I hope you all had great holidays and fun New Year’s celebrations! I had a great Christmas, spent in Whistler with my family and my boyfriend. It snowed the whole time, and I gave snowboarding a go. Our car was jam-packed so when we picked up a little Christmas tree there one was only one place for it…thanks Mom! We also had no room to bring up ornaments for the tree….but we are a festive family and thought of something suitable

New Year’s was also spent in Whistler and my boyfriend and I enjoyed a great meal at Earl’s and more than enough jagerbombs!!

With the holidays behind us though, it’s time to get back on track! But that does not mean you have to skip dessert. 

Raw food desserts are amazing because they taste delicious and sweet, as dessert should, but they are made with healthful and nutrient-dense ingredients! I first tried this coconut cream pie in a raw food class that I took. It blew me away that something could taste this good and not only be healthy, but also contain so few ingredients. It was so rich and satisfying that just a small portion is all you need.

This recipe can make one large 9-inch pie, but I chose to make 5 smaller pies instead.

RAW Coconut Cream Pie

Crust:

• 2.5 cups dry coconut flakes
• 1/8 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup packed, finely chopped dates
• 1/4 tsp raw vanilla powder, or 2 vanilla beans

• 1 1/4 cups coconut milk (this is coconut meat and water blended together- not canned coconut milk.
•  3/4 cups coconut meat
• 3/4 cup packed, finely chopped dates
• 1/2 tsp vanilla powder
• 2 pinches salt
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp raw scented coconut butter

Blend all ingredients except coconut butter in blender until smooth. Add coconut butter last and blend until smooth. **If you have a Vita-mix this will be easy…if you are like me and don’t have one, you may need a bit of extra liquid or to do small batches. I ended up using a food processor for this step because my blender sucks.** Pour into prepared crust and top with coconut flakes. Refrigerate or freeze for about an hour. Enjoy!

It’s that time of year when I get to start baking for Christmas! I loooove Christmas baking, and I kicked off the season’s treats with these Lemon Lavender Shortbread. I’ve made this recipe a few times now and it takes the rich buttery taste of shortbread and pairs it up with the delicate scent of lemon and lavender. These are so unique- I bet your family and guests will never have tried a cookie flavoured with lavender before. The recipe is a snap to make, but do make sure you follow the chilling times even if you are impatient

Lemon Lavender Shortbread (recipe from Epicure Selections)

• 1/2 lb (125 g) butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 heaping tsp lavender (I use this)
• 1 heaping tsp fresh lemon zest
• 1 cup all purpose flour

I’m a bit sad that Christmas is already over, but that seems to happen every year. It even snowed 4 days after Christmas this year…..the weather was taunting my white Christmas dreams!

We did have a really nice Christmas though, and man, was the food ever good. My family feasted on roasted garlic mashed yams, turkey, corn, peas & mushrooms, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, asparagus with orange sauce, coleslaw, cranberry sauce, roasted brussel sprouts, a green bean casserole, and I’m probably forgetting some dishes but there was so much delicious food. For dessert, it was pumpkin creme brulee. It was a really nice change from pumpkin pie or something like that. Although my dad and I almost lit the kitchen on fire with the blow torch…..that’s a story for another day

I’ll be back tomorrow with a biiiiiiiig recipe post, featuring some cute little appies I made for New Year’s Eve.

Happy New Year everyone!!

See you in 2011.

Happy New Year everyone! Between work, nurition school, and culinary school, 2009 just flew by! I hope 2010 is a great year for everyone and I’m very excited for it. As you guys probably know, the 2010 Olympics are being held in Vancouver/Whistler, so I am thrilled at the thought of spending a couple weeks in this BUSY city during that time. I can also look forward to graduating from culinary school and also getting my Registered Holistic Nutritionist (RHN) diploma in 2010! Aside from that, I have no plans so far- I’m just going to let life happen!

I hope you all had great holidays this December. I actually spent my Christmas in Mexico which was VERY different from what I am used to. I must admit that spending everyday on a white sand beach was probably just what I needed after a few months of stress. I took lots of pictures and I’m going to share some with you- especially the food!!

Something I was really excited to find in Mexico was Mayan Drinking Chocolate. I had just read about traditional drinking chocolate in a local organic magazine that my Dad sometimes picks up for me. I haven’t had the popular powdered hot chocolate in quite awhile, though it is something I miss having. When I read about how drinking chocolate used to be, I really wanted to try it and a few days later I am in Mexico and I find it! There was a sweet option available that was only 40% cacao, but I chose the bitter option with 70% cacao. I simply mixed about 1.5 of the chocolate tablets I purchased with 1/3  litre of hot almond milk. Of course, you could use regular milk or cream or soy milk or even water. You can also add a bit of sugar/agave/honey/etc. if you feel the need for some added sweetness, but I didn’t find it necessary at all! Of course if you can’t find Mexican Chocolate, you can use some regular good quality bittersweet chocolate.

And now onto some photos from the trip!

Christmas Eve was a big deal and we enjoyed a massive and beautiful buffet that included one of my favourites…LOBSTER!

We were greeted by some amazing ice sculptures!

Also a fat sculpture and an artistic lobster display!

I thought the vegetable and meat terrines looked really neat, and also these Lobster “Buena Vista”.

The bread station, and a piggy made from proscuitto!

This was a beautiful little pumpkin creme brulee that I had at the Mexican a la carte restaurant, and it was SOO good. Mmm…

And my plate from the Christmas Eve buffet- grilled lobster, couscous, mushroom mashed potatoes, coconut and pineapple shrimp, grilled vegetables, and a smoked salmon toast- whew!

The obligatory beach shot.

And my family enjoying some Mexican food on Christmas day.

I must add a little something special here. For the last several years, our neighbours (who are Dutch) have brought us Oliebollen each New Year’s Eve. I did a bit of research and Oliebollen is basically a fried dough that contains sultanas/currents/raisins and sometimes apple pieces. It’s absolutely delicious!

I decided on a vegan cranberry-pistachio biscotti, which I must say I was very nervous about making. I thought biscotti would need the addition of eggs, but it turns out I was wrong! The biscotti tastes and looks just like ‘real’ biscotti! The recipe came from Veganomicon and I followed it exactly. If I were to make them again, I would sub in some whole wheat pastry flour.

I made fudge from here because the recipe was so simple- lo and behold….I screwed it up! I guess I didn’t cook it long enough, because it just will not set. So, when worse comes to worst, maple fudge turns into maple butterscotch sauce!!

I also threw together some spiced nuts, which are always a winner in my book! And lastly, some fudge that didn’t work out so well….so now it is a’butterscotch sauce’- funny how that works, eh?

Spiced Nuts

• 2 cups mixed nuts (I used hazelnuts, cashews, almonds, walnuts, and pecans)
• 2 tbsp dried rosemary, chopped (fresh is even better!)
• 1 – 2 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp salt (I like to use a ginger/garlic/coriander sea salt, but plain sea salt will do. No table salt!
• 1/2tsp -3/4tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

Spread the nuts out on a baking sheet and toast until slightly brown, 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix all other ingredients together in a large bowl. Toss in hot nuts and mix thoroughly. Enjoy!

This will probably be my last post before I relax from EVERYTHING before Christmas and just enjoy my time off from school and work, so I hope you all have an amazing Christmas and enjoy these edible gift ideas. Merry Christmas! Bring on 2010!!

I’ll leave you with a few more Christmas treats from last year….indulgent and all!

Espresso Chocolate Shortbread

Buttered Rum Meltaways

Orange/Apricot Marmalade Cookies

Sugar Cookie Snowflakes with Royal Icing

**So, I had this post all written up, with just the pictures of the gifts needing to be added. Guess what happened- I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off all week, and I FORGOT TO TAKE PICTURES BEFORE I GAVE THEM AWAY. Oh jeez….better luck next time!

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