Bishop's "My Cereal"

My husband came up with this granola that our son Bishop knows as "My Cereal". And since my husband developed this popular (at least in our household) recipe, I don't have any of the exacts.

I was lucky one day to actually catch him playing with the ingredients. Most of the time he makes this when I'm not around. I don't understand why. ;)

He runs and hides when he sees me flying at him with a pad, pencil and camera demanding to capture the moment.

I know there is soaking, sprouting and dehydrating involved. Which leaves Bishop's favorite cereal with a sweet and nutty flavor and crunchy texture that holds its own in almond milk.

Although, my boy prefers it dry. That's how I liked 'my cereal' when I was a kid.

Now that I have the ingredients I will take some QT time and figure out the actually recipe.

Maybe you can do the same.

Bishop's "My Cereal"

Pumpkin Seeds

Oat Groats, soaked

Raisins

Quinoa

Honey

Sunflower Seeds

Rolled Oats

Maple Syrup

Sea Salt

National Oatmeal Day

Although January is National Oatmeal month, today the Daily Raw Cafe celebrates National Oatmeal Day. With Colorado weather taking a turn for the chilly, a nice hearty bowl of oatmeal is definitely what's needed.

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
1 cup sprouted oat groats
1 Granny Smith apple, diced
1 tablespoon coconut butter
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ cup agave nectar

1 Place oat groats and agave nectar in a food processor and pulse until it's a oatmeal consistency. Add diced apple and coconut butter and process briefly.

2 Put mixture into a large bowl, add ground cinnamon and mix well

Want more raw food oatmeal recipes? Try these.

Oatmeal Cookie Biscotti

Oatmeal Shortcakes with Spiced Plums

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Oatmeal Cookie Biscotti

A biscotti is a dry, crunchy Italian cookie used for dipping into coffee or red wine, but in my case a cup of tea.

2 cups almonds
1 cup oat groats, soaked, divided
1/2 cup dried cranberries, soaked
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 In food processor, pulse almonds into a flour. Remove from processor.

2 Add half of oat groats to food processor and process until smooth. Place mixture in a bowl.

3 Combine oat groat mixture with almond flour, seasoning, agave nectar and cranberries.

4 Spread mixture on Teflex sheet. Dehydrate at 110 degrees overnight or 6-8 hours. Flip over and score into bars about 4 hours into the dehydrating time.

PEACHES AND CREME

Peaches are a good source of Vitamins A, C and E as well as high in fiber. Fun fact: In Japan and China, brides carry peach blossoms because peaches are a symbol of fertility and of affection.

1 peach, pitted, chopped
1 banana
1 cup young coconut water
1 cup ice cubes
1/4 cup agave nectar

Blend peach, banana, coconut water, and agave nectar until well mixed. Add ice cubes.

Servings: 2

Fruit Kabobs with Cream Cheese Dip

Both my oldest girls are in school now and Labor Day is just around the corner. Summer's almost over folks. Take advantage of the fresh fruits of summer before their gone.Cream Cheese Dip
1 c cashews, soaked 6-8 hours
1/4 c water
Juice of one lemon
3 T agave nectar
1 t vanilla extract

In a blender, combine ingredients until smooth.

Introducing Taste Tester A (Sous Chef D is in school)
My husband brought fruit kabobs home so I whipped up a nice dip to go with it. Although, our fruit kabobs were store bought, here are some tips to make your own.

• Choose a variety of colorful fruit.
• Use fruit that's fresh but firm, never over-ripe.
• Wash, peel, and cut the fruit into similar size chunks and drizzle with lemon juice to prevent browning.
• Place 6-7 pieces on each skewer, alternating colors, shapes, and textures.
• Host a build-your-own kabob party. Provide the wooden skewers and fruit and have at it.

Ingredients for Fruit Kabobs

Pineapple

large seedless grapes

strawberries

melon chunks

cherries

mango

papaya

peaches

bananas

kiwi

apples

Asian Pears

Star Fruit

Berries and Cantaloupe

You can't any simpler than this for breakfast. Cantaloupe balls, blackberries and coconut cream. Yummy.

COCONUT CREAM
Meat from 2 young coconuts (about 1 cup)
1 T coconut oil, soften at room temperature (not liquid)
5 T water
1/8 t sea salt

In a blender, whip coconut meat, coconut oil and sea salt. Gradually add water until a creamy consistency is achieved. Add more or less as needed. Place in refrigerator for an hour to firm up.

Black and Blue Berry Compote

The lovely young lady to the left is the chef for this recipe. Dad brought home berries. We've got strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. While I was thinking about what to do with the strawberries (another strawberry cheesecake is out of the question), Raw Chef D. came up with this little number. She doesn't know the measurements (I would guess the honey and agave nectar are about 1 teaspoon a piece) but she does know the flavors. She even went to the garden for the mint garnish.

Black and Blue Berry Compote

Ingredients

Blueberries

Blackberries

1 banana

honey

agave nectar

mint

Gently toss the berries, banana, honey and agave nectar. Garnish with mint.

Ani's "Dreaming About Donut Holes"

This is a recipe from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen by Ani Phyo. I enjoy her book alot and these donut holes are one of the reasons.

They remind me of the little donut gems by Dolly Madison that come six to a package. But of course these are soooo much better. These donut holes are to die for!

Below is Ani's recipe for the coconut donut holes and right below that I added the modification for the coco powder donuts.

Also I didn't use an ice cream scooper, I made about 40 small bite-size holes. The original recipe should yield approximately 24 donuts.

1 3/4 cups almonds
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 vanilla bean, scraped
2 cups dried pineapple, soaked until soft, chopped
2 cups pitted dates
1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup shredded coconut

In food processor, place almonds, salt and vanilla. Process into a fine powder first. Slowly add chopped pineapple and dates, mix well. Place in a large bowl. Mix in 1/3 cup shredded coconut.

To serve, use an ice cream scooper or spoon to form into donut holes. Roll holes in 1/4 cup shredded coconut.

Will keep for over a week in the fridge.

Coco Powder donuts

1/4 cup raw cocoa powder

Follow the recipe above. After forming donuts, roll holes in the cocoa powder.

If you can get your hands on this Ani Phyo's book I would suggest it. It's fabulous!

Berry Parfait (8-10 servings)

Happy 4th of July!!!

Here's my contribution to the holiday.

1 pint blueberries

1 pint raspberries

COCONUT CREAM

2 cup coconut meat, from 2-3 young coconuts

2 T coconut water

1 T agave nectar

1/4 tsp sea salt

Whip coconut cream ingredients in blender until creamy. Add more coconut water 1 tablespoon at a time as needed. Let chill for an hour.

Put 5-6 blueberries in the bottom of a 6-oz parfait glass, place 1 tablespoon coconut cream on top of blue berries then place 5-6 raspberries on top of cream.