Chickpea salad

You can make this healthy, colorful salad for dinner or lunch, or anytime you feel like it :). It is ready in a few minutes, and will leave you full and energized without making you feeling heavy for the afternoon or evening :) Perfect..isn't it? 

What will you need:
Salad:   
- 2 handfuls of Romain lettuce
- 1 handful of  Arugula sprouts
- about 10 cherry tomatoes
- 1 handful of sliced red cabbage 
- 2 handfuls of cooked chickpeas
- 1/2 of a spring onion
- about 5-6 pieces of green beans, steamed for a few minutes

Dressing:
- 1tsp tahini
- 1tsp tamari sauce
- juice of 1/2 lime
- 1/2 tsp maple syrup
- salt and pepper according to taste 

Mix all ingredients in a big salad bowl. Mix all ingredients for a dressing in a separate smaller bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and massage it all over every little piece with your clean hands.

Enjoy this healthy, colorful delight :) 

Raw fig "cheese" cake

Our fig tree has produced many-many figs this season, so I have been creating different yummi recipes from them, like this beautiful raw fig cake. 

I love figs for their juiciness, sweetness and all the health benefits they offer. I wrote more about these benefits in the "Minty-fig summer smoothie" recipe. 
Here are some figs from our garden after just one day ..beautiful, isn't it? I am always astonished how mother nature can create such perfect, nutritious food for us. They are truly a gift, which can be picked and eaten so easily:)

I have actually done this cake twice already. The first picture is the first try, but the chocolate was a bit too hard and thick on the top, so it was not easy to eat. The picture below is from the second batch, where I just poured a thinner layer of chocolate on the top and I didn't smooth the chocolate out over the whole surface. It was easier to eat, but both variants were tasting creamy and fruity:)

What will you need: 
Crust:  
- 200 grams of Medjool dates, soaked for 30 minutes
- 1 cup of almond pulp, which remains after making almond milk
- 1 tbsp raw cocoa powder
- pinch of salt

Filling:
- 200 grams cashew nuts, soaked for 3-4 hours

- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil

- 1 tbsp lemon juice

- pinch of salt

- 1 tbsp almond butter (or a few almonds)

- 1/2 cup maple syrup

- 5-6 frozen figs 

- 2 tbsp oat milk

Topping:

- 70 grams of 85% vegan chocolate

1. Cut the fresh figs and freeze them before making the cake. 
2. Start with the crust. Drain the dates and add all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse until they come together and a sticky dough is formed. 
3. Place the dough to a cake or pie dish. Press from the middle to the outer sides to evenly distribute the dough. Put the crust to the freezer for 15-20 minutes to set.
4. Drain and rinse the cashew nuts. In a high-speed blender, combine the cashews, melted coconut oil, lemon juice, salt, almond butter, maple syrup and oat milk. Blend on high until all ingredients are blended and a very smooth, creamy paste is formed. 
5. Add the frozen figs and blend/pulse until there are no more chunks of figs left in the paste. In case the paste becomes too solid, add some more oat milk (or any plant based milk).
6. Pour the filling onto the prepared crust. Smooth out the top evenly.
7. Place the cake back to the freezer. Freeze for a couple of hours.
8. Melt the chocolate on a hot water vapor. You can do this by boiling water in a pot and placing a plate with the chocolate on the top. The chocolate will melt in the hot water vapor.
9. Pour the chocolate on the top of the frozen cake unevenly. 
10. Cover the cake and and freeze overnight, or for a minimum of 4 to 6 hours, until the cake sets.
11. Remove the cake from the freezer and let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes before slicing. This cake is meant to be served frozen.
12. Decorate with slices of figs.

Enjoyyyy :)

Fluffy blueberry pancakes

It has became our traditions to have pancakes on Sundays for breakfast.  I can't imagine our Sunday mornings without them anymore :) Nothing can change it....in case we don't manage on Sunday morning, we would make them for dinner :P I know I know...but pancakes are just too good to leave out! They make the start of the day more enjoyable and I am always looking for the time we spend in the kitchen with my partner to make new and new variations of them..

These pancakes are so delicious, I am sure you will love them. I absolutely love to add some fruits into the dough. I love to see how the juice of the fruits color my plate ..i know its a lot of "love", but that's just what pancakes deserve :D

So what will you need to make your Sunday a more beautiful day:

- 100 grams of spelt flour
- 230 grams of oat-bran (oats cut very thinly)
- 500 ml of oat milk (you can use as well mineral water or any other plant based milk)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp turmeric
- a pinch of salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking powder (phosphor free)
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
- 150 grams of blueberry

This portion serves around 4hungry people :) 

1. Start with combining the dry ingredients (spelt flour, oat-bran, vanilla, turmeric, salt, cinnamon, baking powder) together.
2. Combine the wet ingredients (maple syrup and oat milk) in a separate mixing bowl. 
3. Gradually pour in the wet mixture to the dry, stirring continuously until combined. The oats and flour can soak up the milk differently, depending on the brand. Therefore, you might end up using more or less oat milk, as I have listed in the list of ingredients. Keep on adding the oat milk and mixing the dough until you get a smooth batter. The batter should be fairly thick, but thin enough to drip from the whisk.
4. Leave the dough to sit for 10 minutes and fold in the blueberries.
5. Coat a skillet pan with a bit of coconut or olive oil and heat it up to medium heat.
6. Take a part from the dough and pour it to the skillet making a circular form. If you have a bigger skillet, you can make more pancakes at once :)
7. Cook the pancakes on medium on one side for about 2minutes, or until little bubbles are formed and outer edges become golden. Flip the pancakes and cook for more 2minutes, or until golden.
8. Top with more blueberries, maple syrup or almonds.

Enjoyyy :)

Dangerous raw chocolate-strawberry cake

I call this cake "dangerous", because once you start eating it, you will not be able to stop :P You can’t say that I haven’t  warned you  :))
This cake is very refreshing, nice on a hot summer day, or any time when you feel like indulging on some sweets :D ...I feel that quite often..do you? :)

This cake fulfills all my sweet cravings. The combination of strawberries and chocolate, together with the nutty bottom layer, gives the perfect harmony between a refreshing fruity and creamy chocolaty taste. Just amazingly delicious…another must try;)

This is a healthier version of the traditional cheese cake, but just like with other nut cakes, please enjoy it with moderation. The nuts are high in calories and a medium slice of this cake will fill you quite a bit :) 

Crust:

- 200g dried figs
- 1/4 cup of melted coconut oil

- 1 1/2 cup rolled oats

- Pinch of vanilla

Middle layer:

- 200g cashew nuts, soaked for 3-4 hours

- 3/4 cup of maple syrup

- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil

- 2 tsp vanilla extract

- 2 frozen bananas

 - 1/2 tsp sea salt

- 100g 80% chocolate, melted

Top layer:

- 1/4 of the mid layer

- 250g of strawberries

- 1 cup of raisins

- 1 tbsp maple syrup

- 1 tbsp coconut oil

1. Start with the crust. Place the figs to the food processor and pulse. Add the melted coconut oil and process until the dough comes together. Add the oats and the vanilla. Pulse until the oats are chopped, but still have some texture to them. 
2. Place the dough to a cake or pie dish. Press from the middle to the outer sides to evenly distribute the dough. Put the crust to the freezer for 15-20 minutes to set.
3. Melt the chocolate on a hot water vapor. You can do this by boiling water in a pot and placing a plate with the chocolate on the top. The chocolate will melt in the hot water vapor.
4. Drain and rinse the cashews. In a high-speed blender, combine the soaked cashews, maple syrup, coconut oil, bananas, melted chocolate, vanilla, salt and blend on high until the filling is completely smooth. If the dough is not becoming smooth, you can add a spoon of almond milk or water. 
5. Pour 3/4 of the filling onto the prepared crust. Leave the rest of the filling in the blender. Place the pie or cake dish back to the freezer for 30 minutes to set.
6. Add all the ingredients for the top layer to the rest of the filling. Blend on high until all ingredients are blended and a very smooth paste is formed.
7. Pour the top layer onto the middle layer. Smooth out the top evenly.
8. Place the cake back to the freezer. Freeze for a couple of hours, and then cover the dish with foil and freeze overnight, or for a minimum of 4 to 6 hours, until the cake sets.
9. Remove the cake from the freezer and let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes before slicing. This cake is meant to be served frozen.
10. You can create multiple layers by halving the cake and then placing one half on the top of the other half. I find that the cake looks even more tempting  :D  Top with strawberries and chocolate chips. 

 
Enjoyyyy :)