The Italian in Thailand who goes to Fruitopia for Paella and shares everything!

Sometimes I have a dilemma.
When I come up with a really good recipe and I want to share it ..and yet I plan on making part of my business with recipes. Should I give them all away now or save them for the upcoming book. Not that I've started a book yet.. other than in my thoughts.

..and yet I love the saying "Share everything with everyone"
and I am getting there..

and I have sooo many recipes. But this one is such a classic. This feels kind of like handing down your grandmother's secret recipe, which normally only gets shared with people close to you.
I last shared it with Amy (of Chocosol) and she made tons of it for their huge Valentines party. ..& I think she did a better job than me of making it. But its so easy to make.. just throw everything in the blender & blend, thats it.

My Favorite Tomato Sauce

3-4 tomatoes
1/2 c sun-dried tomatoes
1 garlic clove
1 jalapeno
1/2-1/3 red pepper
1 T olive oil
1 T honey (or agave)
1 T apple cider vinegar
Lots of basil & oregano

herb tip - of course fresh & from the garden is best. I grow lots & at the end of the season, pick it all & blend with some olive oil & freeze it to use during the winter.

Blend and then pour on top of spiralized zucchini. It's so much like the real thing it's incredible.. but honestly, it's even better!

Ok so I wanted to share that with you to share my dinner for the last couple nights.
I love this variation I just came up with.
I was calling it (to myself):

An Italian in Thailand

2 T coconut dream
2 T agave
2 T lime juice
1 T tamari (mine was oriental ginger flavor)
1 t curry
sambal oelek or chilis or hot peppers to taste (last night it was really hot, I was sweating!)
Celtic salt
and 4 heaping T's of Tomato Sauce

Mix all together. I spiralized & then chopped the zucchini pasta a bit and I would have added a bit of chopped cilantro also if I had it.


Tonight I am planning on making Paella. I watched a video on how to make it at Freshtopia.net
It looks so good! see the video here: http://www.freshtopia.net/vlog/
I love this website.. Love Tanja! Thanks for sharing this with us.

Here's her creation which she says is just as good & maybe even better the next day, as the saffron continues to infuse the dish with flavour for up to 24 hours.

Tanja's Fresh Paella Recipe

Saffron Dressing:
Whisk together,
Lg pinch saffron soaked in
2T lemon juice for 20 minutes or more
2T olive oil
1t agave syrup or honey
dash sea salt

Marinated Mushrooms:
1/2C oyster or other mushrooms marinated in
1/2C water
1/4C rice-wine vinegar (apple cider would work too)
2T nama shoyu or soy sauce
1T dulse flakes
1t paprika

Paella “Rice”:
1 1/2C turnip, chopped
1/3C pine nuts
1/4C bell pepper
2T onion
1t garlic
2 sm. tomatoes, chopped
1/2C fresh peas
1/4C parsley
1/4C sun-dried tomatoes soaked well, chopped

Pulse turnips, pine nuts, bell peppers, onion, and garlic in food processor until grainy rice-like consistency. Stir in tomatoes, peas, parsley and saffron dressing. Top with drained marinated mushrooms, sliced green olives, additional finely chopped parsley and a dusting of paprika.
Enjoy!

painting - emundi heirloom artscape yr 7 - from http://www.houseoftola.com/gallery/joes/emundi_heirloom_artscape_yr_7

The House of T.O.L.A. (Theater of Life Artistry)

The Galleries within hold the brushstokes of literally thousands of people, all composed live at the event under the hand of the artist Bob Gammage. He has his own gallery and his original artscapes all carry a Certificate of Authenticity.

Bob is a colourist, creating images you can step into. He is a painter, writer, philosopher and sculptor.......a bohemian who lives where his feet are, and he endevours to abide by one rule no harm.

photo from http://www.rcapub.com/Thailand_Full_Moon_Party.htm

Durian and chocolate high, videos, photos and Keiko Ti - Thats me!

Yesterday was my last day with Chocosol @ 720. They were packing up to move on.. over to 6 St Joseph St. I will miss them so much.. I was a little in denial that they were actually leaving.

Toward the end of the day, as it was quieting down .. it was so busy! I got out a durian that the Boutenkos had given to us when they left & we had a durian party. Not that most of the chocosol guys or everyone was into it.. but quite a few of us were, def Matthieu & Simon & Oliver & Mark. Mark is 12 years old & comes in quite a bit to volunteer & help make chocolate. He loved the durian. Said he had The Great Glass Elevator before - this is a recipe from The Naked Chocolate book (D Wolfe & Shazzie). The recipe calls for 1 durian, 30 cacao beans, 1 young coconut & a ball pond. You open the coconut.. eat the durian & the beans and then drink the coconut water w/ a straw & laze around in the ball pond for an hour before resuming any adult activities.
He said it made him high, ..and lazy and tired and happy. He said he's probably been more high than any other kid his age. He's almost raw.. he wants to be & is heading in that direction, says hes 70%.
Durian has a lot of tryptophan, which raises seratonin levels in the brain.. this leads to feelings of bliss and even euphoria.

Durian has a nasty smell though when you open it.. kind of like sulphur.. and the taste is amazing.. vanilla and banana and slight oniony or something but better and has a creamy buttery texture - its an aquired taste & many people wouldn't agree with me - that it's amazing. I didn't like it very much at first either.. but each consecutive time got better & there is something about sharing durain with someone else. Its an intimate experience.. even if there are more than 2. Not sure how that happens.. but a definite bond develops. Durian is an experience as much as a flavor. & most raw foodists think its the best flavour ever!

A woman came in about an hour after we opened it ..she came up to the counter & said.. "whats going on in here, is something happening.. the energy level is so high" 'Oh yeah, I told her we just opened a durian & shared it" she was really intrigued. she had never had one before.. but told me that she just got back from Thailand and there were signs not to take durian up to the hotel rooms (They are banned on the subways in Singapore also, according to Anthony Bourdain's book - A Cooks Tour - my husband is reading that right now) So there was a bit left & she tried some. She gave a bit of a weird look - most people are not sure what to make of it & don't get all the hype - but like I said - aquired and its something more than just taste - theres another level going on here.

Matthieu had some melted cacao and we were dipping the durian in the melted raw chocolate - it was sooo good! Matthieu is my chocosol raw buddy who makes the most amazing green juices.. he hand cranks them - more energy in them ..& uses a lemurian crystal to grind stuff up.. its actually more of a potion than either just a tonic or juice.. this stuff is magical!

Matthieu made the Chocosol Chronicle - 720 experiment video I posted a week or so ago. He is going to teach me how to post videos to YouTube & maybe edit etc. - part of my great plan - a travelling raw video blog - but thats still just such a small part of it. : ) & I have much to learn & do. Matthieu is also going to be my chocolate connection - I am a serious addict! ; )

Mark, on the other hand, came & helped me spread out the bread and get sheets of it into the dehydrater after the durian experience.. I think I may just take over this volunteer help! He offered. : ) & he wrote out a bunch of raw recipes for me to try & lent me his Bible (Naked Chocolate) to read for the week until he can come back. Its one of those books thats been read, read, and reread hundreds of times .. and signed 3 times by David Wolfe.

I am just finishing my lunch as I write this. Rawket Chips (my dehydrated spicy corn chips) w/ guacamole & salsa. Sooo good! ..and I am finally off to go paint now. I brought all my paintings so far up and out into my front hallway & they are stacked 3 high - 6' (they are all 2'x2') and 5 long.. 14 of them so far.. going to go work on the 15th.. but it looks like one big painting, all put together like that - a bouquet or actually a whole garden! I brought them to get ready to be photographed but I kind of like them there.

I should get me photographed also.. I don't have 1 pic of myself on the computer. I joined facebook last week or so. ..under my artist name Keiko Ti. I just signed my paintings all Keiko Ti.. my husband asked what that name was.. new to him. He said I was so weird. Maybe I am (in a good way of course) - I kind of liked that.


durian pic from http://tzuyen.blogspot.com/2005_06_01_archive.html

Ideas! Jay Douglas, Sly Dunbar and Dr Aris Latham of Sunfired Foods - Benefits

For the past 4 nights I have been getting less sleep than usual.
Last night I was up writing, pen and paper - about 14 pages of ideas for our new venture, at about 3 am.
I often get inspired in the middle of the night. Sometimes first thing in the morning.. but if there are a lot of things on my mind, sometimes I wake up & have to write them all down so I can fall back asleep.. which I usually do right away.

The night before I was up late from partying : ) - cd release party for Jay Douglas at the Revival club @ College & Shaw, for his new cd - A Touch of Magic. It was great, Jay has such a great voice & so much soul! .. he was backed by Sly & Robbie. We had such a fun night.
Yesterday Jay, a regular & friend from work, brought in Sly & Tony Greene - sax player.



from wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sly_and_Robbie :

Sly and Robbie are reggae's most prolific and long lasting production team. The rhythm section of drummer Lowell Dunbar (nicknamed Sly after Sly Stone, one of his favorite musicians) and bass guitarist Robert Shakespeare started working together in the mid 1970s, after having established themselves separately on the Jamaican music scene. They are humorously also sometimes referred to as Sly Drumbar and Robbie Bassspeare.

Sly and Robbie may well be the most prolific recording artists ever. One estimate is that they have played on or produced some 200,000 songs [1], considering that some of their riddims such as "Revolution" have been used on over 100 songs.

Sly & I got talking - he's raw also, about the same amount of time as me, just over 2 years.
I told him of some of my ideas and that it included raw travelling and asked if he had a good connection in Jamaica. He hooked me up with this guy: Dr Aris Latham of Sun Fired Foods.

http://sunfiredfood.com/

This guy is huge! He was the head chef at Hippocrates. He's been raw for 30 years.

The 2004 Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America acclaims: ‘…the raw food movement owes much to Aris LaTham, a native of Panama, he is considered to be the father of gourmet ethical vegetarian raw foods cuisine in America. He debut his raw food creations in 1979, when he started Sunfired Foods, a live-foods company in New York City. In the years since he has trained thousands of raw food chefs and added innumerable recipes to his repertoire…’

He is currently engaged in the training of vegetarian and raw food chefs for other major international resorts and hotels. ‘Sunfired Edible Arts’, education, nutrition, detox, catering, and consulting services are available through The VegSoul Retreats and Sunfired Food Health Institute in Negril, Jamaica. Aris is featured every Wednesday, 8-10pm London time on www.villageradio.com


from his website - on the Benefits page:

There are many other benefits of a Sunfired Food Cuisine:

1. INCREASED ENERGY LEVEL

People commonly experience sleepiness and lethargy after consuming a large cooked meal. Many people run out of energy by evening time. This indicates that the body is struggling with something with which it should not be challenged. A meal that has not been cooked does not produce this lethargy, but actually gives the body the natural energy that it needs.

2. REDUCED MINOR HEALTH AND PHYSICAL WORRIES

A. Overweight:

Many people are overweight. It is difficult to maintain an attractive, healthy weight on the typical SAD (Standard American Diet) food consumption. However, weight is virtually no concern to those on a gourmet Sunfired Food Cuisine.

B. Hair Loss:

Many previously balding men and women have reported new hair growth, even to near normal, on a fresh-raw food diet.

C. Colds & Flu:

The frequency of colds, flu, minor infections, etc. is substantially reduced if not completely eliminated.

D. Sexual Impotency:

There is a dramatic increase in the number of operations and other medical treatments for male sexual dysfunction. Many women suffer from infertility, premature menopause and other reproductive ailments. Normal, vital sexual function is enhanced on a Sunfired Food Cuisine.

3. AVOID MOST MAJOR HEALTH CONCERNS

Nearly everyone agrees that diet affects our health and that most people should change what they eat. What is not as well known is that a mineral-rich, fresh-raw food diet all but assures us that we will not suffer from cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes and many other crippling or fatal diseases that plague us.

4. ENHANCED LONGEVITY AND AVOIDANCE OF GENETIC DETERIORATION

A. Longevity:

People live longer, feel better, and have a higher quality of life on a fresh-raw food diet, avoiding minor and major diseases and deterioration. There is much scientific and anthropological evidence showing this.

B. Genetic Deterioration:

There is an increase in evidence being reported – for instance a NY Times front page article – that unexplained genetic deterioration is occurring from one human generation to the next. It was proven in an earlier published, 10-year research project by Dr. Robert Pottinger on animals and humans that the processed, western diet leads to genetic degeneration in newborn children.

5. REDUCE SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC COSTS

Medical costs have become a major element in the economy of many nations as well as families. As costs soar, everyone's well being is threatened. A large part of these expenditures, as well as the lost productivity and human suffering, can be avoided by consistently eating and enjoying a varied fresh-raw food cuisine.

Raw friends in Windsor and Waterloo

I met Cynthia of Divinely Raw in Waterloo a few days ago at work, Toronto Sprouts - with her friend and daughter.
Am looking up her website - she has some great classes (Mexican!Mmmm), events (Raw & Salsa dancing, great combo!), pot-lucks, catering.. lots going on there!!
Best wishes Cynthia, hope to make it out there one day to visit you.
check out her website:

http://www.divinelyraw.ca/

I also met a couple other women, Renee and Alice of Nude Food, located in Windsor, at the Total Health Show recently. They also offer creative raw- living food workshops, events, products and catering. Renee became adopted as my sister that Saturday night at the show.. although I haven't heard from her yet.. sorry sis about not keeping in touch, hope you're reading this, lol. I gained 3 sisters that day though.. so hard to keep up with everyone.. so glad I have my blog!
But, just thought I would mention it was wonderful meeting you.. and I wish you every success in your endeavours. It all looks amazing. (p.s. just copied the recipes - they look great! - thanks)

http://www.nudefood.net/

Not so random thoughts: shaking up belief systems, increasing happiness and the order of randomness

I have been busy conceptualizing an idea that is HUGE.
..and now I need to go present ideas and formulate plans with my co-conspirator and partner to be...
...and, of course, these plans will be disclosed as they materialize.
: )

but for now.. 3 random, or not so random, thoughts

1st - from the book of my writing at the bottom of my bed- this book was written awhile ago & so may or may not have been posted before. (but I like this thought, a good repeat, even if so)

'Imagine that the thing that you believe in the most is totally false and you are wrong about all the things that you held as truths. It's good to shake up the belief system every once in awhile. We know a lot less than we believe. We can get very opinionated, with strong beliefs and stuck on things as human beings. That being said.. we also know everything because we are everything.'
.. Nowthat, my friends, is a 10th dimensional thought!

Thought #2 - from the book on top of that book, also of my writings (I have so many books- of dreams and thoughts and stuff in real life)

'Every night, think of 3 good things that happened to you and analyze why they occurred. This will increase your overall happiness.'
I haven't tried that one, but it makes sense. Think I'll go try it while I make my smoothie..

ok, thought #3 is from a book I just finished -The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. This is a memoir, not the type of book I usually read. I thought it would be a nice easy read, a novel.. but its deep.. incredible insight into another persons life, really fascinating ..and even if it affected and maybe hurt my soul a bit on a very deep level - I would still recommend it.

This thought is from Jeannette's father, who was an alcoholic, but someone quite brilliant.
He was in the hospital, very ill and 'pondering about mortality and the nature of the cosmos'. He had been reading about chaos theory and esp the work of Mitchell Feigenbaum, a physicist at Los Alamos who had made a study of the transition between order and turbulence. He stated that turbulence was not in fact random but followed a sequential spectrum of varying frequencies. This would conclude that every act in the universe that we thought was random (even a spatula flying out in space) actually conforms to a rational pattern. This implies that nothing is actually random and that quantum physics even suggests that there is a Divine creator - her father was an adamant atheist.

Nothing random? could it be. I think down deep I kind of felt this.. but on another level I think I will still pretend that things are.. cause I really like the random idea.. it's just fun.

: ) Have a very fun and an orderly-chaotic random day!

Tanning from the inside out - ingesting sunlight and Kirlian photography

I thought of something interesting last night. I am not sure, but I don't think I have ever heard it put together like this. Have you ever noticed that raw foodists have a natural tan? I noticed this right away.. in fact, at first I questioned whether I was eating too many carrots. ..but I wasn't, and it wasn't an orangy color.. it was a natural tan color. But then I stopped thinking about it & just enjoyed it.

Then last night I was thinking about the life force in foods.. and we have heard many times how the food has sun energy.. not just enzymes and nutrients, but a life force energy that you can see with kirlian photography. I have seen pics of a raw foodists hands, which generally have a bright aura around them and a junk-foodists hands, kirlian photographed, which show barely any life force at all. & it occured to me that its the sun that is being ingested through the foods.. the plants get their energy from the sun & when we ingest them we get a natural tan, from the sun, through the foods we eat. Cool!

Kirlian Photography

It was in 1939 that a Russian electrical engineer, Semyon Kirlian, working with a high voltage machine that he thought was turned off, noticed a discharge when his hand came into contact with the machine. He found this discharge could expose photographic emulsion.
Further work has since shown that some form of discharge can be produced from inanimate objects, but that from living tissue fluctuates and appears to vary in intensity, depending on the health of the tissue.

...

Not only animal tissues, but vegetable matter give off a corona. It is strongest in plants when freshly cut, and tends to be equated with 'healthiness'. Thus wholemeal bread has a much stronger corona than non-wholemeal and fresh milk has a corona whereas dried milk has none.
An intriguing feature of plants is the phantom leaf effect. (Fig. 2). For a few seconds after cutting away part of a leaf, a corona discharge in the exact shape of that part removed can be shown.

pic &kirlian info from: http://www.biofieldsciences.com/biofieldsciences.com/IMAGES/kirlian-hand.jpg

nutrient absorption, 10 tips to help the earth, rawviolis

Just a thought
When it comes to our bodies absorbing an utilizing nutrition, I think there is a lot more going on than just what foods and nutrients we put into our bodies. How we picture ourselves, believe ourselves to be - our state of mind, spirit and body have a lot to do with our state of health and our nutrient intake. For instance just as a shaman can absorb nutrients from a plant by just touching it, likewise if we feel we are poor, ugly, sick, unworthy, depressed we can block nutrient intake.


Top 10 tips to help our Earth!

1. Walk, bike or take public transportation to protect air quality
2. Recycle
3. Disconnect downspouts where appropriate, to reduce flooding
4. Make your home energy-efficient
5. Clean up your neighborhood
6. Plant a tree or garden
7. Pick up litter
8. Conserve water
9. Support local farmer’s markets and buy organic produce
10. Use and dispose of hazardous chemicals properly

Tips provided by Mayor Daley in Chicago.
From the raw guru newsletter www.rawguru.com, along with this recipe:

Rawcotta Cheeze Baby Spinach Raviolis by Alex Malinsky

3 cups baby spinach
1 cup pine nuts
1/4 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. lemon juice
1/2 tsp.Cetlic Sea Salt
2 tbs. distilled water
1 tsp. dried herbs


How to: Blend or process everything except the baby spinach until creamy and smooth. Spread the cheese mixture on each baby spinach leaf and cover it with a second spinach leaf. Repeat until you run out of the cheese mixture. You may warm it up in a dehydrator right before serving.

Happy Special Everyday! Earth Day Videos

Earth



The Miniature Earth



Sorry 2 Interrupt



Conspiracy of Science - Earth is in fact growing.
This video is long - 10 min - maybe not for everyone.. but I find geology fascinating!
A few years ago I took a geology course while at art school (OCAD) and my mark was wayy higher than even painting or anything.. a 91 - couldn't believe how much I loved it.
So.. if you're into it, an interesting theory on earth tectonics.
.. and as Jim says 'it must be true, it's on the internet, right?' lol



Moonshot
(just taking a break.. the wave swinger is one of my favorite rides ; )



and back to Earth...
Earth Day Image Collection

Playing in the streets

ps Chocosol Chronicle - 720 Experiment

Chocosol Chronicle - 720 Experiment is now enabled & I can post it!
Thanks Mattieu!
Hi Sawako!
: )

Marley video, Brownies, Global marijuana march

Damian Marley feat. Stephen Marley - All Night

Raw Brownies

1 c walnuts
1 c dates
1/2 c cacao

Blend in Food processor then spread in pan.

Frosting: Cacao, cacao or coconut butter, agave or maple syrup, vanilla, salt

Blend and frost brownies.


Global Marijuana March
Mat 5, 2007 - Queens Park - High Noon

http://www.globalmarijuanamarch.com/
http://www.marijuanaparty.com/index.en.php3

ps Victoria Boutenko - Tonight!

http://www.torontosprouts.com/Victoria%20Boutenko.html

This will be great.. call me at work for tickets if you don't have them yet. : )

Visions of Earth

Raw foods - unique flavours - cacao tasting, the 720 experiment

One thing to bear in mind when making raw recipes is that duplicating these recipes is not as easy as with the conventional cooked foods that we are used to. Each time you make something it will taste slightly different.

Often with cooked foods, for one.. many of the ingredients are processed and always taste the same.. if they are not artificial ingredients, chemical substances, then they are often bleached out - flour, sugar.. and at the very least, if you are using fresh vegetables, like in a soup for instance, the flavour is cooked out & reintroduced with flavourings, which are again often chemical flavourings. Not always.. and the fresher and more organic and the amount a food is cooked are all factors.

A perfect example of this is the cacao bean. I was really interested in this.. Michael (Chocosol) gets beans from different growers and different harvests. These and different fermentation processes make a big difference in flavour. He was telling me yesterday all the things which can change the flavour of the beans:
- different trees growing alongside the the cacao trees, different crops: ie: bananas, coffee, cinnamon.
-type of soil
-altitude
-genetic diversity in the parcel of land
-ambient temperature during fermentation
-quantity of fermentation: how many kilos, how many days, etc
-stirring - how often
-material used during fermentation - for example a banana lined wooden barrel is better than it being lined with a nylon sack.
-washing or not washing
-sun-drying techniques
-age of tree
-if it was harvested during a dry or rainy season
-if there is more pulp in the pod, the beans will have a more fruity taste.

Cacao beans often have a nutty, fruity or winey taste. Nutty beans have often been roasted unevenly and the shell doesn't come off as easily - the fermentation process loosens the shell. The fruity beans may have been overfermented. A bean with a winey flavour is perfectly fermented - very high-quality. Michael is definitely a chocolate sommelier!
(& I get free cacao-tasting lessons..! : )

All raw foods are like this. Have you ever noticed how one strawberry doesn't taste like the next one.. even from the same patch or box. No two tomatoes taste alike. You notice this more and more as you go raw as 1- your taste buds get more refined and 2- you tend to eat more organic flavourful foods.

I wanted to start this post with a video.. Chocosol Chronicles - 720 Experiment - made by Matthieu - my Chocosol raw buddy. However, embedding is disabled so I can only put in the link to go watch it there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDPZP59CwfM


pic from http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC062610/Economy.htm

The Transition - Tips on going raw

My new friend Caroline has a blog www.30dayrawchallenge.blogspot.com which I am trying to post to. However, the dashboard keeps sending me back home, to rawketscience. ..so, I will post it here.

I was thinking of your transition period coming up.. only 2 weeks away and wanted to post a few strategies. I have written a few tips on the raw challenge page of my website .. but have thought of a few others as well:

Looks like you are doing great at getting recipes down - Having at least 3 basic recipes is a great idea. A nut/seed pate is a good one, it is filling and it's versatile - you can use it in a wrap, on crackers, or just a large spoonful on the side with a salad.

Learn how to make green smoothies for sure! They are such a quick fix, I have one in the morning but they are also great for when you get in from being out for awhile, or from work and are starving.. thats the danger zone - it's easy to throw everything in a blender and instant meal, or pre-meal fix.
Pre-think where you might be fall back to cooked: often its either you are starving and can't think of anything quick & filling that is raw and grab something which you are used to and know, or it's a craving for something - often sweet or salty (junk food).
Think about what your weakness might be. Then have a strategy. When I first went raw & was craving something salty (like chips) I found chopped cashews in a small bowl with a bit of sesame oil drizzled over & Celtic salt grinded on top did the trick. I would eat it out of a bowl with a spoon.. & it didn't take much to satisfy the cravings. For sweet, like a chocolate bar - try ground cacao & honey - then add your optional favorite things: a spoon of (raw) almond butter, goji berries, coconut, etc.

(I've grown up a bit with this & had a bowl this aft with camu camu, reishi, cordyceps, gojis, maca - but there's lots of time for all that later ; )

Caroline, it's great you have a dehydrater - good asset. I would have crackers and granola for sure..and maybe some pizza crust would be a good idea also. I go through phases with eating dehydrated foods - but they are definitely great on the beginning, are more filling.

Having a container of raw trail mix is good - bring a container or bag with you for a snack whenever, also good for when you come in hungry. Raw nuts - almonds, hazelnuts, pistachios, cashews, seeds - pumpkin & sunflower, raisins, gojis, coconut, dried cranberries or cherries. I tend to put in more seeds than nuts - just think it's a healthier choice. Of course now I am more apt to have cacao & gojis as my base.

You have one of the most helpful things already - support! One of the hardest things I think is when you are doing it alone and it seems sometimes like the rest of the world is against you. All the media (& in many cases, even family) is telling you you are wrong to not be going with the flow. Everyone wants you to be a sheep - it seems safer and also I have found that changing can put pressure on others to change - and many people just don't want that. But thats another topic!

Invest in books on the raw lifestyle which inspire you. It's money well spent. There is so much info on the net also.. but soon you will discover there are many types of rawfoodists.. many saying their way is THE way. Follow your heart. & remember that even though they differ and have different ideas they are almost all eating at least 90% better than most of the people out there.

Happiness & feeling good is top priority and what it is really all about. If you fall off the wagon don't feel bad about it, just eat whatever it is you are craving and then just get back on board. That being said -here's one last strategy. Why don't you try to make a deal with yourself that if you decide to go at some point in the month for something cooked/processed that you give yourself 5 minutes to think it through before eating it. If within that 5 minutes you decide on getting something raw all the better.. if you don't, you have at least made a conscious decision ( not just a sub-conscious not-thinking thing you will feel bad about after). At this point eat it guilt free. With this strategy, most times you will not bother by the time 5 minutes is up and if you do by then, it is something you really want & can often satisfy the urge with a much smaller portion. ..and by allowing yourself you will not feel like you have deprived yourself. Deprivation is never good. Eat raw because it is the best choice for yourself.. it is superior in every way once you get used to it.. it's easier, tastes better, it's better for you, better for the planet.. everything!

Enjoy!

Mom's leaving.. we had so much fun - we shared (& share) so much; raw dishes, blood, minerals, chakras & jewellry

Mom's on her way home soon.. she's out taking a walk right now. I'm going to write this then go make some tabouli & a big salad for her to take on the train. It's a 20 hour trip.. she has a free pass cause Dad used to work for Via.. but she'll get a bedroom. Mom enjoys this trip, trains are great for reading.

We had such a great time while she was here!

We had some great raw dishes - raw pizza (3 different kinds!), tacos, burger, sandwich, baba ganoush w/garlic bread & cauliflower rice, broccoli & cheese, pesto stuffed mushroom caps, burritos, crispy veggie chips & dip, apple-pear pie, choc cheesecake w/ raspberry sauce, tiramisu, so many kinds of salads, so many kinds of chocolate.. so many ideas for her to take back with her.

& we had so much fun at the health show!

Health Show highlights:
Seeing mine and Mom's blood - Live Cell microscopy - magnified under a microscope. It's like a whole other universe going on in there, in each drop of our blood. All these little round red blood cells like marbles, gathering in groups along pathways of plasma.. like people crowded along a street waiting for a parade. ..and then every once in awhile you see a weird shape, spongy looking thing, amongst them, just slightly bigger, which is the white blood cells.. and it goes around like a vacuum picking up little tiny black specks from the plasma.
Our blood looked almost identical, we got almost perfect scores on plasma, immune system, but our red blood cells showed slight mineral deficiency. I was surprised.. with all the green stuff I eat!
Then we got our minerals tested.. and I am low on iron (a monthly thing) but also I need minerals that can be got in seaweed.. iodine, et.. which I have not been eating hardly at all lately.

We got our chakras done, Kirlian photography. I had to talk Mom into getting hers.. am so glad I did. It was amazing.. ours are almost exactly the same.. except she's blue I am indigo.. but we have the same patches of lavender, turquoise, purple around the edges.. ..oh, but I had a white thing coming out of the top of my head... The was Amazing! so cool : ) '
I kind of thought I might be an indigo child.. but there we go, it's def confirmed. I should have guessed - after all I'm grounded to the earth by a butterfly - one of my totem animals.

We bought lots of great jewelery - got a big beaded bracelet, a watermelon tourmaline necklace to wrap around my wrists (thats one of my very favorite stones!).. and we finished off the show, very last thing by buying matching moldevite earrings. If you don't know about moldevite, you should. Its a phenomenal extraterrestrial stone, actually the only e.t. stone that can be cut into a gem. It'll zoom you into other dimensions and times!

but here & now on planet earth, it's time to go make Mom some salad & pack her up with cacao & goji berries and all the best things and get ready to go. : )

pic from www.railtravelcenter.com/

Things I've seen and heard lately

Everything is God.
God is everywhere.
Rain is the sperm of God
fertilizing the soil.
That's how things grow.

Corinthians 3:17. But if any man violate the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which you are.

Never allow the complexities of the effects to affect the simplicity of the cause

It takes 500 years to make 1" of topsoil.

Hu is the sound that takes the least effort to say (..even less than Om)

Essenes fast for 1 day per year for each year they are born.
(a 39 year old would fast for 39 days - sometime during the year he was 39)

Human Kindness - be both

We have access to unconditional love, unlimited potential and abundance ...should we accept it.


from notes taken during the Essene panel discussion last night.

Picnic

Expressionist salad to eat in the Woods

Wild Rice - soaked (sprouted)24 hrs
Red Pepper - chopped
Carrots - chopped
Celery - chopped
Green Onions
Raisins

Dressing - apple cider vinegar, lemon, maple syrup, mustard, garlic, olive oil, salt & cayenne (100% - substitute mustard powder and agave)

Top with some dehydrated spicy nuts.. maybe chili cashews

The Shins - New Slang



painting by Alex Cameron (Mom & I saw these at the Bau-Xi gallery today - and yes, it was another Ferris Beuller day! : )

Kurt Vonnegut died today

From Kurt Vonnegut Jr's own site:

"It must be kind of spooky to be a student or teacher in a university as great as this one, with its libraries and laboratories and lecture halls, while knowing it is within the borders of a nation where wisdom, reason, knowledge and truth no longer apply.

I realize that some of you may have come in hopes of hearing tips on how to become a professional writer. I say to you, ''If you really want to hurt your parents, and you don't have the nerve to be a homosexual, the least you can do is go into the arts. But do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites, standing for absolutely nothing. All they do is show you've been to college.''

But actually, to practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it. Dance on your way out of here. Sing on your way out of here. Write a love poem when you get home. Draw a picture of your bed or roommate.

And hey, listen: A sappy woman sent me a letter a few years back. She knew I was sappy, too, which is to say a lifelong northern Democrat in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt mode, a friend of the working stiffs. She was about to have a baby, not mine, and wished to know if it was a bad thing to bring such a sweet and innocent creature into a world as bad as this one is. I replied that what made being alive almost worthwhile for me, besides music, was all the saints I met, who could be anywhere. By saints I meant people who behaved decently in a strikingly indecent society. Perhaps some of you are or will become saints for her child to meet."

from http://www.vonnegut.com/

Total Health Show, Victoria Boutenko, LIve, Nujima

Did you ever see Ferris Beuller's day off? Where they did almost everything in one day. I felt kind of like that yesterday. Mom is here visiting until Monday. She's here mainly for the Total Health Show this weekend.

http://www.consumerhealth.org/tothealth/

I called her as soon as I heard Victoria Boutenko was coming, which I heard early - as she called at work to speak with Marie (she's going to be speaking at Toronto Sprouts, April 19th - Yay). And she is one of Mom's favorite raw foodists. She & her family have put out a few books, all really good. But one in particular is phenomenal - Green for Life. An easy read on the power of greens to heal your body.. and a lot of on green smoothies, which Mom & I pretty well live on.

So I painted - my favorite flower so far! Mom baked - which is really just wrong & my major issue in life these days - that I cook for my family but don't eat it myself. -but what do you do when your kids are teenagers-adults and then you go and change your whole lifestyle and way of eating. My solution is to inspire by example - not insist on changing them, but hope that they will eventually change themselves - and it slowly seems to be working. They seem to eat a lot more raw. Dylan often makes salads, and they all eat a lot of fruit ..and they are realizing that raw desserts are just amazing! Kaiyas getting more & more into it.. she ate most of my pizza, from Live last night (w/ marinated fennel & red pepper! Mmmm)

Mom & I ate there yesterday: http://www.livefoodbar.com/

It was so good! We ordered one of almost everything, and some to take some home.

I have to rush to work, early today. We have a class of students taking a nutrition class coming in - 25 for a talk & lunch, lots to prep.

Oh, one last thing. ..but certainly not least!

James has said he will find us raw almonds if California is out (pasteurizing their raw almonds)

He has a really great, high-quality product line - Nujima Living foods:
http://www.nujima.com/

..and I may be working at his booth for awhile during the Total Health Show. : )

Have a spectacularly fantastic day!

pic from http://www.corbinstreehouse.com/blog/?m=20051005

That looks like an interesting blog: Treehouses, Cocoa, Unicycling, Woodworking, Photography - cool! ..what a combo.

Emily's World

This is a film by my niece, she just turned 5, and she's the cutest little thing on the planet!

: ) Enjoy!

p.s. Love you Emily! xox

No More Raw Almonds!!! Raw blog & You know your a raw foodist when...

No more raw almonds. ..???

..but I love almonds!!!

The California Almond Board has decided to pasteurize all almonds.

And these pasteurized almonds are going to be decptively labeled as raw!

Almonds, which has been until now a staple, will be eliminated from the raw foodists diet.

See what’s going on behind the scenes:

I believe that what we're witnessing here is a prime example of the erosion of our freedom in America. It's been happening slowly, but surely, and now its touching each of your lives. I believe its only the tip of the iceberg, and a sample of unchecked government control getting out of hand. The first step in stopping this is to become aware of the problem, so I HIGHLY recommend that each of you go out and see the movie "America, Freedom to Facism" at www.freedomtofacism.com
Charlie Abel

Please sign the petition against mandatory almond pasteurization: http://www.gopetition.com/online/11754.html

for details of this plan which has been passed with little consumer notification:
http://www.almondboard.com/Programs/content.cfm?ItemNumber=890&snItemNumber=450

Great article from NewsTarget.com by Mike Adams - Read This:
Food Scam: Almond Board of California to falsely label pasteurized almonds as "raw"

Raw blog: www.reallyrawfood.com

And this, this is great, from her site.. (selected list.. it was even longer!)

You know you’re a raw foodist when…

You don’t read labels any more.
You’re on a mission to try every kind of fruit that grows on Mother Earth.
You don’t burn your hand fixing dinner.
The biggest mixing bowl you own has been turned into your personal salad bowl.
Your compost pile grows at an alarming rate.
You don’t buy food in boxes and cans any more.
The blender is the most important appliance in the kitchen.
You don’t stop on the way home from work to pick up milk and bread.
People you haven’t seen for a long time don’t say, “How are you?” They say, “What diet are you on???”
Your kitchen looks like the produce section at the local market.
You’re conscious of all the junk food in other people’s buggies.
You learn which cashiers handle your bananas with tender loving care.
You eat until you are full with a perfectly clear conscience.
You don’t dread stepping on the scales in the morning. (I saw a cartoon in my ob/gyn’s office–two little girls were standing beside some scales. One was saying to the other, “Don’t step on that. It’ll make you cry.”)
Your medicine cabinet doesn’t have any medicine in it.
You say, “Breakfast will be ready in a second” and it really is–in as much time as it takes to peel a banana.
You go down the canned food aisle and feel like you’re in a foreign country.
You forget what’s in the dairy section.
Your poo doesn’t smell bad.
Your tastebuds cry for mercy when they are subjected to some of the raw “gourmet treats”.
You learn about foods you never knew existed.
You decide that your animals should eat raw, too.
You drink a lot of your meals.
You never burn yourself fixing dinner.
Your recipes don’t say anything about baking, boiling, or frying.
You see an overweight person and you think, “Cooked food, cooked food.”
People give you fruit baskets for Christmas.
At first, people are interested in hearing about your lifestyle but after you talk for a minute or two, their eyes glaze over.
Your friends are suspicious because you’re smiling all the time.
You don’t wonder if you turned off the stove and coffee maker.
Your hair and clothes don’t smell like fried potatoes and onions (or any other kind of cooking).
You don’t burn your tongue when you’re eating.
You don’t make a list before you go food shopping. You buy whatever looks good that you can afford. And bananas. Always bananas.
You don’t have to be concerned about a grease fire burning your house down.
You have a hard time shutting your refrigerator door-your fruit bowl and refrigerator are filled to overflowing with produce!
You don’t have whale breath when you get up in the morning.
You never have a greasy mess to clean up.
You spend less time in the doctors’ offices and hospitals than anyone else you know.
You suffer withdrawal if you don’t have time to exercise.
You don’t buy anything that lists ingredients any more.
You buy raw organic agave nectar in gallon jugs.
You feel bad when you give all your “don’t eat anymore” things away–not because you’ll miss them but because you know that the person would be better off without them.
You get up in the morning full of anticipation.
“Tired” is no longer a part of your vocabulary unless you are talking about a vehicle.
You have that healthy glow without help from the cosmetic counter.
You love the sun and it loves you back.
You aren’t embarrassed if someone has to go into the bathroom behind you.
You dream of the tropics and men in palm trees throwing down coconuts.
You buy more mangos in a week than you used to all year long.
You don’t avoid looking at your reflection as you walk toward a glass door.
You never buy Kleenex anymore.
You’ve forgotten what the inside of a drugstore looks like.
You’ve developed a sudden interest in gardening and farmers’ markets.
Your relatives stop inviting you over for Thanksgiving.
Your washing machine gets less exercise.
Your medical insurance has lapsed, and you don’t care.

almond pic from http://www.life.uiuc.edu/ib/363/image/almonds.jpg