Coconut Bliss Balls

Coconut bliss balls is not the best name for these simple sweet treats, but it is the name they came with so that's what I will call them until I come up with a better name.
My friend Laurie made them for me once upon a time, then made me promise not to blog about them until she did. She has a wonderful food blog herself, check it out. I just looked and she posted about these treat back in December 2014...I guess it's OK if I post about them now ;-)

I was so impressed when I first ate them, then made them, with how simple they are...few ingredients and simple prep, almost too easy. They do need to chill several hours before serving, so take that into consideration if you plan to use them for dessert. They are vegan and gluten free, in case that matters...

Coconut Bliss Balls

Ingredients

    •    2 cup finely shredded coconut
    •    3 Tbsp. coconut oil
    •    2 Tbsp. maple syrup
    •    ½ tsp. vanilla extract
    •    1  cup dark chocolate chips
    •    sea salt

 Makes about 25-27 balls

1) Combine coconut, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract in a blender or food processor. Blend until well combined into a thick ‘crumb’.

2) Use your hands to mold the coconut crumb into bite-size balls. They should stick together nicely. Place the balls on a piece of wax paper. If you are having trouble getting them to stick together try chilling the mixture for an hour.

3) You can chill them once you formed them into balls or try to coat them now. It depends on the temperature of your kitchen. If you are in Baton Rouge like one of my favorite people, then chilling them will make them easier to dip.



4) When you are ready to dip the balls, melt chocolate chips, I like using the microwave for this, start with 1 minute, then stir, heat for 30 more seconds, stir, until you have a nice soft texture. You can use a double boiler if you prefer. I had trouble getting my soupy enough one time and found that a teaspoon of coconut oil added to the chocolate worked wonders.

5) Use a spoon to dip each ball into the chocolate. This is the messy and sometimes tricky part. Persevere ;-)

6) Sprinkle each ball with a bit of sea salt while the chocolate is still moist. I used this wonderful lavender rosemary sea salt my friend Joni made for me.

7) Refrigerate the balls for two hours (to harden) and enjoy!

Coconut Curried Rice

Coconut curried  rice has become a favorite around here...it makes our usual stir fry dinners much more exciting. Don't let the coconut in the title throw you off. My husband claims to dislike coconut in most dishes, when I first served this rice to him, I didn't mention the name or the ingredients. He loved it and was surprised it had any coconut at all. In fact it has coconut oil, coconut milk and unsweetened shredded coconut.

I first had a version of this recipe at a recent yoga retreat, Talya our Ayurvedic chef, served it for one of our dinners. I have made my own modifications, of course, mostly to make it quicker.

Curried Coconut Rice

Ingredients
2 cups white basmati/jasmine rice or 1 cup brown basmati rice
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds*
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds *
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut

* I love having these whole spices in my cupboard, if you don't have them use ground cumin and skip the mustard. I'm sure it will still be tasty.

1) In a small saucepan or caste iron skillet, melt the coconut oil and add the spices, both whole and ground. Cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring to keep from burning. Set aside.

Here are all the spices before cooking.

2) I use a rice cooker which is soooo easy. If you cook much rice at all I recommend getting one, they are not that expensive.
If you don't have a rice cooker at this point you will place the water, coconut milk and salt into a pot and bring to a boil.

3) Rinse whatever kind of long grain rice you plan to use, remember 2 cups for white rice and 1 cup for brown rice.

4) Place the rice, coconut, cooked spices into your boiling water/coconut milk. Stir well, cover and simmer for 45 minutes for brown rice and 20-25 minutes for white rice. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving. Salt to taste.

OR

 Place the rice, coconut, cooked spices, water and coconut milk into your rice cooker and turn it on. Once it is done, allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving. Salt to taste.

5) Gently mix it around a bit and serve.

Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies.

My dear sweet yoga teacher made cookies for all her classes this week in honor of Valentines Day. She loves to bake and cook and has a wonderful food blog of her own.

Monday she brought these chewy oatmeal cookies to class. If she had not told us, I would not have guessed they were vegan.


Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

Ingredients

1/3 cup  coconut oil, softened
1/3 cup brown sugar packed
1/3 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons soy or almond milk
1 tablespoon  cornstarch
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon*
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cardamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries, chopped if they are whole.
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

* The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, which contains the spices I used plus some others. If you have the pumpkin pie spice use that. You can just use cinnamon if that's all you have.

1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease 2 large baking sheets or cover with parchment paper.
2) In a large mixing bowl ( you can use a handmixer or strong fork) cream together the coconut oil and sugars.

3) Mix in the vanilla. Add the cornstarch and milk, and mix until the cornstarch is dissolved.

4) Whisk together the flour, baking soda, spices and salt, then add to the bowl, mix to combine.

5) My cranberries were whole.

 So I chopped them into smaller bits.

6) Add the oats, cranberries and nuts, to your mixture, mix well.

7) Scoop cookies out with a tablespoon or server, using about two tablespoons of dough per cookie.

8) Place about 2 inches apart. Flatten a little with your hand.

 
9) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until edges are lightly browned.

10) Remove from oven and cool for about 5 minutes then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

As you can see from this photo, or at least I can see...some of the cookies spread more than others. I think this was due to incomplete mixing of the dough, next time  ;-)