How We Spend Our Days Is, Of Course, How We Spend Our Lives.

Isn’t that the most beautiful quote?

I love literature.
And cake!
And flowers and
spring.
That, most of all
is my favorite
thing.

There’s a lot in this post so I’ll give a brief explanation. First, carrot cake with PINEAPPLE chunks and not just raisins but dates, too. So good. And a crunchy top. Just make sure to drizzle with a little honey before adding the nut/seed mixture. Second, Pictures from my walk to school today. My favorite being the picture of the obachan (old woman) with her dog in her rear tricycle basket. Yes, tricycle. Next, today’s breakfast (sorta Italian) and today’s bento. The latter more Japanese, less Persian. And last, chocolate banana loaf made with okara (soy pulp). Perfect for Japan dwellers cos that shizz is sold everywhere.







The Ultimate Carrot Cake:
3 free-range eggs
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1 large carrot, grated
4 canned pineapple rings, chopped small
1 tsp pure vanilla essence
—————-
1 cup white flour
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup chopped raisins and dates
pinch of salt
Topping:
1/2 cup of mixed nuts and seeds
(I used flax seed, sesame seed, walnuts and pistachios)

Preheat oven to 180C

Mix wet and dry ingredients separately then together.

Pour into a baking-paper lined cake tin.

Drizzle a small amount of honey on top of the batter then top with nuts and seeds.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the fork comes out clean.

Note: if topping begins browning too quickly, just cover with tinfoil and continue baking.

Chocolate Banana Okara Cake 
This one’s for the people who have access to okra (soy pulp) or any nut or oat pulp. In Japan, Okra is sold at all supermarkets in the tofu isle.
2 ripe bananas
2 free-range eggs
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup soy milk
1/2 cup okara
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup wholemeal flour
1/2 cup cacao powder
1/2 cup almond powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp natural peanut butter
1/4 cup walnut pieces
Topping:
1 banana, chocolate pieces (I used ViBERi chocolate-coated freeze-dried blackcurrants), silvered almonds and juice of half a lemon

Preheat oven to 180C

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together

Pour batter into a baking-paper lined cake tin

Top with banana, chocolate, almonds and lastly, a squeeze of lemon juice – this is to stop the banana from changing color.

Bake for 30-40 min or until the fork comes out clean.