Green Goose Juice

It’s been about two months that I’ve been juicing everyday and I absolutely love it. Back in August, my coworker told me to watch a documentary on Netflix called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead (which I highly recommend) and after that I was sold on juicing as part of my everyday routine. I did some research on juicers and found that Breville was the top pick, not even realizing that it was the brand used in the documentary. The model I purchased is the Breville Juice Fountain Elite and I am beyond impressed with this machine. It produces so much juice, it’s incredible. As for clean up, totally easy and fast! I was so afraid it would take me a long time in the morning before work, but nope nope nope, easy peasy! So anyways, here’s my go to drink in the morning. It’s my Green Goose Juice! I’ve always considered myself healthy, but I know I don’t eat enough greens, so this does the trick for me and it’s absolutely delicious and refreshing. I have a sweet tooth and I don’t deny it, so I have to balance my body and life somehow…juicing makes me a happy girl!

Ingredients

• 8 large kale leaves (I mix regular, red, and lacinato kale)
• Large handful spinach
• 1 large rainbow chard leaf
• 1 white carrot
• 1 large cucumber
• 1 celery stick
• 1 apple
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 inch ginger root

Vegan Pancakes with Fresh Blueberry Sauce

For the past two months I’ve cut back on my meat and dairy consumption. I mean, I’m not going to lie, I still eat ice cream and indulge in desserts that I make, but for the most part that’s it. As for meat, that’s been pretty easy to cut out of my diet. Now this leads me to these delicious Vegan Pancakes. I love pancakes so I decided to swap some ingredients and make these oh so Vegan! So glad I did because they’re amazing. The blueberry sauce tops this off…literally! It’s soooo good!

Vegan Pancakes with Fresh Blueberry Sauce (8 pancakes)

Ingredients

• 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 3 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 & 1/4 cup Vanilla Almond Breeze
• 1 banana mashed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons coconut oil melted
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Cooking spray

For the Blueberry Sauce

1. Place blueberries,1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cover and mix every couple of minutes. Once the blueberries soften and liquid starts to release from them, add the 1 teaspoon of flour and mix together. Cover again and reduce to low heat. The sauce will be done once blueberries are softened and you have a slightly thick sauce. Remove cinnamon stick before spooning onto pancakes.

For the Vegan Pancakes

1. Sift together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add almond milk, melted coconut oil, vanilla extract, and mashed banana. Stir. Don’t worry if there are clumps in your batter, that’s normal!
2. Spray some cooking spray on a preheated griddle or frying pan. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, measure batter and pour onto griddle. Cook until bubbles start to form and flip pancake. Cook another minute or two until brown on both sides.
3. Serve warm with syrup and blueberry sauce!

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread

I’ve wanted to try a cinnamon pull apart bread for the longest time and I’m so glad I finally did. After doing some research on cinnamon roll recipes, I decided to turn one into a pull apart recipe.  The little balls of dough are so soft and chewy and the cinnamon flavor is amazing! If you are a cinnamon roll fan, you’ve got to try this. Besides the fact that it’s delicious, it’s also pretty to look at. But it won’t last long, that’s for sure!  Try it out for a weekend brunch with friends and family and they’ll be so delighted!

Cinnamon Pull-Apart Bread (Yields 1 10-inch bundt)

Ingredients For The Bread:

• 1 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 packet vanilla sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Ingredients For The Cinnamon Sugar Coating

• 1 1/4 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Directions For The Bread

1. Spray the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan with nonstick spray.
2. In a small saucepan, heat milk to slightly above room temperature, then remove it from the heat, add yeast and stir to dissolve. (Do not warm it beyond 110 degrees F or you will kill the yeast).
3. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, vanilla sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and salt using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
4. In a small bowl, beat the egg with a fork and add it to the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed until combined.
5. Keeping the mixer on low, slowly add the milk until combined. Add the melted butter and mix until the dough comes together. Replace the paddle attachment with the dough attachment. Continue to mix on medium speed  for about 8 to 10 minutes. The dough should mound together and should not be too sticky. (If the dough is too sticky, add some flour. If it is too dry, add a small amount of water.)
6. Spray a large bowl with cooking spray. Place the dough in the bottom and roll it around to make sure it’s completely covered in oil. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let it rest in a warm area until the dough has doubled in size, approximately 1 hour.
7. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
8. Use your clean hands to push down and deflate the dough. Remove it from the bowl and pat it into a rough circle approximately 8 inches diameter. Use knife to cut dough into 1- to 1 1/2 inch pieces (about 1/2 ounce each). Roll the pieces into balls. Place the balls in the sheet pan (you will get about 60 pieces in all). Cover the balls lightly with plastic wrap.

Directions For The Cinnamon Sugar Coating

• In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon. Place the melted butter in a separate bowl.

Assembling the Bread

• Remove the plastic wrap from the dough balls and dip one ball in the melted butter and then roll the ball in the brown sugar mixture, and place it in the Bundt pan. Continue this process with each ball, until you have several layers.

• Wrap the pan tightly in plastic wrap. Set it in a warm area of the house for about 1 hour, or until the dough balls have doubled in size and appear puffy.

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the plastic and bake the Bundt until the top layer is deep brown and the caramel coating begins to bubble around the edges, about 30 minutes.
• Cool the bread for 10 minutes, then turn it out directly onto a platter and serve warm. If you have leftovers, heat them in a 300-degree oven until warm to the touch.

 

Tiramisu

I have to say, this is the best Tiramisu I’ve ever tried. It’s so light and the flavor is so delicate. I’ve tasted plenty of Tiramisu desserts at restaurants, but nothing compares to this one. I received it from a family friend a long time ago and tweaked it a bit. Try it out and you’ll see. Your guests will be so impressed! I recommend waiting a day before you dig in because the lady fingers need to soften and soak up all the delicious flavor from the coffee, liqueur, and filling. I’ve made two in the last week for my family…this one’s a winner!

Tiramisu (serves 16)

Ingredients:

• 2 17.5 oz packages Lady Fingers (I used Bonomi)
• 14 tablespoons sugar
• 5 egg yolks
• 3 egg whites
• 2 packages of Philadelphia cream cheese softened
• 16 oz carton heavy whipping cream
• 8 oz strong coffee (I used 2 Nespresso long espresso shots)
• 1 tablespoon rum liqueur (I used Vana Tallinn Estonian Liqueur)
• Cocoa powder
• 1 vanilla sugar packet

Directions:

1. Brew your coffee and add 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of rum liqueur. Set aside.
2. Place whipping cream in a bowl and whip until it forms stiff peaks. Slowly add your vanilla sugar or add vanilla extract and sugar to your liking. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator.
3. For the filling: In a mixing bowl, beat together 5 egg yolks with 10 tablespoons of sugar until mixture is white and fluffy. Add the cream cheese, one at a time and beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set aside. In another mixing bowl, beat the 3 egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Slowly add 3 tablespoons sugar. Fold this mixture into the above cream cheese mixture. (Folding the egg whites in will keep the composition light and fluffy!)
4. In a 9 x 13 in. dish, lay down lady fingers with the sugar side up. Poke holes in the lady fingers using a toothpick. Take about 1 teaspoon of the coffee and liqueur mixture and spoon over each lady finger making sure each one is coated. Pour half of the filling over the lady fingers and using a spatula make sure the mixture covers all of the lady fingers. Place another layer of lady fingers over the filling. I would recommend changing the direction of the middle layer to make cutting easier. Once again, poke holes into the lady fingers and spoon coffee mixture over them. Spoon the rest of the filling over the lady fingers. Finally, lay your last layer of lady fingers and place them in the direction of the bottom layer. Poke holes and spoon coffee over them. Finally, add the whipped cream mixture on top and dust with cocoa powder!