What can I say on this wonderful day?  My brother and I have accomplished so much already in our lives, but we know that none of it would have been possible without one person: our mom.  So, mom, this post is absolutely dedicated to you.  You have been the inspiration for everything we have done; a solid base for both Ro and I to stand on.  For all the guidance you have given us, we can never repay you.  Tomorrow morning, however, I will offer you something right when you wake up: a specially made, positively delicious, strawberry freshtart.  I hope you enjoy every bite.

(click for more views and to enlarge)

Strawberry Freshtart

Ingredients:

Filling
* 12-15 strawberries
* 1 avocado
* 1 tsp vanilla extract
* 3 tbsp agave nectar

Tart Crust
* 8 oz cashews
* 8 oz walnuts
* 4 oz soft dates

Directions:

Throw all the ingredients for the filling into a food processor and let it run for a good 10-15 minutes.  The filling should be thick and creamy, very similar to a yogurt texture.

For the tart crust, first mash up your dates in a food processor or by hand.  Then throw all your cashews and walnuts into your food processor for about 12 seconds.  They should reduce to a nice crumbly mixture pretty quickly.  Using a bowl, mix the dates and nuts together, kneading them like you would dough.  Once all the dates have been distributed evenly through the nuts, you should have a semi-solid bread like mixture.  Shape some mixture into whatever kinds of shapes you’d like, leaving an indentation for the filling.  Place the tart crusts into the freezer for a good 20 minutes so they firm up a bit.

Take the crusts out, filling them up with the filling, and top however you’d like.  I used a simple slice of strawberry and cacao nibs.  Simple. Delicious.

–Rishi