Kori Runs Dogs » 2010

Raw Cheesecake. Mmmm Cheesecake…

admin — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:17:04 +0000

My first attempt at making a raw cheesecake came after I had a slice of Joanna’s cheesecake. I will never forget it. It was a chocolate orange cheesecake and it was so creamy and chocolaty and the orange flavor so amazing… I thought to myself, I have to try and make this myself. So I asked her what recipe she used and found out it was from Sweet Gratitude Desserts. She later blogged about it and I had the privilege of being one of the few that enjoyed this cake.

Here are some pictures of my chocolate orange cheesecake

Can you say OMG.

Perfection in each dreamy mouthful.

It was soooo goood. I couldn’t believe it! It actually came out the way it was suppose to. The TG and TD’s loved it and couldn’t get enough of it. I had a huge hit on my hands and didn’t know what to follow up with.

So my next attempt was more involved than this one. My next cheesecake I picked from Sweet Gratitude: A New World of Raw Desserts by Matthew Rogers and Tiziana Alipo Tamborra’s recipe book, was the Turtle Cheesecake. Yes, you read it correctly. Turtle Cheesecake. There was much more to this than simply soaking some cashews and melting the cacao butter.

The ultimate cheesecake.

Made the pict huge so you could drool all over your screen. For those that may not be familiar with this cheesecake I will give you a description. The crusts consists of cacao with walnuts and dates. The cheesecake is made of cashews, cacao butter, and then you split this mixture into two and add cacao powder to one. Pour the white chocolate mixture over the crust and then you create the marbling affect by pouring the cacao mixture quickly with a downward motion to add the cacao layer with out having it mix together. It was a pretty straight forward technique that is explained in the book. You then wait for the cake to set, I put mine in the freezer over night as I didn’t have time to finish the cake that day.

Top view.

The next day, I made the caramel sauce which has macadamia nuts and yacon syrup and it really does taste like caramel. I pulsed some pecans with a little sea salt. I finished the cake by sprinkling cacao chips, and pecans over the top and then I spread the caramel sauce this layer. Lastly I drizzled the yacon syrup over the caramel and then used a chop stick to create swirls. And there you have it! Everyone enjoyed this cheesecake!

Raw cheesecakes are really not that hard to make. Once you soak the nuts and melt the cacao it comes together pretty quickly. So, give it a try!

My Big Girl

Enjoy the journey and the food you create!

Have fun with your animal friends!

You have to check this out!

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:05:58 +0000

When I was much younger, I loved watching Martina Navratilova play tennis. And I still get to watch her now all those years later. She is an amazing athlete. Now here is what made my day, I just found out/ realized she is a strong proponent of a plant-based diet. Who knew!?? Well, I imagine a lot of people did, I’m just a little slow. I must confess I saw this on Elena’s blog Eat Healthy!!! Be Happy!!! and I just wanted to share this as well. This is just too good not to!

At one point in this video I hear Martina saying words that I am always saying. Not the part about winning the US Open mixed doubles before my 50th birthday, but the part where she states that is important to eat “au naturalle” – avoid processed food as much as possible, eat plant-based whole foods and if possible – organic. I love it!

Now, on a serious note, if you can do just two things for yourself today, watch this video and eat a piece of friut or have a salad with/ for dinner. Eat some “miracle food”.

Well, I can repeat everything she says, but I think you should just watch the video.

I hope when I turn 50, I have people asking me what my secret is.

Enjoy the journey and the food you create!

Have fun with your animal friends!

I do love Falafel!

admin — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:00:59 +0000

I saw a recipe for Sunflower Seed Falafel here by Hannah Kaminsky of Bitter Sweet Blog and I had to try it. Her post was about breaking the rules and trying a raw falafel which is not really a true “falafel”. If I can eat vegan “ice cream” and vegan “cheese” then I should be able to eat raw falafel.

Yummy, tasty falafel.

Her recipe is for sunflower seed falalfel. You have to soak the sunflower seeds overnight. The best part is you place the seeds, seasonings like garlic scallions and cumin in a food processor and process until you have a crunchy peanut butter consistency. Then I used a small cookie scoop and placed the tasty balls on a teflex sheet, sprinkled with paprika and dehydrated for about 8 hours. The falafel balls are crispy on the outside and soft in the middle. So you can eat them as balls, mash them down and place in a wrap or skip the formalities and eat straight off the sheet. I should mention her recipe can be cooked in an oven or dehydrated, so you don’t need a dehydrator to enjoy these tasty morsels! Thanks Hannah. I took mine for lunch at work on a bed of greens and veggies drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette. A great way to start the week! Soooo Gooood!

A close up!

I would also like to mention that Hannah is also the author of this wonderful cookbook My Sweet Vegan: passionate about dessert A wonderful book full of recipes for desserts that will dazzle your taste buds and sweet tooth! All your friends and family vegan or not, will love anything you make from this book!

And now for something completely different!

Maggie lounging Rosie just hanging out Betty watching me play with my food.

Enjoy the journey and the food you create!

Have fun with your animal friends!

Happy 101 Blog Award!

admin — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 15:29:28 +0000

I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to Joanna for nominating me for this award. It was such a wonderful surprise to receive this! Joanna has an amazing blog called, “Promoting the Raw Food Diet, While Debunking the Myths.” She is just finishing her 7 day raw challenge. I am participating in this challenge. She has provided all the recipes, the tips on what to do and when, plus a shopping list. I really encourage you to check it out and try it. One week, it’s only 7 days and the food is amazing. You will not starve or go with out. She has a wide range of dishes from patés to noodles with sauce, soups and salads. There are desserts like chocolate mousse and chocolate too. Try some raw dishes and have some fun!

Now, here are the award rules, copied and pasted from Joanna’s blog:

First: Copy the award image in your post.

Then, list 10 things that make you happy, try to do at least one of them today, and tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day.
For those 10 bloggers who get the award, you must link back to my blog!….the last part..only if you want too!

Where to start?!!!

10 things that make me happy:

1) Running with my dogs always makes me happy. I like to run with my canine pals early in the morning, when most people are still asleep or awake but not out-and-about. All I can hear are birds in the spring and summer or like right now there is no sound except the crunching of the snow from my shoes and the patting noise of my dogs paws. It is so tranquil and calming. This is my time to just be.

2) Playing with my horse. I love playing with my horse. If you want to learn anything about yourself, spend an hour with a horse. Just the smell of him, the softness of his hair and the kindness in his eye make all my troubles melt away. My horse is a left brain extrovert, which in natural horseman speak means he loves to play and gets bored easily. So I have to use my brain and think of fun games to play. I just can’t be a direct line predator which is what humans are. I have learned to think like a prey animal and to me that is a great thing!

3) Spending time with my husband. Even though we have been married almost 22 years, we still love spending time together. It needn’t be special time we set aside, it is simple pleasures like sitting at the table discussing current events or discussing weird topics, watching a movie together on the couch or taking time out and having coffee or lunch together.

4) Spending some quality time with my TDs. They are growing up so fast. I like to spend special time with them. Going skating, walking the dogs, hanging out and learning new card games or playing board games. It’s all fun and gives us time to talk.

5) I enjoy making others happy. If that means making a cake (I know what a sacrifice), cleaning a stall, walking a dog, helping others out when they need a helping hand (animal and human)- it’s all worth it!

6) As weird as this sounds, I enjoy challenge. I love learning new things, mentally and physically. We can get stuck in a rut and it is always good to shake it up every so often.

7) I enjoy being owner and co-founder of Sirova which provides quality, organic, raw food for your life! Working with Joanna and Matthew has been very exciting and stimulating.

Feeling connected to the earth – grounded makes me happy. Having calmness and feeling centered. I think that’s why I enjoy running, playing with my horse and physical exertion.

9) I enjoy a clean house. On the weekend we all chip in and clean the house. We divvy up the chores and I love when we’re all done and the house is neat and tidy for a moment or two. I have 3 dogs, 3 cats and 2 guinea pigs, plus 2 TDs and the TG. The house doesn’t stay pristine for long!

10) Books. I love to read books. Cookbooks, raw food books, books about food, mystery books, novels, fiction, non-fiction it’s all good. There is always something I can learn from a book.

So, this is a short list of what makes me happy. If asked in a year or two, I imagine this would still hold true.

Here are the 10 bloggers I have nominated for the Happy 101 Blog Award:

Making Love in the Kitchen

Bitter Sweet

Chicago Marathon Val

Eat Healthy! Be Happy!

Raw Loulou

Miss V’s Vegan Cookbook