Galette. The word which commonly refers mainly to certain pies is associated in my mind with a crazy person. As “galen” means “crazy” in Swedish and “galette” could then easily be a crazy person in Italian, or something.

In my head I see a passionate woman with a messy hair and flour dust all over her face who is so crazy about pies that she doesn’t have time to polish it and fiddle with it, so she just mixes whatever fruit or berries she can find, throws the fillings in the center of the dough and sort of slaps the sides in the middle so that the pie barely keeps it’s form and then swooshes it into the oven! And when the pie is done, she eats it while still standing in front of the kitchen counter with her apron on. Sucking her fingers in between devouring because the pie is still way too hot, but at the same time way too tempting and delicious for her to keep her fingers away from it.

Well, the reality is much more boring, and galette means just a flat cake, usually a rustic berry or fruit filled pie. Or quite surprisingly, a thin man. But not a crazy baker. Only in my head. And possibly in yours too now.

So with that image in your mind I suggest you to try this luscious gluten-free berry galette that is super simple to make. And even though nothing usually beats freshly baked pies this pie is actually maybe even more delicious if you happen to have the willpower to save it for the next day.

When I did the first batch I savored it immediately.

Yes, with my apron on, in front of the oven. Yes, I am the messy crazy baker lady described. Yes, you already knew it, I know.

But, with the second batch I managed to save a few pieces until the next day. And boy was it moist and tasty then!

Next I’m going to make one pie to be eaten right away and one to be saved until the day after. I’m also planning to try this base with peaches and raspberries and with apples and cinnamon. Strawberries & rhubarb I already tried, and It was heaven! Pears and figs would work with this one too
And why not also savory fillings! Like mushrooms and onions, or roasted vegetables and herbs. Or squash and ricotta!

Ok, apparently my summer is going to be just totally “galette”. Hopefully yours too!

V

Try this galette for example with vegan vanilla ice cream, they are match made in heaven! Healthy ice cream recipes can be found in our Kind Ice Cream for You eBook.

Hi Honeys! I have been in silence here for quite some time, mainly because I have been soaking my feet in the golden sands and foaming waters of Venice Beach, LA and also enjoying the blooming spring of New York and tried to keep myself as far from computer as possible. With a quite great success, as you may have noticed.

The other thing that is keeping me busy elsewhere is my book project, well, actually TWO book projects that I´m currently working on. (Gonna hype more about them later! But may I just say that there will be coming up some insanely delicious stuff made with a big and shining heart!) And because there is only one me and only certain amount of hours in the day and a soul that seeks also for relaxed family time so that easily equals some tranquility in this channel.

But, now I got you something special to make up my absence: A luxurious and truly amazing chocolate cake in a jar recipe that I designed a while ago to one Finnish web site but hadn´t posted it here yet. This layered sweetie has it all – the creaminess, some crunchiness, the rich cake layer and above all delicious taste and wholesome ingredients!

And it is actually very simple to assemble even though the instructions may seem quite complicated by a first glance. You just layer some clean chocolate cake crumble, raw chocolate sauce, banana, nuts and coconut whipped cream in a jar and then spoon the magic in your mouth! simple and sensational.

Please let me know the level of your love when you decide to try it! At least my heart expanded to the maximum already with the first bite.

V

CHOCOLATE LUXURY CAKE IN A JAR

These last days I have been so grateful for all the feedback and daily messages that I am receiving from the people who have bought my KIITOS HYVÄÄ -cook book (in Finnish) and who have cooked something that has blown their mind away and taken them to healthy treats heaven. That is absolutely the best thing for me as a cook book author. To success to inspire and give new ideas for clean eating. And to read, hear and see the reaction of the people when they notice how good, let´s say for example a raw blueberry cheese cake or raspberry candy sticks can taste or how delicious a Cherry Garcia ice cream made mainly from hemp seeds, raw chocolate and honey can be!

After my book was published in December it has been the best selling cook book (for 3 months already!) for example in this Finnish online book store. And that is beyond amazing! It says clearly that people are tired of that shabby, shitty and bloated feeling they get from the traditional pastries, and that they want to feel good not only when they are dropping that piece of cake into their mouths but also afterwards. And no-one wants to give up their pleasures and sweet treats! And actually no-one has to, you just have to pick better ingredients and maybe learn few new tricks.

At the moment I´m looking for a publisher in the US and in Europe so that I could get the book in other languages also, for aaaall you people with sweet n clean cravings out there! Many of you have been asking for an English version, and I also heard a funny rumor that such would be published any day soon. But as far as I know it is not happening just yet, although I took it as a sign, so maybe in the near future it will be not just a rumor but also reality. Fingers crossed!

In the meantime I will share one of the most loved recipes from the book – Sea Salt Toffee Candies aka Nut Butter Toffee! We also made a video of them sponsored by the great nu3.fi. CHECK IT OUT!

And because all the feedback that I have received from these I really have to give a word of caution: These golden cuties seem to be truly addictive stuff. They are super easy to make and they taste delicious. Before you notice you´ll be making another batch. And another, and another.
Regardless, please do try!

V

SEA SALT TOFFEE CANDIES

Everything easygoing feels now very tempting. Or maybe those kind of things always attract me like a light bulb attracts the fly. Light-hearted, bright and laid-back essence just feels the right way to be. Ask for example from golden retrievers, daisies or from these carefree little blondies!

So the recipe of the day is called Flourless blondies, Flourless Chickpea Blondies, to be exact.

Once again, a surprise ingredient! Peas. But you´d never guess by the delicious taste what they are actually made of. And that is because they get their genius side kick from banana, almond butter, honey and vanilla extract and maybe, if you will, from a pinch of cinnamon too. So good, I promise!

And I love the way how they are super easy to make, just blend all ingredients in a blender, pour into a pan and bake. Ta-daa! And the whole procedure takes less that 30 minutes from the moment you start having cravings until the moment you pop them out from the oven. My kind of darlings!

And speaking of darlings, I would love you to be one too and vote my blog at Saveur magazine´s annual food blog awards, in case you like my recipes, photos and videos or find this page inspiring! Nominations close on March 13 so you´ll have two more days to vote. Getting nominated would mean a lot to my work.

Thank you and have a lovely and light-hearted rest of the week!

V

FLOURLESS CHICKPEA BLONDIES

Sunny summer greetings from the grey and rainy Finland! You dear blogger is totally in shining summer vibes here even though the weather gives us no reason to actually celebrate just yet.

The cause of my mental summer trip is that I´m preparing here one super nice surprise for you guys for the upcoming spring and summer. So inspired by that I have taken kind of a head start here, wearing floral pants, eating ice-cream and all that.

And speaking of ice-cream. I found this old recipe which is actually one of my most loved vegan ice-cream recipes that is maybe familiar to some of my Finnish readers who followed my old blog. Because it is truly a crime to hold this delicious recipe for myself I decided to put it online again and translate it of course also to english.

So here they are, my super delicious vegan ice-cream pops that are easily made with only just 3 ingredients. And when you add just a few bonus seasonings you´ll get yourself a really luxurious treat. I recommend to try them in both ways!

V

DAIRY-FREE CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM POPS