Sunday, February 3, 2008

A "Splash" of creativity


It's happened again; I've been nominated for another award (I received the Inspirational Blogger Award a couple weeks ago). High five ... no make that ten (that's two hands) for No. 2. This time it's the Creative Blogger Award, bestowed on me by the also very creative One Raw Vegan Londoner.

This award is "for those who bring unique and creative elements to their blogs. For those who incorporate art, music, creative writing, photo's, and other beautiful visual effects into their website. For those who put a unique spin on things and come up with new ideas. This award is for the artsy, the funky, the inventor, and even the rebel. This award is for those creative individuals who stand out from the crowd."

I guess that means I'm an artsy (my sister and I used to make our own clay animation videos), funky (I sing, too, but my voice isn't that high), inventive (I'm all about experimenting) rebel (of course I thought of Billy Idol after watching him in "The Wedding Singer"). No kidding, or in that case, no more blending in for me (unless we're talking about using my Blendtec).

But, enough about me, who else fits the bill. Here are my five nominees, in no particular order:

Jenny bo benny (as I like to call her) of Wylde and Raw: Not only does she evoke your senses with vivid text, but she also is an especially creative designer. Check out her jewelry line and her take on this popular raw shirt.

Dhru of We Like It Raw: He is responsible for the creation of We Like It Raw (where you can find Jenny's pre-personalized shirt ... hey, what happened to the shirts? So, they really were popular) and Give It To Me Raw. Talk about genius.

Carmella of the Sunny Raw Kitchen: I assumed she already had an award the first go round, but I'm making sure of it this time. She is also a creator of a raw food community (Raw Freedom Community) and has her own marketplace. And, have you seen her cuisine? She even has an e-book.

Tanja of Freshtopia.net: Her multi-media approach and fun personality keep me coming back to her vlog (that's a video blog). Love ya, babe.

Liz and Rhaya of Green*Lemonade: Although only dabbling in the raw food craze, their beautiful site is chocked full of ways to live a healthier life. They also have tees and totes.

To celebrate your awards, I decided to pass on the donut recipes, due to popular demand. I know, it's not so creative, considering this is the third day in a row that I've blogged about them. But here it goes anyway:


Chocolate Donuts
1/2 cup almonds, finely ground
1/2 cup pecans, finely ground
1/4 cup coconut flakes, (you guessed it) finely ground
1/4 cup oats, ground into flour (had to change up the wording a bit)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
4 soft pitted dates
2 Tbsp. agave nectar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
dash of sea salt

In a food processor, combine almonds, pecans, coconut, oats and cocoa. Add dates, agave, vanilla and sea salt. Process to form a dough.

Shape the dough into 8 to 10 donut holes or mini donut rounds. Dehydrate 2-3 hours per side to firm up the outside, but keep the inside soft. Decorate as desired.


Plain Donuts
3/4 cup almonds, finely ground
1/4 cup cashews, finely ground
1/4 cup coconut, finely ground
1/4 cup oats, ground into flour
1 Tbsp. lucuma
1 Tbsp. mesquite
3-4 soft pitted dates
1 Tbsp. agave nectar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
dash of sea salt

In a food processor, combine almonds, cashews, coconut, oats, lucuma and mesquite. Add dates, agave, vanilla and sea salt. Process to form a dough.

Shape the dough into 8 donut holes or mini donut rounds. Dehydrate 2-3 hours per side to firm up the outside, but keep the inside soft. Decorate as you like.


Better than Peanut Butter Donuts
1/2 cup almonds, finely ground
1/4 cup cashews, finely ground
1/4 cup sesame seeds, ground into a flour
1/4 coconut flakes, ground into a flour
1/4 cup oats, ground into a flour
1 Tbsp. lucuma
1 Tbsp. mesquite
3-4 soft pitted dates
1 Tbsp. agave nectar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
dash of sea salt

In a food processor, combine almonds, cashews, sesame, coconut, oats, lucuma and mesquite. Add dates, agave, vanilla and sea salt. Process to form a dough.

Shape the dough into 8 donut holes or mini donut rounds. Dehydrate 2-3 hours per side to firm up the outside, but keep the inside soft. Decorate to your heart's content.

Be creative (the word of the day) with these. I decorated mine with various icings (coconut cashew, a pink version "dyed" with raspberry juice, leftover coconut date filling from the Samoaraws and chocolate). Sprinkles included ground almonds, cacao nibs, dried maple flakes and multi-colored coconut flakes ("dyed" and dried with agave mixed with tumeric for yellow, spirulina for green and raspberry for magenta).

I also made raspberry jelly-filled donuts using the better than PB base. I shaped the dough into balls, filled them with a jelly (raspberries pureed with dates and lecithin) and "baked" them in the dehydrator along with the rest of the donuts. Then, while still warm, I coated them in a mixture of ground coconut and lucuma.

I can't wait to hear what you do with these base recipes in your kitchen.


P.S. Remember how I mentioned wanting to watch "Splash" the other day? It came on cable last night. The world works in mysterious ways :-)

18 comments:

Dee said...

LOVE the recipe, I wish I could have it right now, but I'll be saving it for when I can that's for sure!!

Splurge Sisters said...

As soon as I saw todays blog, I called out to my sister hysterically saying "SHE'S POSTED THE DONUT RECIPE!!!" - we both screamed. You'd think we had won the lottery.

Sad I know - but we are so pumped. Thank you so much.

Caron in the Pacific Northwest

Jenny said...

yay! donut recipes!! everyone in my sphere is very excited, and i'm sure i'll receive no end of hints and "suggestions" of things to make in the very near future!

you're incredible for giving everyone these amazing posts and wow thanks for the love and creative blogger award!

am i allowed to reaward it back to you (you HAVE to be one of my five!)??

xx jenny

Unknown said...

Wow Shannon, thanks for the nomination! We are honored and I continue to enjoy reading your blog to see what you come up with everyday!

Heather Pace said...

I love the donut roll, you're on! :) They all look fabulous!

PS - my cookies are almost outta the D! :) Decorating time tomorrow!!!

Dhrumil said...

Thanks for the love Shannon!

shannonmarie said...

Dee and Caron, I hope the donuts live up to your expectations.

Jenny, you certainly deserve the award. Can you award right back? I don't know. I guess I'll have to think of more bloggers to recognize.

Congrats to Liz, Rhaya, Dhru, Carmi and Tanja, too.

Raw Goddess, love your donut post.

April said...

Those look soooo good! Seriously you are going to put the girl scouts out of business and krispy kreme and dunkin donuts! Those look soooooo good!!

Marie Madeleine Carmella said...

Double treat for me with this post. Yay! Girl, you're spoiling me but I ain't complaining! ;-) Thanks Shannon for the award and I can't wait to play around with your donut recipes.

Raw blessings,
Carmi

Tracy said...

I am going to go make these donuts right now. They look so good!

What did you use for your chocolate topping?

shannonmarie said...

Thanks April. You can make these, too. I've seen your skills on your blog. Loved the cheesecake pic.

Congrats Carmi. I wanted to be the first to award you for your creativity.

Tracy, the chocolate topping is something I make when I'm short on time. It's just raw almond butter, cocoa powder, agave, vanilla, sea salt, and just enough water to get a smooth consistency. Just mix the ingredients in a small bowl and you're good to go.

Raw-Riffic Food said...

Thanks for posting the recipe...and again you amaze me with your creativity and fun! Congrats to you on your blog awards...they are very well deserved indeed! I'm serious...you are the "Betty Crocker" of the raw food world! Keep up the grrrrrrrrrrrreat and delicious work!

- Princess Leia (Debbie) :)

Techchix said...

YAH! Thanks for posting the recipes! Question - do you have a suggestion for a substition for the oats? I am gluten intolerant and cannot eat them. I was thinking I could up the coconut flakes and maybe add something else, but since I've never made them I'm drawing a blank here....

shannonmarie said...

Thanks Princess Leia (that's so cool that you used that name).

Techchix, I added the oats for my picky hubby and to lighten up the dough a little. I rarely use grains, but I made an exception in this recipe.

My suggestion for a substitution is raw buckwheat flour. Soak buckwheat groats, sprout and dehydrate them. Then, grind them into flour. The flavor won't be the same, but it should work.

Chef E said...

Wow, I found you looking for doughnut recipes and I was having a weak moment for real ones, I love your site...come check me out too.

I am on a quest for healthy and gluten free, I ran a raw and health food cafe for two years!

shannonmarie said...

I hope you like the donuts. Now that I'm pregnant, I'm eating less raw and more cooked. However, I'm still trying to avoid that sticky gluten.

Amie Sue said...

Good afternoon,

Do you mind if I post this recipe on my site? I made them today and would love to share it. I will link it back to your post.

Please let me know...blessings
amies sue

nouveauraw.com

shannonmarie said...

Hi Amie Sue. Thanks for asking. I can't tell you how many times I've seen what I've posted on someone else's site without a link back, or anything. One time, my entire post complete with pics was re-posted as their own. Crazy.

Anyway, of course you may. It would be an honor. Your site is amazing. I think I might add it to my blogroll.