Here’s one served plain as a muffin…

And now dressed up for the full effect…

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes:

Note: You’ll notice that I used carrot instead of pumpkin for these  (I would rather eat raw carrot than raw pumpkin) but you can easily substitute raw pumpkin or squash for the carrot.

1 c pecans

2 c coconut chips

2 c shredded carrots

1/2 c coconut flour

4 T lucuma powder

4 T coconut sugar

3-4 T pumpkin pie spice (will depend on the brand you use)

2 c pitted medjool dates, soaked 1-2 hrs (or soak for less time in the dehydrator)

12 drops vanilla stevia

1 tsp vanilla powder

2 pinches sea salt

In a food processor, grind the pecans and coconut chips to a crumbly powder. Next add the shredded carrot, coconut flour, lucuma powder, coconut sugar, salt, vanilla powder, and pumpkin pie spice. Process until well combined and remove mixture to a bowl. Add soaked dates to the food processor with the stevia and process well to a paste (you may need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times). Add the dry mixture back to the processor with the date paste and process well until a dough forms. To make muffins or cupcakes, form into muffin shapes and place in paper muffin cups. Dehydrate at 115 degrees for 4-6 hours, cool and frost. Alternatively, you can pat into cookie shapes for cookies and dehydrate or simply chill in the fridge.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 1/4 c raw cashews, soaked 8 hours or overnight

1/2 c + 2 T water

3 T fresh lemon juice

1/4 c raw honey*

pinch sea salt

8 drops vanilla stevia

1/4 tsp vanilla powder

1 T lecithin powder

1/2 c melted coconut oil

1 T melted coconut creme

*This frosting is not overly sweet. Feel free to add more honey if you like it on the sweeter side.

Blend cashews, water, lemon, honey, salt, and stevia in a high speed blender until smooth. Add the lecithin, coconut oil, creme, and vanilla powder and blend again to combine. Pour into a bowl and chill for 2 hours or more in the fridge. You can speed this process by chilling it in the freezer for 15 minutes or so but watch that it doesn’t get too solid. If frosting cupcakes when they’re warm from the dehydrator, serve them immediately as the frosting softens rather quickly on a warm cupcake. Alternatively, let the cupcakes cool slightly before frosting and store in the fridge if not serving right away. Top with pomegranate seeds, cinnamon, or superfood of choice.
Note: You will have more than enough frosting for the cupcake recipe. Use leftovers as a sweet spread for raw crackers or bread, a luxurious addition to your smoothies, or try blending with nut milk to make a rich cream for your favorite coffee or tea drink (amazing with chai).

Enjoy!

TRU Cuisine’s Rainbow Stuffing
(serves 6)

4 Stalks of Organic Celery (minced)

2 Medium Organic Zucchini’s (shredded & squeezed to drain any access water)

½ Cup Yellow Onion (finely chopped)

1 Large Carrot (shredded & chopped)

1 Sweet Apple (cored & diced)

¼ Cup + 2 Tablespoons Vivapura Monukka Raisins (chopped)

1 Tablespoon of Cold Pressed Olive Oil

4 to 5 teaspoons of Stuffing Mix – below

Mix all ingredients well; then add Stuffing Mix.

Stuffing Mix

2 teaspoons Mixed Italian Seasoning

2 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast

½ teaspoon Garlic Powder

1 ½ teaspoons Dried Parsley

1 ½ teaspoons Dill Weed

1 teaspoon Tarragon

1 teaspoon Celery Seed

¼ teaspoon Cracked Pepper

3 ¼ teaspoons Onion Powder

Celtic Sea Salt to taste

Mix together well. ENOY! Will keep for 2 days refrigerated…We think this would be great with chopped golden cherries as well to add another dimension of sweetness to the dish (or chopped incan berries for a cranberry like tang). Yum!!

For more delicious recipes, information on Raw & Living Foods, upcoming events and class schedules, visit TruCuisine.com.

When I prepared this recipe I also added a mashed potato-like recipe from Matthew Kenney’s book Everday Raw. It was a nice addition.

Pecan & Mushroom Stuffed Chard Rolls

Mushrooms:
12 oz. baby portobello mushrooms, caps & stems sliced
4 twigs fresh rosemary, “leaves” removed & minced
1 lemon, juiced
1 tsp. mineral rich salt
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil

Place all ingredients in a bowl & toss well. Allow to marinate for at least 30 minutes, tossing occasionally. Place marinated mushrooms on a teflex sheet and dehydrate for 3-6 hours.

Pecan Stuffing
2 cups Pecan Pieces
2 cloves garlic
4 twigs fresh rosemary, twigs removed & discarded
1/2 tbs. dried thyme
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1 bunch parsley, roughly chopped

Place all ingredients into container of a food processor. Pulse until well-combined and a crumbly, stuffing-like consistency is achieved.

Cranberry Chutney

8 oz. fresh cranberries
2 oranges, peeled & chopped
1/2 tbs. Vanilla Powder
1/3 cup apple pulp, leftover from juicing
1 tbs. raw honey or other liquid sweetener
pinch salt

Place all ingredients into a food processor container. Pulse until well combined but still with some texture.

Assembly:
1 bunch chard, washed & de-stemmed
Dehydrated Mushrooms
Pecan Stuffing
Cranberry Chutney

Take a half of a chard leaf and place a small pile of pecan stuffing, a spoonful of cranberry chutney and a sprinkling of dehydrated mushrooms on the top third of the leaf. Roll the leaf carefully around the filling. Do this until you run out of filling.

I digress, tonight I’m sharing the recipe that I made with the leftover pumpkin pulp from the Pumpkin Cheesecake. Having had two meal invitations that day it worked well to have two related desserts. If I had really been multitasking I would have made a double batch of the topping for the cheesecake and used some of it in the trifle. Instead I created a lighter cream that features Jarrah Bee Pollen.

Pumpkin Pear Trifle with Jarrah Creme

Crumble:
2 cups packed pumpkin pulp (leftover from juicing)
1/3 cup Cocopura Coconut Oil
1/3 raw honey or other liquid sweetener
1/4 cup Coconut Flour
1 tsp. Vanilla Powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/2 cup Pecan pieces

Combine all ingredients except pecans in a food processor, process until well-combined. Add pecans and pulse until well combined. Take mixture and crumble it onto a teflex sheet. Dough should be around bite sized pieces. Dry in dehydrator until quite dry, soe moistness is the middle is nice but the outside should be dry. This will take between 6 and 12 hours.

Jarrah Creme
1 1/2 cup coconut milk (made from thai young coconuts or Coconut Flakes)
1/4 cup raw honey or other liquid sweetener
1 lemon, juiced
1 cup macadamia nuts
1/2 tbs Vanilla Powder
1/2 cup Coconut Oil
2 tbs. Jarrah Bee Polle
pinch mineral rich salt

Add all ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Allow to set in freezer while you assemble the rest of the trifle.

Assembly
6 extremely ripe D’Anjou pears; peeled, quartered & sliced
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 tbs. Vanilla Powder
Pumpkin crumble
Jarrah Creme

Combine pear slices, lemon juice and vanilla powder and toss gently in a bowl.

In a small trifle bowl place 1/2 of the pear mixture along the bottom. Add half of the pumpkin mixture next and then half of the creme. Repeat this order with the remaining ingredients. Allow the mixture to sit for a few hours in the refrigerator at least for the layers to settle together.

Wednesdays Blog: Mushroom & Pecan Stuffed Chard Rolls

I attended not one but two Thanksgiving gatherings last week and I brought this to the more “traditional” of the gatherings. I did partake of some heavenly fire roasted yams but the bulk of my meal was a lovely raw onion bread topped with a lovely kale salad and a hefty dollop of this sauce. One of my hosts declared, “This tastes like SweetTarts!” after she tasted the sauce.

Anyhow, my point is, don’t relegate this cranberry sauce to your thanksgiving table. Happily enjoy it throughout the cranberry season!

Goji Cranberry Sauce

2 tbs. Irish Moss, powdered
1/2 cup of water
1 cup goji berries
1 1/2 cups fresh squeezed orange juice
12 oz. fresh cranberries
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Powder
1 2″ knob ginger, grated
stevia to taste (orange flavored works nicely)

Combine Irish Moss Powder & water and set aside. Soak goji berries in orange juice for 5 minutes. Combine Irish Moss mixture, gojis & juice with remaining ingredients in a high powered blender. Blend on high until smooth. Store in a glass jar and allow to thicken over night.

This will not “gel” like a traditional cranberry sauce. It will be a thick but pour-able consistency. Delicious with raw, wilted greens.

Wednesdays blog: Raw Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies