Tropical Garnet Cocktail or Mocktail - Virtual Vegan Potluck November 2013

Aaaargh! I'm totally kicking myself right now!!! After all the effort and time Annie and the VVP gang has put into coordinating The Virtual Vegan Potluck, I totally screwed up and got my date wrong. I forgot that the post had to go live this morning at 9:31 a.m. my time and kept thinking it has to go up tomorrow. Now I see all these VVP post links being shared online and I'm feeling so guilty!

Thankfully, I have my recipe created and pictures clicked already, so even though my post is going up at the wrong time, I'm hoping it's not too terribly late since it's still early in the potluck day for most people.

This the the 3rd time I'm participating in the VVP. My first two posts were Hot Spiced Cashew-Sesame Mylk Chai and Rice Mylk Majjige. They were both beverages and this one is too. I believe beverages will be my forever VVP tradition. That is, if I don't get banned from participating in the next round. :P

Seriously, I'm really really sorry Annie. :(

Ok, without further delay, here goes my recipe for Tropical Garnet Cocktail or Mocktail

The only difference between the Cocktail and Mocktail is the booze. One has the awesomeness of Coconut Malibu in it and the other just skips it (but is awesome nonetheless).

For the Tropical Garnet Base Mix:
2 Beets - scrubbed well and washed
1 C Coconut Mylk
1 C Seltzer Water (Plain Drinking Soda)

* Cut off both the ends of the beets but don't peel them
* Chop them up roughly and grind in a blender jar until they're as fine as possible
* Add coconut mylk and blend well
* Add seltzer and pulse a few times to let the coconut and beet flavours get infused into each other
* Transfer to an airtight jar and store in the fridge

For the Cocktail/Mocktail:
Garnet Base Mix
Coconut Malibu (only for cocktail)
Seltzer Water

* Put a few spoonfuls of the garnet base mix in a glass
* Add a splash of the Coconut Malibu (if using)
* Pour seltzer water over everything
* Enjoy your fizzy cocktail/mocktail! :)

The VVP is an event where various blogs from the world participate and share a recipe at the same time. Each blog is linked to the next to form a circle, like a warm, delicious hug. :) You can find the whole list of participating blogs at the host site, Vegan Bloggers Unite.

The blog before mine shares a delicious beverage - Chocolate Protein Tonic from The Veggie Nook (do note that the honey mentioned in the recipe isn't vegan though)

The blog after mine shares a yummy bread - Garden Harvest Cornbread from Sift, Stir and Savour

Thanks for dropping by. Have a fun Virtual Vegan Potluck! :)

Madhu's Besan Laddoos, Rithika's Carrot n Coconut Date Squares and a message from Zeeshan of PCRM

Besan Laddoo, or as we say in Kannada, Besan Undé, is one of my absolute favorite sweets! I have wonderful memories of my grandma making them in my childhood days. Popping that freshly made, warm Besan Undé into my mouth as soon as she shaped it into a ball was pure bliss. Mmmm.

After I turned vegan, my gran and my aunts started to switch out the ghee with oil when they made Besan Undés for us. Those are pretty darned yum too but the texture is a bit on the softer side.

So recently, during Deepavali, when I saw a recipe for Besan Laddoo by my Facebook friend Madhulika Jajodia where she'd used cashew powder in the recipe to add firmness to the Laddoos, I just knew I had to try it out.

I made a few tweaks to the recipe to suit the ingredients I had at home and created these super delicious Besan Undés. They are so easy and quick to make that I'm afraid I'll be making them a little too often. :p

Vegan Besan Undé

1 C Besan (Chickpea) Flour
3/4 C Sugar
1/2 C Cashew Powder
1/4 C Groundnut (Peanut) Oil
Elaichi (Cardamom) Powder
Toasted Almond Pieces

*Pour the oil into a heavy bottomed pan (iron baandli) and heat.
*Add the besan flour, stir and toast on medium flame till it emits a nice aroma.
*Add sugar and cashew powder and continue to heat and stir for a few minutes.
*Finally add the elaichi powder and toasted almonds, mix well and turn off the heat.
*Let the mixture cool for a few minutes, till it is comfortable to handle.
*Grease your palms with oil and shape into tight balls.
*Eat some.
*Allow the remaining to cool completely and store in an airtight container.
*Enjoy! :)

Talking about Deepavali sweets, Zeeshan Ali of PCRM wanted to share a few words here about healthy desserts, along with a delicious recipe by my good friend Rithika Ramesh of Vegan on the Prowl and The Green Stove.

“Following the celebration of Diwali — a festival of lights, fireworks, and sweets — in India, physicians with the non-profit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) offer a healthful alternative to traditional treats that are typically made with high-fat, high-cholesterol eggs and dairy products, including milk and ghee. These ingredients aren’t just bad for your waistline, recent studies link dairy consumption to prostate cancer.

“The good news? Health-conscious families can now swap dairy products for nondairy options, such as cashew milk. Other tips, to boost nutrients and curb fat, include swapping sugar for dates and applesauce for eggs.

“According to the study published in the journal "Diabetes Care," a diet low in cholesterol, fats and sugars lowers risk of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

“Carrot and Coconut Date Squares is a delicious example of a healthful, cholesterol-free treat; it’s packed with a decadent combination of carrots, coconut, and dates, which provide a mega-dose of beta-carotene, vitamins, and dietary fiber. These antioxidants naturally boost your immune system and fiber will help fill you up without filling you out.

Best,
Zeeshan Ali PhD
Phone: 202-527-7302
Email: Zali@Pcrm.org"

Carrot and Coconut Date Squares (Dessert)

For the base and crumble:
3 cups oats powdered
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1 medium carrot grated
1/2 cup jaggery melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons almond butter

For the filling:
400 grams pitted dates
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons orange peel

Preheat your oven to 180˚C.
Mix all the dry ingredients for the crumble and then add the wet ingredients. Make it into a thick, firm dough.
Boil the dates with 1/2 cup water for 15 minutes. Make sure it doesn't burn. Once it cools, blend it into a smooth paste and add more water if required. Add the vanilla and orange peel.
In a square or rectangular baking dish lined with parchment paper, put two thirds of the oat mixture and spread evenly. Spread the date mixture on top of it. Crumble the rest of the oat mixture on top of it.
Bake for 45-50 minutes.

Links to additional recipes:
NutritionMD.org
21daykickstartIndia.org

Celebrations and Richa Hingle's Vegan Diwali Sweets eBook Giveaway

HAPPY WORLD VEGAN DAY/MONTH, HAPPY KANNADA RAJYOTSAVA DAY, HAPPY DIWALI AND HAPPY MOVEMBER!!!

I love November! There are so many things to celebrate this month. It's World Vegan Month and 1st November is World Vegan Day. It's also Kannada Rajyotsava Day, when we celebrate the formation of our state, Karnataka. Certain awesome people are born in November. *ahem* And November is Movember, a month long celebration of mustaches. And yes, much to the chagrin of my hubby, this year too, I'm going to be sporting a mush on various profile pictures. bahahah :{D

Then, there's Deepavali (also called Diwali) coming up tomorrow and the festivities will go on for 3-4 days. Deepavali falls in the month of October or November depending on the Hindu calendar and moon cycles. I'm glad it's in November this year. It adds yet another reason to party during this month of celebrations. Yummy sweets and snacks, here I come! Wheeee!!!

In all my years of being vegan, I've found certain Indian Sweets to be quite tricky to veganise. Yeah, I'm talking about you, Jamoons and Bengali Sweets! After finally managing to get Jamoons fairly right, I wrote a long blog post about it last year. But sadly, no amount of effort led to good vegan Bengali Sweets. Over and over again, I tried to make Rasgullas, Rasmalais and even Sandesh, but all attempts only led to frustrating little rubbery balls which stubbornly refused to soak up the delicious sauces and syrups they were dunked into. Grrrrr.

So imagine my thrill when Richa of Vegan Richa started to share photographs of GORGEOUS looking Rasmalais on her Facebook Page! I was totally jealous that she's managed to get the recipe right, but I was also filled with gratitude and happiness and generally a lot of "SQUEEEEEEEES" because recipes for delicious, vegan Bengali Sweets had *finally* come into existence.

To be honest, it comes as no surprise to me that Richa was the one to crack the Rasgulla code. She is the mistress of Indian Sweets! :) It also doesn't surprise me that her first eBook is one filled with Vegan Diwali Sweets.

This book is filled with gorgeous pictures and recipes for a bunch of much loved Indian desserts. You can clearly see that Richa has put a lot of time and effort into creating it. And she's so generously giving away all the sales generated from the eBook sales to two wonderful animal charities.

You can read more about the book and buy it on her blog. You can also win a copy for yourself right here on Veganosaurus by entering the giveaway below. The giveaway will be open all weekend and a winner will be announced on Monday or Tuesday.

Do spread the word about this wonderful eBook and this giveaway. Thanks for entering! :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Veganosaurus Raw Food Theme Full Recap - Vegan MoFo 2013 Day 17

It's the last day of the Vegan Month of Food! I'll miss having something awesome to look forward to on the blogosphere each day. But I definitely won't miss the freaky stress associated with having to post every single day. Ha! In fact, I'm taking a break from my blog for the next week (at least). A well deserved holiday.

Over the last month I've shared a series of raw, vegan dishes here. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do 20+ recipes like I'd intended to. :( But I'm glad that at I'm getting at least 17 posts done for MoFo this year.

It's been a really good challenge to create these raw recipes. I've enjoyed it so much, I think I'll be creating raw foods more often. :)

Thank you everyone who has visited me here and at my various social media spaces (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest) throughout this month. Your supportive comments about my recipes, HowDo clips and time-lapse videos have been really encouraging. :)

I think I've had as much fun participating in Vegan MoFo this year as I did last year. Here's a link to my Vegan MoFo album from 2012 if you want to see what I did last time.

I am highly inspired by all the wonderful recipes I've been seeing on my fellow MoFo blogger's spaces! I'm going to spend the next few days just blog hopping and drooling over the goodies. :) Ahhhh bliss!

I'll leave you now with a recap of all the Vegan MoFo posts on my blog throughout this month. Enjoy! :)

Day 1 - Raw Almond Mylk

Day 2 - Healthy Green Smoothie

Day 3 - Fruit Sweetened Almond Mylk Ice Cream

Day 4 - Making Sprouts and Green Cilantro-Mint Chutney(chutney recipe by Dr.Nandita Shah)

Day 5 - Raw Almond Mylk Pulp Vadai/Cracker Sandwiches

Day 6 - Stuffed Bajji Menasinakayi (Banana Peppers) with Walnut Cilantro Pesto

Day 7 - Creamy Tomato Basil Soup (guest post by Manasa of Cure yourself with Food)

Day 8 - Raw Zucchini Fettuccine and Sun Dried Tomatoes in Cashew Sour Cream Sauce

Day 9 - Raw Cinnamon Apple Crumble with Date Almond Sauce

Day 10 - Melon Mustard Gazpacho

Day 11 - Mid-MoFo Recap and Giveaway

Day 12 - Ruby Smoothie

Day 13 - Fermented Cashew Garlic Cheese

Day 14 - Noochos Gracias Raw Soup

Day 15 - Frozen Basil Seed Pudding

Day 16 - Lemon Lavender Spoon Cream (guest post by Ashlee of The Little Foxes)

Lemon Lavender Spoon Cream - guest post by Ashlee of The Little Foxes - Vegan MoFo 2013 Day 16

I thought my Frozen Basil Seed Pudding recipe would be the last one on my blog for this year's Vegan MoFo. Then, the lovely Ashlee Piper sent me this delicious Lemon-Lavender Spoon Cream recipe as her guest post and suddenly I have a post #16 for all of you. :)

I normally write out a little introduction about guest bloggers so you can get to know them better. But Ashlee here sent me a neat bio about herself and made my work easier. She even sent me these photographs of herself to share. Just look at that beautiful, warm vegan glow! :)

I'm sharing her recipe first and at the bottom of this blog post, you'll find her very impressive bio. Make sure you visit the various links she's shared. Especially her blog, The Little Foxes.

Thank you for being here today, Ashlee. I am very happy to have you as a guest blogger at Veganosaurus. :)

Now, on to Ashlee's post...

--

Many thanks to Susmitha for having me on Veganosaurus today!

This recipe is a romantic take on a popular Sweet Vegan Ricotta recipe I debuted a while ago. It’s like the sexier, exotic cousin. Lavender and extra lemon make this mixture a little more viscous and luscious – the perfect complement to ripe, juicy fruit and buttery vegan croissants. I call it “Spoon Cream,” because that’s exactly what you’ll want to do – enjoy this lush dessert or snack by the delicate spoonful.

Lemon-Lavender Spoon Cream
Vegan – Refined Sugar-Free – Soy-Free – Palm Oil-Free – Gluten-Free

Yields: About 2 cups
Prep Time: 30 minutes, including soaking
Cook Time: None! Praise be!

Ingredients:

2/3 cups raw cashews
1/2 cup raw almonds
5 dates, skins on
1 cup of water
2.5 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp dried lavender buds
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp fresh vanilla bean

Assembly:

1. In a medium sized dish, place the cashews, almonds, and dates, and cover with 1 cup of water. Allow to soak for 30 minutes.
2. Once soaked, add the entire mixture (soaking water included), lemon juice, lavender buds, vanilla bean, and vanilla extract in to a high-speed blender. Blend until creamy and thick. The consistency doesn’t have to be completely smooth, but feel free to add more water or almond milk to make the mixture more viscous.
3. If you really want to take this recipe to the next level, pour a generous dollop in to a vegan pastry cup and top with balsamic strawberries. I make this regularly for catering gigs and people always go nuts (pun intended) for the creamy, sweet, sour, and juicy mixture of it all.

Bio:

Ashlee Piper (MSW, MSc, HHC, AADP) is a former governmental strategist turned plant-based health and lifestyle expert (you can read about her professional transition here). She is the owner of All Is Wellness, a boutique holistic health consultancy that assists busy individuals, families, and workplaces in giving their food, routines, and lives a gorgeously green makeover. An award-winning vegan cook, Piper also runs a popular food and style blog, The Little Foxes, and her recipes and writing have been featured in Reader’s Digest, Earth Balance’s Made Just Right, Ecorazzi, TOMS Shoes, Girlie Girl Army, Vegetarian Times, and Our Hen House. Her blog was recently named among the “Top 9 Food Blogs to Watch” by Refinery29 and Ashlee was recently featured on a Fox News segment where she discussed cruelty-free fashion.

She also writes guides on plant-based topics for Vegucated, manages the Vegucated Schoolhouse Community, a free resource where she shepherds over 1,700 in their transition to a plant-based diet, and is the “Vegan for Life” columnist for Cheeky Chicago. Think a cruelty-free, vegan lifestyle is hard? Ashlee delights in showing people that living la vida compassionate is every bit as tasty, stylish, economical, simple, and fun as the status quo (hint: it’s way more fun)!

When she’s not coaching clients or whipping up mouthwatering vegan feasts, Piper enjoys taking her two rescue dogs to the beach, getting bendy at yoga, singing karaoke, and wearing red lipstick and listening to Morrissey with sassy abandon.

Be sure to follow The Little Foxes on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest to get the latest deliciousness.