What's Uncookin' Good Lookin'? Freegold, Mac & Cheese, Mocha Cake and Other Yummies

It's almost been 6 weeks since we've become stationary again. Summer sure was a loooooong time coming but it looks like it's finally here at last.Yippee!

Here's what's been uncooking for us lately...

Freegold Anyone?
Don's been busy working on his first book called Ready Or Not - Freegold. It's all about how the global economy is destined to collapse into a hyper-inflationary depression and why the new currency system will have gold as its foundation. He wants to put it out there to help people prepare. After it happens the transition will be terribly difficult for those who aren't ready. Don says that would be unfortunate because it isn't hard to understand what to do if you have the proper information about what is coming (and sooner rather than later, he is sure).

One of the difficulties about this affair is that we naturally doubt that anything so serious could be actually happening. Dealing with that doubt was one of the aims Don had for his book. Most people aren't even a little ready for the turmoil that is already baked into the cake. Are you?

Don's book will guide you to easily prepare, and he is sure that those few who do will be big winners when all is said and done, after something new and better emerges from the ashes. It has always been thus.  

Ready Or Not - Freegold also includes some funnies (and even a few raw recipes too!) It is now available for immediate download for a sliding scale of $8.99 to $12.99. (To learn more about it go here.)

To order your copy, 
click on the 'Add to Cart' button below!

Back in the Kitchen
As for me, well, I've been mostly resting. Once again after such a long trip I find myself needing to recharge my batteries and relishing what we call "not doing". It's sooooooo nice not to have anything to do and nowhere to be! ;-)

I haven't had a great deal of energy to be creative in the kitchie but I did whip up a few yummy things that I'd like to share with you guys.

I've been going through a bit of a Matthew Kenney kick, one of my favorite raw chefs. I made his version of Mac & Cheese and it turned out super delicious.  However, I did find it to be a very rich dish but that just meant enjoying small portions at a time. ;-)

Baked Macaroni and Cheese 
From Matthew Kenney's Everyday Raw book

Posted on Rawfully Tempting here

Serves 4 (as a main course)

Cashew Cheese Sauce
1 3/4 cups cashews, soaked 1 - 2 hours
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp water
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/4 medium shallot (or 1/2 scallion)
1/2 tsp chili powder ( I used much less)
Pinch of cayenne
Pinch of turmeric
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
Black pepper to taste

Assembly
4  - 5 yellow squashes, peeled with ends cut off
Sea salt
1 - 2 cups kelp noodles, soaked in lemon water to soften (These are optional. I like the added texture.)
1 recipe Cashew Cheese Sauce
Walnuts, finely chopped (optional)
Chili powder (optional)
Paprika (optional)

Cashew Cheese Sauce
Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until completely smooth.

Assembly
Spiralize squash, or cut into thin noodle-like strips using a peeler.

Roughly chop the noodles and toss with a bit of salt. Let sit for 30-45 minutes.

If using kelp noodles, use 1 less squash. Soak kelp noodles in warm water and lemon juice for 30 - 60 minutes to soften.

Mix all noodles and Cashew Cheese Sauce in a bowl and spread into a casserole dish.

Optional: Top with finely chopped walnuts and extra chili powder or paprika.

Place in bottom of dehydrator at 115 degrees for 1-2 hours to warm before serving.

Carmella's Notes:
~ I made only half the recipe and it was enough for the both of us for two meals.

~ I used a mixture of spiralized zucchini and kelp noodles.


I was particularly excited to finally get around to trying some of the scrumptious looking recipes from Matthew's Everyday Raw Desserts book which I'd bought during our trip.

The Maple Cheesecake was excellent, although next time I make it I'll omit the lemon juice altogether as, to me, it clashed slightly with the other flavors.

Raspberry Streusel Bars

Oh my, these were really excellent! The texture of the raspberry filling was a little wetter than it was supposed to be but that's because I used a slightly different ratio for the Irish moss paste. The recipe calls for 2 cups moss to 1/2 cup water or less, but no matter how hard I try, my Vitamix refuses to produce a smooth gel at that ratio. I find that I need to use at least 3/4 to 1 cup water.

Next came a mega choccie phase...

My first creation was an adaptation of a Mocha Mousse Cake I found online. The mousse layer uses Irish moss which gives it a melt-in-your-mouth factor. I opted to leave the latter on the not-too-sweet side and to compliment it with a Chocolate Glaze.

Marvelous Mocha Cake

I used a 8 1/2" pan but you could also use smaller sizes which would yield a slightly taller cake.

Crust
1/2 cup Brazil nuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut
4 medjhool dates
2 tablespoons cacao powder
1 tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt

Process all of the ingredients in a food processor until the mixture just starts to stick together. 

Mocha Mousse
1 1/2 cups cashews, soaked for at least 1 hour
1/4 cup + 2 tbs Irish moss paste*
1/4 cup coconut nectar (see note)
3 tbs maple syrup
3 medjhool dates
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup cacao powder 
3 drops Medicine Flower Dark Chocolate Extract (or 1/2 tsp of chocolate extract)
3 drops Medicine Flower Coffee Extract (or 2 tsp cereal coffee substitute such as Inka)
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup melted cacao butter
2 tbs melted coconut oil

*To make Irish moss paste, blend 1/2 cup soaked Irish moss (packed) with 1 cup water until completely dissolve and gel like.

Blend all ingredients in a high power blender until smooth and creamy.

Chocolate Glaze
2 tbs cacao powder
2 tbs carob powder
1/4 cup coconut nectar, raw honey or agave
1 tbs melted coconut oil
Pinch salt

Blend all ingredients in a blender, food processor or by hand.

Carmella's Note: For the Mousse and the Glaze I used coconut nectar which I find isn't as sweet as other types of sweetener. You could substitute with raw honey or agave nectar but make sure to cut down on the amount a little.


I then played around with making truffles based on a couple of recipes that I came upon, one from Matthew Kenney's Everyday Raw Desserts and one from Russell James' Chocolate Recipe ebook. I made two variations of the same basic recipe and I thought that they both turned out really good.

Chocolate Truffles - Two Ways

Makes about 20 truffles

2 cups cashews, finely ground
3/4 cup cacao powder
1 cup grated or chopped cacao butter which has then been melted
1/4 cup coconut sugar powder
1/4 cup raw honey, agave nectar or maple syrup
3/4 cup water (or more if needed to blend)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil

Variation 1: Superfood Truffles
Add:
2 tbs lucuma
2 tsp maca

Garnish:
1/4 cup lucuma
About 1 tbs maca

Variation 2: Cinnamon Truffles
Add:
2 tsps cinammon

Garnish:
3 or 4 tbs cacao nibs or 1 or 2 tbs cacao powder

Blend all ingredients except garnish in a high-speed blender until smooth, then place in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight to firm up.

Remove from the fridge and form into balls with a cookie scoop or with your hands.

Roll into the appropriate garnish depending on which variation you make.

Store in the fridge until ready to eat.


And lastly I tried a decadent chocolate candy recipe that I found on The Live Green Smoothie Diet's site. I decided to go with the gogi berry/macadamia nut suggestion and it was to live for! I poured the mixture into cute mini silicon cups and also simply in a glass dish in order to make bars. Delish!

Angela’s “Super-Chocolate” Raw Chocolate Truffle-Bar Recipe
Posted here

    •    1 cup raw nuts (I used 1/2 chopped pecans, 1/2 pine nuts…use whatever combination you like)
    •    1/3 cup Goji Berries
    •    1/4 teaspoon chili powder (cayenne)
    •    1/3 cup cold-pressed coconut oil (best quality you can find or afford — it does make a difference in taste & texture)
    •    1/2 cup raw Cacao butter (I slice off about an inch length of a brick of the Navitas Naturals cacao butter and that hits the measurement closely)
    •    1-1/2 cups raw Cacao powder
    •    1/2 cup raw honey (heaping)
    •    1/2 cup Rapadura sugar (whole, unprocessed cane sugar from the dehydrated juice)
    •    a good dash of quality salt (I use “himmy” salt — Himalayan Crystal Salt — but there are other good salts, such as Celtic Sea salt)

Measure the nuts and chili powder into a bowl and mix.

Gently melt the coconut oil. Unlike the cacao butter, it’s generally soft enough to measure first. When melting the fats, just get it melting good and then remove from the heat. We are not raising the temperature to cook it — we only want to liquify it. Pour the coconut oil back into the 1/3 cup container.

Gently melt the cacao butter the same way. It reveals a lovely sunny golden color as it melts, like butter. Remove from heat to finish the melting — we only want to liquify the fat, not cook it. Now we’re done with the heat. Turn if off and work somewhere cool.

Add the coconut oil into the pan. Add the cacao powder, nuts, raw honey, rapadura sugar, salt and the vanilla bean if you have it and mix it well.

I then pour the chocolate out into a ceramic dish — it’s oval but roughly 8X8. A glass one would work well. Avoid non-stick chemically treated pans. Just pour into a shallow medium-sized glass or ceramic container that will allow it to set with a thickness about 3/4-1″. Don’t sweat the dish… you can’t screw this recipe up.

Pop it into the fridge. It sets pretty quickly. Then cut into small pieces and slip out of the container with a metal spatula. If you’re a bit sloppy with the cutting process, no worries — just mold the leftover chocolate bits into little bite-size truffles! I store the chocolate in a large glass jar between layers of waxed or parchment paper and keep it in the fridge (just for firmness, not to prevent spoilage…this stuff is not going to spoil on you. You’re going to eat it years before it would ever go rancid!)

Angela's Note: I made this recipe with raw Macadamia Nuts… Wow! I *love* the texture of the macadamia crunch! Don’t leave the nut chunks too big, as the macadamias are quite hard. Delicious!!!!


Carmella's Notes:
~ I used only 1/8 tsp cayenne.

~ It wasn't clear whether the coconut oil was to be measured before or after being melted. I decided to go with the former and the consistency was fine. (It yielded a little less than 1/3 cup once melted.)

~ The 1/2 cup cacao butter called for in the recipe is once it's been melted.

~ For sweetener I used a mixture of raw honey and maple syrup.

~ I used coconut sugar that I had powdered up in the blender instead of rapadura.


Well, I guess that's it for now, folks! I hope there's sunshine wherever you are!