Double Chocolate Maca Cake

I had been eyeing this cake recipe for a few months but because it had Maca Powder in it I had to hold off til I could hunt some down. I DID find some at Alive Organics in Bayswater (they just have everything!) so this was the first thing I pumped out when I got home with the goods.

This recipe is one of the many insanely good recipes from Heathy's Just Desserts raw un-cook book. I encourage you to download it if you're a dessert lover like moi! You can download the e-book from Heathy's blog by clicking here. The only change I made to the original recipe is I added a layer of cashew cream on top. I made the cream by taking about 1 cup of almond milk and blend in enough soaked cashews till creamy, then throw in a date and a teaspoon of vanilla extract.... and maybe a pinch of cinnamon. Blend well.

This cake is unbelievably delicious. The young coconut meat base is a flavour that I will have no trouble getting use to. The maca base mixed with pecan and brazil nuts is a taste sensation and the chocolate, well..chocloate just makes everything wonderful.

MACA: An energising and revitalising superfood of the Incas. Jam packed with vitamins, minerals, enzymes and all the essential amino acids.

Grown at 4,000m above sea level in the Andean district of Junin by the Pumpush people who have been cultivating and consuming maca as a staple food for thousansds of years.

Maca contains unique alkaloids, which help stimulate the master glands that in turn may help optimise and balance the entire endocrine system. (http://www.biodistributors.com.au/ProdInfFiles/maca.php)

SPONGEBOB

He's NOT raw but he was fun to make for little Josiah's 1st birthday!!

This weekend has been party party party! In the last 24 hours we've had 4 parties to attend. That's certainly not a usual weekend for us ...but we sure love to celebrate with our friends, the day they came into the world. I enjoyed a challenge to be EXTRA creative this morning and made my good friend's 1 year old a SPONGEBOB birthday cake. It sure was a challenge and required all my creative energies to be flowing simultaneously...but I embraced the little guy with enthusiam.

That's me, relieved that it turned out - but running half hour late for the party - yikes!













This is my good friend Estelle and her 1 year old son, Josiah. Happy Birthday Josiah!











There goes SPONGEBOB up in flames. It was nice knowin' ya pal.

Creamy Coconut Carrot Soup

This soup has a lovely rich colour and the coconut makes this a filling dish. You'll experience different levels of flavour sensations; this is delicious! It's a variation from Raw Food Real World's Creamy Carrot Ginger Soup with Lime. I didn't have 3 cups worth of carrot juice so used half carrot and half celery juice. I also didn't have fresh ginger so I used ginger powder. I decided to use more coconut meat than the recipe to make it chunkier and more filling.

CREAMY COCONUT AND CARROT SOUP
1-2 cups carrot juice
1 cup celery juice (or omit celery and have 3 cups carrot juice)
1 avocado
handful of coconut meat (I like the flavour of a mature coconut - crack open and remove white flesh. Just be sure you slice all the brown shell off leaving only white flesh)
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 T agave syrup
1 T ginger powder
sprinkle cayenne
sprinkle sea salt

Blend on high speed blender till creamy (mine's a bit chunky). Garnish with lemon oil (lemon juice and olive oil mixed) and coriander leaves. Serve immediately at room temperature or gently warm by heating in a saucepan over very low heat. Stir til warmed through (use your finger as a warmth measure).

Persimmon Pie

I attended an amazing raw and living un-cooking class last Saturday. It was conducted by the lovely Raw and Vegan, Kate Quinn. Kate is a raw food teacher and coach. Kate will conduct raw food classes in the comfort of your own home.

We made the most delicious nori rolls, raw lasagna, blueberry cheesecake and persimmon pie. Although every dish was a taste sensation I was eager to first try out the persimmon pie. Who knew that a raw, fresh, nutritious and quick-to-prepare dessert could taste SOOO GOOOD??

I made up a simple cashew and macadamia cream to go with it.













PERSIMMON PIE
Base-
1 cup pecan nuts
1 cup dessicated coconut
2 medjool dates, de-seeded

Filling-
8 fuyu persimmons
1 cup medjool dates, de-seeded (I used half)
water
vanilla extract

Method:
Base-
Process all ingredients and spread into the base of a pie or flan dish and set aside in the fridge to set.

Filling-
Blend dates, vanilla and enough water till it is thick syrup. If you have any over ripe persimmons you can blend them in also. Peel and slice the persimmons and toss them through the syrup, then place onto the pie base. Pour any remaining syrup over the pie.

Cream-
Handful of soaked cashews
half a handful macadamias
spoonful almond butter
1 or 2 medjool dates
1 cup of water (or enough to make it creamy)
sprinkle cinnamon
dash vanilla essence
pinch sea salt

Blend till creamy.

For other raw persimmon recipes with "cream" click here and here and for an Almond Cashew "Cream" recipe click here.

"Nutritionally, persimmons rate better than many fruits. They are a great source of dietary fibre, contain high levels of vitamins A and C, potassium and beta carotene as well as some calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and iron. They are also fat free, making them a guilt-free pleasure you can enjoy as often as you like!" (Persimmons Australia)

Soft Corn Tortillas

Tonight I had fun making corn tortillas, from scratch. Yes, it was a bit of work but they were a treat. Great for a special night. I followed the recipe from the book Raw Food Real World. You can, however, download an e-book Mexican Style by Russell James and get the recipe from there.The tortillas were made mostly from fresh corn (or frozen) with some fresh herbs and seasoning mixed through then dehydrated. The filling included refried "beans" made from sunflower seeds. I was surprised at how much they resembled the real thing and tasted just as good.
The guacamole was simple and made mostly from avocado and corn with fresh herbs and spices.
They were finished off with a sprinkling of tomato and lime salsa and a dollop of raw sour "cream" made from coconut meat and cashews. A very different experience from it's cooked counterpart but the flavours were fresh and strong and once again I'm left feeling full and satisfied with no bloating or heaviness.

Chili and Corn Bread and Stuffed Spinach Leaves

It's been so easy for me to fall off the raw track lately and I've decided I've GOT to continue making this a real priority. I'm finding, more than ever, that what goes into my mouth has a major effect on every other area of my life. When I'm eating the SAD (Standard Australian Diet) way my health, my positive outlook, my energy, my desire to embrace the day goes down that slippery slope. Sticking to the Raw and Living Diet is so important, for me, on so many levels. I long to stay in front each day feeling positive and strong instead of trailing behind and playing catch-up. I'm at my best when I stay true to Raw.

To help me stay on track I've collected 14 easy-to-prepare raw dinner dishes. My goal will be to have 2 weeks worth of dinner recipes up-my-sleeve, that can be prepared with little effort. I started my list off with a recipe I found at the Sunny Raw Kitchen blogspot - Chili and Cornbread. The Chili is not hot or spicy at all, actually. It is full of fresh goodness and pretty substantial as an evening meal. The Corn Bread is yummo! I love the sesame seeds and the sunflower seeds in it.

You can find the recipe by clicking here.

The second dinner recipe on my list was a lovely little recipe by The Raw Chef, Russell James - Stuffed Vine Leaves with Mint Cashew Aioli. Vine leaves aren't easy to come by, not that I looked very hard mind you, so I used spinach leaves instead. They certainly weren't as flat and smooth as vine leaves would be but delicious none-the-less, just a bit knobby. You can find the recipe by clicking here.