Another sundae on a Thursday

You would think I'd have the timing right by now, but somehow this sundae still ended up on the wrong day. Don't you think Sunday would've been more appropriate?

Oh well, I just thought you waited long enough, so here is the final cupcake from last week's unbaking extravaganza (although I did make two more with the leftover ingredients; they'll be making an appearance soon). It's the other banana cupcake I mentioned in yesterday's post.

Also from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World," this over-the-top concoction is a rawified version of the Banana Split Cupcake from the book. Using the same raw banana cupcake base as "The Elvis," this non-frozen treat has it all, from its creamy vanilla swirl to the cherry on top.

And what sundae wouldn't be complete without not-hot fudge, chopped walnuts and colorful sprinkles?

If you missed it the first time, here is a quick review of how I make tinted coconut flakes. All you have to do is make a dye out of agave and whatever you choose to make the color (turmeric for yellow, berries or beets to make a rosy hue, spirulina or liquid chlorophyll to make green, etc.), mix it with coconut flakes and dry thin layers of the mixture in your dehydrator. Then, break it or grind it up and sprinkle it on your favorite sweet creations.

Now, since I've had so many requests for more recipes, here is how you make the banana cupcake base.


Banana Cupcakes in the Raw x 2
This recipe was made in a small batch, as I was creating multiple variations of cupcakes at once. Feel free to expand the recipe to suit your needs.

1/2 cup almonds, ground into flour
1/2 cup cashews, ground into flour
1/4 cup mashed banana
1-2 Tbsp. date paste
drizzle of agave
touch of vanilla
sprinkling of cinnamon
dash of sea salt

In a small bowl, combine the nut flours, cinnamon and sea salt. Stir with a whisk or use an electric mixer.

Next, add the mashed banana, about 1 Tbsp. of the date paste and a touch of vanilla. Whisk/mix, paying close attention to the consistency of the batter. Add agave to taste, and more of the date paste, 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 in half to make two cupcakes. Form them into cupcake shapes, and decorate to your hearts content.

*Chocolate Chip Banana Variation: add cacao nibs or chunks of a raw chocolate bar to the batter before forming into cupcake shapes.

This cupcake is bananas

Bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S (that's spelling it out for you).

It's just like that Gwen Stefani song my hubby makes fun of every time I play it. On a positive note, my son probably knows how to spell that word.

Speaking of my son, I had a conference with his teacher yesterday. I am happy to report that he is in the top of his class. I am so proud of him.

Anyway, back to the banana, cupcake that is. My friend Charissa of Raw Royalty was hoping for a chocolate chip banana muffin or cupcake, so lucky for her, I delivered (although not to her house).

This is actually the first of two banana cupcakes I have rawified for you from the "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" book. Today's model is decked out in a simple vanilla icing swirl, a sprinkling of walnuts (although they used peanuts and a peanut butter frosting), a couple banana slices and a raw chocolate chunk. It's very reminiscent of the picture from the book.

Ms. Moskowitz and Ms. Romero (the authors of the book) named their baked original "The Elvis," after "The King's" fondness for grilled peanut butter and banana sandwiches. Thanks girls for the inspiration. As Elvis would say, "thank you, thank you very much."

Green Fest

That's short for Green Festival, of course. I actually had an abbreviated visit to the event this year. But, I'm not complaining; I've gone the past couple years and was lucky enough to have Rawbin's sister and friends take me along for the ride. Thanks girls :-)

Rawbin was working the NaturalZing booth, which has been doing an excellent job of representing raw food at the festival. I remember checking out their wares the first time I attended. I was so excited to find something raw that year that I got a little out of hand, telling anyone who was interested about the products. I think they thought I worked there.

If I was able to stay at the event for the whole weekend, I would've loved to help out with the booth for real. At least I was able to stop by for a visit.

I got to see Jeff, who started the company 5 years ago; however, I missed his wife, Helen. I'm assuming she was there on Saturday, because I heard their newest addition made an appearance that day (for those who don't know, Jeff and Helen welcomed there second child into the world recently. Congrats you two).

Maria and Nic were also working the booth. I managed to sneak a pic of Maria, but somehow Nic was missing in action at the time. You may remember her from one of my past posts, or perhaps you've even spoken to her when phoning in your NaturalZing order.

She took mine in advance, so I could pick it up at the event. I got lucuma slices (this is what you get before its turned into powder), raw macadamia nuts, raw almonds (these are not pasteurized), coconut butter, MSM lotion (this feels great on my injured foot, which is much better now), agave nectar, a Golden Bean dark chocolate bar (Jeff was nice enough to toss one in for me to try) and kelp noodles (I couldn't find the link on their site right now).

Speaking of kelp noodles, they are one of NaturalZing's newest items, so now you know where you can get them. Some of my readers had been asking about these noodles after I mentioned them on a post about Java Green, which also set up shop at the Green Festival this weekend.

My buddy D.J., who owns the place, made a last minute decision (at least that's what Rawbin told me) to sell a selection from his menu, which included some raw dishes, at the event. From what I understand, I missed the raw pizza on Saturday, but I was happy to still find my favorite kelp noodle dish while I was there on Sunday. Now I can recreate the experience at home with the noodles I just purchased.

I washed it down with a cold-brewed green tea that D.J. gave to me on the house. Thanks D.J. :-)

Moving right along, I didn't have much time to peruse the other booths, but I'll highlight some of my faves. Sticking with the raw food theme, Rawbin and I stopped by SuperFood.com, where we met Josh. He's also involved with Elements for Life, a company my friend Lenette of Go Raw Chicago (although you don't have to be from Chicago to read her blog) introduced me to recently. They have some great products you should check out.

There weren't as many raw foods to sample as I found last year. Larabar (although some of you aren't psyched about this brand since the company was bought out) was distributing mini chocolate cherry and peanut butter cookie bars (I know; the second one was not entirely raw, but I gave in to its peanut butter cookie aroma and flavor. Shame on me).

Cliff Bar was also present, but without their Nectar line. Like Larabar, this line is composed of dried fruits and nuts. Rawbin and I ate more than our share last year, so no wonder they didn't have any to give us this time.

Right around the corner from Cliff Bar was Manitoba Harvest with their hemp products. They were offering up sample cups of hemp seeds, some lettuce coated in hemp oil dressing and hemp seed butter tastings. Their products are delicious and even better when paired up with the Amazing Grasses wheat grass beverages being served up right next to them.

While on the topic of raw food at the festival, I can't forget to mention VegNews, who was set up nearby (Katie and Christine were running the booth at the time). I must applaud the magazine's efforts to bring more attention to the raw food movement on its pages. It helped convince me to renew my subscription for another year. Keep up the good work :-)

The vegan publication is also great for keeping readers up to date on animal rights issues and other related news in a hip format that's always on trend. For instance, the latest issue announces the Veggie Award winners, addresses the great hemp debate and features a holiday shopping guide full of vegan and eco-friendly products.

The festival also had some products, perfect for holiday shopping. I picked up this little dress from Happy Green Bee for my friend, who is expecting a baby girl soon (I got her the matching hat, too). I also found these cute finger puppets for my son (he's been asking about making finger puppets lately) and some freebies to round out his fun.

Now, I always treat myself to something while I'm there, so this year, I purchased some more thigh high socks from In2Green. I love how this company recycles old fibers into new fashions. Last year, I bought my first pair of their socks, as well as a cute shirt for my son. It said, "Be Green for Me," with a frog on it.

While wandering the isles, I came up with some other gift giving ideas, as well as a few for my own Christmas list. So, for you family members who are reading this, hint, hint ...

I fell in love with these Ella Vickers bags last year. One of these days I'll get my hands on one without a leather handle. I also took a liking to this Green Label Organic shirt. It says, "Organic Rocks," with a guitar on it. I don't actually play, although the boys (my husband and son) and I had fun rocking out with Guitar Hero last year at Christmas time.

It wasn't long before it was time to leave the Green Festival, so I made sure to make one last stop at the NaturalZing booth to say my goodbyes. I was hoping Wendi Dee would be back by then, but unfortunately, we missed each other. Oh well, I guess we'll meet eventually.

Blaqberry also texted Rawbin to let her know she was on her way. Sorry I wasn't there to hang out.

Luckily, my friend Joe Kennedy was there to give me a hug goodbye (I look spaced out in this pic). Thanks :-)

Before I leave you for today, I just wanted to share one last photo of a poster I thought caught my eye on the way out. The lighting was bad and there were some yo-yoers doing tricks in front of my view. Therefore, I'll read it for you. It says, "Be an Eco-Hero. Join the Agents of Change."

See, being green can be fun :-)



*For those of you looking for cupcakes, don't worry; the others will be posted this week.

I could ward off a vampire with this breath

Did that title get your attention? Hopefully, it's not true, although I don't see anyone with fangs wanting to lip-lock with me anytime soon. Being that my hubby is not a creature of the night (he has to get up very early for work in the morning), I'm sure he's okay with that.

I know that I've promised you more cupcakes (I still have two more to share), but I thought I'd give your sweet tooth a rest for the time being to remind you there is more to raw food than desserts. Contrary to popular belief, I also eat savory dishes; they're just not as fun to write about.

For instance, I've had the traditional raw spaghetti with faux meat sauce lately, which would explain the garlic breath. Good thing I followed it up with a raw chocolate mint cupcake I posted about yesterday (there I go with the sweet stuff again).

So, that would explain the vampire reference, which is a popular topic at the moment. There is the "Twilight" series of books, which is about ready to hit the big screen, and my newest guilty pleasure is currently on HBO.

I hate to admit it (being a wholesome mom and all), but my favorite show at the moment is "True Blood." The very graphic (don't worry; I wait until Jacob is in bed to watch it) series addresses how a small town is handling vampires becoming a part of mainstream society.

The reason I bring this up is because one of the characters is a raw vegan (except for the fact that she chooses to eat this way to heighten her experience on "V," otherwise known as vampire blood). I just wish she was viewed in a more positive light. Why couldn't Sookie (the main character on the show) be raw instead?

Anyway, I was up late watching this last night, and now I have to finish getting ready for work. Stay tuned later in the week for my brief Green Festival coverage and the other two cupcakes. Happy Monday :-)

No tater tops here

If you've read my last two posts, you're probably familiar with the tater-top reference. Both my rawified cookies 'n cream and cookie dough cupcakes looked as though they were embellished with potato in their pics (obviously, it was due to my lack of photography skills, as I didn't notice this in person).

Ever since I read Heathy's post with her ice cream scooped mock potatoes, I kept seeing this mashed side dish on top of all my treats. That is, until now.

Today's rawified cupcake is another one from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World." Inspired by the book's Chocolate Mint Cupcakes, my model is wearing a coat of raw chocolate sauce and a mint green meltaway cap.

What's a mint meltaway?

It's what I call one of those multicolored melt-in-your-mouth mints you probably had after eating at a social event or perhaps found nestled on your pillow at a hotel. I used to love how they dissolved on my tongue as a child, and lucky for me, I found a way to recreate this experience.

Ever wonder what I do with leftover raw icing?

Of course, I sometimes make n'ice cream sammies, but I also like to add some mint to what's left and pipe it into stars or swirls. Then, I pop them into the freezer to form the perfect raw after dinner mint.

One of these swirls was the exact topper I needed for my mint chocolate cupcake, and it was already made for me. Don't you love it when everything just falls into place.

For instance, today I'll be heading out to the Green Festival, where I'll be able to get the scoop on everything green, visit with my friends at the NaturalZing booth and meet Wendi Dee for the first time. I hope she liked her cupcake :-)

More mashed potadough

Yeah, you read that right. Remember the mashed potato-resembling icing on my rawified cookies 'n cream cupcake yesterday? Well, it looks as though I need a little help in the photo department, because today's decked-out confection also looks as though it is topped with taters.

Oh well, I'm not going to complain. I find it funny, and it made for an interesting post title.

So, why the "dough" in "potadough" (meant to be read like "potato" with the "dough" in place of "to," as in "toe." Say that 10 times fast)?

To answer your question, the "dough" actually refers to the balls of cookie dough I had left over from the last time I made raw cookie dough n'ice cream. I decided to display them atop this chocolate chip-studded cupcake (I used a chopped up raw chocolate bar for the chips), which is drizzled with chocolate sauce, dolloped with raw whipped cream (that's what looks like mashed potatoes) and sprinkled with ground cacao nibs. Yummy!

Its tater-like top may scare some away, but that's okay. More for me :-)

That's the way the cookie crumbles

Next up on my rawified cupcake tour is a mirror image of the ones I baked (literally) for my son's birthday party a couple years ago. When he saw them in the book, he just had to have them topped with his favorite cookie (he takes after his mommy; it was my fave, too), as well as some Ben 10 characters.

Cupcakes are great for birthdays or anytime. They are the perfect serving size, which saves time on cake cutting. They also make it easy to mix up the flavor offerings, stack them into interesting displays and decorate them individually to spell out the birthday boy's name (J-A-C-O-B; I still remember the first time he proudly shouted out those letters to me).

These raw cupcakes look a lot like the Cookies 'N Cream Cupcakes my son picked out from the "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" book. They are chocolate with a whipped icing, which is speckled with cookie crumbs and topped with a rawified sandwich cookie.

I opted to apply the icing in the same form as in the book, but after viewing the photos, I thought it looked like mashed potatoes. That reminded me of a post my friend Heathy did on her blog recently. She had mock mashed potatoes styled like scoops of ice cream, while I ended up with icing that could pass for her "potatoes" :-)