Natural lip balm recipe

I was looking through a dusty old box and an old teen magazine came to my attention. It was something I had read in my highschool days and I was a little amused by it actually. Firstly, that I hoarded it for so long and secondly, that I even read that stuff to begin with. I flicked it open and I remembered exactly why I liked that one so much. There was this little section on DIY beauty with lipbalms, face scrubs etc my sister and I made some of these lipbalms back in the day. Since then I had collecting books on lotions and potions that I could make myself and incorporate essential oils, herbal extracts and healthy, handy ingredients. My sister had gone on to become a cosmetic chemist, fittingly.



Lip balm, on my messy dressing table :p


Why use natural cosmetics? Just have a peek at the video below...

So, I decided to take a break from chocolate and make something different...

Vanilla Lip balm
I've called this a vanilla based balm but really it has a few extras to make it a little more interesting. Rose hip oil, carrot, honey and calendula give it a healing and anti-inflammatory effect on the skin, while a touch of cinnamon and spearmint encourages blood circulation. The vanilla is purely for it's sweet smell.

Ingredients...
10g beeswax
10g cacao butter
5g honey
30ml almond oil
30ml rose hip infused oil (optional)
15ml carrot infused oil (optional)
2ml natural vanilla essential oil, 2ml calendula oil, 2 drops cinnamon essential oil, 4 drops spearmint essential oil



High quality rose hip oil from Siberia


Method...
1. Melt the wax and cacao butter in a metal bowl over a saucepan filled with 1/4 amount of water
2. Still over the heat, add the almond, rose hip and carrot oil and honey until liquid
3. Whisk the mix to ensure it's all melted and smooth
4. Let it cool, add the essential oils
5. Store in small glass containers




They turned out so cute!

 

Love
Ulyana...

White chocolate and Blueberry hearts...raw, organic and filled with luuuurve :))

People want my cooking. This has never happened before! I'm either better than I thought OR I'm selling it well. I mean I love what I make but that's just me, I'm easy enough to please. Healthy, organic, simple flavours, nice presentation and I'm sold... For whatever reason, it's a big compliment when someone with a sophisticated palate like my friend Melina requests a sweet creation for her birthday.


White cacao hearts, "milk" carob chai cups, dark fig n' pecan clusters

























Melina is an Aries, do I need to say more?? ; ) She's strong, bright, determined, and wants the best in life. She walked into my clinic within the first week I opened a few years ago and oh my God, she kept me on my toes! Since then her glittery exterior softened to reveal quite a delicate inner nature. My friendship with her has been like a "pass the parcel game" one week we get challenging newspaper heading and the next an unexpected gift falls out!

She loves dark chocolate, dried fruit, nuts, unique flavours and high quality anything. She is similar to me in the sense that when I say I like chocolate, I'm talking about the only true sort there is- raw and organic, no refined sugars, flavours etc etc

I know she loves dark chocolate but she's also a creature of habit and I had this urge to coerce her to the "white" side, just for a bit. Raw white chocolate (cacao) isn't what you expect it to be. It is naturally off-white/ creamy yellow and needs to be made carefully, adding flavours and allowing the simplicity of the food to be appreciated. It goes perfectly with vanilla and coconut, two of my favourite ingredient's ever. The benefits being she can enjoy a bit in the evenings and have a good nights sleep too. A "milk" (carob) chocolate selection using a minimal amount of cacao and also a dark chocolate with enough cacao to keep her up all night... a bit of everything.

Dark chocolate can make you jittery if you're not careful and make your heart flutter, if you're sensitive. The perfect food to swoon your man... or lady.

White chocolate & blueberry hearts
I'm really proud of this creation. Let me run down the key ingredients; blueberries, coconut, vanilla, maple syrup, macadamias and a pinch of lemon. This is the BEST thing I've made so far! I soaked the blueberries in vanilla and maple syrup before dehydrating them for about 10 hours, so they were still quite juicy. I would have used shop bought ones if they didn't have sugar coating them and preservatives. A couple sultana's (per heart) are added for extra sweetness.



White chocolate & blueberry hearts






Ingredients...

3/4 cup cacao butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
dried blueberries
sultana's
coconut flakes
macadamias
vanilla extract
lemon zest

Method...
1. Melt cacao butter, coconut butter, maple syrup, add salt and vanilla extract.
2. Add coconut flakes when the mixture is ready and temper the chocolate until it is ready to be used.
2. In each silicon cup add blueberries, a couple sultanas and a macadamia or two.
3. Pour the raw white cacao mixture over the top
3. Zest some fresh lemon rind while the white hearts are setting.

Fig n' pecan dark chocolate clusters
This is probably my favourite thing to make so far and it reminds me of Heather : )) I love it because any combination of fruit, nuts, spices and flavours goes well and as long as you are patient enough to make chocolate, it'll be a hit. Make no mistake, chocolate making does require patience. This particular batch took me 2 hours of stiring to get it to the right consistency for setting. That's hard work!



Me with heathers clusters,
not a fab picture but it's the only one I had!



Chopped figs, cacao nibs, pecans, ginger, orange rind, Himalayan salt, maple syrup, with melted dark cacao. See basic chocolate recipe for more info on how to melt and use chocolate...

1. Chop the figs loosely and add the orange rind, almonds, pecans, and salt and mix into tempered dark chocolate then when ready take spoonfuls and plonk them onto baking paper. Set aside to set in a cool place.
Chai fudge cups
This is my version of a "milk" chocolate, using carob powder to add colour and taste with only minimal amounts of cacao. You can pick the chai spice if you're a fan of the beverage if not, it may encourage you to try it sometime. The centre is soft, sweet and fudgy. The only not so fantastic thing about working with carob is that it doesn't allow the chocolate to set with a nice gloss, it has a more dull appearance. Which is why I suggested dusting it with some powder.



Chai fudge "milk" chocolate cups



Ingredients...

1/2 cup soaked cashews
4 pitted medjool dates
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp powdered ginger
English toffee liquid stevia 8 drops
 2 tbs carob powder
1 tbs cacao powder

1. Soak cashews for up to 4 hours and blend with 4 medjool dates until smooth, add vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, English toffee stevia and carob powder.
2. Fill piping bag with mixture and put in the fridge to chill.
3. Make basic dark chocolate recipe and temper.
4. Use mini silicon cupcake holders or mold and coat a thin layer at the bottom of each cup, allow to set in the fridge, keep the cacao warm.




Then fill with melted chocolate to seal the cup...



5. Pipe a small amount of the chai cashew filling into each cup. Allow to set a while then top with melted cacao to seal the cup.
6. Dust with cinnamon or cacao powder.




Fudgy chai center



Love

Ulyana...

Russian poppy seed cake...

Traditionally, Russian cakes or tortes are quite sweet, heavy and rich. Cream, butter, chocolate and layers upon layers of sugary pastry make up some of the most famous Russian cakes. Fruit is is reserved for pies, tarts, pastry's, jams, conserves and compotes. These are more simple dishes, likely stemming from peasant roots leaving the fancier ones for the aristocrats. The poppy seed cake has been a family favourite since I can remember.

I have a very special cousin called Ilana, whom I consider to be kindred spirits with and lucky to be born into the same family. It seems to me we've walked many life times together and hopefully for many more. She just recently turned 21... A big late bloggie shout-out to her! She is a fan of Russian cuisine and vegetarian cooking, so I decided to make her a Russian inspired cake using poppy seed, lemon and raspberries and a couple other traditionally used extras such as yoghurt and honey.




Ilana (brunette) and I (brown)

The poppy plant's species name, somniferum, means 'sleep inducing'. Remember that scene in the Wizard of Oz?? They all fell asleep in the poppy field. Judy Garland was so cute in this film...

Until she grew up and Hollywood ruined her...in fact, narcotics played a big role in her parting this Earth. Too much poppy love for her, or maybe she just needed to get to the real source! I have digressed...sorry...

Poppy seeds are from the poppy flower and have been used for thousands of years in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and India for culinary and medicinal purposes (as far back as Egypt), also for the opium drug trade. The humble poppy seed in the 19th century, caused opium wars where China lost control of the trade. The seeds are tiny and come in either blue/ grey, black and white colour and have a nutty aroma and taste. The blue and black seeds are seeds are used in European cooking and the white in Indian, Middle Eastern and Asian. Morphine, heroin and codeine are derived from the Eastern variety.
So, I looked through all my Russian cook books and the recipes looked quite heavily laden with eggs, dairy, wheat and refined sugar. Instead I'll be aiming to keep the cake lighter, so no one falls asleep digesting it and so the true wholesome ingredients can shine for themselves.

Russian poppy seed cake... from the magical land of Oz

This cake sat proudly next to my sisters awesome hummingbird one. Would you believe it had no white sugar, butter, white flour, or eggs? Besides turning out just a pinch dry, watch the clock and keep the temperature low and a good idea is to drizzle a honey, lemon before the glaze. Or add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil or butter although poppy seeds create their own fats.

Ingredients...
2 cups of buckwheat flour
3/4 cup of black poppy seeds
1 cup plain or vanilla yoghurt (low or full fat, organic, biodynamic)
the juice and rind of 1/2 lemon
1 tbs lemon powder
3/4 cup of runny honey
a pinch of Himalayan or Celtic salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder

Method...
1. Mix the poppy seeds, honey, vanilla extract and yoghurt and leave overnight in a cool place or for 1 to 2 hours, enough for the poppy seeds to expand with liquid. If you don't do this step the poppy seeds will burst while baking.

2. Sift the buckwheat flour into a mixer (or by hand is fine), cinnamon, lemon powder, baking powder and salt. Then add the poppy seed mixture slowly to mix thoroughly into a batter.
3. Add the lemon juice and lemon rind.
4. Pour mixture into a lined and greased circular baking pan or spring form pan and bake at 150 degrees Celsius or 302 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 35 minutes or until you can poke a wooden skewer in the centre of the cake and it comes out clean. I think it's OK to have a little stickiness but that's me!
5. Let the cake cool before taking it out of the pan or putting any icing on.

The macadamia icing from the lemon short bread cookies would go perfectly here. Or because I can, I'll do something a bit different. Variety is the spice of life after all...

Raspberry "vareniye" glaze...
"Vareniye" is the Russian word for fruit conserve, a type of jam to sweeten cookies, cakes, bread and to sweeten tea. The traditional recipe calls for massive amounts of white sugar but because I want to avoid my pancreas from spontaneous combustion I'm using organic coconut sugar and much less than what is necessary for a conserve. Also, I've added agar agar, a Japanese seaweed extract to add more body to the glaze and allows you to use less sugar.

Ingredients...
4 cups raspberry's
2 cup coconut sugar
1 tsp agar agar
1/8 cup water
rind of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method...
1. In a saucepan pour the coconut sugar over the raspberries and let sit for 12 hours. The sugar will pull the moisture out of the berries, let the berries collapse by themselves.
***This is the slow method, the fast method is to whizz the berries and sugar in a food processor until dissolved but life is already so fast paced, why make it any faster???
2. Dissolve the agar agar in the water over the stove and put aside. The water will become thicker when it has dissolved.
3. Begin to heat the raspberries/ sugar mix over the lowest heat, stir in the agar agar and vanilla and continue for around 10 minutes or until it has combined well and there is no excess liquid. Don't "cook" the berries, let them stay fresh.
4. Take off the heat, use a handheld blender to smooth it out (if desired) then pour the glaze into a glass jar or pour onto the cake when you're ready.
*** If you have left overs, keep it in a glass jar in the fridge for up to 3 months.

Glazing the cake...
The cake should be cooled off by now, or at least only mild warm. Take it out the pan and pour the glaze evenly on top of the cake and let it drip down how it wants to, the law of physics has it's own appreciation for art and I personally like things a little "un done". Put it aside in a cool place to set.

An hour or two after eating this you'll feel quite mellow, the poppy effect will give you a good nights rest... and maybe a strange dream or two. I hope this one inspires you to do something a little different, maybe bend the cultural rules occasionally. Guilt-free dessert rule!

Love

Ulyana...

Creamy Dreamy Coconut Butter

Coconut butter comes from heaven. It's naturally sweet and creamy, and amazing straight off the spoon. It even has that fluffy white cloud appearance and anything that's perfect straight from the jar, in my opinion is from heaven. There are other ways to enjoy it though, instead of conventional butter, on toast, in desserts, smoothies or you can make coconut milk out of it with just 1 spoonful, just make sure you don't mix it with cold water because that would be silly.

What forced me to make my own coconut butter (and I'm SO happy I did!) was because I ran out and would you believe it everywhere was out in Australia, except for one online shop selling one jar for $35! I was willing to pay but I thought, maybe I'll see if there is a way I can make some...

Making coconut butter is just TOO easy... all you need to do is process desiccated coconut until the oil melts and the fibre blends smooth. Desiccated coconut contains no water, it has been dehydrated but it still contains the fats. The blending process heats the fat making it a liquid when you're finished. It will harden up as the temperature cools. Note 200gm coconut flakes makes 180gm/ 6.3oz jar of butter.

Step 1. Buy organic, unsweetend desiccated coconut flakes. ***Note the better quality the coconut, the better tasting butter.

Step 2. Put the flakes in a high powered blender (or food processor but this will take longer).

Coconut flakes ready for take off... turn on blender

Step 3. After about 3 mins of blending... getting there, the fibre isn't smooth yet...

Step 4. Wallah, the butter is born!

Step 5. Pour into a jar and store in the cupboard or eat. So yummy!

 

Health Benefits of Coconut Oil

Coconut oil has been used in traditional medicine systems for thousands of years, Ayurveda (traditional Indian medicine) uses the oil both on and in the body. It is said to "cool" the body, good for the lungs, promote hair growth, is a natural aphrodisiac, and for skin health.

1. Coconut oil contains lauric acid, an important fatty acid, which has an antiviral, antifungal and antimicrobial effect in the body. Another good source of lauric acid comes from breast milk. Boosts the immune system.

2. It contains caprylic acid, making it a potent antifungal. A great oil for candida sufferers.

3. It contains mostly of saturated medium chain fatty acids (medium chain triglycerides MCT's), which are known to increase metabolism and promote weight loss and raise basal body temerature. Ideal for people with low thyroid function.

4. Coconut oil prevents oxidative stress. One of the reasons the long chain fatty acids in vegetable oils are so damaging is that they oxidize quickly and quickly become rancid. Coconut oil is saturated and already stable even at high temperatures, whereas omega 6's (olive oil, sunflower oil etc will become rancid).

5. Coconut oil is a saturated fat that contains NO cholesterol and will help lower LDL cholesterol levels.

6. Coconut oil is beneficial for skin health, both used externally as a moisturiser and internally.

7. Increases energy levels, through its thyroid boosting properties and encourages stable blood sugar.

8. Promotes weight loss again, through the thyroid and bosting the metabolism and allowing greater calorie expenditure.

Love

Ulyana...

Lunar Hair Chart 2011

Just a quickie for anyone that might be interested...

The cycles of the moon affect the tides of our oceans, our emotions, a woman's cycle, the growth cycle of the Earth's plant life... is it so suprising the moon can encourage better growth for your hair? Try it, it works!

Just book in to see your hairdresser at the dates suggested and your hair will love you for it



Lunar hair chart

Love

Ulyana

Sweet things...

Once you've experienced REAL CHOCOLATE, the raw organic type as close to Mother Nature intended, you simply cannot go back to the commercial sort. The same holds true with raw desserts. The taste, simplicity and satisfaction plus feeling good AFTER you enjoy the authentic flavours is what keeps you coming back.

Healthy dessert is so much fun! You just need a little motivation to get started, if a sugar craving isn't enough perhaps you know someone with a sweet tooth that may appreciate your efforts... kids, grandparents and sisters will enjoy your creations.

Lately, I've been making these yummies... and just before you continue I need to make a point about raw or healthily cooked desserts. Dessert is only for occasions, that's what makes it a treat. Anything in excess will cause problems. Especially cacao (chocolate) because it is a stimulant for the body, as in it will boost adrenal function. Too much of a good thing will hinder your health progress. Also, sugar can cause complications in some individuals. Be your own naturopath and use your wisdom as a compass to steer you in the right direction...

Crunchy Chocolate Brownies
I love these after an exercise challenge or as a mid- afternoon snack. Brownies aren't an everyday snack but fantastic when the weather is cool, you need extra energy and as something different. This recipe is so easy, you basically mix the ingredients in the food processor until it forms a dough. Every batch is different depending on the moisture/ oil content of the ingredients, the varying amounts you put in and the method you process them. The beauty of this recipe and others is if you don't need to be exact when it comes to measurements, just go with it and taste along the way to make sure it's on the right track. Quite honestly, this one is a fail proof recipe.



















Ingredients…
1 ½ cup pitted dates
¾ cup walnuts
¼ cup soaked and dehydrated buckwheat (buckwheaties) you can use puffed rice or quinoa
2 tbs of raw cacao powder
Vanilla bean or extract
Pinch Himalayan or Celtic sea salt

Method...
1. Put dates, walnuts, cacao, vanilla, and salt in food processor and process until a dough forms.
2. Add dehydrated buckwheaties to the mixture and pulse until dispersed. The mixture should feel soft and springy.
3. Line a square brownie tin with plastic wrap and press mixture neatly then refrigerate.
4. Once chilled it will firm up. Cut square pieces and store in an air tight container.

**With this one I added 2 tablespoons of maca powder for extra nutritional oomph.

Fruit 'n' Nut Clusters

When Heather Pace came down for a visit she showed me this super easy and yummy fruit 'n' nut cluster recipe. If you have cacao, any combo of nuts, seeds and dried fruit will magically turn into a chocolate bomb. These remind me of handmade goodies from Haigh's, or other chocolate delicasy stores. Wrap them up in a nice box and tie a ribbon on and you have a welcoming gift.
This will make a small batch (approximately 6) of chocolate clusters. Double the recipe if you more and add extra sweetener if you prefer...

Ingredients...
250ml of Basic Chocolate recipe

3/4 cup with a mix of walnuts, almonds, macadamias, desiccated coconut, buckwheaties (soaked and dehydrated buckwheat), and sultanas

Other great cluster fillers goji berries, fig, dates, apricots, coconut, cashew, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame, Brazil nuts, pecans etc. Any of these will taste awesome, just pick and mix.

Method...
1. Melt chocolate mixture in a bowl, over a saucepan filled with water.
NOT directly on the stove because the chocolate will burn and it will reach a high temperature, which we want to avoid
2. Whisk the chocolate until it's completely smooth and keep whisking until it starts to cool off just a little then add the nut and fruit mix
3. Keep whisking until the chocolate starts to thicken. It will start setting to the sides of the bowl (about 10 minutes or so), at this stage it is ready to be set
4. Use spoonfuls of the mixture and line quickly (and neatly) onto trays with baking paper. For quicker setting you can put the trays in the fridge

Apple & Sultana Cookies

Oat based cookies have such a "home-baked" taste and a must have for the changing season. Think cooler nights and rainy days and a more wholesome mid-morning or mid-afternoon snacky for autumn. This recipe is better suited as a daily pick-me-up with less sugar and no cacao.

Ingredients...
1 1/4 cup rolled oats
1 cup coconut flour (or oat flour)
1 cup apple or banana puree
1 cup of sultanas
1/4 cup of desiccated coconut
1/3 cup of honey
1/2 cup coconut butter (can use oil instead melted)
1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp vanilla extract or fresh vanilla bean
A pinch of Himalayan salt

Method...
1. Combine the oats, flour, sultanas, spices, salt in the food processer on pulse, just enough to mix everything through and break up the sultanas and oats a bit
2. Either blend or process apples or bananas until smooth
3. Mix the fruit puree with the oat mix and add the honey then coconut butter/ oil and stir in until it's well mixed and forms a doughy consistency
4. Use spoonful amounts onto tray, roll then use a fork to press down.
5. Dehydrate for 45 minutes on 145 then reduce to 115 for 7 hours (or until desired dryness)

**Store in an airtight container in the fridge
***Can bake this recipe in the oven and baked at 145 degrees for about 20 minutes...

Chocolate mousse
Is it possible to have a healthy chocolate mousse that tastes like one too? YES! AND it takes less than 10 minutes to make (20-30 minutes to chill). The trick is to just blend blend blend until silky smooth in the food processor, which takes just a few minutes because avocados are so easy to work with. Everyone loves this mousse as long as they like chocolate and aren't allergic to avocado... but no one will guess it's in there because all you can taste is the cacao goodness. I like to add little extra's like maca powder or mesquite powder as a superfood boost but you don't need to, just the avocado and cacao is enough.

Ingredients...
2 ripe avocados
1 very ripe banana or young Thai coconut meat (optional)
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
2-3 tbs cacao powder
pinch of Himalayan/ Celtic salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method...
1. In a food processor blend the avocados, banana, sweetener, salt and extract then add sifted cacao powder in last until the mixture has a light, super smooth consistency.

Lemon shortbread cookies aka melting moments
I created this recipe with the full intention to replicate a melting moment (lemon shortbread biscuit with sweet and tangy filling). It still amazes me just how close it is to the real thing! The filling is 100% spot on and can be used as an icing for a carrot cake. The shortbread cookies can be slightly dry, or hard to work with if you don't add enough coconut oil or water. This is a rich recipe, so make them neat and small and serve with a cup of herbal tea.

Ingredients...
2 cups coconut flour
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 cup coconut oil (melted)
1 tsp stevia powder
1 tbs lemon powder
1 tsp natural vanilla extract

Method...
1. Sift the coconut flour into a bowl, add stevia, lemon powder, vanilla extract and mix
2. Add the melted coconut oil. It should look quite gooey at this point
3. Add the maple syrup. The consistency will change into shortbread type dough. Add a a couple tablespoons of water for more moisture for easier handling
4. Mix well (I did this by hand) then press cookie shapes onto trays lined with baking paper
5. Use dehydrator (115 f for about 30 minutes) or just refrigerate. I did both and I prefer the dehydrator. It finished with the shortbread, slightly drier texture.

Macadamia icing...
1 cup macadamias
1/2 lemon juiced
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp stevia powder
Approximately 3 tbs of water
pinch of Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
the rind of half a lemon
1 tbs lemon powder
1/4 cup coconut butter (melted)

1. Rinse macadamias and soak for about 30 minutes to 1/2 hour (optional but it makes blending easier)
2. Add lemon juice, maple syrup, salt, vanilla extract, lemon powder, stevia and macadamias to a high speed blender and blend until you reach a smooth consistency
3. Add the maple syrup and continue blending until it's smooth and creamy
4. Use 1 tsp of the macadamia icing to every 2 cookies
5. Store in an air tight container and on the kitchen bench, they are best eaten within a couple days.

** lemon powder is an fantastic product I have found. It is dehydrated whole lemons that have been powdered. It adds a flavour punch, colour hit and nutritional extra. It isn't to be used without fresh ingredients, just as an extra.

Love
Ulyana...

All things yoga

My latest obsession... myyogaonline

I have signed up and only have good things to say. All you need is a laptop, yoga mat and your body. Too easy!

The site has a massive video selection of all types and all levels of yoga and pilates PLUS articles on health related topics, cooking, holistic living and the like. Yoga teachers from all over the world such as Shiva Rea and Judy Chapman have contributed to the class selection and they are added to frequently. If you want inspiration, education and your money's worth this is the place...

AND I am now contributing articles from my blog so it's another good reason to stop by. If you're a serious yoga buff then this place is close to heaven.

Love
Ulyana...

Raw Dessert Demo success

Heather and I stayed at a cute little cottage up at Hahndorf, in the Adelaide Hills. I wanted to show her the pretty things Adelaide had to offer. We checked out the beaches, the hills, the organic hang-outs, Haigh's chocolates, and the Central Markets. The weather was nice and we managed to enjoy laying on the grass even though we had so much to do. Time just whizzed past so quickly...

We spent much of our time talking, talking, talking, then in the kitchen and a mix of both. The class preparation is far more time consuming than anyone realises. Getting all the ingredients, measurements, equiptment and making sure we have it all ready to go on the day.

I was her assistent chef for the day and I actually found it such so valuable for my skill set. I have no excuses not to make future creations! As I'm typing I'm recovering from the gorgeous raw chocolate clusters she left Heather left me with. We promised ourselves she couldn't leave without a chocolate kitchen adventure. The reason I say "recovering" is because raw cacao is strong and needs to be eaten in moderation. It is true, too much of a good thing ; )

The demonstration went something like this; sweet chia seed parfaits, superfood milkshake, apple and peach crumble with banana ice cream and chocolate sauce, mandarin and orange cheesecake (my personal favourite), oat choc chip cookies (another favourite), brownies, strawberry and lime cheesecake (Heather's favourite) and chocolate and blueberry mousse pie. Her tips and tricks were practical and interesting. By the end we all had a piece of everything, perhaps too much of a good thing but no doubt yummy!

All in all we had a great time, she vows to come here again (if not relocate ; ) and I will definately visit her in Canada....

Awwww MISS you Heather!

Love
Ulyana...