Vegan Venus day

my vegan valentine



desire vs desirelessness is not an issue. have your sweets and eat it too.













the basics:
HANDMADE VEGAN RAW CHOCOLATE

* 4 parts raw cacao powder or grind the raw beans yourself
* 3 parts raw cacao butter or half this with raw creamed coconut

set the raw cacao butter in a bowl into a pot of just boiled water off the stove until melted. raw food is technically not to be heated above 108F. when its ready, stir it into the raw cacoa powder and then add any of the below:

for sweetening (optional):
* 1-3 tsp agave nectar per 1c of mixture above
OR
* 1/4 tsp stevia
OR
* 1/8- 1/4 c mesquite

for the white chocolate, leave a small amount aside without the cacao powder.

the extra special touch:
add optional nuts and natural oils by dividing the batch or making smaller separate batches.

pour or spoon the mixture onto heart shaped molds of any kind, i used baking molds that were meant for heart cupkakes here. layer the dark and light and sprinkle with nuts or whatever tickles your fancy. let it cool and set.

some suggestions for what to add for extra specialness:

dried goji, currant, sultanas or cranberry
any nuts chopped or ground fine (almond, hazelnut, hemp seeds, toasted sesame seed, flax, cashew, pecan, walnut, peanut, desicated oconut, brazilnuts, etc)
peppermint or orange oil

Chandika & the Chocolate Box

desire vs desirelessness is no longer an issue.
you can have it both ways and eat chocolate that is a healthy superfood.

i also save so much cash by eating my bliss that i can afford to splurge on raw vegan organic chocolate ingredients. alot.

raw vegan organic chocolates - eat your chocolates in the raw

Like mangos, chocolate is best enjoyed naked but thats not what this post is about. lately i have been experimenting in the raw loka - creating healthy vegan raw chocolate from the raw ingredients and adding superfoods. this kind of confectionary concoction is nothing less than alchemy and a life's work. here is where i have begun if you like to journey into the wild and wonderful realms of the raw please comment and let me know how it goes.




pictured: raw vegan handmade chocolates. triangular cut is chocolate mint and rectangles with flecks in them are the morning buzz (hemp seeds and coffee)


here's the basic ratio i have been working from:

HANDMADE VEGAN RAW CHOCOLATE

* 4 parts raw cacao powder or grind the raw beans yourself
* 3 parts raw cacao butter or half this with raw creamed coconut

set the raw cacao butter in a bowl into a pot of just boiled water off the stove until melted. raw food is technically not to be heated above 108F. when its ready, stir it into the raw cacoa powder and then add any of the below:

for sweetening (optional):
* 1-3 tsp agave nectar per 1c of mixture above
OR
* 1/4 tsp stevia
OR
* 1/8- 1/4 c mesquite

pour or spoon the mixture onto a shallow tray of suitable size and you may want to score it while its still pliable. let it cool and set for 2-3 hours to break apart and eat it. if you have molds- even ice cube trays- use them!

at this point you might want to further enhance your simple pleasure by adding any one or more of this list below to your liking.

here they are! moulded raw vegan chocolate with cranberries (crosses), coffee and flax (stars), hazelnuts (o's) using Ikea ice cube trays.



the list of additionals that i have tried so far include:
crushed cacao nibs, nuts of all sorts, hulled hemp, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, vanilla bean, orange oil, nutmeg, maca, algaes, etherium gold, coffee, cardamon, ginger, mint oil, desicated coconut, apricot seeds, next i think i will try goji berries..


BALLS!


raw vegan superhero chocolate balls

* 1 + 1/4 cup hulled hemp seeds
* 1 cup raw cacao powder
* 1/4 cup maca (optional superfood of your choice)
* 1 cup dates (food processor) or 1/2 cup pureed fruit spread
* 1/2 cup brazil nuts finely ground
* 1/2 cup gojis chopped

put all these in the food processor in this order until it forms a sticky mass. roll into balls and then roll into crushed nuts or coconut! YUM ! gorgeous!



and now for something divinely simple:

raw vegan tahini chocolate bars

* 50 g. of cacao Butter, melted (or a 1/4 cup Cacao Butter, melted)
* 2 tbsp. raw cacao powder
* 1 tsp. agave nectar
* 2 tbsp. Tahini

1. Melt the cacao butter in a jar suspended in a pot of hot water.
2. In a seprate bowl mix the cacao powder, tahini and agave together.
3. Add the cacao butter to the mix and put into a tray to set.
4. After a few minutes, score it into slices and set completely for 2-3 hours.

Planet Kake

We revel constantly in a river of rare sublime bliss and beatification that has no beginning and no end. We wish to offer a portal to our sweet life - to comfort this war ravaged yet wonderful world. Meet at this sangam and be one with this nectar of bliss. these kakes can be produced fully off-grid as i do when camping in upstate NY and as these photos are taken most recently while at our winters home in rural India where there are no ovens or refrigerators or any fancy kitchen gadjets. here is a photo of my gas cooker being used as an 'oven' which i make using a large pot with lid and a small inverted bartan piece inside of it. its on this piece that i place the kake pan to bake. fresh local ingredients are here but we dont use the refined sugar so these kakes are also sugar free. we do not consume milk or any dairy or animal products which makes it weird for our neighbors but yes there are no eggs or ghee in these kakes. if you have access to whole wheat and / or spelt and amaranth flours i highly recommend a combination of these rather than white refined or bleached flour. my favorite ratio is 1/4c amaranth, 3/4c whole wheat plus 1c spelt. the wheat w the glutton is what makes the baking powder rise best. the more wheat in the ratio the more rise so add a half tsp more baking powder or more wheat/ less spelt if the rise is not enough for you. Basik Vegan Kake 17- 20 medjool dates 1- 1/2 cups water 2 - 1/2 cups unbleached flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 cups sesame, groundnut or veg oil 1 Tbs apple cider vinegar (optional- dont have it in india and worked just fine) take the pits out and chop the dates then bring to a boil in the water while chopping the bananas, nuts or other ingredients. assemble the dry ingredients then add the wet ingredients. Raw Vegan Cashew Kreyme Take one heaping cup of raw unsalted cashews and soak covered in cold water for min 4 hours but ok to leave it even overnight. When you are ready, toss it all with one cup icy cold water into the blender. Whiz it up. In about a minute you will have the most sumptuous base for a number of uses. In this case I added desiccated coconut and a drop of aguave whizzed again and voila, frosting! Sprinkle of raw cacao nibs completes the show on one of the basic vegan chocolate kake with nuts variation. variations: Yule Kake: Added to the basic recipe for this one are: ground hazelnuts, ground brazilnuts, desicated coconut, hemp seeds, slivered almonds and chopped walnuts, all topped off with that gorgeous cashew kremey frosting recipe above. - photos and more detailed recipe in the links to the side. Baba Banana: add 3- 4 bananas 1/2 cup chopped walnuts 1 tsp cinnamon Karat kake: Add 1 cup grated carrots 1/3 cups raisins 1/3 cup chopped walnuts or peanuts Instead of water: Add orange juice and small piece of chopped ginger 1 tsp cinnamon Brownie: Add 2 bananas 1/3 cup baking cocoa 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, almonds or cashews Vegan fair trade organic chocolate broken into bits Pina colada Add 2 bananas 1/3 cup desicated coconut 1/3 cup fresh pineapple 1/3 cup chopped almonds or cashews