Ohhhhhhh the noms!!  The noms to be had!!!!!!!  I’ve been on a healthy streak lately, and consequently I’ve been trying to include more vegan and raw vegan foods in my diet.

Cheesecake is on my mind.  Just always.

Since the gluten- and dairy-free lifestyle was thrust upon me, there have been so many double whammies I’ve been craving for:  pizza, mac and cheese, grilled cheese… Most of those are easy to convert, but not my beloved cheesecake.  I realize it’s not “healthy,” but a raw vegan version has to be better for you than one you’d buy from the grocery store, right?

I thought to myself, “Self, there must be a way around this.”  So I pulled out my mini food processor and went to work, and friends, the result is so delicious.  You will not want to share.  The first time I made it, I ate the whole thing in one sitting.

This recipe is easily customizable.  Throughout this post I’ll give you some little notes about why I use what so you can take my recipe and fly with it.

Ingredients

For the crust

• 1/4  cup raw almonds
• 8 pitted dried dates

If you want a thicker crust, double those.

For the “cheese”

• 3 plump strawberries
• 8 pitted dried dates
• 1/2 cup raw walnuts
• 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp agave nectar (if you’re not raw vegan, you can replace this with 2 tbsp sugar or 1 tbsp honey)

Tools

• food processor (I got mine at Target for $7)
• 6×6″ container with cover (if you’re using a pie pan, double the recipe)

Step 1:  Throw your almonds and 8 dates into the food processor and BLENNNNNNNNND.  If you have a not-so-great food processor like me, it helps if you process the almonds first and then throw in the dates and process them.  Just keep on processing them until the mixture starts getting sticky and building up on the side as such:

The reason we use almonds for the crust as oppose to other nuts, is that almonds have a lower fat content than nuts like cashews and walnuts.  They’re a little dryer so they can hold the shape of the crust and make it a little stiffer.  The dates are incredibly sticky.  Dates are great to use in any vegan sweet when you need a little glue to help things stick together.

Step 2:  After that’s all blended up, scoop it out and put it into your container.  Use your fist to press it down firmly.

Step 2:  Chop up your strawberries and throw them in the food processor with the walnuts.  BLEND!

Step 3:  Add remaining dates, lemon juice, agave nectar, and vanilla extract.  BLEND!  (Sensing a trend here?)

Step 4:  Spread you yummy blended mixture on top of your crust, toss it in the freezer, and wait two hours for it to chill.  I got a little fancy for the photo shoot and added some chopped walnuts to the top.

Step 5:  Enjoy!

Feel free to get creative with my recipe!  What would you do differently?

I also set up a Flickr account because I’m really into conforming.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIaX8-S7VxM

And now for the short update:

I just finished all of my courses and exams and decided to stay in India until Christmas.  I got a really sweet internship with a film and television production company, and I’ve been unsuccessfully hunting for an apartment.  It’s nearly impossible to find listings without posting a broker, subletting does not exist here, and convincing someone to give you an apartment for two months is basically a waste of time, but I’m still trying.  Wish me luck!

Also, I’m going to get better about posting now. I promise. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_mBlW5bqTo

It happens more often than you think. Proof:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VBAGMkTjTs

But in all seriousness, this dance is called Garba. It originated in the state of Gujarat, and is most widely performed during a festival called Navratri, which is right around the corner. Navratri is a nine-night/ten-day festival in which people dance to Garbas and another one, involving sticks, whose name escapes me. I was told that these dances used to go until like 5am, which is a bfd in Indian culture. The dances are meant to worship the mother goddess, and people get REALLY into them (i.e. the energetic bunch in the clip above).

I had a dance lesson today so I could learn some of the moves in preparation for the festival. Let’s just say my teacher was pretty impressed with my natural talent and I’m thinking about going pro.

People in the state of Maharashta, where I am now, have the BEST way of celebrating.  There’s a legend that says when Krishna was little, he loved buttermilk.  To keep him from drinking it all, his mom would put it in a pot and tie the pot really high up.   So, Krishna got a group of his friends together, made a human pyramid, and broke the pot so they could all share the delicious treat inside.

To commemorate this and to celebrate Krishna’s playfulness on Dahi Handi, Maharashtan men tie a pot to a decorated rope really high up, make a human pyranmid (sometimes 8 or 9 tiers high), and the person at the very top (either a kid or a really small guy) breaks the pot with a coconut or some other blunt object.  If he is successful, the pot breaks and the milk pours down on everyone as a celebration of victory through teamwork.  If they don’t get it, they only get a few more tries.

The Handi is the clay pot

Dahi Handi - The human pyramid

Because of the current political tension and recent bomb blasts, most human pyramid locations kept their event times a secret, so I didn’t get to see it in person.  My friend and I ran around for like an hour that night trying to find one, but no luck.

Here’s a video to give you an idea of what it’s like:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b56-z5miyxk

Dadar West on a typical Monday evening

Indian women sifting through stacks of beautiful sarees

There was a big dance a few weeks ago, so decided that was the perfect excuse to get a saree.

Saree shopping entails running around to find a fabric you like, having someone practice drape it on you, getting approval from the dozen people you brought with to help you pick just the right one, finding a matching petticoat, optionally buying extra fabric for the blouse (the main piece of fabric already includes a few extra feet at the end which can be used for a basic blouse), bringing it to a tailor to get a runner stitched to the main piece of fabric and to get the blouse measured and stitched, and then finally picking it up a few days later.

Saree Option #1

Saree Option #2

Me wearing a saree at the dance with my friend

‎Beer & BBQ Festival Euro Asian style at Fat Cat Kitchen & Bar. Choose from salad, smoked tofu, broccoli & shitake mushroom, plum cured chicken drumstick, citrus sova Tiger prawns and more.

When I clicked on “Beer & BBQ Festival” I was picturing something more like… PBR and ribs. Hahahaha

If there were more meat-eating, beer-loving people here, I would open up a proper American-style restaurant and show India how a real BBQ is done – 4TH OF JULY STYLE.

Fat Cat's idea of BBQ

My idea of a Beer & BBQ Festival

Clearly this place is too fancy for me. Soo… ladies night at Firangi Paani’s it is!

These bracelets are called rakhi.  On Raksha Badhan, the sister puts one of these bracelets, tikka (red powder that goes on your forehead), rice (representing prosperity), and a candle-ish thing on a silver plate.  Then she takes the plate, circles it around his head a few times, blessing him, puts the tikka on his forehead, and ties the rakhi on his right wrist.  This is to remind him that he has to protect his sister for the rest of her life.  Then the brother and sister hug each other and feed each other sweets and the brother gives his sister a gift like money, chocolate, or for the more adult siblings, something like a laptop, as a thanks for the blessing.

Plz enjoy the cutest display of Raksha Badhan everrrrrrrr:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZicWr46XAI

This will be the longest I’ve stayed in one place since… I don’t even know when.  I’ll do my best to explain everything to you, but there aren’t enough words in English to describe everything adequately.

Plz enjoy some intro pictures of my hostel, my school, and the area I’m living in (it’s called Matunga)!

If there are any myths you want confirmed/busted, places you want to see pictures of, questions you want answered, drop me a line on my blog’s facebook page.