Mini Strawberry Monster Cakes (a recipe!)

Chocolate (that's enough right there)... strawberries... coconut shreds... just the right touch of sweetness.... who could resist? It's all in these dynamically textured, bite-through-four-layers-of-heaven Mini Strawberry Monster Cakes.

Ever wanted a whole cake to yourself? These mini cakes are your answer. The perfect size, with no gluten, grain, or refined sugar to make you feel weighed down.

The only con? You may look like a monster while indulging these... eat with care and possibly a fork and knife to retain dignity.

If nothing else... you need to go make these because they're just so pretty!!

They're the perfect summertime treat to compliment a big glass of iced tea. Or hot tea if you're like me and still like hot tea in the summertime. That's perfect too.

Makes: 4 mini monster cakes

The base cookie (all thrown into one bowl):
-1 TBS coconut flour
-1 egg
-1 TBS almond milk
-1 TBS honey
-1/4 cup silvered almonds
-salt to taste

Mix all ingredients in bowl and stir until thoroughly combined.

Divide into four balls, flattening with palm. Bake on a pre-greased cookie sheet/s to a PREHEATING oven of 400.

While base cookie is baking (around twelve minutes), start on the layers.

Layer one:

-2 tsp coconut oil
-1 heaping TBS greek yogurt
-2 TBS coconut shreds (I used unsweetened but it's really your choice!)
-2 TSP almond butter
-1 TBS coconut flour
-Stevia to taste ( I used a bit over 1/2 tsp)

Mix/mash all ingredients together. Set aside.

Layer two:
Cut up strawberries into thin slices. Sprinkle with stevia if desired. Set aside.

Layer three:
-1 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
-1 TBS honey
-1 TSP almond milk

Stir together.

Now to assemble/ the fun part!

Layer one: Pile the greek yogurt mixture so that it looks like a fluffy cloud atop the chocolate cookie base.
Layer two: Strawberries. stack 3-4 slices of strawberry atop greek yogurt.
Layer three: drizzle the chocolate.
Layer four: add a dollop of stevia sweetened greek yogurt or whip cream  to flourish.

And you're done! So delicious and I'm sure you had fun baking them! *round of applause* Enjoy!

Note: all recipes posted here are fully my creation unless noted otherwise.

why this project is perfection // nail polish// a desperately-failing-cinderella wanna-be, and a broken dishwasher.

I'll go ahead and say it and join the myriad of other photographers who've proclaimed similar - the 365 project is the best thing I have ever done for my photography. ever. I think I may even rank it above going to  a couple of (albeit very good and extremely fun) photography courses... or at least rank it on level ground. why? because i'm just learning so much! to dig a little deeper: it's teaching me my style of photographs so much better than anything else I have ever done. my.style. not someone else's. not what you like. but what I like. 

it's teaching me to capture the feel I want in my photos - i still have so far to go but i'm making baby steps forward. 

it's teaching my perseverance with my photography - that it's okay to take some bad photos - that doesn't mean you're horrible at photography. there will be tomorrow and  you may or may not take a better photo then - but either way you're moving forward in some way. 

it's taught (and is definitely still teaching me!) how catch the genuine magic in the everyday - I still have much further to go here, but i've taken steps forward. it's taught me to dig deeper. when my creativity is lower than low, I dig down. I see what I'm made of and I grow a little. 

it's taught me that i love wider apertures - I always thought I liked smaller apertures 90% of the time. it's teaching me not to be afraid of my camera. things that you just don't really grasp until you've practiced consistently. so yes - it's also shown me how incredibly vital consistent practice is! not just sporadic pick-up-my-camera-only-when-i-have-an-offical-photoshoot-happening. that doesn't work. no wonder I had become so irritated with my work. I still get irritated with my work - but it doesn't bother me nearly so much now because I know that I just need to keep moving forward and things will improve! 

and so I close with my little spill. you'd think some company was sponsoring me to promote the 365 project, ha. ;) 

without further ado:  week sixteen/365: 

Thursday: photo one-hundred-seven: baking homemade cookies... warm deliciousness straight from the oven. no more needn't be said. 

Friday: photo one-hundred-eight: sewing formal dress for a spring ball... mid afternoon with light streaming through windows and cinderella playing in the background. i worked sew hard on it (tehe, get it? of course you do. corny pun #2100) and was on pins and needles to get it done in time... 

(^what you don't need to know: that said dress turned out to fit in... er, a very unfitting way... and in the end had to wear a dress i already had). 

Saturday: photo one-hundred-nine: day of spring ball came. i painted my nails the colors of a french manicure and felt quite elegant (who doesn't with white on the tips of their fingers?).

Sunday: photo one-hundred-ten: 

dishes in the washer. dishwasher broke (you don't need to know what this is like in a family of six) and so there the dishes go in the washer not to wash... but to dry. 

Monday: photo one-hundred-eleven: bird outside my window. red birds are the loveliest. i rarely ever manage to grab my camera in time when i see a chirping creature out my window - this time i did however. and no sooner after did it go flying back to the sky. 

Tuesday: photo one-hundred-twelve: salads. big, huge salads with colorful yumminess as a topping. summertime approaching will make you crave the leafy greens like no other time of the year does. it's just so right to have a super sized fresh salad on a warm evening... it just fits. 

this salad i made had pineapple, salsa, and sunflowers seeds. so good! 

Wednesday: photo one-hundred-thirteen: 

in the morning upon waking up... still all house shoe worn and bed head abundant, my kitties will come up to me, rubbing against my legs, purring, whatever it takes to get their little ear's rubbed and their backs scratched. of course i'm happy to oblige and they make my morning all the merrier (and ohdear, now i *know i sound like a true old maid/crazy cat woman). 

the end. :)  

-Rebecca 

the recipe for happiness (aka... scrumptious gluten/grain free brownies)

want the recipe for one super delectable brownie? one that's scrumptious, moist, delish… and… wait for it - pretty darn healthy guiltless too? you've come to the right place, my friends! i have here the keys to a delectable brownie recipe. one you need to go make… right now. because it's just that yum. and as a bonus: it's sugar, grain/gluten free and packed with protein and fiber. what's not to love? {that would be nothing}

enjoy in your favorite oversized sweater or pjs with a rawther large cup of tea/coffee and a good book. you'll be happy and feel good too! promise.

without further ado - the recipe:

 1/3 cup butter (could sub coconut oil if desired)
3 tbs apple sauce
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
6 eggs 
1/2 cup stevia or 1/3 cup raw honey (note: if using stevia i find the nunaturals brand to be the best) 
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 coconut flour
optional: chocolate chips

directions: preheat oven to 350. 
combine all ingredients excluding coconut flour. mix. stir in the coconut flour until batter is no longer lumpy. add in chocolate chips if desired. bake in pre-greased pan for about 30-35 minutes. take out, allow to cool, and indulge in pure ecstasy and happiness! 

week fifteen... and photo one hundred!! late-night reads, dessert for lunch, and lazy saturdays...

Week fifteen and photo one-hundred! that's exciting! 

Thursday: photo ninety-nine: reading late into the night. i think that's something everyone has done at least once to no regret. i love getting caught so deeply into a book's words that you lose both yourself and the time. all in the dead of night... with your covers pulled up, your pillow soft, the lights dim, and your feet warm.  

Friday: photo ONE-HUNDRED!!!!!!!! (YAY! that deserves all caps!): 

brownie, anyone? you know you shouldn't should! delicious, moist, and homemade, who would want to resist? 

as of late i've been on a baking kick. experimenting with various types of gluten-free treats is so enjoyable to me - a good way to de-stress and just have fun with one of my favorite things in life... food! ;) ha. so as a way to share this fun with my lovely readers i plan to, at least on a occasion (possibly a new weekly blogpost series), share a new (healthy-esque) recipe. stay tuned... the recipe for these brownies will be coming to a google reader near you (and who wouldn't want the recipe for a brownie as scrumptious as these?)! 

Saturday: photo one-hundred-one (yikes, that takes longer to type...): 

firstly- please don't hate on my for all the smudge prints i have on my computer screen (surely you have at least a couple on yours???). secondly - saturday mornings are perfect (well - as perfect as any morning could possibly be *winkwink*). yes. i make a point to make my saturday mornings as lazy and lovely as possible. saturday mornings, to me - they're staying in my pjs while i eat breakfast. they're eating breakfast outside on my porch. they're taking time to sit on pinterest with a hot mug of tea/coffee and zone out. they're making pancakes or cookies in my pjs - just because i can. they're doing whatever i feel like... they're lazy and they're lovely and they're full of pretty shadows and gorgeous light.

Sunday: photo one-hundred-two: desert for lunch, anyone? i mean, who would turn that down? ever? not i! if it helps any - these mini chocolate-mouse-with-coconut-crust pies are suprisingly healthy - gluten and refined sugar free. so indulge away! i made these little pies as a quick and last minute lunch/tea. 

(p.s. don't pick on the fact that they're considerably less than perfect looking). ;)  

Monday: photo one-hundred-three: tea. vanilla chai tea. never tried chai tea? you should! it's has a warming flavor and is wonderful on chilly nights. make sure and add milk and sweetener too! 

Tuesday: photo one-hundred-four: being on the road for multiple hours will suddenly make you pretty creative. to keep the boredom at bay? photograph various contrasting fields and scenery as you whiz by. i love how they're all the same but quite different. 

Wednesday: photo one-hundred-five: the kittens. my babies (i knowiknow i really do sound like the proper crazy cat lady right now)! but really - you can't deny how adorable they are! they're girl-boy siblings and forever inseparable. they're precious to watch together - they preen and kiss one another, always watching for the other's welfare. when they take kitty-naps together - oh it's just so precious! 

mo and howdy are their names... and playing is their favorite game...!  

that's a wrap. 

-rebecca

365: week fourteen

Week fourteen of my 365 project! whew, is it sad to say i'm slightly impressed i've made it this far? er, maybe my expectations aren't high enough for myself, heh. just taking it one day at a time - enjoying the stretch! honestly, however, it's really not too hard of a project to keep up with at the end of the day.  sometimes i do have a hard time coming up with interesting things to take photos of however. it really is a skill - cultivating eyes to see beauty and intrigue in the ordinary.

Wednesday: photo ninety-one: ask me what the soundtrack to my childhood would be? i would promptly answer with "enya". oh lovely enya. her music truly was the soundtrack and essence of my younger years. the carefree days when i would create to simply create. when i just was - i knew how to just "be". i think when you're younger you know how to just "be" more so you're more alive, you know? 
i came across the old cover to my first enya cd and looked through it, reminiscing. it brought back a lot of memories and creative dreams. and just for the record - i still adore enya's music! 

Thursday: photo ninety-two: apples, cinnamin and stevia. they're reallyreally good together. it's like making an ordinary snack into something a little more special (interpret: dessert-esque) with no harm done. and who's not a believer in making the small things count? :)

Friday: photo ninety-three: the edge of my comforter. 

Saturday: photo ninety-four: the days of oversized sweaters and fuzzy socks are quickly slipping away. this makes me sad. so i'm getting in as much last-minute usage of my comforting happy clothes in as possible! no, i'm really not a fan of summer's clothing. 

Sunday: photo ninety-five: marilla. her silhouwette looks fierce and tyrantical (and she likes it that way).

Monday: photo ninety-six: going outside i pick blades of brightly hued grass and assemble them into a shape... complete it looks like a dandelion. the loveliest kind of weed.

Tuesday: photo ninety-seven: the other morning as i groggily grappled for morning's first coffee i was struck by a sight outside my kitchen window... a deer, so very close: staring as much into my eyes as i was into it's. the deer made a run for it soon after, making it's way to the side of my house and into the woods too quickly to catch it in a frame. instead of the deer i found my dog contently watching out the window in the aftermath. not as unoridinary as a deer, but a happy sight nonetheless. 

Wednesday: photo ninety-eight: 
flips flops and tan lines and bare feet. the sun is fierce and the air is getting heavy. summer is indeed on it's way. happy-sad about this. :) 

also, do you guys enjoy it when i put the photos super sized? or do you like them as they are in this post? i'd love to hear your thoughts on this! :) 

thank you for looking! 
-Rebecca 

365 - thirteen. dear diary, pretty dresses, and carrots.

week thirteen of my 365.

Wednesday: photo eighty-four: freshly picked flowers on kitchen island. light streaming in through  windows - early morning sunshine at it's peak. bleak yet pretty shadows to contrast... it's in these little things one finds joy. 

Thursday: photo eighty-five: my newest hands-on project. a formal thrift-shop dress rescue (for a spring ball). i don't sew often... largely for two reasons. it's time consuming! really time consuming. and secondly: it takes patience. more than i generally have. however once in a blue moon i get both the itch and the time to commence on a big thread and needle project. 
now this dress will not stay this dress... it is going to get a complete make-over! i personally think it looks a bit hokey right now - i plan to change this. we will see however! i hope to post a after photo once it is complete. 

Friday: photo eighty-six: a chair. morning light. shadows. 

Saturday: photo eighty-seven: grass blades. more shadows. 

Monday: photo eighty-eight: occasionally when i'm feeling overly ambitious i make something for lunch. you know, like actually turn on the oven and get out a knife and cutting board and gather a few ingredients. i know, quite impressive. being in such a mood i made some carrot chips (which turned out more like simply roasted carrots, but still delicious). 
after dicing the carrots i tossed them in coconut oil, cinnamon, and a bit of stevia for a touch of sweetness. baked at 350. delish! you should try. 

Tuesday: photo eighty-nine: fresh beauty even in the old. 

Wednesday: photo ninety: writing in my diary. it's a nightly tradition. okay, well maybe not an every night tradtion. i'm not that on top of things. but when i can... and when something eventful has happened. it's like letting out all the steam and pent up emotions you have inside all spill out.. with no consequinces... and only you to look back and see how silly and immature you once reacted emotionally. ha. it's brilliant! 

the end. 

-becca