Hello!!! I'm more than happy to share
with you the blogpost done by the fashion designer Carolina Benoit. I opened
the doors of my house and shared with her some guilt free and delicious vegan
desserts recipes!
Ps. the rosettes dress I'm wearing is
from her fall collection! You can pre-order by visiting her store:
www.carolinabenoit.com
I hope you have as much fun reading
this as I did cooking the desserts and posing for Caro's lens ;)
BUSINESS GIRL
CRUSH: LAUREN & FOOD FROM THE HEART
The modern Marie Antoinettes have
found their go-to place for afternoon tea cakes! With her magic wand or
better yet, kitchen aid mixer, this chef creates beautiful little cakes (and
many other things) that any girl with a sweet tooth will die for! We present to
you our latest business girl crush: Miami’s Lauren Arboleda, the girl behind
Food From The Heart, who opened her prim Miami kitchen to teach us some vegan
recipes and answer our Proust Questionnaire, all while wearing our rosettes
dress…
Carolina Benoit: How did you decided to take the leap and open your
own business?
Lauren Arboleda: As soon as I finished High School, I went to Rome for a
year, and attended cooking classes while working in a restaurant’s kitchen.
During that year I would travel every weekend and tried to absorb every country
through its food. After that, I moved to Atlanta, took photography classes and
finally came to Miami where I’m currently finishing my marketing major at UM. I
created Food From The Heart to merge my passions: cooking and conquering
people’s heart through food and helping the world by supporting the non-profit
organization for HIV infected children.
- CB: Now
the fun part! What is your most marked characteristic?
LA: I
put my heart into everything I do.
- CB: What
is your dream of happiness?
LA: Being
able to share my food, vision and good energy with others.
- CB: Any place you
dream to travel?
LA: India.
Colors, smells, new tastes…
- CB: What is your Favorite color
LA: Pink, I can’t deny it, I’m a girly girl!
(We noticed that
when she picked our super romantic and ultra girly pink rosettes dress for this
photo-shoot, good choice Lauren!)
-CB: What is your favorite flower?
LA: Hortensia, Pink Peony and Lavender.
-CB: Who are your heroes in real life?
LA: My mom and dad, they are my daily
inspiration. My father teaches me to work hard for what I really want,
self-discipline and persistence. And my mom teaches me to enjoy life, to laugh,
think positively and most importantly, to live in the present.
-CB: What is your
natural gift?
-LA: My creativity and
the ability to mix and match colors, textures and flavors, I would say, my good
taste.
-CB: What is your
motto?
LA: “Do not dwell in the past, do not
dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment” – Buddha
-CB: Any tips for kitchen
challenged girls like me?
LA: I recommend
to start by getting familiar with the flavors, accents, and textures of food.
If you do this, you will be able to start putting things together by instinct.
Also, cook with your heart.
Cheat-Chocolate Treats:
Serves: 10
Ingredients:
- 4 oz semi-sweet baking chocolate
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 2/3 cup of Kahlua
- 1/2 cup tahine
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups of almond flour
- 1 cup of stevia/sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/3 cup of dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
Pre-heat oven to 350 F. Heat the almond milk in a
saucepan (almost to boil point). Add the chopped semi-sweet baking chocolate,
Kahula, tahine, and vanilla and let the mixture be completely smooth until the
chocolate is melted. Add the almond flour, powdered sugar, baking powder, cocoa
and salt together to the chocolate mixture, stir until combined. Transfer
mixture to silicone molds and bake for 15 minutes.
Pistachio Cake With Grand Marnier & Orange
Serves: 4
to 5
Cake Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup toasted any finely ground pistachios
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut yogurt
- 3 oz soft silken tofu
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- Pinch of salt
Pre-heat oven to 325 F. In the mean
while combine the tofu, yogurt, sugar, olive oil, and vanilla in a mixer
at medium speed until combined. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and
salt. Beat until well combined. Add the pistachios and beat again. Bake
for 20 minutes. (use the toothpick test)
Marmalade Ingredients:
- 1 orange
- 1 lemon
- 1 cup of water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup Grand Marnier
Garnish Ingredients:
- 1/4 toasted and chopped pistachios
- 1/4 cup of fresh pomegranate sedes
Slice the orange and lemon into 1/4-inch slices, no
seeds. In a saucepan combine the orange, lemon, water, sugar and Grand Marnier
and bring to boil at high heat and then lower the heat, cover and let the
marmalade cook for 45 min to 1 hour. Use a food processor until the mixture is
thick and chunky.
Vanilla Coconut Creme
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- 1/4 cups coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon agar powder
- 6 ounces soft silken tofu
- 2 tablespoons agave syrup
- Pinch of salt
- Unsweetened shredded toasted coconut for garnish
In a saucepan mix the coconut milk and agar for 15
minutes. In a blender combine the coconut milk mixture, tofu, agave syrup,
vanilla and salt until smooth. Pour into ramekins and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Sweet Cashew cream with Chambord and Berries
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
Cream:
- 3/4 cup raw cashew pieces
- 8 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained
- 1/4 cup agave syrup
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoons Cognac
- 1 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Chambord Syrup:
- 1/2 cup chambord
- 1 1/2 cup of Blackberries, raspberries,
blackberries and lemon zest for garnish.
In a food processor combine all the ingredients for
the cream until smooth and refrigerate. In a sauce pan bring the Chambord to
simmer until its reduced by half. refrigerate. Serve the cream, chambord syrup
and topping the bowl with the berries and lemons zest.
