Recipes – re-modelED

Blog, Dessert, Recipes

Dark Chocolate, Coconut, Macadamia Nut Tart

December 9, 2013

This is one of my new favorite desserts and I’m definitely going to be making this again for Christmas.

Here is the recipe

For the crust:

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 TB coconut oil, melted
1 1/2 cups almond flour (you can make your own by grinding almonds in a food processor until its the consistency of flour)
2 TB maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt

For the ganache:

1 cup canned coconut milk
12 oz. of dark chocolate (min 70% cocao)
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the top:

1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
A sprinkle of pink Himalayan sea salt

How to make the crust:

Turn oven to 350 degrees. Blend almond flour, salt and shredded coconut in food processor until ground. Melt the coconut oil, and then add along with the maple syrup to almond flour and coconut mixture. Blend until it turns into dough.

Spread the dough in a greased tart pan with a removable bottom. Make sure the dough is even in the pan (you can use your fingers or something like a measuring cup to flatten it)

Bake in the center of the oven for about 12-16 minutes then let it cool for at least an hour.

How to make the ganache:

Finely chop the dark chocolate and place in a bowl. Bring coconut milk to a boil in a saucepan then pour hot coconut milk in the bowl with the chocolate and let stand for one minute without stirring. Then stir until smooth and creamy and add vanilla.

How to make the toppings:

You can either roast the macadamia nuts and coconut in the oven on a baking sheet for 3-5 min or roast on top of the stove until golden brown (be careful because they burn very easily)

Pour chocolate mixture in the cooled crust. Then sprinkle toasted macadamia nuts and toasted coconut on top with a little Himalayan sea salt. Chill for at least one hour in the refrigerator to let it set before eating.

Blog, Dessert, Recipes

Pumpkin Trifle

December 1, 2013

My family always goes all out on holidays. We always end up making enough food to feed an army and our leftovers usually last us at least a few days. This year I made a pumpkin pie from Chocolate Covered Katie (http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/) and it was delicious! For almost every special occasion, my grandmother makes chocolate trifle which is a family favorite. She layers brownies, whipped cream, chocolate pudding or custard, and either crumbled heath bars or nuts in a beautiful dish. This year, we had a lot of leftovers, so I thought why not make a trifle with the pumpkin pie we had left! This recipe is delicious and so easy to make 🙂

Here is the recipe

I didn’t use the crust in the pumpkin pie just the pie filling 🙂

For the pie filling:

1 can organic pumpkin
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 can full-fat coconut milk
2 tbsp ground flax
½ cup coconut sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

Turn on oven to 400 degrees. Blend all ingredients together (I used my blender) then pour into greased pie pan and bake 25-30 minute then let cool. Put in refrigerator for several hours to let the pie set.

For the whipped coconut cream:

1 cup of coconut cream or full fat coconut milk

3 TB of coconut sugar

Put the can of coconut cream in the refrigerator overnight until it hardens, then put the solid coconut cream in a bowl.Don’t use the liquids at the bottom of the can, but would be great to drink (coconut water). Add coconut sugar to creamed coconut and blend together with an electric mixer until its whipped like whipped cream. Keep in refrigerator. You can use the leftover whipped cream in smoothies or eat with fruit 🙂

For the candied pecans:

Toss 1 cup of pecans with 1 TB melted coconut oil and 3 TB coconut sugar. Put in a pan and cook on low-medium heat stirring for around 5 minutes (these can burn very easily).

Layer the pumpkin pie and whipped coconut cream in a dish then top with the candied pecans and sprinkle coconut sugar on top.

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving 🙂

Blog, Lunch/Dinner, Recipes

Roasted Sweet Potato and Kale Salad with Almond Butter Dressing

November 20, 2013

My family and I moved to the Atlanta area a little over a year ago. Some of the first people we met were our neighbors across the street, the Churchills. They were so nice and welcoming and they have become some of our really good friends. Ms. Amy is a personal chef and has an amazing job creating and cooking delicious food for her clients. She has had my family over several times to show us new healthy recipes and has taught us a lot. I love when the doorbell rings and I know it’s one of her girls or her bringing over something yummy for us to try. Her company’s website is http://www.alachef.com/ and you can find her on facebook where she posts a lot of healthy and tasty recipes.

The other night she brought over a salad along with a homemade chocolate cake that her daughter made! It was amazing! (I love living across the street from a personal chef! 🙂 She said the salad was a favorite of a lot of her clients and now I know why! It’s soooo good and I probably could drink the dressing by itself.

Roasted Sweet Potato and Kale Salad with Almond butter Dressing:

2 pounds sweet potatoes cut into 1” pieces

2 TB coconut oil or 1/4 cup olive oil

4 md garlic cloves minced

1/4 cup raw almond nut butter

1/3 cup coconut milk unsweet

zest and juice of 2 large lemons

1 pound organic kale stems removed and chopped

1/2 cup slivered almonds

Toss chopped sweet potatoes and garlic with oil of choice, salt and pepper and spread on baking sheet. Roast at 425 F for 15-20 minutes.

Puree almond butter, lemon juice and zest, and coconut milk in blender. Toss kale with hot sweet potatoes and garlic and almond butter dressing. Toast slivered almonds in a little olive oil or coconut oil on top of the stove for just a few minutes. Watch carefully, they can burn easily. Top salad with roasted almonds and season as needed. *she said she adds in romano cheese to the dressing for some of her clients but you can leave it out for a vegan option

The beautiful wooden spoons were one of our Christmas gifts from the Churchills last Christmas that they brought us back from their trip to Kenya Africa. They are the co-founders of an amazing organization, Just One: Africa.

Here is more about their organization from their website http://justonehope.org/

“The heart of Just One: Africa is to help orphans and widows lead self-sustaining lives by helping provide them with the basic necessities of life: food, water, clothing, shelter and education. These are things that are easily accessible to most of us, but not to many orphans and widows in some parts of the world.

Mission Statement: Just One empowers local leaders to operate sustainable and effective orphanages.

Just One: Africa is a non-profit organization that seeks to help change lives for the better, especially in poverty-stricken areas of Kenya.

Our goal is to provide these necessities by helping widows and orphans improve farming and livestock-raising and providing them with clean water for drinking and washing, proper housing and educations for the children. We want to cultivate a stable foundation of provision for women and children who are in desperate need. The orphans and widows of Africa have lost so much, and we want to provide them with hope in the midst of what often appear to be hopeless situations.

Just One: Africa was birthed out of a visit by the founders to Kisumu, Kenya in 2012. Our hearts became burdened with a love for this country and a compassion for these people. We couldn’t just return to our comfortable lives, knowing that the people we had met and grown to love were struggling simply to survive. So we thought, “What if?”

We decided that we could at least make a difference in Just One life. So that’s what we’re doing? Won’t you help?”

Blog, Lunch/Dinner, Recipes

Vegetarian Chili

November 15, 2013

What’s better on a cold night than a hot bowl of chili?

Ingredients:

2 Tb olive oil
1 medium onion
4 cloves minced garlic
3 TB chili powder (add more if needed)
1 TB cumin
2 tsp oregano
1 TB cayenne pepper
1 large zucchini
2 yellow squash
a red and green pepper
Two 10 oz cans of crushed tomatoes
1 can of tomatoes with chili peppers
2 TB tomato paste
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup spicy vegetarian refried beans
salt and pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste

Chop veggies then heat oil in a large pot. Cook onions and garlic until caramelized in the oil. Add peppers, zucchini, and squash and cook until tender. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, broth, spices, and beans and stir. Cook over medium heat until it boils, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir in refried beans to thicken as needed and heat through. Add hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste. You could also cook it in a crock pot on low for 4-6 hours.

Blog, Dessert, Recipes

Autumn Apple Recipes

October 31, 2013

Apple Crisp

Filling:

6 medium apples, peeled, cored, and diced (mix sweet & tart)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Topping:

1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup gluten-free whole oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 cup pecans, chopped
1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
3 tablespoons coconut oil

Preheat oven to 375 F
In bowl, mix chopped apples, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 2 tablespoons honey, and lemon juice. Stir until apples are coated.
In another bowl, whisk together the almond flour (I just ground raw almonds in food processor to make into flour), oats, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and pecans, coconut palm sugar and coconut oil until crumbles.

Place the apples into a baking dish rubbed with a little coconut oil. Top apples with the crumble mixture.
Bake for 30 – 35 minutes or when the top is a little brown. Let sit and cool for 5 to 10 minutes. It will be very hot.
*you could also bake in individual little ramekin dishes for separate portions.