No surprise that we celebrate any occasion with good for you whole foods. But there is simply no reason that you have to be serious about it! This Halloween we had a wonderful upscale freaky feast and a dessert that would make you gasp it was that good.
Ogre Toes
- Dough for 1 loaf of whole grain bread
Use your favorite 100% whole grain bread dough recipe, or try our Homemade Spelt Bread recipe from our cookbook The 30-Day Vegetarian (now available on kindle for only $3.99!). You can also substitute either our Whole Grain Spelt Rolls dough recipe from right here on the forum.
Because we have cheese and veggie sausage wrapped inside, I would recommend a rapid rise yeast dough for your starter.
You will also need:
- 1 pound organic cheese (we use mozzarella)
- 1 package morning star veggie sausage
Saute the veggie sausage until done and then set aside to cool. Slice your cheese into strips. We made two plates of toes one with just plain cheese and the other with thin slices of cheese combined with veggie sausage.
Divide your dough into about 12 small balls. Roll each dough ball into a flat strip and place filling in the center – either one thick slice of cheese or one sausage link with a thinner slice of cheese on top. Fold your dough over and press well to seal seams, then roll the toe in your palms to make sure everything is secure and you have a nice oval shape.
To make the almond claws you will need at least one fresh beet. Slice the top off of a fresh beet and place the tuber into a saucepan with enough water to cover. Place half cup of raw almonds into the mixture and bring to a boil. Remove the almonds from the pot after about 15 minutes and continue to simmer the beets until they are fork tender (about 30 minutes to one hour depending on the size of your beets). Let your almonds cool then pinch them one at a time to slip off the skins.
To make the blood stained knuckles on the ogre toes, place a small paring knife into your cooked beet and make three small slits on one end of the toe and then two small slits about an inch or so from the other end of the dough log – leaving room for the red almond claw at the end.
Puree one of the beets and place your skinned almonds to soak in the blood red juice for at least an hour. (I sliced the rest of my beets in the bunch to place in my food dehydrator in order to make a dry powder to use a food colorant in other recipes.)
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Place your finished dough wrapped toes on a baking stone or cooking sheet and let rise in a warm place until they have doubled in size (1 to 2 hours depending on how long your rapid rise yeast takes to work). Before baking, gently press one red almond into the end of the toe. Bake for about 15 minutes at a 375° oven or until golden brown and the dough feels firm.
Serve with your favorite blood (marinara sauce) for dipping. We made a very simple sauce by blending two whole carrots, one sweet onion and handful of fresh basil from my garden with two 16 ounce cans of whole tomatoes from Garden of Eden who guarantee no BPAs in their canned goods. Salt to taste and simmer while we prepared the rest of the meal.
Goat Guts Pizza
Dough for 1 loaf of whole grain bread (same as above, it was easy to make a double batch and divide the dough in half for each entre.)
- 8 ounces goat cheese
- 1 sweet onion sliced into rings
- 1 package brown baby bellas
Roll (or toss if you are a pro) your pizza dough to form a circle to fit your pizza stone, or a rectangle if you will be cooking this on a cookie sheet. Let rise in a warm place until the raw crust has puffed up and doubled in height – about an hour if you are using rapid rise yeast.
Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 15 minutes or until the pizza crust is golden brown on top and firm.
Remove from oven and place on a hot pad. While the crust is still hot place slices of your goat cheese all over the top. Don’t worry about smearing it around – just let it sit for about 15 minutes and the goat cheese will melt enough for you to spread with ease.
Meanwhile sauté your onion and mushrooms on the stove until they are soft.
After the goat cheese has had time to soften use a butter knife and spread the softened cheese all over the top of the pizza crust, as if you were frosting the top of a cake. Top with your onion and mushroom (goat guts) mixture and place under the broiler for 3-5 minutes to sizzle then serve!
Ooey Gooey Black Death
I love a challenge when it comes to creating desserts for people who have special diet considerations. I don’t ever want folks to feel deprived when they have made healthy choices for their body. And passing up dessert should never be required! That’s why I’ve made a protein rich, very low sugar, gluten free and completely vegan chocolate mousse torte that has all the creamy wonderful palate sensations that will satisfy your dessert brain while being kind to your healing journey body!
Here’s what you’ll need:
Cake:
- 3 whole dates
- ½ cup water
- 1 can organic black beans drained
- 1 half package firm tofu
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 bananas
- 2 TBL unsweetened coco powder
I only use whole foods to mildly sweeten my deserts these days. If I am using apple I always keep on the peel to add fiber and help reduce the glycemic bounce. In this recipe I am using whole dates softened in boiling water and pureed to make a paste that is sweet enough to satisfy without overloading your body with too many simple carbs.
Place your whole dates in about a half cup of water and bring to a boil on the stove or in a cup in your microwave for about 2-3 minutes or until the dates are soft.
In your foodprocessor combine your beans, tofu, banana and softened dates and process until soft and smooth. Add baking powder and coco and continue to process until well blended.
Pour into a cake pan (I use a slightly oiled spring form pan) and bake in a 375° oven for 60-70 minutes or until the top feels firm to the touch.
Remember there are NO EGGS in the recipe so feel free to lick the batter spoon!
Frosting
- 1 can organic black beans drained
- 1 half package firm tofu
- 5 whole dates
- ½ cup water
- 3-5 TBL unsweetened coco powder (to taste)
Prepare your dates by simmering gently as you did above then place all of the ingredients into your food processor and blend until smooth. Chill in the fridge until you are ready to frost.
Nutrition Fact for Ooey Gooey Black Death
Frost cake when it is completely cooled and enjoy!
When I entered the ingredients for a serving size of 8 the nutrition facts at http://caloriecount.about.com score this an “A” because it is low fat and high in fiber. Check it out at only 185 calories there are 11 grams of protein! You won’t find that in any other “dessert”!