VeganMoFo 2018 Day 2 -- Emoji Inspired Food!

Yay, it's Day Two! Today we were asked to provide you emoji inspired food. Oh sure, I could've done poop emoji cupcakes, but since that's what you would expect from me I decided to do something else. In this video, I show you raw vegan lemon cheesecake with the "in love/happy" emoji. Here's the video, scroll past the video for the recipe.

Also, as today is the second of the month, both myself and the other happy vegan are once again participating in "Animals First on the Second" fast against slaughter. The symbol on our hands is worn with hopes that people will ask what it represents. What it does represent is that we fast for 24 hours to stand in solidarity with the animals being transported to slaughter. They are denied even the most basics of food and water as a result of health regulations. Just another way they are tortured, and just one more reason to go vegan. Today's recipe will tantalize your taste buds for sure, especially if you're a lemon freak like me. I made mine last night. You can prepare this in a large springform pan, or individual muffin tins like I did. My best tip to you is to use fresh organic lemon juice and zest.... the flavor is out of this world! Since this is raw, it may take all of 15 minutes to prepare. You'll need a really good blender for the filling, it gets super thick and will make even a Vitamix earn it's wings for the day.

Recipe (yield 1 cake OR 7-8 individual muffin cups

Crust:

1 cup nuts of choice (I used 1/2 cup almonds, and 1/2 cup walnuts)

1/2 cup dried fruit of choice (I used dates)

Filling:

2 cups raw cashews, soaked

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

zest of 1 organic lemon

1/2 cup unrefined coconut oil or coconut butter

1/2 cup maple syrup or agave

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

Prepare a springform pan by lining the bottom with parchment OR spray muffin tins with a vegan non-stick spray (I used Vegelene with tiny bits of parchment on the bottom of each cup).

Put whatever nuts you choose in a food processor and process til fine. Add the dried fruit and process till fine. Measure the crust into your springform pan or muffin cups. Press down firmly.

Pull out your blender (you really need a strong one for this, I used a Vitamix, this gets exceptionally thick and creamy. Drain the nuts (or seeds if you are nut free) and rinse. Measure about half the nuts/seeds and all the rest of the ingredients into your blender. Start blending on low, and then increase speed til on high. After 1-2 minutes, shut off blender, scrape the sides down, and add the rest of the nuts. It's going to be thick already at this point, but just wait!! Blend the filling again starting from slow to high. You may need to stop and scrape the sides down a few times. Deal with it!!

When thick and blended, portion into your pan or cups, even out the top and chill overnight.

Before serving, remove sides of pan (or remove from muffin tins by sliding a knife around the edges), decorate if desired, and serve.

Super zesty, super tangy, super fast (except for the chill time). OMG this is delicious!!!

See you tomorrow!!!

Vegan for the win, as always!

xo