In this case, it stands for "Really Inspiring People." In celebration of Vegetarian Awareness Month, this list of Vegan Mofo bloggers are showcasing vegan food daily in their October posts. And, if you don't have time to visit them all, at least check out the highlights at Vegan Mofo Headquarters.
Of course, "R.I.P." usually comes to mind as the abbreviation for "Rest In Peace" on headstones, which oddly reminds me of my son. He's taken an interest in "The Othersiders" and "Ghost Hunters," two shows that try to find evidence of paranormal activity.
Since he started watching these shows, he's unfortunately experienced the loss of some family pets, like Nana's bunny and Paw Paw's bird. Instead of getting upset, he began his own investigations to see if they were still around in spirit.My darker side (I'm more than 50 percent sunny as a whole; I prefer to be optimistic) was amused by the grave markers he made for the deceased out of paper and popsicle sticks. I didn't realize what they were at first; one said, "have fun," while another had something else along those lines. It didn't hit me until I came across the "R.I.P."
Those three letters boggled my mind when I was little, probably due to the fact that I only noticed them at Halloween time. I didn't know what they meant, but was convinced it had something to do with the holiday.
So, R.I.P. was the perfect title for this post, as we are entering into the Halloween season and I am mourning the passing of something of mine.
My poor little Magic Bullet blender has bit the dust. Yes, you read that right; the spinner broke completely in half, and therefore, will spin no more :-(That means no more blending tiny batches and personal smoothies served right in their blender cups. Not to mention the fact that it was my secret to grinding nuts and seeds into the perfect flour consistency for my cupcakes. What's a girl to do without cupcakes?
I guess you'll have to enjoy these Halloween cupcake file photos now that my camera has also died, too. After blogging for two years, at least I have the luxury of flashbacking from time to time. I figured I'd mix them in with the blurry pics taken with my son's camera.
Although you've seen the photos before (unless you missed them the first time), I will now provide you with a recipe for my raw sandwich cookie that tops my rawified version of the "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World" classic, the Cookies 'N Cream Cupcake (this cookie recipe is also used to make the hat atop the witch cupcake at the beginning of this post, as well as the inside of my rawified Thin Mints, minus the mint). It is more like an Oreo than a Raweo. Here you go:
Raw Sandwich Cookies
1 cup almond meal
1/4 cup coconut flakes, ground into a powder
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 Tbsp. agave nectar
2 soft pitted dates
dash of sea salt
*raw whipped icing (use this whipped cream recipe)
In a food processor, combine almond meal, ground coconut and cocoa powder. Add the agave, dates and sea salt, and process to create a ball of dough.
Flatten the dough into a sheet, and cut out cookie-sized circles. "Bake" the cookies in your dehydrator, flipping once, until crisp.
Make sandwiches by frosting a layer of the raw whipped icing (make it the day ahead and allow it to thicken in the fridge first) between two cookies. Repeat until all the cookies are filled.
And, since I didn't give the full recipe on the original post, here's how to make the whole cupcake:
Rawified Cookies 'N Cream Cupcake
Inspired by "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World"
2 cups nut flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4-1/2 cup date paste
2-4 Tbsp. coconut milk
generous drizzles of agave nectar, to taste
1/2 tsp. vanilla
dash of sea salt
*a batch of raw whipped icing
*raw sandwich cookies (see above)
In a large bowl, combine the nut flour (a mixture of finely ground nuts of your choice combined with leftover nut pulp from making your favorite nut milk; I like using finely ground almonds, mixed with a little hazelnut and Brazil nut pulp), cocoa powder (use the raw cocoa powder if you can get it, which is not the same thing as just grinding up some cacao nibs) and sea salt. Stir with a whisk or use an electric mixer.
Next, add about 1/4 cup of the date paste, 2 Tbsp. of the coconut milk (although any thickened nut milk will do; I bet Brazil nut milk would be lovely in this) and the vanilla. Whisk/mix, paying close attention to the consistency of the batter. Add agave to taste, and more of the date paste and coconut milk as needed. Whisk/mix to combine. The batter should be moist, but not so damp that it requires "baking" in a dehydrator (although you could if you desire).
Divide the batter into sections and form them into cupcake shapes. Frost each cupcake with a generous dollop of raw icing mix with raw sandwich cookie crumbs, and top with half a raw sandwich cookie. Yum!
