I want to be a billionaire...

 
Have you heard that song on the radio lately called "I want to be a billionaire" by Travie McCoy featuring Bruno Mars?  Its lyrics go:

I wanna be a billionaire so fricking bad
buy all of the things I never had
I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine
smiling next to Oprah and the Queen

Makes me wonder what I would do if I was a billionaire.  I'd probably stop working at my current job (which is probably telling) and travel more.  Maybe take my sister and I on a trip to New Zealand.  Donate a huge chunk of it to animal shelters.  Buy some shares of Tesla Motors. :)

Instead I spend my days enjoying my wee, inexpensive kitchen projects.  My recent projects have largely been inspired by Shari at Green and Crunchy.  I'm in love with her blog.  I want to buy a house so I can start buying bulk, organic goods and growing a large veggie garden.  The harvest from my pots on the stoop isn't cutting it for my vegan self.


I was intrigued by her interesting desserts she makes, and even more challenged when I discovered that she infrequently puts down recipes.  She may mention the ingredients, but she doesn't typically list out the corresponding quantities.  I decided the treats looked good enough to wing it.  Plus I just got my new Vitamix, so I wanted to try it out.

First up, raw banana chocolate cheesecake.  So good and so easy!

Raw Banana Chocolate Cheesecake
Crust:
- 1c almonds
- 1c dates

Filling:
- 2c soaked and rinsed cashews [I soak mine overnight]
- 1-2 frozen bananas
- 2 tsp agave [next time I will try dates instead]
- water
- 1/3c coconut oil 
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder

To make the crust, blend the dates and the almonds together in a food processor until it sticks together and the almonds are in pretty small pieces.  Press into a pie or tart tin.  Put in the freezer.

In a high speed blender (a regular blender will work too, just need to blend it longer) put in the cashews, frozen banana, agave, and enough water to get it moving.  Blend to a creamy consistency.  Add the coconut oil and blend some more.  Taste.  If you'd like it sweeter, add a little bit more agave.

Take the crust out and pour in the filling, saving a 1/2c of it.  Pour that half cup into a small bowl or container and add in the cocoa powder.  Mix until fully combined.  Pour on top of the pie.  You can have fun and try to do swirls with a knife.  Mine had slightly too much that was cocoa so it didn't quite swirl the best.  Oh well, still tasty.

Pop the whole thing back in the freezer for an hour.  It will be fine in there for longer, however if you do, make sure you take it out of the freezer to thaw for a bit before eating, otherwise you may have problems trying to cut it.  I ran into this problem so I popped a chunk into the microwave (not raw, I know).  It was even better when it was heated up!  Sounds weird, but really delicious.

Second up: vegan chocolate peanut butter cups.  Normal Reese's are not only not vegan but also have some sketchy ingredients. Making them yourself is incredibly easy.  The problem is trying to stop yourself from eating them all in one sitting.

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
- Cupcake liners
- 2 of your favorite vegan chocolate bars [I used endangered species dark chocolate]
- 1/4c peanut butter
- 1-2 tsp nutritional yeast
- any other add ins [I used chia seeds]

Put the cupcake liners into a muffin tin.  This should make about 6-8ish.  Melt the chocolate.  This can be done in a variety of ways, using a double broiler, melting via the microwave, etc.  Just be careful that you don't burn it.  Pour some of the melted chocolate into the cupcake liners, just enough to cover the bottoms.  Sprinkle some chia seeds if you so desire and place the muffin tin in the freezer.

Mix up the peanut butter and the nutritional yeast.  The nutritional yeast gives it its Reese's texture.  You may want to warm your peanut butter up a bit to make it easier to work with.

Take the muffin tin out and put in a dollop of peanut butter in each one, smoothing it out so it's flat and runs across almost the whole layer, leaving a small space around the edges.  Pour some more warm chocolate on top of the peanut butter to cover it completely.  Sprinkle more chia seeds and place in the freezer for 15 minutes.  I cleaned up my kitchen while I was waiting.  Enjoy!