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“I love you more than rainbows.” – Ryan Bingham (best original song, Crazy Heart) When I heard that, I went “AWWW”. How cute was that speech at the Oscar’s?! [I'm a total sap!] I’m watching it as I type, can you tell?

This (raw) fudge cake might just be more lovable than those colorful arches.

Strawberry Ganache Fudge Cake: the indulgent-tasting cake that looks good and makes you feel good

The oh-so-decadent-looking ganache–would you believe me when I say it’s made of dates, agave syrup, avocado, and cacao powder? Grins. No, it’s not April Fool’s Day yet. This total eye candy is good for you!

In the beginning I wasn’t sure it would be as good as Elle said it would. It’s not that I don’t trust her, or Ani Phyo (the cookbook author). It’s just that the ingredient combination was a bit foreign to me. Really? Avocado?! I grew up eating avocados as dessert topped with powdered milk and sugar, so the sweet part I got. But…with chocolate? You’re kidding!

My apprehension disappeared as soon as I prepared and tasted it. Oh…my…god!

Raw ganache: the stuff of raw dessert heaven!

This chocolate frosting is UNreal in flavor. Wow. You wouldn’t think it has avocado in it. It is as good-no even better-than it looks.

Each cake layer is made of ground walnuts, cacao powder, medjool dates and salt. The major challenge for me when I made this was shaping the cake into 2 stackable layers. My smallest springform pan was 8 inches, and that produced a layer too thin to hold its shape. I ended up using a smaller-diameter fondue pot that I lined with aluminum foil tso I can easily pop out the layer once it’s compressed into a compact disc.

This is my low-tech solution to shaping the cake layers. It works.

I was eager to devour it after putting on the first layer of ganache, especially after tasting it with some leftover cake crumbs. I love eating tasting everything while making stuff.

First cake layer frosted with ganache

The original recipe called for fresh raspberries. I had strawberries at the time, so I sliced and macerated them in agave syrup for extra softness and moisture.

Mascerated sliced strawberries

After much fussing around with the frosting to make it look decent (I’m not good with icing at all), I had to wait 2 hours for the cake to firm up before cutting it.

A piece of chocolate heaven.

It was love at first bite. I know I say that about a lot of desserts, but wow, this was on its own level of chocolate goodness. If I was to make a list of 100 Things To Eat Before You Die, this will definitely make the cut. Ultra smooth and creamy ganache on two layers of nutty cakes and a soft layer of macerated strawberries in the middle – what could be better? It’s raw and it’s healthy for you, that’s what! This is pure indulgence without the guilt.

Don’t even entertain second thoughts, just make this now. This is pure indulgence without the guilt.

STRAWBERRY GANACHE FUDGE CAKE (RAW)
Adapted from “Ani’s Raw Food Desserts: 85 Easy, Delectable Sweets and Treats”
by Ani Phyo (2009, Da Capo Press).

Ingredients – makes about 6 servings

For the fudge cake:
•    3 cups dry walnuts
•    2/3 cup unsweetened cacao powder or carob powder
•    1/4 teaspoon sea salt
•    1 cup pitted Medjool dates

For the frosting:
•    1/3 cup semi-soft pitted Medjool dates
•    1/4 cup agave syrup
•    1/2 cup ripe avocado flesh (from about 1 medium avocado)
•    1/3 cup cacao powder

For the filling:
•    1/2 cup sliced strawberries
•    1/2 tablespoon agave syrup

Preparation
1.    For the filling: Mix the strawberries and agave syrup in a small bowl, cover with plastic, and refrigerate for an hour. Strain the juices out before putting on the cake (Step #5).

2.    For the fudge cake: Coarsely chop walnuts, cacao powder, and salt together in a food processor. Add the dates and pulse until thoroughly mixed. You may have to scoop it from the sides of the bowl with a small spatula if the bigger chunks stick.

3.    Shape the cake into two (2) solid, stackable discs using a 6- or 7-inch springform pan. You can use other flat-bottom containers, but line them with aluminum foil for easy removal of the cakes. Note that the thinner you make the cake layers, the more fragile they will be. Placing the cake discs in the freezer while you make the frosting will help set them.

4.    For the frosting: Pulse the following in the food processor until smooth, in this order: the dates and agave syrup; avocado flesh; and lastly, cacao powder.

5.    To assemble the cake: Place one cake layer on a plate or cake stand and frost the top with about one third of the ganache. Carefully place strawberry filling on the center and spread until about half an inch from the edge.

6.    Position the second cake layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake. Place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours to let it firm up.

Storage: According to the original recipe, the cake layers will keep in the fridge for many weeks. The frosting can be kept separately in the fridge for a week. The assembled cake with fruit will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Notes
- The trickiest part of this recipe is shaping the cake layers so that each disc stays in one piece. You might have to redo the first layer you make just to get the hang of it.
- Slicing the cake can get crumbly and messy due to the nutty cake layers. I would highly recommend making this in individual serving-sized portions, if you have small springform pans or even ramekins.
- You won’t have any problems with storage. This cake is small and is so good it will disappear from the table before you can even think of your second helping.

There’s nothing as comforting in winter as a good soup, especially a hearty split pea soup. This one is fully vegetarian, with all the goodness of homemade vegetable stock. The original recipe called for a lot of fresh herbs, which I didn’t have because I ran out and there wasn’t time to go out and buy them. What I had instead were dried rosemary, thyme and bay leaves, and fresh mint leaves. The latter was a very nice addition to the soup and if I had to do it all over again, I’d make this soup with the same ingredients.

A few weeks ago, I asked for vegetarian cookbook recommendations on Twitter. One of the top two mentioned by my Twitter pals is Deborah Madison’s “Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone“. I didn’t realize it was like The Vegetarian Cooking Tome–the massive amount of recipes overwhelmed me the minute I held it. I haven’t delved that much into vegetarian cooking (there’s always a slight meat component in most of my vegetable dishes), so I didn’t know where to start. That week, we were having an incredibly cold and rainy week, as is typical for Vancouver winter. It was starting to get really old and the only thing that could really lighten the mood up was a good bowl of soup. When I looked through the cookbook, this one jumped at me. This would be the books “first test”.

Friends, do you do that, too, when you have a new cookbook? Do you test out a few recipes to see if the cookbook will be worth its place as a standby in the kitchen? For me, if one recipe succeeds, it stays near the kitchen and I continue to cook from it. If it fails, I’ll give it 2 more tries before I ditch it. What about you? How many recipes do you test before it gets a Yay or a Nay?

This recipe definitely earned a “Yay!” in my book.

I love when everything goes together and the whole experience of making a dish somehow connects you to the author, through the methods, the flavors, and the culmination in the forms of a really good meal and a silent Thank You to the mind that created something so wonderful. A regular dinner turned into something special. Yes, I romanticize about meals, and if this was a date, I’m picking the phone to ask for a second. ;-)

SPLIT PEA SOUP
Adapted from Deborah Madison’s the book, Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups slip green peas, sorted and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 large garlic cloves, chopped
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 sprigs of fresh mint
• 2 quarts vegetable stock or water**
• mushroom soy sauce (optional)
• Greek yogurt (optional)

Preparation

1. Soak peas in water and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and carrots and sauté for about 10 minutes. Add garlic, parsley, herbs, paprika, fresh ground black pepper and cook for another 3 minutes.
3. Drain split peas. Add peas, 1 ½ teaspoon salt and stock (or water). Stir to keep peas from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Wait for it to boil before lowering the heat to simmer for about an hour. Partially cover until peas have broken down. If soup becomes to thick, add water according to your preference. Remove bay and mint leaves.
4. Season with soy sauce or salt as desired.

Serve hot. Highly recommended topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

** You can also use chicken or beef stock, if you do not have preference for vegetarian.

If you asked me years ago if I would consider getting into “raw food”, I would have flat-out said No and give you a weird look. I don’t know what happened, but in the past year, I’ve softened up to the idea of making raw food concoctions. Two weeks ago, I ordered Ani Phyo’s recipe books. When I got them last week, I keep thinking why the heck she looks and sounds so familiar. Then I looked at her bio and of course! She’s the author of one of the most useful web design books I have when I was starting my business many moons ago. That’s crazy! Hah.

Ok, back to the food. Here I am, vowing to get healthier in 2010 and willing to try new things.

Here’s my foray into raw food “cooking”:

They don’t look the the same as your regular oatmeal raisin cookies, and I’m not going to lie to you, they have  a different taste and texture as well. However, I think they are a pretty good substitute; this coming from someone who attached childhood memories to her favorite oatmeal raisin cookies. This raw version is very simple to make and has only 4 ingredients: raw oats (I used quick oats), pitted dates, raisins, and cinnamon. The dates hold the cookie together, so the result is a dense cookie.

I’ve only really tasted “raw food” on a few occasions (I mean, of course I eat veggies and fruits raw as snacks), one of them was at the Foodbuzz Festival in San Francisco. One thing I can say about all the times I have tried it: it’s bursting with flavor. This cookie is packed with the sweetness of dates and the comfort-food (at least for me) taste of oatmeal. It is rich and fudge-like, compared to a regular cookie, so you actually don’t eat much of it– two at most.

I certainly won’t ditch the baked version, but this is a nice alternative. I don’t tend to overeat eat, and it’s just enough to go with tea for a quick snack or dessert.

OATMEAL RAISIN COOKIS (RAW)

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw oats (quick oats or steel cut oats will work, but they are not technically raw)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup Medjool dates, pitted, packed
• ½ cup raisins

Preparation

1. Combine oats and cinnamon in food processor and pulse until you get small pieces.
2. Add dates and pulse well. You should have a thick/dense paste.
3. Add raisins and pulse a few times to just blend it.
4. You can shape the dough into flat discs by forming a ball and pressing it. You can also use cookie cutters to shape them by pressing dough in them. A third of an inch, I find, is a good thickness for this cookie. Place on a parchment lined sheet tray.Serve immediately. Can be stored in a sealed container or bag. These will keep at room temperature for a week, or in the refrigerator or freezer for much longer, just be sure to thaw for 15 minutes before serving.Note: The ‘dough’ is very sticky because of the dates.

It’s been a busy year so far this year, as you’ve been noticing with the lack of posts here. I’ll remedy that soon. :)

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m joining hundreds of other bloggers out there for Ten in 2010, organized by the awesome Lori, of RecipeGirl.com

My goals for the next 10 weeks are:

1. Eat a more balanced diet, specifically:

• Eat breakfast: this is a big deal for me, as I rarely do eat breakfast.
• Eat more fruits and veggies.
• Eliminate 75% of rice from my daily meals. I’m Asian. I have rice in my blood, but I’m willing to eat less of it but not all.

2. Lose 10 lbs. Oh god, there, I said it here. I need to, no joke.

3. Incorporate regular running schedule. I’ve started doing the C25K running program with Denise and Maris last year, but I haven’t continuously been doing it because of various illnesses that has been plaguing me. I love running outdoors, but my body’s schedule of feeling well and the weather outside don’t sync at all. When I feel well enough to run, it’s raining. Oi. I’m now willing to get on a the (dreaded) treadmill to make up for days when I can’t be out running.

I’m not a fan of deprivation, so I won’t say No to cookies if you offer some — I’ll eat one. What I’m trying to accomplish is basically: BALANCE. Balance in nutrients. Balance in activities. I can be such a workaholic that I will try to think of myself first, especially when it comes to meals. I get so wrapped up with whatever I’m doing that it becomes a “chore” to eat. Not good at all. Hopefully, with this balancing act I’m trying to do, the health issues will go away. :-)

This is one of the healthier meals I’ve been making:

Brussel sprouts, grape tomatoes, feta cheese and quinoa

Dare I tamper with our Ultimate Brownies?

Yes, yes I did!!!

Hop on over to Craftzine for my guest post about the “healthier” version!

Here are the ingredients of the two versions, side by side:

Download the Original recipe:     

Download the Healthier recipe:  

This is the first pumpkin recipe I’ve ever made. Shocking for some of you, but growing up in the Philippines where pumpkins weren’t easily available, it’s not for me. I’ve never had the urge to buy them or even carve them, but I wanted to change that this year. I’ve inadvertently snubbed it in the the kitchen for far too long.

I picked some a common Asian ingredient combination: onions, tomatoes, celery, carrots and cilantro.

Sautéed them…

Then I threw in some ground chicken in there.

And all these lovely flavors when into these pre-baked ‘bowls’:

And voila, a very satisfying dinner:

I must admit that even though I didn’t grow up with this kind of dish, it did taste like comfort food. The chicken was a tasty complement to the natural flavors of the pumpkin. And the chicken ’stuffing’? Boy, that’s surely a winner. I’d make that and mix it with rice anytime!

STUFFED BABY PUMPKINS
Ingredients

• 3 baby pumpkins

• 2 medium (2 to 3 1⁄4” in diameter) yellow onions, chopped

• 1 celery, sliced perpendicular to the length thinly (2-3mm thick)

• 5 garlic cloves, chopped (about 5 teaspoons chopped)

• 1 ripe tomato, chopped

• 1 medium (7-8” long) carrot, peeled and chopped

• 1-1/4 pounds ground chicken

• 4 stalks of fresh marjoram, stems removed, leaves chopped

• 4 stalks of fresh cilantro, chopped; and extra for garnish

• 1 lime, sliced

• vegetable oil

• salt

• pepper

• cayenne pepper

Equipment

• Any size baking sheet

• Large pan

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F with the rack in the upper middle part of the oven.

2. Wash pumpkins and place upright on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool on  the counter for 10 minutes.

3. Increase the oven temperature to 400°F.

4. Slice the top portion of the pumpkin perpendicular to, and around, the stem using a serrated knife. Cut into the pumpkin to remove the stem. Take out the seeds and pulp with a spoon to clean out the insides of the pumpkins. Smooth the surface of the insides by leveling carefully with your paring knife.

5. Place pumpkins upright on the baking sheet and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Set aside.

6. Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil on a large pan over medium to high heat. Sauté yellow onions until they become translucent. Add and sauté the following ingredients, for 30 seconds each according, to this order: celery, garlic, tomato, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper, carrots and chicken. Mix the chicken with the vegetables for 2 minutes and cover for 10 minutes. Stir in 1⁄4-teaspoon cayenne pepper and cover again for another 5 minutes. Taste and add salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper as needed. I tend to like it spicy.

7. Turn off the heat and sprinkle meat mixture with marjoram, cilantro and juice of one lime. Give it a good stir before placing into individual pumpkin bowls.

8. Lightly put and press down stuffing into the pumpkin bowls. Distribute the juice of half the lime among the 3 pumpkins.  Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Cool on the counter for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with a cut stem of fresh cilantro.

This is my ode to the beet. I love it. It is good steamed/boiled, but why stop there? Surely the humble, yet provocatively deep red-colored, beet has more to offer beyond the boundaries of salads, or worse, as a natural red food color. The result of an evening of inspiration and creativity was this Creamy Sweet Beet Pie with Hazelnut Crust. The yogurt syrup makes it even better. Oh my! Even the beet skeptic might be swayed to the beat of the beet!

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

Like a northern snowbird, I headed south last week. To get used to the time, I had this not-so-great idea to tough it out on my first night: stay up, finish writing this, get some work done, and be early to bed the next evening to ‘reset’ my circardian rhythm. My thirty-something body, on the other hand, had other plans–like succumbing to exhaustion before midnight, not feeling my laptop slip from the bed and not hearing the heartbreaking sound of the machine hitting the hardwood floor. Nope. I had woken up in a daze at 3am, local time, and slowly realized that ACK! MY LAPTOP!!! Blood drained from my face when I saw it closed, but monitor at the bottom. #$&(*&%! I leaped from the bed to assess the damage, praying that the screen didn’t $hatter into piece$.  Thankfully, everything was still intact except for the corner dent, and most importantly: it still worked! Whew. After that, I couldn’t bring myself to push my luck in the staying-up-too-late-to-post department for the rest of the week.

•  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •

Beets, we meet again. You and your unpretentious exterior.

Your unassuming presence change once peeled and cut, and you resemble rubies or garnets.

Just looking at you make me smile. Jewels, you are.

Oh, god, I talk to vegetables. Secret’s out!

Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go back to being sane.

Enamored is an understatement as to how I feel about beets. I wanted to do something more than roasting and boiling them for salads. When I got more beets, I had PIE in my mind, thanks to the  apple pie and pumpkin pie I had in rotation in the kitchen, so pie it is.

For the crust, I wasn’t feeling the flaky dough crust, so I decided on a graham cracker crust. Well, well, guess who ran out of graham crackers (or crumbs)? Haha. I still had whole hazelnuts, so I ground them into powder consistency and added wheat germ and butter.

The ground-nut crust was borne out of last month’s almond-grinding for the macarons. Since then, I’ve ground more almonds and hazelnuts for crusts that have earned raves among family members.

The hazelnut and wheat germ crust went perfectly well with the beets.

It could have been a planet’s unattractive red surface at first glance, and I wasn’t quite confident of the outcome that I was ready to toss it if it didn’t turn out good. However, my doubts melted after I took my first bite. I was in awe of how good everything melded together. It’s an odd marriage of ingredients, spices and textures, for sure, which really made for an interesting dessert.

I wasn’t the only one taken by it, judging by how fast it disappeared from the pie plate, down to the very last crumb. And I mean…the very last.

If you haven’t had beets as a dessert, then here’s your chance! Yummy, yummy, yummy. Dare I say it’s even healthy?! I think so. :-)

Creamy Sweet Beet Pie with Hazelnut Crust and Yogurt Syrup

Ingredients:

Filling

• 500 grams fresh whole beets (approx 3-4″-diameter beets), peeled and cut into ½” cubes
• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
• 7 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crust

• 3.5 oz shelled hazelnuts, ground to powder consistency in a food processor
• 2 oz wheat germ
• 4 tablespoons salted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Syrup

• 1/2 cup greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup icing sugar

Equipment

• food processor (for grinding hazelnuts)
• 2 small mixing bowls
• 9″ glass pie plate
• 1 baking sheet
• parchment paper
• 1 medium mixing bowl
• 1 large mixing bowl
• aluminum foil

Preparation

For the Crust:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack in the lower middle position.
2. Mix ground hazelnuts, wheat germ, brown sugar and melted butter in a small bowl to create a gritty paste.
3. Transfer onto the pie plate. Press and level against the bottom and sides of the plate with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool on a trivet.
   Keep the oven on.

   For the Filling:

4. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Pour and spread cubed beets on the parchment paper. Bake for 10 minutes. After removing, place the oven rack in the upper middle position.
5. Put baked beets in a medium bowl and toss with lemon juice.
6. Mix flour, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg using a spatula in a large bowl. Pour beets into the mixture and toss to coat.
7. Beat eggs with heavy cream in the medium bowl from #5 with a fork. Pour over the beet and flour mixture, and stir together with a spatula until there are no dry spots left. Assembling the Pie:
   
8. Transfer the beet mixture into the pie plate with crust. Level with a spatula. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
9. Remove pie from the oven. Increase the temperature to 400°F and place the rack in the lower middle portion of the oven. Cover the pie plate with foil and return to the oven. Bake for another 10 minutes.
10. Cool the pie (still covered with foil) on the trivet for 30 minutes, then uncover and cool for 30 minutes more.

    Making the Syrup:

11. Beat the icing sugar and yogurt together until smooth.
12. Slice beet pie and serve with yogurt syrup. Instead of the yogurt syrup, you can also top with vanilla ice cream or crème fraiche.

Notes

Beet preparation: The original recipe calls for cubed fresh beets that are pre-baked to cook and dry a little to make them chewy. You can also  shave or grate the beets if you have trouble chewing or if you don’t like them chewy; and you may then skip Step #4.

Serving suggestions: You can top the pie with vanilla ice cream or crème fraiche, instead of yogurt syrup. Best served warm. Re-heat in microwave for 10 seconds before serving.

Hazelnut Crust: Very versatile and I urge you to use it with other fruits (or veggies!).