Fast & Easy Valentine's Day Desserts-Part 2, Mailbox Finds, Raw/Vegan Questions

I can't believe it's already Wednesday?!  I am about to hump on over to teach a hot power yoga class on this fine Hump Day.  How's your week been going?  If you're doing Valentine's Day Gifts with your significant other, have you been shopping?  Or, are you letting your fingers do the walking and you're making restaurant reservations?  I kinda like the sound of that!  As for us, as I mentioned yesterday, we're plan-less and Scott's traveling.  

Thanks for filling me in on your plans, or lack thereof, for Valentine's Day.  And also your thoughts about homemade gifts.   I agree, that homemade gifts are awesome and it sounds like most of you feel the same way.

And, also thanks for the praise on the Fast and Easy Valentine's Day Desserts that will certainly impress that special someone in your life.  And if you don't have a special someone, hey, you'll at least impress yourself when you realize how easy it is to make something that rocks your tastebuds. 
Dessert #1 was the Vegan Fudge
It's rich, decadent, fudgy, wonderful.  Good vegan stuff.  And it's soy/nut/gluten free which is a bonus in my book.
Dessert #2 was Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries

Before I get to Part 2 of my Fast & Easy Valentine's Day Desserts, I wanted to show you what was waiting for me in the mail!

First, Tropical Traditions sent me some Coconut Cream Concentrate. 
If you don't know what this product is, and I doubt many people do, it's pure coconut meat ground into a fine powder, no additives, but it's creamy because of the high fat content. 
Here's the Product Info from Tropical Traditions' Site:
"Coconut Cream Concentrate is certified organic whole coconut meat in concentrated form. It contains no additives* (not even water). The dried coconut meat is ground into a very fine powder, giving it a creamy consistency due to its high fat content. Since it is 70% fat, it is a rich source of pure coconut oil. Note: this is a food, not a cooking oil."
 Look closely and see the 3 gradations in the jar of the coconut meat and coconut fat.  Pretty cool!
This stuff is going to come in so handy when I don't want to open a whole can of coconut milk because I need only a couple tablespoons or a half cup coconut milk, like in my Vegan Fudge Recipe.
Or when making my Vegan Countertop Coconut Milk Kefir, if I wanted to make a smaller batch and don't want to use a whole can, or conversely if I wanted to make a huge batch of kefir, I can really control for the volume and amount of coconut milk I need this way, with none wasted.  
I hate wasting food or feeling like I have to scramble to use up whatever I opened but the Coconut Creme Concentrate takes care of that problem, completely.
Next, as a Birthday Gift for Skylar, Katie of Making Food and Other Stuff  sent Skylar this Apron
and Birthday Card
Skylar loves receiving and opening mail. 
And at her age, it's all "good mail".  She doesn't get any bills or tax notices, yet.
Katie has a new Etsy Shop and is an absolutely magnificently crafty lady.  And she's also really creative in the kitchen, as Heather made reference to Katie's Awesome Sauce in her Post Yesterday.
Skylar Loves her New Apron!  And it looks soooo cute on her.  Katie, I cannot thank you enough.  Your generosity is wonderful and you made both Skylar and I smile with the apron.  Thank You!!!!  If you guys want to see what she sells, check out her Etsy Shop.

But since I know everyone's chomping at the bit for the next Valentine's Day Dessert, Here It Is:

Easy, Fast, Valentine's Day Dessert Number 3
Peanut Butter Cup & Dark Chocolate Carmel Chocolate Chip Cookies
I can't take credit for the first version of this recipe, it came from Susan (who said she saw these peanut butter cup cookies on Hallie?s blog)
But before the vegan police come for me, I am going to veganize, gluten, and soy-free this one at the end.  Sit tight and keep reading.

Step One.  Load up on crappy but highly tasty food-like items.  Michael Pollan would probably say this isn't food.
...a cooking-sprayed or greased muffin tray.  Don't forget the spray or grease or these won't pop out! I bet coconut oil that I'm giving away would rock as the grease!
Bake for about 6-7 minutes at 350F or until the tops are barely brown
While you're waiting, be productive:  Unwrap your PB Cups.  And I thought the dark chocolate Dove candies with caramel centers would be lovely, too.
Make sure Flying Tinkerbell doesn't eat the candy pile.
Skylar actually is very trustworthy.  She knows to sit tight because this food is going to be on mommy's blog.  And after all the pictures have been taken, she gets her tastes and sample bites.  The offspring of food bloggers learn young: pictures first, eating second.  Don't touch til we get the shot.
The 6-7 Minute Wait Is Over.  Remove the lightly browned cookies from the oven, which puffed up nicely.
And drop in the bombs.  The sound that the barely-there cookie crust made as I punctured the barely browned surface with the chocolate candies was the sweetest little music to your ears that you could ever imagine.

Peanut Butter Cup Bombs
And Dark Chocolate Caramel Bombs.  I bet Mounds Bar or Almond Joy or Snickers Bombs would be tasty too.
Back into the oven for another 4-6 minutes or until done.  
**Note the chocolate will not really melt, so watch the cookie part, not the chocolate candy part, for doneness. 

Remove from Oven and Let Cool Completely... 
...before you Store them or give them to your Sweetheart.   
 And Yes. They were met with Rave Reviews.
He couldn't decide if he liked the Peanut Butter Cup ones...
...Or the Dark Chocolate Caramel Ones Better.  Hmmm....

Ok so that the vegan police don't blow a gasket...I can rawify and veganize this one, no problem.

Whip up some high Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Spoon the dough into your Muffin Tray
Add & Melt a Few Squares of Vegan, i.e. dark baker's, Chocolate or Chocolate Chips.  
Or, Make Your Own Raw Chocolate:
3 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
2 Tbsp Agave
1 T Tbsp Coconut Oil 
Dash of Vanilla Extract
Stir

Or make your own Vegan White Chocolate Like I Told You About Here
Put the Chocolate into the Raw Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough that's now in the muffin trays and Bake if you Wish, or don't bake and just enjoy the Dough.  
There's always a choice in my recipes; to each her own! I would never judge someone on how they choose to get their chocolate groove on!!! haha!!!  Even if it involves store-bought ingredients!
Dinner was a Green Medley:  Mixed Greens, Asparagus, Brussle's, Cukes, Tomatoes, Sugar Snap Peas
And dressed it with homemade Vegan Slaw Dressing

Dessert for Scott was obvious.
Dessert for me was a couple Chocolate Dipped Strawberries that I made yesterday with my version of Raw Vegan Chocolate.


Yoga Today is Eka Pada Sirsanana

Tip of the Day:  My Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil Give Away!!!!!
If you're not entered, what the heck are you waiting for?!  The Winner Will be Chosen on Friday (the 12th) just in time for Valentine's Day!   

P.S. As I posted about earlier today, I installed a new commenting system!  Woo-Hoo!!!!   It sounds like everyone's liking it so far, and that some of you who were previously unable to comment, can do so now.   As an aside, anyone who is running Internet Explorer, Version 7...You need to update to a newer version because many Blogspot Blogs are very glitchy with IE 7, that's one thing I have learned that I can pass along.   If you need any tips or info on creating an ID with the new comment system, in this post I linked back to some FAQ's the company provides.
**EDITED TO ADD: Something weird happened and half my comments on this post were going with the new system, and then reverted back to Blogger's Old System.  Not sure what's going on guys, bear with me!!!!

Questions:
Favorite Store-Bought Candy?  Since Valentine's Day is basically a reason to buy chocolate and candy, I thought I'd ask what your faves are!  
 I would say that Sees Candies are my favorite but when I was a kid, I loved 100 Grand Bars and Heath Bars.  Now that I'm an adult, I really just enjoy dark, dark, chocolate.  Yum!

What would you be interested in knowing about Raw Foods or Being High Raw/Vegan? 
I am doing a 2 Hour Live Cooking Demonstration and Q & A Session with Yoga Students and those in Teacher Training this weekend.  I want to gear my presentation to things that are useful: For Them.   Some things I was going to discuss were simply how to incorporate more raw/vegan foods in their everyday life, what to make, how to grocery shop to save money and not let your produce spoil...but I would love to hear the first few things off the top of your heads that if you were attending my presentation, you want to hear about.  What would be of interest to you?  What would you like to learn?  I am trying to keep it casual because I am going to be cooking while answering everyone's questions and giving my little talk and don't have the brain bandwidth to discuss the finer points of food combining or anything, but I would love to hear your questions and thoughts!

Random...Are You Sick of Winter?  My goodness, it has seemed never ending here and I can't wait for it to warm up!  How about you, are you ready for Spring?

Stay Tuned For A Few of My Favorite Things & Mailbox Finds....