creamy salad dressings, recipes, Stoveless Cuisine cooking classes

I am making these creamy salad dressings lately which I am really loving. The base is almond butter.. here is the basic recipe:

1 T of almond butter
½ lemon or lime – juiced
1 garlic clove – minced
1-2 T olive or hemp oil
1T honey or agave
Salt & cayenne.

The night before last I had this salad, which reminded me of a tuna salad, but better.. it was a regular tossed salad with romaine.. but I chopped up 2 sheets of nori (wetting them 1st makes them easy to chop up) and then I added some dulse flakes. I have a blend of dulse, ground dried garlic and black pepper that I got from a market in NB last summer. I added more spice to the creamy salad dressing, some sambal oelek. It was so good.

Last night I made the same dressing but made it sweeter, added a bit of maple syrup. (yeah, I know, not raw.. but really good : ) Then I made a salad with lots of baby greens, a pear, some dried cranberries, raisins, a green onion, some celery and soaked pistachios, pumpkin and hemp seeds. It was amazing. : )

Raw food site – check out Trish’s recipes. They look amazing..
Apple pie, whip cream, burritos, salsa, granola, lasagna, pate & more.
http://www.biblewaytoeat.com/page/page/1259213.htm

Raw classes in To!

Stoveless Cuisine - Cooking Classes with Alexi Bracey

Salads with Pizzazz

You will learn why “greens” are the mother of all vegetables. Recipes include: Mesculin salad with cucumber ribbon and papaya dressing, spunky Szechwan slaw, spinach salad with apricot cumin dressing and marinated vegetable salad

Cooking with Super Foods

The benefits of hemp hearts, coconut oil, agave and cacao will be discussed. Recipes include: Power Blueberry smoothie, mango and macadamia coconut tarts, live sushi and cacao mousse.

Savory Entrees and Soups

Learn to prepare elegant raw recipes that will “wow” your guests. Recipes include: living borscht, gazpacho, Yam flan, and zucchini spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce

Delicious finger foods

Come see how easy it is to prepare tasty “nappies” that are loaded with living energy. Recipes include: hummus, carrot and pine nut dip, quinoa tabouleh, almond parsley pate and asparagus tomato bites


Alexi Bracey is a Life Food Educator/Chef/Trainer/Speaker. She educates and supports individuals who wish to implement healthy lifestyle changes.
Classes start Mon, February 5, 2007 running 4 consecutive Mondays from 7-9 PM
Location: Danforth/Coxwell Cost: $197 for the series or $65 per class plus GST
To register call Alexi Bracey at 416-899-2774 or email info@partnersinhealth.info

pic of ripening almonds on a tree from: http://www.life.uiuc.edu/ib/363/tempfruitslide.html

Enlightenment, as you are - perfection- in the silence of your soul

GOD IS BEYOND RELIGION, BEYOND SCRIPTURE, BEYOND ALL THAT IS....BEYOND EVEN YOUR THOUGHTS AND DESCRIPTIONS.

GIVE UP THOUGHT AND FORGET EVERYTHING YOU KNOW....BE COMPLETELY IN THE PRESENT AND BE STILL... THE PRESENCE EMERGES AND YOU ARE ENLIGHTENED.......

WHAT COULD BE EASIER.....YOU ARE THE MAGICIAN... YOU ARE THE MASTER...SIMPLY BE AS YOU ARE.....AS YOU HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AND AS YOU WILL ALWAYS BE.

You are a perfect being...you are complete...you are lacking in nothing...You have everything you need, and there is no need to search for anything or anyone. Relax into the moment of your being, and observe the presence....relax into yourself and be completely still. Doors will open and the grace of pure consciousness emerges as the presence of your being...the only real thing in this world, your self...your eternal self. Not your ego, not your body, but your eternal self...your awareness. Simply be still and observe the essence of your self.

There is but one God...one consciousness that permeates everyone and everything.. everywhere. There is but one being, and you are that. Through thought, one creates separation and the body...your bucket is half full with holes in it and the grace is leaking out. Let go of the thought and the attachments that go with it, and your bucket becomes full and overflowing with the grace of unconditional love.

It is very easy to know God, to become one with God. Only your thoughts separate you from your essential bliss. Know that you are pure consciousness, and that you are the Master...always and forever. You are that light of the universe that all of the great teachers have proclaimed unto you. In the silence of your soul, you will find a symphony in the stillness. A symphonic presence that can only be found when you are completely still.


Inspirational thoughts from http://www.babainstitute.org/
Images by Alex Grey

wow! that got deep.. and I planned on coming here & posting about my salad last night.. lol It was really good ..but you just never know what'll come to you when you sit at the computer. I am planning another salad for tonight so maybe 2 for 1 salads tomorrow.

Sun-dried Tomato-Olive Spread, Raw Vegans on a Boat, Rilke's council - Letters to a Young Poet

Mom's Sun-dried Tomato - Olive Spread

1 1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes (soaked and drained)
9 Kalamata olives
4 T hemp oil
1 lg clove garlic
10-12 parsley sprigs
1/2-1 t salt
chili or cayenne to taste. She used a chili pepper spice paste. I might try some sambal oelek I have here & cayenne.
Blend all ingredients together in a food processor.

This would be great on flax crackers or dehydrated bread, layered on top of sunflower seed pate. We do something like this at work for our sandwiches and top with lots of sprouts.

Storm & Jinjee's 1st reality show "Raw vegans on a Boat" - 9 People, 1 extreme weekend, and a diet of almonds, celery, oranges and dates! (I would love to be there with them! : )
http://naturalparadigms.com/realityshows/

Council

Your work needs to be independent of others' work.
You must not compare yourself to others.
No one can help you. You have to help yourself.
Criticism leads to misunderstandings and defeatism.
Work from necessity and your compulsion to do it.
Work on what you know and what you are sure you love.
Don't observe yourself too closely, just let it happen.
Don't let yourself be controlled by too much irony.
Live in and love the activity of your work.
Be free of thoughts of sin, guilt and misgiving.
Be touched by the beautiful anxiety of life.
Be patient with the unresolved in your heart.
Try to be in love with the questions themselves.
Love your solitude and try to sing with its pain.
Be gentle to all of those who stay behind.
Your inner self is worth your entire concentration.
Allow your art to make extraordinary demands on you.
Bear your sadness with greater trust than your joy.
Do not persecute yourself with how things are going.
It's good to be solitary, because solitude is difficult.
It's good to love, because love is difficult.
You are not a prisoner of anything or anyone.


Rainer Maria Rilke (1875-1926) was born in Czechoslovakia and died in Switzerland. Dogged by fragile health and the constantsearch for inexpensive and healthful accommodation, heanxiously moved from one climate to another. Considered thegreatest modern poet in the German language, Rilke counselled the young poet, known only as Mr. Kappus, over a five-yearperiod. No evidence exists that they ever met.

My friend sent me this and I sat last night & read letter #4.. deep stuff. Contemplate & enjoy!
Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet – letters 1-10 translated here: http://www.velutluna.org/rilke/letter1.html

Special Hi to Barb, my best freind from grade 1, whom Mom told me is reading my blogs & drinking green smoothies. Yay! Love & HuGs to you & the family, esp those girls. xox

Our soul, our light, our destiny

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is not our darkness, but our light, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we’re liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
~ Originally written by Marianne Williamson in her book A Return to Love, later made famous by Nelson Mandela


"Thanks be to you, the holy Son of god. For as you were created, you contain all things within your Self. And you are still as God created you nor can you dim the light of your perfection. In your heart the Heart of God is laid. He holds you dear, because you are Himself. All gratitude belongs to you, because of what you are."
~Lesson 197 A Course In Miracles


The destiny of man is in his own soul. ~ Herodotus

Avatamsaka Sutra, frankincense and myrrh, ejuva, manifesting pink hats

I am googling the The Avataṃsaka Sūtra. This is one of the most influential scriptures in East Asian Buddhism. In English the title translates as The Flower Ornament Sutra.

This text describes a cosmos of infinite realms upon realms, mutually containing each other. The vision expressed in this work was the foundation for the creation of the Huayan school of Chinese Buddhism. Huayan is known as Kegon in Japan.

The sutra is also well known for its detailed description of the course of the bodhisattva’s practice through fifty-two stages.

Interesting.. maybe something to go well with my paintings. ; )

Here’s a good intro to the Atavamsaka Sutra: http://www.sunyaprajna.com/Buddhism/Avatamsaka.html

Lots of interesting conversations yesterday.. 3 of us had a shot of a phytoplankton blend. It was strange.. had cranberry, apple, noni, frankincense, rose, lime and other things.. tasted a bit like perfume. I think I liked it more than anyone else.. am really into frankincense these days. We chased it with E3Live.. the ‘real’ stuff. ; )

In ancient Rome the very, very wealthy used to burn frankincense all day and myrrh all night. Frankincense and myrrh both are resins that come from different shrub which both grow in desert regions. Frankincense has a spiritual and uplifting scent.. while myrrh is a calming and relaxing scent.

Ejuva – Intestinal cleansing program: http://www.ejuva.com/

“Don’t begrudge your neighbours smile because you don’t know the sorrow that hides in his heart” – Chinese proverb -wow, that’s a sad one, but it stayed with me.

Oh & the pink hat story.. loved this one. Someone I know came into work to get sprouts and I told her I loved her hat, she looked like a Groovy Girl (really funky, cool kids dolls) & she told me the story of it.. How she manifested it one day on the tread mill. She had been cleansing the day before on green juices and sprouts and then was thinking of a pink hat the next day on the treadmill.. intentionally manifesting it & she went to winners the nest day & there it was. Cool. I love manifestation stories. : )

Went to yoga again last night.. 3 days in a row – 3 for 3, yes! Monday with Glory, Tues with Jeannie and Wed with Alex. It was my 1st time with Alex and I really enjoyed it & the steam room after.. I am in heaven!

Pics from: http://www.drbu.org/events/avat06/pics/oregon-trees.jpg
http://www.abuddhistlibrary.com/Buddhism/D%20-%20Chinese%20Mahayana%20Buddhism/Chinese%20Mahayana%20Buddhism/From%20the%20Avatamsaka%20Sutra/The%20Vows%20of%20Samantabhadra%20%20I-IV/I%20-%20IV/II/Flower%20Adornment%20Sutra%20-%202.htm
& http://www.auboisjoli.com/groovy-girls-220/groovy-girls-2006-manhattan-toy.html

Flax Crackers and rawjuvenate site

My crackers turned out amazingly well! Thanks Mom & Bob for the inspiration!

Flax Crackers

1c flax (soak in 2 c water a couple hours before mixing)
½ c pumpkin seeds – soaked 4-6hours
½ c sunflower seeds – soaked -6 hours
1/3 c black sesame seeds
1/3 c (12) sun-dried tomatoes
3 green onions – sliced lengthwise and slices
½ stalk celery – sliced lengthwise and sliced
2 garlic cloves – chopped fine
1 t salt
1t turmeric
½ t each chili powder
½ t cumin
Dash celery salt and cayenne

This was the 1st batch I made. The second was really good also.. just added another cup of flax seeds, these ones were ground, not soaked and 1 tomato.

For both recipes I put the sun-dried tomatoes in the food processor 1st with the s blade and processed. Then added rest of vegetables & soaked flax, process. Add rest of ingredients, process together and then spread onto teflex sheets to preferred thickness. Experiment. I dehydrated overnight, then flipped onto mesh screen and dehydrated another6-8 hours.. until very dry.
Enjoy!

I just found a new raw site.. with more recipes: http://www.rawjuvenate.com.au/

new cd, new power - sublime seas and red begonias

Be not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old.~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I listened to the cd I ordered from http://www.successultranow.com/ yesterday.. I loved listening to it. ..so much I listened to it again a few hours later before I went to bed. So peaceful & a great inner journey!

& you can sign up to get daily e-mails from that website.. this was yesterdays:

SUN Magical Inspiration for Jan 22, 2006

The single most critical factor in the healing process is the identification with one’s True Self. The shift away from the habitual, fearful, often compulsive, neurotic drive of the shadowy ego into the original, eternal light and love of the soul is the great key to unlocking the treasure chest of the magic that you are. The discovery of the authentic beauty of I is the most important journey you will ever undertake. The attitude which fosters constant health is a wonder-love-gratitude attitude. By living from the heart in a constant state of simple adoration and awe of the infinite wonder of life, we automatically resonate with a quality of being which inspires and magnetizes a magical, natural goodness into our lives. By living in the subtle feeling experience of at-onement with The One Love which fuels every particle of the sub-atomic world, we automatically return to the underlying state of balanced perfection that we eternally are.

I am experimenting with flax crackers, the first recipe from Sunday is great.. but I am seeing of I can outdo it with a new batch on Monday. I will test tomorrow when they are one and post the recipe winner soon.

Flower painting #1 was successful.. red begonias. : ) 24”x24” is perfect , not too overwhelming, just right for a weekend.

Pic from http://www.ceraunavolta.us/events/events.php?event_number=022

Necker Island, seeing, the truth, my 1st flower, all the time in the world, meditating 3 hours, for the young who want to.

via Robert Genn.... from a book of fiction by Orhan Pamuk..... " through our colours, paints, art and love, we remember that Allah (God) has commanded us to 'see' "

"The truth that can be spoken is not the truth." – Lao Tsu

I am painting today – my 1st flower of my year long series. I just came up to do some online banking and now I am off to the gym.. long cardio, just added a lot of new songs to my mp3 player.. and yoga class after that. Then shopping. I was up early making juice & cookies and breakfast for the kids, kaiya off to early volleyball practice. But I am not busy.. I have all the time in the world to do anything & everything I want.

This last statement was inspired by my brother who told me last night that I always say I am so busy.. and its true, I am guilty of that. & also inspired by someone at the breakthrough seminar sat eve who said she says she always says that she never has time for anything & doesn’t.. so she has just started saying and telling herself she has all the time in the world..

Which we all truly do. However, I just want to add that although even if I said I was busy before.. and I will try not to do that so much.. I know I am flowing.. the way it is & the way it should be. I like being busy to a certain degree.. as long as it is peaceful flowing busy.

Randy reminded me of something Gahndi said. ‘Each day I meditate for an hour. On busy days I meditate for 3.’ That’s a very rough quote.

Time is aman-made illusion. It is our only unrenewable resource. ..which I beleive is simply because it is not real.. but another topic, another day..


For the young who want to
-Marge Piercy

Talent is what they say
you have after the novel
is published and favorably
reviewed. Beforehand what
you have is a tedious
delusion, a hobby like knitting.

Work is what you have done
after the play is produced
and the audience claps.
Before that friends keep asking
when you are planning to go
out and get a job.

Genius is what they know you
had after the third volume
of remarkable poems. Earlier
they accuse you of withdrawing,
ask why you don't have a baby,
call you a bum.

The reason people want M.F.A.'s,
take workshops with fancy names
when all you can really
learn is a few techniques,
typing instructions and some-
body else's mannerisms

is that every artist lacks
a license to hang on the wall
like your optician, your vet
proving you may be a clumsy sadist
whose fillings fall into the stew
but you're certified a dentist.

The real writer is one
who really writes. Talent
is an invention like phlogiston
after the fact of fire.
Work is its own cure. You have to
like it better than being loved.

Copyright 1980, Middlemarsh, Inc.
from THE MOON IS ALWAYS FEMALE
Alfred A. Knopf, New York2, 2006

I will be on an elliptical machine on Necker Island soon! : )
http://www.virginlimitededition.co.uk/

Have a fun-filled adventurous day.. with lots of time for everything ..and more!

pic from http://www.luxuryadventures.co.uk/necker%206.jpg

Breaking through limitations - morning excercise

I went to a seminar last night called ‘Breakthrough your Limitations’ presented by Joanne Chrobot. She has worked with many motivational people – Anthony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, Marianne Williamson and lots of other names I recognized.
Her bio: http://www.knowledgeworksglobal.com/speakers/biographies/bio.html

I am realizing this morning that I learned a few more things than I thought I did last night. It was great we got to break boards.. that was the best. I’ve watched Kaiya break lots (tkd) but it was my first. So, hopefully I have broke through my limitations.

I want to share one of the exercises, briefly, which she taught and which I enjoyed doing this morning. She said she does this every morning before getting out of bed. She has a system which she explained but basically she thinks of 3 things that make her happy & why, 3 things which make her excited, how they make her excites, then proud, grateful, 3 things she enjoys right now, what she is committed to, & what she loves & who loves her.

So, lied in bed & tried this.

Happy – its my day of & I have lots of things that I really enjoy doing to do today. I have lots of time , the day is mine to do whatever I want. I am going to go to the gym, get cat food.. poor cat is living on cat treats right now, although he seems quite happy about it. Going downtown, Currys, to get canvasses, clean up my basement studio again and create a place to work in.. pic my flower and prime my canvass..
Excited – that I have a plan and am keeping to my commitment to paint, it’s a pretty big deal finding the time to do this & I feel its important. I am excited to make flax crackers today also.. my mom has a favorite recipe and Bob told me how he makes his, generally & he makes the best dehydrated flax crackers.. so I have a great base to go on & I love experimenting in the kitchen. Oh & I get to go to La Senza & get new pj’s, cause my friend bought me extra small -??? I’m not that small.. but hey, that’s flattering anyway. : )
Proud – My kids – doing well in school, conscientious, intelligent, good looking, considerate, thoughtful, funny.. etc etc. Proud of myself. Proud of my Mom. Proud of lots of people around me actually..Jim, Randy, Lisa, Danny, & on & on..
Grateful – O come on , so many things.. ok 3 – a warm house, being surrounded by loving caring people whom I love here at home & friends (2) & (3) at work ..and having a job that I really enjoy and believe in and working with the best bunch of people.. I love them all!
Enjoy - that was sleeping in late & just lying there thinking of all the wonderful things that make me happy in my warm, cozy bed, the feeling of blankets and pillows and being so secure in life. Right now getting to share this with whoever wants to read it – and most especially my Mom cause I know she always reads my blogs : )
Committed– easy, my family, my friends, my work, and excited about my new commitments to myself to paint & learn some Spanish. I have cd’s ready to listen to later (makes me happy also : )
Love – same almost – family, friends, workmates, incl Chocosol and people who come in to work regularly. & yeah, I think they love me.

This took longer to type than to do.. it really didn’t take that long & would take even less once you got into a habit of it. It’s a great idea and way to start the day.

Thank you Joanne - & Marie for hosting the event!

The Chocolatada and Winter Warm on Raw

Ok, I’m back. It took me a day to recover from the incredible Chocolatada Thurs eve. Actually I worked all day yesterday and kept busy with other things. Wow. But that party was amazing. ..amazing that you can have so much fun without drinking or drugs or anything like that. ..well, there was lots of blue-green algae (E3Live) and chocolate, if that counts.. and of course it does, in a very good way.
So there was the documentary film we watched 1st, then a teleconference call, via Skype, with Gustavo Esteva. He is a grass-roots activist, intellectual and writer who works to expand awareness of the conditions – the reality and hopes - of the Mexican people and esp the poor and those who work the land. Roughly. The film showed a lot of corruption of the system, police brutality and injustice.

Gustavo Esteva - http://www.gustavoesteva.com/english_site/korten_summary.htm

Skype – we use this at work for long distance calling - http://www.skype.com/

Then in Zappatismo tradition after serious discussion, there was a celebration – of life. It was amazing. At least 150 people turned out, I believe. There was so much entertainment, guitars, drums, poetry readings, performance pieces, a set of music, great dj, 2 turntables.. lots of dancing. Then everyone would stop and sit in a circle, and it was more that it happened naturally than so much organized, like waves, everyone knew that it was impromptu and brought things to share.. there were 3 changs (brass prayer bowls) with a request for your highest intention being sent out on the new moon. It was really beautiful, more poetry, words, music, a guy who was from Australia and just in Toronto for a week and just happened upon us with his digiridoo- more properly called a yidaki. ..an instrument created by aboriginal people of northern Australia. So much fun, we waked on stepping stars in the water back to our ancestors and ate and drank and partied with them there. ..and more music, more dancing..

This is the day the wave remembers the ocean from which it is born.

..and then I get home and realize I forgot my keys at work and had to wake Jim up to let me in! lol ..I felt like a teenager, banging on the windows in the middle of the night.

..and I was going to come here and tell you how I am keeping so warm on raw this winter .. and now I am running out of time. Have to get ready and off to work. But yes, it’s true. Once you suffer through that 1st cold winter on raw.. its worth it, it does get better. I have noticed a few times lately when other people were cold and I was not. Once I was with a friend and she was rubbing her hands together warming up and I had a tank top on & she commented ‘how can you be wearing that?’. I was comfortable. I knew then I had passed that cold detoxing barrier and had come to the other side. Not that I believe I have finished detoxing, I think that can take years, even 5 or 6.. but the symptoms get less and less. It’s amazing though not feeling so cold because I am by nature a cold person, always get cold easily. I notice it occasionally now, feeling cold and grabbing a sweater, but nothing out of the ordinary.. certainly nothing like last year. So, there is hope. If you are suffering through your 1st winter raw, persevere.. get warm clothes, drink tea, hang out in steam rooms, exercise, whatever works.. stay raw and it will be worth it..

and I hear it just keeps getting better.

graphic from http://postcard.userfriendly.org/

My favorite flowers, E3Lemonade, raw info and quotes, tonight's Chocolatada

This recipe comes from my friend Robin L:

E3Lemonade

2 cups of water
1 lemon
a pinch of chili de arbol
2 tbsp agave
2 tbsp E3Live

Blend the water, lemon, and chili thuroughly. Then strain the mixture into a lemonade pitcher and mix in the agave and E3Live. Simple!

I was talking to a lady at work about her trip to Dr Gabriel Cousins Tree of Life rejeuvenation center in Arizona. She was telling me about how she felt when she went to eat and she was surrounded by all these (20 or 30) raw foodists who all had the clearest skin, almost translucent, and white, white eyes ..and she said it felt like she was surrounded by aliens. ..and then she thought this is how we all should be looking. This is our natural state.. that thought stays with me because I know what she means.. there is a different look and a different energy with raw foodists. Life really should be this good.. it should look this good and feel this good!

If you advance confidently in the direction of your dreams, and endeavor to live the life you have imagined, you will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. You will pass an invisible boundary, new universal and more liberal laws will begin to establish themselves and you will live with the license of a higher order of beings. If you built castles in the air, your work need not be lost, that is where they should be, now put the foundation under them.

~Walden
Jinjee has a myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/thegardendiet

FreeHippocrates magazine subscription: http://www.hippocratesinst.org/html/magazine.htm

Interview with paul Nison by Mike Snyder: http://www.therawdiet.com/life_foods.pdf
The audio is athttp://www.therawdiet.com/PaulNison.mp3

I am off to a Chocolatada New Moon Party tonight at work - 'Promoting Socio-Political Awareness through Chocolate'

Film, Music, Poetry, Raw Vegan Potlatch, and CHOCOLATE!

This is the first in a series of monthly events with a changing and organic flavour. This first Chocolatada's vision is to celebrate the New Year and the New Moon by bringing together Toronto-based communities and supporting independent media initiatives in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Help us break down the borders between artist and audience, us and them, and here and there.

Bring your musical instruments, poetry, spontaneity, and fearlessness.

At midnight, join us and articulate your intentions and goals for this full moon cycle; for those who manifest their intentions, we invite you to come back to 720 to share the story and have a chocolate on us.(that's 720 Bathurst - 416-535-3111)

Pics by Kathryn Berg from Photosig

quotes - spiritual journey in the land of the immortals

He sees only the twisting of the pathand the winding of the stream.He does not know that he is already in the Land of the Immortals. – ancient Taoist poem

"Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learn. The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices and the acceptance of love back into our hearts." - Marianne Williamson

It is impossible to live or die without God, but it is not impossible to think that you are. If you think that you are living without God, you will experience that you are.You may have this experience as long as you wish. You may end this experience whenever you choose. - Neale Donald Walsch - Home With God In a Love That Never Ends

Miso soup and anti-aging substances

It’s snowing and cold outside today..
Not that I'm complaining.. it's the 1st day we've had to shovel.. and there wee only a couple inches.
Here is a recipe for a warm soup that I have been enjoying lately.. it's extremely simple once you have the ingredients. Cubes of tofu are generally traditionally added.. but I don't eat tofu & so exclude it.. if you like that, add some.

Miso Soup

Boil water. Let sit and cool a bit and then pour into a bowl.
Add 2t miso and stir to dissolve.
Add some chopped green onion, pieces of wakame and/or enoki mushrooms.
Enjoy.

There is a list of anti-aging substances (herbs, minerals, amino acids) in the book, You’re Never Too Old.. to Become Young by David Camros and Dr. Shawn Miller.

They are:

Acidophilus (lactobacillus acidophilus)
- Friendly bacteria which helps to keep the unfriendly bacteria in check.
- Converts lactose (milk sugar) into lactic acid.
- Helps maintain health of the digestive tract.

Aloe
- Healing – has antibacterial, anesthetic and tissue restorative properties.

Chamomile
– Tonic, anti-inflammatory, vermifuge and antibacterial.
– Immune stimulator
– Heals ulcers, upset stomach and headaches.
– Relieves arthritic and rheumatic inflammation.
– Relieves menstrual cramps and kills vaginal yeast.
– Large amounts (over 3c daily) may cause nausea and vomiting.

Chromium Picolinate
- Chromium is an essential trace mineral, which metabolizes glucose- removes excess sugar from the blood after eating.

Co-Enzyme Q10 (ubiquinone)
- Is part of the energy chain in your cells.
- Is an antioxidant in lipoprotein tissue (lipoprotein is the last L in CDL and HDL cholesterol)
- Improves heart function, is used to treat heart conditions and may lower high blood pressure.
- Used to treat immune deficiency disorders, enhances the immune system.
- Enhances athletic performance
- Good for stabilizing weight and for diabetes.
- Involved in manufacture of ATP (adrenotriphosphate) –the energy component of all bodily processes.

Echinacea
- Stimulates phagocytosis (in which cells destroy invading bacteria and viruses)
- Increases mobility of leukocytes and other white blood cells, important for our bodies defense system.
- Immune stimulant.
- Blood purifier and tonic.
- Good for infections.
- Antibiotic and anti-inflammatory for arthritic conditions.

Enzymes
- Catalysts of the body, makes metabolism possible. They are responsible for every function of the body. ‘during every moment of our lives, over 300 different enzymes are constantly renewing and changing, often at unbelievable speed’
- Different enzymes break down different substances (ie. Lipase breaks down fats, protease breaks down proteins etc)
- Enzyme shortages lead to imbalances. (ie. A lactose intolerance is a lack of lactase which breaks down lactose)
- Poor digestion is one of the 1st signs of an enzyme deficiency.

Evening Primrose Oil
- EFA’s, reduces inflammation, useful for PMS.

Garlic
- Antibacterial, anti inflammatory.
- Reduces blood cholesterol, good for cardiovascular health.
- Decongestant and expectorant.
- Lowers blood pressure.
- Contains several antioxidants.

Ginko Biloba
- Free radical scavenger
- Improves blood flow and increases oxygen metabolism, esp in brain.
- Good for; poor circulation, short term memory loss, headaches, tinnitus.
- Used to treat deafness, impotence, stroke, heart disease, aging, asthsma, vertigo, high blood pressure, allergies.
- Side effects may include: nausea, irritability, diarreah, vomiting, restlessness.

Ginseng
- Stimulant, sedative, mild laxative, diaphoretic, tonic.
- Used for many reasons but used for a general tonic, is an adaptogen.
- Strengthens the immune system and bodily functions.
- Good for stamina, energy, adapting to mental, emotional and physical stress.
- Protects liver and heart health
- Regulates reproductive hormones.
- Normalizes cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
- Improves memory and learning.

Goldenseal
- Tonic, antiseptic, diuretic, laxative, soothes inflammations.
- Can be used on open sores and skin conditions

Grape Seed Extract

Hawthorn
- Improves circulation.
- Rich in flavonoids, anthocyanidins and proanthocyanidins.
- good for cardiac conditions.

Lecithin
- Helps metabolize fat in thebody, aids in digestion and absorption of fats.
- Helps break up cholesterol deposits and pass it through arterial walls.
- Prevents formation of gallstones, purifies kidneys and cleanses liver.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids

Saw Palmetto
- Fatty acids and sterols.

Spirulina

St. Johns Wort
- Used to treat nervous disorders, anti viral conditions, inflammation, wound healing and depression.

Tea Tree Oil
- Antifungal, antiseptic.

Valerian
- Relaxant used for anxiety, nervousness, headaches, insomnia and intestinal cramps.
- Can reduce blood pressure.

Wheatgrass
- Powerful cleanser, as a result may cause nausea.
- Chlorophyll brings toxins from cells to blood stream. Contains 70% chlorophyll.
- Important blood builder.
- High in enzymes.
- Picks up 92of 102 minerals found in the soil and all the vitamins that have beenso far isolated.
- 1 oz wheatgrass = 2 lbs of vegetables.

pic of miso soup from Wikipedia

Fo-Ti (He-Shou-Wu) and Reishi, adaptogens

I have been hearing a lot about 2 supplements lately.. the herb Fo-Ti and Reishi Mushrooms from different unrelated sources. Interestingly I have found that they are both known as supplements for longevity.

Fo-Ti, also called He Shou Wu, is one of the premier tonics of Oriental medicine.

Fo-Ti nourishs the vital essence (jing) and the blood. Jing is the Yin aspect of Oriental medicine and so Fo-Ti is used for deficient Yin.

(Jing, Qi & Shen translate very, very loosely into Body, Mind and Spirit)

As well as an overall longevity tonic it is specifically good for:
- fatigue, depression, stress..
- improves sex life
- used to treat impotence and virility
- Lowers blood pressure and cholesterol
- Possibly inhibits tumor formation

Fo-Ti is often used with ginseng and dong quai in tonics
Tip – the darker the root the better

Reishi is known as the mushroom of longevity. It is just one of several important medicinal mushrooms (incl. maitake and cordycepts, one of my favs and shitake, which is good for the immune system and lowering blood pressure and cholesterol) The reishi is not a culinary mushroom, but a fibrous shelf mushroom. It is reddish, distinctive in shape and easy to identify.

The Reishi is an herb of spiritual potency. It is healing for the spirit, the essence of the person. It also nourishes the jing – the blood and energy and revitalizes major organs, esp. the liver and the heart. Just as mushrooms help recycle life in the forest, so they recycle waste and negativity in the body. Reishi is an adaptogen – goes where it is most needed.

Aaptogen from Wikipedia:
The word adaptogen, coined by Russian Scientist Dr. I.I. Brekhman in 1947, refers to a natural herb product that increases the body's resistance to stresses such as trauma, anxiety and bodily fatigue. The guidelines Lazarev created for a herb to be considered an adaptogen are:

-It must cause only minimal disorders in the body's physiological functions;
-It must increase the body's resistance to adverse influences not by a specific action but by a wide range of physical, chemical, and biochemical factors;
-It must have an overall normalizing effect, improving all kinds of conditions and aggravating none.
-It is claimed that adaptogenic herbs are unique from other substances in their ability to balance endocrine hormones and the immune system, and they help the body to maintain optimal homeostasis.

Most herbal adaptogens that have been identified are used in either Ayurveda or Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Adaptogens with a significant level of scientific research confirming their use include: Ashwagandha, Cordyceps, Dang Shen (Codonopsis pilosula), Eleuthero, Holy Basil, Ginseng, Guduchi, Jiaogulan, Licorice, Maca, Reishi, Rhaponticum, Rhodiola Rosea, Schisandra, Shilajit and Suma.
Possible adaptogens with less scientific research include: Amla, Astragalus, He Shou Wu, Lycium, Maca, Prince Seng and Shatavari.




From www.reshi.com:

Red Reishi (Ganoderma Lucidum), commonly known as Ling Zhi in Chinese, is a herbal mushroom known to have miraculous health benefits.
It has been used in Japan and China for over 2,000 years and thus making it the oldest mushroom known to have been used as medicine. Since ancient times, the Reishi mushroom was reserved for emperors and royalties. It has been revered as nature’s rarest and most beneficial herb. In the Superior category of Shen Nung Ben Cao Jing, the oldest and most famous medical text on Oriental herbal medicine, red Reishi is ranked as the number one herb, ahead of ginseng, because of its following qualities:
1. It is non-toxic and can be taken daily without producing any side effects.
2. When it is taken regularly, it can restore the body to its natural state, enabling all organs to function normally.
3. Immune modulator - regulates and fine tunes the immune system.

My Yin-Yang paintings and artist statement

These are two paintings that I did at OCAD in the summer of 2004. It feels very relevant for me to post these today.. it being the 13th of the 1st month of the year and me just deciding that I would like to start painting again. Anyone who knows me well knows my schedule is totally crazy these days.. However, I just got asked what I am going to do in 2007. ..and I had to think about it.. which I have been doing this past week. I have come up with a few things>> world peace, meditation, learning some spanish and painting.. these are a few. My plan is to paint flowers on monday afternoons.. and when I get 13 maybe I will post them here. ; )

This is the artist statement that went with the paintings, from the same class.. it was a really great, thought provoking class. Here's to a really great thought provoking year!

Artist Statement – Robin R. Robinson

“Whenever you breathe out, I breathe in – Yin/Yang” is a dual self-portrait which portrays me both figuratively, seated on a pillar in a gallery, and psychologically, with the paintings around me representing windows to my soul. These paintings are full of images, originating from dreams, my imagination and the mythologies of various religions and cultures, which all seem to hold similar stories. Many of the ideas represented here come from my study of tarot cards, for instance I used association and comparison to develop many of these sources to reveal their esoteric meanings. Books I have recently read on astrology, creative visualization, symbolism and native North American spiritual wisdom inspired a deep investigation of my personal symbols and archetypes. My 9 personal totem animals are represented as well as hidden identities and incarnations.

In these two paintings I compared the duality inherent in ourselves and nature: the masculine and feminine, day and night and the receding and expanding waves of energy seen around us everywhere, in the tides, in the wind and in our own breathing. “Yin” depicts the spiritual realm: sleep, silence, reverence, the night and the moon along with its related concepts and associated myths. “Yang” represents the material realm: action, excitement, the sun, daytime and its related symbology.

Through these large and colorful paintings, which represent my inner self, in contrast to the serenity and neutral clothing of the figure, I am making a comment on the importance of our internal self and spirit as opposed to societies dominant interest in outer values. I also portrayed scenes from mythology, fairy tales and folklore, which teach us universal truths and wisdom, guiding us and giving a deeper perspective and added meaning to our lives. I encourage and cultivate the art of storytelling in my work because I feel it is getting lost in our day and age. My hope is that with these paintings, the telling of my story will blend with the viewers’ own personal ideology and give them a fresh point of view and a new story as well as deeper meaning and a new perspective to their own thought process.

White turtles, Master artists and looking at the water

The waterfall on South Mountain
Hits the rocks,Tosses back its foam
With terrifying thunder,
Blotting out even
Face-to-face talk.
Collapsing water and
Bouncing foam soak blue moss,
Old moss so thick
It drowns the spring grass.
Animals are hushed.
Birds fly but don't sing
Yet a white turtle plays
on thePool's sand floor
Under riotous spray,
Sliding about with the torrents.
The people of the land
Are benevolent.
No angling or net fishing.
The white turtle lives
Out its life, naturally.

- Wang Wei (699-761)

" What is that at which all true artists are aiming? It is life, it is reality. The painter tries to catch the magic of the lights and shadows and passing graces of the human face he paints, but he never wholly succeeds in overtaking the reality. All great art is an imperfect, halting attempt to catch up on life. Life is the greatest art of all...... and the master artist is the one who is living the beautiful life".
By a philosopher of the Victorian era John Edgar Park

Work doggedly, one thing after the other.
Begin work early, finish many things each day.
Work on what comes to hand, what demands attention.
Have rough plans--work them daily.
Rest from the work--look at the water.

from R Genn's tice weekly letters - www.painterskeys.com

3 rules, 3 practices, SuccessUltraNow and Stem Enhance

3 rules
I remember a story someone told me at the party I went to last weekend. This lady was a principle and she was recalling when she was a teacher and she used to start the year with getting the kids to help her come up with classroom rules. All the kids would write a list of everything they thought was a good rule to have and inevitably every rule would fall under 3 main rules. They are:
Respect for yourself
Respect for others
Respect for the environment

I have been very interested lately in this site: http://www.successultranow.com/
This is a personal optimization system put out by David Wolfe & Nick Good. I heard of it through my friend from work, Marko.. who is working with them on this project. So when he told me about it I went to the site.. printed it out, read it 3 times.. ordered 4 cd’s. I am that enthused! I am not even sure who I am giving the 4th one to. I can think of lots of people.. maybe that will just be one to lend out. There is so much on this site. I am continually coming back here and printing articles and parts to read for each day.
I liked this part a lot (from the main page):

YESHUA SPEAKS : "I give you three practices. The first is to strengthen all of your positive attitudes through daily gratitude and admiration. The second is to disempower your negative emotions daily through forgiveness. the third, you will have to work more diligently at... INNOCENT PERCEPTION.

I went to a meeting last night for information about Stem Enhance. I was not really drawn to it because it takes a part of the AFA algae - 2 parts actually: the part that stimulates and releases the body’s own stem cells and the PEA. My main concern about it is in how strongly I believe in whole foods.
The plus side to it is that it is making some serious positive changes in peoples lives and well-being ..especially people with real health challenges and it is also really big with athletes and body builders. And it makes a more potent dose more affordable. 3 caps = approx one bottle of E3Live.
I think even though it is a non-whole food supplement I am going to be onto this one. Here’s the website:
http://www.stemenhance.com/

quotes - life purpose and happiness

What is your destiny?

"The significant business of your life is alive and well, awaiting discovery, within your very soul. You and I were born to come into ourselves as complete and distinctive persons. Accepting this, we build a valuable life." ~ Marsha Sinetar

What is the significant business of your life? What is your purpose? Andrew Schneider says that purpose "is more than just having a direction. It is about one’s place in the universe. It is the journey of finding that place and being there and living fully whatever that place is. It is your own unique place that nobody else has, had, or will have."

How would you describe your place in the universe?

"We become powerful in the face of our fears when we have a sense that we make a difference in this world. Affirmations of purpose communicate the truth that we are all meaningful participants in this Universe and that we are worthy of giving and receiving love. Some affirmations of purpose are:
- I know that I count and I act as though I do.
- I spread warmth and love everywhere I go.
- I am a healing force in the Universe."
~Susan Jeffers

"The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for." ~Joseph Addison

Green Juices and Nutrition in Medical Schools

Green Juices

I have decided to add more green juices into my diet. I read something Tonya Zavasta wrote in her last newsletter which has influenced me and lately I am stocking my fridge with more greens for a daily vegetable juice.

This is what she wrote:
“Traveling around the country on my lecture tours I meet many people who practice raw foods to some extent or another. Several years I began a personal experiment on the effects of juicing. I wanted to see if I could identify people who were juicing regularly based solely on their appearance. I am almost always right because juicers have a certain glow. In short, people who juice look better than people who criticize juicing. I have been juicing for 10 years, and it has served me well.”

& her favorite juice:

Juice 3 stalks of bok choy (sold in the produce section at most grocery stores and definitely at all Asian food stores), 3 stalks of celery, 3 small zucchini, 5 asparagus spears, 1 small beet root and 2 medium apples. Drink immediately.

her website is: http://www.beautifulonraw.com/

The juice I have been making has a base of a carrot, a celery stalk, some romaine or cucumber and then whatever dark leafy greens – spinach, kale, dandelion, beet leaves etc I have on hand.

This is my system, ..now some people wont be able to handle this, and I am kind of amazed I can.. guess my tequila drinking days served me well in the end, lol.. but what I do is juice some dark leafy greens a bit of carrot and a garlic clove together.. pour that into a small glass.. and then juice the rest, which seems really easy to take and delicious after that first hardcore green shot. It works for me..

a couple other recipes I have found that some people use as a base for their diet:

Green Lemonade

1 head romaine or celery
dark greens (5-8 stalks) kale, chard, collards etc
1 or 2 apples
1 lemon peeled
1” ginger

Energy Detox Juice

1 carrot
2 celery stalks
½ cucumber
4-5 stalks of dark greens: kale, chard etc
15 parsley sprigs
1 broccoli stalk
some red or green cabbage
+ opt items: ginger, 1 radish, and lemon


Nutrition in medical schools.

I found these stats in David Camros and Dr. Shawn Miller’s book – You’re Never Too Old to Become Young:

Only 30 out of 125 medical schools in the U.S. have a required course in nutrition.
Philip Kapleau, To Cherish all Life, Harper and Row, San Fransisco, 1981, p.59

The average medical physician in the U.S. received less than 3 hours of training in nutrition while in med school.
John MacDougall MD – The MacDougall Plan, New Century Publishers, 1983, p.7

Dr. Michelle Harris stated at the 69th annualmeeting of the American Medical Wmen’s Association referring to nutritional training in medical school, “They had one lecture, on a Saturday morning, and it wasn’t compulsory. I don’t remember what was in the lecture because I didn’t go.”
John Robbins, Diet for a New America, Stillpoint Publishing, Wallpole, NH, 1987, p.149-150

pic from http://www.penelopesloom.com/2005/04/green_leaf/

Lakes and the Spirit of the Universe

"Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake."
~Wallace Stevens

This quote and pic was sent to me by a special friend and made me so happy.. it just sent back memories of my chldhood and past. I grew up in a house that was right across the street from Jones lake (my Mom still lives there) and I remember always hearing "We're going for a walk around the lake" It was an everyday event.. Either Mom & Dad together or taking the dog around. I spent a lot of time around that lake, watching ducks, climbing trees, hanging out. ..sometimes I walked and sometimes I ran.

"My desire for knowledge is intermittent; but my desire to commune with the spirit of the universe, to be intoxicated with the fumes, call it, of that divine nectar, to bear my head through atmospheres and over heights unknown to my feet, is perennial and constant."
~Henry David Thoreau

Painting by Fritz Thaleau - The Old Church by the River

Fitness resolutions - anatomy chart

Today the gym will be full of people. My guess is that it will stay that way until the end of the week and then it will get back to normal.

Most of them will disappear: they will catch colds, or have two early meetings in a row, or just not be in the mood. Or they will get on the scale and not see the subtraction they want to see and get discouraged. Or they will miss a few days and mess up the perfection of their compliance with their resolution about exercise in the New Year, and then they will say to themselves Oh, what's the use? and that will be that.

As a service, then, a few words of unsolicited advice:

1. Don't try to keep your resolution all by yourself. Stop thinking of it in terms of willpower. In fact, consider not thinking of it as a resolution at all: think of it as a prayer. You are not alone--no one on earth is alone. God is with us, and can do things we can't do. Just ask God for the help you need, in a childish way that may feel pretty foolish to you in the beginning -- do it anyway. Try approaching it for a time as if you trusted God more than you really do -- you have nothing to lose by doing this, and you may find God more trustworthy than you imagined.

2. Don't expect or demand perfection of yourself. Think instead of developing a habit, laying down layer after layer of the behavior you want to see in yourself. People build habit from the bottom up, layer by layer -- not from the top down.

3. Don't be harsh with yourself when you fail. Everybody fails. If you are mean to yourself about it, you will hurt your own feelings, and then you will run in self defence to the very behavior you're trying to change, as a source of quick comfort. You have no right and no reason to love yourself any less than God loves you. Failure is a chance to let God help us.

3. Don't start big and shrink. Start small and grow. Don't set too ambitious an agenda at first--set a small one. Otherwise you'll give up when you fail to meet your enormous goal. Instead, make a small change and allow it to cement itself into the routine of your life.

4. When you break your stride, don't try to make it up. Just get back on the horse. Don't spend two hours at the gym on Tuesday because you didn't spend on hour there on Monday. Just go in and do your hour. Don't fast all day today because you ate an entire cake yesterday. Just get back on your plan. Every day is a new day.

This was not written by me - not sure whom to give credit to.. my friend just sent it to me in an e-mail. But if it very true.. When I was a gym regular you could just watch it happen every January.

Heres to your fitness and health!

Pic is from http://www.randyfitness.com/anatomy.html

Imagination -quotes, spongebob and dreamflowerziks

"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."
Albert Einstein

"We are what we imagine ourselves to be."
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

"The opportunities of man are limited only by his imagination. But so few have imagination that there are ten thousand fiddlers to one composer."
Charles F. Kettering

" Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!"
Dr. Seuss

"Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple, learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen."
John Steinbeck

"Everything you can imagine is real."
Pablo Picasso

" Live out of your imagination instead of out of your memory."
Les Brown

"Imagination gallops; judgment merely walks."
Proverb

"The man who has no imagination has no wings."
Muhammad Ali

"Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere."
Carl Sagan

"The human race is governed by its imagination."
Napoleon Bonaparte

"men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can."
Willis WhitneySome

"Logics will get you from A to B, imagination will take you everywhere."
Albert Einstein

The spongebob lunchbox was a present I got for my Mom.. filled with yummy raw food treats including a Living Libations bar (DreamflowerZiks), I got one too and am eating it right now. Mmmm http://www.livinglibations.com/

Gamble your life on living.

Dreamflowerziks
organic raw cacao vanilla beans hemp roseotto lavender chamomile frankincense osharoot purplemaize reishi macaroot yaconsyrup pau d’arco cococrème camucamu

flexibility and the aging process - David Camros & Dr. Shawn Miller

Dr Shawn Miller and David Camros were in town and gave a talk at 720 Bathurst(work). It was right after the marketplace we had on the Saturday before Christmas. I ddn’t stay for it but I just finished reading their book Your Never too Old.. to Become Young.

They talk about the common theory that our aging process and level of vitality is directly related to our loss of flexibility.

Children are very flexible: mentally, emotionally and physically.
Look at a baby. They will grab their feet with their hands and put one or both into their mouths. Babys are so open. They are wide eyed, wide open, ready to receive.. they are not blocked at all.. Becoming blocked and stiff is an integral part to the aging process.

As we age one of the first things we notice is that we begin to lose our flexibility.

Develop flexibility to attain vitality

3 ways they mention in their book are:

1- Adopt a meatless diet (meat is high in uric acid which hinders flexibility)
2- Have a relaxed mental attitude
3 – Practice slow rhythmic stretching of the entire body

“All life is motion. Without motion there is no life.
Life diminishes in proportion to the lack of motion involved.”

“If you don’t take care of your body, where are you going to live?”
http://www.perfecthealthnow.com/


Pic from http://www.thisisawar.com/ - debts perspective
Interesting website.. just read a few articles.

Inspirational Sayings and Free Hugs

“As high as a tree aspires to grow, so high will it find an atmosphere suited to it.” ~Henry David Thoreau

I told Marie and a friend that I had 100’s of Inspirational/Motivational sayings and quotes. Marie has a great one on the phone message at work.

“Keep facing the sun and the shadows will surely fall behind”

She was talking about putting up a board with a new saying every day.. or every so often. But now I am wondering how many do I actually have. So I just thought I would put it out there and if anyone has or knows any good ones, please send them to me. Comment here or e-mail me: robin@rawketscience.com : ) Thanks

Free Hugs: video from YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4

Thanks Randy for sharing this with me and showing me how to post the video here! : )

Tree pic from: http://earth.leeds.ac.uk/ebi/gallery/gallery1-photo02.htm

Borscht in a red dress

I was asked today at work if I knew of a raw Borscht recipe. Its Ukrainian Christmas this weekend and traditionally borscht is served. So, hopefully the Boutenkos don’t mind if I post their recipe. It is supposed to be very close to the cooked version.

Borscht

2 c water
3 beets
1 sm root ginger (sliced first)
3 lg cloves garlic
6-7 bay leaves

Blend well & transfer to bowl

2 c water
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
2 T apple cider vinegar
3-4 oranges – peeled & without seeds (seeds will give a very bitter taste)
1 T honey
½ c olive oil
sea salt to taste

Blend quickly (30 seconds)

add ½ c walnuts and blend on low spped quickly so they break into small pieces but are not blended.
Pour into the same bowl and stir.

Dice or grate:

¼ head cabbage
1-2 carrots
1 bunch parsley

Add grated ingredients to the blended mixture.
Stir and serve.

From Eating without Heating by Sergei and Valya Boutenko

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

New Journey

I know of a sun that awakens When the morning is still a promise of light in the night of a world without sounds - a desert esplanade...

I know of the quiet foliages and of good silence when to the ear I invite you without voice in the springs of my fingers.

Tongue, mother of the secrets, opens the ticket to the regatos, for the ways, until the estuary, in streams of hands, now is only discovered.

I know of the foam and the sea that the river hugs calling a sun without mooring cables, When in the red wakening you grasp my thought and you fly gull, light and lighthouse, in the dawn, fire of your wings...

I know the shout of the horizon in immense fire, that draws out the awakened intense instant & the night becomes the Infinite...


poem courtesy of my friend Paul and babelfish, a manipulated version of a non-original found from a portuguese website.. the pics probably russian or from somewhere far, far away.. I have always felt somewhat like a gypsy and lately I am feeling more and more so.. ; ) lol, a world-exploring gypsy with no boundaries!