 Over the years, I have been called a hippy a few times. As a general rule, I argue and question it but for the most part, I actually don't really mind (though I think the term for someone who does yoga, as a rule will only buys Volkswagen cars and could probably keep a Starbucks in business just with my orders is more on the yuppy end of the scale. But hey...the left is becoming more right and the right more centre...so why not hippies more yuppy). Anyways, the point of all this is that today my classmates and I were waiting outside of a classroom when a fairly intoxicated man stumbles up to us and points to myself and two others in our class and proceeds to number us off "hippy 1, hippy 2 and hippy 3". So I figure if a super drunk guy can pick out 3 of us from a group of 30, I'll just go with it. So in honour of that, here are some no-bake, hippy-inspired energy balls of goodness: - 1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
- 1 cup toasted coconut flakes
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (or carob for you vegans out there)
- 1/2 cup almond butter (or peanut butter)
- 1/2 cup hemp seeds (or flax seeds that are ground or cracked open)
- 1/3 cup agave nectar (or honey)
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Mix all the ingredients together and let sit in the fridge for 30 minutes. Roll into 1" balls (I found having damp hands for doing this made it much easier to roll them) and eat! Great for hikes or snacks on the run! -Robyn
 So I was craving some chocolate post-dinner tonight and decided to give a Lava Cake a try. Not only did this end up being one of the best chocolate desserts I have ever had...but it's also gluten free!
8 small ramekins
Butter to grease ramekins
8 parchment circles to fit in the bottom of the ramekin
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp cup butter
10 oz semisweet chocolate (finely chopped)
1.5 cups sugar
3 tbsp arrowroot power
3 whole eggs @ room temp.
4 egg yolks @ room temp.
2 tsp vanilla (or any other flavouring you want)
1/4 cup icing sugar, sifted
Preheat over to 400F. Grease up and place a parchment paper circle in the bottom of each ramekins then dust with cocoa powder. In a double boiler (or I just used a saucepan over low heat and was very careful) melt chocolate and butter. In another bowl, mix together sugar and arrowroot powder. Pour chocolate and butter mix into sugar mixture and stir. In (yet another) bowl, whip together eggs and any flavourings you are using for about 5 minutes or until they are light and fluffy. Stir into chocolate mix. Pour 1/2 cup of batter into each ramekin and bake for 15 minutes or until the top is cracked.
Pull out of oven and let them sit for 3 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each ramekin and tip over onto a plate. Dust with icing sugar, garnish with fruit or any other yumminess. Or do like I did...don't even both to tip it out and just eat it out of the ramekin.
Adapted from "Whitewater Cooks with Friends" by Shelley Adams...pretty much the best series of cookbooks on the planet. If you don't have one of her 3 cookbooks, do your belly a favour and go by one, stat.
 _My lovely business partner Lou comes up with the most amazing recipes and they are vegan at that! This is one of her breakfast creations that got her in as this week's guest chef!
Waffle Batter
1 1/3 cups of all purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup of almond milk
3/4 cup of porter or other dark beer - i used the choc porter
1/4 canola
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Preheat the waffle iron. in a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the centre and add milk, beer, oil and vanilla. Mix together until combined. Spray waffle iron with cooking spray and cook waffles according to manufacturers directions. Serve with choc drizzle and cashew nut cream (can purchase at Whole Foods).
Chocolate Drizzle:
1 cup almond milk or your non dairy preffered milk
1 cup of vegan choc chips
1 tsp vanilla extract
in a saucepan with rounded sides bring milk to boil. bring the heat to low and add choc chips stirring constantly until chips are dissolved. Add the vanilla, remove from the heat, and let cool.
Makes 6 six inch round waffles or 8 x 4 inch square waffles
 That's a pretty big claim, eh? These cookies deserve it! You can mix it up with chocolate chips, raisins, cranberries, nuts, coconut...be creative! When it came time to add one of these to the recipe, I discovered Theresa has Skor pieces in the cupboard and dumped a bunch into the batter. I am pretty sure it made for the best batch of these cookies I have made so far!
3/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar plus 1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup flower
1.5 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 cups quick oats
1.5 cups chocolate chips
Cream butter and sugar well. Add in egg, water and vanilla. Mix in the dry ingrediants, oats and chocolate chips. Drop by the spoonful on a baking sheet and bake at 350F for 12-14 minutes.
This is my "go-to" chocolate cake recipe - so easy! It turns out a smooth, moist, even cake with a great chocolate-y flavour every time.
For the Christmas season and an event at work, I dressed it up with a peppermint glaze and crushed candy canes.
 Cake2 cups white sugar 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1 cup milk 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup boiling water - Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour your baking pan(s) - you can use two nine inch round pans, one bundt pan, or a tall 9" pan.
- In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pan(s).
- Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Glaze:Icing SugarHot WaterPeppermint ExtractPortions are up to you depending on how much of the glaze you want, but you could start with 1 cup of icing sugar. Put the icing sugar into a cup, and gradually add a couple drops of hot water, stirring each time, until you reach your desired consistency. Hint: the thicker it is, the more it will show up as white on your cake. Once you're happy with the glaze, add a couple drops of peppermint extract to your taste. Topping: I took three candy canes and crushed them, then sprinkled them onto the cake *while the glaze was still fresh - so they would stay in place.Chocolate Cake recipe originally from All Recipes.comTheresa
 I saw this recipe in a magazine, and had to give it a try! Instead of using a regular cake pan as suggested, I used ‘brownie’ tins which are kind of like muffin tins, but instead of round cups they have rectangles… perfect for those of us that aren’t the best at cutting pieces evenly! Special thanks to AT for the new brownies tins! Using the brownie tins means a little extra work (you have to press the crust into individual cutout) but it pays off in the end – each bar tipped out easily and was perfectly formed!
- Theresa
Base:
2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs
½ cup butter, melted
Brownie:
2 eggs
1 can (300 ml) sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ cups dried cranberries
4 oz (115 g) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz (55 g) white chocolate, chopped
½ cup chopped hazelnuts
Base: In bowl, stir chocolate wafer crumbs with butter until moistened; press into 13”x9” parchment paper-lined or greased cake pan. (Or, you can use brownie tins as I did). Bake in 350˚F oven until firm, about 10 minutes. Let cool on rack.
Meanwhile, in bowl, beat eggs with condensed milk; stir in cranberries, bittersweet and white chocolates, and hazelnuts. Spread over base.
Bake in 350˚F until set in centre, about 20 minutes (or 15 if using brownie tins). Let cool on rack. Cut into bars.
Recipe from Canadian Living Holiday Favourites Cookbook Edition 2011
 These cookies are one of my favorites to make. Super quick, super tasty and best of all...vegan friendly!
1/2 cup jam (I used my homemade blueberry jam for this batch but raspberry is amazing as well!)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup olive oil (could use canola, olive oil is better for ya!)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp cocoa
1.5 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet or use a Silpat. Mix together jam, sugar, oil, vanilla and beat well so that all the sugar dissolves. In a separate bowl, mix together all of the dry ingredients. Slowly add dry to wet in 3 batches. You might have to get in there with your hands close to the end! The batter will seem a little dry but should mold easily into a ball. Roll dough into small rounds and flatten with your hands. Bake for 10 minutes, let cool and eat them up! These sweet little cookies make amazing ice cream sandwiches as well!
heavily adapted from The Vegano
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