Valentine's treats

This cake will blow your mind! Well, at least if you love peanut butter as much as I do :) I invented this last December when I was all alone at home and feeling sick and miserable... It came out perfect on the very first try and I'm rather proud of myself :) I made this also two weeks ago for my birthday and I think it's perfect to serve on Valentine's Day as well. I'm not a big friend of crusts/cake bottoms, but you can make some easy graham cracker crust for the cake if you feel like. Tip: the frosting alone can be used to make easy candies!

Here is also recipe for the best chocolate ever! I've been testing quite a few raw chocolate recipes found in internet, but quite often they're too bitter, too sweet or too coconutty to my taste. So of course I had to make my own version and this has been a guaranteed satisfaction for over a year already!

Perfect with almond milk :)

Peanut butter "cheese"-cake

• 3 dl unflavoured & sugar free soy yoghurt (this is my favourite)
• 1 dl unflavoured soy cream cheese (Tofutti) or more yoghurt
• 2 dl unsweetened peanut butter
• 1 dl maple syrup
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp potato starch (or corn, tapioca, wheat...)

Heat the oven to 175C degrees. Line an 18cm springform pan with a baking sheet. Mix all ingredients well together and pour into the pan. Bake for 20 minutes and then lower the temperature to 150C and continue baking for 20-30 minutes, so that the cake is solidified also from the centre. Take carefully out from the oven and let set for few hours.

Frosting

• 1 dl strong and hot coffee
• 100 g raw cacao mass (or dark chocolate)
• 3 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 dl maple syrup

Add the last three ingredients into the hot coffee and let melt. Stir well and let cool for a moment and then gently pour over the cake. Put the cake to fridge and let set for about an hour. I think this cake is best next day... if you can just wait ;)

The best raw chocolate
makes plenty!

• 400 g cacao mass
• 200 g coconut oil
• 1 dl lucuma powder
• 2 tbsp soy lecithin powder
• 1 tbsp vanilla powder
• 2-3 tbsp agave nectar (All ingredients are raw!)

Boil a pot of water. Measure the cacao mass and coconut oil into a glass or metal dish and put it on top of the hot water. Let melt completely, then add rest of the ingredients and mix well. Let the chocolate cool down for a moment and mix occasionally. Pour into desired molds and put to fridge or freezer to harden. Store in fridge or freezer and take out to room temperature few minutes before serving.

Sweet Valentine's Day for everyone!

~ Ilta

P.S. I've lately started to be interested of even more healthier (and the very original human) diet and just got the 80/10/10-book by Douglas N. Graham... So don't be shocked if in the future my recipes are extra healthy! =)

Maintenance and so

Finally I was able to start the maintenance work at SilberWolf or better said, the R1150GS ;)

First of all, the back frame which I gave to local welding company started to rust heavily. There is a difference in painting and I thought that I could do it good enough. Well, think again Wolfi.
So, I took the frame off and realized that there was some water in - not very nice. Obviously the welder did not do a too good job since I realized a small hole at one of the welding seam. OK, I gave it to Ari and he took it to a colleague who was so nice to fix it quickly. Now the frame is waiting for proper paining.

Just before Pystämettä 2012, I realized that the main bearing in the rear wheel drive was broken and no way to drive 600+km. Since I did not have the tools to change the bearing, yet I had already bought the future rear wheel drive (from a R850GS) I just swapped them. Next day I was able to enjoy the ride.

In any case, this rear wheel drive has already 90+tkm according to the seller. As a pre-caution and a learning I decided to go ahead and change the bearing in there. At the same time, I noticed strange noises (sub-harmonics in certain RPMs) and realized that the 6th gear is now too short. Therefore I wanted to take the gearbox out to be send for maintenance and exchange to the long 6th gear.

This is the result:

Bike with a too tight diet :D

Next step is to change the clutch ... well, that should be a walk in the park now and then the normal maintenance. All the rest are small things to change like lights, batterie, 12V plug and so on.

Next is Ilta's bike.

~ Wolfi

What do our dogs eat..?

It's a beautiful winters day here and I have good time to sit down, enjoy the sunshine and write a bit while waiting for the raw chocolate to melt... (recipe coming soon :))

Not many people understand/realize when I say our whole family is vegan that it includes the dogs as well! I've always tried to be conscious about what I feed to my dogs (and whatever animals I had). Food can't be tested on animals (like many of the commercial food is!), no artificial or toxic ingredients and preferably only organic ingredients. I'm also totally against all animal cruelty that's why I can't kill or pay someone to kill an animal to feed my animals! That is the main reason why my dogs get vegan food and of course it's also good for their health. I'm not going to get to the details why dogs can easily be vegans and are not obligate carnivores, internet is full of info about that! I do also know very well what happens in the nature and also know how common pet dogs are already far away from their ancestors! So no need for those comments either, thanks :)  I'd just like to share the favourite recipe of my little girls and give tips to people who are interested...

Usually in the mornings girls get this porridge/stew and in the evenings dry food (kibble) from Ami or Benevo. I've been very satisfied with those brands and they are also easiest to get here in Finland. Girls are feeling and looking great, full of energy and their poop is perfect :D As treats/snacks they get sticks which are based on corn starch and my self made healthy cookies. Occasionally they get our food, when there is leftovers and I haven't used too much spices (salt I use anyway very little!).

Mummy's best stew

• 400 g carrots
• 300 g rutabaga
• 4 dl whole oat grains
• 2 dl whole buckwheat
• 2.5-3 l water
• 8 dl cooked chickpeas
• 1 dl nutritional yeast or Vege Yeast
• 0.5 dl flax seed oil + water

Peel and grate the carrots and rutabaga. Rinse the oats and buckwheat and put to a large pot with the grated vegetables. Add the water and let simmer 20-30 min., until the grains are soft. Put the chickpeas, yeast powder and oil into a blender and mix until smooth paste. Add water if needed. Mix with the stew.

The stew vanishes in few seconds! SOOO GOOOD! :)

To get some variations use different kind of veggies, gluten free grains and peas/beans/lentils. Veggies don't have to be grated, small pieces are also fine. My girls just tend to eat way too fast so I that's why I try to put everything to very small, so that the food melts fine in the stomach. For the same reason I blend the beans, girls are too excited and don't chew properly and beans would come out looking exactly the same!

For my girls this makes about 10 breakfast portions. To each portion I also add little bit of Vegedog or Islamer powder to make the food even more nutritional. Store in fridge or freeze to ready portions and take out to melt when needed.

Here's another good and delicious recipe, even I liked it! :)

Happy winter for you all!

~ Ilta


P.S. Yesterday Wolfi got almost all of his model railway stuff sold and also got agreed the selling of his old sidecar. So we are very relieved right now! House will be taken care by the real estate agent and the car goes most likely eventually to some used cars dealer. Little things are still in sale in the flea market and in internet, but if they don't go we don't mind much 'cos the most important/biggest stuff are sold! Stress level is heavily getting lower! In the end we are also very happy to donate stuff for example to some animal shelters... :)

Now we're in the half way of our vaccinations and other health stuff... Next step is taking care of girls vaccinations, teeth etc. All sort of preventive health care going on :)