Moroccan Watermelon Salad

Versiunea in limba romana: Salata marocana de pepene verde 

Summer is far from being over in Bucharest. 3 days of  very hot weather are expected, again. At least 35 degrees Celsius. 3 days without my oven? Not a problem! Or is it? Although I have so many fresh fruits and vegetables to choose from right now, and the perfect food is a tabuleh salad, I'm still constantly thinking of baking something :) At least some brownies...

The best dessert I could prepare for these hot days was this delicious marocan salad. I've first tried it in in Marrakech, almost 3 years ago and it stole my heart. So easy to prepare yet so special and refreshing. I'll allways remember the great time we had in Morocco and the delicious almonds milk, spices, chicken tajine with pickled lemon and green olives, the incredible Moroccan pastries. I just love the "corne de gazelle", the most delicate almond pastry I have ever tried. I'll have to try baking some of this soon. Untill then, chill with a refreshing, mint flavored watermelon salad. Enjoy! 

1/2 watermelon, cut in  little cubes, seeds removed
4 tablespoons fleur d'oranger water + 2 teaspoons of confectioners sugar
fresh mint leafs

Mix sugar and  fleur d'oranger water until sugar dissolves well.  Pour the syrup over the watermelon and mix carefully. Refrigerate for minimum 1 hour. Serve chilled, with fresh mint leafs.

I hope you'll enjoy it!  ♥

3 deliciously colored raw vegan tart

Versiunea in limba romana: 3 tarte raw vegan, delicios colorate

My curiosity for raw food started when I discovered  Ina's blog, my raw muse :). Beautiful delicate pictures, delicious recipes, life style. I kept on saying I will try, but I kept on finding excuses: I need more ingredients, I need seeds, I need a germinator, I need a Vitamix... No more excuses! I have to start... So I started my raw food play :) And I loved to play ♥ This dessert is very easy to prepare. The chocolate was absolutely delicious, perfect for a strong chocolate craving... The avocado strawberries tart was incredibly fresh, perfect for a hot summer day. As I had 3 tart shells/pans of cca 15 cm, I played with the colors and textures. Loved the raw play :) 

I'm not saying I'll go stricly raw vegan starting today, as overnight changes are not my thing, but raw vegan food will become increasingly present in my family meals. What the future will bring, we shall see... I'll keep you posted on my raw food play  :)

Today I'll prepare almonds milk for the kids. A raw, delicious, flavored almonds milk. Then we'll just play with some raw almond cookies... I love to play raw with the kids, in the kitchen :) 

PS: Before starting to prepare the tart shell, I tasted the soaked almonds. Not a good idea, as these almonds are soooooo good, that I almost had none left for the tart :) Delicious! Just in case, soak a couple more, for unpredicted cravings :)

Raw tart shell

75 g coconut flakes, dry, unsweetened + 100 g almonds, soaked in cold water over night, then strained and mixed in the blender + 80 ml coconut oil 

Mix all ingredients, then press the dough in the tart pan; refrigerate for minimum 4 hours.

Black and white - raw chocolate tart

The above mentioned tart dough.
65 g good quality cocoa + 60 ml coconut oil + 120 ml agave syrup + 1/2 tsp lecithin 

Slowly heat the coconut oil (over bainmarie), then remove from fire. Mix the cocoa, coconut oil,  lecithin and agave syrup. Pour the cream over the very cold tart dough and refrigerate for minimum 1 hour.

White, red, green - Avocado & strawberries tart

Above mentioned tart dough.
1 avocado, ripe, without brown spots +  4 tsp fresh lemon juice +  4 tsp agave syrup + 1/2 tsp lecithin
250 g strawberries +  4 dates, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes + 1 tsp lecithin + 1/2 lgt  lemon juice

In a blender, mix the avocado, lemon juice, agave syrup and lecithin. Separately, mix the strawberries, lemon juice, dates and lecithin. Pour the creams over the chilled tart dough and create the pattern you like. Refrigerate for a couple of hours.

White Black Green Red

Just play with all the above creams. Yummi raw ♥

Lime, poppyseeds & blackberries cake with cream cheese frosting

Versiunea in limba romana: Prajitura cu limeta, mac si mure & cream cheese frosting 

I love poppyseeds! I love poppyseeds cakes and I keep thinking of a dessert we had some time ago in Germany, in Garmish. A kind of pie filled with an enormous quantity of poppyseeds. Crazy... It was winter, snow capped mountains, hours and hours of walking to the lodge... We would have skied, if we knew how :) The path was so beautiful, the mountains so magnificent and dramatic, the lodge so perfect and cozy, that instantly everything, including the dessert, was forever in my heart, in the favorite memories "folder". I remember my kid's red noses and their happy little eyes... Probably the hypnotic effect of the poppy seeds was exactly what we needesd after such a trip :) Anyway, winter is far away... At list, that's my hope. Spring is here. Blackberries. Strawberries. Raspberries. Sun. Green. Blue. Yellow. Gold. Light...

A wonderful cake for a beautiful day! Easy to prepare & so delicious, with a well deserved festive touch from the cream cheese frosting... What to celebrate? Spring! Spring is here...

85 g unsalted butter, at room temperature + 245 g sugar + zest of 2 lime + 50 g poppyseeds
170 ml milk
235 g flour + 2 tsp baking powder + a little salt
3 egg whites, mixed until it becomes a dense foam
150 g blackberries, mashes (with the fork)

Cream cheese frosting
130 g Philadelphia cream cheese, very cold
50 g unsalted butter, at room temperature + 250-300 g confectioner's sugar

Heat the oven to 170 degrees C. Prepare a round cake tray (removable bottom), with butter and baking paper. Mix well the butter, sugar, lime zest and poppy seeds. Slowly add the milk, mixing (the consistence is not homogenous yet). In another bowl mix flour, baking powder and salt, then add the poppyseeds cream, in three steps, mixing well each time. With a silicone spatula scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, making sure there are no solid parts left. Add the mashed blackberries, mix slowly. Add the egg whites foam and mix carefully.

Pour the batter in the prepared tray and cook in the heated oven for 30 minutes. Let the cake cool in the tray. Prepare the cream cheese frosting: mix well with the mixer the butter and sugar, until you obtain a fluffy foam; add the cream cheese and mix for aprox 5 minutes; do not over mix.

When the cake is cold, put the cake in the plate you like and put the frosting on top. Lovely ♥