Living Rawesome Day #23 Creamsicles (Prep) pg. 135 and Citrus Maple Granola (prep) pg. 38 everyday raw
Tonight was prep. Soaking nuts, chopping, zesting, juicing, measuring, and processing. I should really take a picture of my kitchen on a night like this. It’s incredible how many things I can fit on my small counter top. I am used to working in small quarters, but tonight was a bit ridiculous. I had dishes and food from dinner still on my counter and I began making my 3 recipes. I say 3 because I made a frosting for my heart shape brownie. I am bringing it to the potluck tomorrow night in Gainesville. I was going to bring it on my vacation but I forgot it when I went to St. Augustine, so I am sure raw food friends in Gainesville will love them.
I started with zesting the 6 oranges. Zesting takes time! Especially with my cheesy little zester that I got from Walmart.
I added 1/4 cup of agave to the zest. This is supposed to “candy” the zest.
I was going to do this last night so I could complete the recipe tonight. My head was extremely tight and I was in so much pain last night, I am surprised I even finished my daily recipe. Needless to say I wasn’t able to do it last night, I actually forgot about it. I normally don’t get headaches. I was worn out from the weekend and probably stress from all the upcoming events. School starting, switching schedules and deadlines. So tonight I had to candy the zest, but I also prepared the rest of the ingredients for the creamsicles and put them into a glass bottle.
Tomorrow the only thing I have to do is put the ingredients into the Vitamix and stir in candied zest. I am not going to stir in the candied zest into the entire recipe. I am making these for my kids and I’m afraid they will not like the zest pieces. I will do some with the candied zest but most will have the zest blended in. I can’t wait to try them. I used to get vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet when I would go to Disney World with my family. Gosh that was a long time ago. I still remember going to the stand with my Dad and ordering the twist cone of yummy creamsicle. I know this will taste even better:) I will have to save 2 for my Dad and I so we can compare flavors and reminisce.
Ingredients for Creamsicles
zest of 6 oranges, 1/4 cup agave, young thai coconut meat, water, more agave, fresh orange juice, vanilla extract, sea salt, *coconut oil ( I am adding this tomorrow). All other ingredients are in glass bottle. Thai coconut is in container.
Next I made the preparation arrangements for my citrus maple granola. I saved some orange juice and 1 T orange zest from my creamsicle recipe. The pecans, almonds, and walnuts are soaking until tomorrow morning. All other ingredients that needed to be processed in food processor were prepared. This included apple, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sea salt, fresh orange juice, lemon zest and orange zest. This smell reminded me of Christmas time. It was pleasant. My grandmother makes baked nuts that are sugared and flavored with citrus flavors. She gives the nuts as gifts. I always liked them. Now I will have a new version that maybe she will like better:) The recipe calls for raisins, pumpkin seeds, and dried cranberries to add to the mixture. I went ahead and added them to the mixture. Tomorrow, I will complete the recipe by processing the nuts and mixing all ingredients together and put it in the dehydrator on unbleached parchment paper. I used white raisins, and pumpkin seeds. I don’t really like cranberries, so I left them out. He suggests other options for the fruit that can be added. The Himalayan raisins are sweet and chewy. I love them, so much more than Thompson raisins.
Only a few catastrophes happened to me tonight. I had my recipe book on top of the nuts I am soaking and I picked up my juicer and dumped the nuts and water everywhere. My book is ok. No damage:)
The second was my zesting experience with the lemon, I pulled on it too hard and cut my self. That little zester is pretty sharp. Now I have a sponge bob band aid on my hand. So glad my nurse was here to assist. The further I get into this project, Jason is obtaining greater responsibilites. Dishwasher, Coconut Opener and now Nurse (He is almost one anyway). I am fortunate to have him:)
I wonder if this will taste better than vanilla granola I made several weeks ago. I’ll let you know.