“Let is snow, let is snow, let it snow!”

I love that song but the sentiment is pretty far fetched here in Saudi Arabia. Luckily, I have found an even more enjoyable way to enjoy the snow – in the form of snowy drifts of white chocolate crumbles topping white chocolate infused vanilla cupcakes.

These are so moist and scrumptious! I whipped up a batch of white chocolate using Bittersweet’s brilliant and very easy recipe – you have got to try it, I was really impressed with how quickly and deliciously it came together. I then melted a tiny bit of the white chocolate and swirled it into my standard vanilla cupcake batter and baked the batch like normal. Then I topped each cupcake with snowy clouds of vanilla frosting and crumbles of more white chocolate and tiny silver sugar balls.

Hmmm….that reminds me of yet another Christmas carol…“Silver Bells….Silver Bells….”

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for your chance to win some great treats!

The weather has finally gotten wintry here, with chilly breezes and nighttime temperatures in the 60s and 70s. We even had a bit of a drizzle the other day, the first of the season! Of course, other than that one cloud it has been clear skies and sunshine as usual.

But with the sweater weather and chilly evenings I have been in major soup mode lately, and this is my favorite creation yet! It is creamy, smoky and veggie filled, but the absolute best part is the crispy zesty chili lime croutons. I could eat them by the handful!

Ingredients

- 4 roasted red bell peppers, chopped (drizzle them with olive oil and pop them in the oven under broil until their skin is black. Let cool, and remove as much of the black skin as you can, then chop.)
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, diced
- 2 cans diced tomatoes
- 2 liters of water
- 1/2 Tbsp cumin
- salt and pepper
- 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can corn, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup rice, cooked according to package directions
- Juice of 3 limes
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 and 1/2 tsp liquid smoke

- In a large soup pot in a drizzle of olive oil saute the onion and celery for about 15 minutes, then add the garlic, salt and pepper and continue cooking for another 15 minutes till it is all soft and tender. While cooking the veggies boil up the cup of rice by itself.

- Add the roasted bell peppers, 2 cans of tomatoes, 2 liters of water, salt, pepper and cumin, and bring to a boil, then lower the temperature and keep at a gentle simmer for about 30 minutes.

- Remove soup from the heat and allow to cool a bit. Blend everything to a creamy consistency with a hand blender and then put back onto the heat.

- Add the black beans, corn, cooked rice, lime juice, cilantro and liquid smoke. Bring back up to heat, top with the croutons, and serve!

Chili Lime Croutons

- Chop up 4 pieces of bread (1 piece for each person eating) and fry it in a tiny bit of vegetable oil til it is very crispy.

- Remove bread from the pan and toss with 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp chili powder and the zest of several limes.

I was lucky enough to have a ‘seasonal visitor’ drop by to help out with the cooking!

I wanted to title this post A Tale of Two Balls but I suppressed my inner 13 year old, aren’t you glad?

I love dessert and I definitely have a sweet tooth, my favorite treat is chocolate! I go through bricks of that stuff a day just to satisfy my cravings. Unfortunately I’m also really sensitive to refined sugar and caffeine and eating massive doses of chocolate can leave me a bit jittery. So lately I have been expanding my culinary horizons and enjoying raw desserts galore, like these epically awesome raw balls.

The chocolate peanut butter balls are my all time favorite raw balls EVER. They are lighter and less dense than most raw desserts I’ve tried and they are absolutely packed with intense chocolatey peanut butter flavor. Melt in your mouth delicious and much softer and creamier than the average piece of chocolate.

The pumpkin pie balls are perfect for this time of year. They are so soft and creamy, just like a bite of pumpkin pie and I made sure to fill them with all the traditional spices.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Raw Balls

1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup oats
6 medjool dates (if they aren’t medjool increase the amount of agave)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp agave nectar
2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 Tbsp cocoa powder

- Blend the cashews, walnuts, and oats into an almost fine powder in a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and combine totally until it is a moist and crumbly. Pack into balls with your hands and eat right away or store in the fridge to eat later.

Pumpkin Pie Balls

1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup walnuts
3/4 cup oats
5 medjool dates
4 Tbsp pumpkin puree
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of cloves
2 Tbsp agave nectar

- Blend the cashews, walnuts, and oats up into a fine powder in the food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until they form a moist, dense mixture. Form into balls and enjoy right away or store in the fridge until later.

Quick note!

There are dozens and dozens of raw ball recipes around the web, I’ve tried many of them but my recipes are, of course, my favorite! But I am so grateful for the inspiration that other people’s ideas and recipes give me and I’d like to acknowledge them. I think it is really important for all of us bloggers to support each other and give each other credit where credit is due. So, many, many thanks for my raw ball inspiration to Chocolate Covered Katie, Oh She Glows, Girl on Raw, and Loves Veggies, Yoga, Running, and Chocolate.