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Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Pies

By Jen, on August 12th, 2011

Sometimes food equals love.

Today, people all over the world are making peanut butter pie- and sharing it with someone they love. Making the pie is a simple show of support for Jennifer Perillo of In Jennie’s Kitchen. She lost her husband Mikey this week. There are no words that can change that. But, friends and strangers can make a pie for Mikey.

Here’s my recipe for peanut butter pie. I hope you enjoy it with someone you love.

Mini Chocolate Peanut Butter Pies (Vegan)
1/4 cup vegan semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon creamy natural peanut butter
15 mini baked fillo shells (1.9 ounce package)
15 small scoops dark chocolate coconut ice cream (non-dairy frozen dessert)
Chopped cocktail peanuts

Combine chocolate chips and peanut butter in a small saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat until melted and smooth. Spoon the chocolate mixture into the fillo shells. (About a rounded 1/2 teaspoon per shell.) Refrigerate or freeze for 10 minutes or until set.

To serve, top each fillo shell with a scoop of coconut ice cream. Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped peanuts. Serve immediately.

Makes 15 mini ice cream pies

Tip: A small cookie scoop (1 tablespoon volume) works perfectly for scooping the ice cream.

More peanut butter pies for Mikey:
Search #apieformikey on Twitter
Find peanut butter pie blog links in a roundup from The Tomato Tart

4 comments   Desserts, Eat Clean Recipes   , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  

Cherry Lemonade and Arnie Palmer

By Jen, on July 31st, 2011

News flash. Lemonade should have lemons in it! Skip the powdered stuff and make your own lemonade.

What’s so great about homemade lemonade? Here’s a partial list:

  • It screams summer. Sometimes the little joys in life are the most important.
  • You can control the sweetness. I prefer lemonade that’s lightly sweetened with a natural sweetener.
  • It’s a flavor chameleon. Add fresh herbs like mint, rosemary or basil to bump up the flavor. Or, add cucumber- another knockout addition to lemonade.
  • It loves fruit. Try adding berries, melon or peaches to lemonade. You won’t regret it.
  • It’s a great mixer. Perfect when paired with iced tea to make an Arnie Palmer or spiked with a spirit to make a refreshing cocktail.

So, squeeze some lemons and enjoy a glass of lemonade. Here’s a recipe for cherry lemonade. It’s flavored with a homemade cherry syrup made from organic cane sugar and dark sweet cherries.

Homemade Cherry Lemonade
1 cup dark sweet fresh cherries
1/3 cup organic evaporated cane sugar
1 cup water
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cups fresh cold water
Ice cubes
Lemon slices, optional
Fresh mint or basil leaves, optional

Start by making cherry syrup. Remove and discard pits and stems from cherries. Cut cherries in half and place in a medium saucepan. Add sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to boiling over medium heat. Simmer 3 minutes; remove from heat and let cool 30 minutes. Strain mixture through a fine mesh sieve; press cherries to release their juices. Discard cherry solids.

To make lemonade, in a pitcher combine cherry syrup, lemon juice and 2 cups fresh cold water; mix well. (Taste for sweetness. Add additional water if you prefer a less sweet lemonade.) Serve over ice and garnish with lemon slices or fresh herbs.

Makes about 3 cups

Tip: To make an Arnie Palmer combine equal parts lemonade and iced tea. Black tea is the usual addition, but I prefer to use herbal, white or green iced tea. My favorite Arnold Palmer combination is Cherry Lemonade with Jasmine Green Tea. Let me know your favorite.

Recipe Links:
Watermelon Lemonade from Confections of a Foodie Bride
Lavender Lemonade from Dianasaur Dishes
Homemade Black Tea Lemonade from Honey and Jam

Product Links:
OXO Good Grips Cherry Pitter
Chef’n FreshForce Citrus Juicer, Lemon
Get Vitamix 5200 Blender with Free Shipping Code

4 comments   Drinks, Eat Clean Recipes   , , , , , , , , , , , ,  

Vegan Zucchini Bread

By Jen, on July 24th, 2011

It’s zucchini time. Have you been squashed yet? You know…squashed is when neighbors and coworkers drop some of their extra zucchini on you. A nice gesture, unless you have your own pile of zucchini to deal with.

I’m always happy to come by some zucchini since I love to play around in the kitchen. Today I decided to tinker with my Zucchini Muffin recipe. I made changes to the recipe to veganize it and to make it into a loaf shape.

To make the best zucchini bread, start with small or medium fresh zucchini. Large zucchini can be full of seeds and aren’t as good to bake with. Finely shred the zucchini. (I use the small holes of a box grater.)

Zucchini bread loves chocolate. I didn’t have any chocolate chips so I decided to add roasted cacao nibs to the loaf. Cacao nibs are bits of husked cocoa beans. They are unsweetened and have intense chocolate flavor and a crunchy texture. Cacao nibs can be purchased raw or roasted.

For added flavor and crunch stir in toasted walnuts along with the cacao nibs.

Vegan Zucchini Bread
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk or soymilk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup organic evaporated cane sugar or sucanat
1/4 cup virgin unrefined coconut oil, melted (liquid)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup finely shredded zucchini
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts or pecans
2 tablespoons roasted cacao nibs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottom of 8×4-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger; mix well. Set aside.

Sir together almond milk and vinegar; let stand 2 minutes until thickened. In medium bowl mix almond milk mixture, sugar, coconut oil, applesauce, zucchini and vanilla until well blended. Add to flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Stir in nuts and cacao nibs. Spread batter evenly in pan.

Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until browned and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack.

Makes 1 loaf (16 slices)

Tip: This hearty whole grain zucchini bread is lightly sweetened. If you prefer a sweeter loaf you may want to increase the sugar to 3/4 cup or use 1/2 cup chocolate chips in place of the cacao nibs.

Recipe Links:
Vegan Zucchini Bread Muffins from Weekly Bite
Vegan Banana Bread

Product Links:
The Best of Clean Eating: Over 200 Mouthwatering Recipes to Keep You Lean and Healthy
Get Vitamix 5200 Blender with Free Shipping Code

4 comments   Baking, Eat Clean Recipes, Vegan   , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  

Fresh Blueberry Oatmeal Crisp

By Jen, on July 23rd, 2011

Simple desserts are the best desserts. There’s nothing complicated about this fresh blueberry crisp recipe, and that’s just how I like it.

This small batch fruit crisp starts with a pint of fresh blueberries. Spread the berries in a pie pan and top with a drizzle of lemon juice and a sprinkling of organic cane sugar.

Pile a crumbly topping of oats, whole wheat flour, sucanat, spices and coconut oil over the berries. Bake, cool and eat. Great on it’s own or served with coconut milk ice cream or coconut sorbet.

Fresh Blueberry Oatmeal Crisp
Blueberry Filling:
2 cups (1 pint) fresh blueberries
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon organic evaporated cane sugar
Crisp Topping:
1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats
3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons sucanat or packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil, melted (liquid)
1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk or soymilk

First, prepare the filling. Place blueberries in 9-inch round pie pan. Drizzle lemon juice over fruit. Sprinkle fruit mixture with 1 tablespoon sugar.

For topping, in medium bowl combine oats, flour, sucanat, coconut, cinnamon and ginger. Add coconut oil and almond milk; stir until crumbly. Sprinkle topping over fruit.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes bubbly around edges and topping is browned. Serve slightly warm or completely cooled.

Makes 4 servings

Tip: The berry filling will be thin right out of the oven. The juices will thicken once the crisp cools. If you prefer to eat your berry crisp hot (and want a thicker filling), add a few teaspoons of flour to the blueberry filling mixture before baking.

Recipe Links:
Cherry Cranberry Oat Crisp from Family Fresh Cooking
Berry Cobbler with Boysenberries from A Food Centric Life
Easy Oatmeal Apple Crisp

Product Links:
Clean Eating Magazine Subscription
Get Vitamix 5200 Blender with Free Shipping Code

Leave a comment   Desserts, Eat Clean Recipes, Vegan   , , , , , , , , , , , ,  
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