Raw Cashew Raspberry Cream Brownie Hearts

Raw Vegan Brownie Heart with Cashew Raspberry Cream and Goji Berries

I was busy in the kitchen creating another brownie treat.  I LOVE raw vegan brownies! At first it was going to be simple little brownie hearts, but then one thing led to another.  I decided to make some cashew raspberry cream to top them off with.  As you can see, I took it a few more steps.

Heart Brownie - Raw and Gluten-Free

I thought a few sprinkles of coconut shreds would be a subtle tasty topper.

Pink Heart - Raw Vegan Brownie

Just with the cashew raspberry cream on top makes the brownie heart pretty in pink.

From my heart to yours - raw vegan brownies

And you can't go wrong in the buff, you know what I mean ;)  Nothing but brownie.

Pretty little raw vegan cupcake - recipe by Raw Rock

If you don't have a heart mold, I have different silicone molds (bpa-free FDA food-grade silicone) then no worries as they can be made in any shape and look yummy enough to eat.  You can even roll them into a ball, put them into a brownie pan... the choice is yours.

I love my raw vegan brownie recipe, but also like to change it up now and then.  Don't be afraid... change is good! Feel free to change it up as you like.  One thing about raw food is it is so easy to make changes, so let your inner chef out of the box and go for it!

   
Raw Vegan Brownies

1/2 cup pecans
1 cup walnuts (soaked and dehydrated)
1/2 cup hemp heart seeds
4 TBS Cacao powder
3 TBS coconut shreds
1/8 tsp sea salt

Put into food processor and process until little bits. Then add in the following:

1 TBS coconut butter - softened
1 1/2 cup packed dates (I use medjool - yum!)

Process until well blended but not buttery consistency.  You want the mixture to be able to hold its shape.  Check to see if it will roll into a ball or just give it a squish or two then pop it in your mouth... mmmmm, warm brownies!

Put into mold or pan of choice.  If using a silicon mold, put it in the freezer for at least 60-90 minutes so they will be easy to pop out.  The brownies can be stored in the fridge or freezer - if they last that long.


Cashew Raspberry Cream

1 cup cashews - soaked for at least 2 hours, rinse and drain
1 cup full raspberries
1/2 tsp vanilla
2-3 TBS raw agave (or to your desired sweetness)
1 TBS coconut oil - softened

Blend all ingredients until you have a smooth cream consistency.  You can put this in the fridge while waiting for the brownies (I make this first and then the brownies) or leave on the counter and try not to dip a piece of fruit in it... or your finger.

Enjoy!

Peace and Luv,
Rocki

Inner Peace - right in the palm of my hand

"The life of inner peace,

being harmonious and without stress,

is the easiest type of existence"

Norman Vincent Peal

 

♥

 

"I would rather have eyes that cannot see;

ears that cannot hear;

lips that cannot speak,

than a heart that cannot love"

Robert Tizon

Wordless Wednesday

Valentine's Day Water Heart!

I was brushing my teeth this morning, looked down and there was a water shaped heart!  I always see shapes in water drops...well, that's another story in itself.  Anyway, so I grabbed my Droid and snapped a pic before it went away. What makes this even more exciting (yes, water drops excite me) is what is today people?  VALENTINE'S DAY!

Okay, time to hit the studio, but just had to share this first.

♥ Rocki

Shh! Surprise on the way!

I know, don't pass out - I usually do not blog on the weekends as I have no time. However, this morning I'm dragging butt and working on a second cup of coffee pondering over the past few days, but excited about what I'll be doing this weekend!

VERY short version: found an Etsy shop that had one of my items, and a couple other Etsy artists items (possibly more) in her shop for sale - pictures and all! Yep, she actually used pictures of OUR own items, slapped her name on the pics and claimed that she made them, yada yada yada. It was very sickening and disheartening to have discovered this. However, I made a very sweet friend out of this experience who you will meet on Monday. No, not the thief.

ANYway... the surprise part! I was hoping I could get to it last weekend, however I was way too busy. So hopefully by Monday I'll have some new Findings in my shop! Nope. Not tellin! My mouth is shut! (what was that comment hon?)

So in the meantime, here is a shameless plug for some of my new goodies:

Darn. Coffee is gone. Well, time to head into the studio :)

Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Peace,

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

Beat Still My Heart

If you have not seen Beat Black's shop, you must, I repeat, MUST go and check out her amazing polymer clay creations!

I "met" Sarah via blogging & Etsy and then became friends on MySpace. Who is Sarah? She is the fun creator behind Beat Black. Here's a quote from her profile that I just love: "I'm a 21 year old food junkie with a diploma in fashion design. I live in Toronto with my roommate and cactus whose name seems to change on a monthly basis (the cactus not the roommate)"

We can thank Sarah's mom for her amazing talent as her mom is an artist. Sarah has been creating things longer than she can even remember. In fact, before she knew about polymer clay, she would make little sculptures from her brothers "ball of a browny purple colour (clearly a mix of whatever he stole from school). It always had hair in it...ew". I agree Sarah... EWWWW!

Sarah's inspiration comes from many things, such as "weird colour combinations, the folds in a blanket, strange fairytale-ish movies, music, going through old sketchbooks, dreams, nature..."

When asked what her surroundings are like, this is what she had to say:"Pretty boring actually. I rent so I've never painted or put nails in my walls for artwork. Three of five light bulbs are burnt out in my chandelier. My futon looks like a lumpy monster and there's a microwave in my living room." Sarah my friend, you made this blog post very easy for me to write!

I really love her shop name, Beat Black. Sarah knew she wanted to use a black heart as her logo and after writing down several names, Beat Black stuck in her head. Speaking of heads, make sure you check out her 'brain' creations. Braaaaaaaains (zombie free, of course).

We know that Sarah has a thing for food. In fact, she has a tator fetish. Yes. I said tator, as in potato. Actually, I think my 'tator dude' is what brought Sarah & I together. What? You don't know who 'tator dude' is? Well in order for this to make any sense, you must read my "Weird. That's All I Can Say" post.

On top of her talent, funny humor, creativity & imagination, she opens up her heart and shares many unique fellow Etsian's shops on her fun to read blog: "In The Shadows".

Please visit her shop and blog. Oh, and tell her 'tator dude' says hello ;)

Beat still my heart,
Rocki

Rocki's Supplies!

I really hoped that I was going to be able to visit your blogs this past weekend, but we spent an enjoyable day with Danny & Margi on Saturday and then Sunday we... WOW - where DID Sunday go?!

Anyway, I PROMISE to visit your blogs tomorrow! As for today, I want to introduce you to my new supply shop: Rocki's Supplies. Yep, finally got it up and running and have had 2 sales so far from this shop! I'm still adding new items daily and have much more to list, but don't want to list it all at one time as you know.

What can you find in my new shop? All handcrafted metalwork made by me, such as:

clasps (several styles: hearts, hooks, wrapped & more)
earwires (big variety)
connectors (links, flowers, hearts & more)
PLUS my signature Elfin Earwires
and more to come!

I can honestly say that I truly love creating with metal. I find it so relaxing and calming actually. Oh I still love my rocks n beads, but there is also room for fire n metal. :)

Lots to do today, but then again Monday's are always quite busy, aren't they? So I'm off to the post office now as one of my orders was from an international customer and then I need to get back to work: house chores, studio, etc.

Thank you all for being patient with me. See you soon!

☼ Rocki

Joyful Heart

The other day, Jen, a very sweet new buyer who is aware and doesn’t mind that I’m blogging about this and gave the okay to use her name, contacted me to see if I could make her a custom sized pinky ring from one of the rings in my shop, specifically “From My Heart To Yours."

Now I create custom orders all the time and thoroughly enjoy them for a variety of reasons, but mostly because the buyer wants something meaningful to them, needs a specific size, is a gift for someone special, holiday, birthday, etc. In any case, custom orders are very rewarding.

Jen’s request was a challenge (insert “Rocky” theme here), but a challenge that I wanted to take and create her special sized ring. I told her I would most definitely give it my best shot and if I couldn’t, then I would refund her money. She wouldn’t have that and told me that she would spend it on something else in my shop for my time and effort. This, in itself, truly touched my heart and was ever so kind of her. That made me even more determined to make her ring.

So why, you ask, am I blogging about creating this heart ring when I’ve made several custom sized ones already? Because it is the size of the ring - size 1. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not meaning for this to come across as something of an oddity and Jen knows this. Besides, I wear a size 2 pinky ring and have to wear children’s watches. Here, let me explain briefly.

When you make the ring shank (band), you have to make it smaller than the actual size you want. Why? Because you have to hammer it into shape which in turn makes the shank bigger. So in this case, I had to start at the tip of the ring mandrel at 1/8” from the top to hammer it down to a size 1 at ¼” down the mandrel.

I won’t go into all the other details of making this ring, other than the heart itself also had to be made smaller, which I always make by hand with my round nose pliers.

With love in my heart, I shipped the ring out yesterday and am very pleased with how it turned out. It is the tiniest and cutest ring I’ve ever made! I’ll admit that it was hard to part with, but she did pay for it - besides I have the pictures. The best part - it honestly brings such joy to my heart to be able to create that something special for others to enjoy and be happy with.

This is rewarding. This is why I do what I do. My heart is smiling.

Thank you Jen!

Have a happy, safe and enjoyable weekend everyone!

☼ Rocki

I Heart You!

A heart is a heart, but when it is created with loving care it is so much more.

♥

When it is given from the heart to that special someone,

it is more meaningful than just a box of chocolates.

♥

Knowing that this precious gift came with love and care,

you're sure to have more than just dinner and a movie.

♥ ♥ ♥

For more gift giving ideas for this Valentines Day or any day,

feel free to visit my shop.

♥

Have a happy day!

Rocki

☺

p.s. I am not responsible if it is only dinner and a movie ;)