Cookbook Review: Love Fed by Christina Ross

I love cookbooks. I know that this love is a little beyond obsessive. I just love the pictures and the ideas that people come up with and collate into glossy food porn. This love of cookbooks started in my early 20's on lazy, hungover Sunday's when I would sit on the floor in my kitchen, just wishing that the food on the pages would somehow magically appear in front of me.

Recently, I was sent a lovely little package in the mail which consisted of a book called Love Fed- Purely Decadent, Simply Raw, Plant-Based Desserts. Just the cover alone speaks volumes to me with its promise of enticing, raw, fresh food. The book is by Christina Ross and I must admit, I love her style. The photos of both her and the food are beautiful and I just love her positivity. It shines through in the way that she writes. Plus, her outfits are really cute.

Christina Ross tells of her personal story. She was working in a successful job and quit it all to follow her passion for food. I just love a story like that. It just goes to show that no matter what, if you follow your heart, dreams can come true. Oh, so gushy! The thing I also like about the fact that she sells her food? For a start, you know that these recipes have been tried and tested by not just a small group of people, but people who know what sells. And in order to for people to turn over their hard earned cash, it's gotta be good, right??

The recipes contained within the colourful cover are easy to follow and most of them contain ingredients that I have in my refrigerator. For the ingredients that I don't have, Ross gives suggestions for substitutions. She's also created "Make it your own" boxes under each recipe so that you can expand on your favourite recipe and make it your own. I really like that idea as I rarely ever follow a recipe to a tea and rather work with what I have on hand.

Looking through this book, the maple banana tiramisu trifle jumped out at me, mostly because the ingredients called for cold drip coffee which is all the rage here in Adelaide at the moment. Being a DIY kinda girl, I already had some that I had made earlier in the fridge. It's so easy. I'll have to tell you about that later.

The ingredients for the trifle were all in my cupboard. I really like a recipe that I don't have to go shopping for. That makes my life so much easier, especially with my little 5 week old finally asleep.

The whole thing was a synch to make. Seriously. I can't tell you how often I look at raw recipes and put them straight back down because they just look too complicated. This one took me maybe 5 minutes to put together and then it was just chill time.

The flavour combinations work together so well. The creaminess of the cashew cream with the hit of the coffee and the freshness of  the banana. I kinda don't want to tell my husband about it. He'll eat it all.

This is my go at the recipe. My husband just walked in, saw this photo and asked if there was any left. I knew it! Good thing it's easy to make. He can DIY that.

The book is having a blog tour and today is my day to tell you all about it. Have a look at the other blogs to see other recipes from the book. Have a look at the Love Fed website to get more of a feel of what I'm talking about. You can even buy the book there.

This is what I am going to make next. The Banana-Toffee Pie. I can't tell you how much I've been craving this beauty since going vegan. Ross has kindly supplied the recipe so that I can share it with you. If its as good as the trifle, I'll cement this in as a new dessert favourite. Share the love! 

Banana-Toffee Pie

Yield: One 8" pie

Prep time: 30 minutes

Alex and I are in love with Costa Rica. He took me there when we first met (it was my very first trip outside of the United States), so it’s a place near and dear to my heart. In Costa Rica, the locals are very warm-hearted and the land is verdant and abundant. As soon as you leave the airport in San José, you begin seeing all kinds of fruit trees, especially bananas. There are banana trees everywhere, including right outside our door in Alajuela, the first place we stayed. I quickly learned that there’s nothing like the taste of a fresh-picked banana. It has an almost pineapple undertone. This Banana-Toffee Pie is my homage to Costa Rica and its lovely banana trees. It contains a variety of natural sweeteners, including lucuma powder, a low-glycemic extract from the Peruvian fruit lucuma.

CRUST

½ c. Brazil nut flour

½ c. coconut flour

¼ c. coconut palm sugar

1/8 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. maple extract

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tbsp. coconut nectar

CARAMEL

¾ c. plus 2 tbsp. melted cacao butter (see page 27)

¼ c. lucuma powder

¾ c. coconut nectar

1 tsp. butterscotch extract

FILLING

1 large firm but ripe banana

CREAM

1 tsp. vanilla bean powder or vanilla extract

1 ¾ c. coconut cream

Basic raw chocolate (page 32), for garnish

Line an 8" pie pan with wax paper.

To make the crust: Place the Brazil nut flour, coconut flour, palm sugar, sea salt, maple extract, and vanilla extract in a food processor. Turn on the machine and, as it’s running, add the coconut nectar. Process until well combined but still very crumbly. Pour the crumbs into the pie pan. Working your way from the center out, press the crumbs down and out toward the edges, then up the sides with your thumb to form an even crust. Set aside and make the caramel.

To make the caramel: Place the melted cacao butter in a small bowl, then add the lucuma powder, coconut nectar, and butterscotch extract. Whisk with a fork until all clumps are gone and the mixture turns a caramel color. Pour three-fourths of the caramel into the piecrust and reserve the remainder for later use. Make the filling and the cream. 

To make the filling: Slice the banana into 1⁄4" rounds. Place the

slices on top of the caramel layer, working your way from the center out.

To make the cream: Place the vanilla bean powder and coconut cream in a medium bowl. Mix lightly with an electric or hand mixer until fluffy, about 2 minutes.