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Sweet Treats

Fig and Plum Sundae

October 22, 2012
fig-and-plum-sundae

What better time for an ice cream sundae than the month of October, of course! Today I’m sharing with you a delicious fig and plum sundae recipe that will make you cozy during these cold fall days. Purchased vegan coconut ice cream becomes a party-worthy dessert with the addition of fresh plums, figs and a little granola. Want to go that extra step and make coconut ice cream at home? It’s as simple as one ingredient. This dessert will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth. Enjoy!

Fig and Plum Sundae

Ingredients:

  • vegan ice cream (coconut if you want something really decadent)
  • 1 fresh fig, sliced
  • 1 fresh plum, sliced
  • 2-3 Tbsp. granola

Directions:

  1. Scoop ice cream into a pretty dish or bowl and top with sliced fig, plum and granola.

Homemade Coconut Ice Cream

Ingredients:

  • 2 cans (14 ounce cans) full-fat coconut milk

Directions:

  1. Grab two cans of full-fat coconut milk and place cans in the fridge overnight.
  2. Remove the chilled cans from fridge and flip them upside down. Open the cans. See the liquid at the top? You won’t be using this part. Pour the coconut liquid into another bowl. (Don’t throw it away – I like to use it in smoothies. You can also use it in baking and cooking).
  3. You are left with only the coconut cream. Scoop the coconut cream into a glass bowl and place it in the freezer until it hardens – up to 3 hours.

(Photo Credit: my sister, Jenny Norris – jjnorris.com)

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Oat Fig Bars

October 11, 2012
oat-fig-bars

As the days seem to be getting colder, darker and gloomier – I just have to bake. I find it awfully therapeutic. The oven gets switched on, I toss together some ingredients while music plays in the background and I can dance my heart out. Guilty pleasure? Yes, definitely.

Peak season for fresh figs is June through October, but you can find good dried figs year-round. They’re perfect to keep in your drawer at work for snacking or to take along while traveling. Figs have the highest overall mineral content of all common fruits. They’re high in potassium, calcium, iron and a good source of vitamin C and fiber. In fact, they’re a good natural laxative; those tiny seeds contain a substance called mucin, which apparently helps clean toxins and mucus out of the system.

I wanted to come up with a recipe using figs after reading one of my favorite raw-foods authors, Dr. Arnold Ehret, who called figs one of his top three “mucus-dissolving foods.” Dr. Ehret was writing about raw foods back in the 1920s; if you can get your hands on any of his books, I highly recommend them.

Delicious enough for dessert yet healthy enough to fuel your day… these bars are filled with healthy ingredients: flax and chia seeds, dates, warm spices, oats, banana, almond milk and plenty of figs. Lightly baked to intensify their candy-like sweetness.

These bars are delicious warm or enjoy them cold. Also handy as a grab-and-go breakfast or snack.

vegan-oat-fig-bars

Vegan Oat Fig Bars

Makes 6 large bars or 12 smaller portions

Ingredients:

Filling

  • 12 dried figs
  • 3-4 medjool dates, pitted
  • 2 cups hot water
  • 2 Tbsp. maple syrup
  • 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon

Crust

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1/4 cup raw coconut sugar
  • 1 tsp. flax seed (I used milled flax seed, but whole will work too)
  • 1 tsp. chia seed
  • 1.5 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • pinch of sea salt
  • 1/4 cup almond milk
  • 1 banana, mashed
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C).  Grease a small bread pan with coconut oil.
  2. Place the figs and dates in a medium sized bowl and pour the hot water on top.  Allow to soak while preparing the rest of the recipe.
  3. Place the oats, coconut sugar, flax seed, chia seed, cinnamon, baking powder and sea salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine and set aside.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk together the almond milk, banana and vanilla.
  5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until just combined.  Set mixture aside.
  6. Now make the filling: drain the fig and date mixture and place in a food processor. Add the maple syrup, lemon juice and cinnamon.  Process until thick and smooth, adding a splash of water if needed.
  7. Time to assemble – spread half of the oat mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Next, spread all of the fig filling over the oat base.  Finally, cover the fig paste with the remaining oat mixture.
  8. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.  Allow to cool before cutting into bars.
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Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

September 21, 2012
stawberry-rhubarb-compote

Yeah, I kind of had to make another dish with rhubarb. I may be obsessed. I was silly to doubt the power of a classic combination like rhubarb and strawberries. It really is a perfect balance of sweet and tart.

This simply delicious and easy recipe makes the perfect addition for breakfast or brunch on oatmeal, pancakes,waffles or toast. I can also say that the compote is great eaten by the spoonful, straight from the fridge or as an afternoon snack. I imagine it would also be delicious spooned onto a freshly baked dessert. Lovely.

Strawberry Rhubarb Compote

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups chopped rhubarb
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 – 1/3 cup honey (or for vegans who don’t eat honey, any other liquid sweetener will work fine, adjust as needed as some sweeteners are more or less sweet than others)
  • 1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions:

  1. In a medium sized sauce pan add all the ingredients except for the honey. Stirring occasionally, bring to a boil over medium high heat.
  2. Turn down to a simmer and cook until the mixture has thickened. Stir frequently. This should take about 15-20 minutes.
  3. When the compote is done remove from the heat and cool for a few minutes before adding the honey or other sweetener and stir to combine.  Taste for sweetness as it will depend on your rhubarb, the kind of sweetener you use and your own tastes.
  4. Let the compote cool slightly before pouring it into a mesh strainer over a bowl to drain some of the liquid.  Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

(Photo Credit: my sister, Jenny Norris – jjnorris.com)

 

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Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

August 23, 2012

strawberry-rhubarb-pie

Rhubarb is one of the season’s sweetest gifts. These crisp, tart stalks that look like ruby-red celery start appearing in the farmer’s market in early spring. They get snapped up in a hurry by eager bakers, but to the uninitiated they are a bit of a mystery. That’s because rhubarb looks so much like a vegetable — it is in fact a vegetable– and is so lip-puckering sour that someone who’s never tried it before can’t help but wonder how it would fit in with sweets, where it is most often used. Well, I have an easy solution to make you a believer: put some rhubarb where your mouth is. But first, bake it into a pie, like this one I have for you today.

Strawberry rhubarb pie is adored by many, in spite of or perhaps because of its old-timey charm. At their best, cooked strawberries taste like cotton candy and rhubarb is the perfect almost citrusy-sour contrast. There’s no twist here, nothing fancy whatsoever. This recipe is simple, just the way I like it. I want you to have access to the most balanced approach to a strawberry rhubarb pie. This is a recipe to keep in your back pocket, taped to the inside of your pantry cabinet, or simply seared into your mind.

Vegan & Gluten-Free Pie Crust

Makes 1 approximately 9″ pie crust

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 cups rice flour (brown or white)
  • 1/4 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 Tbsp. agave nectar, or sweetener of choice
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed + 3 Tbsp. water
  • 1/4 cup dairy-free buttery spread, melted
  • cold water

Directions:

  1. Stir together the flaxseed mixture and melted dairy-free buttery spread.
  2. Sift together the dry ingredients over the wet ingredients. Stir the dough together – it will be soft and crumbly. Add enough cold water so that the dough can be pressed together and holds.
  3. Lightly oil the pie pan.
  4. Press the dough into the pie pan and up the sides as far as possible being sure to keep the crust an even thickness. I use a flat bottomed measuring cup to help make the crust even and flat.

pie-strawberry-rhubarb

Strawberry-Rhubarb Filling

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups thinly sliced rhubarb
  • 2 cups rough chopped strawberries
  • 1/2 cup agave nectar, or sweetener of choice
  • 1/4 cup tapioca or cornstarch (gluten-free)
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tsp. lemon zest

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425° F (218° C).
  2. Combine all of the filling ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Add filling to the prepared pie shell. Cover loosely with tin foil and poke a few holes in the foil to let steam escape.
  4. Bake for about 20 minutes at 425° F (218° C). Lower heat to 350° F (177° C), and remove the tin foil. Bake for an additional 30 to 35 minutes, filling should be bubbling and the crust should be golden.
  5. Place on a cooling rack and let cool for about 30 minutes before serving.

 

(Photo Credit: my sister, Jenny Norris – jjnorris.com)

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