Gifts for Dad on Mother's Day

I know that usually you would do something nice for your mother on Mother's Day, but we seemed to have it backwards this year. 

My dad has always enjoyed the outdoors. He's kept our family involved in all kinds of water activities from swimming to sailing. He took us skiing and ice boating in the winter months. He was my brother's scoutmaster, our friends' mentor, and an awesome role model of what a dad should be. 

My younger, older brother came down from New York City to visit on Mother's Day weekend. He repaired Pop's little remote sailboat toy and tested it out in the pool.

Later my sister and her hubs arrived armed with hammers, nails and lumber to repair Pop's dock. This made getting around the big boat a little easier for our dad.The youngest ones hammered down nails that popped up over the winter months and willingly ran to get extra tools as needed.
Once the dock repairs were under control, the little wind powered boat came back out to play in the big waters.

Pop's has been a sailing enthusiast all his life. When he married my mom, they honeymooned in Burmuda. They heard a new song (probably Lawrence Welk) and from that point on, it became "Their Song". Since then all of his sailboats have been named Yellow Bird. He seems to be happiest out on his boat. Of course, with one glance at these pictures, you can see why! 

Wednesday Night Racing

Since we had filled Mom and Dad's place with people (like 12?) we felt we should also fill their home with food. I brought my raw offerings to share:

My Guacamole and Raw Tortilla Chips

1 cup ground flax seeds


1 cup corn kernels


1/4 avocado


1/2 cup soaked sunflower seeds


2 TB minced onion


2 tsp minced garlic

1 TB nutritional yeast


1 tsp chipotle powder


1/2 tsp sea salt


water

Blend, adding just enough water to thin

Place on teflex sheet in dehydrator for 4 hours turn over onto screen and give 4 more hours or until crispy.

And using two recipe suggestions thanks to my raw food friends dealivinglotusflower and iheartrawfoods, I whipped up a cherry cheesecake using the ingredients I had in the kitchen:

My Raw Casheesecake

step 1 crust:

-process together:
1 cup raw pecan meal

1 cup raw coconut pulp leftover from making coconut milk


1/2 cup soaked dates (about 6-8 large)

1/4 cup shredded coconut

crust instructions:

-use spring form pan or 8 inch pie pan


-line bottom of pan with thin layer of shredded coconut to keep crust from sticking

-with moistened fingers, press the crust into the pan working up the sides


step 2 filling:

-blend together:


3 cups cashews (soaked one hour in 1/2 cup lemon juice & 1/2 cup water)


3/4 cup raw coconut oil (softened)

3/4 cup raw agave nectar


1/2 vanilla bean

filling instructions:

-blend (in your strongest blender) the soaked nuts with oil and nectar

-this will warm up, don't let it get hot

-pour/scrape mixture into your crust, using spatula to even it out

-put into freezer.

step 3 serving

top with

1/4 cup raw agave nectar

1 cup fruit

serving instructions:

-let sit out for half hour before serving

-either arrange fresh sliced fruit

or 

-lightly process 2 cups fruit with agave nectar and spread over cheesecake after it has set.