what to make for dinner. Vegan Sloppy Joes happened.
And now what to do with the leftovers...

Genius!

Vegan/Lazy Sloppy Joes

1-2 cups Brown lentils cooked according to package
1 (14 oz) can of Manwich sloppy joe sauce; or make your very own.

After lentils are cooked to perfection, add sloppy joe sauce, heat thru and serve as desired.

------------------ Soundtrak of the Day ------------- 

Janet Jackson - Nasty

Cheesecake...
a great segway into the next phase of food for Moi 
As summer comes to a close on the calendar, but not in weather...

Grapefruit Curd Swirl Cheesecake with Gingersnap crust

**Grapefruit Curd I am not a fan of, just wanted to try it, for kicks.

Gingersnap Crust

16oz gingersnap cookies

1/4 c melted butter

** Process cookies in food processor to crumbs, drizzle in melted butter until crumbs are moistened

Cheesecake - 8in square pan

2 pkg.  (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 c  sugar

1/2 tsp.  vanilla

2 eggs

* Cream cheese and sugar in stand mixer until smooth, add eggs one at a time; scrape bowl periodically to ensure all ingredients are incorporated. Pour batter over prepared crust

** Swirl in curd, jam or any topping: I use Grapefruit Curd

*** Bake in a 325 oven for 40 mins or until cake is set.

------------------ Soundtrak of the Day ------------- 

Lucy Pearl - Dance Tonight

Easy &Delish!! 

This one needs no intro, look at the picture... 

 

French Bread Pizza ~ 4 servings

You will need; 1 loaf of French Bread or any bread of choice.
Spinach Artichoke dip (recipe below) and grilled veggies:
* red onion
* portobello mushroom
* 1 of ea red & green bell pepper
* 1 bag of fresh spinach
* 2 minced garlic cloves
Olive oil

Spinach Artichoke Dip

 * frozen chopped spinach; thawed

 * 1 jar of marinated artichokes

 * 1 chipotle pepper in adobe sauce

 * lemon juice

 * 8oz cream cheese

 * Parmesan cheese

 * 2T nutritional yeast

 * fresh parsley

 * cracked black pepper

Dip_How2:

1. Combine all ingredients and blend in food processor or blender; process until smooth or desired consistence.
2. Transfer Dip to a ramekin for baking, bake in a 350 oven until bubbly; approx. 10-15mins

Pizza_How2:

1. Quarter bread loaf and drizzle with olive oil. Sandwich bread pieces between two sheet pans, this will make allow bread to toast without burning and shrink in size a little. Broil in oven for 5mins.
2. While bread is toasting, saute red onion, bell peppers and mushrooms together with minced garlic and olive oil, until soft. Set sauteed veggies aside and proceed with spinach.

**TIP: Sauteing veggies in batches makes for a faster cook time and a helps with the layering of veggies in the following steps.


3. Once bread is toasted, set aside to cool enough to handle. Smear spinach artichoke dip on each bread quarter, just enough for an even spread.

4. Begin layering veggies on bread. (Not in this particular order;  have fun building at this point)
[In the image this was the layer sequence]

Sauteed Spinach
red onion
Bell peppers
mushrooms
I added  a few slices of fresh tomato, a dusting of Parmesan cheese, Queso Fresco and cracked black pepper.

Once pizzas are assembled, return to broiler for an additional 5 mins until tomatoes are blistered and cheese melted.

...A simple Spring Salad rounds out this meal.

Spring Salad
2 handfuls torn green leaf lettuce
1/4 sliced cucumber
1/2 avocado
1/2 roma tomato
1 handful carrots
1 handful red grapes
drizzle of bottled sweet balsamic dressing

------------------ Soundtrak of the Day ------------- 

Travie McCoy - Back Home

To the beginning of summer's best... cheers!!! (**glasses clanking**)
 

This was a great creation, a peach & cherry galette.
I seem to always get creative when its time to clean out the fridge, so here you have it.

The peaches and cherries were macerated in brown sugar and allspice. While I whipped up a quick whole wheat crust in my Kitchenaid 7-Cup Food Processor.

 

After rolling chilled pie crust to desired diameter, to accommodate the amount of macerated fruit filling, gentle fold dough around filling in a sort of pleated or draping fashion. Finish with a little egg wash and sugar sprinkle over the entire galette, and into the oven she goes.

Bake @ 350 for about 20-25min

 This was so tasty!!!

------------------ Soundtrak of the Day ------------- 

The Fresh Prince& DJ Jazzy Jeff - Summertime

     

Hello followers,

Can you hear me??!?!

StylishFOOD is currently under construction, I will be back up shortly. So please be patient with you me. I have alot of posting schedule for release in the coming days. So stay tuned. Its Summer and alot has happened thus far and to come.

Thank you for your patience,
MeganB.

Not a big fan of Cauliflower, I've given myself a challenge each month to add a once neglected veggie to my plate.

So Cauliflower is the star today!
What shall I make with thee?... Mac n' Cheese?... Cauliflower Mash with Mushroom Gravy, perhaps?



Cauliflower Mac n' Cheese

1/2 Large head of cauliflower broken into florets
8oz Penne Pasta
1 (4oz box) silken tofu
7oz colby cheese
2-Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 handful fresh parsley
1-1/2 chipolte pepper in adobo sauce
1 tsp adobo sauce
1/2 roasted red pepper
S&P to taste
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/8 red onion
2 cloves minced garlic

Cook pasta according to package. Add C-flower to pasta water during last 4-5mins.
In a food processor blend: parsley, garlic, 1-1/2 chipotle pepper and tsp adobo sauce, roasted red pepper and red onion. Pulse to a fine chop consistency. Add tofu, mustard, 1/2 shredded colby cheese and nutritional yeast flakes. Blend until smooth.
Pour cheese mixture over hot pasta & cauliflower, add additional cheese if desired.
Bake in 350 degree oven until uniformly melted and golden brown.

Cauliflower Mash w/ Mushroom Gravy

After this testing session, I fell in like with cauliflower again. Until the next post. Enjoy!

------------------ Soundtrak of the Day -------------
Eric Carmen - Hungry Eyes

!!!!...Strawberry Fields Forever...!!!! For as long as I can remember, I have always associated strawberries with Valentine's Day. So to keep the tradition going. Here are some sweet treats...

Strawberry//Banana Smoothie

5-6 large strawberries 2 med banana 1/4 c plain yogurt splash of V-8 fruit juice Wash strawberries, remove stem and leaves, half to make blending easy. Add bananas, yogurt and splash of juice ( in this order). Blend until smooth. Enjoy!!

------------------ Soundtrak of the Day ------------- Maxwell - For Lovers Only