Vegan raspberries ice-cream

It's been one of those days when everything just had to be frozen. I woke up in the morning looking at the frosty field behind the dorm, thinking that it is as good time as any to take a walk with a poncho instead of a coat. First mistake! Then I thought that I'd go for a run in the evening, as I'm planning to register for a 10km motorway run on 24th March in Kliplev. Had I been more considerate and taken the less windy streets, while avoiding the particularly open beach area, things might have passed uneventfully. But no! Second mistake! Since it's Wednesday, I wanted to prepare something vegan and fruity. For reasons unknown to me (to be read as bad judgement), I immediately decided on raspberries ice-cream. No matter how delicious, it tipped off the balance and I've been feeling particularly under the weather for a bit now. Hopefully that passes by tomorrow and I get a bit smarter about my everyday choices.

Never mind common cold, here is raspberries ice-cream - a simple, super healthy and delicious treat for kids and adults!

Ingredients

250 g. frozen raspberries

1 banana

100 g. coconut milk

50 g. coconut milk 

1 tb. sp. vanilla sugar 

Method

1. Blend the banana, the frozen raspberries and the 100 g. coconut milk until smooth. Pour in serving glasses or in a bowl and leave in the freezer for 2-3 hours. (I had very little patience, so I waited just 30 min; it melted almost instantly.)

2. Mix the remaining coconut milk and the vanilla sugar to use as sauce. (It was nice, but too much! Next time I'm gonna put a mint leave for looks and leave it at that. ;))

Peach and cocoa cream (Vegan)

I had a mission: present my lovely fruit salad of diced oranges and pears topped with home-made vegan pear ice-cream and a hint of honey. Time wasn't on my side though and the ice-cream thickened only after it was dark outside. No matter how I tried to photograph the plate, it just wasn't as good as day-light photographed food. That's probably because I'm only equipped with a flash, but also because I'm clueless how to be creative with the lights at home. Truth be told, right now it doesn't make the top of my list of tricks to learn anyway.

Since the pear ice-cream is a simplified version of the peach and cocoa cream, I'll dedicate this post to the latter.

Ingredients

3 peaches

1 banana

20 g almonds

400 g coconut milk

1 1/2 spoon cocoa powder

2 t. sp.  honey

Method

1. Mix the coconut milk with the honey.

2. Peal the peaches and start blending them with the banana and the almonds. Continuously add 320 g. coconut milk and blend until smooth.

3. Pour the mixture in serving glasses/ bowls, leaving a little space for a tiny layer of the cocoa cream.

4. Combine the remaining coconut milk with the cocoa powder until well integrated.

5. Pour the cocoa cream on top and keep the layer thin. (The cocoa layer is a bit bitter, as I don't add more honey, but I like the contrast it creates. Feel free to adjust!)

6. Let the cream refrigerate for an hour, so it can thicken. Serve cold!

Vegan desserts - the kind that makes you feel good even after the plate is empty! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! :)

Walnuts and dried fruit bites

Combining dried fruits and walnuts is not a new concept. Our ancestors have been using them as a regular meal. Nowadays, we munch them for snack between meals and during traveling or as ingredients in more complex dishes.  Going to basics, I and my sister combine them, making dessert bites (cake replacement for coffee/ tea time) appropriate for all seasons. On my last trip to Bulgaria, I even got my mom, my aunt and a couple of friends to fall in love with them. They're that good... and addictive!

Ingredients


3/4 cup of orange juice
1 1/2 cup of blended walnuts/ almonds (the finer they're blended, the easier it is to work with the dough)
1/4 cup of fine oatmeal (I blend that too until it looks like flour)
7 dried apricots 
4 dried plums
1/2 cup of raisin
3/4 cup of coconut flakes
2 t. sp. espresso/ rum (unless children will eat from them)
1 t. sp. honey


Method


1. Finely chop the dried fruit and leave it to soak in the orange juice for about 30 min.
2. Mix the nuts, the oatmeal and half of the coconut flakes in a bowl.
3. Add the soaked dried fruit, the espresso/ rum  and honey to the bowl and form dough out of everything. It should be moist and somewhat sticky, so that you can form bite-sized balls out of it.
4. Cover the balls with chopped nuts, coco powder and/ or the rest of the coconut flakes.




Note: You can add and replace ingredients to fit your taste!