Rocki's Raw Vegan Hemp Cheese Sauce

Raw Vegan Hemp Cheese Sauce

Today was such a beautiful day all around.  We got some needed work done around the house in the morning, prepared veggies for Mark's lunch for tomorrow, played barber and cut Mark's hair, went for an awesome bicycle ride and now relaxing on the couch until it's time to create dinner. 

Oh wait, I forgot one little detail... made a batch of my hemp cheese.  Yum yum yum!

We sat down to have lunch and dug right into our veggies and cheese sauce.  I dunked my zucchini into the bowl of deliciousness, took a bite and looked at my cheesy zucchini - it looked like a half moon.  Mark's exact words were: "Well, they say the moon is made of cheese."
He always makes me laugh!

Not only is this cheese sauce gluten, dairy and nut-free, but it is super healthy and guilt-free!  Okay, on with my recipe as I'm wanting to dig back into the cheesy goodness.

Rocki's Raw Vegan Hemp Cheese Sauce

1/4 cup water
1 red bell pepper
1 large garlic clove (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp sea salt (or to taste)
3 TBS nutritional yeast (heaping)
1/8 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 TBS raw apple cider vinegar
1 Serrano chili pepper, seeds removed (or pepper of choice)
1 cup hemp heart seeds

Put everything into your blender and blend until smooth and creamy.  You can add more water if you want a thinner consistency.  Sometimes I add a little tahini for added creaminess.

Living in the southwest we tend to love heat, especially in our food.  Well, actually it took Mark a long time to realize that ketchup was NOT salsa (silly boy).  Now he loves heat in his food too :)  But no worries if you don't as you can change the flavor of the cheese by omitting both peppers and enjoy as is or add herbs and spices of your choice.  You can also use a yellow bell pepper instead of the red.  So many choices.

Time to eat.  Chow for now.

Peace,
Rocki

Raw Vegan Chewy Fruit Bars

Raw Vegan Chewy Fruit Bars

I made a second batch of my yummy fruit bars and this time I measured as I went (pats self on back).  I have a bad habit of not measuring while preparing food.  I'm a "add a little of this, a little of that..." type of person, but trying very hard to remember to write it down as I go.

So today I thought I would share my simple and easy recipe for my healthy Raw Vegan Chewy Fruit Bars.  You really can't go wrong with these delicious little bites.  In fact, you could change some of the dried fruit ingredients to your liking, if you so wish.  The entire recipe is at the end.

After processing

Above is after processing all the ingredients into little crumbles and bits. 

Pressed down into dish

I used a 6x8 glass dish lined with plastic wrap, which makes it much easier to remove and cut into bites.  I meant to take a pic after putting the mixture into the dish to show how full to the brim it was before I pressed it down, but I was eager to get it into the fridge and take a bite...or two. 

Little bites of yummy goodness

I've been experimenting with food a lot lately and enjoying every minute of it.  I still look for inspiration and enjoy other raw recipes, but am super happy when I create something myself!  And I'm quite pleased with how my own recipe for these satisfying treats turned out.

Raw Vegan Chewy Fruit Bars

1 cup raw cashews
1 1/4 cup variety of dates, stones removed (I used Medjool and Honey Dates)
3-4 dried figs, stem removed
1 cup dried apricots (a very full rounded cup)
1/2 rounded cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup Hemp Seed
1 Tbsp Agave

Put all ingredients in order into a food processor - it will be full.  Pulse a few times to get it going and then process until mixture is crumbly bits.  You may need to stop and start a few times to scrape down the sides or move it around.  The mixture will be crumbly.  Take a little bit of it into your hand and form it into a ball.  If it holds together, you're good to go.  Now pop that little ball into your mouth and enjoy!

Line an 6x8 glass dish, or size pan of your choice, with plastic wrap.  I leave plenty of overhang to cover it back up when done and to lift out.  Put the mixture into the dish - it will be very full.  Use your hands with plastic wrap and press down firmly on the mixture.  Resist the temptation to devour at that moment.  Lick the processor bowl if you must.  Cover the dish and put it in the fridge for about an hour or two.

Remove from fridge.  With the overhanging plastic wrap, lift the soon to be bars out of the dish and place onto a cutting board.  I use a pizza cutter because it's quick and easy, but use whatever you want to cut it into chunky bite size pieces or into larger bars.  Store remaining bars in the fridge.  I'm not sure how long they will keep as they aren't in our fridge very long ;)  They can also be stored in an air tight container in the freezer for longer storage.

Peace
Raw Rocki :)

Heart full of...

CHOCOLATE BROWNIES!!!

"I Love You With All Of My Heart Stacked Chewy Fudge Brownies"

This will probably be my quickest post yet. My sis Laura, of Laura Lee's Tasty Treats is baking like crazy lately! She is THE baker of our family and ever since she opened up her Etsy shop she's been rockn' and rollin'! I keep buggin' her to make some wheat/dairy free goodies for me to have and she's working on it (hint hint ;)

Okay, gotta go. Jason's here for dinner and our Rock Band night. Oh, I'll be blogging about that soon.

Peace & Love,
Rocki

You know you want some!

Mmmm. Big Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies!

Wow! Grammy's Snickerdoodles! Yum yum!

Heaven! Chocolate Dipped Marshmallows! Ooooooh!

Mummumum mum, smack, smack smack... Turtle Brownies!

Where on EARTH did I find these scrumptious, delectable treats? Why at my sister's new Etsy shop: Laura Lee's Tasty Treats of course!

Need I say anything else? I don't think so.

What are you waiting for? Milk?

As Laura says...
"Have a sweet day",
Rocki

Did someone say... COOKIE?!

This past weekend was truly enjoyable! It started out on Friday afternoon when my son Jason stopped by. We played Wii and had a blast. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed his visit!

Saturday I only worked a few hours in the morning and then Mark & I were off and about the rest of the day. We had a fabulous day.

Sunday I was craving chocolate chip cookies - homemade. You know, soft, warm and oozing with chocolate chips right out of the oven kind of cookie. Even though I have to make them a little different due to wheat & dairy allergies, they still come out just like a chocolate chip cookie should.

Well, I didn't get around to making them until late afternoon when Mark reminded me about the cookies. It was only a fleeting thought of not making them due to how late it was. I must admit that I made them in record time!

The aroma of the baking cookies filled the house with memories of baking cookies with my boys when they were little. We would all grab a spoon at the end and scrape the bowl clean!

Mark could hardly wait to have one. That's not true. It was me. As soon as the first batch came out, I was all over those cookies!

I would offer you all one, but right after this photo I stuffed them all into a container and hid them. Not really. I let Mark keep the half eaten one in his hand.

May the cookie not crumble in your milk,

Rocki