Soft raspberry ice cream with whipped coconut cream and hazelnuts

A quick dessert, or why not a weekend breakfast och brunch. That's one of many clever things about nourishing food, you can have them at anytime from breakfast to dessert! Avocado is the secret ingredient which makes this quick ice cream irresistibly soft and creamy. Try substitute raspberries for blueberries, blackberries or a mix of you favourite berries!

And oh, if you can't find hazelnuts without skin in your grocery you can scroll down to find my tips on how to remove skin from hazelnuts (as it has the tendency to give a bitter taste we want to remove it). Plus tips on how to best deseed a pomegranate - knowledge you cannot live without!

Now, who wants soft ice cream in 15 minutes?!

Soft raspberry ice cream with whipped coconut cream and hazelnuts

Serves 4

15 minutes

Ingredients

3 ripe avokados

500 g frozen raspberries

1 tsp pure vanilla powder

4 fresh dates, pitted (use more for a sweeter taste)

Topping

1 1/2 dl / 0.6 US cups coconut cream

1 dl / 0.4 US cups pomegranate seeds

1/2 dl / 0.4 US cups toasted hazelnuts, skin removed 

2 tbsp cacao nibs

Fresh lemon balm

How to

Whip the coconut cream until fluffy. If you find it hard to get it fluffy you can let it sit in the fridge for about 30 minute, as that will make it more firm and easier to whip.

Thaw the raspberries for 5 minutes. Mix with the rest of the ingredients for the ice cream using a immersion blender, food processor och preferably high speed blender until SUPER smooth. Add more dates for a sweeter touch.

Divide in to 4 small (or 2 big if you're on that mood) bowls and top with coconut cream, hazelnuts, pomegranate seeds, cacao nibs and last but not least fresh lemon balm. Eat straight away!!

Toast and peel hazelnuts

Pre heat the oven to 175 degrees celsius. Put the hazelnuts on a baking tray and toast for about 10 minutes, until the skin starts to crackle. Let cool. Put in a clean kitchen towel and rub to remove the skin.

Deseed a pomegranate

Cut of the top crown and the bottom of the fruit. Now carefully cut the fruit from the top to the bottom, along the inner gentle ridges/fruit membrane which you are suposed to see once the top and bottom are removed. Normally you'll get about 6 cuts. Open the pomegranate, so that you get separate sections. Now you can easily deseed the pomegranate, using your fingers, preferably over a bowl. Remove any membranes that might come with the seeds.

This is a recipe that I created for Swedish vegan food magasin VEGO some time ago! Photo and recipe by me.

Leftover veggie and coconut soup

I often end up with small bits of pieces of all kinds of different veggies and leafy greens in my fridge. That's the life of a food creator who spends her days test cooking all sorts of different foods and tries out new combinations and vegetables all the time...But, I suppose, that the whole thing about ending up with a bit of this and a bit of that is the case for a few more out there! SO, what do you do with a couple of tomatoes, one small piece of fennel, 1/4 of a butternut squash and some garlic? You mix it into a soup!! Since this is a leftover soup I don't have any exact measurements, but I do have a trick which makes this recipe foolproof anyway. Scroll down and you'll see! 

Something I really like about this kind of recipes, where you don't have an exact recipe when it comes to measurements but only a list of the actual ingredients, is that even if you use the same veggies to make the same soup a couple of week after it will most likely taste a bit different because you will most likely use another amount of the components, without even thinking of it! Voilá, you have a new soup. It's like magic. Kind of anyway! And, to calm you down, soup is one of the best go-with-the-flow-foods I can think of. If you mix a bunch of yummy things in to a soup it can hardly go wrong. Just start out with a little amount of water, or whatever liquid you're using, and maybe add more later on - then you can be sure will get a creamy and delicious brunch, lunch or dinner soup in not too long at all! 

PS. Of course you can make the soup using more of everything, instead of waiting until you only have small bits an pieces left! 

Leftover veggie soup

Serves 2-4 (depending on how much leftovers you find in the fridge!)

Ingredients

1 onion

1 garlic clove 

1/2-1 tsp each of ground turmeric and ground paprika powder (depending on how much veggies you use. Start with the smaller amount and add more to taste when mixing the soup together)

2-4 big tomatoes

butternut squash 

fennel

water

full fat coconut milk

1/2-1 tsp pure maple syrup (optional, but a tiny natural sweet touch develops all of the other flavours in a nice way. You could also use the same amount of honey, note that it won't be vegan though)

a pinch chili flakes 

a handfull of fresh parsley

cold pressed coconut oil

Himalayan salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Topping

toasted coconut flakes

hemp seeds

pomegranate seeds

fresh parsley 

How to

Peel and finely cut the onion and garlic. Fry in a saucepan, in some coconut oil, until soft. Add the turmeric and paprika powder and stir around. 

Wash and chop the rest of the vegetables in similar size pieces. Add to the onion. Fill up the saucepan with water so everything is just about covered (this is the foolproof part! No measurements needed. If you make a bigger batch just add more water!). Bring everything to a boil and let simmer for about 20 minutes, until veggies are soft. Remove from heat, add a big splash of coconut milk (about 1/2 dl for every portion, at least) and mix until smooth using a immersion blender. Add more water and/or coconut milk and mix until smooth and creamy. Add the parsley and chili flakes and pulse a few times. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve the soup with a few toppings that bring crunchiness (toasted coconut flakes), nuttiness (hemp seeds) fruitiness (pomegranate seeds), freshness (fresh parsley) - that will satisfy both the eyes and the tummy! 

Let me know how your soup turned out! Maybe you added some extra veggies, or some other toppings? I'd love to hear from you! 

Love, Therese

Creamy coconut, millet and quinoa porridge

When it comes to the topping it's all up to you! You might want to go for a more fruity topping for breakfast, and more of a savory topping (for example avocado and kale)  I add the quinoa for a nice flavor, but you could also

Best, 

T

Creamy coconut, millet and quinoa porridge

Makes 2 bowls 

Ingredients

2/3 dl millet flakes 

2 tbsp quinoa flakes 

1 tsp chia seeds

3 dl water

1 dl coconut milk 

a pinch each of ground cinnamon and ground cardamom

1/2 tsp Himalayan salt 

Topping

toasted buckwheat groats (*se notes below how to toast buckwheat groats)

apple, thinly sliced 

pomegranate seeds 

lingonberry or blueberry powder (or any berry or fruit powder that you prefer

How to

Mix everything in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3-4 minutes on medium heat, stirring all the time (this will make the porridge very creamy!), until a creamy texture. Pour in to two bowls and top it with whatever you feel like! 

* Put about 3 dl of dried buckwheat groats in a fine mesh strainer. Bring 1 liter (I normally use about 3 times as much water as groats) of water to a boil. Pour the hot water over the buckwheat and drain well. Toast the groats in a hot, dry frying pan until golden and crisp. Let cool. Store the toasted buckwheat in a glas jar and use as topping on porridge, smoothie bowls, soups, salads etc etc! 

Tips! You could also follow the same "strain procedure" as described above and then toast the buckwheat in the oven (at a baking sheet) at 175 degrees celsius for about 10 minutes.