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 :-)