1 cup gently melted cacao butter (see note)
8 oz. cacao powder (2 ¼ cups)
1 cup light agave syrup
¾ cup raw almond butter
½ cup cacao nibs (optional, see note)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
¾ tsp. sea salt

Makes 25 Fudge Squares

Add the slightly warm cacao butter to a medium bowl with remaining ingredients.  Whisk until thoroughly combined.  Transfer mixture to a baking sheet or pyrex dish (8×8x2 is ideal), lined with heavy wax paper (which will keep it from sticking to the pan and creating an unruly mess).  Smooth with an off-set spatula to achieve a level surface area.  Garnish if you desire.  Set in fridge or freezer until the fudge becomes firm, about 20 minutes.  Remove the fudge from fridge or freezer and transfer onto a cutting board, cut into the shape and size you so choose.

Raw Cacao Fudge with Mila

Note:  We purchase cacao butter from Whole Foods.  If you can’t find it, feel free to order online from Navitas Naturals or Ultimate Super Foods .

Note: We love the crunchy texture of the whole cacao nibs, but if you prefer a smooth texture, no need to add them.

Garnish ideas:  Sometimes we sprinkle the fudge with goji berries, dried tart cherries, coarse sea salt, and/or unsweetened coconut for variation.

We usually double the “Might Mint” recipe so we have extra on hand for sprucing up just about everything, from grilled chicken and salmon, to salads, grains and lamb.

Quinoa Salad with Mighty Mint Vinaigrette

Mighty Mint Vinaigrette:
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup firmly packed fresh mint leaves
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper

Combine the olive oil, mint and garlic in a blender and blend until puréed, about 15 seconds. Add the vinegar, mustard, kosher salt, and pepper to taste and blend until just incorporated, about 5 seconds. Do not overblend or the vinaigrette will be too thick. Refrigerate until chilled for up to 1 week.

Makes approximately 1 cup

For Salad:
31/2 cups cooked quinoa, cooled to room temp (1 cup quinoa cooked according to package instructions)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 cup chopped cucumber, peeled and seeds removed
1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
2/3 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins (hydrated in boiling water for 10 minutes and strained)
2 tablespoons chopped jalapeno, (seeds optional)
1 heaping cup mighty mint vinaigrette
Salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add more mint vinaigrette if desired.

Serves 6 to 8 as a side dish.

What is your favorite quinoa recipe?

The more greens you eat, the better you feel.  Kick off 2012 with green smoothies galore!

This veggie blend rocks our world.  Though it may seem like a grown-up blend, even our little tyke, Johnny Red adores it!  We love it even more knowing that the lovely leaves of the kale plant provide more nutritional value for fewer calories than almost any other food around.  We keep purchased carrot juice on hand for convenience to avoid pulling out both the juicer and the blender.  Use this recipe as a launching pad for other creative blends.  We sometimes add chopped fresh ginger, other times fresh parsley, spinach, chard or event Brussel sprouts (1/2 cup/55 g, quartered, for this recipe).  Kale-app-carrot is a divine combination and insanely healthful, too, but customize this recipe to suit your buds.

Makes about 3 cups/720 ML; serves 2

1 ½ cups/360 ml fresh-pressed carrot juice
½ cup/120 ml filtered water
1 cup/30 g firmly packed chopped kale leaves, tough stems and spines removed
1 small apple, cored and diced
2 tbsp raw sunflower seeds
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Combine the carrot juice, water, kale, apple, sunflower seeds, and lemon juice in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  For best results, use a high speed blender such as a Vitamix.

Have you taken the plunge into green smoothie land?  What is your favorite recipe?

Not Your Grandma’s Pumpkin Pie

There are 2 big heads up for this recipe that you need to know. You MUST have a high speed blender (don’t bother if you don’t have one) and the cheesecake needs to be refrigerated for at least 8 hours and preferably over night. For those who don’t have a high speed blender, hope the pure deliciousness of this cake will inspire you to rush out and buy one. Know that we have adapted this wholesome and delicious “cheeseless” cheesecake from Café Gratitude, a raw food restaurant in our area that is very well regarded for their innovation with RAW desserts. What’s really exciting is that you can make so many different flavors using this method, from Key Lime and Banana Cream Pie, to Deep Chocolate. They are all fabulous! We just wanted to give you a little peak into the possibilities of RAW desserts!

Pecan Crust:
5 Medjool dates, pitted (1/4 cup date paste)
3 cups raw pecans
1/4 teaspoon Bourbon vanilla extrac
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Pumpkin Filling:
3 cups raw, shredded butternut squash (medium pack about 7 ounces) (save a handful for garnish)
1 1/4 cups coconut milk (either canned milk or blend together the flesh and water of a Young Thai Coconut – video tutorials and instructions can be found online)
6 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon ginger juice
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon sea salt, plus more as needed
2 Tablespoons non-GMO organic lethicin powder
3/4 cup unscented coconut oil (1/2 extra virgin/ 1/2 refined), melted and cooled to room temperature
Fresh lemon to taste

Lightly grease a 9-inch spring form pan with coconut oil.

Place the dates in the food processor and blend until a smooth paste is formed. Remove the paste and place in a small bowl. Place the pecans in the food processor and top with little bits of the date paste divided all around. Add the vanilla and sea salt in the bowl of the food processor fitted with the steel blade and process until the crust starts to rise on the sides of the bowl. (Be aware that pecans have a high fat content, so do not over process or it will turn to butter). As the mixture comes together, scrape down the sides occasionally. The mixture should stick together slightly, but if crumbly, add a little more vanilla. Distribute crust evenly on the bottom and sides of the pan and lightly compact. Set aside. (When forming the crust, be careful not to press too hard because this could create some sticking when serving. However, if you don’t press hard enough, the crust could be crumbly when serving.

Combine all ingredients for the filling in a high-speed blender, except the coconut oil and lecithin. Blend until smooth and creamy, 3-5 minutes. Turn off blender and add the lecithin and melted coconut oil. Blend until well incorporated and taste. Add another small pinch of salt if necessary and lemon to taste. Pour into pan with prepared crust.

Place in the freezer to set, 1-2 hours or until middle of pie is firm to touch. Then transfer to the refrigerator. Garnish with butternut squash, a dash of cinnamon and serve. Store covered in your refrigerator from 4-7 days. It freezes well too.

Yield: About 10 servings

Note:  if your blender is struggling, blend ½ the recipe at a time

Raw Pumpkin Pie

Have you ever used a Thai Young Coconut, if so in what recipe?

The jury is out… “kale is the new lettuce!” We are utterly obsessed with kale these days, particularly this savory, tart and tangy recipe. As you know we love our super foods, so the addition of goji berries and hemp seeds add a super-charged twist, but you can make the recipe without them if you wish.

Sweet & Sour Kale Salad with Dried Mango, Goji Berries & Hemp Seeds

1/4 cup Bragg Liquid Amino (think gluten free soy sauce)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup good quality olive oil
1/2 tablespoon light agave nectar
1 cup roughly chopped dried unsweetened mango
3/4 cup chopped red onion
1/3 cup goji berries
10 cups kale roughly chopped into ½- inch ribbons or torn into little pieces (middle vein and stem removed)(1 large bunch kale)
1/2 cup hemp seeds

Directions: Whisk together the Braggs, the lemon juice, the olive oil, and the agave nectar in the bowl. Add the mango, onions and goji berries and marinate while preparing the other ingredients, at least 15 minutes, but the longer the better. Add the kale and the hemp seeds. We encourage you to mix this salad by hand and really massage the kale and the vinaigrette into one another. The acid in the vinaigrette helps break down the fibrous kale and really enhances its flavor. You can serve immediately, but we think its best refrigerated for a couple of hours. This salad is even delicious served the next day (and GREAT for breakfast)!

A few things to note: Nobody loves a salad that is over dressed. Since everyone measures differently when it comes to ingredients like salad greens, feel free to add another handful of kale if there is any dressing left at the bottom of the bowl. If the mango is mango is super sweet, add a little more lemon to taste. And if you are not familiar with Braggs, you can find it at Whole Foods!

Sweet & Sour Kale Salad with Dried Mango, Goji Berries & Hemp Seeds

Have you ever cooked with goji berries? This sweet red fruit, native to Asia, adds a little dose of medicine to strengthen your immune system as we head into winter. Although we don’t love eating goji berries by the handful, we love them plumped with the lemon-bragg marinade! Hemp seeds offer a great blast of protein as well as omegas. Do you have recipes with goji berries and hemp seeds that you would like to share?

Stay tuned for next weeks recipe, Not Your Grandma’s Pumpkin Pie!

A couple of weeks ago we had the privilege to spend the weekend with family and friends at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee.  In case you hadn’t heard, Travel + Leisure Magazine recently named Blackberry Farm the “Number 1 Resort in the Continental U.S. and Canada” for 2011.  And after our stay, we totally agree!  While we were there we taught a cooking class highlighting Super Foods.  We created several new recipes for this special weekend.  Below you will find the first of many that we will be sharing with you!  Enjoy!!!

Mary and Sara teaching at Blackberry Farm.

Chocolate Macaroon Truffles

We affectionately call these divine little taste sensations “Chocolate Mac Macs” and boast their pure chocolate prowess… no dairy, no eggs, no refined sugar and no cooking required!  You can throw all the ingredients in a bowl and whip them up in 5 minutes.  You just have to grab a helper with little hands to form the balls and finish them off with a dusting of coconuts.

1 ¾ cups unsweetened raw coconut, finely grated (the finer the better for this recipe)
½ cup almond flour
1 cup extra virgin coconut oil (unrefined)
1/3 cup coconut butter (see note)
Scant ½ cup raw cacao powder
1/3 cup cacao nibs
1 scoop (2 tablespoons) Mila
1/3 cup + 1 teaspoon agave syrup (light, not amber)
1 teaspoons bourbon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon sea salt

In a medium bowl, combine 1 ¼ cup of the unsweetened coconut, the almond flour, the coconut oil and the coconut butter.  Using your hands, massage the coconut oil and butter into the coconut flakes.  Work it baby!!!  The warmth of your hands will help soften the coconut oil and butter to facilitate the process.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir together until well incorporated.

*Please note, if you are in warm/hot weather climates the oils will loosen and you may need to refrigerate the truffles before serving.*

Chocolate Macaroon Truffles

What is your favorite Super Food?  Our next recipe will be a Kale Salad – did you know that Kale is the new lettuce?

After perusing our Eat Pray Love theme, we’re kind of shocked that we didn’t devote more space to eating. So, we’d like to introduce you to three of our favorite new cookbooks which are, of course, all about desserts…

Smoothies are those rare treats that taste so yummy, you can’t believe they’re good for you. This great little guide ups the ante with more than 60 recipes meant to make you look and feel better than ever. Featuring ingredients like pomegranate juice, Greek yogurt and fresh fruits, they’ll make your hair and skin glow, and turn your immune system into a thing of beauty. Smoothie queens – and identical twins! — Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening have already written two bestselling books on the subject, and this one takes the drink to a whole new level. Smooth!

So exciting! Check out the July 2010 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, for our Blueberry Brain Boost, Watermelon Agua Fresca and Greek Goddess smoothie recipes from our latest book, Super-Charged Smoothies.

They’re designed to make you smarter, leaner, and healthier—and taste delicious, as well!

O Magazine: “Pulse, Blend and Puree Your Way to Better Health.”

Strawberries have been outrageously good this spring due to all the crazy rainstorms that have hit some of the best growing areas.

To celebrate the incredible fruit this year, check out these two fantastically delicious and good for you smoothies recipes from the best selling cookbook author masters of concocting them, Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford.

Try them out (take a photo if you can, and post a link if you do!) and let us know what you think by writing a comment. We’ll be giving away three random copies of this super-charged, energizing book this week. Happy blending!

Read more: From the Chronicle Kitchen

Three of our new recipes excerpted from Super-Charged Smoothies were recently featured on Babble Food:

As we all know, smoothies can be sweet-tooth satisfiers, energy enhancers, cleansing on-the-go meal replacements, pick-me-up snacks, terrific kid-pleasing shakes, and even alkalizing toddies for adults. What a great way to consume a variety of vitamins and other healthy ingredients!

These three recipes from Super-Charged Smoothies will increase your antioxidant intake, strengthen your immune system, slenderize, alkalize, and energize.

With the push of a button, you can whirr your way to a healthier, super-charged lifestyle. Enjoy!

Head on over to Babble.com for our Blueberry Brain Boost, Raspberry Cappuccino, Super-C recipes.