Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

May we all feel the warm embrace of love and light throughout the new year coming.. May we all be blessed with abundant surges of creativity and inspiration ..May we be able to let go of the past and trust in what awaits us ..May we be open enough to see everything as a blessing in our life, in the good and the bad and to have gratitude for all that is to come and recognize it ALL as all good ..And be happy with it all.. and embrace everything everywhere ..and enjoy every moment of this beautiful creation that we are a part of.

May we continue to share this beautiful journey together - Hands and Hearts together..
Thank you for being here with me. ~Radiant Love & Bliss~ xo

ps. There was a parcel that just came for me while I was in the kitchen making a Chocolate Hazelnut pie.. and before I got to the messy part - I opened it up and it was from Groovinda of Aum My Godess - a beautiful hemp skirt and apron. (samples - made just for me! yay) I changed right there on the spot & christened the apron with a small smudge of chocolate.. The pie is setting right now.. off to check on it! yumm...

I am going to be celebrating tonight in a Very white and spiritual way.. bringing in the new year in a very deep way ..Blissed out with peace Cheers!

Raw at Sea, Earth Beats, Simplicity

My friend Jan has started a blog. She and her husband Dave spend 6 months of the year on their boat in the Bahamas.. Raw! They spent last year raw on the boat, sprouting and foraging ..and I have heard stories.. now we get top join them online @ Raw at Sea.

Manifest plainness,

Embrace simplicity,

Reduce selfishness,

Have few desires.

~Lao-tzu / Tao Te Ching

"he first sound every Human being hears is the double heartbeat. In our Mother's watery womb, we experience a sense of security and belonging because we hear our own heartbeats echoed by that of the Mother who carries us for nine months. When we are drawn into our Earth Walk through the miracle of birth, the second heartbeat disappears. Human beings know on a deep level that something is missing. They are looking for the second heartbeat.

The missing heartbeat is found when we listen to our Earth Mother and enter Tiyoweh, the Stillness. In that place of silence we can feel the vibration and hear the heart beat of the Earth. Through that experience we can rediscover our sense of security and belonging. The Earth Mother's heartbeat tells us we are never alone. Our true Mother, the Earth is always present to nurture us and gives us rest. All she asks is that we stop and listen for the second heartbeat."

~Jamie Sams - Earth Medicine

Play Hard, Dive Deep, Love Life and Have Fun!

Gathering at Fatma's & Ansons Soup!

Fatma held a gathering for a group of us to celebrate the holidays a couple of nights ago. Fatma makes incredible ethnic raw food.. not just Indian, ..Middle Eastern, and more.. she blends cuisine styles. Fatma is actually from South Africa but has lived for several years in Arabia and travelled extensively around the world ..I keep telling her she should write a book, but I think she just likes to make and share food with everyone.. which she does well - she even left the party for a few minutes to run a big plate of food to a neighbour and everyone at the party went home with large plates of food.
She made 5 dishes on the table! & there is more not shown in the pic..
Monica made the incredible desserts (she is the best!) on the right of the table: Tiramisu in back - all raw except for some coffee and a bit of sake which she used in her recipe - and Black Forest Cake, which can rival any cooked version.. she is amazing!!
& recognize the little pizza hor d'oeuvres - some with pineapple, some without ; )
I brought a turkey-stuffing pate and cranberry sauce also, not shown.. maybe that recipe tomorrow (I am on a recipe roll)

This is Fatma.. Monica in behind her and Anne to the right - all vetran and very talented raw food chefs!

Mmm.. salads ..Sumac is just sprinkled on the one below..

ok, & now this was incredible - Anson has come up with my new favorite soup recipe.. and he gave me the recipe (sort of, he doesn't measure) to share.. Yay!!

This was really, really, really delicious - & spicy!! (I loved it so much I got to take the rest home and just enjoyed a big bowl.. My whole world stopped as I enjoyed it, no thoughts, no past, no future - time stood still.. yes, that good!

Anson's Soup

2 red peppers - chopped up

1/3 cup chives - chopped

1/3-1/2 cup of hemp seeds

3 average size zucchini's - spiralized and chopped to noodle size

Place veggies and seeds into a 1 gallon mason jar and make the broth.

Broth: I

3 avocado's

2-3 cap fulls of "Sunfire Elixir"

1/3 cup on Nama Shoyu

Sesame Oil (not sure how much)

Garlic-Chili Flax oil from Omega Nutrition (not sure how much)

Cayenne pepper to taste

Salt to taste

Blend together and then add to the mason Jar with chopped veggies and seeds. Stir.

Then take 1 part soup to 1 part boiled water and add ingredients if necessary to adjust the taste. Makes between 1 1/2 to 2 gallons of soup.

Enjoy!!

Festive Pizza!

I decided that the Christmas Eve Tradition should be Pizza.. and it got unanimously agreed, esp after we tasted the pizza!

We went to an awesome gathering last night with lots of creative and delicious raw dishes ..but before posting on that I am going to post the pizza recipe -requested - and Mom is making it right now also, getting it ready for New Years.

And a special thanks to Marie for all the sprouts. we had so many I was juicing sunflower sprouts this morning - Life is Beautiful! Thank you, Thank you!

Pizza Crust

2 c Buckwheat -sprouted (soak 3-4 hours and then strain in metal colander and let sprout for 12-24 hours, rinsing every 6-8 hours)
2 c Flax seeds - soaked in 3 c water overnight in the fridge or for 2-6 hours at room temp.
4 med-lg Carrots
2 Garlic cloves
2 t Salt
1/2 t each of Thyme, Basil, Rosemary and Onion Powder

Blend all ingredients in a food processor - if you have a small one it may have to be done in two batches. Spread the pizza dough out onto teflex sheets and dehydrate for 4-6 hours and then flip onto mesh screen, continue drying for another 6-8 hours until firm.

ps at home I spread the pizza crust out in a square to utilize the most dehydrater space. (Believe it or not - I still only have a small 4 tray Excalibur here!) You can make it in the more traditional round shape - although it has just been brought to my attention that the traditional shape might really be square as thats how they usually make them and sell them, in square slices, in most places in Europe - but I will have to go check that one out for myself - one day soon! ; )

Also - The pizza can be dressed either as a full sheet and then cut after - or scored into smaller sizes and then you can just dress as many slices as you wish.
The problem with scoring before dehydrating the crust is that often the edges will curl up.
It works best to cut it very carefully (with a knife on a cutting board) near the end of its drying time.

Cashew Cheese

2 c Cashews (soaked 3-4 hours)
2 T Nutritional yeast
2 t Salt
1/2 Lemon - juiced
1/2 c Water (or slightly more to blend well and create a fluffy smooth consistency)

Blend all ingredients in the food processor until light and smooth and fluffy.

Tomato Marinara Sauce

2-4 Tomatoes
1 c Sun-dried Tomatoes (soak to soften, then drained)
1/2 Red Pepper
2 T Onion
1 Garlic clove
1 T Olive Oil
1 T Agave
1 T Apple cider Vinegar
1 1/2 t Oregano
1 t Basil
1 t Salt
1/2 t each of Marjoram, Thyme and Cayenne

Process all ingredients together in a food processor until desired consistency.


To Assemble Pizza:
Crusts can be scored and stored in smaller sizes or left in whole sheets and then cut after preparing.
1. Spread Cashew Cheese
2. Spread Pizza Sauce
3. Cut up and layer with favorite toppings, such as: Tomatoes, Red Peppers, Red Onions, Olives, Pineapple (those are my favorite) -Mushrooms sliced and marinated in a bit of Nama Shoyu for about 5 min or so makes a great topping also!
4. Sprinkle Pine Nut Parmesan (below) on top..
5. Put back into the dehydrater at 115 degrees for an hour or two to soften toppings and warm up pizza.
Enjoy!!

Pine Nut Parmesan is amazingly delicious, so easy to make .. & a great topping on salads and pasta. Double the recipe and keep a bottle of this made up and stored in the fridge!

Pine Nut Parmesan

1 c Pine Nuts
1 T Nutritional Yeast
1 t Salt

Pulse-Chop this all together in a food procesor until pine nuts are all broken up and a chinky texture. Very Easy!

Christmas at my new home

Well, here we are.. I'm getting settled into my new home and here are a few Christmas pics to share. I am moving in with James.. it's a very fun and colorful place! ..but a little more crowded than it was. We moved my stuff over on the 23rd, and just had a room built for Kaiya .. so between construction and moving, its more crowded than normal - and with a Christmas tree!!

We had a cozy, fun Christmas party going on here!! ..and it isn't taking long for me to unpack my boxes and get settled.
The rest of the pics are from Christmas morning.. (just waking up!)

Mom always outdoes herself - she sent amazing books: Animal Speaks, and 2 from Cafe Gratitude: I am Grateful and Sweet Gratitude (which I heard is absolutely amazing!) and one on reading auras. Cool!

Mom, this is the pic I was telling you about.

Mom also gave me some beautiful bowls which she had made for me by an amazing east coast artist Ghita. (ps. note the lapis necklace: )

I love Christmas!

note the almond milk freshly made in the bottle next to the tea pot. I think I am going to make almond milk regularly here. It's really easy, especially when you get into the routine of doing it. & much better than cow's milk. !!

Oh, 1 last pic. Check out the chocolates mom made and sent, individually wrapped and made of super superfoods - lacuma, mesquite, fo ti.. (think I need to get the recipe to find out exactly what I am taking! lol) but they are delicious!! Thank you!

Moving Day!

Moving Day! Yes, Dec.23rd and I am moving.. a full on all day event! It was crazy but it finally happened and now I am sitting on just rebuilt furniture and surrounded by boxes.
Thankfully I had fresh pizza crusts ready from the dehydrater and cashews soaking from this morning and whipped up some cashew cheese.. and made guacamole.. a big lettuce and sunflower sprout caesar salad.. we were starving! ..and of course my moving friends were raw except one guy who loves raw food (& hosts the best durian parties in town!)

ok, so boxes to un pack.. and then more to wrap tomorrow morning. I knew this was going to happen and was prepared, almost everything is ready for Christmas.
..so happy to be getting settled in my new home!

~Hugs!~

ps. my New Years resolution is to really get back into blogging.. cause I love it. (& I just have so much still to say! ; )

Color of the Day: Yellow !!

Mmm.. Tropical Fruit Crumble.. where did that recipe go?? Hmmm..

Should be easy to recreate: Bananas, Pineapple, Mango, Papaya.. Crust of Almond, Walnut, Macadamia, Coconut, Lime, Vanilla and Dates... Yummy!!!

Christmas Magic

I am in the full swing of Christmas!! Put a tree up last night, not decorated yet, but the smell is amazing! This was the 1st year I almost went and bought an artificial tree, environmental reasons.. but the jury was out over which is better.. I have not ever had a tree that wasn't real in my livingroom for Christmas.
& I have almost all my Christas shopping done, just a few special gifts for friends to get..
All this glitter and fun amidst construction, renovations being done.. crazy good time over here..
Christmas is a crazy time! Lots of emotions running rampant through the streets..
I wish everyone good cheer, peace and happiness throughout the holiday season..
Let magic reign!

ps Christmas Music Radio Stations 08

December Pot Luck

Another crazy pot luck went on last weekend. There were over 80 people again! It was a little chaotic.. but great, as always. Lots of interesting dishes to try out.. its such a great way to experience many different raw creations and get inspired!!!
I've always loved pot lucks and raw ones are the best - so creative and fun!!
Cheers, Bon Sante!

Ithaca

When you set out for Ithaka
ask that your way be long,
full of adventure, full of instruction.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - do not fear them:
such as these you will never find
as long as your thought is lofty, as long as a rare
emotion touch your spirit and your body.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - you will not meet them
unless you carry them in your soul,
unless your soul raise them up before you.

Ask that your way be long.
At many a Summer dawn to enter
with what gratitude, what joy -
ports seen for the first time;
to stop at Phoenician trading centres,
and to buy good merchandise,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensuous perfumes of every kind,
sensuous perfumes as lavishly as you can;
to visit many Egyptian cities,
to gather stores of knowledge from the learned.

Have Ithaka always in your mind.
Your arrival there is what you are destined for.
But don't in the least hurry the journey.
Better it last for years,
so that when you reach the island you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to give you wealth.
Ithaka gave you a splendid journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She hasn't anything else to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka hasn't deceived you.
So wise you have become, of such experience,
that already you'll have understood what these Ithakas mean.

~Constantine P Cavafy

Looking for Penny

Alana, my friend and co-worker at Rawlicious, has lost her new puppy, which she just got weeks ago. She has asked me to post a notice and pic of her here, just in case.. she is trying everything. She has posted 600 color posters in the hopes of receiving some news about her - Hopefully she will get some soon!

Penny was lost on Sunday December 7th at 2pm. She was last seen at 7pm trying to cross Bloor St. West at High Park Avenue. She was hit by a car, but kept running. She may be injured, and should be in the residential area of High Park Avenue, Pacific Avenue, Quebec Avenue etc. or could be in the park. She was wearing a black jacket with reflective stripes. She has a dappled coat with large apricot coloured patches with a white spot on top of head. She has large floppy ears that are a solid apricot colour. She is very timid and frightens easily.

We are very worried that she is injured and hiding and we need to reach as many people as possible as quickly as we can. It is cold outside and the longer we take, the less likely she is to survive. Please, tell everyone you know, someone could find her. We are completely devestated at her loss. We are offering a cash reward to the person that can bring her home safely.

Her information on her collar/microchip is as follows:
Toronto ID - 111774
PetLynx - AA55279
Microchip - Allflex Boulder brand #982009105462418
Alana can be reached at:vegan_girl88@hotmail.com

This is especially a call for positive thoughts for Penny, and Alana! *Thanks*