Monday, February 8, 2010 at 05:34 PM
Hey again
Twin Cakes Bakery has added a few new items to the Pure2raw store.
In addition, for a limited time only Valentine’s Day special treats. The special starts today Monday Feb 8 and ends Saturday Feb 13.
Treat your loved ones or yourself to healthy, fat burning (a.k.a coconut oil filled) raw desserts! We have things for chocolate lovers, white chocolate lovers, and peppermint lovers ; )
Valentine Flavors are:
Peppermint Goji Berry Cocoa Kreme Bites
Chocolate drizzled Vanilla Kreme Bites
White Chocolate Snow Caps Brownie Bites
Heart Shaped Chocolate Cookies
If you get your order in by Wednesday we will throw in a special treat!! It will be a surprise, so get your orders in now ; )
Go ahead a spoil yourself with these non-guilty treats!!
In addition to these new items we are hosting another giveaway.
Pure2raw Valentine’s Day Giveaway
One lucky winner will receive:
Twin Cakes Bakery limited time Valentine’s goodies – Peppermint Goji Berry Cocao Kreme Bites and Heart Shaped Chocolate Cookies.
And some delicious nut butters from Artisana and our favorite Raw Gaia Chocolate Face Mask.
And now not all our readers will go away empty handed because the great people over at Raw Gaia are offering ALL our readers a special Valentine’s Discount of 15% off!!!
Just got to their site http://www.rawgaia.com/ and enter the coupon code: pure2raw
Go shop now because you are not going to want to miss this opportunity!! : )
Giveaway is going on till Friday Feb 12th!! Will announce the Winner Feb 13th.
Sorry you will not be receiving your goodies till after Valentines…we did not plan this well, LOL, but hey they you got something to look forward too!! More chocolate : )
Rules of Giveaway:
1. Leave a comment telling us your favorite Romantic movie
2. Mention the giveaway on your blog, if you have one, and come back and let us know you linked it back to us
3. And please tweet if you have a twitter account…this is optional, although appreciated ; ) xoxo
Now go shopping!!
With love,
The Twins
Posted by: Pure2
Posted in: Beauty, Giveaway, holidays, pure2raw products
Tags: chocolate face mask, coconut oil, goji berries, raw cookies, raw desserts, Twin Cakes Bakery
Thursday, December 31, 2009 at 01:57 PM
Hey friends,
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL! We wish you all the best for 2010!!!!
Things that the twins accomplished in 2009:
Started our Pure2Raw blog
Sent samples out to our favorite bloggers – Heather, Gena, Gina, Liz, Katie, Lori
Completed our second year of business
Certified RAW Vegan Chefs
Michelle attended the first Raw Foods cooking school
Met Fitnessista
Met the Pilot
Met Matthew Kenney
Met Ani Phyo
Met Anthony (Raw Model)
Met Karen Knowler
Met Courtney Poole
Met Philip McCluskey
Met Tim VanOrden
And Ran in our second half marathon at Disney with our sisters
And of course we ate very well…
Delicious Raw Foods
Kelp Noodles
Final Dish at 105 Degrees
Raw Desserts
Smores
Raw Ice Cream
And much more…just too many to list : ) We love food!!
Well, that is all that we can think of that is big that we did this past year. Now to start our 2010 year off right we are running in our second Marathon!!! And many new and exciting things happening with our company. We see an online store coming soon!!!!
Cheers to good health!
The twins do plan on drinking some red wine tonight to celebrate our accomplishments and to prepare for a great new year!
We got our fresh coconut water all ready for tomorrow 
Till next time, from our wine glass to yours
The Twins
SEE YA IN 2010!!!
Posted by: Pure2
Posted in: 105 degrees academy, Miscellaneous, holidays
Tags: 105 degrees academy, accomplishments, ani phyo, disney marathon, karen knowler, Matthew Kenney, Philip McCluskey, raw dessert, raw food, raw model, raw vegan chefs, Tim VanOrden
Sunday, December 27, 2009 at 02:08 PM
Hello Friends,
How is everyone? I hope you all are well, sorry that I have been out of touch during this holiday season. Luckily Michelle was still keeping in touch with you all
My holiday season with Gary and his family was great. Very relaxing over in the mountains of the Carolina’s. I did not do a great job with taking pictures of my eats because they were not anything too special… sorry!
But yesterday before I left the mountains to head back to Raleigh Gary and I stopped in Asheville to eat lunch and walk around. I have been to Asheville a few times but never really went to the downtown area. Both of us were actually surprised how much we liked the area.
After walking around for a little bit we decided it was time to eat! And guess where we ate????
Yep the laughing seed cafe! The vegetarian place to eat in the area. I have heard a lot about it and was SOOOOO excited to finally try it. Though not entirely vegan the menu did offer many vegan options as well as gluten free!!! The only main down side to the menu is that there was only one raw dish 
The restaurant was very cute and welcoming on the inside. It was a tad too cold to sit outside
I was really impressed by the menu they offered a wide variety of dishes. Everything sounded good to me but I had to try the raw salad plate. I also got a Pinot Grigio to go with my lunch and Gary got his favorite type of beer a porter. Also, I ordered a side of their sauerkraut which the waitress informed me that it was RAW too!!! 
Happy Lori!!!
Gary enjoying his beer
Gary ordered their Portobello Wrap with a side salad!
He really enjoyed it
My lunch was the Dragon Plate – a plate full of raw and enzymatic food. YUM!
Salad all mixed around
Plus my sauerkraut
Everything was absolutely delicious!!! My taste buds were so happy My salad plate was full of different flavors and textures…amazing. Sauerkraut was pretty good as well though I must admit my homemade sauerkraut is better
After a very satisfying lunch we walked around downtown a little bit more and than stopped in a cute local coffee shop to grab a cup of joe before it was time for me to hit the road.
I just got a simple black coffee.
Gary got a double shot macchiato. The cup was so small. Isn’t so CUTE!
After the little cup of joe (which totally hit the spot) it was time to say goodbye to my holiday vacation and to Gary to go back to reality work. Gary is leaving tomorrow for Paris, he is studying abroad there for his last term of MBA school.
But now I am back and time to get back in the groove of things. Vacation was nice and just want I needed to end the 2009 year! Big plans and decisions to make here in 2010!!!!
And if you missed the first time around we did a guest post on Averie blog the other day. If you did not see it please check it out we share this
gluten free vegan ‘healthy” mac-n-cheese recipe
Now that I am back in reality I have been slowly catching up with you all and with the sis. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!
Till next time,
The Twins
L&M
Posted by: Pure2
Posted in: Raw Recipes, Traveling, holidays
Tags: coffee, gluten free, guest post, holiday, vegan foods, vegetarian, wine
Saturday, December 26, 2009 at 08:22 AM
Hey everyone
Hope everyone had a great Christmas or the holiday you may celebrate.
I must say I did miss having my twin sis around but my family tends to keep busy with random projects, so I have not had much time to get any work done that I brought home, sorry sis, we will have to it when I get home.
Lori had a great time in the mountains, although she complained a lot that she was cold. Well I must say the weather here has been perfect. The sun has been out most of the time and when you can wear sandals all day I have no complaints!
I did get to meet up with some of girls for a quick catch up the other day. It is always so nice to see old friends, because these girls mean the world to me : ) I am so grateful for having such great friends!! We all live all over the country so we do not get to see each other much anymore, so any chance we get is always a special time.
Well I was up late with the older sis,Jen, wrapping gifts….we were playing Santa this year : ) We also did some prep work for Christmas day meals.
Things Jen and I made:
Can you guess what I enjoyed? Both my older sisters tried the raw macaroons loved them : )
Christmas morning I rose early to get these in the oven
This is a family tradition….homemade cinnamon buns ; ) These are not gluten free nor vegan so Jen and I did not enjoy any. I was thinking about making raw cinnamon buns but honestly was just lazy!
I did make myself and my other sister, Carrie, some hot cocoa for us non-coffee drinkers
Perfect!
Sorry for the poor picture(s)
My mom made two different quiches for all the non-vegans in the family.
The whole spread
I will admit I am a great baker…
Cinnamon buns came out perfect!
Almost made me want to have some…
My grandpa said it was much than store bought ; )
But I greatly enjoyed one of these
Green Smoothie
One glass for Jen and one glass for me…it was a perfect blend of collard greens, bananas, lemon, and a stevia! Oh and I think I might of added a little cinnamon too ; ) My tummy thanked me for this!!
We had a lots of fun opening gifts and then it was time to get back in the kitchen. I made some veggie dishes for us girls…butternut squash zucchini hash with a acorn squash tahini sauce, a mix of roasted veggies, and a large avocado salad with nutritional yeast and dulse! Everyone else enjoyed the typical holiday food, while my sisters and I enjoyed our greens.
My plate…x2
Delicious…I even think I ate a little too much…crazy…who says you cannot fill up on just greens and veggies ; )
I did enjoy some Organic Vino and 2 raw candy cane macaroons. It was a great ending to end the day.
Now I am not sure what my plans are for today…some how have to figure how to pack my suitcase with all my presents.
Till next time,
Michelle
Posted by: Pure2
Posted in: holidays
Tags: gluten free, green smoothie, raw macaroons, vegan
Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 07:23 AM
Hey luvs
Just wanted to apologize for not checking in yesterday. I never really had the opportunity to sit in front my computer till late last night and it was for only a brief moment. I am going to apologize now too that I may not be around much these next few days, but I will do my best ; ) Lori does not have access to a computer, so just me! Oh and she made it to the mountains of NC!!
Yesterday was a crazy day for me, I had an early flight and then as soon as I landed the lovely city of sunny Fort Myers, FL, my mom and sister took me to a lunch with my dad, my other sister, my grandmother, and some of my dad’s employees and all. It is something we do every year.
I just got literally a bowl of plain lettuce and my mom brought my apple cider vinegar for my dressing ; ) Then I of course brought along some snacks (raw flatbreads, crackers, and chocolate macaroons).
Then I finally made it home, unpacked a little, and then myself a very large green smoothie! It was just glorious!! Especially my mom had the fridge packed with all types of greens and fruit for me ; ) Love it!
My older sister was going to get her hair done my best friend, so I tagged along as a surprise. My friend had no idea was in town so it was perfect. I just love catching up with old friends : ) It was a great time, and I might or might not of had a glass of wine ; O
Last night I went with my dad to watch some basketball. There is a big high school basketball tournament that is hosted at my old high school and some of the top teams come to play. I cannot remember the last time I was back at my old school in addition to watching basketball. It made me want to get on the court and shoot around a little. I could feel the old competitiveness in me coming out ; ) Well the games were great, the semifinals and tonight is the finals. Oh and the tourney is called City of Palms. If you got ESPN, check it out some of the games will be on and hey you might see me….you never know, haha!
Well hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday thus far (sorry I have not checked my google reader in 2 days, but I do plan to catch up with you all soon!)
Till next time,
Michelle
Posted by: Pure2
Posted in: Traveling, holidays
Tags: apple cider vinegar, chocolate macaroons, green smoothie, holiday, raw crackers
Friday, November 27, 2009 at 08:49 AM
Good Morning
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!
The twins sure did. One of our best ones yet! You want to know why?
I tell you- it was because not only were there no fights (which is huge for our family) and that majority of everyone tried our raw foods and LIKED IT!!
Hats off to all those chefs and bakers to a job well done with all that cooking and uncooking yesterday.
Our day started with our own Turkey Trot. We got up and ran 3 miles and did a few push-ups and leg exercises. Felt great getting up and doing that before the party began.
Ok we time of the Corso family’s Thanksgiving dinner:
Table setting before chaos happens
13 people will be seated here soon
Appetizers for the non-vegans: homemade deviled eggs and goat cheese with crackers and olives
Here are just a few of the dishes WE enjoyed yesterday
Raw Stuffing
Raw Creamy Kale
Roasted leeks and mushrooms (request from older sis)
We also had some roasted veggies and raw squash zucchini pecan hash
Here is what the others enjoyed
there was brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, corn, sweet potato mash, green bean casserole
and ham, turkey (still coved with aluminum foil), gravy, stuffing, and the twins roasted veggies (which everyone LOVED)
Some of our dishes
Here is what my plate looked like
Michelle’s plate
Pretty similar eh? Are you seeing double?
After dinner we relaxed and got ready for dessert (my favorite part)
Sorry I forgot to take pictures before everyone got a slice of pie
Our sister’s famous apple custard pie (always a crowd favorite)
Our great grandmother’s family pumpkin pie recipe – a true classic
Now for our Desserts
Raw Chocolate cheezcake with pecan crust (everyone loved this!!!)
Plus we made semi-raw gluten free vegan pumpkin mousse with raw whip cream
Michelle, Jen and I each had seconds of our raw desserts
here is my sis, Jen’s second plate of sweets
Here is the last bite of my cheezecake
What a night!! Everyone enjoyed everything!!! And the best part was being with family
Michelle and I are so thankful for so many things. We truly are blessed with such great family and friends.
Thanks to all our readers who keep coming back! We have met such wonderful friends through the blogging world and you all are such inspiration to us!
Look forward in getting to know some of you more.
The plans for today is doing work and hanging out with the family. Our mom is taking all of girls to get a pedicure later
Till next time,
The Twins
L&M
Posted by: Pure2
Posted in: Miscellaneous, Raw Recipes, holidays
Tags: holiday meals, raw cheesecake, raw creamy kale, raw foods, raw stuffing
Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 03:55 AM
Hello friends,
Well we were up for the majority of the night finalizing orders and packing. Checking our list twice!
We knew we would be crammed for time today to do a post so we planned ahead and already wrote this post yesterday. Gosh, we are so smart… I am sure we are the first people to come up with that
For today’s last day of theme week: holiday meals. We decided to share our very special gluten free vegan agave sweetened cooked pumpkin pie. We hope you all enjoy it. I know we have already done a pumpkin pie last week following Averie’s but since pumpkin pie is such a classic this time of year we wanted to share our cooked version as well.
Twin Cakes Bakery Recipe: Gluten Free Vegan Agave Sweetened Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients:
- Your favorite pie crust
- 14 oz pureed pumpkin ( I think that is about one can of Libby’s)
- ¼ cup hemp milk (or any milk substitute your prefer)
- 1/3 cup agave nectar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice mix
- 2 heaping tbsp arrowroot ** this is your egg replacer (you can use any starch you have like potato starch, tapioca, or cornstarch – we prefer arrowroot we feel it does the best)
Directions:
Make your pie crust and press into your pie shells.
Than in a large bowl place all your ingredients into it.
Add in your spices
Add in the “egg” re-placer the arrowroot starch and stir some more
Stir till everything is incorporated
Time to fill the pie shells
Into the oven the go (we did ours as individual pies)
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes than reduce oven temperature to 325 for about 20-25 minutes for mini, for a whole pie go about 40-50 minutes. Or until set. You want the edges to be set and a very slight jiggly in the center.
And that is it. Let the pie cool and set in refrigerator till ready to eat it. May top with some whip cream or any topping you may wish
Well time to hit the road and head to Valdosta, GA to see Gina and Tom~We got our car packed and ready to go!!!
Road trip here we come….
Not sure if we will have time tonight to check in though we will give a full report Sunday.
Till next time,
The Twins
L&M
Posted by: Pure2
Posted in: Raw Recipes, Theme Week, Traveling, holidays
Tags: agave, gluten free vegan desserts, gluten free vegan pumpkin pie, Theme Week
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 07:59 AM
Theme Week – Holiday Meal #2
Good morning!
As promised here is the recipe for the classic holiday side dish green bean casserole. We were really pleased how it turned out ; )
Pure2Raw Recipe: Semi Raw Green been casserole
Ingredients:
- About ½ lb of green beans, washed and trimmed
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
Directions:
Place coconut oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add in your green beans a lightly sauté till your desired tenderness ( we let ours go for about 4-5 minutes)
Here are the done green beans
Now we did in ours in a skillet, but you could also lightly steam them.
When done set that in a bowl and get ready to make sauce.
Pure2Raw Recipe: Raw Creamy White sauce
Now our sauce base is not your usually cream of mushroom soup. We were making pumpkin milk the other day and had left sunflower seeds so we threw those it too. Why not, right? Well some of the pulp was thicker. So we got to thinking I wonder if this would make a good sauce? What the heck… let’s try and see!
VIOLA! Our base for green bean casserole was born.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of sunflower pumpkin seed milk pulp (substitute soaked sunflower seeds)
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 date (you can use agave or honey, or stevia)
- 1 tsp sunflower lecithin (can use soy lecithin or just omit)
- ½ tsp salt
- pinch black pepper
- ½ tsp thyme
- 1 small shallot or half of one
Directions:
Place all ingredients into blender and blend till creamy!
Time to pour the sauce over the green beans
And stir sauce around to make sure all green beans are coated.
Now time for topping
Topping:
Caramelized onions
What you need:
- Half of white onion sliced thinly
- 1-2 tbsp Olive oil
- Splash Balsamic vinegar
- Pinch salt
Directions:
Coat the onions with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
Spread out onto dehydrator sheet
Then we dehydrated them for a few hours. Or you may do this in a skillet. The way I used to eat cooked onions was using very little oil and high heat. It doesn’t take too long, but I used to love crispy, burnt things so I would let it go longer than most people
Now to put the whole dish together. Simply top your coated green beans with some of the caramelized onions.
And there you have it folks a nice, simple semi-raw, vegan, gluten free healthy side dish for your holiday meals.
Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping for our recipe for a healthy alternative for this holiday season.
Till next time,
The Twins
L&M
Posted by: Pure2
Posted in: Raw Recipes, Theme Week, holidays
Tags: caramelized onions, green bean casserole, raw recipe, sunflower lecithin, tahini, Theme Week
