April 2017

When you combine the biggest food passions of our family into one creation, you get something like this:

Gluten-free and vegan chocolate pizza filled with sweet potato chocolate mousse, raspberries and peanutbutter.

Soooo heavenly. Won’t be missing the traditional Easter desserts this year!

Refreshing and luscious weekend to all you bunnies too!

 

V  

Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, naturally sweetened

 

Pizza crust:

2 tbsp chia seeds + ½ cup water

1 cup almond meal

½ cup potato starch or tapioca flour

2 tbsp psyllium husk

a pinch of salt

½ cup olive oil

 

Preheat the oven to 390 Fahrenheit (200 Celsius) degrees. Mix water and chia seeds in a small bowl and set aside for about 5 minutes. In the meantime, put all the other ingredients into a bowl and mix. Add the chia gel and stir. For the dough into a ball and press or roll out on a parchment lined baking pan. Bake for about 15 minutes or just until the crust starts to become a very light golden brown. Let it cool down a bit before adding the toppigs.

 

Chocolate Mousse:

1 cup steamed sweet potato pieces

½ cup cashew nuts, soaked for about 1 hour

5 fresh dates, pitted

½ cup almond milk, or other dairy free milk

4-6 tbsp raw cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

 

On top:

nut crust

raw chocolate

raspberries

peanut butter

 

Place all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth mousse. Add a bit more liquid if needed, so that you get a smooth mixture, but keep the mousse as thick as possible. Spread evenly on the pizza crust. Add the rest of the toppings. Serve and enjoy!

Tags: cake, chocolate, dairy free, gluten free, party, pizza, Sweet, vegan

It’s always so fun to watch how people have different ways of reacting to the first rays of spring sun here in the North. After a long and dark winter people get so cute with their excitement. Some switch immediately into their light jackets and start to trip along with their small spring shoes even though the ground is still completely frozen. (Ok, that was totally a granny thing to say, but I’m a person who just hates to freeze and keeps her pantyhoes on until June. So yeah, I’m a granny.) And some optimistic people, like my dear partner, switches the summer tires on. And then go travel with the tram or taxi when the snow suddenly decides to return. (Like it tends to happen and like it also happened last weekend.)

 

And then there are people like me, whose first thought is: Ice Cream! It really is some chemical reaction that happens in my brain: Sunrays –> Must make nice cream.

 

During the last week I have managed to make nice cream from many different kinds of ingredients, for example from purple yam aka Ube. The color was so amazing so it just yearned to be blended into a nice cream. Check it out from my Instagram! 

 

The same thing happened a few days ago when I received a box of smoothies and breakfast bars from Semper. Naturally they started a new life as a nice cream. Well, some of them. Most of the bars ended up in the “quick snack stash” in our car and the smoothies in our refrigerators “panic shelf”, which is our family’s life saver. We are just so bad in routines, meal planning and all that wise adult stuff and the mealtimes manage to surprise us almost every time. Plus we usually move with super short notices so everything that is healthy and easy to grab along is totally needed in our household.

 

One of our favorite snacks are nice creams that can always be found in our freezer. Either we make nice cream from frozen bananas with frozen berries or fruits or almond butter or then we enjoy smoothie popsicles. It’s fun to have the familiar breakfast/snack, as in yogurt with berries and granola, in a form of an ice cream. The kiddo loves it and I don’t have to feel guilty for giving her ice cream or two as a evening snack. Win/Win. 

 

Oh, and all the nice cream lovers in Finland – or people who understand Finnish – the Finnish version of the N’Ice Cream book by me and Tuulia Talvio is coming out as an ebook in a month with some new bonus recipes. So stay tuned, if you wish to download a huge package of nice cream recipes into your phone or computer. In the meantime you can start your Summer of N’Ice Cream with these popsicles!

 

V

 

In collaboration with Semper 

 

 

Almond Yogurt:

2 cups raw almonds (soaked overnight or 3 hours)

2 ½ cups water

2 tbsp raw organic honey or maple syrup

1 probiotic capsule OR 1 package vegan yogurt starter OR 3 tbsp unflavored vegan yogurt with active bacterial culture

1 – 3 tsp agar agar (if you want your yogurt to be thicker)

 

Blend the soaked and strained almonds, water, and sweetener in a blender until smooth. Strain the mixture with cheesecloth on top of a bowl, so that you get a nice white almond milk. You can use the leftover almond pulp for example in crackers or bread rolls. If you want your yogurt to be thicker, add agar agar and boil the almond milk in a pot carefully for about 5 – 7 minutes. Take the pot from the stove and let it cool  down (to a body temperature). Pour in the probiotics and mix. Pour the yogurt into a sealable clean (boiled or washed in a dish machine) and dry glass jar. Close the jar with a lid or cover with a cheesecloth and a rubber band. Turn the oven light on, but do not heat the oven. The oven light should keep the oven warm enough for the yogurt. Place the yogurt in the oven with the light on and leave the yogurt to set for about 8 – 12 hours. The longer you let the yogurt ferment, the stronger and sourer the flavor will be. Store the yogurt in an airtight container/jar in the refrigerator.

 

Berry mixture:

-Blueberries, apple, fresh mint leaves and rolled oats OR Semper Fruit & Oat Blueberry, Apple, Mint Smoothie 

-Raspberries, pear, rolled oats OR Semper Fuit & Oat Raspberry, Pear, Aronia Smoothie

 

Add a big handful of berries, handful of rolled oats and a sliced fruit into a blender and blend until you have a thick and smooth smoothie. Add a drop of water if needed.

 

Oat Crumble:

1 cup rolled oats

3 fresh dates or ¼ cup organic raisins (soft and moist, not dry and hard)

1 tsp dried berry powder

OR 2 Crumbeled Semper Soft Oat Bars 

 

Blend the rolled oats and dates or raisins in a blender into a crumble or puree with a stick mixer.

 

Assembly:

Pour some almond yogurt into a bowl and add a few tablespoons of berry mixture. Stir gently few times so that you get nice swirls. Slice in some fresh berries if you like. Pour the mixture into a ice pop molds but leave a small space for the oat crumble. Fill the molds with the oat crumble or crumbled oat bars, add sticks and put into a freezer.

In collaboration with Semper.

 

Tags: dairy free, ice cream, raw food, smoothie, spring, summer, Sweet, vegan