Thank you all for all the well wishes after yesterday’s post about my neck issues. I am really feeling a lot better now, almost back to normal.

I thought I’d lighten things up today with a recipe I made over Memorial Day weekend that totally wowed the crowd.

Prepare yourself for…….chocolate mascarpone stuffed strawberries!

Cuz if chocolate, cheese, and sweet strawberries can’t make a girl feel better when she’s hurting, what can really?

Jeff and I went to a barbecue on Memorial Day with a ton of people. I was really hurting that night, but it felt so good to see these get gobbled up in mere minutes. It always makes me so happy when people like my food.

I found some enormous strawberries at Publix and knew they’d be great for making a light dessert. In fact, I’ve made this exact dessert before with green tea flavored mascarpone and it was a big hit, so I kinda had an idea that this might go over well. 😉

To make, I just cored the strawberries with a paring knife then got to work on my filling.

I used 16 oz. of room-temperature mascarpone cheese, and whipped it up with about 1/4 cup cocoa powder, two generous squirts of agave nectar, and maybe a half a cup or more of unsweetened almond milk to thin it out some.

A scooped the sweet cheese filling into a ziplock bag and cut the tip to use like a piping bag. I actually have a set of piping bags with fancy tips, but I was in a hurry and didn’t have time to get it out.

They turned out beautifully though…

This recipe made about 20 giant stuffed strawberries.  It would make nearly twice that for regular sized strawberries, so if you’re not making these for an army you might choose to cut the recipe in half.

Chocolate mascarpone stuffed strawberries

The not-too-sweet chocolatey mascarpone filling in these luscious strawberries really lets the fruit take center stage in this easy summer dessert.

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 20+ large strawberries

Ingredients

• 20 extra large strawberries
• 16 oz. unsweetened mascarpone cheese
• 4 tbsp. agave nectar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• up to a 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

Cooking Directions

1. Wash and allow strawberries to dry before cutting off the tops and coring them with a small knife.
2. Whip together all other ingredients and transfer to a piping bag.
3. Pipe cheese mixture into strawberries and refrigerate until time to enjoy.

The filling was not too sweet, allowing the flavor of the ripe strawberries to really shine. This is one recipe I’ll make again and again, as it’s super simple but always impresses.

Next time, stuffed strawberries with chocolate chips!

June 7, 2011 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 9 comments

(For another raw vegan treat, check out my recipe for raw nectarine dream cookies!)

Oooooo! These are so good!

I just love the combination of orange and pistachio together! These bars are so soft and citrusy, they remind me a bit of lemon Larabars, and yet they’re totally different from any Larabar I’ve ever had.

Here’s what you’ll need for these little emerald gems:

• 3/4 cup raw cashews
• 3/4 cup raw pistachios
• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1 tsp. agave nectar
• 1 tsp. coconut oil
• 1 tsp. chia seeds
• zest and juice of a small orange such as a clementine or satsuma
• desiccated coconut for dusting

Start by pulverizing the nuts in a food processor…

Then add the chopped apricots…

Then grate over the orange zest and add the remaining ingredients…

Blitz it til it pulls away from the sides and looks fully incorporated…

So green!

Now you need to mold it into bars. I lined a loaf pan with wax paper to help pull the bars out with later and then poured some desiccated coconut in the bottom so they wouldn’t stick to that.

It took a while to press it all out flat in the pan, just keep working at it until you get it to reach the edges.

My loaf pan was just a bit too big so these didn’t quite make it all the way to one side. After spreading it out I topped it off with more coconut.

These should get popped in the freezer for a while to make them easier to cut. I chose to cut mine into little squares.

They are delicious! The bright orange flavor really stands out and contrasts with the earthy and slightly bitter green pistachio flavor. They taste so springy and fresh!

I’ve been keeping them in the fridge since they have orange juice in them that could go bad if left out. It also helps them to hold together better being that they’re very soft at room temperature. They are even more refreshing nice and cool right out of the fridge anyway.

Raw vegan orange pistachio bars

Bright citrusy orange zest accents these nutty raw pistachio bars.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Yield: about 10 squares

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup cashews
• 3/4 cup raw pistachios
• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1 tsp. agave nectar
• 1 tsp. coconut oil
• 1 tbsp. chia seeds
• zest and juice of a small orange such as a clementine or satsuma

Cooking Directions

1. Pulverize nuts in food processor until very small.
2. Add all other ingredients and pulse to incorporate.
3. Press mixture into a wax paper lined baking dish with desiccated coconut.
4. Sprinkle more desiccated coconut on top and press in lightly.
5. Freeze until firm then turn out and cut into squares or bars.
6. Keep refrigerated.

What is your favorite snack bar/granola bar/protein bar?

March 8, 2011 Alayna Discussion, Recipes 20 comments

Sometimes, all that will do is beer and cheese.

Yesterday Jeff informed me that a new craft beer store that we’ve been hearing about for months and anxiously awaiting the arrival of finally opened in Decatur. Field trip!

Ale Yeah! is a small specialty beer store showcasing tons of sticky Belgians, dark brews, imports, charcuterie and cheeses, and home-brewing essentials. This is no liquor store, it’s more like a fine beer boutique. I’ll do a full post on them another time because it was just too awesome. I’m so glad we live about a mile and a half from this fantastic find.

Anyway, we picked up two beers to sample and two of Ale Yeah!’s signature pint glasses and headed home to watch a movie.

I put together a plate of sliced cheese, shaved prosciutto, and whole grain mustard for us to munch on. We didn’t end up using the new pint glasses because they needed to go through the dishwasher.

Instead we filled a couple of Stella glasses with this Third Coast Old Ale by Bell’s Brewery. We both love Bell’s, everything they make is scrumptious. This one was really dark and super intensely-flavored. I tasted espresso and prunes and spices, heavy but good!

We watched a Netflix movie while assembling the goods on crackers. I get this prosciutto from our local farmer’s market, which isn’t really a farmer’s market so much as it is an international foods warehouse.

I think people pass up the prosciutto a lot because of the $18.99 a pound price tag; but here’s the secret, no one buys a pound of prosciutto! I always ask for 8 to 10 slices shaved very thin and it never comes out to more than $3.00! It’s great for making a grilled cheese sandwich fancy, and cheaper than the pre-packaged stuff you see in grocery stores which is closer to $6 and cut too thick for this delicate delight.

I like to spread a little mustard right on the cracker and top with cheese, then prosciutto. Then I hold it with two hands to bite down because the cracker always breaks into a bajillion pieces and I have to hold it together. It’s worth it though!

Eating healthy is great and all, and healthy food truly is delicious, but sometimes…… sometimes you just gotta cram your face full of cheese and liquid carbs and not let it bother you in the slightest!  I like to actually enjoy my indulgences, thank you.

What are your favorite things to stuff your face with?! 😀

December 9, 2010 Alayna Discussion 3 comments