Hello My Valentine... Meet CHOCOLATE....

In honor of Valentine's Day, which I can NOT believe is just around the corner, I wanted to bring you a recipe that I created last year for the Daring Bakers’ challenge, which was to create Nanaimo Bars. We were linked to the traditional recipe based off of recipes on 101 Cookbooks and http://www.nanaimo.ca/.

But, I went off of the vegan version of these Canadian goodies HERE.

But I wanted to give these bad boys my own little twist, so I turned them into.....

Vegan Nanaimo Truffles!!!!

(dude... they are extreme chocolate goodness!)

If you follow the link about to the recipe, you'll find the video on how to make the traditional layered bar. I followed the same recipe that's listed there but added a few twists....

I took "layer 1" mixture & combined it w/ a bit more than 1/2 of "layer 2" mixture, which was still quite moist, so I added in a bit more graham cracker crumbs til it tightened up. Then I scooped up this dough w/ my smallest cookie dough scoop and placed the balls on a silpat lined baking sheet. Then I drizzled on the "layer 3" chocolate and placed in the fridge to set up.

wa-lah! 

And trust me my non-veg friends, you will not have a CLUE that it's a vegan treat!

Enjoy with a kind heart! ;)

oxox

L


------------------------
updated w/ Sarah Kramer's recipe BEFORE i tweaked it:


Bottom Layer

1/2 cup vegan margarine [i use Earth Balance]
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tbsp ground flax seed
3 tbsp water
1/2 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 cup unsweetened coconut, flaked
1 1/4 cup vegan graham cracker crust

Middle Layer
1/2 cup vegan margarine
2 tbsp vegan milk [i use almond milk]
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp turmeric [i omited]
2 cups powdered icing sugar

Top Layer
2 tbsp vegan margarine
4 1-oz (28g) squares unsweetened chocolate

recipe: raw kale & beet salad

i realize this is OT, but i realized i'm not all that great at managing multiple blogs, so for the time being, i'm going to mush them all together on this one. i apologize if this annoys you, but i'm trying to save myself a wee bit of sanity. ;)

Raw Kale and Beet Salad
(adapted from Russell James's recipe for kale & tahini salad)

ingredients:
kale (i used about a handful - maybe 6 or so leaves) chopped
(if you aren't familiar w/ kale, you'll find it by the other greens in your produce section)
kosher salt
extra virgin olive oil (drizzle)
juice of 1/2 a lemon (mine was REALLY juicy!)
1 heaping tsp. natural peanut butter
black pepper or other pepper you like (cayenne, red pepper flakes, etc)
agave (little drizzle - maybe a tsp)
1 beet (peeled & grated)

this is so super easy to make, delish and great for you!

* remove the think part of the stem from the kale, then gather up a handful of kale and bunch it up together and slice (give you a nice rough chop)
* throw kale in a big bowl & add in a sprinkling of salt & drizzle of olive oil. massage these together to help the kale wilt and break down a little
* combine lemon juice, pb, pepper & agave together to make a little sauce (mixing together first isn't necessary, but will help the pb spread around the greens more easily. (uh...trust me)
* pour over greens & mix til well coated
* taste and adjust seasonings
* peel & grate the raw beet (note: it will stain your hands pink pink pink!)
* add as much of the grated beet to the salad as you like and mix together.
(if you have extra grated beet left over, add the pb sauce over it, it's yummy!)

oh and i forgot to take a pic before i ate it up, but here's a pic that looks very similar to mine...

(image from cook4seasons)

enjoy!!!
xox