Day 19: BIRTHDAY! MY Favorite Day!

Before I start out celebrating I'd like to take a moment to remember my Opa.

On my 8th birthday, 17 years ago today he passed away (March 28, 1997). 

To the man who let me play with his hair, eat his noodles, fix what I broke, took me with him to lock up the church at night, and wake him up from his naps to play. He lived through war as a prisoner, pain, cancer and  always put others needs first without complaining. He was an example of humility, patience and kindness. I miss his elbow wave and whistle!  

Every year my Oma makes herself a birthday cake. My cousin and I most definitely have taken after her. We always love to make our own birthday cakes. I usually make the Schwarzwälder-Kirsch-Torte, and by all means it is one of my favorite cakes, that and Oma's hazelnut cake, but I am trying something new this year. Paleo birthday cake

PALEO CHEESECAKE 

Crust 

1 cup pitted dates

1 cup pecans

1 cup coconut shreds 

Filling 

3 cups unsalted cashews 

1/3 cup lemon juice 

1/2 cup agave 

1/2 cup coconut oil 

1 T vanilla extract 

Soak your cashews for 24 hours in water so they become soft and are able to blend smoothly. After soaking they will look very plump. 

I probably should have used a spring pan, but thats in a box somewhere in storage, so I'm using what I have. 

To make the crust add the ingredients into a food processor and blend until it is kind of sticky and you can form it

Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan

In the food process mix the cashews, lemon juice, agave, vanilla and coconut oil. 

Blend until it is smooth, no chunks. You want to it be like Cheesecake. 

Cover and put into the freezer. Allow 20 minutes to thaw before eating. YUM

IT WAS PRETTY GOOD. I was surprised the texture was very much like a real cheesecake. 

I started my day out with a 5 mile run. It was 40 degrees this morning with overcast, but no rain and no wind. I wanted to keep running but I ran out of places to run. There aren't many parks around here and you can only go so far before you hit the dangerous areas. 

Then I got a pedicure. The little chinese girl did awesome. Holy wonderful leg massage and neck massage while my toes were drying. This place was cheap and GOOD! I will definitely go back....

 Evan took me to the Cheesecake Factory in Garden City, New York. 

We both ordered the Hibachi Steak. His brother turned us onto this dish back in December. You can't go wrong with this delicious, tender, succulent steak. I substituted the mashed potatoes for sweet potato fries to keep myself as paleo as possible. Hard to do because I LOVE Mashed Potatoes, but the waitress said they were loaded with milk, butter, cream and other dairy. :(  

 I'd like to note that those fries are NOT mine :) 

Evan did order a strawberry cheesecake since we were there . I had a small small taste, and it was really good. My paleo/vegan cheesecake doesn't stack up to the real thing. The waitress did bring it out with a little candle  and "happy birthday" written in chocolate:) You can't go wrong with that. 

I wanted to play and have fun- after all I did turn 25 so I asked Evan to take me to Chuck -E-Cheese. We didn't go to there but we did go to Dave & Busters for games. It was a blast. I found a coupon on my "snip snap" app for $10 in free games.  We loved the Mario Kart Racing game. We definitely hogged it and played several games there. This machine too your picture and added it to the characters face. hahah Since I was little I would be Yoshi and I kept true to that. 

 I got many cards,e-cards, gifts, phone calls, and texts from family and friends. I love talking to and hearing from family so much <3

It was such a good day! Thank you all. Here's to another year- one year older, and wiser too! 

Cheers, 

E & H