SRC: Oh! You Cook’s Jerusalem Carrot Salad

For February’s Secret Recipe Club, I was paired with Dena of Oh! You Cook!. Dena is a Librarian by day and makes delicious looking Kosher food by night, including this delicious fruit salad, all these AMAZING looking Purim treats and these Moroccan carrots.

It was quite a treat for me to look through all her recipes and get a better understanding of what things one eats on various Jewish holidays. Purim sounds especially amazing with all those sweets. 😉

After much humming and hawing, I finally chose her Jerusalem Carrot Salad, which is an approximation of a salad she had while in Jerusalem.

I pretty much followed the recipe exactly (shock, I know!) except that my spices almost burnt and then turned into these huge really dark brown spice clumps. My guess it’s because I added the honey while it was too hot, causing it to act kind of like sugar when you make candy. I salvaged what I could and added a bit more olive oil and honey whisked with the spices.

The result was decent, but I think I would have liked it better without the cumin as for some reason, I really don’t like cumin (and it doesn’t appear to like me either). On the same token, I didn’t want to leave it out as I wasn’t sure how that would affect the flavor profile of the salad. This salad is fairly delicate with the finely grated carrot, but if you’re short on time coarsely grating the carrot would make it easier to toss.

Dena, it was really fun to spend so much time looking through all of your recipes – you definitely prove that kosher food can look and taste delicious!

Please check out the rest of Group D’s recipes below!

April in the Raw: Tropical Carrot Cake with Coconut Cheesecake “Icing”

My first exposure to raw eating was when my mum bought a copy of “Uncooking with Raw Rose” from a health food store on Vancouver Island a few summers ago. My entire family found it to be quite entertaining (perhaps not the original intent of the book!), especially the logic given for going raw: well, cows eat grass and grow big and strong, so we should just skip the middleman, eat grass and we will also become big and strong. Uhhh… Right-O.

Anyways, I put the raw diet out of my mind as school started shortly thereafter and I really enjoy eating meat, baking things, etc. too much to give it up. Besides, it’s REALLY difficult to eat 100% raw in Calgary because for half the year the produce is iffy at best and can be ridiculously expensive given that it has to be shipped such a long distance to get here. (Plus, I have to count my blessings as Mr. Bean is okay eating lots of vegetables, having gluten free (plus dairy and egg free at the moment) meals and puts up with me when I do things like the Daniel Fast. I don’t think he could do it if I went completely meat free and to be honest, I don’t think that I could do it either!) Nevertheless, I do realize how things are more nutrient rich when they’re raw and try to eat as much raw produce as possible. 🙂

Fast forward to 2011: when I was perusing the internet for vegan/sugar free/unprocessed food recipes, many of the recipes I came across were raw. Interesting. I thought that the methods used to create dishes were quite interesting (you mean you can make cheesecake out of cashews and use dehydrators to make cookies?!?) and I started thinking about how “cooking” raw would be a culinary challenge worth undertaking – similar to my adventures in baking and cooking gluten, dairy and egg free.

Then, the lovely Brittany of Real Sustenance asked me if I wanted to  participate in April in the Raw and I said yes. (Where else will I have a better opportunity to learn about raw cooking than by participating in such a carnival?) But this left me with a conundrum: what should I make? I mean I could make a salad or something, but that almost seems too easy. So, I went to my parents house and borrowed good ‘ol Raw Rose’s cookbook and began perusing the internet for inspiration. In my over zealous nature, I decided to combine two raw desserts: a carrot cake from Raw Rose’s book and raw vegan cheesecake, of course with my own twist. I LOVE “real” carrot cake with pineapples and coconut in it, so why not try adding that to the raw recipe? It seems to have worked out quite well and is incredibly tasty! The cheesecake part, in my not so humble opinion, is just as good if not better than actual cheesecake!

Raw Tropical Carrot Cake with Coconut Cheesecake Icing

For the carrot cake:

2/3 c. + 1/6 c. each of raw walnuts and pecans, soaked for 4 hours
1 c. de-pitted dates
1/3 c. raisins
2 tsp. cinnamon
Scant 1/2 tsp. each nutmeg and cardamom
Pinch sea salt
1 1/2 tsp. ginger
3 1/2 c. carrots (cut into 1″ chunks before measuring)
1/2 c. freshly grated coconut
1/2 c. fresh pineapple chunks

1. In a food processor, process soaked walnuts and pecans until in small bits.
2. Add the dates and process until no more big date chunks exist.
3. Transfer nut mixture to a large bowl and add raisins and spices. Mix until well combined.
4. In food processor, process carrots, coconut and pineapple until fine. (I should have processed mine for a bit longer!)
5. Add carrot mixture to nut mixture and mix until very well combined.
6. Press into a lightly greased 8 – 9″ springform pan, using a spatula to pat down edges so surface is  flat.
7. Put in the fridge to set.

Cheesecake Part

2 c. raw cashews, soaked for 2 hours
1/2 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. raw agave nectar
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2/3 c. freshly grated coconut
2/3 c. coconut oil, melted slowly in oven or on stove
3 – 4 tbsp. coconut milk (I forgot this, so mine was a bit thick)

1. Process together cashews, lemon juice, agave, coconut and coconut milk.
2. Then add in the melted coconut oil.
3. Process until smooth. Taste it and see if it needs anything.
4. Pour on top of the carrot cake.
5. Put back in fridge and let it chill for a few hours until set.
6. Serve with coconut cream and pineapple pieces if desired, but most importantly enjoy!

Given that this was the first time I had made a raw dessert, I definitely learned a few things:

• I added too many carrots (as they were very small to start off with), so I reduced the amount called for here.
• The food processor I have isn’t the best as it struggled to get things to be really fine or smooth – but beggars can’t be choosers as it was free!
• Adjust amounts of flavourings if desired in both the cake and the cheesecake. I think you should make sure that both parts taste good to you as this creates a lot of cake!
• I made little snacking cakes by filling ramekins about 1/2 full with carrot cake and covering them with a large spoonful of the cheesecake mixture. It’s like a carrot cake muffin with cream cheese icing but raw and in a dish.
• You can use all pecans or all walnuts in the carrot cake if you desire. Honey can probably be substituted for the agave nectar – just start by adding around 1/3 c. and then adjust to desired. sweetness. 🙂

I don’t think I’ll ever switch to a 100% raw diet, but with desserts like this, it almost makes me want to consider it.

Have you ever tried making a raw dessert before?

If you want to see more raw recipes, make sure that you follow along with April in the Raw!

Recipe linked up at: Hearth and Soul Hop Volume 42, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday and Gluten-Free Wednesdays!

Gluten, Dairy, Soy and Egg Free Carrot Cake

Have you seen this video of the Hallelujah Chorus being sung in a food court in Ontario? If not, I highly recommend watching it.

Man, I love classical music.

I also love classic cakes, like carrot cake. When my mum asked me to make a cake for a party she was having, I knew that I wanted to make carrot cake. The only downside was the carrot cake I usually make has mayonnaise in it, so it’s a no-go for my family. I did find a recipe on Tasty Kitchen that looked very easy to convert to family friendly.

The recipe doesn’t quite make your taste buds break out in “Hallelujahs” (like mine would for good crème brûlée or rich dark chocolate mousse), but it is still very tasty. It’s also vegan, most common allergen free and pretty healthy as cakes go.  I reduced both the oil and sugar by half and increased the amount of grated carrot. If you want a more flavourful cake, I would recommend increasing the amount of the spices. Plus, If you can have cinnamon, please add some as well!

Gluten, Dairy, Soy, Egg and Cinnamon Free Carrot Cake

1 1/2 c. brown rice flour
1/2 c. tapioca starch
1 tsp. xathan gum
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. canola oil
3/4 c. applesauce
1 c. sugar
Egg replacer for 3 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 – 3+ c. shredded carrot
1 can 8 3/4 oz. crushed pineapple, drained but keep the juice
1/2 – 1 c. unsweetened shredded coconut, raisins or chopped nuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9 x 13″ pan.
2. Sift flours, xathan gum, baking soda, spices and salt together. Set aside.
3. In separate larger bowl, mix oil and sugar. Then add applesauce, egg replacer and vanilla and beat well.
4. Add the dry ingredients to liquid mixture. Add small amounts of pineapple juice if the batter seems too thick.
5. Fold in carrots, pineapple and coconut.
6. Pour into prepared pan and cook for 40 – 50 minutes or until the cake feels cooked on top and a toothpick inserted into the cake in multiple places comes out clean.
7. Let cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!

What makes your taste buds sing “Hallelujah?”

Linked up to Simply Sugar and Gluten Free’s Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays.

21 Days of Prayer

In the past two+ weeks, almost every night I have been at my parent’s church for a 21 day long prayer session. Yesterday was the conclusion of the 21 days.

We have been praying for open Heavens, healing and blessings and it happened. The church’s application for charitable status, which usually takes one to two years, took 5 weeks. Praise the Lord! People with potentially cancerous growths had their growth fall off or disappear. Someone else whose clogged arteries were leaching away her energy was able to mow her lawn with a push mower without getting tired. Praise the Lord!

For me, I asked to be filled with the Holy Spirit and I spoke in tongues. I asked to be healed and He filled me with joy. I asked for a desire for His word and he fulfilled it. Praise the Lord!

Throughout the session, we were encouraged to fast – I fasted from lunch to dinner everyday. I originally wanted to just do the recommended 3 hour fast, but one day when I was unsuccessfully looking for a piece of paper with phone numbers of people from my former work, I told God that if he helped me find that piece of paper I would fast from lunch to dinner for the remainder of the days. Guess what? A few minutes later, I found the piece of paper I needed. In addition, we were called to fast from things that prevent us from giving all of ourselves to Him and replacing it with things that are more holy. (Remember how the bible says if a demon is cast out and it is not replaced or filled with something else, 7 stronger demons will come and take that place. Luke 11:24-26) In my nerdy self, I enjoy reading fanfiction but I know it’s not the best thing that I could be doing with my time. Instead of giving it up cold turkey, I am trying to replace it with reading the bible. Wish me luck!

Through the course of the 21 days, we read the book of Acts. I hope that over the next few weeks I am able to share some of the meditations and insight gained with you all.

Since yesterday was the concluding day of this 21 day session, the church service was a celebration service. Being me, decided to make carrot cake muffins. I used the same recipe I used before, but I want to note that you either have to drain more of the pineapple off or add more flour and the first round didn’t rise as much as I had originally hoped. The recipe made 12 “normal” muffins and 4 dozen “mini” muffins. I left some of the nicer looking muffins as is and iced the rest with cream cheese icing.

What are your thoughts on fasting? Have you ever fasted before?

Happy 100th Post

This is the 100th post on this blog! (hurrah!) It just so happens that I made carrot cake muffins for Mr. Bean, so they can happily be used in celebration!

For the muffins, I used a quarter of this recipe. Try them with the cream cheese icing and you’ll find it hard to stope eating them!