My Fall Spin On A Graham Cracker No-Bake-Cake

Hey guys!
Here's a fun cake you can get the whole family involved in making because it's kind of like putting together a jigsaw puzzle!
*You'll see what I mean as I continue.

Let's just get to it then!


What You Will Need:

2 Boxes of Graham Crackers
1/2 of the Fat Free Whipped Topping - 8oz container
1/2 of the Nestle La Lechera -13 oz can
1/2 Stick of Unsalted Butter (Softened)
2 tbsp Milk of Choice
2 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

*You can make this cake right on a cake stand or a serving tray.

First you will mix your cake filling.
In a large mixing bowl combine 1/2 of the 8oz container of the Fat Free Whipped Topping, 1/2 of the 13oz can of Nestle La Lechera, 1/2 of softened stick of butter, 2 tablespoons of milk and 2 tablespoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice. Use a mixer to mix all of the ingredients together.

Work on the first layer of the cake. 
You will lay out your crackers on a tray or cake stand in the best fitting square or rectangle possible.

I had to adjust some of the crackers by cutting them in half or even in 4ths, to be able to tuck them in and form a perfect square.
*This is where you can get your family involved in figuring out how to arrange the first layer of your fun little jigsaw puzzle. :)

Now that your first layer is laid out, you will carefully spread on the cake filling.
*This will be the most difficult part of putting this cake together because the crackers will move around on the tray if they are not held in place while spreading the filling on.

Now you will arrange your second cake layer. 

This time you will need to arrange all the crackers differently then you did the first layer. 

*You don't want to end up making a bunch of individual little cakes, so come up with a new arrangement for the 2nd layer.

Next, spread on the filling again and then pile on the crackers again.
This layer can be exactly like the first layer and the next layer can be exactly like layer #2.
You are just going to alternate between layer 1 and 2 all the way till you are happy with the height of your cake.
*Keep in mind, this recipe is for a 6 layer cake and it took me 1 box and a half of the Graham Crackers to reach that height.
Also, you will need to put aside at least 5 to 7 crackers for the crushed topping that I will talk about next.

When you reach your desired height you will spread the cake filling on the top layer and on all of the sides as well.


Crushed topping for the cake.
Grab 5 to 7 crackers and crush them on a cutting board with a roller or put the crackers into a ziplock bag and roll a mug over the bag.

You will sprinkle the crushed crackers all over the cake (top and all sides) and then tap the crushed topping into the filling and you are finished!

The bad news: You won't be able to cut your self a piece just yet.
The cake will need to stand for at least 2 hours so that the filling absorbs into the graham cracker layers. Womp womp! :^(

But all good things are worth waiting for!!!

I hope you enjoy making the cake and eating it too!! :)

FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE-CHUNK COOKIES

Well, what do you know, I have been suffering from a sweet tooth on an almost daily basis now days!
The wows of pregnancy...
As excited as I am about this new adventure of loving me some sweets first thing in the morning, noon, and evening, it is a bit of a challenge to satisfy my sweet-tooth in a most healthy and nutritional way possible.

If you know me, you know that I love a challenge, especially when it comes to messing around in the kitchen. I have been crafting some yummy, nutritional recipes lately and wanted to share one of my favorites.

These Flourless Chocolate Chocolate-Chunk Cookies have been satisfying us for about 4 weeks in a row now. :)

What You Will Need:

-  1 cup Rolled Oats
-  1/4 cup Cacao Powder
-  1/4 tsp Baking Soda
-  1 tsp Crushed Sea Salt (or 1/4 tsp normal Salt)
-  1/2 cup Chopped Dates
-  2 tbsp Raw Honey (+ 1 tbsp Brown Sugar if you like it real sweet)
-  1 tbsp Coconut Oil (melted)
-  3 tbsp Dark Chocolate Chunks
-  1-3 tbsp Almond Milk (or milk of choice)

- I threw my cup of Rolled Oats and 1/2 cup Chopped Dates into a Food Processor to get them blended together and also crushed to make flour like texture.
- While it is still in the Food Processor, I added Cacao Powder, Baking Soda and Salt to the mixture and blended it.
- Next I transferred the mixture into a mixing bowl and added Raw Honey and melted Coconut Oil to the mixture and used a fork to fold those in. Continue to mix until the Honey and Oil are evenly mixed in and the mixture is crumbly and somewhat resembles... coarse crumbs?
- Now you will mix in your Dark Chocolate Chunks followed by just 1 TABLESPOON of milk.
If your mixture is still too crumbly versus sticky like a cookie dough, pour in portions of the 2nd and if needed 3rd tablespoon and mix till you have achieved your perfect cookie dough texture.

Get Your Cookie Sheet Ready:
Instead of smothering it with oil or butter, lard or grease, get your cacao powder and sprinkle a thin layer of it on the cookie sheet. This will create a non-sticky barrier between your cookies and the pan.

Roll the dough into 2" balls, flatten them a little on the cookie sheet and bake on 375 for 8 minutes.
Cool for a few minutes (if you have the patience) and devour!

Fiber Rich Banana Bread Recipe (Pregnancy food!)

Well today marks my 12th week of pregnancy and I can now claim that I am entering phase 2!
They say the first trimester is the hardest and is full of not so exciting side effects. Lucky for me, (so lucky!) I have had it really easy! I've totally dodged all of them but the fatigue and a "digestive issue".
Lucky for me there's nothing a little prune juice won't help with (eeew!) and the fatigue wasn't an event either because I stay home and if it strikes all of a sudden, I just retire to the couch and snuggle my pillow. ZzZzzz...  ≠^º

One thing I make sure to get every day in my preggo diet is FIBER!
Today I made a Fiber Rich Banana Bread!
This will help my pregnant digestive system a whole lot! Plus, baking it, filled the house with the fragrance of the long awaited Fall season! I'm in semi-heaven!!



INGREDIENTS:

3 ripe bananas (smashed)
1 cup dried prunes (diced)
1 tablespoon flax seeds (soaked in 1 tablespoon hot water) 
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup coconut oil, softened
1/2 cup honey
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup all purpose flower


PREPARATION

Preheat your oven to 350º F. Grease the 4x8'' loaf pan.
I prefer to soak the flax seeds in a little bit of water and let stand for 1/2 hour
(1 tbs of flax seed to 1 tbs hot water), this releases fibers and the consistency of the mixture substitutes an egg!
Crush or chop the walnuts so they are about 1/4th of an inch. Dice the prunes to about the same size.

METHOD

In a large mixing bowl smash the bananas real good and add your melted/softened coconut oil.
Mix in the honey, egg, vanilla and flax seed mixture.
Stir in flower, baking soda and salt.
Last, fold in the prunes and walnuts.
Pour mixture into your loaf pan and bake at 350º for 1 hour.


Enjoy!

P.S. yours will probably look way prettier!
I had one extra banana in mine and doubled up on the flax seed mixture just to make sure it was super fiber-ie! :^D

YUMMY, SUPPER HEALTHY, RAW SUMMER SOUP RECIPE

Hey guys!
It's been a while!
I've been enjoying the warm weather and doing a whole lot of relaxing and mingling with friends. But I've also been working on new accessories! You can come see the new items -->here<--
This time I have leather collars and necklaces and even a few new rings up there! So stop by! :)

Have you guys noticed that as soon as warm weather hits, your appetite changes?
Mine sure does! In the winter I crave comfort foods: thick hardy stews, mashed potatoes, pastas, but in the summer I have a constant craving for fruits and veggies, more veggies then fruits though.
I crave the freshness and the amazing ripe smell of tomatoes, the crunchiness of carrots and cucumbers, the nuttiness of avocados and the aroma of fresh spices. HEAVEN!

Today I whipped up a little recipe that includes pretty much all of my favorite veggies!

This is a fresh, super healthy, raw, chilled, summery soup that is bursting with flavors and goodness!

This is a real simple recipe that will take you no more than 10 minutes to prepare.
Serves 2

Ingredients:

3 Tomatoes (medium)
1/2 Cucumber (long)
4 Carrots (medium)
1/2 Avocado
1 Small Garlic Clove (pressed or minced)
1 Tsp Onion (minced)
1 Tbsp Dill (4 stems of fresh dill)
1 pinch of pepper

(that's right! NO SALT!)


PREPARE:

Dice your cucumber, carrots and avocado into small bite size pieces and put them aside into a large bowl or in my case a little pot.
(I'm not sure why I used a pot...probably out of habit. Soup = pot...go figure)


Mince your garlic clove and a little bit of onion (just one teaspoon is enough, you don't want onion breath! haha!) and if you have a fresh batch of dill, dice that up as well and throw it all into the same pot and stir the ingredients around.



Next cut up your tomatoes, throw then into the blender and puree them.

Since my dill came in a spice tube I added a tablespoon of it into the tomato puree and blended it in while still in the blender.










That's all! You're done!
Now you're ready to serve!
Told you, this recipe won't take you any more then 10 min to prep!

Pour your tomato puree base into the bowl/pot of veggies and stir it.

Scoop a ladle full of the soup into a soup bowl and enjoy the fresh, tasty, goodness!

:)

~inna~

CRUSTLESS GUILTLESS QUICHE Recipe

I love experimenting in the kitchen! :)
Today I experimented with a Quiche recipe.
I wanted to see how many normal ingredients I would be able to substitute with healthier ones, but still keep the yummy taste. My favorite "Diet" is the one where you don't have to give up the flavor. :)
I'm happy to say that this experiment was a success!!

So here it is,  A Crustless, Guiltless Quiche!

This Quiche is 780 calories whole and under 100 calories per slice! (8 slices) 

                                                                                                                                            

                                                              The substitutes I used in this recipe

Ingredients:
2 large eggs 
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
1 1/3 cups coconut milk
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup of fresh baby spinach
1 Medium zucchini, diced
1/2 cup Veggie Shreds 
1 tbsp coconut oil
Flax-Seed-Egg-Substitute =(2 tbsp flax seed/meal with 1/2 cup water)

Preheat oven to 400F.

Melt 1/2 tsp of Coconut Oil on frying pan, and toss in your diced zucchini. Cook over medium-high heat until zucchini is tender and slightly caramelized. Scoop zucchini out into a bowl and set aside to cool.
Toss in your diced onions into the pan and cook over medium-high heat until caramelized and tender. While onions are still in your pan, add in fresh spinach and cook until just wilted. Scoop onions and spinach out into the bowl with zucchini and let it all cool.

Prepare your Flax Seed egg substitute.
Blend in a blender/food processor 2 tablespoons of flax seed (or flax seed meal) with 1/2 cup of water until the mixture resembles an egg white consistency (this is to replace 2 eggs.)
*Tip* For each egg to be replaced, blend 1 tablespoon flax seed with 3 tablespoons water.


Now, in a large mixing bowl whisk together 2 eggs, plus your flax seed egg substitute, flour, baking powder and salt. Next, whisk in coconut milk, and stir in spinach-onion-zucchini mixture.
Lightly grease a 10-inch quiche/pie pan with Coconut Oil and pour the quiche into the pan.
Top with "Veggie Shreds" - Lactose and Gluten Free Cheese substitute.
(*Veggie Shreds are my new addiction! They tastes amazing, like real cheese!!!*)
Bake on 400F for 30 minutes, or until center is set and the outside edges are golden brown.
Let set for 5 minutes, then slice away!


Hope you enjoy the recipe!

I'm going to have myself another slice of that Quiche. :)

<3

~inna~

Russian Croissant Cookies with Pumpkin Preserves.

Seems I have fallen into a whole lot of recipe posts lately. Well i can't help it! These winter months are a whirlwind of cooking and baking for me and i love it! :)
I had planned to cook a whole feast for Thanksgiving as we were having my hubbys whole family come over, but that plan got derailed by a better plan of going out of town to a cabin where our relatives were staying for the holiday. (Pictures to come!)
All of the cooking was done by the amazing hostess but i did get to bring a desert!

These are called "Ragaliki". They are Russian Croissant Cookies made with my homemade Pumpkin Preserves. (<~ click for recipe)

This is my moms recipe! :)
It's pretty simple to make so I will share it with you.

You will need:

* 1 3/4 cup of Flour
* 1/2 cup Sour Cream
* 1 Stick of Butter, softened but not melted
* pinch of Salt
* pinch of Baking soda
* any Preserves
(makes 36 cookies)


You will mix your flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Then cut butter into cubes and mix it into the four. Mix with a fork until the flour forms a crumbly texture.



Now, stir in sour cream. The dough will be hard to mix and you will kneed the dough. I taped a sheet of Parchment Paper on my counter where i will kneed my dough. This way the area where you kneed is dry and most importantly clean! So toss a little flower on top of the parchment paper and put your dough on it and kneed it till it is smooth.

Next, you will tear your dough into 4 equal parts and roll each one into a ball. You will take one of the dough balls and roll it out till it is flat.


The dough should be rolled out thinner that a thin crust pizza. Don't worry too much about having it roll out into a perfect circle.

Get your Preserves.
You can use any preserves, jams or jellies for this recipe. What you will do is spread the preserves all over the dough like you would spread the sauce on a pizza. But you will want to make more of the preserves gather all around the edges of the dough. The edge of the dough will be the center of your cookie and we want more preserves in the center!

Prep your cookie sheet and if you have a pizza cutter grab it! Otherwise get a knife and cut the dough into slices. Now you will roll each slice (separately) toward the tip. (Roll from the thick part of the slice toward the tip of the slice.)
When you rolled one, you will move it to the cookie sheet and start on the next slice. When you are done with this batch you will get the next dough ball and repeat the whole thing.


Preheat your oven to 350 and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
When the cookies are done you may want to sprinkle them with powdered sugar. I sprinkled mine with cinnamon as well.

Now you are ready to impress your guests!!
Let me know how yours turned out!

Pumpkin Preserves!

Boy, I have been real busy this month! This busy was a good kind of busy so I will allow myself not to feel to guilty about abandoning my Dear Demure for a little bit. :)


Oh! You'd like to know what I've been doing??
Well, I've been "working in my shop", making beautiful things, like i'm one of Santa's elves!!
Here's a sneak peek of what it is I was up to!
These accessories will be making their way to Etsy.com as soon as possible actually!
And yes! I will definitely keep you posted!

That's later, but here is what I did today!


This is my homemade Pumpkin Preserves.
I made this ahead of time because for Thanksgiving I will be baking some treats with it! :)
This is a really simple and easy recipe.


Pumpkin Preserves Recipe:

2 cups Pumpkin pureed (cooked), unsweetened

1 mango pureed (cooked), unsweetened
1 1/2 cup of Sugar 
2 Tsp Ground cinnamon
1/2 Tsp ground cloves
2 Tsp Vanilla extract 
Zest of 1 Lemon or of 1 orange
1/2 a lemon squeezed

So let's get started!
Pumpkin Puree:

You will only need half of a small "Pumpkin-Pie Pumpkin" for this recipe.

(Half of pumpkin will make 2 cups pureed) 

Remove the seeds and cut your half into 4 more slices. This will make peeling the skin easier.
There's my peeled and vulnerable looking pumpkin half all ready to be cut up. -->

Cut the pumpkin into half an inch size cubes or smaller, throw them into a small pot and cover with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to Medium Low, cover with a lid and simmer until tender. 

While that's simmering do the same with your Mango. Peel it, cut into half inch squares or smaller, and throw them in a separate small pot. Add 1 cup of water and simmer until tender. (You will drain and mash both pumpkin and mango when those are done.) 

Lemon Zest:
While those are cooking get your Lemon and a small grater. You will  grate the yellow part of the peel completely off of the entire lemon. 
This is your "Lemon Zest". 
Now cut the lemon in half and juice one of the halves for this recipe and set the lemon juice aside for now. 
Don't toss the other half of the lemon! Make your self some lemonade like i did! 
Sipping on it now!! mmm! :)

Mix in all ingredients:
When your pumpkin and mango are done and mashed you will take your pureed mango and pour it into the pot with the pureed pumpkin (the bigger pot). You will also stir in the rest of the ingredients into the same pot and put it back on the stove. You will again simmer all on Medium Low, covered for 35 min.


It's ready!!
By now your whole house smells so good and i know you can't wait to taste it!! Go ahead! I tasted mine about 10 times!! :D 


Jar 'em!
And when I say jar them I don't mean the real kind of jarring that your grandma might be really good at. I personally have never jarred yet. So there's still a lot to learn in the future! :)  This is just a real simple way to store your preserves in a nice container inside your fridge. 
What can i say, sometimes I like simplicity! 


If you are like me than you have saved a few jars from store bought jams for these kind of things. Just clean those out real good before you reuse.  
But if you don't have a jar you can just store it in a Tupperware container. No big deal! It's all about the taste anyway!




Well, there ya have it! Enjoy! 
And in the words of Julia Child "Bon appeteeeeeete!" 

Here are a few things I am thankful for this year:
 ~ I am so thankful to be able to stay home and do what I love!! 
 ~ I am thankful for my sweetie, hubby and the never ending supply of kisses he has for me and that every kiss is just as brand new! :)
 ~ I am so thankful to my God that He believes in me.
 ~ I am thankful for my sweet and caring mamochka (mom) and my brothers - my pillars. 
 ~ And I am so thankful and inspired because prayers get answered, because healing still  
    happens, and that God is GREAT and is on our side!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!! 

:)

Spaghetti Squash & The Secret Sauce

Halloween is right around the corner!!!
How fun and exciting for all the little kiddies!
I only got to enjoy a year of dressing up and trick-or-treating in my childhood. I arrived to the US when I was 11 and by age of 13 I had sprouted to a hight of 5 feet and 8 inches and trick-or-treating was no longer an option as I saw it. Towering over my pears as I did, I didn't want to be mistaken for their chaperone. So my Halloween adventuring ended too soon.
Now that I am grown up Halloween is fun again!!
Now it's all about pumpkins and squashes for me!
Many people use them as decoration only: put them outside, carve them, or paint them and then dispose of them. How sad!! I'm really considering driving down my street after Halloween to look for unwanted pumpkins on the side of the road. Or put an add out on Craigslist: "I'll come get your pumpkin if you don't want it" Hmm... No... probably not.


Though I have several tasty recipes for cooking a pumpkin (which will be featured in November), this particular one is for squash, Spaghetti Squash, to be exact, and the sauce that will make you crave it for weeks after!

I have been preparing this recipe for me and my hubby for a while. We love it!! It's so light and healthy but so tasty as well! That is why I wanted to share this recipe with you! Tasty food doesn't have to be bad for you! :)

I got my spaghetti squash at the Farmers Market and usually this particular squash is a yellow color. But mine has a little green in it. This one must have zucchini relatives. :)
It looks all soft and pretty on my photo however it is as hard as a rock! Spaghetti squash has a really hard skin on it, which is always a challenge to cut. Even worst if you try to peal it first. I wouldn't recommend doing that as i've done it and almost broke my potato peeler and thumbs. Plus it's easier to remove the skin after cooking, right before serving it.

The best way to cut a squash


Get a knife with a long, thin blade and have your male friend do it for you.
Stab it in the center and push push push down then turn the squash over and keep cutting till you cut it all the way.

This recipe is for 2 people (who like to eat) so I used half of the squash and put the other half away for another day.  

You will need to split the half into two more halves before you start scooping out the seeds.

Squash seeds are just like pumpkin seeds. If you like pumpkin seeds like me, instead of tossing them you can dry them by spreading them on to a paper towel and store them in a dry place, which for me was the top of the refrigerator. Leave them for a week or so then roast them on your pan with a little bit of salt. They are tasty and good for you! 

When you are done scooping out the seeds you can cut the half of the squash one more time so you have 4 sections. 

Steam the Squash 

I've heard of people roasting it in the oven, and i've tried that before too. I prefer steaming over roasting because roasting requires to much of your attention. Steam is less hassle and allows you time to prepare your sauce! 

Steam in your big soup pot. 

You will fill your pot with 6 cups of water and steam for 30 to 35 minutes on medium. 

Cover with a lid to preserve the water. 

Having a fancy, steam-control-lid would be a bonus but I don't have one so what I did was I slanted the lid a little so that there is a crack for the steam to escape through. 

Note: You might want to check on the amount of the water left in the pot about 25 minutes into the steaming. There have been a few times when I scorched my poor pot because all the water has evaporated.

The Secret Sauce

While your squash is steaming you can get your sauce prepared.

What you will need for the sauce:

* 1 Avocado

* 1 large Garlic Clove (or 2 small)

* 2/3 of a cup of Milk (or any milk substitute)

* 1 teaspoon of Basil herb (or a small bunch of  

   fresh basil)

* 1 teaspoon of Sea Salt (or 1/2 teaspoon of 

   regular salt)

* 1/4th of a cup of Parmesan Cheese

* 2 tablespoons of Veganaise

* 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil

Dice your avocado and garlic then throw all of the ingredients into a food processor all at once and blend and pure it till it is all well blended. Your sauce should look and have a consistency of guacamole. 

Back to squash

When your squash is ready it will become stringy. Poke it with a fork and you'll see it separate into spaghetti like strings.

Serve it!

It should be really easy to separate the skin from the meat of the squash. All you need to do is scoop it out with a spoon and toss the skin.

Sometimes I like to take a fork to the squash and separate the strings so it looks more like spaghetti.

Now scoop out some of the sauce and plop it on top of the squash and you're ready do eat!!

Hope you enjoy this recipe and keep making it for a while! :)