RAW CARROT CAKE WITH CASHEW CREAM FROSTING

Today’s recipe comes from a site called “Rawsome Vegan Life.”  I am not Vegan by any means but I love the recipes from this site regardless.  The pictures are just so beautiful and the recipes are so easy to make.

Seriously look at how gorgeous this cake is!

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The Mad Hatter: Have I gone Mad? Alice: I’m afraid so. You’re entirely bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret all the best people are.”

MY GENES ARE BONKERS

We are fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalms 139: 14). In fact my genes are fearful of the synthetic form of folate: folic acid. Yes ladies I have a mutant gene that has taken up residence in my body by the name of MTHFR. To be specific it even has its own prison identification number A1298C and he’s greedy because he has this twice. Inherited from both my parents.

I just found out this week what has been the source of my troubles with infertility. MTHFR stands for Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase. It’s a bit of a tongue twister isn’t it? According to the MTHFR Australia support ‘it’s an enzyme that converts folate you eat into the active form (5-Methyltetrahydrofolate).’

Folic Acid, the synthetic version found in pre-pregnancy vitamins are actually detrimental to my body. So for the past twenty months I have been taking a vitamin that has been storing up toxins in my system! No wonder I can’t get pregnant.

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 RAW CASHEW DREAM CAKE

I’m not one to make up recipes. I’m just not good at it. However, I am good at finding recipes that taste amazing.

I found Raw Cashew Dream Cake on this website called “My New Roots.”  How nice does this picture from her site look?

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

Crust

1/2 cup raw almonds (pecan or walnuts will also work)

1/2 cup soft Medjool dates

¼ tsp. sea salt

Filling

1 ½ cups raw cashews, soaked for at least 5 hours, overnight is best

Juice of 2 lemons

The seeds of 1 whole vanilla bean (or 1 tsp. alcohol-free vanilla extract)

1/3 cup raw coconut oil melted

1/3 cup raw honey (solid or liquid.)(Vegans use agave nectar.)

1 cup raspberries (thaw completely if using frozen)

DIRECTIONS

1. Place nuts and dates in a food processor with sea salt and pulse to chop until they are to your desired fineness (process a finer crust longer than a chunky one).Test the crust by spooning out a small amount of mixture and rolling it in your hands. If the ingredients hold together, your crust is perfect. Scoop out crust mixture in a 7” spring-form pan (if you don’t have a spring-form pan, use a pie plate lined with saran wrap), and press firmly, making sure that the edges are well packed and that the base is relatively even throughout. Rinse food processor well.

2. Warm coconut oil and honey in a small saucepan on low heat until liquid. Whisk to combine.

3. In the most powerful food processor / blender you own (you decide which one has the most torque) place all filling ingredients (except raspberries) and blend on high until very smooth (this make take a couple minutes so be patient). If you have a Vita-Mix, absolutely use it.

4. Pour about 2/3 (just eyeball it, you can’t make a mistake!) of the mixture out onto the crust and smooth with a spatula. Add the raspberries to the remaining filling and blend on high until smooth. Pour onto the first layer of filling. Place in freezer until solid.

5. To serve, remove from freezer 30 minutes prior to eating. Run a smooth, sharp knife under hot water and cut into slices. Serve on its own, or with fresh fruit. Store leftovers in the freezer (what leftovers?).

Here is my version of it:

(How pretty do the two layers look? I made mine in the Thermomix. One day I’ll convert the recipe and put it up on here).

And another home picture.

Yum!  Just goes to show that you don’t need wheat or dairy to make a super creamy cheesecake.

Make sure you go and check out the “My New Roots” website for more yummy treats.

Hope you have a “sweet” weekend.

THE CURLY PHONE CORD

Remember when you would get home from a day at school and then you would get onto the phone to talk to your best friend again? The long curly phone cord stretched as far as you could get it down the hallway and away from the prying ears of your parents.

These days most of us don’t even have a landline. We are mobile and can be accessed anywhere. Anytime. We think we’re wired for love through our new mobile connections but are we actually connected in?

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“It’s not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It’s because we dare not venture that they are difficult.”

Seneca

RISKY BUSINESS

I don’t like birds. Apparently ‘ornithophobia’ the irrational fear of birds is quite common. We can probably thank the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock film “The Birds” for that one. A whole town overrun by birds who are intent on attacking humans! Creepy!

Over the past four weeks I have had the question “So are you going to play hockey again?” repeated over and over. At first I would say “Maybe it’s time to hang up my hockey boots.”

Christine Caine, a renowned Evangelist who snapped her anterior cruciate ligament skiing wrote these encouraging words in her article “Leadership lessons from the ski fields:”

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