Tag Archives: gluten-free

Almond Joy Pie

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palm-tree pie

I love coconut, almond, and chocolate. Those ingredients are the foundation of my favorite candy bar. It was always the flavor of ice cream I would order whenever available too. And this is my new favorite dessert. This pie has a nice crunchy, chewy, chocolatey quality.

I attempted to draw a palm tree with coconuts, but drawing with melted chocolate on pie was surprisingly challenging. Close enough! Below the pieces are in squares because I tried making it in a 9×9 inch pan which worked fine, but the crust was a bit thin (8×8 would be better I think.)

Almond Joy Pie

Almond Joy Pie Recipe
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Crust
1/2 cup almond meal/flour, packed
1/4 cup minced almonds
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon buttery spread or butter (coconut oil might work but not tested)
1 tablespoon raw agave syrup or honey

Filling
1 3/4 cups shredded coconut, unsweetened
3 eggs
1/3 cup raw agave syrup or honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup canned coconut milk, full fat

Topping
1/4-1/2 cup melted semi-sweet chocolate

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Preheat the oven to 350.

Prepare a pie pan with parchment paper and oil the sides.

Combine the crust ingredients together and mix thoroughly. Press the crust into the bottom of the prepared pie dish. It will be a thin layer, and should not go up the sides. Bake the crust for 8-12 minutes until the top is light gold. Keep an eye on this as it can burn quickly.

Combine all of the filling ingredients in a food processor. Puree until the coconut pieces are 50% smaller. (About the size of 1/2 a grain of rice.)

Pour the filling into the precooked pie crust. Bake for 25-30 minutes until fully set. There will be no giggle and the top will feel mostly firm.

Cool completely then dizzle chocolate over the top. Let the chocolate set, then serve.

Shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Whole Food Fridays, and Allergy Free Wednesdays

You might also like:

Vegan Carrot Cookies

Bento Lunches and Waffle Recipe

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Get your mouse ready because I am sending you off to another blog to see this post. You might be thinking, “Oh forget it, too much bother, another click…”, but I really encourage you to check it out because this is a great post. Lastly there is a waffle recipe that is simply delicious. Firstly there are tips on how to get started with bento and three adorable bento examples.

Ready? Click on over to Sunny’s, And love it too!, Healthy Lunchbox 2012 series.

Here’s a peek …

Grain-Free Waffle

Dancer

Shared on Bento Blog Network

Watermelon Sherbet Sundae

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Sundae

My favorite dairy filled ice cream was always Ben and Jerry’s. My husband, however, really appreciates sundaes at Friendly’s. When I heard about a vegan sundae contest the first thing that came to my mind was a Watermelon Sundae! Friendly’s makes a “Wattamelon Roll” and I always thought it was so cute. I actually don’t think I have ever tasted it … but I will tell you that when my husband tasted mine he said it was a dead ringer for the real thing (although if you read their ingredient list- “real” isn’t the word that comes to mind).

Watermelon Sorbet

I formed my ice cream watermelon in a bowl, but it was a bit hard to get out. Next time I think I should try forming a log. I played around with the concept of what qualifies as a sundae. Fresh watermelon and peach with maple candy pecans serve as a base for the watermelon sherbet (below). Above, I layered lime sherbet, chocolate chips, watermelon sherbet, candied nuts, and topped with a chocolate dipped dehydrated watermelon slice.

My ice cream colors are not as bright as the commercial version because I don’t use food coloring. In the future I could add a teaspoon of beet juice (give or take) and it would be more pink.

The pink ice cream is watermelon sherbet with chocolate covered dehydrated watermelon chunks (the chunks are outstanding by the way). The green ice cream is a lime sherbet (the green color comes from avocado). Please don’t give up on me here: you might be thinking avocado would be weird, but it is very creamy and delicious. This recipe only takes about 30 minutes of actual work, but each element needs to be prepared at different times so it takes about 2 days to execute (my ice cream tumbler needs 24 hours in between batches).

Lime Sherbet Recipe
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1 cup canned coconut milk (full fat)
1/2 cup agave
1 cup rice milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1 ripe avocado (under-ripe will not be good)
2 limes, zest and juice

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Combine the coconut milk, agave, and rice milk in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil (whisking occasionally as it heats). Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes, whisking frequently. (This heating process is important for the texture of the ice cream.) Set aside to cool in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Puree the coconut milk mixture with the avocado and lime zest and juice (I add a bit of liquid at a time to be sure the avocado isn’t chunky).

Pour into an ice cream maker and use according to the manufactures instructions.

Enjoy now or wait until you make the watermelon flavor too! (If you have left overs in the freezer, just let the ice cream soften a bit before enjoying again.)

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Watermelon Sherbet Recipe
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1 (13-ounce) can coconut milk (full fat)
1/3 cup agave
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups chopped watermelon
1/3 cup chocolate covered dehydrated watermelon* or chocolate chips

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Combine the coconut milk, agave, and vanilla extract in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil (whisking occasionally as it heats). Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes, whisking frequently. (This heating process is important for the texture of the ice cream.) Set aside to cool in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Puree the watermelon chunks and strain out the pulp.

Combine the chilled ice cream mixture and watermelon juice. Pour into an ice cream maker and use according to the manufactures instructions. Add the chocolate chunks at the end.

Enjoy! (If you have left overs in the freezer, just let the ice cream soften a bit before enjoying again.)

* Basically dehydrate 1/3 inch cubes of watermelon in a dehydrator until chewy/crunchy. Then dip in melted chocolate.

I am sharing this recipe on Sweetly Raw, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Wellness Weekend, and Allergy Free Wednesdays

Cherry Ice Cream Pie and The Contest

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Cherry Ice Cream Pie

My husband came home from Whole Foods and let me know they were having a fresh cherry recipe contest.

“I want to win!”, I optimistically replied.

I put some thought into the recipe. The obvious direction felt like chocolate (who doesn’t love chocolate covered cherries?) But I thought about Iron Chef and how they might say the secret ingredient should shine. I felt like the whole thing should be about cherries. Ice cream came to mind next, because I make and eat ice cream often … but cherry pie is my husband’s favorite (he has it every year on his birthday). So I put all three ideas together Ice Cream… chocolate chip… pie. Yes, I thought, I will win.

So I did a few test runs, and let me tell you, I didn’t mind eating the results! Then I wrote up a beautiful recipe to send in (doesn’t it look lovely?) And waited for the results.

Recipe

I got word that I was a finalist. And waited… then, “We had an overwhelming response and would love to make you all winners, but unfortunately we can only select one. While your recipe was fantastic and so well done, we regret that it was not chosen as the winner for this time around.  (It came down to just one vote’s difference between your pie, and the winning recipe though—your ice cream pie was delicious!)”

OK, I know you might be thinking, “Well that’s fantastic. So close, good job.”

I still pouted a tiny bit. After all, I did want to WIN.

(I am just being a bit cheeky with this post. I have a blessed life and do not need to win a contest to be happy.)

This dessert is surprisingly simple to make. Very little cooking technique is needed, but you will need to plan ahead due to the time required for cooling and setting. I recommend starting the pie the day before you plan to serve it.

If you don’t have an ice cream maker you can still enjoy this recipe. Simply purchase vanilla ice cream (vegan or dairy) and mix in the pureed (3/4 cup)cherries and chocolate chips before filling the pie.

Cherry Ice Cream Pie Recipe
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Cherry Sauce
4 cups sweet black cherries, pitted
and quartered
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup amaretto
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Ice Cream
1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk (full
fat)
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup hazelnut milk (or other non-
dairy milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cups Cherry Sauce (from recipe
above)
1/2 cup semi-sweet dark chocolate,
shaved (or mini chips)

Crust
2/3 cup almond meal/flour
1/3 cup quinoa flakes
2 1/2 tablespoons buttery spread (I use Earthbalance Soy Free) (or
butter or 1 1/2 T coconut oil might work too)
1/4 cup maple syrup
Tiny pinch salt

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Combine the quartered cherries, 1/4 cup agave, and amaretto in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a simmer, and then lower the heat to sustain a simmer for 10-20 minutes until the cherries soften and just begin to break down (stir occasionally). Taste for sweetness and add more agave if needed. Mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water, and then add to the cherries. Bring to a boil, stirring for just a moment, then remove from the heat and set aside 3/4 cup (for the ice cream) and put the rest in the refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare a deep dish pie pan or 8-inch cake pan with parchment paper on the bottom.

Combine all of the crust ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Spread the sticky batter evenly over the parchment paper (this takes a bit of patience). Bake for 12-16 minutes until the crust is light gold and cooked through but still slightly soft. (Keep your eye on this as nut crusts burn easily.) After it has cooled a bit, place it in the freezer.

In a large saucepan, combine the coconut milk, agave, and hazelnut milk. Heat on medium-high and whisk frequently until it starts to bubble. Reduce heat and simmer for 3–5 minutes.

Add vanilla extract and 3/4 cup Cherry Sauce and chill in the refrigerator for several hours.

Puree the chilled ice cream mixture in a food processor and then pour it into an ice cream maker (use according to the manufacturer’s instructions). Do not over-churn the ice cream; once it is the texture of soft-serve add the chocolate (allow it to mix in), and then transfer it to the prepared crust and chill in the freezer.

Once the pie is firm, serve slices with cherry sauce poured over the top and enjoy!

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I am sharing this recipe on Allergy Free Wednesdays, Wellness Weekend, Whole Food Fridays, and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday

Nutty Seed Bars and a Barn

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For this post I am participating in Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger. I chose to adopt Amber from The Tasty Alternative . She is super friendly and has made my first few weeks as a blogger very fun. In fact she seems fun. (And has a fun font on her blog.) Amber has quite a few recipes that I want to try. I was recently tempted by her Chewy Granola Bars, which I have respectfully renamed Nutty Seed Bars (because my family already has a “Granola Bar” recipe, so I need a different name for the kids).  I made them, and followed the recipe … but I think I should have chopped the nuts a bit smaller. I put a piece of parchment paper over the mixture and tried to “whack it” but that didn’t work so I used a rolling pin- which did the trick! (Also my husband is allergic to walnuts so I subbed in pecans.)

Nutty Seed Bars

Then my daughter and I embarked on a mission to make it cute.

Before I stopped eating sugar I loved decorating ginger bread houses. As soon as I figure out how to make a good “glue” frosting without sugarcane, I will be back to making them at Christmas time. Setting that idea aside for a moment, I decided to try a small Nutty Seed Bar “House”. Then we decided to make it a barn. And my daughter built a fence. And added some animals… She really did a nice job and had a lot of fun.

I reduced honey on the stove-top and mixed that with cashew butter. It made a decent glue. Sort of. It was a hot day and when the sun hit the barn the whole thing collapsed. Just as well because we were going to eat it anyways!

Nutty Seed Barn

As for Amber’s recipe:

The bars taste fantastic. If I made them again I would omit the cranberries. They have a strong flavor and I would rather enjoy the flavor of the apricot and cashew butter. (That’s just me.)

The bars held together well under normal circumstances, but in the heat (we took them on the bike path and it was over 85), they got soft. This happened with the bars I made for my cookbook– but I discovered a solution while testing for the book. Adding a couple tablespoons of coconut sugar to the recipe adds strength and heat resistance. Or, just be happy to eat these delicious bars on a cool house or a bit soft on the bike path (which really is fine!).

Bean-Free Hummus and Olympic Bento

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bean-free hummus

I love hummus. It is one of my favorite party foods. The problem is, some people can’t digest chickpeas and I like to make food that everyone can enjoy. I also follow a few Paleo diet bloggers, and I started to think, “I wonder if they miss hummus?” (Paleo diet excludes eating beans). So, I created a bean-free hummus. It tastes quite a bit like hummus and it is very flexible- allowing you to flavor it to your preference.

Olympic Bento

Olympic Bento: There is an open face sandwich on one side with the Olympic rings (simply cut from fruits and vegetables with cookie cutters). Then I used the hummus as “water” and green beans for the swim lanes. I cut the swimmers out with a paring knife after sketching the swimmer first on paper.

Note: I don’t eat nightshades and you won’t see them in my recipes, but my daughter does eat them, so occasionally they will appear in bento photos.

Bean-Free Hummus Recipe
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1 cup raw cashews (soaked for 3 hours)
1/4 cup raw tahini (be sure it is raw- toasted tahini will taste too strong)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Lemon juice (1/2-1 lemon to taste)
1/4-1 clove garlic (to taste)
Salt to taste (1/8 teaspoon)
1/4-1/2 cup water

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This recipe is all about personal preference. Basically just puree everything until very smooth in a food processor. Add water to achieve a nice dipping texture. Add lemon, salt, and garlic to your tastes. Garnish with chives or scallions (I used lemon zest too- my husband said, “too much”, while I loved it lemony.

Serve at room temperature. If refrigerated it will thicken, so just let it come back to room temperature before serving.

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I am sharing this recipe on Allergy Free Wednesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Bento Blog Network, and Wellness Weekend