Raw Fig and Cinnamon Ice Cream Vegan MoFo day 2

Continuing in this week's desserts theme for Vegan MoFo 2012, I have a raw Fig and Cinnamon ice cream that I made with home made Almond-Coconut Mylk. I found the sweetness of the figs to be enough but if you like, you could add a bit of sugar to make it more sweet. It won't be completely raw in that case, but hey, mostly raw is great too.

Dessicated coconut powder is made out of dried coconut but it might have been exposed to a some heat in the grinding process. So if you're particular about keeping it a 100% raw, then just start with whole dry coconut/copra and grate it at home. You can also use fresh, grated coconut to make coconut mylk but that will change the taste and texture a bit.

Since the ice cream has no added oils and also because it isn't cooked, the texture is slightly icy, as opposed to smooth. I really like it that way because it has a more natural feel to it. Needless to say, it's also very healthy and you can indulge in multiple scoops and feel good about it too. :)

Raw Fig and Cinnamon Ice Cream

1 1/2 C Dry Figs
1 C Almonds
1 C Dessicated Coconut Powder
1 T Cinnamon Powder
2-3 T Sugar (optional)
A pinch of Salt
4 C Filtered Water + 2 C to soak Figs

Wash and soak the figs overnight in 2 C of clean, filtered water.

Wash and soak the almonds over night. In the morning drain them and rise well (throw away the soaking water).

Place soaked almonds and coconut powder with a pinch of salt in a blender jar and grind for a few minutes.

Add 4 C of filtered water (a little at a time) and blend well.

Keep aside for 10-15 minutes.

Place a thin cloth over a large vessel and strain the almond-coconut mylk through it. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

Save the pulp in the fridge. It can be mixed into bread or chapathi dough. I will also be posting another recipe later during MoFo to show you what I made with my almond-coconut pulp, so watch out for it. ;)

Keep a few figs aside and slice them.

Put the rest of the figs, along with the soaking water and the cinnamon powder in the blender jar and blend to a smooth paste. It's okay if the fig seeds remain grainy.

Stir the fig pulp into the strained almond-coconut mylk. Taste and optionally add sugar at this point.

Whisk this mixture for a few minutes. Cover and chill in the fridge (not freezer) for a day.

If you have an ice cream maker, follow the directions and freeze in it. Toss in the sliced figs during the last few minutes of the freezing process.

If you don't have an ice cream maker, pour the ice cream mixture into an airtight container, stir in the sliced figs and freeze for half an hour. Whip vigorously with a wire whisk for a few minutes. Cover and freeze again for another half hour. Use a spatula and whip again. Freeze for an hour this time and whip once more. Do this 5-6 times until you reach the desired consistency.

Scoop into serving bowls, dust with cinnamon and enjoy! :)

Wanna know what else I have coming up on my blog this month? Take a look at my Vegan MoFo 2012 Sneak Peek Album.

Avocado Orange Chocolate Mousse Vegan Mofo day 1

Since I'm a huge huge fan of vegan mousse, I thought it was apt to kick start Vegan MoFo 2012 with this mostly raw Avo-Orange Chocolate Mousse. As I mentioned in an earlier post, my theme for MoFo this year is Super Scrumptious Four Course Meal. Recipes for one course of a meal each week and my first week's course is Desserts! :)

Because of the chocolate, the mousse is only about 70% raw. If you'd like to make it completely raw then use raw cacao powder and eliminate the alcohol and orange essence/extract, but be warned that it will compromise the taste and texture quite a bit. Also, I find the sweetness from the chocolate bar to be sufficient but if you like it sweeter, then you could add 2 or 3 soaked, pitted dates or a few spoons of sugar (I would not recommend jaggery as its flavour will overpower the others). You could use raw agave nectar but even though it's raw it's a highly processed product so you're better off using a small amount of sugar instead.

I found this delicious 74% Dark Chocolate with Orange Peel at Brown Tree and love to use that in my avo-orange-choclate mousse. Rs.120 is a fairly good price for a bar of 100 gms (3.5 oz).

Even though I usually prefer actual dark chocolate, with a *minimum* of 74% cocoa content, I have to admit that this mousse tastes pretty delicious even when it's made with the cheaper, more commonly available Morde 45% "Dark" Chocolate. I've seen those at Nilgiris, MK Retail and Metro, among other places. But watch out for the Morde Dark Compound (different from Morde Dark Chocolate) and DO NOT even consider touching it with a ten foot pole because it is pumped with all kinds of disgusting processed crap and hydrogenated fats which are horrid for health (even if they are technically vegan). Not that I never have processed foods, but the compound is worse than most processed foods and it doesn't taste good either (yep, I tried it once long ago, before I knew how bad for health it was).

If you have ripe avocados at home, this mousse can be whipped up very quickly. It's almost as if a genie said, "yes master" *poof* and there it is, your delicious vegan mousse! :oP

I prefer to melt my chocolate using the double boiler method because somehow the texture seems better that way. But you can further reduce the preparation time by melting the chocolate in a microwave. Just place the chocolate in a micro safe glass dish, heat for 30 seconds, stir, heat for another 30 seconds and stir again and repeat until the chocolate is completely melted.

Avocado Orange Chocolate Mousse

150 gms (1 1/2 Bars) Vegan Dark Chocolate with Orange Peel
1 large, ripe Avocado
1/4 - 1/2 C Raw Cashew or Almond Mylk
1/8 tsp Orange Extract/Essence or 1/4 tsp Dried and Powdered Orange Peel
Pinch of Salt
Sugar or Soaked Pitted Dates (optional)
A great, big splash of Scotch or Rum
Cocoa or Cinnamon Powder for dusting

To melt the chocolate using the double boiler method:

Break the chocolate into chunks and place in a medium sized, heat proof glass or ceramic bowl (steel is fine too but I find glass/ceramic easier to clean).

In a small pan, heat a cup of water and place the ceramic bowl on the pan (it should cover the mouth of the pan completely so no steam escapes).

Keep the heat on low so as not to allow the water at the bottom to boil and stir the chocolate with a spoon or small whisk.

When the chocolate is half melted, turn off the heat and keep stirring until completely melted.

Take the ceramic bowl off the pan and keep aside to cool for a few minutes.

For the mousse:

Scoop out the avocado flesh into a blender jar, add the melted chocolate and salt and blend to a creamy consistency, using a little almond or cashew mylk at a time.

Add the rum/scotch and the orange extract/essence/peel powder and blend well.

Taste and add the sugar or dates if required.

Blend again and transfer to a glass dish (I use the same bowl that I melted the chocolate in).

Whip for a couple of minutes with a wire whisk.

Tastes good at this point, tastes great after chilling in the fridge for at least half an hour and tastes amazingly awesome after sitting in the fridge for a day because the flavours ripen nicely.

Serve with cocoa powder or cinnamon dusted over it.

Enjoy! :)

Vegan MoFo yeah yeah yeah! :D

Goood morning MoFo-ers!!! :) It's 6:30 am on October 1st 2012 here in Bangalore, India. I woke up this morning to find that my Veganosaurus Facebook Page has crossed 1000 'likes'! Yay!! 1001 'fans' is a wonderful way to start Vegan MoFo month!! :)

Before you get any ideas, I don't have any habits of being awake at such early, ungodly hours in the morning. I just *happened* to be awake and I couldn't resist dropping in here to write a quick, "hello Vegan MoFo" post on my phone's Blogger app. :)

Have you ever tried typing out HTML on a teeny tiny touchscreen keyboard? It is a paaaain!! I am *so* glad I have the first two days of MoFo posts pre-scheduled because I might be outside my home a lot over these two days and I definitely don't want to be stuck doing MoFo posts on my phone! Haha

I have a recipe post scheduled for later in the day, when more MoFo-ers will be awake and blogging, but until then, if you'd like some food porn, then take a look at my Vegan MoFo 2012 Sneak Peek album.

Have a wonderful day and an even more awesome Vegan MoFo month!! Looking forward to visiting everyone's blogs to check out the drool-worthy awesomeness you'll all be posting. :)

Wheat berry Pilaf: guest post by Richa of Vegan Richa

I met Richa sometime in the middle of last year when she dropped into my Facebook page. Her blog, which was then called Hobby and More and is now Vegan Richa, is filled with scrumptious recipes of various kinds with totally drool worthy photographs. But what she's most famous for is her whole lot of creative, amazing bread recipes! It's very obvious that Richa loooooves to bake bread and also make all kinds of interesting dishes with bread, like her Tiramisu and Gulab Jamun French Toasts.

Richa also makes some yummy gluten free breads. I tried her steaming method to make Gluten Free Flatbreads earlier this year and was really happy with the results.

Today I'm happy to have her here as a guest blogger with a delicious, healthy Wheat Berry Pilaf recipe. All those pictures she's clicked of the pilaf are making my mouth water and I can almost feel the chewiness of the wheat berries in my mouth. Yum!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'll be participating in Vegan MoFo this year. You can see my Vegan MoFo Sneak Peek album here.

Last year was my first time doing MoFo and it was the first for Richa too. This year she is really busy and was hesitant to participate, but finally she decided to just go ahead and jump into the MoFo madness. :D I can't wait to see all the delicious recipes she comes up with all through October.

Now, without further ado, let's move on to Richa's post...

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I blog at Vegan Richa, where I vegan-ize Indian food, sweets, yeast breads, and other baked goodies. I met Susmitha I think around Vegan Mofo last year. :) Come to think of it, I met so many wonderful bloggers in that one whirlwind month.

I was instantly attracted to her super cute hand made monsters, beautiful jewellery and amazing and simple food creations!

When Sus asked me to do a guest post in the middle of Summer. I knew I was not going to find time till later. So here I am when the weather is cooling down, and in a few days I will be going crazy trying to blog every day of the month!



For the guest post, I was initially thinking of making some cookies. But Sus has been baking up super fun cookies already lately. So I decided on a delicious whole grain pilaf. For those on a gluten free diet, this pilaf can be made with any whole grains.



For variations: add mushrooms, greens, eggplants, chunky vegetables, nuts, biryani /pulav masala of choice, dried fruit (raisin/cranberries). Or make a simple one with vegetable broth, mushrooms and parsley.

For some of my Whole grain/Rice preparations see here and veganized Indian sweets see here.



Whole wheat berry pilaf

Vegan, soy, corn, nut free recipe

Cook Time: 30 minutes to 1 hour, Serves 2

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dry wheat berries (Gejun grain)

3/4 cup water for pressure cooker, (1.5 cups for saucepan)

extra water for soaking

1 teaspoon organic canola or virgin coconut oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 green chili chopped

4-5 garlic cloves chopped

1/4 medium onion chopped

1/4 red bell pepper chopped

1/4 cup green peas

1 teaspoon coriander powder or biryani masala blend

chopped cilantro for garnish

Method:

Rinse the berries well and soak overnight in 2 cups water.

In a pressure cooker or pan, add oil.

Heat on medium heat. Add cumin seeds and let them crackle.

Add chili and onions and cook for 4-5 minutes until golden.

Add red bell pepper and peas and cook for a minute.

Add in the rinsed wheat berries, salt and cook on medium for 2 whistles in the pressure cooker, and then on low heat for 15-20 minutes (2-3 more whistles).

If cooking in saucepan, add the rinsed berries, 1.5 cups of water, cover and cook on low until berries are tender. Serve hot.

The water content and cook time depends on the wheat berries(hard or soft), add more water and cook longer if not tender at the suggested time. I use soft white or red wheat berries here.

You can also cook the wheat berries separately like pasta and keep ready. Cook with water and salt until tender.

Serve hot topped with cilantro and lemon juice/wedge.



Thank you for sharing your space with me Susmitha! Hope you all like this post. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Have a great week.

Green Guava Grainee and Vegan MoFo Preparations

Though this is a technically a smoothie, I'd like to call it a "grainee" because the guava seeds get ground to a fine, grainy texture. It's a nice way to enjoy a smoothie, with a wee bit of crunchiness in every mouthful. :)

Makes for a delicious, nutritious, filling breakfast. Consume it as soon as it's made, to get the maximum benefits of the fruits and the spinach.

1 large Guava - cubed
3 Yelakki Bananas (small) - cut into chunks
1 1/2 C Spinach
8 Dates - seeds removed
1/2 C Cashews
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
3 Black Pepper Corns
A pinch of Salt
Lemon Juice

Blend everything together along with some water into a creamy smoothie.
Serve into large mugs.
Start slurping immediately.
Enjoy! :)

While you're slurping, let me tell you about what I've been up to and what's about to happen on my blog in October.

Shhhh, listen...can you hear that low rumbling sound? It's the chorus of thousands of tummies growling in anticipation. And soon you'll be hearing buckets drool dripping onto keyboards all over the world too because, it's that time of the year again...Vegan MoFo time!! :D

For those who are new to this, Vegan MoFo aka Vegan Month of Food, is a global blogging event. Hundreds of bloggers from all over the world take part each year and all month long blogs are flooded with talk about about vegan food, vegan food and more vegan food.

Last October was my first time participating in MoFo and it was a mad, last minute scramble. I did a lot of huffing and puffing and just barely reached my quota of posts for the month. This year however, I've turned into a super smart cookie (pun intended) and have started to cook and capture and choreograph.

I'd like to have at least half the blog posts ready and scheduled over the next week so that during MoFo I can chill and hoppity hop hop through all the awesome participating blogs.

I've even got a theme going this time - Super Scrumptious Four Course Meal. Each week, I will feature recipes for one course of a meal.

Week One - Desserts (well of course I have to start with desserts!)
Week Two - Soups and Salads
Week Three - Appetizers and Snacks
Week Four - Main Courses

There may or may not be sub-themes within each week. We'll just have to wait and watch. :oP

If you would like a taste of what's to come, here's my Vegan MoFo 2012 Sneak Peek album. It's going to keep getting filled up all week long and through October as the recipes start rolling out.

Until then, here are a few recipes from my last year's Vegan MoFo collection for you to try out:

Super Loaded Burritos



Idlis



Maize Bread



And of course, the MOST popular post of them all...Vegan Ice Cream Basics :D



If you're taking part in Vegan MoFo this year, do leave a comment and let me know so I can visit you often through October. Enjoy making magic in the kitchen and have a wonderful weekend! :)