Avocado Iced Shake

This is a very delicious, very simple shake that Patrick and I first tasted in Indonesia.

The recipe is as such:

1 avocado + lots of condensed milk + 1% milk
blend it together (you can also put in ice if your blender can handle it)
and voila, avocado shake!

I put it in the freezer and stirred it every 1.5-2 hrs. After about 4-6 hrs you have something similar to avocado ice cream. A creamy, delicious, refreshing dessert. Yum.

granola bars

1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
3/4 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cups of butter (cold)(1/2 cup of butter plus 1/4 cup of sunflower oil)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup of rolled oats
2 or 3 tablespoons of chocolate chips


Add the flour, sugar, butter and salt together, using a mixer or by hand make a dough. (it may look crumbly or sandy at first but keep mixing it)

Once it form a dough, add the rolled oats.
Press into a pan as thick as you like granola bars.
Then sprinkle and press chocolate chips on the top.

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.

(Variations: Add 1 cup of toasted coconut to the dough
keep 3/4 cups of dough aside and press dough out and spread raspberry jam on top, then sprinkle the dough you've set aside on top.
use a variety of healthier grains and flours-I'm going to try seven grain cereal,
Use flax seeds)

Sticky Date Pudding

Recipe from the show "A la Distasio". Cara I think you wanted this recipe.


For the cake:
2 cups of pitted dates
2 cups hot water
2 tsps baking soda
1/2 cup of butter at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar (I think we halved this)
4 eggs

For the caramel sauce:
3/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup cream 35%

Preparation:

For the cake, soak dates in hot water and baking soda while you prepare the other ingredients.

For the sauce, melt the butter and add vanilla. Add brown sugar and cream, whisk with a fork and bring it to a boil. Take it off the heat and set aside.

For the cake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar. Add eggs, one by one mixing after the addition of each one. With a wooden spoon, mix in the four. In a seaparate bowl, puree the date mixture, then add them to the cake batter. Mix well, then add to a square 8 inch pan that is buttered and floured. Bake for 30 minutes. Take the cake out of the oven and make about 30 holes in it with a chopstick. Pour about 2/3 of the caramel sauce over the cake and bake for another 30 minutes. Serve the cake with the rest of the sauce and a spoonful of sour cream.

Easy Chocolate Cake

I made this in one bowl using my Kitchen aid mixer, but a bowl and large wooden spoon will do.

3 cups of flour (I actually used cake flour with added salt and baking soda, yes I'm totally lazy, you can find it at most grocery stores, if not add 2 tsp baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt)
2 cups of sugar (white or brown)
2/3 cup of cocoa powder
2 cups of water or brewed coffee
1 cup of sunflower oil
2 tablespoons of vanilla
3 tablespoons of apple cidr vinegar


Whisk all the dry ingredients together first. Add wet ingredients. Stir well.
Pour into a greased pan or pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let the cake cool for 15 minutes, remove from the pan and let cool further if you are going to use icing. It is really moist and yummy on it's own.

I made mine in two round 9 inch pans and then spread raspberry jam in between each round. I iced with chocolate icing and whipped cream after the cake has cooled.

Warning: HIGHLY ADDICTIVE

My sister-in-law sent me this recipe this week, and let's just say I'm very, very glad she did. These are alot like those balls of sweetness you can get at vegan/vegetarian counters, or like Lara bars, if you've had those. She got this recipe from the Kind Diet, Alica Silverstone's vegan cookbook.

1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup carob powder
1/2 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 to 1 cup coconut

Blend walnuts until coarsely ground. Add dates and blend until well mixed. Add maple syrup, carob powder, almond butter, vanilla, salt and process until thick and smooth. Chop almonds and mix into it. Form into golf-ball sized balls and roll balls in coconut. Freeze in container.

I've always wanted to make these kinds of snacks at home with my food processor. Now that I've tried it, i can easily see how you can get really creative, trying different combination of nuts, butters, fruits, seeds, and so on, and pressing them into bars or squares.

cookies for lazy people

These are cookies that my mom used to make all the time when I was a kid. They are dangerously addictive and easy to eat, especially since they are best raw, right out of the freezer. These are so good that I seriously haven't made them in years- because I literally cannot stop eating them. But what the hell, it's Christmas right?

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 cup brown sugar firmly packed
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup oats

Cream first 5 ingredients thoroughly.
Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and stir well.
Add the dry mixture to the creamed mixture, mixing well.
Stir in the oats.

Shape dough into rolls about 2 inches thick in diameter. Wrap in wax paper and chill for several hours before baking.

Slice at least 1/4 inch thick for baking. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Or do like me, and don't bake them at all. And voila! Cookies for lazy people.

Mom's Leche League Banana Bread

Do you have lots of old brown bananas in your fridge? I do.

I cup mashed bananas (3 old brown bananas)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup honey or brown sugar or both
2 eggs beaten
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup hot water
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 tsp vanilla

Method:

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Beat oil and honey together. Add eggs, mix. Stir in bananas. Add dry ingredients. Mix until smooth. Bake in greased, floured, standard loaf pan for 55-60 minutes.

Peach Pinwheel Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

Cinnamon Topping:
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup flour
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup butter

Cake:

1 can peaches
2 and 1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 eggs

Mix the dry ingredients for the cake. Combine sugar and butter in a separate bowl. To this mixture, add the eggs, one at a time while beating with a whisk. Stir in dry mixture. Now add the sour cream. Spread half the batter into a baking dish, add half the cinnamon topping. Put the rest of the batter in then add the rest of the topping. The arrange the delicious peaches atop in a decorative fashion. Bake at a350 degrees F for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes clean out of it. Enjoy! Its really yummy, don't be swayed by this horrifying picture!