Browsing Tag

figs

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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Granola with Raw Cashew Cream

June 1, 2012
granola-with-raw-cashew-cream

As granola recipes go, some are simpler and some are more complex, and this one lies squarely in the middle. I love the idea of a bare-bones, just-the-essentials granola – oats, nuts, oil, and a sweetener of some sort – but to my palate, a great granola needs a little more. It needs a variety of nuts and seeds, and maybe a couple of different sweeteners for flavor complexity, and some warm spicing too, like cinnamon and ginger. It may require buying a couple of extra pantry ingredients, but once you’ve got them, you’re set for a while – and for a lot of granola.

This granola makes for a lovely breakfast, snack, or even dessert. When the granola is topped with raw cashew cream, it supplies just the right amount of indulgence – without the guilt.

Cashew Cream

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 Tbsp. extra virgin coconut oil
  • 1 Tbsp. agave nectar (or maple syrup, raw honey etc)
  • Seeds from 1/2 a vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
  • Pinch of sea salt

Directions:

  1. Place the soaked cashews and water in a blender. Turn the blender onto a low-medium speed to break up the nuts and stop when the pieces are starting to form a puree.
  2. Add the coconut oil, agave nectar, vanilla bean seeds, salt and more water if necessary. Turn the blender to high until the mixture is as creamy and smooth. This may take a few minutes.
  3. Scrape cashew cream into a container and chill thoroughly.

granola-raw-cashew-cream

Fig’ n Pear Granola

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup nuts or seeds of your choice (I used a mix of almonds and hemp seeds)
  • 1/2 cup fresh or dried figs, chopped
  • 1 cup fresh pears, cored & roughly chopped
  • 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
  • 1/4 cup agave nectar, maple syrup or honey
  • 1 Tbsp. coconut oil or olive oil
  • 2 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350° F  (177° C).
  2. In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. Stir to mix well. In a small bowl, combine all of the wet ingredients. Stir to mix well. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ones, and stir well.
  3. Spread the granola evenly across a baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Stir periodically to help it bake evenly.
  4. Let cool completely, store in airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for longer shelf life.

To assemble: Place sliced/chopped fruit into a bowl and spoon some granola mix evenly on top of the fruit and put a nice dollop of cashew cream on there. Then devour. 

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