Strawberry Milkshake with Coconut Whip Cream

Strawberry Milkshake with Coconut Whip Cream

4 cups cold almond or soy milk

1 cup vegan vanilla or strawberry ice cream

3 Tbs sugar

6 Tbs "Just Strawberries Powder"

For topping: 1 13.5 oz can of very cold coconut milk (not low fat)

1 Tbs sugar

Combine all the ingredients, except for the topping, in a blender and blend until smooth. For the topping you will need a can of very cold coconut milk. Leave it in the fridge at least for a day, on few days before opening the can. The fat hardens and separates from the coconut water when very cold. Take the can out of the fridge just before preparing the toping. Carefully scoop all the hardened coconut fat into a medium or large bowl. Whip the cream on medium speed, using an electric mixer, until it gets stiff and fluffy. Add the sugar and whip a little more. Pour the milkshake into glasses and top with the coconut topping.

Raspberry Pudding

Raspberry Pudding

2 cups cold almond or soy milk

4 Tbs cornstarch

4 Tbs "Just Raspberries Powder"

4 Tbs sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine 1 cup of milk, vanilla extract and sugar in a saucepan. Whisk until smooth, heat until boiling over medium-high heat. Mix the rest of the milk with cornstarch and raspberry powder in a small bowl, until well combined and smooth. Pour the raspberry mixture into the boiling milk in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until pudding is very thick and smooth (about 5 minutes). Pour into serving dishes and serve warm or chilled. This pudding can be used as a warm sauce over chocolate or vanilla cake.

Just Tomatoes Review

"Just Tomatoes, Etc!" makes very good dried and freeze-dried fruits and veggies that are packed in really nice baggies and plastic containers with very cute and colorful fruit and veggie cartoon faces. All their

dehydrated fruits and vegetables are vine-ripened, or tree-ripened, hand-picked at peak condition, washed, cut and then placed in dehydrators and dried at low temperatures to preserve color, flavor and nutrients. Both dehydrated and freeze-dried products are an excellent source of nutrition. They don't add any additives, sulfurs, preservatives, or sugars to their products. I have been buying the Just Strawberries for years now. I love adding them to my cereal and letting the milk soften them up and make them even more flavorful. I usually get the strawberries at my local Whole Foods Market, but they have a very limited selection. Just Tomatoes, Etc! has a much better selection online. I got a chance to try some other popular Just Tomatoes, Etc! products, such as Just Tomatoes (I eat them as a snack, they are crunchy and a bit sweet and I cannot wait to try them as a soup topping). I also tried Just Fruit Munchies (apples, raisins, blueberries, sour cherries, mango, pineapple, raspberries), Just Grapes (not raisins, rather crunchy grape treats-they were absolutely delicious), Just Blueberries (very good), Just Strawberries and Bananas (amazing). I enjoyed eating these fruity snack right out of the baggies, but I enjoyed them even more in hot oatmeal, cold cereal, and soy yogurt. They make a healthy and flavorful addition to my boring cereal and oatmeal. They soften up almost instantly when you submerge them in milk.

Just Tomatoes, Etc! came out with new fruit powders that I fell in love with immediately. I have been using them for smoothies, fruit milkshakes, puddings, hot cereal and they seem to last forever. I have created two recipes using these amazing powders. They blend easily, they taste wonderful and they get juicy when mixed with liquids. I will be posting the recipes soon. Here is an interesting fact: 1/4 pound of the Just Raspberries Powder was made from 2 pounds of fresh raspberries and 1/4 pound Just Strawberry Powder was made from 2 1/2 pounds fresh strawberries. It is a concentrated fruit powder that smells and tastes like fresh fruit.

They make tons of other different fruits and veggies and powders. Some of the other fruits include apples, pomegranate, cranberries, and peach. Some of the veggies are peas and corn, and some of the fruit powders are banana, mango, pomegranate, and pineapple.

My adorable box

Just Strawberries, Bananas and Blueberries in a bowl with cereal (granola) before adding milk

Just Strawberries, Bananas and Blueberries in a bowl with cereal (granola) after adding milk

And this is how we recycled the box from

Just Tomatoes, Etc! Van Gogh loves sleeping in it and he loves playing with the fake grass.

Just Fruit Munchies in oatmeal

Seitan Piccata with white wine and caper sauce

My friend gave me a vegan "Candle Cafe Cookbook" last Christmas. On the cover there was a dish that made my mouth water just from looking at the picture. It was their famous "Seitan Piccata with white wine and caper sauce" dish. Until then I didn't know that the Candle Cafe was a famous vegan restaurant in New York.....I usually don't drink white wine and don't keep capers in the fridge all the time so I could not make it right the way. However, I bought all the necessary ingredients few days later and whipped up this delicious dinner. This recipe was easy to prepare, yet amazingly fancy, even the biggest boldest meat-eater would ask for seconds. If I was dating someone new this is what I would prepare for a romantic dinner. It was so good that I had to make it the very next day again from the leftover ingredients. I have been making this dish ever since and there are never any leftovers. I love the combination of lemony sauce with capers and parsley and I love the way the seitan tastes in the sauce. I have made it with tofu as well, but it was not as good. Candle Cafe Cookbook has other amazing recipes that i tried and loved, such as Mushroom Risotto, Summer Borscht, and Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache Frosting.

Here is a picture of Seitan Piccata with white wine and caper sauce that I made recently. I made it with roasted potatoes that I cut into circles. I use unbleached all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat flour and I don't always use shallots. The serving size 4-6 is about 2-3 servings for me :-)

"Seitan Piccata with white wine and caper sauce"

Serves 4 – 6

6 seitan cutlets

1 cup dry white wine

Whole wheat flour for dredging

¼ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup olive oil

1 cup vegetable broth

½ cup diced shallots

2 Tbs. unbleached flour

½ cup onions

4 Tbs. soy margarine

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 tsp sea salt

¼ cup drained capers

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 cup chopped fresh parsley

1. Dredge the seitan cutlets in the flour, shaking off any excess. In a sauté pan, heat 2 Tbs. of the olive oil over high heat and sauté the cutlets until crisp and golden brown, about 30 seconds per side. Place each cutlet on individual plates or a platter.
2. Heat the remaining olive oil in the pan. Add the shallots, onions, garlic and capers, sauté and stir until softened, about 1 – 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half. Whisk in the lemon juice and allow to reduce a bit more.
3. Add the broth and the unbleached flour and bring to a boil Reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 minute. Whisk in the margarine, parsley, salt, and pepper. Pour over the seitan cutlets and serve at once.

This recipe was posted on this blog with a kind permission from Clarkson Potter/Publishers

(Candle Cafe Cookbook (Page 119) by Joy Pierson, Bart Potenza and Barbara Scott-Goodman,

© 2003 by Joy Pierson and Bart Potenza, and published by Clarkson Potter)

"Vegan Honey" and Choco-Nutty Rum Balls

I found an inspiration for this scene on Monique a.k.a. Mo's blog "Tea party post"

In my pre-vegan days I would sweeten my tea with honey. I would also use honey in baking and on a bread instead of a fruit jam. One of my favorite characters from an animated TV show was Winnie the Pooh who was addicted to honey and kept his honey in a cute "Hunny" jar. I have been looking for a vegan honey alternative for a long time. I tried agave nectars in many different brands and colors, maple syrup and corn syrup. Nothing reminded me of honey, until I found Suzanne's Organic Rice Nectar "Original". This thing is amazing, it is sweet, smooth and thick. It has a honey like flavor. I even went to a store and bought a wooden honey spoon for this "vegan honey". I have tried it in several different teas and on a bread and it is great. It is just organic brown rice syrup with no added sugars, preservatives or artificial additives. Suzanne's Rice Nectars are considered macrobiotic sweeteners. I haven't had a chance to try the strawberry version, but I ate almost all the chocolate version already.....

Suzanne's Rice Nectar "Chocolate" is a creamy, thick chocolate syrup that is so delicious that I had a hard time not eating the whole jar while standing up in the kitchen when I first opened it.......It is a much healthier version of a regular chocolate syrup, it contains only three ingredients: brown rice syrup, cocoa powder and natural vanilla. Nothing artificial, not even emulsifiers or preservatives.

These balls are amazing. They are flavorful, nutty and chocolaty with a mild rum kick. I used a very spicy and aromatic Czech rum (that has a hint of vanilla), but you can use any dark rum that you can get. However, you will need to add a teaspoon of vanilla extract if you use regular dark rum. These balls are easy to make, but fancy enough for an after holiday dinner treat.

Choco-Nutty Rum Balls

2 cups finely crushed vegan animal crackers (cookies)

2 cups powdered sugar

1 cup finely chopped walnuts

1/4 cup soy or almond milk

1-2 Tbs. rum (if using other then Czech rum, add 1 tsp. vanilla extract)

1/3 cup chocolate syrup-I used Suzanne's Chocolate Rice Nectar. If you don't have chocolate syrup, you can use rice syrup (or Rice Nectar) plus 1 Tbs. cocoa powder

1 cup finely shredded coconut

Place the coconut in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients together. Stir in the wet ingredients and blend well.

Form the mixture into small balls and roll them in shredded coconut. Refrigerate the balls in a covered container overnight.

Suzanne's Rice Nectar Raspberry Spreadable Fruit inspired me to make this vinaigrette. Unlike other raspberry jams or jellies, this one isn't too sweet so it works very well in a salad dressing. It is made with whole raspberries and brown rice syrup with nothing artificial, and no added sugars. It is not the best raspberry jam that I have ever had, because I prefer my jams sweeter, but it has a nice raspberry taste and it is very thick. I don't like runny, watery jams.

Fat Free Raspberry Vinaigrette

1/4 cup raspberry jam-I used Suzanne's Rice Nectar Raspberry

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1-2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar

1-2 Tbs. water (optional)

Whisk all ingredients together in a medium bowl and use as a salad dressing.

Žemlovka aka Zemlbába (Czech apple-bread pudding)

Typical Czech bread pudding is made with bread, apples, cinnamon, sugar, raisins and curd or cottage cheese. We usually serve it as a dinner or lunch during the winter months. I know, Czechs are weird, sometimes we eat sweet stuff as main meals. Here is my veganized version that I like to make. It can be made without the cheese but if I really wanted to I could make it with tofu or vegan cream cheese. You can try to add some sweetened vegan cream cheese in between the layers if you wish. I made this pudding earlier this evening. The whole house still smells like cinnamon and apples.

1 loaf of Italian bread or other white bread, sliced

6 apples, peeled, cored and grated

2 1/2 cups soy or almond milk

1 cup raisins

1 tsp. vanilla extract

6 Tbs. sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 F. Coat 9x13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish with cooking spray.

Place grated apples in a medium bowl and squeeze out excess liquid. Set aside.

Heat the milk with 3 Tbs. sugar and vanilla extract over medium-high heat until the sugar melts, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let cool.

Dip 1/3 of bread slices into sweetened milk, coating evenly. Squeeze out excess milk. Arrange soaked bread sliced in a single layer in baking dish. Spread 1/2 of the grated apples evenly over the bread. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup raisins, 1 Tbs. sugar and some cinnamon. Repeat the same steps making another layer of soaked bread slices, apples, 1/2 cup raisins, 1 Tbs. sugar and cinnamon. Arrange last layer of soaked bread over the apples and raisins mixture and sprinkle with 1 Tbs. sugar and rest of the cinnamon.

Bake bread pudding in oven 40 minutes. Serve warm by itself or with some vegan vanilla ice cream.

Sjaak’s Organic Chocolates Review

I am a chocoholic. Chocolate has always been a big part of my life, especially during my childhood.

Growing up in Czechoslovakia during Communism was not easy, but there was always enough good quality European chocolate for me to enjoy. We had some delicious chocolate that was made in Prague, and also my grandma (who emigrated to West Berlin in Germany) would bring me some chocolate from there. She would always bring some candy and chocolate that she sneaked in to Prague when she came to visit us for the holidays (Easter,

Mikuláš on the 5th December and Christmas),

birthdays and name days. She would bring the best chocolate, including funny shaped choco bunny lollipops. It was very special since you could not buy anything like this in Prague. I also enjoyed the

chocolate advent calendar for Christmas that she would bring. I loved milky, creamy chocolates but hated any dark

chocolate. I would always pick out dark chocolate from any chocolate gift box and I would give it to my parents who loved dark chocolate. I didn't like the bitterness of dark chocolate and the weird taste that it left in my mouth.

I had a favorite chocolate brand, that had the cutest logo ever, a lilac Alpine cow (Milka). As a child I believed that there was a purple cow somewhere in the Alps that was milking liquid chocolate :-)

When I became a vegan three years ago I was little worried that I would miss milk chocolate and that I would never enjoy eating dark chocolate. I though that eating chocolate would become a struggle instead of a joy so I gave up chocolate for a while. I decided to try to like dark chocolate for its health benefits and soon I started to like it for its taste, too. My taste buds had to adjust to dark chocolate. But I still missed the taste of creamy milky chocolate.

Thankfully, there are some great vegan chocolate alternatives that aren't just plain dark chocolates.

There are several "milky" chocolates that I tried and liked a lot. Most of them use rice milk to add creaminess. There are also some flavored dark chocolates that aren't bitter or weird.

The nice folks at Sjaak’s Organic Chocolates were kind to sent me some delicious chocolate to review (with no obligation to write a positive review). I have been eating their chocolate for a week now and I love it. It reminds me of the chocolate that I loved as a child.

Sjaak’s Organic Chocolates have a great selection of vegan chocolate products, including fancy gift boxes and velvety smooth chocolate bars. They use non bone char sugar.

I had a chance to try their Chocolate Bites in several flavors.

Hazelnut Butter Bites were my favorite. The creamy hazelnut centers that were covered in

rice milk chocolate

melted in my mouth almost instantly. It reminded me of Nutella hazelnut chocolate spread that I loved in my pre-vegan days.

Almond Butter and Peanut Butter had nutty creamy centers that were covered in smooth dark chocolate. I was not thrilled with this one, but it might be just the fact that I was never a big fan of peanut butter chocolate combination. The almond butter was very similar.

Orange Bites had smooth dark chocolate shells that were filled with yummy fruity centers that reminded me of orange jam.

Raspberry Bites

had smooth dark chocolate shells that were filled with yummy fruity centers that reminded me of raspberry jam.

Caramel Bites were

ooey, gooey, caramel goodness covered in smooth dark chocolate.

The Chocolate Bars were almost like a big version of the Chocolate Bites. I tried the Raspberry, Creamy Caramel and Almonds.

The combination of almonds and velvety smooth dark chocolate was amazing! It was a much better taste than the Almond Butter Bites.

I left the

Organic Fair Trade Nuts & Chews Chocolate Assortment

box for the last day. There were nice pieces chocolate candies that were fancy, delicious, meltingly soft and chewy. The assortment was

: coconut caramel, almond crunch, pistachio caramel, peanut caramel, pecan caramel, nugget, mocha caramel, cashew cluster, and chocolate caramel.

I am in love with

Sjaak’s

decadent, meltingly smooth and delicious chocolates! I am going to order some for Christmas as a selfish present for myself and maybe for some other people as well. I just have to make sure that I don't eat it all before I have a chance to give it to anyone as a present :-)